（0001）

Xu Xingxia was very depressed, really.

He didn't expect that what he thought was a joke would actually make him return to the real Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The current time is March of the 44th year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1616 AD). The location is in Ningxia Town, in the northwest of the Ming Empire, in an adobe house in Ningxia Pingsuowei Town.

The walls of this adobe house are all made of loess and covered with thatch. Due to frequent rain leaks, the thatch has turned black and emits a foul smell. The walls, which were supposed to be gray-yellow, were often soaked in rain and had become black. The yellow mud that fell on the wall, mixed with rainwater, was cemented into small pieces on the ground, and piled up under the root of the wall.

The adobe house has only one window, about a foot square, through which the light is projected. Above the window outside the earthen wall, there is a rolled-up cowhide covering. This is specifically designed to keep out the rain. Due to the long period of use, the surface covered by the cowhide is already darker than ink. Thankfully it was a leeward location. If it is facing the direction of the wind, a strong wind blows, and this piece of shabby cowhide does not know where it will be blown to.

Inside the adobe house, there is no furniture in sight. On the earthen wall, there are nails made of bamboo sticks. Everything is hung on the earthen wall. Since the earthen wall is not a brick, the bearing capacity is not strong, and those bamboo sticks often fall down with a large piece of soil. Therefore, you can see a lot of concave holes on the earthen wall, which is where the original bamboo sticks were made. Over time, the four earthen walls are basically not intact.

To the southwest of the adobe house is a small earthen kang. Most of the clay kang is pressed out of loess, and only the most superficial layer, as well as the stove, uses some red bricks. The tamped loess, after a long time, will collapse a little. This caused the red bricks on the surface of the kang to collapse. The most concave is naturally the middle of the earthen kang, so the whole earthen kang looks uneven as if it is a big pot.

Now, Xu Xingxia is sitting on the edge of this cauldron thinking about things. When he first figured out the situation, he was indeed depressed. Crossing is crossing, how did you cross to such a place? According to the description of the Ximen officials, shouldn't the life of the people in the Ming Dynasty be very happy? How did you get to such a downset?

"Accept your fate!"

After a short period of depression, Xu Xingxia began to cheer up and prepare to face all this in front of him. In his previous life, although he didn't have any special skills, this psychological endurance was okay. When he found that he had indeed traveled back to the Ming Dynasty and had no way to go back, he began to pack up his mood and plan for his future.

Life in the world is nothing more than to be well fed and clothed, and to enjoy both material and spiritual enjoyment. In layman's terms, it's money, status, and women. In his previous life, Xu Xingxia's goal was also these three things. He didn't have any other passionate ideals. Well, to be precise, it's not nothing, it's worn out by the harsh reality. In a society where doing good deeds is blackmailed, what ideals do you dare to talk about?

"Status ......"

"Money ......"

"Woman ......"

Xu Xingxia analyzed one by one, and felt more and more pressure.

Status...... Now he is an ordinary soldier stationed at Niujiaodun under the Ningxia Pingyu of the Ming Dynasty, the lowest one. The treatment is not even as good as that of the military horse of the General Banner. The military horse has three meals a day, and the forage is full, but he doesn't even have this qualification. It's good that he can eat two wowotou per meal.

As for promotion, there is no hope at all. He doesn't have any big skills, and he's not good at slapping horses, flattery, and no money to bribe his boss, so why should others give you a promotion? His father, Xu Fuqing, has been a major soldier in Pingyu for a lifetime, and he has survived for 35 years, but he has no chance of promotion. Until he was injured and retired, he did not have the identity of a small flag. From this point of view, the feng shui of the Xu family, don't count on it.

What's even more depressing is that the original Xu Xingxia seems to be a pustule, surnamed cowardly, timid and afraid, and only being bullied by others every day. I was bullied, and I didn't dare to fight back. Or rather, the inability to fight back. No, a few days ago, this pustule was beaten by the people in the pier. He was beaten to the point of bleeding and fell unconscious on the spot. If it weren't for this, Xu Xingxia would not have had a chance to cross.

