Li Er and the old fort got on a long-distance bus, walked all day, and sat for a period of three jumps, and finally arrived at the hill where Li Er rolled down, but unfortunately the hill was no longer the original bare appearance. Now the fruit trees are all over the hillside, walnut trees, peach trees, long arms as thick, you just roll down from the mountain, roll not more than a few steps, you must be blocked by the trees on the mountain.

Li Er went over and asked the owner of the orchard: "The fruit tree is planted so densely, can it bear fruit?" You've never seen such a dense orchard? ”

The owner of the orchard was an old man, he looked Li Er up and down a few times, and said, "Why do you ask this?" Are you a town official? ”

Li Er said: "I am the father of the town cadre. If you come down to inspect the work, as long as you answer my questions, I will spare you. ”

The owner of the orchard laughed and said, "You are a liar, you hit the muzzle of the gun, and the mayor of the town is my brother-in-law." Pretending to be a cadre to cheat, and taking your father with you, this is going to show your feet, you run fast and slip away, but your father can't run, so he has to be caught. ”

Li Er smiled and said, "What are your eyes, take a closer look, is he my father?" The fruit trees are planted so densely, do you want to get a little more money when you occupy the land? ”

"You're a good eyer, an expert. I heard the head of the people say that the compensation for fruit trees is calculated by tree, so it is planted denser, who knows that the high-speed rail has been rerouted, and the tree has been planted in vain, and it is reluctant to cut it. ”

"Sell saplings wow. Remove half of it, and it will be able to bear fruit. ”

"Well, no. At the beginning, in order to fool the public, all the seedlings were planted, and the wild walnut seedlings that had not been harvested were just looking at the Wang, but it did not bear fruit. Even if you have a few fruits, you can't eat them, commonly known as iron walnuts, which is really harmful to others and not to yourself. Don't talk about this, you two came up the mountain on a cold day, is there something wrong? I don't think you're like a netter. ”

"We're here to find someone."

"Looking for someone? Who are you looking for? The old fort took out a photo of his wife and his son in his early years and handed it to the orchard owner. After he looked at it carefully. Shaking his head, he said, "There is no such girl." ”

Li Er was unwilling and pleaded: "This person is this brother's wife, who ran out of housework in his early years. I had seen her in the villages around this mountain a few years ago. Unfortunately, I was insane at the time, and I can't remember where I saw her. ”

The old fort hurriedly stepped forward, comparing his wife's height, physical characteristics, and living habits, etc., and after talking for a long time, the owner of the orchard still shook his head.

Li Er saw that it was getting dark, so he asked the owner of the orchard: "Are there hotels and restaurants around here, can you stay in a hotel?" ”

The old man in the orchard was stunned. Pointing to the surrounding mountains and mountains, he said: "This is far away from the county seat, and it is also thirty miles away from the town, and there is no traveler to stay." As for eating, there is a consignment point in the small village down the mountain, there are things to buy, and she also sells wine and some cooked food, so you can go and see it. ”

The orchard owner returned the photo to Li Er and went back to his orchard's shack.

Li Er pulled the old fort down the mountain. accidentally planted two heels, and he scolded the mountain several times in anger: "What about it, when Lao Tzu was mad and sick, he rolled down the mountain." Blame me for being unlucky. Now Lao Tzu is not crazy again, and he also told Lao Tzu to roll two heels, it seems that this mountain is Cheng Xin and Lao Tzu are against it! Wow, dare to get along with Lao Tzu. Look at how Lao Tzu cleans you up! He grabbed the old fort, and the two of them found a leeward spot and took off their pants. took out the second shopkeeper, peed at the mountain, and soaked the urine, only then did he feel that his heart was gone, and he laughed and went down the mountain.

Before the two of them went down to the bottom of the mountain, there was heavy snow in the sky, and the happy Li Ergao shouted: "The clouds cover the moon on the fifteenth day of August, and the snow lights up on the fifteenth day of the first month." This year is the first heavy snowfall, and the snow is a good year. ”

The old fort was not as interested as Li Er, and followed Li Er, silently, facing the heavy snow, his head was tightly constricted in the collar, his face was full of desolation, and his mood was very heavy.

Li Er and the old fort found the commissary at the head of the village. The store is small, with only a few necessities on the shelves made of red bricks, and it also sells bulk liquor, cooked food, and mutton soup is very cheap. As long as one person buys ten yuan of mutton, the mutton soup can be drunk casually, and there is also sheep blood as a gift, no money. Li Er asked for fifty yuan of cooked mutton, cut two large bowls, and asked the host to bring two large cups of loose wine, and drank wine while eating mutton, and his heart was extremely happy.

