Hou Zhenyong felt that in the past two years, he didn't know what to do in his life, and there wasn't much money to be made in this job right now.
Hou Zhenyong is a rough man with a simple mind and well-developed limbs. He has been working hard for the village with the old village master since the time of the old village master. He has worked hard for 20 to 30 years, serving two dynasties, needless to say, he alone needs credit but not merit, and needs ability but not ability. With his career as a water thief, the fact that the main force of the old village allowed him to become the leader of the Xiong Hall, one of the five halls in the village, against all objections, shows that he is absolutely loyal. It can be said that the old village leader stayed. of humerus.
But what he didn't understand was that he had been doing the light job of patrolling the water village for ten years, but in the past few years, he had been replaced by that man who had only been up the mountain for a few years. His body was as thin as a monkey, and he was afraid that if the wind was stronger, Xia Ao can be blown into the river.
Hou Zhenyong couldn't figure it out, but he had a few wise brothers who told him that a few years ago, the boss gave him a golden silk robe that was said to be made by Jiangnan Weaving House. Clothes that can only be worn by important people in the palace.
At that time, Hou Zhenyong couldn't figure out what the boss wanted, so he politely declined the robe with the idea that he would receive no reward for no merit.
His brothers told him that the robe was a small matter, but they were actually asking him to take sides. Hou Zhenyong, who couldn't think clearly at first, couldn't understand even more. How could a piece of clothing have so many meanings? Which team are you on? How could one family speak two different languages?
In the end, the hall master is still the same hall master as before, but he has fewer and fewer pawns and earns less and less. It is estimated that he will not starve to death in this village until the old village master comes out of seclusion. I have to go down the mountain and find another way out.
Hou Zhenyong naturally didn't have much time to think about what was there and what wasn't. Naturally, he couldn't understand why the boss sent him to do such a mountain patrol job.
It is really laughable for a village to live in the water and do business in the mountains.
The entire Danxia River, not mentioning Wudang to the west or Fenghuang Villa to the east, is just a short section of more than a hundred miles. When I used to cross the river, I would make flat noodles or wonton noodles every day. It was enough for me to lead the ten or so brothers under my command to enjoy the food and drink. I dare not say that when it comes to old age, I just encountered a few pieces of silver that were blackmailed by a few gangs. Except for those who were filial to their superiors, the remaining ones were exchanged A pot of good wine can also be paired with silver carp or white strips caught in the water.
In the past few months, although due to the intervention of several big families nearby, the water village has begun to do regular business, helping the caravans to transport goods, or fishing for some unusual large fish and parallel imports, it can also support such a large amount of water. The cost of food and drink in the village ranks among the highest on the Danxia River.
But in the final analysis, this is also a business in the water. Wandering around the mountains all day long is not to mention the smell of meat, and I'm afraid there won't even be any oil and water mixed in.
Everyone knows that the Danxia River, not to mention the hundreds of miles of winding river, is surrounded by waterways for food. In addition to trees, grass and rocks, there are poisonous insects and beasts on the mountains. Not to mention the cliffs, they are also rugged and rugged. It’s nothing.
Hou Zhenyong was listless, and the water thieves brothers behind him were also full of lack of energy. They were like eggplants beaten by frost, and they were barely being dragged around.
"Everyone is so energetic. How do they look like each one? Are you going to laugh at the other brats?!" Hou Zhenyong roared without looking back, but this voice couldn't even lift his own confidence. Still very weak.
This man was afraid of talking. Hou Zhenyong, who was walking along the steep cliff on the bank of Danxia River, had just finished yelling this sentence when he saw a small boat approaching from far to near directly opposite the cliff. The boat was not big, with a canopy on top. There were strong men on both sides of the stern holding oars. After a while, they reached a position with Hou Zhenyong, looking at each other up and down.
"I said, Lao Hou, do you feel okay up there?" A burly man emerged from the awning on the boat, with a thick back and a big waist. If he saw him at night and couldn't see clearly, he would be regarded as a blind man.
It was none other than Duan Tiexin, the leader of the Leopard Hall in Shuizhai.
