The old man’s surname is Huang, let’s call him Lao Huang!
According to his own words, his two brothers led him here.
When I first arrived in Huma, I didn't know anything in the first few years. I just found a place and looked at the mud and sand. At that time, the gold I dug could barely fill my stomach.
Gradually, I gained experience in panning and discovered a rich mine. From this, the three brothers became rich. Each of them mined more than 30 taels, and the total amount was more than 100 taels.
"More than a hundred taels, more than ten kilograms..."
"How much is that worth?"
Zhang Shaofeng and Liang Kangbo were speechless.
"No, it was a lot of money at that time. My second brother and I still want to continue hunting. It is not easy to encounter rich ore, and once we encounter rich ore, it is like an addiction, and we simply can't let it go.
Stop and just think about working day and night.
But my elder brother felt something was wrong. He said there was endless gold in the world, and asked when we could find it. I thought that with all this gold, I should go back to my hometown in Shandong, buy a property, marry a wife and have children, and live a stable life for the rest of my life.
"
Old Huang's mouth was full of teeth, but only a few had fallen out, and his mouth was also deflated.
But when eating, he still worked very hard. He didn't have teeth to tear off the braised jumping cat meat, so he simply started to pick it off with his long black nails and stuffed it into his mouth one after another.
The speed of eating is no slower than that of a few people.
Lu Lu looked at the way he stretched his neck from time to time and swallowed with a blushing face. He knew that he couldn't chew the tough meat at all. He probably just tasted it in his mouth and then swallowed it whole.
Go down.
To Lu Lu and others, these were just ordinary jumping cat meat that could be obtained easily. For Lao Huang, it was like eating some kind of peerless delicacy.
He was really afraid that the old man would choke him suddenly, and if he burped here, he would cause a lot of trouble for no reason.
"Qingzi, put the pot on the fire, add some water and cook for a while, otherwise it will be difficult for the old man to eat!"
Lu Lu picked up the wine bowl, took a small sip, and looked at Lao Huang with a smile: "Eat slowly, there is plenty of meat and rice in the pot, so you are full."
Cooking the meat thoroughly will also allow him to grind the meat slightly finely in his mouth, so that no major problems will occur.
Chen Xiuqing put the pot back on the fire, added some water and a little seasoning, turning the stew into a soup pot.
Lao Huang looked at Lu Lu gratefully and said with a wry smile: "I am getting old after all. It has been three months. Let alone meat, I have never even seen Youxingzi. Seeing such a good thing all of a sudden makes me greedy.
I'm sorry, I made you laugh. You...are all good people!"
A small gesture, in exchange for the words "good person", to Lu Lu's ears, contained more sadness.
However, what Lu Lu cared more about was that what happened next to Lao Huang sounded quite interesting. He smiled slightly and then asked: "What happened to you three brothers?"
"The eldest brother is the oldest, already in his thirties, and the most calm. The two of us brothers naturally listen to him, and his words are also correct. There is endless gold in the world, and we should stop when it's time to stop. But, this is
Huma, when you come here, as long as you are a gold digger, it is difficult to get out! In fact, we have been targeted for a long time."
After Lao Huang took a sip of wine, he put down his chopsticks, waited for the meat to cook, and began to talk about that period of his past.
In the wilderness at that time, the traffic situation was very poor. In the warm season, because the permafrost melted, there were soybean paste vats everywhere, making it impossible to walk. It was the same in Huma.
If the three brothers want to leave Huma County, they have to wait until the ground freezes in winter before they can leave.
When autumn came, the eldest brother bought a bay-red horse and made a sledge large enough for three people. He hid all the placer gold in the hollowed oak handle of the sledge, and each person only carried a few taels with him.
Gold as travel expenses.
But even in winter, you can’t leave just when you want.
It was already thirty-two years ago.
They have to deal with official status on the surface and beards in the dark.
As the saying goes, it is easier to hide from an open gun than to avoid a hidden arrow.
In this wilderness, in addition to the beards, warlords, and black shops who robbed the country hard, there were also the little turtles who invaded the wilderness in September 31, and there were more "businessmen" who "robbed softly".
"Soft seize? What do you mean!" Chen Xiuqing was stunned for a moment and encountered something she didn't understand again.
