On the trestle, a cold wind blew, and the sleeves of the old man wearing a coir raincoat were slowly blown up. He was wearing a dark brown peach stone bracelet on his left wrist. The number of peach stones was actually ten. The texture of each grain is clear and the oil shine can be discerned.
The old man took off the bracelet, looked at one of the light-colored peach stones, and shook his head slightly, obviously not satisfied.
Then, he laid the fishing rod flat on the trestle, held the peach stone bracelet in his hand, pressed the lines of the peach stone with his thumb and index finger, and rubbed it back and forth.
Under the slope of the trestle shore, a simple and honest young man was grilling food and asked casually: "Master, we have done everything we need to do. Where do you plan to go next?"
Seeing that there was no reply from the old man, the honest young man smiled and said: "Master, I miss my adopted brother. Do you think we should go see him on the way back?"
As soon as he heard the word "adopted brother", the coir raincoat draped on the old man's shoulders shook a few times. His palms stroking the peach core suddenly stopped, and he slowly turned his head and stared at the honest young man coldly.
"Uh..." The honest young man saw that the old man had a bad look on his face, so he quickly changed his tune and said with a smile: "Master, don't be angry, I just said it casually."
The old man snorted coldly and warned: "Don't mention that worthless thing in front of me. I've been teaching him swordsmanship for so many years, but he only learned one move after so many years of learning."
The honest young man quickly praised: "For my sworn brother, one move is enough."
"Huh?" The old man turned around, frowned, slowly raised his palm and pointed at him, threatening: "If you dare to follow his example, I will break both of your legs."
The honest young man leaned back slightly and shook his head slowly.
"I dare not do my best. When I told him to go east, he insisted on going west. He had been disobedient since he was a child and always opposed me. He still doesn't change his tune until now." The old man pointed at his old face and said angrily: "I He has completely lost all face."
Seeing that the old man was still angry, the honest young man simply kept silent and listened quietly.
"The older ones are disobedient, and the younger ones can't do it either, alas!" After the old man finished speaking, he stopped looking at him.
"Huh?" The honest young man opened his mouth slightly and blinked a few times, as if he had encountered a problem.
Ziyang held the warm earthen pot in his hands and walked on the dark path. Because the weeds on both sides were denser, his trouser legs often rubbed against the grass and made a rustling sound.
When the honest young man heard the noise, he immediately stood up and looked at the narrow path on the slope. Through the moonlight, he clearly saw Zi Yang's figure.
The honest young man looked at the heavy earthen jar in the young man's arms with a look of astonishment on his face. He immediately rubbed his eyes to confirm whether he had seen it wrong. Then, he slowly turned his gaze to the old man's back and said, "Here, someone really came to deliver fish soup." ?”
In order to ensure whether the content in the earthen pot was actually fish soup, he simply stood under the trestle and waited for Ziyang to come over, pretending to be nonchalant.
When Ziyang cautiously jumped down the slope and passed by the honest young man, he completely ignored him, stepped directly onto the trestle, and walked towards the old man happily.
The young man thought he was enjoying the moonlight quietly, so he didn't disturb him.
Um? !
The honest young man looked at Ziyang quietly and shouted in his heart, "I am also in the demigod state after all. Can't you give me some face and say a word to me?"
"Forget it, since you don't know how to practice, I won't argue with you. In the future, if you encounter me, we will have to make careful calculations."
"Xiaofu, come and have a bowl of fish soup to warm yourself up. Don't stay there in a daze." The old man held the porcelain bowl and waved to him with a smile.
The honest young man took two steps and was about to step onto the trestle when a burning smell came from behind him. He straightened the tip of his nose and took a deep sniff. His body trembled and he slapped his hands to his thighs. He turned around quickly and was almost killed by the ground. Tripping on protruding rocks.
When he picked up the bamboo pole that was pierced through the hare, he looked at the burnt part and smacked his lips, feeling a little pity. Then, he tore off the burnt rabbit meat with his hands, stuffed it into his mouth and spit it out immediately, without forgetting Look back at the old man.
I saw the old man and the young man chatting happily without looking this way. He breathed a sigh of relief, which was considered to have escaped death. Then he walked onto the trestle calmly with a bamboo pole in hand.
The old man stretched out his old palm, held Zi Yang's cold little hand, and personally put the peach stone bracelet on his left wrist. After looking at it for a while, he felt that the bracelet was too wide and inappropriate.
He took the bracelet, tied a knot in the red rope that ran through the peach core bracelet, and put it on the boy's wrist again, stroking his beard and nodding with satisfaction.
Zi Yang lowered his head and smelled it first, then shook his wrist, looking at the smooth and shiny lines on the outside of the bracelet, and asked happily: "Grandpa, is this a peach stone? Does wearing it on the wrist have any effect?"
The old man laughed and said: "That's right! This is the core left after we eat the peach. Wearing it on your hand can ward off evil spirits and bless you for a safe life."
Ziyang asked happily: "Is this for me?"
