The woman with the ring gently hung the copper lock on the black box, put the lock handle on it against the keyhole, and then gently closed the box. Then he tiptoed to bed and lay down, pretending to sleep soundly.

After a while, Lao Xi pushed the door in with a bowl of rice.

"Sister, sister, get up, get up and eat, today's tofu is delicious." ”

"Oh, which, paws?" the ring woman asked, turning, yawning, and lazily.

"I, I'm happy, sister, I'm here to bring you food. Today, Lao Zhu and Lao Niu didn't eat this rice, so my mother asked me to bring it to you. Today, the eldest brother also went to his friend to get some lard, and you can see that today's tofu is very fragrant. ”

"Come, sister, do you sniff, sniff, is it fragrant?" Lao Xi said and sandwiched a piece of tofu and put it under the nose of the ring woman.

"Well, fragrant, fragrant!" The woman quickly put on her clothes and sat up, and took the food from Lao Xi's hand.

"That'...... Sister...... You eat first! I'll wash the dishes. Lao Xi watched her sister gobble, swallowed her saliva, and hurriedly turned around to leave.

"Alas, old hi. Don't worry, I'll wash the dishes when I'm done. Come, sit down, and rest for a while. The woman in the ring saw that Lao Xi was leaving, so she quickly stopped her.

"No, I'd better wash it, you have to take care of your body. Lao Xi said and walked out.

"Oh, let you not wash, you are disobedient. I have to do something too, otherwise my sister-in-law will see it and say that I eat and live for nothing!"

Lao Xi saw that his sister seemed to be a little angry, so he turned around and came back and took the insole on the chair and sat down next to the ring woman.

She said while tying the insole: "Sister, what are you afraid of your sister-in-law?

"Alas, you can't say that, no matter what, she is our sister-in-law after all. She didn't dare to say it in front of her eldest brother, she would say it in front of others!"

"Well, that's pretty good!"

"Sister, have you eaten enough? There are still a lot of dried red potatoes in the pot. Otherwise, I'll go get you some more. Lao Xi looked at the clean bowl in his sister's hand and said.

"No, I'm full, I'll get up and wash the dishes. ”

As she spoke, the woman got out of bed and dragged a pair of her mother's blue cloth shoes out. After just a few steps, she turned around and pointed to the box and said, "Lao Xi, don't touch the wooden box in that box!"

"Ah, what kind of wooden box?" Lao Xi raised his head and looked at the woman in the ring strangely.

"You don't ask so much, you can't move anyway, my mother said that there is a baby inside. The ring woman deliberately lowered her voice.

"Oh, baby, what baby, sister, why haven't I ever heard my mother talk about it?"

"Anyway, you just don't move!" the ring woman turned around and went out, and closed the door with her hand.

Lao Xi stopped what he was doing, looked at the wooden box, and thought: What kind of baby, let my sister say so mysterious? My mother is really biased, she never told me? No, I have to take a look.

Lao Xi put the insoles on the bed, walked over and quietly opened the box, yes! She carefully took out the black box and looked around: What the hell is in here? Yo, is it locked? She sat on a chair with the black box in her arms, put the black box on her lap, pressed the black box with her left hand, and touched the copper lock with her right hand.

Hey, what's going on? The lock isn't locked.

Lao Xi was overjoyed, he didn't care about thinking so much, so he quickly took off the copper lock and opened the black box.

Suddenly, a blinding blue light appeared in front of her eyes, and then, she didn't know anything.

By the time she woke up, it was already evening. She was lying on her mother's bed. There were a lot of people standing in the room, men, women, and children, and it was densely packed. Except for the mother and eldest brother, they are all relatives.

"Oops, Lao Xi finally woke up"

"yes, thank goodness, I finally woke up. ”

......

"Lao Xi, are you finally awake?" the eldest grandfather took Lao Xi's hand and said tremblingly, the white beard on his chin trembled.

Lao Xi nodded, not having the strength to speak.

"That old happy mother, how can old happy know about that black box?" the uncle turned to look at the old happy mother and asked.

