In the twelfth year of Tianfu, February, Xuzhou, Pengcheng County.

There are many names in February, such as the moon, the apricot moon, the Liyue, the Lingyue, the Zhongyang, the fourth day, the Zhongzhong, the big strong, the hearty spring, the middle spring, the bell, the moon, the previous dynasty Ye Weng once wrote a poem and said: The garden is full of spring can not be closed, and a red apricot comes out of the wall. The red apricot blossoms bloom in February, so the nickname "Apricot Moon" in February also comes from this.

In Honghuai Town, a hundred miles away from Pengcheng County, it is also much livelier than in winter.

After surviving the long cold winter, and carrying the cold early spring, the green on this land is finally more, the buds on the fine willows are lovely, the hundred-year-old red locust tree in the center of the town is even more luxuriant, in the late summer, in addition to being a good scenery, the locust flower is also a rare food, whether the top of the good locust flower is dried to make locust flower tea, or made into locust flower snacks, the taste is a must. At that time, the town's yamen will send people to maintain order, and everyone in the town will have the opportunity to collect acacia flowers, but not more, one person will have a small handful at most, if you go late, maybe there will not even be a small handful left.

The atmosphere in the town is very harmonious, after eating morning food, everyone likes to go out for a stroll, bring their daughters, or be alone, to the picturesque town to stop and go, chat with people they know, watch the old people on the street play a few games of chess, buy some dim sum from the only dim sum shop in the town, and bring them to the children who go out to play crazy until the evening; Or find two or three friends, go to the restaurant to talk about some current affairs, and get drunk.

Everything seems to be so beautiful, even the news of the fall of the imperial capital doesn't seem to have reached here.

At dusk, a light rain suddenly fell, driving all the pedestrians on the street home, and the vendors scolded and closed the stalls, and even the owner of the restaurant couldn't help but complain.

And in a small wine shop in the west corner of the city, the fat boss also stood in front of the door and scolded, not afraid that God would fall and burn him down with the shop.

This wine shop has been open in Honghuai Town for some years, and it can be seen from the wine flag that is almost rusted off by the wind and rain, and the people who buy wine here are generally people who don't have a few pennies in their pockets, but the alcohol addiction is too big, so they have to come here to buy some inferior wine mixed with water, and the wine is warm and warm, even if you can't drink, drink a whole jar, you will never get drunk. Most people just come to taste it, so naturally they don't care about the quality of the wine, and as for the really good wine, it can only be a waste in their hands.

A thin figure suddenly got into the wine shop from the rain, and the boss was stunned, but he didn't greet him with a smile as usual, but took care of himself, still scolding God with his waist crossed.

The languishing thin man didn't look at the boss, walked into the wine shop, went to the counter very skillfully, leaned against the counter, grabbed a few melon seeds scattered on the counter, and shouted in a calm voice, "Boss, come to a bowl of wine." ”

After the fat shopkeeper finished scolding, he just walked towards the counter, and when he heard the thin man's voice, he suddenly scolded again, "Lao Li, why are you drinking again?" Earning money? I remember you only came once a month before, and you just came two days ago, why did you come again today? ”

The thin man called Lao Li didn't answer, but still said to himself, "Have a bowl of wine." ”

"You have money?" The shopkeeper asked again.

This time, Lao Li didn't speak at all, and he swallowed the last melon seed

After that, he raised his head, glanced at the fat shopkeeper, and was about to turn around and leave.

"Okay, okay, isn't it just drinking?" The fat shopkeeper said helplessly, then turned his head to find a wine bowl, gave Lao Li Man a bowl of wine, and put it on the counter, "Today's weather, there is only one guest for you, I will give you half a bowl later, don't go out to blow with them, otherwise those dog days will come to me one by one, what else will I do in this business?" ”

Lao Li nodded, raised the wine bowl and sniffed, but suddenly put it down, "I don't want this, this time it's better." ”

"Ouch, you old boy, you still kick my nose in the face, don't you? I'll give you half a bowl more, and you still want me to have a better wine? The fat shopkeeper laughed angrily, and almost didn't want to go up and kick him.

"I have money," Lao Li's voice was hoarse, "pay cash this time." ”

The fat shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, looked at Lao Li for a long time, and then sighed and said, "Okay, okay, it's better, right?" How about higher than the sky? ”

"Okay." Lao Li pushed the wine bowl towards the fat shopkeeper.

The fat shopkeeper didn't take it, "This bowl is for you, you kid is rare for a while, and you are willing to pay cash." ”

Lao Li didn't shirk it, and pulled the wine bowl back in front of him, raised it and took a big sip, the fat shopkeeper looked surprised, and said that this is not like Lao Li, Lao Li used to drink wine in small sips, and I can't wait to divide that small sip into two sips, and when I came, I only drank the cheapest, two pennies a bowl of "drunk can't get drunk", and today I actually said that I want to drink a little better, it is really the sun that came out in the west.

