brotherly innocence

Chu Yaonan had a ghost in his heart, peeking at his elder brother's face, it was as gloomy as the sky in the snow, bleak and full of anger.

He was flustered, and for some reason, the frail scholar-like elder brother in front of him was even more terrifying than the big and round adoptive father.

Chun Bao'er knelt down and called out, "Father." Her voice was trembling and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Chu Yaonan had no choice but to kneel down. Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, he still wanted to appear submissive on the surface, thinking in his heart, seeing that you are an older brother, you should just kneel down, somewhat unwillingly.But still guessing what the big brother found?But I don't believe that I will show my feet somewhere, but judging by Xiaochun Bao'er's expression, she probably hasn't betrayed him yet.

"Hold out your hand!" The eldest brother shouted, it was Chun Bao'er's order, Chun Bao'er burst into tears, stretched out his hands tremblingly, curled his palms, and was pulled by the elder brother and beat him several times It was like a storm, and before he realized it, Chun Bao'er was already crying bitterly, but the elder brother stopped.

"What did Chun Bao'er do wrong?" Chu Yaonan grabbed Chun Bao behind his back, looked up at his elder brother and refused to accept.

He was kneeling, and his elder brother was standing. The elder brother in front of him was wearing a thin jacket hanging down his feet like a straight pillar. He lowered his eyes and looked down at him coldly and solemnly. you?"

"Hey, I didn't study, I went to the street with my little uncle to play." Chun Bao'er whimpered, Chu Yaonan was a little startled, and poked Chun Bao'er to argue for him: "My younger brother took Chun Bao'er out, Before going out, I had memorized the "Mencius. Gao Zi [-]" by heart."

Zhuo Mingtao took a deep breath, his anger was beyond words, he pulled Xiaochun Bao'er's palm to equalize, hit him several more times, and asked: "There is more!"

The sister-in-law came in with tears in her eyes, hugged Chun Bao'er distressedly and said: "It's just a few hits, Chun Bao'er went out to play, I agreed, he finished reading, and it's his birthday again, go outside for a walk with my younger brother." It’s not a big mistake to relax. Aunt Li just said that the back of the gambler under the bridge looks like his uncle and nephew, but it’s not sure. Just beat him without asking, don’t wrong his uncle and nephew.”

Chu Yaonan had an idea, and his heart was relieved a lot. It was really thanks to his sister-in-law who tipped off the news, otherwise he would have almost given up on himself.It turned out that it was Chun Bao'er's birthday that caused the trouble. The neighbor chewed his wife's tongue. The eldest brother was so angry that he could guess what was going on.

"Brother, it's my brother's fault, don't play Chunbao. I just saw a few people playing chess under the bridge. Because I like to play chess, my hands itch for a while, so I tried a few games. I won some small money to buy candy to make Chunbao happy. It is also earned by skill, I don't know what's wrong?"

When the sister-in-law heard this, she looked at her elder brother in dismay, and tried to persuade her elder brother before he got angry: "Oh, brother, you are really, that chess game is also a game, and every word 'gambling' is not allowed in the family rules. No wonder your brother got so angry .”

As soon as Zhuo Mingtao pulled Chun Baoer's hand, he was about to hit him again. Chu Yaonan went to protect him in a panic, and bumped against the head of his sister-in-law. He screamed in pain, and hugged Chun Baoer to argue. Said: "If the elder brother hits the younger brother, I will gamble the money..."

"The money is obtained through traps?" Zhuo Mingtao asked loudly, Chun Bao'er was so frightened that she shrank all over, Chu Yaonan said in shame, "I told Chun Bao'er to say this, for fear that elder brother would blame me."

"Daddy, baby is wrong, baby don't lie anymore." Chun Bao'er surrendered crying, Chu Yaonan felt annoyed.

The elder brother stood in front of him, pointed at him with the shiny ruler.

Chu Yaonan gritted his teeth, his cheeks were flushed, beside him was his six-year-old nephew and even his sister-in-law, but he was beaten by his elder brother like a primary school student.

He stretched out his left hand slowly, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. He is usually left-handed, and it would be inconvenient to hurt his left hand, so he hastily withdrew his left hand and slowly extended his right hand reluctantly.

"Two hands!" The eldest brother yelled, and was so angry that he couldn't laugh or cry at his childlike behavior.

He bit his thin lips tightly, looked up at his elder brother pitifully, and said with tears in his sad eyes: "Elder brother, younger brother will not dare next time. Nian is a first-time offender, please forgive me."

