Chapter One Village

  (Dedicated to those who understand, I understand, and we don't understand youth... Hope readers who like this book will follow me into the world of a semi-real little person's step-by-step rise...)

  This is a very ordinary village, located in the northern Guanzhong WeiBei Plain, adjacent to the Loess Plateau. It's so ordinary that you can't even find its name on Baidu Maps. The eight hundred miles of Qin River are filled with flying yellow earth, and thirty million children shout in unison in the Qin Opera, but the village is just a small place where nothing much happens. News spreads quickly from the widow at the head of the village to the crippled old man at the end of the village...

  Like all rural areas, this place was once filled with poverty and backwardness. Only in recent years, under the wise leadership of the country, after reform and opening up, the countryside has begun to take on a new look. Many farmers have built houses, some have even bought cars, children have received education, and everything is moving in a virtuous circle. The lives of farmers have also improved.

  There is an earth wall on the south side of the village, and it is said that the village was a military camp in the past. During the liberation period, a fierce battle was fought here, and there are still many nameless corpses under the earth wall. However, only a small part of the wall remains now. During the Cultural Revolution, the left-wing ideology was particularly severe, so the wall was pushed down by radical leftists, which is quite regrettable.

  The village has its own legend, and it is also a place where famous people have emerged. It is said that a heroic figure once appeared here, who is the greatest pride of the village. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, when war fires raged across the sky, he launched the shocking "Xi'an Incident" which stunned both China and foreign countries. He was General Yang Hucheng, the old leader of the Northwestern Army, a legendary figure in the village and the greatest pride of all villagers.

  If someone asks the villagers who you are?

  Then these simple yet vigorous old men will raise their heads, which have been oppressed by the years, straighten their slightly hunched backs, and reveal their big yellow teeth, which have long been polluted by tobacco, and say in a authentic Shaanxi Guanzhong accent: "We are from the same village as Yang Hucheng."

  It seems that after saying this, he is a few degrees higher than others, like a victorious rooster, proudly puffed out his chest and head, looking very spirited. This can be said to be the work of some vanity, with a hint of arrogance in his bones, making him stand out from the crowd.

  The old men in the village talked about Yang Huicheng, one by one, more detailed than what was written in history books. Every time when the sun set in the west and a day's work was almost done, the old people in the village would sit under the old locust tree at the village entrance with their small stools, which could not be surrounded by several adults. They would take out the tobacco grown in their own homes, roll up a cigarette with their slightly trembling hands, light it with a match that cost five cents per box, take a hard puff, and comfortably blow out a smoke ring, as if they were more comfortable than gods at this moment.

  Then these old people started their daily routine in the afternoon, and the village children saw them gathering together, they quickly put down their playthings and gathered around the old people, sitting on the ground, not afraid of getting dust on their newly washed clothes, and when they went back home, they would inevitably be scolded by their parents.

  But at this time, the children don't care about these things anymore. They only know that they can get through one day after another with these stories. The old men's tales of fighting against heaven are much more enjoyable than those rotten Snow White and Seven Dwarfs stories told by teachers in school. Anyway, who cares what a princess or prince is? Can you eat them? They just think Yang Huwa is cooler from the old men's mouths. After listening to these stories, they will become their capital for boasting and pride among classmates at school.

  The old men sat upright, as if this matter was very serious at this time. The sunset shone on the faces of the elderly, which had been eroded by years and were no longer recognizable. Wrinkles, like the ravines on the Loess Plateau, were everywhere, a combination of history and stories that matched the sunset perfectly.

  "Yang Huicheng was nicknamed Little Tiger, when he was young his family was poor so he worked for others, in the mutton soup shop in our town. Later on, he couldn't stand the local tyrant bullying people, so he took a kitchen knife from the shop and killed that tyrant on the street. After that, he became the leader of a gang of bandits, later fought against the Qing government, and finally joined the Nationalist Party..." Old folks were telling stories about this legendary figure in our authentic Guanzhong dialect, one sentence after another, with many rumors and anecdotes from Little Tiger's childhood, it was quite lively.