Lao Huang smiled and said: "At that time, people in Huma County did not dig for gold, but they knew that the gold diggers had gold, so many stalls and brothels were created to make money."
"I've heard people talk about this. Back then, Huma Jinshan Town was extremely prosperous because of the mining of the Xinglonggou Gold Mine. There were shops, restaurants, wine shops, treasure houses, brothels, etc., and it was extremely prosperous for a time.
Big Jinshan Town, Little Harbin'.
The so-called soft grabbing is to provide some places to eat, drink and have fun, and to use various means to turn the gold in the hands of gold diggers into one's own pocket."
Lu Lu gave further explanation.
"It means that Huma is more prosperous than Harbin. Brother Lu, let's come for a visit. We haven't been to the town yet. When are we going to have a better experience?"
So far, let alone Chen Xiuqing, including Zhang Shaofeng and others, they have been to the most lively and prosperous place, which is Harbin. I heard that a small town can be so prosperous, and I am quite curious.
However, you can tell by looking at them like this that they might want to visit those treasure houses, brothels and the like.
"Those are just some places that are knocking bones and sucking marrow. What's the point of going there? Don't get yourself involved in it, just calm down." Lu Lu warned angrily.
Hearing what Lu Lu said, Lao Huang gave Lu Lu a thumbs up: "You are a person who has seen the world. It is too easy to destroy people in those places, so it is best not to go."
Lu Lu smiled and then asked: "Then what happened to you three brothers?"
Lao Huang let out a long sigh: "What's going on? I wasn't even five miles away when I was stopped by Huzi. In order to protect the gold, my eldest brother negotiated with Huzi. Are those people reasonable? He killed my eldest brother with a machete on the spot.
It was split and most of the gold was lost.
They didn't know that there were some hidden in the walnut tree wood at the bottom of the sledge, which was covered with ice, snow and mud, but they couldn't find it. Our two little brothers were also beaten up, and all the gold on them was searched away, and the bay red horse was also
He was taken away, leaving only the two of us and a pile of smashed wood.
The reason for not killing us is to allow us to continue to go back to pan for gold.
With this incident, we also know that no matter how much gold is mined, it will be difficult to get out.
I didn't plan to stay, but my second brother was not up to par. With the eldest brother gone, he felt that no one was taking care of him. Instead of leaving in a hurry, he went to the town and let the second-rate money man pull him into the stall and take the money.
He was deceived very quickly, but only one day later, in the middle of winter, he drank heavily at night and had no money. He was beaten and thrown out of the tavern, and he froze to death on the streets of Huma."
Several people looked stern when they heard this, and two brothers disappeared one after another, and they all shook their heads after hearing this.
But now Lao Huang is still here!
Lu Lu couldn't hold back and asked, "What about you? Why didn't you leave?"
Lao Huang was silent for a while: "I'm the only one left. I was so frightened when I was beaten by Hu Hu that I lost my courage. My second brother didn't leave, and I didn't dare to leave either. I just wandered around in the street, and then
Then he was dragged in by a kiln girl named Cui'er.
She is beautiful and has a smooth figure. She is so rare. I still remember her appearance. Her big eyes look like she can talk. She is much better than the woman you saw dragging people into the shack today.
To be fair, his man was too lazy, so he pointed at her to make money, and she regarded bad things as bad, making her no different from a slave girl. I found this woman last year, and she came to my shack.
I've been here before, and all I can do is rub it, and I can't even bark. It's smelly and boring. Cui Er smells so good!"
Hearing this, Lu Lu couldn't help but frown.
Sure enough, there must be something hateful about poor people.
Now when he heard this, Lu Lu suddenly felt a little sympathy for his previous experience, which suddenly disappeared, and he even didn't want to pay attention to her.
But I heard Lao Huang continue to say: "I have lived with Cui'er for almost three months. She is already good at serving others. I also thought to myself, since people can snatch her and cannot take her out, I might as well enjoy myself in there. What a big deal.
If you don't have any, you just go hunting for it, so you spend money freely and have fun every day. Before the Huma River thaws, the gold will be gone.
When I ran out of money, the old madam would drive her away, and Cui'er wouldn't show up. Only then did I realize that there was no real emotion in this kind of joke. Unfortunately, I still thought about going to gold mining to earn a lot of money to marry her. I was confused at the time.
