Tranquility

When Tang Yun and Tang Ning arrived home, Mrs. Tang was sitting on the threshold choosing vegetables. Seeing the two entering the door full of energy, she thought that if her son was still alive, he would be able to jump into her arms today. It hurts like a heart, how can someone else's son be alive and kicking, but her son will die young.

As soon as Tangning entered the door, she felt Mrs. Tang's awl-like gaze. He turned his head to meet her gaze, but Mrs. Tang quickly lowered her head, quickly put away the dishes, and walked into the kitchen with a basket.

Tang Ning looked away calmly. He used to tolerate Mrs. Tang for Carpenter Tang's sake, because he was afraid that the two would not get along. Now it seems that he was meddling too much.He made a mistake. He didn't realize that the status of women in ancient times was generally lower.If it was in modern times, it would be absolutely possible for Mrs. Tang to fall out with Carpenter Tang, but in fact this is ancient times. Women in ancient times did not rely on their husbands and sons. Now that her son is gone, would she still dare to fall out with Carpenter Tang? , It will only make Tang Carpenter hold him tighter.

Tang Ning could tell that Mrs. Tang was a very shrewd and calculating person. This kind of person was actually not scary, because he could easily touch her mind, and it was nothing more than gain or loss.Looking at her appearance just now, it seems that going back to her mother's house has regained her sanity, knowing that restraint is a good thing, if she still looks like she was before, it will be troublesome. .But now she at least knows to think for herself. She has no son, and her reputation as a virtuous person is gone. Carpenter Tang is not in good health. Now and in the future, she can only rely on the three brothers, so Mrs. Tang will think about herself and Niuniu Stay safe.

Although Tang Ning's thinking was right, Mrs. Tang really thought so, but he didn't expect that a mother who indirectly killed her son would definitely not be mentally healthy.

In fact, while Mrs. Tang hated herself, she also hated Tangning even more, because when she heard the sound of water falling that day, she didn't really care. She thought it was a bucket falling into the well, and it took a while before she realized it. She didn't know anything about it. She said that she was only bored in her heart and her internal organs were burning, and Tangning was obviously at home, didn't he hear the sound of falling into the water? How absurd, Mrs. Tang stubbornly thought so, and she still didn't say it.Poor Tangning really didn't hear the sound of falling into the water that day, but she was blamed for nothing, and she couldn't appeal.

In the evening, everyone had a reunion dinner. Although the table was still deserted, Carpenter Tang asked about Tang Yun's ears, and Tang Yun replied that he had recuperated his body. some.

After dinner, the three brothers who hadn't seen each other for several days gathered in the Westinghouse again, and each of them talked about their recent situation.After finishing speaking, Tangning fumbled to light the oil lamp, and the light suddenly illuminated his beautiful face. At this moment, this face showed a calmness that didn't match his age.

Sitting on the kang, Tangning looked at her two brothers seriously and said, "Elder brother, second brother, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

The elder brother said without thinking, "I want to be the best carpenter in town."

Tangning pursed her lips and smiled, "Brother, you are already the best carpenter in town, don't you want to be the best carpenter in Dazhao?"

The eldest brother scratched his head in embarrassment, thought for a while and said, "I want to make what I think in my heart, as long as others like it, it doesn't matter whether I am the best carpenter or not."

Although the words were confusing, Tangning understood. In modern terms, the eldest brother is a skilled worker who loves wooden crafts with all his heart, and he wants to be an artist so that everyone can love his works.

Tangning turned to Tang Yun who was thinking, "Where's second brother?"

Tang Yun paused and said: "I want to do business and earn a lot of money. Let us live in a big house, eat meat every day, wear silk clothes, and drink the best tea."

Tangning nodded and said, "I want to study and become an official so that we can all have a good life." Then he continued, "Then I want to teach my elder brother and second brother how to read?"

Tang Mu and Tang Yun were stunned for a moment. They never thought of letting Tangning teach them how to read. They always felt that they couldn't learn well, and there was no need to learn. Knowing is a matter for scholars.But it is undeniable that deep in their hearts they are still eager to learn how to read, and they always feel awkward just letting their younger brothers teach them.

Tangning continued to persuade, "Brother, you need to be the best carpenter. A carpenter must be able to carve and carve, right? If your brother knows how to write and draw, wouldn't it be better than carving the same way?"

Tangning turned to Tang Yun again and said, "Second brother wants to do business, he must understand the account books and contracts, right? Although the second brother can settle the accounts by himself, we are all small money. When the second brother has more money, we must learn how to calculate the big accounts Bar?"

