Rain accumulates in the sky, the fireworks are late, and the quinoa is steamed and cooked.
Egrets fly in the desert paddy fields, and orioles sing in the overcast summer trees.
In the mountains, I learn to watch the hibiscus trees quietly, and under the pine tree, I fold the dew sunflowers in my clear house.
The old man in the wild fights with others, but the seagull is even more suspicious of what happened.
The paddy fields are overcast, the summer trees are deserted, the forest birds in the mountains have been returning to their nests for a long time, and the fragrance of rice on Jiying Mountain gradually drifts away with the villagers' singing.
"Boom!!!" A gong sounded in the mountains, startling the melodious folk song. The villager looked up and saw that on the road at the foot of the mountain, several guards were leading a tall horse decorated with red colors, heading towards Lujiazhuang. After a while, a group of people gathered around the team and headed towards the village. The villagers couldn't help but be surprised that the peaceful village on weekdays was more lively than when worshiping ancestors during the Chinese New Year. This scene is more like the scene when Lu Zuo, a member of the clan, won the first place in the examination in previous years. I think there is another happy event in the village. The villager put down the sickle in his hand and hurried back to the village to watch the fun.
“Our village is indeed a geomantic treasure!”
"Who says it's not the case! There's actually another candidate!"
"You said that his eldest brother won the first place in the village at a young age three years ago! This year, the younger brother was so ambitious that he also won the first place! Is there smoke coming out of the ancestral graves?" The village was crowded at this time, and the villager was behind I followed closely, but luckily I didn't miss the excitement of the village.
"If the Grand Prince of the Lu family hadn't gotten tired of the officialdom, he would probably be a big player now!"
The officers beat the gongs to clear the way and came to a dilapidated thatched hut in Lujiazhuang to announce the good news. There was only an old lady in the house, who was sitting in front of the door, mending clothes by the light. Seeing so many people gathered in front of her door, the old lady was frightened, squinted her eyes and asked: "Fellow folks, what's going on? What happened?"
These villagers were chatting and laughing, and they rushed to say, "Your second husband has also won the election!" The servants in front of him also nodded and smiled in congratulations.
"Failed?" The old lady frowned, seeming a little suspicious, but looking at the battle in front of her, she suddenly smiled and said, "I think so."
"Old lady, we are here to deliver the good news! Where has the second husband gone? We still have to do our routine, leading the second master on horseback to the village to make our village look good!"
Before the old lady could answer, a man's voice came from behind the crowd, "Wealth and honor are not my wish, and the imperial hometown cannot be expected. If you have a good time, go alone, or plant a stick and work hard. Climb Donggao to soothe your whistle, and listen to the clear stream to sing poetry."
When everyone looked back, they all asked how they were. The crowd dispersed. The old lady squinted her eyes and saw that this young man with a pale face and delicate features was her eldest son. "Zuo'er! Have you seen where Xiang'er has gone?" ?”
Although the thin young man was the eldest brother of the successful candidate, there was no trace of joy on his face. He just replied calmly: "Just now, I was writing prescriptions for others in the clan's medicine shop! Now I think..."
Before he finished speaking, a group of people in front of the house gathered around a young man with laughter, "The second husband is back! The second husband is back!"
I saw the young man rushing forward and grabbing the wedding invitation from the officer. It really said: Shanzhou Township Examination No. 1 Jie Yuan Lu Renxiang.
Lu Zuo looked at the villagers who came to watch the fun with indifferent eyes and said: "Everyone, please leave. I will have a banquet at my house to entertain you someday. Lu Zuo would like to thank you!" Yan Bi bowed.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Xianggong? Mr. Second Xianggong should follow us to the county to have some fun. On such a day, the people in our village will also benefit from it."
Lu Renxiang looked at the wedding invitation in his hand. After being silent for a while, he suddenly burst into laughter and kept saying, "I really got it! Haha! I really got it!"
Everyone rushed and jumped to support Lu Renxiang on his horse, and then asked the old lady to prepare a banquet. They said they wanted to entertain the neighbors tonight, and they happily went to the county.
