"Uncle, where did you fall?" Qi Xiaoting asked the old man with concern.

The old man walked a few steps, shook his head, and said, "It's not in the way, you can walk." ”

"Old man, what do you want to buy, say it, I'll buy it for you." Yan Lanzhu got out of the little donkey cart and asked.

The old man waved his hand: "No, no, we don't know each other, how can we let you break the bank." As he spoke, he walked forward, stumbling, and almost fell again.

Qi Xiaoting hurriedly held on and said with concern: "Uncle, the road is slippery, you walk slowly, where is your home?" I'll send you back? ”

"No, I don't. I'm not defaulting on the debt, I'm holding it tight for a while, and I'll pay him back when I sell the rags. Thank you, good guy! The old man waved his hand and said incoherently.

Qi Xiaoting: "Uncle, are you from this village?" ”

Old man: "Yes. At this time, no outsiders came here. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Excuse me, is there a house in this village to stay in?" ”

The old man looked at Qi Xiaoting, then at the little donkey cart, at the other three, and said, "My house is too narrow to live in." Go to the dark wooden door in front and ask, the old lady is hot. But don't say I'm telling you. ”

Qi Xiaoting nodded: "I'll send you home." ”

Old man: "No, it's just ahead, not far." With that, he staggered away.

"The old man is very upright and unwilling to accept handouts." Old man Mei looked at the old man's back and said with emotion.

Qi Xiaoting: "It seems that this village has stories and warm-heartedness, but it doesn't want to meddle in things. ”

The little donkey cart soon came to the black wooden door that the old man had said.

Qi Xiaoting rectified her emotions, stepped forward and pushed the door, the door was closed, and she couldn't push it, it seemed that there was a bolt inside. Knocked again and asked aloud, "Is anyone home?" Passerby, I want to inquire about something. ”

After a while, a gray-haired old lady opened the door. At the age of sixty, he really looks kind. Seeing that Qi Xiaoting looked like a monk, she said, "Who invited you here, say your name, and I will send you over." ”

Qi Xiaoting: "The person who invited me is outside, she has no place here, I want to ask you, which family has a house to spend the night?" It's too late, the road is dark and slippery, I really can't go back, I must leave tomorrow. ”

The old lady shook her head: "It's not easy to borrow a house here. There are broken houses, and they live casually. One is that it is too cold, and the other is that it is not easy to live. ”

Qi Xiaoting hurriedly smiled: "Grandma, you may be able to see what I am doing." Entrusted by people, I become ~ the beauty of people, I have to take responsibility for everything. If you have a spare room, lend us a night. Your great kindness, we will never forget. He made a gesture as he spoke.

The old lady pondered for a moment and said slowly: "The west wing of my house is idle, but the house is cold in winter, and there is smoke on the wood-burning stove. If you don't like it, move in. ”

Qi Xiaoting clasped her fists with both hands: "Thank you so much, then, I'll call them over." ”

After the four of them came to the house, the old lady was startled by Yan Lanzhu's appearance. Yan Lanzhu lied that he accidentally ignited his clothes while cooking, and he was in a hurry and didn't change them.

The old lady nodded, believed it, and said, "In this way, when my son comes back, let him squeeze his uncle." Your mother and daughter (she has seen that Yan Lanzhu and Jing Cuiliu are mother and daughter) are in my house in the east room, and I will go to the house of my son in the west room; The two men are in the west wing, where there is a big kang. Time is tight, only the brazier is lit. ”

"That's good." Yan Lanzhu believes that she is the party and takes the initiative to entertain everything. When asked about the cost of the room, the old woman waved her hand and said, "Don't." The house is idle and idle. His expression was faint, and he seemed to regret his promise just now.

"Where's your son?" Qi Xiaoting asked. Seeing that the old lady is getting older, it is estimated that her son is not young.

Old lady: "I went out to work, five or six miles away, and I won't come late at night." It's not here yet, so I don't think I'll be back. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Have you started a family?" ”

Old lady: "Ahem, the family is poor, whose girl is willing to marry?" It's almost forty, and I'm still single, and even my grandson has delayed me! ”

Qi Xiaoting was busy flattering: "Grandma, you are kind, your son will definitely be able to find a daughter-in-law and give you a pair of dragon and phoenix fetuses." ”

Old lady: "I want you to say good things!" I hope so! Then he asked, "Have you eaten?" ”

"Eat." Yan Lanzhu hurriedly said: "I met something on the way, and I ate in your neighboring village." ”

Old lady: "Okay, I won't cook." Pack up your house, and rest early. So saying, he lit the oil lamp in the hall, and went to the east room to clean up the house.

Taking advantage of this, Qi Xiaoting came outside and dodged into the space.

"Be careful tonight." As soon as they met, Long Yi admonished him.

