The terrain around this hill is largely the same as before.

Marion searched for the granite, but he couldn't. It was already close to noon, so Marion decided to take everyone to the farmhouse for a meal first, and continue to look for it in the afternoon, and he also asked about the surrounding terrain by the way.

They came to the home of a farmer, a yeoman farmer, owned by a man and his wife, and six children ranging from two to fifteen years old. After the war, the government set aside a large piece of land for the man, and with this land, the man married a wife and slowly created a prosperous family. It is rare for such families to thrive in just one generation, and in Swadia families have only two or three children, who grow up to inherit the work of their parents, and the work is so much, no more, no less. The population has also remained largely stable, and it is only in recent decades that advances in agricultural technology have led to the first significant population growth in rural areas. As mentioned earlier, the population of the Suno region is expanding the fastest, as it is the most productive grain region.

But Rhodok is different, his population has been steadily rising, and although its agriculture is also improving, its population is increasing even faster. Unlike in the north, where too many children can be a burden, in Rhodoc, more children means more wealth. More and more Rhodoc wastelands have been developed, more and more urban workshops have been built, and there seems to be a constant shortage of workers, and even with the repeated increase in wages, some cities still lack labor. This has become the reason for the increase in Rhodoc's population in recent years. The free-spirited southerners immediately began a wave of pioneering, and the ownerless wasteland was given to the farmers in the form of almost free gifts, and the vast land of Rhodoc was greatly revitalized after the war.

Over the years, the family has not had to worry about food and clothing, and has raised meat pigeons at home, and every season their family will provide more than 100 meat pigeons with delicious meat to the small town of Fedna at the foot of the mountain, making more money than they earn from farming. At that time, the man of the house eradicated all the wild lilies around him in a week, and he thought he was very capable, but now, after solving the problem of food and clothing, he suddenly found that selling flowers was also a good livelihood, and he regretted it. He calculated that if two acres of ripe land were set aside every season to grow flowers, they could be bought in the town to solve the problem of clothing for a year, and if they could be transported to Viruga, then they could make a small fortune. So the man of the house spent a full 10 dinars to buy 2 catties of seeds of various flowers, fruits and vegetables from Viruga, and tried to grow them at home. Later, he found out that the area was still suitable for growing lilies, sunflowers and tulips. These sunflowers are the best to serve, but they don't sell for much, and he usually stays to make food and make oil.

When Marion and his party entered the well-to-do farmer's house, they saw colorful flowers in front of and behind the house, roses beside the farmhouse, lilies around the woods, green vines around the sturdy hedges, and chickens and dogs on the country roads. This peaceful spring scene in the countryside makes everyone feel happy.

After explaining their intentions, the group was warmly received by the farmer. This bold man lets his wife live and cook. His first five children were all daughters, which annoyed the farmer, but because he had enough children to support, he had no choice but to make persistent efforts and work hard. Finally, the year before last, the midwife pulled a strap from his wife's belly. The farmer cried, and his wife cried: "I'm really tired and don't want to have any more", and the farmer agreed to his poor wife's request. At this time, the farmer asked his daughters to help receive the guests, and a room full of girls of all sizes ran around, dazzling the people who watched.

This small happy family is a microcosm of the entire thriving principality of Rhodok, by the way, just a few months ago, the low-level nobles stormed the parliament building, forcing the conservative and royal forces in the parliament to pass the "Rhodoc Civic Charter". This act was of great significance, and since then, the Rhodok Empire has been renamed the Duchy of Rhodok, and the power of the king has been further weakened. The lower aristocracy, supported by the burgher class, gained greater power. But what people didn't expect was that after the low-level nobles obtained the power, they quickly reached a reconciliation with the old nobles behind the backs of the citizen leaders. The leaders of the people and the guild presidents found that their spokesmen betrayed them as soon as they took power. But even so, in the citizens' charter, the rights of the people were recognized for the first time to a certain extent, and they were officially written into the law, which was epoch-making.

