Looking at the mountain village that was already in sight, a surge of excitement rose in Li Yan's heart. He suddenly released his Divine Sense, and in an instant, it had enveloped a radius of several dozen li. A moment later, a smile curved his lips.
"So they're all busy in the fields." In his Divine Sense, he had instantly found where his family was. It was just that among the group of people, there was a young woman and a child whom he did not recognize. But in an instant, he connected it to what the Bloodleaf Sect cultivator Xu Shi had said just now, and he figured that they should be his sister-in-law and nephew.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yan looked at the two women beside him and pointed to one side of the mountain village in front of them. "Let's go over there." After speaking, he had already taken the lead and was running quickly with light steps.
Gong Chenying and Zhao Min exchanged a glance, knowing that Li Yan had found his relatives. They quickened their pace and also followed. But thinking of meeting Li Yan's family in a moment, the hearts of the two women began to beat rapidly for no reason. Especially Gong Chenying, who even felt her body tremble slightly.
Under a row of thick shade at the head of the fields, Uncle Chang and the others had already finished their lunch. The woman named Xiao Yu and Li Yan's mother were cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks. Uncle Chang was teasing his grandson, and Li Wei was talking softly with two or three neighbors who were passing by about this year's harvest and prospects.
And at that moment, three people were walking over from afar, attracting the attention of the nearby villagers in the fields and Li Wei's group. It was because the attire of these three people was completely different from theirs. Even from a distance, it could be seen that they were people dressed in fine clothes.
Li Wei and the three people beside him stopped talking. At the same time, some villagers in the distant fields who were straightening up to wipe the sweat from their foreheads also noticed the three people walking over. Here, besides Li Yan's mother and Xiao Yu who were busy cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks and hadn't noticed, even Uncle Chang had picked up Little Wu and was looking at the newcomers.
The mountain village was remote, and outsiders rarely came. So once a stranger entered the mountain, it was easy to attract the attention of the locals.
Here, a few years ago, the current marshal of Green Mountain Pass had sent a staff officer over, nominally to check the number of people in the village. And strangely, this staff officer had actually asked to go to the village's ancestral hall to see the belt that Li Yan had left behind. After examining the belt for a long time, the staff officer finally gave Li Guoxin a strange order, ordering that their village would only pay forty percent of their taxes each year from now on. This order immediately stunned all the villagers. A reduction of sixty percent of the taxes was not just a matter of having more surplus grain for the mountain village, but the benefits had increased severalfold. Especially with the accumulation over time, their place would become much richer than the surrounding villages. But these villagers were not stupid. Seeing that this staff officer had only said this after seeing the belt that Li Yan had left behind, it meant that this matter was definitely related to that belt.
After leaving those words, the staff officer had left. This matter immediately caused a stir in the village. Even that belt, which should have been gradually forgotten with the passage of time, was once again valued and mentioned. But after Uncle Chang's family knew about this, they did not feel a shred of joy. On the contrary, it made Li Yan's mother go to the ancestral hall and cry for half a day looking at that belt.
A few days after this matter, there was still no official notice posted at the head of the village. This made Li Guoxin think that the staff officer was just saying it casually, or that he had forgotten about this matter and had not notified the local county government. But he didn't dare to go to the county government to ask. How serious was the matter of reducing taxes? A single careless word could bring trouble to the village. He, as the village chief, could easily be arrested for tax resistance and suffer imprisonment.
However, when the harvest season came, and the county government came to collect grain, just as the entire village seemed to have forgotten about this matter, the yamen runners who came actually posted a notice at the head of the village, which stated that they would only collect forty percent of the previous year's taxes. The signature was not the county magistrate's, but the seal of the marshal of Green Mountain Pass.
This caused a sensation in the mountain village. Li Guoxin was even more excited. After the yamen runners left, Li Guoxin thought for a moment and then set two orders in the village. First, from now on, every household in the village would give one stone of their summer and autumn harvest to Uncle Chang's family. Second, when hunting in the mountains, even if Li Wei followed, Uncle Chang's family would always get a share of the catch. After he issued this order, although there were some people in the village who were silent at first, there were no objections afterward. Everyone knew the reason, and besides, one stone per family was much less than the saved taxes.
But just after everyone had agreed to Li Guoxin's order, Uncle Chang refused. He was upright and stubborn by nature. He went directly to Li Guoxin and said that his ancestors had lived here for generations. How could he, for a little bit of petty profit, lose his virtue?
As the village chief, Li Guoxin was well aware of the great origin of this blessing. After repeated persuasion, Uncle Chang finally considered that he was old, and Li Wei was half-crippled. It was really not easy to support a large family. In the end, he changed the first rule. He would not take any grain from any family, but would take five more mu of land instead. As for the share of the hunt in the mountains, Li Wei really couldn't go with them, and the old and young in the family also needed to eat meat, so he agreed. Uncle Chang's prestige in the village increased severalfold because of this. And every year thereafter, during the ancestral worship, wine and meat offerings would also be placed before the forgotten belt.
The impact of this was far from just this. As the life in the mountain village got better and better, its reputation also grew. Even the neighboring villages within a hundred li knew about it. Many villagers even hoped that their daughters could marry into this place, and for this, they constantly sought matchmakers, hoping to get a large betrothal gift and a good home for their daughters. For a time, the unmarried men in the village became hot commodities.
During this busy farming season, the arrival of strangers in the mountain was also extremely eye-catching. This made the villagers who discovered them look at the newcomers with doubt in their hearts.
