Sword of Coming

Chen Pingan carried water back to Liu Xianyang's yard, poured it into the kitchen water tank, and then ran to the door of the room and shouted: "Liu Xianyang, I'm going to use your firewood, oil, and salt to stew fish soup for Miss Ning." Is your body okay?"

Liu Xianyang, who had fallen asleep happily and returned to his cage, was awakened and roared angrily: "My surname is Chen! Are you annoyed? I just dreamed that Zhigui smiled at me! Please pay me Zhigui!"

Chen Pingan shook his head, remembered something, and said apologetically: "I actually met Zhigui at the Iron Lock Well just now, but I was interrupted by Granny Ma and forgot to send you a message. I will go to Ning later. When the girl delivers the fish soup, I promise to bring the message to you."

Liu Xianyang stood up like a carp, quickly put on his clothes, ran to the threshold outside the main hall and sat down. Looking at the thin figures busy in the kitchen, he chuckled and said: "I'll deliver the fish soup with you later, by the way. Is Zhigui wearing that bright red pomegranate skirt today? Or the light green one? Well, when I save another two hundred cents later, I can buy that hundred-odd dragon silver powder box. I know she likes it. I've had it for a long time, but I just couldn't bear to buy it. It's all because of Song Jixin, a stinky poor man who is really stingy. He dresses like a cat and a dog from Fulu Street. Poor Zhigui doesn't have many new clothes all year round. If it were me, he would be her young master. , I guarantee that she will buy whatever she likes, she will be richer than the rich lady on Fulu Street, and become the rich lady!"

Chen Ping'an ignored Liu Xianyang's idiotic dream. He really didn't understand why Liu Xianyang liked Zhigui. Of course it wasn't that he looked down on her background as a maid in Song Dynasty, nor did he think Zhigui was not good-looking, but he always felt that she and Liu Xianyang were not good-looking. , it doesn’t look like they are married.

Chen Pingan asked curiously: "Why do you call her Zhigui instead of Wang Zhu?"

Liu Xianyang grinned and said, "After knowing that you don't know how to write the word 'Zhigui', I don't care anymore."

Chen Pingan said helplessly: "What's the use of comparing you to me? Comparing with Song Ji's salary. Zhigui is not my maid."

Liu Xianyang sneered and said: "That guy is not better than you in everything. For example, has he ever called anyone 'father' or 'mother' in his life? No, isn't that inferior to you, Chen Ping'an? No wonder Gu Can's mother, There are also those mother-in-laws like Granny Ma who have venomous mouths, and that guy Song Jixin is not an innocent family in the first place. Otherwise, why don’t they just live in the Supervisory Government Office openly and go to your Mu Ping Lane to live in misery? Days? How dare this guy still likes to look down on others, so he deserves to be slandered and called a bastard."

Chen Pingan stood up and walked to the kitchen door, "Liu Xianyang, although Song Jixin and I are not friends at all, but you said this..."

Liu Xianyang hurriedly raised his hands, determined not to let Chen Pingan continue to talk, and said slyly: "I won't talk anymore, okay? Chen Pingan, who will let you have such a bad temper and accept death? My grandfather said, your parents They are all easy to talk to, especially your mother, who speaks softly and likes to laugh. She has such a good temper that there is nothing to say. My grandfather also said that in the early years, Granny Ma scolded almost everyone in the nearby alleys, except for When I see your mother, not only will she not be critical, she will also smile."

Chen Pingan smiled from ear to ear.

Liu Xianyang waved his hand to chase them away, "Hurry up and make soup for your little wife."

Chen Ping'an rolled his eyes, "If you can, can you tell me in front of Miss Ning?"

Liu Xianyang smiled and said: "You are stupid and I am not stupid."

Soon after, Chen Pingan held out a small clay pot, and the two locked the door to the house and walked to Mud Bottle Alley together. When he arrived at the door of Chen Ping'an Courtyard and saw him knocking on the door stupidly, Liu Xianyang realized that this guy had left all the house keys to the girl in black. Liu Xianyang felt that this guy was really hopeless.

The girl in black did not wear a hat when she was at home. When she opened the door, she revealed a refreshing face. Liu Xianyang was a little afraid of this unsmiling girl in his heart. The tall boy didn't even know the reason. To say that he had a cold temper, Zhigui next door Worse than that, Liu Xianyang also had the guts to be shameless. If the girl in black was wearing a sword, it was wrong. Liu Xianyang faced the educated youth of Fulu Street, even if he chased and intercepted him several times, and ran away like a lost dog, but the boy In fact, I was never afraid from the beginning to the end.

But he was just a little afraid of the foreign girl named Ning Yao.

The girl in black sat at the table and opened the jar. She smelled the fragrance, narrowed her narrow eyes slightly, nodded and said softly: "Thank you."

