At the foot of the Xishan Mountain was a small village called Liujia Village. The village was not big, with only about two hundred people. Most of the villagers lived on farming and hunting.
There was an old willow tree at the entrance of Liujia Village, which had been eroded by time. Even the oldest people in the village didn't know how old it was.
At this time in the past, the verdant and tender willow leaves and branches had covered the sky and the sun for a long time. Layers of layers of green leaves swayed in the breeze. But at this time of year, there is not even a trace of green on the branches.
The dry brown bark rolled up and peeled off layer by layer from the trunk, and the withered yellow twigs rustled as they cascaded to the ground. It seemed that this old willow tree of unknown age had already succumbed to withering.
At 5 am, as the first light of dawn illuminated the horizon, the villagers of Liujia Village got up early. Men, women, and children emerged from their houses. They gathered in clusters and headed towards the old willow tree at the entrance of the village.
It was March 20th today, the Spring Equinox, and there was a custom of worshipping heaven in the local area. It was aimed at praying for the blessing of the heavens. Wish a favorable weather for crops, a heavy harvest and a granary brimmed with grains.
It was a festive day.
However, the faces of the villagers did not show the joy that should be present on their faces on such a festive day.
On the contrary, the old men staggered forward, shaking their heads and emitting sighs from time to time; The middle-aged men frowned tightly, walked with heavy steps, and wore bitter looks on their faces; The young men clenched their fists and kicked the stone, irritable and restless.
Even the lively children lowered their heads and followed the adults step by step, without the supposed vitality.
The whole Liujia Village was haunted by dullness and depression
To be exact, the entire southern land was enveloped by this overwhelming sensation.
Since the Beginning of Spring last year, one year and forty-eight days had passed since then. The entire southern region was devoid of rain.
Presently, the rivers had ceased flowing, the lakes had dried up, the ground had become arid, and plants had wilted, causing the scene before eyes to be filled with a deathly and desolate expression.
The crops in the fields have failed for consecutive seasons, and the people have exhausted their food reserves, eating up all the grass roots and tree barks, now struggling desperately on the brink of death.
The drought, a devil from the Abyss of Hell, has already raised its scythe in its hand, ready to reap the lives of millions of people in the southern land.
In previous years, when it came to the sacrificial ceremony during the Spring Equinox, in Liujia Village, the poultry, fish and hog's head were placed under the old willow tree. The old village head would recite the sacrificial text, and then the gongs and drums would sound together. The whole village, young and old, would celebrate the festival joyfully.
But it was impossible this year, because all the edible food had been eaten up, and there were no poultry, fish and hog's head left at all. Even three bowls of rice were extravagant.
The old village head's name was Li Degui. He was 76 years old this year, and he still maintained good health. He would be expected to live a few more years, barring any serious illnesses or disasters. Although he was old, he was far from being a dotard.
Nowadays, droughts have ravaged the land, and every household is counting the grains of rice and struggling to make ends meet. Therefore, although it was the big day of the sacrificial ceremony today, he did not rigidly adhere to the tradition of preparing sacrificial offerings such as poultry, fish and hog's head. Instead, he instructed the villagers to simply place three bowls of clear water.
He said that if the heavens had eyes, they would understand the hardships of the people and wouldn't blame them.
Following the old village head's instructions, the villagers placed three bowls of clean water on the altar under the old willow tree.
At precisely six o'clock, the red sun ascended in the eastern sky, radiating its brilliance and piercing through the sky. The sky above was cloudless and as blue as the sea, indicating yet another sunny day.
"Sigh..." The village head stroked his snow-white long beard and looked at the blue sky through the gaps between the branches of the old willow tree. He let out a long sigh.
It was yet another bright and sunny day. If it didn't start to rain now, how could the people survive.
Shaking his head with a wry smile, he walked to the front of the altar with his willow wood walking stick, straightened his hair and clothes, and knelt on the ground.
Behind him, more than 200 villagers all followed suit and knelt down.
Hu –
A gust of wind blew past, and the withered willow twigs hustled as cascades, on villagers' heads and bodies.
