"You really don't want to have a child. ”

This is what Daddy said about him in a conversation a few days after Zhou Chuchu woke up.

At the beginning of the week, he was very quiet on weekdays, without desire, and the most he did in the days after waking up was to stand in the courtyard and watch everything that happened in the village.

"Daddy, I'm alright, let me go up the mountain and chop wood. ”

One night, Zhou Zhizhi lay on the bed and told his father that he found that his father's health had deteriorated a lot since he woke up, perhaps because he saw Zhou Zhichu wake up, which made his father's tense nerves relax, and he could no longer suppress the injuries he suffered at the monument.

"No hurry, cough...... Tomorrow, you can send some firewood to the blacksmith and the knife. ”

Because of the war, there were almost no young people in Qianshan Village, and the blacksmith in his forties was the only strong laborer in the village, and he was also Zhang Xiaohua's father.

Zhou Zhizhi knew that this was to repay Xiaohua for taking care of him, and he agreed.

"I booked you a family affair. Daddy Zhou said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"It's the blacksmith's daughter, Xiaohua, Zhang Jinhua, didn't you say you had seen it. ”

"Uh...... I've seen it. The boy lay on the bed and touched his head, where he had been beaten by Xiaohua, and a flushed face appeared in front of his eyes.

"The dowry is a month's worth of firewood. “

A month's firewood, one bundle a day, is thirty bundles of firewood, this dowry is really low.

The boy said, "Daddy...... I'm still young, so there's no need to rush my family. ”

"Well, let's set the family affairs first, the main thing is that Xiaohua is too small, and it will be okay to wait for two years. ”

"Xiaohua doesn't want to. The boy remembered that Xiaohua was anxious to go by herself.

"A girl's family is crazy all day long, and it's her turn to make an idea, and her father agrees. ”

The boy was silent.

Zhou Laohan got up in the dark night, and the young man saw his father lighting a cigarette pot.

"My son will be an adult in two years, and when he gave birth to a baby, he opened a few acres of wasteland, chopped firewood and raised some livestock in his spare time. ”

The boy laughed silently, life turned out to be so simple.

"It's just that the tax is a bit heavy, the family has added Ding, and a lot of grain has to be paid every year, alas, the old emperor died a few years ago, and the new emperor ascended the throne didn't say that there was an amnesty for the world, how could the tax become heavier and heavier year by year. ”

Zhou Laohan said again: "As long as there is no war, everything will be fine." ”

War is like a monster that destroys the world and devours everything, and it has been hanging over the land for thousands of years.

"Picking the weed, picking the weed, and the weed also stops. It is said that it is returned, and the years are endless...... Bilvi Ho is the flower of peace. What is the gentleman's chariot...... In the past, I went back, and the willows followed. Now I think about it, the rain and snow are ......"

Zhou Laohan sang a folk song in the dark, the old man's song echoed in the house, and Zhou Zhizhi seemed to see the soldiers on the border staggering on the way back to his hometown, and behind him were countless fallen robes.

The boy fell asleep to the singing, the silence outside the house was as quiet as snow, and the bright moon looked down on the earth.

On the second day, the boy left the house with two bundles of firewood on his back.

On the way, he meets the oncoming little flowers and Yueyue.

"Little brother, where are you going?"

Yueyue stood beside Sister Xiaohua with a backpack that was not smaller than her, her hair growing like weeds and her face dirty.

The young man touched her head and said, "My name is Zhou Chuchu, you should call me Brother Zhou." ”

"Okay, little brother, where are you going with firewood?"

Zhou Zhichu glanced at Xiaohua, who was also carrying a bamboo basket, and she looked at the young man vigilantly, her lips tightened.

"I'll go to your house to deliver firewood, as well as your little sister's house. ”

Xiaohua was anxious, and a vicious expression appeared on her round face, "Don't go!"

The boy suddenly found that Xiaohua's round face and facial features were very standard, and if she washed it, she should be a beautiful little girl.

"This is your reward for taking care of me, don't you?"

Xiaohua was entangled, watching the young man silent for a long time, wanting to refuse and feeling panicked.

The boy laughed, and he found that it was a beautiful thing to tease the little girl.

"Don't laugh, I won't marry you. ”

Xiaohua viciously hammered the boy with her fist.

