spring. Big bursts of sea breeze blowing from Laizhou Bay brought with it the smell of damp water, and the land in Ye County, which had not seen rain for a long time, was moistened with a smile. Although the fishy smell of the sea made the villagers frown, the sluggish wheat seedlings still glowed. up the spirit. The branches of all kinds of trees spit out young shoots.Golden, emerald, ochre-black, and fluffy and white, on the ground, clumps of grass buds burst out of the ground, shaking their bodies shyly.The farmer finally walked out of the sealed hut, stretched his waist and arms, held his face high, and let out a deep breath of relief facing the sea and the sun.Zhujiacun just woke up from hibernation.

This is the year 1904 AD. Twenty-three-year-old Zhang Zongchang came out of the low thatched hut with a bent body, stretched his waist, untied the long scarf around his waist, and opened the new cotton-padded jacket he wore for the wedding, letting his dark clothes stretch out from his chest. To accept the sunshine, to accept the sea breeze, to wash away the turbidity and dust that I have endured all winter.After picking up the pouch, he walked back to the house through the low doorway with a crooked body, picked up the cigarette pouch, and Bada Dagui smoked the old dry tobacco mixed with bean leaves.The misty smoke made him extremely confused——

Three years ago, in the same spring, Zhang Zongchang, who had been working as a clerk in the Wuhe Junhuang Tavern in the same village for four years, suddenly came home.At that time, my home consisted of only these two dilapidated thatched huts, with empty walls, scorched and cold in an iron pan propped up by adobe bricks at the corners; In addition, there is not even an angry white mouse.The house was empty, and my mother, Hou, with two big feet, was a ghost in Dongcun and exorcising ghosts in Xifeng. She worked as a witch for half her life, but she still had nothing to eat. In a fit of rage, she remarried to a family surnamed Liu. .Zhang Zongchang became a motherless child.Dad is a trumpeter, and he plays the trumpet for a while at weddings and funerals in the eight villages around him. He usually carries a burden to shave his head in four villages. Eat a meal.Later, he simply shaved his head and brought his trumpet with him, and went all over the world like a wandering monk. Zhang Zongchang didn't even have a father, only a broken thatched cottage. A 20-year-old man with a tall body like a tree stump, palm like a fan, two long legs that can cross a river at a step, eats like a cow, and is neither liked nor satisfied as a boy in the Wujia Hotel Belly, he should have gone far away.But by coincidence, his father's younger brother named Zhao Kemou, who was a trumpeter, tried his best to secure a matchmaker for him in Yingli Village, and gave him a daughter of Jia's family as his wife, and he couldn't walk anymore because of his love .The future old father-in-law Jia Yongquan said in a serious way: "Zhongchang (Zhang Zongchang's original name is Zhongchang, and his nickname is Xiaokun), I have to put the ugly words up front, the daughter is promised to you, you have to behave Come out. I don’t agree with such an empty house and boring life. Nowadays, many people from our Jiaodong have gone to the Guandong. I think you should go for it, maybe you will find a way. It's also promising. What do you think?"

The old father-in-law showed the way, so Zhang Zongchang had to eat some steamed buns as a gamble, so he was cruel and left the Kanto.First panned for gold in Heihe, then worked as a bodyguard in Baoju, and went down to the Sandaogou coal mine in Jilin to dig charcoal.I sweated a lot, but I also mixed some money. When spring came back, I hurried to Yingli Village, put two silver dollars in front of Jia Yongquan, and said with a smile: "Daddy, I'm coming back." Jia Yongquan looked at Yinyuan and then at Zhang Zongchang who was wearing a new outfit, and suddenly felt that he was different from three years ago.Happy in heart, with a smile on his face, and a gentle tone:

"Zhongchang, I'm not wrong, I know you'll make a name for yourself outside." Then he said, "Have you suffered a lot in the past three years?" Zhang Zongchang grinned and said "hey" twice, and then said: "Daddy, it's okay for young people to suffer a little bit. As you always said, you can become a master only when you have to endure hardships. Zhongchang will follow the path taught by you, old man, and he is not afraid of hardships!" When Jia Yongquan heard this, he felt happy, and hurriedly arranged for his family to prepare meals, and said:

"Zhongchang, since you have such a heart, it means that you have grown up. As an adult, you have to start a family and start a business. Take this money, tidy up the thatched hut, and buy some things. Please ask someone to look forward to a lucky day. Sending the girl over there also has one less thing to worry about." Zhang Zongchang is going to start a family and have a wife.Busy thanks to my old father-in-law.Soon, as expected, she married Jia. The marriage was over, and the money in Zhang Zongchang's hand was also used up.Squatting down at home again, I have nothing to eat and wear.I have to go, and then go to Kanto, but I can't bear to part with my newlywed wife.So, right now I'm very confused.

