Heroes of the Sons and Daughters

Chapter Seven
The last book explained that Mr. An was imprisoned because Mr. An was "dismissed from office, asked for questioning, and compensated with guilt", and pursued the compensation. Hua Zhongnan is here.Hua Zhong, who was unborn, fell ill on the way. Fortunately, his sister-in-law, Chu Yiguan, lived a hundred miles away. He had to write to ask that Chu Yiguan to find a way to accompany the son, so he asked the son to come to Chiping first.

This day, the young master said goodbye to Hua Zhong and started on the road. At that time, it was almost mid-autumn weather, the golden wind was rustling, the jade dew was lingering, the moon was dawning and the stars were still shining, and geese were buzzing with the sound of geese.The young master only accompanied one shopkeeper and two mule drivers, and traveled all the way with those guests. It was so miserable!He didn't care to look at the scenery along the way, so he walked for a while, and arrived in Chiping around midnight that day.It really is a big town!There are countless cooking pot pawnshops, inns and warehouses on both sides.Go straight to the middle of the town, and the north of the road is the old Yuelai store.

There are more than a dozen frontages in that shop. The door of the shop is wide open in the middle. There is a cabinet room on the left and a kitchen stove on the right. There is a shed in front of the door.There were many single customers sitting on that stool, and they ate there.Next to it rested a donkey standing upside down, a second-hand cart [a wheelbarrow pushed by hand], as well as the burdens on the shoulders and the backs on their backs, all in a mess, which was very lively.

When it was approaching, the mule driver asked: "Master, shall we rest here?"

The young master nodded, and the mule driver took the mule with him. In the street, there was already a shopkeeper calling for the business to stop him with his hand. The long-lined mule was used to walking, so he walked into the shop one by one. Come.

Entering the store, the young master took a look, and saw that inside the store door, there were horse sheds and dressing rooms on the left and right sides, a waist hall in the north, and a hallway gate in the middle, a screen wall in the door, facing the screen wall, and a main room in the middle. There are two rooms in east and west.After looking at it, only the two rooms on the east and west sides at the far end were single rooms, so he took a break at the east side.The shop assistant asked, "Can you unload the luggage?" The young master said, "You can unload it for me first."The mule driver said: "I can't do it alone. You can't see that it's small, and it weighs more than 100 catties!" Then, two mule drivers helped to build it into the room, put it on the kang, and returned the clothes. Bags, money sheaths, eating baskets, bowls and bags, etc. were brought in.The two mule drivers pulled the mule out.The shop guy who followed was thinking about the affairs of his shop, sent off the son, hurriedly ordered two cakes at the door of the shop, ate them and then went back.The son gave him a bunch of money, and wrote a note to Mammy, saying that he had arrived in Chiping.After sending the shop assistants away, a waiter had already brought in a wooden tub for washing his face, filled with hot water, a large bowl of cold water, a pot of tea, and an incense burner.Then he asked: "Where are the guests waiting for someone to eat?" The young master said: "If you don't wait for someone, just eat."

But he said that even though the young man had walked a few miles, he washed, ate, drank and slept all the way, and his mother served him wholeheartedly: he either boiled a piece of ham, or fried some fruit jam to take with him; when he arrived at the store, he must cook it separately. Some rice, cook some porridge; even get up early and go to bed late, all of them are thoughtful in mediation.Therefore, the young master never paid attention to the suffering of thirst, drink, hunger and food on the way, except for the usual weather.Even the washbasin in the store has never been in front of me.Now looking at the wooden basin, it is really dirty, and I am impatient to go to get the things of the washbasin and rice bowl again.I stared blankly for a long time, and waited until the basin of water became cold, but didn't wash it.Then the meal came, and I ate half a bowl of Maocha with the chopsticks and chopsticks in the shop, and then put it down.All of a sudden the two mule drivers also finished their meal and came in.

It turned out that the two mule drivers, one surnamed Gou, were born stupid, as long as he was given a few dollars, he would do anything, so people called him "Stupid Dog"; Bandit and thief, with a face full of vitiligo, so people call him "White Face Wolf".When the two of them came in, they asked the young master, "Master, didn't you say yesterday that there was a letter to be sent? Where did you send it?" The young master said, "Which one of you will go?" The silly dog ​​said, "I will." The young master then took out the letter, took another sling of money, and said to him, "It's good for you to go. There is a small road off the southeast road. Follow the road. There is a place twenty miles away called 28 red willow trees, do you know?" The silly dog ​​said: "I know, I went to the Dengjiazhuang to do business." The young master said: "That's even better. There is a Chu family in that village." He said, He told him the appearance of Chu Yiguan and his wife again.He also said: "You hand this letter to the person surnamed Chu face to face, and ask him to come quickly. If he is not at home and you see his wife, just say that their relative surnamed Hua said, please invite his wife. "The silly dog ​​said: "Ask his wife to come to this store. She is a woman, so why not?" The young man said: "You only need to tell him that he understands, and he will come. This is a letter, and a penny is for you." If you have collected everything, go quickly."