The two brothers looked at each other and nodded in unison.

From then on, the three brothers sat around the kang table every night, together with an oil lamp, and began to teach or study.

Of course, what Tangning taught the two brothers was not the same.

He asked Tang Mu to practice calligraphy more, and taught Tang Mu the skills of painting, most of which was the line drawing method of traditional Chinese painting.For example, bamboo pays attention to one stroke to the end, and must not tremble in the middle or make up two strokes after painting, so that the painted bamboo can be strong and straight.After hearing this, Tang Mu realized something, he always used to scratch twice with a knife when he had nothing to do, a piece of wood was full of nicks, and when one was full, he would replace it with another.

As for Tang Yun, Tang Ning only asked him to be able to write. The main thing was to teach him arithmetic, memorize ninety-nine multiplication tables, and slowly teach him to use tables to keep accounts. Quick, no matter how complicated addition and subtraction are, being able to do mental calculations made Tangning a teacher with a sense of accomplishment.

The three brothers lived every day quietly and steadily. Although their lives were ordinary, they were full of hope. One day they would rush out of this sky and have their own sky.

Tang Ning felt like a tree. Although it hadn't grown yet, it had already shouldered the responsibilities of the family. He had to work hard to grow into a towering tree and protect everyone he cared about.Although such a responsibility is heavy, it is also down-to-earth, making him truly feel that he is alive and living in ancient times.

Today, Tang Ning was still painting the morning sun on the top of the mountain. When the painting was about the same, the ball that should have arrived earlier on weekdays hadn't arrived. Tang Ning was a little surprised. At home, why not send Qiuqiu to ask him to eat?Aunt Li probably hadn't arrived at Cheng's house yet. Thinking that there were only sister Cheng and Qiuqiu at her husband's house, Tangning lost her composure. She hurriedly put away her easel and rushed down the mountain.

When Tangning arrived near Cheng's house, she heard Qiuqiu whining, as if her mouth was gagged, Tangning's heart sank, she lost her things and ran into the room, as expected, Qiuqiu was tied up bundled in the kitchen.

Tangning turned around and ran towards the back room, shouting for Sister Cheng as she ran, but there was still no response. He immediately became anxious, found a pair of scissors in the room, and just as he untied Qiuqiu, Qiuqiu let go, barking and barking in the direction Tangning came from. After running, Tangning hurried to catch up.

When passing by the painting box, Tangning's heart skipped a beat. She turned around and pulled out the crossbow she used when she was a child. He took this bow and crossbow up the mountain every day for self-defense. Occasionally, when he was in the mood, he would shoot a few sparrows for tooth and tooth sacrifices.In just a few seconds, Qiuqiu had already gone a long way. Tangning didn't dare to stop, and grabbed the quiver again. The bamboo arrows scattered all over the ground, ignoring it, and chased forward with all her strength.

Qiuqiu gradually ran away from the road leading up the mountain in the village, and ran towards the sparsely populated mountains. Tangning's heart was getting heavier and heavier, and she only hoped that he could still be in time.

Soon, Tangning saw a few figures in gray clothes looming across the crossed branches, and he immediately recognized that they were servants of the villain's family.

At this moment, Qiuqiu was already sprinting towards one of them. Tangning followed closely and gave the other one a kick. Then he saw Sister Cheng was restrained by the two of them. She was still struggling, her face was already pale, and she was about to Looks out of breath.Seeing Tangning approaching, she opened her mouth wide to speak, but she couldn't. The pain on her face was even worse, and she finally passed out.

Seeing Sister Cheng like this, Tangning's heart jumped into her throat. She rushed forward and yelled, "Put her down quickly, are you trying to strangle her to death?"

The two of them naturally wouldn't listen to him. After all, they were two adults, and Tangning was only ten years old, so she couldn't compete in strength. Someone behind him threw the ball and came to drag him. Tangning's eyes were red. Putting a small crossbow against a person's chest and pulling the trigger, the person screamed, and blood was immediately seen on his chest.

The people in the field were immediately shocked by his sudden move, and quickly let go.At this moment, a male duck with an extremely ugly voice screamed and shouted, "Killer! Tangning, you dare to kill someone!"

Tang Ning acted as if she didn't hear, so she just asked Sister Cheng to lie down, took a small pill from her sachet and fed it into her mouth. Dr. Lu once said that even if you can't swallow it, you can still keep it in your mouth. .

Seeing that Sister Cheng's breathing was still strong, Tangning finally breathed a sigh of relief. He called Qiuqiu, which was biting a person's calf, over and motioned for it to keep quiet and stay by Sister Cheng's side.On the other hand, he stood up and looked at the group of people surrounding the man shot by the arrow.

