Chapter 3 Chapter Two Two Big Mysteries

Zhuo Changgen picked up the bowl, that big bowl of Baigan was nothing to an adult, but to a nine-year-old child, it was enough to make him unconscious. Of course those people don’t know that Zhuo Changgen grew up drinking alcohol. The kumiss on the Mongolian grasslands is strong and difficult to drink. Zhuo Changgen can drink a large leather bag without changing his face. To him, it's really nothing.And what he did wrong was that his eyes turned to look at Ma Jinhua.He didn't say anything at all, but his expression, what he wanted to say, and the people he was looking at could understand it all at once.

Ma Jinhua understood immediately, and she said loudly, "I want to drink a bowl too." In his life, the owner of the Drunken Trojan Horse Horse, who has gone through countless storms, would not be more surprised even if two heads fell from the sky, landed on the ground, and bit his feet again!As soon as he heard that his precious daughter wanted to drink a bowl, his hands trembled, and even a little of the wine in the bowl was shaken out. You can see how surprised he was, even his voice trembled a little. But he only called out: "Golden Flower." He didn't say anything more, because he knew that when his daughter was younger, no one could stop her from doing what she wanted to do.

So, Ma Jinhua picked up a bowl of wine and drank it down without looking at Zhuo Changgen! Everyone drank heavily, but they still couldn't help paying attention to Ma Jinhua. Ma Jinhua drank a large bowl of white dry food, and seemed to have nothing to do. As soon as he was lifted up, he leaned back, and with a "boom", the back of his little head hit the ground paved with big green bricks heavily. After Ma Jinhua fell down, she didn't wake up until the fourth day. The lump on the back of her head didn't recover until eight days later. All kinds of stories about Ma Jinhua have been recited, but no one knows about her getting drunk except everyone present.Everyone who was present at that time did not tell anyone about it.Because they all know that Ma Jinhua has a strong competitive nature. That time she tried to drink a large bowl of white dry, her internal organs turned upside down, and she even vomited yellow bile. Wine no longer sticks to lips.

There are many legends about the reason why Ma Jinhua doesn't drink, but of course they are all incorrect. The real reason is because of the big bowl of Baigan that she drank in one go when she was six years old. Zhuo Changgen regretted that he used a challenging look to make Ma Jinhua drink the big bowl of Baigan, not at that time, but after several years.At that time, he only thought it was funny, and when Ma Jinhua fell down, he couldn't help laughing. But it was several years later that he realized how hostile Ma Jinhua felt towards him because of this incident. That really made him regret it!

At that time, when Ma Jinhua fell drunk, Ma Zuimu smiled wryly, and immediately took Ma Jinhua in, and someone took care of her. The rest of the people continued to drink, and everyone drank three bowls. Zhuo Changgen's father put down the wine bowl, and bowed his hands to Ma Zuimu and everyone: "Please the owner of the horse farm and everyone, Changgen, whoever raises horses He'll do anything." After Zhuo Changgen's father finished speaking, he turned around and left.Because his words and deeds were so abrupt, everyone was stunned for a moment, and no one made a sound.Everyone thought that he would tell Ma Zuimu about the difficulties he encountered.He came all the way to Ma's Ranch to ask for help, and he is healthy and healthy, so he must have some deadly enemy. Ma Zuimu has already said that he is willing to take on it. With such a good opportunity, he should naturally put his own Encounter, to speak out in detail, is the truth.

But he just drank three bowls of wine and left without saying a word, which was really unexpected. What's even more strange is that Zhuo Changgen didn't follow him, but just stood upright. Zhuo Changgen felt sad, everyone could see it.Although he was standing still, his hands were tightly clenched into fists, even his knuckles were white, and the flesh on his face was constantly throbbing.He didn't even look back at his father, maybe he was afraid that if he turned around and saw his father's back, he would not be able to help crying. Zhuo Changgen's father walked about ten steps and was almost out of the hall when Ma Zuimu shook abruptly and called out: "Brother Zhuo, wait a minute."

