Siheyuan: Living in the People's Community, with a Heart for the Red Star

After the two finished their meal, Pudar took out the token to confirm his identity and signed the bill. The two went out and rode on their strong horses towards the outside of the city. When they were leaving the city gate, they saw the words "North Gate" engraved on the gate tower. Old Yang pointed at the city gate and asked Pudar curiously.

"Are there any directions in the temple? How do you know this is north?"

"Your Excellency doesn't know that there is a magical compass in the temple that can indicate the directions of east, south, west and north. The direction of each floor is determined by the envoy of God who comes with the compass. As for whether the direction inside the temple coincides with the direction outside, we don't know. But it doesn't matter. For believers, the direction is just a guide for positioning, and the direction it points to is meaningless!"

Pudar took a sip from the water bottle on his horse's back while answering Lao Yang's question.

The two men urged their horses out of the north gate. What they saw was a rammed earth road leading to the north, with tall trees on both sides. Passing through the gaps between the trees, they saw rows of fields, with densely packed green fruit trees growing on the fields. Some were already full of green flowers. At a glance, the green fruit trees that stretched to the horizon covered the ground. Each green fruit tree was half a person tall, and no one could be seen between the trees. It seemed that it was not the harvest season, and basically no one was managing the fields.

"Master Yang, after leaving the north gate, the nearest town is about ten miles away. It's called Zuohua Township, and has a population of about a thousand people. I was born in Xiapu Village, Zuohua Township, with a population of less than 500! I don't know what the situation is like now. When I left, I had a younger brother and two younger sisters at home, and my parents made a living by growing green fruit. After becoming a missionary in the temple, I would send some money back every month, but I never came back!"

Pudar urged the horse to run while telling Lao Yang about his experience. Lao Yang admired the surrounding environment while expressing contempt for Pudar's behavior.

"You are all poor people who are kidnapped by faith. I don't think there is anything more important than family in this world! Since we are here, let's go to your hometown to take a look. It's a special feeling to revisit an old place. By the way, Pudar, are you married? Do you have any children?"

After hearing Lao Yang's question, Pudar immediately fell into his memories, but soon came to his senses and answered Lao Yang's questions.

"Your Excellency, I have never been married, but I have a confidante. We later broke up for various reasons. As for whether I have any offspring, I don't think so! I have never dated other women, and I haven't heard that Honina gave birth to any offspring for me. I am used to living alone, eating and drinking with friends, and I have been like this for so many years. I am sorry to make you laugh, but in fact, most of the high-ranking people in the cult are not married, let alone have children!"

"That's such a pity! Pudar, your life is imperfect. Seeing that your current physical fitness is okay, you should consider finding a way out for your genes. Only the stronger the people, the better the offspring will be. The reason why humans in the outside world are getting weaker and weaker is because the strong ones died in the war. The bloodlines of the strong ones have no way to continue, and the bloodlines of the strong ones are getting thinner and thinner. So whether for the sake of mankind or for yourself, it is essential to pass on your family line!"

Old Yang began to teach Pudar a life lesson. Old Yang would not feel comfortable keeping a capable man without children around him!

Seeing what Old Yang said, Pudar also considered it seriously. After thinking for a while on horseback, he said, "I think what you said is right. I will find a woman with excellent genes to marry and give birth to a more outstanding child so that he can continue to serve you!"

The two of them rode on the road and soon entered a grassland. The land suddenly changed from a pineapple forest to a lush green grassland. Various grasses grew to more than half a person's height. Cows, sheep and other livestock could be seen grazing on the grassland. From a distance, there were dozens of cattle, tens of thousands of cattle. A lot of sheep could be vaguely seen, most of them were hidden in the grass.

The two rode on their strong horses and continued to move forward. It took them another ten minutes to reach the town of Zuohua Township. The town was indeed a little small, and there was no wall around it. Only the wall surrounding the small courtyard served as a defensive wall to prevent wild animals from entering the town. When the two arrived in the town, they only saw a grocery store, a court where missionaries were located, and a police station where knights were located. The town was extremely simple.

The two men rode past and continued to gallop northward, attracting two knights from the police station to come out and investigate. When they saw that it was a bishop passing by on horseback, they obediently returned to the police station.

