Jinhuai City.

In a street-side noodle restaurant near the Feixue Inn, Li Zijin and his little sister Hong Shao sat opposite each other at the table.

In front of the girl, there were two bowls of noodles, one bowl of clear soup is not spicy, and the other bowl of red oil is fragrant.

The former is a famous feature of Jinhuai City, Yangchun noodles, the soup is clear and fresh, light and refreshing, suitable for all ages.

The latter is the spicy and fragrant beef noodles, which makes people's appetite move just by smelling the aroma.

In addition, there is also a piece of baked cake, two strings of rock sugar gourds, and a brocade box on the table, which is filled with dragon whisker cakes.

The guests sitting next to each other were shocked to see all kinds of snacks piled up in front of the girl's table.

If it's a plump woman, it's just a matter of gobbling it up.

But how could the girl in white with a thin waist and slender jade legs have such a good appetite, but she can not grow meat

The guest at the next table had just eaten a bowl of noodles and wiped his mouth, and saw that the girl had already started to enjoy the second bowl of beef noodles.

The girl Hongshao finished the last few noodles in one bite, looked up at the young man in the green shirt with the sword on his back, and asked, "Senior brother, don't you eat it?"

Li Zijin shook his head and smiled: "I don't know why, seeing that you eat so deliciously, I seem to be full." ”

"I know, senior brother, this is called looking at noodles to satisfy hunger, watching me eat noodles can also quench hunger?" Hong Shao smiled sweetly, remembering that he knew everything about the allusion that the old man had said, and it seemed just right to use it here for senior brother.

Li Zijin stretched out his hand, gently patted the girl's head, and said with a smile: "That's not how painting cakes to satisfy hunger. ”

The girl pursed her lips and picked up a rock sugar gourd.

"Aunt Song, how much is our noodles?" Li Zijin saw that the little junior sister had almost eaten, and asked Aunt Song, who was busy in the noodle restaurant.

The hands were already calloused, but in her early forties, but her temples were slightly frosty, and her face was full of wrinkles, and she was extremely tanned, Mrs. Song turned her head, first glanced at the two bowls of noodles on the table, and then looked at the pair of young girls who often came to take care of their business with a kind smile, and said with a smile: "Shao Shao has a good appetite today, two bowls of noodles, just take thirty Wen." ”

Between the words, Aunt Song had quietly erased the odds.

Li Zijin squinted and smiled, nodded and replied, "Okay." ”

The woman immediately turned around and went on with her work, not seeing whether the boy had paid or not.

The woman's husband died at an early age, and she relied on this small noodle shop on the street to raise her son.

The children of the poor family have long been in charge, and the little guy knows how to come to the noodle stall to help his mother at the age of seven or eight, and the mother and son depend on each other, and now they have been with this "big lady noodle stall" for more than ten years.

As long as her son leaves the school in the afternoon, he will inevitably come to the noodle stall early to help with drinking, cooking noodles, and picking up bowls. Now at a young age, he is very familiar with the old way, and the child is very smart, and he has a good grasp of the cooking of noodles, the softness and hardness of the noodles, and the proportionality of the seasoning, which is not much better than his mother Aunt Song.

The small noodle stall tastes good, and their mother and son have a touching experience, and they have been in this Jinhuai City for more than ten years.

Although the eldest lady's noodle stall can't earn a few children all year round, it can at least allow the lonely mother and son to have food and clothing, food and drink without worry.

Li Zijin and the little junior sister also started to eat noodles at this lady noodle stall half a month ago, just because the fat cook of the Feixue Inn mistakenly thought that she was famous since he saw the girl Hongshao following the young swordsman in green shirts all day long.

So it's too distracting to cook.

As a result, every time the noodles are served upstairs, they are either too soft or too hard.

It's either too salty or too light.

The fat chef's cooking is too perfunctory.

So since then, Li Zijin has had the habit of taking his little sister to the streets to take his little sister to walk around, look at clothes, and eat delicious food in his spare time while practicing swords.

The senior brother and the little junior sister were busy practicing swords all day long.

An old man who was busy looking for the Jinhuai bookstore all day long to read books and ask questions and answer questions.

But you can also take a break from the busy, and often calm down and enjoy the slow flow of time.

Before leaving the noodle stall, the two happened to see Mrs. Song's son walking towards the noodle stall dejectedly.

"It seems that Ergou is not in a good mood today. "The koi girl with a hosta on her head, a nine-trick exquisite heart, watching people as if standing on the top of the mountain overlooking the earth, the depression in the heart of the little guy can be seen clearly.

