Dusk, the sunset is shining.

The grass and trees by the river are verdant, the flowers are in full bloom, the branches and leaves on the trees are green, and the sound of cicadas is bursting, which is the scene of midsummer.

Li Yuanzhao was wearing a thick sandwich robe, a pair of legging cotton shoes, and a snow-white ribbon wrapped around his waist, which was integrated with the falling pale hair.

He is seventy-one, the gray beard on his cheeks is like a waterfall, fluffy down to his chest, his eyes are still stellar and bright, the light is terrifying, and the road is also dragon and tiger step, not old, like the immortal in the painting.

Walking out of Xu Yuan, there is a murmuring river in front of me, and there are old stone bridges on the river, full of moss green. Approaching, I saw piles of clothes and pants thrown on the bridge, and there was a group of half-sized children with bare butts swimming and playing under the bridge.

The boys were very happy, some tried to prick their fierce sons in the deep water, some fluttered like geese on the shallow bank, and some dared to climb to the top of the one-foot high bridge, shouting and jumping into the river to prove their bravery.

They are all Li Yuanzhao's childhood friends.

Sixty years have not returned, and there has been no change.

"The tiger baby is here!"

"Tiger baby, get into the water quickly, let's hold our breath, we are not allowed to lay skin!"

"The tiger baby was bitten by a water snake the day before yesterday, I'm afraid, haha!"

Tiger Baby, is Li Yuanzhao's nickname, he heard his partners calling, he didn't make a sound, just shook his head, stroked his beard, walked across the stone bridge, and rushed to the village.

The village is very ordinary, not big or small, with 200 families.

Each family has a small courtyard, an earthen house, and a few sheds, which are enough to shelter from the wind and rain.

It was dusk, the village was full of smoke, the rice was fragrant, and outside the village was the wheat waves, a piece of gold.

Stepping into one of the paths is like taking a boat ride in the Golden Sea.

It's still the way it is remembered.

Suddenly, a bare-chested man in his thirties came out of the wheat field, with a dark belly and back, carrying a hoe, and smiled when he saw Li Yuanzhao, "It's a tiger baby, the kid grows up very fast, and he will catch up with the third uncle in a few years." ”

As he spoke, he touched Li Yuanzhao's head.

It was as if he was not a gray-haired old man, but a clever child.

Li Yuanzhao straightened his messy white hair, touched his beard and smiled lightly, "Hello third uncle!"

"The stinky boy understands etiquette, didn't he wrap the leaves in dung and throw it at the third uncle's house a few days ago?" The third uncle rolled up his sleeves and lit up his fist, "If it weren't for your young age, I would have to break your legs, naughty eggs!"

After scolding, the third uncle was angry and said with a smile: "When you grow to ten years old next year and enter the school, you will be in charge of it by a gentleman, see if you are skinny!"

After a few words, he arrived at the entrance of the village, and the third uncle picked up a few words and returned home with a hoe.

Li Yuanzhao continued to move forward.

Walk to the village, see a yard, because it is the wheat harvest season, every family wants to roll wheat, so the yard is very smooth, three or five dirty little girls or standing or squatting or sitting, in this feng shui treasure to play "catch stones".

They threw a handful of small stones on the ground, holding two stones in each hand, and threw them into the air, taking advantage of the falling gaps, quickly grabbing the stones on the ground, and finally catching two stones, no more, no less, impartially.

Whoever catches more stones wins, and Rao is interesting.

"Someone is coming. ”

"It's a tiger baby. ”

"Giggles, here comes the one in the open crotch pants. ”

"Tiger baby, let's see if your crotch is torn, I'll use a needle and thread to mend it for you!"

"Shame!

Several girls laughed loudly, forgetting the game of catching stones, but stared at Li Yuanzhao one by one to make fun.

It's all because a few days ago, the boys competed to climb trees, although Li Yuanzhao came out on top, the crotch of his pants was also hung with a big slit in the branches, these girls happened to see it and mocked him for several days.

Li Yuanzhao didn't bother to reply, touched his beard and passed leisurely, only as if he was deaf.

Walking to the east end of the village, there is a narrow alley.

When I entered the alley, I suddenly heard the deafening sound of "Wangwang", but it was a big yellow dog blocking the way, baring its teeth and barking fiercely.

Li Yuanzhao did not panic, squatted down skillfully, casually picked up a fist-sized stone, and wanted to throw it.

The big yellow dog screamed twice in fright, and fled into the small courtyard next to him with his tail between his legs, but it was the mighty general who turned into a cowardly imp.

When Li Yuanzhao swaggered away, the big yellow dog became majestic again, poked out his head and yelled at Li Yuanzhao's ass, which was extremely vicious.

Li Yuanzhao ignored it, pushed open a fence gate, and walked into the courtyard.

This is his home!

The house was rudimentary, with a dilapidated adobe house and two sheds, one for pigs and one for sheep.

