Chapter 37 Old Patriarch
After autumn.
Yu Guotai's health deteriorated day by day. He had a fever for more than ten days in a row, felt listless and had no appetite. The medicine prescribed by the best doctor in the area did not work.
this morning.
He suddenly got better.
He clamored to go to the village to take a look.
Yu Qinghai had no choice but to help his father out.
Yu Guotai walked on the land where he had devoted his life.
Every tree and blade of grass here is extremely familiar, and every corner is filled with memories.
In a daze.
He saw himself running as a child.
And the figures who have passed by but are gone.
When Yu Guotai walked to a high place, trembling with his cane, basking in the warm sunshine, he saw smoke rising from every household. Many villagers were drying grain in the yard in the sunshine.
The village barns are full.
This has not happened for many years.
People's faces had become rosy, no longer as pale and thin as before. Some people wore new clothes, some wore new cloth shoes, and the children played and fought all the way to the private school, and there seemed to be light in their eyes.
Ordinary daily life.
But I never get tired of watching it.
I never get tired of watching it.
I just want to take a few more looks!
"The village has changed a lot in the past six months..."
"Yes, we have been through hard times for too long. I haven't seen such a scene for many years."
"The ancestral hall has begun renovations. Should we go take a look?"
"it is good!"
The Yu Family Ancestral Hall has not been repaired for twenty years.
It is currently undergoing intensive renovation. Although it has not been completed yet, its grandeur can already be seen.
Yu Qinghai: "My nephew Yu Xiaoxian is so generous. He donated 2000 yuan to renovate the ancestral hall, dig wells and repair village roads. Our lives will definitely get better and better in the future."
Yu Guotai's face was full of relief.
But I also felt sad.
"I have been the chief for 30 years. Too many people have died of starvation and disease, too many children have been forced to be sold, and too many people have had to leave their homes and go out to sea to make a living."
As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, flowed down his wrinkled old face, and dripped into the yellow earth at his feet.
"I am ashamed of my ancestors!"
Facing the old father’s painful and self-blaming expression and his head full of white hair.
Yu Qinghai quickly comforted him: "Dad, this is not your fault, but the current situation is like this. Fortunately, nephew Yu Xiaoxian is taking care of the village now, and I believe this kind of thing will never happen again in the future."
indeed.
The grassroots people of Dajing State.
There is no land anymore.
Almost all farmers were reduced to tenant farmers working the land for the landlords.
The imperial court imposed heavy taxes and levies one after another, and life was very difficult for the people these days.
Yu Guotai said: "Qinghai, you must remember everything I say next."
"You say."
"We must know how to repay kindness. We must remember every kindness Yu Xiao has shown us, generation after generation. We must not forget it, and we must repay it. We must never take it for granted."
"Yes!"
"…The sons and daughters of the Yu family cannot just think about their own selves. If the world changes in the future and the nation needs you, you cannot retreat. You must at least contribute within your ability."
"I see!"
"besides……"
Yu Guotai talked a lot today.
He told Yu Qinghai a lot in one breath.
Yu Qinghai couldn't help but have a bad feeling.
"Dad, you are not well yet, go back early so that your second and third brothers won't worry."
"Alright."
Fatigue surged over Yu Guotai like a tide, and he realized that time was running out, so he asked his son to support him back home. However, almost as soon as he stepped into the house, the old man collapsed again.
This time.
Never stood up again.
The Yu family hurriedly called a doctor again.
The doctor sighed and said, "The pulse is like boiling water in a pot, floating without roots. This is a sign of the five internal organs failing and the end of life. Birth, aging, illness and death are destiny. Please accept my condolences."
"Dad!"
Several sons started crying.
Yu Qinghai was filled with grief and ordered his attendants: "Hurry, go to the town and inform Ruqian and Yuxiao. Maybe we can see them one last time!"
……
Twenty minutes later.
Yu Xiao and Yu Ruqian came immediately.