The old man drank the steaming fish soup in the bowl, pinched the young man's cheek, and said: "Whatever you wear on your hand is naturally yours."
Ziyang nodded vigorously, covered it gently with his cuffs, and patted it twice slowly with his palm, fearing that the peach core would be stained with dust and lose its original luster. It was obvious that he was interested in the peach core bracelet given by the old man. , cherish it very much.
Overjoyed, the young man picked up the earthen pot with both hands and poured another bowl of fish soup for the old man.
"Good boy, sensible, obedient, discerning, good!" The old man extended his thumb and praised without hesitation.
The honest young man handed the roasted hare to the old man and said with a smile: "Master, it's roasted. You can taste it first."
The old man took the bamboo pole, looked at the young man, and asked, "Ziyang, you haven't eaten yet, right?"
Zi Yang didn't want to lie, but he felt that two adults would not be full after eating a hare, so he deliberately said: "I have already eaten it."
"Have you really eaten?" the old man asked again.
Ziyang nodded and said yes.
The old man threw the bamboo pole to the honest young man and urged: "Xiao Fu, there is still more than half of the fish soup in this can. It's getting late. You drink it quickly so that Zi Yang can go home early."
"Okay." The honest young man leaned the bamboo pole with the hare pierced through it against the horizontal bar, and hurriedly poured himself a bowl of fish soup. He first smelled the fragrant and hot air, then took a small sip, savored the taste, and nodded slowly. Said: "It tastes pretty good."
Ziyang sat cross-legged on the ground, holding his cheeks with his hands, looking at the kind and kind old man, and couldn't help but ask: "Grandpa, are foreigners as kind as you?"
Uh poof!
The honest young man puffed up his cheeks and hurriedly turned his head to spit out the fish soup that he had not yet swallowed. It dripped onto the sea below him, causing ripples. He must have choked on Zi Yang's words.
The old man looked at the fish soup close at hand in the bowl, paused for a while, then finished it slowly, stroking his white beard, and said calmly: "Zi Yang, where there are good people, there will be bad people, and desire will change a person's nature. Heart."
"Whether you are a good person or a bad person, interests are eternal. How many people can stick to their true intentions and remain unmoved in the face of interests?"
"Benefits?" Ziyang blinked and murmured, not quite understanding what the old man wanted to express.
Seeing that he was extremely confused, the old man patiently explained: "Good people can do bad things for the sake of profit, and bad people can also do good things for the sake of profit. After all, the word profit is inseparable between good and bad."
"There are some scheming villains who do one thing in front of others but another behind the scenes. Only when you are at a low point can you see clearly who is the one who really understands you."
"Those who truly regard you as friends will come to your rescue when you are in deep danger, and some so-called friends would be nice if they don't add insult to injury."
The old man talked a lot of truths, but Ziyang listened in confusion. He grinned at the old man and said, "I don't understand so many truths, but I know that grandpa is definitely not a bad person."
The old man was amused by him. He stretched out his hand and gently scratched the bridge of Ziyang's nose. He smiled and said, "You are the only one who can talk and know how to please people."
Zi Yang lowered his head and rubbed the snow-white hair of the beast paw, smiling without saying a word.
The old man looked sideways at the honest young man and asked doubtfully: "Have you finished drinking?"
"Drink it." The honest young man nodded.
The old man frowned slightly and asked again: "Have you really finished drinking?"
The honest young man felt something was wrong, and glanced at the few drops of oil soup that had solidified in the bowl beside him, and asked with confusion: "Is there something wrong?"
The old man smacked his lips, coughed dryly, and said nothing.
The honest young man slapped his head, picked up the earthen pot, with the mouth of the pot facing down and the bottom of the pot facing up. He poured all the remaining fish soup in the pot into the old man's bowl. He said with a naive smile: "This is the only bowl, I give it to you specially." Whatever remains will be gone."
The old man picked up the bowl and looked at him, and said happily: "You still have some filial piety."
After the old man finished drinking, he took the bamboo pole leaning on the railing, tore off a piece of leg meat and put it into the earthen jar. He put the two porcelain bowls together and covered the mouth of the jar together.
"Zi Yang, people must know how to repay kindness and not be blinded by benefits. Those who commit evil will be punished by God! It's getting late, you should go home quickly." After saying this, the old man handed him the earthen jar in his hand. .
Zi Yang took the jar and said seriously: "Zi Yang has noted it down."
The young man held the earthen pot in his arms and turned around after five steps. He carefully recalled the old man's teachings in his mind. He didn't leave without looking back until he stepped off the trestle and climbed the steep slope.
He walked along the path for a while, and saw a familiar figure blocking the middle of the road. After hearing the noise, Luo Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, smiled at him, waved his hand, and said: "Let's go home. "
Ziyang quickened his pace and walked up with a smile.
The two of them walked not far outside the fence gate, and smoke drifted across the roof. Ziyang clearly saw a figure sitting on the wooden pier in front of the stove, adding new firewood to the stove mouth.
