Eight

Marin saw the fine grass squatting on the snow next to the latrine in the backyard, and the wind picked up the floating snow on the ground and ran quickly around the yard. The grass shuddered for a moment, and then shouted in a childish voice: Whirlwind Whirlwind, you are a ghost, three scythes cut your legs......

Marin remembered in a trance that when he was young, he also shouted at the wind. He stood there, looking at the grass, and then at the grass, and Marin thought that it was all over. With that in mind, he pushed open the door to the lower room.

Qiu Ju combed her hair in the house, and a copper basin was placed in front of her, which was filled with water, and a toothless comb was held in Qiu Ju's hand. In the past, Marin had seen Qiu Ju comb her hair countless times, and Qiu Ju at that time had two thick and long braids. Since Marin was sixteen years old and had a round house with Qiu Ju, Qiu Ju's two braids have been cut. Qiu Ju's hair was short, but it was still thick and black, and Qiu Ju's hair had a nice smell.

At this time, Ma Lin stood in front of Qiu Ju, he took a deep breath, and the faint fragrance of hair drifted into his lungs again, and he moved and moved again in a deep part of his body, and for a while he felt that his mouth was dry. As soon as he entered the door, Qiu Ju glanced at him, and after glancing at him, she buried her head and her eyes fell on the toothless comb. He said dryly: Qiu Ju, I'm going to divorce you.

I know. Qiu Ju fiddled with the comb in her hand.

Marin didn't really want to talk like that, but for some reason, the taste changed as soon as the words came out.

He said again: I will kill Lu Da.

She said, "I know."

He also said: If I don't kill Lu Da, I won't be a man.

She said, "I know that."

He wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth but didn't say it. He stood there, not knowing for a moment what to do.

I don't know why, he has never seen Qiu Ju as his wife in his heart. He and Qiu Jufang are round, and things between men and women have been done many times, but he still hasn't found the feeling that she is his wife. Qiu Ju is not beautiful, but he has a kind heart and eyes, and he will hurt people, which he knows in his heart. After he fell in love with bayberry in Fengtian City, he swore in his heart at that time that he would treat two women well in this life, one was Qiu Ju and the other was just Yangmei. He and Yangmei have never been married, and they already regard Yangmei as their own woman. Maybe it's providence.

He remembered that when he was a child, he climbed to the old poplar tree in the middle of the street in the middle of the winter to dig out the crow's nest, and the crow's nest was taken down, but his little hands were frozen red, and when he returned to the house, it hurt like a cat and a dog, Qiu Ju caught his hands, held them in his own hands, and blew his frozen little hands with the heat from her mouth, which was still painful, hot, and numb. Later, Qiu Ju untied his padded jacket and put a pair of small hands into his chest, and sure enough, he didn't hurt, only the heat remained, and the heat spread all over his body through his hands.

Qiu Ju said: Does it still hurt?

He shook his head.

Qiu Ju said again: Will you still be naughty in the future?

He didn't say anything, he just laughed.

Qiu Ju raised her hand in anger and slapped it on the door of his head.

Another time, Marin accidentally broke a bowl while eating.

Ma Zhanshan felt sorry for the lace big porcelain bowl, Ma Zhanshan not only felt sorry for these, he felt sorry for every grass and every inch of land at home. Seeing that the lace porcelain bowl was broken apart by Ma Lin, Ma Zhanshan was furious and distressed. At that time, Ma Zhanshan's asthma was not very serious, so he was very powerful. Ma Zhanshan, who was very powerful, dragged Ma Lin from the kang to the ground, and scolded in his mouth: You little loser, I will kill you.

So Ma Zhanshan's slap hit Ma Lin's head and face.

Marin shouted, "Daddy, I didn't mean to."

Ma Zhanshan doesn't care whether his son does it on purpose or not, he wants to let Ma Lin remember for a long time, every tile and every grass in the house is hard-won. He raised a powerful slap and struck Marin in the face.

Qiu Ju stood aside and was stunned at first, Ma Zhanshan had beaten Qiu Ju like this countless times before, even if Qiu Ju accidentally wasted a grain of rice while cooking, he would be beaten by Ma Zhanshan. Qiu Ju stayed for a moment, then came to her senses, she pounced on Ma Lin's body with a "woo-wow-" and said with teary eyes: Dad, if you want to beat me, I am older than him.

That time was deeply remembered by Marin.

In the memories of childhood and adolescence, Qiu Ju is a tall and tall woman and a warm woman in Marin's heart.

