Burning fire

Bai Yuxing's shabby bread was second-hand when he bought it, and now it has been wasted for a few years, so he deserves to live on.

Today the snow has almost melted, and the temperature dropped sharply again. Not to mention the coldness, the wind was still strong, making the car windows banging.

Zhou Qizun ate two kidney bean buns for breakfast, his teeth were brittle from the cold.He turned his face to look at Bai Yuxing: "Brother, can I turn on the air conditioner?"

"You think I don't want to turn on the air conditioner?" Bai Yuxing pressed his foot on the brake.It was too cold, and the soles of the feet almost lost consciousness, "The engine is not working, it can't be moved."

As soon as he finished speaking, the van made a sound of wheezing and wheezing, like a dead zombie howling.

Zhou Qizun was helpless: "Your car really needs to be scrapped."

Bai Yuxing was overjoyed. He didn't say that he was poor and couldn't afford a new car. Instead, he quickly cast a sideways glance at Zhou Qizun and turned over old accounts, "Now you know it's cold? Isn't it time for you to be shirtless?"

Zhou Qizun stared silently: "..."

Bai Yuxing put it away when he saw it was ready, and pouted his mouth to the side again: "There is a thermos cup in the bag, and there is millet porridge in the cup, you can drink some."

Zhou Qizun nodded, took out the thermos and started drinking porridge.

Hot porridge can soothe the stomach very well, Zhou Qizun drank it slowly, his body gradually warmed up.It's a pity that before he could drink much, the car suddenly shook violently, Zhou Qizun fell forward due to inertia, and the millet porridge didn't splash on his face.

The car stopped.

The porridge was sprinkled on Zhou Qizun's chest, steaming upwards: "...What are you doing?"

Bai Yuxing quickly took out a bag of tissues and threw it to him: "Wipe it quickly." Then he frowned and tried hard to restart the car.

"...Broken down?" Zhou Qizun glanced around.The two of them had already gone a long way, and now they were parked on a winding mountain path, not going to the village, not going to the shop, not farting.

Bai Yuxing struggled for a while, but to no avail, he could only turn on the double flashes, and spread his hands together: "It broke down."

Zhou Qizun: "..."

"Just say that your broken car is not good." Zhou Qizun took off his coat and threw it into the back seat, without wasting any more time, he took out his mobile phone and called for help.

Fortunately, although this place is remote, it did not affect the mobile phone signal too much, and the rescue call got through.The two were cold and poor in the car, and the rescue team finally arrived around noon.

The broken bread was dragged away, while Zhou Qizun and Bai Yuxing were taken to a nearby rest stop.

The broken car was full of problems and needed to be repaired in a repair shop, but Jiang Qiuqin's urn was still in Zhou Qizun's arms.Half of the journey had passed, and both of them were unwilling to wait any longer, so they decided to take a bus instead on the spot.

There were three buses a day from the local area to the countryside, and they happened to be able to catch the second bus, and they could reach the village before dark.

Annoyed by this unlucky oolong, Bai Yuxing insisted on ordering Zhou Qizun to have a big meal, so that he could feel at ease.

They entered a mutton soup restaurant next to the station.The store is very spacious, but there are only a few sporadic tables.Zhou Qizun chose a seat by the window and sat down.

Bai Yuxing was so hungry that he didn't have time to look at the menu, so he just opened his mouth and ordered a table.

Two big bowls of broth, four scones, soft fried tenderloin, mixed haggis, and stir-fried lamb.This shop guards the station, although it is a little expensive, but fortunately the boss is honest.The plates were all bigger than their faces, and they were given a lot of food, which was definitely enough for the two of them to eat.

"Just take a bite." Zhou Qizun took a sip of the mutton soup, felt that it was not tasty enough, and sprinkled some pepper in it, "Last night roasted leg of lamb, today's mutton soup, you are really not afraid of overnutrition."

"Whatever is left, it's good if you don't lack anything. When going out is not going well, you have to eat something good." Bai Yuxing looked at Zhou Qizun, "Eat, eat more. Hurry up and eat, I'll treat you."

Zhou Qizun has lost a lot of weight during this time, his chin has become sharper, and his frame has become more prominent. His whole body has edges and corners, as if he had been cut with a knife. Bai Yuxing always wanted to add more flesh to him .

Zhou Qizun saw the truth and didn't tell the truth, knowing that Bai Yuxing was full of worries, so he didn't say anything, and rarely ate with his head down honestly.

The two stuffed everything on the table into their mouths, and within half an hour, their stomachs were full.

Bai Yuxing took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and was about to invite the shopkeeper to pay the bill, when there was a commotion at the table behind them.