But even if Lao Li drank a lot, he still drank very slowly, and the fat shopkeeper didn't rush it, he gave himself a bowl of drunkenness, and then raised his head and drank it in one gulp, and finally smashed it and smashed it, saying, "This thing is like water, why do you guys still love to drink so much?" ”

Drunk is not the best wine sold in this wine shop, most of the drinkers come here, they only drink a bowl of drunkenness, but like Lao Li, if you are drunk, you have to pay on credit, you really can't find it.

The fat shopkeeper suddenly turned his head and took out a plate of melon seeds, put them in front of him, and saw that Lao Li did not move, so he took the initiative to grab a handful in front of Lao Li, and scolded with a smile, "Eat it, count it as mine, I don't want your money." ”

Lao Li put down the wine bowl, took the melon seeds, and the chicken pecked at the rice.

He drank wine and knocked melon seeds, but the fat shopkeeper looked at the rain curtain outside the door, and then suddenly sighed for no reason, "This business is getting more and more difficult day by day." ”

When Lao Li heard this, he was obviously stunned, but immediately returned to normal.

A bowl of wine soon bottomed out, Lao Li handed over an empty bowl to the shopkeeper, the fat shopkeeper took the empty bowl, and refilled him with a bowl of "higher than the sky", when it was handed to him, the shopkeeper suddenly asked, "Lao Li, do you have something on your mind?" ”

Lao Li was completely stunned this time, he lost his mind for a moment, as if he had thought of something.

He thought of the home with four walls, the wife who was always complaining but very diligent, and the son who was always naughty but sensible.

But now, the home is gone.

The house was still the same dilapidated house, but he was the only one left in the house.

His wife and son returned to their parents' home, and when they left, his wife left him with a cruel sentence, "They will not return until the rice jar is refilled."

Come on. ”

When she said this, the rice jar at home had been empty for three days, and the son had gone to the mountains to dig wild vegetables, cut firewood and sell it by himself, and his wife had to borrow grain from a neighbor's house.

But it's good to go, it's good to go, maybe they will be blinded when they return to their parents' house, but they won't be hungry, that's okay, he has already made up his mind to go to the town's old man's house to be a long-term worker, although Mr. Zhang is a harsh person, but he will not owe silver, and he will not let the long-term worker go hungry.

In this way, within half a year, the rice jar at home will definitely be filled!

But Mr. Zhang's family doesn't accept long-term jobs.

There is no way, he can only look at the one-third of the acre at home and worry - there is no food in the field in winter, even if he goes up the mountain to cut firewood every day, he can only ensure that he is not hungry, he no longer wants to see his son looking at himself with tears in his eyes, saying "Dad, I am hungry".

Fortunately, he tightened his belt, ate only one steamed bun a day, went up the mountain every day to chop wood, found something to eat on the road, dug up some grass roots, and went back to boil it with water, but he could fill his stomach.

After two months, he finally saved up enough two hundred yuan, and the rice jar could fill one-third, and just as he was about to exchange the money for rice and cook a bowl of white rice in the evening to treat himself, the order of the state government to collect taxes suddenly came.

200 yuan, after paying the tax, there is only 6 wen left, not even enough to eat a big bowl of somen noodles, these two months, the money that I have worked hard to get, the state government has taken away in a word.

Why? Why! Just because they are officials, you have to listen to them, and I am about to lose my home, but you still have to squeeze out the last value of me.

Isn't the government here to protect the people? When...... If you become an official, you have to oppress the people to live?

With these six cents, his heart is like ashes, and he no longer expects the rice jar to be filled.

He shook his head, pulled himself back from his memory, glanced up at the fat shopkeeper, and tried to squeeze out a smile, "It's okay." ”

"It's okay," the fat shopkeeper patted him on the shoulder, "Recently, I have been going up the mountain to chop wood, and I heard that those red turban thieves have come to our side." ”

Lao Li actually owed him two dollars of silver, but the fat shopkeeper never mentioned it, saying that it was bookkeeping, but he never asked Lao Li for it, just to talk to him a few more days, he seemed to have recognized Lao Li as his friend in his heart.

What money do friends want when they come to drink?

Lao Li didn't speak anymore, because he was originally a silent and unspeakable person, and he was used to it, and the fat shopkeeper didn't talk to him, while snorting melon seeds, he looked at the rain curtain outside the door and thought about what to do in the future.

After half a pillar of incense, Lao Li finished drinking, suddenly stood up, said goodbye to the fat shopkeeper, and didn't care about his retention, and got into the rain.

"Red scarf thief......" Lao Li sighed softly.

Or...... Is it the other way around?