Liu Shangang has not been very active since he was a child, and he was tired and out of breath not long after running, I was chasing him from behind, he suddenly stopped, I didn't brake the car for a while, and hit Liu Shangang's back with a bang. The two of us fell to the ground on our backs at the same time, and we didn't know the pain, but on the ground, you pressed me and I pressed you and made a fuss.

I drank the broth made by Lao Chai Tou every day for more than a year, and I was much taller than Liu Shangang, and my strength and physical fitness were better than him, and it didn't take long for Liu Shangang to surrender: "Don't play, don't play, I can't get you." ”

I also sat up from the ground panting, but Liu Shangang suddenly stood up and shouted at me: "Come here, show you something good." Then he ran to the entrance of the stairway next to the toilet.

I followed Liu Shangang to the corridor, and I saw this kid sneakily take out a slender and long thing from the pocket of his clothes, this thing I have seen, it is the kind of cigarette that my dad smokes, but the cigarettes my dad smokes, the filter is yellow, but the one in Liu Shangang's hand is white.

Liu Shangang held up the cigarette in his hand and asked me, "What do you guess this is?" ”

I was a little puzzled, isn't it just a cigarette, and what I said in my mouth was: "Smoke, what else can it be?" ”

Hearing my words, Liu Shangang seemed to be surprised: "How did you recognize it at once?" Hey, when I first saw this thing, I didn't even know what it was. I just thought, aren't all cigarette butts yellow, how can this one be white? ”

What is yellow and white, even if it is black, it is still smoke. However, from what I know about Liu Shangang, he must have known that it was smoke early on, and called me over mysteriously, and I don't know what the hell he was doing.

At this time, Liu Shangang mysteriously took out a small box of matches from his pocket and whispered to me: "You say, what is so delicious about this thing, why do adults always like to hold it?" Why don't we try it today? ”

I'm sure many people have stolen adult cigarettes to smoke when they were young, and they didn't really think it was a good thing, they were just curious. At that time, I was also curious: "Try it, what's the big deal." ”

Before I could finish speaking, Liu Shangang struck the match, followed the example of an adult and lit a cigarette, and as soon as the first puff of the cigarette was in his mouth, Liu Shangang coughed very violently, coughing so much that tears flowed down, and while coughing, he quickly threw away the cigarette, as if it was something very disgusting.

I picked up the cigarette from the ground and tried to take a puff, but I felt a very choking breath enter my throat, and I immediately coughed and quickly threw the cigarette away.

Liu Shangang had tears in his eyes, and looked at the cigarette very complainingly and shouted: "What does it smell like?" How spicy! ”

I was so choked that I couldn't speak, so I shook my head vigorously at Liu Shangang.

In fact, I can't figure out what is there to smoke about this thing, not only my dad, but also my uncle and Lao Chai Tou, who smoke every day.

Liu Shangang and I sat on the stairs, and it took a long time for me to recover, and when I remembered the smell just now, I felt uncomfortable in my throat and eyes, and I didn't want to speak.

But Liu Shangang has been a little chatter since he was a child, and he felt uncomfortable when he didn't speak, so he asked me without words: "Hey, do you remember the incident of human traffickers a while ago?" ”

I said, "Yes." ”

Liu Shangang asked me again: "Then do you remember Lu Wenbin?" ”

Lu Wenbin, how could I not remember? It's not just me, there is no one in the whole Beishi Elementary School who doesn't know him! I heard that he seems to be a member of the study committee of the second class of the third grade, and he is also the disciplinary committee member of our whole school, every morning when he goes to school, Lu Wenbin guards the school gate very early to check the red scarf, and he is not allowed to enter the school gate when he sees something he doesn't bring, and the children in the school are afraid of him.

I looked at Liu Shangang, and I didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd. Liu Shangang leaned into my ear and said, "Lu Wenbin has been abducted by human traffickers!" I also heard two days ago that he was lost when he followed his mother to the vegetable market to buy vegetables that day, and later Lu Wenbin's parents also called the police, but they didn't find anyone for half a month. ”

Hearing him say this, I also recalled that in the little half month before the holiday, I really didn't see Lu Wenbin at the school gate.

Liu Shangang was still whispering next to me: "I heard that on the day Lu Wenbin went missing, he was still wearing his black short-sleeved gown, which is the one with a white check mark on the sleeve. I just wondered, the traffickers must have taken a fancy to his clothes and abducted him. ”

With family conditions like Liu Shangang and me, we never pay attention to the brand of clothes, and I don't know that the check mark on Lu Wenbin's sleeve is actually a trademark.

But I remember that Lu Wenbin liked his dress very much, and when he checked the red scarf at the school gate, he wore it for eight out of ten days. But there is one thing I don't understand, how can human traffickers look at a child's clothes? Besides, I never thought that dress looked good.

