Zhangjia Village is located in a mountain col about 50 miles away from the south of Jingning Town, and the location is very remote.

The scale of the whole village is not large, built on the mountain, there are more than 30 scattered families, but most of the people living in the village now are mainly old and weak women and children, because in addition to the New Year's holiday, the younger generation basically has to go out to the relatively prosperous towns to make collage to supplement the family, and usually do not return to the village.

Zhang Ting is one of the few people in the younger generation who has been staying in the village, and in addition, there is only Zhang Hu who is always idle on weekdays and has only dreams of rivers and lakes, but now he has died tragically in the hands of Xu Yan.

Oh, a few months ago, there was a young man who also returned to the village, this person is Zhang Ting's own brother, he left the village alone a few years ago, saying that he was going to the mountains to learn art, but for some reason, in February this year, he suddenly returned to the village, and since then, he has locked himself in his room and kept the door closed, as if he had to shut himself up.

Zhang Ting is the only female doctor in the village, which is an ancestral ability, but in fact, she can only go to the mountains on weekdays to dig up some mountain root medicinal materials and treat common diseases such as wind and cold for the people in the village.

Using the most basic herbal medicine to maintain the condition of the old village chief from continuing to deteriorate is the limit of what Zhang Ting can do, but if she wants to completely uproot the root of the former, it is estimated that there is no such possibility.

Today is the time to change the medicine for the old village chief, Zhang Ting meticulously prepared the medicinal materials collected from the mountain from home, and did not forget to take a look at the closed door of the wooden house when she left.

This door is closed tightly except for three meals a day, the rest of the time is tightly closed, Zhang Ting is helpless about this, but she can only go by him, but before going out, she still said softly through this wooden door: "Xiaochun, my sister has already cooked the evening meals and put them in the pot, today I have to go to the village chief to change the dressing, it is estimated that the time to come back will be later, you don't have to wait for me." ”

In the room, no voice came out for a long time to answer.

Zhang Ting just sighed softly in her heart, but she didn't say anything, when she was almost ten years old, her parents had an accident and were no longer alive, so now there are only her sisters and brothers left in this family......

"Hey~"

Zhang Ting turned around and left her house, not wanting to think about it anymore, and then took her small medicine box made of bamboo chips with the help of the villagers, and walked slowly towards the old village chief's house.

......

inside the room.

A scruffy-looking, bearded young man was still lying on the wooden bed indifferent, his eyes were blank, he just opened his eyes and looked into the distance, but he didn't know what he was looking at, he naturally heard his sister's words, but he didn't want to answer.

It's not that I don't want to answer, but I don't want to speak.

Once upon a time, he thought that his cultivation path was going to be smooth, and he even fell on the thigh of the senior brother in the sect, but when he thought that he was about to soar and prosper from now on, he unexpectedly had another accident in that mission, which eventually caused his cultivation dream to be shattered.

All of a sudden, from a cultivator from a high position, he was beaten back to his original form and became a mortal, there is no doubt that he will no longer have a foothold in the sect, so he can only end up in gloom and return to the small village where he was born to make a living.

It's not that he didn't think that before he returned to the village, he would either die like this, but when he stood on the edge of the cliff where the wind was howling and he couldn't see the bottom at a glance, the cowardice that came from his heart didn't even give him the courage to approach the cliff bank. He sat on the edge of the cliff with his legs limp, stunned, until he was blown by the mountain wind for several hours and his head hurt, he suddenly realized that he did not dare to die at all.

Today was the one hundred and thirteenth day after he returned to the village, and it was the only thing in his mind that he could remember clearly, but in fact, what else could he do besides counting the days in his room?

The sky was getting darker, and it was time for the setting sun to set over the western mountains, and at this time, he could hear the gurgling sound in his stomach.

So, the man slowly got up, and then opened the door to go to the pot to get something to eat first, and he could not lie on the wooden bed unless he had filled his stomach.

Perhaps that was the best way to describe the young man, who was walking out of the door for a meal, a man burst into his humble hut, relatively isolated on the side of the village.

After the two met, there was no accident and their expressions were tight. The reason why the young man was stunned was that the person in front of him who visited the humble house inexplicably was not his own sister who had gone and returned, but the extremely famous fast mouth in the village, which was naturally a derogatory title, used to describe the woman's unreliable mouth, and liked to poke people's bones in the back on weekdays. The reason why the fast-talking woman was surprised was because the young man in front of her was too decadent and sloppy, and it was not an exaggeration to describe the other party as a beggar.

The young man opened his mouth slightly, and finally squeezed out five words very briefly and dryly, "My sister is not at home." ”

The notoriously talkative woman, hearing the other party's tone that was as dry as a duck and rejected thousands of miles away, suddenly didn't know how to answer, so it wasn't until about ten breaths had passed that she replied with some restraint and cowardice: "That...... I'm not here to find your sister, I'm ...... I'm here for you. ”

The young man took a small bite of the rice in the bowl and ignored her.

