"Brother Xiao, are you up? Let's pack up and get ready to return!" There was a knock on the door, and it was Jiang Ping calling Xiao Xun.
"Ma..." Xiaoxun found that his voice was hoarse as soon as he opened his mouth. He coughed twice to clear his throat and said, "I'll be ready soon!"
When Jiang Ping heard Xiaoxun's answer, he turned around and asked other brothers to hurry up and prepare their bags so that they could set off back early.
Xiaoxun got up and put on dry clothes, packed her luggage and the gifts she had brought to her family yesterday, and after thinking about it, she blushed and put twenty pennies next to her pillow, as a token of extra hard work for the waiter who was cleaning the room.
reward.
By the time he came downstairs, everyone else had already packed up and started eating breakfast.
"Brother Xiao, come sit here with me!" Ma Laosan held a bun in his hand and waved it at him, moving his buttocks to make room for him.
Xiaoxun walked over and sat next to him, and also picked up the buns to eat. After a night of erotic dreams, he now felt extremely hungry.
"Hey, you have such a good appetite, what kind of physical work did you do last night?" Ma Laosan winked and teased: "Young man is really full of energy."
"Okay, okay, Ma Laosan, don't tease Brother Xiao all the time. Why are you in such a good mood? Did you win money last night?" Zhai Er interrupted.
"Hehehe, I care about brother Xiao. Besides, it's not a trivial matter for me, Ma Laosan, to win money~"
"Shh, keep your voice down, the boss will scold you again if he hears this..." Li Wu saw Jiang Ping approaching and quickly reminded Ma Laosan who was carried away.
Seeing that everyone had almost eaten, Jiang Ping called out to get the food and board the ship.
On the return journey, we packed lightly and traveled along the river with an empty boat. We went to the horse farm to pick up the horses and then returned to the land route. In less than ten days, Shangxi Town was in front of us.
Jiang Ping couldn't bear to part with Xiao Xun, a good young man, and invited him several times to stay with the escort team at the branch escort office in the capital for a few days.
"Brother Xiao, the nearest escort agency to us in Shangxi Town is only a few days away. Why don't you come with us? You can still get the wages given by the shopkeeper in the escort agency!"
Xiaoxun cupped his fists and thanked Jiang Ping for his kindness. After spending time together, he understood that Jiang Ping was an enthusiastic big brother. He knew that he was short of money and wanted him to follow him to the escort agency to get a commission.
"No, brother Xiao, just come with us!" Ma Laosan pinched the horse's belly, urged the horse to take a few steps and ran to the two of them, interjecting: "My home is in Guijiao Lane, Qinzhou, can you still collect the completion money?
Come and stay at my house for a few days! I will introduce my sister to you!"
He is now satisfied with Xiao Xun. She is handsome, has good kung fu, and is a person of her duty. If his sister can get along well with Xiao Xun, he, Ma Laosan, will laugh in his dreams.
"Come on, Ma Lao San, your sister is so fierce, Brother Xiao can't handle it~" Someone immediately whistled and teased Ma Lao San.
"It doesn't matter if she's aggressive, my sister is pretty!" Ma Laosan got very excited when he mentioned his sister. He raised his riding whip and tried to make gestures with his brother who was teasing him.
Xiao Xun watched them laughing and saying nothing. He had been sleeping in the open air for the past month. The hot sunshine and flying dust not only did not make him look decadent, but instead added a mature and steady look to his face. The contours like a knife carving made him even more...
Bright, eyes as sharp as a knife.
If he was a sword without an edge before, now he can wield a sharp edge and show off his edge.
Horse hooves clattering, the gate of Shangxi Town has arrived.
Xiao Xun turned over and dismounted, handed the reins to Zhai Er, clasped his fists to the six people and said, "Xiao Xun thanks all brothers for taking care of them this month. I have concerns about my family, so I will no longer move forward with you."
When Ma Laosan heard what Xiao Xun said, he sighed exaggeratedly and regretted his missing brother-in-law, which made everyone laugh.
