The good place to burn paper that Cao Zixin said is actually Changmenpu, under a small bridge at the entrance of West Street.

This section of the river is narrow, there is a hole under the bridge, the top is the bridge, two people can stand side by side on the edge of the ditch, the sun sets, the bridge is half dark, half is bright, the golden waves at dusk pull the old man on the river surface, Yu Shu squatted in the dark and took a branch to poke the burning paper pile, one by one to fill the paper money into it, and watched the flames go up and down a little distractedly.

"Won't you say something?" Cao Zixin said.

"Say what?" She wanted to say, but how to say it, she burned paper money for herself, can she still wish an early death and early superlife?

It's not right, her paper money was burned for the little girl who was unlucky enough to die in the ancestral hall, so please "her" know underground, let go of the dust of this life as soon as possible, and go to reincarnation, she will take care of her younger brother, as for the snarky mother, it's okay, she will also take care of it by the way.

And—

Dad, Mom, Xiao Lei, I'm living well here, don't worry about me, I can't go back, I don't want to go back, not everyone can have a chance to do it again, forgive me for being a selfish person, in this life, I want to live clean and comfortable.

"Doesn't ordinary people have to talk about something when they burn paper? Didn't you say you wanted to worship ghosts and gods? Cao Zixin squatted down beside Yu Shu, picked up the paper money that had fallen outside the fire, and threw it in piece by piece.

"Wishing you prosperity." Yu Shu whispered, because of his sour nose, his throat was a little tight.

"Shouldn't you say something auspicious?"

"I begged just now, and now I'm asking you for the shopkeeper," Yu Shu sniffed hard, swallowed back the little bit of useless energy, grabbed the little paper money left behind and threw it in, and stabbed the fire with words:

"All ghosts and gods have spirits, please bless our shopkeeper's business to be prosperous and prosperous, well, marry a beautiful lady as soon as possible, give him a big fat boy, and take the exam in the future."

This little ghost, Cao Zixin smiled dumbly, his elbow was bumped, and when he turned his head, he saw the young man squeezing his eyebrows at him:

"Shopkeeper, I'm mean enough to you, I've told you all the good things, and in the future, you will marry a wife and have children, don't forget to invite me to drink happy wine."

The clever and pleasing face in front of him, how Cao Zixin looked at it and felt happy, he smiled, patted the ash on his hand and stood up, and responded happily:

"Okay, I'll toast you three times myself."

Yu Shu looked at Cao Zixin's hand that stretched out to pull her up, and grinned:

"A word?"

"It's a deal."

"Smack!" Yu Shu stretched out his slap and slapped it vigorously on Cao Zixin's hand, which was regarded as a high-five, and stood up with his sleeve.

***

After burning the paper, he made an excuse to get rid of the shopkeeper Cao, Yu Shu went around half the street, picked and chose on the Changmenpu Street, bought half a catty of sesame crisp, four taels of fried melon seeds, two taels of sugar-pickled winter melon strips, and wrapped three hot mutton patties in the most painful way, and spent half of the one or two silver given by Ji Ershao yesterday, leaving four or five corners, and an extra handful of copper plates.

Afraid that the meatloaf would not taste good when it was cold, Yu Shu picked up the change, carried a string of snacks and trotted all the way home.

"Aunt Liu, I'm back, hurry up-"

As soon as Yu Shu entered the courtyard, he ran to Aunt Liu, who was fetching water by the well, changed the things in his left hand to his right hand, and took a still hot mutton patty from the oiled paper bag wrapped in his arms and held it up in front of Aunt Liu.

"Eat it while it's hot."

Aunt Liu smelled the smell of meat, and then looked at Yu Shu's big bag and small bag, she couldn't be moved, and first said in surprise:

"Miss, where did you come from, this, this—you shouldn't have cut your hair again!"

"No," Yu Shu immediately denied it, stuffed the meatloaf into Aunt Liu's hand, and turned his head to show her the back of his head, "You see, it's not less, it's not less, it's not less, right?" ”

Aunt Liu looked at the hair that hung down half of her back to her back, confirmed the length, raised the mutton patty in her hand, and said suspiciously:

"And where did you get the money to buy these?"

"Yesterday in Xiaoxi Pavilion Niang, she said that she wanted me and my brother to buy some delicious food," Yu Shu lied without blinking, took Aunt Liu's hand and took a bite of the cake, and ran into the house with a smoke.

The aroma of the meat patty that was bitten open, Aunt Liu, who couldn't remember how long she hadn't opened the meat, was hooked out of the gluttony, her throat moved, and she hesitantly sent it to her mouth to eat, one bite or two, while thinking about going to the house, there was only a cake bud left at the bottom, only to remember that the bucket was still at the bottom of the well and had not been pulled up, and hurriedly ran out, so I heard Yu Shu shouting at the door of the house:

"Aunt Liu, where is Xiao Xiu, why is he not in the house?"

"Oh, the young master came to the mansion in the afternoon, so he called the young master to play."

It turns out that Yu Xiaoxiu still has a playmate, she thought that he didn't have any friends, only her sister depended on her, too, how could a teenager not even have a playmate.

Yu Shu leaned against the door frame with the mutton patty that had been bitten into a semicircle, and his mood was a little delicate.

The cousin of the Ji family? Is it the only son born by Aunt Ji, who married Ma Xianling's wife in Yiyang City?

It should be about the same age as Yu Xiaoxiu, but their identities are so far apart, and Yu Xiaoxiu is a stubborn man, can they really play?

Alas, "It's not easy to be a sister, I have to worry about it all day long, for fear that the child will be taken badly, or if I am bullied, Yu Shu took a big bite of the meatloaf melancholy.

"Miss, it's about to eat, the slave can't let go, you go find the little young master and call him back for dinner." Aunt Liu shouted in the courtyard.

"I'll go."

Yu Shu finished eating the cake in his hand in two bites, let out a sigh of relief, glanced at the snacks and candies on the table, and thought about Yu Xiaoxiu's greedy cat appearance when eating, so he couldn't close his mouth happily, wiped his grease mouth and oily hands with a hand towel, and took the remaining mutton patty, and went out to find someone.

The miscellaneous courtyard where the sisters and brothers live is under the three-room Jixiao Valley, just south of the West Cross Courtyard.

Yu Shu slipped around outside the courtyard for half a circle and didn't find anyone, thinking about it, he went straight to the north, and when he met the maid and the nurse along the way, he would politely ask, and he was kind, and he saw a group of children in the afternoon, and he would point her in the direction,

After coming and going, Yu Shu touched the door of a small garden, at this time it was already dark, the corridor on the side of the corridor was hung with lanterns, and when it was time for the mansion to eat, some places were very deserted, and there was not even an idler on the corridor, so some sounds would be extraordinarily clear.

"Climb, climb, my cousin told you to climb, do you dare to be disobedient, do you still want to be beaten!"

"Hmph, Young Master Ben is no longer playing, you tie him up for me, tie him to a tree, and strip off his pants, Xiaoliang, you go find a few maids to come over, hahaha!"

"Shhh You bastard dare bite me! Watch me give you some awesome taste! ”

"Smack!"

"Hey, don't hit him in the face, let my mother know that she should punish me again, hold him down, let me come!".