When the shopkeeper saw that Li Er was bold, he took out the small pickles he made zuò for him to taste, and Li Er also invited the shopkeeper to sit down and drink together. The shopkeeper declined Li Er's kindness and sat by the stove to talk. When he learned that Li Er was the crazy man who was wandering around here a few years ago, he was surprised, and said in disbelief: "It turned out to be you, there are unpredictable circumstances in the sky, and people have good fortunes and misfortunes." Ten years in the east of the river, ten years in the west of the river. I really can't see that you have such a great creation, blessed person. Back then, I gave you a few pieces of cooked sweet potatoes to satisfy your hunger. At that time, you were unkempt, dressed in rags, and you had words in your mouth all day long, and I didn't know what you were talking about. It's good now, and I've become a big boss. ”

Li Er picked up a glass of wine and saluted the owner's kindness back then. The shopkeeper asked, "This time you come back, dare to love."

Are you coming to the old place to revisit? ”

Li Er smiled bitterly: "There is that meaning." There is also to find someone, my old brother, when his wife ran away from home, I remember that I was crazy in the middle of winter, sober up once or twice, I remember that she once gave me food, and pointed me home, but unfortunately I was crazy at the time, and then rolled down from the mountain in front of me, and happened to be found by a friend I knew, saved my life, and sent me home. That's how I escaped that catastrophe. If it weren't for the fact that I shouldn't have died and met a good person, maybe I would have been a soldier for Lord Yama. When Li Er said this, his eyes were a little flushed.

The shopkeeper persuaded: "Don't be sad, good people have their own good rewards." I want your family to be repaired for generations, and you have never killed a cow. "Speaking of killing the cow, I ask you, did you kill this sheep?"

The shopkeeper smiled: "No, I have been timid since I was a child, and I don't even dare to kill small things such as chickens, ducks and geese, where."

Dare to kill sheep? There are people here who specialize in this, not only killing sheep, but also horses, cattle, and other big animals. "How much does it cost to kill a big animal?"

"I don't want money, I just want some water, sometimes I have to put out sheepskins or something, sometimes I want to drink wine, in short, the man has a good heart, and he kills animals not to make money, but to help the villagers. At the same time, he also makes a small income. ”

"What does he eat?"

"On the slopes of that hill, there are seven or eight small wastelands, and they depend on the sky for food. He also dwelt on the hillside. ”

"That's right, have you ever seen this woman?"

Li Er took out the photo and let the shopkeeper take a look.

The shopkeeper shook his head for a while: "I don't know." We don't usually go out here, but we all know that we don't have anyone in our village. ”

"Is there a hotel on this village?"

"Nope."

"Then how can outsiders stay overnight when they come here?"

"There are a few caves on the other side of the hillside, which were built by people when they lived on the hillside in the past, and in the past few years, they have received government subsidies and built new houses in the village, and those old caves have been abandoned on the hillside. In the past few years, those who have built roads and high-voltage lines and construction teams that have built high-speed railways have all lived there. You two can rest there in the evening. In addition, there was also the one who killed the cattle there who lived not far away, and there was no danger. I have good folk customs here, it doesn't matter if the courtyard wall is not there, and I have never lost anything. There are no wolves, insects, tigers and leopards on the mountains, small hills, big beasts cannot be hidden, and rabbits and foxes do not hurt people. Later, the two of you will make a lantern and go up, get a few candles and light them, and make up for the night. The cave is warm in winter and cool in summer, and there is also firewood outside the door, so it is not a problem to warm up by baking fire. The owner's wife came and said, "You better send them up, it's safer that way, and come down in the morning to eat." ”

Li Er nodded and thanked the hostess. He also asked the shopkeeper to cut three catties of cooked mutton, and then add two catties of loose wine, and bought two packs of the best cigarettes in the shop and held them in his hands. took out the money to settle the account, and the two followed behind the shopkeeper, went straight to the south slope, and entered the cave. The shopkeeper spoke for a while, then took his leave, and Li Er sat on the edge of the fire with the old fort and talked, and after a short time, there was a cough outside, and Li Ergao shouted, "Please come in." ”

As Li Er spoke, an old man flashed in, his and Li Er's eyes met, and the two of them exclaimed at the same time: "It turned out to be you!" (To be continued......)