The sunset gradually dimmed, and the glow in the sky gradually turned into a faint dark curtain. Hui Niang and Xin Huzi ran around the stone bricks in the backyard and laughed.

"Hui Niang~ Hurry up and go into the house to eat with your brother Huzi~" Kua's voice in the room came.

It's still a little blushing and a little out of breath. Only then did he stop and said to Brother Huzi: "Let's go, let's go into the house and eat." ”

"Hmm" Xin Huzi nodded his little head melon, he was really a little hungry at this time. But the master was in the house, busy going in and out, and smelled the fragrance of those dishes that the master was holding. But it really aroused the gluttony in his stomach.

"Hee-hee! Come! Hui Niang was the first to walk in, in the middle of the backyard.

Xin Huzi also followed closely behind and followed Sister Huiniang in.

When Xin Huzi followed Sister Huiniang into the room. But it aroused his curiosity again throughout the day! I saw that in this gray stone brick house, it was brightly lit at this time! A number of bright candles dotted the room, and it was really bright that the room was like the day. Although Xin Huzi has also seen the object called the candle that illuminates the house. But I have only seen it a few times in the tunzi, Sister Qi'er's house. I really didn't expect that so many candles would be lit in Master's house!

Before Xin Huzi could take a closer look, he looked around by the bright candle in the room. Sister Huiniang, who was walking in front, held her little hand. She took her into the back of the house. But I saw the people who were already sitting around a big red lacquered wooden round table.

Master still kneels on a soft futon mat as he did during the day. Next to him is Shi Niang Kuashi. Daddy and Uncle Kua sat cross-legged on the futon. At this time, beside Shi Niang, there were two more empty futons. As soon as Xin Huzi glanced at it, he knew that he and Sister Huiniang were definitely going to sit together with Shiniang.

Hui Niang took Xin Huzi's wrist and came to the round table where everyone was sitting.

"Hui Niang, it's been too long since I said don't play. If it weren't for your father and your mother to call you, I'm afraid you'd have to play until night."

"Hee-hee! What's wrong with playing into the night? ”

"You! Ay! Why don't you sit down with your brother Huzi. ”

"Got it! Come, brother Huzi, you sit next to your sister. ”

As she spoke, Hui Niang led Xin Huzi and sat down beside her mother Kua. Kuashi saw Hui Niang's red little face, and she was a little out of breath. showed a faint smile, but she saw Huiniang having so much fun, and she also felt happy in her heart. Although Hui Niang is not her biological daughter, she really loves Hui Niang very much. Since entering the door of the Yan family, Kua's family, who is just a girl, has taken care of Hui Niang, who is still in her infancy.

Hui Niang saw her mother smiling at her, but she inadvertently squeezed her eyes at her mother.

When Kuashi saw Hui Niang secretly glancing at him, he knew that Hui Niang was telling himself that she had just gotten her letter and came out of her father's small courtyard early, so she was not discovered by her father. But he also quietly stretched out his hand, patted it gently, and knelt beside him, Hui Niang's knee in response.

Xin Huzi didn't have much time to watch Huiniang's sister and her aunt's small actions. At this time, he was sitting cross-legged on the futon. His eyes were unblinking, looking at the dishes on the big round table, which he had never seen before.

Since he was born, he has never left Tunzi. On weekdays, it doesn't matter if Daddy is at home or not. He eats with the Niu family, and he is used to eating the meals made by the Niu family's aunt. Although Daddy and Uncle Calf hunt all year round, there is no shortage of meat to eat at home. But they just sprinkled some salt in a big iron pot, or added some wild vegetables picked in the forest to stew and boil and eat. Sometimes, I will use some skins, bacon or fresh meat or something, and exchange some individual tunzi for food for food. In addition, Xin Huzi has never eaten anything else.

But today, looking at the table and the dishes placed on the blue and white porcelain plates. Smelling the smell of vegetables, it's really about to flow out!

I saw that there were eight dishes and one soup on the big round table, including four meat and four vegetables. The four meat dishes are the roe deer meat, fresh cooked beef, roasted half-fat and half-lean pork, and tender fried mutton rolls. The vegetarian dish is stir-fried tree mushrooms, fungus, celery flowers, and garlic. The soup was a pot full of stewed chicken. And next to each person, there is also a bowl, Kua's best bacon and vegetable porridge.

Xin Huzi had already noticed that the bowl of porridge in front of him came. But it's also bubbling with a hot aroma, and it smells really good.

"Come, third brother. Brother toast you first! Seeing that everyone had arrived, Yan Moke raised a glass of wine beside him.

"Third brother! Please! Seeing his brother-in-law toasting the third brother, Kua Er also picked up the wine bowl in his hand.

