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墨書 Inktalez
Five people walked out of the village under the grateful gazes of the villagers. Everyone knew that Li Zhoule was going to the city to buy grain, and they felt both moved and guilty. When the Li Family was at their lowest point, they had not been able to help, yet now Li Zhoule was using her dowry to assist everyone. The Simple Villagers made a resolution in their hearts to repay the Li Family and the Wen Family well in the future. Both families consisted only of young people and children, lacking strong laborers. Once spring arrived, all the heavy work would be taken on by the villagers.
Xiao Shui Town was a small but famous town. It was not originally called this; according to legend, a filial son named Jiang Shi traveled back home with his mother after hearing that the waters of Linjiang could cure eye ailments. His wife, Pang Sanchun, would fetch water from Linjiang seven or eight miles away to wash her mother-in-law's eyes. The mother-in-law loved fish, so the couple cooked fish daily for her and shared it with their neighbors. Later, influenced by slanderous words, the mother-in-law made life difficult for her daughter-in-law and even pressured Jiang Shi to divorce her. Despite suffering greatly, Pang Sanchun continued to gather firewood for a living and bought fish to send to her mother-in-law through neighbors. Pang Zianan also understood filial piety; he would take a handful of rice from his school rations and save it in a bag for his mother while fetching water for his grandmother’s eye wash until he accidentally drowned. The filial acts of Jiang Shi's family moved the deities, who pointed out a pool of water beside their house that tasted like river water, where pairs of carp leaped out as offerings for Pang Sanchun's mother-in-law. This pool became known as "Filial Water," and the town where the Jiang Family lived was renamed "Xiao Shui Town."
The five first went to the Filial Water Pool outside the town to fill two jars with water. It was said that drinking from the Filial Water Pool could prolong life and cure all ailments; every visitor to Xiao Shui Town would take some water back home.
Upon entering the town, there were few pedestrians on the road; everyone was reluctant to go out due to the cold weather, making the streets very desolate. Fortunately, the rice shop and grocery store were open, but there were no vendors selling meat or eggs. This time, Li Zhoule bought over three hundred pounds of grain. Due to the cold weather, prices had risen significantly; she paid three times what she had previously spent on grain. Despite this reduction in silver coins, Li Zhoule merely frowned but did not hesitate to pay.
As they passed Wei An Pawnshop (which had a branch in town), Sun Shopkeeper stood outside and greeted them with a friendly smile. The five were surprised that someone of Sun Shopkeeper's status would be so friendly towards them; it left them feeling flattered. They did not know that Sun Shopkeeper's friendliness stemmed entirely from that plastic bottle. Recently, when Jiang Family faced difficulties, Jiang Haozhi had presented the bottle through his sister—Ginger Family Eldest Sister had entered the palace years ago and gained favor through her hard work—successfully resolving their issues and receiving rewards for presenting such a treasure. Naturally, upon hearing this news, Sun Shopkeeper treated Li Zhoule and her companions well since they had indirectly helped Jiang Family, and he thought that since Li Zhoule possessed such a valuable bottle, she might have other treasures as well. Now that relations were good, whenever Li Zhoule needed something in the future, she would surely consider their pawnshop first.
There wasn't much to explore in town; after purchasing grain, the five returned to their village. They let Li Yishu take Wen Zixue home first—since the child was tired from walking all this way and could barely keep his eyes open—while Wen Zixia and Li Zhoule distributed grain household by household. The villagers who received grain were extremely grateful and showered them with praise. Wen Ziyu puffed out his chest; he felt such a sense of accomplishment in helping others—he was now a man.
Far away in the northern border region, Li Yishu and Elder Brother Li followed their comrades to visit Marshal's residence. According to court news, Marshal had been rewarded by the emperor and invited his subordinates to his residence to distribute their rewards.
"Wei Feng, when will this war be over?" Yue Yunfei asked as he tucked his hands into his sleeves. They were in the north now, colder than Xiao Shui Town, but Yue Yunfei was originally from this region and had already adapted to such weather. As for Elder Brother Li...
"Soon; it should be within a year or two," Elder Brother Li replied while gazing into the distance, thinking about his younger siblings and parents in this lifetime—wondering how they were doing. He had been away from home for five years now; his youngest brother Li Yishu should be around ten years old by now. That kid used to love following him around like a shadow; he wondered if after five years apart he would still recognize him.
Suddenly, clouds in the sky shifted before Elder Brother Li's eyes into a smiling face—a face he recognized well because it had long been etched deep within his heart. Tears welled up at the corners of Elder Brother Li's eyes; he realized he would never see that person again in this lifetime.
"That's good; I can finally go home and see my parents," Yue Yunfei said confidently about Elder Brother Li's words. Not only was Elder Brother Li powerful in martial arts but also skilled in military tactics; he clearly understood situations and analyzed battle conditions with precision—many victories were thanks to Elder Brother Li's strategies which led them to success. Because of his capabilities, Elder Brother Li rose from an ordinary soldier to a Fifth-Rank Roving General.