Hou Zhenyong cursed secretly, put on a smile that seemed okay to him, and replied at the top of his voice: "It's not good to stay in the water all the time. Come up from time to time to change the environment."
Despite his careless appearance, Duan Tiexin is also a thoughtful person, so he naturally understands that he is trying to make a fool of himself, and what he says is not what he thinks in his heart. This group of water thieves appeared to be friendly on the surface, but in fact they were also infighting. Duan Tiexin naturally would not miss this opportunity, and deliberately said: "Brother Hou, please change the situation first. The brothers said that a big fish was caught in front. I Come over and give me a hand." After saying that, without looking at Hou Zhenyong's somewhat deformed face, he called on the two young men at the stern to paddle and start the boat.
Watching Duan Tiexin's boat getting further away, Hou Zhenyong cursed secretly, "Damn Duan Tiexin is so lucky, how did he get such a good thing?!"
A smarter younger brother behind him greeted him and said, "Brother, how about we join in the fun? See if we can make some money."
"Get your mother's balls!" Hou Zhenyong, who was already angry, turned around and cursed, "You just cheated on the business, and letting the uncle know about it is just killing two holes. Are you fucking stupid?" Yue Hou Zhenyong, who was getting more and more angry, raised his leg and kicked the younger brother who wanted to flatter him on the horse's leg.
Complaints are complaints, but Hou Zhenyong just complained a few words to his close brothers, saying that they had to do their jobs as they should. On the surface, he pretended to be angry and cursed a few more times. He turned around and waved his hand, and continued to wander listlessly along the Danxia River with the few younger brothers who were afraid to express their sorrow.
…
…
Since Xia Ao put on small shoes for the second village owner and his family years ago, and received the certificate of nomination for Liangxiake, he felt that he was somewhat of a figure in this watershed.
After all, who can say that no matter what happens in a family, the eldest brother is respected. No matter what, the eldest brother will naturally have more weight than the second brother. Naturally speaking, following the boss is definitely more popular than following the second boss.
I don’t dare to say that I want to think about it, as long as I do it. Xia Ao, who prides himself on being a little clever, is quite proud of his silent and correct stance.
Xia Ao knew that he was not capable of participating in those shouting smashing and looting operations. After all, with his body here, he was afraid that if the wind on the river was strong, he might fall into the water. Fortunately, he still has his mouth open, and his sharp eyes, which he developed while living in a small family, have been going smoothly in the past few years, and he has truly become the best in this large water village. It's not like one person is inferior to ten thousand people, but he is also a master who can respond to hundreds of calls.
Today it was his turn as the head of the Eagle Hall, one of the Four Halls of Tiger, Leopard, Bear and Eagle, to personally lead people to inspect the affairs of each hall. He was used to spending the whole day doing nothing in silence, and he was out of breath even before he even walked around the village. , sit under the tree over there and rest.
I saw a brother from the village rushing over in a hurry. He was so panicked that he almost fell down. The younger brother held his knees in front of Xia Ao and gasped: "Miss..." I think I was very tired from running all the way, and I was out of breath again just after I started.
There is a saying in the world of rivers and lakes, "Waters do not distinguish between guests and guests", which refers to the two current heads of the watershed. The head of the family, Liang Haike, has been fully responsible for all matters in the water village since the old village master was not in seclusion. He has a son, Liangsha, who has just turned eighteen and is the second son. The second head of the family, a good guest, had an illness when he was young and did not pay attention to it. The root of the disease was laid. He has been ill all year round and gave birth to a daughter, Liang Chun. She is nineteen this year and is the eldest lady.
Xia Ao stood up and kicked her over, and cursed impatiently: "If you fart, hurry up. What's wrong, young lady?"
"Miss..." The brother in the village took a few breaths, swallowed his saliva, looked flustered, and looked like he was about to cry, "lost it!"
Xia Ao sat down on the ground.
Whether this matter is a big deal or not, after all, the second master has only lost power within a year or two. People in the village also turn a blind eye to his family affairs and do whatever they can. If they are not willing to just find an excuse, they will do it. Prevaricate. It's like the second master's family asked Duan Tiexin from Langtang to go to the city to pick up some New Year's goods, but that smart man who talked about people and ghosts used the bastard excuse of not leaving the village during the New Year, which made The second master dragged his tuberculosis body to the city on his own, but could not do anything to him.
