After a massive funeral, the Yuan family courtyard soon became deserted. The long-term workers all received their salaries and went home for the New Year. Only Yuan Jiyao and his four widowed aunts were left in the huge courtyard. Although the new twin boys added a lot of joy to this courtyard, which has always been "wealthy but not strong", for Yuan Jiyao, this seemed to be unable to weaken the feeling of emptiness caused by the old man's sudden departure.
It has been more than ten days. He has never fully accepted the fact that the old man passed away from his heart. Every day before going to bed, he always had to go around the backyard where the old man lived. Until he saw the doors and windows locked, he returned to his kiln with a loss, sat on the edge of the kang with his legs hanging down, and grabbed the wolf's scar face and thought about his thoughts.
"Wolf baby, bring the cigarette pot to grandpa!"
"I won't get it for you if I call the wolf baby."
"Hehe. You broken grandpa, grandpa is the wolf king, what is it that you are not the 'wolf baby'? You think this is it Who would yell if you want to? Can you get him! Wolf Baby, you have to remember that the man in our old Yuan family must be tough and straight, even if he farts, he must be brighter than others! "
"I won't fart! People are joked."
"Grandpa will become a donkey sooner or later, and then you will be the wolf king. Dogs will eat shit for thousands of miles, and wolfs will walk I eat meat for thousands of miles, but I dare not live like a mangy dog."
"You can't die, my Ma Gan said you can live for ten thousand years!"
Whenever he is churning his mind, he always thinks about every bit of himself and the old man, and he can't help but feel heart-wrenching sadness. Yes, although the old man is over 80 years old, and although he also understands that no one can escape the eternal iron rule of birth, old age, sickness and death, he seems to have never thought about this matter seriously, just as if the old man can really live "a donkey for thousands of years". In fact, as early as the day of his 80th birthday, the old man announced his retirement in a high-profile manner. From then on, whenever there was something happening, the old man really didn't show up, and most of them just gave him a few words. Later, he gradually stopped giving instructions in advance. He only commented a few times after he finished handling the matter, such as where he still lacked consideration, where he was not in place, etc. Later, he simply left the blame and took a two-foot-long "dog-beating pot" all day long and idle around inside and outside the village. Only when he had obvious deviations and mistakes in handling a certain matter, he would "discuss" with him in a negotiated tone. But no matter what, Yuan Jiyao has always understood that the old man has always been relinquishing his name and still not relinquishing his name. Although he has won a lot of affirmation and praise as the "young shopkeeper of the Yuan family" in recent years, he has always been very clear that this is largely because of the old man "poking" behind him. In a sense, no matter how old he is, he has only one breath, and the old man is still the helmsman of the big ship of the Yuan family and even the entire Yanqiling, and it is still the source of his confidence to show his strength. Now that the old man suddenly passed away and handed the big ship to him completely, he was obviously still feeling a little scared. The old man left too much legacy, but most of them were invisible and intangible things, and it was these invisible and intangible things that put a lot of pressure on him. Today, the Yuan family has basically reached its peak in terms of family status and reputation. Whether in the entire Yanqiling or even within a radius of hundreds of miles, the "Yuan Family on the Ridge" and the Old Master Yuan are definitely the embodiment of benevolence, righteousness and courage. Especially since "Baili to draw the village", even the previous county magistrates of Jingzhou and Yanbei counties have fixed the visit to the Old Master Yuan as a "routine business", and more than ten plaques were sent alone. "The road is steeper halfway up the hill."The old man pushed the Yuan family to the top of the mountain. All he could do was to do his best not to let the Yuan family roll down from the top of the mountain. How easy was this! What's even more terrible is that the old man put such great pressure on him, but he did not leave even a helper for him. Although he also knew that since the "destroyment of the village", especially in recent years, the old man has made many plans for his century, forming a family of children with the old foreman Ma Yushan, and supporting him as the third largest owner on the ridge, second only to the Yuan Geng family, and doing more good deeds on the ridge, attracting people's hearts, etc. than before. Although this is in line with the old man's usual style of conduct, it cannot be ruled out that it is an online alliance for his successor and the future of the Yuan family. But these alliances with almost no blood relationship, how strong is the solidity of the so-called grace? This is indeed very questionable. Didn’t the Yuan and Geng families have also been such an “alliance”? And what is the situation now? Although the Geng family has never made things difficult for the Yuan family since the camp decapitation incident, and even on the surface, the relationship between the two families has basically been restored to its original level, he always felt that all this was because the old man had not been too strong in his deterrence of "killing people and hearts" back then. Even though Geng Maosheng had been "old man" for several years, whenever he mentioned the old man, he always muttered: "I don't dare to pick the thorns of the Yuan family anymore, otherwise the old wolf would really kill me!" But the problem is that "not daring" and "not wanting" are definitely not the same concept! Maybe he was too sensitive. At the old man's funeral, he could clearly sense a sense of release and relaxation from the deepest part of his heart from the expression of the Geng family. If his feeling was truly accurate, how to deal with the relationship with the Geng family would definitely become the biggest challenge he needs to face now.
