The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Someone asked: "How can you remember so clearly? How long has it been?"

How could he not remember?In the memory of Jiang Xi in the upper realm, it was an unremarkable half a year, and in the memory of Xue Zhengyi in the lower realm, it was a year full of emotions.

But in the memory of Mo Ran, it is 35 days that are gradually becoming desperate, and the days are like years.Every day is worse than death, every day is still in purgatory.

Back then, when the price adjustment order came out, people panicked. If Duan Yihan and his children had no food, they had to rely on picking up rotten vegetable leaves and moldy rice noodles to feed their hunger.Later, more and more people were hungry, and they couldn't even pick up vegetable leaves.In trouble, Mo Ran couldn't help but said to Duan Yihan: "Aniang, let's go to Confucianism to find him, shall we ask for some food?"

But Duan Yihan murmured: "If you beg anyone, you can't beg him."

Begging and performing arts along the street, nodding and bowing, laughing and yelling are all forced to make a living, but if you go to beg Nangong Yan, the meaning is different.

Although Duan Yihan is poor, he doesn't want to break the last bottom line.

She refused, and Mo Ran didn't mention it anymore.

The child is not eye-catching, and his skills are surprisingly agile. On the ninth day after the price adjustment order was promulgated, he finally stole a white radish from the field.

Duan Yihan carefully hid the white radishes, and cooked only a few as big as a fist every day, and the two ate them separately.By the time of the eighth meal, the radish was already rotten, but because he hadn't seen anything that could satisfy his hunger for a long time, Duan Yihan cut the remaining rotten radish in half again, barely coping with it for a few more days.

On the No. 20 day of the price adjustment order, they ate up the last bit of radish and could no longer find any food to satisfy their hunger.

No.20 five days.

There was a heavy rain, and earthworms came out of the ground. Mo Ran caged them together, took some rainwater, cooked them and ate them.

The greasy feeling of eating earthworms in the mouth is disgusting. Mo Ran muttered sorry to these skinny little animals. There is really nothing to fill his stomach. If he survives this period, the earthworms will be his benefactor.God is so pitiful, he doesn't want to be benefactor anymore, when will this nightmare pass...

No.20 eight days.

The ink burned.

Even if a child is extremely talented and has a very high aura, he still cannot stand such hunger and torment.

Duan Yihan had already lost his strength, his eyes were empty.

On this day, while Mo Ran fell asleep, she finally made up her mind, got up and left the firewood room where she lived, and slowly walked towards the towering fairy city of Confucianism - she had her own bottom line, and would rather die than beg for food from Nangong Yan.

But the child is innocent, he is still so young, how could he leave the world with her.

The people in the hall were all showing compassion at this time, not to mention Mo Weiyu's guilt or innocence, but the old things back then were really too miserable.

Someone slowed down and asked with a sigh, "Did you get it?"

"No." Mo Ran said, "Bad luck, when I went, Nangong Yan was arguing with his wife."

He paused, and continued: "When the lady of the city lord saw my mother, she became furious. She has a strong temper. Not only did she not give my mother any food, but she also kicked her out of the Confucian school."

"What about Nangong Yan?"

"I don't know." Mo Ran said, "My mother didn't mention him."

Maybe it was stopped, or maybe it was just standing by, looking helpless.

Mo Ran didn't know what happened that day, but only knew that when A Niang came back, she was covered in scars.She curled up in the woodshed and hugged him silently, and then began to cough up blood, vomit blood foam and gastric juice, and the room was filled with a foul and sour smell.

No. 30 four days.

Duan Yihan was on the verge of dying, he could barely speak, and he didn't shed tears.

That night, she woke up from her drowsiness and regained some strength.Seeing Mo Ran shrinking beside her, trying to keep her warm with his thin body.She said to him very gently, "Xiao Ran'er, if there is a way, go back to Xiangtan."

"Auntie..."