Zhuo Mingtao just looked down at him, eyes full of resentment and contempt, quietly, without answering, and let Chu Yaonan slowly raise his hands under that irresistible gaze.The ruler swung down, and he withdrew his hand abruptly, and the ruler was emptied, and the eldest brother stared wide-eyed in embarrassment.

"Brother, brother, be gentle." Chu Yaonan pursed his lower lip deeply, and slowly raised his hand again.

Seeing the elder brother slap the ruler in his hand, the palm of his hand was hot and tingling, he gasped, groaned, and swung the ruler down again.

"Ah! Big brother, big brother, ah!" He yelled, begging for mercy in a stinging voice, tears rolling down his face, compared with the tyranny of his adoptive father in the past when he was in a state of despair, these hand strikes were really nothing, but the pain that made him worry.

He dodged, and then raised his hand to send it over under the steady and cold eyes of his elder brother. He gritted his teeth, but couldn't hold back his tears.

"Chun Bao'er's father, let me spare my little brother, it's his first offence."

Zhuo Mingtao stared at him fiercely and scolded: "If it wasn't for his first offense, he would have broken his leg long ago!"

The burning and stinging pain in the palm of his hand was unbearable, the elder brother stopped his hand and asked, "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"Just don't play chess next time."

Two more hits on the palm of his hand, he screamed, and then looked at his eldest brother with aggrieved and tearful eyes.

If you are wrong, you will still fight.He looked at his sister-in-law as if asking for help, and the sister-in-law rubbed her tears and said, "You too, why not teach Chun Bao'er to lie."

It was time to hit, the eldest brother naturally refused to let it go, pressed his hand on the table, and hit a few times hard like chopping meat, watching the palm of his hand gradually swell up as thick as a bear's paw, red and purple.When he was naughty when he was a child, Mr. Fei only held the ruler up and down lightly to scare him a few times. Occasionally, when he got annoyed, he beat him on the buttocks. He was thick and fleshy, and he never experienced the majesty of the ruler in the palm of his hand.

"Go, kneel in the courtyard and recite the book! Just memorize "Fish I Want" in "Mencius. Gao Zi [-]" a hundred times, and you are not allowed to get up until you finish memorizing!" Zhuo Mingtao walked away with a flick of his sleeves, and the house The door was pushed open, and the cold wind swept snowflakes into her neck, causing Lingling to shiver.

Outside the door, the courtyard is covered with silver and white snow, and the world is falling like flakes of snow. Is it possible to kneel in the courtyard to endorse a book on this freezing night?

The sister-in-law rubbed her eyes, brought two straw futons and threw them into the courtyard, Chu Yaonan walked quickly angrily, and creaked and creaked the snow.Chun Baoer knelt on the futon sobbing, holding up an inkstone in her hands, like a child in a school who was punished for not being able to recite books, reciting with trembling teeth: "Fish, I want it; bear's paw, bear's paw, It is also what I want. It is impossible to have both. Those who give up the fish to take the bear's paw. Life is also what I want. Righteousness is also what I want. You cannot have both. Life is what I want, what I want is more than the living, so I don't try to get it; death is also what I hate, and what I hate more than the dead, so I don't get rid of it. It's like making people want what they want It is more important than life, so why not use it when it is possible to live? To make people hate nothing more than the dead, why not do it if you can ward off the sick? If it is so, there is no need for life, and if it is so, it can be warded off. And there is nothing to do. That’s why the desire is greater than the living, and the evil is greater than the dead. The non-sage has the heart, and everyone has it. The sage can not lose his ears..."

Chun Bao'er carried her back, cried and coughed in the cold wind.The cold inkstone held in both hands trembled, and then he slowly lowered his hand, and was shocked by his father's coughing in the corridor, so he lifted the inkstone high.

Chu Yaonan only felt that the cold wind pierced his neck and spine, chilling his whole heart.It is simply a disaster.

The sister-in-law handed him an inkstone, and gave him a wink to show him that he should not do anything wrong, and put up with it for now.

But this kind of humiliation made it hard for him to surrender. He looked at his elder brother, his jaw was shaking, and he heard his younger nephew explaining in a trembling voice: "Mencius said, I like fish, and I like bear's paws too." If you can only choose one of the two, you will give up fish and choose bear's paw, because bear's paw is more delicious; life is what I hope, and morality is also what I pursue. If you can only choose one of the two, you will give up life and choose morality .I don’t want to die, but when there is something I want more than life, I will never live by it; I am afraid of death, but when there is something I hate more than letting death, dying is not terrible..."

