Chapter 1 Wang Baoshan sells shoes

Black, Endless Black ......

It replaces all colors, occupies all vision, and obscures all images......

Is it the only truth?

'Crackle... Click... ＇

With an abrupt sound, this endless darkness was pierced, and the light that was not too dazzling also came instantly.

Split the black in two, and the shiny one was a rusty, somewhat broken woodcutter.

A small, ragged young man was holding it and slashing at a few dead trees and rotten trees in front of him.

'Crackle... Click... ''Crackle... Click... ＇

This plain-faced, naïve young man, silent, immersed himself in hard work, and did not care about anything else, but devoted himself to chopping wood, as if in this way he could forget his fatigue and troubles.

I don't know how long it was, how much firewood was chopped, and the young man finally stopped.

He looked up, and the sun, which had just shown his face, stopped what he was doing. Sitting beside a tree with a crooked neck, leaning against the trunk, he closed his tired eyes.

From time to time, the sun climbs to the top of the mountain and is shining on the earth with a soft morning light. The cool mountain breeze also wanders leisurely in the mountains and forests, as if looking for green leaves with dewdrops.

"Nine Winds..."

At this moment, a soft, inaudible call came faintly from a distant place.

The young man also opened his eyes. There was a strange light in his eyes that also floated from a distant place.

"Who is Nine Winds?"

"My name is Wang Baoshan, not Jiufeng..."

"Who are you?"

......

The young man who woke up from his sleep, as he said to himself, his name was Wang Baoshan, and he was a woodcutter on this mountain, that is, a craftsman who made a living by chopping wood.

The short, and peculiar dream just now has been with him until now. For as long as I can remember, this dream has always come back from time to time. Moreover, there is only one voice every time, and there is nothing else, which makes him wonder all the time.

After a long time, he shook his head so that he could sober himself up and pay no more attention to the unprovoked dream.

After getting up and tidying up his clothes, he pinned the woodcutter to his waist, and after tying the chopped firewood with the bark, he carried it on his shoulder.

"You have to go to Master Li's house early, otherwise it'll be too late..."Wang Baoshan struggled to find the path to the bottom of the mountain, with a look of self-reproach on his face.

"You're just like that treasure mountain. Li Ning, the kitchen subordinate of the Li Mansion, squinted at the door frame of the back door of the mansion, and Wang Baoshan, who was late, said with bad intentions.

"What do you mean?" Wang Baoshan was a little puzzled.

"Stupid and stupid......" After Li Ning finished speaking, he glanced at the mountain not far from the head of the village.

"Hehe, I've kept you waiting for a long time, on the way here just now, something happened and I delayed for a while......" Seeing that the other party was a little angry, Wang Baoshan hurriedly laughed and said no.

"Okay, let's put it at the door!" Li Ning was a little impatient, and casually gave Wang Baoshan a few copper coins, which can be regarded as money to buy firewood.

"I said, Brother Li, why is there a copper missing?" Wang Baoshan had just taken the copper coin when he discovered the problem.

"That's not less! four coppers!" Li Ning frowned when he heard this.

"No, it's always been five coppers! Why are there only four today?"

"I said, Baoshan, how long have you sent firewood to our house?"

"It's been four or five years!"

"It's been so long, you should know some rules, right...... Our lord dropped his words, and said that from now on, the firewood he bought would be at this price......"

When Wang Baoshan heard this, he was immediately deflated, and he completely lost the momentum just now, so he had to bow his head, say goodbye, and walk away.

He knew very well that except for Master Li who was willing to buy his firewood, the people around him would not buy it, and even if they wanted to, they didn't have that condition. Because, this place belongs to Master Li's family, and it is the richest. Moreover, he is still a big landowner, and the fields within a radius of several miles are all his family property. Even the nearby residents are all tenant farmers of his family, and they even have a problem with eating, how can they have spare money to buy firewood!

Besides, the villagers generally have no firewood to cook, so they go up the mountain by themselves to chop a few loads for their own use. Therefore, Wang Baoshan chopped firewood, and only Li's hometown and himself used it, and the other villagers were all self-sufficient.

Then Master Li once said: If he hadn't seen Wang Baoshan pitiful, he wouldn't have bought his firewood, which shows how difficult this way of survival is.

Although in the eyes of ordinary people, there should be no difference between one more copper and one less copper. But Wang Baoshan knows in his heart that one copper can buy two steamed buns, and he is a coolie, and he doesn't have eight or nine steamed buns a day, so how can he do it.

