Chapter 1: Chongxi

In 1934, Xia Chun was twenty years old, and in the blink of an eye, he had lived in Mei's house for fifteen years.

There is a place called Qingshui Stream in the south of Huinan, relying on the Yangtze River, there is a Turtle Ling Mountain next to the Qingshui Stream, there is a Yue Wang Temple on the Turtle Ling Mountain, and there are four large families living under the mountain. There have long been folk songs in the market, "King Yue rings the bell and beats the drum, and the Meitang Cuiwu is the first to settle here", the four Meitang Cuiwu families are the first to settle here, among them, it is the Mei family.

There is a saying: I didn't cultivate in my previous life, I was born in Huizhou, I was twelve or thirteen years old, and I threw it away. It is also the Hui businessman who is talking about it.

Xia Chun and Mei Wenzi, the eldest young master of the Mei family, are childhood sweethearts, although Mei Wenzi often follows his father Mei Lebao to the north and south, but every time he comes back, the first thing he wants to see is Xia Chun, Mei Wenzi always brings her a lot of novel things, and the two of them often sit on the steps under the bamboo forest in the backyard, and they talk for a long time. The bamboo leaves are dashing, the wind is gusting, and the two have no guesses, probably nothing more than that.

The Mei family is an old-fashioned Hui merchant family, not long after Xia Chun came to the Mei family, Xia Wen died, Mrs. Mei read that Xia Chun urinated and had no father, and she was usually tolerant of her, and she didn't take too much rules to tie her. Mrs. Mei loves Xia Chun and makes the family call Miss Xia Chun. Xia Chun's temperament was wild when he was a child, but after experiencing this ups and downs, he slowly calmed down, plus he grew older, and the relationship between the two people with Mei Wenzi was beginning to open, and the original ghost Lingjing gradually became a beautiful girl. In the third year of coming to the Mei family in the summer and spring, the second young master of the Mei family Wendian was also born, and the Mei family, which had always been quiet, exuded new vitality because of the arrival of the two children.

It's just that this year is different, Mei Lebao and Mei Wenzi are doing business in Fuliang, but they were robbed on the way back, and both of them died in Huangquan. Although the two men of the Mei family are away all the year round, they are the backbone of the family, and they are all gone all of a sudden, Mrs. Mei is already weak, so she was scared to get sick, lingering on the bed for a long time, the Mei family invited Lang Zhong to come and see, saying that it was a heart disease, and only prescribed some prescriptions that were not painful or itchy. I haven't seen any good food after eating it for more than ten days.

The Mei family naturally burned their eyebrows, and Steward Liu in the Mei house led Mrs. Mei's life to invite a blind fortune teller and proposed a way to rejoice. said that he wanted to marry Xia Chun and the young master of the Mei family as soon as possible. Mrs. Mei listened to the words of this blind fortune teller, and it was this blind man who said that the Mei family looked at feng shui, and said that the Mei family had a catastrophe, and that she had to raise a child and daughter-in-law at home in order to survive the catastrophe, so Mrs. Mei went to adopt Xia Chun. It's just that now that this Mei Wenzi is gone, who will Xia Chun marry?

The blind man trembled and raised his crutches and pointed to a thirteen-year-old boy standing next to the sickbed, "Isn't there a second young master?"

Xia Chun just came in from outside with a decoction, and when he heard this, there was a clang, the bowl shattered into slag, and the decoction spilled on the ground, slowly spreading the stain.

In the fifteenth year of the plum house, the eighteenth change of the female university, Xia Chun is now slim and elegant, and her walking demeanor shows the gentleness and grace of a woman in southern Anhui, but her whole person is youthful, and the ruddy look on Xia Chun's face is now the brightest color of this family.

Xia Chun lost her father when she was young, and knew that it was not easy for Mrs. Mei to pull her and Mei Wendian to grow up, and she had always been filial, and she rarely argued with Mrs. Mei, but this time it was abnormal, she didn't think about it, so she argued for herself, "Mother, Wendian is still so young, we are afraid it is not suitable." ”

Mrs. Mei groaned for a long time, looking at Xia Chun, her expression was still sad, she stretched out her right hand tremblingly, and there was a scar on the back of her hand, which looked shocking.

