Qinghua Town Series

The study is very quiet, a single jade three-legged incense stick on the high stool in the corner is emitting traces of green smoke, and a dragon is carved on the stove, the green mist is dense, like swallowing incense and breathing smoke, the faint fragrance is in the air. Walking back and forth in the small, narrow room, accompanied by the soft "rustling" sound of the pages being turned, makes one feel calm.

Qin Can sat aside, put down the book in his hand, picked up the teacup on the coffee table, lifted the lid of the cup and savored the aroma of the tea for a while, then blew away the tea foam floating on the clear tea, and handed it to his mouth Taking a sip, I was secretly satisfied.

At that time, I acted coquettishly in front of the empress dowager and asked her to give me this tea. Fortunately, I still remembered to take it with me when I went out.

Lifting his eyes from between the cups, Qin Can's gaze fell behind Bai's case.

At this moment, Yan San was standing behind the table and practicing calligraphy, but he saw that his brows were frowned, the corners of his mouth were tense, and the momentum of his writing seemed to tear the paper covered on the table into pieces.

Qin Can shook his head with a smile, stood up with tea, went to Yan San's side and stuck his head out to have a look, and couldn't help but burst into a "puchi" laugh.

I saw a few crooked words on the paper, which looked like a knife cut horizontally and vertically. Where was it written with a pen, those who didn't know thought it was drawn directly with a knife.

Hearing Qin Can's chuckle, Yan San glanced at him sharply, raised his hand holding the pen, and threatened Qin Can, as if to warn Qin Can: Believe it or not, I can stab you to death with a pen?

Qin Can hurriedly stopped laughing, put down the tea cup he was sitting on on the table, and then walked beside Jian Yansan.

"You are used to holding big swords. How can you use this as a sword? Come, I will teach you..."

As Qin Can spoke, he leaned close to Yan San, his chest pressed against Yan San's back, his left hand was on Yan San's waist, and his right hand held Yan San's pen-holding hand.

"When holding the pen, "make the palm as empty as holding an egg". This sentence means to make the palm of the hand feel like holding an egg or the walnut you often play with..."

Then he took Yan San's hand and put a point on the paper, "Just like your sword skills, every stroke and every stroke is exquisite, you must know how to enter, move, and close..." Enter, let the beginning of this stroke be pointed, and when writing, let the peak travel between dots and dashes, and finally close..."

While explaining, Qin Can wrote down the left half of the word "Jing" on the paper. The strokes of the pen are not vigorous, but the strokes are very chic.

When it came to the last stroke, he said again: "You can collect it according to your personal preference, but I like to hide the tip of the brush... In this way, the end of the stroke is round..." As he spoke and wrote Finished the right half of the word "Jing".

A complete "Jing" character appears vividly on the paper, with every bit and every stroke carrying a bit of unrestrained wantonness and arrogance.

Qin Can nodded, as if he was satisfied with what he had written, and suddenly felt something tickle on his left cheek, so he turned his face slightly, but his gaze met another gaze when he glanced over.

Yan San was also turning his head to look at him, the breath on each other's body flowed and entangled with the exhalation, falling on the cheeks and the side of the neck, slightly hot.Only then did Qin Can notice that out of a momentary habit, he made such an intimate gesture towards Yan San.

In the past, Cen Xi and Cen Xi recited poems, compose Fu, and painted a picture together. No matter how close they were, they didn't feel any embarrassment, and sometimes they even collapsed together, but at this moment, they were clearly facing the same face and body from the past. , but a strange feeling quietly emerged in my heart.

A little apprehensive, a little overwhelmed, when his eyes fell on that face that was extremely familiar to him, and when his eyes intersected with it, he felt as if his heart skipped a beat.

I have known Cen Xi for nearly 20 years, even though he is Yan San in his body now, his face is still the same, but...something has changed because of Yan San's temperament, even though he is now wearing a long gown, Lun Wearing a bun, the sharpness under the corners of the eyes and the meanness of the corners of the mouth are things that Cen Xi doesn't have.

Yan San saw Qin Can staring at him in a daze, but his gaze seemed to pass through him and land on another place.

