The river is very wide, the current is gentle, and there are many boats in the vicinity of the big boat, and it seems that it has not been long before it gets dark, and the nearby boats have anchored and stopped for the night near a river beach with a steady current.

The lanterns were lit on the boats, and the stars were dotted with lights, and the lights on the river were also swaying, as if the stars in the sky had fallen into the water.

Mei Changqing can speak well, and in one afternoon, he has become familiar with the dart masters on the ship.

At this time, he ran to Mrs. Li and them, and whispered: "Sleep at night and be vigilant, I heard from the dart masters that the river has not been peaceful in recent years." Therefore, the big ships have agreed that they would rather delay a little more effort and go together, and they can also help each other, just in case ......"

When Mrs. Li heard this, she was startled first: "Then there won't be an accident on our ship, right?" ”

Mei Xiaotong hurriedly glared at Mei Changqing, turned around and comforted: "Mother, don't worry, I have asked Manager Lu." In the past two years, although the river has occasionally been uneven, it is only a small group of water bandits, and it is not a climate. It's just that people who do business, and those who walk darts, naturally have to be careful. This night's rest together, also because of the experience of running boats, this piece of water near this piece of water is gentle, suitable for anchor and rest. “

"The second brother probably listened to the words of those dart masters who deliberately scared us, and came to scare us."

Mei Changqing immediately understood, and nodded again and again: "No, I'm just talking about playing, mother-"

was slapped twice by Mrs. Li with the sole of her shoe, and ran out with her head in her arms.

With Mei Xiaotong's explanation, Mrs. Li was relieved.

There was wind along the way, the water flow was not strong, the boat walked very smoothly, and stopped at a small pier for a few hours in the middle, and finally arrived at the dock in Qicheng on the morning of the third day.

As usual, Mei Xiaotong went to settle the bill, Mei Changgui saw it in his eyes, struggled for a while, took out the five taels of silver, and handed it to Mei Xiaotong: "Little sister, use this to settle the bill." ”

Mei Xiaotong was stunned.

"You've paid for all the way, and we've broken up, so we can't take advantage of you anymore! I don't know how much it will cost me this way, I only brought so much, little sister, you take it first, if it's not enough, I'll make it up for you when I go home! Mei Changgui's face flushed. Tianhu next to him was embarrassed to take out a few taels of silver from his pocket and handed it over: "Auntie, this is my share, and I will hand it over to you, this will definitely cost money when it comes to Qicheng, if it is not enough, Auntie, you will cushion it first, and when you go home, I will let my father give it to you!" ”

These taels of silver are his private money, and he and Tianlong went to the town a few years ago, and each person had more than one or two pieces of silver, and they bought some things for the New Year's family and went to the nearby villages to peddle.

Their things are at a fair price, and their mouths are sweet, if they lack something, say it, and they will bring it over next time, a bit of a merchant who walks through the village and alleys.

If you don't have the money, you can also mortgage it with something, and then the two brothers will drag it to the town and sell it. After more than half a month, he actually earned more than one or two silver

Child.

When he came out this time, Tianlong handed over all the money to Tianhu, and he also wanted him to see what cheap and fashionable things were in the county, and to bring some back to sell.

When Tianhu left, his father and mother didn't give him money, and he didn't expect it for a while, but when he saw Mei Changgui giving money, he was immediately ashamed and ashamed, and hurriedly took out all the capital and silver he planned to do business.

Mei Xiaotong smiled, didn't shirk, and took the silver.

Seeing this, Mei Changqing struggled for a long time before he reluctantly took out a piece of broken silver, which he secretly exchanged in the county seat.

handed it to Mei Xiaotong.

Qicheng, although not far from Jing County, are two completely different county seats.

Jing County relies on the Evergreen Academy, and there are all kinds of mountain goods dealers to prosper and live.

And Qicheng, named after minerals.

The mountains around Qicheng are not high, and the trees on the mountains are not very prosperous, so it was originally a relatively barren town.

However, when the copper mine was discovered here, it immediately became lively.

Copper was a controlled metal of the imperial court and could not be mined by private individuals.

Because after the discovery of copper mines, the imperial court recruited many ordinary people and craftsmen to mine and smelt for the imperial court.

These people dragged their families with their families, and soon the town was not enough to live in.