"Well said!" Xin Laosan didn't shirk it, and said with a smile while holding the big bowl in his hand.

After the three of them drank the wine, they began to eat the dishes on the table.

"Hey!"

"Huh? What? ”

"Why do you keep looking at the chopsticks in your hand?"

But it was Hui Niang who saw the younger brother Huzi sitting next to her, always looking at the chopsticks in her hand but not eating the vegetables. He touched his elbow and asked the younger brother Huzi, who was looking at the chopsticks in a daze.

Where has Xin Huzi seen the chopsticks in his hand, and he saw that the chopsticks were really smooth. There are some paintings on it, very strange patterns, but they are also very beautiful. He is in the tunzi, and the big guys all use branches and chopsticks to eat. Where are such beautiful chopsticks to come? After Xin Huzi picked up the pair of chopsticks, he couldn't stop looking at them with some curiosity.

Xin Huzi didn't want Sister Huiniang, who was sitting next to her, to find herself curious about the chopsticks in her hand again. As soon as Sister Huiniang reminded her, she immediately waved the chopsticks in her hand and walked towards a plate of roast pork.

"Really! It's delicious! I've never eaten such delicious meat! After Xin Huzi ate the first piece of roast pork, he immediately waved the chopsticks in his hand and went to the second piece of roast pork.

"Hee-hee! Delicious, right? ”

"Hmmm! Well! It's delicious! I've never eaten such delicious meat! ”

"That's it," Xin Huzi said, chewing on the delicious roast pig in his mouth.

"What's it?" Huiniang, who watched Brother Huzi eat non-stop, saw Brother Huzi eating and eating, but thought of something else. He hurriedly asked.

"That's it, what's in this dish, why is there no grit?"

"Gravel? In the dish? How could there be grit? ”

Hui Niang was very puzzled why Brother Huzi suddenly said such a thing. How can there be grit in the dish? Hui Niang thought about it, and looked at her mother Kuashi who was sitting beside her.

Seeing that Hui Niang looked at him in confusion, Kua Shi leaned over to Hui Niang's side and whispered: "Hui Niang, the salt that your brother Huzi eats is different from our family." ”

"Huh? What's the difference? Hui Niang still asked puzzled.

Kuashi: "The salt we eat is the fine salt that the officials of the government specially brought for our family. And the big guys in the forest eat coarse salt from the government. This coarse salt is sea salt directly shoveled, and no fine salt is sifted out. So your brother Huzi, when he eats, he often eats some sea sand and gravel mixed with salt. ”

Kua himself was born in Tun, before marrying Yanmoke. It was also eaten from the salt house in Fang City, and the coarse salt mixed with sea sand and gravel was exchanged. But after marrying Yanmoke, he ate the fine salt specially prepared by the government officials for the lord Yanmoke of the scholar clan.

Kua's also climbed up to Yanmoke, such a scholar became his own uncle. Every time he sent some goods to the servant, he also ate fine salt. The Kua family also married the lord of the Shi clan, but they were also charged leather tax by Laifang City, and the servants took a look at it.

"So, then why? Our family eats fine salt. Brother Huzi eats coarse salt? Hui Niang still asked puzzled. She felt that at such a young age, Brother Huzi always ate coarse salt mixed with sea gravel. It's really not good for the body, but I'm a little worried.

"Haha! Hui Niang! The reason why your family eats fine salt is because of the status of a scholar on your family's head. And the big guys in the old forest don't have the identity of your family. So I eat coarse salt mixed with sea gravel. Xin Laosan, whose face was a little red, said with a smile, and as soon as he finished speaking, another bowl of wine went down his stomach.

"Hui Niang! Don't ask, eat quickly. Yan Moke spoke, and as he spoke, he raised the wine glass in his hand again, and smiled at the third brother who filled a bowl of wine: "Come!" Third brother, let's go on! ”

"Good! Come on! Xin Laosan said with a smile on the bowl of wine in his hand again.

"Oh" Hui Niang responded in a small whisper, then picked up the bowl of bacon and vegetable porridge beside her, and drank two sips. But he looked at the tiger brother who was still there and kept eating.

looked at the younger brother of Huzi who kept waving the chopsticks in his hand and kept clipping. and the greasy mouth of Brother Huzi, I really thought it was funny, but I inadvertently laughed out loud.

And Xin Huzi, who was beside her, did not interrupt his meal plan because of Sister Huiniang's laughter. But if you really catch any meat, you will eat any meat. Especially the stewed cooked beef on that plate, but it was the first time he had eaten it. Cattle are indispensable objects for the people who cultivate in the old forest. Although the government can't control the old forest, he won't sit on the law of the imperial court because he killed the ploughing cattle. But in the old forest, the cattle are not animals that can be slaughtered casually, after all, there are still some less.

