The woman glanced at the companions around her, and the other young women immediately looked like they were holding their foreheads and sighing, complaining and saying: "Oh, Sister Qiao'er, I have just rested for such a while, sisters. My feet are still sore and I really can’t climb anymore. You usually exercise a lot, so why don’t you go up first and we’ll catch up later and meet you on the top of the mountain.” The woman who spoke to Xu Huaigu before laughed. He glanced at a few people and said: "Okay, you bunch of lazy guys, I'll go up the mountain with this young master first. You guys come up quickly, otherwise the food and soup will get cold." The women nodded one after another, and that one The fifty-year-old woman looked at He Qiaoer with a smile on her face and said nothing.
It was the young girl of thirteen or fourteen who volunteered and said, "Sister Qiao'er, I've rested. I'm not tired. Let me go up with you!" After hearing this, the young women who had complained before felt anxious. , and quickly winked at the little girl, but the little girl just looked back curiously, not knowing what they meant.
The woman looked at the child dotingly and promised, "Okay, then you will come with me." The little girl laughed happily, picked up a snack box on the ground, and jumped up the mountain first. went.
The woman was a little embarrassed and said to Xu Huaigu: "This child is still young and is not polite. Don't blame me, sir." Xu Huaigu smiled kindly and said: "This is what children should do, not to mention that I am asking you to help me lead the way. How can I blame you? The girl is too polite." The woman lowered her head and blushed while reading, and said, "Then young master, just follow me and go up the mountain." After that, she picked up the food box on the ground, and there was another Small bamboo tube, there should be soup in it, and then go up the mountain.
Xu Huaigu said kindly: "Girl is weak, let me hold it for you." Then he took it for the woman, carried it himself, and followed her up the mountain.
The woman smiled crazily, and the two walked up the mountain side by side for a while. The atmosphere became a little awkward in silence, so she asked;
"Excuse me, what is the young master's name, and where is he from?" Xu Huaigu replied: "The name is Xu, and the first name is Huaigu. As for where he is from, it's a bit far away. The girl probably doesn't know that place. The woman looked at him doubtfully and said: "Jingyu Kingdom is only such a big place in total. There are at most a hundred large and small cities in total, and I know most of them. You might as well tell me, sir. Maybe I have been there before." I've been there before." Xu Huaigu said with a smile: "But there is more than just Jingyu Kingdom in this world." The woman's eyes were surprised and she said in surprise: "Is it possible that the young master is not from our Jingyu Kingdom? Then you are the big country in the east. Li country, or Daliang country in the west?" Dali country in the east and Daliang country in the west are both very large countries, with a land area about the same as Dayu country.
It's just that Jingyu Kingdom is sandwiched between these two big countries, so it appears to be very weak. Its area is only about one-tenth of that of Dayu State, and neither Dali State nor Daliang State can afford to offend it.
This woman was surprised precisely because she thought Xu Huaigu came from these two powerful countries. After all, in such a small place, it is difficult to see people from those big countries.
But Xu Huaigu just smiled, shook his head and said, "None of them." The woman frowned and thought hard, as if she really didn't know what other countries there were in the world besides these three countries.
So she hung her head a little disappointed and didn't ask Xu Huaigu again. Xu Huaigu asked her: "What about the girl? What's her name? Is she from Suchang?" The woman replied: "My name is He Qiaoer. They all called me Sister Qiaoer just now because I am the oldest among them. , is twenty-three years old this year. My ancestors were wandering hunters in the mountains. Later, when Suchang was built, our family moved here. In addition to hunting, my father also does some carpentry work. These days, he lives in Zong You can earn a lot of money by doing carpentry on the door, which is much better than hunting. But there is no food here, and I can't come back at noon, so I bring him food every day." Xu Huaigu nodded slightly, and for a moment I don't know what to say anymore.
He Qiaoer picked up another topic and said: "Actually, I learned some hunting skills from my father when I was a child, and because my family is a hunter, I have been in good health since I was a child, so all my friends can't walk, and I am not very good. Tired." Xu Huaigu couldn't help but smile as he listened to her talking about trivial matters to him, and said: "I could see it the first time I saw you. This is a good thing. For the common people, they are healthy and don't get sick. It's already very good." He Qiaoer echoed repeatedly: "Yes, yes, my father often said that illness comes like a mountain. There are many hunters who had a good relationship with my father in the past. They usually look in good health and can kill wolves. Yes, as a result, I spent a night in the mountains in the snow, or caught a cold at home and contracted the wind chill. In just ten days and a half, I lost weight like firewood, or even more seriously, died immediately. Yeah. My dad always warns me to be careful about getting sick." Xu Huaigu pursed his lips and said, "Your dad is right." He Qiaoer changed the topic again and asked, "Speaking of Mr. Xu, although I don't I know where your hometown is, but can you tell me the customs or fun things there? I like hearing these very much." Xu Huaigu looked at her and asked: "Do you want to see the outside world? Is that so?" When He Qiao'er was told the central issue, he nodded and said, "Yes, I often hear others say how big and beautiful the outside world is, but I have never been out." Xu Huaigu looked at He Qiao'er and remembered inexplicably It reminds me of that person from long, long time ago, the person who explored the Lingjiang River with me.
