Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 4 Pigs, Dogs, and Officials
"Boom, bang."

Taozi banged on the wooden door, and it groaned.

An old woman came out.

The old woman was wearing tattered clothes whose original color was hard to tell. Her gray hair was sticking to her forehead in a mess. Her waist was bent at a scary angle, and Liu Taozi could clearly see the part of her head that was not covered by her hair.

"It's Peach!"

"My mother asked me to send this."

Liu Taozi put down the package, took out a bone wrapped in meat from it, and handed it to the old woman in front of him.

The old woman took the bone tremblingly.

"Have you seen your third brother? He said he was going to build a pagoda. Did he complete it?"

"I do not know."

The old woman was stunned for a moment, "Okay, wait for me."

The old woman walked back tremblingly, and soon she was back in front of Liu Taozi again.

"Take these two eggs to your mother."

"I made lunch at noon. I'll ask your third brother to deliver it to your home."

Liu Taozi nodded, took the things, turned and left.

The old woman stood at the door, looking at Liu Taozi's back, and did not move until he walked away.

Liu Taozi came to the next courtyard.

The woman warmly invited Liu Taozi into the yard.

"Is it Brother Tao?"

"Let him in!"

A sound came from the inner room.

Liu Taozi carried the meat into the dim inner room. A sloppy man with a strong foul smell was lying on the couch. He struggled to get up, but he had no calves below his knees, so he didn't know if this position could be considered sitting.

The man's face was conflicted, with unspeakable guilt in his eyes.

"Alas, these years, thanks to your help, I have become increasingly unable to walk."

"My mother said that this is how it should be between neighbors."

"Besides, you also taught me the Xianbei language, which is very useful."

The man's face froze, "Did you see the Xianbei people?"

"Don't get close to those people. They are very fierce and might even take your head and claim military merit for it."

The man suddenly looked at his wife, his expression became irritable, "What are you still standing there for? Where's the meal? You haven't prepared the meal yet so late. Did you let Brother Tao wait for nothing?"

"If it weren't for the things that Tao Ge'er sent, we wouldn't even be able to afford food at home. How would you expect me to cook?!"

The two men started yelling at each other.

"I won't eat it. I still have a few more to deliver to."

“Eat before you leave!!”

"Next time."

"You kid, give some to the kid. Give some."

The man looked around, groping helplessly, and finally smiled in despair, "Be careful on the road."

Liu Taozi walked on the path again.

At this time, I can finally see some people, including women, old people, people who have not grown up, and disabled men.

They carried various tools and greeted Taozi enthusiastically.

Taozi didn't have to go to their homes, but stopped them and distributed food to them one by one.

When he reached the farthest point of the village, Liu Taozi suddenly stopped and slowly looked to the left.

The gate of the courtyard was closed, and faint sounds of crying could be heard from inside.

The crying sounded very sad.

Liu Taozi approached the courtyard gently, then kicked the door. The wooden door could not withstand such roughness and broke into pieces.

In the yard, a child of four or five years old was squatting at the door of his house. At this moment, he raised his head stupidly, his face was a mess of tears and snot.

He was wearing a very large coat that covered his entire body, leaving only his head exposed.

His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he was trembling.

Liu Taozi looked around and asked, "Where's Yeye?"

"Brother Tao Taozi!"

Seeing the acquaintance, the child started crying again.

"My son Yaye went out before dawn yesterday, saying he was going to pick up something to eat and would be back after dark."

"But he, he, hasn't come back yet. I'm scared to be alone."

As he spoke, he started crying again.

"do not Cry!"

The little kid was so scared that he quickly covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound, and sobbing silently.

Liu Taozi dropped the package in her hand and said, "Pick it up and follow me. If you cry again, I'll feed you to the fish."

The little kid picked up the clothes, picked up the package in a hurry, and followed Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi was walking back this time, but there was a little tail behind him.

"Go away, go away!!"

A shout came from the front.

A girl of fifteen or sixteen, skinny and barefoot, with two thin bamboo-like legs stuck in the mud. She was carrying a heavy bamboo basket filled with radish, weighing her down so much that she couldn't stand up and was covered in mud.

