"Brother Sun is very knowledgeable. He was elected a few years ago! So I want to treat him to dinner and celebrate for him. We have agreed that he will occasionally come to visit you in the future."
"Excuse me."
"Don't bother me, don't bother me. I don't often have people here. It's best if I have someone to talk to with me..." The old lady sat up with a smile and said, "Wait, Mom will cook for you..." p>
"You old man, just rest, Sun Mian. Let's go fishing in the river." Wang Jin stopped his mother, picked up Sun Mian and walked out.
Zhou Shi slowly recovered from the surprise and found that the dream began to fade away.
"Wang Jin and Xiucai-Sun Mian are old acquaintances? Then where did Wang Jin go? Why did Sun Mian become Wang Jin..."
This dream solved one problem, but raised a dozen questions.
As the thoughts turned, the dream switched again and returned to the broken house where Wang Jin and his son lived earlier.
Little Wang Jin, who looked less than ten years old, was sleeping on his mother's lap, mumbling in his sleep.
At this time, a smell of rice came, and Zhou Shi knew that this was a sign of the end of the dream.
But looking at the mother and son nestling next to him, he quickly returned to reality, and then carried the still boiling rice pot outside the house.
"Oh, I thought that finding out the scholar's identity would solve the case, but who knew it's still a mess now..."
As he put down the hot rice pot, he complained in a low voice, completely unaware of a figure quietly appearing beside the courtyard door.
"What should we do next? Continue to investigate in the dream? But the old lady has been confused for many years and her eyesight is not working well. I am afraid it will be difficult to dream about what happened after meeting Sun Mian..."
Zhou Shi, who was thinking, heard footsteps. He wanted to turn around, but a cold object had already touched his lower back.
"Don't move."
Who is this person! Zhou Shi was horrified, and he immediately gathered his energy and prepared his hand to open the monument!
But...this voice is a bit familiar...
"Honestly, who are you? Why are you here?"
"Ruan, senior Ruan?"
The object against his waist relaxed a little, and Zhou Shi felt the hot breath of the man behind him on his cheek, and then the threat to him disappeared.
"Zhou Shi? Why are you here?"
I should ask you this! Zhou Shi turned around and saw the old horseman holding an iron ruler, looking at him with confusion.
Zhou Shi told the reason why he came here. He once told Ruan Hunxiong about the scholar turning into a ghost, but he didn't expect that this was the "home" the scholar mentioned.
"That scholar is Wang Jin? How is that possible! He is already dead!"
Zhou Shi was shocked and asked quickly: "How do you know?"
"After he died, he once came to my inn. I remember it was... almost seven or eight years ago. He was caught in a heavy rain on the way back to the village, and a mudslide rolled down the mountain, crushing him to death.
”
"Seven or eight years ago?" Zhou Shi pressed his throbbing temples and said, "That was earlier than when the scholar arrived in Jiangdu..."
"He didn't want to enter reincarnation because he was worried that there would be no one to take care of his mother at home, so he asked me to help take care of his mother before he left." Ruan Hunxiong recalled, "At that time, his mother was not confused and could still see. I
He lied that he was Wang Jin's friend and occasionally came to help clean and talk to the elderly.
"Later, people in the village gradually began to help take care of the old lady and helped her change her place of residence. I didn't want to have to deal with too many living people, so I didn't come often. I came back from Jiangdu today and happened to pass by Liujia Village
, I wanted to come and take a look, so I bumped into you."
Zhou Shi took a deep breath and said, "Have you never communicated with the villagers in Liujia Village?"
"No, what's wrong?"
"The villagers in Liujia Village still believe that Wang Jin is not dead but is just making a living in Jiangdu. And according to them, Wang Jin returns to the village every year and asks people to bring things back from time to time! Even the water canals in the village are
He asked a nearby landowner to practice it!"
"What?" Ruan Hunxiong raised his eyebrows, "What the hell?"
When it comes to seeing ghosts, the two of them have a lot to say. But I have never heard of seeing a ghost in broad daylight for ten consecutive years!
But Zhou Shi slowly figured it out.
"Senior Ruan, has Wang Jin ever mentioned a person named Sun Mian?"
"Sun Mian?"
"It's his classmate and friend."
"Well...I'm not sure if it's this person, but Wang Jin said that he has a best friend, his only friend, who will help him take care of his mother. But I have never seen that person at the old lady's house.
”
"That's normal, because he always hides from others and comes and goes quietly at night." Zhou Shi said firmly, "This is what Liu Zhong of Liujiacun told me."
"Here, how do you know that person is Sun Mian?"
"The old lady is now sober and confused. I heard it when she was talking to herself." Zhou Shi lied, "Since Wang Jin did die accidentally, then I am basically certain that the scholar is Sun Mian." p>
Then, he expressed his inference.
Wang Jin and Sun Mian were classmates, and they were both scholars in the same year. However, Wang Jin lost his father when he was young, his family was poor, and he had no friends in school. Only Sun Mian, who was from a decent family, made good friends with him - this is
It can be inferred based on Sun Mian's clothes in the dream. Moreover, after Sun Mian was elected, he first visited Wang Jin's home, which shows the good relationship between the two.
Sun Mian had not seen Wang Jin for a while and had been looking around to no avail. He should have guessed that his friend had suffered an accident. He was worried that the old lady would not be able to bear the news of his son's death, so he had to conceal the matter. Fortunately, Wang Jin was killed by a mudslide.
Buried in the ground, there is no body. The only person who knows about his death should be his only friend - Sun Mian.
In order to take care of the old lady, Sun Mian, who was a civil servant, even gave up the opportunity to become an official and went to Jiangdu to make a living with a dual identity. Not only did he have to send money to his family, but he also had to provide food and accommodation for the old lady and change her house.
Life is tight.
This alone is not enough. In order to make the neighbors in the village come to take care of the old lady, he also has to seek benefits for the village and establish the prestige of "Wang Jin". For this reason, he not only often helps the villagers, but also negotiates with the landlords.
Helped the village build a new canal.
It's no wonder that those wealthy gentry can treat him well. His status as a Juren master is still very important.
He gave up a great future and lived with two faces for eight years, all in order to make the old lady think that her son was still alive and wrapped around her knees just like he did when he was a child.
"This... is really righteous, but why doesn't he become an official? This way his income can be increased a lot and the old lady can live a better life." Ruan Hunxiong asked after listening.<
/p>
"Then the old lady will find out that her son is dead... Not to mention that becoming an official will keep her away from Liujia Village. In such a small place, if an official suddenly provides money to support them, what should they do without beating gongs and drums to celebrate?
What about blocking the villagers' mouths?" Zhou Shi sighed, and then said, "It may be that Sun Mian is worried that he will be tempted by officialdom and will not be able to keep his promise..."
Ruan Hunxiong, who has been with the ghosts of the dead all year round, shook his head and said, "What is this for..."
All this is just for the words "We have agreed that he will come to visit you occasionally in the future".
A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. To say anything else is rude.
PS. Thanks to Taoist friend Yi Dao and book friend 160726233254542 for your monthly ticket.