The next morning, the rain stopped, but the sky was still overcast. A stout old elm tree in the backyard, after the ravages of last night's storm, broke a branch the thickness of an arm, and a young man was dragging this branch out of the backyard; Another guy was sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.

Yao Hei'er didn't sleep well all night, and the lightning that kept breaking through the window and the thunder that sounded one after another made her a little uneasy.

With two black eyes, she paced to the kitchen, saw that the chef was already busy with a few helpers, and added: "Hard work, everyone, we have to speed up a little faster!" Just because it rains, the road will definitely be muddy, but I am afraid that it will be slow and delayed! ”

The chef is a loyal man, and when he saw the sincerity of what the boss said, he sped up his movements more and more, and urged a few helpers: "Stone, your shredded meat, cut it thinner, and move faster!" ”

"Second Tiger, go kill the fish!"

"Laizi, the heat of the chicken soup is a little smaller!"

Yao Hei'er stood for a while, and then walked out. In the lobby, two neat young men were wiping the table, and when they saw Yao Hei'er coming out, they were busy bending down and laughing.

Yao Hei'er nodded to them and walked out into the street. This is the most prosperous street in Dongyin City, and it is also the only road paved with bluestone slabs in Dongyin City.

The rain that was so heavy last night, at this time on this street, did not leave any traces. The shops on the street are already open, some guys have put up signboards at the door, and some guys are cleaning up the debris in front of the store.

Opposite is also a very large restaurant, called Gaojia Restaurant. The shopkeeper, Boss Gao, short in stature, with a short beard, a round belly, and dark skin, was picking his teeth at the door at this time, and when he saw Yao Hei'er walking out, he hurriedly said, "Boss Yao!" Rich! Rich! ”

People say, "peers are enemies", this restaurant opened several years earlier than Yao Heier's shop, naturally it is impossible to like the peers who only came out last year, the two have always been secretly competing, but it is inconvenient to tear their faces, and when they meet, they are polite to each other.

Yao Hei'er also hurriedly returned the salute and said, "Boss Gao is rich!" With that, they went their separate ways.

Yao Hei'er wandered around the street, and suddenly remembered that Pei'er had said that she wanted to eat some pastries, so she turned around and went to a pastry shop.

The guy from the pastry shop greeted him enthusiastically and said with a smile: "Sir, the pastries in our shop are all made by the masters in the early morning, they are fresh and delicious, what do you want?" ”

Yao Hei'er looked at it slightly, and asked the guy to wrap a box of golden silk jujube paste cake and a box of osmanthus crystal cake.

The young man said with a smile while packing with his hands and feet: "Sir, we have a new product in the store, called Mandarin Duck Horseshoe Cake, which was learned by our master in the cold city, it is fragrant and soft and smooth, and with the crispness of the horseshoe, it is very delicious, do you want to have some?" ”

Mandarin duck water chestnut cake? Yao Hei'er's heart moved, this is her mother's favorite food in previous years, only in a pastry shop in Hancheng, and now Dongyin City also has it? I was afraid that my mother hadn't eaten it for a long time, so she hurriedly said, "Fill me with two boxes!" ”

The young man smiled all over his face and replied crisply, "Okay! Mandarin duck horseshoe cake, two boxes! He handed over a few boxes of packaged snacks together, and said with a smile: "You old man put it away!" A total of two coins of silver! Come back when you're done! ”

Yao Heier paid, carried a few boxes of dim sum and walked around the street, saw that there was nothing to buy, so he stepped back to the restaurant, only to see that all the dishes in the kitchen had been prepared, packed in a few large food boxes, satisfied, and explained to the money shopkeeper and the guys: "I have not been in the store for the past two days, the money shopkeeper is bothered!" Be careful, and listen carefully to what the money shopkeeper says. On the 20th, the money shopkeeper will send you the monthly money on time. ”

There was already a clever young man, who put Yao Heier's carriage on the road and led it to the door of the store, Yao Heier put a few food boxes and snacks on the car, and carefully fixed them, arched his hand to the money shopkeeper, and said with a smile: "There is work!" So he struck his horse and went out of the city.

As soon as you get out of the city, the road is muddy, but fortunately it is quite wide and not too difficult to walk.

The road in front of Shanjia Village became more and more muddy, and the pace of the horses slowed down. Because it was a cloudy day, Yao Heier didn't know what time it was. According to the usual speed, from Dongyin City to Shanjia Village, it took about more than an hour, and today it has been at least two hours. Yao Hei'er was a little anxious, for fear of delaying her mother's birthday at noon, so she whipped the horse, and the white horse neighed aggrievedly, but her steps were not much faster.

"Zhong Cuiling! You crow's mouth! Yao Hei'er complained in her heart, although she knew that she couldn't complain about Cuiling, but when she complained, she felt much happier. Seeing that there was no one around, Yao Hei'er stood on the carriage, pulled her throat, and shouted again: "Zhong Cuiling!" You crow's mouth! ”

A crow, "wow wow", flew from not far away, swooped down, looked at Yao Hei'er curiously, and spread its wings and flew into the air.

In the mud in front of him, there was a faint purple-red thing, and when he got closer, Yao Hei'er realized that it seemed to be an embroidered shoe trapped in the mud. Whose woman was so careless that she left her shoes in the mud? Yao Hei'er didn't think much about it, she whipped the horse.

After running on the dirt road for about two quarters of an hour, she finally saw the shadow of Shanjia Village in the distance, and Yao Hei'er couldn't help but stretch her neck to look forward.

Usually, whenever Yao Hei'er was about to come back, the three children would wait for her at the entrance of the village, and when they watched the carriage coming from a distance, they would run over with joy, competing for the first one to get into their mother's carriage, and for the snacks and food that their mother bought.

At this time, Shanjia Village was getting closer and closer, and Yao Heier didn't see anyone. Not only did he not have his own three children, but he also had no other people's children.

"Maybe it's because the road is too muddy! It is right for the mother not to let a few children come out, otherwise one person will be covered in mud for a while. Yao Hei'er secretly speculated in her heart.

As she got closer and closer, Yao Hei'er began to be surprised in her heart. Although the population of Shanjia Village is small, there are usually a few people walking around the village, either to work in the fields or to cut firewood in the mountains. At the entrance of the village, there are always children playing or collecting firewood. The more it rains, the more excited these children are, secretly carrying the adults on their backs, and they also have to run out to step on the muddy water, making a muddy body, and when they go home, they are beaten by the adults and cry, and they will not delay the next time they continue to play in the mud.

Today, this village, there is an eerie tranquility. No one appeared, and the door of the courtyard was closed at the entrance of the village; Further on is the single big head's house, and the courtyard gate is also closed; The third is the Shan Feng family, and the courtyard door is still closed.

Even though it rained yesterday, it won't be like no one coming out, right?

Could something be happening?