"Go back to Xiangtan, go to Sister Xun, and repay your favor." Duan Yihan stroked Mo Ran's hair, "Go to Xiangtan to repay your favor, don't stay in Linyi to seek revenge... Listen to what Auntie said, be good...Back when Aunt came to Yi , I owe you sister Xun a lot of money, and it’s still not clear... You go back, stay by her side, do something for her, and make her happy. In the days to come, if others give you kindness, they must be good Remember."

With tears in her eyes, Mo Ran looked up at the firewood room, she described her skinny face.

Duan Yihan's eyes were black and shiny, even with grape-like purple.

"Then go and answer."

That was Duan Yihan's calculation for Mo Ran before he died.

She was afraid that after she left, the child would go astray, so she urged him to leave this sad place.

If a person is motivated, he will not think wildly, and it is not easy to fall into the prison of hatred.

She gave him a head start - repay the favor.

Don't take revenge.

No.30 five days.

This ridiculous price adjustment order was finally abolished in the riots, and the duration was only one month and five days.

For the well-to-do, it was as if the farce had finally come to an end.The city of Linyi is full of smog, and they woke up stretched out in the soft quilt warm tent, rinsed their mouths with the eight-treasure dew served by the maid, picked their teeth, and heard the news that the price adjustment order was invalidated, they only complained a few words , yawned.

Nothing matters.

But for Mo Ran, it is nothing more exciting.

I don't have to worry about rations anymore, so there are more kind-hearted people on the street, Mo Ran begged for a cake, and even a bowl of poorly thin meat porridge.

He was reluctant to take a sip of it, and carefully held it in his hand. He wanted to hurry back and give it to his seriously ill mother.

Meat porridge is such a good thing, if A Niang drinks it, she will surely recover, right?

He couldn't wait to use this bowl of porridge to save his mother's life, but he didn't dare to rush home.The porridge bowl was cracked, and there was a big hole on the side. It would be a pity to spill it if he ran too fast.

In this way, he returned to the firewood room full of joy and suffering.

"Aunt—!"

Holding the broken bowl in both hands, he rubbed open the dilapidated firewood door with his dirty head like a puppy, with a smile on his face, full of longing for the future.

How wonderful, with meat porridge to drink, Auntie will get well soon, and finally the spring is warm, and they will go on the road together, back to Linyi.They danced and danced there, and there was no hunger. There was a sister named Xun, and they finally didn't have to be begging for a living.

How nice they go home together.

"Squeak" sounded.

The door opened.

"She's lying in it." Mo Ran said quietly in the Palace of Danxin.

Others are either surprised by his indifference, or cold-hearted by his cold blood.

This person, when he mentioned his mother's death, was actually calm, without any warmth, waves, or even tears.

But no one thought about how many years of lingering in dreams, heartbreaks, and heartbreaks, to smooth out the scars and get such an ancient and calm face.

"I called her, but she didn't wake up." Mo Ran said, "She will never open her eyes again, and she will never be able to drink that porridge again."

There was a long silence.

Mrs. Wang said tremblingly, "Then...then, you...you just returned to Linyi by yourself?"

Mo Ran shook his head: "I went to Confucianism."

Someone said "Ah!" and said, "You, are you looking for revenge?"

"My mother said, repay the favor, don't seek revenge." Mo Ran said lightly, "I didn't want to seek revenge, I just wanted to bury my mother. But I don't have money, and it's too late to raise money, so I went to his house, Ask him for some money."

"Did he give it?"

Mo Ran almost smiled and said, "No."

"No, no? But according to what you said before, in Nangong Yan's heart, there is still a shadow of your mother, how can you even pay for the funeral..."

Mo Ran said: "Because his wife also committed suicide not long ago and passed away."

"what?!"

Jiang Xi narrowed her eyes: "... Nangong Yan's wife did leave very early, and committed suicide..."

