Erquan Yingyue (novella) Zhang Baotong

In the Qingming season, there are many spring flowers blooming on the riverbank, and the flowers are bright and beautiful. Through the green trees and new leaves on the riverbank, you can see the blue-gray tiled houses in the town. The ancient canal flows slowly through the town, and the clouds are filled with hazy silver waves. The morning light shines on the Qingming Bridge, and small boats carrying passengers pass under the bridge holes, leaving a string of bright and bright laughter from time to time.

Not far from Qingming Bridge, a young girl was squatting by the river and hammering her clothes with a mallet, singing the "Acacia Song" in her mouth: "When Yo Lang is about the moon, wait for Lang to wait until the moon is west." I don't know if the moon rises early in the low mountain of the slave house, or the moon rises late in the high moon of the mountain where Lang lives in the mountain?" a young student sat on the stone steps by the river and pulled the erhu to sing for her. The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in red with no makeup, and a long black strip left behind her. The sun shone on her body, casting a layer of pure and shining light on her body. The young junior was about in his early twenties, dressed in plain blue clothes and pants, with a student-style split head, with a thin appearance and a simple expression.

The girl's singing voice is soulful and far-reaching, and her voice is crisp and bright. With her singing, the white clouds are stretching, the air is flowing, the sky becomes far-reaching and open, the sunlight is becoming more and more bright and bright, and even the surrounding houses and trees, birds, flowers and plants have a fresh aura. The erhu of the later generation is even more euphemistic and melodious, with a deep rhyme, adding an endless aftertaste to the songs floating on the canal.

Singing and singing, the girl became a little intoxicated, turned her head and gazed affectionately at the descendant who pulled the erhu, and sent out that knowing smile to him. The latter was also intoxicated by the girl's charming appearance and singing, and couldn't help but feel emotional, as if he had lost his soul. So that the girl's singing had stopped, and he didn't realize it, and continued to pull the erhu deeply.

The girl couldn't help laughing and asked, "Brother Bing, what are you thinking?" The young descendant came to his senses, took the erhu, and said with a smile, "I'm thinking about the play of "Queqiao Immortal" that I watched last night. The girl lowered her head and continued to wash her clothes, and then said, "If only people could love each other and live together for the rest of their lives like the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong." "If that's the case, you'll be in heaven." ”

At this time, Cuihua's sister-in-law who lived on the other side came out of the house to wash the pot, and when she heard them talking, she shouted loudly to this side, "Ah Hong, I sang love by the river early in the morning, and when I marry your Brother A Bing, I'm afraid that you will be locked in the house all day long and sing non-stop." Ah Hong's face turned rosy all of a sudden, and she replied shyly, "Sister-in-law Cuihua, you will be ashamed of me, and you will make people dare not sing anymore." Sister-in-law Cuihua said, "Listening to you and Ah Bing playing the piano and singing, and singing affectionately with one brother and one sister, I feel jealous in my heart." It's like me and you Brother Yongfu, don't say anything about love and love, but I don't even know what he looks like before I get married, it's all my parents' hands. Ah Hong said, "Then I don't think you and Brother Yongfu are doing well." Sister-in-law Cuihua sighed and said, "What's good, women, marry a chicken with a chicken, marry a dog with a dog, it's not like you're going to go down." ”

Then, Sister-in-law Cuihua asked the girl again, "What about your father?" Hearing Sister-in-law Cuihua's question, Ah Hong's face suddenly became gloomy, and she said sadly, "I went out last night, and I haven't come back yet, so I went to Peach Courtyard again." Sister-in-law Cuihua persuaded and said, "The place in the peach courtyard is a bottomless pit, and you can't fill it with any amount of money, so you should also persuade your father to ask him to learn more seriously, save the money well, and wait for a decent woman in the future to live a good life, that is the blessing of him and you." ”

Ah Hong sighed and said, "You don't know that he is a person who will not turn back after hitting the south wall." In the past, when my mother was here, I could still say that he was in charge of him, but now, my mother is gone, who can say that he can be moved? Alas, this kind of person is afraid that it is difficult to change. Cuihua's sister-in-law said, "That is, this kind of person is difficult to change." I'm afraid that you will suffer with him in the future!" Ah Hong said helplessly, "Then what is the way, who let him be my father!" After washing the pot, Cuihua's sister-in-law walked to the door with the pot, stopped again, and said to Ah Bing and Ah Hong, "Qingming is coming, and the weather is good, why don't you go to the Lingshan Temple to burn incense, make a wish, and ask for good luck?"

Ah Bing took Ah Hong to Xiaoling Mountain to make a wish and came back, but it was getting late. As soon as she entered the house, Ah Hong's father scolded Ah Hong viciously, thinking that she had missed the night's performance, so frightened that Ah Hong hurriedly went into the kitchen to make a fire to cook. Ah Bing understood that although Uncle Ah was scolding Ah Hong, he was actually scolding him, because he was going to take Ah Hong out.

