Stepping through the dark red wooden door, what comes into view is a courtyard about six feet long and four feet wide.
In the center of the courtyard is a stone path paved with bluestones, some of which have a small amount of moss growing on their surfaces.
The scenery on both sides is also different.
There is a straw shed that can accommodate two or three people against the east wall. Under the shed is a simple stove made of red bricks.
There is a two-foot-tall peach tree planted on both sides of the thatched shed.
Close to the wall on the west side, there is a long and thin flowerbed, in which yellow chrysanthemums, a string of unknown red and blue flowers and other plants are in bloom.
An old man with a hunchback and half-white hair in a red and black cloth was bending over to fiddle with the flowers and plants in the flower garden. He did not react at all to the news that Liu Mang and the others were admitted to the hospital, and still turned his back to them.
Liu Mang knew in his heart that this was the old servant of the mysterious old man, who would go out to buy things on time at Mao o'clock every day.
After obtaining the consent of the mysterious old man, Liu Mang re-erected a copper oven and other items at a location next to the straw shed, and continued his barbecue business.
While eating meat and drinking wine, he and the mysterious old man also started chatting.
"I'm not from Shenjia Village, right?"
"I came from outside Taiyun Mountain."
"Hey, Taiyun Mountain is thousands of miles away from us. I wonder what the scene is outside the mountain?"
"It's similar to your place, except that there are more people, the house is bigger, and the food and drink are better."
The two communicated for a while, and Liu Mang learned that the old man's surname was Yin, so he called him Mr. Yin.
He and Mr. Yin were chatting without any purpose, from Jiangcheng to Taiyun Mountain, from beef recipes to famous Zhao wines, from the people's situation to the current situation.
Mr. Yin still had a casual attitude at first, but as we chatted, he found that there was no communication barrier with Liu Mang, a villager.
The other party speaks clearly and in a wide range of topics, and from time to time he makes some surprising remarks.
For example, things like ‘a broken ship also has three-point nails’, ‘will resist when pressed to the limit’, ‘the ground you step on is actually spherical’.
This made Mr. Yin become somewhat interested in Liu Mang.
After the banquet was over, the two chatted for a long time before Liu Mang bid farewell to Mr. Yin and made an appointment for a follow-up visit.
After going out, Liu Mang's steps suddenly became brisk.
It seems that I gained nothing today, but being able to catch up with Mr. Yin is the biggest gain.
Just like in the previous life, everyone knows that giving gifts can solve many problems, but the most difficult thing is not the gift itself at all. It is how to find the person to give the gift to and how to make the other person willing to accept your gift.
This often requires various matchmaking, and now Liu Mang has found this line.
There was an element of luck in this, but more importantly, his previous days of information collection had laid the foundation.
After Liu Mang left.
A few houses away from Yin's hometown, two men suddenly walked out from behind the haystacks piled up at the door, wearing the same style of black shorts and black trousers.
The two of them continued walking outside, until they were hundreds of feet away from Yin's home.
The younger man stared at Liu Mang's back and said in a deep voice: "Brother Fei, this guy got some shitty luck and actually entered the old guy's house. I can't tell you whether I want to take him down or not."
If something happens, it will be a great achievement to report it to the hall master."
Another man in his thirties shook his head, and then sneered: "Don't alert the enemy just yet, let's observe it for a few more days."
After a pause, he continued: "Even if he really succeeds in becoming a disciple and wants to learn martial arts, it won't be possible in a day or two. The fruit is not ripe, so it is difficult to pick it."
The young gang member had a thoughtful look in his eyes, and he couldn't help but nodded.
Liu Mang on the other side didn't know that he had been targeted by people from the Sanhe Society.
He followed the narrow and rugged country road to Daijia Village, found Dai Butcher, and prepared to order beef for the next day.
Butcher Dai didn't expect that Liu Mang would actually come back to buy meat. He was overjoyed and added two ounces more to the three kilograms.
Although I don’t know why Tieniu, who doesn’t come from a wealthy family, spends so much money, but as long as he has money to earn, who cares about him.
Liu Mang packed the two taels of beef as a gift and planned to take it to his wife at home to try.
I can't eat meat all day by myself, and I still drink water at home.
It was evening, and the market around the gray-white stone bridge was full of people. Only a few old men and women selling vegetables were left, sitting on the ground and looking ahead with dull expressions.