The white-faced wolf saw it and said, "I'll go with him, young master, and you'll always give me two hangers. I'll buy a pair of shoes. Look at these shoes. They don't follow my feet." The young master said, "You two They're all gone, what's the matter with me?" The white-faced wolf said, "What do you want me to do? There are waiters, are you afraid of short-handed people in the shop?" The young master twisted him, but he had to take two slings of money Give it to him, and asked again.Said: "If you don't know it, you'd rather go to the counter in the store and ask, don't miss it!" The white-faced wolf said: "You old Wan'an! This is nothing to worry about, so it goes without saying." Saying, The two of them left the store together, followed the main road and ran towards the side road that forked.

While walking, I saw a big earth hill beside the road, about twenty feet high, mixed with earth and rocks, with some tall and short trees growing on it, but it was a very wide mountain.It turns out that this place is called a fork, and there are two roads: go out from the small path in front of the mountain, rush to 28 red willow trees, and return to the main road in Shandong; pass through the small path behind the mountain, and go around to Henan.When the two of them got there, the white-faced wolf said to the silly dog: "It's a cool place, let's have a rest before leaving!"

The silly dog ​​said: "You will be tired after just a few steps. There are still more than 20 miles to go. Let's go!"

The white-faced wolf said: "Sit down, let me tell you what a coincidence." The silly dog ​​had to stop, and the two of them took off their straw hats and laid them on the floor.The white-faced wolf said: "Silly dog, are you really sending this book to him?" The silly dog ​​said: "It's a good thing, I took two or three shillings from others and put it down for others, will they agree? "The white-faced wolf said: "You're full after two or three hangings? You see, we have the ability to forcefully carry the two or three thousand silver in his quilt cover, and we still don't take his kindness!"

Just as I was saying this, I saw a man riding a black donkey walking slowly from Lunan step by step.When the white-faced wolf saw it, he whispered to the silly dog: "Hey! Look, what a little black donkey! It looks like a mo ding, but it has white ears [that is, white ear rings], white eye rings White chest, white belly, white tail tip! You see, there are still four silver hooves on the outside, and a jade crown on the head, which is full of growth, so it’s no wonder! This thing If you want to put it on the market, if you meet your beloved master, you won’t be able to buy it for two hundred yuan!" The silly dog ​​said: "You care about others! If you love it, is it still yours?"

As he said that, he saw the man on the donkey put his hand in his arms, then turned around the hillside and went over the mountain without mentioning it.

The silly dog ​​then asked the white-faced wolf: "What coincidence did you tell me?"

The white-faced wolf said: "This is a saying that 'the law cannot be passed on to six ears'. It is not because I have a bad conscience to solicit you, because the two of us are 'two grasshoppers tied by a thread-can't fly me, can't hit you'" When it comes to our line of business, it’s all about grinding, slobbering, overpaying, earning a little, and then making the rest of the money! When it comes to this business, it’s up to you and me You're lucky. The owner who hired the mule is not very good. You see, the old man named Hua with him is really annoying. He knows everything, and he has a stern look. It’s not good if you want to take advantage of him as an official [referring to copper coins]. Now he is sick in the store, and at this time he has to go to 28 red willow trees to find an official Chu. You guessed it, his friend is probably not What's the trouble? If you want to grind like this, when you get to Huai'an, needless to say, the mule will do it too, and we both will lose money!" The silly dog ​​said, "According to your words, how about it?"

The white-faced wolf said: "According to me, isn't it that the old man is not here? But you and I are lucky. Let's take the three pennies at this time, first find a place to spend a long time, come back to the store, I just said that I saw someone surnamed Chu, and he didn’t have time to come, so he was waiting for us at home. If we deceived that Wenchang young boy into the truth, we should not go south to 28 red willow trees, and go north to Heifenggang The Heifeng Hill is a back road, and it will be about ten days when we get there. When we get to the top of the hill, we will take the little boy off the livestock and push him into the bottomless mountain stream. The luggage belongs to you and me. Do you think it’s a good idea?” The silly dog ​​said: “Okay, okay, if we walk back inside with our load, if we meet someone who doesn’t look right, it’s not real life. Famine?" The white-faced wolf said, "You are a stupid dog, you are a stupid dog. We have this money, do we still go back? If we follow this road, we won't be able to live happily ever after. For half a lifetime!" That silly dog ​​was a fool who only cares about money, and when he heard this, he said, "Yes, that's what we're going to do!" The two of them agreed, and they stood up, shook their heads, and walked away.

The two of them felt that this matter had been discussed carefully, and they didn't want to "whisper in the world, the sky hears it like thunder; the dark room has a heart, and the eyes are like lightning."Another way is "talk on the road, someone listens in the grass".I will not say this for the time being.