When he was thinking this way, he would always look back and glance at the "big smell" and "two smells" sleeping on the kang. When the two children were almost full month, their big grandmother gave them names according to the tradition of "Laiming'er is easy to support". These days, he really hopes from the bottom of his heart that his second stink is the reincarnation of the old man. If this is true, then all his worries may not be a problem in the near future. In this way, he had been thinking about these things almost all winter, and his heart was as chaotic as a cat.
But the sausages are in chaos, but they are not completely confused. After all, since he understood a little, the old man has begun to train him in a targeted manner from all aspects. After more than ten years, although he cannot be said to be easy to do, he also understands some basic methods. When he was six years old, the old man found him a sand willow basket and asked him to pick up the livestock feces on the mountain road in the front yard of the village and pour them into the feces outside the livestock shed. He also had to judge his labor results every day. If he performed well, he would give him a reward of stuffing or drying the stove, otherwise he would be scolded. At first, he always slept until brightly before leaving, and he always had little gains, and sometimes he could only barely cover the bottom of the basket. Once, when he came back with a small basket of cow dung on his back, the old man stared at him and scolded him hard: "You are called 'die climbing and moving cows'! Why do you pick up such a little?" He replied, "There is no manure on the way!" The old man knocked on the manger with a loud bang: "You have to go to the door early to beg for food! You won't have to sleep until noon. I'll call you tomorrow." The next day at dawn, the old man really called him through the window, put the dung basket on his back with his own hands, and carried a larger basket on his back, turned around and went out of the gatehouse. The old men who got up early to pick up feces as they joked with them: "Ha! Otherwise, the Yuan family would be a wealthy man and nothing happened!" "Wolf baby, don't get up, sleep peacefully and sleep peacefully.This old bad seed has so much sheep manure in the circle, so why do you want the baby to pick up the manure? "While joking with everyone, the old man taught him the tricks to pick up manure, such as where there is more manure and less manure, how to put the feces in the shovel into the basket on his back as soon as possible, etc. That morning, he really picked up a lot. When he returned home with a basket full of feces, the old men who were just laughing at them all praised again: "Haha! X His ancestors, the flesh grew on the fat man. Look at the wolf son carrying this basket of feces and kissing him if he is kissing him!
Although he has always been disgusted with others calling him "wolf son", it was that day that he seemed to have experienced the sacredness of labor and the joy of harvest from others' praises for the first time. Although for him at that time, this body odor was not very real, it really made his little heart The dirty was very exciting. From then on, whenever the window paper began to turn a little white, he would automatically grop and put on his clothes, carry a slap basket, and he would always carry a full basket every day. Sometimes because he got up too early, he would naturally feel scared on the whole road, especially whenever he heard the "Hate Tiger" screaming, he couldn't help but feel fear. He tentatively confides to the old man, but the old man laughed: "You're so angry! Is the wolf son still afraid of a "hate the tiger"? If it calls you, learn to be a wolf howl and see whoever is afraid of whom! "From then on, almost every morning, you can hear a tender wolf howl after a while in Niubeiliang: "Ah...oh...ah...oh..." He worked on the job of picking up feces for three years. After his ninth birthday (his birthday was set as the day when the wolf escaped, which is the Dragon Boat Festival in May). Two days later, the old man took out a set of small-scale farm tools, such as squids, shovels, hoes, sickles, ropes, etc. from the warehouse where the farm tools were stored, and he explained to him solemnly: "These are all used by you, five of you, and the young master of our Yuan family will not eat idle meals for ten years. From now on, you will follow me out of the mountain. What do we do? And you must do it well. You can't let people take a look at it, which will embarrass our Yuan family! "From then on, he put down the manure-picking basket and followed the old man and a group of long-term workers out of the mountains. He worked from sunrise and rested at sunset, and was basically a regular labor force. That is, from that day, he had transferred from a small stove to a large stove. From the day when the long-term workers were used, the old man divided the Yuan family's stove affairs into two standards: large stove and small