There were five people in total, four of them were wearing the servant clothes of Zhang Dechun's family, the middle one looked like a teenager, tall and thin, wearing a blue satin gown, he looked like a scholar, fair and clean, with a model doglike.

Tangning thought to herself, could it be that a relative of Zhang Dechun's family wanted to snatch a girl from the common people after seeing Sister Cheng's beauty?He looked at the scholar, frowned and said, "Who are you? How dare you rob Cheng Xiucai's daughter."

The scholar laughed loudly, and the male duck felt ashamed when he heard that voice. He quacked and said, "Why, I haven't seen you for a few years. I don't recognize my son. What is my identity? How dare he steal Cheng Xiucai's daughter?" Can you fart?"

Tangning looked carefully at the scholar's face, and suddenly widened her eyes, "Bad guy?"

The villain replied angrily: "If anyone calls me a villain again, I will kill him. My name is Zhang Youcai."

Knowing the identity of the enemy, Tangning felt a little better.The villain was accepted by his uncle to study in Jiangnan three years ago. He said that there is a strong literary style and the academy is good. It seems that the villain has not spent the past three years in vain. At least he has lost all his fat.After all, we haven't seen each other for three years. Tangning can't tell if the villain has grown and how much he has grown. However, no matter how it changes, the stones in the latrine will not turn into gold without the latrine.

Although Tangning really wanted to finish him off immediately, he still tried his best to hold back. It was about Sister Cheng's reputation, and it would not be good to make a big fuss. He thought about it and said, "So it's Mr. Zhang, it's really three days away. When I looked at him with admiration, I didn't expect Mr. Zhang to be so personable now, it seems that Mr. Zhang has accomplished something in his studies and has returned to his hometown."

When Zhang Youcai heard that his opponent who looked down on him in the past was so flattering, his face suddenly twitched, and he praised himself again in his cock-duck voice, and told about his great achievements in the south of the Yangtze River.It's nothing more than doing things like bullying men and women with some cronies and gentle scum, sleeping in flowers and sleeping in willows.

Tangning endured the torment of his broken voice and listened patiently. According to what Zhang Youcai said, he should have changed from an uneducated little villain who occasionally did small bad things to an educated one who always does things in a planned and organized manner. The big gangster of the big case.Although Zhang Youcai is more than ten times worse than before, he finally has some pursuits and knows the bottom line, at least he always considers himself a scholar.

So, Tangning asked tentatively, "Since Mr. Zhang is successful in his studies, he should know the rules of respecting teachers and emphasizing education. Mr. Cheng has also taught you for several years, how can you bully his daughter?"

When Zhang Youcai heard Tangning's question, he immediately put down his face, "He also had the nerve to say that it was my teacher. Which teacher asked students to copy women's rings? I have studied with him for three years, and I haven't learned a single thing."

Tangning suddenly realized that he had forgotten about that incident. It turned out that Zhang You finally knew that he had copied a female ring.

"That's what you deserve. Who told you to bully his daughter? His daughter is weak, and you can't help being frightened. If something goes wrong, he will definitely not let you go. No matter what, Mr. Cheng is also your enlightenment mentor. If To let others know that you dare to ruin her daughter's reputation now, you don't even want to take the exam."

Unexpectedly, Zhang Youcai laughed out loud after hearing this: "Tell me, you tell people that I bullied his daughter, who will suffer in the end? Do you think I am still the same as I was a few years ago? He is Cheng Xiucai. He is a poor scholar in the village, and he dares to offend my uncle? Don’t say that today I only arrest his daughter for a kiss, or take him home as a concubine, what can he do to me?”

Tangning's eyes burst into flames, she just wanted to tear the arrogant villain into pieces, but he couldn't.The person in front of him is not what he used to be. A few years ago, he only knew how to say threatening words, and he could still be intimidated by him. Now that he has seen the world, every sentence he says hits the point, which is very difficult to deal with.The enemy is outnumbered, it doesn't make sense to say it, and it doesn't make sense to fight it. Tangning realized that he really has nothing to do with him. Could it be that Sister Cheng's grievances are for nothing? Destroying a person's reputation is worse than killing someone.

The hierarchical system of the feudal society once again made Tangning unable to move, but he still stubbornly said, "You scoundrel, you are a villain, you only bully the weak. This matter has nothing to do with Sister Cheng. If you have the ability, you can challenge the master. Don't be afraid if you are barefoot." Wearing shoes, today I will leave your life here to see if your uncle can fly over to save you!"