Zhuo Changgen's father stood still, but did not turn around, and his voice sounded very calm: "What else can the owner of the racecourse ask for?" Ma Zuimu's voice was a little angry: "Brother Zhuo, you don't treat us here as friends. You can give us the long root, which is very kind, but it is your own business, why don't you say it?" Zhuo Changgen's father still did not turn around: "I have already told Chang Gen all about me." Zhuo Changgen almost cried out, full of anger: "No, dad, you didn't say anything to me." Listening to the conversation between the father and son, everyone was even more puzzled.

Zhuo Changgen's father said: "What I can tell you, I have already told you. After I leave, you can tell the owner of the racecourse and a few uncles." Zhuo Changgen pursed his lips tightly and did not say a word, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and Ma Zuimu walked forward: "Brother Zhuo, why do you need to ask the child to tell the story? How about you tell us yourself?" Zhuo Changgen's father took a deep breath, still did not turn around, but raised his head. His tone was heavy and slow, but he was very firm: "Ten years ago, I did something. Ten years later, I must pay the price for what I did. The price is death. I want to go to a place Where to go to die, you have to go, and you can’t go.”

Ma Zuimu immediately asked: "What's the matter?" Zhuo Changgen's father smiled "haha" and said, "Racing owner, I won't say anything, I'm just dying. If I say so, ten thousand deaths won't be enough to atone for my crime of breaking my promise." Few people had something to ask, but as soon as he said this, everyone blocked their mouths. Walking in the rivers and lakes, standing in the world, the most important thing is to keep promises. If he has promised someone that he will never tell what he has done, he will go to the mountain of swords and fall into the pan of oil, and he will definitely not say it.As his friend, he should not be forced to speak out.

At that moment, the owner of the racecourse and everyone looked at each other and made two winks.The few present were all old brothers of Ma Zuimu, of course they were not very clear about Ma Zuimu's behavior, they immediately understood, one of them walked out towards the side door with very light steps.Ma Zuimu spoke loudly on purpose to cover up the inaudible footsteps of the man: "Brother Zhuo, since this is the case, everyone has their own aspirations, and it is inconvenient for me to force each other." Zhuo Changgen's father suddenly sighed: "Racing owner, you don't need to send someone with me to find out why I have to die. If you do this, you will not help me, but will harm me."

The arrangement that Ma Zuimu was thinking in his heart was rightly pointed out without even saying a word, which made Ma Zuimu somewhat embarrassed, so he could only smile dryly: "Brother Zhuo, since you said that, I have no choice but to let it go." Zhuo Changgen's father paused for a while, then strode out again, walked out, and walked out of the hall.All eyes immediately focused on Zhuo Changgen, and Zhuo Changgen said angrily: "That's all, my father only told me this! He said he must die, and once he leaves, he will never come back again. That's all he said when he asked me to be a good person in Ma's Ranch." Ma Zuimu walked back and forth for a few steps, then stood still: "Little brother, it's up to you to decide whether you want to send someone to follow you." Zhuo Changgen's answer came quickly and decisively: "Of course, no one misses their father, who died for no reason." Ma Zuimu said loudly: "Okay." The matter of sending someone to follow Zhuo Changgen's father was decided in this way, and it was implemented immediately. Ma's Ranch is thousands of miles away, with great influence, and dense eyeliner. Leaving Ma's Ranch, how many roads can you go from south to north, east to west, even if you don't take the main road, you copy the wilderness trails, homing pigeons Once released, as soon as the people in front received it, wherever Zhuo Changgen's father went, there would be "special care" and a report back immediately. For the first three days, the report was very normal. After Zhuo Changgen's father left, he walked northwestward, walking alone in the same direction, and traveled nearly 500 miles in three days. Then, he disappeared as if in thin air, and there was no more information about him. This is really impossible!His actions were watched almost every mile. The place where he disappeared was the border between Shaanxi Province and Suiyuan