Winters in the north are cold, and nights are even colder.

Ma Lin and Qiu Ju lived in the lower house in childhood, one in the south and the other in the north. In order to save firewood, Ma Zhanshan and a few long-term workers crowded on a kang in the upper house. Ma Zhanshan never let Qiu Ju add an extra handful of firewood to the stove pit, so it was very cold in the house. Marin shivered every night when he lay on the cold kang and shivered, and the colder he was, the more he couldn't sleep. He shivered in the cold bed with his upper teeth and his lower teeth, and his mouth kept inhaling.

Qiu Ju was in another room, with a door in the middle, with a door frame but no door. Ma Lin's inhalation was obviously heard by Qiu Ju, so she asked: Brother, are you cold? Before the round house, Qiu Ju kept calling Ma Lin his brother.

Cold, cold. Marin replied with a shudder.

Qiu Ju got up from her bed, walked over quickly, and quickly got into Marin's bed. She hugged Marin tightly with her arm.

Ma Lin felt that Qiu Ju's body was hot and soft, and Ma Lin gradually stretched out his body in Qiu Ju's body temperature, and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, when Marin opened his eyes, Qiu Ju had already gotten up. She has a lot of work to do, cooking, laundry, and feeding the pigs and chickens. But her warmth still lingered in Marin's bed, and the faint scent of hair wafted around Marin from time to time. Since then, Marin has been very willing to smell Qiu Ju's hair.

Since then, as soon as Ma Lin got into the bed, he shouted at Qiu Ju's house: Qiu Ju, I'm cold.

Come on. Qiu Ju replied this every time.

After a while, Qiu Ju came over, got into his quilt with ease, and used his body to warm Marin. Marin ushered in another dawn in a warm dream.

Later, they all grew up, and Ma Lin didn't want to ask Qiu Ju to warm the quilt for himself anymore, and Qiu Ju didn't come over, and finally until they had a round house. That year he was sixteen and she was eighteen.

When the two young bodies meet again, of course, it is a different taste and mood. However, the happy time is so short.

In Fengtian City, when Ma Lin married Yangmei, he didn't think about taking a break from Qiu Ju. Qiu Ju was his first woman, and Yang Mei was the second. Before he and Yangmei got married, he had made this clear to Yangmei. Yangmei doesn't care, he doesn't care, one is in the backing mountain, the other is in Fengtian, maybe these two women will not see each other in this life. What I didn't expect was that the world would change so fast. They met in the backing mountain, and they met again in this situation.

Ma Lin looked at Qiu Ju, who was both familiar and unfamiliar in front of him, and felt that he had a lot to say to Qiu Ju, but he didn't know what to say.

When he learned that Qiu Ju was snatched by Lu Da to the Tiger's Mouth Cave and was not sent back until after giving birth, Marin was furious that night, and he couldn't wait to pull out the fast gun on his waist, first shot Qiu Ju to death, and then shot the little wild seed. Later, he calmed down, if the shot a few years ago turned out to be Lu Da, there would be no such things in the future, if you want to hate, you can only hate yourself, it is his own temporary softness, leaving the root of today's bane. But he also hated Qiu Ju, and thought about it a thousand times in his heart: Qiu Ju, Lu Da raped you, why didn't you die at that time - if you die, I will only have revenge against Lu Da, I will kill him thousands of times, avenge you, and hate you. I'm going to burn a knife of paper at your grave, weep for you, sing for you—but now it's different.

Ma Lin felt that all he could do at the moment was to take a break from Qiu Ju, and from now on it had nothing to do with Qiu Ju, and then kill Lu Da, didn't Lu Da want to send it to the door at noon on the twenty-third day of the lunar month?

Marin thought so, and the door creaked, and the grass walked into the house, and one of his little faces was red from the cold.

Xicao was no longer a stranger to Marin, he stared at Marin with a pair of black eyes, and asked childishly: Who are you, why haven't I seen you before.

Ma Lin subconsciously pulled out the gun on his waist, the black muzzle pointed at the fine grass, he gritted his teeth and said: Xiao Ye Seed, I will shoot you!

Qiu Ju screamed, and she threw the toothless comb in her hand to the ground, and she pounced, bent down and hugged the fine grass, looking at Marin with a pair of eyes in horror.

The fine grass struggled twice in Qiu Ju's arms, and said to Ma Lin unworldly: My mother said, I am not a wild seed.

Qiu Ju stood up, hugged the fine grass tightly, and said in a choked voice: Marin, you can do anything to me, don't hurt the child.