At this time, many villagers heard the news and gathered outside the house.
"Hey!" "What's the matter?"
"The old patriarch has worked hard for most of his life."
"Now that we finally have hope for the future, why is he..."
"Xiao-ge is here!"
"Give way!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stepped aside without saying a word.
"grandfather!"
"Grandpa!"
Yu Ruqian knelt down on the bed and burst into tears.
"Don't be sad. At my age, God has been very kind to me."
Yu Guotai was almost out of breath, and he comforted Yu Ruqian, "You must listen to Xiao carefully in the future, and never do anything rebellious."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. Ruqian swears to heaven that he will follow Brother Xiao until death. He will never have second thoughts!"
"I still have one wish now."
Yu Guotai looked at Yu Xiao and said, "Ah Xiao, please be the clan leader. Now the village will obey you."
Yu Xiao declined: "Old Patriarch, I still have a lot of things to do. I won't be staying in Mei County most of the time in the future. I'm afraid I'm not qualified for this position..."
He is not from Yujia Village.
How can he be the clan leader?
"Don't worry, as long as I, Yu Xiao, am here, no one in Yujia Village will starve to death, and no one will be forced to sell their children."
Yu Guotai didn't force it.
And his complexion became worse and worse.
"Ruqian, please go out first. I have something to say to Xiao alone."
Although Yu Ruqian was reluctant, he knew that his grandfather must have something important to tell him, so he left obediently.
Yu Guotai held Yu Xiao's hand and said softly, "Ah Xiao, I see that you are not Awang's grandson, right..."
what?
Was discovered.
When is it.
Yu Xiao was very surprised.
But it's not surprising if you think about it carefully.
Yu Guotai is Yu Guowang's cousin.
If there is still someone in the world who can see the flaw.
Then this person could only be the old patriarch.
"My child, I don't know why you are so kind to us, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart... If Awang knew about this, he would be very happy too!"
He is like a candle in the wind.
He was hanging on by a thread.
It may go out at any time.
Yu Xiao did not interrupt, but just listened quietly to the old man's last words.
"My child, you are a capable and kind person, but there are still millions of Yujia villages in this land. Even if a saint were alive, he couldn't change this situation... I think Dajing is doomed!"
"I believe you have the ability to protect the safety of Yujia Village."
“But I don’t want you to be confined to one corner.”
"With your ability, with your talent."
“We should help the world!”
Yu Xiao originally thought that before Yu Guotai died, he would ask him to take good care of his children and grandchildren. Unexpectedly, his last wish was for Yu Xiao to leave Meixian and care about the world.
This is the situation.
Yu Xiao was in a trance.
An old man in my memory overlapped with the one in front of me.
That was Yu Xiao’s grandfather in his previous life. The old man used to be a soldier. Due to the worsening of his lung disease in his later years, he could only live with a ventilator and could not get out of bed all year round.
This is such an old man who suffers from illness.
Even though he was lying in bed with a respirator every day, he could not forget the major national issues and was worried about the unity and future of the nation, so much so that he became a laughing stock among many people.
Small position.
I dare not forget my worries for the country.
Maybe some people will find it ridiculous.
But when a country or a nation has thousands and thousands of such little people, it becomes an invincible force!
No matter how great the difficulties we face now, no matter how many times we fail, we will eventually be reborn and become great again.
"Don't worry, old patriarch!"
Yu Xiao said: "I promise that this land will be reborn. There will be no more opium, no more bullying by foreign powers. Everyone will have enough food to eat, everyone will have clothes to wear, and everyone will be proud of their nation!"
“Hahaha, that was a really good time…”
Yu Guotai loosened his clenched hands and closed his eyes peacefully.
October 18th, the seventy-eighth year of Emperor Dajing Qian’s reign.
The old patriarch of Yujia Village, Yu Guotai, passed away at the age of 84.
Seven days later.
With the support of Yu Xiao.
Yu Qinghai became the new patriarch.
(End of this chapter)
