Seeing that it was winter, the wheat in the field had just emerged and its head was pressed down again.

Taking advantage of the emptiness of this farm, the villagers all carried dung baskets and dung rakes, all the way out of the village, and went to pick up dung in the wind and snow.

Wang Zhong became leisurely, and occasionally went to the county seat, or took a bow and arrow, and went into the mountains to hunt and collect firewood.

Maixiang Village leans on Maixiangling, Maixiangling Maixiangling, as the name suggests, is a mountain range with a collar area of nearly 100 miles, although there are no jackals, tigers and leopards in the mountains, but some small animals still have.

There is no shortage of firewood either.

Wang Chong doesn't like to burn straw, so that he can go into the mountains to chop firewood from time to time, and in the past few years, Wang Chong has almost drilled most of the entire Maixiangling.

On the second night of the lunar month, it snowed all night.

Early the next morning, just after dawn, the villagers came out to clear the snow and clear the road.

Looking at the white expanse outside, Wang Chong suddenly gave birth to the meaning of going out to the top of the mountain to see the snow scene, and by the way, he could also see if there was any stupid game, carrying a bow and arrow, and inserting a firewood knife, Wang Chong went out.

"Renlian, what about clearing the snow!" The main gate was open, and Ma Renlian was sweeping the snow on the road with a broom.

"Sweep and go!" Ma Renlian turned around and saw Wang Chong's dress, and asked with a smile: "Captain Wang, are you planning to go up the mountain?" ”

Wang Chongdao: "Idle is idle, go to the mountains to get some firewood and come back, by the way, see if you can bump into a wild thing." ”

"It's a cold day, and it won't snow for a while!" Ma Renlian kindly persuaded him.

"It's only on this snowy day that you can see the footprints."

Ma Renlian was stunned for a moment, "It seems to be true." ”

"You sweep slowly, I'm leaving."

"Then be careful on your way."

"Don't worry!"

Maixiangling is not a deep mountain and old forest, and there are not many types of wild animals, nothing more than some ordinary things such as roe deer, raccoon dogs, and pheasants, but I heard the second grandfather Niu Zhonggui say that there were wolves and foxes many years ago, and they have disappeared in recent decades.

Maixiangling is not a large mountain forest, the vegetation is not much luxuriant, anyway, there is nothing to do at home, Wang Chong out of the village not long ago, along the ridge all the way up, first climbed to the top of the mountain, after seeing the vast snow scene everywhere, did not go deeper, but followed the edge of the mountain, specifically picked those shrubs, close to the bottom of the Pingchuan place to find.

After walking for hours, it was almost noon, and just after crossing a mountain col, on the edge of an inaccessible bush, Wang Zhong finally found the footprints of a pheasant.

Put the firewood knife into the space, hold the bow in his hand, and pull out a feather arrow from the quiver, this arrow is made by Wang Zhong himself, and the tail wing is made of Yanling.

Wang Chong lowered his body, adjusted his breathing rate, and cautiously walked along the edge of the bushes, trying to minimize the sound he made. The true qi in his body worked, enhancing his five senses, and his ears and eyes worked, and sure enough, he heard a sound behind a bush almost thirty meters in front of him.

The distance is so far, if it weren't for the growing true qi, Wang Chong might not be able to hear it.

The more this time, Wang Chong's heart became calmer, and it took five minutes for Wang Chong to adjust his position, and at least six pheasants appeared in Wang Chong's line.

Wang Zhong found the right time, adjusted his posture, and the bowstring vibrated continuously, and in an instant, three arrows were shot out in a row.

The four pheasants fell at the sound, and the remaining ones were frightened, and scattered with their hooves and ran or flown away, and in an instant they were far away.

With Wang Chong's archery skills, it is completely possible to leave a few more, but Wang Chong is not so greedy, hunting on the one hand is to hone archery, on the other hand, it is simply to kill time.

Although the process of searching for prey is boring, when you find the traces of prey, when you find the location of the prey, when you shoot the prey, the joy progresses layer by layer, and the feeling is getting better and better, and Wang Zhong enjoys it a lot.

Three beads, the first arrow is still one stone and two withering, and my heart is more and more happy.

It's a pity that there are no wild eggs at this time, otherwise, you can search for them and taste them.