Xicao said in a loud voice: Mother is not afraid, afraid of what he will do.

Qiu Ju lowered her voice and said: What's the matter, he is also my flesh and blood, if there was no fine grass, I would have died thousands of times, and you Marin would not have seen me today. Qiu Ju burst into tears after speaking.

Marin didn't know what to do for a while, he stood there in a daze, looking at the gun in his hand in a daze. Ma Lin thought: Qiu Ju, I'm going to divorce you, and if you leave, you'll be gone.

Nine

Ma Lin walked into Mr. Qian's house, which taught a private school in the village, and the door of Mr. Qian's house was closed, Ma Lin did not call the door, he pushed it twice before pushing Mr. Qian's door open.

Mr. Qian is the only learned person in the village, and all the big and small things in the village invite Mr. Qian if you need to write documents and contracts. When he was a child, Ma Lin studied in a private school at Mr. Qian's house for three years. When Ma Lin and Qiu Ju had a round house, it was a contract written by Mr. Qian.

Mr. Qian's house seemed to be very chaotic, and Mr. Qian and the woman were working together to put their heads in the kang cabinet and turn things out, and the kang was full of clothes for spring, summer, autumn and winter. The two of them tore and still pulled things out of the kang cabinet. Marin didn't know what Mr. Qian was going to do.

Ma Lin coughed, Mr. Qian found Ma Lin standing in the middle of the house, Mr. Qian was stunned for a while, and after he understood, he covered the cabinet door with his body in a panic, and said incoherently: "Big nephew, when did you come back?"

Marin took out a box of paper cigarettes and handed one to Mr. Qian first. Mr. Qian waved his hand, but Ma Lin didn't let it go again, he lit one and sucked it, and he raised his butt and sat on the edge of the kang in Mr. Qian's house.

Ma Lin said: Mr. Qian, you also know about Qiu Ju.

Mr. Qian turned white, first nodded, and then shook his head, looking like he didn't know what to do.

Marin ignored this, and continued: I have something to ask you for today, that is, please help me write a letter of resignation.

Mr. Qian didn't calm down until this time, Ma Lin didn't know why Mr. Qian was so flustered, he came to ask Mr. Qian to write a letter of resignation, and it had nothing to do with Mr. Qian whether he was flustered or not.

After Mr. Qian calmed down, he said: "Big nephew, wow, are you Xiu Qiuju?"

Marin nodded.

Rest, it's time to rest, if you take a break, Qiu Ju will be gone. Mr. Qian said again.

Marin smiled lightly.

Mr. Qian said to the woman who was still stunned: Why don't you get me a pen and paper quickly.

The woman answered, and in a panic, she found a pen and paper.

Mr. Qian spread out the pen and paper on the very messy kang, and Mr. Qian was very familiar with writing this kind of object, and soon wrote a letter of resignation for Marin, and made two copies. Ma Lin folded the book of resignation, took out two silver dollars from his bosom and threw them on the kang of Mr. Qian's house.

Mr. Qian said: "Wow, what is this for?" After saying that, he still stuffed the money into a broken baggage. Marin thanked him and walked out the door.

Mr. Qian chased after him again, lowered his voice and said: "Big nephew, wow, have you read that post on the poplar tree?"

Ma Lin didn't understand why Mr. Qian asked this, so he smiled lightly, stepped on the snow, and walked "squeak" with the letter of resignation.

The noon of the twenty-second day of the lunar month was still very cold, and Marin had goosebumps all over his body.

When Marin walked back to his courtyard, he saw Yangmei building a snowman on the snow in front of the main house. The snowman was already on the scale, with a large body and a very small head, like a monster. When the bayberry builds a snowman, her face is bright and innocent. Yangmei saw Marin walking back and said: The snow here is really heavy.

Marin said: Mr. Qian wrote Hugh well.

After speaking, Ma Lin reached out and took out the book of resignation, and Yang Mei said: I don't read it, it's your business to take a rest, I don't care.

Marin stopped his hand. He picked up his head once, and saw that the sky was gray, and the sun was like a cold ball of light, shining in the distant sky, not brilliant or dazzling at all, so the whole world seemed gray, like Marin's mood at this time.

Ma Zhanshan sat at the mouth of the cellar, where he had been sitting for some hour. The Ma family's savings got rid of this courtyard, as well as those lands, and the rest were stored in this cellar. The cellar was stocked with some cabbage, some potatoes, and more importantly, two jars of silver dollars. That is Ma Zhanshan's savings for most of his life, and it is also Ma Zhanshan's life.

