Spring has passed in a blink of an eye, from the spring flowers to all the flowers, it will not take half a month, and if you want to say goodbye to the rain, you can only wait until after the beginning of autumn. It was very cloudy early in the morning, and at ninety o'clock in the morning it was like a night when it was almost dark. Lin Hongwen thought about the sky that was about to wring out the water, and said in his heart that he had to hurry up and rush to the business house before noon, otherwise he would be easily photographed halfway.

The wind was blowing near noon, and the dust was blowing so hard that people could not open their eyes. Zhou Shiying saw that there was no business, so he asked the guys to go back. I lit a few candles in the store, listened to the wind crying outside, sat down and continued to read the ledger. He Mu ordered the goods on the side, but he couldn't get it right after ordering twice, and he began to order the third time in a distraught. Zhou Shiying glanced up at him and asked, "What's wrong with you today, you're restless." ”

He Mu said, "No, it may be raining." ”

Thinking of a few muffled thunders in the distance, as if in response to the situation, the door of the trading house was also knocked a few times, Zhou Shiying got up and said, "Eighty percent is Hongwen, he is quite good at hurrying, and he arrived before the rain." ”

But when he opened the door, he found that a stranger was standing outside the door. The man was tall, with a straw hat, unable to see clearly, with a beard, wearing a short beat, pulling straw sandals, and looking like a farmer's board. No matter how Zhou Shiying looked at him, he didn't look like he was here to patronize business, so he asked him what was wrong.

The man looked at Zhou Shiying, turned his head and looked inside, Zhou Shiying subconsciously took a step back, and asked again vigilantly, "What's the matter with you?" ”

The man hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm looking for Lin Hongwen." ”

He Mu came out when he heard the voice, glanced at Zhou Shiying and said, "He is not here, who are you, what are you looking for him?" ”

The man didn't answer, but continued, "How can I find him?" ”

He Mu frowned, thinking that this person had never seen him before, and even if he really knew Lin Hongwen, he was probably the kind he didn't often contact. If he was recklessly brought to Lin Hongwen, something might happen. But if you leave people here, if you say something that shouldn't be said, let Zhou Shiying hear it, it will be equally troublesome. After thinking about it, it was better to use the excuse to take him away first, and it would be better to wait for Lin Hongwen to come and ask clearly before making plans.

After making up his mind, He Mu said, "I can't say where he is now, or you ......."

"Why don't you sit here and wait a while, he'll be coming over in a moment anyway." Zhou Shiying took the words, glanced back at He Mu, and then turned around and poured a bowl of herbal tea for the man, "This big brother doesn't know what to call it?" ”

"My surname is Ma," the man replied.

Zhou Shiying sat down on the side, looked at the man carefully and said, "We have known Hongwen for several years, and we have almost met his friends, but Brother Ma seems to have never met, I don't know how you and Hongwen met?" ”

The surnamed Ma drank a large cup of herbal tea, wiped his mouth, looked up at Zhou Shiying and said, "Since I have shown up today, there are some things that I can't hide if I want to, Boss Zhou doesn't have to talk to me, I just tell you." ”

Zhou Shiying was stunned, "You know me?" ”

"The three bosses of Hezhong Commercial Bank, Xu Qingzhi of China Street, Zhou Shiying and He Mu of Fujiadian. I've never seen it before, but I've heard it said. The surnamed Ma said frankly, "As for me and Lin Hongwen, in fact, I am more familiar with his father, and we have both been in the road construction team." ”

He Mu's eyes darkened when he heard the three words of the road construction team, and sure enough, Zhou Shiying asked again, "I heard Hongwen say something about his father and his eldest brother, it is said that life and death are unknown?" ”

The surnamed Ma sighed and said, "If there is no news for so many years, then the eight achievements will be dead." That night, a lot of people died, and they only cared about running for their lives while they were alive. ”

"What the hell is going on?" Zhou Shiying asked.

As soon as the surnamed Ma was about to speak, He Mu interjected, "Brother Ma doesn't want to mention it, Hongwen has rarely mentioned it over the years, and it is inevitable that he will be sad when he mentions it." ”

Who knew that the man surnamed Ma didn't understand what He Mu meant, and then said, "If it weren't for that Du Xinzhu, he wouldn't have to be sad." ”

He Mu chuckled in his heart, and he didn't know what to do for a while. Zhou Shiying saw his strange expression, and continued to ask, "Du Xinzhu?" But the one who speaks in a crepe? ”

The surnamed Ma looked at Zhou Shiying in some surprise, "Do you know him?" ”

"He worked as a partner in our trading house, but he died three years ago," Zhou Shiying said, "What did what you just said have to do with him?" ”

"Dead? It's really an eye", the surnamed Ma sighed, "If he hadn't betrayed us back then, how could so many people have died!" ”

The thunder outside became denser and denser, and He Mu vaguely heard someone knocking on the door, thinking that there was no one else here at this time except Lin Hongwen. So he hurriedly ran over to open the door, Lin Hongwen stood at the door, the thunder seemed to explode in his ears, and the lightning followed, shaking his face white, like a ghost.