Standing in the middle was a fat man, with fat all over his body, big ears like fan-shaped leaves, and streaks of fat on his neck. Beside him stood two sturdy followers.

The two were tall, with round bellies, standing on the left and right, with their heads raised and fierce looks on their faces.

"Why are you angry? I just want to buy your sashimi."

"You won't sell it?"

"You are quite clever. It rained last night, so you went up the mountain to collect herbs this morning. This is all mixed with water."

As he spoke, he reached out to take the jellyfish, but his hand seemed to be touching the other person's face.

A guard hurriedly pulled the fat man and pointed at Liu Taozi in the distance.

When the three of them looked at Taozi, the girl quickly moved away. The fat man stretched out his hand to block her, but then slowly put it away.

He looked at Liu Taozi and smiled, revealing his black rotten teeth.

"Brother Tao, is your grandfather okay?"

Liu Taozi didn't answer, but walked straight towards him without slowing down, and bumped into him head-on.

The man panicked and tried to avoid it, but Liu Taozi bumped into him and disappeared completely in the distance with his little tail.

The man on the left shouted angrily: "The son of a hunter is so arrogant? I must kill him!"

Another echoed: "This son of a bitch, I'm going to stab him right now."

The two men's voices were like thunder, clap and bang.

The fat man was humming, and even when he was not talking, a faint humming sound was always coming from his nose.

"One more time, I will"

Before he could finish his words, Liu Taozi's figure appeared in front of them again, and Liu Taozi walked towards them quickly.

The fat man stopped talking, and the two men on his left and right turned pale and took a step back.

The fat man showed his rotten teeth again.

"Peach Brother"

Liu Taozi asked, "Do you want to accept the deer skin?"

"Take it, take it. I'll send someone tomorrow to pick it up myself."

"Ah."

Liu Taozi turned around and left again.

When his figure disappeared in the distance again, the man on the left cursed: "Look, you didn't even greet your elders when you saw them? What a damn brat!"

"Shut up and get out of here!!"

In the courtyard, Mrs. Liu Zhang looked at the little guy who was eating voraciously in front of her, her eyes full of heartache.

"Eat slowly, eat slowly"

She gently stroked the little guy's head and looked at Taozi beside her.

"In his house?"

"Mr. Zhang went out yesterday and has not returned yet."

"I see that mom is tired from making fire and cooking, so why not let him do the chores and give him something to eat every day so he doesn't starve to death."

Liu Zhang smiled bitterly and slowly looked at Liu Da who was not far away.

At this moment, Liu Da was holding a hammer and repairing the broken furniture.

Liu Da shouted without even raising his head:
"Why are you looking at me?! Lord Liu has given the order, what else can I do?!"

Mrs. Liu Zhang stroked the little guy's head again and sighed.

The sky is getting dark.

The bloody sunset was swallowed up by the darkness, and the birds on the roof no longer sang.

There is no moon tonight.

The dark room was completely dark.

I could vaguely hear a rustling sound in my ears, which continued to be amplified. Suddenly, I heard crying and shouting in the distance.

Taozi sat up suddenly and groped her way out of the inner room.

Liu Da had already been standing in the courtyard, motionless, listening to something.

Liu Zhang stood nervously at the door, holding the door with her hands, and the little guy sat behind her.

The sounds of crying, horse hooves and roaring mixed together, and dazzling flames flickered in the distance.

That's the direction of the village.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard from the peach forest, getting closer and closer. Just as Liu Taozi was about to go to the warehouse, Liu Da called him.

"No problem. Open the door."

Taozi opened the courtyard gate, and Liu Zhang told the little one not to come out, then walked out and closed the door.

Soon, several people stopped at the door of the house. Two soldiers were riding horses, and the fat man seen during the day was standing in the middle, sweating profusely.

He managed a smile.

"Liu Da, someone is coming from the county. Everyone must go."

"Ah."

Zhang Cheng picked up the worn paper and looked at the pawn beside him.

"The three members of the Liu family, his wife Liu Zhang, and his son Taozi are all here."

"Let's go."

(End of this chapter)