Xiao Qinghuan

Jiang Xiaohan dawdled, and the journey of a stick of incense took him for more than half an hour. When Wen Zhong finally looked forward to the big Buddha at the gate of Fu Yin, it was completely dark.

According to the law of the imperial court, magistrates don't need to buy another house, but can divide the mansion into two, and use the back hall as their home.

However, this Mr. Wen seems to have thoroughly understood the implementation of this law, and after turning the second door, the backyard is unique.

The servants of Wen's mansion led the way about five steps ahead with a delicate oil-paper lantern. Jiang Xiaohan waved his fan slowly, admiring the garden with great interest.

The Jiangnan-style garden has been carefully repaired. In the man-made lake under the nine-curved corridor, there are still a few red koi faintly visible. The lotus leaf waterscape on the lake is dotted sporadically.

"Master Wen, life is very comfortable." Jiang Xiaohan unfolded his fan, covered half of his face, leaned next to Yan Qing and whispered to him: "Look at this courtyard, my mansion is not half as good as here."

Yan Qing glanced at the back of the servant in front of him, and said in a low voice with some disapproval: "You are not comparable to anyone, but a corrupt official."

"I think this place shouldn't be called Pingjiang Mansion, but Wen Mansion." Jiang Xiaohan said.

Jiang Xiaohan was standing on his left, and from time to time he would pick two leaves from the wisteria growing on the railing, crush them and throw them into the water to feed the fish. Yan Qing held a sword in his right hand and stood very close to him.

He is still not quite used to the uncontrollable tassel on the hilt of the sword. Occasionally, the white jade pendant will collide with his jade pendant, making obvious noises. I was worried in my heart whether I was going to smash the seemingly fragile pendant, and it almost became a mess along the way.

——However, even so, he didn't take off the sword spike either.

Wen Zui's dinner was held in the flower hall in the back garden, not far from there was a thick magnolia plant, the flowering period was approaching, the milky white buds were falling heavily on the branches, the air was full of magnolia fragrance .

Wen Zui had already changed into casual clothes, and was already waiting in the flower hall.

The servants of the Wen Mansion led Jiang Xiaohan and the two to the moon gate outside the flower hall, and retreated first. Jiang Xiaohan glanced inside, only to find that the flower hall was empty, except for Wen Zhong who was beside Wen Zui, there was no one coming down. people.

"Interesting." Jiang Xiaohan smiled: "It seems that there are some words that I can't listen to."

The sky gradually darkened, and the sound of clappers rang just after [-]:[-] o'clock. The garden in the back hall of the Wen Mansion was very quiet. A maid dressed in coarse linen hurried through the corridor with a dustpan in her arms. She seemed to be walking in a hurry. , didn't even notice that the lantern was tilted by his shoulder.

The paper lantern was spun twice by her bump, and was swayed by the night wind. The candle flame poured out, and the fine flames went up along the thin paper, completely burning the hemp rope hanging the lamp.

The burning lantern floated down from mid-air, and within a moment it was turned into a smear of ashes, falling on the lake and disappearing.

A single lantern did not have any impact on the brightly lit backyard, but Liujia Village, 120 kilometers away from Pingjiang Mansion, has just used up the last drop of lamp oil.

Liu Dabao tried his best to wipe the old lampstand with a flint, and finally he had no choice but to accept this reality.

"Father." A pair of sons and daughters lying on the table looked at him eagerly. The youngest daughter looked thinner and her voice was even more shrunken: "...I'm hungry."

Liu Dabao put down the flint in his hand in frustration.

The flood flooded the coast from the inside to the outside, and the whole village tried their best but failed to save any crops. Since the upstream dam broke, water has been flooded every three days. What about the young and middle-aged people in Liujia Village? One is not soaking in the muddy water with his trouser legs rolled up every day, for fear that his movements will be a little slower, and even the crumbling rented house will be fed to the river god.

However, it was still of no avail. The land soaked by the flood could no longer be cultivated in a short period of time, and most of the livestock raised in the flood also disappeared. Now they are still washed by the high tide of the river over and over again on the bank, and they have already given off a rotten smell.

At the beginning, the villagers would help each other a few times, but as the food stocks of each family became less and less, almost everyone was in danger.

