In the high mountain forest, Bao Yongshi had already climbed up a locust tree, holding tightly to the trunk with one hand and trimming the branches with a machete in the other. Qu Xiaolan was picking up branches below and making them into piles, and then tied them into bundles so that they could be carried home in a load.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps, and then heard a voice calling mom. Qu Xiaolan recognized her daughter's voice and raised her head to look. Sure enough, her daughter Bao Maoying was here, so she took her to pick out a small load of firewood. Bao Maoying inserted the two sharp ends of the load into the middle of the two bundles of firewood. He put it on his shoulders and said, "Mom, this load of firewood is not heavy." She was about to carry the load of firewood away when she suddenly heard someone making an "ouch" sound. She and her mother looked around, but saw no one. My father was in a higher position on the tree, and he saw people when he raised his eyes. He said, Dong Pai, why are you here?
Bao Maoying put down his load of firewood and walked a few steps to see which Dong brand? But he discovered that the Dong Pai his parents were talking about was the strong man. He stood in front of a bush of thorns, holding the flower handkerchief folded in the shape of a heart in his palm and was about to speak. Bao Maoying felt a little bad, so she asked with a sullen look on her face, "Why are you following me?" Dong Pai grinned and said, girl, I'm not following you, I want to return this washed and dried gray handkerchief that you lost yesterday. If you're too embarrassed to ask for it, I'll give it to your family!
Oh, is this why you came? Bao Yongshi, who was lying on the branch of a tree, said this and saw Dong Pai lower his head. Bao Yongshi wanted to say something more, but his daughter interrupted him. He heard his daughter say, Dong Pai, now I know your name is Dong Pai. I just lost my handkerchief. Who wants you to pick it up, wash it, dry it and return it to me? Tell you, I will not accept your favor.
Qu Xiaolan approached her daughter, leaned into her ear and whispered, Mao Ying, he is older than you and gave birth to you, you should call him Uncle Dong. Bao Maoying hummed, deliberately amplifying her voice. She knew what others were thinking. Do I need to be so polite to them? Not long ago, wasn't the old man who built a tent to guard the watermelons also very polite to me? But what happened in the end?
Qu Xiaolan had nothing to say, she glared at Dong Pai. Dong Pai still had a smile on his face, but he looked at Bao Yongshi who was squatting on the branch of a tree. He patted his chest with one hand and said, "Look, do I look like a bad person?" Then she turned her gaze to Qu Xiaolan, who was looking at him eagerly like her daughter, and said, "Look at me, do I look like a bad person?"
If bad people can see it, then there will be no bad people in this world. Bao Maoying felt that what she said was not enough to express her disgust towards Dong Pai, so she took out another floral handkerchief and waved it deliberately in the air. The implication was: Why are you so ignorant? Since the floral handkerchief I lost has been picked up by someone else, I don't want it back. You are really wasting your efforts.
Bao Yongshi thought about some of what his daughter said and felt that it made sense. He was particularly concerned about the old man who built a tent to guard the watermelons that his daughter mentioned, so he became sensitive. Then he jumped down from the locust tree, approached Dong Pai and said, "Let's go." ! I won’t have the handkerchief my daughter lost.
Dong Pai was not angry at all, he still had a smiling face. He grabbed the flower handkerchief folded into a heart shape in the palm of his hand, stuffed it into his left sleeve, shook his head and said, "Okay!" I picked up this floral handkerchief, don't say I took advantage of it!
He turned around and walked a few steps, then turned back and said to Bao Yongshi, "Your daughter is so immature. If you don't let her stay in the boudoir, why are you willing to let her go out to carry firewood across the mountains and ridges?"
I am the one who is willing to work. Bao Maoying grabbed the conversation and answered for her father, and then went to pick the bundle of firewood with the pointed pole.