During the meal, Marion asked the farmer about how the soil around him had changed over the years. The farmer entertained them with six suckling pigeons, two large pieces of mountain cheese, a bottle of mayonnaise, four pounds of spicy ham, and a light fruit wine. At this time, the farmer was tearing open the breast of a pigeon, and he stopped: "Nothing has changed, sir, I don't remember." I look around every day and can't say why. ”

"I remember there used to be a locust tree around here, and there was a big granite patch around it." Marion said.

"Well, by the way, the locust tree has been sold to a furniture dealer who came more than ten years ago and brought more than twenty small workers, and spent three days tossing the forest clean. That piece of granite was bought by the people of the Viruga City Construction Department, and it was cut into more than four hundred pieces, and now it is neatly stacked on the walls of Viruga haha. I don't know anything else. ”

"Oh my God, did you dig up anything when you mined the stones?" Marion asked.

"No, oh, by the way, I dug up some rotten books, and around them, there were a pile of broken bones and some broken copper." The farmer said with his head crumbled.

"They dug graves?!" Wright yelled, "Bastard! They ''''"

The farmer guessed that these people were looking for the dead, and after thinking about their reactions, he was even more sure that this was the case. He smiled and said, "No, no, after the people in the city dug up something, they came to our village chief and asked if there were any villagers buried there." We don't have one in our village, so we suspect someone died there. During those war years, there were often passing troops burying the dead on the side of the road. Fearing that one day an army would come back to look for the past, we did not move there, and built a simple grave there. Sir, you're here to look for the body, aren't you? We didn't do anything bad, trust us. We kept it very well kept. I'll take you over to dinner." Are you sure that's your loved one? ”

Marion nodded at this time: "Definitely." ”

=========================================

After eating, when we were about to leave, I heard the cry of a little girl.

The goblin asked the farmer curiously, "What's wrong?" ”

The farmer went out to look at them, and came back and said, "My fourth daughter let go of a few pigeons, and said that we were not allowed to eat them, haha, silly girl." It's all right, gentlemen. The pigeons come home, and my pigeons fly away and they all go back to my backyard, and they seem to like the lilies there. ”

The farmer, knowing that they were going to the grave to pay respects, plucked a lily from the backyard and gave it to Marion for him to use as a memorial service. At this time, my father said, "Sir, give me one too." ”

The farmer thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you can pick it yourself, whatever you want." ”

My father thought it was strange, as if he had been called to pick lilies, and he didn't know why he was going to pick lilies, but when the boss told him yesterday that his relatives would turn into little birds to thank his relatives for their lilies, he had the idea of putting a flower on the people in the grave. "What does it matter if it has nothing to do with me?"

When my father came to the backyard, he saw a little girl sitting in the corner, pitifully sitting on the ground crying. When she looked up at my father, my father's heart suddenly ached, and he remembered a thin figure in the golden field, and remembered the sentence: "I know you are back, so I am not afraid at all." This memory came suddenly, which made my father feel a little sad.

The father walked over and crouched down, trying to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say.

But the little girl spoke first: "You are bad! Eat my little white pigeon! Let Dad pluck the flowers for you! You bad! I let the pigeons go, and I won't let you eat them! ”

The father didn't know what to do, so he took out a few sugar cubes from his purse and stuffed one for the little girl: "I'm sorry." I don't know if you like those pigeons, we won't eat them anymore, trust me, okay. ”

The little girl snorted and cried, but although her heart was sad, she still had to eat the sugar.

She shoved the sugar into her mouth, her tongue moving, and she felt that it tasted delicious. She tasted it for a while and said, "I won't forgive you for eating my favorite little white dove." I'm telling you, oh, it's useless for you to give me sugar, I've decided not to forgive you'' unless, you give me two. ”

My father almost laughed, but he felt sour in his heart, if only Rhine had come to beg for candy like this. He handed the little girl another piece of candy.

The little girl originally wanted to continue crying to show that she was very aggrieved, but now she feels that her mouth is full of sugar, and she doesn't know why she continues to cry. She was stunned for a while, and then asked my father, "Brother, did you come to see me?" ”

"Uh'''No, I'm actually here to pick lilies. If you don't like it, my brother won't pick it up", the father touched the little girl's head, turned around and prepared to walk away.