Mrs. Mei's voice was desolate, and the pleading component in her tone was obvious, "Chun'er, you can save the Mei family." ”

Xia Chun wanted to say something, but after all, he didn't say anything, biting his lower lip, and was silent.

Mrs. May looked at her with tears in her eyes, and sent her to kneel.

Xia Chun turned around and went to the kitchen, leaving behind broken bowls and scraps.

The medicine jar was placed on the stove, Xia Chun was still thinking about it, took out a small dish, and without thinking too much, he directly stretched out his right hand to take it, ready to pour the medicinal juice into the dish.

"Ahh

Xia Chun swooped back his hand, but it was too late, the two fingers had been burned red, Xia Chun looked at his tiger's mouth, there was a crescent-shaped scar on it, the first year he came to Mei's house, Xia Chun did not change his stubborn temperament, during the Spring Festival, she was having fun with a string of cannonballs, she was having fun, and she didn't notice that there were stones behind her, as a result, the whole person leaned up behind her, almost fell down, most of the string of cannons that had not yet burned were about to be thrown into her face, and at the last moment, it was Mrs. Mei who grabbed her and hugged her tightly in her arms。 Xia Chun watched the artillery battle bloom beautiful fireworks on Mrs. Mei's arm, although it was winter, the back of Mrs. Mei's right hand was still blown to a bloody blur...... Obviously it was the day of the New Year, but the Mei family encountered a bloody disaster, but Mrs. Mei didn't blame Xia Chun at all, but just verbally told Xia Chun to learn to be sensible, but Xia Chun really saw Mrs. Mei's pain, she knew that Mrs. Mei really fulfilled her promise and regarded herself as a daughter, since then, Xia Chun's temperament has become more calm and less impatient.

Recalling the past, before I knew it, tears the size of pearls fell from Xia Chun's cheeks and flowed into the delicate ceramic plate. Mei Wenzi said in the past, vote for me with a peach, and repay it with Qiong Yao. What's more, Mrs. Mei treats her like this, and has been treating her as a heartfelt baby for many years, how can she say no?

Long.

Mrs. May saw Xia Chun again, and she came in with another bowl of hot soup.

Xia Chun fed Mrs. Mei and responded softly, "Mother, Mei's family is my home, how could I not save it?"

Mrs. May smiled with satisfaction.

The wedding date is set for the following month.

On a June day, the face of the doll, the day-like plum rain in the south of the Yangtze River fell on the black tiles, and then fell down the steps along the tiles, ticking and ticking, falling on the threshold, and flowing to the lower places, which seemed to never stop.

It's raining outside, and it's lively indoors. As far as the eye can see, Mei's house is already red. The red wedding paper, the red wedding dress, the red satin. It's already a little dazzling red.

"Worship heaven and earth!"

"Second worship high hall!"

"Husband and wife worship each other!"

The famous people of the entire Qingshui Stream came, and the matchmaker's voice roared a little sadly.

Xia Chun under the hijab pursed her lips silently, and through the thin layer of red veil, she saw that the childish Mei Wendian was wearing a red flower that was bigger than others, and under the guidance of Mrs. Mei, she completed these old-fashioned etiquette with her.

Xia Chun took Mrs. Mei's favorite Qimen black tea, respectfully held it in her hand, half-knelt down, and handed it over, "Mother-in-law, drink tea." ”

The eldest son died, Mrs. Mei turned white overnight, and she aged a lot, she took Xia Chun's tea and took a sip, although Mrs. Mei wore a red wedding robe that day, she still couldn't hide the bleak smile on her mouth, "Hey, my good daughter-in-law." ”

Although Mrs. Mei lives in the Plum House, more than ten years of wind and frost still leave deep traces on her face, coupled with lingering on the sickbed all day long, Mrs. Mei's eyes are full of tiredness and aging that cannot be hidden.