The two jars of silver dollars had already been buried in the cellar soil by Ma Zhanshan, and he was not at ease, so he piled up rotten cabbage and potatoes on the soil. The cellar has been impermeable for many years, and the musty smell of aging chokes my nose. But Ma Zhanshan likes to smell this musty smell, he can't smell this rotten smell for a day, his heart is not steady, and he can't sleep. He had to climb up and down the deep cellar several times a day, and in order to hide his eyes, he never climbed up and down empty-handed, either holding two potatoes or holding a rotten cabbage in his hand. During the day, when he had nothing to do, he had to go to the cellar for a long time to keep watch, and he stayed there to feel safe and secure.

Lu Da is coming, and what he can't worry about the most is his vegetable cellar. He had been keeping watch in the cellar for some time since he saw the post on his door in the morning. The mouth of the cellar is not big, and two bundles of grain and grass are piled up, and a stone is pressed on the grain grass, and Ma Zhanshan is still not at ease. He brought another stone from the open space in front of the door, and pressed it against the mouth of the cellar with himself and the stone. While doing this, Ma Zhanshan gasped desperately, and his trachea seemed to be a broken bellows.

Ma Lin looked at his father Ma Zhanshan, Ma Zhanshan didn't look at him, raised his head and squinted, thinking hard about something in the dim sky. Marin swallowed his saliva, and then retracted his gaze and glanced at the bayberry who was still concentrating on building a snowman, although the bayberry who was more than five months pregnant was wearing a fat cotton robe, her waist was still clearly exposed.

His heart warmed up and wanted to say something to Yangmei, but he opened his mouth and didn't say anything, turned his head and walked to the next room.

Qiu Ju sat on the kang with her back to the door, and the fine grass fell asleep. A patch of light came through the window paper, half shining on the sleeping face of the fine grass, and half shining on the kang mat. Marin walked in, Qiu Ju didn't even look back, she was looking at the sleeping grass intently.

Ma Lin stood behind Qiu Ju, stood for a while, stood for a while, and then stretched out his hand and took out the two letters of resignation in his arms, put one on the kang, and the other in his arms. When Marin finished doing this, his chaotic mood calmed down a little.

Marin said, "You can take this one."

Qiu Ju didn't move, and seemed to let out a long breath.

Ma Lin wanted to leave, but he didn't go, he sat sideways on the edge of the kang, he looked at Qiu Ju's back and said: You have been in the door of Ma's house for so many years.

Ma Lin saw Qiu Ju's shoulders shrugging and moving, and he knew that she was crying, but there was no sound.

Marin said again: It is not easy for you.

Qiu Ju's shoulders were shaking, and her whole body was shaking, like leaves in the wind.

Ma Lin said: You have no way out, just arrived at the Ma family, you have no relatives outside the customs, I divorced you, you have nowhere to go, I have thought about it, you will still live here in the future, you can live as long as you want.

Qiu Ju's body stopped shaking, and she said withholdingly: No.

Marin looked at Qiu Ju's back in astonishment.

Qiu Ju said: No, I'll go, tomorrow night at the earliest, the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Marin took out another cigarette and lit it, taking a deep and heavy puff.

Marin said: I know I can't blame you for this, only blame me for not killing Lu Da. After a pause, he said, "You should understand that although it is not your fault, I Marin can no longer have a woman who has slept with a beard."

Marin said this, and glanced at the fine grass sleeping on the kang again.

Qiu Ju finally choked up and said: I don't blame anyone, blame me for not dying at that time. If I die, my soul will also be the ghost of your Ma family.

Marlin's hand trembled as he took the cigarette, and then took another hard puff.

Ma Lin said: Tell you Qiu Ju, don't go anywhere, I, Ma Lin, am a man, and I will eat what I eat in the future.

Qiu Ju was no longer choked, and said in a clear voice: Ma Lin I didn't mean that, I want to see you kill Lu Da with your own hands.

Ma Lin subconsciously touched the gun on his waist again, and a sneer flashed at the corner of his mouth, as if Lu Da was in front of him at this time, and his muzzle was aimed at Lu Da's head.

Qiu Ju also said: I will go, go far, I want to forget everything that happened.

Qiu Ju turned around after speaking. Marin saw Qiu Ju's face full of tears.

Qiu Ju said: Marin begs you, you must kill Lu Da this time.

In Qiu Ju's gaze as if asking for help, Marin nodded.