Sucking on the old sweat and turning around in his mind, his face gradually became clouded. His wife, Jia Shi, is one year younger than him, but she is also a clever person.Looking at her husband's face, I was anxious enough.She walked up to him slowly, and said a little shyly: "You can't worry about it all the time. It's even more difficult when you're sick. No problem, you go to Kanto again." Zhang Zongchang looked up at his wife, did not speak, only sighed softly—a poor man, married to a wife, and the heat is not enough, so why go far away? Besides, going to the east of the Kanto is not a wide road , Panning for gold and going to the coal mines are all things with your head tied to your belt, and you will lose your life if you say you will lose your life.The wife doesn't understand this yet, she just thinks that the poor family has a dilapidated house, there is no hope of food and clothing, and that the man can't bear to leave.And said:

"Go, what can you do if you don't go? If you leave, I will go back to my father's house, and he can still support me. Don't worry about it. Just hang around for three or two years, and then go back." Zhang Zongchang felt sour in his heart. "What do you think this is? Married a wife and can't compete to support them. How can I be regarded as a human being?" He remembered his hard life! After his mother remarried, he played cymbals with his father's trumpet troupe at the age of 13.Hitting the cymbals also has to follow the rhythm. There is a "spot". Dad has taught him many times, but he can't always keep up with the dot.Dad was very angry, so he put a wooden stick around his waist, and when he knocked away a little bit, Dad took out the wooden stick and beat him on the head. Later, he set up a stall to shave his head with his father, and practiced for a few months. For the first time, I washed someone's hair and poured sewage into his ears.Dad was so angry that he cursed:

Useless thing, stupid pig, lie down under the tree and let the old raven feed you with feces, I can't afford you, get out!" It is not an option to let the wife live with the father, let alone a married woman.Zhang Zongchang did not agree to his wife's suggestion, but said: "Go do your thing, let me think about it." Zhang Zongchang was bored at home, smoking a few bags of cigarettes again and again, and never thought of a way out, but he remembered the Wudao Temple at the head of the village.He decided to go there to "ask for advice"—— Zhang Zongchang never cared about temple gods and ghosts. He didn't respect them, and he didn't scold them;Only the Wudao Temple at the head of the village, he has a special meaning, he goes around inside if he has something to do, and sometimes throws a few copper coins in it when there is incense.Some people say that when his old mother, Hou Shi, pretended to be a ghost and performed witchcraft, she often used the banner of Wudao General and said that Wudao General was her ex-husband. She often dreamed of sleeping in the same bed with Wudao General.In this way, it is said that General Wushou is Zhang Zongchang's biological father.Is that so? Zhang Zongchang didn't nod his head to admit it, nor shook his head to deny it.It is true that Zhang Zongchang praised the five generals in front of others like a tongue.He said that General Wudao is the god of Emperor Dongyue, and he is in charge of life and death, honor and salary in the world.It is also said that General Wushou is the brother of King Yama, who can decide life and death on behalf of King Yama.Therefore, Zhang Zongchang wanted to ask General Wu Dao for a lottery, and asked if he could go to the Kanto?

Zhang Zongchang bought a stick of incense and two rolls of yellow mounting paper in a grocery store, washed his hands in a pond, and then hurried to Wudao Temple. Wudao Temple is already dilapidated, the courtyard wall has no courtyard wall, the thatched roof is rotten, and the two ends of the three temples are all leaking; The pile of incense tables was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the lingering fragrance could not be smelled at all; the bunch of bamboo sticks in the half-bamboo tube was also uneven in length.Only the five generals stared at Rong Rong.Huanying Gushan has a charitable outlook.Zhang Zongchang lit incense, lit the yellow mounting paper, then knelt down piously, prayed for a long time, stood up, carefully took out a bamboo stick from the stick holder, and looked at it carefully.