Province, a rather large salt lake called Dahaizi, a desolate piece of saline-alkali land. Since Zhuo Changgen's father has not changed his direction, it is not difficult to know his whereabouts, and Ma Zuimu speculates that he may have returned to the Mongolian grassland. The report on the third night said that he set up a small camp by a bush, lit a bonfire, stared at the bonfire in a daze, and did not enter the small camp until midnight. A person pretending to be a shepherd approached the small tent, but he was no longer there. The tents and horses are there, but the people are gone.Even if he found someone following him, abandoned his horse and drove away overnight, then Qian Qian would still find him, but he never appeared again. The search team consisted of the most experienced people. Even if a wild rabbit passed by seven days ago, they could tell, but after seven or eight days in a row, there was no sign of it. Half a month later, Ma Zuimu took Zhuo Changgen to the place where Zhuo Changgen's father camped last. Zhuo Changgen didn't cry, he just looked at the tent and stood there without moving.He was very familiar with the small camp. His father raised horses on the prairie, and the small tent was set up in a different place every night to protect the father and son from wind, rain, snow and frost.But at this time, the tent was empty, and his father did not know where he had gone.According to his father, he must die!So, did he die there?If dead, what about the corpse? He stood for a long time, no one urged him, Ma Zuimu stood by him.It wasn't until it was completely dark that Zhuo Changgen said: "The owner of the horse farm, go back to the ranch!" Ma Zuimu really likes Zhuo Changgen's rock-like resolute character that he has shown since he was a child, not to mention that he once promised that the benefits brought by the one hundred excellent horses will all belong to Zhuo Changgen's name. Therefore, Zhuo Changgen's status in Ma's ranch is very special, and no one dares to bully him.And Zhuo Changgen soon let everyone know that he is a first-class horse herding expert. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was already tall and strong enough to look like an adult.He doesn't take advantage of his special status at all, but he eats and lives with the other horse herds, has a bold personality, and everyone likes him--that's the heartfelt liking of a rough man, and people much older than him also like him. He will not show his status as a veteran in front of him, and he will not be treated as a child, but only as a friend. There was a time when even most people believed that Zhuo Changgen could become Ma Zuimu's son-in-law. However, the relationship between Zhuo Changgen and Ma Jinhua was extremely bad.After Ma Jinhua sobered up, she didn't completely ignore Zhuo Changgen, and the two got very close. Four years later, Ma Jinhua suddenly asked Zhuo Changgen one day: "Where did your father go? What did he do and why did he have to die? Don't play tricks, tell me honestly." Zhuo Changgen simply replied: "I don't know!" Ma Jinhua said: "You must know, how can you not tell your son why you are going to die?" What Ma Jinhua said was human nature, but these two words hurt Zhuo Changgen deeply.As early as four years ago, his father had simply told him that he was going to die, and he had pressed him to tell him the details. But his father didn't tell him, which made him feel that there was a gap and distance between himself and his father, which made him extremely sad, so at that time, his father told him everything, and he immediately protested loudly. And this pavilion, in Zhuo Changgen's heart, is a very serious wound, and he never wants to touch it. But Ma Jinhua wanted to find secrets in his trauma.He turned around abruptly, his voice hoarse: "I don't know, I really don't know." But Ma Jinhua also felt stubborn: "You must know that if you don't tell me about this, you will never talk to me again, and I will never talk to you again." Zhuo Changgen didn't say a word at that time, just held his head high, and strode away. Ma Jinhua wanted to stop him, but when he thought of the hard words just now, he forcibly endured it. From then on, Zhuo Changgen and Ma Jinhua never spoke a single word.It sounds impossible, but this kind of thing will happen to two people with such rigid tempers. Ma Jinhua is a very upright person, she just doesn't talk to Zhuo Changgen, and she never bullies others and troubles Zhuo Changgen.Zhuo Changgen also ignored it calmly and did what he should do. Knowing this situation, Ma