Buddhism

Chapter 13

Mu Youfang and Mu Chaosheng led a few people to count the sweet fruits one by one. Based on the current average head count of each family, one person eats two a day, which can last about four or five days.

A flat area in Mujia Village was bustling with people, even old people who were sick and unable to leave were carried over.It is a great joy to get such a good thing this time, of course it must be lively and lively.Let go of this oppressive atmosphere of breathless sadness, it's time to be happy.It had been a long time since they had such a lively and happy smile.

The ancestors of Mujia Village were three brothers surnamed Mu.They originally lived at the foot of Niufeng Mountain, which is flat and low in shape like a bull's head. It is called Niufeng Village, a village with multiple surnames.The village is small, about 200 people.

Once the three brothers went out to collect firewood to hunt, and suddenly encountered billowing dark clouds, and suddenly it rained heavily.It was dark and the road was slippery, so the three brothers took shelter in the cave where they used to go to hide from the rain.I wanted to wait for the rain to stop before leaving, but I didn't want the rain to be so fierce that it lasted for two days and two nights before it gradually became less rainy.

The three brothers were worried about their elderly parents, so they hurried down the mountain as soon as it rained.When they returned to Niufeng Village, the three of them were terrified.There are no villages or houses under Niufeng Mountain.At this time, they were all submerged by the flood and mud flow, and the turbid yellow water slanted down from the mountain, flowing with a rush, and the water was turbulent.

The three of them wept bitterly, searched along the lower reaches, and bravely dived to search again. Except for some house wreckage, they did not find a single person from Niufeng Village.

The originally flat terrain of Niufeng Village is obviously two times higher than before, and this is all piled up by mudslides.Except for the three of them who survived by luck, none of the others in Niufeng Village survived, and they were all buried at the foot of Niufeng Mountain.

Once the three lost their parents, neighbors and friends, they were hit hard and distraught.Looking at each other after weeping bitterly, fortunately, I am not alone, but my brother is by my side, so there is a sliver of comfort in despair.

When the rain stopped, the three people estimated the approximate location, found a smooth stone slab, and erected a tombstone at the foot of Niufeng Mountain.

Relatives and friends left, houses and residences were destroyed, and the three were homeless and had nowhere to go.I climbed over two hills along the lower reaches and arrived at the foot of Yunshan Mountain.After thinking about it, the three felt that the terrain here was good, and it was close to the mountain. The mountain was vast, the trees were verdant, and the top of the mountain was shrouded in mist. It looked like a very spiritual mountain.

As long as the aura in the mountain is abundant, the prey and plants in the mountain will be more diverse and robust, and their reproductive ability will be stronger than those in other mountains.In the early days, they had no land or silver, so they could only rely on the mountains to eat, so they settled down at the foot of Yunshan Mountain.

With the changes of hundreds of years, the Mu family of the three brothers has multiplied to the current Mu family village with a population of about [-].Chitong watched the Mu family, which had only a few people, gradually grow into the current Mu family village. The ability to reproduce human beings has to be said to be very rapid.

Facts have proved that the ancestors of Mujia Village did have foresight.When the famine lasted for a long time, countless people died in other villages and towns, and even Mujia Village couldn't eat enough.But united as one and close to Yunshan, they finally made it to the end.Except for the frail and sick old people who left one after another, other women, children and children, although not to mention how healthy they were, also survived.

The head of the Mu family village has always been the direct descendant of the Mu family boss, and he is also the oldest of the same generation among the direct descendants.The family rules are like this, the customs are like this, and it has been like this for hundreds of years.Therefore, everyone has no opinion. They share the same surname, and the blood of the Mu family flows in their bodies. They are connected with each other and advance and retreat together.This is the family rule left by the ancestors.

Mu Chengcai is the eldest grandson of this generation, and he is over forty-eight years old.At this time, he was already an old man, with thinning white hair, and his arms exposed outside the sleeves were dark yellow and thin, and his body under the dark blue patched blanket was even more scrawny.

He lay slumped on the wooden chair, barely opening his pupils, trying to see everyone's faces more clearly.He looked tired, but looked at the laughing crowd with a smile.He secretly sighed that the end of all hardships has finally come, as long as they survive the next cold winter, they will be able to live a decent life with full stomachs.

Suddenly he couldn't take a breath, and he coughed violently, his skinny cheeks were flushed from coughing.

Everyone who was laughing and laughing heard the heart-piercing cough, they all closed their mouths involuntarily, and looked at him with concern.

Mu Chaosheng was the closest to him. Seeing him coughing out of breath, his whole heart arose, and he quickly poured a glass of water to his mouth: "Uncle, are you alright?"

Mu Chengcai coughed so piercingly that Mu Youfang walked over quickly.He walked to Mu Chengcai's side, lowered his waist and patted Mu Chengcai's chest lightly, his eyes full of worry: "Father, are you okay?"

Mu Chengcai continued to cough for quite a while before finally recovering.When Mu Chengcai stopped, everyone said with great concern, "Uncle, please drink your saliva slowly."

Mu Chengcai is the senior in the Mu family village, and his distant relatives and neighbors of the juniors all call him uncle.

Mu Chengcai finally calmed down after drinking water, coughed a few more times, and then stabilized his mind, and said in a hoarse voice for a moment: "I'm afraid I won't be able to, cough cough, winter is coming soon, you have to keep working hard , wait for the wheat before the twelfth lunar month, ahem..."

