As the saying goes, summer rain brings coolness.
At dawn, the young man opened his eyes and yawned a few times. He glanced at Zhu Hongni, who was sleeping in an extremely unsightly posture. He went outside to stretch his body and felt a cool breeze blowing from him.
"Young man, you got up so early! Why don't you sleep a little longer..."
The old woman came from outside the gate, holding his and Zhu Hongni's clothes in a wooden basin: "Seeing that the rain stopped, I quickly ran to the creek next to me and washed your clothes. The sooner they are dried, the faster they will dry. It will not prevent you from wearing them." .”
With a smile on his face, Shen Li gratefully took the wooden basin from the old woman's hand and placed it skillfully on the bamboo pole: "Auntie, you have worked so hard. We can just do these little things ourselves. Can you please make a trip."
The wooden basin and the two people's clothes were not light, but the old woman had no difficulty in carrying it. It can be seen that the people with their backs to the loess and their faces to the sky were accustomed to the heavy pressure of life, and even adjusted their emotions extremely well.
"Hey, it's not hard work, it's not hard work. A few days ago, my father and I replanted grain, and that's hard work."
The old woman bent down to pick up the wooden basin and put it back in its place, "I went to pick wild vegetables early yesterday morning, but I haven't eaten them all day. Let's have this for breakfast today, right?"
The money he gave was too much, and the old woman had to consider whether the two of them were accustomed to eating wild vegetables. If they were not willing to eat wild vegetables, she would kill two chickens and eat one in the morning and one at noon.
"We are used to eating. We will eat whatever you do, auntie. I am extremely sorry for staying at your house. How can we dislike the host's hospitality?"
"Haha... You young man is really good at talking. Okay, let's have a light breakfast, porridge with wild vegetables. After dinner, I'll kill a chicken and stew the chicken for lunch!"
As he spoke, the old man came back with a few sticks of firewood: "Mother, fortunately I prepared more dry firewood a few days ago. Otherwise, it rained so heavily that it would be a problem to make a fire for cooking."
"Yeah, who would have thought it could rain so heavily!"
The old man laughed and said, "Oh, you got up so early!"
"I slept well at night, so I naturally woke up earlier." Shen Li replied politely.
"Just sleep well."
The two old men heard their nonsense last night. As people who have experienced it, they could see through it but not speak out.
As soon as they entered the house despite the heavy rain, the old man understood that the relationship between Shen Li and Zhu Hongni was definitely a loving couple. The young man was handsome and the girl was beautiful and generous. They were a perfect match.
"Uncle, where are your son and daughter?"
The old man went into the kitchen to light the fire, and the old woman washed the wild vegetables: "My son works as an errand in the county, married a wife and settled down. He comes back every two months, but he is very filial. Every time he brings back big and small bags, he has to pick up our old couple every time." We went to live in the county and lived in Xiaoli Village for decades, but we were not used to living in the county.
My daughter is also married into the county, and my son-in-law is from a good family. He sends people to give us money every now and then. The last time my daughter went back to her parents' home was on the second day of the Lunar New Year. She left a little more than one tael of silver on the second day of the Lunar New Year and asked us to go to the county to ask for it from her. We also thought, how much can we spend every day in the village? There are only one or two left now! "
Talking about his son and daughter, the old man beamed, saying that his life was worth living. They were extremely filial, and his family had the most enjoyable life in the entire Xiaoli Village.
The old woman interjected: "Let me tell you, the son-in-law our daughter has found is really good. He is from a good family, a good person, well-educated, and he also dances with swords and sticks every day to keep fit. The bodyguard Lu who came to our village said that the son-in-law's family He is a respected big business in the county.”
In the Northern Sui Dynasty, martial arts were practiced and people from well-to-do families, both men and women, practiced martial arts and nourished their energy. This was different in the Southern Wu Dynasty, which had a strong literary style and an endless stream of talented people. The folk customs in Western Shu were strong and fierce. The existence of Jiange Mountain has caused the popularity of sword practice in recent years. Young children aged seven or eight are all armed with wooden swords, and they chop, chop, point, stab, and tease in a measured and orderly manner...
