"It doesn't matter." The old man waved his hand, his expression unchanged, still smiling, reclining on the bamboo chair.
Li Chengzhong walked out of the room on the north side of the west wing, carrying a few small stools, and placed them on the platform under the porch of the main house. Then he turned around and went back into the house without saying a word.
After a while, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties came out of the room. He was tall and strong, with a calm demeanor and an air of authority that he exuded when he opened and closed his eyes.
"Dad," Li Binghe greeted.
"Okay." Li Ruiyu nodded and walked over, sitting on the small stool opposite the old man. He said, "It's Mid-Autumn Festival today, so I'm not going back. I'll stay here for the night."
The old man nodded and smiled, "They've all told you, haven't they?"
"Um."
"How is it?" The old man smiled, took the purple clay teapot that Li Binghe handed him from the windowsill, and took a small sip of tea.
Li Ruiyu pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "Young, impetuous, reckless, impulsive, and unstable."
"Is that all?" the old man asked with a smile.
Li Ruiyu thought for a moment, then said, "There are some things that are hard to understand. Let's just assume for now that he's smart and cautious."
“This child has no bad intentions.” The old man rested his right hand on the armrest, tapping it lightly with his index finger: “You always neglect these most basic, yet most important, things.”
Li Ruiyu remained silent, frowning in deep thought.
Li Binghe laughed and said, "Grandpa, you wouldn't be thinking of letting Bingjie marry that simpleton, would you?"
"Nonsense, get back inside!" the old man said with a laugh.
Li Binghe, however, mumbled something and obediently went back to his room.
After Li Binghe returned to the house, the old man chuckled and said, "Even if we were willing, Xu Zhengyang might not be so happy."
Li Ruiyu smiled wryly, sighed, and asked, "Dad, why do you want me to know all this?"
“Let you all see. Xu Zhengyang is a good young man. Don’t assume everyone is like you, and don’t look down on people… Bingjie has wasted so many years, we can’t let her live like this forever, can we? This Xu Zhengyang might be able to cure Bingjie’s illness… Jiang Lan is just as thoughtful as you are, you should listen to what she says.” The old man rarely spoke so much in one breath. Although his tone was still very calm, he seemed a little tired after pausing, and took a few sips of tea from the teapot.
“I don’t object to them being friends. On the contrary, I would be happy if Bingjie could get better,” Li Ruiyu said calmly.
The old man's smile vanished: "If I had said those things to Jiang Lan earlier, things wouldn't have come to this."
Seeing that his father seemed angry, Li Ruiyu's usually calm and composed face finally showed a hint of guilt and self-reproach. He smiled bitterly and said, "Dad, I'm sorry." He naturally knew what his father meant. If he had said something like that, even if it was against his will, years ago, he wouldn't have had so much trouble with Jiang Lan, and his daughter, Li Bingjie, wouldn't be in this situation. After apologizing, seeing that his father wasn't looking at him, Li Ruiyu continued, "We can't let Bingjie spend so much time with that country bumpkin. It won't look good if word gets out."
"What? You think that young man is too low-class, poor, and uneducated, is that it?" The old man sneered, "He's not even qualified to be a friend, not good enough for your daughter?"
"Dad, it's a holiday today, let's not talk about these things..."
The old man said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Don't even think about taking Bingjie away again."
"dad……"
"Bingjie has been with you these past few days. Are you happy? You probably haven't considered the child's feelings at all!"
In the room on the east side, the nanny, Wu Ma, suddenly lifted the bamboo curtain, and Li Bingjie came out with some difficulty, carrying a dark iron basin.
The father and son who were talking on the platform under the corridor stopped talking and looked at Li Bingjie.
Li Bingjie walked down the steps, placed the iron basin on the brick ground, squatted down, and looked into the basin. She could hear rustling sounds coming from inside. Looking over, she saw a bunch of dark brown crabs spitting foam, raising their pincers, crowding and pushing each other.