When they arrived at Marshal's residence, many people had already gathered there ahead of them. Marshal was fair-minded; he had long divided everything into piles for his subordinates to choose from freely. Yue Yunfei and Elder Brother Li found little worth selecting among them and casually took one pile each. Among Elder Brother Li's pile were three gold ingots, a jar of wine, and one hundred taels of silver. He kept the gold but returned the wine and silver back for distribution among his comrades.
“Marshal, have you given everything to us? Aren't you keeping anything for yourself?” asked Zhang, the Vice Marshal.
With a joyful expression, Marshal replied to everyone, “The Emperor has bestowed upon me a treasure. I will keep it as a family heirloom, and that is enough.”
Curiosity sparked among the crowd; they were eager to see Marshal's treasure. Marshal, initially wanting to show off, took out a box made of golden sandalwood. He opened the lid and pulled out an object from inside.
“This item is made of Aqua Glass, more translucent and lighter than crystal. It is a rare material. This bottle is the only one of its kind,” Marshal announced proudly.
“Pfft—” Elder Brother Li spat out the wine he had just sipped. Aqua Glass? Wasn’t this just a plastic drink bottle?
The other generals were also taken aback by the bottle, expressing their admiration, while Elder Brother Li wore a complex expression. A plastic bottle had appeared in this world? Had it accidentally fallen here, or had someone brought it? If someone really had crossed over into this world, should he seek that person out?
Returning from Marshal's residence, Elder Brother Li remained in a daze. He shared a room with Yue Yunfei, who was already fast asleep by midnight. However, Elder Brother Li tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He quietly got out of bed, carefully opened the door, and stepped outside.
The moon was bright tonight; although it was just a crescent, it shone brighter than any full moon he had seen in his heavily polluted world.
“I cannot see the letters carried by wild geese from my hometown; I can only see the new moon revealing its beauty.” Yet he couldn’t even send messages to his beloved; they were separated by time and space. He felt guilty towards her. Had he let her down? Was she sad or angry? In his heart, he wished for her to forget him and find someone new to love her well, yet he also hoped she would always remember him as the one who once loved her deeply.
“Why are you outside at this hour acting like a dazed scholar? There are no fox spirits waiting for you under the moonlight,” Yue Yunfei said groggily as he rubbed his eyes and stepped out of the room. He had woken up needing to relieve himself and noticed that Elder Brother Li was not in their room. Worried, he came out to check and found Elder Brother Li with a face that looked as if he had lost his most precious treasure, which piqued his curiosity.
Elder Brother Li glanced at him and pulled his wandering thoughts back to reality, returning to his usual stoic demeanor. “If there were a fox spirit around, it would definitely be you they were after. I’m not as handsome as you.”
Yue Yunfei proudly lifted his chin. “That’s right.”
Then, with a hint of gossip, he asked, "Who were you thinking about just now? Is it your fiancée from your hometown?"
"Elder Brother Li" replied, "I don't have a fiancée."
"Yue Yunfei" smiled with relief. "That's good. I was thinking of introducing my sister to you, hoping you'd become my brother-in-law."
"Elder Brother Li" said, "You should give up on that idea. I will not marry any woman."
In his heart, there was only one person who could be his wife.
"Yue Yunfei" became displeased. "Why not? My sister is both beautiful and well-mannered. Does she not deserve you?"
"Elder Brother Li" replied, "It’s I who don’t deserve Sister Yue. My heart already belongs to someone else. Although she is not in this world, I will not betray her by marrying another woman."
"Yue Yunfei" smacked his lips in surprise; he hadn't expected such big news from his gossiping. "Elder Brother Li" was still a lovesick fool. It was a pity that he had set his sights on him; he had originally thought to betroth his sister to him, believing that with "Elder Brother Li's" character, he would never mistreat her. Now it seemed impossible—since "Elder Brother Li" had another woman in his heart, his sister would surely not find happiness if she married him.
"Yue Yunfei" advised, "There are three unfilial acts, and the greatest is having no descendants. For the sake of one woman, you refuse to marry and have children—how will you face the ancestors of the Li Family in the future?"
"Elder Brother Li" remained indifferent. "The Li Family still has another male child. The family line can continue through my younger brother. You don’t need to persuade me; I have already made up my mind."
Hearing this, "Yue Yunfei" could only sigh. He understood "Elder Brother Li's" character; once he made a decision, he would never change it. He couldn't help but feel some resentment towards the woman who was not in this world, believing that she had wasted "Elder Brother Li's" potential. A talent like him should have a high position, a beautiful wife, and many descendants—he should be a winner in life! How could he remain alone for the sake of someone who was already dead (as he believed anyone not in this world was)? It was so pitiful! At the same time, he was very curious about that woman—what kind of person could make "Elder Brother Li," such an extraordinary man, so devoted?
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