But if you say this is a small matter, it's really not a small matter.
Xia Ao learned from the grapevine that the uncle's family intended to make the marriage of the two young masters public to the public at the second son's coming-of-age ceremony in two days. When the time comes, this will be a close relationship, and the eldest lady will directly become the young mistress. If this watershed is passed down to the second young master in the future, she will directly become the wife of the village master.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Xia Ao didn't want to have such a disgusting incident of a toad crawling on his feet during his mountain patrol. He immediately shouted to the six or seven disciples in the village behind him, "Quickly go to the village and call for more people to clear the village." I have to dig inside and out to find the eldest lady."
…
…
Ling Shan Luan was a tough guy through and through. There were hundreds of people in the village, except for the few big shots above them. Even the other few people who were on equal footing with him, the leader of the Tiger Hall, were somewhat afraid of him.
Not to mention his nine-foot body as dark as an iron tower, his appearance, which the old village leader called an angry-eyed Vajra, was also intimidating. In addition, it is rumored that this man once tore a beautiful tiger in Daosheng, central Guizhou, which is really terrifying.
Even if we don’t say whether it is true or not that he tore the tiger alive, when he entered the village to submit his name, this guy had a wood-cutting ax in a boat, chopped up more than ten people in the boat alive, and sneaked back five heads. The scene at that time was real. The whole village was frightened. Even now, some old people in the village are still speechless when talking about this fierce act.
Lingshan Luan has been sent by the headmaster to purchase and take care of all the matters related to the coming-of-age ceremony of the second son after the year. Even though this black guy looks like this, he is as careful as his hair. It was an extremely complicated coming-of-age ceremony, from venue decoration to invitations to relatives and friends, to fruits and tea, drinks and meals. It was really hard to imagine that such a thoughtful and thoughtful thing could be done by this vulgar-looking black man.
In less than two days, the coming-of-age ceremony will be held. Today, Ling Shanluan is checking whether there is anything missing in the kitchen, when a servant comes to report that the eldest lady is missing. The man in the nine-foot iron tower didn't show much expression. He just nodded and said nothing as if he had expected it. He waved his hand towards the servant and continued to arrange and explain the internal affairs of the kitchen servant.
By the time he finished his work, it was already time for a cup of tea. He left the kitchen and walked around to a secluded house. In the yard, a dignified young woman was gently tapping the back of a coughing middle-aged man in Tsing Yi without saying a word. Standing nearby, staring at a few red carps in the shallow water in the courtyard.
It wasn't until the man in green's coughing gradually became softer that Ling Shan Luan finally spoke, "When did you last see the eldest lady?"
The dignified young woman fed the man a bowl of browned Chinese medicine, with a hint of anxiety in her tone, and said: "When I got up early in the morning, I said I was going to hunt pheasants in the back mountains to make soup for her father, but she couldn't find her at lunch time. I haven't found any traces even though I've looked for it, so why don't I call someone to notify you right away?"
Ling Shan Luan remained silent as usual, and never left his sight of the red carp in the water since entering the yard. After the green-clothed man finished drinking the bowl of medicinal soup and coughed again, the burly man, whose thoughts and appearance were absolutely incompatible, said: "He should have followed the boy from the Zhao family."
The man in green who never stopped coughing raised his head and looked at the man who had been with him for twenty years and who still stayed with him even after taking a post in the logistics department. Although he did not speak, the look in his eyes revealed what was in his heart.
"I think the eldest lady wants to commit herself to asking Zhao Yun to come out."
Ling Shan Luan said something, the dignified young woman was stunned, the man in green smiled bitterly, and then coughed again.
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…
In the main hall of the largest house in the watershed, a rough middle-aged man had a stern look. He stretched out his hand and swung an expensive-looking tea set on the short table next to him to the ground. He thought about it but was not relieved, and threw the square chair on the short table. Kicked them all down.
The middle-aged woman who ran over from the backyard after hearing the noise in the hall did not dare to take another step forward when she saw the man's expression.
"Second brother, how can you sing with me?"
The middle-aged man's tone sounded murderous.
