Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

It is said that the old man sat down and waited for Huang Renrui to take a few puffs of cigarettes so that he could tell him about this earth-shattering case, and then he lay down casually.Cuihuan also got acquainted now, so she leaned on Lao Can's leg and asked, "Old Tie, where is your place? What does this poem say?" Lao Can—tell him.He thought about it for a while and said: "It's really good. But is it also good to say these things in poetry?" The old man said: "It's not good to say these things in poetry, what else should I say?" Cuihuan said: " When I was in Ershilipu, I saw a lot of past guests, and often wrote poems on the wall. I like to ask them to tell me. After hearing it, there are probably two meanings: a decent person He always just talks about how talented he is, and no one in the world knows him; as for the second-class people, he just talks about how good that sister is, and how affectionate he is with him.

"Whether the old man is very talented or not, we don't know. It's just that the people who come here are all great talents. Why don't you look at someone who has no talent? Let me say something stupid: Since there are so few people without talents, as the saying goes, "things are rare, they are precious", so it is true that those without talents have become treasures. Don't worry about him. "Those who say that the sisters are good-looking are nothing more than the few people in front of us. Some of them don't even have complete noses and eyes. They are either better than him, or better than him. I don’t know who Wang Qiang is. Some people say that it’s Empress Zhaojun. I think, are Empress Zhaojun and Empress Xi Shi both looking like this? It must be unreliable.

"As for how my sister treats him well and how much kindness I have, I once lost my temper and went to ask. The sister said: 'He stayed for one night, and he was troublesome all night. Tianming asked him to ask for a double sum. When the money was gone, he wiped his face, straightened his neck, and yelled, "I just developed it last night, what more do I need?" That sister, repeatedly complained: "As for the money in the account, one point will be deducted by the clerk in the store, and another point will be deducted by the shopkeeper. The little clothes are all bought with his own money. The gentlemen who just listen to the music can’t ask him for it. Only the gentlemen who stay here can ask for the hard-earned money of the two servants.” He begged repeatedly, and he gave the two A small string of hundreds of dollars, looking down on the ground, pouted and said: "You robbers and bitches, you are really nothing! You bastards! Do you want to be kind? Therefore, I think, this matter of poetry The matter is very meaningless, but it is nothing more than making some rumors. Why is your old poem not like this?" Lao Can said with a smile: "'Every master prepares to teach, and each trick changes hands.' When our master passed it on to us, It’s not this transmission method, so it’s different.”

Huang Renrui just finished eating a tube of cigarettes, put down the pipe, and said, "It's really 'a man cannot be judged by his appearance, and sea water cannot be measured'. Writing poems is just making up some rumors, and this sentence has really been spoken by this child! From now on From now on, I won't write poems anymore, so as not to make some rumors and be laughed at by them." Cuihuan said: "Who dares to laugh at your old age! We are children from the countryside who have never seen the world, talking nonsense, your master, don't Blame me, let me give you a kowtow!" He turned sideways and nodded to Huang Renrui.Huang Renrui said: "Who's blaming you? It's really true, but it's something no one has said! It can be seen that 'the authorities are fascinated by it, and you can see clearly'."

