Chapter One Hundred: Death is easy, living is hard!
erent from the children in the village.He could eat and drink well every day, and his little fists grew stronger. He was no longer the weak child he used to be.The whole family was delighted. Li Laosi...> Li Laosi had his eyes red, and he rushed over like an arrow!
Under a tree several steps outside, three belts were hung in a row, with three old brothers hanging from each belt.
I don't know how they managed to hang themselves up there, or for how long...
"Help! Help me!"
"Doctor Zhang, help! Ohhh, Uncle Zhao!" Two villagers scrambled and ran.
Li Laosi quickly took down three old men, desperately carrying two and running towards the camp.
Two villagers carried an old man, running and crying so loudly that it shook the heavens.
At the camp, everyone had already started eating.
The sudden scream turned everyone's face pale.
The village head threw his rice bowl and ran out, the crowd chasing after him like madmen.
But before they could charge out of camp, Li Laosi ran back.
"Zhang the Divine Physician, please save them! Uncle Zhao and the others... they hanged themselves!" Even a tough man like Li Laosi choked back tears, his eyes welling up.
No one knows how terrified and remorseful he was when he saw three old men strolling in the autumn wind just now. He will never forget it for the rest of his life!
Master Zhang's face also changed, he shouted for everyone to line up the three old men.
He quickly felt the pulses of Zhao Shu and the other three, offering comfort to the crowd while simultaneously drawing out his silver needles and jabbing them in with swift precision.
"Don't be afraid, his chest is still warm, he should be alive. Make way, let the wind in! And bring some warm water!"
The crowd dispersed in a flurry, but they didn't dare leave. They all stood two paces away, watching Zhang Shenshi busy himself, yet unable to lend a hand.
The women didn't have time to wipe their tears, and they hurriedly ran to get warm water.
Jia Yin leaned against the old woman's shoulder, hugging her tightly around the neck, tears soaking the old woman's clothes.
No wonder the old men were hugging her all day yesterday, reluctant to let go. On the bumpy road, they even carved a little trinket for her.
At this point, one might think that the old men had long since planned to commit suicide.
After all, their legs are not suitable for climbing mountains, even on flat ground they walk slowly.
Two mountains before this, Li Laosi and Jia Yisheng had pulled their sleds over them.
Now they have to venture into the mountains a hundred miles deep. They certainly wouldn't want to burden the Li family, nor become a nuisance.
No one knows what those three old men, who had made up their minds to die in the dark of night, thought about or how many tears they shed...
Jia Xi Jia An clutched the slingshot, a gift from her grandfathers, tightly in her hand and wept uncontrollably.
"Woooo, Grandma, Grandpa Zhao still said he'd teach me how to juggle rabbits..."
"Mom, I'll be good from now on and won't bother Grandpa Zhao anymore. Let them come back to life, okay"
Li Laotai hugged her three children, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, and tears wouldn't stop flowing.
Yesterday, when Lao Zhao said she was a waste of space, why didn't she try to persuade her more
Zhao Yuru and Tao Hongying were so overcome with emotion that they clung to each other, weeping. From the elderly gentlemen to Li Jia's partners, their three meals a day, clothes, shoes, socks, and even tidying up the house were all taken care of by these sisters-in-law.
Although not related by blood, they are already like family!
Li Lao Er and Li Lao San crouched on the ground, their eyes red with regret. They wished they had discovered the old men's ulterior motives!
The village head was trembling all over. His old wife tried to help him up several times, but he couldn't stand.
He stared at the three old brothers with bloodshot eyes, motionless.
The villagers stood silent, wiping their tears, afraid to make a sound that might disturb the rescuers.
Dr. Zhang was drenched in sweat from working so hard, but thankfully, it wasn't for nothing.
Uncle Zhao was the first to stir. He suddenly opened his mouth and started coughing, then gasped for breath.
Then, the other two old gentlemen, Wei Shushu and Wang Shushu, also woke up.
Three people opened their eyes and saw the crowd. Instead of joy, there was disappointment in their eyes, and they quickly closed their eyes again.
