Chapter 655: Young Man's Tour...
In ancient times, county annals were used to record a county's history, geography, customs, officials, culture, education, and products. They were specialized books that described the local customs and historical development. However, in the remote Buping County, an ordinary pair of siblings were recorded in detail in the county annals. The content is as follows:
In Buping County there lived a poor brother and sister, who had been dependent on each other since childhood, lonely and dependent on each other, like twin lotus flowers.
There was a local tyrant who had always behaved badly, especially fond of molesting little girls. Although he never dared to fulfill his lust, there were few girls in the county who had not been humiliated by him. It was cold and famine-stricken, and the brother and sister were begging in the market. The tyrant saw that the sister was fair and lovely even though her clothes were tattered and full of knots, so he wanted to kidnap her.
The brother and sister repeatedly used clever tricks to escape, hiding between the beams of the veranda or pretending to jump into a well to confuse the pursuers. However, one day, the evil servant was raging, and the brother used his body to shield his sister, but was eventually killed by his fists and feet.
It was dusk and rainy, and the sister held the corpse in her arms and cried out in grief, her voice breaking the sky. Fortunately, justice prevailed, and the government finally sent officials to capture the murderer and chose a kind person to adopt the orphan girl.
The foster mother had no children but was kind and treated her as her own. She provided her with fine clothes and food like pearls. However, every night when it was quiet, the sister would shed tears over her brother's old clothes until dawn. In the autumn of the second year, she committed suicide by the setting sun in the west window. Her suicide note said:
"I am so lucky to have been raised by your loving parents. But now I have to go to the underworld to look for my brother, which is much more joyful than the human world." He added a plea at the end: "If you have mercy on me, please bury me next to my brother's tomb in my hometown. So we can meet again in the afterlife and continue our brotherhood." Everyone who heard this burst into tears, and the coffin was moved back to his hometown. Where the two tombs stood side by side, one could only see the setting sun, just like that time.
The woman wiped away the tears from her eyes calmly while helping the little girl to identify the words on the stone tablet.
“This is the story of that little boy.”
"She has a brother who loves her very much, just like Nannan has a mother who loves you very much, and the little girl also loves her brother as much as Nannan loves her mother."
The little girl stared at the stone tablet with her eyes wide open. "There are many words on it that I don't know and can't fully understand. Mommy will tell me."
"Looking for brother?" She slowly stroked the two words with her tender fingers. "Did the little girl go looking for her brother because she loves him so much? Why did she and her brother separate?"
The woman suppressed the trembling in her voice and told the whole story in a way that the children could understand.
"Buping County is the place where we are standing now. There used to be a pair of orphans, brother and sister, who lived together since childhood."
The girl opened her innocent eyes, the distinct black and white pupils were so pure and innocent, "Just like mother and daughter?"
"Yes, just like my daughter and mother."
"At that time, there was a rich man in the county who was ruthless and oppressed the people. The most disgusting thing was... he also liked little girls like you and your friends who were the same age."
"Almost all the little girls in the county were bullied by him, but he didn't dare to really do it because of the public resentment."
The woman looked into the girl's clear eyes and said, "It's a very bad kind of love, don't misunderstand it, girl."
"Is it worse than the wicked wolf monster that eats people without leaving any bones behind?" The girl was a little scared.
The woman pulled her into her arms and comforted her, "Both are bad, there's no difference between them."
"Until one day, the rich man saw the sister begging on the street with her brother. Even though the sister was wearing ragged clothes, she still looked lovely. The rich man could no longer restrain her evil thoughts and wanted to take action against the sister."
Even though the girl was still young and couldn't understand the true meaning of the word "take action", the woman's words were enough to scare her, and she reached out and grabbed the hem of the woman's clothes.
The woman gently touched the girl's head and coaxed her not to be afraid, "The brother and sister used their wits to escape several times without any danger, until one time the brother unfortunately died while trying to stop the rich man's thugs..."
"The little boy's brother died?" The girl opened her eyes wide as if she couldn't believe it, "Just like Nannan's little bird?" Transparent tears gradually gathered in her eyes.