"The woman was pregnant at the beginning, but her husband was entangled with others outside. After giving birth, she always quarreled constantly, and her life was extremely unsatisfactory. My aunt went to the house to look for them that day. After being caught by her, she Then she became more and more furious, and it is said that she stabbed Nangong Yan with a knife at that time, which made Nangong Yan anxious and said that she wanted to divorce his wife."

Mo Ran paused slightly, and then said: "She couldn't bear it, and she hanged herself in the middle of the night that night. She left a few days earlier than my mother."

Hearing this, everyone no longer knew what to say. At the beginning, the dewy love affair of the flirtatious young man ended up causing the beauty to die, and his own family was ruined. The cycle of cause and effect in the world is probably like this.

"When I appeared, Nangong Yan was being reprimanded by the head, and his wife's family also came, and she is a well-known merchant giant in Linyi." Mo Ran said, "Nangong Yan has already been scolded bloody, and he is very annoyed Seeing me suddenly, there is no good temper."

Mrs. Wang is the most soft-hearted. Although she knows that Mo Ran is not a blood relative, she still regrets it and said with tears: "Ran'er..."

Mo Ran really doesn't want to mention this past event.

Nangong Yan's face at that time was the face of those who were present.

There is also Mrs. Nangong’s mourning hall—golden paper and silver flowers, paper-tied children, piles of spiritual utensils, splendid evocation banners, black and shiny golden nanmu coffin, too many things.

Hundreds of people knelt and mourned for the woman who committed suicide.

The ever-burning lamp is filled with sperm whale oil, 99 rolls of heart-shaped incense burn silently, the wind blows the smoke away, and the incense powder rustles.

Very lively scene.

And what about his mother?

Duan Yihan, Le Xian of Xiangtan, has only a rag that may never be put on again, and a scrawny young son.

She didn't even have a straw mat to wrap her body in.

"You hit three feet, but you can hardly find one."

——That was what Nangong Yan said to Mo Ran when he was extremely angry and desperate.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the head of the house and the watchful eyes of his parents-in-law, the man pushed the illegitimate child out of the house and refused to admit it.

When Mrs. Nangong died, she should be equipped with a coffin painted with gold and lacquer red, agate and fragrant beads, a snow-cold shroud to protect the body from decay, a silk covering the face, and satin to cover the eyes, and ride a crane to the top.

Duan Yihan died, a corpse, a person crying, yin and yang separated, nothing else.According to Nangong Yan, she shouldn't even ask for a thin wooden coffin.

So, who dares to say that people are equal in the face of death?

Fate was unfair from the very beginning.

to the end.

She is still as smooth as jade.

She has rotted into mud.

"I dragged her to the mass grave and buried her." Mo Ran said lightly with a few numbers.

He didn't detail how he begged the passing gentleman to give them a ride, and how he spent fourteen days dragging the rotten and smelly corpse to the outskirts of the city.

He also didn't say how he pushed aside the rocks and broken earth with his hands, and buried his mother's thin body.

Mo Ran is not used to complaining in front of people.

He has always been a person who buries the past deeply, and will not speak lightly unless he is forced to.

He had already suffered humiliation, malice, white eyes, and slander in the first ten years of his life.His heart is as hard as iron, and he doesn't care what others think of him.He didn't bother to be sympathized with him at all.

"Then I went to Xiangtan."

He couldn't stand Linyi anymore, so one day, he hid behind a Taoist priest's cart and sneaked out of the city in a basket.

He began to walk to the Hunan side according to his mother's instructions. He walked for half a year, from midsummer to early winter.If the shoes were worn out, I would walk barefoot, until thick calluses formed on the soles of my feet.

Just walking all the way, asking, when he walked outside Wubei Temple, he finally fell down in the haystack with a plop because of cold and hunger.

"Auntie..." The little child lay on the ground, with a pair of slack eyes under the messy black hair.He looked at the vast world.

It's snowing, the first snow of this winter.

"I'm coming to see you... I'm sorry... I can't hold on..."

