The sun was setting, and the Far Valley Kingdom was bathed in a beautiful sunset.
The Far Valley Nation was a small valley nation born in the Fifth Dimension. The winding and steep mountain ranges spanned almost half of its territory. There were undulating mountains everywhere. There were four kinds of people living here. There were the high-level Chongshan people, the middle-level Stone people, Mud people, and the lowest level Dust people.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. At the bottom of the valley, there were countless Sesame Towns scattered all over the place. Most of the lowest-level Dust People lived in these small towns, and on the gentle slope of the valley, there were Sparrow Towns of various sizes.
It sounded like Sesame and Sparrow both had the word " Ma ", but the two were just like their completely different appearances. Sesame was just a small black dot. In comparison, although Sparrow was not big, it had all its internal organs and was N times bigger than Sesame. More importantly, most of the people living in Sparrow Town were mud people. Of course, there were also a small number of dust people living in Sparrow Town.
Wei Zi was a mud man. He and his family lived in Sparrow Town on the hillside facing the sun. He had never seen the Stone Golems and the Mountain People since he was young. He had only heard that the Stone Golems and the Mountain People lived higher up in the valley.
He had also heard that the Chongshan people liked to live in seclusion in the dense forests at the top of the valley. They were like world-class protected animals that were about to go extinct. Very few people could see them!
Therefore, he often dreamed that one day, he would climb to the highest point of the valley and go to the town where the Stone People and the Mountain People lived. He wanted to see what the Stone People and the Mountain People looked like. Why did they live at such a high place? Could it be that they had two more legs than the Mudmen?
This was just Wei Zi's curiosity!
His grandmother, who had been depending on him for survival, had already told him that whether it was the stone man or the Chongshan man, they looked exactly like the mud man and did not have three heads and six arms!
In fact, Wei Zi only had two family members who depended on each other for survival. Other than his grandmother who was paralyzed in bed, the other was his father.
As for his mother, when he was studying, his mother went out to work. On the way home, she encountered a rainstorm and never came back.
It could be said that Wei Zi grew up missing his mother and longing for maternal love. He often dreamed that he would come home from school, open the door, and see his mother sitting on the brick bed, looking at him with loving eyes and a smile. When he woke up, his pillow was wet.
Although life was difficult, the days were still peaceful.
However, just two days ago, a sudden storm hit this remote town. The mud brick wall outside Wei Zi's house was washed away by the rain. This time, Wei Zi's father had to work for a long time.
In Wei Zi's impression, his father seemed to be busy building walls every day and repairing the two dilapidated old houses at home, fearing that the two old houses would collapse in the heavy rain one day. For the Mudmen, it was indeed a very terrifying thing to have no roof tiles to cover their heads.
Because Wei Zi's grandmother had often nagged him countless times that mud people were most afraid of water!
On this ordinary evening, when Wei Zi returned home from school, he saw his father squatting by the collapsed wall. His body was hunched over, and he was stirring the soft yellow mud and dry straw with a long knife. His back was drenched in sweat, and his rough hands were covered in mud. His face and body were also splashed with yellow mud.
Father Wei stopped his son when he saw him and said with a worried face,
"Don't go to school tomorrow. Come back and help me build the wall!”
After Wei Zi's father finished speaking, he lowered his head and raised his knife to smash a large piece of mud brick in his hand. Then, he placed it into the hole in the wall. Wei Zi lowered his head and rubbed his head against his father's side. He begged in a sobbing voice,"
"No, I want to study! I have to go to school tomorrow!"
Father Wei didn't look up, nor did he stop working. He sighed helplessly,"
"It's useless even if you make a fuss! There's no money at home for you to continue your studies. Sigh, Mudman, what's the use of reading so many books? Come home and build a wall with me!”
Wei Zi stubbornly replied,"
"No, I want to study-"
"It's not that I don't want you to study, but our family really can't afford it."
"I can earn money to study!”
After saying that, Wei Zi didn't go into the house. He picked up the tattered gray cloth bag and left the house.
Father Wei looked at his son, who had left in a hurry, and shook his head helplessly.
"Well-the boy-stubborn!”
After saying that, he bent down and continued to build the wall. He saw that there was a big hole in the newly built wall, and it could not fit a complete mud brick.
He looked left and right. His mud-covered hand picked up an oval-shaped stone from a pile of mud bricks and stuffed it into the hole in the wall. However, the stone was still a little small. It still could not fill the hole and revealed a medium-sized hole in the wall.
Father Wei searched the pile of mud bricks for a while, but he couldn't find a suitable stone. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he had to give up temporarily.
Wei Zi jogged all the way back to the school and came to the principal's office. He peeked inside and saw that there was a teacher in the office besides the principal.
He hesitated for a while before finally mustering up the courage to knock on the door. The principal's voice came from inside.
"Please come in!"