Liu Dabao threw down the flint, sat on the shabby chair and scratched his hair, sighing heavily.

The little boy looked like he was only three or four years old, and he had a pair of very agile eyes. Seeing this, he didn't speak, but quietly knelt on the stool, lying on the edge of the table and staring at Liu Dabao quietly.

The little girl called daddy again, the little boy gently tugged at the corner of her clothes under the table, shook his head, the little girl curled her lips, slipped off the stool a little aggrieved, and sat leaning against the corner of the table On the ground, staring at the toes of his shoes, he stopped talking.

Liu Dabao pulled his hair tightly in pain, and lowered his head deeply into his chest.

The crops have been destroyed, and all the efforts of the first half of the year have been wasted. The Yangtze River is so fast that fishing is impossible, and livestock can no longer be raised. When the sun rises, he can only go out to search in vain. , or pained face.

Liu Dabao shrugged his shoulders and let out a dull whimper. The little boy blinked and stared silently at his father who was about to collapse.

He didn't know how long he cried before he gradually calmed down, wiped his eyes fiercely with his sleeve, and then raised his head to look at the little boy.

The little boy was not at all curious about his emotional changes, and just looked at him quietly.

The child's eyes were clean and pure, Liu Dabao took the lead to look away, stood up from the stool, and walked to the little girl.

"Daddy." The little girl looked up at the tall father in front of her, her eyes full of hope.

Liu Dabao squatted down halfway, and was silent for a while, then reached out to stroke the little girl's hair, got up, picked up the coir raincoat hanging in front of the door, and went out.

The old Liu Tou at the east entrance of the village is an old widower without children. Liu Dabao is going to his house to try his luck.

Old Liu Tou seems to have not been out for many days, there must be surplus food at home, Liu Dabao thought.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard gate, he thought for a while and turned back. He held the hoe in the courtyard in his hand, and then he regained his composure, as if to cheer himself up, and walked out the door with his chest raised.

As soon as I entered the door, I must first kneel down and beg him, tell me about the two children in my family who are about to starve to death, and beg him to show mercy.Liu Dabao thought, if old Liu still didn't let go, then he couldn't let his family of three starve to death.

The firewood in the village is a luxury item, and it will not be used for lighting at night. At this time, the whole village has been plunged into the dark night, and the silence is frightening.

The muddy ground under his feet made the sound of sticky water, Zhao Dabao swallowed his saliva, and cheered himself up as he walked.

Fortunately, the weather is fine tonight, the moon is thin and the stars are thin, the gate of Old Liu's courtyard is not closed, and the door of the house is not locked.Liu Dabao stood at the door, turned around twice, and tentatively called Uncle Liu twice.

The room was very quiet, without any sound at all, Liu Dabao squeezed the hoe in his hand, and opened the door cautiously.

"Old Uncle Liu?"

The moonlight was cast from the shaky window sill, and through the moonlight, Liu Dabao saw a vague figure lying on the bed with his back turned to him.

"Old Uncle Liu, those two children of my family are really hungry." Liu Dabao put the hoe behind his back with one hand, and begged in a low voice: "Please see if your old man can do a good job and give some food to the children so that the children can eat more food." Have a sip of rice soup?"

The person on the bed turned a deaf ear and remained motionless, as if in a deep sleep.

Liu Dabao's palms began to sweat, he coughed twice, and called Uncle Liu again.

——still no response.

Most of the moonlight was covered by dark clouds from somewhere, and the moonlight instantly became extremely dim. Liu Dabao hesitated for a moment, and finally took two steps forward, reaching out and pressing on the other's shoulder, as if trying to wake him up.

However, when he touched it with his tentacles, he realized that the opponent's body was cold and cold, as if he had lost his bones, and when he pushed it, he instantly tilted to the side, revealing rotten flesh.

The rotten smell filled the whole room in an instant, Liu Dabao's eyes widened in horror, trembling with fright, he rushed out of the room rolling and crawling.

A scream became clear with the morning light that pierced the sky, and Liujia Village suddenly fell into commotion.

Three months after the first drop of water gushed out of the dam, a plague appeared in Liujia Village.