This time the boy was no longer defenseless, and he grabbed his fist.

"Let go of me!" Xiaohua was a little surprised by the speed of the young man, and her face flushed again.

The boy let go of her.

Yueyue looked at the two of them, and suddenly shouted to the young man: "Yes, Sister Xiaohua will not marry you, my brother said, Sister Xiaohua is his." ”

"Fart, I won't marry anyone, if I want to marry, I will marry a hero. ”

"My brother said he was a hero. ”

"Phew, your brother is a little caterpillar. ”

Yueyue asked again: "Then what is a hero of the world?"

Xiaohua couldn't say, "The hero of the world is...... It's a man who stands up to the sky, it's ...... It is...... In short, he is a great person. ”

"Oh, is it like my father?" In Yueyue's eyes, his deceased father was an excellent hunter, and naturally he was also a great person.

Xiaohua suddenly stopped talking, and the young man lowered his body and touched Yueyue's head, as light as the firewood on his back.

"The hero of the world is the one who helps the good guys and defeats the bad guys, and he is a person with great ability, and Yueyue feels that his father must be. ”

"Daddy's ability is great, Daddy is a hero of the world, Daddy is a hero of the world. Yueyue clapped her hands happily, "The little brother is also a hero of the world." ”

"He's not. Xiaohua's tone was not so vicious, but she was still a little unhappy.

Zhou Zhichu stood up and asked, "Where are you going?"

Xiaohua pouted and said, "Go to the mountains to pick wild vegetables, you are not allowed to talk nonsense when you come to my house, put down the firewood and leave." ”

"Hehe, obey, Sister Xiaohua. The boy smiled and walked away.

Behind him, Xiaohua raised her fist again and shouted, "I won't marry you, you should die." ”

The young man didn't look back and said, "Don't worry, Sister Xiaohua, I told my father to cancel the family affair, and you just wait to marry the hero of the world." ”

Xiaohua raised her head proudly, "This is what you said, I didn't force you." ”

The boy waved his hand and left.

Xiaohua continued to go up the mountain with Yueyue, and on the way Yueyue said: "I think the little brother is also a hero of the world." ”

"Silly Nizi, half a bowl of porridge is towards your little brother, if a bowl of porridge is not going to sell your little flower sister. ”

"Sister Xiaohua, the little brother is very good, you can marry him. ”

Xiaohua was furious and shook off Yueyue's hand, "Do you want me to marry your own brother, or your little brother." ”

Yueyue touched her head, "Can't you marry both?"

Xiaohua couldn't cry or laugh, took Yueyue's hand again, and said as she walked: "I won't marry anyone, I want to marry you." ”

"Sister Xiaohua, don't be angry, if you don't marry, you won't marry. ”

"I'm not angry, I'm just a little annoyed, alas. ”

"Sister Xiaohua, don't bother, I'll sing to you. ”

"If you dare to sing, I'll beat you. ”

“...... My mother said that girls can't beat people, they want to be ladies. ”

"A lady is a fart, I want to be a chivalrous ......"

The two drifted apart until they disappeared into the forest.

......

At the beginning of the week, after asking for the road in the village, he came to Yueyue's house, but there was no one.

An old woman in the neighborhood saw the boy and asked, "Whose baby are you and what are you doing?"

After the young man explained his intentions, the old woman said in surprise: "When did Zhou Da have such a big baby." ”

At the beginning of the week, it took a long time for the old woman to understand.

The young man said that he had come to deliver firewood, and the old woman muttered and said:

"Chun Niang took his boy to the mountain before dawn, you throw the firewood in the yard. ”

Chun Niang is Zhang Xiaodao and Yueyue's mother.

The young man threw the bundle of firewood in the courtyard according to his words, thought about it, folded off a small piece of firewood, and drew a line on the ground.

"What are you doing again?" the old woman looked at strangely.

"Leave a letter for Chunniang. ”

"Can you write?" cried the old woman in surprise.

The boy didn't answer, and continued to paddle on the dirt floor.

The old woman said again: "Don't write, there is no one in the village who can read, and I don't recognize Chunniang when I write it." ”

The boy paused, dropped the branches, and carried the remaining bundle of wood out of the yard, and he nodded to the old woman, and went in the other direction, which was the direction of the blacksmith's house.