Chu Yaonan raised his head angrily, and stared fiercely at the elder brother who was standing with his hands behind his back in the corridor, but his sister-in-law took his hand, put the cold inkstone in his palm and said, "Little brother, recite it, recite it earlier, and finish it sooner. Go back to your room early to rest."

The eldest brother turned and went back to the room. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "Pedantic!"

Panicked, my sister-in-law covered his mouth and shook her head.

The elder sister-in-law's palm was soft and warm, touching his lips made him suppress even the greatest resentment, and her eyes begging to calm down looked straight at him.

Holding the cold inkstone in the palm of his hand, he lifted it up to his head, and he had to be careful not to spill the ink inside. Looking embarrassed, he gritted his teeth, and recited vaguely to Chun Baoer's voice, high and low, like singing an opera Generally speaking, he stared at the room unyieldingly, cursing himself in his heart, Chu Yaonan, you are foolish and oily, let go of your good life, but you have come all the way to join such a foolish thing, a poor scholar, sour and stinky, living A poor man who can't eat enough to live as a trousers is the only one who pays for it!

The lamps and shadows on the window paper danced, the figures were close and distant, the hands and feet were numb from the cold, the legs were numb, the nose was running, the inkstone held in the hand was frozen, and the ice balls could be seen, and he had to lift it to the top of the head again, in a state of embarrassment.

Chun Bao'er started coughing, crying until her little face turned red, and her sister-in-law put on a big flowered jacket for him, and shielded their uncle and nephew from the wind behind her.

It was not easy to memorize it almost, and it was 99 times, and it was all in the middle of the night.Chu Yaonan felt relieved, raised his head to look at the dark sky, and saw Mrs. Li in the next yard poking her head up and then retreating under her sister's wink and shaking her head. He wished he could run away to his room and slam the door after he finished reciting the last word. Sleep well, don't have to suffer this crime again.In the future, it doesn't matter whether he has money or not, so what if he drinks the northwest wind, and what if the old lady is seriously ill?In the worst case, leave here and wander around the world.

"Daddy, I've recited it a hundred times." Chun Baoer swam desperately to the river bank like a drowning person, seeing the hope of life.

The eldest brother's majestic scolding sound came from inside the room: "Recite again! The festival of the abalone place!"

After a while of silence, Chun Baoer cried helplessly as if she had climbed ashore and was kicked into the water again.

Chu Yaonan was furious, and regardless of his sister-in-law's obstruction, he said bitterly: "He is a stinky fish! Sour and stinky! Poor and stinky, he is like an abalone!"

"Chun Bao'er, recite it loudly, your father is going to kill you!" Sister-in-law hurriedly urged.

Fortunately, Chun Bao'er's voice of reciting was loud, suppressing his complaints.Chun Bao'er cried until her voice was hoarse: "... I don't know how my son sees my father, how my people see my friends, how my ruler sees what I make, and how my land sees my vegetation. Therefore, it is said that living with good people is like entering a house. If you don't smell its fragrance for a long time, you will melt with it. If you don't smell its fragrance for a long time, you will melt with it. Living with unkind people is like entering an abalone house. If you don't smell its smell for a long time, you will also melt with it. Dan's hiding place is red, lacquered. What is hidden is dark, so a gentleman must be careful about what he and his place are."

Chu Yaonan broke away from his sister-in-law's persuasion and questioned: "Sister-in-law, am I wrong? The head of his family, a man of seven feet, has the ability to dominate a child here, so he should have the ability to earn money for him. Mother sees a doctor and provides a good life for his wife and children! Is the country’s ruin and family death an excuse? Isn’t everyone from Fengtian to Beiping living so poorly? Is he filial piety or brotherhood? Or loyalty!”

After saying these words, my heart felt a lot more relaxed, but my sister-in-law was so panicked that she dissuaded her in a low voice, she peeped at the open door before the figure of her elder brother disappeared, she was so anxious that she had no choice but to stop her and said in a low voice: "Little brother, you have wronged your elder brother." .He was also extremely wealthy, but he has kept his name incognito for the past few years and doesn't want to be out of trouble again."

Chu Yaonan was startled, and his nephew Chun Baoer's recitation of the words also stopped.

The eldest brother's lonely figure appeared under the dim light at the door of the house, and he said calmly: "If you don't accept it, you can leave, I won't stop you, just go out of this poor family, and you don't need to come in again."

Then he told his sister-in-law, "Chun Baoer's mother, go and get his luggage for him."