"The river flows eastward, and the stars in the sky rub against the Big Dipper..."
Tianyi stood outside the courtyard gate, humming loudly while spinning the plastic bag in his hand several times, throwing the two meat buns into the courtyard like a parabola.
"Let's go if we say we can. You have everything I have..."
A hand stretched out from the window and quickly caught the meat buns thrown by Tianyi.
After a while, a man in ragged clothes and unkempt hair walked out of the house while chewing a bun and stretching.
"I say Madman Wu, you have been eating these meat buns for almost 3 months. Is it time to teach me some bluffing moves?"
Tianyi patted his sportswear, looked at the faded sneakers on his feet, and said with a smile.
For three months, he wore this outfit every time he fed Madman Wu, just so that he could be ready for Madman Wu's generous teachings at any time.
"Who are you calling Wu Madman? No matter how big or small, Wu Madman is what you should call him? You should call him Master!"
Madman Wu stuffed the last bite of the bun into his mouth, put the plastic bag in the palm of his hand, and gently blew on the fairy air. The plastic bag floated obediently to the trash can next to the courtyard wall, and then he took a photo He patted the dough on his hands and said with a smile.
"Ah...you agreed?"
Tianyi looked at Madman Wu in surprise.
"Hey... Who told me that I have short hands when picking people up and a short mouth when eating people?"
As he said this, Madman Wu walked out of the gate and took out a long wooden stick from under the eaves of the next house.
"How do you steal things from under someone's roof?"
Tianyi asked curiously.
"Don't you know?"
"what do you know?"
"Oh... you've only been here three months, so it's normal that you don't know! You can find a kitchen knife, watermelon knife, iron rod, wooden stick, etc. under any roof here. They are all prepared by every household. It can be used.”
"Why...are they all ready to rob their houses? Are they ready to fight with others at any time?"
Tianyi walked with Madman Wu towards the river, while looking curiously at this mysterious old man.
"The police didn't come even if someone was killed here. There used to be a man named Pan Si on Taoyuan Road. He was very kind, but he was also very ruthless. He fell in love with a girl sitting on the stage. Which woman went to see Pan Si on the first day? The next day, he ran away with a rich businessman. Pan Si was so angry that he sent the rich businessman to the hospital. As a result, the rich businessman's brother brought people to seek revenge, and the two groups started fighting on Taoyuan Road. Pan Si I am a doctor and have saved the lives of many people here, so when I heard that Pan Si was being bullied, every family sent a man to help him. The police sent a brigade to suppress him, but they could not suppress him. More than a dozen people died. The police Several people also died. When the confession was taken, everyone said in unison that they did not know Pan Si and that they were beaten. A group of people came for no reason and beat everyone on sight. They did not even know what happened. The police later arrived There was nothing we could do, and it was settled in the end. Pan Si disappeared after that day, and everyone made a special tacit understanding and never mentioned the matter again. When the police called again, they all shook their heads when they heard it was Taoyuan Road. Over time, this place became The black area of Four Seasons City. That’s why I moved from Xiangyang District to Taoyuan Road.”
"The messier the place, the safer it is, and the more despicable the place, the less likely people will make irresponsible remarks, right?"
"Boys can be taught..."
As he spoke, Madman Wu took out a plastic bag from his trouser pocket, took out a piece of dog meat with skin from the plastic bag, put it in a mesh pocket, and tied it to the back of Tianyi's buttocks.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to sell me a sheep's head as a dog?"
Tianyi turned his head, looked at the piece of dog meat hanging behind his butt, and asked curiously.
"Haha... I'm going to make your dog bite you!"
As he spoke, Madman Wu raised his wooden stick and hit the rhubarb in the yard beside him.
After Dahuang was hit on the head, he jumped out of the fence door and bit Tianyi's butt crazily.
Tianyi was so frightened that he rushed out, running as hard as he could while turning his head and shouting loudly.
"Crazy Wu...if I got rabies, I wouldn't let you go even if I were a dog."
"Boy, there is so much nonsense. I will teach you the first lesson today. If you want to hit someone, you must first learn to run. This is called running if you can't beat someone. If you leave a mountain of debt, you will not be afraid of running out of firewood. It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years... .”
"Those who want to kill people..."
As Tianyi ran, he was so anxious that he was about to cry, and loudly begged Madman Wu for help.
"Only when people face life and death can they unleash their potential. You are not allowed to come back until it gets dark."
Looking at Tianyi's short legs running wildly, Madman Wu smiled and stretched, then went home to sleep again.