Zuimu was angry and funny at the same time, and called Zhuo Changgen and Ma Jinhua together, but they looked at me and I looked at you, and neither of them would speak first. With these two children, there is nothing to do. The two of them looked at each other, but neither of them would speak first. In the years to come, every month, there would always be several times——Although the Mashi Ranch is large, but two skilled horsemen, There is always a chance to meet. When they grew up, Zhuo Changgen regretted it more than once, thinking whether he should break the deadlock of not talking to her, but, for an ordinary person, what could never be easier, but for Zhuo Changgen, it was the easiest thing to do. difficulty.Zhuo Changgen felt that it was absolutely impossible to find another girl like Ma Jinhua, and he also knew that it was very easy to break the deadlock, as long as he called her first. But that phrase "Golden Flower" is more difficult than anything else. Many times, Zhuo Changgen rode out in the middle of the night to the untouched wilderness, called "Golden Flower" to the wilderness, and exhausted all his strength. He screamed vigorously until his throat became hoarse. However, when he saw Ma Jinhua, especially when he met Ma Jinhua's arrogant and mocking eyes, his throat seemed to be locked and he couldn't make a sound. Zhuo Changgen also knew that even if he spoke to Ma Jinhua first, it would no longer be useful, because a girl with a personality like Ma Jinhua would look down on him and think that he was not a good-for-nothing man who succumbed to others. Therefore, Zhuo Changgen could only sigh in secret, and acted indifferent and nonchalant in front of others, and put on a stubborn look in front of Ma Jinhua, even though his heart was twisted. Ninety-three-year-old Zhuo Changgen narrates his love history when he was a teenager. His eyes are shining, his expression is excited and sad, and his voice is full of passion.With his demeanor, anyone can see how deep his secret love for Ma Jinhua was in his heart back then. When Bai Su heard this, she sighed lightly: "Master Zhuo, it's your own fault, you can't ask her to speak to you first." Zhuo Changgen stretched out his big hand, and wiped it heavily on his wrinkled face: "It's her who is unreasonable first, I don't know what she wants to ask, she likes to talk, so I have to let it go." she." I was angry and funny at this upright old man. He clearly cared deeply about this secret love back then, but until now, he still has to pretend nothing happened. He was going to tell us a "mystery" in his heart, but when he talked about Ma Jinhua, he talked about her and himself, and talked so much. Since the emotional entanglement between Zhuo Changgen and Ma Jinhua has a lot to do with the development of things in the future, and the process is also very interesting, so I took the trouble to record it. Bai Su shook his head again at that time: "It's not difficult at all to say a word to a girl I like. Even if you say it, she ignores you. Anyway, you have already said a word, and if you say a few more words, it will be even more difficult. Difficult." Bai Su saw that Zhuo Changgen was very forthright, so she didn't beat around the bush and scolded him unceremoniously.When Zhuo Changgen heard this, he was stunned for a while, then he raised his hand, and with a sound of "pat", hit him hard on his own bald head.His strikes were really heavy, and Bai Su and I were taken aback. While beating himself, he scolded: "Pig, it's really a pig, why didn't I think of it?" As he spoke, he raised his hand to hit himself again, and I called, "Old man." As I shouted, I stretched out my hand quickly and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from hitting himself. But as soon as I stretched out my hand, his wrist suddenly flipped, and I grabbed it instead. The quick response was beyond my expectation.I retracted my hand, and he slashed at me with a slanted palm. I took the opportunity to flip my hand and grabbed his hand together. Both of them agreed and competed. I really never thought that a ninety-three-year-old man would have such a strong force. I didn't use all my strength. Seeing Zhuo Changgen's expression, he didn't use all his strength either, but it already made me feel his strength. strong.Then, he withdrew his hand suddenly, trying to pull me forward, and I could hardly stand still. I finally reacted quickly, and hurriedly sank my breath, and finally stabilized my body, not being pulled over by him. Zhuo Changgen laughed, let go of his hand, and I said