Chapter 173: line with translation of chapter title

"Hey, isn't that Yongger?" a sharp-eyed villager from the production team immediately recognized the bloody figure lying on the grass pile.

This bloody person is naturally the Liu Guozhong I mentioned earlier, no doubt. Why do villagers call him Yongger? That naturally has its reasons.

Yong is one of the characters in Liu Guozhong's courtesy name.

In ancient times, a name is fate, a courtesy name is just a name. According to custom, a child first gets a name at birth; after the capping ceremony they receive a courtesy name; after death they receive a posthumous name. The Book of Rites, Tan Gong Shang, calls this process: "child's name, capping courtesy name, the Zhou way."

The ancient "name" and "courtesy name" were often used to indicate generation within the family. In pre-Qin times, it was common to add Bo (Meng), Zhong, Shu, Ji before the name and surname to indicate birth order among brothers: Bo and Meng are elder brothers, Zhong is the second, Shu is the younger, Ji is the youngest. For example, the famous Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms had the courtesy name Mengde. Confucius, being second in birth order, had the courtesy name Zhongni.

Even in the reform and opening-up era, some parents still passed on this tradition: giving a name at birth, and after reaching adulthood bestowing a courtesy name.

Of course, whether in ancient times or feudal society, ordinary commoners also lacked courtesy names. In ancient times the class system was strict; those who could possess a courtesy name as adults were mostly from scholarly families, or their ancestors were fallen scholar-gentry who had achieved distinction, far beyond ordinary merchants and clerks.

Thus, the glory of this empty fame has taken deep root among these stubborn, unenlightened elders. Their thinking goes like this: even if the family has declined, after all it once flourished. Having a courtesy name naturally shows how their family differs from ordinary households.

In short, this glory is nothing but empty fame. However, throughout China's five thousand years, people have valued nothing but fame and profit. Even a penniless, public-spirited scholar still regards reputation as extremely important, even more important than his own life.

Although it was the early days of reform and opening-up, the Liu family still kept this tradition; the Liu family, whose ancestors had produced military officers, naturally had the qualification to bestow courtesy names on their children.

Of course, a courtesy name actually complements the given name. Take the famous Tang poet Bai Juyi, whose courtesy name was Letian. The meaning is: only by being optimistic can one live at ease.

Liu Guozhong's given name is Guozhong, his courtesy name is Mengyong. Meng means eldest, combined with Yong gives the meaning of bravery. The courtesy name fully displays the bearing of a military family. Only bravery can one serve the country loyally; only bravery can one protect the nation and ensure peace.

In the past, people usually addressed each other by their courtesy name rather than their given name. For example, Du Fu, courtesy name Zimei. In the Tang dynasty, people generally called him Du Zimei. But in modern times, for simplicity and ease of recall, books often just show the two characters Du Fu.

For this reason, those who know him call Liu Guozhong Mengyong, or Yongger.

When Liu Guozhong was carried on the back by that sturdy team member, the familiar villagers immediately recognized him. Everyone bustled about, pressing on his chest, turning him upside down and shaking him… taking some post-drowning precautions.

And Aunt Wang's heart rose to her throat; as a descendant of a Daoist teaching family, she naturally knew how fearsome spirits are—this Liu Guozhong… probably couldn't be saved.

Thinking of this, Aunt Wang was overcome with grief; tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Who would have thought that at this moment, the unconscious Liu Guozhong suddenly vomited a big mouthful of water with a 'wa', furrowed his brows, clutched his chest, and cried out in pain: "It kills me!"

Then came painful, repeated coughing, almost bringing up bile. After a moment, Liu Guozhong furrowed his brows and glanced around at the people nearby, as if searching for something. Not long after, his eyes grew heavy with drowsiness, like someone who hadn't slept for days; his head lolled and he fainted again.

The old secretary checked Liu Guozhong's breath, finding his breathing weak but still present—he had merely fainted—and involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

He glanced at Ku Jing, squinting at the desolate surroundings. Fearing delays might bring trouble, the old secretary quickly had the sturdy team members carry Liu Guozhong on their backs; the group, holding torches, hurried down the mountain in a mighty procession.

As they went down the mountain, they still sang mountain songs loudly with hoarse throats.

The ringing song echoed in the desolate Zhu Lin, accompanied by a long fire dragon. At this moment the villagers didn't look like they were fleeing for their lives; rather, they seemed more like they were holding a bonfire party.

The old secretary's reason for making them do this was another, undisclosed motive.

Any elder or insider knows well that a person is like a lamp, with three flames: one on the forehead, two on the shoulders. From these three flames one can see the decline of a person's vitality.

