Although the rain was small, but the wind suddenly blew hard, the canopy under the plaque of the first branch hall was blown by the wind, and they did not collect the canopy for a long time in order to give a convenient place for pedestrians in the rainy night, but the night was dark, and there were fewer and fewer people who needed temporary shelter from the rain.

An old couple who never walk at night and have to wait until dawn to go out, but on a dark and rainy night, they have not returned home yet, which is a seemingly ordinary trivial matter, but also an unusual strange thing

"Isn't there some accident?" Xia Xuaniao glanced out the door, and there was no one under the canopy.

The dog gnawed on the chicken legs and gnawed his mouth full of oil, and his mouth was stuffed with pieces of meat, and he said vaguely: "That old man Han has to take his stupid daughter-in-law with him when he goes out to buy a stack of straw paper, and he is very careful, and there can be no accidents." ”

Yes, that old couple is special. My husband is in his fifties this year, but he looks like he is in his sixties. He was an orphan who had suffered a lot since he was a child, and his back was as if he could never straighten up, not born with a hunchback, but obviously a rickets caused by often carrying heavy loads. He wasn't physically tough, he was as thin as wood. I don't know if it's because he has been smoking tobacco for most of his life, he has been coughing all year round, and he has to cough a few times from time to time. Even after having a foolish daughter-in-law, he quit smoking, but he still coughed constantly.

He is an honest and honest man, how honest he is, when the crowd is crowded, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he will apologize to others. He is not used to listening to others thank him, nor is he used to listening to others apologize to him, he is always full of smiles, and his cheeks are red all year round because of the wind and sun, which adds a lot of joy to his smile, as if he is celebrating the New Year every day. Whether behind his back or in front of him, everyone says that he is a fool, and he always laughs.

He had a stupid daughter-in-law who looked about his age, a real fool, but not crazy and stupid all the time, she occasionally looked like a normal person, if not for her stunned eyes.

She only looked at his humble husband when she looked at him, but she rarely saw her eyes leave her humble husband.

Hanzi's husband is a native of the local, who has been diligent and diligent all his life, lives a simple and down-to-earth life, and has nothing to listen to. It's his stupid daughter-in-law, but it's a pastime for many people after tea and dinner.

There are many theories about his foolish daughter-in-law. Some say that it is also local, and like her husband, she has been an orphan since she was a child, saying that she was originally a normal brain, but unfortunately because she was bullied a lot, she became crazy and stupid. It is also said that she wandered from elsewhere and was born crazy and stupid. When she first saw her, she sat naked on the big stone at the entrance of the town and combed her hair, and it had just rained at that time, and there was a puddle in front of the big stone, so she held the water in the puddle and wet her hair, and combed her unkempt hair meticulously, and it was smooth, and a little broken hair was also moistened by her water.

She sat on the big rock, smirking at everyone who passed by. But she was not beautiful at all, she was very ordinary. Even if you see her many times a day, you will never remember what she looks like. If you ask her what she looks like, I'm afraid no one can describe it. But once you see her, you can recognize her at a glance – yes, it's her. Accompanied by the phrase "Hey, look, that foolish daughter-in-law is here with her foolish daughter-in-law again!" many people have said something like this.

I heard that at that time, she had been sitting on the big rock, singing seriously for a while, smirking for no reason, spitting on passers-by for some reason, and fighting with passers-by in a frenzied and terrifying way...... There are people who rush to see the excitement all day long, and there are also those who are afraid to avoid it. There are also those who pee on her frivolously, or touch her exposed skin when she is not crazy, and if they see that she is stupid and does not resist, their behavior is even more inadequate. But it's mostly frivolous, whipping, or bullying. The place is not big, and most of the people come and go with familiar faces, and no one is willing to put aside their face and make more excessive moves towards her fool in public. In addition, there were also children who threw stones at her and smashed her head and bleed. I heard many people say that when she is not crazy, she just laughs silly, and when she is crazy, she has never heard of her beating anyone's child.