"Uncle, I don't know? I never told her. ”

"As the saying goes: the woman who marries spills the water. Since Lao Xi is already married, he should take care of his own family and don't always run to his mother's house. ”

"Yes, yes, uncle, isn't this on the spot today! She came to the scene, and came home to take a look. ”

"Well, but when you go back to your parents' house, why do you still cause trouble?" The uncle was a little angry, "I like her mother, why do you want to open that black box casually?"

"I didn't open it, the key has been on my body, you see. As she spoke, the mother took out the bronze key from her arms.

"That's strange, the key is with you, how did the black box open?" the uncle turned his head again and asked Lao Xi.

"I'm ......" Lao Xi moved his lips, not knowing what to say. She looked around, but didn't see the sister ring woman.

In fact, the ring woman was hiding in the bullpen, and she didn't dare to come out.

"Alright, alright, grandpa, we'll find out about this. Let's let Lao Xi rest first, look at her face......" The eldest brother came over and said to the uncle.

"Alright then, when you like it, you must figure this thing out. Everyone's gone!" the uncle waved his hand.

After a while, except for the mother and eldest brother, everyone else left one after another.

"Mother, then you look at Lao Xi here first. I went to Lao Zhang, the supply and marketing cooperative, to give Lao Xi some sugar. With that, he strode out.

"By the way, where did the ring girl go?" the eldest brother suddenly stopped and looked back at his mother and asked.

"That...... That one...... I must have gone to the bathroom!" said the mother, looking out the door.

"Oh, that's good, then I'll go first!"

"Well, there you go!"

The mother looked at the back of the eldest brother who left in a hurry, and then looked at the pale face and purple lips on the bed, and sighed. She sat down in her chair and picked up the broken copper lock at the head of the bed again.

"Mother. After a while, the Ring Woman came in. Sneaking a glance at the copper lock in her mother's hand, she immediately turned her head to Lao Xi: "Lao Xi, Lao Xi, have you woken up?"

"Hmm. Lao Xi nodded slightly.

Since the ring woman came in, the mother has not spoken, and has been staring at the ring woman. The woman felt like a thorn in her body. But my mother couldn't help but speak: "Where have you been?"

"I went to the cowpen to go to the toilet. ”

"Where were you when the ring woman fainted?"

"I went to wash the dishes. If you don't believe it, you ask Lao Xi. ”

Lao Xi nodded.

"Hmm......" the mother nodded thoughtfully, "you have a grain grass on your head." As he spoke, he pointed to his right ear.

The woman reached out and ripped the grass off.

"The ring woman, you guard the old joy first, I still have to go out to dig the red lotus, the delay today is too long, and I haven't earned a few centimeters. ”

"Mother, it's getting dark, do you still want to go out of the slope?"

"Then don't you go out of the slope, you're all nesting at home? What do you eat for this big family?"

The mother stood up as she spoke, picked up the black box next to the pillow, and went out.

The woman ran over and quickly closed the door, then ran to Lao Xi's side, and hurriedly asked, "Lao Xi, don't let you touch that black box, why don't you listen?"

"I ...... Alas!" Lao Xi didn't know what to say for a while, so he simply closed his eyes.

When the woman saw it, she felt very bored, so she walked to the chair and picked up the insole.

After a while, Lao Xi opened his eyes and asked softly, "Sister, what is in that black box?"

"Still ask, still ask! How do I know! You go and ask my mother!" said the woman angrily.

"Sister, you must have something to hide from me. ”

"You, really, why am I hiding from you! What good is it for me to hide from you! Oh, this house is so stupid, I'll go back to the sewing club tomorrow." ”

"Oh, sister...... Don't be angry. It's all ...... I'm not good, you're ...... Lie down in bed...... Take a good rest!"

"Alright, alright, I'm not angry! Look at the way you speak, you should say a few words!"

"Well, well......! Sister, I'll sleep for a while!"

"Well, good!" the ring woman replied and began to bury her head in the insole. After a while, the woman turned her head to look at the sleeping Lao Xi, her face full of guilt. She got up and walked over to Lao Xi and tugged at the crumpled quilt under her chin.

At this time, the eldest brother came in with a small bag of sugar.