Chapter 1: The Weak Shanzi

When I followed my father Gu Yuanshan's hair and set foot on the land of Yanque Village, it was no longer as barren as they described, a cement road went straight up, and on both sides of the road, there were all independent small second floors.

As far as the eye can see, the green mountains are still the same, but the folk customs are no longer simple. They will no longer be like they did thirty years ago, when a living person came and swarmed around to see the strange.

I followed in the footsteps of Uncle Iron Egg and walked through the street, barely paying attention to my presence, with the occasional person saying hello to him.

Walking under a walnut tree, Uncle Tie Dan pointed to the leafy tree and said to me, "Back then, we used to steal walnuts here to eat. ”

A light sentence that evokes a deep memory of the story. I seemed to feel that I was Gu Yuanshan-Shanzi back then, I looked up, not far from the ridge, he seemed to be sitting there alone, watching the laughter and play that had nothing to do with him......

It was a midsummer afternoon in the late seventies.

The village is surrounded on all sides by towering mountains, and the sun is still blazing.

There was not a trace of wind in the air, and it was unbearable hot. Most of the people are confined to their homes, too lazy to go out.

A group of teenagers laugh and play under a leafy walnut tree.

Tie Dan held the bamboo pole high with both hands, his eyes greedily looked at the unripe walnuts, and the corners of his mouth hung with gluttony.

"Iron egg, hit this side, look at how happy the walnuts are, they all open their mouths. Ma Shu'er shouted.

Iron Dan moved his body, his fat arms trembled, and a few leaves fluttered down. Someone couldn't hold it back, took a few steps forward, and waited under the tree. Tie Dan was in a hurry, and with a fierce slam, his pants slipped to his heels.

"Haha...... Ha ha...... Tiedan, look at your little bit of talent, why are you wearing the red pants of the girl?"

Tie Dan hurriedly let go, and the bamboo pole fell to the ground in an instant, shooting up a puff of dust and smoke. Just as Tie Dan reached out to lift his pants, he only heard a crackling sound, he lay on the ground, his hands covered his head, and the walnut playfully smashed on his fat buttocks, jumping and rolling to the ground.

Ma Shu'er dropped the bamboo pole and used both hands, and the babies hula followed, coaxing the walnuts on the ground.

Iron Egg jumped to his feet and pulled up his broken belt and tied it up randomly. Rubbing his wet, slightly painful buttocks, he scolded: "Ma Bolt, you turtle son, you dare to shoot a black gun at me!"

"Hey...... Tiedan, you are thinking about the little mother-in-law, and you are still making trouble with the children's family? I will help you eat this walnut. Ma Shu'er carried a rag shirt full of walnuts in one hand, and threw the walnuts up with the other, and the walnuts rolled in the air and fell. He caught it and threw it up.

Tie Dan was so angry that he grabbed a handful of lumps and threw them at Ma Bolt, scolding: "You turtle grandson, you just miss your mother-in-law! Lao Tzu beat you to the point of cutting off your grandchildren!"

"I don't know what to do, see if Lao Tzu doesn't tear up your stinky mouth!" Ma Shu'er shook his hand and rushed over. The walnuts rolled out of their rags, their bones scattered.

The two tore up, and the babies took the opportunity to pick up the walnuts and ran.

"Here comes the dominatrix...... Run!" shouted somebody.

Hearing the news, Tie Dan and Ma Bolt lost their hands and ran away.

Shanzi sat on the ridge with a pumpkin leaf on his head, and smiled backwards.

Many times, he can only watch from a distance and secretly enjoy. He didn't understand why there was always a wall between the children in the village and him.

"Ouch...... ! What kind of animals have stolen food and stolen it to the old lady?" Widow Qin crossed her hands on her hips, put on a shrew's scolding street, and looked around.

Shanzi looked up and suddenly saw the 'Dominatrix' walking towards him with a menacing attitude, looking like he was about to eat people. I couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart, so I quickly slipped away.

"Stop!"

Shanzi didn't look back, just ran desperately.

"Shanzi, I recognize you. You can run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple!"

Shanzi stopped when he heard the sound and thought: Oh no, this is a big injustice!

Widow Qin rushed up and grabbed Shanzi's ear. Panting, he scolded angrily: "Shanzi, what are you running for?"

"Auntie, I didn't do it...... Really, let me go!" Shanzi covered his ears that were reddened, and looked at Widow Qin timidly.

Widow Qin let go of her hand, burst out laughing, and said, "You don't have the guts!

"Aren't people afraid of you!" Shanzi muttered in his mouth.

"What are you afraid of? I can still eat you?" Widow Qin asked with a smile.

"Auntie, I have to go back......" Shanzi begged pitifully.

"Let's go, don't let your milk wait. It's not easy for her to blame!" Widow Qin changed her fierceness and her eyes were gentle.

Shanzi walked on the ridge with a red face, muttering to himself: Why do the people in the village call her 'Dominatrix'?