“The Binghe team caught them in the ditch; they weren’t farmed,” Li Ruiyu smiled and said. “Although they’re a bit thin and small, people say these wild crabs taste the best…”
The old man didn't speak, but looked at Li Bingjie over there.
Li Bingjie seemed quite interested in the crabs. She reached out and broke off a thin twig from the pomegranate tree, dipping it into the basin. The crabs became increasingly frightened, fiercely resisting the twig with its few leaves attached, brandishing their pincers. Suddenly, one crab, not the largest, but rather flat and unusually thin, gripped the twig tightly with its pincers, its eyes bulging. Foam sprayed from its mouth, showing no fear of death.
Li Bingjie tilted her head, seemed to be thinking for a moment, and then used a branch to pull the crab out of the iron basin.
As the skinny crab landed, it clung tightly to the branch, its grip still tight, because it had found the feeling of being suspended in mid-air dangerous. A few seconds later, it quickly realized the person before it was even more dangerous. So it released the branch, raising its pincers defiantly towards the indifferent, icy, and stunningly beautiful face above it. A warning… then, realizing the person didn't seem particularly threatening, perhaps intimidated by its imposing presence? So its eyes began to dart around, surveying its surroundings.
A very new and vast world.
It held up its pincers, warning the human in front of it not to make any dangerous moves. Then it began to crawl sideways, still keeping its pincers raised and remaining vigilant. It moved faster and faster, becoming somewhat unrestrained, sometimes lowering its pincers, sometimes swinging them frantically, cautiously observing its surroundings.
Suddenly, Li Bingjie crouched down and moved her body to catch up with the crab that was crawling further and further away.
So the crab stopped, raised its pincers, and glared fiercely at Li Bingjie, threatening and warning her.
Li Bingjie lightly touched the crab with the twig in her hand, and it was immediately clamped down by one of the crab's pincers, followed by the other. Perhaps sensing that the danger came from the twig, the crab gripped the twig tightly, dragging and twisting it downwards.
Li Bingjie finally couldn't bear it anymore and let go of the branch. The crab then used the branch to fling her a short distance away, raised its pincers and stared at Li Bingjie for a while. Then, feeling that it had successfully defeated the threat that had fallen from the sky, it continued to swagger around with its pincers, looking quite arrogant.
It was crawling westward, and after crawling for a while, a ray of sunlight shone on it.
The crab froze, raising its pincers, its bulging eyes narrowing as it gently rotated, observing. It felt uneasy; the light made it feel uncomfortable, even dangerous. After waving its pincers for a while, it lay down, seemingly deep in thought…
After a while, the crab lowered its head and cautiously continued crawling. Occasionally, it would suddenly turn around, raise its pincers, and if it found no danger, it would continue crawling. It crawled until it reached a pomegranate tree, where it felt the dampness and coolness of the soil. Suddenly, its movements quickened, and it squeezed into a narrow crevice in the soil beside the tree roots. With all eight claws moving and its pincers waving, it quickly created a more suitable hiding place. It turned around in the crevice, its eight claws tucked under its body, its pincers flat, and its eyes narrowed, beginning to observe this new, unfamiliar, and ever-dangerous world outside.
On the platform, the old man laughed, as if he were enjoying a very funny silent play.
Li Ruiyu said softly, "A mud crab is still a mud crab. Even if it comes ashore, it will only be caught and steamed as food, or it will die of drought after leaving the water."
The old man shook his head and sighed softly, "The result is not important; what matters is its adaptability and the change in mindset."
"Hmm?" Li Ruiyu looked at his father in confusion.
"What an interesting little thing. Look at it. When it first came out, it was cautious, with small wings, yet very confident. Then it discovered that the world was vast and new, so it dared to take its first steps. It believed that its pincers and hard shell could protect it. When it encountered a threat, it would resolutely launch an attack to eliminate it..."
“Reckless, impulsive, and foolish,” Li Ruiyu commented.
The old man remained noncommittal, smiling as he continued, "Then it discovered that the world was too vast, and many of the imagined dangers were simply beyond its reach. So it was afraid, it was terrified, yet it still stubbornly swaggered around with its pincers; in fact, it was already bewildered, its mind in turmoil..."