Strode over and put away the feather arrows, wiped the blood, and put them back in the quiver, the four pheasants were not big, the largest was less than three catties, and the small one was only about one and a half catties.

Two of them were stuffed into the space at random, and the remaining two were tied with hemp rope, and a stick was chopped, and two pheasants were tied to one end of the stick, and Wang Chong went back.

In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, and it is almost two o'clock at this time, so the king chops two loads of firewood, hangs the pheasant on the firewood, and carries it with a wooden stick as a flat pole, and strides in the direction of Maixiang Village.

As soon as he walked down the mountain, there was a figure in front of him carrying a big burden, wearing a shabby gray cotton jacket, and walking all the way to the village with a cane.

Wang Chong was stunned: "It can't be such a coincidence, right?" ”

Walking up quickly, sure enough, it was an unkempt woman dressed as a beggar.

"Eldest sister, are you here to visit relatives?"

The woman was only walking forward with her head down, but when she heard the voice in her ears, she couldn't help but raise her head, and saw that it was a young and strong man, and said a little weakly: "Big brother, are you calling me?" ”

The opening is a mouthful of Henan accent.

"That's right, eldest sister, on this cold day, you brought so many salutes, did you come to Maixiang Village to visit relatives?" Wang Zhong asked.

"Maixiang Village?" The woman was stunned for a moment.

"Ahead is Maixiang Village." Wang Zhong pointed ahead.

"Big brother misunderstood!" The woman was a little embarrassed: "It's because my hometown was affected by a disaster, I can't live anymore, and I escaped from the wilderness!" ”

While speaking, the woman saw the pheasant and bow and arrow hanging on Wang Chong's firewood, and was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously swallowed her saliva.

This is meat, Jiang Hongguo usually can't even eat a full meal, let alone meat.

All the way out of the hometown begging, the most eaten is sweet potatoes and yellow buns, now every household is not rich, most of the time is just to cushion the stomach, the number of times to eat is only a handful.

Wang Chongdao: "Listen to your accent, are you from Henan?" ”

The woman nodded, leaning on her crutches and pleading. "Big brother, you can even hit pheasants, it can be seen that you are a capable person, I haven't eaten for several days, you can do well, give it to stutter!"

Half of his face was covered by the hair scattered on his forehead, and the remaining half of his face was also dirty, his lips were dry and peeled and cracked, his eyes were a little cloudy, and he was weak to speak.

If you go hungry for another day or two, something will definitely go wrong.

"Okay! Come with me! Seeing the woman's appearance, Wang Chong did not refuse.

"Thank you, big brother, thank you, big brother!" The woman hurriedly thanked Wang Chong.

Wang Zhong could slow down, lest the woman not be able to keep up.

Now it's almost time for dinner, some people in the village have already smoked at home, this cold day, there is no one on the road, the east end of the village is close to the entrance of the village, but there is no one.

The woman watched Wang carry the firewood around the back door, carried the firewood into the backyard, relieved the burden of the temporary wooden stick, and just put the firewood under the eaves of the firewood house, but did not see the woman come in.

It turned out that the woman stopped

"Sister, why don't you come in?" Wang Chong took a few steps back and looked at the woman standing at the door of the back door.

The woman stood at the door, hesitating in her heart, but the hunger in her belly hit again and again, her body temperature also dropped, and the cotton jacket on her body was a little unbearable.

The king untied the two pheasants tied to the firewood, took his bow and arrows, and walked along the path, followed by the woman.

Wang Zhong took out an enamel tea jar from the cabinet, poured half a jar of hot water from the thermos, and brought it to the kang table: "Sister, the water is a little hot, you blow and let it cool before drinking, I'll go get you something to eat." ”

"Thank you, big brother."

"What's polite, the sons and daughters of China are all a family, we are all brothers and sisters, you can sit for a while."

Wang Chong had been out all day, the fire in the stove had been extinguished, and the kang was also cold, so Wang Chong lit the fire first and scooped two scoops and half of water into the pot.

I turned around and went to the West House to bring in a wooden basin that had just been made not long ago, took the water and flushed it, poured half a pot of hot water, mixed it with a scoop of cold water, and brought it to the side of the kang in the main house.

"Eldest sister, the meal will take a while, it's cold outside, I'll find you a towel, you wash your hands, wash your face, soak your feet, and go to the cold."