He spoke weakly, and coughed intermittently, but he still insisted on saying: "The crops are planted. As long as this batch of crops is harvested, the cold winter will no longer have to suffer from hunger. Cough, cough..." The words said It was difficult to finish speaking intermittently, and Mu Cheng's talent was like a gossamer.Everyone held their breath and listened quietly, with tears in their eyes.

"Changcai, don't talk about it, let's rest. The juniors know how to do it, so don't worry about it, your body is important." Mu Chengding, who was also lying on the wooden chair, said hoarsely.

They are old and have been short of food for a long time, and they are now in their dying years.Mu Chengding was several years older than Mu Chengcai, logically speaking, he should be weaker than Mu Chengcai.

But because of the food shortage, Mu Chengcai felt sorry for the juniors, and always quietly gave his share of food to the young children.That's why his own physical exhaustion became even more severe.

Unable to control himself, Mu Chengcai coughed loudly again, and the violent cough lasted for a while.

"Father, it's okay, we all understand, you can rest at ease for a while." Mu Youfang panicked, looking worriedly at Mu Chengcai whose face turned from red to pale.

Mu Chengcai was dying, and he said weakly: "After I leave, Chaosheng will take over the position of village chief." Panting heavily, he paused for a while before continuing: "You Fang, although Chaosheng is a few months older, logically speaking, it is him Take over the position of village head. But he has loved reading since he was a child, and he doesn't know much about farming and mulberry. He may not be a good village head in the future, so you can let him go." Mu Chengcai looked at his only son, eyes tearful.

He calmed down, and continued: "Chaosheng has been strong and enthusiastic since he was a child, and he is very suitable to be the village head. Everyone should mention him more in the future when he does things. Cough cough!"

This is to explain the funeral, and everyone wiped away their tears and sighed. Seeing Mu Chengcai like this, he might not be able to survive tonight.

Mu Youfang wept with tears in his eyes. His mother bled profusely when she gave birth to him. Since he was a child, Mu Chengcai has been a father and a mother and worked hard to bring him up.Knowing that he likes to study, she will support him to go to school without saying anything, and save money for him to study.

He has never said a serious word to him since he grew up, and he has always been amiable.When he was about to die, his father was still thinking about his dream and future.Mu Youfang burst into tears like rain, in pain.

"Uncle, you have to cheer up. Now that we have food, we can survive the cold winter. You must not leave Brother Xiayou alone!" Mu Chaosheng grabbed Mu Chengcai's hand and persuaded him with tears in his eyes.

"Good boy, you will understand the normality of birth, old age, sickness and death." Mu Chengcai patted Mu Chaosheng's hand that was holding him.

Looking sideways at Mu Youfang, he said, "Youfang, from now on, you're on your own, and you should think more about everything. If you don't succeed, it doesn't matter, there will always be a place for you in Mu's Village, Mom and Dad It's all here."

Mu Youfang lowered his head, not daring to let Mu Chengcai see the tears in his eyes, so he just nodded blindly.

"Chengcai, don't worry, the uncles and aunts in Mu's Village will take care of Youfang. No matter when he comes back, as long as the people in Mu's Village are around, there will be a mouthful of hot soup and a pot of hot rice for him." Mu Cheng Ding choked up.

"Uncle, don't worry, You Fang and I are brothers, and we will definitely take care of him." Mu Chaosheng also said

"Yes, uncle, don't worry. We will take care of You Fang." Everyone echoed.

Mu Youfang knelt beside Mu Chengcai's wooden chair and buried his head in Mu Chengcai's emaciated knee.Finally couldn't bear it anymore, let out a whimper, and wept uncontrollably.

Mu Chengcai stroked Mu Youfang's head tenderly like a loving mother, again and again, tears flowed down the corners of his eyes and into his white hair.The only thing he can't let go of is his only son, You Fang has only turned eighteen now, he has lost his mother since he was a child, and now he is about to lose his father.There is still a long way to go, but without the warmth of home, how cruel it is to him.

But there is no other way, his life expectancy is approaching, and he is already powerless.

Seeing that Mu Chengcai was about to die, Mu Chaosheng immediately found a soft sweet fruit in the bag full of sweet fruits, grabbed Mu Youfang's trembling body from crying, and said anxiously: "You Fang, stop crying. Uncle is about to die. Hurry up and feed the sweet fruit to uncle, let him eat the sweet fruit before leaving."

Mu Youfang wiped his face carelessly with his sleeve, and looked up at Mu Chaosheng.Mu Chaosheng was startled, and saw that Mu Youfang's eyes were instantly bloodshot, and his expression was filled with grief.

Mu Youfang tried his best to endure his grief, took the sweet fruit and broke off a small piece, put it into Mu Chengcai's slightly open mouth, choked up and said, "Father, this sweet fruit is juicy and sweet, you can taste it!"

In fact, Mu Chengcai couldn't feel any taste anymore, and his vision became more and more blurred. With the sweet fruit in his mouth, the corners of his lips raised slightly, and he slowly closed his eyes.

The moment Mu Chengcai closed his eyes, Mu Youfang's legs softened and he knelt on the ground, crying with his head in his arms.Distraught, since then he has no close relatives, only himself.

Mu Chaosheng patted Mu Youfang's trembling shoulders, but said nothing, all the relief at this time was pale and powerless.

Everyone sobbed softly. Since Mu Chengcai became the village head, he has always done his duty. No matter which family has a big or small problem these years, as long as he can help him, he will do his best.In the hearts of the villagers, Mu Chengcai is a good man who is kind and generous.Now that he has gone like this, the people are deeply saddened.