For Uncle, Ah Bing always has an inexplicable emotion, I don't know whether I should be grateful or despise. After his father died, Ah Hong's father adopted him and took him and Ah Hong to make a living as an artist. Speaking of which, he should be grateful to Uncle for his life and continuous improvement of his acting skills over the years, but he doesn't like Uncle at all, and even has an intolerable contempt and disgust, if it weren't for Ah Hong, he might have been inseparable from him and parted ways. Over the years, he and Ah Hong have gone out to perform and sing for three days, and the money they earn can open a big storefront. However, almost all of this money was taken by Uncle Ah to be sent to taverns and brothels, making the family impoverished and dilapidated, and unable to touch the next meal, seeing that Ah Bing and Ah Hong were about to reach the age of marrying relatives, the family did not even have a penny of savings. In fact, he had no intention of bothering about their marriage, and there was little to interest him except drinking and visiting the kiln. As an elder, the lack of self-respect made the two children feel very ashamed, and they felt shameless when they saw neighbors and acquaintances on weekdays. Therefore, when he goes out to perform and sing on weekdays, Ah Hong and Ah Bing don't want him to go out with him. But he was afraid that Ah Bing and Ah Hong would not hand over the money for performing arts, so every time Ah Bing and Ah Hong went out to perform and sing, he had to follow up in person and collect the money in person, which made Ah Hong and Ah Bing feel very annoyed, but also felt very helpless.

The meal was quickly ready, and Ah Hong asked Ah Dad to eat. Daddy answered, got off the bed, saw that there were only three bowls of rice and a small plate of oil cabbage on the table, his face sank, and he said unhappily, "Why don't you make some meat? You know how to eat oil cabbage all day long, and you can't get tired of eating it?" Ah Hong said angrily, "If you want to eat meat, where will you get the money? If you don't use all the money to drink and go to the kiln, you won't be able to spend all the money on chicken, duck and fish." ”

As soon as Ah Hong's father heard his daughter's words, his temper immediately came up, and he scolded, "You want to take care of Lao Tzu's affairs? Even if your mother doesn't dare to do anything to Lao Tzu, you want to control Lao Tzu?" He saw that Ah Hong was not angry, and then said, "Fortunately, Lao Tzu is not old, if Lao Tzu is old and can't move, I don't know how Lao Tzu will be put to death?" Ah Bing felt that Uncle Ah was too arrogant, so he couldn't help but say, "Uncle, Ah Hong's words are also for your good, for the good of this family." However, before these words were finished, Ah Hong's father shouted, "What kind of immortal are you to teach Lao Tzu a lesson?" to tell you, Lao Tzu has crossed more bridges than you walked, and Lao Tzu has eaten more salt than you have eaten. ”

was yelled at by Ah Hong's father, Ah Bing didn't dare to squeak anymore, thinking to himself, he really shouldn't talk too much, Uncle Drinking and visiting the kiln has long been a bad habit, not to mention that he and Ah Hong talked about him, even if his father and mother said that he would not play a role.

After dinner, Ah Bing and Ah Hong were going to perform and sing at the Meiyuan Tea House, and Ah Hong's father followed behind uninterestingly. When night falls, the street is deep, and after walking a few streets on the bluestone slab, I came to the door of the Meiyuan Tea House. The Plum Garden Tea House is located in the bustling area of the street and town, where large shops are next to each other, and lanterns are hung larger than the other in front of the door. However, no one's lanterns are as big as those in front of the Meiyuan Tea House, and there are four hanging side by side in a row.

The Plum Garden is the largest tea house on the street, with two floors. The lower floor is a secular seat, which is a place for ordinary citizens to gather. Upstairs is a private seat, separated by a small private room, which is reserved for those who are willing to spend more. Here you can not only drink tea and chat, sing and act, but also gather people to drink, play cards and gamble. Therefore, every night, those rich families in the town and businessmen from other places will gather here to drink tea and listen to the play.

There is a passage between the two halls. The passage is quite wide and the view is wide. A table and two chairs are placed against the wall. This is where rap comes in. Ah Bing and Ah Hong came here to perform, and the owner of the tea house neither charged them nor paid them. They have to earn the money themselves. Usually, they sing and play for a while, and then, Ah Hong carries a plate to each guest to collect money. Sometimes, when some guests are interested, they want to order songs, so that the money collected will be more.

Tonight, Ah Bing and Ah Hong were a little late when they came to the Plum Garden Tea House. Therefore, as soon as Ah Bing sat on the chair next to the table, he took out the pipa and played "Three Alleys of Plum Blossoms". Ah Hong hurriedly took out the silk fan and streamers for the performance, as well as the small saucer and soup spoon for the accompanying singing, from the cloth bag. She wears a bright red tight top, loose green trousers, and a pair of embroidered cloth shoes on her feet. At this time, she was ready, holding a small saucer and spoon in her hand, standing by the passage, waiting to sing. Ah Hong's father sat on another chair next to the table, with a hookah in his mouth, snoring and snoring.

After playing two or three ancient songs, it's time for Ah Hong to appear. She held a small disc in her hand and sang as she tapped it. Most of these songs are popular and well-known folk songs, some are local, some are from other places, some are from the south of the Yangtze River, and some are from the north. Among these folk songs, there are many love songs, which are pure and simple, elegant and vulgar, and also acceptable. Although these songs have been sung many times, Ah Hong is still very attentive and emotional every time she sings them. Therefore, her singing voice is always euphemistic and sincere, deep and melodious, with the clear sound of the spoon and the beating of small plates, it has a unique charm. Therefore, almost every time she sings a song, she will win a round of warm applause from the crowd.

After singing a few songs, Ah Hong was about to take a break. At this time, Ah Bing began to play. He picked up a long flute and played "Spring in the South of the Yangtze River". The tone is soothing and deep, deep and elegant, presenting the beautiful scenery of a spring in the south of the Yangtze River in people's thoughts and imagination like a dream, and ethereal, lingering, making people can't help but indulge in listening to it, as if the soul has drifted away with the notes. When the sluggish and faint music drifted away and disappeared into the silent distance, a burst of warm applause broke out in the quiet tea house.