The raindrops of beans fell down, and the storm raged on the streets, Lin Hongwen walked in with a body of water vapor, and closed the door with his hand. The candles in the trading house were blown out by the wind he had brought in. The room was dark, and only the water from his clothes could be heard dripping to the ground.

"Light the oil lamp," Mr. Lin said.

He Mu went inside and tinkered for a while, came out with an oil lamp, looked at the water stains on Lin Hongwen's body and said, "Why don't you go and change your clothes first, so as not to catch a cold." ”

Lin Hongwen waved his hand and said no, turned his head to look at the surnamed Ma, "Are you ...... Uncle Ma? ”

The surnamed Ma nodded, and just as he was about to speak, Lin Hongwen continued, "Uncle Ma, what is the matter with you coming to me, I probably know it in my heart." I know you're in a hurry to leave, I'll give you a sum of money, and you can go to a safe place as much as possible. ”

"Okay, thank you very much," said the man surnamed Ma.

Lin Hongwen went to the back room, opened a locked box, and took a hundred rubles and stuffed it to the surnamed Ma, "When the rain stops in a while, you can leave, don't tell me where you are going." ”

"I understand," said the man surnamed Ma.

There was constant thunder outside, but there was dead silence inside the house, He Mu wanted to say something, but when he saw Lin Hongwen shaking his head slightly, he shut up. Zhou Shiying's abacus became more and more chaotic, and he couldn't understand what the account said.

The heavy rain fell for an hour before it turned light, and the man surnamed Ma couldn't wait to stand up and say goodbye to the three, Lin Hongwen closed the door after watching him walk away, turned to look at Zhou Shiying and said, "Is there anything you want to ask, ask, aren't you tired after enduring it for so long?" ”

Zhou Shiying moved the abacus aside, looked up at Lin Hongwen and said, "I want to see clearly what kind of person I have been working with in the past few years." But the more I saw it, the more scared I felt. ”

Lin Hongwen poured himself a cup of hot water, and the clothes on his body were half dry, and it was very cold at this time. He glanced at Zhou Shiying, then lowered his head to look at the steaming cup, and said unhurriedly, "I know you have your rules, and so does Qingzhi." So there are some things that I don't let you touch, because I know you're going to be dishonored. But that's the way it is now, and the dishonorable things need to be done. ”

"How did Du Xinzhu die?" Zhou Shiying asked.

"The man who came just now is called Ma Chuansheng," Lin Hongwen sat down at the table and replied truthfully, "He was also a member of the road construction team back then, and later the road construction team joined the Boxer Rebellion, and originally planned to cooperate with the outside world to deal with the Russian road protection team that night." However, Du Xinzhu was greedy for life and afraid of death, so he sued the translator for this matter. ”

"I ask you how he died?" Zhou Shiying stood up and walked up to him, "I don't dare to think about everything together, because the more I think about it, the more scary it becomes." On the day he died, it was so coincidental that you came to the store, so coincidentally the delivery person was not there, and it was so coincidental that the order was to be delivered to the shipyard in Jiangbei. Zhou Shiying turned his head to look at He Mu, "You also know it, right?" You have calculated from the beginning that you want him to die. ”

"Don't look at He Mu, I asked him to do everything", Lin Hongwen said, "I just want to ask for the truth, when Du Xinzhu saw me like a ghost, I suspected that he had something to do with the road construction team." Later, when I tried him several times, he was evasive, and I set up a bureau to hear him tell the truth. Sure enough, it was he who betrayed the road construction team. ”

"If you heard the truth, why is he still dead?" Zhou Shiying asked.

"I'm looking for someone to save him", Lin Hongwen said with a smile, "but he won't wait until then to die, and I can't help it." ”

"You can still laugh? That's human life! Zhou Shiying shouted.

"Yes, it's human life", Lin Hongwen looked at him calmly, "Aren't the lives of those people he betrayed their lives?" Do they die in vain? Lin Hongwen stretched out his hand and tapped Zhou Shiying's chest, "I sue you, he should have died a long time ago, why can he live a few years longer than those people?" Because God is like you, he doesn't have eyes. ”

"So you think you're doing the right thing for heaven?" Zhou Shiying sneered, "If he really violated the king's law, then he should also be subject to the law, why should you take people's lives?" ”

"The law? What is this place? The Russians occupy the port area and Qinjiagang, and the Fujiadian has no house or platform, and they can't find a place to beat the drum to redress their grievances, so you tell me the law? Lin Hongwen laughed, "Didn't you wake up?" ”

"Human life is at stake, do you understand?" Zhou Shiying looked at him disappointedly, "When you took this shop, you already caused that old man to hang himself." I thought you would learn a lesson, but I didn't expect you to get even worse. ”

"If I don't accept this shop, you may have to beg all the way back to your hometown, and you still have the ability to question me here?" Lin Hongwen snorted coldly, "It's as if you value human life a lot, and I take it lightly." When cholera was rampant, I was afraid that you would catch the epidemic, so I asked you to close your business, but you refused. How much do you value the lives of others and your own? After all, it's not a good word, and you can even give up your life? ”