A white porcelain soup bowl smashed into pieces with a "boom", and the mutton soup inside spilled out. Bai Yuxing was so close that it was splashed all over his trouser legs.

"I'll go." Bai Yuxing jumped up, quickly moved away, and stepped on the leg of the stool to wipe his pants.

Zhou Qizun frowned, put down his chopsticks and turned to look over.

The bowl probably wasn't dropped by accident, it sounded like it was dropped specially, with a lot of force, just like the old man Duan's "war".

It was a woman who threw the bowl.About [-] or so, of medium appearance, with a gray complexion.She was wearing an old white cotton-padded jacket, the white was so old that it was a little yellowed, coupled with her messy withered hair, it made her look very shabby and embarrassing.

There was a doll beside the woman.The child was very young, Zhou Qizun couldn't tell how old he was, maybe he was under one year old.The unlucky boy was startled, opened his mouth and cried loudly, and grabbed the woman beside him with his fleshy little hands: "Mom...Mom..."

It should be that he has just learned how to speak and is not yet proficient. When crying, he can't straighten his tongue.

But the mother was indifferent.She just stayed there, staring at the back kitchen with gloomy eyes, watching the shopkeeper run out of the back kitchen.

The look in his eyes was evil, as if he had been nailed with cold nails.

Zhou Qizun subconsciously took a step forward.

Bai Yuxing was still babbling on the opposite side, seeing that Zhou Qizun's expression was wrong, he immediately shut his mouth, poked his head out and asked in an angry voice, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Qizun waved his hands and looked at the woman carefully.

Bai Yuxing also looked over.The child was still howling, almost crying out of breath.But the woman still didn't respond, and stared at the shopkeeper as she came over.

Bai Yuxing grinned: "Is this also my real mother?"

Customers are God, and those who do business seek harmony and make money, and most of them have a good temper.The shopkeeper bent over to pick up the broom and asked, "Are you all right, sister? Is it burning? Is the child okay?"

The woman was silent and didn't speak. The next second she stood up suddenly, took a quick step forward, and stretched out her hands towards the shopkeeper. Looking at the posture, she seemed to be about to pinch the shopkeeper's neck!

"Can you coax your baby? Make a fuss!" A guest suddenly yelled, in an unknown dialect, the voice was loud and rushing, and it sounded fierce.

The woman howled, her arms twitched like an electric shock, and then fell to her side at a strange angle, as if she had been knocked off suddenly and fell down.

The storekeeper raised his head and looked at the woman: "Big sister? What's wrong with you? What's wrong?"

The woman's eyes immediately changed, changed from the viciousness just now, and became terrified, as if she had been frightened by something.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She actually bowed her head towards the store, apologizing repeatedly.

The store owner was a little confused: "Hey, it's okay...Don't, don't, don't tell me, just a bowl of soup..."

The woman quickly turned around and hugged the child again, patting the child to coax him: "Xiaowei don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

The child's face was blue from crying, and the snot was dripping into his mouth.The shopkeeper took a tissue from the side and handed it over: "Wipe it for the child."

"This girl...why does she feel a little nervous?" Bai Yuxing raised her hand to touch her precious hair, and whispered, "Did she reach out just now to grab the boss's hair?"

Zhou Qizun: "..."

Zhou Qizun retracted the foot he stepped out, and he shook his head: "I don't know."

——He did sense danger from the woman just now.It felt like seeing the muzzle of a gun.He had been a soldier for seven years, he had seen many vicious criminals, and his sensitive nerves were all over his body... But nothing happened now, so Zhou Qizun couldn't think too much about it.

It's probably the same as what Bai Yuxing said, this woman is just a little crazy.

"It's a real inch today." Bai Yuxing looked down at his wet trouser legs again, and there were still some emerald green onions hanging on it.

The child's crying gradually died down, Bai Yuxing sighed, flicked off the chopped green onion, and saw that the shopkeeper had finished tidying up that end, so he raised his hand again to call for the check.

After giving the money, Bai Yuxing glanced at his watch, stood up and pulled the tab of his coat: "Let's go, it's almost time to get in the car."

Zhou Qizun also stood up, and the two walked out one after the other.Facing the door, Zhou Qizun turned his head subconsciously and gave the woman an extra look.

She bowed her head and held the child, and she couldn't see anything wrong at the moment.

——It seems that I really think too much.

Zhou Qizun didn't think any more, turned around and opened the door and left.

The glass sliding door swung back and closed again.Zhou Qizun couldn't see him when he walked away, the woman sat on the seat for a while, then suddenly raised her head.She looked at the door, her long hair covering half of her gloomy face.The dry and pale lips curled up slowly, revealing a sinister smile.