sincerely: "The old man is very skillful." Zhuo Changgen smiled and said: "It's nothing, I practiced it since I was a child, anyone can do it a few times, and Miss Jinhua's martial arts is higher than mine." When he mentioned his martial arts cultivation, he still didn't forget about Ma Jinhua, which made Bai Su and I look at each other and couldn't help laughing.Zhuo Changgen was a little shy, and sighed: "Maybe it's because I haven't spoken for too long. Every day I don't speak, I feel more embarrassed to speak. At that time, if I spoke the next day, things might not be right. would be so stiff." Bai Su smiled: "After all, it happened many years ago. You told us from the very beginning that Ma Jinhua had been missing for five years for no reason, and she disappeared during that time when the horse was released?" Zhuo Changgen showed a very bewildered expression: "Yes, this lump has always been in my heart, I... I..." He talked here, probably because he was too excited to continue, so he stopped and took a deep breath. I said: "Old man, there should be two mysteries in your heart, one is the mysterious disappearance of Ma Jinhua, and the other mystery should be the mysterious disappearance of your father." Zhuo Changgen was taken aback, as if he had never thought about this question before: "My father? He is not missing, he is going to die somewhere, and since then, he has never appeared again, of course It is he who has arrived at that destination, and, moreover, is dead." I shook my head: "It's not that simple. There must be many twists and turns. Was the search at that time thorough enough?" Zhuo Changgen wiped his face with his big hand again, with a heavy expression, and after a while, he said: "It was so thorough, even the search for Miss Jinhua was nothing more than that. The owner of the racecourse is really right." Stay with my father, after he couldn’t find him, he sent many people out—” After Zhuo Changgen's father disappeared, Ma Zuimu organized a search team based on his status, but this person disappeared without a trace.So Ma Zuimu sent a large group of people out to investigate Zhuo Changgen's father's past. A man in his early forties would always have contact with others in his life.He once said to Ma Zuimu that an incident happened ten years ago, and now he must die if he goes there, and if he finds out what it is, the incident can be more or less clued. This investigation work was done very thoroughly, and at the beginning, it went smoothly. Zhuo Changgen's father is a good horse breeder and has been active on the Mongolian grasslands for a long time. The Mongolian people love horses. The princes and leaders of the tribes on the Inner Mongolia grasslands all treated him very politely. He only said that his surname was Zhuo, and he never Never mentioned his name to anyone. All the Mongols respected him very much and unanimously called him "Uncle Zhuo".Uncle Zhuo used to live in several tribes, and he lived by the Dali Lake for three years. He married a wife and had children there, and he married the most beautiful and capable Mongolian girl in Heshigten Banner.Generally speaking, Mongolian girls seldom marry foreigners, but because of his outstanding ability in raising horses, they are not regarded as outsiders. With this marriage. In the second year of marriage, he gave birth to Zhuo Changgen, but after three years, he was determined to leave, because the Mongolian girl—his wife—was sick and died, and he felt very sad, and he didn't want to stay in the sad land. Since then, he has been carrying Xiaozhuo Changgen on the grassland, walking from here to there, and also bringing his well-bred horses, and he has not hesitated to give his own stallions to Mongolian breeding everywhere. The horses go to breed. Therefore, Uncle Zhuo's name is extremely resounding on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.It sounds very easy, and it's just too much information collected. However, when investigating his past, a strange thing was discovered. Uncle Zhuo is so famous, it can be traced that he brought a hundred horses and Zhuo Changgen to Ma's Ranch.Pushing upwards, it can be pushed back ten years before him, when he appeared in Hexigten Banner, got married, and had children.But look further: where and what was he doing before the Hexigten Banner appeared?What is your origin?But there is no trace at all, no matter how to trace, there is no clue at all. Ten years ago, it suddenly appeared, and ten years later, it suddenly disappeared.Before he appeared, no one knew where he came from, and