Liu Mingfan was inexplicably a little irritable at night, it was still cloudless before, but at this time it was raining lightly.

"Is the old man awake?" This is the third time Liu Mingfan has asked Sigui, he always feels a little uneasy and wants to leave as soon as possible.

"Not yet, it may take a while. Sigui stood beside Liu Mingfan, looking at the rain outside the window, sullen.

It was a lonely rain, no thunder, no lightning. Even the wind never came.

But such a lonely rain broke everyone's hearts.

The raindrops hit the window glass with great force, causing a few splashes of water, and then sliding down weakly. Liu Mingfan stretched out his hand and gently touched the glass.

He didn't know why.

Maybe he wanted to appease the restlessness, or maybe he was sympathizing with the loneliness, but he couldn't say why. It's just that the coldness that comes from his fingers can make his anxious heart a little peaceful.

"Huh. ”

A sneer that suddenly pierced his mind startled Liu Mingfan to retract his hand and look around. This is laughter from hell, and every tremor in the air is like a sharp blade, piercing into Liu Mingfan's soul.

"Who!"

"What the hell are you laughing at!"

Almost at the same time, Liu Mingfan and Sigui shouted at the same time, and anger was written in both pairs of eyes.

"What's wrong?" Just the moment they looked at each other, Sigui realized that something was wrong with Liu Mingfan, and a dexterous knife appeared between her fingers.

"Did you just say me?" It was also at that moment that Liu Mingfan realized something.

"What are you laughing at?" Si Gui recalled that laughter, his body actually trembled, and his eyes showed irrepressible fear.

It's like a lamb seeing a wolf.

"What am I laughing at?" Liu Mingfan's voice was so soft that only two people could hear it.

One is himself, and the other is himself.

The figure in the glass heard Liu Mingfan's self-talk, and raised the corners of his mouth at him, his dark eyes were like two abysses, trying to drag him into them.

"Huh!"

"What's wrong?" Sigui grabbed Liu Mingfan and looked in the direction that Liu Mingfan was pointing to.

The cold windows, the cold night, nothing but the two on the ground.

"It's okay, it's okay. Liu Mingfan looked at his own shadow in the glass, his voice was hurried and vain, and he didn't know if it was a reality or a dream under him.

Sigui took a deep look at the shadow in the window, felt the cold world outside the window, and was silent.

A calm but restless night.

Until mid-day.

"Liu Mingfan, the old man is awake!" In a daze, Liu Mingfan's ears came to the voice of Sigui, urgent. Ever since he saw the shadow of that dark eye yesterday, his mind had never been able to calm down, it was all that momentary fear, and even some, longing.

"Have you contacted the old man's family?" Liu Mingfan put away the notebook left by Liu Feixuan and stood up with Sigui. What he wants now is to quickly solve the matter here and go to the old forest to find Su Wei. Last night, Su Wei suddenly lost contact, and he was not at ease.

"I was contacted, but the old man's children were not in the local area, only the old man's wife was contacted. Alas, this old man is also a poor man, and at such an old age, he has to secretly go up the mountain to collect ginseng to pay off the mortgage for his son. Sigui led Liu Mingfan to the ward, and a small mouth was broken on the side.

"Go and see. Liu Mingfan suddenly thought of what Su Wei said, and maybe he could find some clues from this old man.

As soon as Liu Mingfan entered the room, Si Gui rushed out and helped the old man standing on the edge of the bed.

"Eh, don't move, old man, you're not in good health!"

"Baby, I thank you for saving me in advance, and I will pay you back these medical expenses in a few days. But now I really can't live anymore, please tell the doctor, just let me be discharged, and when my wife comes, I'll go back and rest at home for a few days. The old man leaned slightly on the edge of the bed, and his right hand trembled and stretched out to Sigui. This poisoning is still too damaging for him, after all, he is old, and he has carried the snake venom that even young people who are alive and well, and it is not easy for him to carry it.

Liu Mingfan looked at the old man with pale lips, and felt a faint pain in his heart. He roughly guessed the reason why the old man said these words, after all, it was because of a money word. The old man has to pay off the mortgage for his son and support himself and his wife, and every penny of this money has to be spent. There is no way to pay for it before, and according to the old man's good-faced temper, he must have to pay it back. But the expenses after that, if you can save it, you can save it, the word money is too heavy.

A father's responsibility is too heavy.

What would it be like if his father was still around?

In fact, even if his father is not there, his contribution is visible.

"Old man, don't worry, our side is from the city government, you belong to the elderly group, and we will be responsible for reimbursing the medical expenses this time. Liu Mingfan straightened his collar and began to lie seriously.