Jiang Ping cupped his fists and returned the greeting: "The green hills remain unchanged and the green waters always flow. Brothers Xiao, we are destined to meet again! If you want to continue to be an escort in the future, come to Shunji Escort Agency to find me!"
Several others also clasped their fists and bid farewell to Xiaoxun.
After watching the escort car and everyone go away, Xiaoxun clenched his dagger, tightened the baggage behind his back, and couldn't wait to walk towards Tzu Chi Hall.
Shangxi Town, which has been gone for a month, is still lively. People doing business at the stalls on both sides, drinking tea, eating snacks, and chatting are all the same as the day they left. It seems that this month has slipped through the fingers in an instant.
Xiao Xun walked briskly, and he wondered what Xiao Ruo would say when she saw him. Would she think he was tanned? Or would she say "A Xun is back" just like every time he came home?
Has Old Man Cen still been picking at the yellowed medical book this month, secretly hiding snacks for the two Zaizai without Xiaoruo’s attention?
I don’t know if Xiao Zhao has improved in his studies, but he has always been diligent, studious, and smart, so he must be highly praised by Zheng Dongyang. Even a little girl like Xiao Niao thinks about playing every day, but she doesn’t know if she can recite the "Disciple Rules" smoothly.
》.
The happy thoughts in his heart were all interrupted when he saw no one at the entrance of Tzu Chi Hall from a distance.
It's not Shen time yet, and the sun is still shining brightly in the sky. In the past, there were always people coming in and out of Tzu Chi Hall to grab medicine at this time.
He frowned, quickened his pace and ran to the door. He saw that the door of Tzu Chi Hall was closed, and a small wooden board hung on the door handle, which read "I have something to do at home, we are closed today."
Xiao Xun knew that this small wooden board was customized by Xiao Ruo, and the other side said "Open today, welcome." She would hang up the business side every day when it was open, and rarely used the closed side.
I tapped the door, bang bang bang, no answer.
Xiaoxun's brows furrowed even deeper, and his heart seemed to be clenched tightly by a hand. He quickly walked around to the side and back of the Tzu Chi Hall, where was the small gate to the backyard.
He took out the key from under the black tile in the upper right corner of the wall, opened the lock on the small door, opened the door and shouted: "Ruo Ruo? Mr. Cen?"
No one responded.
Not caring to put down the package on his back, he took three steps and two steps at a time, opening several rooms one by one to check.
There was no one in the four bedrooms, nor in the pharmacy. The stove was cold to the touch, which meant that no cannons had been fired for at least three or four hours.
Xiaoxun became more and more panicked. Just as terrible speculations emerged uncontrollably in his mind, an old woman's voice came from outside the courtyard door.
"Is Brother Xun back?"
Following this question, a chubby old woman poked her head in from outside the door.
She is the Li family next door to Tzu Chi Hall, and she has been a neighbor with Mr. Cen for decades. The two families often greet each other and send them food, so they have a very good relationship.
"Oh, it's really Brother Xun, you're back!" Seeing that it was indeed Xiao Xun, Ms. Li tiptoed into the yard.
"Aunt Li, do you know where Ruo Ruo and the others have gone?" Xiao Xun asked anxiously.
"Why are you back! You don't even know what happened this month when you were away! Ruo Ruo and Dr. Cen should be at Zheng Tongsheng's house right now!"
Zheng Tongsheng is Zheng Dongyang. In the end, he only reached the stage of Tongsheng. Although he can no longer take the scientific examination, the elderly people in Shangxi Town still used to call him Zheng Tongsheng.
When Xiaoxun heard what Li said, there was a buzz in his mind. All kinds of terrible speculations seemed to have taken shape. In just a few seconds, they launched a massive attack on his heart. His heart suddenly felt like it was about to jump from his throat.
When he came out, he was so nervous that he didn't notice that Li said this with a smile.
There was no time to ask Mr. Li for specific details, so he just threw the baggage on the table, and Xiaoxun rushed to Zheng Dongyang's house.
Mrs. Li hurriedly called him but it was too late. In the end she could only shake her head helplessly and help him lock the courtyard door again. While locking it, she muttered: "Brother Xun usually looks so steady. Why is he so flustered now? He didn't say anything."