, my mind was filled with her, and I went to look for her several times. As a result, I had no money in my pocket, and I was beaten again. Two of my ribs were broken, and I even vomited blood."
After Zhang Shaofeng heard this, he said teasingly: "You know this is a place for jokes, but you still take it seriously?"
After hearing this, Lao Huang became anxious: "Little brother, you are people in the new society, you don't know what it's like. I was in my twenties at the time, when I was at my peak, when I met a woman for the first time, I crawled
Once it’s passed your belly, you’ll never forget it.”
Zhang Shaofeng and others didn't say much.
On the contrary, Chen Xiuqing nodded slightly, seeming to agree: "When you say that, I miss Yan Zi a little bit... What is that brothel like? Brother Lu, why don't we take some time to go and take a look?
"As he spoke, his originally honest and honest face became a little more narrow-minded.
Before he could finish his words, Lu Lu had already slapped him on the head: "Are you dizzy? I just told you to put your thoughts away. You really don't take it seriously?"
Lu Lu only listened to Lao Huang's story as a story, but he seemed to be full of temptation towards Chen Xiuqing. He was very excited and curious, especially his sly expression, which clearly showed that he was a little moved.
Lu Lu didn't even doubt that if he had let him go without saying a few words to him, the guy would have money in his pocket now, and he would probably be unable to hold back and look for him.
He knew very well that whether it was gambling or sex, it was a bone scraper, and it was too easy for people to fall in love with it. Considering that he was his uncle, he didn't say anything.
"Don't think that I am too lenient, including you, you are all people with families and homes, don't think about those who have something and don't have it, don't be unable to control yourself and make your home a mess. I speak ugly, but we
It's a brother, I have to say."
Lu Lu also did not forget to give a few words of advice to a few people. This nagging smell was getting worse and worse.
Seeing that Lu Lu's face was not very good, Chen Xiuqing quickly lowered her head and muttered in a low voice: "I was just curious, so I casually said it, but I didn't go."
"Qingzi, don't take it seriously. It's just a few of us brothers, Lao Wu said this. As an outsider, who cares if you do whatever you want? Don't be ignorant. What is a good word? It's clear.
!”
Liang Kangbo stretched out his hand and rubbed Chen Xiuqing's head: "Brother Lu is also doing it for your own good. If this goes astray and harms others and yourself, you have to listen."
Liang Kangbo seemed more honest at this time.
Zhao Yongke just listened silently, not saying much from beginning to end, and occasionally took a sip of wine.
Zhang Shaofeng smiled and looked at the two of them: "It's not a big deal. He is younger than us and has not had much experience. It is normal to be curious... However, Qingzi, you must not go down this path. There are some things, think about it.
That’s fine.”
After a pause, he then asked Lao Huang: "Don't talk about those useless things. Someone broke your ribs. What happened next?"
Lao Huang shook his head: "What else can I do? I dragged my injury and found a fellow villager who was also panning for gold in Xinglong ditch on the streets of Huma. I borrowed some money and returned to this ditch to pan for gold. From then on, every time I saved some
Sand Gold just wanted to go home, but he went back and forth seven or eight times and didn't even get out of Huma County."
Zhang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Going to find Cui'er again?"
Lao Huang sighed and did not answer. He just picked up the bowl, raised his head and drank the wine in the bowl with trembling hands.
After a long time, he said again: "Actually, it's not just me. Few of the Shandong fellows who are mining for gold here can leave the county. Go and look at the hills in the south. They are all graves, with pieces of wood inserted as tombstones.
They all face the south, so even if I die, I still want to go home."
"So if you couldn't go back before, you never thought about going back after liberation?" Lu Lu asked quietly.
Old Huang's eye sockets suddenly became wet. He quickly turned around and wiped them with his dirty sleeves: "It has been many years. I have lost contact with my hometown for a long time. I don't know if I have any living relatives. I don't have the nerve to go back."
...Sigh, this is how I will be for the rest of my life, and I can’t get out.”
He reached out and patted Chen Xiuqing on the shoulder: "Little brother, I am a living example. You guys are right. Sometimes, relatives may not tell you this."