As he said that, he raised his secret arrow and crossbow, pointed at Zhang Youcai, his eyes were blazing coldly.

Having learned from the past, Zhang Youcai was frightened and remained motionless in the face of Sen Leng's arrow. His servant saw that something was wrong, so he rushed over to stop Tangning. Unfortunately, Tangning was not as quick as Tangning's fingers, and the bamboo arrow made a soft sound and shot towards the tip of Zhang Youcai's nose.

Zhang Youcai was really scared. The feeling of being suffocated by Tangning a few years ago seemed to return to him. He really didn't expect Tangning to be so reckless. Seeing that the bamboo arrow was approaching, he didn't even have time to beg for mercy. There was only time to close my eyes and wait for death.

After an unknown period of time, another scream sounded in front of him, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his servant fell to the ground with a bamboo arrow stuck in his back, slowly seeping circles of blood.Zhang Youcai sat down on the ground, his pants were wet.

Tangning took out the last bamboo arrow from the bamboo tube and put it away. In fact, Tangning didn't intend to kill Zhang Youcai at all, or else. His small bow and crossbow were good at hitting sparrows, but killing people couldn't hit the heart.He just wanted to wipe his ears and threaten him, but he was blocked by a servant.That's fine, Zhang Youcai can't be moved, but a few servants are still possible. The Zhang family will never ruin Zhang Youcai's reputation for a few servants. After all, Sister Cheng is the daughter of a scholar, and a scholar is not a commoner.

Tangning raised her crossbow again and looked at Zhang Youcai coldly. Zhang Youcai didn't know where the strength came from, so he got up and ran. Tangning looked at his back and breathed a sigh of relief. It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge, so it's better to drive him away first. It's important to take Sister Cheng back to see a doctor. The longer it takes, the worse it will be for Sister Cheng.

However, the accident happened at this moment.

A small yellow shadow sprang out from behind without making a sound, and shot at Zhang Youcai like an arrow off the string, and finally bit his knee hard.

Zhang Youcai's screams and Tang Ning's yelling sounded at the same time. Zhang Youcai's only two remaining servants were stunned. Something happened to their master and they were finished. So they threw themselves at Qiuqiu desperately, punching and kicking to tear it apart. , Tangning rushed forward and pulled the ball away.

Zhang Youcai howled again and again, "Tangning, you bastard, I'll never end with you, I will never let you go!"

Before he finished speaking, he was carried by the remaining two servants like the Zhang family. According to the experience in the countryside, he couldn't afford to be bitten by a dog, and he needed to be treated in time.

Tangning watched Zhang Youcai leave, and knew that something had happened.Qiuqiu was still rubbing against his leg, coquettishly begging for rewards from his master as usual, seeing how miserable Qiuqiu was being beaten, he didn't want to blame him, after all, Qiuqiu was just acting according to his nature, so he could only sigh , helplessly rubbing Qiuqiu's head: "Girl, you have caused a big disaster, do you know?"

"Brother Ning, what should we do now?" A weak voice sounded from behind him.

Tangning turned her head. It turned out that Sister Cheng had woken up at some point. Her face was still pale. The words just now seemed to have exhausted her strength. Now she could only lean on the tree and look at Tangning worriedly.

Tangning forced the corners of her lips, and stepped forward to comfort her, "It's okay, there will always be a solution. Sister, how do you feel? Don't get excited. Your body is important."

"I'm fine, nothing serious, Aunt Li is coming soon, let's go back quickly."

"Okay, I'll carry you on my back. If you feel uncomfortable, just say it, don't bear it."

Tangning carried Sister Cheng on her back and took two steps. Feeling that Qiuqiu was still following her, he gritted his teeth and turned around to scold it, "Get out of here, hide in the mountains, stay as far away as possible, don't come out, be good , come out in two years."

After understanding Tangning's words, Qiuqiu looked at him sadly and remained motionless, only looking at him.

Tangning took two more steps, but Qiuqiu still followed. He stopped, ruthlessly, turned back suddenly, and kicked it lightly, "Go!"

Qiuqiu was kicked back two steps, finally couldn't help it, whined twice, eyes full of reluctance and sadness, it didn't understand why the master wanted to drive it away, it tentatively moved forward again, saw the master Stamping his feet, he finally walked up the mountain slowly, step by step.

Tangning and Sister Cheng just quietly watched the thin and bony figure disappear into the woods. Tangning sighed deeply, turned around and walked back. Suddenly, he felt wet on his neck. He moved Sister Cheng up. , Facing her, it seemed to be resolute to himself: "We can see it again."