Turning a corner, it went to the sheep's intestines. In front of it is the adobe house of the Iron Egg and the Horse Bolt, low and dark. Every time Shanzi passed by here, he was scared, and a few people would pop out and reward him with a mess of punches. In order to strengthen his courage, he ran with his legs.

I was afraid of something, and I didn't run far, but I was blocked. Ma Shu'er tilted his head, staring at the mountain, holding a bamboo stick in his hand, and the trunk of the tree crackled. A group of babies hula hula in a circle, Shanzi is like a lamb falling into the mouth of a tiger, without the slightest strength to resist.

"Brother Ma Xuan'er, please, let me pass!" Shanzi pleaded softly, although he knew better than anyone that such a plea could not escape the ridicule and fists of everyone.

"Let you go? It's up to me to spare the whip in my hand! You traitor, soft bones!"

Ma Xuan'er smiled evilly, approaching step by step, suddenly his face changed, and a mouthful of spit flew to Shanzi's face, and then, the bamboo strip was also pumped on his body.

Shanzi wiped his face with his sleeve and rubbed the blood marks on his body, feeling pitiful.

Ma Xuan'er glanced at him, stepped aside, and gave an order impatiently: "Waste of the bag! You guys, clean up this traitor for me!"

The baby's tender fist smashed into Shanzi's body like hail. He held his head in his hands, begged for mercy frequently, and burst into tears: "Brother Ma Xuan'er, I didn't do anything that was right to you......! Plentiful...... Spare me, spare me......"

Ma Xuan'er held his hands and coldly admired this first play directed by him, and was proud.

"Stop! you shameless people, why do you always have trouble with Shanzi?"

"Yo, it's Juan'er, what are you singing about?Beauty Saves Heroes?" Ma Xuan'er straightened her face and leaned in front of Juan'er.

"Sing your head! let him go!" Juan'er pushed him away.

"At most, it's a beautiful woman saving straw bales! hehe...... Look at his bag!" the crowd laughed.

Juan'er pulled the frightened Shanzi, wiped the blood on his face, and scolded indignantly: "Shanzi, why don't you fight back? If you can't beat it, you will bite those shameless things! Go, sister will send you home." ”

"Juan'er, let's go, but don't have awkward little feet. Sister, you go forward boldly......" Ma Shu'er yelled at the backs of Juanzi and Shanzi.

Juan'er grabbed a handful of stones and threw them out vigorously. A group of people are holding their heads and running around.

"Shanzi, are you so afraid of them?

Shanzi limped along, bowing his head and not saying a word. Juan'er became angry and complained: "You speak! What kind of character is this person who is not angry!"

After a while, Shanzi held back her tears and whispered: "Sister Juan'er, I don't want to cause trouble! I'm different from them, I, I don't have a father...... No mother!"

"Shanzi, it's hard for you! If you don't have a father or a mother, you're not a human being? From now on, whoever dares to bully you again, you will come to me. Sister is angry with you!"

"Sister Juan'er, I'm going back. Shanzi burst into tears and ran out.

Juan'er froze in place, watching Shanzi's back disappear around the corner of the adobe house.

In a barren mountain village like Yanque Village, at Juan'er's age, it's time to find her mother-in-law's house. There are girls as big as her in the village, and some children can make soy sauce.

"Grandma, I'm back. ”

"Shanzi, go back to the house and wash up, grandma has boiled eggs and noodles for you today. Smell incense!"

"Hey......" Shanzi entered the house, wiped his face, and made a special trip to carefully take a closer look at his face with his grandmother's bronze mirror, with only a few slender scratches. Only then did he relax and go to the kitchen.

"My good grandson is hungry, right? Shanzi came out with the noodles, and his grandmother followed him.

Hearing only a plop, Shanzi turned his head and found his grandmother falling to the ground, still holding the bowl tightly in her hand, and the noodles were spilled on the ground.

"Grandma...... Are you alright?" Shanzi put down the bowl and helped the old man up.

"It's okay...... Grandma is fine!" The old man frowned and sweated profusely.

"It's okay, it's okay!" helped the old man sit down, and Shanzi put his own somen in front of her, took the bowl, and carefully held the somen on the ground into it. Looking at her with a smile, he took a big bite of it, and sighed: "It's delicious! Grandma's cooked noodles are delicious! Grandma, you can eat it too." ”

"Hey......" The old man lowered his head and ate silently, tears dripping down. The pain, Shanzi's sensibility and filial piety, evoked her memories of old things.

"Grandma, why are you crying, where did you fall, does it hurt?" Shanzi looked anxious.

"I didn't fall, grandma's body is so tough! This person is old, and tears are rolling out of his own eyes. The old man wiped his tears and his eyes were full of kindness.

"Are you alright?"

"It's fine. Come, help grandma into the house and rest. My grandson should wash the dishes today, won't you?"

"Done. Shanzi waited for the old man to sleep and tucked the quilt. The old man always looked at him with a smile.

"Grandma, I'm out. ”

"Go ahead. Rest early!"

"Hey......"

In the dark night, the old man's mind gradually became trance, as if he had suddenly returned to decades ago, back to the Mo family's compound with wide rooms.

