In the early spring, everything has just recovered, for our rural areas in the north, the weather is still out of the warm and cold season, and it will take more than a month before the spring ploughing, so it is rare for the people in the village to be idle.

I haven't seen Liu Wuye for a while, and today I went to talk to him while I was fine, of course, I still went to the story. So I took half a barrel of loose liquor from home and went straight to the fifth master's house.

knocked on the door and entered the house, the fifth master was still lying lazily on the kang, smoking dry tobacco, and his face was relaxed and comfortable.

Seeing that I was carrying the liquor in my hand, the fifth master smiled even more on his face, and the fifth master understood what I meant, so he was naturally not polite, smiled mysteriously at me, and said: "Boy, this is idle again, listen to my story!" ”

"The main thing is that I haven't seen the fifth master for a long time, bring some wine to the fifth master." I pretended to be calm.

At this time, the fifth master turned over and went to the ground, tinkered for a while, took out a bag of peanuts from the cabinet, took a big bowl from the stove, turned back to the kang, took the wine barrel from my hand, and poured himself a drink.

After drinking for a while, the fifth master said, "I'll tell you a real thing today, don't scare you!" Five also said this, which is also the effect I wanted, and I quickly echoed and said, "What is the matter?" Fifth master, tell me about it. ”

This incident still happened during the years when Liu Wuye ran to live, when the living standard was extremely low and the people's lives were also poor. Liu Wuye, like many craftsmen, sells his crafts outside day and night in order to live, which can be regarded as barely filling his stomach. At that time, people who played crafts were not like now, and they could make some money when they got to one place. At that time, Liu Wuye may have traveled a long way for a meal.

I don't know how many days I ran outside, but on this day Liu Wuye came to a town, this town is not big, with a population of more than 100 households, and there are a few shops in a sparse place. The fifth master ran for a day, and saw that the sun was almost at the end of the mountain, and it was also time for dinner. When I looked up, I saw a steamed bun shop in front of me, and a drawer of steamed buns was steaming. However, it seems that the business is very light, and there are no people buying steamed buns in front of the door.

The fifth master didn't care so much, and walked forward, only to see that the person who bought the steamed bun was a man about forty years old, with a dark complexion, very strong, and the embarrassing stubble was full of sideburns, showing the vicissitudes of life.

"Master, bring me five steamed buns." The fifth master said to the busy man.

The man looked up at the fifth master, took a piece of square straw paper, wrapped five steamed buns, and handed it to the fifth master without speaking. After the fifth master paid the money, he wanted to inquire about the nearby accommodation, but when he saw that the man didn't speak, the fifth master took the steamed bun and turned around and left.

The sun had set, and the fifth master had also found a big car shop nearby. It is also strange to say that there are not many people staying in the big car shop, except for the two outsiders who are releasing bees, who are the owners of the store. This boss is in his fifties, his surname is Hu, and others call him Lao Hu. This man is an extremely enthusiastic person, and the words in his mouth are non-stop.

The fifth master asked for a bowl of hot water, ate a few steamed buns, and chatted with Boss Hu, "Old Hu, what is this town called?" ”

"Our town is called Ranshi Town, there is a mess of rocks in the north of the village, I really don't know the origin of this piece of messy stones, but the town got its name because of this." "Master, you are a foreigner, right?" Lao Hu also asked.

"Yes, I'm from a foreign country, running a life and selling crafts, and I'm also a newcomer here." "This town doesn't seem to be like other towns, it's not too lively, isn't it?" The fifth master asked Lao Hu suspiciously.

When Lao Hu heard this, he paused with his sweeping hand. Then he looked at the fifth master, and squeezed a smile in his mouth, "Yes, yes, this town is indeed a little deserted." "At this point, I didn't go on.

When Liu Wuye heard this, there must be something strange, which aroused the curiosity of Wuye even more.

In a blink of an eye, it was night, and the others had already fallen asleep, and the fifth master did not feel sleepy at all, so he got dressed and came to the front room. I saw Lao Hu sitting alone by the stove.

The fifth master also sat down next to Lao Hu and lit a cigarette pouch, "Lao Hu, I haven't slept yet, I heard you seem to have something to say during the day today, tell me something." ”

Lao Hu couldn't stand the soft grinding and hard bubbles of the fifth master, so he opened the chatterbox.

It turns out that a year ago, this rocky town was very lively, there were many people passing by, and there were still many shops and shop numbers in the town. Just because of a strange incident, many people who were engaged in business withdrew from the town, resulting in the current deserted situation.