He forgot Li Zi's face, but he still vaguely remembered that she had said similar words. Xu Huaigu felt sorry for He Qiaoer and said, "Then why don't you go out and have a look? You are still young and have a lot of time. It is indeed a good thing to go out and see the world." He Qiaoer smiled bitterly and said, "How can it be so? Easy? Even if you don’t talk about how much it costs to go outside, my father lives in Suchang. If I leave alone, my father will have to live here alone. Where can I let him go?" Xu Huaigu thought of that His parents, who were still far away in Dong Fuyao Island, sighed suddenly and said helplessly: "Yes, they say that parents are here and will not travel far away. For those parents, their children are their only hope. , it’s really rare for you to have this kind of filial piety, unlike me, who is heartless and only cares about being happy on my own without thinking about my parents’ feelings.” Seeing the sadness on Xu Huaigu’s face, He Qiaoer was also infected. , asked curiously: "Speaking of which, how long has it been since you went home?" Xu Huaigu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Eleven years." He Qiaoer was startled and looked at Xu Huaigu in disbelief.
Seeing that Xu Huaigu was so young, she thought that Xu Huaigu had been wandering away for at most one or two years, but never thought that he had not returned home for more than ten years?
Seeing He Qiaoer's unbelievable expression, Xu Huaigu laughed at himself and said: "I am twenty years old this year, but I have been away from home for eleven years. In the past eleven years, I have not written a letter home, nor have I brought home a piece of news. They probably all thought I was dead. Maybe the libertines are people like me. The so-called "deep gratitude" and "life and death as a teacher and friend", haha, maybe they are talking about me."
"I have traveled across two continents, experienced dozens of countries, and seen countless scenery, but the word home has been missing from me for a long time." Xu Huaigu suddenly looked at He Qiaoer seriously and said: " The world is very big, and a person can never measure it all with his own feet. If you leave home like me, it will probably take you decades to leave. I just want to tell you, There is nothing wrong with you choosing to stay." He Qiaoer looked at Xu Huaigu blankly for a long time before slowly nodding.
So the two of them continued walking up the mountain while chatting. After about half an hour, the number of people on the road finally slowly began to increase.
And among these people there are not only woodcutters and carpenters, but also people with swords and swords. On a flat land between the ridges, the gravel path became wider and wider, and then branched off into several branches, heading in different directions.
He Qiaoer was familiar with the road here, pointed to a road and said: "This is the road to find my father. They are recently building a place called the Ancestral Master Hall. Fang Xianchang wants to build the building next to a cliff. So they built there. Tell you, since you are here specifically to see the scenery, don’t miss that place. The view there is very broad, and you can see the entire process of the river turning." Xu Huaigu nodded and joined her. Go there.
In just a moment, a one-story wooden frame appeared in front of him. There was no doubt that this was the Patriarch Hall.
Although the ancestral hall is only one floor high, it is built very grandly. There were dozens of craftsmen coming in and out below, and porters kept coming out from the mountains and forests carrying huge logs, and then many shirtless men were shouting loudly while lifting the huge round logs. The wood was erected on the framework of the ancestral hall.
He Qiaoer took the food box and bamboo tube from Xu Huaigu's hand, walked under the skeleton of the ancestral hall, and shouted loudly to the top: "Dad, come down for lunch!" A gray-faced middle-aged man turned around and looked down. He looked around and saw He Qiaoer, and immediately showed a bright smile.
He responded in response: "Okay, I got it. I'll come down as soon as I finish this beam!" After that, he turned around with a happy smile and continued to devote himself to his work.
A worker next to him looked at him enviously and said, "Lao He, I really envy you. There are people who bring you lunch. Like me, I am all alone and no one cares about me!" The man named He said on his side. While working, he said with a smile: "Don't you also have a daughter at home? Why don't you see her coming up to you to deliver food and stuff?" The man said: "Girl? My daughter got married just last month. At home. My mother-in-law is not in good health, and the way up the mountain is too long, so I don’t allow her to come over. I’ll be fine if I’m hungry. At worst, I can just go home and eat more. But if she gets sick, it would be a big sin. ." The man nodded, and the man whispered worriedly: "Speaking of Lao He, your daughter is not too young, right? It's time to find someone to marry. How can such a young girl live all day long? Serve for those of us who are over fifty? After all, we still need to start a family. It is better to do this sooner rather than later. If it is too late, I’m afraid no one will want us! Sooner or later, we will be buried in the earth, and the children still have a long way to go. Now, you should think more about them!" When the man heard this, he stopped what he was doing, frowned and thought over and over again, and then sighed.
After his coworker finished speaking, he continued to focus on his work. The man turned to look at He Qiaoer and saw her sitting on a rock on the edge of the cliff, looking into the distance, lost in thought.
The man secretly made up his mind and had no intention of doing anything with the remaining roof beams. He slowly walked down from the wooden frame and walked towards He Qiaoer.