  Sometimes two people know different things and will argue about it until their faces turn red, panting and puffing like a mischievous child. No wonder others say "old kid, old kid", in the end they just laugh and smoke a cigarette as if nothing happened.

  Just as the old people were talking loudly, the children sitting around shouted "Li Lao Ye has come, Li Lao Ye has come"

  In the Guanzhong region, "Lao Ye" means great-grandfather, that is, the father of one's grandfather. Apparently, this Li Lao Ye has a high generation rank in the village and must also be very old.

  Some even ran over to ask Lao Li for candy, it seems that in their hearts, Lao Li's status is to give them candy. But kids are just kids, as long as they have something to eat, they're happy and carefree.

  The old men sitting under the tree would hurry to stand up as soon as they heard the children's shouts, as if to welcome a distinguished guest, each one being dignified and proper, patting the dirt off their buttocks, without knowing whether there was any dirt or not.

  When the children's "Li Lao Ye" arrived under the old locust tree, which was older than anyone in the village, several old men vied to give up their seats for him, saying politely, "Old brother, you sit, you sit," as if whoever gave up his seat would gain great honor.

  The old man simply opened his toothless mouth and smiled faintly at everyone, each wrinkle on his forehead having a long history, without deliberately pushing it away, and casually found a place to sit down.

  The old man wore a buttoned Chinese tunic shirt, ordinary black trousers, and even more common but down-to-earth old cloth shoes, not the kind of cloth shoes sold by old Beijing vendors outside, but made by rural people themselves, with better quality and comfort.

  The old man hunched over, already looking like a skeleton, but the sharp glint in his eyes was something that only cunning foxes who had grown old and wise would understand.

  The old man casually found a seat and sat down, ignoring the other old men beside him. He leaned on his cane, staring at the setting sun that was about to dip below the horizon, lost in thought. His eyes seemed to be swirling like whirlpools, making anyone dare not look directly at him. From time to time, he would glance towards the alley entrance, as if waiting for something.

  At this time, the sunset was also going down quickly, and the last ray of light shone on the old man's face. If someone observed at this moment, they would find that this crazy old man was bathed in the last bit of sunlight, sacred and unparalleled, just like the legendary Mahārāja.

  At this time, the old men and children under the old locust tree, as well as in the sunset, are visually striking.

  Old Man Li, everyone called this old man Old Man Li, no one knew his real name, and no one knew his history, only knowing that he was called Old Man Li.

  Also, Lao Li is much older than the oldest person in the village. Who can know the story of this old man when he was young? How he was so arrogant and domineering, how he had absolute power, or maybe he was just an ordinary commoner struggling to make a living every day.

  The history known to the villagers is that Li Lao's father was following General Yang Hucheng, also known as Huwa, to make revolution back then. The two were childhood friends who grew up together and had a deep friendship that could be described as having gone through thick and thin together.

  Li Lao Tou's father was also a legendary figure in this area, known as an all-around talent, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing.

  It can be said that he is a man of great learning and talent, with a deep understanding of the universe and the earth. It can also be said that he is a genius, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that there is nothing he does not know.

  It's also possible that as time goes on, it becomes more and more mysterious, but in fact, there isn't that much excitement to it.

  So to this day, this generation still circulates the legend of Li Family's Ancestor, showing its legendary splendor.

  Later, after Yang Huicheng made a revolution, he used all his strength to let Li Lao's father and himself do it together. Li Lao's father was a versatile person, who saw the current political situation clearly, knowing that the Qing dynasty would soon come to an end, so he agreed without hesitation.

  Later, people only knew that Lao Li's father and Yang Huicheng fought together to overthrow the Jiangshan regime, during which Lao Li's father had a late son, bringing his only son, Lao Li, back to the village for ancestral worship. After that, there was no more news, and this was also the last time the villagers saw Lao Li's father.

  Some people say that Li Lao's father died of an incurable disease, some people say that Li Lao's father was behind the scenes helping Yang Hucheng, and the Xi'an Incident was a result of Li Lao's father and General Zhang Xueliang's negotiations. Others say that Li Lao's father followed the Communist Party and was a spy for them, but was later killed by either the Japanese or the Nationalists.

