A few days later, Tao Yineng from the village met His Majesty and was promoted. Neighbors and comrades came to congratulate him one after another. Fu Renyong, who lived under the same roof as the Tao family, watched eagerly as everyone came in, carrying fruits and grains. When she came to congratulate her, Mrs. Wu specially brought out a cloth and gave Tao Yi energy measurements with the other women in the village. "Xiao Tao will be the golden phoenix of our village, the first high official, so he must dress more festively." Go see His Majesty."
Tao Yineng smiled with a bright face, thanked him repeatedly, and accepted everyone's congratulations and gifts with ease. He was indeed a young and mature demeanor.
Next to him, Fu Renyong kept circling around everyone, filling his mouth with the pancakes given to him by the Li family's aunt, his eyes full of envy. Suddenly he saw his father, Tao Yineng's father, the corps commander and the team leader (village leader). (Long) Several people came in.
Tao¡¯s father was walking with a limp. His father put his arm around his neck and held his waist with the other hand, as if he was dragging a drunken person along.
When they walked in, Tao's father raised his head and looked into the room. Fu Renyong was shocked: Tao's chest and legs were covered with dirt. He cried so hard that his eyes were swollen like peaches, and the slits between his eyelids looked like they were ripe. The rotten peach flesh was like a scar, with water gurgling from the inside.
"Son" Seeing Tao Yineng, Tao's father fell down and wanted to throw himself to the ground. His father held his waist tightly, and the team leader and several others held him up with all their hands. , and carried him into the house with his feet almost off the ground.
With him like this, the atmosphere in the room was strange. The adults began to stop talking. The team leader waved his mother-in-law and several women away, and kept urging: "Old Tao you Why are you cryingthis is a good thing"
"Dad. Did uncle fall down?" Fu Renyong was still ignorant. He came over to look at Tao's father and turned to ask his father.
"Noyou don't understandjust go outside and play." My father said softly.
"Father! A man should be in a dangerous career, so how can he let a scholar's crown derail his life? The country is in danger, and the feathers are competing with each other without stopping!" Tao Yineng stepped forward to separate the crowd, and said to his father: "Today's visit to Jesus The light shines on me, the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty is a wise ruler and a brave warrior. The country needs me to devote myself to service. Why not join the army?"
"You have a villain in your heart! You were deceived" Father Tao yelled, then remembered that he couldn't say this in public. Cover your face. Howled and cried again.
From that day on, Fu Renyong couldn¡¯t sleep well at night because he heard the Tao family¡¯s father and son arguing on the other side of the curtain every day, and the content was all-encompassing: who is the truth and who is the lie. Confucius vs Jesus; who killed the dead Mrs. Tao. Changmao vs Qingyao; not getting married yet having no children is a big deal vs going to hell! God will give me a good wife; after I go to the capital, humans and ghosts are separated. Danger vs Glory
Sometimes Tao's father cries, sometimes Tao Yi can cry, and sometimes he gets slapped. Sometimes Tao's father would gnash his teeth and curse: You are not my son, you are the ghost's son
Fu Renyong wondered: It is such a majestic thing to be an officer riding a horse to fight, so why is there so much noise next door.
At this time, my father would pat himself on the back and whisper: "Close your eyes and go to sleep!"
===
The time appointed by King Ming was getting closer and closer. Tao's father, like a hollowed-out skeleton, sat at the entrance of the village and looked in that direction all day long. Sometimes he would talk to himself and attract many people, even children like Fu Renyong. He grabbed me and said hurriedly: "How come your Majesty is interested in my son? My son is just a farmer now! He must have forgotten this matter long ago, right?"
But King Ming was obviously a ruler who kept his word: one afternoon, a cavalryman in full military uniform thundered into the village, verbally commended the village for its excellent early childhood education, and ordered the village chief and Wu Chang to assist Tao Yineng. In preparation for departure, he also said that because Tao Yi was able to love God, be loyal to the emperor, and answer questions fluently, which pleased His Majesty, the returning King Ming would inspect the village tomorrow.
Everyone was in joy. The village chief lit up all the firecrackers in the village at one go. The women all ran into the house of Mr. Tao and his wife to prepare new clothes and pack luggage for Tao Yineng.
"We can see His Majesty! Hallelujah!" The children also cheered, and then someone invented a rumor: "Your Majesty will give everyone a military hat!" Fu Renyong was so happy that he jumped and walked. I danced until night, and when I was sitting at the village's farewell celebration banquet, I realized that my legs and stomach hurt.
In the evening, Fu Renyong's father had been tired all day long. He had done farm work in the morning and celebrated by killing pigs and sheep in the afternoon. Soon he was snoring like thunder. Soon there was snoring from the other side of the curtain. Tao Yineng's, this child was everywhere He said goodbye, gave another sermon to everyone, and fell asleep from exhaustion;
Fu Renyong was still too excited to fall asleep. He tossed and turned in bed, listening to the familiar snoring of his father and next door, like a lullaby. Fu Renyong also started to have eyelids twitching, but he was worried that he would oversleep the next day and not see His Majesty and His Majesty. Those officers and soldiers, takeFeeling uneasy, he faced the painting in someone's hand, like a sunflower chasing the light, and knelt down in that direction again, lying on the ground and wailing.
Much later, Fu Renyong heard that what the adults found after hanging the painting on Tao's cross were densely packed names carefully written in small regular script. It was a century-old family tree of the Tao family, with countless names and intricate relationships. Father Tao was actually able to memorize and copy everything after wandering around for several years without any scraps of paper.
"The Tao family are all very smart people, and they can be considered loyal disciples of the Confucian patriarchal system. But Jesus said: Whoever wants to save his life will lose it; whoever wants to lose his life will save his life. Pity these Confucians. Disciple, it is a shame to be so foolish as to be wise." My father once sighed to Fu Renyong.
===
On the second day, His Majesty King Ming arrived. (To be continued)