The three of them walked for most of the day, and when they came to a hill in the afternoon.

Looking at the mountainside, smoke rises from the ground, and a corner of the eaves can be seen faintly behind a few half-bald trees.

That is Pingyang's home, and Long Yuan has heard Pingyang say it more than once.

The three of them stood at the foot of the mountain, and they didn't have the courage to lift their feet up the mountain for a while. Long Yuan was carrying a few pheasants in his hand, which he had caught on the road.

Judging from Pingyang's ordinary life, his family should be quite bitter, and Long Yuan can only try to bring some warm taste to the three of them this time.

"Let's go. Long Yuan finally spoke.

A quarter of an hour later, a house appeared in front of the three of them, it was a rather dilapidated house, which had been around the house for many years, and there were branches around the house to make a fence, but the roots of this fence were crawling with moss, and some branches had fungus.

Inside the fence is the yard, where several hens peck freely on the ground, staring at the ground, sometimes pulling on the ground with their chicken paws, not realizing the three people outside the house. These low-spirited beasts don't understand the sorrow and joy they don't understand.

"Goo-goo-goo. There was a childish sound of chickens calling in the courtyard, and then a little girl with pigtails came out of the back of the house. The girl was seven or eight years old, with a pair of big eyes, a round face and a small mouth, a slightly pale complexion, white lips and slightly curled yellow hair, all indicating that the girl was not in good health.

"Hey, who are you?" the girl asked the three of Long Yuan outside the fence.

Long Yuan smiled and said, "Little sister, are you called Yingying?"

"Eh, how do you know my name?" asked the girl, opening her big eyes.

"We're your dad's friends. Long Yuan said.

"Oh. It turns out to be a guest, please come in. Yingying opened the fence door and invited the three of them into the courtyard, and then took a horse and a small wooden bench in the courtyard and put them in front of Long Yuan and the three, and said, "You sit first." ”

After that, she went to the side to move a small stone pier, probably because there were three people in Long Yuan's party, and two stools were not enough to sit. The weight of the small stone pier was not small, and the girl had a hard time moving it, so Long Yuan hurriedly went up to take it when she saw this.

"Please wait, I'll call my mother. The warbler turned and pushed the door open and entered the house.

Long Yuan and the three of them were still standing, glancing at each other.

After a while, Yingying helped a middle-aged woman out of the house, the middle-aged woman looked ordinary, sickly, haggard, wrinkles at the corners of her eyes like a fishtail, and there were many traces of wind and frost on her forehead.

The middle-aged woman saluted the three of them and asked, "Who are the three guests?"

Long Yuan held his hands weakly, leaned forward slightly, bent down and hugged his fists to salute back as a sign of respect, and said, "We are friends of Big Brother Pingyang. ”

The middle-aged woman frowned slightly, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes, and then she turned her head to Yingying and said, "Yingying, the guests are here, you go and fry a few more dishes." ”

The warbler nodded and walked to the back of the house.

"I'll go help. Xin'er said. She lifted the pheasant on the ground and followed the warbler.

"I am Pingyang's wife, Liu Aluo. The middle-aged woman gave Long Yuan a blessing and introduced herself.

Liu Aluo opened her lips slightly, the corners of her mouth trembled a little, and said, "Pingyang...... Pingyang, did he have an accident?"

Long Yuan and Xiao Yun were silent.

Over the years, he would write a letter to his home every 10 days. But the family has not received any letters from him for more than a month. In his last letter, he said that he wanted to bring his good brother Long Yuan, whom he met in the dye vat, home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. He also asked me to prepare a few more bags of rice, saying that his brother had a lot of food. Liu Aluo said and tears dripped down.

"During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yingying fried several dishes, and we were all happily waiting for him and his brother. Liu Aluo said with a sob.

Long Yuan choked in his chest at this time, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and eased his emotions.

Xiao Yun had already turned her face to the side at this time, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Sister-in-law, I am Long Yuan, the brother of Brother Pingyang. Big Brother Binh Duong...... He's gone. Long Yuan's face was full of sorrow.

"I ...... I knew ......" Liu Aluo said and cried, crying profusely, and suddenly her eyes went black, and her body softened.

"Sister-in-law!" Seeing this, Xiao Yun hurriedly stepped forward to support Liu Aluo.

Liu Aluo hugged Xiao Yun and cried bitterly, and forcibly suppressed the cry to prevent it from reaching far away.

When Liu Aluo cried until she was tired, Xiao Yunyu patted her hand on her back and said, "Brother Pingyang is a righteous man, and we built a Pingyang Pavilion for him." Brother Pingyang is kind to us, we want to take your mother and daughter to Jiecaifang to take care of your daily life, I don't know if my sister-in-law will dislike it. ”

"Sister-in-law, this is the eldest lady of Jiecaifang, Miss Xiaoyun. Long Yuan said.

Liu Aluo heard that it was the eldest lady of Jiecaifang who was holding her to vent her emotions, so she immediately let go and took a step back, wiped the tears in the corners of her eyes, and said apologetically: "I just lost my temper, I hope Miss won't be surprised." ”

"Sister-in-law is nothing, in the future, we will be called sisters, you can call my sister. Xiao Yun said.

Liu Aluo wanted to say something, but when she saw Xiao Yun's sincerity, she nodded.

"Sister-in-law, before leaving, Brother Pingyang asked me to take care of your mother and daughter. I am a rough person, I don't know how to take care of people, and I hope that my sister-in-law can move to Jiecaifang, where I left a lot of property. Please also ask my sister-in-law not to shirk, otherwise I will be ashamed of Brother Pingyang's instructions, and I will feel uneasy. Long Yuan said sincerely.