In addition, there were garrisons in the local area, and it became more and more lively, and not long after, it was changed to a county seat.

Because of the minerals, although it is remote, it is also rich.

Even the houses on the street are a little more explosive than those in Jing County.

After getting off the boat, Mei Xiaotong saw that in the teahouse next to the pier, An Huahao was sitting on the second floor, nodding at her covertly.

Mei Xiaotong breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

Mrs. Li beat her waist: "Now we have arrived in Qicheng, and I don't know where the second beast lives, how to find it?" ”

Mei Changqing said with a big grin: "Didn't he say that he would be a master for the county master?" Shall we go to the county government to find it? ”

Mei Changgui had never seen the county government in his life, and he was a little scared when he heard it: "Will we be bombarded out when we go to the county office?" ”

As he was talking, he heard a familiar voice: "Mother, little sister, third child, Tianhu, you are here!" ”

Everyone turned their heads and saw the tea stall not far from the wharf, and stood up alone, who was not Mei Changan?

Mei Changan was wearing an ordinary green cloth straight, and most of the coolies were sitting next to the tea stalls, and he stood out of place among the coolies.

Seeing the Mei family, the smile on Mei Changan's face was a little more real, and he hurried to greet him.

Mrs. Li didn't talk nonsense with him: "What's the matter with your father?" Why did you get sick? Can't get out of bed yet? ”

Mei Changan heard Mrs. Li ask, and suddenly showed a look of self-blame: "It's all my fault!" Originally, I had been fine all the way, and I didn't get motion sickness on the boat, but after I got home, I began to vomit and diarrhea the next day. I called a doctor to come and see it, and said it was water and soil

I didn't take it, and I was prescribed medicine to eat, but it didn't get better. ”

"At first, my father could still walk on the ground, but then it became more and more serious, bedridden, and now he is hanging by the decoction, I am really panicked, these days I don't even go to the county office, every day in addition to asking a doctor, I just come here to wait for you. If you don't come again, I don't know what to do......"

As he spoke, his eyes were red, and he looked embarrassed.

Mrs. Li snorted from her nose and didn't answer Mei Changan's words: "Okay, let's go to your house first." ”

Mei Changan nodded hurriedly, hired a carriage next to him, and invited everyone to the car.

When Mei Xiaotong helped Mrs. Li to get into the carriage, she took another look at the teahouse, and An Huahao had already left.

The carriage didn't travel long before it stopped at the gate of an ordinary courtyard.

After getting out of the car, Mei Changqing looked around suspiciously: "Second brother, aren't you all the master of the county master?" How can you still live in a place like this? ”

At first glance, it is an ordinary house, with narrow alleys, and the alleys are not very clean, and there are a few children at the door of each house, laughing and playing in the alleys.

Occasionally, women, dressed in ordinary clothes, came out of the courtyard and splashed water under the walls.

Seeing the Mei family coming, the women looked at it a few more times before going back to their yard.

Mei Changan's face didn't change, and he only said lightly: "Let's talk about it first." ”

Pushing open the courtyard door, there is a small courtyard to enter, with three main houses on it, and the rooms on the left and right wings next to it are all small and low.

The yard is not big, with a small flower bed in the middle.

Hearing the movement, Qian and Jin Hai came out of the upper room, and the window of the left wing room moved, and it seemed that someone was behind, but no one came out.

Qian saw Mrs. Li and Mei Xiaotong and her party, and immediately squeezed out two tears: "Mother, little sister, you are here!" Don't come again—"

"Get out of the way of the old lady - your father is not dead, what kind of mourning do you howl?" Mrs. Li was upset when she saw Qian, pushed her away, and rushed into the upper room.

Entered the upper room, but didn't see Mei Zhongzhong's shadow, turned around, Qian twisted the handkerchief, and barely squeezed out a smile: "Mother, my father is raising it in the next room." ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the wing room on the right.

Mrs. Li and her entourage walked out again, and Mei Changan had already opened the chambers and stood at the door.

Mrs. Li didn't think about anything else, and when they entered the house, they found that this box house was not only small, but also the light was not very good.

As soon as I entered the house, there was an unpleasant temperature, the house was not airy, and Mei Zhongzhong vomited and diarrhea, and she couldn't clean it up in time, the unpleasant smell was really indescribable.