After thinking about it, he had to swallow his anger and walk towards the mountain with his head bored. Because, there is his home, and there is his thatched hut.

"Is it Baoshan?"

At the entrance of the village, passing by a low thatched mud house, an old, mute voice. Suddenly, it came from within.

"Well, it's me... Uncle Liu..."Wang Baoshan knew that this was an old man in the village, and it was Uncle Liu who made a living by selling straw sandals.

"Come in and sit down!"

"Good..."

As soon as he entered the earthen house, Wang Baoshan found that Uncle Liu was lying on the dilapidated bed, looking unwell, and his face was not good-looking, looking older than usual.

"Uncle Liu, why didn't you go to the market to sell shoes today?"

"Alas, I came back late last night, and I accidentally fell into the mud and fell into the mud, thinking that I would be fine if I slept overnight, who would have thought that I wouldn't be able to get up today... It's old..."Uncle Liu looked outside and sighed.

"Alas, I also poured a little mildew this time......" Wang Baoshan didn't ask anything else, and when he saw Uncle Liu sighing, he also sighed.

Uncle Liu, who wanted to be comforted, was a little displeased when he saw him sighing, and said, "You are young, what kind of anger do you sigh?"

"I sent four or five years of firewood to Mr. Li's mansion, and the first ten coppers were a load, but now I can only take five coppers...... This one is one less...... What should I do after that!"

"Hehe, are you too young?" Uncle Liu was amused, and it seemed that this was also a very unlucky thing.

"Of course, in the past, you could eat a full day, but now you can only eat half full. ”

"You think about eating nothing but chopping wood?"

"If you can't fill your stomach, how can you think of anything ......else?"

Uncle Liu listened, but didn't laugh at him anymore. sighed and said leisurely: "This person, the way of life is different. There are many people in Old Man Li's mansion, and they are all mouths for dinner... You can't blame him entirely, maybe someone hid it from him and withheld the copper......"

When Wang Baoshan heard this, he lowered his head and did not sigh again.

"If you just chop some firewood to sell, you will definitely not be able to ...... for long"

"I can't do anything other than chopping wood!"

"No, you can't learn! No one is born with it...... I can't move around for the time being, so you can help me take those dozens of pairs of straw sandals and sell them at the market! If it's easy to sell, don't chop wood in the future, help me sell straw sandals with one heart, and I'll make straw sandals with one heart......"

"Okay?" Wang Baoshan was a little surprised.

"Why not? Just try it...... It's still early, so hurry to the market. ”

"This ......" Wang Baoshan looked a little uncertain.

"What's this, old man, I'm still hungry, you go quickly, or we'll both starve in the future." ”

Maybe it was because he heard that he would starve, Wang Baoshan no longer hesitated, took off the woodcutter at his waist, found a place with the rope and put it away, and went to clean up the dozen pairs of straw sandals that were thrown in the corner.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to mutter: "Uncle Liu, you can take care of me for my meal, today is the first day, to do business, if you don't sell well, don't blame me......"

"I know, I won't blame you...... Remember, a pair of shoes sells for twelve coppers... It also takes at least ten to sell it...... Also, don't trust strangers easily..."Uncle Liu saw Wang Baoshan go out and hurriedly shouted.

"Good ......"

When Uncle Liu heard this voice, he had already left the village, so he was relieved and lay on the bed and smiled with satisfaction.

When he arrived at the emotional place, he also began to muttered in his heart:

"Baoshan, this kid is a good person, it's a pity that he is a wild child... Wang Daniu said that he picked it up when he was chopping firewood in the mountains...... Who believes it!"

Litou Town Market is the most lively place Wang Baoshan has ever visited, but that was a few years ago.

He had heard Uncle Liu say that Litou Town was also a not very lively place before. The reason is that within a radius of a few miles, there is a large number of Li clan, and the descendants of their clan built an ancestral hall in order to show their virtue of respecting their ancestors.

Later, after worshipping every year and festivals, and people coming and going for many years, the surrounding area of the Li ancestral hall gradually formed the scale of the town unconsciously.

The bazaar, neither big nor small, gathers such a number of vendors, mostly from neighboring villages. They relied on their own unique handicraft to make some light and practical objects, and when they met their favorite master, they exchanged some money to feed the family.

During the busy farming or seasonal period, there will also be some vendors from afar, bringing new things from outside, to peddle here, but most of them are expensive and no one cares.

