Aunt Zhang apologized again and again to the customers around her who had not yet bought the steamed buns, and closed the door of the steamed bun shop early for the first time.

She handed the little girl into Wei Lai's hands, and regardless of whether her daughter was willing or not, she immediately walked up to Liu Jiejie and said, "Old man...... Well, let me do it. ”

Liu Jiejie smiled and nodded, looked back at Wei Lai again, and saw that Wei Lai also nodded to him, so he relieved himself and left with the woman.

......

"Brother Alai, why didn't my mother let me go?" The well-behaved little girl looked up at Wei Lai in confusion and asked with a frown.

Wei Lai shrugged his shoulders, compared to the little girl, he was probably only a lot more confused in his heart, but the little girl's serious look was obviously that Wei Lai would not give up easily if she didn't say one, two, three, four. Wei Lai had to think for a while before he said, "Adults are not like this, they have to be mysterious." ”

When the little girl, who was still a little unhappy, heard this, she was stunned for a moment, then she smiled, and said very approvingly: "Brother Alai is really right, my mother always thinks that I don't understand anything, but in fact, I know everything." ”

Wei Lai raised his eyebrows, but in an instant, he still suppressed his mind to explore the secret - the reason why the secrets in this world are called secrets is either because he is unwilling to say them or he can't say them. That being the case, in the name of concern, exploring secrets, in the final analysis, is more to satisfy one's own curiosity, and sometimes silence is more powerful than asking for warmth.

Wei Lai stretched out his hand and asked with a smile: "I know that there is a restaurant in the west of the city, their roast duck is fatty and juicy, do you want to try it?"

The girl was stunned for a moment, then stretched out her hand and put it in Wei Lai's hand: "Brother Alai has a treat?"

"Of course. Wei Lai said with a smile.

"Brother Alai?"

"Huh?"

"Actually, you're not stupid, are you?"

“......”

"As I said, I'm smart. I saw it early in the morning. ”

"Really, do you bother this clever girl to tell me your name? ”

"Qingyan. ”

"Liu Qingyan. ”

......

Out of the north gate of Wupan City, go west for three miles, and then turn over three small hills, you can see a mound, on which there are several tombstones sparsely standing.

May 28.

Today is Xue Xinghu's grandfather, Xue Mian's death day. His father is already old, and these things were handed over to Xue Xinghu three years ago, and as an only son, Xue Xinghu is naturally duty-bound.

Early in the morning, Xue Xinghu came to this mound with paper money, candles and some incense candles. Legend has it that at that time, there was a feng shui gentleman who saw feng shui for the Xue family, saying that this place sits in the north and faces south, and the mountains look up to the sky, and it is expected that the clouds will be from the dragon. At that time, Xue Mian was still a big family in Wupan City, and he bought this mound with a wave of his hand, and since then, the descendants of the Xue family and some side branches have been buried here.

It's just that the Xue family didn't wait for any big opportunity for Wangyun to get from the dragon, so he suddenly fell into the middle of the family road, and when it came to Xue Xinghu's generation, he sat on the head hunt of Wupan City, and the embarrassed family situation took a slight turn.

However, this turning point can also be called a twist and turn, with the death of Lu Guanshan, the people of Wupan City are now panicking. Especially after witnessing what happened to Zhao Gongbai's family, Xue Xinghu also thought about resigning. It's just that what to do after resigning? But it's a troublesome thing, although he has some cultivation, but he can't get on the stage, and he can only go to the dart bureau to be a dart master, going south and north, it sounds chic and free, but in fact he is uprooted from his hometown, and it is unpredictable.

"Grandpa, you have to bless me with all the best and give our old grandson family glory to our ancestors. After lighting the incense candles and burning the paper money, Xue Xinghu knelt in front of his grandfather's grave, kowtowed a few times, and muttered a few words in his mouth.

Xue Xinghu, who then stood up, looked at the paper money and incense candles that were still left on the side, and reached out to lift them up - he still had a place to worship.

When the Xue family fell in the middle of the road, Xue Xinghu was not yet born. But listening to his father, at that time, Xue Jiashu was scattered, and relatives and friends who flattered him in every way on weekdays avoided them. His father was sick again, and his grandfather ran around trying to borrow life-saving money, but those relatives either excused themselves or simply closed their doors.

Seeing that one of his father's feet stepped into the ghost gate, his grandfather was so anxious that he frowned, at that time, the only value in the family was this hill, but the terrain was remote and barren, and it was difficult to make a move for a while.

......

Xue Xinghu thought about this, and walked to a grave halfway up the mountainside, he stretched out his hand to wipe the dust on the tombstone, but saw that it was engraved with several big characters - Xue Liangyue, the wife of the Liu family.

Xue Liangyue is the sibling sister of Xue Xinghu's grandfather, the Xue family is a big family, and Xue Liangyue is also a famous beauty in Wupan City at that time. At that time, other big families in the same city took a fancy to Xue Liangyue, and the grandfather was also very satisfied with the other party, so he wanted to marry Xue Liangyue to the other party.

But Xue Liangyue seems to be weak, but she is very proud in her bones, not only escaped on the day of the wedding, but also married a kid who appeared out of nowhere, and she didn't shy away from it, so she settled down in Wupan City.

