2The sun was very good, and Zhou Dao was half-lying on the bamboo couch under the shade of the tree, squinting his eyes, like a fake sleep.

It's a small farmhouse, quaint and quiet. A main house, two side rooms and bamboo strips and earthen walls enclosed on three sides form this small courtyard. There is moss growing in the infrequent places under the walls and under the house, and there are a few weeds in betweeds, which are not cleaned up and not needed. It's noon, and the inside of the room is dark and can't be seen clearly, and it feels old, but the old also smells old.

The courtyard door moved at this time, but it was not pushed open, and then there was a knock on the door, "Zhou Gongzi", and waited, "Zhou Gongzi, the hour is almost up." "Well, let's go. Zhou Dao responded. The door was pushed open, and in came Hanwa, a half-sized child. He deliberately wore a shirt today, with some patches, but not as bare as usual.

Zhou Dao sat up, his eyes straight, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure there were no eye droppings. Hanwa stood next to her and stopped talking. Zhou Dao exhaled, stood up and "walked", and then picked up a seemingly weighty cloth burden on the side of the recliner with both hands. The two locked the courtyard door and walked towards the ancestral hall one after the other.

The ancestral hall is on the edge of Zhuxi Town, near the end of the road, a small blue brick courtyard with a row of houses, the eaves of the wall are covered with moss, it looks like it is some years, there are two miscellaneous trees in the courtyard, but the ground is clean and tidy.

As soon as I entered the hall, I saw five people sitting in the guest seats talking. "Coming? "It was Wang San who spoke, the middle man of this sale. Next to Wang San were two old men, the fourth master and the old man Wei. Old man Wei's beard was all white, and he looked respectful, and they were just here to testify. There are also two fathers and sons, Qu Baochang and Qu Boss, who also got up and said with a smile, "The hour is just right, just wait for Pan Ye." They all knew each other, so everyone sat down and chatted again, and Hanwa stood behind Zhou Dao, staring at Zhou Dao's baggage.

After two pillars of incense, Pan Ye came. smiled and said, "It's been a long wait, everyone." "Oh, where is this, Pan Ye can come to save face. Wang San smiled and bowed his hand, and everyone hurriedly got up to salute. Pan Ye is the head of the county's patrol, and he is in charge of Zhuxi Town, and he is very powerful in the local area. He was not wearing a bad suit today, he was wearing a gray gown, he looked about forty years old, he had a square face and a short beard, he was not tall but strong, his forehead was wrinkled, and his eyes were bright.

Pan Ye looked at Zhou Dao on the side, "Zhou Gongzi can you take the test clearly?" "Well, I figured it out. "What about Old Man Qu? "It's done! The rest depends on Pan Ye. Qu Baochang gritted his teeth and seemed to have made a lot of determination. "That's good. Wang San, the notes and title deeds are ready, right? "It's all ready. Wang San hurriedly said. A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Dao and Lao Qu finished drawing on the notes. Pan Ye is a guarantor, and Wang San, as a Chinese, also has a signature.

"Zhou Gongzi, don't look at this is a mountainous area, the slope is steeper, although it is not good to grow food, but there are many bamboos, and there are a lot of miscellaneous trees, according to the price of 600 yuan per acre, this 190 acres of mountain forest is really cost-effective. If it weren't for my daughter's dowry, where would I be willing to sell it! "The old man screamed and screamed, but there was a light on his face, as if he was relieved, and the person also smiled." What Lao Qu said is that if it weren't for the war, the hillside woodland would not be at this price. Pan Ye nodded, and then said, "It is said that Zhou Gongzi is a noble person, and it is a little unusual to get some poultry houses on this mountain, but it is not a long way to sit and eat after all, and it is safe to prepare some industries." Fortunately, the place is big enough to build a one-yard house, with land and wood. In addition, under the waterfall, at the mouth of the Zhuxi River, although the terrain is low, it is also smooth, and it can be done by making a fish pond or something. Pan Ye spoke, looking at He Yue with a complexion.

"Master Zhou, you can now hand over the fixed money of Wuguan to Old Man Qu. You two take this deed separately, and I'll go and say hello when I turn around. Three days later, at noon, it was still us who put on the title deed and went to the town's errand house to report the transfer, and the remaining 66 yuan and 200 yuan were also delivered there, do you think it is appropriate? "Wang San is a veteran, who specializes in this, and everyone agrees.

The atmosphere in the room was also lively. "Master Pan, this is the money you have as a guarantee, and you will always take it away. "Lao Wang, this is your five hundred dollars, and the fourth master and Wei Ye are each of your two hundred dollars. The old man stabbed his son who was on the side with his arm, and Qu Da hurriedly opened the big one of the several bags that had been prepared earlier, and it was two runs, and handed it to Pan Ye respectfully. and handed over the rest to Wang San, Siye and others, Wang Sanxian smiled and took it into his arms, "But it's disrespectful, but it's disrespectful." Zhou Dao was also busy taking out money bags of different sizes from his baggage and handing them to a few of them. Then he arched his hand and said, "Master Pan, Lord Wang, and Fourth Master Wei, there are a few troubles today." At this time, it will be noon when the matter is done, and I will make the east, so please move to the small yang stove in the town to have a light meal and have a few drinks. Pan Ye smiled and arched his hand, "So, it's better to be respectful, hehe."

