In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, wars broke out all over the world, natural disasters and plagues were rampant, and the people were miserable. Particularly, Shanxi Province suffered a famine unprecedented in a century. In some places, it didn't rain for three years, and fer

In the last years of the Ming Dynasty , wars broke out all over the world, natural disasters and plagues were rampant, and the people were miserable. Particularly, Shanxi Province suffered a famine unprecedented in a century. In some places, it didn't rain for three years, and fertile fields turned into desert.

Xindian Village in the north of Yizhou Prefecture has suffered from drought and locust plagues one after another. Many people starved to death, and some had to flee with their children to make a living in other places.

However, some people whose families are slightly better off are still unwilling to move out, thinking of gritting their teeth and holding on until the disaster is over. There was a carpenter named Li Huai in the east of the village, who had this plan. There are four people in his family. The couple has a son who is exactly 4 years old. There is also a blind mother in her seventies.

Li Huai held on for two years. Seeing that the rice in the warehouse was getting less and less, he began to panic. Apart from hoping that it would rain soon, he didn't know what to do next.

Li Huai asked his wife to eat as little rice as possible in each meal and cook it into thin porridge, struggling to survive on an empty stomach.

Because the porridge is too thin, there is a layer of soup on the top of the bowl, and you can't see how much rice is underneath. And his wife Zhou also had some thoughts in mind.

She thought that her son was still young and would not grow up without some rice grains. The husband is a grown man, and his body will collapse if he eats too little. So when Zhou serves porridge, the bowl for her son is filled with the most rice. The husband is second, and there is very little rice in the bowls for himself and his mother-in-law. They basically drink rice soup. .

One day, Li Huai saw his mother screaming with hunger after eating porridge, so he observed carefully and discovered that his wife was serving porridge. Li Huai was known as a filial son, but he suddenly became furious.

Li Huai pointed at his wife and cursed: "You are a snake and scorpion woman, you have no filial piety at all, you treat your mother-in-law like this, what use do you need?" He then turned his anger on his son and cursed at him: "You shameless boy, Just caring about yourself and not respecting the elderly is a waste of life!"

After Li Huai cursed, he immediately wrote a letter of divorce and drove his wife and children out of the house, regardless of Zhou's pleas.

After that, Li Huai cooked the food himself. Although there were two less people, the famine continued and the rice at home was at the bottom. Li Huai was indeed very filial at first. He served more for his mother and less for himself at every meal.

But after all, Li Huai was a mature man. He consumed a lot every day. His eyes would glow green with hunger when he was not full. Twice he almost fainted from hunger. In the middle of the night, he had to get up to drink cold water and go outside to the yard to pick up moss and eat grass roots.

After half a month of this, Li Huai couldn't bear it anymore and exchanged his mother's bowl with his own. Two or three days later, his mother was so hungry in the middle of the night that she rolled out of bed. After struggling in the room for a while, her body curled up into a ball and she starved to death.

That night, Li Huai had a full meal, fell on the bed and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, he was woken up by the sound in his mother's room. He wanted to get up and go have a look, but then he thought that his mother must be hungry and there was nothing he could do, so he stuffed his ears with cloth balls and continued to pretend to sleep.

When Li Huai woke up the next morning, he felt pain and itching all over his body, and something felt wrong.

He rolled over and rolled off the bed. When he looked in the mirror, he saw that his whole body was covered with black hair and a long mouth protruded outwards. He turned into a black bear. Li Huai was frightened and frightened. He rushed out of the door and ran like crazy until he reached the deep mountains and old forests.

Li Huai's mind is still clear and he can think like a normal person, but his habits are similar to those of a real bear. He lurks and rests during the day, and comes out at night to wander in the mountains in search of food. Seven or eight years later, one day Li Huai was eating the wild sheep he had caught. A big eagle suddenly flew over and opened his mouth and said, "Please let me taste the sheep."

Li Huai was greatly surprised. , he has been wandering in the mountains for many years and has encountered countless wild beasts, but he has never encountered one that can speak human language. After being surprised, he asked: "Who are you? Are you a goblin who has successfully cultivated?"

