"The law of heaven? Money is the law of heaven! If you have so much money, you are the law of heaven!"
Neng'er bit her lip and said nothing. He was thinking about why this happened.
Ding Li looked at the direction where the little orchid sedan disappeared, gritted his teeth, and said to himself: "Old man, just wait and see, I will definitely let you die without a burial place! I will definitely let you..."
The next day, Ding Li ran to Guangzhou City and worked as an apprentice in an antique calligraphy and painting shop. He was smart, literate, and very attentive, so he was quickly appreciated by his boss.
Soon, Lei Fei went to the dock by the Pearl River and used his not yet fully developed body to carry heavy goods and the bitterness and sweetness of life like an adult man. And I felt that although the people here were kind to my mother and son, they were not a place to stay for a long time after all. So I packed my bags, said goodbye to Uncle Lei and the others, and left Baiyun Mountain Village. We, mother and son, traveled day and night, and soon we entered Hangzhou and picked up a bunch of things on the side of the road.
At that time, I thought: The person who lost something will definitely go back to find it when he finds it lost. Why not rest where he is and wait for the owner.
Sure enough, about a pack of cigarettes away, a middle-aged man hurriedly drove a carriage over.
I stepped forward and asked: "Boss, did you throw this thing away?"
"Yes, yes, it's what I lost just now." The middle-aged man said one after another, "It's the silk sample I took from Wang Qing, the boss of Mingsheng Silk Shop in Hangzhou. This piece of silk is worth 10 cents of silver. .”
It turned out that this middle-aged man, surnamed Li and named Weiguang, ran a silk processing business and had just returned from picking up a silk sample from Mingsheng Silk Store.
Li Weiguang opened the bundle of things in front of me with great relief. Seeing that the silk sample was still there, he took out 10 pieces of silver from his wallet and handed it to me. He said movedly: "Sister-in-law, thanks to you, otherwise, I would not be able to continue my business." .”
I quickly pushed the piece of silver back to him, waved my hand and said, "Sir, you are welcome, my mother and son cannot have this money."
Li Weiguang saw that I kept trying to shirk the situation and that we, mother and son, didn't look like locals. He also saw that I seemed to have something on my mind or encountered some difficulty, so he stepped forward and asked carefully.
When I asked, I saw that the merchant in front of me was kind-hearted, so I told him about taking refuge with Wen Fei this time.
After hearing this, Li Weiguang said with deep sympathy: "Sister-in-law, your mother and son are so unfortunate." "Alas!" Li Weiguang looked up to the sky and sighed, and then said, "When Lord Wen Fei was in power, Li was cared for by Lord Wen. Our business in Suzhou and Hangzhou is so prosperous today, all thanks to Mr. Wen who built a wharf in the area under his jurisdiction and dredged the waterway, making our place an important port of landing, with frequent merchants..." When Li Weiguang mentioned Wen Fei, he was like The flood that lacked the embankment was gushing incessantly, and people were full of praise.
At the end, Li Weiguang looked at me with sympathy and asked with concern: "Sister-in-law, what are your plans for the future?"
"Alas... Now that things have come to this, what else can we do? We can only take one step at a time." I shook my head and said helplessly.
Li Weiguang sincerely said: "Sister-in-law, your surname is Li, and mine is also Li. As the saying goes: 'You can't write two characters of Li in one stroke.' Everyone in the world has the same surname as Li. Please come to my house, sister-in-law, and let me take care of you two on behalf of Mr. Wen." Mother and son, help Xiao Huineng learn and read."
I waved my hand and declined, "Why do you have the nerve to cause trouble to your family?"
"Sister-in-law, you are causing trouble! My family has a big business and is in need of help. It's too late for me to be happy that your mother and son can come!" Li Weiguang invited sincerely.
Seeing his enthusiasm, I nodded in agreement.
In this way, Neng'er and I stayed at Li Weiguang's house.
Although it was very hard to wash, cook, and clean the house for their family of more than a dozen people every day, Li saw that Neng'er no longer suffered from mosquito bites and insect bites here, and the food he had for three meals a day was better than in summer. Lu Cun was much stronger, and Li Weiguang and his wife treated Xiao Huineng as their own son and loved him, providing him with education and literacy. They also often asked Li to stop doing these housework. It was too hard, and they could just ask the servants to do it.