Through the hijab, Xia Chun silently stared at this woman from southern Anhui who raised herself, this was the first time she stared at her so boldly, looking at her wrinkled and aging fingers, looking at her weak and weak body, looking at her loving but tired eyes, knowing that her life was coming to an end.

Hui merchants walk the world, Mei Lebao spends most of his time walking outside, and Mrs. Mei has dedicated most of her life to this family. Those days and days of waiting make up almost the whole of her life. Now that Xia Chun is about to marry into the Mei family, will her life be so helpless and lonely? Isn't Mrs. Mei on the high platform exactly herself many years later?

Is this the life she wants?

"Send to the cave!"

I couldn't help Xia Chun think about it, accompanied by the matchmaker's high-pitched and loud shout, Xia Chun was pushed by the maid and the matchmaker into the side door and introduced the east wing that had already been arranged.

Xia Chun sat quietly in the big red wedding tent, she took off the red hijab, it was lively outside, but Xia Chun felt that this excitement had nothing to do with her. If the person she married was Mei Wenzi's brother, she would be happy, and she would have loved him for a long time.

But now it is Mei Wendian's younger brother who teaches her to marry, the thirteen-year-old little hairy child who only follows her every day, and when the child grows to the age of eighteen, she will be twenty-four and become an old girl...... And tonight, does she really want to perform the Zhou Gong ceremony with Mei Wendian? Thinking of this, Xia Chun couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

The wooden door creaked open for a while, and Xia Chun's maid Qiu Cicada slipped in and poked out her palm-sized face, "Miss, look what I stole for you!"

The autumn cicada was an abandoned baby who was left at the door of the plum house in the early years, because she picked it up in the autumn, and Mrs. Mei gave it such a name. I used to call in the kitchen, and after Xia Chun came, I pulled it to make a personal girl, Xia Chun was older, and Xia Chun called "Sister Autumn Cicada" and "Sister Autumn Cicada", although it was a maid and a young lady in front of outsiders, she was already like a sister in private, and Xia Chun spoiled her very much.

I don't know if the two have been together for a long time, Qiu Chan and Xia Chun look similar in size and appearance, and the two are inseparable, Mrs. Mei often jokes that the two look at each other from a distance, and they really look like twin daughters.

I saw Qiu Cicada put his hands behind his back and walked in front of Xia Chun, only to blink his big eyes and spread his hands, only to see two handfuls of red peanuts lying quietly on it.

Xia Chun's stomach also screamed at the right time, and after tossing for most of the day, she was also hungry.

She smiled hesitantly, "It's better to be a little autumn cicada, knowing that I'm already dizzy." ”

Qiu Cicada peeled the peanuts and handed them to Xia Chun, while chattering, "Miss, in fact, you don't have to promise Madame, this is your lifelong happiness, where are you and the little master matched......"

Xia Chun interrupted her, "Who made the two men of the Mei family gone? What is the happiness of life or not, the Mei family is now withered, and it is even more necessary to work together to tide over the difficulties together." ”

"Also, if the eldest young master is still here, the young lady must be happy today, how can she cry and mourn like now......"

Thinking that Mei Wenzi had passed away, Xia Chun suddenly became sentimental. Before Mei Wenzi left last time, he also told Xia Chun to take care of Mei Wendian and his mother, protect this family, and said that the two would get married next time they came back, who knows, it will be like this.

It was still boiling outside, and Xia Chun knew that this night was destined to be difficult. Thinking so, he put down the peanuts and lay down on the table.

Qiu Cicada knew that she had said the wrong thing, and silently cleaned up the table.

Xia Chun suddenly asked, "Qiu Cicada, what do you say the outside world is like? I heard them say that the Northeast fell a few years ago. ”

Qiu Cicada pouted, noncommittal, "Miss, I heard that there is chaos outside." ”

"Hey," Xia Chun sat down in front of the bed again, leaned against the head of the bed, and said, "Qiu Cicada, in fact, sometimes I envy the little beggar I met back then, and I also want to see the outside world like him." ”

Qiu Chan stood next to Xia Chun, stretched out her hand, and slowly sorted out her wedding dress, "Miss, then you can sneak out, you can first think of going to Nanjing Xiaguan, and then take the train to the bustling Shanghai Beach, and look for it slowly, anyway, the world is so big, there is always a place you can go." ”

Xia Chun put the red hijab back on, but his tone was not shocked, "Oh, then where does my money come from? How do I go to Nanjing? Miss has bought a train ticket? Do you know how many silver dollars a train ticket costs? Now that the world is chaotic, what if you encounter bandits or Japanese criminals? You don't know, although they all talk about trendy freedom now, but women's names are still important, I am afraid just thinking about it, besides, I will not have a bride tonight when I leave, and the Mei family will have to mess up ...... it."