after he disappeared, no one knew where he went! A person with such an outstanding ability in raising horses must have a natural love for horses and an innate ability to communicate with horses, but various skills cannot be cultivated overnight, and must be the result of years of rigorous training. That is to say, Uncle Zhuo must have been a horse herder before, and it is impossible to engage in other industries.And it is absolutely certain that he has already been a very good horseman!Ma Zuimu thinks that he can definitely find out his origin, even if he has changed his name and surname, but his appearance cannot be changed.Even if he can even change his appearance, his way of raising horses must be passed down on the ranch where he worked.Therefore, the first stage of investigation work started again. Everyone thought that there must be a result soon. In terms of time, it was exactly ten years. Everyone guessed that Uncle Zhuo probably died on him ten years ago. , A major incident happened, so I arrived at the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Ten years is not too long. With his outstanding horseman, as long as he has lived on the ranch, people will definitely remember him.Therefore, the people sent out to investigate first asked the nearby large and small pastures, and gradually, the more they asked, the farther they went, and they continued to expand until they reached the southern part of Henan in the south, the coast of Shandong in the east, Outer Mongolia in the north, and the foot of Tianshan Mountain in the west. , Asked all over the pastures, large and small, and searched all the tribes that might raise horses, but no one knew about Uncle Zhuo. How grotesque it was!Where is this man from?It can't be from the water town in the south of the Yangtze River, right? Although there are people in the south of the Yangtze River who raise horses, there will never be such a good horse breeder who even the Mongols worship as gods. After nearly two years of investigation, what was obtained was only Uncle Zhuo's life situation in the past ten years. During those ten years, his life situation could not be more detailed.But ten years ago, they couldn't find out at all. Ma Zuimu had no choice but to call Zhuo Changgen in front of him, first drank three bowls of wine with Zhuo Changgen, and then told him the process of investigating his father's origin over the past two years.Then he asked, "What did your father do before the Hexigten Banner appeared?" Zhuo Changgen's answer made Ma Zui dumbfounded, he said in a daze, "Then how do I know? I was not born at that time." Ma Zuimu gave a startled voice: "Didn't he tell you about his past?" Zhuo Changgen shook his head: "No, father seldom talks about himself, but always talks about how beautiful his mother is and how capable he is... Dad never said anything about himself, and I never asked him." Ma Zuimu sighed, really helpless. When I heard this, I said loudly: "Old man, this is not very right, you two, father and son, depend on each other for life, he must tell you about his own past, he will definitely tell you." Zhuo Changgen looked very angry: "I'm telling the truth, I really didn't say it." Bai Su hurriedly smoothed things over: "The old man said he didn't say it, he must have never said it." She said, and gave me another hard look. I smiled wryly, but still muttered: "It doesn't make sense if you don't ask." Zhuo Changgen sighed: "At that time, I was still young and didn't know so much. When I grew up, I wanted to ask, but I didn't know who to ask." His tone was full of sadness, and I shook my head: "The owner of the racecourse is not quite right. We should focus on investigating where he went, not where he came from." Come." Zhuo Changgen simply replied: "He did his best, and we all did our best." I wanted to say something else, but Bai Su gave me a wink to signal me not to talk nonsense, so I thought for a while before I said: "A person can come from anywhere, China is so big, where does he come from, there is no way." investigation." Zhuo Changgen said slowly: "It is impossible for him to come from a very far place, because in Hexigten Banner, the first person who found him talked to him, and what he said was the authentic Shaanxi-Gansu dialect. As I said now. Young man, I heard that you are very good at studying various dialects, I will listen to you learning sentences." The language in the Shaanxi-Gansu area is basically the northern language system north of the Yellow River, but it has its own accent. I only learned a few words, and Zhuo