"Unstable," Li Ruiyu said softly.
"So soon, it decided to temporarily avoid it, to avoid the presence it perceived as dangerous, and to find a place it considered safe, where it could hide and live its own little life contentedly. Perhaps it was also considering whether, one day, when its pincers were bigger and its shell harder, it could go out and venture into that new, vast, and unknown world to see if it could still roam freely and be arrogant..."
Li Ruiyu laughed: "It should go back into the water."
"When the crab that has come ashore wants to return to the water, it finds that its eyes can no longer see the way back. It can only rest and catch its breath in some damp place on land when it is tired, weary, and exhausted..."
"But it's still a crab."
The old man smiled and waved his hand, took a sip of tea, and perhaps because the tea had gone cold, he frowned slightly. He placed the purple clay teapot on a small wooden table beside him, looked at the crabs in the narrow crevices of the soil under the pomegranate tree, and smiled, "Can people change so quickly?"
"What?"
The old man glanced at Li Bingjie, then said calmly, "In just over three months, he rose from an unknown, poor boy to prominence so quickly that no one could keep up or believe it. He was indeed arrogant and confident for a few days, but he soon became hesitant and confused. As a result, he acted more impulsively, calculating the consequences and worrying, yet still doing things without considering the consequences. Fortunately, he possessed unimaginable intelligence and resourcefulness, protecting himself, defending himself, and being vigilant against threats from his surroundings. Yet, he was able to suddenly recover from this period of uncertainty and unease, regaining his initial arrogance and confidence. Moreover, he was no longer complacent; he regained his composure..."
"Well, I guess I've matured a bit."
"Have you ever seen someone change so quickly?" the old man asked with a smile, then sighed softly, "Although I haven't experienced great storms or life-or-death choices, isn't this also a kind of rebirth?"
Li Ruiyu thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Perhaps there are other reasons. A change that happens too quickly is ultimately unstable, and... even if it comes to its senses and grows up, with bigger pincers and a harder shell, it's still a crab..."
"A dragon lurking in the abyss, can you call it a loach?" the old man said.
“But it’s a crab, not a dragon.” Li Ruiyu seemed quite happy to discuss this issue with his father. “A carp can leap over the Dragon Gate and transform into a dragon, a phoenix can undergo fire and rise to glory, reborn from the ashes… What can a crab do?”
The old man laughed, a hearty laugh, and said, "Not necessarily..."
"Never before has anyone managed to crawl to the middle of the Dragon Gate, that's pretty good, isn't it?"
"Never before?"
"Um."
In the courtyard, Li Bingjie had already stood up, her ethereal and indifferent eyes fixed on the two people talking. Suddenly, she interjected, "Yes."
Li Ruiyu turned his head in surprise and looked at his daughter.
Unfortunately, Li Bingjie did not offer any further explanation.
The old man smiled and said, "Yes, there is! You've all forgotten. He was a very interesting and great man."
"Who?" Li Ruiyu asked, increasingly puzzled.
“A beggar who was begging for food.” The old man laughed heartily. “That mud crab led a group of mud crabs out of the ditch, climbed to the top of the mountain, became a dragon, and dressed the group of mud crabs in golden armor.”
Li Ruiyu looked bewildered, frowning as he pondered, not understanding what was going on.
Li Bingjie suddenly whispered, "A beggar, who later became an emperor..."
The tone and the words were so similar to something Xu Zhengyang's mother, Yuan Suqin, had once said unintentionally! I wonder if Yuan Suqin would immediately change her impression of Li Bingjie after hearing what she said?
Li Ruiyu suddenly realized what was going on, then laughed and stood up, saying, "Aunt Wu, stew this pot of crabs..."
Volume Three, Judge, Chapter 110: A Master, Another Master Appears
People must not forget their roots.
The honest and simple-minded Xu Neng always muttered this sentence. His wife, Yuan Suqin, commented on it: "You never forget your roots. You're always clinging to your old ways. That's all you've accomplished in your life."