Qiu Ju said: Ma Lin, you can't do it alone, you can't say anything alone, Lu Da's subordinates are not a dozen people a few years ago, there are dozens of people under him.

Marin said: A dozen or dozens are actually the same.

After Marin finished speaking, he took out two quick guns from his waist and played with them in his hands very confidently.

Qiu Ju said: No, you can't do it alone, Lu Da is not Lu Da a few years ago, in order to take revenge, he has practiced guns in the cave of the tiger's mouth every day these years, and he can kill ten incense heads in one breath.

Marin raised his head and looked at Qiu Ju seriously. Qiu Ju was also looking at him. He seemed to see the shadow of the young Qiu Ju in her eyes again, and his eyes moistened all of a sudden. Qiu Ju avoided Ma Lin's gaze, looked at the top of his head and said: Just like back then, you have to call Geng Laoba, Fox Yu, and Liu Erpao, they have a grudge against Lu Da, let them come together to help you.

Two tears flowed down Marin's cheeks, he didn't know what was wrong with him, he couldn't and shouldn't cry in front of a woman like Qiu Ju. He hated to slap himself twice.

Qiu Ju said: Lu Daxin is ruthless, you must be careful when the time comes.

Marin nodded. His hand holding the gun trembled a little, and at this time he felt that the noon of the twenty-third day of the lunar month was a little too late, too long, and made him wait anxiously.

He stood up, he thought that he had been with Qiu Ju for too long, he should leave. But his legs couldn't step out.

He finally said, "Can't you go if you don't go?"

Qiu Ju shook her head.

Marin said again: If you really want to leave, I won't stop you, I will bring you enough for your life's expenses.

She said, "No!"

Then, both of them fell silent, both thinking about their own thoughts.

I don't know how long later, she said, "How is she?"

He was stunned for a moment, didn't react for a while, and after reacting, he said: People in the city are delicate.

She was silent, lowered her head and thought about it again, and said: I will make you a dog skin mattress tonight, this is not as cold as in the city.

He didn't nod or shake his head, he looked at her.

She lowered her head and said, "She's got a body, how many months?"

He replied: It's been almost six months.

She said: Don't let her move around, for fear of hurting the fetus.

With that, she let out a long sigh.

He said, "Then I'll go, when will I go, tell me."

With that, he really turned around.

Then she shouted: Hey—

He froze and turned to look at her. That's what she used to call him. He looked at her. She picked up the letter of resignation he had left on the kang and looked at it carefully. He knew she didn't know the words, but she looked at them anyway, with every glance she took very seriously.

After a while, she said, "I'll make a little paste and stick it on the old poplar tree."

He said: No, no, Mr. Qian will spread the word.

She sighed, lifted the letter of resignation heavily, and said leisurely: It's better to post it, so that everyone in the backer knows that from now on, I Qiuju is no longer a member of the Ma family.

Marin left the lower room as if he had fled, and when he closed the door, Qiu Ju's cries poured out of the crack in the door. Marin stood there for a moment with his back against the door.

He heard the fine grass say: Mother, mother, what's wrong with you, what's wrong?

Marin's heart ached a little, and it hurt again.

Ten

When the sun was in the west, Qiu Ju pasted the book of resignation on the old poplar tree. This is a scene that Marin does not want to see.

At this time, the backer seemed to be dead. Doors and windows were still closed, and there was not a single pedestrian on the street. A in heat barked angrily at the letter of resignation on the old poplar tree, and the madman Geng Lian shouted somewhere: Come on, you all come to me.

The grass had woken up, and he stood in front of the door of the lower room to pee on the snow, and the little cock was shaking. After peeing on the fine grass, I saw the snowman that had been built with bayberry, and the snowman was still standing there with a small head and a big belly, like a monster. The grass walked over and walked around the monster-like snowman twice, and he said, "Whoa—Whoa—

Yangmei bent down to look at the fine grass.

Hosokusa said, "Is this snowman you?"

Yangmei smiled and did not speak.

And the grass said, "Where do you come from, why don't I know you?"

Yangmei still bent over and said, "What's your name?"

Xicao said: My name is Xicao, and my mother gave it to me.

Yang Mei stopped smiling and looked at the fine grass in a daze.

Ma Zhanshan was still sitting on the stone in the cellar, looking at this side strangely. As long as the figure of fine grass appeared in his vision, his gaze was eerie and terrifying.

When Lu Da put back Qiu Ju and fine grass, Lu Da said something to Ma Zhanshan.