Changgen laughed: "It's very similar, but when I listen to I can hear it, that's what I learned." I was a little unconvinced: "The first person to see your father is very good at distinguishing languages?" Zhuo Changgen nodded: "Yes, he is a horse dealer from Shaanxi, and he often travels inside and outside the pass." I looked at him, and Bai Su said: "Old man, did you go to Heshigten Banner to investigate?" Zhuo Changgen nodded: "Yes, I am half Mongolian, my grandmother is still alive, and my uncle is also there. When I was fifteen years old, I left Ma's Ranch and went back to Keshiketeng to see them. At the same time, I also want to know more about my father's ins and outs." I asked, "What did you discover?" Zhuo Changgen frowned: "Ask me, the first person who met my father, I have already said, was a horse dealer, that horse dealer... I also found him later, and he explained in detail how he met me Dad's experience." Bai Su and I are very interested. Zhuo Changgen's father is really a mysterious figure. No one knows where he came from, and no one knows his whereabouts.Full of mystery, the first person to see him is naturally very important. I didn't have time to ask: "What did the horse dealer say about the situation at that time?" Everyone in the yurt looked anxious, the leaders of the tribe were all there, and the horse dealer Jiang Zhong was also there. He was even more frowning, because the group of horses he selected last month were all sick. On the grassland, people are most afraid of sickness of livestock, not of people.When people are sick, they are born one by one, but when livestock are sick, they are born in groups. Thousands of horses can all die of illness within three or four days. ! Jiang Zhong has been here for two days, everything is ready, ready to drive the horses to the pass, but the horses are sick, and the people in the tribe who are good at healing livestock can't even tell what disease the horses are suffering from. Lying on the ground, a large number of horses, seemingly dying, were helpless and helpless. Everyone was discussing how to deal with it, but no one could think of a way. Jiang Zhong sighed: "Everyone, this is God against us. It seems that there is no hope for the horses, and I dare not take the deposit I paid. Everyone Take some losses." The Mongolian people are very honest in doing business, and the leader of the tribe shook his head: "No, there is no horse to hand over to you, how can we collect your money, we will return the deposit to you." Jiang Zhong sighed.Originally, this batch of good horses could bring him a lot of benefits in his budget, but at this time it was naturally ruined. He was thinking in his heart, whether he should go to other tribes to see if he could buy some horses and enter the customs , It's better than a trip in vain. At this moment, there was a noise outside the yurt. Jiang Zhong heard curses in Mongolian, and he also heard a person shouting in his local accent: "What kind of horse breeders are you?" ? So many horses are sick, and you just sit next to the sick horses, thinking nothing about it?" The Mongolian who was scolded by this man was angry because the horses were sick, and the language between the two sides could not understand, and the scolding sounded again, and it quickly turned into a fight. Jiang Zhong and the leaders of several tribes ran out of the yurt, and saw at least six or seven young men surrounding a man and making a move. The man was very tall, and the Mongols were good at wrestling, but six or seven people could not please one man at all. The man had long legs and big hands, and his movements were not very flexible, but his tall body was extremely strong. A Mongolian boy hugged his legs one by one, trying to knock him down, but he stood still, stretched out his hand, grabbed the backs of the two boys, and grabbed the two boys hard, making him Those two young men shouted loudly. Jiang Zhong ran over and called, "Don't do it, don't do it." The leader of the tribe also dismissed those young men. The man was standing upright. He looked about 30 years old. The clothes on his body looked very strange, wide and rough. After he stood still, he looked at Jiang Zhong angrily. Jiang Zhong could see the indescribable dignity in this man's expression. He had been in the horse buying business all his life and had met many people. He was very cunning, so he immediately bowed his hand to the man: "My friend, are you—" The man frowned: "I'm a horse breeder. Just now I saw that all the horses in the horse pen were sick—" He said, pointing