Qiu Ju's home is indeed a rugged and winding mountain village. After about an hour of bumpy travel, under the guidance of Qiu Ju, I finally saw a village with curling smoke not far ahead, under the root of the mountain. A few geese in the sky were also unwilling to be lonely, as if they were worried about the autumn coolness and the time to move. The willow branches swayed from side to side in the breeze, as if cheering for Qiu Ju, a child who had been away from home for a long time,

After entering the village, Qiu Ju stopped at a house. This family is not much different from the other houses around. A small manor house with a humble courtyard, the walls of the courtyard are not high. The walls were made of mud, which was extremely common in the neighborhood, and was only more than one person high. Such a wall, if a thief or something, you can climb over the wall and enter it with a slight jump. The gate is made of bamboo slices and nailed one by one. Judging from the yellowing and whitish color of the bamboo, the lifespan of this bamboo door has been very long.

At this time, Zhao Qian also stepped out of the sedan chair. There was no surprise on her face, and it was clear that this was not the first time she had been here. The neighbors were not excited by the arrival of Qiu Ju and the county lord. For, when they came, no one saw them on the way, except for a shepherd who was tending his sheep.

Qiu Ju pushed open the hidden bamboo door and walked in side by side with Zhao Qian. The little fat man followed, and the two palanquin bearers walked at the back carrying the empty sedan chair. Qiu Ju stepped on small steps quickly, and as soon as she entered the yard, she couldn't wait to shout: "Dad, mother, brother, I'm back." ”

The little fat man also walked into the yard at this time, and saw that by the wall of the yard, there was a chicken coop more than one person high, and there were a lot of chickens fed in it. In the fence made of branches at the mouth of their chicken nests, their curious heads stick out as if to welcome guests.

With Qiu Ju's words, the door curtain was opened, and two people walked out from inside. These two people are a man and a woman, probably in their forties, and if you look closely, Qiu Ju is somewhat similar to them. Needless to say, these two must be Qiu Ju's parents. Sure enough, as soon as Qiu Ju saw them, she ran over with joy, wrapped her hands around the middle-aged woman's arms, and called out affectionately, "Mother." ”

I haven't seen my daughter for a long time, and Qiu Ju's father and mother are also very excited. Qiu Ju Niang had tears in her eyes, took Qiu Ju's hand, choked up and said, "Ju'er, you have grown taller again." With that, tears fluttered and fell.

Qiu Ju's father was also sad beside him, looking at the mother and daughter who were hugging and crying, he was also embarrassed in his heart.

After crying for a while, Qiu Juniang stopped crying and asked Qiu Ju, "Why did you come back?"

Qiu Ju also choked up and said, "I accompanied the county lord to a relative's house, passing by us, and came to see you two elders by the way." ”

Qiu Ju's father and mother were taken aback when they heard that the county lord was also coming, and only then did they find the little girl standing behind Qiu Ju. At first, they just felt a little familiar, thinking that it was the same Penglai Palace's maid as Qiu Ju. Now that their daughter said this, they remembered that the girl in front of them was clearly Zhao Qian, the little county lord who had been to the house several times. Fifteen or sixteen years old is the time when the girls are developing, no wonder Qiu Ju's parents didn't recognize the county lord at first sight.

"The old body knocked on the little county lord. Qiu Juniang recognized the county lord, so she wanted to bend down to give a salute.

Zhao Qian dragged Qiu Juniang's body that she wanted to bend down, and said with red eyes: "Auntie, don't call me any county lord, just call me Qian'er." ”

Qiu Juniang had long known that this Zhao Qianjun Lord was easy-going by nature, and when she saw her like this, she didn't insist on giving courtesy. At this time, Qiu Ju suddenly asked, "Mother, where is my eldest brother?"

Qiu Juniang's face darkened, and she said, "Your brother ...... him"

"Ahem. Qiu Ju's father coughed twice, interrupting Qiu Juniang's words. Qiu Ju's mother immediately woke up, and then said: "Your brother is out, and he will be back in a while." ”

At this moment, the bamboo door creaked, everyone turned around, and saw a twenty-five or sixteen-year-old man, who looked like a tiger with a bear's waist, wearing a green coat, and walked with a tiger's wind. On his face, there was an irrepressible anger.

"Brother. Qiu Ju saw someone coming and shouted.

When Brother Qiu Ju entered the door, he lowered his head slightly and didn't see anyone in the yard. When he heard Qiu Ju's call, he raised his head and asked in surprise, "Sister, why are you back?"

Brother Qiu Ju's name is Zhang Youtian, probably when his mother gave birth to him, his parents hoped that when he grew up, he could have his own land and no longer be bullied and oppressed by the landlord and old wealth.

Qiu Ju didn't answer her brother's words, but asked, "Brother, I saw your angry appearance just now, what happened?"