And most of the meat on the table today came from Kua Er, who returned to the Fang Market to get it. As the largest cattle trader in the cattle market, Kuashi is the largest livestock trader. Of course, it was slaughtered, and some of the animals were rare in the old forest. And on this table, this big plate of cooked beef. It is boasting that it is in the fang market, the meat of an old cow that has just been slaughtered in the past few days. But he was also asked to come to Yanfu, Xin Laosan and Xin Huzi met right, and then they ate this plate of cooked beef.

This meal was eaten for half an hour. During this period, Yan Moke was defeated because he was not strong enough to drink. But Kua Er accompanied Xin Laosan to drink to the end, but he couldn't stand it. Although Xin Laosan drank a lot of wine from bowl to bowl and bowl from sea, he was still blushing and sober.

"Third brother! Don't you really stay with your brother for a night? ”

"Haha! Brother Yan! Although the wine at your house is good, I am not drunk enough to stay at your house for one night! ”

After listening to the third brother's words, Yan Moke could only shake his head helplessly. At this time, he was standing at the door of his house with Hui Niang, coming to see off Xin Laosan and Xin Huzi, who were about to rush to the night road and return to Tunzi dozens of miles away. Kuashi was in the house at this time, taking care of the second brother Kua who was lying on the table. Looking at the appearance, Kua Er was really drunk, and he was afraid that he would ask someone to go to the market and call his family to come back.

At this time, Xin Laosan's face was still flushed, although he was drunk and on his head, he was still sober in his mind. He also carried a large bag on his shoulder. but it was a bag full of wine, filled with skins. The Kwa family was engaged in the trade of livestock, and there was really no shortage of objects made of these skins. When preparing the wine brought back for Xin Laosan, he filled it with more wine, filled it with a large burlap bag, and carried it on Xin Laosan's shoulders.

"Third brother, when are you ready. Let Huzi come to me to learn words in the liao? ”

"Wait, wait until I take this kid back from a hunting trip."

"What? Are you going to take the tiger out hunting? ”

"yes, what's wrong?"

"But, Kehuzi is only four years old. Isn't it, a little early? ”

"Hey! It's not too early! It's not too early! I think at the beginning, when I went out hunting, I was not as big as the tiger! ”

Xin Huzi listened to the conversation between Daddy and Master Yan, but he heard Daddy and wanted to take him to the old forest to hunt. Immediately exclaimed excitedly: "Daddy! Dad! You're going to take me out hunting? ”

"Haha! Oh, yes! Happy not? Aren't you always yelling that Daddy wants to take you to the old forest to see and understand! Now I'm satisfied! When the two of us go back to the tunzi, get ready and go into the forest! Xin Laosan's face flushed, and he smiled and stroked it with his thick palm, Xiaohuzi's little head.

Xin Huzi shook off Daddy's warm big hand and said happily: "Happy!" Of course I was happy! Ha ha! Now I can go hunting! ”

Xin Huzi was happy, but he didn't forget Sister Huiniang who was standing next to Master Yan. When he looked at Sister Huiniang, he found that Sister Huiniang was also looking at him at this time.

"Sister Huiniang, wait for me to come back from hunting. Let's have fun together! Xin Huzi said.

"Hmmm! Well, you're going to have to come back soon. Come, my father's school is literate in the dormitory" Hui Niang looked at it, still happy because she could follow her father out hunting, and the younger brother of Huzi nodded with a smile.

"Alright! All right! Brother Yan! I'm leaving! Wait a few days and come back to your house for a drink! Hahahaha! Xin Laosan smiled, and tightened the burlap bag that was on his shoulder.

"Third brother, let's go! Brother is waiting for you! Yan Moke said with a smile.

Xin Laosan took Xiaohuzi to say goodbye to Yanmoke and Huiniang, and left the stone courtyard of the Yan family. Catch the bright moonlight.

Before Xin Lao walked far, his original drunken strength was a little high, but after listening to the words from behind him, which seemed to be long and ethereal, he immediately sobered up a lot.

"Hehe~ Our good man and big hero in the old forest, haven't you seen the threshold?"

The sweet voice that was once all too familiar echoed in Xin Laosan's ears. It really made him drink, and the strength of the wine on his head retreated a lot at once. When he turned his head sharply and looked behind him, he found that there was not, the once familiar figure.

But the first time he met her in the Changjia market. The words she said behind her back were so real that they echoed in his ears.

And at that time, when he turned around when he heard this, he also saw her for the first time. The first time he saw her, she that he could never forget for the rest of his life, saw her for the first time

"Hey!" Xin Laosan thought about it, so he shook his head vigorously, leaving behind the thoughts that came to his heart.