Is this them blaming everyone for saving them
Before anyone else could speak, the village head had already scrambled forward with hands and feet, raising his hand to give them several loud slaps, crisp and clear.
"Useless things! How can you be so disheartened You're not afraid of death, are you afraid to go into the deep forest We brothers promised to drink together and live together! Why would you give up such a good life!"
He clutched his arms desperately, trying to pull the three old brothers close to his chest.
We had half our lives left when we came down from the battlefield. Old Kui said he wanted to live a full life, but he died in one day! He wanted to live, but the old man in the sky wouldn't let him. You guys, you cowards, you wimps! You were treated like fathers by the Li family boy, with grandchildren galore, and yet you don't want to live! Old Kui would know that killing the閻王 (Yānmáng) - the King of Hell - will come back to haunt you!
Three other elderly men, also crippled, crawled forward crying, clutching at Lao Zhao's clothing.
"You don't have legs, we do. We'll carry you all the way to the Golden Sand River."
"We're all brothers, you guys go first, how are we supposed to live!"
Uncle Zhao still didn't speak, but tears streamed down his cheeks.
Seven old men cried into a pile, on the battlefield they had dodged the barbarians' swords and guns, they had dodged the summons of the King Yama.
To have lived a solitary life for over a decade, only to end it by hanging myself
Jia Xilai and Jia An cried and rushed in, tightly hugging Zhao Shu for several moments, howling, "Grandpa Zhao, we'll take care of you, please don't die!"
The rest of the mischievous kids also rushed over, surrounding the old men in the middle. Some hugged their arms, while others hugged their legs.
"Grandfather, don't die, woohoo, don't die!"
When their parents were busy, the children were looked after by their grandfather, who was very close to them.
The villagers could bear it no longer and fell to their knees.
A bachelor shouted, "Uncle Zhao, I have no parents. If you don't mind, I will be your son from now on. I will carry you up the mountains and to the Jinsha River!"
"And me, I'll carry it too! There were so many of us when we left, and now there are just us left. We can't lose anyone else." The other men were also wiping away tears as they shouted back in agreement.
The Li brothers knelt at the front, with Li Lao San's teeth chattering as he cried incoherently.
"Uncle Zhao, this year all of you old folks have treated us like our own sons. You taught us anything and everything you thought was important. We've already considered you family. Family shares both joy and hardship! Abandoning the elderly when times are tough is simply unhuman!"
Li Lao'er also tried to persuade, “Yes, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Wei, Uncle Wang, there are countless dangers in the mountains. We have no experience and need your guidance and protection. If you’re gone, we can’t even walk out of hundreds of miles of mountains. There's only Old Four in the whole village who knows how to hunt. The rest of us can't even tell wolf dung from pig dung. Can you really rest assured”
The villagers were heartbroken. Their original reluctance to part with the old men was now replaced by a sense of dependence.
"Uncle Zhao, you can't die! We're afraid!"
As expected, Zhao Shu and the others finally opened their eyes upon hearing this.
They didn't want to be a burden, a drain on everyone, so they took this step of hanging themselves.
But at this moment, they suddenly realized that they were still useful, and they had to protect the villagers from leaving the forest. Their hearts pounded with a surge of power.
They were scouts in the army back then. Although they have lost their legs and feet now, they haven't forgotten how to navigate the mountains and forests or evade wild beasts...
Three pairs of eyes met, and a glimmer of hope sparked in each.
Better to die here and wait for the villagers to leave the mountains before I do.
Seeing the look on everyone's faces, they all rejoiced.
Thus, the crowd became even more animated in their conversation.
"I'm afraid of snakes. Aren't there snakes everywhere in the forest"
"In such mountains, there might be packs of wolves."
"Couldn't there be tigers"
Uncle Zhao struggled to sit up, wanting to speak but his voice was injured and he could only make a hissing sound.He brought in a bowl of hot porridge and, seeing this, quickly stepped forward and pressed her hand down. "Miss, don't move, your clothes are the ones I changed for you!"The water spirit following beh...