The old man said: "That's all, but hurry up and tell me about your weird case. Since you are going to return early tomorrow at night, why are you so slow?" Renrui said, "Don't be busy, wait a minute. Let me tell you the truth first, and then I will talk about the case slowly. Let me ask you, can the ice in the river be opened tomorrow?" The answer: "No." Are you going? Can you leave tomorrow?” Answer: “No.” Ask: “Since you can’t leave, do you have anything important to do when you get up early tomorrow?” Answer: “No.” Huang Renrui said: "Here again! If this is the case, why are you rushing back to the house? In this dull and lonely time, having a friend to talk to is the joy of suffering. Besides, the two of them, although older If you don’t mention peonies and peonies, can’t you compare them with morning glory and light bamboo leaves? It’s very interesting to cut candles and pour tea. Let me tell you: In the provincial capital, you are busy and I am also busy. Don’t want to talk freely. , there is always no time. It is rare to meet today, just to have a chat. I often say: the hardest thing in life is that there is no place to talk. Look, if you talk all day long, how can you have no place to talk? Here, there are two places to speak: one comes out from under the dantian, which is your own words; the other comes out from under the throat, which is for entertainment. There are so many people in the provincial capital who are either better than me or not as good as me If someone is better than me, he looks down on me, so he can't talk to him; if he is inferior to me, he will be jealous of me, but he can't talk to him. Isn't there anyone like me? Although the situation is similar, but the heart is big It’s different, he thinks he’s better than me, so he looks down on me; he thinks he’s not as good as me, so he’s jealous of me: so there’s no room for him to speak. Like your elder brother, he’s someone outside the circle. It’s rare to meet today, and I’ve always admired him. Yours, I think you should take pity on me and talk to me; you are in a hurry to leave, how can you make people feel better?"

The old man said: "Okay, okay, okay! I'll talk to you. Let me tell you: I'll just sit in the house, so why bother? Because you have already called two girls, and you just have a chat with them." Talk, or hit two Pico children, laughing and laughing. I am inconvenient here: In fact, I am not the person who wants to eat cold pork, Mr. Daoxue, what are you doing!" Renrui said: "I am also doing it for theirs. I need to discuss something with you." Standing up, she wiped off Cuihuan's sleeves, exposed her arm, pointed it to Lao Can, and said, "Look, these scars are so miserable!" When Lao Can looked at it, There is a strip of blue, and a little bit of purple.Renrui said again: "It's like this on the shoulder, I think the body is even more pitiful. Cuihuan, just untie the body and have a look."

At this time, Cuihuan's eyes were already filled with tears, but she couldn't let him fall down, but being pulled by his hand like this, she shed many tears one after another.Cuihuan said: "What are you looking at, it's so embarrassing!" Renrui said: "Look! Is this kid stupid? See what you are afraid of? Are you still ashamed of doing this job?" Cuihuan said: "Why don't you be ashamed!" Cuihua said with tears in her eyes, "Don't tell him to take it off." Turning her head and looking out of the window, she whispered a few words into Renrui's ear, Renrui nodded and fell silent.

Lao Can was sitting on the kang at the moment, thinking in his heart: "These are good sons and daughters of others. When parents raised him, I don't know how much energy they spent, they went through endless hardships, and their mischievous skin was torn, and they still need to be touched. ;Not only caressing, but also a lot of uselessness in my heart. If I was hit twice by another child, I would hate something. That kind of love and compassion is self-evident. Who knows that when raising an adult, it may be because of being hungry or because of growing up. His father was addicted to opium, or liked to gamble, or was dragged down by lawsuits, and when he had no choice but to sell his daughter to this family, he was cruelly treated by the bustard, and there was an indescribable state.” Therefore, he was touched. What I have seen and heard in my life, the cruelty of the bustards everywhere, is really like a master taught me, always the same method, angry and sad, the corners of my eyes are also a little wet.

