Between the vast world and the desolate wilderness, there is a lonely town. The town was built on the ruins of an ancient border castle. The walled houses are all made of rammed loess, blending in with the earth. If it weren't for it flying high
There is a broken red flag in the sky, but it is not very eye-catching from a distance.
The name of the town is Shibalibao, which means that it is eighteen miles away from the entrance of Heifeng Gorge. Caravans coming from the Central Plains can reach this place by walking eighteen miles after leaving Heifeng Gorge, so the town is mostly full of people.
There are trading houses such as taverns and blacksmith shops. The taverns can provide tired travelers with a bowl of strong wine to relieve fatigue. The blacksmith shops can replace the shoes of mules and horses after long journeys. Of course, they also sell home-made long knives and daggers.
In this chaotic era, horse thieves are rampant and bandits are everywhere. The only thing that can save your life is the guy around your waist.
There is a three-foot-high flagpole in the center of the town. There is a red flag hanging on the flagpole. It is said that it was left from the time of Emperor Xiaowu of the previous Han Dynasty. More than ten years have passed, and the Han Dynasty has long been wiped out, and this red flag has long been invisible.
The color is outstanding, but it still flies high in the sky above Shibali Fort, guiding the direction of the caravans traveling between the Western Regions and the Central Plains.
The townspeople are the descendants of past generations of border guards and exiled prisoners. They have lived in the northwest for a long time, and their language has changed from the diverse accents of Yan, Zhao, Hu, Guang, and Jiangnan to the unified northwest Chinese. The Central Plains has become a distant memory in their hearts.
In the hearts of the new generation of young people who were born and raised here, the Central Plains is even more of an abstract symbol. The only home in their hearts is Shibalibao.
The west is dry and rainless, with yellow sand everywhere. Shibalibao is located not far from the mouth of the canyon. There are three hundred days of strong winds a year. Hundreds of families make a living by herding horses, herding sheep and growing acres of drought-resistant sorghum.
, I lived a life of poverty and hardship, but I could still survive. Compared with other forts that were always under the threat of horse thieves, I was already very happy.
There are only a hundred or so households in the town, and everyone is familiar with each other. There is only one family outside the town that walks alone. Except for the adults who go to the tavern every now and then to buy a gourd of soju and chat with the shopkeeper.
, basically have no contact with other people.
There are only two uncles and nephews in this family. They live in an adobe house outside the castle and make a living by herding horses. The elder is in his forties, a dark and thin man, taciturn and kind-hearted. He never defaults on drinking money. The child is about fourteen or fifteen years old.
He is skinny and small, looking like an eleven or twelve-year-old baby. He never plays with the children in the town. The uncle and nephew came here from the Central Plains ten years ago. Their origins are not very clear, but these days there is chaos and chaos, and people are seeking revenge.
There are so many people hiding from debts that no one has time to take care of it.
One day, Zhang Tuozi came back from herding sheep in the town. He was walking with a whip in his hands. Suddenly he saw a man lying in the yard of the herdsman's house, with a child kneeling next to him. Zhang Tuozi hurried over and took a look. It turned out that he was a man.
The uncle's body was already dead. There were no wounds on the body. He might have died of some serious illness.
When people in the town heard about it, they all came to watch. The death of a lot of people these days was so commonplace that it was nothing to make a fuss about. However, the child's reaction was a bit surprising. His uncle didn't even shed a single tear after his death.
"This kid may be a fool." The people in the town said.
But the tavern owner Hu Laizi didn't think so. As a respectable person from Shibalibao, he generously extended a helping hand and adopted this thin, short, and somewhat foolish child. He also called on the townspeople to pool their money to buy the child.
A thin-skinned coffin was used to help send the adults away. Of course, the few horses in the boy's family also belonged to Hu Laizi. "His uncle owes me five taels of silver for wine money." Hu Laizi said to everyone he met.
This shows that his foreign wealth comes from an honest source, and of course the townspeople are not afraid to expose his lies.
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In Hu Laizi's tavern, the shopkeeper was lying on the counter playing with the abacus, holding a bald pen between his ears. While he was calculating the accounts, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Yuanfeng."
"how old are you?"
"fifteen."
"Can you work?"
The child didn't speak, just shook his head slightly.
"Such an old kid doesn't know how to work. I really don't know how your damn uncle taught him. When he comes to my place, he has to learn to work. He chops wood, makes fire, and cuts meat. There is a lot to learn. I will be satisfied with the chores.
Now, I will let you upgrade to the running school. The Taoism here is very profound. I don’t teach ordinary people. That’s all for today. If there is a bowl of leftovers there, you can eat it first and sleep in the animal shed at night. Remember to give it to me in the middle of the night.
Macacao."
The leftover rice was half a bowl of sorghum paste. I don’t know which guest had eaten the leftovers. It had solidified into a ball and was too cold to be swallowed. Yuan Feng was about to go over to take the bowl, but the girl who had been clearing the tables and chairs next to him grabbed the bowl first.
He picked it up and walked towards the stove.
"Come back! What are you doing?" Hu Laizi scolded.
The girl pointed at the stove and made some gestures. It turned out that such a beautiful girl was actually mute.
Hu Laizi understood, put the abacus on the counter, and said: "The stove has been sealed, and a hot bowl of leftover rice will waste a few hard firewood. If you can't afford it, let him eat cold. It won't be a problem."
