"At the beginning, it is very narrow, and only then can it be understood. After dozens of steps, it suddenly became clear. ”

"Sister, your language is good!"

"I'll do this."

At the entrance of the small mountain village in the Beihuang Mountain, seeing that I and Rose chatted a few words without responding, the old man asked again, "Where did the two of you come from?" ”

"Call from everywhere." My old god replied and asked, "You are also a member of this child's family?" ”

The old man hurriedly nodded with his shoulders together, "Yes, I am Xiu'er's master." ”

I then asked, "You didn't look for this kid when he ran out?" Aren't you in a hurry? ”

The old man let out a long sigh and said, "Why don't you hurry!" But we can't leave this village, so we can only hope that the children will come back soon! ”

At this time, the old woman's cry slowly retracted, she struggled to get up, tightly hugged the sleeping girl Xiu'er in her arms to the village, and looked at us and greeted: "Old man, don't be nonsense, people look like they are from outside the mountains, please go to the house!" ”

The old man's face immediately bloomed with joy, "Ouch, you see that I am so excited that I have forgotten everything!" Come on, you two, please come and sit in the house! ”

The old woman led the child to the room she had come out of, and Rose and I were led to the opposite room by the old man, which was no more elaborate than the outside, most of the furniture was made of old wood, and there was a coal-burning stove and basin shelf in the corner, which seemed to take me back to the countryside ten years ago, very simple.

"We haven't been to this village in years!"

The old man led us to the earthen kang in the middle of the room, and poured hot water while beckoning us to sit down.

Rose took the cup of hot water, looked around and asked, "What village is this?" ”

"Here? It's called the Arayama store! The old man was about to light a cigarette pouch as he spoke, and I waved his hand to make him give up the idea.

"I'm pregnant." Rose was blunt.

"Ouch! I do not know! The old man nervously quickly put aside the cigarette pouch and pot, "Look at this, you can't smoke it!" That can't be smoked! ”

"Old sir," I asked, looking out the window at the mountains in the distance, "Is this mountain the Northern Emperor Mountain?" ”

The old man smiled, "Yes, it's the ravine outside." ”

"The mountain is Beihuang Mountain, why is your village called Huangshan Store? Shouldn't it be the Huangshan store? ”

"That's an old saying." The old man's eyes were a little deep, and he looked out the window and said, "Originally, this mountain was called Barren Mountain, and the people in this village have lived in this barren mountain shop for generations. Is that... In the 70s, there was a person who enclosed land in this mountain, claimed to be the emperor of the mountain, and greeted a group of earth cannons who were not four or six, and lived an old feudal life. ”

"it!" I'd heard something like that before, "Mountain Emperor? Aren't you afraid to check the water meter? ”

"What water meter?" The old man scratched his arm, "There is an old well in our village, and we rely on it for drinking water!" ”

I sighed and asked, "I mean, no one cares about him?" ”

"How can no one care! In less than half a year, let the political F be cleaned up! The old man patted his thigh again, "Since then, the people outside have changed the name to be Beihuang Mountain, 'there is a local emperor in the north', people are taking this as fun!" ”

The co-author changed the name of the mountain, and I didn't expect this kind of knowledge to be gained in this poor and remote place.

"Have you been living here all along?" Rose asked, "Do you know what's going on outside the mountain now?" ”

The old man began to yawn, he subconsciously looked at the cigarette pouch, shook his head again, and responded: "I know, I know." I heard that there was a plague, and it was quite fierce, and it hasn't been solved for several years. In the early years, some of the young people in the village went out and never came back, and everyone said that they would not come back. ”

"I saw the old people in the village just now," I then asked, "and the young people have left and haven't come back?" Didn't look for it again? ”

"We're all gone, we old arms and legs can't leave this village......"

Before the old man finished speaking, the old woman walked in from the outside, greeted us with a smile, and said, "Come on, everything is packed, you can come with me!" ”

I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Where to go?" ”

"I'm going to arrange a room for you!"

"We didn't say we wanted to stay?"

"Don't hide it!" The old woman's face was full of clear expression, "I guess you are here to take refuge, and the plague outside the mountain is not yet healed, right?" Come with me, you saved my family Xiu'er, and arranging a place for you to live is also to repay the kindness! ”

The old man also got up at this time and made a gesture of invitation, and Rose and I looked at each other and accepted the enthusiasm.

"By the way, what's your name?" The old woman asked.

"My name is Shi Xiaoqi." I gave a false name and pointed to Rose, "She's my daughter-in-law." ”

The old woman touched my arm, "Ouch, the little stone looks like a soldier, this body is really strong!" ”

As she spoke, the old woman looked at Rose again and said, "Xiaoshi, his daughter-in-law, you are so blessed!" ”

Rose smiled without any twisting, "Yes." ”

"That," the old man hesitated a little, and finally asked, "Comrade Xiaoshi, are you really a soldier?" ”

"Yes!" I stood up and saluted the old man, "Thank you very much for your help!" ”

"No wonder they have knives and guns!" The old man's nervous posture finally settled down at this moment.

The old couple led us out, and as soon as we arrived outside, we suddenly heard a continuous burst of men's shouts, and the old couple's expressions darkened at the same time.

"Wait a minute." After saying that, the old man hurriedly trotted to another room.

The voice sounded like a zombie, and although the whole village didn't seem to be infected, I didn't know if they would raise a deviant young family or something, so I immediately chased after the old woman to check it out.

Lifting the flowered curtain hanging from the door of that room, I saw that the old man inside was comforting a man in the prime of life on a double bed!

The man kept screaming and struggling, but he didn't seem to be able to control his body well, even if the weak old man was enough to hold him down.

"That's Xiu'er and her father," the old woman gently pulled me open and pulled down the door curtain, and walked out in frustration, "I've been paralyzed in bed for a long time, and I can only shout except for eating and drinking." ”

I shook my head at Rose to show that there was no threat, and then we followed the old woman out.

Out of this house, we walked to the house where the old woman was before, which was also a suite, with a bed and a table outside, and a coal-burning stove, but the small wooden windows were miserable, and the wind crackled when it blew. There is a kang in the room, which is estimated to be older than me, and it is strong enough to touch.

"This is it." The old woman took us around inside and out, "This was originally my son's house, but now they don't need it anymore, so you can live in it first." It's not as clean as you guys in the city, but I do it a lot, so you can make do with it. ”

Rose focused on the girl Xiu'er on the small bed outside, and asked softly, "Where is her mother?" ”

"Dead." The old woman sighed and wiped the corners of her eyes again, "A few months ago, Zi Xiu'er ran naughty to the mountains, and her mother went to look for her, but let the beasts in the mountains bite her, and then her mother found the child back, but she died not long after." We said a long time ago, we can't go to the mountains, there are many snakes, insects, leopards and ghosts, how can we villains deal with it! Ah! ”

"Where are the bodies buried?" Rose asked.

"It's burned, alas, this small place doesn't dare to bury it casually, for fear that something will go wrong, it's amazing."