stove. The big stove was built in the Changgong Hospital next to the courtyard. The whole year was mainly made of coarse grains, and only added some fine grains during festivals and busy farm work; and the small stove was set up in the courtyard , the ingredients are thick and thin, and the cooking is relatively fine. According to the rules set by the old master, no matter whether the boss or the length of the worker, only women and men under nine years old and over fifty years old can enjoy the small stove. The rest of them all eat in the big stove, and they must not be different. At the beginning, several aunts felt sorry for him and turned the old master to turn the small stove several times, but once the old master happened to catch him, he shouted with a dark face: "You can't grow good pumpkins, and you can't cultivate good babies if you don't have the heart to be cruel. We are the pillars that cultivate the best, not the lady who raises the beautiful girl! "From then until now, he has never violated any rules at home. Of course, at that time, he still could not understand the profound meaning, so most of them were just passively surrendering, but he felt a lot of resentment in his heart. And now, he finally fully understood that it was these harsh rules and the almost cruel "suffering education" that gave him a spiritual temperament that was obviously different from other peers in the ridge. It was this temperament that made him not overly panic when facing the situation of heavy burdens and shouldering shoulders. Maybe it is what the people of Ling Shang said, "The ancestral wolf nature of the Yuan family"!
idle and worry, and when you are idle, you will be worried. On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the long-term workers have come back one after another, and another year of work has come with them, repairing farm tools and preparing seeds. More than 2,000 black-headed sheep have also begun to enter the lambing period. They are busy all day long and don't touch the ground, so they don't have to think about these chores.Yes, what's the use of worry! In any case, life has to be moved forward, and the Yuan family's big ship has to be driven forward!
After the Jingzhe, the weather gradually warmed up, and the land that had frozen for a winter returned to its softness. In the sunny mountain bay, Artemisia can't wait to protrude the tender leaves,
furry and lovely. The willow trees in front and behind the village yard became alive again, and the strings of young buds swayed like elfs, dancing, making people's hearts soft. Within a few days, the peach blossoms and apricot blossoms all over the mountains gradually bloomed, and the pink and white clouds fell like a flood of the mountains. In short, all desolation is fading away and all life is slowly recovering. Of course, the northwest wind will still come. Although it is still a bit chilly, it is obviously at the end of its strength. It seems that it has been a great force to cross the desert in the north, and then it shakes off the dust it carries with you everywhere. In this slightly raised sandstorm, the pack team that had been resting for a winter appeared again on the ridges where the northern world was connected. The gentle and high-pitched Xintianyou floated again on this ancient and heavy yellow land like a crisp ringtone.
Apricot blossoms bloom in February, and
The team that rushed to cross Daling.
Yanqi Ridge mountain is high into the clouds,
The master of the Yuan family is a wolf.
"Oh! I'm carrying it again. Let's go back!" Yuan Jiyao turned around and said to Heishun next to him. Hei Shuan raised his chaotic head and sang with a broken voice:
My friend passed by and listened to me,
Who can go out!
The King of Hell will not urge people to rush to pass,
After drinking soju wine, get up again.
The owner is kind and takes it in his heart,
rashly disturbs his heart.
It is a wind when I go,
I can’t bear the boss sincerely!
save silver and money to attract life essence,
make friends and protectors.
Mountains and waters turn the world,
Are you afraid that I will disturb your family?
The boss has always been kind to you,
If you refuse, it is really disrespectful.
Tie the mule and horse and stop the stirrups,
Handling the feet to warm your heart to the house.
Buddha feels sorry for me,
Remember in my mouth and remember it in my heart.
kind heart and noble people come from a noble family,
will bring prosperity to your descendants.
Gold and silver scale,
children and grandchildren are top scorers.
During this singing and the ringtones gradually approached. Yuan Jiyao, who was defecating feces, leaned over and put down his feces bag, briefly explained a few reception matters to the foreman Lao Du, and then strode to the mountain pass in the north to welcome the camel caravan. According to the custom of the Yuan family, no matter where the pack team passing by Yanqiling is from or wherever they go, every year when the pack is opened, they will be invited to go home to enjoy the food and wine.
