Not long after leaving the West City Gate, there is a birch forest, and it is early spring, and it has just rained lightly, and the soil on the ground is slippery. There is a mound through the birch forest, and beyond the mound is a waterhole with a radius of dozens of zhang, the water of the pool is very clear, and it seems to be the collection of an underground dark river. On the edge of Tan Shui, the tall birch trees are smoking their buds, those tall shadows are reflected in the waterhole, the breeze blows, the reflection flows, this scenery is very pleasant.

Jiang Lan remembered this place, he had been here late at night three months ago. What happened then is now like a dream.

He sighed, didn't stop long, spared the pool of water and continued to walk along the road.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, I saw a small courtyard built next to the road, with a small yard and three thatched houses.

"This should be it!" Jiang Lan was about to enter the courtyard, but suddenly saw the door in the middle of the courtyard being opened, and a figure came out of the door.

Seeing this figure, Jiang Lan was stunned. The tall figure, the skin like mutton fat and jade, and the blue and white long skirt are no different from the shadow in the dream.

"This ...... Belch...... Do you have anything to do with this strong man? ”

The girl saw Jiang Lan standing at the gate of the courtyard and asked out loud.

"Uh......" Jiang Lan came back to his senses and remembered the purpose of this trip, "I'm here to find someone, is this Mr. Wen's residence?" ”

"I'm looking for my father! Unfortunately, the strong man came, and my father went out to the back mountain early in the morning, and left a message when he left, saying that he would not be able to come back until the evening. ”

"That's ......"

The girl's voice was as crisp as a silver bell, and Jiang Lan was a little intoxicated when she heard it.

"Strong?"

"Oh...... In this case, Xiao Sheng is here to wait for the old gentleman to return......"

"Xiaosheng?"

Hearing Jiang Lan's words, the girl was stunned at first, and then hid her face and chuckled. Her smile was like a flower swaying in the wind. The voice, as pleasant as the wind hitting a beaded curtain, made Jiang Lan look fascinated for a while.

He suddenly remembered that his current appearance was still a little deficient compared to the hooligans in the streets and alleys, so it was no wonder that the other party called himself a strong man...... Thinking of this, he couldn't wait to take off this clothes immediately, wipe off the disguise on his face, and put on his most handsome body again......

"If the strong man doesn't dislike it, please go into the house and wait for a while."

"Okay, that's a lot of bothering."

Seeing that the other party did not dislike his ugly appearance, Jiang Lan's good impression of him increased greatly, and he unceremoniously agreed.

The girl chuckled: "Strong man, please." ”

Jiang Lan was introduced into the thatched hut in the rightful middle school. It's not a big house, but it's tidy. The facilities in the house are simple, only one square table and four stools. Jiang Lan sat down at the square table, and the girl went to fetch hot water again and made Jiang Lan a pot of tea.

The aroma in the room is leisurely, with the fragrance of tea and the fragrance of beautiful women.

After Jiang Lan entered the house, a pair of eyes never left the girl. The delicate skin, delicate facial features, and a few strands of green silk scattered between the foreheads are all teasing Jiang Lan's heart. Jiang Lan is in his early twenties, and he is prone to nymphomaniac, how can he not be tempted in the face of such a beautiful woman.

The girl also seemed to be aware of Jiang Lan's gaze, she avoided Jiang Lan's gaze from beginning to end, but she didn't look half annoyed, and she didn't get up to leave.

"Forgive Xiaosheng for daring to ask the girl's name?" Jiang Lan couldn't help but ask. As soon as he finished asking, he scolded himself for being stupid - how could the girl's name be asked casually, this is too rude! Han Xi asked like this last time, and he got a roll of the other party's eyes.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly opened his mouth to make amends: "Girl, Xiaosheng is not ......"

"My name is Wen Xun'er." The girl said calmly.

"Xun'er...... What a beautiful name......" Jiang Lan sighed, not noticing that Wen Xun'er had a faint look of unhappiness on her face.

Just as he was about to say something more, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open. Jiang Lan and the others looked towards the door, only to see that it was an eleven or twelve-year-old girl who pushed the door in.

