May 19th, early morning
After a night of repairing, he finally wiped away the fatigue of the past few days of traveling. The boy in a short shirt tidied his clothes, then went out and went downstairs. Before he walked out of the inn, he saw the inn waiting hall wiping the clothes outside the door. Tables and chairs, hearing the footsteps in the inn house, Dong Laoer also turned his head and looked inside the house. When he saw that it was Lin Manliu, he grinned at him.
"Good morning, Brother Dong, we have been cleaning before dawn," Lin Manliu said as he approached and greeted the waiter at the inn.
Listening to the young man calling himself Brother Dong, Dong Lao Er paused slightly while wiping the tables and chairs, then dropped the rag on the table. He scratched his head with one hand and looked at the short-shirted young man in front of him, and said with a smile: "All the folks in the village are... Wake up at this time. Some people have already gone to work in the fields. Keep the tables and chairs clean so that the villagers can come to rest in front of the station later."
"I'm here to help too!" The boy in a short shirt said immediately after hearing what the waiter said.
But Dong Laoer waved his hands hurriedly and said, "I can do it myself, no matter what... By the way, what does Lin Shaoxia have to do so early?"
"I've been repairing it all night, and I plan to continue on my way as soon as possible." Lin Manliu still casually looked at the tables and chairs nearby that had not been cleaned, and helped clean them up as he spoke.
Seeing that his persuasion was useless, Dong Lao Er had no choice but to start cleaning up the tables, chairs and utensils outside the inn house.
"Actually, when I was a child, I also wanted to be like Lin Shaoxia, wandering around outside alone."
"Brother Dong is not very young now. If you have the opportunity, you can go outside and take a look."
"Unfortunately... things have gone against my wishes. The family has been in recession for the past few years. Before Uncle Qing came, my family was almost unable to open the pot. If the harvest hadn't been good and my hands and feet were more diligent, I might not have known how to survive."
After hearing this, Lin Manliu realized that he was actually like this. If the master had not appeared, he and his parents would have been living in a difficult life in the east of the city...
"Actually, Brother Dong... traveling far away is not a very interesting thing. It is a blessing to be reunited at home."
"I understand what Lin Shaoxia said. Now I don't want to do so much. I just want to save more money with Shopkeeper Yang. When my life is better in the future, I can find a good mother-in-law and be filial to my parents."
Lin Manliu listened to Dong Lao Er's words and was just thinking about whether to persuade him or her, but then he thought that maybe, if the world did not change, this would be the best choice for Brother Dong and their family... .Can the world become better, so that poor people are no longer so poor, and people who are struggling to survive are no longer so difficult?
"Brother Dong thinks so, it's good. After Man Liu finished cleaning up, he put the keys on the counter."
"Young Master Lin can just put it down now. There's no need to clean it up. I'll go get Lin Shaoxia's horse later."
"Nothing, it's still very early."
"All right".
Just like that, when it was still dark, two young men of about the same age in front of the inn door were cleaning up the tables and chairs in the inn, cleaning up the debris and some dust left last night.
As a hint of fish belly white gradually appeared behind the mountains in the distance, Dong Laoer and Lin Manliu finally finished cleaning everything in front of the inn door, and arranged the tables and chairs neatly.
After the two people finished cleaning up, they looked at each other and laughed at each other.
"Without Ye Shaoxia, I might still have to work for half an hour. I cleaned up so quickly today."
"Just call me full six. I just wanted to say it. Unfortunately, I have to take care of it myself from now on." The boy in a short shirt said, taking out the key to the second floor from his pocket and putting it in Mr. Dong's hand. .
After the inn hostess took it in his hand, he smiled and walked towards the alley next door, shouting to himself, "Let our Manliu brothers lead the horses."
Lin Manliu looked at the figure disappearing at the corner of the road, and sat down casually on the stone steps in front of the inn door. The tables and chairs in front of him had just been placed, and he had no intention of messing them up again.
Not long after, I saw Dong Laoer holding Xiao Huang, a boy in a short shirt, walking out of the alley. Xiao Huang seemed to be much more energetic than the previous days, but Lin Manliu didn't look so good. Xiao Huang, who was getting thinner, felt a little sad in his heart. It seemed that he had to find a few stops to rest on the long journey. He could treat himself badly, but he couldn't treat Xiao Huang who was on the way badly. Besides, it was Miss Yue's Xiao Huang.
Lin Manliu stood up and walked forward quickly, taking the reins from Mr. Dong's hands. When Xiao Huang saw that it was a young man, he stretched out his head and rubbed directly on the young man's shoulder. Lin Manliu also touched Xiao Huang's shoulder when he saw this. Horse head.
"Brother Dong, I'm leaving first. Say hello to shopkeeper Yang for me." Lin Manliu turned around and looked at Dong Laoer who was standing aside.
"Definitely! Ye Shaoxia has a safe trip," Dong Laoer said with a smile.
Lin Manliu led Xiao Huang towards the way he came. When he turned his back to Dong Laoer, he waved to Dong Laoer. The waiter of the station stopped where he was and looked at the man in front of him who was smaller than himself. The young man saw the young man gradually going away. After a while, he mustered up the courage to shout to the position of one person and one horse, "Brothers Manliu! Next time you pass by Lianhu Bay, you have to come to the inn."