"Young boss, are you all good?"
"It's okay! I started to carry it so early?"
"Oh! Good thing about my boss! The 'poor god' is urging you! The old god is healthy too?"
"Die!"
"Die! When did it happen? Go Isn't it still tough at the end of the lunar calendar? Are you sick? "
" Alas! He didn't get sick, and he died suddenly! "
" Alas! Now that things have come to this, don't be too sad. The old man has been hard-working all his life and has accumulated good deeds for the rest of his life. He should have a good 'return'."
When Yuan Jiyao brought a group of people back to the compound, the foreman Lao Du had already directed everyone to prepare the food and food.The footers quickly unloaded their packs, tied up mules and horses, and then took the seat under the guidance of Yuan Jiyao and Lao Du.
In the yard, the voice of Geng Delu, the third-generation head of the Geng family, suddenly came from the yard: "Ha! Look at this posture, there are distinguished guests coming again!" Yuan Jiyao hurriedly looked for a voice to greet him, and gave the shopkeeper Geng to a seat close to Tian Tuoto and left.
"I often say that even the eight generations of the Geng family can't catch up with the popularity of the Yuan family. Look at this, there are so many guests. Haha! OK!" Geng Delu said with a smile on his face after a few words with everyone.
Before Yuan Jiyao could speak, Tian Tuo Tou bowed to the shopkeeper Geng and smiled: "Everything is good! Everyone in Yanqiling is good, this is also the blessing of us to drive our feet."
Yuan Jiyao smiled humbly: "You are the ones who go out! Who is still carrying the kang? It's a handful to help."
Geng Delu smiled and patted Tian Tuo's head and shoulders: "Ha! It's really a dragon that gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix. Do you see my nephew has a little bit of an old man's way?"...
As he spoke, all the wine and food were served. Yuan Jiyao looked up at Geng Delu: "The second one is big, please tell us a few words!"
Geng Delu thrust his body and said seriously: "Look at you, this baby! Are you the master or I the master? Besides, my master is here too, how can I take my turn!"
Yuan Jiyao stretched out his hand and pulled Geng Delu's arm: "You are the master! My master is old. , Just be a god to suppress the formation! "
Hearing Yuan Jiyao say this, Geng Delu raised his head and laughed loudly, then faced Tian Tuoto and said angrily: "Haaa! What about my friends! These dolls won't hold me up on the hay, but I still love this 'two-foot-high hat', so let's say a few words?"
"Say it!" Everyone responded in unison.
Geng Delu picked up the wine glass and spoke in the harmony of this piece. The content was nothing more than polite words such as eating and drinking.
The banquet lasted until the sun set. Tian Tutou and many sled households were drunk, so Yuan Jiyao sent Lao Du to arrange them to sleep in the backyard. Ma Yushan also went back early with his son Ma Zijie. During the meal, only Yuan Jiyao, Geng Delu, Heisun and Hu San were left.
Geng Delu clinked another cup with Yuan Jiyao and said in a tentative tone: "Jiyao, I have something to talk to you about when I do it."
In fact, from the moment Geng Delu entered the door, Yuan Jiyao had already predicted that he would "go to the Three Treasures Hall without any trouble", and had roughly guessed what was going on in his heart, because as early as after the New Year, he had heard some rumors, but he still pretended to be shocked and replied: "What's the matter?"
Geng Delu drank a glass alone again, and then he said slowly, "That's the matter. Wulang Temple Temple Fair is coming soon. How do we do this this year?"
Yuan Jiyao paused, then raised his glass to toast Geng Delu, and said slowly, "Oh! It's been a busy winter. If you don't say it, I'll forget this matter. Since you are asking for my opinion, I will tell you my thoughts."
Geng Delu nodded while acting as if he was listening attentively.
"Originally, this matter has always been in charge of the two great masters, but the death of their two elders is so stupid, it's time to change the president. I think this president will have to come from our two families sooner or later. According to my idea, if you do it, you will work hard and get the materials for us to get the materials for this stall. What do you think?"
Geng Delu heard that he had received the upper hexagram, and he couldn't help but feel joy in his heart, but he still held back his joy and said firmly: "Look at what this doll said, this Wulang Temple was rebuilt by your old man, and the president has always been carried by him. Now the old man has become a god, and you are still there! Don't you have to support this stall. What's wrong with me? Dada pokes you. As long as our two families have the same heart, they will have nothing to do. I don’t believe it..."