The woman did not think much of him when she saw him like this, after all, after such a long time had passed since the other had returned to the village, she had not seen him again for nearly four months, except on the first day, and it was said that the other party had shut herself up in her room and stayed at home.

Of course, it wasn't just her, but the rest of the village must have done the same.

After hesitating for a moment, the woman cautiously continued: "I heard your sister say that in the past few years, you went to the Immortal Palace on the mountain to learn art, I wonder if you have now learned the supreme immortal method of riding the clouds and mist?"

When the young man saw that the other party didn't open the pot, his heart was inexplicably touched, and a trace of anger rose for no reason, but then he thought that he was now in a bleak situation where the foundation of his cultivation had been destroyed by others, and he could only be like a mortal in the market, so it was no longer good to be arrogant with the person in front of him, but if he didn't want to be broken by this person everywhere on weekdays, he still had to talk to the other party in a good voice.

Therefore, the young man hesitated for a long time before briefly replying, "No." ”

When the woman heard this answer, she sighed a little dejectedly, sat down on the threshold in front of the other room, and continued, "Well, that's not easy." ”

When the young man saw that she had something to say, he said bluntly, "Say whatever you want." ”

When the fast-talking woman heard this, she finally muttered with some dissatisfaction: "It's not all because of your sister. ”

Hearing about his sister, even if the young man always puts on a posture of self-exile on weekdays, he still feels very concerned about her in his heart, so the young man put down the dishes and chopsticks in his hand and asked in an indifferent tone, "What's wrong with my sister?"

Hearing the other party's question, the fast-talking woman's face suddenly showed a hint of surprise, and she asked, "Ah, didn't your sister tell you about herself?"

The young man looked impatient and asked in a cold tone, "What the hell is going on?"

The woman replied: "Your sister will probably be forcibly taken away by a big family from the town tomorrow to pay off the debt, it is said that the eldest son of the Luo family has taken a fancy to your sister and wants to take her as a concubine." ”

When the young man heard this, he instantly stood up from the bench and shouted coldly: "What do you say, what do you pay off your debts and take concubines, you can tell me clearly." ”

The woman was startled when she saw that the other party suddenly raised her tone and looked angry, and then she stroked her chest and waited for her to breathe, and then replied with some trembling: " Didn't your sister borrow three hundred taels of silver from the Luo family more than three years ago in order to treat the old village chief's stubborn illness, but the deadline for repayment came a month ago, but what a huge amount of three hundred taels of silver, that is, the people in our entire Zhangjia Village can't fill this hole with all their belongings, no, in order to get this money, your sister can only beg Luo Yang to give her another month. But who would have thought that although the Luo family promised your sister that she could extend, the condition was that she would add an extra 200 taels of interest, and if she couldn't pay it back after a month, she would have to pay off the debt herself. But what do you think, what an arrogant person your sister is, and she is even more stubborn in temperament, where would she be willing to marry into the Luo family?"

When the young man heard this, he was already furious, but he still held back his anger, but he gritted his teeth and asked, "What do you mean by saying this to me?"

After hearing this, the woman slowly stood up from the threshold, and finally stopped hiding her clumsiness and replied: "What else can it mean, don't you just want to ask you if you have learned that fairy-like ability, if there is, don't say that it is a Luo family, that is, the people who come to the ten Luo families are not your opponents, but since you don't have this ability, then you have to take out five hundred taels of silver to pay off the debt, but at the moment, don't say five hundred taels of silver, do you have fifty taels of silver at home?"

The young man was trembling, but he didn't know what to say.

When the woman saw him like this, she thought to herself that in the past few years, most of this person had only gone out to live some wandering days, and had not gone to the mountains to learn art at all, and the sarcasm in her heart could not help but be even worse, and she fell into the well and said: "Do you know that in order to help your sister raise this money, almost all the men in the village, even Lao Zhangtou, went together to help rob the passers-by on the road? Do you know how dangerous this kind of thing that will lose your head if you are not careful? It's good that you know all day long that you can hide in the room and stay at home, and let your sister take care of you with a handful of and urine. Besides, although our family has inherited a lot of kindness from your sister in treating diseases over the years, we can't let my family, who is a very loyal farmer, do you want to do that kind of hurtful deed for your sister.

The young man's eyes were red, as if he was stunned, but he could not find any reason to fight back at the other man's words.