I saw that Li Weiguang treated our mother and son like family members, and Mrs. Li was also a kind-hearted person. She felt sorry for not helping with some work. Although it was a bit harder, seeing that Boss Li provided for Neng Neng's son to study and read, it didn't feel hard anymore.
As I grow older, my body gradually becomes weaker, but in order to enable Neng'er to have a good living environment, I still endure and support myself.
Neng'er also gradually grew up and became more sensible. Everyone in the Li family was very kind to us, mother and son, so Neng'er and I lived in the Li family for six years before returning to Xialu Village...
When Liang Jinlian heard that Mrs. Li finally returned home, she was happy for Huineng and her son, and said sincerely: "It's better now. Auntie and Brother Aneng don't have to wander outside."
Li sighed: "As the saying goes, 'beautiful or not, it depends on the water in your hometown, and whether you are close or not, you are a native of your hometown'! With the help of the villagers, our mother and son settled down quickly. I am still weaving at home. Neng'er goes up the mountain to collect firewood every day. Sometimes, Neng'er's childhood friends Shi Gou and Xiazi will join him in collecting firewood..."
Liang Jinlian asked: "Has Brother Aneng been collecting firewood for a living since he came back?"
"Yes! Because I went to Guangzhou to join Mr. Wen Fei and sold my family's land, Neng'er had to rely on collecting firewood to support the family. It's really hard for Neng'er." When Li said this, the past memories came back to his mind. , can't help but feel sad.
"Aunt..." Liang Jinlian looked at Ms. Li, but hesitated to speak.
Li Shi blinked her tear-filled eyes and said, "Alian, just say what you want to say."
Liang Jinlian saw that Mrs. Li seemed to have read through her own thoughts, so she boldly said: "Auntie, as the saying goes, 'a man should get married'. When Brother Aneng comes back, isn't it..."
When Liang Jinlian said this, she no longer had the courage to speak anymore, for fear of knowing the cruel truth that was difficult for her to accept for a while.
At this time, Liang Jinlian really regretted that she had brought up this most sensitive topic. She blamed in her heart: Liang Jinlian, Liang Jinlian, you should never ask this! If your aunt had nothing to hide about this matter, she might have told you long ago. Wouldn't this embarrass everyone?
Just when Liang Jinlian was sinking into deep self-blame and unable to extricate herself, she heard Li tell with emotion what had happened in recent years——
Li Xiaolan, a child from a neighboring village, was injured by a poisonous snake that time. After Neng'er rescued her, Xiaolan's father and mother liked Neng'er very much and intended to betroth Xiaolan to Neng'er. It can be seen that Neng'er also likes Xiaolan very much.
One evening, I told Neng'er what Xiaolan, her parents, and I wanted, and I thought Neng'er would happily agree.
But what I didn't expect was that after hearing this, Neng'er said that if he married Xiaolan, his righteous deeds would suffer.
Neng'er also said that if she and her parents betrothed Xiaodang to him out of gratitude just because he saved Xiaolan, wouldn't he have something else to ask for when he saved her?
I said, how could you have such an idea? These are two different things. Xiaolan and her parents really like you, and I also really like Xiaolan and want to help you. Let me ask you, do you like Xiaolan?
Neng'er said, "I like it." Like my mother, I really like Xiaolan.
I said, isn’t this enough? As the saying goes, "It's time for a man to get married, and for a woman to get married." This is your life-long event, and it's settled like that.
Neng'er said, listen to me, the male will get married when he is older, and when I grow up, I will get married.
In this way, until Neng'er was twenty-four years old, when Xiaolan's parents and I were preparing to arrange a wedding for him and Xiaolan, Neng'er learned the Buddhist scriptures and enlightened the Tao at Jintai Temple, and left home to go to Dongchan Temple in Hubei. Learn Buddhism from Master Hongren. After returning home for a few years, I was hunted down by my fellow disciples. Neng'er carried me here overnight...
Liang Jinlian listened to Mrs. Li sobbing and complaining. She felt as if a five-flavor bottle had been knocked over. She stared blankly at the stone wall in trance...
