Chapter 33: Rules for Going Out

“Big Brother An, is Big Brother An at home?”

Lu Qing shouted in front of an earthen house.

“Who is it? Who’s calling me?” A tall figure ran out of the house. When he saw Lu Qing, he was immediately pleasantly surprised. “It’s you, Ah Qing. What do you need me for?”

“Da’an, who is it?”

Before Lu Qing could answer, an old voice came out, and an old man holding a bamboo pipe also walked out of the house.

“Grandpa, it’s Ah Qing!” Wang Da’an shouted directly.

“Grandpa Wang,” Lu Qing greeted the old man.

“Oh, it’s Ah Qing. Come, come, come inside and sit down.”

The old man was also pleasantly surprised to see Lu Qing and wanted to pull him into the house for a drink of water.

“No need, Grandpa Wang. I have something to discuss with Big Brother An, so I won’t disturb you by coming in,” Lu Qing quickly declined.

“By the way, what do you need me for?” Wang Da’an asked.

“I want to go to the big market. Last time, Big Brother An, you said that if I wanted to go to the big market, I should come to you to learn some rules.”

“You’re going to the big market?” Wang Da’an was stunned for a moment, then he reacted. “Oh right, today is market day.”

The big market was held once every five days, and today was exactly the fifth day since the last market day.

“Ah Qing, what are you going to the big market for? To sell fish?” Wang Da’an asked.

“I’m not in a hurry to sell the fish. I want to go to the big market to take a look first, understand the situation, and buy some things by the way.”

“I see. I don’t have a problem with that, but Grandpa was just thinking of asking me to cut pig grass,” Wang Da’an scratched his head.

Grandpa Wang took two puffs of his pipe and said, “In that case, Da’an, you take Ah Qing for a trip. He is the head of the family now, and he should know the rules for going out.”

“Alright, Grandpa, don’t worry. I will definitely teach Ah Qing!” Wang Da’an said happily.

He was very happy to be able to avoid cutting pig grass. That job was too boring.

“Let’s go, Ah Qing. We’ll talk on the way.”

Wang Da’an pulled Lu Qing and walked out.

At the entrance of the village, Wang Da’an pointed to a large tree at the entrance of the village.

He said, “Ah Qing, the first rule for going out to the market is here.”

“Here?” Lu Qing looked at the big tree, somewhat puzzled.

Of course he knew this big tree. The tree was not very tall, but it was very strong, with lush branches and leaves, and a very thick trunk that would take several people to encircle.

It looked a bit like the banyan tree from his previous life.

And this big tree seemed to be quite important.

Not only did people usually burn incense here, but the children in the village were also warned from a young age that they were strictly forbidden to play nearby, let alone climb it.

If anyone was found to have violated the ban, a good beating would be a light punishment. A heavier punishment would be to kneel in the ancestral hall with an empty stomach.

So the children in the village all kept a respectful distance from this big tree. They would rather play with mud elsewhere than dare to play on it.

However, in his memory, he had not found the real use of this big tree. He only thought it was for worshiping gods and praying for peace.

Now, listening to Big Brother An’s meaning, it seemed to have another purpose?
“That’s right. This big tree is our village’s divine tree, and also a letter tree. Everyone in the village who goes out on business, whether it’s to the big market or to the city, has to leave a mark here to indicate their destination.”

“This way, if someone doesn’t return in time, the village can still know their whereabouts based on the mark he left.”

“This big tree actually has such a use?” Lu Qing was surprised.

He really hadn’t expected that the big tree that the original owner was somewhat afraid of in his memory had such a history.

“Then how do you leave a mark on it?” Lu Qing asked.

“Here.”

Wang Da’an walked forward and lifted a stone slab under the tree.

When he came back, he had two more red ropes in his hand.

Wang Da’an handed one of the red ropes to Lu Qing and pointed at the tree, saying:

“Do you see those old branches on the divine tree? The one on the left represents the big market, the one in the middle represents the city, and the one on the right represents going to other distant places.”

“In the future, wherever you go, just tie a red rope on it, so that the villagers will know that someone has gone out.”

“When you come back, just take off the red rope.”

“Is that it?” Lu Qing was stunned.

He had thought it would be very complicated, but he hadn’t expected it to be so simple.

“That’s it. What else could it be?” Wang Da’an was a little confused.

“Don’t you need to hang a sign or other signs? Otherwise, how would everyone know who has gone on a long journey?” Lu Qing asked.

“What’s the point of hanging a sign?” Wang Da’an was even more confused.

“You can write your name on the sign or something…”

When Lu Qing said this, he suddenly reacted.

He had forgotten that most of the people in the village were illiterate.

Sure enough, Wang Da’an grinned when he heard this.

“You think we’re all like you, Ah Qing, who can recognize so many characters? Who can write their own name?”

“And it’s not that troublesome. The village is so small. If you see that the red rope hasn’t been taken down, you can just ask around in the village and you’ll know who hasn’t come back.”

Lu Qing thought so too.

It was his head that couldn’t turn around for a moment. He thought that this place was still like his previous life, where he could go on a long journey at will.

In fact, in such an ancient world, the villagers were very cautious about going out.

They would not go out at will unless it was necessary.

Some villagers might never have gone on a long journey in their entire lives.

Children were even more strictly forbidden to run outside.

Under such circumstances, there were actually not many people who usually left the village to go out, so it was really not that troublesome.

However, this also made Lu Qing understand why everyone usually burned incense under this tree.

Presumably, in addition to worshiping the gods, the villagers were more likely praying for the safety of those who went out.

“Come, I’ll help you tie it.”

Wang Da’an tied the two red ropes to the branch on the left.

“In addition, there is another rule in the village. The big market is not far from our village. If you want to go, you can go alone, as long as you tie a red rope here.”

“But if you go to the city or a farther place, you must go out with at least two people, so that you can take care of each other.”

“If no one in our village wants to go to the city, you can go to the next village and ask if anyone wants to go together. The rules for going out in our several villages are similar.”

“Going to the city is not like going to the big market. With more people, it’s better to take care of each other.”

“Big Brother An, is the road to the city very dangerous?” Lu Qing couldn’t help but ask when he heard these rules.

Wang Da’an paused for a moment before saying, “I can’t say it’s dangerous. It’s been pretty peaceful on the road these years. But I heard from my grandfather that there were mountain bandits on the road before. Someone from the next village was captured and only escaped after several years.”

“Everyone thought he had died outside. It was only after he escaped that they knew he had been captured by mountain bandits.”

“But it is said that that group of mountain bandits was later wiped out by the county magistrate and the city lord, so the road became peaceful again.”

“It was also from that time that our several villages gradually established the current rules for going out.”

Mountain bandits!
Lu Qing’s heart trembled.

Sure enough, this world was not as peaceful as he had thought.

The term “county magistrate” also made him a little concerned.

However, Lu Qing did not ask in detail. There was still a long time to go, and he could slowly inquire about it in the future.

After explaining the rules for leaving the village to Lu Qing and tying the red rope, Wang Da’an then took Lu Qing in the direction of the big market.

(End of this chapter)