Qiu Cicada tilted her head and planned carefully, "Isn't it easy for Miss to want money, why don't you just pawn some jewelry? Will the Mei family mess up this problem, it's easy to solve, I can pretend to be Miss first, and give Miss a while to resist for a while, anyway, we are so similar, when they find out, Miss will probably be far away......"

Qiu Cicada said it carefully, and the smug look made Xia Chun laugh.

Xia Chun said, "Qiu Cicada, you are too naïve, we are not twins, we are just like, they can see it at a glance, even more so when a woman dresses up as a man, where is it so simple? All the money on my body is given by the Mei family, which cannot be taken away even if you die." Hey, you know I'll just talk about it, I promised Brother Wenzi to protect this place, Brother Wenzizi said that the reason why Hui merchants dominated in the Ming and Qing dynasties for more than 100 years relied on the word integrity. What you have promised is to be kept to the death. Besides, this is my home, where can I escape? The world is big, but I only have such a home. ”

Qiu Cicada nodded, as if she understood something, and the cherry mouth muttered for a while, not knowing why, "Then Miss, you and the second young master will have a good relationship with the two of you, and you will raise your eyebrows in the future?"

While the two were talking, there was a sudden commotion outside, and occasionally there was the sound of smashing stools and chopsticks.

Xia Chun took off the red hijab, and the two of them walked out of the wing room, and saw a messy hall, several stools were pushed to the ground, the dishes were broken to the ground, the guests were whispering around the side, in the middle of the hall, there were five or six stout middle-aged women, all of whom were villagers of Qingshuijian, led by Aunt Zhang, who had just come to the plum house last week, and Xia Chun had seen it.

Mei Wendian was already scared to cry, Xia Chun walked over, hugged Mei Wendian in his arms, patted him on the shoulder, and said gently, "Wendian, you go back to the room first, and leave it to my sister here." ”

After Mei Wendian left, Xia Chun changed his stern eyes, sat on the Taishi chair, and slapped the table, "Don't make any noise!"

It's not loud, but it has its own deterrent power.

The noisy hall immediately fell silent, so quiet that you could hear the cicadas chirping outside.

Seeing that no one was talking, Aunt Zhang stepped forward first and explained the reason, "Mrs. Mei, the Mei family hired us to collect spring tea after the Qingming Festival, and it is almost the beginning of autumn, and we haven't settled the wages yet, what is the reason?"

Xia Chun ignored it, but turned his head to Liu Yi, who was standing aside, and asked softly, "Steward Liu, where is your mother-in-law?"

Liu Yi is the housekeeper of the plum house, and since he was a teenager, he followed Mei Lebao to the north and south, and then his leg fell lame, so he stayed in the plum house, and stayed until he was in his fifties.

Liu Yi replied with a half-bowed back, "Just now the old lady said that her chest hurts, so she went to the back to rest, and I went to tell her." ”

Xia Chun shook his head, "Don't panic, don't disturb the old lady," after saying that, he swept his gaze to Mei Wendian, who was timid in the corner, probably frightened by the formation of this group of mothers-in-law, "Steward Liu, you take Wendian to the back hall." ”

Steward Liu said "hey", and then limped to the back with Mei Wendian, Xia Chun looked at these mothers-in-law in the room for a long time, then stood up, walked to the group of women who came to make trouble, and looked at them one by one, although Xia Chun was only nineteen years old, he was born tall, much taller than these middle-aged women. Aunt Zhang, who was the leader, put her hands on the apron on her body and stared up at her.