The two of them were so close, with one hand still on his waist, Yan San instantly had the illusion that they had known each other for a long time, and their relationship was so close, but he soon realized that such a Getting close is just a habit he has with that person...

"Why are you in a daze?" Yan San asked coldly with a bit of anger.

Qin Can suddenly came back to his senses, and found that he was still maintaining such a posture with one hand on his waist, the other hand holding his pen, and his chest against his back. He hurriedly let out a panicked "ah", Let go of both hands together as if they were scalded, and take a step back at the same time.

Just as Qin Can stood still and was about to speak, there was a louder scream from outside, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Thinking that something happened, Qin Can and Yan San hurried out of the study and ran towards the direction of the sound, which came from the well.

The two ran halfway and stopped suddenly.

I saw Ah Er, Ah Bin, and Ah Ding naked, with a wooden basin covering their crotch, all the way "oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Run past Qin Can and Yan San.

Early in the morning, seeing three stout men running on the corridor with their buttocks naked, no one would find it a pleasant thing to put them there. Qin Can looked at the place where the three disappeared with a dark face, thinking Turn back and deduct one month's salary from them as a punishment.

After a while, the three of them got dressed indiscriminately and came out of the room with shock still remaining on their faces. When they saw Qin Can, they immediately showed expressions of about to cry.

"My lord, think of a way, it's not a way to go on like this..."

"Yeah, yeah, it's okay to keep climbing in through the window at night when we're sleeping, pretending to be ghosts and scaring us, just now we showered him, he, he..."

"My lord, you can take him into prison, or he can be sent to the army..."

Qin Can knew who they were talking about as soon as he heard it.

There were small footsteps and voices behind him, and when Qin Can turned his head, he saw the culprit who disturbed the tranquility of the morning walking side by side with Ah Da.

Moreover, the culprit didn't have the slightest sense of having done something wrong. He chatted and laughed with Ah Da, and raised his hand to make gestures with Ah Da from time to time.

"Yun Zhongyan, what are you doing here again?" Qin Can frowned and asked him.

Although the Butterfly Cup case was closed, Yun Zhongyan did not leave Qinghua Town. From time to time, he took a stroll around the county government office as his back garden. Later, he became more and more diligent, and now he was so thick-skinned that he came back for three meals a day. rub food.

It is not a problem for the county government to support one more person, but a well-known thief hangs around the county government all day long, and if it is spread, it will affect the reputation of the county government and the county magistrate.

"I'm here to find Ah Da, who knows they are taking a shower, everyone is a man, it's nothing to look at..." Yun Zhongyan said nonchalantly, but Ah Er and the three of them stared back at the latter words.

The relationship between Ah Da and Yun Zhongyan has been well known since the Butterfly Cup turmoil. Qin Can has the attitude of doing things for me as long as you should do things seriously, and doesn’t care about Ah Da’s identity in the past. , or he likes a man who is also a thief.

But now, if there is no way to think about it, it is indeed a bit restless.

Ah Da and the others sleep in the same bunk, and sometimes they have to patrol the streets together, and when they come back, they eat together and take a shower together. Before in Dazhai, everyone ate and slept together, and they were used to seeing each other without clothes. As brothers, they occasionally joked about each other while taking a shower, but Yun Zhongyan was different.

Ah Da glanced sideways at Yun Zhongyan beside him, and then silently looked at Qin Can.Although the man was taciturn and rarely showed his emotions on his face, there was still a trace of pleading in his eyes.

Standing beside him is the most precious love he has lost for many years and has found again. When this person is not by his side, he understands that a person will feel lonely when he looks up at the moon. No matter how good the wine is when he is drinking alone All lost their fragrance.

But now, I'm afraid there is nothing that can hinder his desire to be with this person.

Qin Can turned around, but there were three rows of pitiful eyes flashing pleading, just like the pitiful anticipation of a dog official begging for meat and bones, which made him almost overwhelmed .

If he chased away the geese in the clouds, Ada probably wouldn't stay. It was time for him to employ people, and Ada's status was unusual. Back then, the famous iron fist catcher would be very helpful to him, and look at Ada Looking big, it feels like he still prefers to stay here as a catcher.But if they don't catch the geese in the clouds, the three guys who have been tossing around for a long time will probably knock on their bowls to protest.