Perhaps influenced by his father's words from childhood, Xu Zhengyang never grew tired of the fields. Even during the busy farming season when he was exhausted, he, like most adults in the village, would still enjoy the joy of the harvest amidst the hard work. He also liked to go to the fields in his spare time to watch the crops grow little by little, quietly and contentedly.
However, on the fifteenth of August this year, Xu Zhengyang didn't like the farmland very much, even though the water in the rice paddies had been drained, the rice ears were covered with flowers, and the fragrance was overwhelming.
He was quite puzzled. What was so special about this rice paddy? Why were Diao Yishi and Ouyang Ying so excited and happy to be here? They were snapping photos left and right, and every now and then they'd ask Xu Rouyue or Ouyang Ying to take pictures for them, so they could have a group photo as a souvenir. This wouldn't normally be unusual; city people are probably just curious. But the thing was, they seemed to have no end to their antics. They'd been wandering around the rice paddy, jumping and playing for over two hours, and they were still having a great time. This was giving Xu Zhengyang a headache.
Of course, Xu Zhengyang wasn't the only one with a headache; Xu Rouyue was also in a similar predicament, feeling both amused and helpless.
Well, it's unknown whether Chen Chaojiang is also having a major headache because of this.
Before they knew it, the five of them had walked four or five miles along the crisscrossing paths in the fields and arrived at the cement road leading to Dongliang Township in the east of Huaxiang Village.
Xu Zhengyang was relieved to find that Ouyang Ying was finally tired, and Diao Yishi seemed to have long lost interest in the rural rice fields and instead began to pay attention to the exquisite dagger that the cold-blooded Chen Chaojiang was constantly turning between his fingers.
On the north side of the east-west path, below is a drainage ditch, and not far away stands a small cement sluice gate.
So Ouyang Ying happily pulled Xu Rouyue to the sluice gate to take pictures. Not caring whether the cement block was clean or not, she sat on it with her buttocks sticking out, swinging her two legs tightly wrapped in black jeans, while looking down at the clear canal water flowing slowly below, with green grass on both sides reaching above the water.
Xu Zhengyang and the other two walked slowly over.
Ouyang Ying was asking Xu Rouyue if there were any fish, crabs, or shrimp in the ditch, and whether they could touch them if they jumped in now, and so on.
Xu Zhengyang stood by the roadside with a smile, idly admiring the rural scenery around him, which was not particularly appealing to him.
Diao Yishi, however, stood in front of Chen Chaojiang, staring at the constantly spinning dagger, and asked curiously, "Hey, Brother Chaojiang, can I have a go at it?"
Chen Chaojiang turned to look at Diao Yishi and said coldly, "It will hurt your hand."
"It's alright, it's alright. I'll give it a try..." Diao Yishi sensed there was hope and immediately rubbed his hands together.
Chen Chaojiang hesitated for a moment, stopping the twirling of the dagger between his fingers, and handed it to Diao Yishi. He was about to take out a cigarette when Diao Yishi, having taken the knife with his right hand, pulled out a pack of cigarettes with his left and offered it to Chen Chaojiang. Chen Chaojiang didn't stand on ceremony, coldly accepting the pack, pulling out a cigarette and tossing it to Xu Zhengyang before lighting one for himself.
Diao Yishi held the dagger in his right hand, moved it slightly, but still dared not make up his mind to turn it between his fingers. He wasn't stupid; this thing could easily cut his hand if he wasn't careful.
"Xiao Diao, if you want to learn, start by breaking off a stick to practice. Playing with knives is too dangerous." Xu Zhengyang couldn't help but smile and advise Diao Yishi as he cautiously frowned.
"Tch, it's not like I can't. I'm better than anyone at spinning a pen or chopsticks." Diao Yishi raised his chin, then said with a bitter face, "But this thing is a knife..." As he spoke, he finally made up his mind. He pinched the dagger between his index and middle fingers and flipped it downwards, then let out a cry of surprise and released it, the dagger falling to the ground.