Snowflakes fell lightly, softly like a sigh, covering his eyebrows and eyes.

In a trance, there were footsteps approaching, rustling, and then he pushed aside the grass with his hands, and he heard a young voice: "Master, come quickly! Take a look at him, what's wrong with him?"

After a while, a pair of sandals approached, and a man said: "Don't worry about it, go back first. I'll come and see him."

The man's voice was deep and cold, without much emotion.

Mo Ran instinctively felt scared, he instinctively felt that the boy was close, and the man was cold.He didn't know where the strength came from, and the desire to live made him raise his hand, and weakly grabbed the corner of the young man in front of him.

Before he could speak, tears began to flow down his face.

"meal……"

I'm so hungry, please, I want to eat.

The boy who was grabbed by him was Chu Wanning who went down the mountain with Huai Zui that day, Chu Wanning was stunned: "What?"

Mo Ran barely raised a dirty little face, tremblingly made a posture of grilling rice, swallowing bitterness in his throat.Everything in front of my eyes was blurred, dizzy, and my ears were buzzing.

He shed tears and begged the person in front of him.He knew that if this little brother abandoned him like many masters and young masters he had met before, then he would definitely not survive and die.He really couldn't take it anymore.

"eat……"

Later, Chu Wanning fed him a pot of rice soup.

A pot of soup saved a person who was dying of starvation.

After drinking the rice soup, Mo Ran left Wubei Temple. At that time, his mind was in a daze. Regarding the appearance of "Brother Engong", he only remembered a pair of slightly raised phoenix eyes with very dense and long eyelashes. There is no more impression.

However, day and night from Wubei Temple to Xiangtan, he wore the cloak given to him by his brother Engong.He was small at that time, and a boy's clothes looked awkward and funny on him, especially when he put on the hat, the brim of which could almost cover his entire face.

There are always children who have no worries about food and clothing on the road, snuggling up to their parents and shouting with a smile: "Father, mother, look at that little beggar, what is he wearing, it's so funny!"

Mo Ran is not angry.

What is the cynicism of others to him?He was only grateful that this ill-fitting cloak could shelter him from the wind and rain, and give him an inch of tenderness.

He wore it so that when it snowed, the snowflakes would not fall on him.In the middle of the night, darkness cannot enter his heart.

And whenever night fell, he lit a fire and sat by the firepit with his knees hugged to keep warm. He put his cloak over his head, retracted his whole body, and looked at the melting orange flames from under the soft velvet.

The cloak is very warm, like A Niang's embrace, and also like the gentle hyacinth eyes of Brother Engong... The little child curled up like this and fell asleep. In his sleep, he could even smell the faint fragrance of the cloak, as if Leaning against a crabapple tree in full bloom.

Looking back at this time, it's no wonder that I always feel that the smell of Chu Wanning's body is very good. As long as there is his breath in the pillow, I can always sleep with peace of mind.

It's no wonder that the first time I saw Elder Yuheng under Tongtian Pagoda, I felt that those drooping phoenix eyes were extremely gentle.It seems to have seen it somewhere.

It turns out that everything happens for a reason.

He and Chu Wanning... It turned out that he had spoken so early, had contact with body temperature, and he even licked Chu Wanning's palm.It turned out that so early, he had smelled the fragrance of flowers on Chu Wanning's clothes. It turned out that the brother-in-law he had been looking for was by his side, and he was never far away.

Mo Ran lowered his eyes, and in this cold and cold Danxin Palace, he felt a little warmth because of it.

But this is the secret between them, Mo Ran thought in his heart, it was both sour and sweet, he kept this secret in his heart, no one would tell it, and he would not tell everyone.

He took a deep breath, paused, and continued: "After arriving in Xiangtan, I found Xun Fengruo according to A Niang's will."

At that time, Xiao Ran'er, who was only five years old, was wrapped in a thick cloak that belonged to the young Chu Wanning.

