The hot summer rain comes at a moment's notice. The sun was shining just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, it's covered with dark clouds.
Someone also appeared on the originally empty road.
People cutting firewood in the forest, hunting rabbits in the fields, and hoeing grass in the fields ran towards their homes holding various farm tools.
Qing Pheasant saw them, and they also saw Qing Pheasant, and they all cast curious glances. A girl of seventeen or eighteen years old was leading a thin donkey and pulling a cart. The cart was supported by a cover. The cover was very simple.
, faintly revealing a person lying inside.
I don’t know whether I am visiting relatives or friends, seeking medical treatment, or collecting burial materials.
"Girl, it's going to rain." A villager couldn't help but remind her.
Qing Pheasant raised his head in response and took the initiative to ask: "Brother, is Wangao Village heading in this direction?"
The villager nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes." Then he reminded, "There is still a way to go, so take shelter from the rain first."
Qing Zhi smiled and said: "It's okay, my aunt will greet me, and we will meet her soon."
The eight neighboring villages were both far and near, and the villagers looked at her again, stopped talking, and ran quickly to the village not far away.
Qing Pheasant lowered his head while adjusting the noose, closing his eyes and showing a bit of timidity.
The crackling rain also fell at this time, splashing dust and smoke on the ground.
Qing Zhi hurriedly went to get the raincloth and looked at the people lying in the car. The first thing he noticed was the straw mat.
Only the dead make straw mats, which seems scary at first glance.
But if it’s scary, I won’t watch it more.
This is Aoki's method of self-protection. He introduces himself as someone from a nearby village and looks like he is dragging a dead person to frighten people on the road, lest they have evil intentions.
In fact, the girl under the straw mat is not scary at all, she is like a beauty made of white porcelain.
Qing Pheasant called out: "Miss, it's raining. I'll hold up the rain cloth and you can lie down."
The porcelain beauty didn't respond.
A drop of rain fell on the green pheasant's face, and she quickly raised her hand to wipe it away, pulled off the raincloth and covered the car, then put on a raincoat and a bamboo hat.
At this time, it was raining heavily and the road ahead was dim. However, the green pheasant was not afraid at all and led the donkey forward.
The young lady said, I have no father. My mother and grandfather are buried in Xinghua Mountain outside Xucheng, and I want to be with them.
The lady said, I know you don’t know the road, so I will draw you a road map.
The lady said, Qing Pheasant, I have caused trouble for you.
The lady said, I want to go home.
The rain covered the sky and the earth, and a small bamboo hat couldn't cover it at all. The green pheasant's face was covered with rainwater, and the road under his feet became more and more muddy, and every step seemed to be pulled out of the muddy water.
But she never stopped.
She lowered her head, gritted her teeth, grabbed the cart and pulled the skinny donkey. Qing Zhi had a lot of strength, just like her father.
Qing Pheasant's father could carry goods as high as a mountain in the Lu family's shop, and he was crushed by the goods as high as a mountain for three days without making a sound until he died.
The ten-year-old Qing Zhi was carrying firewood as high as a mountain in the Lu family's backyard, and he didn't feel any pain even if he fell.
"It doesn't hurt, but it needs to be bandaged." The young lady, who was even thinner than she, helped her up and said.
Rinse her with clean water, apply medicinal powder on her, and wrap her in a handkerchief embroidered with a butterfly.
Qing Pheasant stepped forward, pushing the donkey with one hand and pulling the cart with the other.
Miss, don't be afraid, Qing Pheasant will take you home.
That home, that family, is not like a personal home.
Mr. Lu's past was brought back by his wife's words.
He stood on the porch, squinting and thinking back to the beginning.
On Xinghua Mountain outside Xucheng City, there is a private school with a sign called Xinghua Academy.
The name is quite big, but it is actually a thatched house. The students are seven or eight Mengtong boys from the nearby countryside. The teacher in the private school has a gray beard. He closes his eyes and recites it, and the Mengtong boys chant "Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang" for half a day.
For the remaining half of the day, the private school teacher sat by the river at the foot of the mountain with a pot of wine and a fishing rod.
This is just an idle man in the mountains. A busy business man like Mr. Lu should have nothing to do with him.
One time while driving goods, the carriage broke down. It was already difficult to negotiate business, and the carriage was broken down, so the appointment would inevitably be missed. Mr. Lu was so angry that he kicked the carriage so hard that he fell to the ground.
The gentleman looked on and laughed.
Mr. Lu didn't resent the stranger's ridicule, so he simply didn't leave. He walked over and asked the old man for an excuse to drink.
