Chapter 33: Rules for Going Out

“Da'an Ge, is Da'an Ge home?”

Lu Qing shouted in front of a mud house.

“Who is it? Who’s calling me?” A tall figure ran out from the house. Upon seeing Lu Qing, he was instantly delighted. “It’s you, A-Qing! Is there something you need?”

“Da'an, who is it?”

Before Lu Qing could answer, an elderly voice drifted out, and an old man holding a bamboo pipe walked out of the house as well.

“Grandpa, it’s A-Qing!” Wang Da'an called out directly.

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

“Oh, it’s A-Qing! Come, come, come, quickly, come inside and sit down.”

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

“No need, Grandpa Wang. I have business with Da'an Ge, so I won't intrude on you inside,” Lu Qing declined hurriedly.

“Right, what is it you need from me?” Wang Da'an asked.

“I want to go to the grand market. Last time, you mentioned that if I wanted to go, I should find you because there are certain rules I need to know.”

“You want to go to the market?” Wang Da'an froze for a moment before reacting. “Oh, right! Today is market day.”

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

“A-Qing, what are you going to the market for? To sell fish?” Wang Da'an asked.

“I’m in no rush to sell the fish. I want to go to the market first to see how things are and perhaps pick up a few things while I'm at it.”

“I see. I don't have a problem with that, but Grandpa was just about to ask me to go cut pig fodder,” Wang Da'an said, scratching his head.

Grandpa Wang took a few puffs of his pipe and said, “In that case, Da'an, take A-Qing with you. He is the head of a household now; he ought to know the rules of traveling.”

“Alright, don't worry, Grandpa. I'll definitely teach him!” Wang Da'an said happily.

He was quite pleased that he wouldn't have to cut pig fodder; that work was far too boring.

“Let's go, A-Qing. We'll talk on the way.”

Wang Da'an pulled Lu Qing and headed out.

When they reached the village entrance, Wang Da'an pointed toward a large tree at the edge of the village.

“A-Qing, the first rule of traveling to the market is right here.”

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

He was certainly aware of this tree. It wasn't particularly tall, but it was massive, with lush foliage and a trunk so thick it would take several people to encircle it.

It looked somewhat like a banyan tree from his previous life.

Furthermore, this tree seemed quite important.

Not only did people come to burn incense here regularly, but the village children had been warned since they were small never to play near it or attempt to climb it.

If anyone was caught violating the prohibition, a beating was the mildest punishment; a more serious offense could result in being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall on an empty stomach.

Consequently, the village children kept a respectful distance from the tree, preferring to play in the mud elsewhere rather than dare to play on it.

However, in his memories, he hadn't found the true purpose of this tree; he had simply assumed it was for worshipping gods for peace and safety.

Now, hearing Da'an Ge's words, it seemed it had another use?

“That's right. This tree is our village's sacred tree, and also the 'Signpost Tree.' Anyone from the village who goes out to handle business—whether it's for the grand market or to the city—must leave a mark here to indicate their destination.”

“That way, if someone doesn't return in time, the village can use the mark they left to know where they went.”

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

He truly hadn't expected that the tree he felt a sense of dread toward in the original host's memories had such an origin.

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

“Right here.”

Wang Da'an stepped forward and lifted a stone slab at the base of the tree.

When he returned, he was holding two red strings in his hand.

Wang Da'an handed one of the red strings to Lu Qing and pointed to the tree

“See those old branches on the sacred tree? The one on the left represents the grand market, the middle one represents the city, and the one on the right represents traveling further away.”

“In the future, whenever you go out, just tie a red string around the corresponding branch. That way, the villagers will know someone has left.”

“When you return, just take the red string off.”

“Is that it?” Lu Qing was stunned.

He thought it would be much more complicated; he hadn't expected it to be so simple.

“That's it. What else would it be?” Wang Da'an asked, somewhat confused by Lu Qing's reaction.

“Don't you need to hang a sign or some other marker? Otherwise, how will people know who has gone away?” Lu Qing asked.

“Why hang a sign?” Wang Da'an was even more bewildered.

“You could write a name or something on the sign...”

As Lu Qing spoke, he suddenly realized something.

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

Sure enough, Wang Da'an grinned upon hearing this.

“You think we're all like you, A-Qing, knowing so many characters? Who would know how to write their own name?”

“Besides, there's no need for such trouble. The village is only this big. If we see a red string hasn't been removed, we can just ask around the village and find out who hasn't come back.”

Lu Qing thought it made sense.

His mind had momentarily failed to adjust; he had assumed things here were like in his previous life, where one could travel far and wide at will.

In reality, in an ancient world like this, villagers were very cautious about leaving.

Unless necessary, they would not travel casually.

Some villagers might never leave for a long distance in their entire lives.

Children were strictly forbidden from running off.

Under these circumstances, there actually weren't many people leaving the village on a regular basis, so such a simple system was indeed sufficient.

However, this also helped Lu Qing understand why people regularly burned incense under this tree.

Presumably, besides worshipping the gods, what the villagers were mostly praying for was the safety of those who had gone out.

“Come, I'll help you tie it.”

Wang Da'an tied the two red strings onto the left branch.

“Additionally, there is another rule in the village. The grand market isn't far from us, so if you're going there, you can go alone as long as you tie the red string here.”

“But if you are going to the city or even further, you must go with at least one other person so you can look out for each other.”

“If no one from our village is heading to the city, you can go to the neighboring village and call out to see if anyone wants to go together. The traveling rules for our several villages are mostly the same.”

“Going to the city isn't like going to the market; having more people makes it easier to watch each other's backs.”

“Da'an Ge, is the road to the city very dangerous?” Lu Qing couldn't help but ask upon hearing these rules.

Wang Da'an paused for a moment before saying, “It's not exactly dangerous. It's been fine these past few years, and the roads have been quite peaceful. But I heard from my grandfather that in the past, bandits used to appear on the roads. Someone from the neighboring village was once captured and didn't escape back for several years.”

“Everyone thought he had died out there, but when he finally escaped back, we learned he had been taken by bandits.”

“However, it's said that the County Magistrate later sent men to wipe out that band of bandits, so the roads returned to peace.”

“It was from then on that our several villages gradually established the current traveling rules.”

Bandits!

Lu Qing's heart jolted.

As expected, this world was not as peaceful as he had imagined.

The term "County Magistrate" also caught his attention.

However, Lu Qing did not press for details. There was plenty of time; he could inquire more slowly in the future.

After explaining the rules of leaving the village and tying the red string, Wang Da'an finally led Lu Qing toward the direction of the grand market.