The response in the small broken house must be true, and Lao Wang and I both heard it at the same time. Lao Wang didn't know about the rumors about the four kiln burners in the village, and when he heard the response from the broken house, he just felt a little surprised. But I'm completely different, in this forbidden mountain, who are the people in the dilapidated house of the abandoned kiln factory? What are you going to do?

As soon as I was alert, I immediately stopped, and at the same time I was ready to deal with the danger, and stretched out my hand to pull Lao Wang back.

At the same time that Lao Wang retreated to my side, the door of the small dilapidated house creaked open from the inside, and it was not yet dark, and the moment the door opened, I saw a man about fifty years old in the room.

The man was thin, white, wearing a pair of glasses, and looked polite. He was wearing a camouflage suit that didn't fit well, and he looked at us with a look of doubt and inquiry.

"You are? Where do you live? Lao Wang tilted his head and looked at this person.

"No, I'm just passing through, take a break here." The man was not only gentle-looking, but also soft-spoken, holding the door in one hand and a burning stick in the other, and there was a stove in the hut, and there was a fire burning in the stove, and smoke was constantly wafting out.

I didn't speak, but I was very vigilant, observing the person and secretly watching the movement around me. The kiln factory was very quiet, and this man in his fifties must have come here alone.

"We, too, are passing by, and want to rest here for the night." Lao Wang talked to the other party with a big grin, and he may not be defenseless at all.

"That's a coincidence." The man spoke in a very authentic Huayang local accent, opened the door of the hut completely, smiled, and said, "I just lit the fire and want to get some hot water, come on, the water is boiling, you can drink a little too." ”

I didn't answer, Lao Wang happily took the backpack and walked into the house, I wanted to stop it too late, so I could only walk slowly towards the door of the house, and walked to the door, I didn't go in, just according to the door frame, inside and outside the house at the same time.

Lao Wang is like this, he is familiar with himself, and he can talk to anyone. However, Lao Wang is not a complete fool, and when chatting, he specifically asked about the other party's occupation and the purpose of coming here.

The man was very happy, and while boiling water, he answered Lao Wang's question.

His surname is Yuan, and he used to be an art teacher, but he quit his job and opened his own studio.

I listened to this Teacher Yuan's words quietly, to be honest, Teacher Yuan looked really angry, like a literati, when adding firewood to boil water, he was in a hurry, embarrassed, and estimated that he rarely did these housework. I also looked closely, and both of his hands were white, but the middle and index fingers of his right hand seemed to have been cocooned.

Only those who hold a pen all year round will grind out cocoons on these two fingers. I was not as suspicious as before, but I didn't enter the house and stood outside.

"Yo! Are you a painter? Lao Wang's eyes flashed red, and he leaned towards Teacher Yuan: "Those who paint are very rich, I know that a painting can buy tens of millions of dollars." ”

"It's a joke." Teacher Yuan smiled and shook his head: "This profession is the same as all professions, and there are always only a very few people who can stand at the top of the pyramid." ”

This teacher Yuan mainly teaches students to draw, and his income is unstable, and when he encounters the off-season, he may not even be able to pay the rent in the studio. Whenever this happens, he will go into the mountains once and try his luck to find some cypresses.

He has a specialty in this area, he can use the naturally formed cypress to make root carvings, and when he is done, someone will collect it, which is a side business for him, and the money he earns can supplement his life and maintain the operation of the studio.

But since the beginning of a few years ago, Yabai has been crowded into the entertainment circle, and it has been really hot for a while, and the price has risen sharply. Taihang Mountain produces cypress on this side, and there is an endless stream of people looking for cypress, and the cypress in many places is brightened. This kind of thing does not grow in three or two years, and once it is harvested, it is equivalent to extinction.

Later, the fever receded, but there was still a small market. Those who buy cypress and find cypress will not be cut off. Mr. Yuan's difficulty in finding Yabai is getting bigger and bigger, and he has to find a way to find a place that has not yet been set foot in by a cultural toy merchant to try his luck. In this way, he found this place by mistake.