Zhang Zongchang studied in a private acquaintance for a year, and dropped out of school the year his mother remarried and left, so he didn't know a few words.After looking at the bamboo stick for a long time, I still don't understand it completely.I had no choice but to say: "I'm sorry, General, I have to take the lottery away. Please ask someone to read the meaning before sending it back." Zhang Zongchang came to a scholar's home with a bamboo stick in his arms, explained his purpose, took out the stick, and said: "Please, old gentleman, criticize and explain for me, and show me a way." The old man put on his glasses, looked at the lottery and thought to himself: "This Zhongchang can be regarded as a little ruffian in the village. He has done all kinds of things like chicken and dog robbery; he has been in the Kanto for a few years, and he is more honest on the surface. Who knows what's going on in his heart? It is also a disaster in the village, but it is a good thing for the village to be able to fly away." So he put the lottery on the table and smiled. "Good sign, good sign. Sign up, sign up!" "How do you say it?" Zhang Zongchang asked anxiously.The old man shook his head, and said in a rhyme: The dark clouds cover the moon for a long time, and the peach blossoms and willows are green and beautiful.Kunpeng spreads its wings for 100,000 miles, rides the mist and clouds to heaven. "I'm going to heaven, wouldn't it be the best lottery?" The old man bowed his hands to Zhang Zongchang He, and said: "It's just..." Hearing that he was going to heaven, Zhang Zongchang was very pleasantly surprised.I saw the old man paused the topic for a while.Feel in trouble.Busy to ask: "How is it, old man? And disaster?" The old man shook his head and said: "It's not a disaster. The sign says 'Kunpeng spreads its wings a hundred thousand miles', which seems to be interesting." "What's the meaning?" "I'm afraid it means that your success is not local, you have to go out, Gao Fei." "Yes, yes, yes!" Zhang Zongchang said ∥ I was planning to go to Kanto again. " "Oh, I understand." The old man said: "This lottery tells you that the farther you go, the higher you fly, the greater your future. I congratulate you. On that day, I will have to ask you for a wedding wine!" "Yes, yes." Zhang Zongchang took back the sign, and said as he walked out, "One day I will be a fool, and I will definitely return to our Zhujia Village to thank you." Zhang Zongchang went back to Wudao Temple again, put the bamboo stick into the stick, knelt down, arched his hands, faced the muddy tire of General Wudao, and said: "Thank you, General, for your guidance. I will go to Kanto tomorrow. If I am really a good person, and I look like a dog, I will rebuild the temple and build a golden body." After paying homage to the five generals, he returned to his thatched hut and said to Mrs. Jia, "Dingli, Dingli. I'll go to Kanto again." Hearing that her husband was really leaving, Jia wept instead. "Didn't you persuade me to go out? Why are you crying again? I won't leave if I cry." "It's not that I don't want you to go, but I think you can't." Jia said, "As the saying goes, poor families get rich. You see, there are four empty corners in our house. What can I give you as money? Hit us How do you go from home to Kanto, across the ocean, thousands of miles away?" Zhang Zongchang woke up suddenly, yes, the travel expenses have not yet been paid, how to leave? He frowned. du8.com copyright Three years ago, when Zhang Zongchang went to Guandong for the first time, he relied on the support of his fellow villager Zhu Xinde.After arriving in the Northeast, it took three months of panning for gold to pay off, which also made the two of them turn against each other.Now, who should I ask for help? Zhang Zongchang thought about it, but he had no idea.He suddenly remembered He Fuju, a friend he met when he was playing cymbals with his father, and he heard that the past two years have been pretty good.He missed the old trumpet's affection for him back then, He Fuju would not reject him.Therefore, Zhang Zongchang ran nine miles to He Fu's home - He Village that day. Zhang Zongchang inquired about the door of the house, so he went straight. "Is Brother He at home?" He Fuju is two years older than Zhang Zongchang, but he is half a foot shorter in stature. He is as thin as a monkey, and he is a little expert at stealing chickens and dogs.In the past two years, the National People's Congress has grown bolder, and together with a few cronies and friends, they have started to do "next night" activities.Last night, I dug out a rich man's nest, and he was lying in the house during the day to rest.Hearing people shouting, he shivered at first, thinking that it was "something happened in the east window".Thinking about someone calling "Big Brother", I felt calmer.He came to the door quietly, and took advantage of the crack to look out. Seeing that it was Zhang Zongchang, he hurriedly opened the door with both hands, and rushed over with open arms, sighing and laughing. "Father, why did the wind blow you here? Last year, I heard that you were digging coal in Sandaogou and died in the pit. I heard that you came to marry a woman when you got rich. Why do you think of my brother and me again?" Huh? Come in the house, come in the house." Zhang Zongchang followed He Fuju into the house, saw that there was only one quilt on the small wooden bed, and there was no woman's article in the whole room, knowing that he was still a bachelor, he said: "Brother He, I heard you posted it, why is it still a wooden stick?" "I don't like women." He Fuju