Yang Fan calmly sat there. After a long time, he slowly said: "When I was a child, I lived in a small mountain village, carefree and without worries. I never thought about how big the world outside the mountain village was. Had it not been for the murder which followed, I think I should have grown up in peace there, married a mountain-girl, and might have had children of my own by now.
Many years later, my descendants would bury me in a graveyard among the weeds on the hillside facing the sun. Every year on the Qingming Festival, they would come to my grave and put a few fresh fruits on it. On the Chongyang Festival, they would come to my grave and burn a stack of paper money for me. From birth to death, I would stay there. Other than Shaozhou, I would never go to any other place, and I would never get to know other people.
Perhaps this kind of life would be very boring in other people's eyes, but people live, sooner or later they will die, sooner or later they will turn into the earth. It doesn't matter if you are an emperor, a general or a commoner, it's all the same. Whether the grave is magnificent or not, it's other people who see it, what does it have to do with you? The tranquility of a small village is not necessarily a kind of happiness. "
Maqiao didn't know why he suddenly said these things. He looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Yang Fan continued: "But the heavens don't follow my wishes. My village was destroyed, my relatives all died. I had no choice but to leave and look for a new life. At the same time, I have to bear the injustice of my relatives, the debt of my relatives. But this is only my responsibility, it's not the whole of my future life. When I finish all this, I will have to find my own path and start my own life. Do you know what I plan to do? "
Maqiao couldn't help but ask: "What do you plan to do?"
Yang Fan smiled and said: "I plan to, after I clear my debt, I will first find my Niuniu …"
Maqiao said: "In terms of age, she has already grown up. She is working as a maid in some rich and powerful family. In another two years, maybe she will be betrothed to some steward or a capable servant. The sea of people is boundless, where will you find her? She saved you, but you saved her as well. You don't have to take so much responsibility for yourself. "
Yang Fan said seriously, "I don't know if she's my responsibility. But she is my concern! "
"Worries?"
"Yes! Worry! Although we are not related by blood, we are closer than biological siblings. If I can't find her and confirm whether she's alive or not, I won't be at ease, so I have to find her! If she's already married and her man treats her well, I can leave without worry and live my own life. If she hasn't married yet and her master doesn't treat her well, if she's willing to come with me, then I'll take her away and treat her as my own sister. I'll be responsible for finding her a satisfactory husband, preparing her dowry, and marrying her off in style. "
"What about you? What are your plans?"
"Maybe I'll go back to Nanyang. My master is now the ruler of a country, and my senior is the young master. I can live well there. Of course, if I meet a girl and fall in love with her, and she likes to live in the Tang dynasty, I'll also stay with her. No matter where, as long as I have land and a house, I have my own things to do, and I can let my wife and children live a stable life. "
"It's very simple, isn't it?"
Yang Fan looked at Maqiao with a smile and said: "Every man has to marry and have children when he grows up. He has to have his own family and produce his own descendants. Nobles, nobles, gentry, merchants, peddlers, all of them are born as humans, born as adults, married and had children, and turned to dust. "
The same path, there's no difference. Even if you have the whole world, the path you've taken is no different from living in a small mountain village like I said. The whole world is just a slightly bigger 'village'.
However, if you have the chance to become a nobleman, then there's no harm in fighting for it. Because this way, your hut will be more spacious, your courtyard will be bigger, and your fence will be stronger. You can sleep more soundly at night, and you won't have to worry about weasels sneaking into your fence to steal chickens.
Yang Fan smiled and said: "If you don't have the ability to become a nobleman, then take a step back and become a nobleman, a gentry, or a merchant … In short, no matter how much ability you have, you have to fight for what you can get with your ability. Because this way, your parents, wife, and children will live a better life."
Yang Fan turned to Maqiao and sat face to face with him. He asked seriously: "I'm seventeen this year, and you're nineteen. You're two years older than me. It's time for you to be crowned. Have you ever thought about how you'll look after your mother in the future? How you'll marry a wife and have children? What kind of 'mountain village' do you plan to give them? What kind of 'fenced courtyard'? "
Maqiao was stunned.
Yang Fan stared at him and asked again: "You've never thought about these things, right?"
Maqiao's face was a bit red, and he was speechless.
Yang Fan said: "Auntie worked hard to do business, to save money for you to marry a wife. Even though she didn't know how to do things, and lost money every time she did business, she at least knew what she wanted to do and why she wanted to do it. But what about you? Everyone praised you for being filial. You are filial, but have you ever thought about how you and your family will live a year from now? How you and your family will live ten years from now? Have you ever thought about how your mother is already old? If she suddenly falls seriously ill, with the few copper coins in your pocket, how are you going to find a doctor to treat her? Have you ever thought about how you're going to arrange your life in the future? "
Maqiao's face was red to the ears, and he already felt a bit ashamed to show his face.