Chen Pingan's observation was meticulous and he knew that this should mean that the indifferent girl was in a good mood.

Chen Ping'an first helped her cook a pot of porridge and asked her to pay attention to the heat. Then he said to Liu Xianyang, "Are you waiting for Zhigui to go out? I have to deliver the letter."

Liu Xianyang was sitting on the threshold, pricking up his ears to listen to what was going on over there, lest he hear the sound of a fight between gods. The tall young man who was in a bad mood said impatiently: "You are busy with your business!"

Chen Pingan left the yard and was about to run to the intersection of Mud Bottle Lane when he suddenly noticed that the vision in front of him had dimmed. He looked up and saw that it was a tall man wearing a snow-white robe. He had one hand behind his back and the other on his abdomen. On the white jade belt, look far away.

Probably realizing that he was blocking the way to the narrow alley, the man smiled slightly and took the initiative to make way for Chen Pingan.

Chen Ping'an was puzzled and walked away from Mud Bottle Alley quickly. Looking back, he saw that the man had slowly walked into Mud Bottle Alley.

Even with a startling glance before, Chen Pingan could see that the spotless snow-white robe was embroidered with light gold threads on the chest, front and back, vaguely forming two patterns, as if there were living things wandering around. It's very magical among the mountains, fog and sea of ​​clouds. Chen Pingan no longer thought deeply, he just thought that he was a foreigner like Fu Nanhua, coming to Mubo Alley again to look for opportunities. After walking under the old locust tree with Mr. Qi that day, the straw-shoe boy was no longer too worried. He always felt that as long as Mr. Qi was in the town, even if something happened, he would still be able to find someone. justice.

When Chen Pingan trotted past Xinghua Lane, he saw the girl in Tsing Yi he met last night, still sitting in a wonton shop there, with a chopstick in each hand, standing on the table, tapping it gently, the whole picture looked a little childish and plump. Her round face was full of energy. Her eyes were filled with the wontons cooking in the hot pot over there, and she didn't even notice Chen Ping'an who was five or six steps away.

For the girl in Tsing Yi, when there is delicious food, she has to finish it before running away even if the sky falls!

Chen Pingan sincerely admired this strange girl and did not bother her. He smiled and continued running to the east of the town.

Certain people and things, even the scenery on the roadside, will still make people feel beautiful just by looking at them.

When Chen Ping'an came to the east fence gate, the slovenly man stood on the tree stump, standing on tiptoes and looking eastward, as if waiting for someone important.

Chen Ping'an used to listen to the old man's chat at the old locust tree. He mentioned that when the current supervisor entered the town for the first time, there was a great pomp and ceremony. Almost all the elders from the ancestral halls of the four surnames and ten tribes came out. We "picked him up" at the east gate of the city, but after waiting for a few hours under the bright sun, the last official manager ran to the east gate in a hurry and said that the superintendent had just woken up from a nap in the backyard of the government office, so everyone should go directly. The meeting at the government office made those rich and wealthy men so angry that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven. However, it is said that after entering the government office gate, no one dared to fart, and each one smiled more like his good grandson.

Chen Ping'an has always wondered how those old people spoke as if they had seen it with their own eyes. Every time they talked about the gossip about Fulu Street and Taoye Lane, it was more real than the truth. For example, they talked about the second aunt of the Lu family and the nursing home. The instructor became a good friend, and when someone broke down the door, he even told a lot of details about how the second aunt put her clothes away to cover her plump breasts in a panic. The storyteller was just like the nurse. The teacher of the college himself.

Liu Xianyang swallowed his saliva every time he heard it. Song Jixin also went there occasionally, and would not bring Zhigui with him. He smiled more reservedly than Liu Xianyang, but when he secretly cheered with everyone, he worked extra hard and read the sages twice in the morning and evening. Even louder.

Chen Pingan squatted next to the tree pillar and waited patiently for the town gatekeeper.

The man cursed his mother, jumped off the tree pillar, and after seeing the boy in straw sandals, he said nothing and went to the yellow mud hut to get a stack of letters. Six letters from home, and only five one-penny coins.

Chen Ping'an looked through the addresses of the letters and didn't say anything, because two of the letters were from his next-door neighbors on Fulu Street. Chen Ping was not willing to take advantage of this. Of course, if the man was kind-hearted for the first time, he would give six cents at first. Chen Pingan will never push money out.

After Chen Ping'an thought about the order of sending the letters, he casually asked: "Waiting for someone?"

The man glanced at the spacious road to the east and said angrily: "Wait for the uncle!"

Chen Pingan didn't want to stay and be a punching bag, so he ran away quickly.

The man laughed angrily and said, "Hey, he is still a bit discerning."