Xia Chun patrolled for a week, and then walked in front of one of the thin women, "Mother Wu, three years ago, your teenage son went to Yangzhou with Brother Wenzi to do business, and he got smallpox in Yangzhou, who asked Langzhong to treat him?"

Mother Wu lowered her head, "It's Young Master Mei." ”

Xia Chun walked up to another fatter woman, "Aunt Xu, you fell down while washing clothes in Qingshuijian last year, who found out and found someone to carry you back?"

Aunt Xu took two steps back, "It's Mrs. Mei, you." ”

Xia Chun continued, "Aunt Ji, the year before last, your family was in difficulty, and your mother-in-law gave you more wages to make your family feel at ease for the New Year, do you remember? Aunt Song, a few years ago, your man was tired and contracted tuberculosis, who gave him a janitorial errand? After he went, who gave you a funeral fee?"

With that, the other women also took a few steps back and stopped talking.

Xia Chun slapped the table heavily, and everyone in the hall was stunned.

"King Yue rings the bell and beats the drum, and the Mei family treats the people of Qingshuijian well, you have all received the favor of the Mei family one by one! But today, today is the day I get married, this happy day, what are you making trouble? ! Are you afraid that my Mei family is not afraid of being lively?"

Xia Chun turned around, sat down again, and sighed, "Forget it, I won't say anything else, I'll just ask you: When did my Mei family owe you money in the past?!"

Aunt Zhang answered, "Oh, Mrs. Mei said it nicely, isn't the Mei family owed this year? This is almost the beginning of autumn, there is no shadow at all, although it was said that it was settled at the beginning of autumn, but in which year did the Mei family not pay the salary half a month in advance?"

Hearing this, Xia Chun sneered, "This year, the Mei family has been in trouble, my father-in-law and Brother Wenzi just died, and my mother-in-law is sick again, but even so, it stands to reason that this spring tea and autumn knot are the habits of the Mei family, and there are still five days before the beginning of autumn," said it, Xia Chun seemed to have thought of something, turned his head to the woman who was the leader, and changed his fierce tone, "" Aunt Zhang, I heard that you lost money in gambling by yourself, and you were chased by the debtor, and you were desperate, so you got entangled in the seven aunts and eight aunts to come to the door, but you also know that this Hui businessman, what is important is to win in good faith, and you will come on the day of the beginning of autumn, and when the time comes, our Mei family should give, and we will not give a penny!"

first throw out the previous warmth, soften their hearts, and then talk about the Mei family's principles of doing things, first the gentleman and then the villain, Mei Wenzi taught her in the past.

Xia Chun's last two sentences finally reassured them. The mothers-in-law retreated one after another.

Aunt Zhang took a sip, "Then I'll see if you give it next month!"

Xia Chun didn't want to dwell too much on it, so he waved his hand, "Mr. Bookkeeper will settle the account in the next two days, and come and get it on the day of the beginning of autumn." ”

After the women were gone, Xia Chun stood up, blessed his body, and bowed to the full house, "The Mei family can't stand everyone." ”

With Zhun Xin'er, this group of women went out in a grand way.

The matter was settled, and Xia Chun, the bride, was always uncourteous here, so she took Qiu Cicada's hand and prepared to go back to the room.

"Miss is a lot more mature now," Qiu Cicada helped Xia Chun and gave a thumbs up, "Miss was amazing just now, she was really heroic and sassy when she trained people, a bit of the grandeur of Mulan in the past." ”

Xia Chun patted his chest, his legs and feet were weak, his body leaned on Qiu Cicada's body, and his face was bitter, "I'm scared to death! You don't know, my palms were sweating just now!"

Qiu Cicada patted Xia Chun's hand and smiled. The two walked all the way together, Qiu Cicada was in front, opened the door, but found that the room was empty, frowning, "Where is the little master?!"

Steward Liu limped over from the other end of the corridor, crying with most of his face, "I'll just do a lot of work, and the little young master will be gone!"

Xia Chun just stepped one foot on the threshold of the room, "What?!The dictionary is gone?"