During the Xuanzong period of the Ming Dynasty, the country was peaceful, the wind and rain were smooth, and there were occasional small disasters and small difficulties, but the people up and down the Ming Dynasty were still able to live and work in peace and contentment.

The wind and sun were a little mottled. Songlin County at the junction of Fujian and Zhejiang, is located on the bank of the Qilin River, the Tiger Roaring River originates from a branch of the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River is full of strange rocks, the reefs are dense, the river water is turbulent and whirlpooled from time to time, the slightest carelessness will be empty of goods and goods, and even people and boats sink in the river. Whenever the flash flood in the flood season, the river water is like a wild horse that runs away thousands of miles away, a little carelessness will die here, the end is dangerous, enter the river water of Qi Linjiang, because the terrain of Songlin County is flat, the river becomes calm, the past merchants are often willing to detour for two or three days and are also willing to pass through here, Qi Linjiang is like a post station on the Yangtze River, for a long time, a small fishing port becomes the current Songlin County. There are many inns in the county, there are many commercial houses, and there are many varieties.

The county seat Wang household Li family, in the county town operating medicinal materials and silk business, the head of the family Li Wendong, kind eyebrows, kind eyes, kind and benevolent, every time there is a bridge to pave the road, the year of famine will be generous, cloth clothes soup porridge to do their best to help the suffering people tide over the difficulties, won the praise of the people of Songlin County, people are called Li Dashan, but he prefers to be called Li Yuanwai.

Travelers entering the southwest will go to the Li family pharmacy in the center of the county to grab a few flavors of medicine and carry them on the road, so as to avoid a headache, brain fever, and bruises on the road. In order to meet the needs of the time, the medicinal herb dealers will also carefully keep the medicinal materials that grow in the deep mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou on the return trip, and transport them to Songlin County for sale, the southwest provinces are lush and forested, and the collection of herbs is very easy, and the medicinal herb dealers who sell back and forth are endless, and there are also timber merchants coming and going here from time to time.

Eucommia, gardenia, honeysuckle, almond commonly used Chinese medicine is often a whole ship parked at the dock waiting to unload, often the previous ship just unloaded and left, immediately there is the next ship waiting to dock, looking at the river is crowded with merchant ships waiting to dock.

The dock was very busy, the neighing of horses, the collision of carrying goods, the shouts of hawkers, and from time to time there were a few terrible cries of pain followed by extremely harsh cursing: "Ouch, you hit my waist, you don't walk for a long time, are you in a hurry to run for the funeral of the king of Hades." This scolding is also a bit subtle, the king of Hades already cares where life and death come from, and it must be extremely painful to scold such a "superb" word.

"Damn, why are you so careless, you are reluctant to eat the dry food made by the lady all the way when you go out, why did you let the water soak it is really unlucky." The other scolded in the same chagrin.

Silk shop trading is also a prosperous business, into the southwest of the large families will also come here to buy some silk to bring back, the dynasties have strict requirements for the hierarchy, the people are not allowed to wear silk clothes, on the one hand because of its high price, another main reason is that the imperial court stipulates that only officials can wear silk satin, so for a considerable period of time there are few people wearing silk, even if there are officials in the official position.

The Ming Dynasty did not have such a requirement compared to the previous dynasty, and the great emperor knew that silk had a positive effect on promoting production and could fill the treasury, so he held an encouraging attitude and established the "Jiangnan Weaving Bureau" to show his attention. Compared with the inland silk, it is a lot cheaper, and there are many patterns, Li Yuanwai is quite business-minded, not only only do the silk business of large families, but also open a linen cloth workshop called "Bu Yixuan", and the vendors who do a good job in the medicinal material business will also come to the hemp cloth shop to spend a few small money to buy some fabrics, and hide them to go home to their relatives.

"Shopkeeper, I want five feet of linen here." Said a vendor with a cloth bag on his shoulder. "Okay, this guest officer linen cloth five feet, the guest officer's vision is really unique, this cloth is our store just arrived yesterday, you see this knot can be tied is a dead knot, has not been opened, it is really fateful." The shopkeeper saw that a customer came to the door, said with a smile on his face, and then praised the vendor, "The guest officer is understanding, this is for the lady in the family?" ”

Without waiting for the hawker to reply, the shopkeeper began to give the hawker "jar honey", and praised him: "The clothes cut out of this cloth must be beautiful and incomprehensible to wear on the guest officer's lady, it must be a fairy descending to earth, and the guest officer is really blessed." The shopkeeper held a gray cloth in his hand and kept gesturing.