At this time, everyone was silent and quiet.I saw someone outside carrying a roll of luggage, which was taken by Huang Renrui's family and sent to the inner room.The family came out and said to Huang Renrui: "Master, please ask for the key of Master Tie's door, so that I can send Cuihuan's luggage in." The old man said: "Of course I will also carry it to your master's house." Renrui said: "Come on, Come on! Don't eat cold pork. Give me the key." The old man said: "That's not acceptable! I never do this." Renrui said: "I have already paid for it, and the money has already been given. You What is this?" The old man said: "It doesn't matter if you have given the money, I will pay you back the amount tomorrow and you will cut it off. Now that the money has been paid, his old bustard has nothing to say, and it won't make things difficult for him. What are you afraid of?" Cuihua said: "You really teach him to go back, he can't run away and beat him up, and he always says he offended the customer." The old man said: "I still have a way: send him back today, tell him, If you still call him tomorrow, it will be all right. Besides, he is the one called by Mr. Huang, so what are you doing to me? I would rather pay for it, so it will save trouble?" Huang Renrui said, "I called for you. I already kept Cuihua yesterday. Is it okay to ask Cuihua to go back today? But please relieve your boredom. But we use this to relieve boredom and save him from two beatings, which is not accumulating merit. First, because of their rules, I am not allowed to move my chopsticks if I don’t stay. If it’s not dark, I will come and sit until midnight. Hungry, and it happened that I couldn't save a beating. Because the old bustard always said: since the guest has kept you until this time, he naturally likes you. Why did he ask you to come back? It must be because of poor entertainment and bad touch. Coincidentally, it was just a meal. That’s why I asked them to tell them: “They’ve all been left, don’t you see his guy asking Cuihuan to eat vegetables? That’s a secret signal.”

Speaking of this, Cuihua said to Cuihuan: "You yourself beg Tie Ye, I have pity on you." The old man said: "I don't care about anything else, the money is paid according to the amount. Let him go back, and he will be quiet Two, I'll be quiet too." Cuihua snorted, and said, "It's true that you are quiet, but he can't be quiet!" Cuihuan turned her body, turned her face to the old man and said, "Master Tie, I see you The old look is so merciful, why don’t you show some mercy to our children? The kang in your old house was one foot or two feet long, and your old bed was only three feet wide, and you still have nine feet of land, so you can’t bear it. Give our children a night of disaster? If it’s a reward, let my children take care of them, and they can make cigarettes and tea, and they can still do it; This is great grace!"

