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The bell of Haotian became more and more rapid, and the villagers ran into the house, turned around and pulled the door bolt.

clap clap.

The sound of closing doors and windows came one after another, and even the poultry and livestock in the village seemed to sense something, and returned to the barn in a panic, cowering and hiding, without making a sound.

Come here!

A deliberately soft voice came from the front, and a middle-aged couple in plain brown clothes stood by the door, waving to Li Ang and the others.

Walk.

Seeing this, Li Ang immediately ran over, followed by Guan Anyan.

The middle-aged couple opened the door, and when Li Ang and the others entered the house, they immediately closed the wooden door, pulled the bolt, locked the door with the key, took a few steps back, and turned to close the window.

Through the gap in the window, one can clearly see that the afterglow of the setting sun outside the window is gradually dimming, and the deep night is like a thick and unknown curtain, covering the mountainous area.

Is it all closed?

It's all closed.

The middle-aged couple made sure that the doors and windows of the house were closed, and then they breathed a sigh of relief. They turned to look at Li Ang and the two who didn't know why, and asked with a smile, Are you two guests from outside the village?

yes.

Li Ang nodded, pointed to the closed door, This is.

Oh, this is the curfew custom in our Qishui Village,

The middle-aged man said: Once it gets dark, you must go back to the house and cannot go out.

Water Village.

Guan Anyan's heart skipped a beat. This village had been destroyed three hundred years ago, and there were no living people. So what kind of thing is it that appears here now?

Is it?

Li Ang pretended to agree, and at the speed at which the villagers were running for their lives just now, it didn't look like a normal curfew.

However, he did not continue to ask, but introduced himself: My name is Lu Fei, from Chang'an, and this is my sister. I don't know who you are

Although the middle-aged man was also wearing a coir raincoat and was leaning on a hoe by his feet, his face was pale, without many wrinkles, and his conversation style was not like that of ordinary farmers in the Sui Dynasty, as if he had read a book.

Zhuo Wenbai is also from Chang'an. This is my wife, Lai Qiu.

Zhuo Wenbai introduced his wife. The latter bowed awkwardly to Li Ang and Guan Anyan first, then reached out and gently tugged at her husband's sleeve, and whispered to her husband, Da Lang, Luer hasn't come back yet.

She's playing with her friends in the ancestral hall, she's fine. I'll pick her up at dawn.

Zhuo Wenbai said softly to his wife: Go to the kitchen to prepare some food and entertain the guests. Just cook the fish, the one in the tank. Have you made a reservation?

Lai Qiu's expression was a little hesitant, as if the fish they were talking about was very precious, but he still couldn't resist her husband's gentle gaze, pursed his lips, turned and went to the kitchen.

I heard the accents of the two just now, so I guessed that you are also from Chang'an.

Zhuo Wenbai smiled and greeted Li Ang and the two to sit down, and said enthusiastically: I have been away from Chang'an for many years, and the traffic in Qishui Village is inconvenient, so it is difficult to see fellow villagers in Chang'an. If you don't mind, you two will have dinner at my house tonight Come on. Wait for a while, I'll go get the wine brewed by myself.

He turned and walked towards the kitchen, his back disappeared, Li Ang and Guan Anyan looked at each other, and raised their hands to signal each other to be calm.

There are more than one problem in this village. The other villagers all look dull and sluggish. Only Zhuo Wenbai and his wife seem more intelligent.

Moreover, Li Ang still maintains the strange combination of bamboo hat, coir raincoat, and scarf, without revealing his appearance.

If it was placed on Chang'an Avenue, it would be arrested and interrogated within minutes by the Zhenfu Department on the grounds of sneaky behavior.

But Zhuo Wenbai and his wife accepted this without any hindrance, which is suspicious no matter how you look at it.

Soon Zhuo Wenbai returned to the house with a jar of wine, opened the jar, poured two jugs of wine, and chatted with Li Ang.

Zhuo Wenbai claimed to be from the south of Chang'an City. He came to Qishui Village in Bingzhou by chance more than ten years ago. He was attracted by the scenery here and lived in seclusion here. He also married a wife and had a daughter together.

Li Ang made indirect remarks, and from the words used by the other party, he found that he really echoed the speaking style of the pre-Sui people. For example, he said that Bingzhou had the Minister of the Minister of the Provincial Department of Hebei Daoxingtai—this official position only existed in the Pre-Sui Dynasty.