As the three people on the small path continued to approach, even Xiao Yu and Li Yan's mother sensed the different atmosphere and also looked up in confusion at where everyone was looking.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, who are they? Their clothes are... so dazzling, Little Wu can't see clearly." Just as everyone was watching, a clear child's voice sounded. Little Wu blinked his big eyes, slipped from Uncle Chang's arms, and pointed at the three approaching people, saying. It was the first time he had seen such beautifully colored clothes, completely different from the yellowish-brown coarse cloth clothes in the village. They shimmered with the unique luster of silk in the sun, which made his eyes a little blurry.
"Little Wu, be good. Don't talk nonsense." Hearing this, Uncle Chang quickly covered Little Wu's mouth with a rough, large hand. He was an experienced person and knew that those rich young masters had extremely arrogant tempers. He didn't know when they would fly into a rage. How could he dare to let his grandson continue to speak?
The surrounding villagers also had the same thought. But immediately, some people's faces changed drastically, because Little Wu's voice was sudden, just when everyone around was silent, so it was very loud. The young man in the lead of the three clearly paused, and then actually quickened his pace and came straight for the field where Uncle Chang's family was.
Seeing this, sweat immediately oozed from Li Wei's forehead. He didn't know why the other party, after hearing Little Wu's words, came straight for his family. Their purpose was very clear. Although he was cursing in his heart, he steeled his resolve. With a limp, he took a step forward and had already blocked his father and Little Wu. On the other side, Xiao Yu's face had already turned pale. They had all heard of the evil deeds of some noble young masters, who acted only according to their own likes and dislikes, without any reason at all.
Li Wei stepped forward. Although there was fear in his father's eyes behind him, Uncle Chang could only sigh in his heart. He put Little Wu, who was in his arms, on the ground, and then grabbed Li Wei's shoulder, wanting to pull him behind him. But at this moment, Li Wei was like he had taken root. With a single pull from Uncle Chang, he only managed to make his shoulder tilt slightly.
"Dad, it's fine. It's just a child's words. I'll just explain it to him," Li Wei said to Uncle Chang with a smile, then looked at the newcomer again.
The moment Little Wu was put on the ground, Xiao Yu had already scooped him up into her arms. Her body trembled as she looked at Li Wei in front of her, her eyes full of worry, but she bit her lip tightly.
Uncle Chang also slowly walked to his son's side. The few villagers who had been chatting with Li Wei hesitated for a moment, thought of the benefits that Uncle Chang's family had brought them, and a few of them also slowly gathered around. The dozen or so villagers in the distant fields had long since stopped their work and were constantly looking over here.
Li Wei looked at the person in the lead, who was almost a head taller than him, with long hair draped over his shoulders, a strong build, and a noble air that he couldn't describe in his fine clothes. He had already strode over. In just a few breaths, he was almost in front of him. Li Wei took a deep breath and cupped his fist at the newcomer in a salute.
"Greetings, young master. My son is young, just now..." As he was speaking, his words slowly trailed off. Then, a look of confusion appeared on his face, because he had already seen the newcomer's appearance clearly. This person's face was filled with excitement, and there was even a smile in his eyes. Where was there any anger? And he found an extremely familiar feeling from this person's face.
"You... you..." Li Wei was puzzled. He carefully sized up the person who had arrived before him again. His mind trembled, and the confusion in his eyes grew stronger.
"Third Brother, it's me..." The person stopped in front of Li Wei, his expression growing more and more excited. Then he spoke, but his voice was choked with sobs. After speaking, his gaze had already fallen on the stooped old man beside Li Wei. At this moment, the old man was staring blankly at the newcomer.
"Dad, it's me, the fifth son, the fifth son!" Li Yan's throat was blocked. He looked at the old man who was much shorter than him now, with wrinkles piled up on his face, looking much older. With a "thud," he had already knelt on both knees on the field ridge full of wheat stubble and dust. In an instant, his face was covered with tears.
His two short sentences, and this one kneel, made the surroundings so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, as if the whole world had stopped.
Li Wei still maintained the posture of cupping his hands, but his head involuntarily moved with Li Yan. His face was full of disbelief. He looked at the young man within reach, his mind in chaos. And Uncle Chang, after being in a daze for a moment, fiercely rubbed his eyes with his rough, large hands. He had done this action countless times in his dreams, but every time he woke up startled, it was just a fleeting dream. When he woke up, he would always be extremely disappointed, his old tears streaming down his face.
Just as everyone was in a daze, a heart-wrenching, mournful cry came from behind Uncle Chang. Immediately after, an old woman stumbled and ran over. "Fifth son, are you really the fifth son?"
As the old woman stumbled, she had already rushed over like a madwoman, passing everyone. When she saw clearly the young man kneeling on the ground, looking up at her, she recognized Li Yan at a glance. It was the fifth son she had been thinking of day and night, the one she had worried about in her dreams. No matter how much Li Yan had changed, she recognized him at a glance. Amidst a hoarse, mournful cry, she had already thrown herself onto Li Yan.
"Fifth son, it's really the fifth son! It's my fifth son... woo woo woo..." As she muttered, her eyes were already blurry. She suddenly stretched out her withered old hand and stroked Li Yan's face, constantly muttering.
"Oh, heaven, you can't let me wake up from this dream. Let me stay in it a little longer. This, this, this is the fifth son. These eyes, this nose, this mouth, it's the fifth son, it's the fifth son, woo woo woo..."
The sound of crying echoed in the air, like a lament, a helpless mother's teary eyes...
"Fifth son, fifth son, it's really you!" Li Wei had now woken up from his confusion. He came to Li Yan's side and looked at the face that was being held up by his mother, already covered with tears.
"Third Brother, it's me, it's really me." Li Yan's throat was choked. He turned his head with teary eyes to look at Li Wei.
"Little rascal, little rascal, you little rascal..." Uncle Chang stood where he was, not moving, just staring blankly at Li Yan before him. On his wrinkled face, muddy tears flowed down, like a dry gully in the northwest meeting rain. He kept muttering the same sentence over and over.