The old woman looked at the young man who was far away, and her mouth was still surprised, "Good girl, it's amazing, the baby of the Zhou family can still write......"

At the beginning of the week, when I came to the blacksmith's house, there was a clanging sound of iron striking in the courtyard.

He shouted outside the courtyard, "Uncle Zhang, my father asked me to bring firewood." ”

The sound of striking iron disappeared, and Blacksmith Zhang walked out and said, "What's the name of everyone Zhou?" ”

Blacksmith Zhang is in his forties, a little different from what Zhou Chu thought, thin and thin, bareheaded, and does not seem to be strong, but he can feel that his muscles are very strong.

"Hello Uncle Zhang, my name is Zhou Chuchu, and Zhou Da is my father. ”

Blacksmith Zhang looked at the young man, "It's too thin, you need to eat more, but you're not short, it's good." ”

Then the blacksmith Zhang instructed the young man to throw the bundle of firewood in the corner of the courtyard, and at the beginning of the week, he saw a stove in the courtyard, and there was an unfinished sickle on the anvil on the side, and there were a lot of ores in the corner.

Seeing the young man effortlessly unload the bundle of firewood, Blacksmith Zhang nodded with satisfaction, the strength is there, as long as he is not too stupid, he is a good hand at work.

"Baby, Zhou's baby is here to send firewood, pour a bowl of water. ”

Blacksmith Zhang yelled into the room.

A female voice in the room answered, followed by the sound of bowls and spoons ping-pong.

"Dead mother-in-law, hands are clumsier than feet. Blacksmith Zhang muttered dissatisfiedly.

In the middle of the ring, a woman walked out of the house with a bowl of water, and her smiling face frowned at the moment she saw Zhou Chuchu.

"Zhou's baby, drink water. ”

The woman had a round face, very kind, and somewhat similar to Xiaohua.

The young man thanked him, took the bowl, and before he could drink it, the woman asked:

"What's your name, are you feeling better?"

Zhou Zhizhi put the flat bowl and replied: "My name is Zhou Zhichu, my body is already well, thank you aunt for your concern." ”

Just as she was about to drink, the woman asked, "How old are you......?"

On the side, the blacksmith was impatient and scolded the woman: "Ask what, don't you ask the baby to drink water." ”

The woman's eyes were as sharp as knives, and she pointed at the blacksmith with one hand on her waist and the other on her hand, and said angrily, "Ask what's wrong!" I will allow you to sell your daughter with thirty bundles of firewood, and I will not be allowed to ask ......."

Blacksmith Zhang instantly looked like a frosted eggplant, lowered his head and muttered: "Who said that it was sold, it was a dowry, a dowry, the woman doesn't understand anything, now the world is difficult, the girl's family is a money-losing goods, and it is better to marry early." ”

The woman jumped to her feet and punched the blacksmith on the bald head, and the blacksmith fell down with a groan.

"You're a money-loser, you're still born from a woman's family, dare to look down on the old lady......"

The woman struck the blacksmith with her fist continuously, and the blacksmith screamed and ran around the courtyard with his head in his arms.

Zhou Zhizhi looked at everything that happened in front of him in surprise, and even forgot to drink the water, he finally knew why Xiaohua liked to beat people with her fists.

He felt that it was better to leave, put down the bowl, and walked out, not forgetting to shout before leaving: "Uncle Zhang, Aunt Zhang, I'm leaving." ”

Aunt Zhang finally put down her fist and smiled at the departing young man: "Oh, let's go, come back next time." ”

Blacksmith Zhang's nose was blue and his face was swollen and he was shouting: "Go back and bring it with your father." ”

The boy ran away.

......

At the beginning of the week, walking on the mountain road, it was noon at this time, and the sun was shining on him, warm, driving away a lot of late autumn chills.

From afar he could see the house on the hillside, and there were three people standing in front of the door, one was the father, and the other two were not like the villagers, because they were so well dressed, one of them was richly dressed, shining in the sun, and the other was like a housekeeper, with a knife at his waist, and his clothes were not ornate but they were also of fine fabric.

The two of them were talking to their father, and the family with the knife pushed Zhou Laohan a few times from time to time, although it was not powerful, but it also made him stumble a few times.

The boy was shocked and angry, and hurriedly ran home.