The hem of the cloak was dragged on the ground, and it was already dirty. The child poked out a dirty bird's nest head from the fluff, raised his yellow and thin face, and asked softly, "Excuse me... Sister Xun Fengwei, are you here?" ?”

"Xun Fengwei?" The actor who was held by him laughed out loud, looking him up and down curiously, "Le Fang Oiran? Although we are here to sell art and not sell ourselves, but who came to the limelight for Miss Xun, who don't like it?" I like her appearance more than her singing voice? Little brother, how old are you, and you know how to find her?"

Mo Ran opened his eyes, his eyebrows were clear, and he didn't understand her words at all.

But the ridicule in the girl's eyes was naked, and Mo Ran looked very embarrassed because of this. He tightly grabbed the collar of his cloak, blushing: "Please, I want to see Sister Xun. I, my mother let me Come find her..."

"Huh? Who is your mother?"

"My mother's surname is Duan, and her name is Duan Yihan..."

"Ah!" The song girl's expression changed, she took a step back, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and even opened her lazy eyes, "You, are you Duan Lexian's child?"

When Duan Yihan was famous all over the world, he never acted like a domineering, and would often give two cents of the extra jewelry money to those sisters who were old and decrepit, and their singing voice was no longer what it used to be.Therefore, when the actor heard that he was Miss Duan's child, he immediately changed his attitude and hurriedly took him to the Huage Greenhouse, where he saw Xun Fengruo lying high in the room.

After closing the door, Mo Ran bowed down to Xun Fengruo and told her the whole story.Xun Feng's weak heart mourned greatly, and his clothes were wet with tears.

She immediately found Mo Ran and expressed that she wanted Mo Ran to stay with her. The mother refused at first, but she couldn't help the oiran begging several times, and she looked at Mo Ran and thought that the child could do something for the building, so she went Reluctantly agreed.Beggars are afraid of causing bad luck when they enter the building, so according to the rules, they have to burn all the clothes they used to wear, and then wash them thoroughly.

It's okay to take a bath, but when it was said that the clothes were going to be burned, Mo Ran cried.

"Why are you crying! It's not that I won't buy you new ones in the future!" The mother impatiently tapped Mo Ran's head with a water pipe, "Be sensible, I will give you food and shelter, and it's too late for others to laugh, look at you poor Sample!"

Mo Ran was afraid of hurting sister Xun, she had already said all the good things for him.

So he bit his lip and endured desperately, rubbed his red eyes, and stood in front of the fire, sobbing silently.

At that time, he really couldn't understand why all this happened.Why does he just want to keep an old clothes, but because he is weak, because he is humble, because he is a stinky beggar, in order not to bring bad luck and trouble to others, he can only let others take it from himself Pick it up.He couldn't struggle, he couldn't say "no", he didn't even have the right to cry.

It once gave him so much warmth, sustenance, and dependence.In order to protect him from the wind and rain, it was so dirty that the original color could not be seen.

Now that he has a place to stay, he may never use it again.He just wanted to wash it carefully and fold it neatly, even if he would never wear it again, it would be fine to put it under the small box.It is his friend, not just an old clothes.

But everything is up to him.

With a bang, the dirty cloak was thrown into the flames, and the person who threw it was just throwing it away, and in the end he still thought his hands were dirty.But for Mo Ran, it was a cremation, a funeral.

He watched.

Tongues of fire surged up, blurring the grandeur of the world.

-

"Drink slowly...not enough and..."

"where are you come from……"

The gentle voice of that young man was still in his ears.That was one of the few kindnesses he had received in his humble life.

It's all gray.

In this way, Mo Ran worshiped the mother-in-law of Zuiyulou as his godmother, and he also got a righteous surname with his godmother, surnamed Mo.From then on, he became a handyman in the building, finally passed Duan An's birthday.

However, the good times didn't last long.At that time, Xun Fengruo was already quite old. According to the rules in the building, although the Lefang was not as good as a brothel, but when he reached his age, if he did not earn enough "self-pity fee", then the girls' first night would be handed over to the mother-in-law. Sell ​​to those sons and rich businessmen.