This little girl's face is somewhat similar to Wen Xun'er, but her face is fleshy, and she has two sky-high pestles on her head, which looks very cute.

"It's Yu'er, didn't you go to the back mountain with your father, why did you come back so early?"

"Don't mention it! Last night, the wind blew away the thatch on the roof of the back mountain, and my father and I searched for the thatch all morning but didn't find it. Dad was in a bad mood, so he came back early. He's walking slowly, and he's still to come! The little girl, who was called Yu'er, seemed to be the sister of the girl in the house, and she kept complaining as soon as she entered the house.

"I'm exhausted...... Ay? Who is this big brother? ”

"This guest is here to find Daddy." The girl glanced at Jiang Lan and explained.

"Yes, I'm here to ......"

Jiang Lan was about to say something, but suddenly heard a slightly old voice from outside the door: "Xun'er, go get some food!" This Yu'er has been arguing about her hunger since just now, and she has been arguing with me all the way! ”

As the voice approached, its owner entered the house. Jiang Lan looked at the person, it was a strong uncle who was about forty or fifty years old. He was dressed in a gray cloth robe, with a tight wrist strain, a cloth on his head, an inch-long beard under his chin, and a slightly dark face. Although he is old, his strong physique is not inferior to many young people.

Jiang Lan guessed that it should be Mr. Wen, and he wondered a little in his heart - how did such an elderly version of Xiang Beichuan give birth to two daughters who are like flowers and moons.

"Who is this guest?" When Jiang Lan saw the old man, he also saw Jiang Lan sitting in the house.

Hearing the question, Jiang Lan hurriedly got up and arched his hand and said, "Senior is Mr. Wen?" ”

"It's Wen, are you?"

"The junior Jiang Lan was introduced by someone and came here to ask Mr. for a blade."

"Hahaha!" Uncle Wen stroked his beard and said with a bold smile, "The kid surnamed Li in the city told you to come!" Well, the old man can indeed fight some blades here, say, what style do you want? ”

"Old sir, what the younger generation asks for is not an ordinary blade." Jiang Lan paused, "The junior came here this time to ask for a long knife. ”

Wen Laohan's face changed when he heard this: "Boy, do you know that according to my Daliang law, the long knife is equipped in the army, and it is not allowed to be bought and sold by the people?" ”

"The younger generation knows."

"Then what are you doing here? Xun'er, send off a guest for me! ”

The uncle surnamed Wen heard that Jiang Lan wanted to buy a long knife, but his face turned from sunny to cloudy, and he directly issued an order to evict the customer.

"Mr. Wen, please listen to me," as he spoke, Jiang Lan glanced at the Xun'er girl beside him again, but the threatening words he had thought of before coming came couldn't be said for some reason, "Old gentleman, junior, junior...... Willing to spend a lot of money to ask for ......"

"No, no amount of money! Xun'er, don't send off the guest soon! ”

"Childe, please ......"

Jiang Lan glanced at Old Man Wen, then at Miss Xun'er, sighed, and then went out to leave.

On the way out of the Wen family, Jiang Lan's mood was extremely bad - this time, not only did he not get the blade in his hand, but he also failed to leave a good impression on the other party when he saw the "dream beauty" for the first time.

"Ahh What a failure! Jiang Lan couldn't help but shout.

"Master, go drink some wine, relieve your heart!" In the past three months, because he has been very depressed in his heart, he has also visited all the restaurants and taverns in the city. Rao is like this, but his alcohol consumption has not increased by half a point, and he is still drunk with a pot. But because of this, he slept very well every night.

Jiang Lan soon came to a tavern he frequented, which was small but very clean.

"Uncle Jiang, are you here?" The shopkeeper of the tavern saw him enter the door and hurried up to greet him.

"Well, heat up a pot of wine and serve two side dishes."

"Gotcha!"

Jiang Lan found a table by the window and sat down, there were not many customers in the tavern at this time, he looked at the pedestrians coming and going on the street, and his thoughts wandered out of the world......

"Shopkeeper, bring all your good wine and food to the master!"

