Qingguo, Wendeng City, Hui County.

"Grunt", the sound of the carriage from far to near, stopped on the official road, and before the coachman stopped the carriage, he saw a slightly chubby middle-aged man jump out of the carriage and hurriedly ran to the opposite side.

A small restaurant is quietly located on the side of the official road, the sky is still bright, in the fog, white smoke is rising from the chimney, the flower bones are stained with dew on the flower stand outside the wall, and the teapot on the stove is full of tea fragrance under the eaves.

This early morning at the end of April was different after all.

The middle-aged man tidied up his coat and said to the girl who was sweeping inside: "Xiaobai, each of the seniors will have a copy, and then put some sweet steamed buns." ”

"Butler Gu? Why so early? The girl named Xiaobai turned slightly sideways in the door, stunned for a moment, her emaciated arms were exposed in the half-hidden door, she lifted the teapot on the stove and poured a cup of hot tea and put it on the small table, and then ran to the small door at the bottom of the stairs with the food box, where the kitchen was opened, and the crisp voice echoed in the spacious and bright room, "You warm up first, and I will come out immediately." ”

The ancient butler looked like a regular customer, responded with a smile, turned around and sat on the wooden bench in front of the door, and drank slowly. Remembering the first time he learned from Huang Bo, the housekeeper of the Lin Mansion, that someone was going to open a restaurant on the edge of this ghost place, he was also startled, the forest behind him was notoriously gloomy, who could be so bold?

The only official road outside the gate, connecting the rich coastal Haixing County in the north and the Xiyue City in the south, Huixian County should be a world-famous place of interest, but it occupies this special position, but does not enjoy the honor it deserves, but because of the endless forest outside the city, which is closely related to the official road, all the merchants and people are full of fear.

It occupies most of the land in Huixian County, covering the sky and the sun, intricate and messy, and nearly half of the edge of the land is bottomless cliffs, for many years, almost uninhabited, and no one dares to risk their lives, but if anyone has no intention of breaking in, it is impossible to come out again, only a dead end. The locals named it "Hidden Land".

Five years have passed in a flash, and the new brick and stone pavement at the entrance has been smoothed out by the coming and going, and the new signboard has faded. Antique, a two-story building repaired with a whole piece of stone, the branches of the vines on the side of the wall climb all over the wall, and the pink flower bones are really budding to be released.

A painting that can be seen at a glance at the entrance, the handwriting is sloppy, only a welcome pine proudly stands on the top of the mountain, seems to see everything, but there is no name and no signature, only half of the irregular red badge falls in the corner, some faded marks reveal solemnity, no one dares to guess its origin.

On the counter in the southeast corner, there are all kinds of labeled wines, wine bottles are also distinctive, as well as those exquisite wine utensils, especially a set of glass cups that are not necessarily treasured by noble families, and they are even more dazzling in the sun. It's amazing how many precious things can be seen in such a not-so-ornate restaurant.

He always secretly guesses Xiaobai's origins, these days, even if he is a little beggar, he can always come out of one or two, but Xiaobai always says that she is from the land of the earth, and he doesn't mind the bizarre rumors about the land, as if he is afraid that others will not be afraid.

But it is also strange that once he walks in, it seems to have taken root, including himself, and many merchants, who have become frequent customers of this small restaurant, sometimes not busy, and will stay in the guest room on the second floor for a few days.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!!" A gust of wind whistled by, the ancient butler shivered suddenly, the hot tea in the cup was spilled on the back of his hand, he was accustomed to wiping the water stains on his clothes, and got up to look at the black and crushing ground behind him. It was silent, as if there was no other living creature except these trees, eerie and treacherous, oppressive and suffocating.

The people of Huixian County will never forget how the violent storm of ten days ago brought destruction to this forest, the flash flood washed away the only official road, and also took away the people who have lived in this forest for generations, the people of Bell Town, there is nothing left, even if they want to let them into the ground, they can't find any wreckage.

