Zhang Huzi thought that he always owed the old man Li, so he had to be willing to spend a few taels of silver, so he nodded again and again: "Thank you Master Li, thank you Master Li, I will go to ask for a letter at night." ”

Chen Zhutou raised his hand and Zhang Huzi greeted him slightly, and then he and Li Zhutou bowed their hands and left.

Sending away Lao Chen and Lao Li, the two head catchers, Zhang Huzi led Ai Ye to his lower place.

Zhang Huzi was not from Wuzhou, his family was all in his hometown, because he liked to fight bravely when he was young, and he had a mortal enmity with people in his hometown, so he ran out to help others.

It is precisely because he has no relatives and no reason in Wuzhou that he has a ruthless heart, and he happened to help a master who specializes in lending money to people, but it is also suitable for the guests and hosts, and the life is very smooth.

This owner has several taverns and silk shops in Wuzhou City, and his family is very wealthy, so he uses the profits he earns everywhere for a son who is not successful, and he is also afraid of being defeated by his son.

However, these years were turbulent, and usury was not easy to let go, but fortunately, Zhang Hu was accustomed to doing good things, and was able to endure the hardships of traveling around, but he did this business of his owner very prosperously, and even more money than the serious business in the city.

The owner specially allocated a small mansion for him, also to show that he was valued.

An old servant greeted him, and Zhang Huzi took out a few pennies from his side and handed it to the old servant and instructed, "I have eaten, you go to the street to buy some noodles, cook them and eat them with this child." ”

The old servant Nuno continued to speak, took the money and went out.

Zhang Huzi looked at the ragged Ai Ye and couldn't help but shake his head.

He wanted to find a piece of clothing for Ai Ye to change into, but he and the old servant were both grown men, where did they get children's clothes, so he had to scoop up some water in the basin himself, and asked Ai Ye to wash his face first.

Then, he asked Ai Ye, "Ai Ye, tell Uncle, how can there be such a bright bead on your head?"

It turned out that Zhang Huzi was a little strange from the time he saw Ai Ye's hair pin, because the beads on the child's bun looked bright and bright, as if they were very valuable.

But Ai Ye was in tattered clothes, his expression was confused and frightened, and Zhang Huzi thought of the crooked straw huts where Lao Li's ancestors and grandsons lived, and couldn't help but shake his head to himself.

He felt that even if he smashed Lao Litou's bones, he probably wouldn't be able to survive a few pennies, and he didn't know where the old man picked up such a bead, and he had to stick it on his grandson's head to put on a façade.

If it is really valuable, then the old stubborn man should not be so stupid, asking his grandson to wear it everywhere.

Hearing Zhang Huzi's question, Ai Ye was also a little strange, and quickly stretched out his hand to touch his hair bun, and after touching it, he realized that he was indeed wearing a round and huge bead on his head.

Ai Ye pulled out the hair pin, and he immediately thought that this bead was clearly worn on the head of Childe's brother yesterday, and it turned out that Childe's brother pulled up his hair bun for him and put the bead on his head.

Even at that time, he noticed that the top of his head was a little heavier than usual, but usually his grandfather grabbed and pulled up his hair on both sides, but yesterday Childe's brother pulled all his hair to the top of his head and combed it into the same son's bun as the top of Xie Xiang's head.

The first time Ai Ye combed her hair in such a bun, she thought that a little heavy was like that.

After Brother Childe combed his hair, Ai Ye was thinking about how to entertain Brother Childe, and then encountered all kinds of dangers, Ai Ye was originally a child, where would he take care of a lot, but he didn't know.

"Uncle Zhang, this thing is not my ......"

Ai Ye was holding the night pearl hair needle in his hand, and his little face changed color.

He felt that he shouldn't have worn the hair pin of Brother Childe's, and he should have returned it, but he saw some greedy light shooting out of Zhang's beard's eyes, after all, he was a child who didn't have much ability, and Brother Childe's bead, I don't know if I can keep it?

Zhang Huzi laughed: "I guess it won't be yours, it must be where your grandfather picked it up, right?" What else should I do to put on your head, ......"

As he spoke, he shook his head disapprovingly.

Ai Ye hurriedly nodded smartly and said, "Uncle Zhang, it's exactly ......?"

Zhang Huzi nodded: "Keep it well, in case you really can't find your grandfather, it's a thought." ”

Zhang Huzi also knew in his heart that no matter what, the bead on Ai Ye's head would still be worth a few pennies, if he really couldn't find Old Man Li in the future, he would finally let this child sell it to make a living, and his long-cherished wish to repay his kindness would be over.

Ai Ye was secretly happy, it seems that Uncle Zhang is still a good person of faith.

He hurriedly took the bead into his arms carefully, thinking that he had to try to meet Brother Gongzi quickly and return this precious bead to him.

As he spoke, the bearded old servant had already returned from buying noodles on the street.

When Zhang Huzi saw the old servant coming back, he gave a few orders, called Haosheng to greet and take care of Ai Ye, and went out to play with money.

It will take the evening to find out about Lao Li's affairs, and maybe he will take advantage of his good luck recently to earn some money to bribe Li Zhutou.