While Jiang Lan was thinking wildly, two more guests entered the tavern. Look at the two of them dressed in blue and black clothes, with red cloth tied around their waists, blue and black headbands, and short knives pinned to their waists, dressed as a large family nursing home.

The two of them ordered the wine and food, sat not far from Yu Jianglan, and began to chat.

"I said, third brother, why does our young master often run outside the West City recently? If you want to hunt, you should go to the northern suburbs! ”

The man known as the "third brother" pouted: "I also heard from the seventh brother, when our young master passed by from the west of the city before, he saw a beauty. That little girl looks like a Peugeot! hooked the young master's soul away. ”

"Yes!"

"It is said that our young master is also a master who has seen the world, and he has read countless girls since he was a child, what girl has not played? But since I met that girl, I didn't think about tea and food all day long, and ran to the western suburbs whenever I was free, but I never got to that little girl again......"

Speaking of this, the third brother couldn't help but smash his mouth, and it looked like he was almost drooling.

"Huh? Third brother, since the young master has taken a fancy to it, why don't you ...... it at the right time" The nurse said as he made an obscene expression.

"What do you think! At that time, there was still a master with him, otherwise do you think that according to our young master's temperament, he can bear it? ”

"Yes...... But what does that girl look like, can she charm the young master like that......"

"I also heard what Lao Qi said, but he has seen it with his own eyes, let's go and ask him when we go back."

"Good! Third brother, drink! ”

"Drink!"

The two were drinking and chatting, and Jiang Lan next to him was stunned for a while.

"A beauty outside the West City? Could it be Miss Wen Xun'er? Jiang Lan had a bad conjecture in his heart, but he quickly dispelled it, "Forget it, how can there be such a coincidence in the world......

Jiang Lan, who had dispelled this thought, continued to drink alone until the tavern closed late at night......

After a night without words, on the second day, Jiang Lan went out of the city alone to wander around, and the place he went to was the birch forest outside the West City.

He came to the waterhole where he first saw Wen Xun'er, and sat alone on the edge of the pool, stunned and in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the distance, and the footsteps sounded very brisk, and it seemed to be a woman.

"Could it be Miss Xun'er?"

Jiang Lan subconsciously found a big stone and hid his figure. He stared in the direction where the footsteps came, and after a while, a figure came from far and near—it was Wen Xun'er.

I saw Wen Xun'er wearing a peach-colored dress today, with light steps and a smile on her face, walking in the direction of Yinping City.

"Looks like you're going into the city." Jiang Lan thought to himself. In order to take a few more glances in the dark, he sneaked up and followed......

Yinping City is the only county seat within a radius of dozens of miles, and on the first and second days of each month, there will be people from the surrounding villages driving big carts and pulling locally produced goods to the city to set up stalls to sell. In the past two days, the owners of small shops in the city have closed their doors and crowded into the streets, selling their goods with the vendors from outside.

These two days are the big market in the city, and they are the busiest time of the month. The streets and alleys of the city are full of goods, what daily miscellaneous bits and pieces, seasonal fruits and vegetables, female embroidery are everything, and the streets are also full of people.

In front of a cloth stall, Wen Xun'er was holding a piece of green cloth in her hand, and the vendor of the stall kept babbling, as if introducing the goods to her.

"Young Master, look! Isn't that the chick you've been looking for! ”

More than a dozen steps away from the cloth stall, two people were pointing and talking something.

One of them was about thirty years old, wearing a blue-black nursing home coat with a red cloth belt on his belt, and his face was a little lean, and he looked like a monkey with a sharp beak.

The other man was about twenty-five or sixteen years of age, his face was a little pale, his eyes were small and slender as if they had been cut with a knife, and he had two handfuls of dog's fat beard and thin lips like blades. Wearing a light blue silk dress, with a jade pendant hanging around his waist, he looked full of luxury.

At this time, the person who looked like a nurse was pointing in the direction of Wen Xun'er with his finger. The young master looked in the direction of his finger, and at a glance saw Wen Xun'er in front of the cloth stall.

"Oops! Really! Come with me! As he spoke, he ran to Wen Xun'er in three steps and two steps, and saluted him, "Girl, you can make Xiaosheng easy to find!" ”