Let's say that after Mr. an sent two mule drivers there, it was the time when breakfast was served in the shop and it was lively.I can only hear the light pouring and singing in this room, and the shouting and drinking in that room. The yard is full of sellers of scattered food, groceries, Shandong materials, and Shandong cloth.The young master looked at it and said, "I don't understand. These people walk such a long way, and they can't get tired. How can they be so happy?" Father didn't know whether he was dead or alive at this time; the two mule drivers went for a long time, and they didn't know whether they could find that official Chu;He didn't dare to leave the room, so he was so anxious that he turned around in the room like a mill.After turning around for a while, I thought about it: "It's not reasonable to wait, just wait for me to be quiet." Then he spread a horse mattress on the edge of the Kang, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and read the articles he had read on weekdays. , Recite one by one.Back to the proud place, I only heard him recite aloud: "Wang Ji's deep gratitude has not been repaid, and his unworthy limbs are left in vain. His parents have no worries for half their lives. How long is a hundred years? My father's limited spirit is even more wasted after working hard on me!..."

Just as I was reciting here with my eyes closed, I felt a cold and hard thing slipping on my lips for a while, and I was startled.Quickly opened his eyes, and saw a man standing there, with two blue satin plasters on the sun, braided braids that were loose, wearing a moon white cotton silk jacket, and a blue hood over his head. Single tights with cloth pipa lapels, a Henan girdle bag tied outside the tights, a pair of fragrant foreign cloth trousers underneath, and a pair of green satin trousers, the knees are numb and flowers are exposed, revealing pink Brie There is a large pile of pure mud white crepe sweat towels protruding from the right thigh, fish white cloth socks wrapped around the feet, and a pair of big tucked fish scale umbrella shoes, but they are pulled.In his left hand, he held a polished mirror and a two-foot-long hookah, and in his right hand, he held a fire paper twister.He blew on the paper with a "pop", and put the pipe into his mouth.The young master said, "I don't eat hookah." The kid said, "You always eat tidal tobacco?" As he spoke, he reached into his trousers and took out a purple bamboo tidal cigarette pouch.When the young master saw it, it turned out that a hole was drilled in the root of the bamboo, and even if it was a cigarette pot, this end was uneasy, and the skin of the purple bamboo was worn white by everyone's teeth.The young master quickly said: "I don't eat trendy cigarettes either, so I don't know how to eat cigarettes, and I didn't ask you to pretend to be cigarettes. I think you heard it wrong." As soon as the hookah seller heard this, he knew that this master was a The cowardly son bowed his head and went out.Seeing that he had just gone out, this young man was called to stop him. He stood under the eaves and smoked several pipes. He sucked the smoke in his mouth, but sprayed it out from his nose.The hookah seller blows the hookah to the sound of the mountains.The man finished eating in no time, and he didn't know how much money he had in his pocket.Only then did the young master know that this was also a way to make money, and he was secretly amazed.

After a while, only the noise outside could be heard.He yelled: "Listen to the book? Listen to the passage?" "Little Eldest Sister Scolds His Grandma"." The young master said, "How do you say this?" Then he heard the sound of the strings being played, and walked into the yard.Looking around, it turns out that there are a bunch of blind men, the one in front is holding a load of firewood strings, the one in the middle is holding a broken octagonal drum, the one in the back is carrying a dulcimer on his back, and playing a pair of plywood in his hand, With a thud, he rushed to the east side room and brought it.The young master ignored him, and let him make trouble under the window.It was so easy to hear him go to the north, and someone was already there to stop him.

At this moment, just as the waiter brought the kettle to make tea, the young master got up and poured out a bowl, and put it on the table to dry.While only pouring tea, two more people came in.When the young master looked back, he couldn't tell who they were: one looked to be in his twenties and the other in his teens.The one in front has long braids, and wears an old blue crepe jacket with wide sleeves, but peach red sleeves; the other has a big crooked bun, and wears a half moon white foreign cloth shirt, with a A bodysuit embroidered with three blue flowers on a sky-blue satin that is fuzzy with grease and tattered.Underneath are a pair of golden lilies more than four inches long, their faces are covered with lead powder mixed with mud, and there is a yellow ring around the mouth-the rouge has been eaten long ago.The one in front is holding a pipa.It turned out to be two big girls.

When the young master saw it, he hurriedly said, "Get out!" The two didn't answer, and sat down and played and sang without saying anything.As soon as the young master hid in the corner of the wall, he only heard him singing "Qing Liu Erqing, I lost a needle when I got up early in the morning".The young master said anxiously: "I don't listen to this." The man in green said: "You don't listen to this, let's sing a good one. I will sing "Little Couple Fighting for the Bed" and you listen." The young master said: "I don't listen to it." Listen." He held his pipa and straightened his neck and asked: "Have you listened to a piece of music for most of it, don't you listen?" The young master said: "No!" The girl said: "No, no Give me the money!"

At this time, the young master only hoped that he would go out quickly, so he quickly took out a sling of money and kidnapped dozens of them for him.

He snatched the other half with a smile on his face.That one said: "Give me that one." The young master was afraid that he would get caught, so he quickly took the one hundred and gave it to the other.The two of them counted the money, divided it into two and tucked it in the waistband of their trousers.The older one walked to the table, picked up the bowl of herbal tea that was hanging out just now, and gulped it down.The little one also picked up the teapot, poured it mouth to mouth, and walked away with his buttocks pouted.

(End of this chapter)