Dinner as scheduled.

Azu just finished last as usual, watching the senior brothers take the meal, and at the same time sighing why the rest day is always so short.

In the end, I saw Sister Shishi sly laughing, but the rice bucket was empty.

Azu was a little curious, but he could see that Sister Shishi had something to say.

"Eh, I'm doing less, Azu, you're running out of food today. "Sister Shishi is just playful, how can Azu take it seriously.

Azu followed her, and also pretended to cry with a sad face: "Then I can only go to Sister Shishi's house to eat." ”

Sister Shishi blinked, and muttered: "What a cheeky ......"

"Okay, you guessed it, grandpa asked you to go to our house for dinner......"

"Why?" asked Azu.

For the first time in three years, Boss Tong should have let the apprentice visit his home...... After all, Boss Tong's family didn't particularly support him in sticking to his old business......

"You're a carver, so naturally you're a guest. Sister Shishi just replied, and the sentence was very kind. "By the way, get your clothes in order, and you won't sleep here in the future......"

Azu's heart moved, and what the senior brothers said turned out to be true.

Where is the refuge after that......

......

Although Liuhe is a market, it cannot be generalized. In any geographical boundary, there is a difference between the rich and the poor, and Xiping Street is almost the rich area of Liuhe.

I once thought about what the Tong family was like, but I didn't want it to be a compound that looked so luxurious, located in the most prosperous area of Liuhe Xiping Street.

There were two stone lions at the door, with stone balls in their mouths. On both sides are two green welcome pines, and in the middle of it, is the vermilion gate, the beast head doorknob is a bit mighty.

Is this the door of the rich and noble......

Azu actually didn't know much about the Tong family, only knew that the ancestors of the Tong family made a fortune by carving-based antiques, and after these generations were weakened, they moved to Liuhe.

Now that I think about it, I'm afraid that the Tong family should have been an unimaginable behemoth a few generations ago.

Sister Shishi knocked on the door, and soon a white-haired old housekeeper came to open the door.

"Miss...... This is ......"

The housekeeper didn't seem to know that Azu was coming, and he was only a little surprised when he looked at the child with the tattered package.

"Uncle Mu, grandpa asked me to bring him to dinner, he is the new carver of the Karakuri Workshop, you can just call him Azu. ”

Uncle Mu's cloudy old eyes were hesitant, but after seeing the young lady's appearance, he had to invite Azu in.

"Ahh Childe, please come in ......"

The faltering steps, but slowly, led the two forward.

Along the road, there are green flower beds and a few springs. Azu is just like, no, just a country child who has never seen the world, and he can't stop admiring and exclaiming.

Compared to here, in the Karakuri Workshop, it is indeed ...... Pigsty is generally ......

Thinking in her heart, it was Sister Shishi who said, "Uncle Mu, you go first, I'll take Azu around." ”

Azu raised his head, just looked at Sister Shishi, didn't he go to eat?

Uncle Mu also trembled and asked, "Didn't the master let this son go to dinner......

"Eh, it's okay, it's okay, Uncle Mu, you go to the rest meeting. Sister Shishi was just persuading, and her tone was understated.

Uncle Mu was still a little uneasy, and was about to say something, but Sister Shishi had already pulled Azu away.

"Alas......" Uncle Mu didn't stop him, but his eyes were full of loneliness.

Tonight, I'm afraid that something is about to happen......

The yard was large, and after going around for a long time, it finally stopped in front of a somewhat new house. Azu looked at Sister Shishi, who was pulling him, but he also felt that something was wrong in his heart.

"It's here. Sister Shishi looked at the room in front of her and just let go.

"Sister Shishi...... It's ......"

"You'll live here in the future, can't you see it?" Sister Shishi looked at Azu, but her face was no longer grinning.

"Why?" asked Azu.

Sister Shishi snatched his burden and opened the door of the house. The room is not big, and it is separated by a screen. On the outside are some trivial utensils, probably all daily necessities, but inside they are well organized, with small tables and stools, and a clean bed. Compared to the previous residence, it is much better.

put his burden on the bed, and Sister Shishi also sat on the edge of the bed.

Azu was a little stunned, Sister Shishi patted him aside and motioned for him to sit down.

Just listened, and after sitting down, she spoke to herself.

"You know, my grandfather loved carving......"

Azu nodded and continued to listen.

"Do you know how much Karakuri has a surplus every year now?"

"Probably a lot......

"More than a thousand taels. Sister Shishi's tone changed. "You might think it's a lot...... But my second uncle can earn 70,000 taels of silver a year in the restaurant of Lishui......"

"Grandpa is seventy-six years old...... He's rheumatism, you know? It's a cure......."

Azu has heard of it, but in fact, anyone who does too much physical work when he is young will probably suffer from this disease when he is old. If there is a tide, the knee joint will have a piercing pain, which is unbearable.

I heard that many old people seem to have died in the depths of winter, but in fact, this disease is the main cause.

Sister Shishi turned her head and looked at Azu.

"Grandpa's time is running out, who wants him to continue to work......"