"Big brother, don't bother, I have a towel!" The woman stopped Wang Chong, who was rummaging through something, and took out a piece of cloth from her baggage.

"Then you wash slowly!"

Wang Zhong sat down in front of the low kang, pulled the bellows, and blew the stove fire vigorously.

After the woman washed her face and soaked her feet, the water on Wang Chong's side was also boiled, and she filled the pot with the dumplings she had wrapped yesterday, covered the pot, and the woman came out with a wooden basin to pour the water.

Looking at the woman with a clean face, Wang Chong was a little surprised, this woman's appearance was no worse than Qiao Yue and Yang Deng'er, and even in Wang Chong's opinion, this goose egg face was much better than Qiao Yue.

"Eldest sister, there is a washing place behind it, just pour the water there! The basin is placed against the wall, and there is a place to hang towels inside. However, Wang Chong was used to seeing all kinds of beauties, and he was only a little surprised, and nothing was wrong.

The woman hurriedly went into the inner room and poured water, came out and walked to Wang Chong's side, and said, "Big brother, let me give you a hand!" ”

"No, no, how can there be a reason to keep the guests busy, you can sit on the kang with peace of mind, the kang is warm, just to drive away the cold, this is cold outside, you are hungry and hurrying, but you have to be careful, don't catch a cold, what kind of disease will fall."

"Thank you, big brother, by the way, what do you call big brother?" The woman couldn't resist Wang Chong, so she had to sit back on the side of the kang, the fire burned for a while, and the kang was also warm, and it was comfortable to sit tightly.

"My name is Wang Chong, what do you call the eldest sister?" The water in the pot boiled again, and the king untied the lid of the pot, added a little cold water to it, and closed the lid again.

"My name is Jiang Hongguo!" The woman said, but she was still a little restrained.

Sure enough, it was the short-lived ginger red fruit.

"Where is the eldest sister from?"

"I'm from Shangqiu."

"How old is the eldest sister this year?"

"I'm twenty-four this year." Jiang Hongguo said.

"Ouch, that's a year younger than me, you can't call me big sister, you have to call sister." Wang Chong thought that Jiang Hongguo would have to be twenty-seven or eighteen, but he didn't expect it to be twenty-four.

But think about it, it's been half a year since I escaped from the famine, and I don't know if I can eat a full meal for a few days, I am hungry, and I am exposed to the wind and sun, how can I not be haggard, and my age is naturally not so easy to distinguish.

As he spoke, Wang Zhong took out three bowls, one large, two small, from the cupboard.

The big one is a bowl, or an urn, one foot two inches square, two and a half inches deep, and the two smaller ones are also six inches square and two inches deep.

"Then I'll call you Brother Wang!" Jiang Hongguo said.

"You can shout anything."

"Who else is in my sister's house?"

Jiang Hongguo hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's no one anymore!" ”

……

Wang Zhong put a little balsamic vinegar, a few drops of soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil into two small bowls, sprinkled two clusters of salt, sprinkled with chopped green onions, opened the lid of the pot, scooped up two spoonfuls of soup and poured them into the bowl, the big urn continued to be empty, scooped seven or eight dumplings into a small bowl, and brought them to the kang table first.

"Girl! The dumplings are ready! ”

Jiang Hongguo looked at the two bowls of steaming dumplings that Wang Zhong brought over, his eyes were straight, and he subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

Wang Zhong reminded with a smile: "It's very hot just out of the pot, you eat slowly." ”

Jiang Hongguo picked up the spoon and couldn't wait to scoop a hot dumpling, just put it into the mouth was hot and exhaled, the dumplings rolled in the mouth, but was always reluctant to spit out, and when it was a little cooler, he endured the scalding and chewed a few times, and Jiang Hongguo was stunned for this chew.

Wang Chongbao is a dumpling with two fillings: pork and cabbage stuffing and leek egg filling, and there is a lot of pork stuffed with pork and cabbage, and Jiang Hongguo eats pork and cabbage stuffing.

The rich aroma of meat bloomed in the mouth, and Jiang Hongguo's eyes were instantly covered with a layer of mist.

I've been starving for half a year, and I can't even eat enough, but now I actually eat meat.

Jiang Hongguo raised his eyes to look at Wang Chong, who was still busy outside, his mood was very complicated, he squinted his eyes and lowered his head to wipe away his tears.