Before Geng Delu finished speaking, Yuan Jiyao hurriedly interrupted: "Dang Dada, you are wrong. The old man was supportive back then, but your Geng family also paid a lot of money, and the people on the entire ridge also worked hard. This good thing cannot be recorded on my Yuan family. Of course, if my few of my men are still there, I really have to consider my Yuan family, but they are all dead. I am young and can’t even see a salty and unrestrained thing. If there is a problem, this is not a joke! "
Geng Delu stroked his chin and pretended to think for a while. "The reason is that. That's it. It's useless for us father and son to fight here. This year's drama was written at the temple fair last year, and it had no effect. As for the president's affairs, I think it's handed over to the Five Wolf God, letting the God God decide by himself. What do you think?"
Yuan Jiyao Chong respected Geng Delu again: "That's fine. But I showed my attitude that I am absolutely inappropriate anyway. I think this Five Wolf God is also sensible. You can't put such a heavy burden on my shoulders, a young man. This big thing at home is enough for me to be busy."
Geng Delu raised his head and drank a full cup: "This is not yours. I don't believe that you dare to disobey God's will?"
Yuan Jiyao had already seen Geng Delu's complacent spirit from 小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小小� "Let's go, Jiyao, look at your two wolf sons."
Yuan Jiyao guided Geng Delu to the kiln in the front yard. Several aunts were also present and warmly greeted Shopkeeper Geng on the kang.
Geng Delu waved his hand with a smile on his face: "The kang is not on. Come on, carry the two wolf sons over and let me take a look. I often say that I am coming, but I can't get rid of the mess. Today I happened to see if the descendants of the old Yuan family are dragons or tigers."
Red Pepper quickly moved the two children to the edge of the kang.
"Ha! They are really two dirty dolls, chubby." As he said that, he bent down and teased intimately. When the two children saw the stranger, they burst into tears. Geng Delu moved his face: "You are your ancestors, is the thickest man in your pot? He howled as soon as he saw you!" Then he looked up and laughed: "Which one is the second? Everyone says that this broken grandson is the reincarnation of the old master, let me see." As he said that, he spread the left hand of "Second" with the instructions of Hongjiao and looked at it carefully. The wolf claw-like birthmark obviously shocked him. It took him a long time to come to his senses: "Ha! Riya! I'm considering whether I dare to be a godfather for this broken grandson in the future!"
Yuan Jiyao grunted and said, "You said that too! I didn't dare to be a big shot for this doll, you see, this matter is a mess."
Shopkeeper Geng quickly took out two pieces of silver dollars tied with red string from his sleeve: "I thought about it for a long time before coming, and you didn't need anything at home, so I just tied a 'lock for the doll.'" Yuan Jiyao hurriedly refused, but he glared at him: "Look at you, this is a raising the doll, not for you."Yuan Jiyao didn't know what to say anymore, so he thanked him.
Geng Delu put the silver dollar on the necks of the two dolls in turn, greeted everyone, and turned around and left. Yuan Jiyao hurriedly lifted the lantern on the top of the cabinet: "It's dark, hold the lamp! "But he waved his hand with a smile and refused: "You are not yet old and your eyes are dizzy, can you still walk into the ditch in a familiar way? "After saying that, he turned around and left the kiln door.
After Yuan Jiyao sent Geng Delu back, several aunts were still sitting in the middle kiln, each of whom was worried. After seeing him come in, his second mother raised her face and said worriedly: "Jiyao, I think Geng Delu is Huang Yao who wishes the chicken a New Year - you don't have a good intention, so you must be careful. "
Yuan Ji smiled calmly: "Don't think of everyone so badly! "But even though he said so, he knew very well that the new drama of Yuan Geng's dispute was about to begin soon, but he had already prepared the script for this drama these days, or simply said that he had prepared the "Huang Yao clip" and had already obtained the consent of his "auxiliary minister" Ma Yushan. He just waited for the "bang" on the temple fair on April 8th. At this moment, he remembered the famous saying that the old master had said to him many times: "The courtesy under the fist is 'benevolence', and without fist courtesy, it would be 'coward'! "Just thinking about this, I suddenly farted loudly, and my two sons who were sleeping on the kang were so shocked that they cried loudly again.