Qi Xiaoting smiled: "You can see it?" ”

Ryuichi: "Hmph, as soon as you puff your tail, I know what kind of dung to pull." However, I didn't have a good rest last night, so don't take too long tonight. ”

Qi Xiaoting nodded, and while pretending to be a red Fuji apple, she said, "Look at the old lady's face is very kind, don't want room money." Since I live in someone's house, I will fill her with a bag of apples. Also, how can I help him with the heavy snow? I don't have any bottom in my heart. ”

Long Yi: "It's hard to say, you can only take one step at a time." If it really doesn't work, give him a small gourd (ambergris) herbal water, and wipe it whenever the child is unwell, so as to ensure that he can grow up. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "I think he means that he is willing to recognize his ancestors and return to his ancestors." ”

Long Yi shook his head: "I don't have a good way, you can only find the right opportunity by yourself and act on the opportunity!" ”

"Huh?! What can't you do to get me to promise him? Qi Xiaoting almost became furious, staring at Long Yi with a look of unrelenting: "I don't know anything about this, where can I look for an opportunity?" ”

Long Yi smiled: "Didn't I say it to you, give him a glimmer of hope." When people are in pain, white lies are also a good medicine, do you know? Besides, you haven't done it yet, so how do you know what the result will be? ”

"Humph! If you don't go out in the space, the outside won't affect you. I am a person with a name, a surname and a place to live, and I can't do it if I answer the others, so I won't lose my trust in the people! ”

Long Yi: "Didn't you humans say: you don't grow wise without doing anything, and failure is the mother of success!" ”

"You, you, just give me something you can't do!" After Qi Xiaoting finished speaking, she flashed out of the space with an apple in her hand.

In the hall, Yan Lanzhu and Old Man Mei were still sitting, and Jing Cuihua was snuggled up to Yan Lanzhu's side, looking sleepy. Qi Xiaoting hurriedly took out a big red apple and gave it to her, and then put the cloth bag on the table.

Yan Lanzhu asked Jing Cuihua to put the apple back in the cloth pocket, gave Qi Xiaoting a look, and pointed to the Dongli room, which means "coax the old lady to like it first".

Yan Lanzhu and Old Man Mei had both heard about Qi Xiaoting planting peach trees, and they knew what was going on, so they glanced at each other and smiled silently.

Suddenly, the old lady came out of the house. Qi Xiaoting pointed to the apple and said, "I came in a hurry, I didn't bring anything, I'll give you apples." ”

The old lady looked at the apple and said in amazement, "How can there be such a fresh apple at this time?" ”

Qi Xiaoting smiled: "There are not many saved in autumn, you old man try it." ”

The old lady sighed and said, "We have to run six or seven miles to buy fruit, and we buy a few when we are squirting, and it is not so good." Thank you so much. ”

Probably the apple shortened the distance between the host and the guest, and the old lady's attitude improved significantly. Qi Xiaoting was interested in understanding the situation in this village, so she took the initiative to start a family routine with the old lady. During the conversation, I learned that the old lady's husband's surname was Yun, and she was called Mrs. Yun.

"This village is not small, I see that the commissary is quite prosperous, and there are a lot of goods in it."

As she spoke, Qi Xiaoting finally got to the point.

Old Lady Yun sighed and said, "It was opened by a foreigner." People will make money, and the people in the village buy oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, snacks, and children's toys from this commissary. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Oh? What about the people of this village? Since you make money, why don't you do it in this village? ”

Mrs. Yun: "They all moved away, and now there are about a dozen families left, most of them are old people." There is a strong man in the family who has also gone out to work, and there are hardly any people from the village on the street. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Why did you want to move away?" ”

Old Lady Yun: "The woods in the east, the western half is haunted, and the eastern half is haunted, so that people are so scared that they cook when the sun is red, and close the door when it is dark." It's been a long time, who can stand it?! Those who defected all moved out. ”

It is a fact that there are ghosts, this Qi Xiaoting has already seen it. Seeing that the old lady was haunted again, she hurriedly asked, "Haunted?" What's going on? ”

Mrs. Yun: "In the western half of the woods, when it gets dark, the ghost fire in it slips and goes. In the beginning, people get lost when they go in at night, and they can't get out until dawn. It's just to be a companion, and it's also washed away. Go in a few and get a few lost. Later, a single person went in during the day and got lost, and he couldn't find it if he didn't find it.

"There is a monster in the eastern half, with a long body, eyes like copper bells, and a pair of front teeth more than two feet long. I once killed a half-sized boy who was grazing sheep in the woods. No one dares to go in now. ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Didn't you call the evil demon hunter to come and cure it?" ”

Old Lady Yun: "What is the cure?" Everyone is like a mirror in their hearts, and the soul of injustice will not be dispersed! The rich and the rich, the defectors, have all moved out. The poor, who have nowhere to run, can only survive here. ”

"The ghost is not gone?" Qi Xiaoting deliberately asked: "Is the grievance quite big?" ”

Old Lady Yun: "Big! But it's big! ”

Qi Xiaoting: "Grandma, can you tell me the reason?" ”

"It's not because of tomb robbing!" Old Lady Yun said indignantly: "The tomb robbers who have suffered a thousand knives have caused a miserable disaster to our village. There are more than 600 households, and the small village of 2,000 people is now left with the residents in the west corner. Every time we think about it, we scold the tomb robbers. Ahem, what's the use of scolding, it's already like this. ”