So, her hair, which had been combed in muddy water, was dried by the sun and became unkempt again. She was always fighting with people, leaving her covered in bruises and scars. She was covered in the stench of chaos, mottled with blood, covered in mud, and sat madly on a big rock cursing every passer-by, and then someone cut her tongue out. I heard that she didn't seem crazy and stupid at that time, or maybe it was self-defeating - when she heard that her tongue was bleeding when it was first cut off, she immediately gulped into her mouth and put the bleeding into it.

Later, until the Hanzi who was busy with farm work and was about to return home, he found her when he was passing by, and picked her up and became a daughter-in-law.

The big rock she had sat on that day was at the entrance of the town, not far from the right slope of the first branch hall. So after listening to people's chatter, every time Lin Suqing saw the big stone and the narrow road outside the town, it was as if he saw the foolish daughter-in-law sitting on the big stone that day, as if he saw the foolish husband who took off his coat that had been made up countless times and put it on the foolish daughter-in-law, leading her to walk slowly and leisurely towards the back of the house.

In the past, it was all hearsay from all sides after the branch church had established a solid foundation. Later, they didn't really see much with their own eyes and know much. They knew that the couple's home and land were at the east and west ends of the town. Every day when the sun is bright, you can see the foolish husband leading his foolish daughter-in-law past a branch hall, past the entrance of the town, past the big stone, and go to the field to harvest the farm work.

The two of them are more than a hundred years old, and they still hold hands anytime and anywhere, but even if they hold hands, they still hold a rope less than half a foot wide by a finger around their waists. I heard the husband say that he was afraid that she would suddenly become ill or be stimulated by something, that it would be difficult to find her if she ran away, or that she would hurt someone or who would hurt her.

Their family is much poorer than ordinary people, and they rely on their own fields for food, and they grow and eat what they eat. They also sell home-grown grain, or hand-made things such as hand-woven baskets and small wooden benches, and change some for wear.

He was very strict with his food and clothing, and when the harvest was not good, he would take a bite of a piece of bread himself, and give it all to his stupid daughter-in-law. He himself wore only three or two pieces of clothes for many years, and his whole body was sewn with patches, patches on patches, and he could no longer distinguish the original color of the clothes. But his stupid daughter-in-law often has new clothes to wear, and in addition to new clothes, what kind of hairpins, what kind of fat powder, what kind of earrings and so on are popular in the town, not everyone in the town has them, but sometimes they can see them on the head of the stupid daughter-in-law. Although she wears them very cheaply, everything she wears suits her perfectly. Occasionally, it makes people think that she is actually a normal person.

In addition to these, the deepest impression that the couple left on Lin Suqing was that the husband often gave gifts to the shops in the town that were open at any time. The gifts are not necessarily very valuable, most of them are his newly harvested crops, such as the rice that Yifentang eats from the family of Hanzi and his wife.

The husband of the son did this to make a connection, not for the superfluous, what he asked was: "In case I die one day, I beg you to be good, and take pity on my stupid old woman who doesn't know anything, if she has nothing to eat, you adults can give her what they have leftover." If she forgot to go home, begged the adults to scold her and tell her to go home. If she runs around without clothes, there are people who spit a few words about her, telling her to go home and put her clothes on, she loves to dress up, and she understands it. That's about what it means.

After coming and going, everyone got acquainted, and there were always people who persuaded him to have a child, but he just smiled in his left ear and out of his right ear. So they have no children and no daughters, and they rely on each other for their lives. But there are always good deeds to coax him, such as when they are rushing to the market, when they pass through the town, there are always people who mock him—

"Yo, did you bring your hen that doesn't lay eggs to buy something?"

"Is that madman won't let you touch her?"

"Are you stupid or she's stupid, she's ignorant, can she push you away if your overlord is the bow?"

"She won't give birth to you, what are you doing to her?

"The days are getting poorer and poorer, so why spoil yourself. ”

Or deliberately stir up trouble -

"That crazy woman doesn't recognize your husband at all, and if you don't believe that you let go of the rope, she must have run away. ”

"I'm afraid that if the rope is loosened, she will turn her head and get involved with the animals, hahahahahaha~ I have seen too much of the world and dislikes you!"