During the conversation, the sound of pots and pans clashing, kitchen knives chopping bones, and

Whoa, whoa—

A shrill cry came from the kitchen, and Guan Anyan and Li Ang subconsciously turned their heads to look in the direction of the kitchen.

Hehe, this is the cry of the black fish in our village, you two haven't heard it before?

Zhuo Wenbai said with a smile: The black fish in our Qishui village will cry when they are slaughtered. This is a normal reaction, so don't be too surprised.

Accompanied by his words, a seductive aroma of food floated over from the direction of the kitchen, so fragrant that it didn't seem like fish.

Aren't you two here for the Qishui Village celebration the day after tomorrow?

Zhuo Wenbai smiled.

celebration?

Li Ang was puzzled from the bottom of his heart, but he still remained calm on the surface, and said as usual: Yes, our brothers and sisters came here because of the fame. But on the way here, I heard several versions of the explanation, and I still don't know the origin of the celebration. I don't know if Brother Zhuo can Can you help me out?

Haha, of course.

Zhuo Wenbai said with a smile: The Qishui Village celebration is to commemorate the Qishui God. According to legend, in ancient times, a group of refugees fled into the mountains to avoid the rebellious army. Because there was no food, the refugees were very hungry, and many of them were still alive. die.

At this moment, a person found a circular lake behind the mountain—that is, Qishui Lake.

The surrounding area of ​​the lake is perfect, the water quality is clear and bright, and the black fish swimming in it can be clearly seen.

Each black fish is more than 20 inches in size, extremely fat, and the number is huge.

The refugees were overjoyed and tried to catch or directly catch the fish in the lake.

But those snakeheads disdain to eat the bait thrown in, and they are extremely agile and flexible, no matter whether they are caught with a fishing rod or a fishing net, they cannot be caught.

Some people tried to jump directly into the lake and catch fish directly, but the lake water was freezing cold, and they would freeze to death within half a moment in it.

Similarly, the method of building a dam in the lake will not work—the water in Qishui Lake is extremely deep, and no matter how many stones are thrown into it, it will not be possible to reach the bottom. Some people even suspect that the lake water is connected to an underground river.

Seeing that hundreds of refugees were starving to death while guarding the lake full of fish, a young man who claimed to be familiar with water stepped forward—he took off his shirt, braved the severe cold and jumped into the lake. A fat black fish was caught.

By the second, the third

Soon the shore of the lake was full of black fish, and the refugees finally survived, but the young man died of hypothermia shortly after landing.

In order to thank him for his life-saving kindness, the refugees built a temple in his image, named Qishui God, and worshiped it every year.

The descendants of those refugees settled in the mountains, gradually forming the current Qishui Village.

at this time,

Zhuo Wenbai's wife came over with a pot of fish soup.

The fish meat was crystal clear, the fish soup was as white as snow, and the green onions sprinkled on it were bright green, exuding an irresistible food aroma.

Gudong.

Guan Anyan, who was sitting next to Li Ang, swallowed subconsciously.

Zhuo Wenbai picked up the chopsticks, held up a piece of crystal clear fish, and introduced with a smile: Because the black fish produced in Qishui Village is so delicious, the residents in the surrounding towns flock to it, and one fish can even sell for hundreds of pieces.

Shangbaiguan is so exaggerated

Li Ang raised his eyebrows. The purchasing power of Baiguan in the former Sui Dynasty was higher than it is now.

Yeah, it's because of the high price and the good sales that Qishui Village is richer than other villages and towns.

However, we only catch fish from the lake and sell them during the festival in the last few days of November every year.

Zhuo Wenbai nodded and said: On the one hand, it is because of the ancestor's precept that overfishing should not be done to prevent the extinction of fish schools.

On the other hand, because the snakehead in the lake is as agile and nimble as ever, a single fishing net can't catch it at all. It takes the whole village to use a super-large fishing net to cover the entire lake to catch fish.

This fish is one of the ones distributed to our family in the village last year.

It had been kept for a year, and it was going to be sold to a Juren named Hou in Bingzhou City, but this year it was rare to meet a fellow from Chang'an, so he simply cooked it and ate it, and sold it to that Juren the day after tomorrow.

Thank you, brother Zhuo, for your kindness.