Alas, why does he, who is the magistrate of the county, still have such a headache?

Yan San stood with his arms folded and watched the excitement. Qin Can thought for a while, and then said to Ah Dao: "There is a small wing to the west, you can move to live there."

As he said that, he turned to Yun Zhongyan again, "Give me some peace, don't think that after being silent for so long and this place is remote, no one will pursue the cases committed in the past. If something really happens, don't say it. I can’t save you, and I can’t save you either.”

After saying this, Yun Zhongyan grinned, his expression froze immediately, and then showed a little guilt on his indifferent face.

At this moment, a government servant came over to report to Qin Can, "My lord, the children from the cottage have all been picked up, and they have all been placed in the school. Do you want to go over and have a look, my lord?"

Yan San, who was leaning on the pillar with his arms folded to watch the show before, his eyes lit up suddenly when he heard the yamen servant say this, and joy appeared on his face.

"Cai Cai! The third master!"

As soon as Qin Can and Yan San walked to the door of the newly built school, they saw a round and short meat dumpling flying out from the door. Yan San squatted down and caught the flying meat dumpling, and then Hug up.

"The third master, the first master and the second master said that we will live in the school in the town from now on?" Xiao Jiuniang laughed like a flower, and his voice was sweet and soft.

Yan San nodded, "From now on, you will all live in the school, and a teacher will come in a few days. You will have classes with the children in the town, and you can also play sepak takraw together."

"Okay, if you live in the town, you can still see the third family." Xiao Jiu Niang happily burrowed into Yan San's arms, like a kitten coquettish.

Yan San was itchy from being pricked by his hair, so he also laughed, and stretched out his hand to pinch Xiaojiu Niangrou's bulging face, "But you can't call me the third master in the future."

Xiao Jiuniang gnawed on his finger, blinked his big eyes, a little puzzled, "Why?"

Yan San replied with a smile: "You forgot the rules of the cottage? So now you have to call me Master Yan."

Qin Can, who was standing aside, heard the conversation between the two of them.

There are rules in Heiyun Jiulongzhai. If you give yourself a decent name, it will be a proof of going down the mountain, and you will no longer be a member of Heiyun Jiulongzhai.

Qin Can didn't expect that Yan San would take his joke that he wanted to give him a name to be taken seriously, and from the day he named him "Yan Jing", he would no longer use the name "Yan Jing" from Heiyun Jiulongzhai. If the people in the county government call him "Master Yan" or "Mr. Yan" instead of being the head of his own family, he may not be able to be a competent teacher at all.

But Qin Can felt that this was Yan San... No, he should be called Yan Jing now, it was just a whim, and he probably slipped back to Yunlong Mountain after a while to become his third bandit leader.

When Yan Jing was playing with the children, Qin Can recruited the aunts who arranged to cook in the school and help take care of the children during the day, and gave some instructions.

The town is no better than a cottage, although it can provide a relatively stable environment for the children, but people come and go too freely, so we still need to be careful to prevent accidents.

After giving instructions, one of the women said to him, "My lord, the town seems not to be peaceful recently, should we arrange a few able-bodied people in the school?"

Qin Can was surprised, he, the county magistrate, lived in this town every day, why didn't he hear or see that the town was not peaceful?If it's not peaceful, it's because the county government has been tossed about by Yun Zhongyan.

Seeing Qin Can's doubts, the woman said: "During this period of time, the chickens and ducks of several families in the town died inexplicably."

Qin Can thought to himself that he thought it was a big deal, "Maybe it's because of the hot weather and chicken plague?"

The woman shook her head again and again, "No..."

Then he glanced at the children beside him and lowered his voice, "Master, you haven't been here for long, so I don't know."

"Children are lost every year in Qinghua Town. Later, someone found the corpse of a child with only a pair of skin and bones left. They felt that these were related to the legend of Yunlong Mountain. Maybe there were some monsters in the depths of Yunlong Mountain that only ate them. Children, so those who have children are careful, and don't let their children stay outside at night..."

