Chu Xun looked at the bright red in that trace of a slit, and a bit more of a smile appeared on his face, "It's already over halfway, it will be very soon, right?"
At this ti, a shout ca from outside the courtyard, "Brother Xun, have you seen my Shitou?"
Chu Xun turned his head to look, only to see Shitou's mother, as well as his wife Qiaohua, hurriedly running into the courtyard.
Early in the morning, the two of them hadn't seen Shitou.
They thought he had gone to the latrine, but after waiting for a long ti without seeing a trace of him, they finally felt sothing was wrong.
After returning to the house and searching, they found a few pieces of clothing and a few taels of silver missing, and imdiately felt things were not good.
They ran over in a panic to look for him, but Shitou hadn't co here at all.
Chu Xun was slightly startled, then imdiately understood, and couldn't help but sigh.
That child, I'm afraid he still hasn't forgotten about joining the army.
Now that the family's incense was secured, how could he still hold his temper.
Not long after, Qi Ermao's family also ca looking.
Similarly, there was no sign of him. The only good thing was that Qi Ermao didn't seem to have taken clothes and silver with him.
But conversely, this was even more worrying.
"Don't be anxious, sit in the house for a while first and warm up."
Chu Xun invited the few people into the house. Zhang Anxiu hurriedly draped clothes over herself and ca out, softly comforting them.
It was just that looking at Chu Xun outside the house, her expression wasn't very good-looking either.
The pills bought at the temple fair a few years ago had long been eaten up, yet her belly still had no movent.
She knew in her heart that she had been fooled and deceived.
Going to the temple fair again wanting to settle accounts with that old man, how could she still find him.
She wanted to give birth to a son but couldn't, while other people's sons ran off without a trace.
For a mont, Zhang Anxiu only felt a sense of mutual sympathy for their shared plight.
Chu Xun stood outside the courtyard, looking up at the crows on the eaves.
"Go find Shitou and Ermao."
The crows shook their bodies, then flapped their wings and flew up, each flying in a different direction.
With the crows' help, finding the whereabouts of the two shouldn't be a problem.
But wanting to bring them back, I'm afraid it won't be easy.
At this ti, several miles away from Pinecone Village, Shitou, wearing a thick padded jacket and carrying a knapsack, stood at the intersection.
"You're really not going with ? The two of us fighting the enemy shoulder to shoulder, we can definitely make sothing of ourselves!" Shitou said.
Qi Ermao lowered his head; he wanted to go.
But having just married a wife these past few months, the bed was very warm every day, and he was so happy he forgot his original intentions.
The thought of joining the army had faded quite a bit.
"I... my wife isn't pregnant yet," Qi Ermao explained in a low voice.
Shitou didn't persuade him much, only patting his shoulder and saying, "In the village, the only one who can wrestle a couple of rounds with is you. But it's fine, wait until I gain a firm foothold in the army first, it won't be too late for you to co then!"
"Then I'm leaving. Help out more with my family's affairs. When I establish military rits, there will be a share of credit for you!"
Shitou, full of confidence, carried his knapsack, turned around, and ran off.
Listening to his excited footsteps, Qi Ermao raised his head, watching the familiar back figure get further and further away in the cold wind.
He suddenly felt a bit of regret; he should have gone!
But what about his old mother and wife at ho?
In terms of strength, he was only half a notch inferior to Shitou.
But in terms of temperant, he wasn't that unyielding.
When they were young, he was blustering and boisterous. When they grew up, it was usually Shitou charging in front, and him following behind to lend a hand.
The sound of flapping wings ca from the air. Qi Ermao looked up and saw a black bird descending from the sky.
Although not an old crow, it was also one foot and three inches tall.
Qi Ermao knew this was Chu Xun's family's crow, so he asked, "Did Brother Xun send you to find us?"
The crow flapped its wings twice, seemingly in response.
Qi Ermao didn't ask any more, only looking up into the distance, where Shitou's figure could no longer be seen.
He sighed, thinking, "Forget it, I'll just go after my wife also gives birth to a son. A year early, a year late, it doesn't matter."
He turned his head and said to the crow, "Let's go back."
The crow slightly tilted its head to look at him. Qi Ermao felt a bit guilty being looked at, "I don't know where Brother Shitou is."
The crow couldn't speak, only staring at him.