The vendor who bought the cloth hurriedly said: "I haven't married a wife yet, this is for my mother" Hearing the hawker say this, the shopkeeper also felt a little embarrassed, so he coughed dryly to suppress his smile, changed his serious expression, twisted his chin and thick beard and said: "Thousands of miles away, I often remember my parents at home, this guest officer is really filial piety!" Then he recited with a wrinkle: "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop, and the son wants to raise but the parent is not there." ”

The hawker stood in front of the counter and watched the shopkeeper measure the cloth, but he ignored his repeated praises, it seems that the hawker is shy by nature, and is easily reluctant to talk to people, the shopkeeper opened the chatterbox, regardless of whether the hawker is reasonable or not, and said to himself: "There are elders in the family, if there is a treasure, I do not have this blessing." As he spoke, he handed over the cut cloth to the herb dealer, and the vendor paid the money and took the purchased cloth in his hand, looked at it and confirmed it again and again, and then decided that it was the cloth he wanted to buy, so he took a piece of whitish cloth from his waist, wrapped the newly bought cloth, carefully hid it, and then left satisfied.

The shopkeeper stood at the door of the store, his long beard swayed in the wind, quite a "wind is sluggish and the water is cold, and the strong man is gone".

The peddler who went away was about the same age as he was when he was young, and he clearly remembered that it was his stubbornness, and that he killed his mother in a young and reckless manner. Twenty years ago, when he was in the prime of life, he went out every day before dawn, and only came home when others were asleep, and his mother always stood under the big tree at the door and watched his return figure from afar, helping him wash his face, and watching his children eat in the dim light before going to sleep peacefully.

Lying on the bed tossing and turning, tossing and turning and falling asleep, staring blankly at the roof full of cobwebs, falling into deep thought that he had hoped to change the current status quo through hard work, always believing that "God rewards hard work" and working hard will lead to a good life, and deeply blamed himself for the broken heart of his elderly mother.

The ideal is often very plump but the reality is very skinny, the dream is always ruthlessly hit by the reality, the shopkeeper clearly remembers that when his father passed away, he left this house for the mother and son to depend on each other, his own family is thin, unlike other families in the village with three or four brothers per family, more than five or six people. His family has a little savings, a little silver taels left by his father, plus the land he rents, and the neighbors help each other, and the annual life is quite passable.

The sky does not follow people's wishes, and the disasters in the past few years have been very severe. In the early years of "Hongxi", there was a flood disaster, and the torrential rain continued one after another, and the light rain never stopped, and the crops that were about to be harvested were soaked in water in this way, and the grains were not harvested. In the early years of Xuande, there was a drought, and there was a folk saying that the flood in the first year and the next year would be a drought, and the shopkeeper was lying at the head of the bed thinking about the scene of looking for water at that time. Perhaps the rain fell too much in the first year, but this year, the rain that was looking forward to the seedlings did not come, and the vegetable seedlings in the vegetable garden were killed by drought, and people and livestock were in a desperate situation to drink water......

Standing on the side of the tank and shaking the water tank with only half of the water, the shopkeeper pondered for a while and went out to turn right, and went to the door to find the neighborhood closest to home, and prepared to dig a well to get water together.

The shopkeeper knocked on the door, and after a while, someone came to open the door, and it was Liu Yang's wife who came to open the door, and the shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Sister-in-law, Brother Liu is at home, I have something to discuss with him" Because they are in the same village, they know each other near their homes, and Liu Yang is not restrained and said: "It's the eldest brother, your brother Liu has just eaten and is now sitting in the hall." When I entered the door, I saw the other four brothers of the Liu family in the garden, some leaning on the corner of the house, and some sitting on the steps, all of whom frowned and looked tired, which gave the shopkeeper a trace of unease. Someone came in, the four of them opened their eyes, and saw that it was the shopkeeper Liu, but they immediately closed their eyes to think, only the second brother Liu nodded politely, and the shopkeeper also nodded in return.