Dong Pai looked at it and said to Bao Yongshi, "Let me pick this bundle of firewood for your daughter!" Bao Yongshi thought: Even if I agree, my daughter will not agree, so he shook his head. Bao Maoying picked up a load of firewood and put it down again, saying, "Dad, Mom, I'll wait for you to chop firewood for a while and then we'll go down the mountain together."
Bao Yongshi laughed dryly and said yes. Qu Xiaolan was confused and asked him why he usually carried the load of firewood and left first, so why did he have to wait for your dad and I to finish cutting a few loads of firewood before leaving together today?
Mom, you don’t know this either. I’m worried about being followed. Bao Maoying hit the nail on the head.
Mao Ying, it seems that I am in your way. I'm sorry! sorry! As Dong Pai spoke, he retreated into the jungle until he was out of sight of the Bao family.
A few days later, Bao Maoying saw that Bao Maoying was not as scary as she had imagined, and that the strong man named Dong Pai was not following her. Her courage increased. She no longer needed to stay with her parents, but helped her as usual. The parents picked up the bundles of firewood from the mountains and placed them in the open yard in front of their house.
What surprised her was that there were a few more loads of firewood in the yard. According to her memory, neither she nor her parents had picked them from the mountains and stored them. So where did they come from? Who put the bundle of firewood in my yard? When Xiang Wan stayed, she pointed out the few extra loads of firewood to her parents who had just returned home, and they were all surprised.
Bao Yongshi said angrily, who took my yard as his yard and actually piled the firewood here. Qu Xiaolan said, we don’t know why people put firewood here. If the man doesn't take away the firewood in two days, we will treat it as our own firewood and move it into the stove to cook. For now, we're leaving it alone.
What's even more strange is that the next day, several more bundles of firewood were piled in the yard, and they were discovered first by Bao Maoying, who was helping her parents carry firewood down the mountain.
In the evening, she told her parents, who had just returned home, that they felt strange. Bao Yongshi frowned and said to Bao Maoying, so be it! Tomorrow morning you won't go up the mountain to pick up firewood. You'll stay at home and see which guy picked up the bundles of firewood and stacked them in our yard. What's the purpose? Qu Xiaolan said, what if the guy doesn't come tomorrow? Bao Yongshi shook his hand: "Based on my feeling, that guy will come again tomorrow to pick up bundles of firewood." He turned to Bao Maoying - you will stay in the yard tomorrow.
Hurrah! Bao Maoying agreed.
That’s the morning of the third day after that! Bao Maoying, who was wandering in the yard, suddenly heard someone singing a folk song:
Walking up the hillside carrying a load of firewood, I often pass by the door of Bao's house;
What about sending firewood to the house? To prevent Bao Mei from being shaken.
Hey, hey...
The tits flew to look at me and walked into the courtyard as fast as they could fly;
What is the picture of sending firewood to Baojia? Just because Bao Mei doesn’t climb the slope.
Hey, hey...
When Bao Maoying walked out of the yard, she saw Dong Pai walking over in a hurry carrying a load of firewood. She stopped him and said, "Hey, why are you picking up firewood and piling it in my yard?" Dong Pai was stunned for a moment, moved the pole carrying the bundle of firewood from his left shoulder to his right shoulder, and stammered, "I...I have the obligation to deliver firewood to your house, aren't you welcome?" Look at the many bundles of firewood stacked in the yard. I delivered them the day before yesterday.
You must have some purpose. Bao Maoying said, stepping aside and not stopping him.
Yes, I have a purpose. Dong Pai started walking as he spoke.
Bao Maoying followed Dong Pai and saw him stacking a load of firewood in the courtyard where he had stacked the pile. He asked again, "Can you tell me what the purpose of sending the bundle of firewood is?"
I won’t tell you until I meet your parents. Dong Pai who answered in this way walked to the gate of the courtyard with a pointed pole, then turned back to Mao Ying and said, "Don't ask anymore, I have to pick up a few loads of firewood and deliver them to your courtyard."