The man glanced at the sky. The rolling thunder was no longer there, and the low-hanging clouds that seemed to be almost pressing down on the eaves had gradually dispersed.

The man sat down on the tree pillar and sighed: "When gods fight, mortals suffer."

Six letters, one from each of the four surnames Lu, Li, Zhao, and Song on Fulu Street, and two in Taoye Lane. One of them happened to be a letter from the previous kind old man, and even more coincidentally, he opened the door. The recipient of the letter was an old man. When he saw that it was Chen Ping'an, the old man recognized the straw-shoe boy and joked: "My child, you really don't want to come in for a drink of water?"

Chen Pingan smiled shyly and shook his head.

The old man was not surprised. He just took out a handful of copper coins from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Ping'an. He explained with a smile: "There is something good at home today. This little money is for everyone who sees it. It's just for good luck. It's not much, just ten." It’s only a few pennies, so just take it with confidence.”

Chen Pingan then took the copper coins and said with a smile: "Thank you, Grandpa Wei!"

The old man nodded and suddenly said: "Child, recently, when you have nothing to do, you can often sit under the locust tree. If you see locust leaves, locust branches, etc. on the ground, you can take them home and keep them. It can prevent ants. Centipede's is so good, and you don't have to spend any money."

Chen Pingan bowed to the old man at the foot of the steps to thank him.

The old man smiled happily and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. Spring is the beginning of the year. It is definitely a good thing for young people to move their muscles more."

The boy ran out of Taoye Lane on the bluestone street.

The old man stood at the door of his home for a long time, looking at the peach trees on both sides. A graceful young maid came to the old man and whispered: "Old ancestor, what are you looking at? It's cold outside, so don't freeze."

The maid had been serving the old man for some years. She knew that her ancestor had a heart of Bodhisattva and that the girl was respectful and fearless towards the old man. She smiled brightly and asked playfully: "Old ancestor, don't you think of the girl you met when you were young? That girl was at that time Just stand under the peach tree?"

The white-haired old man smiled and said, "Tao Ya, you are a 'careful person' just like the boy who delivered the message."

The maid received the praise and smiled charmingly.

The old man suddenly smiled and said: "A distant relative is going to visit us in the next two days. Then Tao Ya, you will follow the children at home and leave the town together."

The maid was stunned for a moment, her eyes suddenly turned red, and she cried: "Ancestor, I don't want to leave here."

The old man who was always very talkative waved his hand, "I'll look at the scenery in the alley for a while. You go back first, Taoya, and be obedient, otherwise I will be angry."

The maid had to leave timidly, looking back three times.

The peach leaves in Peach Leaf Lane are lush, but there are no peach blossoms yet.

The old man gently exhaled a breath, crossed the threshold, walked down the steps, and walked towards the nearest peach tree. Standing under the tree, the old man said sadly: "The peach blossoms are shining brightly. I will never see them again." reached."

The old man looked back at his house and murmured: "The town is uniquely blessed, but it is not in line with the road. It was changed by the saints and enjoyed great fortune for three thousand years. Most of the people who left the town in the past generations were in the entire Dongbaopingzhou. The branches and leaves are scattered, but God is so smart, so it’s time to settle accounts after autumn and collect rewards from us. If you kids don’t leave here quickly, are you going to follow us old and broken porcelain and wait for death together? You know, there are big and small deaths. There are thousands of people in our town. This death is a big death, and there will be no future life."

"So, now, while God is still turning a blind eye, it's worth one more person to leave."

The old man stretched out his withered palms to support the peach branches, "If you are kind and thoughtful, I hope God will live up to your expectations."

At some point, the grandmother of the young scholar Lang Zhaoyao, an old woman on crutches, had approached here. "The old man who is almost dead is still so naive, like an old woman applying rouge. It is really disgusting. This annihilation Disaster, can your kind heart change anything?"

The old man's eyes were a little dazed. He looked at the old woman who also had snow-white hair and said inexplicably, "You're here."

The old woman was stunned for a moment, then immediately became angry and hit her with a cane, "You shameless thief, you are so old, you still dare to talk nonsense?!"

The crutches rained down on him, and the old man had to run away, but he laughed.

The old woman stood under the peach tree, still very angry, regretting that she should not be soft-hearted and take this trip to Peach Leaf Alley by accident.

Finally, the old woman raised her head and looked at the peach leaves that had sprouted.

The old woman walked back to Fulu Street step by step, her cane tapping on the bluestone again and again.

A peaceful town that has been prosperous for thousands of years, never thought that in the end, it would be filled with poor people who had no afterlife.

Is there really no chance of survival?

The streams are getting shallower, the wells are getting colder, the old locust trees are getting older, the iron locks are rusty, and the clouds are hanging low.

There are no peach blossoms on the peach leaves this year.