Xue Xinghu's grandfather felt that he had lost face, and wanted to forcibly kidnap his daughter home several times, and even sued the government to say that the kid robbed the people's daughter, but Xue Liangyue came forward to testify, and forced him to die, which made the grandfather accept his thoughts. But he also expelled Xue Liangyue from the house, and there has been no contact since.

When this happened, Xue Xinghu's father had not yet been born, and most of the aunts had only heard some not very good rumors, and later I heard that Xue Liangyue's husband said goodbye, leaving Xue Liangyue orphans and widows.

But such a woman, who had cut off contact with the Xue family for nearly 20 years, sent life-saving money at the critical moment of Xue Xinghu's father's life and death.

Xue Yan, that is, Xue Xinghu's father, who is now nearly seventy years old, can't help but reddened his eyes every time he recalls that scene.

At that time, it was Layue, and the Xue family's old house was destitute, and all the items that could be sold were sold by Xue Mian, but it was still not enough money for medical treatment. Xue Mian, who had nothing to gain for another day, returned home and collapsed in front of his eight-year-old son's sickbed. Xue Yan couldn't forget his father's howling and crying that day, and he couldn't forget that a woman came uninvited with a boy who was much older than him.

Dressed in a blue padded jacket with the smell of flour, she carefully pulled out a palm-sized object from her bosom with her calloused hands and wrapped it in a gray handkerchief. She opened it, and inside lay an ingot, a few pieces of broken silver, and more dense copper plates.

She said: "Brother, my sister has been scraping together for a long time in the past few days, and she has only come up with so much money, you can see if it is enough, not enough, my sister will think of a way." ”

The money was enough for Xue Yan to treat his illness, but for some reason, Xue Mian, who took the money, suddenly cried even more sadly.

......

Xue Xinghu retracted his thoughts, lit incense and candles in front of the grave for his aunt, who had never met but had saved his father's life, and burned the paper money, and then silently recited some clichéd words of worship, and kowtowed three times in front of the grave. Then he stood up, silently watched the paper money being burned out, and then wanted to turn around and leave.

"This is it. But at this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

Xue Xinghu looked back, but saw that Aunt Zhang was walking here with an old man.

Xue Xinghu was stunned, he had seen the old man, it was the old man who was almost killed in front of the county magistrate yesterday.

"Brother Xue, are you here too?" Aunt Zhang obviously didn't expect to meet Xue Xinghu here, she was slightly stunned, her face seemed to be a little flustered, but she still forced herself to say hello to Xue Xinghu calmly.

The Xue and Liu families have long since released their suspicions because of their father's affairs, and they have been moving around frequently over the years, but with the death of Aunt Zhang's husband Liu An, Aunt Zhang is a widow, so as to avoid others from making irresponsible remarks. Xue Xinghu didn't want to do too much, but he still had to show his heart during the New Year's holidays and send some money to help the mother and daughter. It's just that Aunt Zhang's temperament is very similar to that of her aunt back then, she doesn't want to accept alms from others, and she supports the steamed bun shop that has been handed down from her aunt's generation, and every time the money sent by the Xue family has been returned by the other party over the years, Xue Xinghu saw that her mother and daughter were still living a prosperous life, so she didn't do it again, but she never stopped walking.

"Well, today is grandpa's death day, if I don't come, my old man will probably break my leg. Xue Xinghu glanced at the old man behind Aunt Zhang a little strangely, and responded with a smile on his lips.

Only the Xue family members who started from Xue Xinghu's grandfather's generation were buried on this hill, and the relatives of the Liu family after that, Xue Xinghu knew the name of the old man, and then thought of Aunt Zhang's maintenance of the old man yesterday, and secretly said that Mo was not a relative of Liu An's family? It's just that the Liu family is also a little old in Wupan City, except for the Xue family, it seems that they have not interacted with anyone anymore, at least Xue Xinghu has not seen any relatives of the Liu family in these years.

But this is not something that he Xue Xinghu should care about after all, he can see that Aunt Zhang's expression is slightly flustered, as if he doesn't want him to stay here for a long time, Xue Xinghu is also very interested, after saying this, he nodded, and was about to turn around and leave.

"Did you burn it for her?" But before she could take a step, the old man named Liu Jiejie behind Aunt Zhang suddenly asked.

Xue Xinghu was stunned for a moment, but saw the old man stretching out his hand and pointing at the flame in front of the tomb that had not been completely extinguished, and looked at him with complicated eyes.

This question is somewhat strange and abrupt, but Xue Xinghu still nodded subconsciously and said: "Every year when I worship my grandfather, my father will ask me to bring one for my aunt, and after so many years, it has become a habit." ”

Hearing this, the old man's body trembled slightly, he nodded towards Xue Xinghu in response, and then stepped forward on his own and walked straight to Xue Liangyue's tomb.

The old man's abnormality made Xue Xinghu have some doubts in his heart, he put away his thoughts of leaving, and stood in place and looked at the old man with deep eyes.

I saw the old man kneeling down on one knee in front of the tomb, his outstretched arm trembling, and his fingertips gently falling on the tombstone.

His fingers slid and stroked the tombstone that had been pitted under the corrosion of the years, this approach was somewhat inappropriate, Xue Xinghu frowned, coughed, and wanted to take a step forward to remind the old man, but before he could say anything, his eyes caught a glimpse of the old man's red eyes.

He was stunned, but he saw the old man's lips trembling and muttering to himself.

"The mud and bones under the spring are boneless, and I send the snow in the world to ......"