"According to what you say, finding Yabai to do root carving is more profitable than the studio."

"It can't be understood that way." Teacher Yuan took down a small pot on the fire and said, "I like to paint, and I also like to teach people to paint, making root carving is just a way to make a living, if the conditions allow, I am still willing to stay in the studio." Come, the water is boiling, drink some water, I have two cans, we can eat them together later. ”

Mr. Wang chatted with Mr. Yuan and drank hot water, and Mr. Yuan poured me a glass, but I didn't drink it. I can't be careful, if Mr. Yuan is looking for Yabai, it doesn't matter, I'm afraid that he is not looking for Yabai, if that's the case, things will be complicated.

"Teacher Yuan." I took advantage of the hot conversation between Lao Wang and him, and said next to me: "Do you know how to paint portraits?" ”

"That's the basics, and when I was learning to paint, I had painted at least a thousand portraits." Teacher Yuan patted the things he was carrying with him and said, "When I went into the mountain, I looked for Yabai and took out sketches, but now it's fine, I'll paint one for each of you." ”

"Just draw him." I pointed to Lao Wang and asked Mr. Yuan to draw him.

When I was done, I deliberately looked at it. I have to admit that this Mr. Yuan's painting foundation is very solid, and he must have worked hard.

In this way, the doubts in my heart have decreased a lot.

Mr. Wang and Mr. Yuan chatted until about ten o'clock, and then we separated, and we ran to the hut next to us, got some firewood, and lit a fire. If I hadn't met Mr. Yuan, I don't think there was a need for a vigil, but since there were outsiders, we had to be cautious, even if Mr. Yuan didn't have anything suspicious, it was better to be careful than careless.

I told Lao Wang, and the two of them took turns to keep vigil. The old king keeps watch for the first half of the night, and I watch for the second half of the night.

My physical fitness should be said to be very good now, after all, I have had three long field adventures before, but after a trip in the warm cabin, drowsiness hit, I told Lao Wang not to be lazy to nap, and then closed his eyes, and fell asleep in less than ten minutes.

I don't usually dream a lot, but maybe it's because I use my brain too much during this time, and my brain cells seem to be active all the time. After falling asleep, chaotic dreams appeared one after another. I dreamed of some very strange places and a lot of strange people. In the beginning, I couldn't tell where I was, and I felt that the place I was and the people around me were so unfamiliar, which made me feel very insecure.

In the dream, I tried desperately to squeeze out of the crowd, but the more I squeezed, the more people seemed to be around me, and it took a lot of effort for me to squeeze out of the crowd and stumble to the base of a wall. There were a few old men sitting under the fence basking in the sun, and when I looked up, I recognized one of them.

That is the fourth uncle in the village, very old, the fourth uncle is a carpenter in the village, when he is old, he can't do work, so he sits at the door of the house all day long. I remember when I was a child, as long as I went back to the village, I would inevitably run to the door of the fourth uncle's house with other children, waiting for him to come out in the sun and tell stories.

I raised my eyes and saw the fourth uncle, who seemed to see me and beckoned to me. In the midst of the tide of strangers, the feeling of suddenly seeing someone I knew was exciting and exciting, and I trotted all the way, three steps and two steps to run in front of the fourth uncle.

"Fourth uncle, what are you doing sitting here?"

"I'm waiting for you." Sibo's gray beard was blown by the wind and drifted slightly, he squinted his eyes and said, "I'm waiting to tell you a story." ”

"Fourth uncle, what story do you tell?"

"I'll tell you a story about the back mountain, the back mountain behind our village can't be entered, because it's ......"

"Fourth uncle, this story, I don't know how many times I have heard it, the back mountain in the village is not allowed to enter, because you can't get out if you go in, there were four people who burned gangue...... "I think the story told by the fourth uncle is not new, the back mountain, the person who burns the gangue, I am tired of listening to this story."

"Have you heard this story?"

"I've heard it, I've heard it I don't know how many times."

"And you know what?" The fourth uncle's eyes almost narrowed into a slit, and he said mysteriously: "Why are the four people who burn gangue gone?" ”