"Miss, tomorrow is your big day, it's time to rest!"

"Ping'er, why does my father have to promise this family business? I heard that the young master of the He family has suffered from tuberculosis for many years...... He, isn't he pushing his daughter into the fire pit?" Mo Qinglan looked sad and stood in front of the window crying.

"Miss, the children's affairs, the parents' orders, the matchmaker's words. There's no way around it!, just look away!" Ping'er felt sympathy, but there was no other way.

"In the days to come, the moon will be short of flowers, so how can I be good......!

Ping'er covered Qinglan's mouth and said in horror: "Miss, I can't help it, I can't help it! It's better to die than to live, I, a poor girl, still steal my life, let alone Miss who was born in a rich family?"

"Ping'er, don't comfort me, what's the benefit of being born in a rich family, from childhood to adulthood, it's just a caged finch that can never fly. I wonder if Cousin Yunfan can miss me......"

"Shh......h Miss, I'm afraid that the old man will hear these words...... "Ping'er went to the door with light feet and listened with her breath. She suddenly exclaimed, "Miss, someone!"

"Open the door and see ......"

"Who?" said Ping'er opened the door and looked around. A man flashed out from behind the pillars and slipped into the house.

"Young Master Yunfan?" Ping'er was overjoyed. Qinglan turned around when she heard the sound, tears rippling.

"Qinglan ......"

"Cousin......" The two hugged each other and cried.

The Mo family's compound is lonely, Qinglan's generation is even thinner, Mrs. Mo gave birth to four children in a row, but Qinglan alone survived. Master Mo frequently took concubines, dreamed of passing on the ancestry, and forced Qinglan's mother to death. Who would have thought that those women would be jealous all day long, making the entire Mo family compound restless. In the end, they are all chickens that don't lay eggs.

Master Mo was deeply ashamed of his ancestors and ancestors, and the Mo family was going to be lost in his hands. Since then, he blames Qinglan for the misfortune of his family, and often treats her coldly. On the contrary, he loves his wife and brother's dog.

Therefore, Yunfan grew up in the Mo family since he was a child. He and Qinglan studied and painted together and played together. The two of them have no guesses, childhood sweethearts, and they have been in love with each other since they were young.

Although Qinglan is the only seedling of the Mo family, in the eyes of her father, she is just a woman's life as cheap as grass. In addition to worry-free food and clothing, Qinglan got very little, and was often ridiculed by those demonic women.

Over time, as the Mo family gradually declined, those women ran away with their own money, and the old man Mo did not leave his wine, the courtyard gradually fell into disarray, and the Mo family began to decline.

"Cousin, what should I do, how should I be good!" Qinglan patted Yun Fan's chest urgently, crying silently.

"Qinglan, don't worry, let me think about it!" Yun Fan hugged Qinglan tightly and comforted her softly.

Ping'er exited the door, and she silently prayed: Bodhisattva bless...... Bodhisattva bless, don't come here at this time!

In the house, Yun Fan whispered in Qinglan's ear, Qinglan looked surprised, and then showed joy. She was skeptical and blurted out, "Really......?

"Really!Let's tick the check!" Yun Fan held up Qinglan's hand, stretched out his little finger, hooked her little finger, and the two looked at each other and smiled. The eyes are full of tenderness and yearning for happiness.

"I'll go first, my uncle will be in trouble when he comes!"

"I'll wait for you!"

"Hey!" Yun Fan nodded solemnly. Qinglan looked at his back and was reluctant.

At midnight, the housekeeper Ah Wang hurriedly knocked on the door: "Master, something is wrong, something is wrong!"

The oil lamps in the house are lit, and the light is reflected on the window paper, flickering and flickering, as if some ghosts are dancing.

The door creaked open, and Master Mo said, "Ah Wang, what is such a shocking thing?"

"Miss...... Miss ran away!"

"What? have you looked for it inside and out?" Old Man Mo's body staggered and almost fell, but Ngawang helped him lean against the door frame. comforted: "Master, don't worry, I've already sent someone to chase after you!"

"Have you searched all over the house?" "Where is Ping'er's dead girl?" Master Mo was weak and coughed.

"I've searched all over the house, and Ping'er is gone. Miss's horse is gone. Could it be Young Master Yunfan......"

"Nonsense, Yun Fan went back to Xishan's mother's house a few days ago, didn't he come back yet?"

"That's right, I didn't see the young master come back. The inside of the lady's room seemed to have been turned upside down. Oh my God, could it be the Ringing Horse?" Ah Wang rubbed his hands, at a loss.

"Oh my God...... Even this root is going to be taken away from me? The Mo family will be gone! I'm guilty...... Ah......h

"Sir...... Master...... Wake up, wake up!" Ngawang hurriedly carried the old man into the house.

In the dark, a pair of eyes with a cold light quietly touched into the backyard.

A herd of fierce horses rushed out of the fence and galloped away, and smoke rose from the horses' hooves. A huge fire broke out in the backyard of the Mo family, and the firelight reflected half of the sky, and Master Mo slept on the kang unconsciously.