"Is Steward Gu going to Haixing?" The crisp voice in the kitchen pulled Butler Gu's thoughts back, "Is it the Chamber of Commerce?" It's no wonder, after all, the Chamber of Commerce has raised so much money for the reconstruction of Haixing, and it can't be done without looking at it. ”

"Not for that." Steward Gu's eyes flashed.

I heard Xiaobai smile again: "I'll prepare more dry food, I heard that there is no place to live there, and food is even more scarce, especially at Lanzhou Ferry, in case you meet acquaintances, you can take care of each other." ”

A warm current rose in the heart of the ancient housekeeper, even if the natural disaster was cold and ruthless, but there are many warm hearts in this world, just like Xiaobai, just like those people he met in Haixing who had never met. "These things have been arranged by the garrison mansion, so we don't have to worry about it."

When I was young, I saw Xiaobai running out, two four-layer large food boxes, and a few packets of dry food, passing by the counter, remembering something, and picking up a small porcelain jar.

At this time, the ancient housekeeper had already washed the cup and put it back on the stove, and when he saw Xiaobai coming out, he hurriedly greeted him, took out a bag of silver from his arms and stuffed it to her, and said: "You are well-informed here, and you even know about the Lanzhou ferry." ”

Xiaobai stuffed the small porcelain jar into his arms, and said with a smile: "In the past few months, people who have come and gone have said things about Haixing, I don't want to hear it, I really feel uncomfortable, this is my newly soaked Wujiapi, drinking a small cup every day is good for the old man's leg pain, it is my little thanks, you should be careful on the road." ”

The ancient housekeeper laughed instantly, and his slightly chubby body shook with this hearty laughter, he remembered that he had come back from Haixing when he was in the first month, and he had taken some dried scallops to give to Xiaobai, but they were remembered by Xiaobai until now, and they were also a great luck in misfortune, and they escaped the flood, "It's all ordinary things, why don't you worry about it like this!" But he still accepted it.

The carriage galloped away, the lanterns on the side of the road made a few circles, the candles that had calculated the time gradually went out, and the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and mist, instantly illuminating the earth, and also shining the signboard on the gate with the words "Welcome guests".

The temperature in the morning was still a little cool, Xiaobai wrapped her clothes tightly, and the breeze mixed with the sweet smell of early summer blew through the broken hair in her ears, brushed her emaciated jaw, and stirred the tip of her nose, so that she couldn't help but sneeze, sighing that this official road was finally calm.

To this day, Xiaobai still remembers it vividly, compared with the busy traffic on the official road in the first month, the atmosphere of the New Year has never dissipated. The calm of the first day of the second month was even more unforgettable, the morning glow was red like a ball of flames, and the always quiet "Fu Yan Land" suddenly startled a field of birds.

After a whole month, the carriages on the official road roared past, and she knew that when people were immersed in the extravagant and headless Spring Festival party with the emperor in Xiyue City, Haixing except for the Xingyun Mansion on the edge and the highest Yaxian County were all affected without exception.

Fortunately, at the time of the flood, there was a timely response to the Haixing garrison, and did not cause too many casualties, at the end of March, the emperor decreed, the whole country to help, and also sent a minister to inspect, the situation slowly improved, although the port of those cargo ships and goods nearly half of the have not been saved, but there are local chambers of commerce to raise funds to support, months of the sky shrouded in a dull atmosphere is finally really clear.

These days, she has also met with many businessmen and officials who have returned from Haixing one after another. And the county king's mansion, which has been standing for a hundred years and has been hereditary in Haixing County, is always silent as if it has been brought back to the sea by a fading flood.

Xiaobai turned around and went into the restaurant and continued to do what she hadn't done just now, she turned sideways slightly and put the crumbs into the dustpan, the back of the bent down was thin and thin, it was really difficult to guess her age, if it weren't for the two slender braids, she couldn't even tell whether it was a man or a woman. Looking up, it is an ordinary side face, but because it often smiles, it makes people feel like a spring breeze.

She's been here for almost six years. Like duckweed, I don't know where to go, in fact, she didn't have time to ask the ancient housekeeper just now, I heard that the people of the Lin family also went to Haixing, are they okay?