Yang Fan was not polite at all, and said in a mocking tone: "You haven't! You're just living in a muddle. Every day you open your eyes, fill your stomach, and muddleheadedly deal with the errands in the workshop, and then you've muddled through the day. When you get home at night, you fill your stomach again, and then you sleep soundly. You've probably only considered what's going to happen three days from now, right? "
Maqiao's face was red to the ears: "I … I …"
Yang Fan said: "About the matter between you and Bao Yinyin, let's not talk about right or wrong for the time being. Later on, you bravely stepped forward and didn't let the innocent die for you. Not only did others praise you for being loyal and responsible, but you must also be very proud of yourself and think that you're a hero, right? I'm not going to criticize you about this matter. Even the smartest person can be muddled at times. But about the matter of football, what do you think?
Back then, Chu Kuangge was kicked out of the Imperial Army. Returning to the Imperial Army was his biggest dream, and it was related to his life's fate. You tell me, is this just a matter of playing football? And for you, isn't this also an opportunity? Brother Chu wanted to use this matter to make a contribution and have the abbot help him return to the Imperial Army. Why didn't you think of it?
Are you planning to go back to being a workshop attendant after things have calmed down, or are you planning to be a monk for the rest of your life? I think you've never thought about how you're going to live in the future! You still have an old mother at home waiting for you to take care of, and you still have dozens of years to live. Such a good opportunity is right in front of you, yet you're still muddle-headed and don't even think about it! "
Maqiao was scolded until his whole body heated up and he was drenched in sweat.
Yang Fan said: "I asked you just now, what is the point of living? There's no meaning to a person's life in itself. There's no difference between a pig, a dog, or a mosquito! What's important is what you give it, what you fight for it! This is the root of the spirit of all living things! It doesn't matter if you throw a goal to others. What I want to know is, when will you be able to find your own destiny! "
The sound of Yang Fan's footsteps became more and more distant, gradually disappearing into the pagoda forest.
Maqiao sat there alone for a long time, not moving at all.
The sky gradually darkened, but Maqiao was still sitting there, the same color as the stone pagoda that had stood for thousands of years.
…
The next morning, when Yang Fan led a group of players to the court, he saw Maqiao seriously cleaning the court. The spacious court was almost completely cleaned, and no one knew when he woke up.
The monks were very surprised, but they did not say anything. Yang Fan also did not say anything. Of course, he hoped to scold Maqiao to wake up. However, the same words may have the effect of a severe warning to some people, but to others, it was just a three-day enthusiasm. Whether Maqiao would really repent or not, they would have to wait and see.
Today, they still had to wait for the imperial guard's archery team to arrive, so they still did not do any intense exercise, mainly to warm up their bodies. A group of monks was practicing archery when suddenly the side door of the temple's backyard opened. Dozens of horses galloped in, and the monks who were practicing immediately stopped and looked at the group of people.
The older ones were in their thirties, and the younger ones were not even twenty. They were dressed in all kinds of short, archery sleeves, and rode tall horses of the same color. Although they were young, fat, thin, tall and short, and the colors of their clothes and horses were different, their movements and mannerisms revealed a kind of dignified and solemn aura.
If only one of them appeared on a horse, perhaps people would not be able to guess their identity, but with so many of them appearing at the same time, and their spirits were all the same. Yang Fan immediately understood that these people were the imperial guard's archery team that they had been looking forward to for a long time.
Chu Kuangge reined in his horse and looked at the group of people. His body suddenly trembled, and he was a little absent-minded. Among those people, there were actually two faces that he was familiar with. Those people looked around disdainfully at the group of monks. Their expressions were originally quite disdainful, but they soon noticed Chu Kuangge.
Chu Kuangge was tall, and among the group of monks, he was like a crane among a flock of chickens. It was difficult not to notice him. At a glance, two of those people were startled. The two of them looked at each other and whispered a few words, as if they wanted to confirm Chu Kuangge's identity. Then, they both knocked on their horses' bellies and welcomed him.
The two of them rode to Chu Kuangge's side and looked him up and down. One of them said with some surprise, "Sir … is your surname Chu?"
Chu Kuangge's face was a little red from excitement, and there were already faint tears in his eyes. Hearing the two of them ask, he could not help but laugh, "Li Da, Wei San, we haven't seen each other for a few years. Don't you recognize me, Chu Kuangge?"
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