Today happens to be a lively day, and the market is crowded. Wang Baoshan squatted in the corner of the bazaar, with straw sandals made by Uncle Liu in front of him.

At this moment, under the torment of hunger and thirst, he still can't let go of his hands and feet, and can only look at the crowd in front of him, not knowing what to do.

When it was almost noon, Wang Baoshan regretted a little that he shouldn't have come here to learn how to set up stalls to do business.

Now he is hanging his head, nesting in the market of Litou Town, for most of the day, not to mention that a pair of straw sandals have not been sold, and he has starved himself half to death.

Seeing that it was late afternoon, he thought that it would not be a matter to endure any longer, and with difficulty he got up from the ground, collected the dozen pairs of straw sandals used to practice the stall, and planned to rush back to the village before the sun went down.

Although he didn't sell a pair of straw sandals, the bundle of firewood he cut in the morning was exchanged for four coppers, and buying four or five steamed buns was still enough to deal with his belly.

"Little brother, ...... slowly" No, he had just walked less than ten steps before someone grabbed his arm from behind.

This sudden pull immediately put Wang Baoshan on the spot.

I saw that he was pulled by a middle-aged man, this person had a kind face, a few wisps of beard, and was wearing a decent robe, and his thin figure was about thin.

"Little brother, don't blame, don't be surprised, I just want to buy straw shoes from you!" The middle-aged man pulled the mustache on the side of his mouth, looked at Wang Baoshan, and smiled.

When I heard that I was going to buy straw sandals, Wang Baoshan was excited. is like a child who has been wronged, suddenly met a relative, and finally found a place to vent his suppressed emotions that day, and he was moved so much that he almost hid in a no-man's place to wipe his tears.

"Okay... Yes... Uncle, I have a pair of ten copper sandals. It was rare to meet a buyer, Wang Baoshan was afraid that the other party would not buy it, so he lowered the price first.

The middle-aged man just nodded, but didn't speak.

Seeing that he was silent, Wang Baoshan thought it was too expensive, and hurriedly said: "Uncle, otherwise, nine coppers and a pair of ......."

"Well, the price is not expensive, is it durable?"

"Durable, durable, uncle, most of the villagers around here wear my straw sandals... Your sole, your upper..."

Although Wang Baoshan was driven by Uncle Liu to put ducks on the shelves today, he came to set up a stall to sell straw sandals. But it's not far from what he used to cut down trees and sell firewood. Some self-justifying words, he can still piece together a few routines.

"How many pairs of shoes do you have?"

"Eighteen pairs, all of them were just made last night, uncle, take a look. ”

"Well, I'll do it all. The middle-aged man smiled faintly.

"Ahh

"Little brother, don't be surprised, I didn't buy these straw sandals for my own use, I bought them for my lord, and I saw that I was going to be busy with farming, and the people who worked in the fields needed shoes to wear. ”

"Cheng ......" Wang Baoshan also worked in the fields, and he is also a countryman, which is naturally understood.

"It's just ......" The middle-aged man suddenly frowned, with some indescribable looks.

"Uncle, what's the difficulty, is it not enough money? or ......?"

The middle-aged man smiled again, waved his hand, and said, "That's not it, money will naturally not be less than half a copper for you, and it is not easy for you people who rely on craftsmanship to eat." It's just that I'm in a hurry to go out today, and I don't have much money on hand, I see that it's still early, so it's better to go back to the village with me, little brother, and take the money to buy straw shoes for you. ”

"Okay, anyway, it's not a big deal if you leave early and return late. ”

When the middle-aged man heard this, an imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he stopped speaking, so he took Wang Baoshan and walked straight out of the town.

Along the way, Wang Baoshan saw that middle-aged men didn't like words much, so he didn't talk to himself, and he went to set up something.

He was still immersed in a sudden burst of joy and couldn't help himself. This time I go back, maybe Uncle Liu will be pleasantly surprised. I can't imagine that this is a business errand, and I can't help it, it's easier and more profitable than chopping wood. It seems that in the future, it is better to continue to do it with one mind!

There is a way to pick up a watermelon, who wants to pick up any sesame seeds again.

Just when Wang Baoshan was feeling good about himself, a sharp pain in the back of his neck made him seem to have lost six souls. I just felt that the head melon seeds on the top were buzzing for a while. Then, his eyes went black, and he passed out.