Lu Da looked at Ma Zhanshan with that eerie one-eyed eye at that time.

Lu Da said: Listen to the old thing, Qiu Ju is a woman from Marin, I sent her back today, I don't care what you do to her, the fine grass is my son, if the fine grass has the slightest mistake, your old thing's life will be gone.

At that time, Ma Zhanshan was sitting on the stone at the mouth of the cellar and listening to Lu Da's words.

He didn't speak, but he was panting desperately.

Lu Da said again: Old thing, the enmity between me and your son is your life and death, I don't want to do anything to you, if I want your life now, it will be my blow.

After Lu Da finished speaking, he blew on the muzzle of the gun raised in front of him.

Ma Zhanshan closed his eyes, and he said in his heart: The cabbage is rotten, and the potatoes are also rotten.

Lu Da said again: Qiu Ju is Ma Lin's woman, whether to kill or to leave that is your son's business, before Ma Lin came back, Qiu Ju was still eating with you, living with you, if before your son came back, Qiu Ju was gone, I would look for you to ask for someone, you listen.

Ma Zhanshan said again in his heart: It's all rotten.

After Lu Da said this, he took people away. Lu Da threw two silver dollars at his feet as he left, and he stared at them for a long time, and then quickly picked them up and went into the cellar.

Since then, he didn't say a word to Qiu Ju anymore, and looked at Qiu Ju and her two sadly.

One day not long after Qiu Ju came back, he knelt down for him and knelt for a long time. At first, Qiu Ju didn't speak, but just washed her face with tears. In the end, Qiu Ju said: Dad, I can't stand you, I can't stand Marin.

Ma Zhanshan said in his heart again: It's all fucking rotten.

Qiu Ju said: Dad, you can kill me.

Ma Zhanshan gasped desperately.

Qiu Ju said again: Dad, if you kill me, my heart will be better.

Ma Zhanshan had his eyes closed before this, and then he opened his eyes and said: Don't call me dad in the future, I can't afford it.

Since then, Qiu Ju has never called Ma Zhanshan again. Qiu Ju is as busy inside and outside the house as before, doing laundry, cooking, feeding pigs, and chickens.

She always cooked meals for Ma Zhanshan every day and sent them to Ma Zhanshan's room, Ma Zhanshan turned his head and didn't look at her. Ma Zhanshan refused Qiu Ju, but he did not refuse Qiu Ju's food, he always ate all the food sent by Qiu Ju, and then walked to the field to do work.

It was also at the beginning that the fine grass was very afraid of Ma Zhanshan's eyes. In fact, Qiu Ju has been avoiding Ma Zhanshan and Xicao from meeting, and the three of them live in the same yard, so it is impossible not to meet. Every time the fine grass saw Ma Zhanshan, she was scared and cried, and gradually the fine grass grew bigger, and she got used to Ma Zhanshan's eyes, so she stopped crying.

At noon that time, Ma Zhanshan went out with a hoe to do work, and met the fine grass. Xicao cautiously looked at Ma Zhanshan and walked over, and whispered behind Ma Zhanshan: Grandpa. This sound made Ma Zhanshan's body tremble, as if he had been hit by a bullet, his body rattled, turned his head for a while, looked at the fine grass fiercely, and said in a vicious voice: Who made you scream?

Only then did Ma Zhanshan let out a sigh, turned his head and gasped away.

The fine grass bit her fingers and stared blankly at the back of Ma Zhanshan in the distance. It wasn't until Qiu Ju came over that Xicao said in a trance: He is not a grandfather.

Qiu Ju slapped the fine grass fiercely, and said viciously: Don't let you scream, and call again in the future to see if I don't peel your skin.

The grass was so frightened that she couldn't stop crying.

Ma Zhanshan felt that Qiu Ju should die in the cave of the tiger's mouth, if he died, Qiu Ju's soul was still the ghost of his Ma family, and he would burn two pieces of paper for her during the New Year's holidays, and he would also remember how good she was when she was alive. To his surprise, Qiu Ju didn't die, she came back and brought back a beard. Ma Zhanshan's days were turned upside down.

In those days, he looked forward to his son Marin's return, but he was afraid that Marin would come back, so he was afraid of staying up for an uncomfortable time. He once said a thousand times in his heart: Son, kill her, kill this cheap woman.

