Five days later, Baonan County, on the outskirts of Linmu County.

Cao Xiaoning held a rabbit in his hand and walked to the fire that had been lit a long time ago, his snow-white furry ears were pinched by Cao Xiaoning, and it struggled on its feet, as if it was worshipping the Buddha.

The rabbit was quickly skinned and deboned by Cao Xiaoning, who skewered it on a branch and roasted it on the fire, and the grease quickly dripped off and the fragrance was fragrant.

Jinxi Town, where the traces of the Phantom clan were found, belongs to the jurisdiction of Linmu County, and there are about one or two hundred miles away from here.

Cao Xiaoning had just finished eating and was about to leave, when there was a sound of feet stepping on leaves in the forest next to him, and he saw a village woman on crutches slowly walking out of the forest, about forty or fifty years old, with frosty hair, a face full of vicissitudes of ravines, and blind in one eye.

She was carrying a bamboo basket on her back, her body was rickety, and she was trembling when she walked, only to see that she accidentally stepped on a stone, and fell down as soon as her foot fell, but fortunately, Cao Xiaoning's eyes were quick, and she flashed forward to help the old man, and said, "Old woman, are you okay?"

"It's fine. ”

The old man patted Cao Xiaoning's hand and said, "Thank you, young man." ”

The old man's hands were full of calluses, just patted Cao Xiaoning like this, Cao Xiaoning felt very rough, he looked at the bamboo basket on the old man's back, the bamboo shoots were very full, and there was a sickle, so he said: "Mother-in-law, I'll help you carry it, right?"

The old man smiled kindly: "Whose child is this, he is handsome and has a good heart." But don't worry, my mother-in-law can carry it herself, so I won't bother you!"

Cao Xiaoning smiled: "Mother-in-law, you are not afraid that I will rob you of your bamboo shoots, right?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, and then he was happy, Cao Xiaoning took the opportunity to help her take the bamboo basket down, put it on her back, and said, "Let's go, mother-in-law, you're welcome, I'll help you carry it back." ”

The old man could only say, "Okay child, then thank you." ”

......

Cao Xiaoning carried the bamboo basket on his back and followed the old man back to the village, there were not many households in the village, about a dozen households, far away from the hustle and bustle, secluded and peaceful.

The old man's cottage was shabby but not messy, although there were not many things, but it was clean and tidy, planted a small circle of vegetables, and raised a few chickens and ducks.

Cao Xiaoning put down the bamboo basket and looked at the scene in front of him that was similar to the home in Happy Village, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional, and I didn't know how Lao Cao was now.

Cao Xiaoning asked, "Mother-in-law, are you alone at home?"

The old man said: "Yes, my man disappeared more than ten years ago. ”

"What about the kid?" Cao Xiaoning asked again.

"Soon after we got married, the others were gone, and they didn't have time to have a baby. ”

The old man walked to the vegetable field and said as he picked vegetables, "Child, stay and have a meal before leaving." ”

Cao Xiaoning shirked and said, "No, mother-in-law, I ate it just now." ”

The old man said: "How to eat a hare, child, you are now the time to grow your body, you have to eat more, listen to Grandma's words, stay and eat more, Grandma will give you a stir-fried dish, and then stew a chicken, don't dislike it." ”

Cao Xiaoning saw that the old man's family was poor, and the chickens and ducks were all old chickens and ducks, and at first glance, the old man had been raised for a long time, and he was reluctant to eat, how could Cao Xiaoning let the old man kill chickens and ducks for him, so he was ready to slip away.

But when he walked to the door, he heard the old man say behind him: "Child, is it okay to have a meal with Grandma? I haven't added chopsticks to my family for more than ten years, except for myself." ”

When Cao Xiaoning heard this, she stopped and glanced back at the old man, she was skinny, holding the fullest dish in the vegetable yard in her hand, with a hint of pleading in her eyes. Cao Xiaoning smiled: "Then I'm not welcome." ”

The old man sighed with a smile.

......

Cao Xiaoning helped the old man to make a fire and work together, and the meal was quickly served, a plate of green vegetables, and a big bowl of wild bamboo shoots and chicken soup.

Although the bowl is simple and even open, it does not affect the aroma of the dish. The old man also specially took out a jar of old wine from the corner of the room, and the wine seal was full of dust and a spider web, which showed its age.

The old man wiped off the dust and cobwebs, and then poured a glass for Cao Xiaoning after opening it, and said, "This is the wine that my man didn't have time to drink before he died, and I don't know if I can drink it." ”

Cao Xiaoning took a sip, the wine is the worst coarse wine, even if it is an old wine, the taste is not good, and the wine brewed by Yan Qing is very different, but Cao Xiaoning still took a long breath of relief: "Ha-good wine!"

Cao Xiaoning and the old man sat opposite each other to eat, Cao Xiaoning found that the old man only ate vegetables and rice, although the old man wanted to leave the chicken soup for Cao Xiaoning, the guest, to eat, but more definitely thrifty became natural, after Cao Xiaoning reminded the old man, she just picked a few chicken necks to eat.

Cao Xiaoning helped the old man clip a chicken leg, and then asked, "By the way, Grandma, why didn't your husband have it?"

The old man said: "One day more than ten years ago, I was captured by bandits and returned to the village, and after he came home and knew about it, he sneaked up the mountain with a sickle to save me, but was caught by the bandits, and made him kneel on the ground to watch me being bullied, and then killed him." ”

Cao Xiaoning frowned and said, "What happened later?"

The old man said: "Later, it was a dark day, and one of my eyes was also blinded by them because of resistance. And when they got tired of playing, they didn't kill me, but threw me back to the village. ”

The old man was obviously only thirty or forty years old, but he was as old as fifty or sixty years old, because of this nightmare when he was young. However, when she talked about it, her face was indeed calm, still holding the dishes and eating, and there was no trace of hatred and anger in her eyes, as if it was someone else's business. Cao Xiaoning knew that this was that his heart was numb, just like death.

The old man continued: "After I came back, many people in the village scolded me, some scolded me for being a bad spirit, some scolded me for why I still had the face to come back, I didn't care about these things, but I don't know why they scolded my man. ”

Cao Xiaoning asked, "What are you scolding him?"

"Scolding him for being a fool, knowing that going up the mountain is a dead end, but still going up. ”

The old man suddenly smiled and said, "But think about it, there was a woman in the neighboring village who was caught by bandits and went up the mountain, and the woman's husband lost this daughter-in-law and remarried a daughter-in-law." Isn't my man stupid compared to him? ”

Speaking of this, the old man smiled, looked at the wine jar on the side, and was silent.

There was silence for a long, long time.

After that, there was finally an emotional fluctuation in her eyes, her calloused hand touched the wine jar, there was pride and disdain in her eyes, and said: "But my man dares to fight hard for his daughter-in-law, and if he wants to die, he will die in front of his daughter-in-law, do they dare?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice softened, and she muttered, "Do they dare?"

......

In the end, after Cao Xiaoning quietly left money for the old man, he went to the bandit mountain.

He also carried the jar of wine left by the old man's husband.

After the village is destroyed, it will be poured on the mountain, and it can be regarded as a cup of tribute to the old man's husband.