The specific thing has to start from the old Yu family in the town, the head of the household is called Yu Da, this Yu family is a tailor in the town, the craftsmanship passed down from the ancestors, it is very famous in ten miles and eight villages, and it has been passed on to Yu Da's generation, and the business is booming. Yu is in his thirties and has a daughter-in-law. is also considered to be old, more than three or four years old, Yu's eldest daughter-in-law is finally pregnant. can be regarded as a successor, and Yu Da's daily work is more energetic.

She was pregnant for 10 months and was about to give birth. It was a rainy night, lightning flashes, and it was pouring rain, and Yu's daughter-in-law was about to give birth. At that time, in rural areas, it was necessary to invite a midwife to be responsible for delivering the baby. Seeing that half an hour had passed, the daughter-in-law's shouts became more and more miserable, and Yu Da paced back and forth at the door at a loss.

After a while, the midwife came out and shook her head at Yu Da. Yu Da rushed into the house with a brisk stride, only to see his daughter-in-law lying motionless on the kang, her face pale.

In this way, Yu Da's daughter-in-law died in childbirth. This is really too big a blow, and since then, Yu Da has been like a soulless, and the tailor's work is not good. Business is getting bleak.

Two months have passed, and the people of Ranshi are still living a peaceful life as usual.

There is a steamed bun shop at the entrance of the village, that is, the steamed bun shop where Liu Wuye just entered the town and bought steamed buns. The person who opened the steamed bun shop is a foreigner, no one knows what it is called, only that this person's surname is Li, and the people in the town call him Steamed Bun Li. The steamed buns made by this person are also a must, not only soft but also delicious. People in the town like to come to him to buy them.

On this day, it was already dark, and it was estimated that it was more than nine o'clock in the evening. Steamed Bun Li looked at the few steamed buns left on the steamer and prepared to close.

At this time, it was summer, but suddenly a cool breeze blew, Mantou Li did not feel a shiver, and was about to take off the wooden stick supported in the window, and watched a woman walk here from the north of the town from a distance. I saw that this woman was dressed in white, wearing a women's white sunhat, carrying a delicate small basket in her right hand, and walking lightly without a sound.

As she spoke, she came to Mantou Li, the woman stood and looked up at Mantou Li, who also saw the woman's face through the sunhat, and didn't feel a shudder, only to see that the woman's face was pale, without a little blood, but she was wearing lipstick, and under the backdrop of her face, she looked extraordinarily red.

"Master, buy me two steamed buns." The woman spoke, her voice faintly trembling and recognizable, as if it could penetrate human bones.

Steamed Bun Li didn't dare to delay, wrapped two steamed buns in straw paper, handed them to the woman, and said casually: "Take the two steamed buns, a total of a dime." ”

The woman took out a banknote from her pocket, took the steamed bun with her left hand, put it in a small basket, and covered it with a red cloth.

At this time, the fifth master also saw the woman's hands clearly, still without a trace of blood, and on the wrist of his left hand, there was a jade bracelet. And this woman's appearance, steamed bun Li seems to be familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen it.

Just as Mantou Li was stunned, the woman had already turned around and left. Steamed Bun Li packed up the house and closed the door.

After the steamed bun Li finished eating, it was okay to be like every day, and he began to calculate the income of the next day, so he poured the box with change on the kang one by one, counted it little by little, counted it several times and was a dime short, thinking that maybe the number of steamed buns was wrong, and he didn't care.

The next day, it was still more than nine o'clock in the evening, when the steamed bun Li was about to close, the woman appeared again, exactly the same outfit as yesterday, and no more, no less, bought two more steamed buns, and left north after buying.

And the strange thing is that when Mantou Li counted the money at night, it was exactly a dime less. Steamed buns have been like this for several days. I don't know what went wrong.

This came to the third day, and the steamed bun plum had an extra heart, as long as the money collected from selling the steamed bun, he would secretly draw a mark with a pencil. This came to the evening, or at the same time, and the woman in white came to the steamed bun shop no sooner or later. I still bought two steamed buns and left. Mantou Li also made a mark on the money with a pencil.

In the evening, Mantou Li began to count the money, and sure enough, it was still a dime less. Because the steamed plums were marked in advance, after finishing them in the end, I finally knew which dime was missing. And the little dimes come from the woman in white who came to buy steamed buns before closing every day.

The same time, the same outfit, the same dime less, the strange woman. A series of things made Mantou Li feel even more strange about this matter. I vaguely felt that this woman's origin was not simple, and even began to wonder if this woman was a person!? After all, Mantou Li is also a man of great wind and waves at this age.