Qingshan Town is located eighty miles north of Jinling City, and is a small town under Qixia Mountain. In April, the green hills are full of wild grasses and wild flowers, which look full of green. On the hillside, there are occasional tourists, and there are also three or five companions who come to play with a female companion on a spring outing.

When I arrived in Castle Peak, it was early in the morning of the second day. Last night riding a horse at night, I didn't sleep all night, I arrived at Qingshan Town, I saw the smoke curling in the town, the chickens and dogs barking everywhere, but it was also calm and stable, there was a noodle shop in the town, boiled some rice porridge, clear water noodles and the like.

Qingshan Town is very small, the people generally rarely eat outside, there is no decent restaurant here, and this kind of small shop does not even have a pretense, there is a fence hanging at the door, which means to open the door to welcome guests, I asked for a bowl of white water somen noodles, with a few green onions on it, it smells good, but I don't have the slightest desire to eat.

The boss and the proprietress were about fifty or sixty years old, and they looked honest. I buy their stuff because I want to take the opportunity to get some useful information. I took two mouthfuls of noodles with chopsticks, then put down the chopsticks, and the proprietress asked, "Why, young man, the noodles are not to your taste?" We are in a small place like the countryside, and we can't compare to you from Jinling City, so please bear with me more.

I smiled wryly and said that the noodles were delicious, but I had no appetite. By the way, boss, can I ask you about someone? The boss lady said, who to ask? Wife, I have lived in Qingshan Town all my life, as long as it is Qingshan Town, I guarantee that my son knows.

I asked, is there a family surnamed Xie in Qingshan Town?

The old woman said, are you talking about tofu Xie San'er? We have a surname Xie in Qingshan Town, living in the east of the village, this kid does not learn and has no skills, he is addicted to gambling, he can make a good tofu, and he can barely make a living, listen to him brag, and say that it is a distant relative of the Xie family in Jinling, but ......

I asked, but what?

The old woman said, they seem to have encountered something recently, three months ago, Xie San'er's house came to a girl, this girl, don't tell you, I have never seen such a beautiful girl in my life, it is just like the fairy in the New Year's painting. It is said that she is a young lady from a large family, and she has an accident at home, and she was implicated and sent here.

I was anxious and asked, "What is the girl's name?"

The old woman glanced at me and said, look at you monkey anxious, it seems that there is a name that is too awkward, anyway, the people in the village call her Xie Erniu'er, this Erniu girl comes, all the young men in Qingshan Town have a virtue with you!

I smiled awkwardly and said, Mother-in-law, you continue.

The old woman sighed, it was not easy to talk about this girl. This Xie San's daughter-in-law, Hu Shi, is not a good stubble in our Qingshan Town, she is a well-known dominatrix, since the second girl came, Hu Shi made things difficult for her everywhere, and the entire family's tofu workshop became her alone. What a good girl, the eldest lady who used to have ten fingers that didn't touch the spring water, but now she picks beans at night, grinds beans in the morning, and sells tofu during the day, even I can't stand it.

Not long ago, there was a rich man Liu in the town who passed by Qingshan Town, fell in love with the second girl girl, and took advantage of Xie San's gambling problem to make a game, so that Xie San lost three hundred taels of silver, Xie San couldn't pay it back, this is not Liu Cai's main Xie San used the second girl to pay off the debt, no, it seems that he is going to marry the second girl today.

At this moment, a burst of blowing, playing, singing, gongs, drums, and suona sounds, a group of people came from here. In the center is a sedan chair, headed by a middle-aged man with a fat head and big ears, his face is full of meat, and the greasy on his face is reflective.

Seeing this, a group of boys gathered around the convoy, and as soon as the fat man waved his hand, a servant spilled some pieces of sugar, which caused all the boys to grab them, and the fat man laughed. The old woman said, this fat man is the rich man Liu, he is here to greet his relatives today.

I didn't want to eat any more at the moment, so I put a piece of broken silver, got up and left.

The old woman said that a bowl of somen noodles doesn't need so much silver, which is unacceptable.

I said you can take it, and it will be regarded as the money to accompany me. I stood up, took the iron sword in my hand, and walked towards the east of the village.

According to local customs, when the family greeting team comes to greet the family, they must first beat gongs and drums around the village three times, which is to tell the villagers that they are going to take away the girl of a certain family. Therefore, when I arrived at Xie San Tofu Workshop in the east of the village, the greeting team was still circling in circles.

I saw Xie Junyan at a glance, she was coarse and woody, standing in front of the board, there were a few whole pieces of tofu on the case, in front of the tofu workshop, there were five or six villagers queuing up to buy tofu, including many village teenagers, their eyes constantly drifting on her.

Xie Junyan was holding a long knife made of bamboo chips in his hand, and he was cutting tofu for the people waiting in line.

Tofu is made of brine, good tofu generally does not use an iron knife to cut, one is easy to make the knife rusty, and the other is that iron can destroy the nutrients of tofu, so it is generally cut into a long bamboo to make a bamboo knife, which is just right for cutting tofu.

Xie Junyan is very skilled in cutting tofu, and he is obviously familiar with it.

There was a middle-aged woman standing next to her, with her hands on her hips, no skirt, and her feet open, feeling very much like the tofu Shih Tzu in "Hometown", she pointed to Xie Junyan and said, surnamed Xie, Master Liu has taken a fancy to you, and since then he has eaten and drunk spicy food, that is the blessing you have cultivated in your eight lifetimes, don't give you a shame.

Xie Junyan collected money while wrapping tofu for people, and directly ignored Hu Shi's words.

This made Hu Shi very faceless, she said to Xie Sandao who was squatting at the door, at home, you have a word, Master Liu's sedan chair is boasting about the street, it won't take half an hour to come, you see your cousin, her head has not been washed, her wedding clothes have not been changed, she just ran here early in the morning to sell tofu, why is it so worry-free?

Xie Sanyi was the master who was afraid of his wife, he came to Xie Junyan's side, and said, My good niece, the third uncle knows that you have been dressed and fed since you were a child, and you have wronged you by letting you marry that Master Liu, but your father is gone, and our Xie family is not the Xie family of the past, so you should feel sorry for the third uncle, is it obedient?

Xie Junyan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, and said, Third Uncle, there are four pieces of tofu.

Hu Shi saw that Xie Junyan didn't eat it, so he hurriedly said softly, girl, it's not difficult to be an aunt for you, your third uncle owes Master Liu silver, if you don't go over, Master Liu will let people beat your third uncle to death, beg you as an aunt.

At this time, I saw a few splashes wearing flower clothes and pulling shoes, and a few people who bought tofu saw this and hurriedly got out of the way. The leader of the humane, the second girl, sells tofu today.

Xie Junyan nodded, there are still four pieces, how much do you want?

I heard that the rich man Liu of the East Village came to marry you as a concubine and marry that idiot fat man, I am very worthless for you. Instead of marrying that fool, it is better to follow my brother and me together. What's the matter, as long as you nod your head, I'll deal with him on Rich Liu's side.

I took a deep breath, walked over to the side, and said, "Excuse me, please cut me a piece of tofu."