Qi Ermao felt even more guilty, and simply turned his head and ran towards the village.
When he arrived at Chu Xun's house, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard sobbing sounds coming from inside.
"His wife just married into the family, they don't even have a baby, tell why is he so foolish!"
This was his old mother's voice.
"Do you think my family is any better off? The baby hasn't even been weaned and he ran off. If sothing happens, how are the three of us, mother and children, supposed to live!"
This was Shitou's wife Qiaohua crying.
Seeing Chu Xun standing in the courtyard, Qi Ermao, who was already eighteen, had married a wife, and started a family.
Still like when he was a child, like a child who had made a mistake, he walked over with his head lowered.
"Brother Xun..."
Chu Xun looked at him, already understanding in his heart, "Shitou went?"
Qi Ermao wanted to say he didn't know, but didn't dare to lie in front of Chu Xun, so he could only give a low "mm".
"You guys..." Chu Xun wanted to reprimand him a bit, but felt it wouldn't help matters. In the end, he could only sigh, "Take your mother and wife ho. Don't let them be so frightened and worried anymore. It's only been a short while, and their eyes are swollen from crying."
Perhaps hearing Qi Ermao's voice, the few people in the house all ran out.
Qi Ermao's mother and wife Chunni, seeing the living person, put their hearts back into their stomachs, and ca over to pull him, complaining incessantly.
The two of them were truly as Chu Xun said, their eyes red from crying.
Shitou's mother and Qiaohua swept a glance inside and outside the courtyard, but didn't see the person.
They couldn't help but ask tremblingly, "Ermao... where is my Shitou?"
Although it was Shitou who took the initiative to join the army and even wanted to pull him along, facing such an inquiry, Qi Ermao only felt guilty to the extre.
He didn't even dare to look directly at the two of them. He was asked three tis in a row, until Shitou's mother grabbed his arm, shaking like a sieve.
Her voice was shrill, her face turning green and purple, sowhat frightening.
Only then did Qi Ermao grit his teeth and say, "Brother Shitou went to join the army."
Although she had expected it early on, hearing it with her own ears, Shitou's mother's face instantly turned pale. With a hiccup, she held her breath and couldn't catch it, falling straight down with wide eyes.
Chu Xun's expression changed, and with quick eyes and deft hands, he supported her.
But when he reached out to touch her nose, his heart instantly went half cold.
She wasn't breathing!
"Aunt Tian!" Zhang Anxiu cried out in alarm and ca over to help support her. She only felt that her touch was incomparably stiff, and knew in her heart that things were not good.
She hurriedly looked at Chu Xun. Seeing the look of grief in her husband's eyes, how could she still not understand.
Imdiately, tears flowed out with a swoosh.
Chu Xun ran back into the house, took out that treasured old ginseng, and sliced off a piece.
After returning, he pried open Shitou's mother's mouth, pried open her clenched teeth, and stuffed it in.
Old ginseng could hang onto the last breath of life.
But that breath of hers simply couldn't co out.
Qi Ermao watched in panic, not knowing what to do.
His mother ca over and tested the woman's breathing, then jumped up, grabbed Qi Ermao, tearing at him and cursing bitterly.
"Look at the good deed you've done! Look at it!"
"This, this... when I die in the future, how am I supposed to explain this to your Uncle Liao! How will I have the face to see them!"
Qi Ermao's face was deathly pale. He never expected such a thing to happen.
But could he be blad for this?
Could he not be blad?
It couldn't be explained clearly.
No one could explain it clearly anymore.
The thirtieth year of the Kingdom of Jing.
The Spirit Pearl Grass was over halfway cultivated.
This year, Chu Xun was thirty-four years old.
Nineteen-year-old Shitou, carrying his knapsack, left his hotown, wholeheartedly wanting to establish ritorious deeds and beco a majestic general.
To let the people of the surrounding villages know that although his father died early, his mother still raised a man who dared to fight and struggle!
Yet he didn't know that in the cold wind, the mother who had painstakingly raised him suffered a sudden heart attack from extre anger and passed away.
In the courtyard, the crows poked their heads out and looked down, making no sound.
A few voles cautiously popped their heads out from the corners, scratching their claws, not understanding what was going on.
The mournful and hoarse crying crossed the battlents from the small courtyard, pierced through the cold wind, and ruthlessly pierced through this winter!
[End of Chapter]
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