"This..." Qin Can looked through the files in the county government before. It is true that a large part of the past cases were reported to be missing of his own children, and there were no clues or traces left, and very few were found in the end. .

Qin Can's guess is that Longtai County is located in a remote area, not only poor, but also suffering from disasters for years. Some people have too many children and cannot afford to raise them. Maybe they sold their children to human traffickers in exchange for some money and food to maintain their lives. The livelihood of the whole family.

And in order not to be found out about his cruel behavior, or to have an explanation in front of the neighbors, he lied that his child was missing.

"So what's the connection between the two things you said?"

The woman said: "The people in the town said that those chickens and ducks didn't die of illness... It seemed that they died after being bitten and sucked dry blood... So there were rumors that the one who ate children The monster has not been able to catch the child recently, so it only attacked the chicken and duck, if it finds the child..."

"The women are worried that there are so many children here. If something happens, the women alone can't handle it. Besides, the women have their own families to take care of, so they can't spend all day and night in the school."

Several other people standing on the side nodded in agreement.

Qin Can felt that the idea of ​​monsters eating children was a bit ridiculous, but there was one point in what the aunt said was correct. There were so many children here, and only the teacher and a few women looked after them, which was really not thorough.

Besides, I have personally seen the weirdness in Yunlong Mountain. Although this is at the foot of the mountain, it is always right to be careful, so it is necessary to arrange a few guards in the school.

Qin Can recruited Ah Da, and asked him to arrange two yamen servants to come to the school every night to take care of the safety of the children and gentlemen, and then write a letter to Heiyun Jiulongzhai, asking the master to pick a few people to come here, and then he will specialize in it The nursing home of the school.

Ah Da received the instructions and went to work.

Qin Can folded his arms and looked at the black bricks and black tiles of the school, feeling a sense of accomplishment in his heart.

Come on little by little.

Since I choose to stay, I insist on fulfilling the bet with the crown prince, which can be regarded as the court seeking a little livelihood and welfare for the people here.

Looking back, I saw Yan Jing playing sepak takraw with the children in the open space in front of the school, although I saw this a lot when I was in the cottage, Yan Jing sometimes threw the ball high, and then leaped out to catch it, sometimes Hiding the sepak takraw ball is to prevent the little devils who swarm up to grab it.

At this time, the daunting coldness and sternness on Yan Jing's face will fade a lot, the corners of his mouth will be raised slightly, and even the light in his eyes will soften a lot. The sun shining on him, outlines not only Cen Xi Given his exquisite face, there are many auras that Qin Can had never discovered before, which only belonged to Yan San.

"Stupid monkey, the ball has passed!"

Qin Can regained his senses, but the takraw ball had already flown over and hit him on the face with a "bang", but the strength was not as strong as last time, so he didn't feel the pain, but the little smug smile on the corner of Yan Jing's mouth It was obvious that he hit Qin Can with the ball on purpose, and it was aimed at his face.

Qin Can bent down to pick up the ball from the ground, then looked at the gang of little devils with a fierce expression on his face, "Who threw the ball to me just now?"

The gang of little ghosts were attacked by him, and they all hid behind Yan Jing, Qin Can continued to tease them, and walked towards them step by step with a fierce face.

"No one will admit it? If no one admits it, I will take all of you back to the county government..." Qin Can paused with a ferocious expression, then raised his voice suddenly to scare them, "Everyone will be arrested and spanked! "

The little devils screamed "Wow" and dispersed.

So Qin Can chased and played with them like a child for a long time.

A few days later, Ah Da brought a few people back from the cottage, whom Qin Can had said he wanted to be the guards of the school, along with a pretty and smart-looking little girl.

Ah Da introduced that this is the younger sister of a certain brother in the Shanzhai, named Xiao Yuan, who is very diligent. The head of the family knew that the county government was short of manpower, so he asked him to come down the mountain to follow Master Yan and take care of the daily life of the master and the county magistrate.

Then the boss said that since the third child decided to stay in the town, although they were reluctant, they respected the third child's decision and asked him to go back to the cottage to see them when he was free, and asked Brother Qin to take good care of the third child.