The stronger the three flames, the more they restrain spirits. In fact, these three flames are closely tied to one's emotions. For example, if you walk down a deserted street at night and someone suddenly taps your shoulder, you will surely startle and tremble all over. Or if a spirit behind you repeatedly calls your name, when you turn and suddenly see its form, you will surely jump in fright.

If you are afraid, the three flames instantly weaken; a spirit can then approach you. But if you are not afraid, instead putting on an angry stare and facing it without fear, the spirit may only be able to get within three tenths of you.

Although the old secretary doesn't know any magic, he fully understands this principle. That's why he had the villagers hold torches and, as if nothing were wrong, sing mountain songs.

Song is a good thing that can express inner emotions, dispelling gloom and fear. Especially when a group sings mountain songs in unison, with such soaring, resonant tones, their emotions become uncontrollably excited.

One might ask, under such vigor, whose blood isn't already racing with the song—what is there to fear?

As for the villagers of the production team, they held torches and sang all the way, finally returning safely to the production team's dormitory.

The old secretary dared not delay; he quickly called an aunt to fetch the village barefoot doctor, and placed Liu Guozhong in a better single room to rest.

The village barefoot doctor examined Liu Guozhong, pondered briefly, and roughly guessed the cause. However, because reform and opening-up had just begun, people still harbored lingering fears of the ten-year Cultural Revolution. Thus the actual situation, the old Chinese doctor naturally dared not speak of it, merely brushing it off as a wind-cold ailment.

Why wind-cold? Because after Liu Guozhong was brought back, his body grew hotter and hotter, already running a high fever.

After the old Chinese doctor left, Liu Guozhong spent several consecutive days in coma and fever. Naturally, the task of caring for him fell to Aunt Wang.

Perhaps because of the debt of saving his life, over the following long period Aunt Wang never left his bedside.

Speaking of Liu Guozhong, thanks to years of martial training his foundation was solid, his body honed to extraordinary strength; after washing away the blood and grime, a thick-browed, honest young man appeared vividly before Aunt Wang's eyes. Though not a handsome man, he possessed a certain sturdy demeanor; in today's terms… that sturdy demeanor is the sense of safety a man exudes.

Day after day, Aunt Wang would administer medicine to the unconscious Liu Guozhong while furtively observing this sturdy fellow.

Moreover, which maiden doesn't harbor springtime feelings? Especially when the man she constantly sees has saved her life. Day after day, Aunt Wang developed a vague affection for Liu Guozhong.

However, being a teenager in her puberty, she was bewildered and shy; even if she couldn't yet pin down what this vague feeling was, even if she knew, she'd be too embarrassed to tell anyone.

Until one rather accidental afternoon, Liu Guozhong woke up suddenly.

That afternoon, Aunt Wang was holding a basin of rice water, vigorously scraping Liu Guozhong's wounded thigh with a coin.

Speaking of using rice water, red thread, and coin scraping, this is one of the common folk remedies in the countryside. For example, if a child is bitten by a dog or scratched by something dirty, an elder will soak a basin of glutinous rice water, first rub the wound with red thread as if scraping the face, then use a coin to scrape out the clotted blood.

Although this method is rustic, it is quite effective; in the few days after Liu Guozhong was brought back, Aunt Wang scraped off several layers of blackened matter from his thigh wound with the coin.

Because this detox scraping must continue until red appears, moving from dark blood to bright red, the treatment cannot be finished in a day or two.

While Aunt Wang gently scraped Liu Guozhong's thigh wound with the coin, her mind flew to the heavens, recalling that night when he sacrificed himself to save her.

The dazed Aunt Wang didn't notice Liu Guozhong's fingers twitching slightly. Only when Liu Guozhong rubbed his aching forehead, pushed himself up, and cried out in pain and confusion did Aunt Wang suddenly straighten up, uttering an 'ah' and freezing.

After a moment, Aunt Wang's face flushed red; she lowered her head and fled out the door.

In the old society, feudal thinking was strong; even after reform and opening-up, the notion that men and women should not be physically close remained deeply rooted in some people's minds. Aunt Wang using a coin to treat Liu Guozhong's wound meant their skin inevitably came into contact.

At this moment Liu Guozhong jerked awake, while Aunt Wang had been dazed for a long time, still unaware. Once she came to, she naturally worried that Liu Guozhong had seen this skin-to-skin contact, and uncontrollably covered her flushed face and fled the door. She wished she could find a crack to crawl into—she simply felt she had no face to show anyone.