At this moment, it is already noon.
The sun was scorching like fire, making people sweat profusely. Groups of white clouds floated in the sky. In the sky, a huge flying eagle flapped its long wings and circled at low altitude.
Seeing the scorching sun, the woman kindly invited everyone into the house to have a drink of cold water before going on her way.
Everyone stood outside the fence for a long time, and they were indeed a little thirsty. The scorching sun above their heads made everyone sweat profusely, and everyone wiped the sweat on their faces with their sleeves.
Everyone tied their horses to the tree trunks outside the courtyard and followed the woman towards the house.
The outside of this mud house looks dilapidated, with large and small cracks appearing in some places on the mud walls, making it look like a dangerous house that could collapse at any time.
There are three rooms in the earthen house, with the guest room in the middle, the bedroom on the left, and the kitchen on the right. A corner of the back wall of the kitchen had also collapsed and looked crumbling. This is no place for people to live!
Looking at these several houses, everyone couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. Life in this world is really not easy for anyone, and everyone has their own difficulties!
The woman warmly welcomed everyone into the house and asked everyone to sit down. The furnishings in the guest room were extremely simple. There was an old Eight Immortals table and four benches in the middle. On the front wall hung a painting of Guanyin sending her son. There was a small wooden cabinet and some farm equipment in the corner.
Everyone was sitting around the Eight Immortals table. The woman asked everyone to sit down, turned and went to the kitchen, scooped out a few large bowls of water with a wooden ladle, and said with a little embarrassment: "The house is simple, don't laugh at me! Everyone is tired from walking. Drink some water!" He placed the water bowl on the Eight Immortals table and sat down beside him.
Everyone stopped being polite and picked up the water bowl and was about to drink it. Suddenly, a man's slightly hoarse voice came from the bedroom next to him: "Xiu Zhi, who is here?"
Everyone was startled when they heard the sound, and they all raised their eyes and looked over there. The woman stood up and said with a smile: "Well, this is my husband, everyone, drink water quickly, drink water!" After saying that, she said to the room, "A few passing guests came just now. The weather is hot. I Invite them in for a drink of cold water!”
The man in the bedroom seemed suspicious and said slowly: "Oh, I thought it was them coming again. Xiuzhi, come in!"
It turned out that the woman's name was Xiuzhi. She promised, "Hey, I'll come right away!" She walked quickly towards the bedroom.
Everyone was already thirsty, so they picked up the water bowl and drank it all. The well water in the countryside is cool and slightly sweet. After drinking a large bowl of water, you feel refreshed and refreshed. The heat is gone and your body cools down.
The woman was heard muttering something to the man inside. It seemed that the man was wary of people coming from outside. Xiuzhi explained to him clearly and then dispelled his doubts.
Xiuzhi helped a lame and thin man out slowly. The man had half of his leg broken and was leaning on a crutch. It was very difficult to walk and he could only move slowly with the crutch.
When the man saw a group of people sitting around the table, he was shocked for a while, then returned to normal, and asked everyone with a half-smile: "Who are you?"
Xu Feng stood up, smiled at him and said, "Fellow fellow, we are travelers passing through here. Please don't take offense if we take the liberty of disturbing you!"
The lame man looked at the crowd, murmured, and asked himself: "Oh, so that's it. I wonder where these brave men are going?" His eyes swept over the crowd, and he seemed to be wary.
Xu Feng smiled faintly and said: "To be honest with you guys, we are about to leave the customs from here, but we are not very familiar with the way out of the customs. We happened to pass by here, so I took the liberty to come and inquire. We will leave the customs from now on and plan to go beyond the Great Wall. .”
The lame man's frown relaxed, and he nodded thoughtfully, then smiled and said: "Oh, this Gujia Village is at the junction of the two provinces. When you leave the customs here, you will enter the border of Gansu. It is said that The land is barren and extremely desolate. Why do you want to go to that kind of place? There are still dozens of miles from here to the outside of the pass. Moreover, the mountain roads are rugged and there are often wild animals in the canyon over there. Please be careful!"
When everyone heard what he said, they looked at each other and thought, this lame fellow is also a person with a warm heart. I saw that he was probably in his early forties, but his face was haggard and his hair was withered. This must have been due to his disability, which made him unable to work in the fields and making a living.
Both of these two families are suffering from diseases, and there is also an old mother who is in her dying years. It is not easy to maintain the family's livelihood! There are literally thousands of kinds of suffering in the world. Who doesn’t struggle to survive?
Lei Zhentian stood up, looked out the door, let out a deep sigh, and suddenly said: "Mrs. Ling is seriously ill. All you need to do is follow the prescription I wrote down, take the medicine and decoct it for a month. I can't say that it can be completely cured. I think it must be It can be relieved! Remember, don’t catch wind and cold.”
The lame man was surprised, looked at Lei Zhentian doubtfully, then turned to look at the woman, and said, "Ah, does this strong man have a way to cure Xiuzhi's cough?" He looked excited. , the voice was trembling slightly, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He looked at Lei Zhentian with a grateful expression.
Xiuzhi nodded and then said: "Yes, when the strong man saw that I couldn't stop coughing, he knew that I was suffering from consumption. He said that there was a prescription passed down from his ancestors, so he kindly left it to me. Strong man He is really a great benefactor to our family!" As he spoke, his eyes were full of gratitude, and tears seemed to be rolling in his eyes.
The lame man's eyes were shining. He looked at his wife and kept nodding, and murmured: "So, my wife's tuberculosis has been cured? Ah, thank God, thanks to the strong man's kindness! You are a great benefactor to our family. ! Strong man, please accept my bow!" After saying that, he abandoned his staff and knelt down. Xiuzhi hurriedly supported him, and Lei Zhentian also hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him up, laughing and saying: "Fellow, what are you doing, please get up quickly! I was passing by here today and happened to see Mrs. Ling coughing badly. So I left this secret family recipe, hoping it can alleviate Madam Ling’s illness! We met today, it’s considered a fate, so don’t be so polite, fellow townsman!”
The lame man hurriedly called Xiuzhi to pour a few more bowls of water for the guests.
At this time, an old lady's weak voice suddenly came from the bedroom: "Young Qiang, who is here?" The voice sounded weak and weak.
Everyone couldn't help being surprised again. The lame man hurriedly introduced everyone: "She is my mother. She is ninety-six years old this year. She is old and frail. Now she can only rest in bed. I can't come out to meet you, so I hope you won't. Sorry!"
Xu Feng said with a smile: "Fellows are too polite. I'm really uneasy when I come to bother you today. It's getting late, so it's time for me to set off. Two fellows, thank you very much. I'll say goodbye. Take care!"
The couple also told everyone to walk slowly, and Xiuzhi repeatedly advised everyone to be more careful when crossing the canyon!
The two men sent everyone to the post road. They took off the reins of their horses, got on their horses, and rode away.
The couple waved goodbye to everyone, looked at their departing figures, and stood there with solemn expressions without leaving for a long time.