Straight through the garden, I saw Brother Liu at the shopkeeper of the hall, and exclaimed, "Brother Liu has been fine lately, I have had dinner." Seeing that it was the shopkeeper, the Liu family brother politely replied: "My body is fine, I can eat, sleep and work." We've just had dinner, and if you come a few steps early, we'll have a few cups together. ”

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Thank you Brother Liu for your concern, I just came here after eating." ”

"Hmm" Senior Brother Liu nodded and said, "I don't know what is important for you to come to me, big brother?" As he spoke, he poured out a bowl of water and handed it to the shopkeeper.

There is not much water in the tank at home, the shopkeeper tries to drink as little as possible, it is not that he is thirsty and can't stand it before he drinks a small sip, and now the Liu family brother handed over this bowl of water, and the shopkeeper's hands took the "goo dong, goo dong" without taking a breath to drink the full bowl of water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said: "Don't hide it from you, brother, I want to join you to find water, there is not much water at home, I'm afraid there will be no water to drink in a few days" and then sighed and said: "This thief doesn't know which fire to make, last year's flood flooded a lot of land and let it go away in vain, This year, it didn't rain a drop of rain, but it didn't make people feel better," Liu saw that the shopkeeper's thirst was unbearable, and he was not stingy, and poured a full bowl of water in front of him.

The shopkeeper said and picked up the bowl and drank the water, and the elder brother Liu smacked his mouth and muttered: "It's not impossible for you to join, it's just that our brother has been looking for a few days, and there has been no gain, you have to be prepared." ”

"This is nature" shopkeeper's categorical railway, indicating that he has been prepared for a long time.

"In that case, then you can come over tomorrow and we'll look for it together! Go early and return early, the sun can't fall at noon, and people can't stand it when they walk outside, and they can't find a water source," said Brother Liu.

Seeing that the Liu family brother agreed, the shopkeeper said happily: "Okay, I'll go back and prepare" and got up and left Liu's house as he spoke.

When the shopkeeper left, the other four brothers also knew that there was one more person in the search for water, because the sister-in-law told the brothers what they said inside, and the brothers did not object, after all, there were many people and many powers.

When he got home, the shopkeeper told his mother what had happened, and then went into the house to sleep. At midnight the next day, the shopkeeper rushed to Liu's house as agreed, and when the things were ready to stop, he went out to find a water source.

Day after day, day after day, every corner of the village that could be dug had been dug up, and a few people turned the village upside down. At last seven days they found the water source, and the day they found it, they wept with joy and drank it violently by the well. The emperor has finally found water, and there is hope that people and livestock can survive the coming year! This dry season passed safely as more water sources were found in the village, but the situation of no grain harvest was irreversible!

Zhejiang is located on the coast, every October this time there are many typhoons, every time the typhoon crosses the blow to the shopkeeper is painful, far-reaching, in the early years, some of the family's savings can barely cope, but can not stand the typhoon every year, completely lose this home. There are countless families who have been left to ruin and impoverished by typhoons and floods, and Liu's family has been left empty by the typhoon.

Think about the situation of the past few years, the shopkeeper until midnight ugly, can hear the rooster crowing in the distance can not sleep, after a night of consideration, the shopkeeper decided to go out to do some business, and tomorrow will leave, now just spring is still nearly a year away from October, when they have been able to come back on behalf of the silver, they are not afraid of the demonic typhoon, the shopkeeper with the idea of earning the silver! All the thoughts were in place, and then I fell asleep leisurely.

The next day, the shopkeeper gets up as soon as the sky is polished, which is a habit that has been developed by getting up early to work in the field all year round. The mother was cooking breakfast in front of the stove as always, and the pot was boiling wild vegetables from the mountains and a little rice bran, and the shopkeeper added a handful of wood to it, and the flame was more vigorous, and the face was red.

After a while, the shopkeeper seemed to have made a lot of determination and said, "Mother, the child has something to tell you", "Well, you say." Listen, mother. The shopkeeper then said, "I want to go out and wander around," and when he heard this, the shopkeeper's mother was obviously stunned. The shopkeeper then said, "I will go out to do some business in March or May, and I will come back in half a year, and when we have earned money, we will be able to live a good life." ”

The shopkeeper looked up and saw his mother standing there still, so he shouted: "Mother, what's wrong with you, are you not feeling well, why don't you find a doctor to take a look?" "No, I'm thinking that it's a good thing for my son to go out, and I can achieve some career for my mother, but I don't know when you will leave." "The child will leave today, and all the clothes will be packed. It's better to go early and come back early to see your mother and relatives as soon as possible" "Since this is the case, I will eat this meal before leaving" said a bowl of rice porridge made of wild vegetables and put it on the table, and the shopkeeper took it up and ate it by himself.