A bowl of hot noodle soup was in the stomach, and the frightened Ai Ye settled down a little.

Then, Ai Ye felt a little apprehensive that it seemed a little abrupt that he had to bite at Zhang Huzi and insist that his grandfather was arrested and put in prison by the official.

After all, the old man who went up to the mountain to collect medicine outside the city was not only his grandfather, he hadn't had time to go back to take a look, what if it wasn't his grandfather who was arrested by the official mission, or if his grandfather was actually looking for himself now?

Ai Ye decided to go back and have a look first.

If Grandpa goes back, he will definitely leave traces at home, so that he doesn't have to trouble Uncle Zhang anymore.

Ai Ye told the old servant of Zhang Huzi that he wanted to go home and have a look.

The old servant was a loyal man, and felt that the master had ordered Haosheng to take the child with him, and he couldn't let go casually, but Ai Ye insisted on leaving, and there was no way, so he had to lock the door and personally accompany Ai Ye out of the city.

Ai Ye followed the old servant with a beard, listening to his chatter, the old servant was not a native of Wuzhou, and Ai Ye didn't understand what he said at all, and he went out of the city all the way.

Bypassing the city gate, he soon saw the mangrove forest where Ai Ye and his grandfather lived, and in an instant, Ai Ye's heart was full of confusion, that is, he was looking forward to seeing his grandfather's amiable and respectable figure when he went back, and he was afraid that something would really happen.

From yesterday to today, Ai Ye seems to have experienced the hardships and hardships of his whole life, and his mind has grown crazy.

PS: Ai Ye was originally smart and sensible, knew to be considerate and compassionate, and since then he has been more clear-minded and wise, and when he grew up, he finally became a person who went down in history.

This is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

In the distance, Ai Ye saw that the door of her house was actually open.

"Grandpa......"

Ai Ye felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart, blurted out a scream, and ran to the door.

However, when he ran to his door, Ai Ye's little liver suddenly became half cold.

It turned out that he remembered that yesterday he and his son's brother were chased by the five poisons, and when they fled in a hurry, the broken door was wide open.

Ai Ye was almost certain that the door was still in the same position as when he and Xie Xiang left yesterday, and it wasn't that Grandpa had returned.

Ai Ye screamed unconsciously: "Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa......"

However, the red willow trees were still sticking to their branches, and the stream that flowed beside his house was still smooth and clear, and there was no answer from the open door to his grandfather.

In an instant, Ai Ye's legs and feet were weak, and he fell on the path at the door, and the old servant who was so panicked that he hurriedly ran over, picked up Ai Ye and shouted again and again.

Ai Ye didn't faint, but he was already crying bitterly, he knew that his grandfather really never came back.

At this moment, the path at the door is clean, and there is no way to see what terrible chaos happened here yesterday?

Those five poisons that crawled and wriggled quickly seemed to be just a terrible nightmare in Ai Ye's mind, and now, the fact that Grandpa never came back was like an even bigger nightmare, enveloping Ai Ye in an infinite way.

With tears streaming down his face, Ai Ye broke free from the old servant and staggered into the broken grass shed where he and his grandfather lived, only to see that the room still retained the scene of yesterday's hasty escape with his son's brother, the plate of cassava had cooled, and there were traces of being gnawed by rats.

Everything was showing him that Grandpa really never came back.

This meant that he had to continue to rely on that Uncle Zhang and beg him to go to the official office to inquire about his grandfather's news.

If it was really grandpa who was caught by the official yesterday; Thinking of what my grandfather once said, there are almost no poor people who can come out alive who are caught in the official office, and grandpa is so old, how can he endure the pain of prison?

Ai Ye's little heart was already on fire.

The old servant couldn't help but shake his head when he looked at the dilapidated grass huts in front of him, and hurriedly walked into the house and gestured with Ai Ye, asking Ai Ye to go back with him quickly.

Ai Ye wiped his tears, although he was young, he knew that even if his family was poor and the house was broken, he would still come back to live in the future, so he bolted the doors everywhere, so as not to be occupied by some begging people.

When he was about to leave, he thought about it, opened the door and walked into the bedroom where he and his grandfather were resting, first looked for clean and tidy clothes to change out of his clothes and pants that he and his son and brother met wolves in the mountains and desperately fled, and then he searched under his grandfather's pillow.

He knew that his grandfather would hide some of the more expensive things in a small hole against the wall under his pillow, and he would follow the bearded servant into the city, and he didn't know how long it would take to return with his grandfather, and it was always uneasy to leave valuable things in this leaky home.

Sure enough, he opened the small hole that his grandfather had stuffed into a large ball of broken cotton wool, and Ai Ye pulled out a very old gray cloth tobacco bag from it.

However, the bag is not filled with tobacco leaves, Ai Ye's grandfather does not smoke dry tobacco, and I don't know how this tobacco bag came about?

The tobacco bag was a little heavy, and Ai Ye didn't have time to check what was inside, so he hurriedly put it in his pocket; The bearded old servant outside was urging again, because it was not too early, and he was afraid that the city gate would be closed if it was too late.