The woman hid the sob in her voice well, "Yes, once you die you're gone forever, there's no way you can ever come back."
"…My sister is heartbroken…"
The girl whispered, "Nannan seems to be able to understand the sadness of some children. When the little bird left, Nannan cried for a long time and her eyes were swollen."
The woman held her in her arms and patted her back to comfort her. "Later, this matter finally alarmed the authorities. The rich man did not take my sister away, but received the punishment he deserved."
"Has he been thrown in jail?" The girl looked at the woman seriously. "He killed the kid's brother and bullied many girls like the kid. He should be thrown in jail."
"Of course, this bad guy was indeed thrown into prison. He was used to a life of luxury and soon caught a cold and died because he was not used to the conditions in prison."
The girl lowered her head somewhat disappointedly.
The woman looked at her gently, "What's wrong, Nannan, are you dissatisfied with the bad guy's ending?"
"No, Nannan just feels a little sad..." The girl raised her head and stared at the woman with inquiring eyes, "The kid's brother and the bad guys are gone, why does Nannan feel bad?"
"The teacher clearly taught us that one life is worth another." The woman's expression was still gentle, but her eyes were a little cold, "Because the lives of good people and bad people are different."
"Even if a bad guy dies ten thousand times, he can't bring back a good guy. His life..."
"Not enough." The girl answered and nodded as if she understood.
"What happened next? What happened to the kid?"
When asked, the woman's eyelashes trembled, "Not long after the bad guy was imprisoned, the government selected a suitable adoptive parent to adopt my sister and take her away from this sad place."
The girl's eyes lit up when she heard this, "The adopter is such a good person!"
The woman pursed her lips and smiled, "The adoptive parents have no children, and they treat my sister very well, pampering her like their own daughter."
“That’s great!” The girl smiled sincerely, but the woman shook her head absentmindedly, “…but things are not as good as they seem.”
"Because the sister has not gotten over the pain of her brother's death, she just keeps pretending that nothing happened, so as not to make the adoptive parents sad..."
"My sister pretended so well that the adoptive parents didn't notice anything..." The woman's hands clenched unconsciously at her side, "Two years later, my sister committed suicide on an evening with the sun setting."
The girl was stunned because the sadness in the woman's eyes could no longer be concealed.
"She left a suicide note saying she was very sorry and that she felt happy to be an adopted child, but that she was going to pursue happier things..." The woman covered her face and cried.
The girl's voice became soft and gentle, "Little boy, are you going to look for your brother?"
"Because my brother left forever, I, as a kid, must also choose to leave forever."
"…That's right. After listening to the kid's whole story, how do you feel, Nannan?"
The girl frowned and thought for a long time, "I hope the child's adoptive parents won't be sad."
The woman was stunned, and the girl continued, "Everyone will feel sad when the people and things they are close to leave forever, just like Nannan watching the little bird leave."
"But if Nannan knew that the little bird left to find a place that would make it happier, Nannan thinks... Nannan shouldn't be sad." The girl showed a sad yet happy smile.
"Nannan should be happy about it."
"Nannan hopes that the kind adoptive father can do the same."
"Sadness will not only make you feel bad, but also make those around you feel bad. Nannan, remember when you cried for the little bird... Mommy also cried because of you... So don't be like this."
“‘Please be happy for me.’…” The girl looked at the woman and smiled. “I guess this is what the child wanted to say to the kind adoptive parents.”
The woman shed tears in a trance, and the sunset on the horizon enveloped her like a dream.
“Yes... yes, she should be very happy to be reunited with her brother, and so should I..." The woman's whisper melted in the gentle sunset.
"Let it go..."
……
Two figures, one big and one small, were walking away in the sunset, with the small shadow jumping around.
"Mother, there are weeds all around the grave of the little boy's sister. Does she like it this way?"
"Yes, she likes the sunshine and rain, and she likes the changes of everything in the world. In autumn, there are weeds here, in winter, there will be thick snow, in spring, there will be grass and birds flying, in summer..."
"When the sun is hot, this place will be green."
"She likes it."