Xun Feng is not worried about being weak, she has already made a lot of money for Zuiyulou.

"It's still 15 gold short." Xun Fengruo said to Mo Ran with a smile at the time, "Xiao Ran'er, when your sister and I earn enough money, I can redeem myself. My sister will take you to live a good life."

Mo Ran was assigned to the kitchen, and she was seldom seen at ordinary times. The mother was determined not to let the people in the building form cliques, so Xun Fengruo and Mo Ran always met quietly.

She stretched out her hand, pinched his cheek, and then gave him a handful of candy: "Shh, take it and eat it. Unfortunately, I can't give you money, and you will be found out. The godmother's eyes are so poisonous, hehe."

Mo Ran grinned, revealing a mouth missing milk teeth: "Well, thank you sister Xun."

However, Xun Fengruo is only 15 gold short of being able to redeem himself. Is this not clear to Madam?

Although her face was calm, she was extremely anxious in her heart.

If Xun Fengruo is lost, most of the source of the Zuiyulou's money will be lost, so the mother figured that before Xun Fengruo left, she must make a good profit.

At that time, there were quite a few wealthy households who coveted Xun Fengruo's beauty, and the prices they offered were sky-high, enough for the mother to sit and eat for a lifetime.The nanny finally got a wrong idea, and behind Xun Fengruo's back, she made a contract with a wealthy businessman who could reach the sky.The two took advantage of the Lantern Festival, Xun Fengruo sat upstairs and played the music, gave her a cup of tea with drugs, and then brought her to the room...

Mo Ran cooked glutinous rice balls that day, and carefully brought them to the Nuan Pavilion for Sister Xun to eat.

Before he went in, he heard heavy panting in the room. Mo Ran was startled, and pushed open the door. A strong fragrance of brain smoke came to his face, which made him almost vomit.

In the dizzy halo, he saw a rich businessman who was greasy like pork belly, salivating, his clothes were wide open, and he was struggling weakly, and Xun Fengruo's body was sore and limp.

"Dang!"

The porcelain bowl of glutinous rice balls was broken on the ground, and Mo Ran rushed into the house, and he didn't know where the strength came from—his talent was amazing since he was a child—he beat the rich businessman, and then pressed the fat man tightly, crying until he was already crying. The pear blossoms were raining, and Xun Fengruo, who was overwhelmed by surprise, shouted:

"Sister, let's go!"

"But you..."

"Go away! I can't go, I have to catch him! If you don't go, we will all have to explain here when the mother comes, you go! Go! If you go, I will run away immediately!"

Xun Fengruo is his benefactor.

Mo Ran told her to fly away, escape from Yuezhou, and never come back again.

That day, he finally became a hero.

Xun Fengruo choked up and bowed to him, and fled the building.But Mo Ran didn't have time to leave.When Madam heard the movement, she quickly brought people up, and as soon as she came up, she saw that Mo Ran hit the distinguished guest and let the oiran go, her angry face was distorted, and she almost wanted to vomit blood.

The mother has a son who is about the same age as Mo Ran. The son has a vicious mind and a bad stomach. Seeing that the mother is very angry, she has an idea - the child's viciousness is sometimes so naive and terrifying.The boy punished his peers for offending his mother by punishing livestock.

He found a dog cage and asked people to lock Mo Ran in it.The cage was narrow and narrow, and Mo Ran could only squat inside, not lie down, or stand up. They fed him cold food like a dog, and it was like this for seven days.

For seven days, Mo Ran was trapped in an old house where the wind was weak, and the smell of incense in the house was mixed with the stench of men's body fluids.

He squatted, hunched.

Smell this drowsy, sweet and greasy smell.

want to vomit.

Seven days.

From then on, he felt disgusted when he smelled the incense, and fear and fear overflowed from the cracks in his bones.