Volume 1: Hometown Clouds Chapter 1: Full Moon Grab

  The winter of 1919 was particularly cold, and the first snowfall was long overdue. The bare mountains, which could no longer find a hint of green, looked even more desolate and bleak.

  In the midst of these mountains, nestled a small mountain village called Wazang Village. This was indeed a small village, with a total population of no more than five hundred people even in its so-called "heyday". The villagers had lived on this barren land surrounded by desolate mountains for generations, using simple tools and their bare hands to cultivate the sloping fields carved out from the mountain slopes, pouring their sweat into the land to eke out a meager living.

  This small mountain village is really too poor, even those peddlers are unwilling to come here. Of course, due to the fact that there is no way to make a profit, bandits and officials who roam around in troubled times also rarely visit. It seems that this remote mountain village has become a kind of Shangri-La, with the continuous intensification of war, the gradual increase in outsiders, and the population of the mountain village slowly rising. Faced with this strange phenomenon, it can be said to be a satire and true portrayal of troubled times.

  He came into this world with a loud cry, the woman who had exhausted all her strength in repeated struggles, looked at the newborn baby brought to her by the midwife, and looked at his "little chicken" that represented the function of passing on the family line. On her pale face covered with sweat, she finally showed a hint of a relieved smile.

  "Son of a gun, did you see that? I've given birth to a son for the Lei family! I've finally given birth to a son for the Lei family! The Lei family has an heir now!"

  With a smile from the bottom of her heart, the woman who was finally relieved murmured and fell into a sweet sleep. The father of the child remained silent, because he was just a lifeless spirit tablet standing quietly on a rough wooden table. Only two little girls were left, curiously poking their heads out to see what their younger brother looked like.

  A widow gave birth to a posthumous son who could carry on the family line, which is considered the greatest blessing from heaven after experiencing misfortune. When the boy was one month old, according to Chinese custom, the woman finally having her own son invited the village elder and under his guidance, placed some objects in front of the child.

  According to Chinese customs, if a child grabs something on the day of full moon, he will likely become what he grabbed in the future. So this woman who wishes her son would become a dragon, even tried every means to put a brush that was almost worn out in front of the child. If the child could really grab hold of this brush, then maybe he could become a scholar in the future and leave this poor and barren land to live a decent life.

  Of course, grabbing that small flower basket is also good, it represents the child will become a skilled craftsman in the future, no matter where he goes, he can make a living. If not, then grab that small hoe and be a honest farmer, as long as you work hard to cultivate the land, you can also get married, have children and continue the family line without letting the Lei family's lineage die out...

  In the ritual of "Zhuazhou" on the full moon, even two daughters were driven out of the house by women. The child who had just turned one was placed on the bed, and a pile of various small toys that were worthless but embodied the good hopes and wishes of mountain people were all put in front of this little guy. Those who were qualified to stay in the room stared with wide eyes, carefully waiting for the child to make a "lifetime" choice.

  Newborn babies are always full of curiosity towards unfamiliar things that seem harmless, and the first thing they grab is often what they like best and accept most in their subconscious. Under this premise, the "full moon grab" ritual really has a bit of strange accuracy.

  There was only a one-month-old baby who struggled to turn over on the bed, until everyone watched with their necks sore, but his small hands couldn't fall on those things. After playing for a while, the child seemed to be tired and curled back into the small quilt, making happy little snorts.

  After passing the full moon, they held a "full moon grab" ceremony. However, the child didn't pick up any object. Everyone in the house was stunned by this scene.

  "Village head!" The child's mother, at this time, even her voice was trembling a little, "This child doesn't grasp anything, if he really doesn't want anything, learns nothing, won't it be that in the future he can't do anything either, and can only become a second-rate good-for-nothing who drifts around eating and drinking?"

  "This..."

  When he was young, he used to be a porter and had traveled all over the country, seeing and learning a lot. He even became an apprentice to a fortune teller for a few days. The village chief grasped his own gray hair tightly, looking at the child's mother whose body was already shaking. At this time, how could the village chief dare to lightly determine the child's life? If this child really becomes a mediocre person who eats and drinks without any purpose in the future, which family would dare to marry their daughter to him? Wouldn't that mean the Lei family is clearly going to be cut off from descendants?!

  "This is indeed strange! I've grown up to this age, and have never seen a case where not even one small thing was caught during the full moon!"

  Just then, the door of the room was pushed open and a small head cautiously poked in, staring at the child's mother, and said carefully: "Mother, I'm hungry!"

  It wasn't until then that the child's mother remembered she had driven her two daughters out for a long time, and it was already past mealtime. Looking at her daughter with a hopeful face, the child's mother let out a soft sigh, after all, her two daughters were only seven years old at most. She said gently: "There is still cooked sweet potato in the kitchen, you and your sister can share it."

  "Thank you, mom!"

  The little girl's face lit up with joy as soon as she heard that the sweet potatoes were cooked. At this moment, she suddenly remembered something and ran to the bedside in a hurry, putting a toy made of corn stalks on the bed. "This was taught by Xiaodong and others, mother, do you think I should give it to my brother?"

  The child's mother hadn't had time to speak, and the child who was hiding under the covers, making happy little snorts, was awakened by a small commotion. He saw the new toy that the little girl had put on the bed, and his eyes flashed with excitement. Before anyone could stop him, he reached out with his small hand and grabbed the toy made of corn husks that had just been placed on the bed.

  He finally caught the gift in his full moon.

  Everyone in the house widened their eyes at this scene.

  Looking at what he was holding in his hand, the mother's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and she suddenly slapped her daughter's face with a loud slap. The little girl was caught off guard, and she stumbled backward four or five steps before falling heavily to the ground.

  The child's mother pointed at the little girl who was covering her face with her hands, tears already welling up in her eyes but not daring to fall, and shouted loudly: "You're a jinx! You want your brother to die like this? You wish he were dead, don't you? You've cursed your brother to death, I won't believe you can live at peace from now on!"

  She grasped the pen that had long since lost all hope, and with a fierce swing, her mother brought it down on her daughter's head. The pen, which had already lost its practical significance, bounced off the little girl's head with a soft sigh, drawing several small circles in the air before finally falling to the ground.

  The village head gazed at the corn husk toy clutched tightly in the child's hand, and after a long while, let out a deep sigh, saying: "Elder sister, don't blame Ya Tou either, it's all fate! Otherwise, why did the child crawl around on the bed for half a day without grabbing anything?"

  That boy was holding in his hand a gun made of corn stalks!

  This foretells that the boy's future career will inevitably be related to guns. In this vast wilderness, there are no large beasts, let alone hunters who make a living by hunting in the mountains. After careful consideration, it seems that the only profession related to guns is being a soldier.

  In this chaotic world, fighting and death are everywhere. Even people in the mountains who have little contact with the outside world know that being a soldier means going to one's death, being cannon fodder for high-ranking officials. Even if they die, there won't be any tombstones; their bodies will just be thrown into a hole with hundreds of others and buried carelessly.

  The gun is already in hand, and putting it down won't change anything.

  The village chief, who had seen much and was barely able to write his own name, pondered for a long time before finally giving the child a resounding name... Lei Zhen! His intention was that he hoped this child's fate would be strong enough, so that even if he really became a soldier, he could shock away those evil spirits and return home safely.