Money...... Xu Xingxia's monthly salary is eight coins of silver plus three buckets of coarse grain. How did this number come about, Xu Xingxia didn't know. Anyway, from the time of his father, the salaries of all the soldiers who guarded the Imperial Thousand Households were paid according to this figure. There is news that the number stipulated by the state is not this, and a section of it was eaten by the official, but Xu Xingxia, who was timid and afraid, never dared to ask.

After the three major expeditions of Wanli, prices soared, such a little food, a person can barely live a good life, if you have a family, it will be a lot of pressure. But the Xu family in front of him must rely on his own food and salary income to survive. And even this little salary has been in arrears for at least six months and has not been paid.

In order to make a living, many soldiers in Ningxia Town rose up to make trouble, only "Xu Xingxia" was timid and fearful, and never participated. As a result, in order to avoid the escalation of the situation, the superiors hurriedly distributed food and wages to the troublemakers. As for an honest person like "Xu Xingxia", the superiors don't care at all. They know that such an honest person will not dare to rise up and make trouble. This is a typical crying and noisy child who has candy to eat, and the silent deserves to starve to death.

As for the family, he can only describe it as a family with four walls and a lot of debts. His father, Xu Fuqing, turned out to be a soldier under Pingyu. Two months earlier, the Tatar cavalry had gone south and engaged in a battle with the Ming army, and his father's legs had been shot in both legs by the arrows of the Tatar cavalry, and both arrows were peeking through from behind. After the rescue, although his surname was saved, he was going to be paralyzed in bed for the rest of his life.

In order to treat Xu Fuqing, the Xu family already owed a heavy debt of at least ten taels of silver. Perhaps, for large families, ten taels of silver is the price of a common meal. However, for the Xu family, it is already astronomical. In addition, he Xu Xingxia himself, who was injured again, also needs medical expenses, and owes even more debts.

The current income of the Xu family is Xu Xingxia's salary, plus a meager income from his mother Wang's night weaving. His wages have been in arrears for a long time, and there is no sign of when they will be paid. In the entire Xu family, only the Wang family is currently supporting alone, so you can imagine how hard it is to say that the son is very hard. Wang's night weaving, every day to sleep, no more than an hour. If this continues, she will fall ill sooner or later.

"Brother, are you awake? Your medicine is here. ”

There was a slight sound of footsteps outside the door, followed by a little girl.

The little girl was a little dark, a little thin, and her black hair was also a little disheveled. On her face, there is almost no flesh, and her eyes are set off wide. Originally, the eyes were pitch black, slightly yellowish. Her hands holding the sea bowl were also thin and thin, and there were still cracks on her fingers that had not yet healed. It was all frozen and cracked last winter.

She wore no shoes, and under her patched pants, she revealed a pair of black feet, which were covered in mud. There are also some wounds on the feet that have not yet healed, which were also frozen and cracked last winter. She only had a pair of very old cloth shoes that she didn't know how many times she had sewn up, and she would only take them out and wear them when it was freezing at the coldest and coldest time in winter.

It's already March, and the little cloth shoes have been carefully collected by her. She will have to wait until the coldest time of the next winter before she takes it out and wears it. As for the frost cracks on the fingers and feet, they will slowly heal as the weather warms up. Just be careful not to break the cracks.

This little girl is Xu Xingxia's sister, who is seven years old this year, and her nickname is Niuniu, and her big name has not yet been taken. The military households are illiterate, and when they name their children, they ask for a husband. The names of Xu Xingxia and his younger brother Xu Xudong were all given by Mr. Ask. However, there is a fee for asking Mr. to choose a name. With the current situation of the Xu family, it is natural to save it if it can be saved.

In Niuniu's hand, she held a bowl of black medicinal soup. The rim of the large sea bowl, with at least four notches. The bowl of the sea contained boiled herbs. Xu Fuqing was shot and wounded by Tatar cavalry, and Xu Xingxia was wounded, and he relied on herbs to heal his wounds every day. Some of these herbs were cheap medicines from Weizhenbao Pharmacy, and some were collected by Xu Xudong on the mountain.

In order to collect enough herbs for his father and brother, Xu Xudong, who was only ten years old, had to get up early and then go to the foot of Helan Mountain to collect medicines. Only at the foot of Helan Mountain can there be herbs needed to heal wounds. After his father and brother were injured, Xu Xudong was the only male in the family, and only he could take on such a heavy responsibility.