"Is there a team of bodyguards in the village?" Shen Li asked seemingly casually.
The old man replied: "I don't know what's going on. This team of escorts has been here for more than ten days. Originally, the people in the village were warm and entertained them to eat and drink for free. Unexpectedly, after staying for many days, the seven of them had nothing to eat. Bai Jie Leng refused to pay them, and the village leader Li Dahu got into a quarrel with them because of this."
The old woman sighed: "No matter how tense the situation is, there is nothing we can do. We know martial arts, and anyone who dares to say no will be greeted with fists and kicks. Li Dahu was beaten so hard that he couldn't get out of bed for three days! Our family also relied on our son-in-law to get rich, and the escort team didn't Come to disturb us old couple."
During the heavy rain last night, Shen Li heard the sound of horses braying in several houses, which was actually the source.
He asked: "If the escort team doesn't leave, aren't you afraid that it will delay the escort?"
"It seems to have been lost nearby."
"What's lost! It was robbed by the blind bear from Heixiong Ridge!" The old man whispered, "Young man, when you leave, don't pass by Heixiong Ridge. The blind bear led a dozen people and did evil there."
The young man nodded seriously: "Don't worry, old man, we will never leave from Black Bear Ridge."
"There is a river in front of Black Bear Ridge. Just follow the river and I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
"Is there no bridge over the river?"
"In the past, blind bears fell into trouble there and became bandits. The brave people in the village destroyed the wooden bridge, so that the people of Xiaoli Village could move around a little more safely."
Shen Li squatted by the fire, picking dry firewood and stuffing it in, "Is Blind Xiong a very powerful person?"
"They must be powerful. As I said just now, the goods escorted by the escort team were robbed by him! They can play tricks on the village and no one can fight against them. It can be seen that Xiong Xiazi is stronger than them."
"The government doesn't care."
"Hey, I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else."
"That's all you say, my mouth will fit perfectly!"
"The nickname Blind Bear was given by someone from the government. Think about it, what is their relationship?"
"A nest of snakes and rats!"
"That's right! There are people in the government who want to make money in other ways!"
Shen Li said in confusion: "Logically speaking, since Blind Bear fell into the trap of a bandit in Black Bear Ridge and is not far from Xiaoli Village, why not rob the village of its money?"
The old man said: "Road robbery, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the government does not want to take care of it. But if they dare to enter the village, the government must take care of it. Otherwise, the villagers will go to the state capital to file a complaint, and no one will get any good results."
"Will the state government take care of it?"
"Of course! Every year, officials from the state capital go to the county for assessment. Those who fail the assessment will be fined and whipped, or exiled to the northwest border. Many petty officials have been exiled."
From what I heard from the old man alone, the Northern Sui Dynasty was the strongest in the Three Kingdoms, which is very reasonable.
He has never been to Xishu. Comparing it with Southern Wu, the lives of ordinary people in the eyes of officials are not lives at all, but light duckweeds.
During the battle of Kaixi City, it was not that no high-ranking and powerful people thought about using the lives of ordinary people to feed the eight heavenly dragons!
"It turns out that the people of the Northern Sui Dynasty lived better than the people of the Southern Wu Dynasty."
"Oh? The young man is from Nanwu?"
"Yes, let's go to Beisui for a walk, see the scenery, and explore the world."
Zhu Hongni rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and said loudly: "The scenery in the Northern Sui Dynasty is different from that in the Southern Wu Dynasty. It is magnificent! The Southern Wu Dynasty is beautiful."
"Girl, wake up." The old woman smiled.
Zhu Hongni was embarrassed and said with a blushing face: "I had a hard time traveling yesterday, so I slept a little longer."
If they hadn't woken her up by talking outside the house, she wouldn't have gotten out of bed at all hours of the day.