"Really, really?" the old man licked his dry lips, suspicion written all over his face.

But there is hope in his eyes.

"Well, this is my colleague, we have already paid for your hospitalization, and there will be a subsidy later, so you can recuperate with peace of mind. Liu Mingfan pointed at Sigui and shook his eyes.

"Yes, yes, we are here to comfort you, you don't have to worry about the hospitalization fee, we have been responsible for reimbursement, you can recuperate with peace of mind." Sigui hurriedly answered a few times and gently helped the old man to the bed.

"Ah, that's good, that's good, thank you, thank you. The old man obediently lay down on the bed and thanked Sigui and Liu Mingfan vigorously. In fact, he also knew that his current physical condition was very bad, but he couldn't help it, and his family did not have the conditions to let him continue to live in the hospital.

"I don't know what your name is, where does your family live, and what kind of work are you doing now?" In fact, Sigui had already given him this information before, but he still decided to ask again and listen to the old man say it in person.

"The old man's surname is Zou, and his ancestors have no culture, so he is called Zou Lao Liu. The family lives in Xiaotun Village, gave birth to a son and has no interest, marrying a wife has spent all the family's money, and now I buy a house and ask me for money, so I have to go up the mountain to find some wild mallets, thinking of selling them at a good price. ”

The old man's eyes were a little evasive when he spoke, after all, it was forbidden by law to go to the mountains to dig ginseng, and he was still a little worried when he said it at this time.

"What does your son do, is he still relying on you to give him money at home?" Liu Mingfan ignored Sigui's inquiring eyes, pulled a chair and sat in front of Zou Laoliu's bed, and asked softly.

At this time, he was like a reporter, interviewing the old man.

"Not really, the calf went outside to ask for a job, and I don't know if it's a serious job. A few days ago, he told me that he was going to buy a house, and he was still short of 10,000 yuan, so I asked him to make it up. My relatives and neighbors have all looked for me, who can borrow money from an old man? Finally, without thinking, I went up the mountain to pick a mallet. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen and almost take their lives, thanks to you. There was some helplessness in the old man's voice, but more of it was obedience, resignation.

"I've heard of picking ginseng, right? I want to know, is there anything special about picking ginseng?" Liu Mingfan sat in front of the hospital bed, looking relaxed. He didn't directly ask the old man about the king, but introduced it step by step. After all, he also knew that King Sam was a kind of faith-like existence in the local area, and even if he was short of money, it was impossible for the locals to use King Sam as a bargaining chip, after all, this was going to cut off children and grandchildren.

Zou Lao Liuhu glanced at Liu Mingfan suspiciously, his eyes sank under the skin, and finally gritted his teeth and opened his mouth. "This picking mallet, to put it bluntly, is patrolling the mountains. Holding a lock treasure stick in his hand, he poked through the grass one by one, and he couldn't hurry. When the stick locks the mallet, you have to shout 'mallet!' so that the mallet will be fixed and will not be able to run. If the mallet grows well, then pick it home, if it doesn't grow well, tie it with a red rope and come back next time.

The mallet likes to hide in the grass pile, and it is easiest to forget the original mallet fruit when picking the mallet on the mountain, so tie a red rope to it. One is this mallet temperament, and when it is stepped on, it will wilt, and it will take a long time to grow back, and tie a red rope to save yourself stepping on it again. If you don't tie a red rope and tell someone that this is your mallet, maybe you will pick it for someone else.

There is also the fact that you can't be greedy, this mallet was originally a reward from the mountain god to us, and it is rare, and it is time to stop picking one or two plants. Look at me, it's because lard is blinded and greedy that this is wrong. The people in our tun will pull a group when they go up the mountain to pick sticks, three or five together. If anyone sees the mallet, he must shout 'Mallet!' to fix the mallet there. If anyone shouts the mallet, the fellow has to shout, 'What goods?', and then the one who picks up the goods will have to return, 'Four Leaves!', 'The Lampstand!', we call this shouting mountain there, it is to repay the mountain god, so as not to take it back.

If the person who picked up the goods wanted to pick it up, then he would have to give three bows and nine bows to thank the mountain god. If he comes back to pick up, then put two sticks on both sides of the mallet, and then tie a red rope, so that the mallet baby can't run away.

When these are all fruitful, it will be considered a pick. ”

Liu Mingfan pressed his index finger to his lips and nodded as if he didn't understand.

"Then, what if this is the king?" When Liu Mingfan asked these words, the room instantly fell silent, and even the air became a little solidified.