Sui'an County There is a man named Chang Houde, a scholar. He started studying at the age of three, and has been more than 30 years now. He is still a poor scholar.
Chang Houde only cares about studying every day, and the important task of supporting his family fell on his wife Li. Li works during the day and spins yarn and weaving cloth at night, which is very hard.
At the beginning, Li still had hope for her husband, but Chang Houde failed again and again, which made Li feel a lot of complaints, saying, "You are not an official in this life. I think you should not daydream. With the skill of reading, it is better to go up the mountain to cut a bundle of firewood, and exchange for money to buy some rice and flour!"
Chang Houde has been studying hard for so many years, and he was willing to give up and said, "My wife, I haven't passed the exam now because of my bad luck. Don't worry, sooner or later, I will become famous in one fell swoop, so you can enjoy the happiness of me!"
He said this, and he felt very guilty. Although he could write and paint, fate was hard to say. Maybe he would never make a name for himself in this life!
Li became even more angry when he heard that he said, and cursed: "Don't draw big cakes for me. I have been married to you for so many years, and I have worked day and night, and I have never rested for a day. When you become famous, I will be exhausted!" Li said and snatched the book in his hand and threw it into the yard.
He felt ashamed of his wife and did not argue with her, so he left the house. He came to the river at the east end of the village for a walk, but he accidentally slid into the river.
Chang Houde doesn't understand the nature of water. After falling into the water, he flew around and shouted for help. At this time, a woman chopping wood passed by and saw someone shouting for help in the river, but she was a woman and couldn't swim. In a panic, the woman untied the bundle of firewood and threw the hemp rope of the bundle of firewood towards Changshen. She wanted to use the rope to pull Changshende out.
Chang Houde grabbed the life-saving rope and pulled it hard. The woman on the shore also used all her strength to pull him to the shore little by little. Seeing that Chang Houde was about to be pulled up, the woman was exhausted and fell into the water.
At this time, Chang Houde had already reached the shore. He grabbed the water and plants on the shore and tried his best to climb to the shore, but the woman disappeared.
Chang Houde was already scared and collapsed on the ground. After a while, a person passed by. The man was Li Erniu, a bachelor in the village. Chang Houde said in a crying voice: "Eniu, someone has fallen into the river. You hurry up and go down to save people!"
Li Erniu looked at Chang Houde soaked all over. He didn't have to think too much, and jumped into the river with a thud. Because he couldn't see the person, he could only hold his breath and pierce his head into the water to touch it. It took about half an hour to catch the woman ashore, but the woman was no longer able to do it.
Chang Hou saw that the woman died, and cried and said, "I'm sorry, I'm the one who harmed you..."
Li Erniu learned from his cry that this woman fell into the water and drowned in order to save him. Chang Houde suddenly knelt beside Li Erniu and begged, "You must keep this matter secret for me..."
This woman is Wang from the village, and Wang is also a miserable person. A few years ago, her husband passed away, leaving her and a seven-year-old son to depend on each other. She went up the mountain to chop wood to make a living, and life was very difficult.
Li Erniu said, "Now that Wang is dead, what should she do with her son? Have you ever thought about it?"
Chang Houde cried and said, "You know the situation in my family. The three children also had no meals after eating. Even if I want to help, I don't have the strength!
You must keep it secret for me, otherwise how can my family live? I can't let the three children be stabbed by others..."
Li Erniu knew that Chang Houde's family was so poor that the three children were blinded. The three children were all year round, so it was really unrealistic to ask him to support Wang's children. The dead are dead, and the living are still alive. Li Erniu decided not to tell this.
They sent Wang's body home. When the villagers heard that Wang had drowned, they all came to see her and lamented that her life was really hard. The most painful thing was her son Wang Xiaobao, who had no parents at the age of seven.
The villagers exchanged money to bury Wang's family, but what should Wang Xiaobao do? Everyone was worried. After all, in that era, everyone lacked food and clothing, and no matter how much they opened their mouths, they couldn’t support them!
Just when everyone was in trouble, the village mason Wang Dashan and his wife Zhang Meihua came. Zhang Meihua said, "Let's take Xiaobao back to raise him, and Xiaobao will be our son in the future."
Wang Dashan is a mason, and his wife is also thrifty. His family lives a relatively wealthy life and does not have to worry about food and drink. He has been married for many years without children. Now they want Xiaobao to be their son. Everyone is very happy and thinks this is Xiaobao's best destination.