Lin Manliu in the distance did not look back, his eyes brightened, he walked further forward, and said, "Definitely".
Lin Manliu walked back to the field where he met Qinglan at the beginning. The pavilion was empty, but some women and men were already working in the fields. The boy in a short shirt found a place to sit. The old man who was resting on the field ridge asked about Qing Lan. The old man naturally knew Qing Lan, but what he told the young man was that he didn't know where Qing Lan's family lived.
The boy in a short shirt stood quietly at the pavilion for a while. Yesterday Qinglan told herself that there was no need to come to him to say goodbye. Thinking about it, she just didn't want to be with herself. She always worried about things related to moves in her heart. Lin Manliu moved toward the pavilion. He bowed his hands in a salute, then got on his horse and continued walking towards Fengcheng.
The young man, one man, one horse, and armed with two swords, just galloped away in the fields. On a distant hilltop south of Hehua Bay, there was a thatched hut with a wide view, and he could see the entire Hehua Bay house. Landscape of lotus leaves in the house and field.
In front of the hut, on the edge of the cliff, there are two people standing in the bamboo fence. They both look a little older, but the man has an old face, but he is full of energy. He is what the folks in Hehua Bay call Uncle Qing. Although the face of the woman next to her is not as sweet and charming as that of a girl, she has a pretty face with reddish cheeks, starry eyes, beautiful appearance, no makeup, and is just wearing an ordinary dress. Even the coarse linen clothes cannot hide the mature beauty of the woman.
The two of them were standing side by side, looking at the young man with a sword who was riding away from Hehua Bay.
"Is that the young man you saw yesterday?" the woman said.
"Well, what Manliu is thinking deeply resonates with me. At such an age, he can learn martial arts and swords from various schools, and he can learn them with his own feelings. He must have been taken by his good teacher since he was a child." Qinglan responded said.
"How dare his master let him run around in such a situation now..." the woman said with some confusion.
"When I was a boy in bright clothes and angry horses, the young man always had to walk in the world for the beauty in his heart and for the chivalry in his heart." Qinglan said while stroking his beard. At the end of the sentence, he had begun to Gu Zi laughed.
"You have such high expectations for him. I only hope that the young man you are talking about can... act and know." The woman looked at the retreating figure and sighed.
"How can it not be possible? One day, when the little boy reaches six, he will definitely be able to find his own way in this world." Qinglan said and turned around and walked towards the hut.
A dog rushed out from the other side of the hut and hurriedly rubbed at Qinglan's feet.
"Tell your dogs to stop robbing my pups for food!" The woman turned around and shouted at the man and the dog, but she was not angry. Seeing Qing Lan teasing the dog under him, the woman couldn't help but start to laugh. stand up.
...
Before noon, Lin Manliu rode Xiao Huang to the foot of Rongcheng. The boy in a short shirt dismounted and took Xiao Huang, who was about to enter the city. Before he could enter the city gate, he saw an acquaintance, a Yanyang soldier named It seems that his name is Gui Xin. When General Li Yanhe went out several times, he was always by his side, like General Li's confidant.
"Brother Gui!" Lin Manliu approached and shouted to the Yanyang soldier.
Guixin responded and turned to look at the young man. He said something at first, and then shouted, "Aren't these the Manliu brothers? Why are they coming to Rongcheng again to play? Are they brave? This time they came alone."
"Brother Gui was joking. Manliu just didn't want to trouble others, so he went alone this time," the boy in a short shirt said, scratching his head.
"One person is one person! Now our Yanyang soldiers are spread all over the mountains and rivers. Any bandits who dare to stand in the way will be killed by our horses one by one!" Gui Xin reached out and patted the young man's shoulder and said.
"That's natural. I wonder if Brother Gui can help me find General Li. I have something I want to ask him about," Lin Manliu said with a smile.
"General Li... recently went to patrol the northwest area. Wouldn't you believe it? A general from Xijing is as good as telling fortunes. Wherever he sends people, he can catch bandits and rebels. , Our brothers are always ready for war these days." As Gui Xin spoke, he began to turn his head and look somewhere in the direction of Rongcheng, seeming to have great respect for the general who came from Xijing.
"Brother Gui, do you know if there is any news about the caravan returning from Jiangnan recently?" Lin Manliu asked after Gui Xin finished expressing his longing and yearning for the general.
"General Li has asked us to pay attention to this before. From Rongcheng to Jianmen Pass, there is no news." Gui Xin immediately replied. At this time, Li Yanhe specifically told a few of them to pay attention to it before being ordered to patrol.
After hearing such news, the boy in short shirt was not discouraged. After all, it was expected. Lin Manliu chatted with Gui Xin some more, and then said goodbye to Gui Xin. There was no need to enter Chengdu. The boy in short shirt Plan to take a direct detour to Jianmen Pass.
If there was still no relevant news when they arrived at Jianmen Pass, they were ready to leave Jianmen Pass and rush to the direction of central Guizhou.