An old woman with gray hair picked up a willow twig with trembling hands and held it in her rough and skinny hands. Her sunken eyes were full of tears, and her forehead was pressed against the willow twig as she crouched on the ground. Sadness rose in her heart, and she couldn't help sobbing, "Grandpa Willow is dead."
The sobbing of the old woman stirred up the desolation and sadness that had been suppressed in everyone's hearts. In an instant, tears welled up in the eyes of men, women, and children, and the sound of sobbing filled the air.
In the hearts of the people in Liujia Village, the old willow tree was more like a family who accompanied them to grow up. The bond between the old willow tree and the villagers, especially the older ones, might not be clear, but indeed unforgettable.
At that moment, the old willow tree had withered to death. Naturally, they were overwhelmed with profound sorrow.
"Quiet!" The village head berated, scaring everyone into immediate silence.
The old village chief kowtowed three times towards the altar, and then said loudly, "I, along with 263 people from the Liu family village, sincerely and fearfully inform the Lord in heaven and the gods from all directions: since our ancestors established the village here, it has been more than 600 years. We have experienced countless droughts, floods, disasters, and wars. Fortunately, we have been blessed by the heaven and the earth and all the gods, helping people of Liujia Village to overcome difficulties time and time again. And we have also been blessed by the gods of the four seasons, with timely wind, rain, frost, and snow, resulting in abundant crops and thriving livestock. As a result, the people of Liujia Village can live and work in peace and pass on from generation to generation, keeping the flame alive. This is the gift from the gods of heaven and earth. Today, on the day of the Spring Equinox sacrificial ceremony, we should offer poultry, fish and hog's head to show our gratitude to the gods of heaven and earth. However, due to the drought, every household is struggling to make ends meet and barely surviving on a small amount of rice. Therefore, we can only offer three bowls of plain water temporarily, and we promise to make up for it double-fold once we overcome this difficulty. We hope that the gods of heaven and earth will sympathize with our hardships and not blame us."
"We hope that the gods of heaven and earth will sympathize with our hardships and not blame us." Everyone recited as well.
"Ancestors have taught us not to hunt in spring and not to fell trees in summer, in order to preserve the mountains and forests."
However, we had no other choice but to go against the instructions of our ancestors and enter the mountains to hunt and seek a chance of survival in such a prevailing drought.
The ancestors' spirits in heaven must understand our hardships and not punish us for breaking the commandments. Wish the gods of heaven and earth and our ancestors' spirits in heaven will bless and protect our sons so that they may return safely from the mountains without any danger.
"Wish the gods of the heaven and earth and our ancestors' spirits in heaven will bless and protect our sons so that they may return safely from the mountains without any danger." Everyone began to pray as well.
After nine bows, the ceremony was complete.
The elderly village chief rose from his position after the kowtow and turned around with a warm smile crawling onto his face. He beckoned towards the gathering crowd and called out, "Dawa and Xiaozu, come here."
Two teenagers walked out of the crowd, one of them had dark skin, the hips strong as a bear, the back supple as a tiger's, thick eyebrows and big eyes. His name was Niu Dawa.
The other young man was half a head shorter than Niu Dawa. He had the same dark skin color. Despite not of a stocky and imposing build, he also had the chiseled muscle and his figure was well-proportioned and sturdy. His appearance was ordinary. He was neither ugly nor handsome. This young man was called Zhang Xiaozu.
The two of them were the at same age. They had just turned sixteen this year. According to the local customs, the Coming of Age Ceremony should be held on the sacrificial ceremony in the Spring Equinox.
Niu Dawa and Zhang Xiaozu stepped forward and knelt under the old willow tree according to the old village head's instructions. The atmosphere at the scene was finally not so dull and depressing, and laughter began to sound in the crowd.
"Are these two the only ones attending the Coming of Age Ceremony this year?"
"Yes, it's too few. Look at Zhangjia Village next door. There are 13 of them this year."
Slap!
Before the man could finish his words, he was slapped on the back of his head by an old woman. The old woman frowned and scolded, "You brat, you also know that our village is short of people.
"I told you to make more efforts on your wife in daily life and give birth to a few more grandsons for me, but you wouldn't listen." "Now you are complaining about the lack of the young."
