Erquan Yingyue (short story) Zhang Baotong

Ten days later, Ah Bing walked the rugged and winding path again. When he climbed the mountain ridge covered with low, brittle green pines and tea trees, he looked up and saw the high-walled attic and gray eaves of Qingning Town looming in the afternoon mist, like a mysterious, dreamy ink painting. He could even hear the familiar and rhythmic hammering of the wooden mallet by the river, and he could hear someone singing the song in that clear and affectionate voice, "Good time in Qingming, spring breeze and drizzle, seedlings and seedlings, brother casting fishing nets on the boat, and little sister washing clothes on the shore." Good time in Qingming, next to the river of Brother and Sister, you play the huqin and I sing, you and I will never forget the love song.

These days, he has been touring day and night with the troupe in the Slender West Lake and dock towns in Yangzhou, not only playing the piano for the troupe, but also adding some solo instrumental performances to the troupe. These shows are very popular with the audience and also make a lot of money for the theater owners. So, he had the courage to tell the boss about bringing Ah Hong over. When the boss heard that Ah Hong could sing Jiangnan Minor, he immediately gave Ah Bing a leave to go back quickly and invite Ah Hong to join the troupe.

Because Ah Bing has been growing up with Ah Hong since he was a child, he has never been separated, so he hasn't seen Ah Hong for more than ten days, and he can't sleep at night thinking about Ah Hong. Therefore, as soon as he heard that the boss was in a hurry to let him go back and invite Ah Hong to join the troupe, he was very happy, and rushed back by boat that night. Thinking that he would be able to take Ah Hong out immediately and sing together in the troupe, Ah Bing felt that the world in front of him was so bright and broad, and even his walking steps felt exceptionally light and refreshing.

When he hurried all the way to the door of Ah Hong's house, he saw that the door was locked, so he came to Cuihua's sister-in-law's house and asked Ah Hong where she was. When Cuihua saw Ah Bing, she blamed Ah Bing for why he had only come back now. Ah Bing said that the troupe toured day after day and has not been idle. But Cuihua's sister-in-law said that Ah Hong was already married. As soon as Ah Bing heard this, it was like five thunderbolts hitting the top, and he almost fainted.

Sister-in-law Cuihua made a cup of tea for Ah Bing, and then said, "A few days after you left, a big boat came from Wujia Village. The boat was lit up with lights, and there was a group of musicians and some men sitting on it. As soon as the boat stopped, I saw Ah Hong's father come out and welcome the man into the house, and after a while, I saw those men carrying Ah Hong, who was crying, on board. I heard that the man's surname was Wu, and he was a well-known wealthy man in Wujia Village, who had shops in Yangzhou and Shanghai. ”

Ah Bing held his head in his hands, wanting to cry without tears, only feeling that he was falling into a bottomless depth. But he didn't want to accept his fate, he wanted to find his uncle to seek justice. With that in mind, he got up from his chair and walked out the door. Sister-in-law Cuihua was afraid that he would cause a big disaster on the spur of the moment, so she chased out the door, grabbed Ah Bing's arm and said, "What are you doing here?" Ah Bing shook Cuihua's hand away and said, "I'll go and ask Uncle A." With that, he walked towards the pink courtyard.

The Rosé Courtyard is next to the street wharf, and it is a few steps away. As soon as Ah Bing entered the door, he was entangled by several women who were showing flowers and branches and exuding a strong fragrance. They called him Brother Bing coquettishly, and put their arms around his shoulders. Ah Bing was furious, so he shouted, "Get out of the way for me!" so frightened that the women hurriedly avoided the distance. So, two ruffian men walked up to him together, stopped him, and said, "Ah Bing, what do you want to do? Otherwise, we're going to be rude to you. ”

Ah Bing knew that these people were all thugs here, and they were ruthless and vicious, and no one dared to mess with them, so he didn't want to deal with them, so he said, "I have something urgent and want to find Uncle." When the man heard this, he said, "Your uncle is upstairs in Cuilian's house." Ah Bing didn't say a word, and walked quickly upstairs. When I went up to the second floor, I saw a sign in front of the door of each room, with the name of Sister Yao written on it. Ah Bing found Cuilian's door, and as soon as he knocked on the door, a woman's question came from inside, "Who?" Ah Bing didn't answer, but still knocked on the door vigorously.

After a while, a bewitching woman in her thirties opened the door, stuck out her head, and asked Ah Bing what was the matter. Ah Bing didn't answer, so he pushed the door open and entered the house. Ah Hong's father was sitting at a small table on the bed, with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine on the table, as well as some stir-fried vegetables. Uncle Ah Hong was about to drink a glass of wine, when he saw Ah Bing breaking in with an angry face, his face changed with fright, so he asked Ah Bing, "What are you doing here?" Ah Bing rushed to Uncle Ah and asked through gritted teeth, "Where is Ah Hong?" Uncle Ah sighed a few times and said with a smile, "She went to her aunt's house and will come back early tomorrow morning." Ah Bing said, "Nonsense, Ah Hong let you sell it to a rich man surnamed Wu as a little wife." ”

Ah Hong's father trembled for a moment, but he still said calmly, "Then I forced her to sell her, she herself wants to marry someone else." What's the matter, this matter is our family's business, what does it have to do with you?" Ah Bing was so angry that his body trembled, and said, "My relationship with Ah Hong was decided by you and my father a long time ago, how can you settle the bill casually?" Ah Hong's father snorted and said, "I just told your father a joke about that, your father didn't take it seriously, you took it seriously." Besides, I promised Ah Hong to you, can you make her rich and glorious without worrying about food and clothing?"

Hearing this, Ah Bing felt that his lungs were about to explode, and seeing Uncle A's villainous style, he couldn't wait to pounce and smash him in the face a few times. However, at this time, Cuilian had already called the two thugs over. When the thugs saw that Ah Ping was here to make trouble, they pulled Ah Bing's collar without saying anything, pushed Ah Bing out of the gate, and warned him that if they saw him come in again, they would break his legs.