Azu saw sadness in her eyes.

"Grandpa has always wanted to carry forward the carving art, but now the carving art is really not so good, and having fun is what ordinary people want......"

"I tried to persuade him to give up, but he was stubborn......"

"My family also discussed selling Karakuri's shop or turning it to another business...... But Grandpa disagreed......"

"He said that the Karakuri Workshop is a symbol of Tong's carving art in the past, and if the Karakuri Workshop is gone, he will not want to live......

Azu looked at Sister Shishi, who was already in tears, and had never seen her like this. In my impression, she has always been a gentle and playful optimistic big sister, but now she confides in her......

But he remembered what the old man had said that day, that is, the four words "to death and no life".

It turns out that Tong Lao is a person who has no life to die......

"I don't want my grandfather to die......"

The outburst of emotion was like a gushing, Sister Shishi cried and wore makeup, and her eyes were full of tears.

"I go to Karakuri every day just to see you. I know that all the hopes of grandpa are you, and you are the future of Tong's carving...... Watching you progress, seeing you being able to take the lead, I feel relieved, because I know that grandpa is still alive......"

I don't know how long these words have been concealed, but when they burst out, Azu's heart was so shocked.

I am ...... The Future of Tong's Carving......

If he leaves, Tong Lao will be a lifeless walking corpse, because he will be full of death......

But I have to leave......

Thoughts are numb, but they can't be cut quickly.

Sister Shishi took out a square towel and wiped her tears, but she also brought a trace of makeup powder.

"I don't want you to lose grandpa...... At least, before he is at ease......"

Azu's lips moved slightly, but he couldn't refuse, but in the end he still said "um".

Sister Shishi wiped away her tears, and forced out a smile: "If you do it, I will promise you a request, no matter what it is." ”

Whether it is required or not, and how......

Azu is not that kind of person, just Tong Lao, Sister Shishi, and they have all brought him a sense of home......

Sister Shishi finally suppressed her sobbing, got up and said, "Okay, let's go to dinner, grandpa I'm afraid I've been waiting for a long time......"

But he saw Azu sitting on the bed and not moving, but said: "Sister Shishi, the makeup on her face is spent, and her eyes are red, which is not good-looking." ”

"You kid ......" Sister Shishi smiled, but she took water nearby in the room and threw it on her face.

The makeup melted away, and then the fair face appeared. washed away the lead, just the most simple girl, smiling like a flower.

"Let's go......"

Azu looked at it, and the shadow that walked out of the door was like a beautiful nightshade that only bloomed for a moment.

......

At the dinner table is strange.

In this huge dining hall, a golden silk nanmu table, originally counted as the housekeeper Uncle Mu, should actually be exactly ten people and ten elegant seats.

Now, it's a temporary addition. Sitting on it is still a rustic outsider boy.

There was some silence in the atmosphere, just not much talking.

"Hehe......" Tong Lao was the first to speak, but he felt that the atmosphere was wrong, and he wanted to break it, so he sandwiched a chicken leg into Azu's bowl.

"Azu, eat. Don't be inhibited. ”

Azu just shook his head and said "hmm". Although I had expected this to be the case, I was still a little nervous. I haven't eaten a few bites of food until now.

Sister Shishi asked, not seeing Fang Cai's emotions: "Isn't the food delicious?"

Azu looked up and just replied, "It's delicious." ”

Seeing him like this, the rest of the people at the dinner table just shook their heads in their hearts.

This is clearly a wild child in the countryside, and he actually said that he was a carver. Even if he was, how could he be allowed to serve like this......

Alas, but after all, he is just a child, a few elders, and it is difficult to say anything.

"Azu, where are you from?" Finally, an elder asked, but it was a middle-aged man, looking a little heroic, and he was afraid that he was also a handsome student when he was young.

Azu was stunned and replied, "Jiangyin people." ”

"What about your parents?"

Azu was worried, but he told the truth: "My father is in Beijing and has entered the military and politics. As for the mother's ...... I don't have a mother's ......."

Hearing this, everyone at the table was not calm, and it was obvious that this kind of experience made them a little moved.

"Since your father is a military minister, why do you want to come to work in the Karakuri Workshop when you don't receive the money from the imperial court?"

"My father was 17 years old, but he only entered the military and politics three years ago, I don't know what happened...... In short, I woke up in a wilderness and came to this Liuhe by mistake. Azu said seriously, but his eyes were clear. "As for the settlement money, maybe you can't find me. ”

Everyone was silent, even Tong Lao and Sister Shishi had heard about Azu's life experience for the first time.

This kind of encounter, among this group of people with fine clothes and fine food, is really unimaginable, but to a certain extent, it seems to have become Azu's bitter card.

"But fortunately, Tong Lao and Sister Shishi have treated me very well, and Karakuri is my home. ”

Azu's tone changed for the better, and his heart moved.

"Alas, you are also a miserable child...... "The woman's voice was bitter, but there was some comfort in her words. "Eat more, don't go hungry. ”

As long as it is the heart of the people, it is soft, and how can there be any iron heart?