The girl had no choice but to bring the bowl back. Yuan Feng took the bowl and started to eat. The boy was obviously very hungry and ate all the leftovers in three naps. However, there was too little leftovers.
From now on, the boy's stomach still growled, but this was not what Hu Laizi was concerned about.
"That's your quilt. Take it and sleep outside. Don't forget to add night grass to the horse at night." After Hu Laizi finished speaking, he yawned and signaled that he could get out. Yuan Feng picked him up and took him away from home.
After arriving, she got into bed and walked out of the door silently. She happened to meet the mute girl at the door. I don't know when she went out. When she saw Yuan Feng pursed her lips and smiled, the two passed by.
Hu Laizi cursed: "Why are you going out so late? If you're not afraid of a wolf picking you up, go in and sleep quickly." He drove his daughter into the back room. At the moment he closed the door, Hu Laizi looked at Yuan Feng's thin back and endured it.
He couldn't help complaining: "He's thin and stupid, and can't beat him with three sticks. Is this guy really a fool?"
The door of the house creaked shut, cutting off the warmth and light. The barn was cold and cold, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the night wind was like a knife. As soon as Yuan Feng lay down on the haystack, he felt like there was someone under him.
The hot thing, when I took it out, it turned out to be a roasted and browned sweet potato. When I tore the skin off, it was steaming hot. It must have been secretly put by the mute girl when she went out just now. Yuan Feng was stunned and slowly started to eat it.
The whine was blowing, and the shrill howl of wolves could be heard in the distance. On the haystack in the livestock shed, the young man who had experienced a drastic change in his life in just one day finally couldn't stop the sorrow in his heart, and big tears fell on the hay.
, but he did not cry out, but whispered in a strong tone: "Uncle, I have not forgotten your words, and I have not shed tears in front of others."
A warm tongue licked over and helped Yuan Feng lick away the tears on his face. It turned out to be a puppy raised by Hu Laizi's family. The several-month-old puppy looked at Yuan Feng with innocent eyes, seeming to comfort him. Yuan Feng
I stopped crying and saved half of the sweet potato for the puppy to eat. The puppy wagged its tail happily. Each person ate a sweet potato and the other dog shared a sweet potato. After eating, they cuddled up and fell asleep.
When Yuan Feng woke up, it was already daylight. Hu Laizi was so angry that he hit him hard with a cane. While beating him, he scolded him: "What's your memory? I told you twice to give him horse and night grass, but you still can't forget it."
,Aren’t you really stupid!”
Yuan Feng didn't hide or beg for mercy. He stood upright and allowed Hu Laizi to hit him all over his head and face. When he saw a line of blood left on Yuan Feng's head, Hu Laizi stopped angrily: "Fuck, this kid is a donkey.
Yes, forget it this time, and I’ll break your arm next time if I do it again.”
Hu Laizi limped away, and then the mute girl secretly ran over to help Yuan Feng wipe the blood from his face, and gestured to ask him why he didn't beg for mercy. Yuan Feng said: "Uncle taught me, if you do something wrong, you will be punished."
To accept punishment and to beg for mercy is the act of a coward."
The girl nodded in understanding and gestured to express something. Hu Laizi's voice sounded in the front yard: "Aunt Mute, it's time to boil the water and cook the meat." It turned out that her name was Aunt Mute.
The dumb aunt went in a hurry. After a while, Hu Laizi yelled at Yuan Feng to go to work. Although he thought this boy was a bit stupid, he was still a laborer and it was not in vain if he didn't use it.
Facts have proved that Yuan Feng is really not a work material. He is clumsy in everything he does. Let him cut meat. If he can’t cut along the bones, he will chop violently with a big knife. Let him clean the yard. After sweeping, it will be the same as not sweeping.
, let him light the fire. He spends more firewood than others, and the fire burns slowly. He is simply a waste.
Hu Laizi was very angry, but he could not go back on his promise in front of the whole town. No matter how stupid Yuan Feng was, he had no choice but to keep him. Fortunately, the mute aunt could often teach him how to work. After training like this for a period of time, he could help him a little.
Already.
But what the people in the town said made Hu Laizi very angry. The boss of the blacksmith shop, Zhao, said that Yuan Feng was Hu Laizi's son-in-law. Others also agreed. Whenever Yuan Feng and Mute Gu went out to herd horses, those people
The children who were squatting at the door and basking in the sun started making noises and said that the fool and the mute were a young couple, which made the mute girl so embarrassed that she dared not go out.
Even though Hu Laizi is very cruel to his daughter, he actually loves her very much. How could he agree to it when others spread rumors and slander him like this? He scolds him fiercely every time, but the more cruel he is, the more people like to use this as an excuse. No wonder
, in this remote and desolate town, what could be more fun than making fun of a fool.
In order to prove that he really didn't want to marry Yuan Feng, Hu Laizi beat him even more fiercely, and especially liked to scold him in front of the drinkers. In addition, Yuan Feng never argued or talked back. Over time, the merchants and the townspeople came and went.
Everyone in the tavern thought that the dark and thin little helper in the tavern was really a fool. Everyone liked to tease Yuan Feng a few words after drinking. No one called him by his real name, but always called him "fool" instead.