Li Zijin nodded and said casually: "I guess I was in the school, and I met something unhappy." ”

The young swordsman in the green shirt bent down slightly, looked at the child who was only full of his chest, and beckoned to him with a smile: "Ergou, come here." ”

"Brother Zijin, Sister Hongshao. ”

Seeing Li Zijin and Hong Shao standing at their own noodle stall smiling and waving to him, the troubles in the little guy's heart instantly slipped away half, and he was in a better mood, quickened his pace, ran back to the noodle stall, and shouted to the woman who was cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks for the guests: "Mother, I'm back." ”

Aunt Song smiled kindly, "Mother is busy, you can talk to your brothers and sisters." ”

Li Zijin turned his head and handed the woman an apologetic smile, and the latter shook his head slightly, his eyes indicating that it didn't matter.

"Hong Shao, you take Ergou to the front first, I haven't paid yet. Li Zijin gave the little junior sister a look, and the latter understood, jumped to Yang Ergou's side, hugged the little guy and said angrily: "Ergou, let's go to the front to explore the way! Senior brother will arrive later!"

was grabbed by the beautiful girl in white by her shoulders, Yang Ergou blushed slightly, and said hesitantly: "Good ······"

The girl and the boy frolicked and left the stall.

Li Zijin looked deeply at Aunt Song, who was busy with her back to her, and took advantage of the woman's inattention, and casually took out a handful of copper coins from her baggage, which was the Zheng Guo currency exchanged with the fairy money and the old man Chai in the Feixue Inn.

The young man quietly put sixty wen into the small box containing money in the corner of the noodle stall.

"Aunt Song, I've put it in the box for you. Li Zijin ran away after paying.

On weekdays, the little sister also costs 20 wen to eat a bowl of noodles.

He always watched her eat, as if as long as he watched his sister eat, he would be full unconsciously.

Today's two bowls of noodles, how can it be only thirty Wen.

The number is incorrect.

Li Zijin naturally knew that it was the kind-hearted Aunt Song who saw that he and his little sister were still young, and always came to take care of her business, and she didn't dress like a rich person. will always silently erase the fraction of the face money for the teenager and girl.

Therefore, when Li Zijin knew about this, he would put some more copper coins in the money box every time according to the original price.

The amount will not be ridiculously large, but it can also make the big lady's noodle stall gain a lot, and even in order to be foolproof, Li Zijin also found the old man Chai of the Feixue Inn and specially replaced it with the copper coin with the smallest denomination of Zheng Guo.

The tired and dark-skinned and premature Song lady replied without looking back: "Okay." ”

It's just that she didn't know what kind of demon she was in trouble today, and suddenly she turned her head and saw the young man in green shirt with a sword behind him, running fast like a rabbit, and there was no figure in the blink of an eye.

Confused, the woman turned around and continued to cook noodles for the guests.

————

In a few months, the Spring Festival will be ushered in.

Therefore, the market in Jinhuai City is much more lively than before.

Every household needs to prepare in advance, start buying New Year's goods, and buy all kinds of items needed for the Spring Festival as early as possible.

All kinds of food such as chicken, duck and fish, tea, wine, oil sauce, roasted goods in the north and south, sugar bait and fruits.

Various objects such as firecrackers, incense wax, New Year paintings, red paper, white sugar and so on.

A young swordsman in a green shirt, a girl in white with a hosta on her head, a little boy with calloused hands and dark skin at a young age.

The three of them walked side by side, walking on the market in this frontier place, looking at the small merchants and vendors who came and went, the girl in white with a hosta on her head suddenly asked: "Senior brother, you said that they are busy like this, how much silver can they earn?"

Li Zijin thought for a while and replied, "The hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit." Every year before the Spring Festival, these vendors and shops can make a lot of money, but if you want to calculate the general account throughout the year, in fact, not every vendor and store can make a lot of money. In this world, most people can only eat and wear, wandering and wandering in all directions in order to earn a place to live. There are even some people who have even a problem with basic survival, and have exhausted all their efforts just to get enough food and clothing. ”

This world is not good. Li Zijin silently looked at all living beings, and had a vision in his heart.

A ridiculous, absurd, unattainable vision.

The girl Hongshao sighed, and suddenly asked again: "Then, is Aunt Song the same?"

When Yang Ergou, the swarthy boy sandwiched between the two, heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head, found an excuse at random, turned his head and ran back, wanting to share some of it for his mother.

"Eh, Ergou, I haven't bought you a candy man yet, why did you run away?" The girl in white didn't realize that her words had invisibly stabbed Yang Ergou's heart, and at this moment, she looked at Yang Ergou's figure running back in the crowd with a puzzled face.

Li Zijin didn't slap the girl's head this time, but put his hand on the top of her head and said, "Hong Shao, the noodle stall can't earn a lot of money, it's just enough for Aunt Song and Ergou to fill their stomachs." ”

The next thing is for the two to be quiet together.

There was a sea of people, and the warmth that had just sprung up in the girl's heart disappeared in an instant, and it was gone.

She stood in the wind, staring at Yang Ergou who was gradually moving away.

The boy really looks like a boy chasing the wind.

Li Zijin glanced at the little junior sister, but what he said was actually only half of what he said.