Wang Zhong scooped all the remaining dumplings in the pot into a large urn and brought them to the kang table.

"I eat a lot of food, and I eat more, which makes my sister smile."

Jiang Hongguo looked at the urn full of dumplings and estimated that there were fifty or sixty of them.

"How big you eat, how much strength you have, how much work you have." Jiang Hongguo said.

Wang Zhong smiled, turned around and went back, and took two pairs of fast seeds and two plates of mixed dipping sauce, one with pure vinegar, and the other with oil chili, sesame oil, soy sauce and aged vinegar with dipping sauce.

"Come on, girl!" Wang Chong handed the courier to Jiang Hongguo: "I like spicy food, I don't know what flavor you like, sister, so I got an extra plate of vinegar." ”

"This soup is too hot, eat some of this dry first, dip and eat."

Jiang Hongguo looked at the sauces on the table, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Big brother, you are living a fairy life, right?" ”

"What kind of fairy days, I am also a little particular about eating, after all, we can't lose anything to our mouth and belly."

"Haven't you been hungry for several days, hurry up and fill your stomach first, if you have anything to say, let's talk about it when we are full."

"Uh-huh!"

Jiang Hongguo immediately buried his head in eating it.

First ate a few soup dumplings in the bowl, drank two mouthfuls of soup, and then sandwiched seven or eight dumplings from the big urn, dipped them in vinegar and ate them, and drank the soup before stopping.

Wang Zhong asked, "Are you full?" ”

Jiang Hongguo nodded and said, "It's full." ”

"Brother Wang, you eat slowly, I'll go boil water and help you clean up those two pheasants!"

"Don't worry, girl, it's not early today, or you will spend the night at my house tonight! It just so happens that my wing room is still empty. Without waiting for Jiang Hongguo to speak, Wang Zhong took the initiative to send out an invitation first.

"Brother Wang, thank you!" Jiang Hongguo said movingly.

"Then I'll clean up the two pheasants first, so that they won't be too bad to clean up after a long time." Jiang Hongguo said while raising his hand to wipe his tears with his sleeve.

"What are you packing up, look at you, you're tired like this, if I still let you work, then I'm still human!"

"You sit down and rest for a while, and when the hot water in the pot is boiling, then go take a hot bath, and then sleep well, and don't think about anything."

"Thank you, Brother Wang!" Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Chong, who was eating dumplings one by one, and a warm current welled up in his heart, and he said sincerely.

It didn't take long for Wang Chong to eat well, Jiang Hongguo still wanted to rush to put the bowl away, but Wang Chong pressed it back for her.

When Wang Zhong finished cleaning up the bowl, the water in the pot was almost boiling.

"The water is boiled, sister, you hurry up and take a hot bath, go to the dust and cold, by the way, come here, I'll tell you." Wang Zhong took the kerosene lamp and led Jiang Hongguo to the bathroom, hung the kerosene lamp on the hook on the wall, and pointed out everything to her.

"Here is the soap, this big basin is for bathing, these two buckets, one for hot water, the other for cold water, the one against the wall has cold water in the tank, both are full······"

Jiang Hongguo was a little stunned, when she poured water just now, she saw Wang Chong's exquisite bathroom, even the shelves on the wall to hang towels were different from other people's homes, everything in the bathroom was neatly arranged, which was completely different from Jiang Hongguo's impression of the Zhuang family.

"By the way, girl, do you want to brush your teeth?" Wang Zhong asked.

"Brushing your teeth?" Jiang Hongguo turned his head and looked at Wang Zhong suspiciously.

"You wait!" Wang Zhong turned around and went to the locker outside to take a pig hair brush and the enamel jar where Jiang Hongguo drank water just now, handed it to Jiang Hongguo, pointed to the small square box on the side of the soap box and said: "This is the toothbrush, the box is tooth powder, get the tooth powder into the tank, mix some warm water into the tank, stir evenly, first take a sip and rinse your mouth, and then use this toothbrush to brush your teeth inside and out, which is called cleaning the mouth in medicine." ”

"Isn't the old saying that illness comes from the mouth! If you eat something unclean, you can prevent many diseases if you clean your mouth regularly. ”

"Brother Wang, you know so much." Jiang Hongguo listened to Wang Chong's endless talk, her brain was a little dizzy, and she felt a little foggy.

