She hurriedly walked away, saving herself from being "killed".

But the people below recognized her and shouted, "Is it a cuckoo?" ”

The cuckoo turned his head in surprise and asked, "Who?" ”

Suddenly a lantern lit up below, and a voice said, "I, Erni." ”

Then, the two of them climbed up from under the river embankment, and sure enough, it was the chubby and round Erni; There was also a short and stocky young man, about eighteen or nineteen years old, both of whom looked sneered, and their faces were not sure whether they were illuminated by the dim light, or whether they were already shy and red.

The cuckoo smiled and said, "Sister Erni! You...... What about fishing? ”

She wanted to ask, "What are you doing?" but felt that it was inappropriate, but suddenly saw the young man carrying a string of slender small bamboo baskets in his hand, and hurriedly changed his words to ask about fishing.

Seeing her smile, Erni said shyly: "Go down to the yellow eel, and also catch fish." Cuckoo, this is a leper, the one from the Zhang family in the south of the village, who is the one who is married to me. We're going to get married next month, and we want to catch more fish and yellow eels for cooking. ”

Cuckoo was happy for her: "It's so good! There was a happy wine to eat. ”

Erni blushed, turned around and slapped the young man, and said angrily: "I don't know how to greet people!" This is the cuckoo, the Huang family, the Huang family who let my two younger brothers go to school with just a basket of yellow eels. ”

The leper laughed, scratched the back of his head, and said to Erni, "I recognize." ”

Erni glared and said, "You must be secretly watching people." ”

The leper is extremely embarrassed.

The cuckoo looked at them, snorted and laughed, and somehow felt better. Pointing to the bamboo basket in the leper's hand, he asked, "You use this basket to catch yellow eels?" ”

Erni hurriedly took a bamboo basket from the leper's hand, and motioned to the leper to approach the lantern, pointing to the cuckoo and said, "This basket has a small mouth and a big belly." The inside is inverted and pointed, and you can only enter and not exit. I put food in it. Block at the entrance of the Yellow Eel Cave, just come and collect it tomorrow morning. ”

The cuckoo was busy taking a closer look. It turned out that the basket was long, with a man's fist thick underneath, and an inverted conical funnel at the entrance. He praised it and said he wanted to see how they got it.

Erni took the cuckoo's arm and walked with the leper to the side of the field.

The three of them walked on the ridges, lined with harvested rice paddies, which were not suitable for growing wheat. Inside is barren, a shallow layer of water, full of rice stubble and weeds. The cuckoo and Erni chattered and talked, while the leper bent down along the ditch and kept taking pictures, sometimes reaching out to touch the inside of the ridge for a while.

The cuckoo asked in a low voice, "What is this for?" ”

Erni replied: "Find the Yellow Eel Cave." ”

The cuckoo said: "Aren't you afraid of snakes? ”

Erni said: "Be careful, isn't it." ”

After a pause, the leper said, "There is one." ”

After speaking, he knelt on the ridge and picked up the yellow weeds. Motioned to the two girls to look.

The cuckoo looked at it, and sure enough, there was a small hole, about the thickness of the water bamboo.

Then the leper stuck the basket at the mouth of the cave and fixed it. before getting up.

They circled around several fields, and the leper placed seven or eight baskets in a row, and when their hands were empty. before stopping.

Erni smiled and dragged the cuckoo and said, "Let's go, follow us to the river to net fish." It's good to fish at night. ”

The leper seemed to think of something. Looking back at the cuckoo, he stopped talking. Took a few steps. Finally, he couldn't help it and asked, "Cuckoo, it's so late, what are you doing here?" Not afraid? ”

Erni scolded: "Why do you talk so much? Don't look at the cuckoo as a female baby, she can do better than you. She's not afraid! ”

The leper shut up in embarrassment.

In the face of the straight Erni, Du Juan had no intention of hiding it, and besides, her story had already spread in the village, and she couldn't hide it. So he smiled: "I'm in a bad mood, so I'll go out for a walk." I didn't expect to meet you. Look at you guys doing this, it's weird and fun. ”

Erni was very happy to see that Du Juan was willing to say this to herself, and persuaded: "Du Juan, don't think too much, don't pay attention to him when the people in the village gossip, marry whoever you like." ”

The leper couldn't help but say again: "The cuckoo likes Huang Xiaofuzi." It was good, but now there is a girl again, how do you want her to marry? If only you wouldn't feel bad? ”

Erni was speechless when she heard this, and she didn't seem to have anything to say.

After a pause, he said, "Don't be angry." Cuckoo, let me tell you, it's not worth it to be angry. If you don't have a good time at home, you come and talk to me. I went out every night with the leper to fish for eels and fish. ”

She is not like Guixiang and other little girls, or instigating Du Juan to marry Lin Chun, or complaining that she should not choose Huang Yuan, or scolding Zan Shisha. She had only been in contact with Cuckoo a few times before she felt that she was a good person, so she insisted that any decision she made made made sense. The cuckoo is just good-looking and capable, so she is remembered by many people, in fact, what is wrong with her?

The cuckoo sensed the sincerity of the two, and agreed: "Okay! ”

Erni was very happy, and her arm tightened around her.

When the three of them returned to the river, the leper took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs and went down to the river, reached into the bottom of the river with a penny in both arms, and gently pushed the fishing net along the edge of the river along the edge of the river. Gently, like a fish that is afraid of alarming the bottom of the water. Erni carried a lantern along the riverside to help light him, while whispering to the cuckoo.