Liu Aluo nodded and said, "Pingyang is gone, and Yingying and I are sick again, so it is difficult to live." I'm afraid of disturbing my sister's family. ”

"What did my sister-in-law say, my mother told me that I must take your mother and daughter back, and I didn't bother. Xiao Yun said busily.

Liu Aluo calmed down her emotions a little and said to Long Yuan: "Brother Long Yuan, can the slave family plead with you for one thing." ”

"Sister-in-law, please speak. ”

"Yingying hasn't seen his father for three years, and now she is still young and has a disease, can you wait until she is older and better to tell her the news. ”

"It's all up to the sister-in-law to decide. Long Yuan said.

In the kitchen at the back of the house.

"Sister Xin'er, Brother Long Yuan was born so handsome, and Sister Xiaoyun was also born so beautiful. Yingying chooses vegetables with both hands, and it does not prevent her from being distracted from talking to Xin'er. Soon after Xin'er and Yingying entered the kitchen, the two became acquainted, Xin'er was lively and cute, and her temperament was a little childish, which was why she was able to erase the life between her and Yingying in such a short time.

After Xin'er's introduction, Yingying knew that the big brother outside was his father's friend.

"Wasn't I born pretty?" Xin'er said to Yingying.

"Sister Xin'er is also very beautiful, if only I could be as beautiful as Sister Xin'er in the future. Yingying smiled at Xin'er.

"Do you usually cook at home?" Xin'er asked when she saw that Yingying was very skilled in selecting and washing vegetables.

"My mother used to do it, but a year ago my mother was seriously ill, so I made what I could, and then I slowly learned to cook. The warbler replied.

Xin'er's heart suddenly felt a sense of pity, Yingying was only more than seven years old, her body was not much higher than the stove, and she still had diseases on her body, but she shared the burden of the family early.

It is said that the children of poor families are in charge of the family early, but it is too cruel for such a weak girl, how can it not be embarrassing to be polite and sensible in exchange for this price.

Xin'er thought of herself again, although she was an orphan and was adopted by her wife and stayed in Jiecaifang as a maid, but Mrs. and Miss never called her as a maid, and some heavy work was rarely let her do. Xiao Yun is the only daughter in the family, but she is not pampered by the eldest lady, she has been like a sister since she was a child, and half of her food is shared, and the two often sleep in the same bed. Compared to Yingying, she is too happy.

"By the way, do you want to try the roast pheasant made by Brother Long Yuan? Xin'er said.

"Huh, Brother Long Yuan can also cook?" Yingying looked at Xin'er with wide eyes.

"Brother Long Yuan can roast pheasants, roast hares, and roast tiger meat. Xin'er said.

"Roast tiger meat?" "The warbler's mouth opened wide.

"That's right, Brother Long Yuan has killed tigers, and he is majestic when he fights tigers. Xin'er's pretty face was slightly raised, recalling the scene last night, and her beautiful eyes were full of worship and love.

Yingying giggled, and Xin'er turned her head and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I know, Sister Xin'er likes Brother Long Yuan. Yingying smiled.

Xin'er's face was hot, and she looked shy, and said to Yingying: "Ignore you." ”

Then she walked out of the kitchen and said, "I'll call Brother Long Yuan over and let him show you a hand." ”

After a while, Xin'er pulled Long Yuan into the kitchen.

Long Yuan did not refuse this, Brother Pingyang failed to taste his craftsmanship, and giving it to his sister-in-law and Yingying to taste it can be regarded as compensation.

There was a sense of self-blame in his heart, if he hadn't left that day, how could those people hurt Pingyang, and how could they let the mother and daughter here get this news as if the sky had fallen.

Long Yuan caught fire in front of the stove with the processed pheasant with tongs, and squatted there to concentrate on roasting.

"You have to be careful about baking things, after all, this is for yourself to eat, not to mention the waste of ingredients if it is not good, and if it is not delicious, you will be panicked by eating more diaphragm. Long Yuan thought of what his fifth senior brother had said when he taught him to roast rabbits.

Now he didn't roast it for himself, but he was more attentive than ever, and this was the only thing he could do now to make Yingying happy.

Xin'er looked at Long Yuan with both hands on the side, and her heart was about to melt.

Long Yuan's white face is clear and handsome, his sword eyebrows are in his temples, his phoenix eyes are clear, and he is as bright as a meteor, although he is squatting by the fire at the moment, it does not hinder his long and jade image in Xin'er's heart, and the flames are reflected in his eyes, giving people a kind of earthly style.

"Brother Long Yuan. The warbler called.

"Huh?" Long Yuan turned his head to look at Yingying.

"My father often wrote to us, in which he said that Brother Long Yuan was a lover and a good young man with a simple mind. ”

Long Yuan smiled when he heard this: "Your father is a good person, willing to take in a young man who has nothing to do, he has given me a lot of help and taught me a lot of principles of life. ”

"My dad said that whenever he had back pain, you would help him work, saying that you have a lot of strength and work hard. My father's lumbar spine is a little strained, if it weren't for Brother Long Yuan's presence, my father would have had a hard time. Yingying, thank you, Brother Long Yuan. Yingying said with a slightly solemn face. A small face with a solemn and serious look is quite precocious.

"It should. Long Yuan smiled.

"Is my dad okay?" asked Yingying.

Long Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "He is very good, but he was sent by his wife to manage the dyeing branch a little farther away." ”