He pushed the door open and walked in. He came to the old principal shyly, lowered his head, and looked at the ground. He went straight to the point and begged the principal,
"Headmaster, I…I want to study! Although I don't have the money to pay the tuition fees, I can sell my hard work for the school. I'll do anything you want!”
The old principal was stunned for a moment. He sized him up and did not immediately answer. The teacher sitting at the side pleaded for him,
"I know this student. He studies hard and has excellent grades. Unfortunately, his family is poor..."
Wei Zi raised his head, and the timidity in his eyes disappeared. He looked at the principal, sincere and persistent, and pleaded again,
"As long as I continue to study, I'm willing to do anything for the school!”
The old principal was moved. He pondered for a moment and said,
"Yes, the school is rebuilding the school building and needs a lot of mud bricks. As long as you make 30 mud bricks for the school every day, your tuition fees will be waived.”
"Thank you, Principal! Thank you, teacher!"
A smile appeared on Wei Zi's gloomy face.
The next day, at dawn, Wei Zi's thin figure appeared in the messy and noisy mud brick field.
This was the first time he had come to the mud brick yard and the first time he had worked with so many Dust Men. He curiously stole a glance at the busy Dust Men around him.
In fact, from the outside, there was no difference between the Dust People and the Mud People. However, if one looked closely, one would quickly notice the difference between the Dust People and the Mud People. The Dust People's expressions were numb. Their bloodshot and tired eyes were always dull. Also, they always lowered their heads and hunched their backs. They buried their heads in their work silently. They waved their hammers to hit the mud bricks one by one. Then, they flattened and stacked them. Their movements were mechanical like lifeless machines.
Wei Zi had already mastered the simple technique of making mud bricks. His father had taught him long ago, but he was not familiar with the environment of the brick yard, so he could only quietly follow behind the Dust Men. He imitated them and swung the hammer, hitting the mud bricks in the wooden mold tightly. Then, he poured out the mud bricks from the mold, leveling them one by one and stacking them up.
After making thirty mud bricks, he hurried to school. He was hungry, dizzy, and staggered.
He hurriedly took out the only cold steamed bun in his bag and took a small bite.
At this moment, a dirty, black, jagged hand suddenly stretched out in front of him. He was so scared that he took two steps back.
Thinking that he was starving, he rubbed his eyes and looked again. He opened his mouth in horror. A strange man who had never appeared in town was standing in front of him in rags and disheveled hair.
Wei Zi blinked his eyes hard. With the help of the morning light, he still could not see the man's face clearly because his messy hair covered most of his dark face.
When he saw Wei Zi staring at him with a dumbstruck expression, he nonchalantly used a dirty hand to push the long hair that fell on his face to the side, revealing a pair of small eyes. His strange gaze was fixed on the small steamed bun in Wei Zi's hand, like a hungry ghost who hadn't eaten for a few days.
Usually, only the Dust Men would come out early in the morning to rush about. Wei Zi asked timidly,"
" You're…the Dust Man?"
The man did not answer directly. His eyes were still staring at the steamed bun without blinking. He whispered,
"Hey, boy-give me something to eat!”
Hearing him call him a kid, Wei Zi was a little unhappy. Only a nameless Dust Man would be called a kid.
"I'm a mudman. I have a name, Wei Zi!”
"Master Wei? So you're a mud man?"
He grinned in disbelief, revealing a mouthful of yellowish-black teeth. Wei Zi noticed that there was a front tooth in his mouth that emitted a metallic glow, like a new tooth!
"Hehe, I thought you were a Dust Man-you know, early in the morning, the people who are busy in the brick field are all Dust Men!”
"A heavy rain washed down the walls of our house. My father spent all his coins to rebuild the house. He no longer had the money to continue my studies, so I had to get up early and make mud bricks to earn money!”
"Oh? So that's how it is!"
A hint of disappointment flashed across the man's face. He swallowed his saliva loudly and shifted his gaze away from the steamed bun in Wei Zi's hand.
Wei Zi heard his stomach making a series of gurgling sounds. Without hesitation, he handed the steamed bun in his hand to him.
"Here-take it!"
The ugly man hesitated for a moment before taking the bun. With a whoosh, he threw it into his open mouth and swallowed it immediately. He barely chewed it, and it disappeared like a stone falling into a lake.
He didn't look at Wei Zi, nor did he say a word to Wei Zi. He turned around and walked away with staggering steps.
Wei Zi watched him leave in a daze. It took him a while to come back to his senses. He heard his stomach drumming. His hunger made his legs as heavy as lead. He could only swallow hard and tighten his belt. Just as he was about to rush to school, a crisp female voice was heard.
"Wei Zi-"
Wei Zi turned his head and looked behind him. It turned out to be his childhood friend, Akiko, running towards him.
Following behind her were two other boys, Wei Zi and Zhang Zi. They were not only Wei Zi's classmates, but also Wei Zi's sworn enemies.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]