"By the way, I almost forgot to tell you, the thatched house is in the backyard, and there is a toilet in the hut next door, and it's cold outside, if you want to be convenient, you can solve it in the toilet." Before Wang Chong finished speaking, Jiang Hongguo's face turned a little red.

】

As he spoke, Wang Zhong walked to the kang with a wooden bucket and scooped the boiling hot water into the pot with a wooden scoop.

"Big brother, I'll just come by myself."

"It's okay, I'm fast!" Saying that, Wang Chong had scooped up most of the buckets of hot water, almost four-fifths of the way, and mentioned the bathroom steadily.

Jiang Hongguo held on to the door frame of the bathroom, looking at Wang Chong's busy appearance, his nose was slightly sour, and a layer of mist couldn't help but appear in his beautiful eyes.

"Sister, you wash slowly, I'll clean up those two pheasants!"

There was still a little hot water left on the pot, so Wang Zhong put the two pheasants in the wooden basin, scooped out the remaining hot water from the pot and poured it on the pheasants.

Jiang Hongguo looked at Wang Chong's busy voice, and said that he was tasteless in his heart, pursed his lips and put down the straw curtain in the bathroom, and after a while, the sound of water came from the bathroom.

Wang Chong's action of cleaning up the pheasants in his hands did not stop, but he couldn't help but think about it in his heart.

Jiang Hongguo took off his clothes and pants and sat in the large wooden basin in the bathroom, his thighs were together, his calves were open, and his hair fell from one side, resting on his shoulders to cover his chest.

Holding a handkerchief dipped in the warm water mixed with cold in a small basin, looking up from the white as jasper, slender as a swan neck is scrubbing, the water carried by the handkerchief swept across the smooth skin, fell on the green bricks under his feet, and made a loud sound like rain falling from the eaves in a rainstorm and smashing into the waterlogged wooden basin.

White steam filled the bathroom like a cloud, and the dim glow of the kerosene lamps became meandering and dreamy in the smoke.

The murmuring sound of water, like a catalyst in the world, urged Wang Zhong to spontaneously sketch such a beautiful picture in his mind.

Wang Zhong shook his head, chuckled, put away the distractions in his mind, and carefully packed up the pheasant.

Wang Chong's movements are swift, and the temperature of the water is just right, so it is not difficult to pluck the chicken feathers.

In the bathroom, there is finally so much hot water, there are such good conditions, Jiang Hongguo first brushed his teeth clumsily according to the method Wang Zhong said, and immediately felt the difference after brushing.

Looking at the clean and tidy bathroom, Jiang Hongguo first wiped her body with hot water, and then covered her body with soap, and carefully scrubbed it twice inside and out, and I don't know how much dirt I rubbed off······

"Brother Wang, I'm done!" Jiang Hongguo pulled open the straw curtain and walked out of the bathroom with her wet hair coiled.

Wang Chongzheng stood in front of the eucalyptus board, disemboweling the two pheasants that had been plucked clean, and taking out the internal organs.

"On this cold day, you should hurry up and dry your hair first, but don't catch a cold."

"Hmm!"

Feeling the long-lost care, Jiang Hongguo was a little uncomfortable, took a wooden comb out of the baggage, sat on the small stool in front of the kang, tilted his head sideways, and quickly baked his hair with the heat gushing out of the stove, but in a moment, water vapor rose.

Wang Zhong wiped his hands, took out a clean towel from the cabinet, and handed it to Jiang Hongguo: "Dry your hair first and then dry it, dry it faster." ”

"Thank you, Brother Wang!" Jiang Hongguo took the towel and gently wiped it with her hair.

"You're welcome!" Wang Zhong grinned, walked back to the eucalyptus, picked up the kitchen knife again, and began to process two pheasants, one male and one female, had to be cut into small pieces, the internal organs were in the bowl, and the two chickens were cut and put into the bowl and put in the cabinet.

The quality of male and female pheasant meat is different, and the method is naturally different.

"Brother Wang, are you alone in your family?" Jiang Hongguo, who was wiping her hair with her head sideways, looked at Wang Zhong and asked.

Wang Chong didn't stop with the kitchen knife in his hand: "Well, it's just me." ”