In the past, at Zhu's house, the maid usually took the time to prepare lunch for her. She hadn't gotten up to have breakfast for several years. It was only after she left home for a trip to Nanwu that her sleep improved.
The old man smiled and said, "It's a bumpy road, so if you want to sleep, sleep a little longer. We'll leave some food for you later. Kill a chicken at noon and ask the girl to taste the delicious taste of the farmer's chicken stew."
"No, no, I'm already awake. Thank you, uncle and aunt, for the hospitality." Zhu Hongni waved her hands hurriedly.
"How about we have something lighter for breakfast? Wild vegetables and rice porridge."
"It's up to the guest to do as he pleases. For Shen Li and I, it's already a rare delicacy!"
Shen Li glanced at her, and her words were quite nice. I thought Zhu's family had a very good tutor. Like Zhu Hongni, she could speak human language when meeting people and ghosts when meeting ghosts. She could adapt to the situation. Reduce unnecessary troubles at home. After all, the tree is big and attracts the wind, so there must be many people who want to see the Zhu family fall down so that they can rob it.
The sage said that a gentleman's zeal can only be cut down after five generations. With the situation shown in Zhu Hongni, the Zhu family can still prosper.
The porridge was cooked, the wild grass was poured into the hot water, stir-fried and poured into a bowl. The old woman put it on the table.
Several people gathered around to drink porridge and eat wild vegetables.
The young man tasted the wild vegetables. It was slightly bitter in the mouth, followed by a faint fragrance. It could not be called delicious, nor could it be called unpalatable.
I wish Hongni a happy meal. While eating, I praised the old woman's cooking skills. The wild vegetables were very suitable for her taste.
Who doesn't like flattery? The old woman smiled and narrowed her eyes.
The old man smiled at Shen Li and said, "Being able to marry such a virtuous wife is a blessing you earned in your previous life!"
The two people who were sipping the porridge were both stunned. Zhu Hongni blushed to her neck, neither denying nor confirming, and continued to sip the scalding hot porridge.
Shen Li looked at Zhu Hongni, who seemed to have never heard these words, and said with a smile: "We have known each other since we were children. We are childhood sweethearts."
"You are so destined!"
After breakfast, the two of them wanted to continue on their way without lunch.
I couldn't resist the old couple's efforts to persuade them to stay. They said yes. I gave them so much money and I felt really sorry for not giving them a good meal. If you have to leave, take the money back. We, the old couple, are by no means jealous of money!
Shen Li wanted to rush on his way, and Zhu Hongni promised not to leave today but to start her journey again early tomorrow morning.
The old couple smiled and praised her for being sensible.
Helping clean up the house, the two walked into the village side by side.
It rained heavily and the road was muddy. I was walking and talking along the foot of the wall.
"Are there robbers on Black Bear Ridge?"
"Um."
"You also robbed the goods escorted by the escort?!"
"Um."
"This group of bodyguards didn't take revenge, but just stayed in the village eating and drinking?!"
"Um."
"Can you stop being so cool! It's so boring!" Zhu Hongni complained.
"My sister often tells me, mind your own business." Shen Li said softly.
To be honest, he missed Xie Lingjiang, not just in an ordinary way, but very, very much.
Zhu Hongni clapped her hands: "No, since I am a chivalrous woman, I should roar when encountering injustice!"
"What do you want to do?" Shen Li asked.
She clapped her fingers and said, "First go to the bodyguard team and ask them for food and accommodation money. Then go to Black Bear Ridge and slay demons! Get rid of harm for the people! Return the stolen goods to the bodyguards!"
"Can you do it?"
"And you!"
"I don't want to go."
Zhu Hongni stood in front of the wall, stepped on the mound of dirt, and said with her arms akimbo: "If you don't accompany me, I will write to the Fifth Grandpa of Jixia Academy. As long as you go to Jixia Academy, I will fork you out!"