Wang Dashan and his wife took Wang Xiaobao home and treated him with delicious food and drink, but the good times didn't last long. Not long after Wang Xiaobao came to Wang Dashan's house, Zhang Meihua became pregnant and gave birth to two sons at a time.
Since the couple had their own biological son, their attitude towards Xiaobao has undergone earth-shaking changes. They do not allow their children to eat and wear warm every day, and they also ask him to go up the mountain to chop wood. He is just a child of a few years old, he has no strength to work and does not chop much wood. When he gets home, he is beaten and scolded by Zhang Meihua.
Li Erniu lives next door to Wang Dashan's house. He sees the child's experience. In order not to let Wang Xiaobao be beaten, he helps him chop wood every day and brings cakes for him to eat.
In the middle of the night, Li Erniu was awakened by the crying outside the door. He quickly got up. When he opened the door, he saw that it was Wang Xiaobao standing at the door crying. The child was thin in clothes and trembling in the snow. He didn't have to think too much, so he pulled him into the house, lit a fire for him to roast, and cooked him a hot noodle soup for him.
Wang Xiaobao had eaten noodles and had a little heat on his body. It turned out that Wang Xiaobao drank an extra bowl of porridge tonight. Zhang Meihua said that he was lazy and kept him outside the door.
Such a young child works constantly every day and doesn't give him food. He can only drink one bowl of porridge for each meal. The child is so hungry that he drinks one more bowl, but he is ruthlessly pushed out the door. In the cold winter, it's snowing. It would be strange if he is outside for a night and is not frozen to death. Li Erniu feels sorry for the child, so he lets Wang Xiaobao sleep in his bed.
The next morning, he went to the next door to find Wang Dashan and his wife, and advised them to be kind to their children. It was so heavy that they could not push the children outside the door because of the heavy snow last night!
Zhang Meihua said as soon as she heard this, "Don't hurt to speak while standing. If we treat him badly, he would have starved to death. If you are kind, you should take him home to raise him!"
Wang Dashan also said, "We shouldn't bring this child back. This family has an extra mouth, and it will waste food for many years every year!"
Li Erniu saw that the two of them were like this, and he knew that they would abuse Wang Xiaobao. Okay, and when he thought of Wang Xiaobao's mother leaving to save the people, he felt even more uncomfortable and said, "Okay, if you don't want it, Xiaobao will follow me in the future!"
Li Erniu changed Wang Xiaobao's name to Li Xiaobao. This incident spread in the village. Everyone said that he did not marry a wife because he was poor. Now he has an extra son of such a big one, and he will not be able to marry a wife in the future. He will definitely be a bachelor for the rest of his life.
Let’s talk about Chang Houde again. Since the drowning incident, he felt very guilty, but his family was poor and he was unable to compensate Xiaobao. He heard that Xiaobao was abused by Zhang Meihua and felt very uncomfortable. Now he heard that Li Erniu adopted him, and he felt much better.
During the day, Li Erniu went up the mountain to chop firewood. Chang Houde was waiting for him under a big tree on the side of the road and said, "Brother Erniu, you are a great man. One day I will make a name for myself, and I will definitely repay you well!"
Li Erniu knew what he was referring to. In fact, Li Erniu did not tell the truth. He always felt sorry for Wang and his son. He thought that Chang Houde's life was not easy and there were many children. He said that the villagers would accuse him of it, which had a bad impact on the child, so he decided to rot this matter in his stomach.
"I don't need you to repay you, as long as you are kind to Xiaobao!" Li Erniu said.
Chang Houde said, "This is for sure, don't worry!"
A few years have passed in the blink of an eye. Li Xiaobao is already thirteen years old. Li Erniu took out all the savings in his family and let him learn the carpenter skills after becoming a master. In three years, Li Xiaobao became a master and became a qualified carpenter.
Nowadays, Li Xiaobao works as a carpenter and earns money. Li Erniu farms at home and chops wood. The father and son are getting better and better. There are also a steady stream of people coming to Li Xiaobao to match, but he refuses.
Li Erniu was puzzled and asked him if he wanted to get married. Only then did Li Xiaobao tell his secret in his heart. It turned out that he and Chang Houde's daughter Chang Shufang were in love.