The mother went into her room, and after a while sat down at the table with a small bag of things in her hand, and carefully opened the cloth, which was covered with a pair of gold bracelets. "Son, you go out to do business, and there is nothing left at home, so you have this pair of bracelets." As he spoke, he held the bracelet and handed it to the shopkeeper, who quickly put down the bowl and pushed the bracelet back in front of his mother and said, "Mother, no!" This is your dowry, and I can't ask for it. "Take it, and when you earn money, I'll buy a better pair for my mother!" As he spoke, he shoehorned into the shopkeeper's hand.

At this time, it was already dawn, and the shopkeeper supported his mother to the entrance of the village. "When you are away from home, take care of yourself and take care of yourself. Be patient in all things, and don't be forceful. It's good to be able to earn money, but if it doesn't go well and you can't make money, don't go down the wrong path, do something like a traitor, and insult your clean reputation. "Well, my son must remember his mother's teachings," the shopkeeper nodded heavily.

In the continuous sound of entrustment, we arrived at the entrance of the village. The shopkeeper let go of the hand holding his mother's mother, took a closer look at his mother's mother, and remembered it in his mind. Then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, got up and said, "Mother, my son is gone" and turned to leave.

The shopkeeper's mother watched her son's departure without tears, she was afraid that her son would worry about herself outside, and she had to be strong, and the shopkeeper endured and did not look back, he was afraid that he would never be able to go again. When he was far away, the shopkeeper's mother shouted to her son's back: "Son, you must take care and come back early."

"Mother, my son remembers, he must go early and return early so that his mother will not wait for a long time." The shopkeeper's voice responded.

The shopkeeper shook his hand with his back to his mother and signaled her to go home early, and when he heard her son's shout, the shopkeeper's mother couldn't hold on to sit on the ground and cry......

In the blink of an eye, in August, the shopkeeper has been away from home for half a year, and in this half a year, he has traveled back and forth to Guizhou and Zhejiang to do medicine and property trading, keeping in mind the teachings of his mother, honest and honest management, the shopkeeper's medicinal materials are full of years, and the color is good, and the businessmen are willing to do business with him, and soon the shopkeeper will earn some silver.

On this day, the shopkeeper went to the pastry shop to buy a large bag of food, which included expensive flower cakes, jujube cakes, honey cakes, which were prepared for his mother, and now he made some silver, he was ready to go home early to reunite with his mother, of course, he did not forget to go to the jewelry shop to buy a pair of gold bracelets, a jade hairpin. Mother's pair of bracelets have been taken off as a plate wrapped away, to have silver to redeem when has been bought by others but can never be found, now buy these hand ornaments also hope that the mother can like, the hand ornaments carefully put away the satisfaction of the inn.

When I returned to the inn and closed the door, I put down my things and prepared to rest for a while, when someone knocked on the door.

"Guest, are you in there?" The shopkeeper stood outside the door and asked softly.

The shopkeeper replied suspiciously: "Who are you in the house, and what is the matter?" "How can someone come to me if I am not familiar with life.

The shopkeeper saw someone replying, and hurriedly said: "I'm this guest's buddy, here is your letter" The guest registered his place of residence when he stayed, and the detailed address and name were found, and the shopkeeper found the shopkeeper directly when he got the letter.

The shopkeeper said suspiciously: "You have to wait for a while" and put the things he bought under the pillow, walked slowly to the door and made a crack in the door, looked through the crack in the door and saw that it was the guy in the store, so he was relieved.

Seeing that someone opened the door, Xiao Er handed the letter to the shopkeeper and said, "Guest officer, your family letter." He brought the letter to the treasurer with both hands.

The shopkeeper of "Youlao" politely took the letter from the small second-hand, "How can anyone write a letter to himself?" The shopkeeper muttered to himself with the letter, sat down at the table, opened the envelope and looked at it.