The mother brought out the already cold food from the kitchen, and said to Mingzhe, who was standing on the dining table in a daze, "Eat something, don't cry." ”

Mingzhe tried his tears and said to his mother: "Mother, the child knows that he is wrong. ”

Mother barely squeezed out a smile, "Just give your father a compensation tomorrow, just sent away a boatload of herbs at noon, look at this silver ingot... As a businessman, your father cares a lot about integrity, and he won't embarrass you for the sake of silver ingots, but you can't be so willful anymore. ”

Mingzhe looked at the silver ingots that had carved long grooves on the wooden table, eating the meal with tears, his heart was not the same as the taste in his mouth, his stomach was churning, and he barely swallowed a little for a long time.

The mother took out an object from her bosom and made Mingzhe immediately stop eating and drinking, and looked at the object in his hand in a daze. I saw a round ball the size of a goose egg in the palm of my hand, colorful, like some kind of gem, very beautiful.

The mother asked, "What is this?"

Mingzhe shook his head, suddenly remembered something, and rushed straight to the kitchen.

Looking at the kitchen knife with the curved notch and the crumbs of coconut shells on the ground, Mingzhe seemed to understand something. He went back to the living room, picked up the ball in his mother's hand, and rushed into his room.

Mother shook her head and smiled wryly, and began to clean up the dishes and chopsticks and the fragments of dirt and flower pots on the ground. After a while, Mingzhe's cheers were heard, and his mother looked in the direction of Mingzhe's room, wiped the silver ingots covered with sawdust, put them in her arms, and walked towards her room.

_

Mingzhe lay on the bed and played with the ball as if he had found a treasure, but the fiery pain on his face made him frown from time to time. In the extreme excitement, I suddenly felt a disturbance in my heart, my throat and eyes were salty, a mouthful of blood spurted out, and in a moment the pillow and futon were stained red, and my eyes suddenly appeared with gold stars, and I fell asleep in a groggy state.

However, the blood stains that splattered on the ball slowly seeped into the ball and made an extremely subtle crunching sound. Outside the window, the night breeze dances softly, and the bright moon floats out of the clouds, shining brightly.

_

The next day, my father picked up Mingzhe, who was kneeling in front of him, and sighed: "Your father has never punished you before, this matter is very important, and it is related to the prosperity of my Yuan family, do you know?"

Mingzhe nodded hurriedly, "I know Dad, the child knows that he is wrong." Looking at his father's meaningful eyes, he carefully took out the ball from his arms and showed it in front of his father, "But this is really a dragon egg." ”

The father was stunned for a while, looked at it for a long time, and finally couldn't hold back and grabbed the ball. I saw that the ball suddenly flashed with white light, and the light was mixed with runes. My father's palm quickly retracted as if it were touching a burning coal, and there was a faint smell of burnt smoke coming from his hand.

"Why is it so hot?" the father wondered.

Mingzhe played with the ball curiously, puzzled, "It's not hot, it's very gentle, my mother touched it yesterday." ”

When my mother heard the news, she took the ball and said, "Yes, what's wrong?"

The father was puzzled, stared at the ball carefully for a long time, sighed and turned away, and seemed to mutter, 'This dead thing has a grudge?' or something like that.

_

Footsteps sounded at the door, and I saw Uncle Zhang running in with his feet upside down, and shouted when he entered the door: "Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan... It's a boat again!"

The mother was overjoyed and hurried to find her father, saving even the time to give up her seat.

Uncle Zhang glanced at the round ball in Mingzhe's hand, sat anxiously on the bamboo chair in the living room and waited, and took a few sips of tea that was not very cold.

When my father heard the news, he also ran out, pulled Uncle Zhang up and pushed the door away.

_

In the next few days, my father was very busy, gathering between the market, the ferry, and the company commander's house, and he could not go home until late to rest.

Mingzhe saw the pain in his eyes, and finally knocked on his father's door one night.

I saw my father come out wearing a robe, his eyes full of sleep, and said, "What's the matter, the eldest son..."

Mingzhe bowed his head and said: "Dad, the child has thought clearly, I will go to Lu Juku tomorrow morning and tell Mr. that I will not go to study, and I will help you do business with peace of mind." ”

The father's eyes lit up, stroked his son's head, and laughed heartily: "This is the good son of my Yuan family!"

Mingzhe also smiled, turned around and went back to the room.

The father whispered approvingly, "Grown up." Soon after closing the door, there was a snoring.

_

Early the next morning, Mingzhe took Qiao Bo's boat to Lushu in Daguan Town.

Qiao Bo didn't say much to Mingzhe because of his mistrust, but just confessed his guilt and sailed the ship with peace of mind.

Mingzhe smiled at him, and it was inconvenient to say anything, so he had to look at the scenery outside the window without a glance. The scenery by the Chenghuang River is always intoxicating, and every time you watch it, you have a different harvest.

Mingzhe was thoughtful, and recalling his life during the Lu school aroused his infinite reverie. I remember the first time I came to Lu School, in the face of Mr. Xueyan's question, he hid behind Xueyan and refused to tell him his name, which was really funny.

Time has passed, but now I came here to abandon school and engage in business.

Walking on the street to the ferry, Mingzhe recalled the scene when he met his husband: after listening to Mingzhe's intentions casually, he casually replied "yes" and let Mingzhe leave. It is completely different from Xueyan's attitude when she left, and it is very different from the secret conversation that lasted for half an hour.

_

Mingzhe shook his head and smiled bitterly, and with his small steps, he came to the place where he had been attacked last time, and looked at the wooden stick in the corner of the wall and fell into deep thought again.

Just when he was stunned, a sack containing grain was placed on his head, and his eyes instantly went dark. During the struggle, through the gap in the twine, he saw more than a dozen people rushing around, and without saying a word, he beckoned him with long fists, flying feet, wooden sticks and stones. Mingzhe fainted in intense pain, blood from his forehead and the corners of his mouth flushing the vast expanse of land beneath him.

Zhiwei hurriedly stopped everyone, turned back to a short and fat young man, and said, "Are you sure that the orb is on him?"

The short and fat young man nodded heavily, "I heard what Aunt Zhang said, it's true, and the second strong also heard it." The young man next to him called Erqiang said yes again and again.

Seeing that Mingzhe, who was covered in blood, no one dared to come forward to search his body, Zhiwei scolded 'waste' and began to grope Mingzhe's body himself.

only heard a soft 'click', like some kind of shattering sound, Zhiwei and everyone were startled, and then Zhiwei smiled and continued to move on his hands.

When he touched Mingzhe's abdomen, he suddenly touched a hard object, and his heart was happy. Then he turned Mingzhe's body over, made him face down, and untied the cloth bag tied around his waist. He also muttered: "It's still wrapped in cotton wool, it's like a treasure." ”

He carefully opened the long strip-like cloth bag, pulled out the cotton wool and took out a smaller cloth bag, held it in front of everyone, and smiled confidently: "Come and have a look, see what kind of treasure this kid has." ”

Everyone was also curious, and unconsciously came over, and their eyes widened.