From Weizhenbao to the foot of Helan Mountain, there is a distance of at least sixty miles, and the round trip is one hundred and twenty miles. Such a distance is impossible for a ten-year-old child to cover in one day. It's just an adult, and you can't walk for a day. Therefore, after picking herbs at the foot of Helan Mountain, Xu Xudong will spend one night at a relative's house near the foot of the mountain and return the next day.

The relative at the foot of Helan Mountain and the Xu family were not very close, and the two families had almost no contact before. This time it was also the relationship that the Xu family really had no choice but to climb. That relative treats the Xu family like a rich man who sends Hanako away. They let Xu Xudong sleep in the firewood room every time, regardless of whether they asked.

It's a little better in March, and it's a lot warmer. In February, the weather in Ningxia was still very cold, and there was frost on the ground in the morning. Xu Xudong, who was already thinly dressed, spent the night in the firewood room, and he didn't even have a bowl of hot water, so you can imagine what it tasted like. That's it, this ten-year-old child has been back and forth to Helan Mountain no less than ten times.

Every time Xu Xudong carried the herbs back, Niuniu, who was only seven years old, became busy. Together with her little brother, she followed the pharmacy owner's instructions to separate her father's and brother's herbs. It is necessary to distinguish which ones are used by the father and which ones are used by the elder brother. It is also necessary to distinguish which ones are used for torment and which ones are used for external application.

Xu Xudong will use the external medicine to mash it and replace his father's wound. If it's something that needs to be tormented, it's Niu Niu's job. She had to fry two different medicinal soups at the same time each time. Because, the father suffered external injuries, and the elder brother suffered internal injuries.

The decoction requires a lot of firewood, and after Xu Xudong is done, he has to go to the nearby woods to collect firewood. Niu Niu concentrates on decoction. After the medicine is decocted, Niuniu will carefully pour it out, and after it is done, it will be served to her father and brother respectively.

Niuniu, who is only seven years old, has to cook every day, decoct medicine, clean up the affairs of the house, get up very early in the morning, and go to bed late at night. The heavy labor makes her obviously much thinner than other girls. Xu Xingxia estimated that her weight might be about thirty pounds. Now she is indeed an ugly duckling.

So is Fuyuko. Collecting firewood, collecting medicine, and carrying water every day are all heavy physical labor. That's a lot of hard work for a 10-year-old. I usually don't have enough to eat. The ten-year-old children of other large families are almost half a head taller than him, and they are much better in terms of weight. This is due to a severe lack of nutrition.

In two years, it will be when Fuyuko will start to grow her body. If you can't keep up with nutrition, I'm afraid that you will be thin and small in this life. Niu Niu too. Now she always has a very bad complexion, and she can hardly see any blood. This made Xu Xingxia very worried, if he fell ill because of overwork, he would be in trouble in the future.

Xu Xingxia in his previous life had no brothers and sisters. When he was a child, he was basically pampered, stretched out his hands for clothes, opened his mouth for food, and never suffered anything. Many times, he feels that if he has younger siblings, he will take away his parents' love for him. Therefore, he never wished he had siblings of his own.

But now, Xu Xingxia loves his younger brothers and sisters from the bottom of his heart. Yes, it's love, not just like. Even though he crossed over, he fell in love with both of them. This kind of love doesn't need any reason. Subconsciously, he clearly felt that he would dare to do anything for the sake of the two of them!

"Niuniu, I'll do it myself."

Xu Xingxia stood up and took the sea bowl from Niuniu's hand.