It's only half, and it's cold and cruel enough.

How could he bear to tell the other half to the little junior sister who didn't know the world?

He didn't want to say that the world was bustling, busy, and panicked, just to break a few taels of silver.

But it was broken with a few taels of silver, crushing the backbones of countless people.

Li Zijin didn't want his little sister to appreciate the cruelty of today's world.

The cruel truth only needs to be clear to yourself.

The little junior sister is from a charm background.

Hong Shao is such a simple girl, isn't it worth him to weave a beautiful and warm "dream" for her?

It's precisely because she's from a spirit background that she doesn't understand anything, so that's good.

Because of ignorance.

Therefore, you don't have to experience all kinds of human beings and the sufferings of all beings.

Because of ignorance.

It is okay to just blow a gentle wind.

Because of ignorance.

You can not suffer hardship, only sugar.

Because of ignorance.

Only then can he be under his protection, and he will not see the sword shadow and sword light,

The boy has an umbrella, which can block the rain, snow, wind and frost for the little sister, leaving only the rainbow after the rain and the spring sunshine.

Think back to the past.

The old man who opened the gate of heaven with a sword and flew away.

Shadow Sword.

The lord and lady of the county guard of Taiping County.

Wufu Song Jingshan.

Liang Jing, Zhao Changqing, Tang Yin, Xie Yufeng, Su Hu.

In the Buyeshan Library Building, a barefoot old man who did not want to reveal his name to himself······

Once, many people stood beside the young man, holding umbrellas for him to shelter from the wind and rain.

Today's teenagers have also become people who hold umbrellas for others and shelter others from the wind and rain.

————

When Yang Ergou ran back to the noodle stall panting, it was already very late, and most of the people in the city had gathered in the most lively market in Jinhuai City.

Adults buy New Year's goods, and children accompany their elders to go shopping, and when they see their favorite food, most of them are well-off, and most of them buy them for their children. If the family is poor, it is probably the child who cries and makes a fuss, or buys food, and he is happy, and the parents are worried. Either crying is useless, the child is depressed, and the parents are worried.

It's not about the string of sugar gourds, or a sugar man, whether they can buy it.

Just being poor is enough to worry the whole family.

When buying New Year's goods, most of them will also make trade-offs because of shyness in their pockets.

"Mother, is it so early to close the stall today?" Yang Ergou asked while helping the woman clean up the tables, chairs and benches.

Because she bent over to cook noodles and wash dishes all the year round, Aunt Song, who was already a little hunchbacked, stood up straight, looked around and said: "I have all rushed to the market, even if I continue to put them, I can't buy a few bowls of noodles, go back early, it's cold at night." ”

It's because I'm afraid that the child will freeze.

After the mother and son put away the noodle stall, they returned to the small room where she had spent all her savings.

Aunt Song asked the child to put the money box under the bed.

Yang Ergou hugged the money box, walked to the bed, and when he bent over, he felt that the box had become more and more heavy recently, "Mother, business is good this winter?"

The woman closed the door and subconsciously replied, "It's about the same as in previous years, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just that it's getting heavier and heavier!" Yang Ergou smiled.

Aunt Song scolded the child with a smile, saying that it was difficult for him to grow back, and his strength was getting smaller and smaller?

He also joked that in two years, when he was old enough to leave the school, he wouldn't even be able to hold the money box at that time.

As soon as he heard this, Yang Ergou's expression became lonely.

"What's wrong?"

Knowing her son Mo Ruomu, as soon as she saw the appearance of her child, Aunt Song knew that he must have something on her mind, so she asked.

"Not really. The child squeezed out a smile.

Yang Ergou, who was just in his early tens, was sensible earlier than his peers, and he didn't want his mother to worry, so he didn't want to say it.

Besides, it's some careful thinking that I'm embarrassed to say. If you talk to Brother Zijin and Sister Hongshao, you can still consider it.

But in the face of his mother, Yang Ergou felt that some words were difficult to speak.

It's nothing more than the little girl Gillian at the next table, who is about to move her family and leave the school, and I heard that she is leaving Zheng Guo and Honghu Zhou.

Yang Ergou, who has never even left a small Jinhuai City, can't imagine the size of the world.

Not to mention Honghu Prefecture, he couldn't even say how vast the Zheng Kingdom was where he was, so naturally he wouldn't have any idea of the size of a state.

Yang Ergou only knows that the place where Gillian is going must be far, far away.

Thinking about it, Yang Ergou went out of his mind.

The woman laughed and scolded Jin Huaicheng's local dialect.

Roughly speaking, Yang Ergou pouted his ass, and she knew what kind of fart he was going to fart, so if she was careful, she could still hide it from her mother?

Although he didn't break his child's careful thoughts, it made Yang Ergou's cheeks slightly red and shy after hearing it. The slightest bit is gone, and the chic of the previous "chasing the wind" is gone.

At this moment.

The boy was embarrassed.