Mei Changqing covered his nose and ran out first.

Mrs. Li's face twitched for a while, and she was about to hold back it.

Mei Xiaotong is almost crying, she is now sensitive to her five senses, this sense of smell is more sensitive than others, this lethal taste,

The damage done to her is worse than that of other people.

I had to hold my breath, open the window, lean over the window, and try to breathe a few breaths of fresh air before I barely survived.

After some tossing, the smell in the house finally dissipated a little.

Mrs. Li and Mei Xiaotong walked to the side of the kang and saw Mei Zhongzhong lying on the bed, her eyes closed and she fell asleep, and such a big movement didn't wake him up. Mei Zhongzhong's face was sallow, his eye sockets were sunken, his cheeks were very thin, his lips were so dry that he was peeling, and he was lying there with weak breathing, and he didn't know what to do.

The futon on the bed was stained with indescribable yellow marks, and when I touched the kang, it was also cold.

Mei Xiaotong suddenly sank her face: "On such a cold day, why don't you even burn the kang for your father?" He's sick now, can he still stand the cold? That's how you take care of your dad? ”

Qian hurriedly covered his nose and stepped forward to explain: "Little sister, you misunderstood! It's not that we don't want to burn a kang for our father, it's that my father is watching the doctor these days, and the money is spent like running water. The kang burning in this city is not in the countryside, just go to the mountains and chop some firewood and come back, it doesn't cost money. In our city, everything costs money, and it costs money to buy firewood! ”

"In addition, the New Year has not yet passed, and there are few people selling firewood in the countryside, so isn't this connected? This means that it only stops during the day, and it still burns at night. ”

Mei Changqing also touched the kang, and suddenly exploded: "Let go of your mother's fart!" Are you all fools when we are? This kang is all cold, if it is really burned at night, what if it is only morning, can there be no temperature at all? ”

When Mrs. Li heard this, she didn't talk nonsense, and rushed out of the door directly, rushing to the door first

I went up to the room and touched a handful of kang, which was warm.

He rushed to the left wing again, and when he pushed the door, the door was bolted from the inside, and it was not pushed open at once.

"The third, the fourth, kick the door open for the old lady!" Mrs. Li gave an order.

Mei Changqing and Mei Changgui hurriedly stepped forward and kicked the door open with two feet.

In the door, Qian's father and mother looked at Mrs. Li embarrassedly.

"In-laws, you're here—"

Mrs. Li didn't pay attention to Qian's father and mother out of the corner of her eyes, rushed to the back room, and when she touched the edge of the kang, it was also hot, and it exploded immediately.

rushed out, didn't say a word, first slapped Mei Changan, Qian hurriedly stepped forward to stop, this time Mrs. Li didn't stop, directly eared melon seeds, and slapped Qian to the ground.

Qian covered her face in a daze, she couldn't believe it, over the years, she had also figured out the temper of this mother-in-law, although she was unforgiving, she really never did anything to her daughter-in-law.

Mei Changan was beaten, and she immediately rushed forward, just because Mrs. Li would not do anything to her daughter-in-law, and she would not be beaten, and she could also make Mei Changan's heart more biased towards her.

She's tried it several times before, and every time she succeeded, why didn't it work now?

The mother of the Qian family in the house couldn't stand it anymore, so she beat her daughter in front of herself

, I don't take the Qian family too seriously, right?

rushed out immediately, and Qian's father didn't hold it, so he had to stomp his heels out.

Qian Niang thinks that she is the mother-in-law of the talented master, and she is afraid that people will laugh at her for being from the countryside, and she has always spoken in a soft voice. Watching his only daughter being beaten today, his naturally loud voice can't be suppressed.

"I said in-laws, it depends on the owner to beat the dog! What do you mean by hitting my daughter in front of us? My daughter has been married to your family for so many years, and there is no merit and hard work, right? If you don't say a word, it's a slap in the face, who are you going to show it? “

"I can tell you! My Qian family is not vegetarian either! Dare to do this to my daughter, let me tell you, if you don't apologize to my daughter, this matter is not over! ”

While scolding, he pointed his finger at Mrs. Li's face.