Chang Shufang has bright and white teeth, and a concave figure. She is the most beautiful woman in the village. Li Xiaobao is also handsome and elegant. The two are very compatible. Li Erniu thought the two are very compatible, so she said, "This is a good thing! Why didn't you say it earlier? I'll go to the Chang family to propose marriage to you!"
Li Xiaobao was a little shy and said, "Dad, I'm only sixteen years old this year. I want to wait for two years to propose marriage!"
"You wait for two more years, but can the girl wait? I will go to propose marriage tomorrow. I will decide your marriage first. You can wait for another two years to get married, otherwise I will be able to get a first pass!"
The next day, Li Erniu found the matchmaker, and he and the matchmaker went to the Chang family to propose marriage. Because Li Erniu's family was good, Li Xiaobao looked handsome, and another reason was that Chang Houde felt guilty towards Li Xiaobao, so the couple agreed to the marriage without hesitation. Li Erniu received a generous dowry and decided on their marriage and agreed to get married in two years.
The marriage between the two was decided not long after, Chang Houde heard that the governor in the provincial capital was going to recruit wise men. He had been well-read for poetry and books for so many years, and although he had not won the exam, he also had a lot of knowledge. So he took his daughter's bride price as a means of money and went to the provincial capital day and night.
Opportunities are always left to those who are prepared. Chang Houde stood out with his profound cultural foundation and became a clerk under the governor. He worked diligently and worked tirelessly every day. The governor saw that he was a rare talent, so he wanted to promote him.
Just as Sui'an County Magistrate Gao Sheng was present, there was a lack of a county magistrate. Sui'an County was Chang Houde's hometown, so the governor recommended him back to his hometown to be the county magistrate.
When Chang Houde heard this, he quickly knelt down to thank the governor, and then rode back on a horse. When his wife heard that he had become the county magistrate, her attitude towards him was also a major change of 180 degrees. She killed chickens and sucked wine, and was very attentive.
Now Chang Houde has become the magistrate, and his status and living standards have also undergone earth-shaking changes. He thought that Wang died to save himself, and Li Erniu had not married a wife in order to raise Wang's children. He felt very guilty, so he found Li Erniu and gave him a bag of silver, saying that he would thank him for raising Li Xiaobao over the years and for keeping the secret for so many years.
Li Erniu did not accept his money and said, "You take the money back. Wang died because of saving you, leaving Xiaobao alone. I have no requirements. I just hope to get the marriage between Xiaobao and your daughter as soon as possible!" Li Erniu was afraid that the night would be long and dreams would be too long, so he wanted to get married for his son as soon as possible.
Chang Houde said, "After I sort out the matters of the county government, I will hold a marriage for my two children, so don't worry!"
Chang Houde has been studying for half his life, and now he is in his forties to become a county magistrate. This is a huge joy for him, so he set up a banquet at home to celebrate, and local celebrities and wealthy people came to celebrate, and he was in the limelight.
When the banquet reached its climax, everyone was cheering and drinking, suddenly an old beggar came to the yard. The old beggar's clothes were all patches, but they were clean. When Li saw a beggar coming, he sent him away with a steamed bun.
The old beggar did not pick up the steamed buns and said, "I finally became famous after studying hard for decades. What a happy event. My old man is also very generous. I don't want to eat steamed buns today, I want to eat meat!"
Li was very angry when he heard this, but he was embarrassed to curse in front of so many people, so he said, "The beggars are picky and picky."As he said that, he turned around and went into the house.
Chang Houde was toasting the guests. When he heard the old beggar wanting to eat meat, he remembered the hard days he had lived in the past. He had never tasted meat all year round. He could understand the feeling of greed, so he brought a bowl of fat meat to the old beggar and handed it to him for him to eat.
The old beggar took the meat and feasted. Soon the bowl of meat was eaten. The old beggar said, "Thank you, your life is not long! "
Chang Houde was stunned when he heard this, so he became the county magistrate and wanted to make great achievements in the future. Aren't this old beggar cursing him? Thinking of this, his face looked bad and said, "I kindly give you meat, why do you curse me? "
" People should be grateful, otherwise they will be punished by God! "The old beggar left after saying that. Chang Houde felt that the old beggar was deliberately trying to discourage his interest, so he didn't take his words to heart.
That night, Chang Houde discussed with his wife Li to get the marriage between Li Xiaobao and his daughter as soon as possible, so he could have an explanation to the dead Wang.