After the crowd dispersed, the old lady returned to the house and looked at the rice in the rice vat. She suddenly became sad again. There was only half a bucket of rice left. Not to mention that there was a banquet. Even if she made porridge, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough for everyone. . The old lady shook her head and sighed: "Zuo'er! If you had focused on your official career like your brother, you wouldn't be like this now!"
Lu Zuo's eyes were dull, but he felt a little disdainful in his heart. But looking at the thin mother in front of him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, so he had to lower his head and remain silent.
The old lady was very anxious about the rice, and when she wanted to ask Lu Zuo to go next door to borrow rice, a middle-aged man dressed as a country squire shouted outside the door: "Is Brother Renxiang at home?"
Lu Zuo helped the old lady to the door and greeted her, "It turns out you are a senior member of the Communist Party of China. I'm so polite!" Lu Zuo also followed suit.
"It seems that the old lady is also a knowledgeable and polite person, so she is polite! May I ask where Brother Renxiang is?"
Lu Zuo suddenly appeared and said: "Second Uncle Gao, I haven't seen you for three years. You are always doing well!"
"Oh! It turns out he's a minister! Everything is fine at home! Where has your brother gone? I've prepared some wine at home. I wonder if the two brothers from the Lu family and the old lady can come to visit me tonight?" Gao Yuanwai said with a smile as he held his hands. , the smile lines on his face also wrinkled.
The old lady was worried about what to do. She didn't expect the senior officials to come to help. Although she was somewhat reluctant, she couldn't bring out any good wine or food to entertain the neighbors today, but she couldn't bear to accept it. Said, then glanced at his son Lu Zuo. Lu Zuo understood and said with a smile: "How can this be done? There is no reason to trouble other senior officials!"
The senior official waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about! Brother Renxiang's high school, I think all the famous officials and squires from all over the country will come to congratulate me. The place where I live is bigger and it's easier to entertain." After that, he took a brocade gift from the entourage behind him. Bag, "The old lady is in urgent need of silver now. Don't be dissatisfied, old lady. I will accept the silver."
The old lady frowned, smiled and tried to refuse, but said, "What's wrong with this?"
"You're welcome, old lady. This is a donation made by Mr. Gao for the students who want to study in this village. Besides, the old lady's family is so poor, but she has trained two sons for our village. The old lady is really the Mother Meng of our village." !”
When the old lady saw what he said, she agreed. After hearing this, Lu Zuo felt somewhat unhappy, so he turned around and went back to the back room. The senior official said goodbye with a smile and went back. Before leaving, he repeatedly asked the old lady and her family to go.
In the evening of that day, Gao Yuanwai sent someone early to invite the two brothers from the Lu family and the old lady to a banquet. Lu Zuo didn't like banquets and socializing, so he made excuses to avoid it. The old lady knew it and didn't force it. After Lu Zuo watched them go out, he read a book alone in the room. Thinking of what his father said before his death, he couldn't help but feel... Grief. It was only when Fang passed Xu that his old mother and younger brother came back. The old lady helped Lu Renxiang, who was drunk, to sit on the lounge chair. Lu Zuo came out of the back room. Seeing that his brother was drunk and unconscious, and his mother was also a little tired, she went to the stove to make two bowls of tea and gave them to him respectively. Mother and brother drank.
"It's okay for me. I just drank a little. You should take care of your brother!" The old lady said and took a sip of tea.
Lu Zuo nodded and helped Lu Renxiang to rest on the bed. Looking at his drunken brother, he felt a little sad again. He shook his head, sighed, and picked up a book from the case and started reading. At some point, I saw the flickering candlelight and didn’t know whether it was the old mother who helped cut the candle. The old lady looked at the thin Lu Zuo and said earnestly: "Zuo'er! Go to bed early after watching this!"
"Mother, please rest early!" Lu Zuo smiled and nodded.
The old lady turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly her footsteps stopped calmly. Lu Zuo looked at his mother's back flickering in the candlelight and couldn't help but asked in confusion: "What's wrong with mother? Do you have any other instructions?"
Lu Zuo looked at his mother's figure, vaguely feeling that she seemed to be wiping tears. The mother turned around, with tears in her eyes, and said, "Son! There are some things that you don't know whether to say or not?"
