Chapter 44 third quarter

The snow in the early winter was still not in the weather, and by noon, the sky had cleared up.The sun was shining, and the thin layer of snow on the ground soon disappeared.It's just that the northwest wind is still bitter and can penetrate the bone marrow. The bearded man led the camel all the way down, into the vast Gobi Desert.The road that followed was even more desolate, except for the faintly visible khaki-colored mountains in the distance, and gray cobblestones under the feet.Cobblestones, big and small, were spread out endlessly, and there was not even a dead tree stump in sight.What a desolation this is!From ancient times to the present, how many travelers have left their bones on the Gobi Desert.Therefore, it is difficult for every person who goes west to get here to stabilize his melancholy or even fearful emotions. Even a tough guy like a bearded man who frequents the Gobi Desert is not very sure about his future.At this moment, he looked up at the clear and cloudless sky, and at the hazy mountains in the distance, he had to add some courage to himself.Then he let go of his throat and sang:

There is Liu Guanzhang in the Three Kingdoms, Uncle Liu Huang became king; Snowflakes fail, apricot blossoms bloom, Days are longer than nights. Zhuge Liang's gossip array, The general who wants to destroy Soochow; Brother suffers from lovesickness, I want to sleep on the kang of sister Ga. Three hundred thousand soldiers and horses descended to the south of the Yangtze River, Kong Ming's plan set fire to Cao Cao's warship; Three hundred and sixty days a year, I think about it day and night, and there is no day I don’t think about it. ... The song is high-pitched and clear, and it is sent far away by the wind on the empty Gobi Desert, like an eagle hovering. The desolation all over the world seems to have a little life because of the circle of this song.

The song that the bearded man sang was actually Hua'er in the Northwest. The story of the Three Kingdoms was mixed with some self-created dirty words, and he sang it in the dialect of his hometown. It was the first time Liu Yingchun, who was riding on a camel, heard such a rough song, and didn't understand what was being sung, so she couldn't help asking, "Uncle, what are you singing? Is this the Qin opera?" The bearded man stopped singing, turned his head and said, "Sister Ga, don't call me uncle, I'm not that old! I saved you, but you haven't told me your name yet."

Liu Yingchun miraculously escaped from the predicament on the way to escape, and soon recovered her lively nature as a girl.She said: "You don't want me to call you uncle, so I have to call you big brother! Big brother, you didn't tell me your name!" The bearded girl glanced at this thin and somewhat dirty little girl, said nothing, just walked with her chest up and her head held high, and continued to sing his flower while walking: Passing through Bazhou, the night is late, Stern Yan, Zhang Yide knelt down; Nails and meat ha separated, I left you, Ga Yuanyang was right.

... The high-pitched western flowers hovered and finally fell into the depths of the Gobi, like a pebble falling into the ocean, the vitality became extremely short, and the boundless desolation became even deeper and wider.The bearded man let go of his voice and screamed, but he couldn't resist the attack of desolation.He knelt down to pick up a pebble and threw it into the distance, as if he was about to throw away all the loneliness and panic. However, how can this loneliness and panic be thrown away like a stone after traveling around all year round?The bearded man fell into deep thought, entwining all his thoughts on the ancient silk road that he had walked countless times.

The bearded man is called Lu Xiang, and he is a businessman who travels around all the year round.He did not do much business, relying on a few camels to walk along the ancient silk road, buying local leather goods and medicinal materials along the way, and after arriving in the provincial capital, he raised the camels in a small inn, and then took the train to bring the leather goods and medicinal materials to the south for sale. Then sell the silk or cotton cloth from the south to the northwest, earning hard money. Like all Northwest men, Lu Xiang is capable and willing to endure hardships.But his hometown, a small western county in the Qilian Mountains, is just a backcountry. Many families can't afford silk and cotton cloth, and they only wear sheepskin or wool clothes that they tailor themselves. To make some money on long-distance business between other provinces, it takes a long time before returning home.However, on the way back from the provincial capital to the county seat, the little money he earned might not be able to take home safely. Sometimes he encountered bandits, soldiers or road tyrants. Very good.In addition, his business scale is not large, and he is generous and charitable. Although he is forty years old, his family does not have much savings except for his old mother and an adobe house, and he has not even married a wife.In this turbulent year, he is still running around with his head up and down. He just wants to make more money. Apart from supporting his mother, he also hopes that he can live a good life one day in the future.

Lu Xiang didn't read many books, he only learned a few words in the process of learning to do business, and he was able to calculate a fortune.Lu Xiang, who has not read many books, has his own set of standards for the concept of a good life.In his opinion, he will never want to live in the homes of a few rich men in the county (such as his neighbor, Mr. Qin, who runs a bank), but he must not just stay in the adobe yard at home. house and some camels.He felt that he should at least have a little spare money so that his mother could spend her old age in peace; it would be better if he could go back to the county to set up a small shop, and he could earn money to support his family by sitting in the shop, without having to go out to eat such hard work; And to have a woman of his own—the kind who would take care of the house, and bear him some children.For the good life he longed for, he spent nearly two years away from home this time, earned a little money, encountered all kinds of hardships, and rushed to his hometown excitedly.

Cao Cao watched for a while from the top of the city, A million soldiers can't defeat Zilong; Girl Ga is thinking of others, It's us who are shy. ... When singing this passage, Lu Xiang was a little embarrassed.He looked back at Liu Yingchun riding on the camel, and stopped singing.