"What a great place!" Xiaohu closed his eyes and took a sharp breath of air, "Ah! It's a refreshing feeling. I said Xiaohui, your family doesn't really live here, right? ”

Cao Xiaohui couldn't suppress the excited expression on her face, and said happily: "Passing through the peach forest in front of you is Caojiazhuang, Brother Tiger, let's get off the horse and take a walk!" After saying that, he turned over and dismounted, took the reins of the horse with one hand, and walked forward along a path in the peach forest.

"That's exactly what I wanted!" Nie Xiaohu also got off the horse, followed quickly, and walked side by side with Cao Xiaohui in the peach forest.

Being in the sea of flowers, coupled with the company of the beauties around him, the gentle spring breeze blowing in his face and the slight sound of horses' hooves behind him, made Nie Xiaohu feel a little nervous for the first time, the palm holding the reins began to sweat, and his heartbeat unconsciously accelerated a lot, smelling the faint fragrance wafting into his nostrils, Nie Xiaohu couldn't tell whether it was the fragrance of flowers or the body fragrance emanating from Cao Xiaohui's body.

The two walked silently like this, no one spoke, but Nie Xiaohu felt as if the two had been communicating with each other, and this feeling was really amazing.

"This is really 'silence is better than sound at this time', I finally understand the meaning of this poem!" , Nie Xiaohu was thinking crankily in his heart.

Walking through the fruit forest, Nie Xiaohu's eyes were greeted by a group of houses of varying heights, although the houses were large and small, tall and short, but the building structure was all in a uniform style, and it could be seen at a glance that this was a gathering place for a family.

At the end of the path is the entrance of this gathering place, only to see a tall archway standing in front of you, and a huge golden plaque is hung on the archway, with three big characters "Caojiazhuang" written on it.

Entering the gate, Cao Xiaohui had an excited expression on her face, and kept introducing Nie Xiaohu to Nie Xiaohu as she walked.

"Look, this is where I used to play when I was a kid"

"Look there, when I was a child, I stole apples grown by my third aunt, and I was chased by the big black dog she raised."

"Sixth uncle! You're in good shape! ”

"Good! Oh, it's Xiaohui back! It's pretty again! ”

……

After a while, the two stopped at the door of a gorgeous courtyard, and a pair of tall stone carved liens at the door showed the noble status of the owner.

"Xiaohui, your father won't be the patriarch, right?" Xiaohu asked in a low voice.

"No, my father is just an elder in the clan. My mother died when I was three years old, and my father raised me single-handedly. ”

As she spoke, Cao Xiaohui had already rushed in, shouting loudly: "Father! , Xiaohui is back to see you! ”

Nie Xiaohu smiled and followed.

When I came to the living room, I saw a middle-aged man walking out quickly, dressed in gorgeous clothes, and his facial features were seven points similar to Cao Xiaohui. ”

"Good, good!" , The middle-aged man stretched out his hands and trembled to support Cao Xiaohui's shoulders, his eyes a little red.

"Kid, why did you come back all of a sudden? Without prior notice, I want to die as a father! The middle-aged man said without crying or laughing.

"I miss you too, so I'm coming back to see you!" Cao Xiaohui said coquettishly.

"Oh, by the way, I'll introduce you", Cao Xiaohui walked quickly to Xiaohu's side.

"This is my father, Cao Wuxian."

"I've seen my uncle!" Nie Xiaohu clasped his hands into fists and bowed.

"Good, good!" Cao Wuxian said with a smile.

"Father, this is Nie Xiaohu, the chief catcher of the southern district of Luoyang City."

"It turned out that Mr. Nie was here to catch the head, which really made the humble house shine, hahahaha!" Cao Wuxian smiled on his face, "After so many years, I didn't even write a letter to my family, I thought you forgot about my old bones!" Even if you have a little conscience, you know to come back and see me, haha! Let's all sit inside! ”

In the living room, everyone sat down as guests and hosts, and their own maidservants served fragrant tea, who is Cao Wuxian, how can he not see the height of his eyebrows? After a period of greetings, Cao Wuxian got up and said, "Xiaohui, there is something in the clan that I need to discuss, I won't accompany you, you can take Mr. Nie around with him." By the way, take the time to see your cousin Ling'er, your second uncle passed away half a year ago, and now she is also seriously ill, alas! I don't understand the world of young people! ”

Cao Wuxian shook his head as he said and walked out of the living room.

"Dad~~~"

Cao Xiaohui screamed shyly, her voice was almost inaudible, and two blushes flew on her face in an instant, but it quickly dimmed again, and she sighed softly.

"Cao Ling'er is the daughter of my second uncle, my cousin, and my playmate when I was a child. My second uncle doesn't like to practice martial arts, and he specializes in business, so his health has not been good, but he has a lot of means to do business, and he can make a lot of money every time he goes out, and he is the richest person in Caojiazhuang. When I was young, my second uncle also loved me very much, and I didn't want to come back this time, but I was already separated forever. ”

Cao Xiaohui spoke, her eyes were a little red.

"If you are a person, you will eventually die, this is a reality that no one can escape, mourning and changing, Xiaohui, why don't I accompany you on a trip, isn't your cousin still seriously ill." Xiaohu patted Cao Xiaohui's shoulder and said.

Cao Xiaohui nodded and stood up, "Let's go, let's go to my second uncle's house."

Nie Xiaohu followed Cao Xiaohui to the second uncle's house.

They were greeted by Cao Xiaohui's second aunt, without too much greetings, after Cao Xiaohui kowtowed in front of the second uncle's spirit, everyone sat down in the living room.

"Second aunt, how did the second uncle pass away? What kind of disease does Ling'er's sister have? Cao Xiaohui asked in a low voice, her expression gloomy.

"Alas, it's not that you don't know, your second uncle doesn't like to practice martial arts, his body is not as good as others, and he has been doing business outside all these years, and he has made a lot of money, but he has exhausted his body, and he got seriously ill half a year ago, leaving us mother and son, and just like that."

As she spoke, tears flowed down the eyes of the second aunt.

"The second aunt is too sad, what about Sister Ling'er? How did she get sick? ”

"Alas, this wretched child!" The second aunt sighed, took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears on her face.

"Half a year ago, Ling'er and his father left his last words in front of the patriarch and the elders when he was dying, because our mother and son are both women, and we will inevitably sit and eat after his death, although he left a lot of property, but he is also afraid that we will squander excessively, and there will be no dowry when Ling'er gets married.

And Ling'er's cousin Hu Kuixin followed him to do business abroad all the year round, so he appointed Hu Kuixin as the custodian of the property, fixed fifty taels of silver per month for our mother and son as daily expenses, and then handed over all the property to me and Ling'er after Ling'er got married. ”

"Well, it's still the second uncle's thoughtfulness", Cao Xiaohui nodded, "But what does this have to do with Ling'er's illness?" ”