After talking about business, the two of them talked some more gossip, and when they said goodbye at the west end of the long street, the hour had already passed three watches.

When the Pan family's carriage disappeared into the darkness with the sound of the wheel, Shang Cheng followed Pan Lian's instructions and quickly rented a horse in a carriage and horse shop on the street. Now, the chariot and horse dealer with the lantern led the horse for him, and walked beside him with his footsteps, while he sat leisurely in the saddle with the reins in his hand.

It was late at night, and there were few pedestrians to be seen on the dark street. Because there is no business to do, the shops on both sides of the street have closed early, only a few small restaurants and taverns selling food are still slightly lit by oil lights, and occasionally the unbridled loud noise of the drinkers can be heard, and the vulgar laughter and scolding can be heard far away in the silent streets. From time to time, someone lifted the cotton curtain and looked at him curiously, and then quietly retracted it. It was the restaurant owner and the guy who was looking forward to another deal. But at such an hour, and in such a cold weather, these people are not at all as attentive as in the daytime, and will greet guests with a smile from afar; It was only when they heard the clattering of horses' hooves that they were getting closer and closer, and when they were almost at the door, they lifted a crack in the cotton curtain and looked out, and in the light of what they saw, they quickly calculated in their minds whether it was worth wasting their efforts to attract a guest.

The answer is clearly no. The men of the carriage and horse shop had already led the horses through several streets, and there was not a single restaurant that came out to greet Shang Cheng enthusiastically. It seems that these businessmen are very shrewd, and they can only see at a glance that Shang Cheng's dress is not the same as ordinary people, and it is obvious that a man who is both a horse and someone who has a special bridle will definitely not take care of their small restaurant business!

A little further along, the chariot shop stopped in front of a small restaurant on the side of the street. Just when Shang Cheng wondered why he suddenly didn't leave, the guy yelled at the restaurant.

A woman soon came out of the small restaurant, wiping her hands with an apron tied around her waist, and greeted the chariot and horse dealer with a smile: "Brother Hua, why did you have free time today, and you have time to come and sit?" Ah, my sister and my two little nieces didn't come with you? Then he shouted into the house, "Come out of the house!" Big brother of the flower family is here! Hurry up and bring out the good wine and meat, and you two will have a good conversation tonight! ”

"I'm busy." Buddy, Brother Hua hurriedly waved his hand. He gestured his hand to the horse behind him, meaning that he was still trading, and said, "I happened to be here, so I will stop by and talk to you about something." One by one, your sister said that the house you rented was about to reach the appointment date, and she was afraid that you would be short of money and would not be able to make up the money for the house for a while, so she prepared 5,000 yuan for you first, and when your man was free, she would go over and take a trip. ”

Shang Cheng sat on horseback, and the small lantern in Brother Hua's hand was not bright, and he couldn't see the woman's face clearly. I saw her lift her apron and wipe it on her face, and even her voice was a little choked when she spoke again: "Teach my sister and you to worry about it again." We haven't paid off all of last year's debts, you ...... You ...... like that," she said. Her man also came out with the curtain of the door, and let out a long sigh without speaking. The woman suddenly gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "It's all to blame on that Guanzhong customer who sells wheat!" If he hadn't lit the lamp in the middle of the night and poured the lamp oil, how could we have fallen to this step! He should ......"

She probably said a very vicious curse later, but Shang Cheng didn't understand it. He had already heard that the current situation of this woman's family was caused by a guest from Guanzhong, and she had a deep grudge against that person. If that guest dared to appear in front of her now, Shang Cheng would never doubt that this angry woman would definitely crush that person's bones to ashes!

Brother Hua also sighed, comforted her and said, "Forget it." It's been more than two years since he died, what are you still doing with such a grudge against him? Speaking of which, he was pitiful, everyone was burned to charcoals, nothing was left, and it was impossible to report a funeral message to his family. He can only be a lonely ghost, and his family must still be concerned about his safety, hoping that he can go back as soon as possible......"

The woman didn't dare to refute her brother-in-law's words, but she couldn't let go of the hatred in her heart, and just stood there panting one after another.

"Then I'm leaving. Your sister is here morning and night, and you can go whenever you have time. Brother Hua didn't say anything anymore, and took the bridle to make the tame horse turn around. If the money for renting a house is still not enough, don't worry, just talk to me or your sister, and we'll help you find a way. ”

The woman nodded in agreement, wiped her eyes with her apron, and suddenly said, "Big brother, don't be busy!" She ran into the house, and after a while, she ran out again with a small bag in her hand, stuffed the bag into Brother Hua's hand, and said, "It's cold at night, there is a pot of wine in this bag, and I drink two sips of cold to get cold." And two pancakes and a little beef, which you hold to kill the night. ”

"Hey." Brother Hua didn't shirk it, and stuffed the small bag into the blanket by the saddle.

