I'm Really A Newcomer

In the second year of Yuanhe, this year is recorded in history books.

The moon is setting and the crow is crowing, and the city of Chang'an is already covered with snow. There were still some specks of flying snow in the sky. The watchman was shivering from the cold, wrapped in two layers of paper fur, and white mist was already surrounding him. A colder voice came from the tower, as if it was about to die.

More than a foot of snow has fallen outside the city. The hunchbacked old man drove a charcoal cart on the icy road towards the market. His old face was covered with dust. He looked tired from burning charcoal in front of the kiln all year round. Smoky yellow and black.

The old man’s surname is Liu. Because he was born on the second day of the fifth lunar month, he is called May 2. He didn't know how to write Liu, he only knew that he was Wu Er. Liu Wuer had no education. He spent every day chopping down wood with an ax head on the uninhabited Nanshan Mountain. Sometimes there were jackals on Nanshan Mountain, so he would hide behind a tree. Even if the cold wind was like an arrow, he would pinch himself until he bled and dare not say a word. Liu Wuer didn't know which emperor's turn it was today. He didn't even have a third of an acre of land, only a dilapidated thatched hut. When he was young, he heard his father say that there was a prosperous age a hundred years ago, and everyone had enough to eat at that time. Later, his father died of starvation due to famine, and no one told him stories after that.

Liu Wuer came very early today, and the market wasn't open yet. He pulled the ox cart and rested on the dirt outside the gate. Liu Wuer rubbed his thin clothes hard, rubbing his palms until they turned red. He didn't dare to use too much force, because he only had this piece of clothing, and it would break if he tried harder.

The flying snow was falling all over the sky, and Liu Wuer felt very conflicted. He hoped that the snow would fall heavier, preferably the kind that beats the wind, so that his cart of charcoal could be sold more expensively to rich families in the city. He also hoped that the snow would fall less so that Sansan, who was seriously ill at home, could be warmer.

Sansan is his wife, who has been bedridden for several years. Liu Wuer hated that he was so incompetent that he couldn't even afford a decent bedding. He could only stuff some reed catkins, not to mention decoctions. Sansan gave birth to a son to Liu Wuer. He was captured and killed in the army many years ago, and his body was never seen.

Sansan's life was really unlucky. She met a poor and penniless self. Even if she married an ordinary family with some land in her family, she wouldn't have to suffer like this. But my life, Liu Wuer, is really good. I can marry Sansan as my wife in this life.

He held a piece of charcoal in his arms like a baby, and the charcoal dyed Liu Wuer's bare chest dark. His eyes were full of hope, thinking how valuable this car of charcoal would be if sold, and he must give it to San San buys a piece of clothing without holes, and then finds a good doctor in the city to prescribe some medicine for San San.

Liu Wuer grinned his yellowed teeth, and his weathered face actually smiled like a child.

…………………………………………………………………………

The sun gradually rose higher, and both myself and the old cow became a little sleepy.

Liu Wuer wiped his face vigorously with his thin fingers and let out a breath of hot breath.

Outside the swirling white steam, Liu Wuer saw two men and horses approaching gracefully. The two leaders were wearing white shirts. Liu Wuer recognized them as eunuchs from the palace.

"Oh, a load of charcoal," the eunuch said sharply.

"take away."

The eunuch waved his hand gracefully, and the servants rushed over, shouting at Lao Niu and hurried to the palace.

"My lord, my lord, please be kind and let me go." Liu Wuer's rickety body, being pulled by the guards, curled up in a ball in the ice and snow. He kowtowed desperately on the ground, and a dark face appeared on his face. Bloody, "This is my life-saving money, sir."

How could his waning body be a match for such strong young men?

The eunuch in white shirt took out the document and shouted sharply: "How dare you! How dare you disobey the emperor's order!"

Liu Wuer's ravaged face was covered with tears and blood. White snow seeped into the fresh scars on his face, and his face was twisted into a ball.

After living for most of his life, he finally met the emperor in his father's stories.

"What bad luck."

The eunuch looked at Liu Wuer's ugly appearance with disgust, casually tied a foot of red silk on the cow's head and used it as money to buy charcoal.

Liu Wuer crawled behind the handsome team. He watched in embarrassment as the carts of charcoal were transported into the towering palace wall one by one, and something seemed to go out in his heart.

………………………………………………………………

Liu Wuer returned to his dilapidated hut on an empty ox cart in a daze.

The sunlight passed through the gaps in the roof, bringing some light.

Lying on the couch was a dying old woman.

Sansan was so ill that she couldn't speak. She was like the remaining light of a twilight scene. Liu Wuer gently held Sansan's hand. The dry skin on her hand could no longer adhere to the bones, and they could be squeezed together with a gentle push.

Due to the inconvenience of excretion, the small hut was filled with the rotten smell of feces and urine. Liu Wuer couldn't clean it up no matter how hard he cleaned it. However, because the weather was cold and everyone was frozen, the smell was much less than in summer.

Liu Wuer quietly looked at the frail face that had passed away for thirty-three years. He looked older than himself who had been cutting down trees and burning charcoal all year round.

But Liu Wuer felt that Sansan was still so beautiful.

He gently wrapped the red silk around Sansan's cold palm and stared at his wife.

Sansan can't see it.

Liu Wuer's face was already full of tears.

A candle in the wind?

Liu Wuer had no education and had never used candles.

………………………………………………………………

Sansan is also dead.

In the vast white snow, Liu Wuer tremblingly covered her beautiful cyan face with a red silk scarf.

He felt that it was time for this small hut to collapse.

Liu Wuer is just an ordinary person. He is powerless and powerless.

A true warrior dares to face a bleak life. In this extremely cold winter, Liu Wuer knew that he did not have the courage to face sorrow.

Liu Wuer walked towards the door unsteadily.

The inside of the small hut was already dark, with only an unrealistic light outside the door.

Jiang Mian stood quietly at the door of the hut.

He gently held the stooped old man in his arms, his warm cheek pressed tightly against the old man's dirty face.

Liu Wuer had a dream. This dream was so unreal, because all the monsters that appeared were monsters that he had never seen before. He, a useless old man who had to hide when he saw a jackal, was helpless in front of the two eunuchs. The old man Yong, holding the wooden pole he used to weigh charcoal, turned out to be a hero.

…

This thatched hut gradually lost its breath, but the snow was still falling on the ground.