Three days later, everyone came to the town's errand house again, and Wu Lushi re-registered the change of the title deed in the account book, and returned the title deed stamped with a large seal to Zhou Dao. After paying off the errand fee of 600 yuan, Zhou Dao handed over the remaining dozens of yuan to the Qu family in person and collected the notes.

Both sides brought several people to push a single-wheeled wooden cart, after all, sixty or so is not a decimal, so the land was traded.

The Qu family pushed the cart and hurried home all the way. As soon as he entered the house, Lao Qu signaled Qu Da to close the door, and took out the money bag he brought back and handed it to Qu Da, "After the sky is dark, you and I will go to Pan Ye's house."

"What is this for, haven't you already given it twice?" Qu Da pinched the copper coin and frowned, and his face was wrinkled.

"You know. The sloping land on our mountain is full of big rocks except for the bamboo forest, and the slope is also steep, so it is impossible to handle the crops. A ditch and waterfall make up more than half of it. Now this market, not as good as the peaceful years, talking about bargaining, is a lot lower than ours, and there are also people who sell! Others don't know and you don't know yet? Or do you think Pan Ye doesn't know? Lao Qu stared, looking down on his son's slamming appearance, "Only fools don't know!" ＂

"But what are you afraid of when this deal has become a business, is it possible that the surname Zhou can still ask for the money back?" Qu Da was unconvinced, and said back.

"Bastard!" Lao Qu raised his hand and was about to hit, but Qu Da hurriedly shrank his neck and took half a step back. Lao Qu's raised hand hung in the air, but he could only put it down, "Hey, boss, my father is over fifty years old, and the days are counted." Your brother is young, and you have two younger sisters, although our family is also a bit of a family in this town, but we can't stand the toss! If your father wasn't there, I really don't know if this business would be able to sustain itself. Lao Qu paused, and his voice softened, "Then Pan Ye has been in this town for decades, is he a master to be messed with?" That's a guy who can rub sand in his eyes! Others don't say anything about this today, it's someone else's face! Can we pretend to be confused with Pan Ye? You! Lao Qu shook his head and sighed.

Qu Da also softened, "Dad, I know, then there is Wang San, how much does he give?" "He doesn't." Lao Qu replied simply. Looking at the more respectful eldest son, Lao Qu breathed a sigh of relief.

"What about the other Zhou Gongzi?"

"Loser's stuff... Lao Qu pouted and said, "Don't put a good good field, do your best to do something weird, greedy for cheapness, why does he want to close our, this land deed has been drawn, and he still wants to regret it?" Lao Qu regained his usual self-confidence.

In the middle of September, it's not too hot to get hot, but it's still hot. At this time, there was a loser loitering at the foot of the mountain, on his own turf, to be exact. It has been two months since he descended this mountainous area, and Zhou Dao still has nothing to do all day, sometimes by himself, sometimes with his only shirtless long-retinue in trousers and forks, and half-grown children, wandering around his territory, or going to the county seat forty miles away for two days.

On weekdays, the neighbors greeted each other affectionately, and there were many people waiting to see jokes behind their backs. "Sitting and eating empty, this is an obvious truth. "This week's son looks like a noble person, white and clean, with fine skin and tender meat, and his palms are softer than those of girls! "Relying on his own hundreds of tens, one does not buy property and two does not start a business, and he wants a house without a house or a field. I bought a lot of land, but it was a stone mountain with no grain and rice, and I couldn't even build terraces. There can be a lot of money to sell bamboo, which is all over the mountains, and there is a lot! What kind of long method is this? Raising chickens? Hum. "Look at him like that, don't bother to say anything. "You see, there are a lot of people, and they all have opinions about him.

Besides, with the land, what have you done this week, can you last a few years by hanging around all day, and there are fewer people who have broken down this year? Some people also said, "Alas, don't say that Zhou Gongzi has nothing to do, this Zhou Gongzi, don't drink or gamble, treat people kindly, be happy, and be generous." On weekdays, I buy some rice and noodles, buy some vegetables, buy some bits and pieces, how can I ever talk about the price? The crowd nodded. "Is that generous? That's stupid! I heard that the mountain forest he bought costs three and six hundred yuan per ten acres! Just that piece of land, isn't it a lack of heart, it's something missing? "Hey, accumulate some virtue, Mr. Zhou didn't offend you Shen Shun." "Hehe" Shen Shun picked his head and laughed, and the neighbors who gathered around him also laughed evilly.

"That's it, Zhou Gongzi is not bad, but he doesn't talk much, and he is still very kind to people, I know that he has a happy thing." Huo Zui said happily. "What's the matter?" Someone on the side asked. "He loves carpentry. That day I saw a guest in his house, and I led him to see the land he had bought. I know that person is a carpenter Chen in the county, and I heard that he often goes to the county seat, and he also goes to see the carpenter's work. "Oh, that's what a place everybody has." Everyone was happy for a while, and then there was a burst of noise from Zhang's family, Li Jiaxiao, and it took a long time for them to disperse.