It's okay not to ask, this question, Zhang Youtian was furious, and said loudly: "It's not that hateful Su Xiufen." ”

Qiu Ju knew that Su Xiufen was from the next village, and her brother liked her before, and he had gone to her house several times to propose marriage. However, the Su family has always disliked Zhang Youtian's family for being too poor, and they have not agreed. Qiu Ju didn't know what was going on in the Su family now, and asked anxiously, "What's wrong with Su Xiufen?"

Zhang Youtian was careless, didn't see the color of his father's mother, and said: "The Su family said that I would take our little donkey over as a dowry, and they agreed to do such a thing." I believe it, who knows that after the donkey is given to them, they turn their faces and don't recognize people. When I asked for this donkey, the Su family actually said that it was a spiritual compensation for Su Xiufen and refused to return my donkey!"

When the little fat man heard this, he was also indignant in his heart, how could there be such a shameless person in this world? The little fat man interjected: "I said Qiu Ju's brother, why don't you go to the government to sue him?"

Zhang Youtian sighed and said, "It's useless to sue, the Su family insists that I owe them something and pay it back with a donkey." ”

The little fat man said, "Then is it okay?"

Zhang Youtian was also very helpless in his heart, this donkey was the only tool for transporting things in his family, and he was relied on in vain, who could calm the anger in his heart! Zhang Youtian drooped his face and said, "Then there is nothing to do!"

The little fat man said, "Can you take me to his house to see, maybe I will have some way to get back." ”

"Little fat brother, forget it. Qiu Ju was afraid that the little fat man would fight with the Su family, the Su family was deeply rooted in the local area, and once the fight started, he would definitely be the one who suffered.

The little fat man knew Qiu Ju's thoughts, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will never fight." I just want to go over and see what kind of person it is, so arrogant and unreasonable. ”

Zhang Youtian looked at the little fat man who came with his sister in front of him, and smiled, as if telling him that there was nothing that could not be solved. So, Nagauda nodded, and under the entrustment of his family, he took the little fat man and walked straight to the door.

The trail was still rugged, but this time there were only two people. One is an adult man full of anger who has been walking mountain roads for many years. One is a young fat man who is bloated, but athletic, and has been cultivated for seven weeks. The two of them walked down all the way, but the speed was more than twice as fast as when the little fat man came. Soon, he left the village and followed Zhang Youtian along a sheep farm road. Because this is a mountainous area, the road is full of grapes-sized grapes at any time, and only at any time is there a rustling sound under the feet. The mountains on both sides of the road are too steep, there are no trees, and only a few green pines can be vaguely seen, standing proudly there.

Soon, we arrived at another village. This village is similar to Zhang Youtian's patchwork, and it is also a sparse world. In the distance, Zhang Youtian pointed to a cyan courtyard wall not far away that was smoking and said, "That's the Su family." ”

The little fat man glanced at this home, and said to Zhang Youtian: "Brother Qiu Ju, you are waiting for me at the entrance of the village, and I will go to his house to test and see if I can get your donkey back." ”

Zhang Youtian was a little worried and said, "Are you going alone?"

The little fat man nodded, revealing his two rows of white front teeth, and said with a smile, "No problem." ”

Zhang Youtian was still a little worried, and instructed: "Then you should be careful, don't quarrel with them." ”

"Got it. The little fat man replied and strode towards the Su family.

The conditions of this family should seem to be richer than that of Zhang Dayou's family, because their home uses a door nailed out of wooden planks. On top of the wooden door of the doorway, two lion's heads were nailed. The lion's face was hideous, and two iron rings spat out of the lion's mouth. The little fat man clasped the mountain iron ring with one hand and struck it a few times on the wooden door, making a crisp and audible sound. The little fat man shouted, "Is anyone home?"

"Who?" a man's voice echoed inside. After a while, there was a rustle of footsteps. As the door opened, a man's head was revealed. This male ** is only in his forties, with a thin face, and a black mole the size of a soybean on his cheeks, and a four-inch black hair on the mole, which looks a little different.

When the black man saw the little fat man, he looked puzzled and asked, "Excuse me, do you have anything to do with coming to my house?"

The little fat man hooked the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing what he thought was the most sincere and amiable smile in his life, and asked softly, "Excuse me, is this the Su family?"

The black man nodded, and said directly: "It's the Su family, what's the matter with you?"

The little fat man was a little anxious when he saw the black man, but the little fat man was not in a hurry at all. He said unhurriedly: "I heard that you have a daughter in your family who has reached the age of marriage. No, I have a friend who asked me to come over and propose to you. ”

The black man looked the little fat man up and down suspiciously, this kid is not very old, could it be that he is walking the streets and alleys to talk about matchmaking? So, he said the doubts in his heart: "Are you a special matchmaker?"