"Wait a minute." Shang Cheng suddenly said, "I'm also a little hungry and want to eat something here." I just don't know if Brother Hua is troublesome or not. "He was afraid of delaying Brother Hua to go back to the carriage and pay for his errands. He was genuinely hungry. In the afternoon, he came out of the imperial city and went straight to the soup house, originally wanted to eat and drink in the old Tang Xiangguo, but the soup line is a scholar, the most particular thing when eating is a diet and cherish the blessings, most of the seven or eight dishes on the small square table are tofu sprouts and bean skin, so plain that they can no longer be vegetarian, and the cakes and buns are also made refined and small, he swallowed more than a dozen cakes in a row and did not eat them, and then he was embarrassed to get the bread again, so he had to drink a bowl of tofu brain and said that he was full. When he came out of the soup house, he also said that he was looking for a place to eat and drink, but he didn't go far to meet Pan Lian, and then he went to the teahouse to pour a belly of tea, and barely relied on a few snacks from the teahouse to suppress his hunger. Now a wisp of braised beef fragrance wafted out of the small restaurant on the tip of his nose, and there were gluttonous worms in his stomach, where did he still live?

Big Brother Hua is not troublesome. At this hour, he will return to the carriage and horse dealership, and there will be no more way to live, and it is of course good to be able to rest and warm up at his wife's and sister's house. As for his wife and sister, of course, it is even more impossible to push the guests outward. So Shang Cheng got off the horse, and the woman dusted off his body on the one hand, and welcomed him into the house on the other, and served hot soup and hot tea, and in a moment a plate of sauce, a bowl of green onions, a large plate of hot braised beef and a basket of soft pancakes were placed in front of him, and there was also a pot of warm home wine.

Shang Cheng didn't drink alcohol, the thin dough cake was wrapped in meat and green onions, and he dipped the sauce in the plate and handed it to his mouth, and then he immediately laid down seven or eight cakes and three or four catties of meat like a wind, and then he burped contentedly with his slightly bulging belly, looked at the remaining two cakes and a few pieces of beef and said regretfully: "The meat is good, and the cakes are also good, but I really can't eat it." ”

The woman and the two men at the table at the door had long been dumbfounded, and they didn't wake up until they heard him speak in admiration. The woman hurriedly came over and poured a bowl of wine for Shang Cheng, saying, "This is the apricot blossom fragrance brewed by my family, and the guests can also taste a bowl, which is the best way to consume." He complimented casually, "Look at your figure, and then look at your amount of food, you must not be an ordinary person, and those strong men who carry bags at the dock can't be compared with you, you're afraid that you are a general who leads troops to fight, right?" ”

Shang Cheng took advantage of the oil lamp to change the medicine cotton, put the blindfold upright, put on the hat and tied the knotted rope while laughing: "Even if it is." I can't drink, the better the wine, the more I can't touch it, but don't worry, I'll pay for it. "When he paid the bill in the tea shop just now, he exchanged a piece of official silver, and the tea money, the cost of renting a horse for transportation, plus the foot strength of Brother Hua, now there are almost more than 1,400 yuan left, all hanging on the saddle of the horse's back outside, and the money for this meal is enough. was about to ask Brother Hua to bring in the money for him, when he heard a song that came from nowhere:

"Since ancient times, there have been many men in Yanshan, and they have increased their fields with their backs;

Originated, Yanjing produced a good woman, and the plough and hoe did not lose.

Since ancient times, there have been many men in Yanshan, and the mountains have opened up roads to the Central Plains;

Origin: Yanjing produces a good female ......"

"The Ballad of Tanabata"?

The sonorous tone and powerful lyrics of the clumsy singing voice came at first glance, and Shang Chengdeng's hands and feet were stiff and unable to move as if he had been struck by thunder!

This is "The Ballad of Tanabata"! This is the "Tanabata Ballad" sung by Lianniang! This is Lianniang's voice!

Yes, it's her voice, it's his wife's voice! This is his lotus girl! Except for her, no one can sing this ballad so affectionately, and no one can sing this simple and simple ballad so movingly, so that people seem to be able to see the tenacity and sacrifice of Yanshan's daughter in the song......

My Lotus Niang, my lover, my wife......

The three people in the room were completely stunned by his expression. His face, which had already been ugly, was now even more hideous with excitement, and the two scars that crossed his cheeks were like two entangled and swimming vipers, glowing a shuddering red in the dim light. They watched dumbly as he leaped out of the house, and then as he slammed in, and the oil lamp was suddenly extinguished by the cold wind that poured in from outside, and in the light he was like an angry beast, and the hoarse voice that came out of his throat was like a low roar rolling from the ground: "Where is this singing?" ”

Brother Hua and his wife's sister's man couldn't speak at all with their mouths open. The woman was paralyzed by fright, sitting on the ground with one arm propped up on a stool, and the sound of teeth touching teeth did not pause at all.

"Where is it?!" Shang Cheng's voice was already hoarse to the extreme, and the three of them only saw his mouth moving, but they couldn't hear what he was saying; All they heard was a painful **.

Still that man has a little knowledge, looking at Shang Cheng's appearance, he knows that this person will fall into madness at any time, and if he doesn't speak, he is afraid that disaster is coming, so he shrank and shrank and said, "...... Fear, fear is, it is the front ...... Xu Ji in front, Xu Ji wine shop ...... "Xu Ji invited a kabuki......

The voice fell, and Shang Cheng had already dropped the curtain and left.

The three people in the room looked at each other, and the woman howled for a long time: "God! He's not going to kill anyone, is he? ”