Da Diao said: "I am not a goblin, and like you, I turned from a human into an animal. My husband was away at that time. I was engaged in business and was left at home to raise my son and serve my mother-in-law. Later, I fell in love with a bachelor in the village. Because my mother-in-law found out the secret, I asked the bachelor to strangle her.When he was about to abandon his young son and elope with the bachelor, he found that he had turned into a giant eagle, so he had to fly to the mountains to live. "

Li Huai was speechless after hearing this. There was no one like him in the world, so he asked the big eagle to eat the sheep together and continued talking with her.

The big eagle said: "There are many more of our kind. Although adult bears and eagles are also beasts, they are still relatively good. After all, it is easier to find food. However, some people turn into snakes, pheasants, hares, etc. After they become animals, they are killed soon after. Eaten by big beasts or killed by hunters! "

After talking to Da Diao, Li Huai felt very sad. He was originally a filial son, but later he behaved like a beast to his mother because he couldn't help being hungry, so he deserved to end up like this.

Li Huai sighed. : "It's better to be a human being, I wonder if there is any way to turn back to a human being!

The big eagle looked at him and said: "I have flown to many places, communicated with the beasts these people have turned into, and learned a way to restore human bodies. For the sake of you asking me to eat sheep, I will tell you." . If you want to restore your human body, there is only one way, and that is to induce others to commit the same crime as you did. That person will suffer in your place, and you will become a human again. Although this method is feasible, very few can succeed! "

After the big eagle finished eating the mutton, it flapped its wings and flew away. From then on, Li Huai began to guard the road into the mountain, waiting for an opportunity. He hoped to seduce a person to commit a crime and transform himself back into a human body.

Soon after, he When he met a young man walking on a mountain road carrying his mother on his back, he threw him to the ground and bared his teeth as if he was going to eat someone. He wanted to scare the young man away and make him abandon his mother.

The young man was originally carrying a disease on his back. His mother sought medical treatment, but when he encountered a ferocious black bear, he did not run away. Instead, he protected his mother behind him with his small body, letting the black bear eat him first and letting his mother go.

When Li Huai saw this, he hated himself very much. His original behavior.

He shed tears of shame, and he suddenly said to the young man: "You are a true filial son! Just wait, your mother is sick, I will pick a medicine to help you! "Li Huai ran to a deep valley, picked a centuries-old ginseng, and threw it in front of the young man. After thanking him profusely, the man left with his mother on his back.

After doing this, Li Huai Suddenly his soul felt much lighter, and he seemed to understand a little. Later, he did several good deeds to help others.

One night, he woke up in the cave and became a human being. Only then did he understand that he would not be saved by inducing others to commit crimes. Only by regaining his humanity and doing good deeds could he make up for his sins and return to his human form.

When Li Huai went down the mountain and returned to the village, ten years had passed, and the famine had long passed.

He went to his father-in-law's house to pick up his wife and children, but found that Zhou had been dead for many years. Li Huai had no choice but to take his son Li Cheng home and raise him carefully. He was very studious and passed the Jinshi examination at the age of 28. After returning to his hometown to celebrate, he took his father on a boat to go to another place to be an official. While the boat was sailing on the river, he suddenly encountered a big storm and capsized the boat. Neither father nor son could swim, so they were holding a piece of wood, but the wood could only float one person.

Li Cheng looked at Li Huai and said, "Back then, you kicked my mother and I out of the house to save food. My mother took me back to my parents' home, and I was looked down upon by my uncles. My mother worked from dawn to dusk to serve her family members, and soon died of illness. Before she died, my mother told me that I should live well. But you are my father, I can't leave you alone just to survive! "

After Li Cheng finished speaking, he wanted to let go of the driftwood. After hearing what his son said, Li Huai was so ashamed that he quickly let go of the driftwood and sank into the water. Li Cheng held the driftwood and floated to the shore.

Li Cheng has become a good official. In the place where he governs, anyone who hears someone being unfilial to their parents will be arrested and severely punished. The people praise him as a good official.

Jing Yuezhai's message:

Survival is everyone's instinct, but It is in extremely difficult situations that one can see a person's true nature.Li Huai was indeed a filial son in the peaceful era, but in the end, in order to survive for himself, he drove his wife and children to starve his mother to death, committing a serious crime, and therefore turned into a beast.

Zhou's approach is actually not fundamentally different from Li Huai's behavior. Some people are harsh on their wives and children at home, but they actually behave the same way!

Filial piety to parents and elders is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation, and each of us should keep it in mind. The kindness of parents is greater than heaven. Without parents, there would be no life for us.

(Author of this article｜A Fei)