Hou Qian, away from the fire city.

There is a flat boat on the riverside, at this time the sunset is obliquely shining, just falling on the young man's body, giving the thin young man a layer of golden yellow, the young man stands in front of the boat, facing the evening breeze in the river swimming.

The boatman is an old man of sixty or seventy years old, his face is full of traces of time, because he has been begging for life on the water all the year round, his skin is a little dark, and the old man has a dry tobacco rod hanging from his waist.

"Boatman, can you hurry up, it's getting late."

The boatman squinted his eyes and smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were piled together, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said with a smile: "Okay, steady, the wind is about to rise." ”

The young man was carrying a pot of wine in his hand, the wine was a good wine, a fine flower carving, a pot of one hundred and twenty taels of silver, and this one hundred and twenty taels of silver was already all the savings of the young man.

Old man Guo likes to drink, especially this kind of flower carving, when he was drunk in the past, he always boasted to Li Mufan: "I think back then, three thousand taels of silver a pot of flower carving, the old man drank it as water." ”

Li Mufan naturally didn't believe it, if the old man Guo could drink three thousand taels of silver and a pot of Huadiao as water when he was young, it should be a very prominent person, why was he so downcast when he was old, he couldn't even drink three coins of silver and a pot of rice wine, and Li Mufan, who often depended on each other for his life, bought it for him with the money he got from hunting, and every then the old man Guo would teach Li Mufan some knowledge.

Old man Guo used to be a master of the academy in Lihuo City, and he naturally read a lot of books, and he can be regarded as a person who is rich and rich.

The boat arrived ashore, and just after Li Mufan went ashore, a strong wind blew, and the boat shook.

There is an unnamed mountain outside the fire city, there is a stream under the mountain, there is a green lawn next to the stream, there are two huts in the bamboo forest behind the lawn, and there are old teachers who are called Guo Laoru and Li Mufan.

In the past, when they lived together, Li Mufan would go to the mountains and forests to hunt some prey, there were wild mountain jumps, roe deer, and roe deer, and often took them to the fire city to exchange for some silver, and every night the old man would tell him in the yard about the warmth of the world, teach him the principles of being a man, read and write, etc., the old man was very calm when he died, with a faint bitter smile on the corner of his mouth, and said to Li Mufan: "Remember to bury me on the top of the mountain, facing south, where is my hometown, there is my old mother and a woman who has been waiting for me stupidly for half my life, but it's a pity, I can't go back. ”

This year, Mr. Guo has been dead for three years, just today is his death day, Li Mufan took all his savings, bought a pot of old man's favorite flower carving, in front of his grave to pay respects, the wind on the top of the mountain is very strong, bigger than the river, blowing Li Mufan's eyes hurt, Li Mufan poured the pot of one hundred and twenty taels of silver flower carvings in front of the old man Guo's grave, and murmured: "You said that people live for a lifetime, there must always be one or two things to worry about in their hearts, so that they can't do it if they want to, so that their hearts are itchy, and there is hope when they are old, I don't feel that people are bored when they are old;

You like to drink, drink good wine, I spent all my savings this year, bought you a pot of flowers, a pot a year, this is the third year, but don't worry, you and I have known each other, as long as I live, I will buy it for you every year;

In the past, you were drunk and always loved to talk nonsense, you said how beautiful you were when you were young, and your face was always proud at that time, but I don't understand why you ended up so down, if you don't say it, I naturally don't ask, but I remember very well, you are drunk and often put a person's name on your lips, and I even know that you secretly shed tears in the dead of night.

The night before you died, you told me that the thing you regretted the most in your life was that you didn't go home to see where your old mother was buried. Is Feng Shui good? See if your wife is also gray-haired? Is there anything that has gone before you?

didn't accompany her to grow old slowly, didn't watch her green silk turn gray, and I don't know if the old mother at home will often lean on the door to look, when will the child who is far away return? You often drink alcohol alone, and occasionally when the south wind blows, your eyes will suddenly turn red, and I ask you why you are crying? You say it's only because the smoke and fire of that year hurt your eyes;

I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now, I don't understand what kind of story you have? Even if you break the liver sausage, you won't mention it! ”

Li Mufan looked at the fading sunset, and suddenly felt that the night after autumn was a little cool, and sighed deeply, always wondering, what kind of woman is it? Let you live incognito for more than 20 years, and you won't go home!

"I don't have a home, I don't understand!"

I only remember that Old Man Guo once said: "When I was young, I always felt that the days were not over, and there was time in the future, but now that I am old, I want to go home, but I can't go back!" ”

Li Mufan returned to his small room, lit the lamp, picked up a book and read it, and the old man Guo often read with him until late at night in the years of living with the old man Guo, the old man Guo was the most taboo when he was reading, otherwise he would lose his temper, even if it was Li Mufan, so if he had any questions, he would always wait until the end to ask, at that time the old man Guo had finished reading a book or was resting, so he would explain carefully.

Once, Li Mufan read "Wanshan Xianzi" and paused for a long time in a place, puzzled, he went to ask Old Man Guo, at that time Old Man Guo happened to read "Qingmen Yin" to Xingtou, listening to Li Mufan beside him and shouted angrily: "A gentleman is silent when he reads books, how can he be in the same stream as his husband." However, Old Man Guo still explained to Li Mufan, but there were only four short words: "Quit killing, benevolence." ”

Old man Guo's words are often shorter and more incisive, for example: "poets, rhyme, food, sex, and sex," and even once Li Mufan asked him a question in the Buddhist scriptures, Li Mufan said: "The heart is good, it doesn't matter if his words and deeds are good or evil?" As a result, Old Man Guo's answer was only four words, and he replied: "Good and evil are mixed." ”

Old man Guo once said that his hometown is in the Western Jin Dynasty, in the closest place to the sea, as long as you stand on the Jieshi Mountain, you can see the endless ocean, close your eyes and feel the sea breeze blowing in your face, listen to the sea breeze blowing from your ears, how pleasant it is.

Although Old Man Guo is an ordinary man, he is profoundly knowledgeable, and he is even more so for the general trend of the world.

Back then, he said:

"The Western Jin Dynasty is like a thin tiger, and the east is adjacent to Jieshi, which has long had the tendency to dominate the world, and it is difficult to have Buddhism in the throat, resulting in no chance to go north. Dongzhao is like an eagle, attacking the sky, although there is no tiger and wolf, but it has long had the heart of hegemony, Beitang is like an old turtle, thousands of years, more than self-preservation, and the rest of the countries are indescribable. The barbarians in the southwest have not produced saints, and the people are fierce and uncivilized, but there are many witchcraft masters. ”