Ma Lin took a break from Qiu Ju, Ma Zhanshan was not surprised at all, on the contrary, Ma Zhanshan felt that this was too cheap for the cheap woman Qiu Ju. He thought again: Since his son Ma Lin doesn't kill Qiu Ju, then let her and that wild seed live for two more days, and when Ma Lin kills Lu Da, it's not too late to kill the cheap woman and that little wild seed. Ma Zhanshan even thought of tools to kill Qiu Ju and fine grass, so he used his own pig-killing knife. Ma Zhanshan was able to kill a pig when he was young, so he thought: Even a pig can be killed, can't he kill this cheap woman?

Ma Zhanshan began to sharpen the rusty pig-killing knife on the afternoon of the twenty-second day of the lunar month, and he gasped as he sharpened the knife.

Yang Mei looked at Ma Zhanshan curiously and asked puzzledly: Dad, what are you doing here?

Tomorrow is Xiao Nianli, and I want to kill pigs. Ma Zhanshan replied, panting more and more lawlessly.

In Yangmei's eyes, the old man Ma Zhanshan is quite interesting.

Ma Zhanshan thinks that the woman with fine skin and tender flesh in front of him is not the material to be a wife, and Ma Lin and such a woman will not have a good life in the future. Ma Zhanshan felt that the Ma family was going to fall from now on, and Ma Zhanshan had a boundless sense of despair while sharpening his knife. He thought that if people didn't have a head, life would be boring.

Ma Zhanshan's ideal in front of him is: first kill the cheap woman Qiu Ju and the wild grass planting, and then discuss with his son whether to also divorce the woman named Yangmei in front of him. At that time, the Ma family is full of promise and hope. Ma Zhanshan thought of the two jars of silver in the cellar again. Thinking of this, Ma Zhanshan became happy again, and he sharpened the pig-killing knife even more vigorously.

Eleven

The sun slanted a little more to the west, and the heavens and the earth darkened a little, and the northwest wind was a little stronger, blowing the old poplar tree in the village with a crazy sound. The village was still quiet, there was no one in sight, two hungry black dogs hurried through the middle of the street, and the cry of the madwoman Geng Lian came from the cold wind: Come on, why don't you come to me.

Ma Lin didn't think much about this abnormal scene, and he couldn't realize that an inevitable tragedy was approaching the backer and the Ma family little by little.

Marin stood in the courtyard, looking at the cold and lonely backer, and there was a feeling of helplessness in his heart, which quickly spread around him.

Ma Lin didn't want Qiu Ju to post the letter of resignation on the old poplar tree, he made up his mind to retire Qiu Ju, not for Qiu Ju, but for Lu Da. He knew Lu Da's sinister intentions, which made him a hundred times more uncomfortable than killing Qiu Ju and killing him. He made up his mind that Xiu Qiuju wanted Lu Da and the villagers to take a look, and tell everyone that Qiu Ju is just a woman, like a piece of my Marin's clothes, I Marlin said to change it, Lu Da, if you love to rape, you will marry, Qiu Ju originally had nothing to do with my Marin, and said that Hugh would leave.

He wanted to do it in a chic way to show Lu Da and everyone, he did it quickly, and the next day after returning home, he did what he had to do, and the rest of the time, he had to wait for Lu Da to come to the door wholeheartedly. Marin thought he should have taken it easy during this time. In normal times, the courtyard of his house has long been full of villagers, who come to see Ma Lin who has returned from Fengtian City, and Ma Lin, a fast gunner, is the pride of the backer. But none of this happened on the twenty-second day of the lunar month. On the twenty-second day of the lunar month, the backer seemed to be dead.

The door of the lower room was open, and Ma Lin saw Qiu Ju packing up his things, there were not many things belonging to Qiu Ju, just some simple changes of clothes, packed in a bag. After Qiu Ju finished doing this, she sat on the kang in the lower room, in a daze. Standing at the door, he looked at the wind-blown snow in the yard and shouted: Whirlwind, whirlwind, you are a ghost, three sickles will cut your legs......

Seeing this, Marin's heart hurt a little, and it hurt again, and the past was like smoke and snow.

Qiu Ju had seen such a sad face. That was every time he came back from Fengtian City and was about to leave after staying for a few days, every time Qiu Ju looked like this. Before I knew Yangmei, Fengtian City was quite peaceful at that time, and Ma Lin could go back to the mountain to live for a few days every year. But that's just a few days. At that time, Ma Lin was already soberly aware that he no longer belonged to the backer, he was a famous fast gunner in the Northeast Army, and he was the person next to the marshal Zhang Zuolin, he did not belong to himself, and all the fate was closely tied to the fate of the Northeast Army.