Lao Can reached out his hand to take out the key from his pocket, handed it to Cuihua, and said, "I'll listen to how you disturb it, but my luggage can't be moved." Cuihua stood up, handed it to the family, and said, "Excuse me." Come out, please lock the door after seeing his buddy send it in. Please, please!” The family took the key and went. Lao Can stroked Cuihuan's face with his hands, and said, "Where are you from? What's your bustard's name? How old were you when you sold it to him?" Cuihuan said, "My mother's surname is Zhang." Without further ado, he took out a piece of his hand from his sleeve and wiped his tears. He wiped and wiped again, but kept silent.The old man said: "Don't cry. I asked you about the old family's family affairs to relieve your boredom. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Why bother?" Cuihuan said: "I don't have a home at all! " Cuihua said: "Don't be angry, this child has a bad temper, so he is often beaten. In fact, it's no wonder that he is uncomfortable. Two years ago, his family was a rich man, and he sold it to my mother last year. He Since I was a child, I have never been subjected to this kind of torture, so it is not good to do all kinds of things. In fact, my mother is very kind here. When he arrives next year, I am afraid that he will not be able to live this year!" Speaking of this, That Cuihuan covered her face and sobbed.Cuihua shouted: "Hey! This child doesn't want to live anymore! You see, the old man called you here to be happy, so you can cry yourself! Doesn't that offend others? Don't cry!" The old man said: "No, no! It's good to let him cry. You think, he's full of suffocation, where to cry? It's rare to meet two of us who have no temper. Let him cry enough, it's a pleasure One time." Patting Cuihuan with his hands, he said, "It's okay if you cry aloud, I know Mr. Huang is a man with no taboos. Just cry, it's okay." Huang Renrui shouted loudly from the side: "Little Cuihuan, good Child, you cry! Excuse me, you can cry for me when you are full of suffocation in your old man Huang's belly!" Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this, and even Cuihuan let out a "puzzling" laugh as she covered her face.It turned out that Cuihuan knew that she must not cry in front of the guests, but because Lao Can asked about his hometown, and Cuihua told him that he was a rich man two years ago, it touched his heart, so the tears flowed uncontrollably. Wear it out, even if you have to endure it, you can't help it.When I heard Lao Can say that he was so depressed that he went there to cry, and it was a pleasure to let him cry enough, he thought to himself: "Since he was in trouble, no one has ever been so considerate to him. It can be seen that men in the world are so considerate. It’s not that everyone treats their daughter’s house like dung. I just don’t know how many people like this are in the world, how many can I meet in this life? I think if I can meet one, I’m afraid there will always be more.” Just thinking about it like this, I forgot the sad calculation just now, and turned my ears to listen to what they had to say.Suddenly being called by Huang Renrui, asking him to cry for him, how could it not be funny?So with two packs of tears in his eyes, he gave a "puchi" laugh, and raised his head to look at Renrui, but they couldn't stop laughing even more after seeing this scene.Cuihuan had no idea at the moment, seeing them giggling, she had no choice but to be dazed and giggle with them for a while. The old disabled said: "I have cried and laughed, and I have to ask you: why was he still a rich man two years ago? Cuihua, tell me." Cuihua said: "He is my son. This is from Qidong County. His family name is Tian, ​​and he has more than two hectares of land outside the south gate of Qidong County. There is also a grocery store in the city. His parents only support him, and his little brother, He is only five or six years old this year. He also has an old grandmother. Most of our land by the Daqing River is cotton fields. One mu of land is worth more than 100 yuan. He has more than two hectares of land, isn’t it? Is it more than 20,000 yuan? Even with a shop, it is more than 30,000 yuan. As the saying goes, "a family of ten thousand yuan is rich", and a family with ten thousand yuan is considered a rich man. If he has thirty thousand yuan, is he not a rich man?" The old man said: "How can you be poor?" Cuihua said: "That's fast! In three days, the family will be ruined! This is what happened the year before last. Isn't my Yellow River a mouthful every three years? Zhuang Futai He seemed to be very anxious about this matter. I heard that there was an adult who was a well-known talent in the south. He showed Futai a book and said that the problem with the river was that it was too narrow and must be widened. Quiet, the people's walls must be abolished, and the levee must be retreated. As soon as the words came out, the alternate adults all agreed. Futai said: "How about the people in these embankments? You have to pay them to move away." Who would have thought that the alternate Daoist Lord Badan of the general office said, "You can't let the common people know about it. Think about it, the embankment is five or six miles wide and six hundred miles long, and there are hundreds of thousands of houses. Once they know about it, These hundreds of thousands of people are guarding the Minyan, so is it still abolished?" Zhuang Futai couldn't help it, nodded, sighed, and heard that he shed a few tears. "In the spring of this year, the embankment was quickly built, and another embankment was built on the south bank of Jiyang County. These two things are a big knife that killed hundreds of thousands of people! Poor people, how do you know! Look at it In the first few days of June, people only heard people say: "The flood is here! The flood is here!" The team on the field kept running at both ends. The water in the river grew by more than a foot every day, and every day it grew by more than a foot. In ten days, the water will not be far lower than the top of the mound, and it may not be one or two feet higher than the flat ground in the mound! When we reach thirteen or four miles, we can see the horses on the mound coming and going. , one horse at a time, one horse at a time. At noon the next day, everyone in each camp was clapping and applauding, and drove the team to the embankment. "At that time, there was an anxious person who said: 'No! I'm afraid there will be trouble! Let's go back and prepare to move!' Who knew that that night, at the middle of the night, there was a strong wind and heavy rain, and I could only hear it in a blur. , the water of the Yellow River poured down like a mountain. Most of the people in those villages were still sleeping in their houses. With a sound of hooting, the water went in. When they woke up, they ran quickly, and the water had already passed the eaves. It’s dark, the wind is strong, the rain is fast, and the water is fierce, and you always think, what can you do at this time?” I don’t know what will happen next, and let’s listen to the next chapter to break it down.