The old man was very generous and gave him the wine bottle, and he sat down to drink and watch the fishing. During this period, the two of them did not talk and sat until the sunset.
"Okay." The old man put away the wine pot and fishing rod and said, "Let's go."
That's right, we don't need to talk about business anymore, we have to go home. Mr. Lu sighed and stood up. Anyway, that's all the business.
He took off his purse and handed it to the old man to use as money for drinks.
The old man laughed and said, "Don't you want to borrow it?" It doesn't cost money.
Do you still expect him to pay back the wine? How could he have that free time? Mr. Lu insisted on giving the money to the old man.
The old man took it and suddenly smiled and said he could lend him a car.
Mr. Lu was a little annoyed and said what's the use of borrowing a car now? It's too late.
Mr. Lu waved his hand and thanked him, but the old man insisted on borrowing it and said that his car was different.
How is it different?
The old man only said one word, light.
Light, light means fast, and fast, for businessmen, means timing.
"That car." Mr. Lu recalled it at this time, and couldn't help but be amazed, and murmured to himself, "How can it be so light? It is loaded with cargo and pulled by the horse as if it were nothing, and it goes very fast."
It used to take a day's journey, but it took half a day.
Mr. Lu, who had been sitting idle for half a day because his car broke down, unexpectedly met his business partner as scheduled, stood out among his rivals, and finalized a cooperation that was crucial to the Lu family.
"It's just a pity that the car broke down after arriving at the place." Master Lu expressed regret again.
Mr. Lu thought he had met a god. After finishing his business, he rushed to the river that day. The old man with a white beard was not fishing, but he was shaking his head in the thatched house and teaching Meng Tong a lesson.
Sleeping on a chair——
Not a fairy.
"It's not a fairy, it's just made by a skilled craftsman." The old man laughed, "It's not a divine object, it's just better constructed than other cars. It was left here by others, and I have no use for it. I'll give it to you.
Make the most of it.”
People who can possess such ingenious things must be extraordinary.
From then on, Mr. Lu often came to sit around, but he never saw any skilled craftsmen again. The old man became older and older, and spent almost half of the time sleeping in class, and Meng Tong gradually stopped coming.
Mr. Lu gradually stopped thinking about what kind of master the old man was. He was just an ordinary old man. His business was getting busier and busier, so he rarely came here.
Until one day five years ago, the old man sent a message asking him to come. Mr. Lu didn't want to come, but he remembered the car inexplicably.
When thinking of this, Mr. Lu slowly moved forward along the corridor.
He came to see the old man.
The old man is older than before, like a dead tree.
"My surname is Yue. I can't study, I can't farm, and I can't accomplish anything." He introduced himself to Mr. Lu, but didn't say much, "I had a daughter who died not long ago. Now I'm leaving too. The only one in this world.
My granddaughter is what you care about."
At this time, there was thunder in the sky. Mr. Lu stopped in the corridor and looked up at the sky. There were dark clouds in the sky.
It was going to rain. A thought flashed across his mind and he looked away. That granddaughter——
He was thin and small, he was said to be ten years old, but he looked only eight or nine years old. He lowered his head and just grabbed the old man's sleeves and cried.
"Her name is Ah Qi, and her mother doesn't like that surname, so she doesn't want it."
What does it mean that the mother doesn't like her? She doesn't want her anymore? She's been divorced? She doesn't look like a serious family.
"I'm about to go, brother Lu, maybe I can entrust her to you?"
Alas, Tuogu, this kind of thing is still highly recommended among relatives. In fact, he really has no friendship with this old man and is considered a stranger. It’s just that he, Lu Sheng, repays his kindness and is grateful for his help in the first place——
"And my half-life worth."
Several muffled thunders rolled past, and Mr. Lu took back his thoughts and looked ahead.
He was already standing in front of a house. This house looked inconspicuous, but it had two heavy locks.
Muffled thunder rolled over, dark clouds gathered, and the wind swirled in the yard.
Mr. Lu took off the two keys from his fluttering robe, opened the lock, pushed the door open and walked in.
A flash of lightning split the dark clouds and passed through the courtyard, making the house suddenly bright.
Mr. Lu stood indoors, looking at the two heavy boxes. He stepped forward and opened them vigorously.
The lightning had dissipated, but the room lit up again.
It was the gold and silver jewelry piled up in the box shining brightly.
"Who can resist this?" Mr. Lu murmured, his eyes falling, "At that moment, let alone giving a marriage certificate, I would have given up my son's life."