In this way, Tianyi fed Madman Wu meat buns for three months, and Madman Wu let Dahuang chase her for three months.
Although returning home to Tianyi every day feels like escaping death, my body also feels as relaxed as if I have been reborn.
On this day, Xiaomao ran to Tianyi dejectedly.
"Boss, the fish is gone?"
"How can there be no fish? Such a big moat?"
Tianyi was drinking jasmine tea on the kang, while looking at Xiaomao with an anxious face in confusion.
"The ice has melted, and the stove hook is no longer useful. The brothers don't have any fishing rods or nets. Every night they stand on the river bank and look at the stars. It has been almost a week since we opened. If we continue like this , brothers are about to drink the northwest wind."
Xiaomao scratched his head vigorously.
"Oh... I forgot about this."
"Besides, even if there is one, we won't use it, right?"
Xiaomao spread his hands and said helplessly.
"That's right, I'm going to be bald if I don't endure it, and giving you the fishing rod will be in vain!"
"That's right, we don't want to practice for decades just to catch fish in the city."
After saying this, Xi Mao didn't forget to touch his thick and brown little head.
"Hmm... Do you still have money in your hands?"
Tianyi took a sip of jasmine tea in the big iron steel cup, looked at the old peach trees sprouting in the yard, and asked thoughtfully.
"I have more than 200 left in my pocket..."
Xiao Mao took out a crumpled ball of money from his pocket.
"Hundreds are sold a day, and it's already March. Why are there so few left?"
"Except for the 100 yuan that I paid you every day, divided among the four of us, each person only has a few dozen yuan per day. Besides...it's not easy to stop asking for money at home. Everyone has become more relaxed and has to go out. I'm a bit extravagant. I go out to catch fish in the evening, sell fish in the morning, come back for a nap at noon, and dive into Internet cafes and game rooms in the afternoon. If I have nothing to do, I can go to the 103 door to eat with Lu Xue, and brag about my awesomeness. Yes, it’s all gone.”
Xi Mao said with an embarrassed look on his face.
"I used to spend only 5 yuan a day, but now I can't even spend dozens of yuan a day. It seems that you have committed the problem of the poor cheating the rich, and you need to be educated, haha..."
Tianyi threw a peanut in his mouth, chewed it, and shook his head.
"Education, any education, can only make money, any education will do."
Xiao Mao raised his buttocks up to Lao Gao, making a posture where he could be hit or kicked.
"Go, go, go... I don't want to experience your gas can smell."
Tianyi picked up a peanut shell and hit Ximao's butt hard.
"Hehe... I'm pretty good, boss, they are all from the Tianguang tribe!"
Xiao Mao turned around, patted his chest and said proudly.
"Most people earned their first pot of gold by taking risks, but we earned it through hard work. It's rare that money is so clean, and you don't cherish it? Okay... I'll do it." !”
Tianyi gave Xi Mao a white look, placed the teapot on the windowsill, smiled, took out a plastic bag from the pillow next to him, and threw it to Xi Mao.
Xiao Mao took the plastic bag, opened it and looked at it, and his eyes immediately went straight.
"Let me go...Boss, where did you get so much money?"
Xiao Mao asked in surprise as he looked at a stack of thick banknotes.
"I haven't touched a penny of the money you hand in every day. The money I use to buy buns for Madman Wu every day is all earned by me picking up rags. There should be 9,100 yuan here, please order some!"
Xiaomao sat down on the kang and happily ordered the fishy-smelling banknotes.
"Yes... Boss, it's exactly 9,100 yuan, so what will this money be used for next?"
Ximao looked at Tianyi in the mist and asked expectantly.
"That's it for Taigong Jiang. Hong Qigong can now use his skills."
"What the boss means is begging on the street..."
Xiao Mao tightly grasped a wad of bills in his hand, frowned, bit his lip, and asked anxiously.
"Damn it, you have sound limbs and a hairy head. You have to scare people away even if you beg for food. You are just scavenging... Haha!"
Tianyi gave Ximao a white look.
"Boss, do you mean to be a rag king?"
Xiao Mao frowned even more tightly.
"Don't underestimate picking up rags. This is called renewable resources, and it's a low-cost, quick-return business. A few days ago, I went to the scrap collection station at the entrance of the alley to sell rags, and I saw a sign on the door saying "exchange." Go and ask him if he agrees. If so, we will settle it."
Tianyi touched his chin and said proudly.
"Oh... Lao Wangtou's shop, is this enough money?"
Xi Mao asked hesitantly.
"Why don't you go and ask first?"