to the horse circle not far away: "Why don't you go for treatment? That kind of disease, you will die within seven days!" Jiang Zhong was overjoyed: "Aren't we going to treat them? We are so worried about these sick horses that we are dying. My friend, you can cure them. Please show mercy." The man grinned: "So you don't know how to treat it! Really, why didn't you say it earlier, and go to quarry Long Rui." Jiang Zhong knew that "Shilongrui" was a kind of herbal medicine, which could be picked everywhere on the grassland, so he hurriedly translated the man's words, and among the people who came out from the yurt, some of them were specialized in treating horses. After hearing this, they let out an "ah", and one of them said, "Shi Longrui only treats horse sores, these sick horses—" The man obviously didn't understand Mongolian, and urged anxiously, "What are you waiting for?" Jiang Zhong translated that sentence to the man again, and the man waved his hand: "Shi Longrui's leaves, a large amount, boil water, while it is warm, feed the horses to drink, three times a day, the next day will be fine, take care of it. Do what I say." When he spoke, there was a natural authority. Jiang Zhong conveyed his words, and the leaders of the tribe immediately shouted loudly, and several young men rushed to spread the word. That night, everyone in the tribe was busy, boiled it into a green liquid medicine, and poured it into the mouth of the sick horse. The next morning, the sick horse had improved and could stand up.In the evening of the second day, the sick horse could neigh and kick its hooves, and could be fed with hay. Jiang Zhong admired and appreciated that man so much that he couldn't stop showing his friendship, but the man didn't like to talk very much, he just said: "My surname is Zhuo, and I'm a horse breeder." Jiang Zhong immediately changed his words and called the man "Uncle Zhuo" to show his respect.Later on the Mongolian grasslands, everyone called that man "Uncle Zhuo", and it was Jiang Zhong who first called him. When Zhuo Changgen found Jiang Zhong, Jiang Zhong was very impressed with that first time: "Your father saved us. Think about it, how could the Mongols let such a good horse herdsman leave? Just for him at that time We built a yurt specially for you, and you can get whatever you want, so your father lived in Heshigten Banner like this, and later, he married the top girl in the banner, and that’s how you were born, you are so tall now, really Like your father back then, what? Your father disappeared? Then why, since your mother died, hasn’t he been raising horses on the grassland?” Zhuo Changgen didn't tell Jiang Zhong how his father disappeared, but only asked: "You have contacts with racecourses everywhere, so why didn't you inquire about where my father came from?" Jiang Zhongdao: "Why not? That time I drove the horses into the customs. I told many people that there was such a good horse breeder. I didn't know which ranch he was in. How could he let him go? But the strange thing is , Speaking of it, no one has ever heard of someone like your father." 卓长根苦笑了一下，他父亲的来历，马醉木花了那么多人力物力查不出，江忠当时也留意过，也同样没有人知道。 卓长根没有再问甚么，他在他外婆家里住下来，他那时虽然只有十五岁，可是在养马方面的非凡才能，已经令人刮目相看。他对自己的母亲，一点印象也没有，由于他自小在草原上到处流浪，蒙古各族的语言，他都十分精通，所以，当他的外婆，一把眼泪，一把鼻涕，向他叙述他母亲是如何美丽能干，卓长根完全可以听得懂。 老外婆那年已经快七十了，卓长根陪了她几天，从她的口中，得知了很多母亲和父亲的事，短暂的婚姻生活十分甜蜜，老外婆欷歔地说着：“可惜时间太短，你娘死了，你爹伤心得甚么似的，亲自把她葬了。你爹有一块白玉，一直不离身佩带着，他要带你离开，把那块白玉解下来给了我，说是他令我失去了一个女儿，他心中也很难过。唉，那是天命啊，还能怪谁？这块白玉，我倒一直留着，你来了，就给你吧。”老外婆手发着颤，取出了一块长方形的白玉来，交给了卓长根。 卓长根当时就感到，这块父亲一直佩戴在身边的白玉，可能和他的来历有关，所以当时就收了下来，也一直佩带在身边。 那是一块质地极佳的白玉，纯洁通透，一点杂质也没有，整块玉温润得像是具有生命。玉大约有十二公分长，八公分宽，相当厚，厚度约莫是一公分，上面有着刻工十分古朴的虎纹。 卓长根讲到他的外祖母把这块白玉给他，就把那块白玉，取了出来，交给我和白素传观，所以我才能把它的形体详细描述。 那真是一块上佳的美玉，白素轻轻抚摸着它：“这种形状的古玉，有一个专门名称，叫'勒'，一般来说，形体不会那么大，我看这是战国时期的东西，不知道老爷子有没有拿去给识玉的人看过？” 卓长根笑了起来：“小女娃，你的话，已经证明你是一个识玉的人。” 白素一时之间，可能不能适应“小女娃”就是她，所以呆了一呆：“这种方勒，古人用来作佩饰，这件玉器的最早的主人，一定地位十分高，不然，怎能佩这样的美玉？” 卓长根连连点头：“小女娃说得对，我问过不少人，也曾到著名的古玩店去问过，北京一家大古玩店，一见就问我是不是肯出卖，一开口，就是三千大洋。我说不卖，他们就问我是哪里来的，我说是父亲的遗物，他们不信，说这样的玉器，是古玉之中最珍贵的，不会落在普通人的手中。” 他说到这里，顿了一顿：“可是，那又的确是我爹留下来的。虽然他是一个那么出色的牧马人，可是这东西和他的身分也不相配，不知道是怎么得来的。” 我在白素的手中，将那块白玉接了过来，真是一块好玉，上佳的美玉，有一种十分迷人的力量，叫人迷恋于它的质地和颜色。中国人一直相信玉可以辟邪，可以带来好运，象征着君子和忠贞，当然大有原因。 我道：“你得到了这块白玉之后，一定曾花过不少功夫去追索它的来历。” 卓长根点头：“是，所有的人都认定这是一块古玉，是战国，秦代的古物。” 白素侧着头，想了一想：“奇怪，一般来说，质地越是纯洁的白玉，在入土之后，就越容易产生各种颜色的斑迹，这块白玉，看起来未曾入过土。” 卓长根“嗯”地一声：“是，也有人对我这样说。当时我认为这块白玉，可以助我查出爹的来历，但结果还是没有用。我回到了牧场，和马场主提起，他见了那块玉，爱不释手。当时金花也在旁，她也喜爱不已，唉，当时我若是说：金花，你喜欢，就给了你吧。她一定会要的，那就好了。” 九十三岁的卓长根，又说到了他少年时的情爱纠缠上去了，我笑着：“老爷子，该回头说说那次放马出乱子的事了，马金花就是那次失踪的？” 卓长根深深地吸了一口气，手捏着拳，在自己的额角上轻轻地敲着，像是藉助这样的敲动，就可以把往事一点一滴，全都敲出来。