bookrebus Chapter 274: Old Soldier Grandpa, We Are Not Afraid, You Are Heroes
Chapter 274: Old Soldier Grandpa, We Are Not Afraid, You Are Heroes
The crowd followed the yamen runners, laughing and talking all the way.
After two days of contact, the two yamen runners already knew that this beautiful and elegant girl, who looked like a fairy among flowers, was their leader. The girl's clear and bright eyes revealed wisdom. Although she didn't talk much, she was very convincing. If there was anything, the others would consult her and follow her arrangements.
"Miss Yun, it's just ahead." The horse-riding yamen runner said respectfully.
Yun Duo was sitting in the carriage with the door open. She saw a straight village road ahead. On both sides of the road were rows of neatly built adobe houses. The houses on both sides were connected to wasteland, which led directly to the foot of the mountain.
Most of the houses on the east side have collapsed due to years of disrepair. The wasteland adjacent to it has been neglected for a long time, and the front, back and roof of the house are covered with weeds.
Currently, all the remaining people in the Canbing Village live on the west side of the road. Because there is a small river, the old soldiers moved here for convenient water use.
Because people live there, the houses on the west side are dilapidated but still in good condition.
When they arrived at the village entrance, Yun Duo had the carriage stop and the bailiffs dismounted.
It was just when the sun was about to set. Yun Duo glanced at her watch. It was half past five in the afternoon.
It was hot in the summer, and it became cooler outside after the sun went down. The veterans supported each other and sat outside under the shade of the trees to cool off.
They were surprised to see so many people coming to the village entrance, as no one had come here for a long time.
These veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles are now covered in scars and have incomplete limbs. Due to years of fighting on the battlefield, everyone has more or less incurable injuries and disabilities.
Most of them were single, childless, and lived in solitude. Although the imperial court would provide some disability subsidies, this meager amount was far from enough for people with physical disabilities like them to make a living.
Later, when they learned that this place was specially set up by the imperial court for these remnant soldiers, they all came here as if they had grasped their last straw.
However, their arrival did not bring much joy and welcome to this place. Whenever people living nearby saw their mutilated bodies - some were missing arms and legs, making it difficult for them to move; others had lost eyes or ears, and had horrible faces - they could not help but feel a sense of fear in their hearts.
Therefore, apart from necessary matters, people rarely approached this area. Except for some people with minor disabilities who would go out to do odd jobs for nearby villages, others rarely went out.
Those who used to go to the nearby mountains to hunt and collect herbs, at first, some people knew that their lives were difficult and did not go near the mountains here, and tried their best to give them the resources of the mountains and forests here.
There are also some people like me who believe that these soldiers who have just walked down the cruel battlefield exude a terrifying murderous aura.
Moreover, it was rumored that the hands of these soldiers were stained with the blood of countless enemies, and countless people died at their hands. Everyone was worried that if they approached them, they might be contaminated with bad luck and bring misfortune upon themselves.
After a long time, we formed a tacit understanding and few people from the neighborhood came over.
They looked at this huge group of people and found it incredible, and they all came over here.
Seeing these old soldiers sitting outside to enjoy the cool air, the oldest were in their fifties or sixties, and the youngest looked to be in their forties or fifties.
The yamen runner stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, who is the leader here?"
Hearing the question, an old man in his 50s or 60s with one arm missing said, "Are you looking for our battalion commander?"
"Yes! Old man, may I ask who is the battalion commander?" the bailiff asked again very politely.
The old man wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and said, "Sir, our battalion commander passed away yesterday, and today we brothers hastily buried the old commander. The new battalion commander has not been selected yet, and we brothers have discussed and decided not to select one. Now there are only more than 20 of us old brothers left, and we are all waiting to die before everyone else, so that there will be someone to collect the body."
The yamen runner pointed at the villagers behind him and said slowly to the old man in front of him: "Old man, these are the villagers who have escaped from the northern border through hardships and dangers! The higher-ups have assigned them to us.
Please quickly gather all the brothers in the remnant camp and discuss it together. Should we let these new folks build a new village on the east side of the road, or should we include the west side of the road where you live into the Xiangyun New Village? Or should we just integrate you into Xiangyun Village?"
"Sir, please wait here for a moment. I will go and call the others." After the old man said this, he stood up and limped away.
Only then did Yun Duo see clearly that the old man not only had lost his arms and legs, but was also disabled.
At this time, Yun Duo couldn't help but sigh that the late emperor was indeed a benevolent monarch. He was able to build such a shelter for these disabled soldiers and provide them with necessary living supplies, which was also a comfort to these heroes who defended their country.
Soon, more than twenty veterans came out from different rooms. Yun Duo roughly counted them and thought there should be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
When everyone was present, the bailiff repeated what he had just said to everyone. An old soldier with a scar on his face and missing an ear and an arm on his left side said, "There are only thirty of us left, twenty-eight standing here. There are two more who are sick in the room. They may die in the next two days." After he finished speaking, his cloudy eyes were filled with tears.
He raised his hand and gently wiped the corner of his mouth with his slightly worn sleeve, then took a deep breath and continued slowly:
"We have lived here for quite a long time. The shortest time is at least 20 years! Old guys like me are getting older and older. I don't know when I will be like the old battalion commander and die!
Just leave these two rows of houses where we live to us. The rest of the land, you can use to resettle Xiangyun Village.
People like us don't need to integrate into Xiangyun Village. We all carry evil spirits, and we are all incomplete. It would be a sin if we accidentally scare those little kids.
We won't affect the fortune of Xiangyun New Village. As long as the court can give us food and allow us to live here, we old guys will be satisfied."
Yun Duo stood there quietly, her beautiful and clear eyes staring at these brave and fearless warriors in front of her. Yun Duo felt bitter in her heart when she heard what they said. They were all heroes who defended their country, but they refused to integrate into Xiangyun Village in order not to cause trouble to others. Yun Duo could see their expressions of eagerness to join.
Yun Duo whispered a few words to the second grandfather, who nodded and walked up to the old soldier, holding his only remaining hand and said, "Brother, I am the head of Xiangyun Village and I represent all the villagers to ask you to join Xiangyun New Village."
The old soldier felt warm in his heart as he looked at Yunhe's hand. At noon, someone was not afraid of him and took the initiative to shake hands with him: "But..."
At this time, Chu Liang also said: "Brothers, please don't refuse. We live on the border. In the early years, every family in the village had soldiers, and some were injured and returned. It is only in recent years that the border has been stable and there are no more disabled soldiers retiring in the village."
At this time, Yun Chenxing and Yun Xi also got off the carriage. They ran over with a group of friends and heard what the veteran said.
Yun Duo had taught him in the past two days that people with disabilities should not be discriminated against or feared. These veterans were heroes who defended their country, and they should all respect them.
Yun Chenxing looked at the veterans and smiled sweetly at them: "Grandpa veterans, sister said you are all heroes. We are not afraid of you. Just join our Xiangyun New Village! Our new village has a nice name and can bring good luck to everyone."
Although the other dolls were a little scared of their grandfathers because of their looks, their Star Boss said that these grandfathers were heroes, so they were not afraid anymore.
"Old soldier, we are not afraid, you are heroes..."