"Why don't you say crazy woman, stupid madman!"

Sometimes the foolish husband had firewood on his back, or had something in his arms, and he would not be able to free up his hands to lead his stupid daughter-in-law, so there would be an opportunity to cut the rope between them, but every time it was cut, the foolish daughter-in-law would grab the son by the hair, and hold him tightly and would not let go, or sit on the spot, hugging his legs and feet, and in any case refusing to continue walking, unless he tied the rope again.

For ridicule, for abuse, for provocation, the humble husband always laughs and never responds. If there is someone who gets along well and is enthusiastic, when he talks to him, he is also full of bright smiles, and smiles silly: "She has me in her heart." He giggled at himself, and he was happy with himself, and the stupid daughter-in-law he picked up laughed when she saw him laughing, and she laughed silly with him, although she didn't understand anything.

"Do you have to wait for them today?"

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Xia Xuanniao, and Lin Suqing retracted from the rain curtain. He took a sip of the wild hawthorn wine sent by the humble husband and his stupid daughter-in-law a few days ago, reminisced about the thin sweetness and light sourness between his lips and teeth, and said in a deep voice: "I have been taken care of by the couple for so many years, and I can't help but do things." ”

"What do you mean......"

A gust of wind howled through, sending a drizzle into the room, wetting the inside of the door. Half and a half hurriedly left the table, walked out of the door to carefully look at the canopy above, and then hurriedly ran to the bamboo poles fixed on both sides of the first branch hall to support the canopy, and shook them one by one, seeing that the bamboo poles shook to the extent that the ropes were reinforced.

"Maybe they've gone home. Lin Suqing's thumb rubbed the rim of the small wine glass, the bright red wine in the cup was crystal clear, reflecting a little Lin Suqing's eyebrows, as if he was looking at the wine, and the wine was also looking at him.

"Chances are, at noon, it will be dark, and no one knows that it will rain. That simple man is so careful that he will definitely not let his daughter-in-law get drenched in the rain. ”

The dog casually glanced up at the door and said, "Anyway, let's rest late, wait." I couldn't help it, so I sent a bird to his field to take a look. ”

"It's been sent, they're not in the fields. Lin Suqing said gloomily, "It's not in the grass shed on the edge of the ridge." ”

Xia Xuaniao's heart trembled, but he still said auspicious words: "Whose house are you going to take shelter from the rain?" ”

"Where's their house?" asked the dog.

"No one knows where their family lives. Lin Suqing put down his wine glass and frowned, "It is estimated that it is to prevent him from bullying his daughter-in-law with improper intentions after his death, and he has never told anyone." ”

"Hmm...... That simple man was always afraid that he would die before his daughter-in-law. Not...... But this is not easy to do, and I can't detain a landlord to come out and ask questions. The dog put down the chicken wings he was gnawing, twisted the beans and frowned bitterly, "Hey, don't talk about the land, there is no envoy here at all." Or maybe I chose this place where the demonic spirit is rampant and the evil ghosts are ravaging!"

The dog suddenly had a flash of inspiration and hurriedly asked, "By the way, you often chat with him, do you know what his name is? ”

Lin Suqing shook his head, and looked deeply at the rain curtain outside the door: "In the whole town, no one knows what their names are. ”

The pouring rain suddenly became smaller again, and the sound of the wind gradually quieted, which meant that the rain stopped and the wind stopped. Occasionally, there are people who have returned late because of the rain and hurriedly run by, but still do not see the figure of the old couple, they usually passed in front of the door around the hour, today is three hours late, the hour has passed but they are not seen.

"You eat first, and I'll go to the east and inquire if anyone has seen them pass by." Xia Huoniao suggested.

The dog glanced at it and said, "What time is it, even if you knock on the door, no one will open the door for you." It glanced at the wet road outside the door, "It had rained so hard before, and even if they had really passed by and gone home, their footprints and breath would have been washed away. What else can be done but wait. Even if they go home, they will go out when the weather is clear. ”