The medicinal soup in the sea bowl is no longer hot. Niuniu would dry the medicinal soup just right every time before serving it to her father and brother. Xu Xingxia picked it up, drank it in one go, and then returned the sea bowl to Niuniu. Niuniu took the sea bowl and smiled sweetly, as if she was very happy. She opened her slightly yellowed eyes, looked at her brother, and said crisply, "Brother, can you really stand up?" ”

Xu Xingxia stroked her little head, full of pity and love in her heart. Let a seven-year-old girl take care of herself, Xu Xingxia can only sigh with emotion. It turns out that the family affection between brothers and sisters can be so strong. Perhaps, this is the feeling that blood is thicker than water. He adjusted his emotions and said with a smile: "Niuniu, my brother is all right, in the future, you and Dongzi don't need to decoct me with medicine." ”

Niu Niu nodded happily and said, "Okay." ”

Xu Xingxia took Niuniu's hand and came to the adobe house next door. His father, Xu Fuqing, is lying here. When he arrived, Xu Fuqing was already asleep. He had finished drinking the medicinal soup that Niuniu brought him, and the sea bowl was placed on the ground by the earthen pit. The clay kang on which my father was lying was even more dilapidated than the one Xu Xingxia used, and the red bricks on the side of the foot board had all fallen off, and could only be covered with a straw mat.

In fact, Xu Xingxia knew that his father was not asleep. He just doesn't want to see his own children, he doesn't want to see his own children, because of his injuries, he suffers inhuman pain. Xu Fuqing has always felt that he has dragged down the whole family. If it weren't for the inability to get up, Xu Xingxia believed that his father would definitely go quietly to find a short view.

Xu Xingxia bent down, gently picked up the sea bowl, took Niuniu's hand, and left his father's room. When they came out, they saw that in another small adobe house, their mother Wang was lying on the loom, quietly asleep. She must have not slept again last night, weaving all night.

"Mother......

Niu Niu screamed crisply.

Xu Xingxia gently pressed her sister's small mouth and led her to the courtyard outside.

Niuniu said ignorantly: "Brother, I want to wake up my mother." My mother told me that every time she fell asleep, I would wake her up, and she would continue to weave. Otherwise, my mother will be unhappy. ”

Xu Xingxia shook her head lightly, and said with a smile: "Niuniu, it's not in the way, my mother is tired, I want to take a break." It's like Niuniu is tired of doing things and needs to take a break. Niuniu rest assured, her mother will wake up in a while. ”

Niu Niu said as if she didn't understand: "Really? ”

Xu Xingxia said: "Of course it's true. Will my brother lie to you? ”

Niuniu was relieved, and said crisply: "Brother won't lie to Niuniu." ”

Xu Xingxia smiled slightly, reached out to pick up Niuniu, and walked around the yard, but he sighed deeply in his heart. He felt his heart heavy, but he wanted to break out of the cocoon. He wanted to do something. Do something he might not have dared to do before. Not for anything else, just for his younger brothers and sisters, for his father. If I can't do something for my younger brothers and sisters, for my parents, I'm really ashamed.

"Niu Niu ......"

Xu Xingxia shouted casually.

Niu Niu didn't respond. Xu Xingxia looked down and found that Niuniu was already in her arms, sleeping sweetly. She was visibly exhausted. When she was completely relaxed, she fell asleep. She was asleep, with a happy smile on the corner of her mouth. Xu Xingxia suddenly felt that his nose was a little sour, and his eyes were a little moist. It was not easy for him to control his tears and prevent him from rolling down.

At this time, he realized what kind of ridiculous things he had done in his previous life. How much time he's wasting on computer games! Every time he forgot to sleep and eat and play games, his parents called, and he couldn't say a word, so he hung up in a hurry. He felt that they were too annoying and nagging to delay his time playing games.

During the holidays, he didn't want to go home, on the one hand, he was reluctant to play, and on the other hand, he felt that his family was always nagging and didn't want to see them at all. Now, he finally understands that the family nagged because they cared about him. If one day, no one will nag you, it means that you have completely detached yourself from this world.

The current Xu Xingxia regrets the absurdity of his previous life. What a merit it it would be to use this time to serve your parents! Even if it's just to talk to them, just chat! Maybe what parents want is just to talk and chat. They just want to feel your presence. It's a pity that it's too late to regret it now. Now, the only possibility is to make up for the guilt of the previous life as much as possible in this life.

[New book upload, ask for recommendation~~~~ Brothers who have recommended votes, please vote for me generously~~~~ Thank you~~~~ During the new book period, at least two more 6000 words per day! ] If you can't get enough of it, please read my old book "Thorn Ming". It has been completed, 4.9 million words. Here are the portals:

[bookid=1785692,bookname="Thorn Ming"]