.

The big car is really not a good thing. There are many people in the car, and it is not easy to open the windows when it is cold. The air is too bad, and it will give you a headache after a while.

He ate too much at noon, his blood sugar soared, and Zhou Qizun sat in the car, feeling drowsy from boredom.It's a pity that the road is not easy to walk, the big passenger has become a lame dustpan, and the eyeballs have to be turned open as soon as they are closed, not to mention how annoying people are.

The journey didn't go well, and when he got off the bus, Zhou Qizun felt that all the bones in his body were loose.Bai Yuxing was even more useless, as soon as his feet hit the ground, he squatted in the haystack beside him and vomited.

"..." Zhou Qizun walked over and patted Bai Yuxing on the back, "Finish the shit."

Bai Yuxing wiped his mouth, hunched his back and murmured, "I can't do it, it's too uncomfortable, let me take it easy."

Zhou Qizun raised his head to look at the sky, the sky was dyed blood red by the setting sun.

The sky in the country is always thicker than that in the city.A thicker blue, a darker black, and a brighter red.

This blood-splattered red is so strong that it makes people breathless.

"Let's go quickly. Let's find a car and try to get to my sister-in-law's place before dark. Rest well when we get there." Zhou Qizun slapped Bai Yuxing on the back again.

"Success." Bai Yuxing straightened up firmly, and took out a bottle of water from his bag to drink.

.

My sister-in-law is Zhou Qizun's only relative.Zhou Qizun often saw her when he was young, but he seldom contacted her when he grew up.

She married to the south a few years ago, hoping to live happily ever after there, but she didn't realize that people are cold and cold. Her man looks honest and friendly, but in fact, there are ghosts in his stomach. Messed with a younger one.

When this matter broke out, the aunt brandished a mallet to find the couple to settle accounts.As a native Northeast girl, my sister-in-law doesn't care when she gets aggressive, and the naughty Nanman mistress is naturally no match for her. What's hateful is that the man should be damned. He protects mistress during the dispute, and misses my sister-in-law.The sister-in-law's stomach hit the corner of the table, and the child just disappeared.

Later, my sister-in-law got divorced, and she went back to her hometown in the countryside by herself, and refused to see anyone for several years.At that time, nothing happened to Zhou Qizun's family. Zhou Yunheng went to the countryside many times to persuade her, but was blocked by the door.

It wasn't until the catastrophe came that Zhou Qizun saw his sister-in-law again at Zhou Yunheng's funeral.

She was so much older than in memory, Zhou Qizun almost didn't recognize her at that time.

Fortunately, time is a good medicine, which can cure many diseases.Now that eight years have passed, my sister-in-law's situation has improved a lot.Three years ago, she opened a small hotel in the local area, and her life was manageable.Zhou Qizun came back to bury Jiang Qiuqin this time, just in time to visit his sister-in-law, and it was also convenient for him to settle in the hotel.

"Can I make money by opening a hotel here?" Bai Yuxing asked, scratching the back of his head.

Although not considered barren, the land was clearly not developed.Among other things, even a place with a lot of people like the station is very depressed.

It's even worse to walk in. There are fewer vendors around, and there are more hills and wild ridges. No matter how you look at it, it lags behind.

"Actually, it's okay." Zhou Qizun and Bai Yuxing explained, "The air in the countryside is good, and the scenery is not bad."

He pointed in a direction: "There is a small Taishan Mountain in front of it. Although it has not been seriously developed, people from the city come to play all year round."

Zhou Qizun: "Sister-in-law's hotel is just under Xiaotai Mountain. It cooperates with some mountaineering clubs, and the business is pretty good."

"I understand. It's more like a hotel than a hotel?"

"Ah."

"No wonder." Bai Yuxing nodded, and looked around again.

The sky darkened, and when it was time for dinner, there were several times of dark gray cooking smoke rising to the ceiling.

Not to mention, this small village in the mountain depression is full of smoke, potholes and twists and turns, and the smell of civil engineering in the breath, completely isolated from the city.The minds of city people have been smothered by the exhaust fumes, and they want to get back to basics at every turn. It is perfect to run here with an empty mind.

They arrived while speaking.Sister-in-law's hotel is similar to Bai Yuxing's idea, a small tile-roofed house on the second floor, not too big, but clean.There is a row of jujube trees planted in front, and the face is full of local life. You can smell a warm smell of coal just by opening the curtain at the door.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Zhou Qizun caught sight of my sister-in-law.

Zhou Qizun took off the bag on his body, and smiled at Sister-in-law: "Sister-in-law."