  Anyway, rumors grew more and more, but no one knew which was true. Later, these also disappeared in the smoke of history with the passage of time.

  Afterwards, there was no more news, and Li's family history can be said to have been cut off.

  But just as the older generation began to pass away, Old Li returned to the village in the early 1990s, at the age of seventy. He was accompanied by an infant he held in his arms, who people later learned from him was his only grandson, the only offspring of the Li family, and the only root...Li Sansheng.

  At this moment, the village with only a few hundred people now burst into excitement. Everyone knew about Li family's history and legend back then, so they were even more curious about Lao Li and his family.

  But as for Old Man Li, everyone was completely in the dark. No one knew what Old Man Li had done, no one knew why he would return to this village, and no one knew why he came back with a baby less than a year old, his only grandson, Li San Sheng.

  According to what Lao Li's father said back then, Lao Li should have already reached a certain level by now, but these are all questions that everyone has, yet no one dares to ask.

  Rural people all have a psychology of hanging high and not being concerned with their own affairs, no one cares about the story of an old man who has nothing to do with themselves. Only after eating and drinking enough, under the old locust tree, in the fields, a few people who are idle and have nothing to do will take it out to pass the time.

  Like this, Old Man Li had been living quietly and stably in the village for 20 years. Time passed quickly, and that infant had grown up into an adult who inherited the style of the Li family and became a topic of conversation among the villagers.

  For twenty years, Old Man Li has basically not left the village, like a cultivator in the deep mountains and old forests, with a clear mind and few desires.

  The Li family had no relatives left in the village, so for years it was just Old Man Li and his grandson relying on each other for survival. An old man taking care of an infant, their life was too bitter to be described to outsiders.

  "Old brother, now San Sheng's kid is going to go out and attend university, he has made a name for himself." The old man under the locust tree said with a puff of smoke, addressing Li Lao Tou who was squinting his eyes.

  The countryside is unbearably hot and humid, with mosquitoes that are extremely annoying. The occasional passing vehicle will stir up a cloud of dust, eliciting curses.

  Old Man Li didn't say a word, making people think he had gotten Alzheimer's disease and was already confused. He was almost ninety years old anyway, and his life was already legendary enough.

  "Old brother, this child has had a hard life since he was young, suffered a lot, and thinking about it makes me feel a bit bitter. Now that he's leaving again, your days will be even more lonely." Another old man chimed in.

  "Life is predetermined by heaven, but man can overcome it." This time, Old Man Li muttered to himself, saying something that he didn't know if he understood or not. Anyway, the old men around him couldn't hear and wouldn't understand what he was saying.

  "Tomorrow, Dog Wa's car is going to Xi'an City. If not, let San Sheng take Dog Wa's car to school in Xi'an." An old man sitting below Lao Li, who was dressed much better than the others, said this with a hint of arrogance. The other old men looked away, their eyes filled with disdain, but also seemed to be suffering from sour grapes syndrome.

  Lǐ old man still eight winds do not move, like a transcendent old immortal, not showing any signs of life, only a hint of ups and downs.

  The sky slowly darkened, and the villagers who had gone out to work also returned one after another. Old Man Li struggled to get up, took a wine gourd from his waist, and took a big gulp.

  The wine is a vintage Du Kang, genuinely brewed from the Du Kang Spring, better than those so-called national wines like Maotai Wuliangye that are hyped by the media. The gourd is an ordinary calabash, and the person is an elderly man of refinement, complementing each other perfectly.

  Li Lao Tou stood up, hunching his back, with stumbling steps, a declining figure, giving people a glimpse of history, yet shouting loudly as if the light was shining back.

  No contention, the vital energy is not injured; no fear, the wise eyes shine brightly; no anger, the hundred spirits are harmonious and free-flowing; no worry, the heart is clear and cool.

  "Not seeking, neither arrogant nor humble; Not stubborn, can be round or square; Not greedy, wealthy and safe; Not random, with own principles."

  Northwest, Guanzhong, thousand-year-old imperial capital, eight hundred miles of Qin River, often producing astonishing and shocking talents...