Li Ang's heart moved, the black fish sentiment produced in Qishui Village is still an expensive commodity that people flock to,

No wonder I saw before that many of the buildings in the village were relatively clean and high-end courtyards, which were out of tune with the remote mountainous areas, making Qishui Village appear to be too rich.

Eat quickly, you two, it won't taste good when it gets cold.

Zhuo Wenbai urged with a smile: The black fish in our village is very special. If you cook it in the right way, you can see some strange scenes in your sleep after eating it.

A spectacle?

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, Isn't it a fairyland?

Hahaha, of course not.

Zhuo Wenbai shook his head and said with a smile: Some diners who have eaten the black fish in Qishui Village claim that they will see the silhouette of a young man in their sleep - he is the God of Qishui enshrined in our village.

Because the rumors are so miraculous, many diners come here for this. You two might as well give it a try, maybe you can see it too.

Is it.

Li Ang looked at the plump fish in the basin, which made people move their index fingers, and slowly picked up the chopsticks.

Slap.

Guan Anyan's foot lightly touched Li Ang under the table, signaling something strange.

'It goes without saying. '

Li Ang squinted his eyes, and slowly picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks. According to the legends of the Sui Dynasty, the fish that can make people see hallucinations sounds weird.

But Mosi's avatar does not have a digestive system.

Under the expectant eyes of Zhuo Wenbai and his wife, Li Ang ate this piece of fish. The moment he closed his mouth, moss rolled in his mouth, and he cut the fish into pieces and checked the ingredients.

No parasite eggs or the like were found, but it was more tender than ordinary fish.

Li Ang continued to eat calmly, filled the hollow abdominal cavity of Mosi's avatar with all the fish meat and fish soup, chanted words, and kept expressing his appreciation for the fish soup with an intoxicated tone.

He ate up the whole pot of fish soup with the momentum of wind and clouds, and there was not even a little bit left.

When Zhuo Wenbai and his wife came to their senses, he was still licking the spoon in amazement.

It really lives up to its reputation as a water-dwelling fish.

Li Ang paused for a moment, then suddenly put on an annoyed and regretful look, and looked at Guan Anyan, Hey, I was in a hurry, and I forgot to save some for you. It really shouldn't be.

it's okay no problem.

Guan Anyan instantly understood Li Ang's intentions, and the two sang together, covering up the fact that Guan Anyan didn't eat fish.

Well

Zhuo Wenbai looked at the empty copper basin, he was stunned for a while before he realized, and nodded with a strange expression, Actually, it should be served with a bowl of rice, it would be better.

Mr. Lu, your sister hasn't eaten dinner, isn't she hungry? Do I need to ask my wife to order again?

No, she ate too much at noon, she's not hungry at all.

Li Ang didn't care if he would be considered by the Zhuo Wenbai couple as the elder brother who abused his sister, so he waved his hands and evaded it perfunctorily.

All right,

Zhuo Wenbai nodded, If the two of you don't have a place to stay tonight, why don't you stay here now? I still have a vacant room at home, but there is only one room left. I don't know if the two of you would mind.

It's okay, one room is fine.

Li Ang immediately agreed, got up and followed Zhuo Wenbai's guidance, and went to the room on the second floor with Guan Anyan.

Zhuo Wenbai and his wife said: If you have any needs, just ask, but after going to bed at night, you can't leave the room anyway.

Li Ang asked, Huh? Can't leave the room? Why?

Cough, to be honest, people in our village have more or less nocturnal symptoms. They wake up at night and walk around the house, so the doors of all the houses in the village are designed to require multiple keys. The structure that can unlock the lock.

Zhuo Wenbai said with some embarrassment: Before going to bed, you should hide things that can hurt you, such as knives. It's not that our couple will hurt you two, but if you meet them, you may be scared. you guys.

In addition, if the night outing happens, no matter what our husband and wife say outside the house, the two of us should not open the door. You have to wait until dawn, when the morning sun shines through the cracks in the windows, before you can open the door—by then we should be back to normal.

.clear.

Li Ang nodded, watched Zhuo Wenbai and his wife walk out of the house, and snapped the door bolt shut. And inside the door, they heard the footsteps of Zhuo Wenbai and his wife gradually drifting away, and walked downstairs.

When the footsteps disappeared completely, Guan Anyan immediately took out the paper and pen from the package, wrote and drew on the paper, and communicated with Li Ang.