After Liu Mang came over, the old men and women seemed to be full of life again.
"Tieniu, buy some green peppers. They were just picked from the field this morning."
"Tieniu, how is your mother's health? Why don't you get some eggs to replenish your health? It's getting late now. I'll make it cheaper for you. How about two cents each?"
"My lettuce is the best within ten miles, and everyone who has bought it says it is good!"
Listening to the other party's simple introduction, Liu Mang couldn't help but stop.
He didn't bargain much and bought four or five more green peppers. The green peppers go well with the beef.
When I returned home, I saw the scrawny Uncle Wang standing at the door, staring at him coldly, with his blind dog next to him.
Liu Mang said hello to Uncle Wang out of habit, then opened the door and entered the house.
"Mom, I'm back!"
"You must be hungry, I've already cooked the porridge. Hey, why did you buy beef? There's no festival today?"
"Mom, you are weak, you need to replenish your body. This little meat is nothing. My child has a direction now. From now on, I will let you eat and drink every day!"
"Hey, you kid, you won't want to do this next time."
Liu Mang scooped a lot of water from the large water tank, poured it into the reddish-brown copper basin, and washed the green peppers first and then the beef.
Then I went to the simple stove made of mud in the corner of my home and finished making fried pork with green pepper in a moment.
Two bowls of gruel, a plate of fried meat with green peppers, and a small plate of dried radish, this is the recipe for the Liu family and their son tonight.
"Mom, where did the carrots come from?"
"Uncle Wang gave it to me today, but he said he couldn't eat it. Uncle Wang is such a good man, but it's a pity that he has no children."
"It's no shame to have no children. If one person has enough to eat, the whole family won't be hungry."
"What are you talking about, kid? Who wants to die alone without anyone to send him to his death?"
The mother and son were chatting when a loud slap suddenly came from the neighbor's house on the other side.
Snapped!
"You stinky bitch, you can't burn me to death!" This was Wang Laizi's furious voice.
"Mr., I didn't mean it." Wang Sun's retort was so subtle that you couldn't hear it unless you listened carefully.
"Even if my legs don't work, I can still take care of you! Don't ever have other thoughts! If you burn me to death, you can remarry, right?"
"Mr. I never meant that..."
Snapped!
"Shut up! You still dare to quibble? Then why did you come back so late last night?"
"Second Aunt Lu didn't come yesterday, so I helped her with her sewing work."
"Oh, great virtuous fellow, female Bodhisattva, have I wrongly blamed you?"
Although Wang Laizi was very angry, he did not continue to beat his wife. Apparently Wang Sun's explanation was somewhat convincing.
Listening to the commotion at the neighbor's house next to her, Mother Liu whispered: "This cripple Wang has a broken leg and can't work. It's thanks to his wife who goes out to do needlework to support him, but he still treats him like this."
"This woman has a miserable life, marrying such a coward."
Liu Mang drank the porridge in the bowl without comment.
But he knew in his heart that Wangsun's life would not be easy in the future.
Wang Laizi has always had low self-esteem due to his physical defects, and now that he has a broken leg, he will only become more suspicious and withdrawn.
But these have nothing to do with him. Now he only wants to learn martial arts.
After Liu Mang finished eating, he hurriedly went to bed to rest. After all, he had a night shift soon.
Went to the dock in the middle of the night, kept moving goods, and worked hard all night.
At noon the next day, he went directly from the dock to Butcher Dai to pick up meat. He went home and picked up a bottle of old wine, and hurried to Shenjia Village.
'Dong-dong-dong!'
Knocked on the red wooden door of Yin's hometown.
The wooden door opened with a creak. The old man who opened the door had half-white hair and a gloomy face. A long scar on the left side of his face made him look even more ruthless.
The most unforgettable thing is his pair of eyebrows, which are red and very impressive. He is the old servant who lives with Mr. Yin.
"Hello, father-in-law!" Liu Mang clasped his fists politely.
The hunchbacked old servant paid no attention to him, and turned back to the flower garden to play with the flowers.
Mr. Yin's long and angry laughter came next: "Have you brought good wine and meat again?"
"Come and talk to Mr. Yin!" Liu Mang also said with a smile.
My heart, which had been hanging on, gradually relaxed.