"Mom, what absurdity are you spouting?" The man was so embarrassed by his mother's words that he wished he could find a hole to hide in.
His wife was even more embarrassed. Her face was as red as a monkey's butt.
Everyone was amused by the old woman's joke and began to chat with each other in such an enlivened atmosphere.
"Alas, we're getting old. Dawa and Xiaozu have all grown up unwittingly. We're really old now."
"Exactly. As the saying goes, don't compare yourself with children in terms of age. Once you do, you'll feel old."
"Mr. Niu, Dawa should stay at home during this hunting, right?"
"No. I'm going to teach him a lesson. There are still other two big boys staying at home. If something really happens, the Niu family will still have descendants."
"Pah! Pah! Pah! What nonsense are you spouting."
"Ahem-" The old village head coughed twice to hush the crowd, and said to Niu Dawa and Zhang Xiaozu, who were kneeling on the ground, "Dawa, from this day on, you shall be named as 'Niu Guangmao', and styled 'Letian', which comes from the set phrase 'Letianzhiming' which means submitting to the will of Heaven and being content with your lot'."
According to the local customs, children would only get their infant names before they came of age. Their names would be given together with their style name on the day of their coming-of-age ceremony and recorded in their family records. If it was a girl, she would only be given a name, and it would only be given when she got married.
Niu Dawa grinned happily. His white front teeth were dazzling in the sun, but he scratched the back of his head hard. He only knew few words and didn't completely understand the meaning of "Letianzhiming", so he looked puzzled.
"'Letianzhiming' means being happy and carefree, as well as living unrestrainedly." The old village head understood Le Tian's bewilderment and explained.
Niu Dawa then understood and went into raptures. He immediately kowtowed and thanked for this. "Thank you for giving me this name, my elder."
"My, my Dawa has grown up." The mother of Dawa in the crowd looked at her son with All sorts of feelings well up in her mind and her eyes getting wet.
The old village chief stroked his white beard and nodded. Then, he looked at Zhang Xiaozu with pity in his eyes. He sighed and said, "Child, you were abandoned under this old willow tree when you were in infancy. There is nothing else to indicate your identity except for the name of Zhang Xiaozu."
"Because you already have a name and a surname, we can't put you under the name of any one of us. Instead, we let you grow up by the support from every family. It's not because we dislike you, but because we respect your parents for giving birth to you and the grace of giving you a name."
"Although I don't know where you are from, at least I'll let you know what your name is and what the surname shared by your lineage is."
"I understand." Zhang Xiaozu kowtowed heavily, then turned around and kowtowed to the crowd. He sobbed, "Without you elders' breeding and raising, there would be no me Zhang Xiaozu in the world. So everyone in Liujia Village is my family. I will never forget your great kindness."
"Brat, if your parents hadn't left you a name, I would've adopted you and raise you as my own son long ago."
"Good boy, you do value the love and righteousness. You've become a real man."
"Good boy, good boyl!"
"We are very happy to see you grow up."
Everyone chimed in with praises because Zhang Xiaozu was indeed a well-behaved and sensible child. He fought for all the work from whomever in the village. Moreover, he was very adorable, for his sweet-tongue and smartness.
"Child," The old village head called Zhang Xiaozu and asked, "Do you hate your biological parents?"
Zhang Xiaozu lowered his head and said nothing. He had asked himself this question more than a hundred times in the dead of night. At first, the answer in his heart was yes. He hated them so much that he didn't know why they gave birth to him but not raised him.
However, he grew up with age and the earnest teachings of the elders in Liujia Village, he gradually let go of the hatred in his heart. But still, he had no good impressions of them. It could only be described as not hating and not missing.
Yet now, his thoughts had become complicated, and he felt both hatred and missing.
"I don't know. I will listen to the teachings of you, my Grandpa Village Head." Zhang Xiaozu couldn't tell exactly how he felt, so he had to ask the elders for help.
The elders naturally had greater wisdom.
"Let me show you something." The old village head stroked his white beard with a smile, reached into his chest pocket, took out a piece of white cloth, unfolded it slowly, and handed it to Zhang Xiaozu.