The woman saw that his fists were clenched and his eyes were wide open, she had never seen much of the market, she was undoubtedly a little secretly stunned in her heart, and she didn't dare to continue to add oil and vinegar, but said coldly: "If you have self-knowledge, I advise you to persuade your sister tonight, let her marry the eldest son of the Naluo family, and there will be nothing, otherwise it will really anger the Naluo family, and then everyone in our Zhangjia Village will not be able to eat and walk." ”

The young man finally couldn't bear it anymore, and threw a bench with a sense of age to the threshold, and shouted fiercely: "Get out of here!"

When the woman saw the bench flying towards her, she hurriedly withdrew from her original position, so that she was not hit by him, but there was no doubt that she was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat.

She fled quickly down the side path, but she could clearly hear her cursing at the young man.

......

The location of the old village chief's house was at the top of the entire village, only a dozen feet away from the top of the mountain, but as night fell, his house had already lit a candle at this time, and from a distance, it looked like a star shining at the top of the village.

Zhang Ting had replaced the herbs on the old village chief at this moment, and was about to say goodbye and leave, but the old village chief lying on the bench finally said to her: "Xiaoting, I have suffered you all these years, and I am ashamed of you." ”

After Zhang Ting heard this, she stroked her somewhat messy hair, but just shook her head with a light smile.

Seeing her like this, the old village chief couldn't help but feel even more guilty, and then sighed and said: "If it weren't for my illness, you wouldn't have borrowed money from the Naluo family, and you wouldn't have been as bad as you are now. ”

When Zhang Ting heard this, she smiled and comforted him: "Don't say that, grandpa the village chief, after my father died when I was a child, you brought me and Xiaochun up single-handedly, if it weren't for you, there would be no us now, so no matter what, I should do this for the village chief and grandpa, and I am also willing." ”

The old village chief's face was full of sorrow, and he couldn't help but shake his head, and then asked, "How much silver do we have in our hands now?"

Zhang Ting replied bluntly: "Four hundred and thirty-three taels." ”

The old village chief's face was gloomy, and he said a little sadly: "There is still so much missing." He hesitated for a moment before he continued: "Actually, I won't tell you anything, Lao Yu didn't support Lao Zhangtou and them to do that kind of thing at first, but then I thought about it, things have come to this point, and they have to do it." In just over a month, they have been able to get more than two hundred taels of silver, presumably they have done their best, but unfortunately they still can't fill the mouths of those greedy people. ”

When Zhang Ting heard this, she had always been quite strong, and she couldn't help but look a little gloomy, but she still smiled reluctantly and replied softly: " I also went to stop those uncles and uncles in private, but they didn't listen to my advice, in fact, if something happened to them because of me, then even if they saved me in the end, what's the use, hey, that's it, in the past month, I also think very clearly, if I really don't have enough money, I will go to be the concubine of the eldest son of the Luo family, I think the reason why the Luo family wants to make things so difficult for us, adding these two hundred taels of silver, is nothing more than making up their minds to want me to marry into the Luo family, which has nothing to do with money at all. ”

When the old village chief heard this, his heart ached, and he was in tears.

Seeing him react like this, Zhang Ting couldn't bear it, and hurriedly comforted him and said: "It's okay, grandpa the village chief, don't you often say that although life is hard, life is still the same, but Xiaoting is estimated to be unable to take care of you in the future, and the other is Xiaochun, maybe I have to ask the village chief grandfather to help take care of it more." ”

When the old village chief heard the latter sentence, he asked, "Xiaochun, what's wrong with him? How did a child who used to be so lively and cheerful become like this?" ”

Zhang Ting just shook her head gloomily and replied: "I don't know, I wanted to ask him the ins and outs of the whole thing, but he didn't want to tell me anything, just blindly locked himself in the room, but as long as he can live well, let him be, I think after a long time, he will definitely cheer up again, I believe him." ”

The old village chief didn't know how to answer, but he felt very sad, and he couldn't help but think in his heart: "Could it be that people related to old decay will suffer such retribution in the end?"

Zhang Ting saw that he fell into silence, so he didn't plan to continue nagging him, and said: "The village chief's grandfather just changed the medicine, so it's better to lie down together and rest for a while, and wait for Uncle Cheng Ming to come back later, the medicinal materials are almost dry, and then let him carry you to the bed to rest, and Xiaoting will go back first." ”

The old village chief nodded without objection to this.

......

After Zhang Ting left the old village chief's house, she walked down the mountain path to her house, but when she was halfway there, on the other side of the col, she saw that the old Zhang Tou and the others had turned back, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

At this time, the twilight was close to pitch black, so she could no longer see their faces with her own eyes, and she could only judge by her familiarity with them in the past that they were Lao Zhangtou's group.

But after she took two more looks, she found that in this group of people, there seemed to be two more unfamiliar figures than before the daytime departure, and Uncle Cheng Ming, who was walking at the front of the team, seemed to be carrying a person on his back.

"What's going on?"

Zhang Ting stood in the night and thought to herself.