Mei Xiaotong was on fire, and she stepped forward to pull Qian's mother away, but Mrs. Li was faster.

slapped Qian Niang's hand aside, jumped three feet high, and scolded louder than Qian Niang's voice: "The old lady taught the little beast who crawled out of the old lady's belly, what about your daughter?" I have to bump into my own skin, and I blame the old lady? ”

"Today, when it comes to your daughter marrying into my Mei family, it has been more than ten years, has your daughter passed on the lineage to my Mei family, or has she served her in-laws? In more than ten years, I gave birth to a girl, and the old lady endured it without saying it, which was enough to give face! In other words, who is not grateful to Dade for serving his in-laws? ”

"I don't know how your Qian family taught the girl, she gave birth to a girl, and she still cocked her tail to the sky. Not only did he not serve his in-laws, but he also instigated the man not to honor his father and mother at home, but ran to your Qian family to honor the old man and mother-in-law on the other eight roads! ”

"The old lady worked hard to give up her son, and finally passed the Xiucai test, is it for your Qian family? If your Qian family is rich, you will buy this Xiucai from the Mei family? If you don't spend a penny, you want to use an old girl who no one wants to hook Xiucai to your house? Phew! Shameless thing! ”

"In-laws, you can't say that-" Qian's father couldn't listen anymore and hurriedly stopped him. Mrs. Li really wants to be full of firepower, how can Qian's father and mother stop it?

The next mouthful of spit was spat on: "That's what the old lady said!" Say that everywhere! Your Qian family is shameless, and no one wants an old girl with no money, so that my son only supports the shameless old father-in-law's family. Over the years, has my son ever taken a penny from my Mei family in the middle of the examination? It's all about your money family! ”

"If I were you, take advantage of it, I would pick up your x face and honestly give the old lady to nest in the house, what do you want to do when you come out? Do you really think that your Qian family has lived here for a few days, and this house will be surnamed Qian? Mei Changan became Qian Chang'an? ”

"A family of wolf-hearted and dog-hearted Wang Balamb, you are all burning the kang in the house, and we are still in charge of the family, and we are still our own father, who is sick and left in the wing, and no one cares

, not even the kang burns! This is trying to freeze us to death, right? ”

"What good is it for you Qian family who are in charge of us to freeze to death? Could it be that he can still be a father? Just by virtue of this one, you girl is such a poisonous woman, a slut! The old lady has divorced her now, who has an opinion? ”

Mrs. Li's stormy attack this time only made Qian's father and mother look at each other, and they didn't even dare to come out.

Especially when it came to taking a break from Qian's, not only Qian was stunned, but even Mei Changan was stunned.

Jin Hai now knows that if Mrs. Li is determined to divorce the Qian family, I am afraid that the Qian family will really be divorced home, so she hurriedly pounced and screamed: "I can't divorce my mother!" ”

On the other hand, he pulled Mei Changan: "Dad, Dad!" I can't divorce my mother! ”

A touch of anger flashed in Mei Changan's eyes, he has been telling the Qian family every day in the past few days, estimating that the Mei family is coming, and asking the Qian family to be diligent, don't wait for the Mei family to come, and find that it is not good to be loyal to Mei, then I am afraid that it will be difficult to succeed.

The Qian family promised to be very good every day, but today he was arrested.

With thought to himself, he quickly made a decision.

His face sank, and before he could speak, Qian knew that something was wrong, so he hurriedly got up, grabbed Mei Changan's clothes and pleaded: "Official...... I know it's wrong, please forgive me for so many years of love between you and me, just forgive me this time......" Mei Changan's face rose with anger, slapped Qian to the side, and said hatefully: "Wow! Every day, I have to ask for a doctor outside, and I have to go to the dock to wait for my mother and little sister to come. The affairs of the family are handed over to you, and I have told you to take care of your father, and you take care of it like this? ”

"If I hadn't come back early today, wouldn't I have been deceived by you again? You ask yourself, how is my Mei Changan to your father? You always say that your father and mother are just your daughter, if we don't take care of it, your father and mother are afraid that they will not be able to live their lives. I feel sorry for you, I don't even support my own father and mother, I take your father and mother with me wherever I go! My dad has only lived with us for a few days for so many years, and you treat him like this? Yes? What do you do, how can you be worthy of me? ”

"......" Qian stammered, unable to speak.

Over there, Qian's father and mother also turned red, eager to go to the ground.

(End of chapter)