The faint light of the lantern shines on the surface of the river, flashing like fish scales, accompanied by the sound of "whooshing" water, which is somewhat mysterious and also makes people look forward to it.

"Why do you come to fish at night?" Cuckoo asked.

"No one at night, and it's comfortable. This large piece of field and a whole river, just the two of us, so open! When I caught the fish, I didn't know how much I liked it. When there's a moon, it's even more fun. The two of us were busy talking and laughing, and when we were tired, we went to eat in the shed over there. -- I've buried a jar of good stuff over there, and I'll treat you to it later. Erni uses simple language to express a very beautiful romantic picture.

The leper in the water heard it and looked up and smiled at her.

The gaze was so affectionate that the cuckoo couldn't help but wonder what they had just done by the river, as if it had not faded.

Such a teenager is a little shy when he looks at the cuckoo.

The cuckoo was touched by them, and her mood became soft and sweet.

She said to Erni: "It's obviously very hard, but I only feel so happy when I look at you." ”

The leper smiled all over his face and said, "It's not hard, how can you marry her?" ”

Erni tilted her head and scolded him: "Are you reluctant? I don't want to think about it, who would like to marry you a little leper except me? The family died of poverty. You're still selling cheap! ”

Du Juan couldn't help but laugh and said: "Brother Leper is very good, he looks like a sincere and reliable person, Sister Erni, you are not a loss." ”

Erni and Leper both laughed at the same time, and they liked it very much.

Erni told Du Juan with great interest that the leper had leprosy on his head when he was a child, and his scalp fell off piece by piece, so he got this nickname, and many people looked down on him, "I'm stupid, I'm willing to marry him!" ”

The cuckoo said: "Fools have foolish blessings!" ”

Ernie smiled happily, not at all perfunctory to herself.

After pushing for a while, the leper suddenly raised his arms and lifted the net out of the water, and with a "bang", as the fish at the bottom of the net struggled, the jade-like droplets continued to fall into the river, and then turned to the river bank and sent it to Erni and the cuckoo.

The cuckoo screamed and hurriedly jumped away.

Wait for the net to fall on the grass, and then hurry over again.

"So much? It's not small! ”

She was amazed to see all kinds of miscellaneous fish jumping around in the net, and even prawns.

The leper pulled out a net bag from the water like a trick and handed it to Erni, there were already a lot of fish in it. Erni took it and picked up the fish in the net with the cuckoo. After picking it up, it is still thrown down the river, and the leper is tied around the waist to keep the fish and shrimp alive.

The cuckoo finally realized the fun of netting fish at night that Erni said: it seemed that there were just three of them in heaven and earth, and every laughter and joy was magnified; The day was turned over, and the noise and chaos of the day were also precipitated by the dark shadows, leaving only the night sky, mountains, fields, and rivers...... And yourself!

She smiled happily and asked, "You come every night, how busy are you?" ”

Erni said: "It's not too late, it's not good to stay in the water for a long time." Like tonight, we'll be going back later. I want to help the leper fry melon seeds and peanuts, braised pig's head and pig's trotters, and the day after tomorrow he will come to my house for a ceremony. ”

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something, and said to the cuckoo: "If you are willing, can you go and help me make braised pork at night?" Your tea and rice skills are the best, and you can also talk to me. My father and mother are very busy, and neither the leper father nor the mother have it, so we do everything ourselves. said that it was a ceremony, but I didn't prepare it for him. I'm embarrassed to go over during the day, so I'll accompany him at night to get it, and save a little is a little. ”

After hearing this, the cuckoo admired, and Erni said that she wanted her to help, I was afraid that it was to relieve her, so she said: "This is very easy." I just want to tell my family that they shouldn't be at ease if I haven't come back for so long. ”

Seeing that she agreed, Erni hurriedly turned to the river and shouted happily, "Leper, don't fish!" You go to Huang's house and send a letter to Du Juan, saying that she won't go back tonight, and I will ask her to help with the cooking. ”

When the leper heard this, he hurriedly climbed up from the river.

Erni took out a handkerchief from her waist, and while letting him shine his feet and put on his shoes, she taught him a few words, and the cuckoo also explained, and the leper agreed one by one.

After he left, Erni packed up the fish, still left it in the water and raised it, tied it to a branch on the shore, and said that she would come back tomorrow morning. Then the two sat on the ridge of the river and waited for the leper to turn his head, and spoke in a low voice.

At some point, the leper returned.

When Du Juan heard him say that he met Lin Chunhua halfway, and met Huang Yuan Huangli at Niangniang Temple, he was not surprised, and asked what they had said. The leper said nothing, but described the situation again. The cuckoo didn't say anything after hearing this, and didn't ask more, so he followed Erni and the two across the river, and the cuckoo on Erni's back.

The place was near the foot of the hill to the south, and after crossing the river, they went to a straw hut nearby. According to Erni, it was the watermelon field of the leper's family, and the shed was built in July to watch the melons.

The cuckoo looked at the dark mountains and forests in the distance and asked, "Aren't you afraid?" ”

Erni said: "Why don't you be afraid! Wolves are often heard howling at night. It's terrible, no one is born with everything, and you have to practice courage and hunting, so I worked hard and followed Brother Leper up the mountain and down the river. We're going to live here in the future. (To be continued......)