Fuhai City, at the corner of a gambling house.
The hustle and bustle came from the door along with bursts of men's excited shouts. Two young women in light clothes standing in front of the door to solicit business entered the gambling house with a tall and thin man in their arms.
"Brother, how did you know this guy would come here to gamble?"
Lin Laosan, who was lying on the eaves, poked his elder brother's arm without taking his eyes away from the tall and thin man for a moment.
Boss Lin spat quite disdainfully.
"This group of soldiers do nothing serious except drinking and gambling all day long. When they were locked up in the firewood shed at the gate of the city, they heard the guards say that he likes to cheat when gambling, and no one wants to play with him. Son, I can only come to Changlefang to have fun."
"If there is an extra hand on the card table, it will be amputated sooner or later!" Lin Laoer angrily stared at the door of the casino.
The three of them were like beasts dormant in the dark night, patiently waiting for their prey to fall into the trap. Even if their clothes were soaked with dew and the cold air entered their bodies, they did not react at all.
After an unknown amount of time, the man who won a whole bag of money was escorted out of the house with a smile on his face, surrounded by the gambling house boys.
"Lord City Guard, did you get rich again tonight?"
"Young Master will be here tonight to give the people inside some chance. The top lady in Hualou is still waiting for me to come and have a good time!"
As he said that, he threw two silver sticks to the women who were waiting at the door, touched their soft breasts, and walked to the back alley with satisfaction, planning to take a shortcut to spend the night in the flower house.
The back alley was quiet and deserted, with only a flickering lantern hanging on the side of the road. The man was humming a little tune, thinking about the warm and fragrant nephrite that would come later, and his heart felt so beautiful that it reached heaven.
As a result, just after taking a few steps, his head was suddenly covered with a large sack. The smell was so bad that it could kill someone. Before he could react and shout, fists fell like raindrops.
No part of his face, chest, waist... was spared, and he was beaten until he screamed.
"Who! Which bastard dares to beat me up and is tired of living? I am the nephew of the county magistrate. You don't want your life... ow..."
The harder he cursed, the faster and faster the fists hit him.
The man had already been beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and those kicks on his chest made it painful to breathe. He didn't dare to curse another word.
"Spare your life! If you want money, I can give you whatever money I have. Don't fight. Please don't fight..."
No matter how much he begged, the person who beat him remained silent. When he was done, he took out a rope and tied him to a stake. He also stuffed an old foot wrap that he took out from somewhere and stuffed it into his mouth. inside.
I was so disgusted that I vomited out my dinner, and because my mouth was full of cloth strips, I swallowed it back...
"Uh... ugh..."
It's better now, I can't even make a sound!
On an early autumn night, the wind brought a coolness, bidding farewell to the three brothers who left together, leaving the man alone on the wooden stake to wait until dawn.
As soon as the sun cleared the next day, the honest and hard-working big ox had already mooed several times in the yard. Perhaps knowing that he had to work today, he swung his tail more vigorously than usual.
The Lin family loaded their luggage into the car one by one. Mrs. Zheng laid a soft cotton mat on the trailer board. Lin Laosan carried Mrs. Lin and half leaned on it, with her back pressed against a vertical wooden board.
"Mom, let me put a pillow on your back so that your waist can be supported and you won't be tired."
Mrs. Zhang picked up Xiangyun and put her in Mrs. Lin's arms. The frost was heavy in the morning and the child couldn't bear the cold. Mrs. Zheng put on her layer after layer. Now she was as fat as a ball, even her arms It was difficult to move her legs and she could only shake her head in protest, but the adults were too busy and no one noticed the dissatisfaction of her little baby.
Aunt Zhong reluctantly escorted the Lin family out. Uncle Zhong had almost recovered, except for the fact that he still had a slight limp when walking. He insisted on seeing the Lin family a few hundred meters away.
When the Lin family arrived at the city gate again, several officers and soldiers guarding the gate were gathering together to talk about what they had seen this morning.
"I heard from Xiao Liu who was on duty that the guard captain had already passed out when he was discovered in the morning!"
One of the familiar gatekeepers was Wang Er, who had brought the Lin family into the city that day. He quickly shared the news with others.
"He was more than just passed out! One of his arms was chopped off, and blood flowed all over the floor. If the watchman hadn't discovered it early and sent him to the hospital, he would have died a long time ago!"
"Damn it, who did it? You're too brave. He's the county magistrate's nephew. He's just a formality here. He's going to be a high-ranking official in the military camp. What will he do after he loses an arm? Promotion?"
Everyone else was sighing. Only Wang Er looked like he was watching the show and pushed the arms of the people next to him.
"You are still worried about him. He has money and background, and he is better off than us even if he is missing an arm. You may have forgotten how he won your money at the gambling table!"
"Hey, do you think the guard captain's arm was cut off by someone from a gambling house? He wins money every day, plays tricks every time, and treats others like fools. Who can't see his clumsy tricks? But It’s because he’s tough backstage, so I’m embarrassed to point it out!”
The three brothers of the Lin family who were standing at the city gate were stunned on the spot. After looking at each other, they led the big ox out of the city gate.
Evil people will be punished by their own evil, and they will not be happy with their retribution. If they do too many evil things and get themselves into such big trouble, then that person is considered to have brought it upon himself.
Mrs. Lin noticed at a glance that her three sons looked amiss, and patted her granddaughter on the back.
"You didn't do such a fatal thing, did you?"
"no!"
The three brothers spoke in unison and answered crisply.
Lin Silang put Lin Tianfu on his shoulders and stepped forward after hearing the words.
"What's going on? Mom, what are you telling your brothers?"
Mrs. Lin did not answer her younger son's question. She turned her head and looked at the city gate that was gradually going away, with a hint of sadness in her tone.
"I'm finally starting a new life. I hope I can settle down this time and won't suffer from bumps anymore!"
The sons and daughters-in-law tried to comfort their mother and regain her vitality.
"I will definitely do it! When we enter Lianhua Village, we will go find the village chief. I heard that the houses there are close to mountains and rivers, and the scenery is great. Then we will buy a small house with a yard and raise some chickens. When winter comes In the future, the chicks will grow into big hens, so there will be no need to buy eggs!”
"Leave me a piece of land to grow vegetables. When we left, Aunt Zhong gave me a lot of vegetable seeds, saying that her son, a farmer, sent them from Kyoto."
Mrs. Zheng was the first to secure a small plot of vegetable land for herself, and the young men also got excited.
"I want to install a swing in the yard, just like the one in our original yard."
"Tianfu also wants a piece of land to build a house for Niu Niu..."
Xiangyun bit his little finger, spit bubbles, and listened to the family's thoughts about the future. He felt that the scene in front of him was so warm.
Farmers who turn their backs to the loess and face to the sky have been so honest all their lives.
No matter what difficulties we have encountered before, as long as there is hope for the future and the family is together and never separated, there is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome!