Every time Liu Shangang babbles on and on to me, I think like this.

It is estimated that seeing that I did not respond, Liu Shangang changed the topic again: "By the way, listen to my father, you have moved to a new house, where did you move?" ”

I was about to speak, when my dad appeared in the corridor and beckoned to me and Liu Shangang: "Come, it's time to eat." ”

As he spoke, my dad saw a cigarette butt on the ground, smiled, and didn't say anything.

At noon, Liu Shangang and I ate in my father's office, lunch was a few vegetarian buns from the canteen called by Liu Shangang and his father, the rice in the rubber factory has not been very delicious, the benefits have been poor in the past two years, and there is not even some oil and water in the buns, which is even more unpalatable. Liu Shangang and I just ate a few bites casually, and then shrank in the corner of the office and folded paper airplanes to play.

Not long after, Xiao Zhang came, the same Xiao Zhang who helped my dad contact the old layman. As soon as he entered the door, he smiled and said to my father, "Brother Guo, are you looking for me?" ”

My dad put down the chopsticks in his hand, handed a cigarette to Xiao Zhang, and said, "It's nothing else, I just want to ask you where the old layman you mentioned before lives." You see, people helped me find such a good place, how can I thank them, don't I? ”

Xiao Zhang lit a cigarette, still with a hearty smile: "I forgot to say it before, Mr. Li lives in the family courtyard of the post office. It is the innermost building of the family home, the east household on the first floor of the second unit. ”

The east household on the first floor of the second unit, isn't it the one we have downstairs?

My father's face changed after hearing Xiao Zhang's words, and he said tentatively, "Isn't that just living downstairs in my house?" But how can I look at the family downstairs, there is always a black cloth in the yard. ”

"Oh, yes," Xiao Zhang explained, "Li Jushi has a girl who has a strange disease, saying that she can't see the sun. Because of this, Li Jushi specially put a black cloth in the courtyard. If you want me to say, this old man Li is also a very poor person, he has helped so many people over the years, but he still hasn't been able to cure her girl's illness. ”

Liu Shangang's father had been eating steamed buns before, and then he also raised his head and said: "Really, if you don't say it, good people don't live long, and the scourge will last for a thousand years." ”

My dad was obviously not very interested in Li Jushi's family situation, so he just asked Xiao Zhang on the side: "What is that old Li Jushi doing?" ”

Xiao Zhang thought for a while before saying: "I heard Lao Li Jushi himself say that she was a goddess in her early years, and later converted and became a layman, and the rest is not very clear. However, she said that she was a goddess, so she should be quite reliable. Your family has also encountered those things, and I am not afraid to tell you that I can know Li Jushi, or because my uncle's family also made that kind of thing before, and it was Li Jushi who drove away the evil. Later, didn't I always find my daughter-in-law, my uncle gave me Li Jushi's address, and you also know my situation in the past two years, thanks to Li Jushi's help. ”

Listening to Xiao Zhang's words, my dad kept nodding his head, and I had a bad premonition at that time, thinking that this afternoon, I might not see Lao Chai Tou.

In order to express my gratitude, before Xiao Zhang left, my dad stuffed a cigarette for him, which was originally prepared by my dad for Lao Chai Tou, so I was more sure that my dad was not going to take me to Lao Chai Tou.

Xiao Zhang didn't shirk it, put away the cigarette, and left happily. When he went out, the sun shone above his head, and I could vaguely see a faint black gas coiling around his head, but I couldn't really see it.

After getting off work, my dad rode a bicycle and took me home directly, on the way, I also asked my dad what was going on with the black gas on Uncle Zhang's head, my dad seemed to have something on his mind, didn't hear me talk, didn't pay attention to me, and I didn't ask again.

When I got home, my mom had already cooked the meal, my dad sent me to the door, and went to the bedroom to get some of the money left over from the rent, my mom asked my dad what he was doing with the money, my dad only said "useful", and hurriedly went downstairs.

I knew where my dad had gone, so I sat on the balcony and watched, and sure enough, after my dad went downstairs, he came to the courtyard gate on the first floor and knocked on the door.

Soon, an old lady in the courtyard spoke: "Who? ”

The voice was high-pitched and hoarse, like the sound of scratching glass with your fingernails, giving you goosebumps when you hear it.

My dad seemed to feel a little uncomfortable at this time, and I saw my dad frowning.

The door opened, because the black cloth was blocked, and I couldn't see what the old lady on the other side of the door looked like, but my father's expression obviously became a little strange, the expression was like consternation, and there was a kind of disgust in the consternation.

"It's Li Jushi, right?" Without waiting for the old lady to speak, my dad spoke first, and my dad still had a forced smile on his face.

The old lady said in an emotionless voice, "Who are you?" ”

My dad was a little overwhelmed by her tone, and quickly said, "I'm your upstairs neighbor." ”