Unexpectedly, Li said, "Now you are the county magistrate, and our daughter is the daughter of a daughter. This marriage is not right. A county magistrate married a carpenter, and outsiders wouldn't laugh at her big teeth?
So many rich young men came to have a banquet today, all of whom were romantic and handsome. Any choice was better than Li Xiaobao. I heard that the young men of Wang Baiwan’s family had not been married yet, so they betrothed Shufang to Wang. Not only did Shufang enjoy endless wealth, but it would also benefit your career without any harm...
Shufang also told me that she doesn’t want to marry Li Xiaobao now. She wants to marry a rich young man and told you to give up the marriage! "
After hearing his wife's talk, Chang Houde felt it made sense, and he felt stormy in his heart. But if he regrets the marriage, he feels unable to face Li Erniu. After all, Li Erniu knows the truth about Xiaobao's mother's death. If he makes the truth public, he will be stabbed by someone, and the serious official position will be difficult to protect.
"You are very reasonable, but if we regret the marriage, we will become ungrateful people? If Li Erniu tells the truth, what else can I do as a county magistrate? "
Li said: "Do not do it, do it again and again, and then you will be done with one thing! "
Chang Houde and his wife Li discussed for a long time. The next day, he rode a horse to a mountain and found a masked woman. This woman is a famous local chivalrous woman. This chivalrous woman is very skilled in martial arts and is a chivalrous righteous man. She specializes in combating some bullies and gangsters and maintaining peace in the area.
Chang Houde told the chivalrous woman a lot of bad things done by Li Erniu and his son. In fact, these are all false and were fabricated by Chang Houde, but the chivalrous woman was not aware of it. She learned that Li Erniu used the art of disgust to harm others, and she also forced Chang Houde to marry her daughter. The chivalrous woman was angry and said that today The third update is to eliminate the harm for the people.
Taking advantage of the night, the hero sneaked into the yard of Li Erniu's house. Seeing that the lights were still on in the room, he leaned over quietly.
At the same time, Li Erniu was telling his son the truth about his mother's death and said, "Please forgive me. I have been hiding the truth of the matter for so many years... Your mother died because of saving Chang Houde. Chang Houde begged me to hide the truth. I want to tell it that he is not able to compensate you. The villagers will point fingers at his family. Since this is the case, it is better not to say it.
Although Chang Houde did not compensate you, he did not forget your mother's life-saving grace. Now that he became the county magistrate, he still agreed to your marriage with his daughter, which means he is still grateful... Now that you have grown up, you have the right to know the truth...
I tell you the truth. I hope you cherish the fate between people, live a good life with Miss Chang in the future, respect your father-in-law and mother-in-law, and make your mother feel at ease..."
Li Xiaobao was already in tears as he listened to his father-in-law and cried, "Dad, you are my lifelong benefactor, if not, You, Xiaobao has long been frozen to death, and I am not today... My mother is also a kind person, she sacrificed her life to save people..."
At this moment, a woman in black clothes walked into the room with a big knife in her hand. The father and son were also shocked when they saw a stranger suddenly breaking in.
The hero said, "You two are kind people..." She told the whole story of Chang Houde's cause and effect of letting her kill the father and son.
The two were shocked when they heard this. They never expected that Chang Houde was such a cruel and ruthless person. After saying that, the hero said goodbye.
He went directly to the county government office, found Chang Houde, made up a reason to trick Chang Houde to the riverside, and said, "You ungrateful thing, you will be kind and revenge. Today is your death..." He said that as he raised his knife and slashed on Chang Houde's body. He staggered into the river.
Chang Houde struggled to death in the river, and the old beggar's words rang in his ears again, but unfortunately everything was too late.
The next day, Li learned that her husband was killed in the river. She ran to the river and cried to death, and jumped into the river to commit suicide.
No Someone knows who killed Chang Houde, and the new magistrate did not find the murderer, so the matter was left unresolved. Chang Houde's daughter Chang Shufang felt that she had no shame to see Li Xiaobao again, so she became a nun.
Later, Li Erniu married Widow Zhou from a neighboring village as his wife. Widow Zhou was kind and hardworking and able to manage the family. She had a daughter named A Xiu, who was the same age as Li Xiaobao. The two fell in love over time and became husband and wife. The family of four lived a prosperous life, which made others envious.