As he said this, Tianyi picked up the big teapot on the window sill and pretended to drink jasmine tea again.
"Okay... Then Lao Wangtou rents the yard of Erpi's neighbor Lao Litou. When he has nothing to do, Lao Wangtou always pays attention to Erpi's mother. He has been chasing Erpi's mother for two years. He often goes to Erpi's house to get food. , under the guise of helping, but the result is just peeling off garlic, washing onions, etc., and never buying vegetables.”
"I'll go, let's do it?"
"No... that old Wangtou is from the south. His wife has been dead for 30 years. He doesn't have a house in Four Seasons City or a subsistence allowance or anything like that. He has a daughter, but his relationship with him is very weak. He only has a monthly salary of I can only meet him when he comes to ask for money at the beginning of the month. The buying station is all his belongings. Usually no one cares about illness or disaster. It’s Erpi’s mother who delivers medicine and food.”
"Mama Erpi is kind-hearted."
Tianyi praised her, but she was thinking in her heart that the poorer the woman, the simpler she is.
"When he saw that Erpi's mother was single all the time, Lao Wangtou wanted to get along with Erpi's mother, so that he could move to Erpi's house and have someone to take care of him if he was sick. After all, he was over 60 years old, and he was afraid that there would be one Just in case."
"Old guy, you still want to barge in the door?"
Hearing this, Tianyi almost spit out her tea, thinking that there really is no age difference in eating soft food.
"No...he even pretended to be helping Erpi Ma make money, but actually he wanted Erpi Ma to run errands for him for free. Erpi Ma was a householder on Taoyuan Road, and she was familiar with everyone. She responded to every request when collecting scraps, and everyone was happy. He was willing to sell it to her, so Lao Wangtou always deceived Erpi's mother and asked Erpi's mother to collect it door to door, and then sell it to him, because he had bad legs and feet, so he would not waste time walking around the streets. On the alley.”
"This old man wants to pick up girls but he doesn't want to spend money. If this second-rate mother really follows him, he will not only have food, housing and care, but he will also get a son and a daughter for free, and someone will provide for him until the end of his life. This is a real calculation. Fine?"
"No, I also bought sugar-coated haws for my little sister, and Lu Xue, who is a tough guy, never plucks a dime from his cock."
Xi Mao became more and more enthusiastic as he talked. He reached out and grabbed a handful of peanuts that Tianyi had just peeled off the table and threw them into his mouth.
"This old cunning guy has calculated his plans to the core. How can Erpi's mother be willing to do this?"
Seeing the food being devoured and the fine hairs choking his throat, Tianyi smiled and handed over the big teapot.
Ximao took a sip of jasmine tea, took a nap, and continued.
"What are you willing to do? You are more than 20 years old? The old cow still wants to eat young grass! He is just a good talker, and he can praise Erpi's mother to the sky every day. Erpi's mother has crow's feet on her face, and he insists that they are the crystallization of wisdom. , Erpi’s mother has big feet, so he says he can stand firm, and everything that comes into his mouth can come out like a flower. Erpi’s mother is also kind-hearted, thinking that they are all neighbors, and she will help if she can, and the family is not a foodie It’s all delicacies from the mountains and the sea, so it’s not a big deal to have multiple pairs of chopsticks.”
Xi Mao grabbed another handful of peanuts, followed Tianyi's example and sat on the kang, and picked up the peanuts.
"No... this Erpi mother is also our mother. We can't let this scumbag old fox take advantage of us all the time. It seems we have to teach him a lesson and vent his anger on Erpi mother's behalf."
"It's necessary... Erpi was so angry that he would always call him an old gangster who cheated people out of food and drink. He didn't take it seriously and went to Erpi's house shamelessly."
"Well... You ask Erpi to ask Lao Litou when the rent is due, and find out whether Lao Wangtou plans to renew the contract, and how the rent is paid. If Lao Wangtou does not intend to renew the contract, , we will rent Old Li Tou’s yard in advance. If Old Wang Tou wants to start this buying station again, he will have to rent a house from us, haha..."
"I'm going to boss you, are you so cruel? Are you taking advantage of the situation?"
Xi Mao said with a wicked smile.
"Isn't this called drawing money from the bottom of the cauldron? He doesn't have bad legs and feet. I pulled out his camp and saw where to move the rags in his yard. Go quickly. I'm afraid that Old Wangtou will do something else again if it's too late. Erpi He is quick-tongued and quick-witted, so if you tell him not to reveal any clues and make Lao Wangtou mentally prepared, it will be difficult to negotiate the price by then."