After leaving the town, there are large pastures outside. Cows and sheep are running back and forth on the grass, mixed with horses and sika deer. Various poultry are also playing on the low trees. We didn't see a single carnivore along the way.

After running about 20 miles, we finally arrived at Xiapu Village, Pudar's hometown. Although he hadn't been back for decades, the memories hidden deep in Pudar's mind suddenly came to the fore. Following the little-changed streets of the village, we came to a small courtyard. The house seemed to have been recently renovated, and it was considered a middle-class family in the village. The house was built of bricks and stones, and the courtyard was also surrounded by thick tree trunks, which looked like an ancient camp.

On a tree stump outside the wooden door, there was a sign with the words "God's Left Hand" written on it. At this time, the sound of children playing and livestock could be heard in the courtyard. Just as Lao Yang and Pudar were sighing outside the door, a big gray dog ​​jumped out from the crack of the door and barked wildly at the two men and two horses. The barking of the dog immediately attracted the attention of the people in the courtyard, and hurried footsteps were heard.

The wooden door of the courtyard slowly opened halfway under the gaze of Lao Yang and Pudal, and a half-grown boy jumped out. After looking at Lao Yang and Pudal, he immediately stepped forward in fear, hugged the big dog's mouth tightly, knelt in front of Pudal, and begged carefully.

"Respected Bishop, please forgive the ignorance of the believers! Tuna is a good dog, please spare its life. The believer Urartu bows to the Bishop!"

As they were talking, a few more people, all of them half-grown children, came out of the yard. After seeing the situation on the scene, they were immediately stunned. Then they all knelt down nervously, not knowing what to do!

Old Yang looked at everything indifferently, and teased Pudar with a sneer on his face.

"Pudal, what do you think about this? That dog is a good dog! It seems that you are not a good person! Look, you scared these kids to their knees and tremble on the ground, just like a villain boss who bullies men and women!"

"My Lord, you are joking. At my age, I must be kind and compassionate! How could I be so mean to a child and a dog? Their fear only comes from the suppression of the superiors over the inferiors, and has nothing to do with me!"

Pudar forced a kind smile, like a group of children kneeling on the ground showing a loving smile, and responded to Lao Yang's teasing.

"Children, don't be nervous. Get up! I am Bishop Pudar from the temple. I forgive your ignorance. This is not your fault! Who can tell me whose home this yard belongs to? Are you all children of this family?"

Pudar acted like a charlatan, showing his authority to the children, and then excitedly asked about the situation in the yard.

The young man holding the dog immediately looked up in surprise and asked anxiously: "Are you Bishop Pudar, Grandpa Pudar! This is your home, and now it belongs to Grandpa Tanzani. I am Urartu, the son of Plato, the eldest son of Grandpa Tanzani! These children are all from our family. My Grandpa Tanzani has been thinking about you all the time, hoping to see you again in his lifetime! I didn't expect you to really come back, woooo..."

Urartu cried excitedly. When the children behind him saw Urartu crying, they also started crying loudly. The situation got out of control.

Pudar was also a little out of control, looking at the group of children kneeling in front of him, he didn't expect that these children were all descendants of his younger brother. He was filled with emotion, thinking that he was alone and didn't even have a wife, while his younger brother lived a very comfortable life with a lot of sons and grandchildren!

Just as Pudar was standing there in a daze, feeling sorry for himself, a rough voice came from the yard: "Uratu, you bastard, what happened outside? Why are you all crying? If you make me unhappy, I will hang you up and beat you!"

The sound came from far away and soon reached the door. He first saw a cardinal standing at the door of his house, and all his descendants were kneeling on the ground crying. He immediately felt that something terrible had happened and that if things went wrong, the whole family would suffer.

It was Pudar's younger brother Tanzani who appeared at the door. When the old man saw that the situation was not good, he immediately changed his appearance to be honest and aggrieved, and said in a crying voice: "My Lord Bishop, please be kind! Don't make things difficult for these children, they are all obedient children! If there is anything that offends you, just vent it on me! My brother, Lord Pudar, is also a bishop like you. I hope you will show leniency to these children for your brother's sake. Woo woo woo..., the children have never seen Grandpa Pudar since they grew up, nor have they seen a kind bishop like you, so they offended you. Please forgive them!"