Marin's days back to the mountains were very dull, and he hurried back to the city after not staying for a few days.

In the days that Marin has been home, Ma Zhanshan and Marin don't seem to have any more common language, and he is talking about his land and his food over and over again.

When Ma Zhanshan said this to Ma Lin, Ma Lin's gaze was illusory, and he kept looking at his father's old face so illusory.

Dad said, "Our land is getting bigger and bigger."

Dad said again: This time, the money you brought back is enough to buy two acres of paddy fields.

Dad also said: He doesn't want the land in Nandawa of Geng Laoba's house, so we will buy it in the autumn.

Dad continued: In the future, we will put down all the land in the backing hills, which is a good thing that your father never dreamed of when he was alive.

At this point, Dad grinned and panted with infinite beauty.

Marin retracted his vain gaze and said, "Dad, you can cure the disease, what do you do with those lands, and you will suffer as much as you want."

Ma Zhanshan was unhappy and said: Hey-this land, this family will not be yours in the future.

Ma Lin stopped talking, and in his empty eyes, he saw Qiu Ju again. Qiu Ju is busy all day long, and she has endless things to do in this family. In this family, Qiu Ju never said a word.

Ma Zhanshan gasped and said: You should also have a child, and if you want to give birth to a boy, you will give birth to a boy. Our Ma family has been a single family for so many generations, and now that we have land, it should be better for people to be prosperous.

At this point, my father sighed.

Marin only comes back once or twice a year, and the days he lives at home are numbered. Qiu Ju's stomach has been deflated.

To Marin's surprise, Qiu Ju's thoughts were exactly the same as his father's wishes. Every time Ma Lin came back, Qiu Ju said to him on the kang in the dark: I want a baby, it's a male baby.

Marin didn't say anything in the dark, and suddenly hugged the fat and strong Qiu Ju. Years of exertion have made Qiu Ju's body rough and strong. It was not the thought of having a child that made Marin hug Qiu Ju tightly, but the impulse of the young man. Young Marin has inexhaustible strength, and thirsty Qiu Ju has abundant thoughts. The short days are the happiest days of the year for Qiu Ju.

Ma Lin finally left, and Qiu Ju looked worried.

Marlin was on his horse, two jet-black spears on his waist, swinging leisurely. Qiu Ju sent Ma Lin and walked underground, and the sound of broken horses' hooves accompanied by Qiu Ju's helpless footsteps sounded on the path of the backing mountain.

Marin said, "Go back."

Qiu Ju didn't reply, still keeping her head down and walking forward beside the horse.

After a while, Qiu Ju finally picked up a pair of teary eyes and said worriedly: When will you come back?

Qiu Ju's expression and tone made Marin's heart tighten. I don't know why, as soon as he returned to the backer, as soon as he saw Qiu Ju's appearance, his heart was in a mess.

Marin said: Maybe this year, maybe next year.

Qiu Ju was silent again, took a few steps closely, took out the food prepared for Ma Lin on the road last night from his arms, and handed it to Ma Lindao: There are cakes and eggs in the bag.

The cake is an oil cake, and the egg is a salted egg. This is Marin's favorite food. Only when Ma Lin came back, Ma Zhanshan let Qiu Ju move the white noodles and eggs, which were food that the Ma family was reluctant to eat during the New Year. Marlin took the food, warm, warm. Ma Lin knew that it was Qiu Ju's body temperature.

Ma Lin didn't want to have such a childlike relationship anymore, so he let go of the horse's reins, slapped his palm on the horse's buttocks, and said to Qiu Ju: You go back.

The horse trotted forward.

Qiu Ju walked a few steps quickly, as if she was about to catch up with the horse, but finally couldn't, so she stood helplessly, looking at Ma Lin's figure getting smaller and smaller in her sight.

Marin, who was far away, also turned his head once, and Qiu Ju's shadow had turned into a small black dot. When he looked back again, Marin's clenched heart relaxed little by little. The heart is getting farther and farther away from the backer and Qiu Ju, and it is getting closer and closer to the famous fast gunman in Fengtian City. In the days when Marin was fighting and killing, everything about the backer became blurred in his heart.

In the light of the twenty-second day of the lunar month, when the sun was already in the west, Ma Lin saw Qiu Ju, and his heart was once again inexplicably tightened. All this in front of me is like a world away, and things are no longer human. Marin stood in the west-slanting sunlight as if in a dream.

Ma Lin thought of the noon of the twenty-third day of the lunar month again, and a sneer flashed on the corner of his mouth.