"Lilies" ''Daddy just picked the flowers, I don't like it, because it wasn't for my deceased grandfather.'' If you were to give it to your deceased relative, I would give you a lily, and my mother said that the lily was for your departed relative."

"Ah, forget it, I'm not for my own relatives, I'm for my friend's father." Father remembered that his grandfather had said that his grandfather had died in Rhodok, but his grandfather didn't know exactly where Timmy's grandfather had died. Over the years, my father didn't pay much attention to these things. Now seeing Wright looking for him, my father felt very guilty.

The little girl made up her mind to give my father a flower, and she jumped up: "Well, I'll introduce you to a deceased uncle, and you can give it to him."

The father couldn't cry or laugh: "I don't know that uncle."

The little girl said, "It's all right, I've seen him in a dream." His eyes are blue like yours, and he wears a shiny helmet with white fur. You should be his relative", the father of the hat that the little girl said remembered seeing it in some storeroom in the White Pigeon Valley, but he didn't care. He just thought that the little girl's mysterious words were very weird, which made people helpless.

He thought, anyway, it was dedicated to the deceased, and it would be good to get the lily. Thinking of this, my father smiled: "Okay, let's find one for my brother." ”

The little girl wiped her tears, grinned, and went to pick the flowers.

When the father came out with the flowers, the farmer knew that his father had spoken to his four daughters, and he said, "Young man, my four girls are a little confused about dreams and reality, and you don't mind what she says mysteriously." My other daughters are always scared to cry by her. She always said she had seen a kind old uncle."

The father smiled, "It's all right, little one." ”

When Wright cried and placed the lilies in front of the grave, and then sat aside, there was silence, except for the wind on the hill gently rustling the branches, and the birds chirping and frolicking in the distant woods. This spring is ordinary and quiet, and everything is budding. Many years ago, Mary laid down a lily under the moon, and many years later, Wright laid down a second here. Marion prayed in his heart for the victim who had died many years ago.

My father, who didn't know why, felt a strange emotion welling up in his heart, as if the lily he was holding was whispering something. This feeling is rare.

Father gently let the lily go.

In the sky, the pigeon released by the farmer's daughter was flying. Suddenly, it saw something, and it swerved and fell. The lily, it likes, it knows the flower. It is a domesticated pigeon and is not too afraid of people. It didn't know why its owner's little girl wanted to release it, it flew aimlessly in the sky, ready to return to the cage when it was tired. At this time, it saw something familiar and flew away.

At this time, my father thought about the innkeeper's words: "Let down a lily." If there is a burial of your loved one in that place, he will turn into a bird to greet you. ”

The father closed his eyes softly, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction. At that moment, a dove flew over, flapping its wings, and stood on top of the mound, chirping at the father of the lily lace.

My father couldn't help but open his eyes, and his heart was full of wonder.

That night, they went back to town.

Finally, it's time to break up. Wright will sail south to Costholmer, while his father will return to Viruga to wait for school to start school for Aaron. That night, the two of them drank alcohol. Wright filled the grave with a small tin can and prepared to go back to bring it to his mother.

On this day, Wright said a lot, he rarely said so much, and there will be no such opportunity for him to spit out his heart in the future.

In the end, the father sent the drunk Wright to bed, and Wright grabbed his hand: "We are brothers. ”

The father replied, "We are brothers." ”

A few months later, when Aaron reminisced about the year, his father would sigh as if the hurried meeting had been a dream. He remembered Wright's back as he boarded the carriage and left without looking back. The groom was in charge of taking Wright to the docks, and when my father saw him two weeks later, he said, "That young man has been crying all the way." ”

Spring break ended shortly after.

Before that, my father had been wondering why the white dove was singing for him.

"Could it be that there are my relatives there?" My father smiled, looked at the clouds in the sky, and prepared in my heart for a new era.