Old Yang, who was still eating melons, couldn't help laughing out loud, and continued to mock Pudar, saying, "If I were you, you would go up and slap that old guy twice. He talks just like his grandson. The children are all good kids, and you who are making things difficult for them are a big bad guy! He even used Pudar's name to put pressure on you. You really don't know your own limitations!"

Tanzani, who was secretly wiping tears, immediately knelt on the ground when he heard that things were going to get worse, and began to beg: "Please be kind, my lords! My family is really poor! We have nothing to offer you, lords. Please let us go! Why is my life so miserable? Come back and take me away, brother..."

Old Yang stood aside and tried hard to hold back his laughter, as if he saw Jia Zhang possessed. Pudar, who could no longer hold back, immediately interrupted Tanzani's mourning.

"That's enough! Tanzani, stand up! You are so embarrassing. If I had known, I wouldn't have come back to see you!"

Pudar's roar immediately silenced everyone, big and small. Tanzani looked at the angry Pudar and was a little overwhelmed. His grandson Urartu immediately let go of the big dog, stepped forward to help his grandfather Tanzani up from his kneeling position, and spoke excitedly beside him.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, this is our great-grandfather, Bishop Pudar! He's back to see us!"

Tanzani, who was brought back to consciousness by his grandson, immediately burst into tears loudly, rushed up to Pudar, hugged his legs and cried loudly.

"Brother, you are finally back. We haven't heard from you since you left. My parents and sister miss you so much. Every year we receive the money you send home, but you are so cruel that you never come home to visit. Your parents left with their longing for you! You didn't even attend any of your siblings' weddings. When I was thinking that I would never see you again in this life, you showed up again. How can I hate you!"

Pudar's decades of faith were finally shattered. He couldn't help but shed tears as he looked at his white-haired brother. He lifted up his brother who was kneeling on the ground with both hands, held him in his arms and cried bitterly.

When a group of little kids kneeling on the ground saw the two old men hugging each other and crying, they immediately stood up and dispersed, running to spread the news. It was estimated that the news of Bishop Pudar's return home would spread throughout the village soon.

Old Yang didn't care about the two people's situation. He walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back and walked in through the half-open gate. The left and right sides of the courtyard were full of wooden sheds, where cattle, sheep, chickens and dogs were raised. To the north were six brick houses. The windows were wooden frames with two layers of thin screens, which did not affect the lighting and could keep out mosquitoes and flies. It seemed that there was still some wealth. After all, Pudar had been sending money home for so many years, so he must be living better than the average family.

The barking grey dog ​​also slid back into the yard and disappeared into the shed. The strong horses that Lao Yang and Pudar rode also ran straight to the trough in the shed and competed with the cattle and sheep for fodder.

Without letting Old Yang wait for long, Pudar and Tanzani walked into the courtyard hand in hand, followed by their grandson Urat. The three of them came behind Old Yang, and Pudar bowed and said, "Thank you for your help! I finally untied my knot and made up for my past regrets when I returned to my hometown today! I may delay your trip next, so I have to chat with my brothers and sisters before going back!"

Old Yang didn't care. Anyway, he had plenty of time. He told Pudar, "Prepare a room for me. I need to comprehend something. We'll leave for another place in 24 hours!"

"All is up to you, sir! Tanzani, prepare a separate room for Sir Yang and don't let anyone disturb him!"

Pudar was not familiar with the current house conditions, so he could only ask Tanzani to arrange a room for Lao Yang.

"Uratu, come here and take this man to the room reserved for your great grandfather to rest. You just stand guard at the door and don't let anyone disturb the man's rest. If anything goes wrong, I'll hang you up and beat you!"

Seeing that his brother Bishop Pudar was so respectful to Lao Yang, Tanzani did not dare to neglect him and quickly ordered his grandson to lead the way and guard the door.

Old Yang followed Uratu into the room on the far left. Although it was only one room, it was very spacious. There was a bed, a table, and several cabinets inside. There was a quilt neatly folded on the bed, but unfortunately there was no pillow.

After Lao Yang sent Urartu out, he closed the door and sat cross-legged on the bed, preparing to take some time to study the demons collected from the two secret rooms and the props on the demons.