said: "Women are exhausting goods. They have to eat and wear clothes, and they have to support her after giving birth. It's good to be alone. If one person is full, the whole family will not be hungry. Do whatever you want, how comfortable you are!" "There must be a home!" "Why do you want a home? No." He Fuju said: "If you don't come to the door for nothing, what do you want me to do? Just tell me. If I can do it, I will do it right away; if I can't, you go your own way." People are refreshing, and words are refreshing.Zhang Zongchang is also such a quick-tempered person. He opened the door to see, "Brother is a fool. He married a woman at home, and he is naked. I want to go to Kanto and save money. For this, I came to my brother. For the sake of my father, I will give my brother a hand, brother." If the job is overturned, the principal and interest will be paid back together; if it is not for the sake of the father, if you don't want to pull the brother, the brother will turn around and leave." "Well, you blackmailed me!?" He Fuju put his face away, and said, "A dignified man of three feet wants to travel to the east of the Kanto. With this, he's a coward! Well? I'm afraid I won't have enough money to spend on robbery along the way. Don't believe me?" He turned around on the spot, sighed, and said, "Brother, what you think is also reasonable. You are a person who handles big things, so you can't go all the way and sell all the way. House robbery is the work of small people, you It’s okay not to do it. How much does it cost, just say, don’t be a father or not, and use it as a tiger’s skin. I learned to play the trumpet from my father and was loved by the old man. I will never forget it. But, it’s none of your business .Dad is dead, you and I are also friends, what can I say?" Zhang Zongchang grinned widely. "Brother is right, brother bastard." Zhang Zongchang said the amount of money he wanted to borrow, and grinned again. He Fuju frowned and thought about it, then said: "From Ye County to Kanto, this number is very tight. But, unlike me, you left with nothing. You have a bear woman in your family. You can't leave her alone. In this way, I will add one more." Turn it over, this one is reserved for women to live with." Zhang Zongchang arched his hands and grinned again. "Thank you, big brother, or big brother is thoughtful." "Don't be too happy," He Fuju said, "I don't have a penny right now. You have to give me three days." "You have to do it again?" "What are you talking about? If you don't do it, someone will come to your door? Don't look at some guys who are very rich. If you don't do it, he won't give you a penny." "So, big brother is in trouble. I won't borrow it brother, I'll think of another way." "Are you afraid? I don't want you to do it." He Fuju said, putting his ear on Zhang Zongchang's, He lowered his voice and said, "Yesterday, a brother who 'stepped on the nest' reported that the Wang family in Qiancun received dozens of land contracts, and the money was used for more than that. The inheritance is also a bitch, and the eldest son is the county. Officer, you are an expert at scraping land, we have to scrape him. You go, I will deliver it to your door in three days." Zhang Zongchang left. He Fuju, who has studied as a trumpeter for two years, even though he knows a few sets of trumpet brands, always feels that the money is too slow, and he abandons his instincts and quits.It's just that they never mess with the common people. Those who attack are the rich and high officials.Therefore, the local people not only do not object to them, but sometimes even protect them.That night, He Fuju found several brothers and explained that "it was for a poor brother to go to Kanto to make money," and hoped that everyone would help.The brothers were also happy, and they did it the next night. It went very smoothly and succeeded in one fell swoop.He took a silver pot from the Wang family and left a "promissory note", which stated: The brothers had no money to travel through the Guandong, so they had to borrow it temporarily.In the coming day, luck will be good, and both principal and profit will be returned.If the brother is an asshole, I'm sorry, it's your bad luck. Early the next morning, He Fuju brought the robbed silver dollars to Zhujia Village and handed them to Zhang Zongchang.and say: "Brother, I won't see you off, I wish you a smooth journey. Don't forget this brother, you are like a dog in Kanto; if you meet a wild cat and die in the deep mountains and old forests, don't blame the big brother for not taking your body! " After all, he withdrew and disappeared. With the travel expenses and the money to settle down, Zhang Zongchang made some arrangements for his wife, and said goodbye to his father-in-law Jia Yongquan's house, and then decided on the date of departure.Before leaving, Jia Yongquan brought a jug of wine to see his son-in-law off, and said a bunch of blessings.Zhang Zongchang held up the cup and brought it to Lao Taishan, and unexpectedly said a few serious words: "Father, please take care of me at home. You need to take care of me. She has some money in her hand, not much, so save money. I will go to Kanto for three or five years, and when I am done, I will come back and live with you all the time." .In case of disaster..." Jia Yongquan hurriedly waved his hands to stop him, saying: "When you go far away, you must say auspicious words. In three to five years, I will welcome you with a colorful shed." Zhang Zongchang also nodded and said: "When the time comes, I will take eight sedan chairs and kowtow to your old door to thank you!"