After hearing this, Qin Can frowned. Does Yan Jing need to take care of herself, who is alive and kicking, eating and sleeping?But a maid is still necessary, after all, I am used to being pampered, and it is really not easy to do many complicated and trivial things, so I asked someone to take Xiao Yuan to her room, and let her get acquainted with the county government by the way.

As soon as the little girl came out of the study room, the hallway outside was filled with her crisp voice, accompanied by the dog officer's extremely happy barks of "嗤呜" and "呼启", which added some excitement to the dull county government. angry.

But Ah Da did not leave the study, Qin Can knew that he still had something to say.

"Ada, what else do you want to say?"

"My lord, another chicken and duck raised by someone in the town died for no reason..."

So Qin Can recalled what the aunts said to him a few days ago, and he had almost forgotten it, "Is it really not caused by chicken plague?"

Ah Da shook his head, "When my subordinate came back, I stopped by that house to examine the corpses of those chickens and ducks. There was indeed something strange, but I couldn't figure it out. If it was done by someone, what did this person want to do?"

The expression on Qin Can's face calmed down. Based on Ah Da's experience, if he said something was weird, there must be something unusual. It seems that I really need to take a look.

The family whose chickens and ducks died saw Qin Can and the others crying, "My lord, look at who is so hateful, it took so long to raise them enough to lay eggs, and it turned out..."

Qin Can and Yan Jing followed Ah Da to the chicken coop, and saw a mess all over the place. Chicken feathers and duck feathers were scattered all over the ground. The blood had seeped into the mud, leaving dark stains. A big hole, two dead chickens and a dead duck beside the cage.

It is said that they heard a rooster crowing at night, but it soon quieted down, and they didn't pay much attention to it. As a result, when they got up in the morning, they found that some chickens and ducks had been dragged out of the cage and killed.

Ah Da walked over, grabbed the chicken and duck by the neck and brought it in front of Qin Can.

"Look, my lord, the wounds on the chickens and ducks are on the necks. Generally, when chickens and ducks are killed, the necks are cut and the blood is drained first, but there is not much blood left on the ground here..."

Qin Can carefully looked at the wounds on the neck of the chicken and duck. The wounds were uneven, as if they were bitten open by sharp teeth.

"Could it be Huang Pizi (Note: Weasel) did it?" Yan Jing said looking at the chicken in Ah Da's hand.

"I don't think it looks like it." Qin Can denied Yan Jing's guess, "It is true that the yellow skin will bite the chicken's neck, but it is riding on the chicken to bite, and while biting, it will rush to its own nest. Throw the chicken here after you finish biting it."

After finishing speaking, Qin Can saw Yan Jing staring at the two chickens with fascination, and thought that he had discovered something trivial, but who would have thought that after watching for a long time, he said: "This chicken... the stew is good... "

Qin Can endured the swear words that were almost on the verge of uttering, you are the master of the county government after all, why are you staring at other people's chickens and wanting to eat them? !

But facing Yan Jing, Qin Can's patience has reached a certain level, he squeezed his fists, smiled on his face, and tried to keep his tone calm, "I want to eat chicken, let the kitchen buy it for you when I go back... ..."

But the family standing on the side reacted in a different way, "If the third family likes it, just take it back. Anyway, if you die, we will eat it in stew. The hen stew soup this year is very fresh, but I’m afraid it might be poisoned by someone, so I’d better be careful.”

Qin Can glared at them fiercely. Does this mean that people in the county yamen can accept bribes?Although only a few dead chickens.

Unexpectedly, Yan Jing didn't go to pick up the chicken, but turned around and said in a flat but irresistible tone: "There is no third-in-command here, only Master Yan from the county government... remember?"

Qin Can and the family were stunned together, their mouths were open so wide that they could almost stuff an egg, and it took a moment for them to realize that the family nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes! Master Yan, we remember, there is only Master Yan here, so if Master Yan likes it, I will take this chicken back for you to make soup..."

The corner of Yan Jing's mouth curled up, and she happily took the two chickens, while Qin Can on the side didn't know whether to be angry or funny, his shoulders trembled slightly, and he couldn't say a word.

Before leaving, Qin Can still left a little money for the family, counting it as their purchase of the chicken.