As soon as he entered the door, Li Yuanzhao smelled a strong aroma, and looked into the house, where an ordinary peasant woman was hunched over in the smoke, holding an oil spoon in her left hand and a shovel in her right hand, turning the flatbread in the pot.

Squatting next to the pot sat a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, sweating profusely, pulling the bellows with one hand, making a hula sound, and filling the stove with the other hand to carry firewood.

"Long baby, the fire is small, it's paste!" said the peasant woman.

"Oh. The boy responded.

These two people are Li Yuanzhao's mother and brother.

My mother was an ordinary peasant woman, because she had been doing farm work for many years, her face was tanned and yellow, her hands were calloused, and she looked not like forty, but like sixty.

"Huwa is back," the mother raised her hand to wipe her sweat and glanced at Li Yuanzhao, "There are freshly baked cakes in the basin, you are a little glutton, you can eat it if you want." ”

Li Yuanzhao stepped forward and grabbed a freshly baked oil cake, but he was not afraid of being hot, so he sent it to his mouth in a big gulp and devoured it. In a moment, his beard was covered with crumbs, and he refused to waste them, carefully shaking them in the palm of his hand and covering them in his mouth.

"Look at the stinky boy, hungry, the whole starving ghost survives. The mother complained, and the elder brother also sneered and sarcastically said a few words.

Li Yuanzhao didn't care about it, and pinched another oil cake, he was not hungry, but greedy, after all, he hadn't eaten anything made by his mother for sixty years.

Whew!

The bellows were pulled, the smoke choked, the flatbread snorted in the pot, and the mother scolded and taught a lesson, and handed the baked flatbread to Li Yuanzhao.

After a while, Li Yuanzhao ate three flatbreads, and his mother and brother were so shocked that they shouted "be careful to break your belly" and didn't dare to eat it for him again.

At this time, there was a cry of "bleating" in the courtyard, and when I went out, I saw that it was a swarm of sheep.

The flock was followed by a forty-year-old shirtless peasant man, with a crackling whip in his hand, who was Li Yuanzhao's father.

My father was in the prime of life, with a burly and sturdy body, and his dark skin was like a hill.

"Tiger baby, open the circle door. ”

Li Yuan responded with a sound and stepped forward to push open the door of the sheepfold.

The father shook the whip and drove away, and the mouth shouted, and the sheep recognized the door, and one by one they passed by, honestly.

After closing the door, my father sprinkled some grass in the trough, changed the trough, and poured swill to feed the pigs, and was busy for half an hour.

It was not until the evening that they had to rest.

Taking advantage of the cool weather, my brother moved the dining table to the courtyard and set up the dishes and chopsticks.

The mother baked the flatbread, boiled the white batter, and put it in a basin.

Flatbread and paste were served, and a family of four sat around, talking and laughing.

It's all about the shortcomings of parents, such as sending Li Yuanzhao to school next year, finding a daughter-in-law for Longwa, the urgency of starting a family and having children, or the good harvest in the field this year.

After the meal, the mother cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, and the father and son spread out the mats in the empty space of the courtyard, and lay down together, listening to the chirping of cicadas while looking up at the night sky.

It's comfortable.

After a while, the sky suddenly turned dark.

"Father, little brother, you see a cloud overhead, like it's going to rain. My brother shouted.

Li Yuanzhao looked intently and saw that there was indeed a thick cloud in the sky, covering the stars and the moon.

What's even more strange is that the cloud is constantly falling, and the speed is very fast.

In the blink of an eye, black clouds fell over the village, like ink on white paper, quickly dispersed, and the clouds surged.

"What a strange cloud!"

"Is it a heavy rain?"

When the words fell, there was a sudden gloomy wind, and there were bursts of ghost sounds.

Two blood-red lanterns flickered and rolled up and down in the clouds.

If you look closely, it's not a lantern, but a pair of big eyes!

"Youkai! Youkai!"

The father jumped up and hurriedly escorted the two children into the house, and the mother was stunned for a moment and reacted, slammed the door shut with a "bang", and inserted the latch.

Whining!

At the sound of the ghost's scream, the strange eye of the lantern flew into the village, and the sand and rocks flew everywhere it passed, and the houses were destroyed. Immediately afterwards, there was a scream and cry from the village, which was terrifying, and it was expected that the monster was devouring the villagers.

Li Yuanzhao stood dumbfounded, and saw through the crack in the window that it was pitch black outside, as if he was blindfolded by a black cloth, only two red blood lights flew around, accompanied by terrible screams, endlessly.

The peaceful and peaceful village turned into purgatory in an instant!

"Dragon baby, tiger baby! Hide!"

Father and mother were frightened and anxious, so they quickly hid the brothers under the bed and pressed their shoulders against the door of the house.

Call!

Bang!

Soon, Li Yuanzhao heard the sound of the door panel shattering, and in front of him, his father and mother were smashed away by a huge force, and they fell into the house covered in blood, wailing in pain.

The crimson blood shot like a sword, illuminating the room red.

It's like a glow!