Sha Po Lang

In Yanhui, a small border town, there is a "Jiangjun Slope", which is named majesticly, but it is actually a small dirt bag with a long neck that can look over the top of the slope at a glance.

The General Slope didn’t always exist. It is said that it was 14 years ago, when the three major battalions of Xuantie, the first iron cavalry in Daliang, went to the Northern Expedition and wiped out [-] barbarian tribes. I climbed a small hill, and later it was hardened by sand and dust, wind and rain, and it became Jiangjun Slope.

Jiangjun Slope is a barren slope, nothing grows, there is not even grass, there is no shelter for cheating, it sits bare here, and I don't know what to do with it.The old people said that it was because of the heavy killings in the Xuantie camp and the overwhelming hostility.After a long time, some gangsters who had nothing to do took it as a prototype and compiled a series of border haunted legends. As time passed, no one went there.

At dusk that day, two boys in their teens ran down the slope of the general.

These two, one thin and tall, and the other short and fat, together look like a pair of running bowls and chopsticks.

The one with the thin and tall strips is dressed as a little girl, and you have to look carefully to find out that it is a boy. His nickname is Cao Niangzi, because the fortune teller said that he was born as a girl, and he was born in the wrong birth. I am afraid that God will call him back and start again When he voted, the family worried that he would not live long, so he has been raised as a daughter.

The chunky one is the youngest son of Ge Tuhu, whose nickname is Ge Pangxiao. As the name suggests, his whole body is faintly glowing with wealth.

The two of them probed into Jiangjunpo together, but because of the haunted legend, no one dared to approach him.

Ge Pangxiao held a copper "clairvoyance" in his hand, stretched his neck to look in the direction of Jiangjunpo, and murmured: "You said that the sun has set, and you still don't go down the mountain. My elder brother really... that What is it called—hanging and bigu!"

Mrs. Cao: "That's called hanging the beam to stab the butt, don't talk nonsense, give me clairvoyance."

This fake girl often does fake plays for real, but unfortunately the real direction is a bit wrong, she is not like a lady, like a shrew, especially likes to pinch people with a pair of chicken feet.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, Ge Pangxiao's fat body felt a dull pain, and he hurriedly offered the clairvoyant eye, and said: "Be careful, if you break it, my father will definitely make me into a pie."

The so-called "clairvoyance" is a small round hole made of copper, with "five bats" carved around it, and inside is a piece of transparent glass, which is fastened on the eye, so that rabbits ten miles away can see male and female clearly.

Ge Pangxiao's one is more delicate, it was left by his grandfather who was a scout.

Mrs. Cao held it fresh in her hand for a long time, then lifted it up to look at the stars: "It's so clear."

Ge Pangxiao followed his gaze, and pointed out: "I know, that one is called Evening Star, also called 'Chang Geng', the same name as my elder brother, Mr. Shen taught me, I remember."

Mrs. Cao curled her lips: "Who is 'your elder brother'? Do you think people care about you? Chasing people with a shy face and insisting on recognizing elder brother, I think you are cheap... Hey, wait, do you think that is him? "

Ge Pangxiao looked in the direction of his finger, and it was true.

I saw a young man holding a sword, lowering his head, and slowly walking down the general slope. Ge Pangxiao seemed not afraid of being haunted immediately, and rushed out like a thunderbolt: "Brother, brother!"

He ran too fast, tripped over something at the foot of Jiangjun Slope, and rolled out grumbling, right at the boy's feet.

Ge Pangxiao raised his head in disgrace, didn't bother to get up, first showed a smirk obsequiously, grinned and said: "Hey, big brother, I've been waiting for you all day."

The boy named Chang Geng retracted silently and almost stepped on Ge Pangxiao's foot.

Every time he sees Ge Pangxiao, he feels strange in his heart, thinking that the Ge butcher who has slaughtered thousands of pigs may be born with sharp eyes, but after so many years, he has not slaughtered his son as a pig.But Chang Geng has a steady personality, and his words are very virtuous, no matter what he thinks in his heart, he will never say hurtful words.

Chang Geng stretched out his hand to help Ge Pangxiao up like a big brother, and then patted off the dirt on his body: "What are you running, be careful if you break it, what can I do?"

Ge Pangxiao: "Brother Chang Geng, your father and the others will be back soon tomorrow, we won't be in class, why don't you come with us to grab wild goose food? You can definitely beat the crap out of Li Xiaohouzi and the others!"

Chang Geng's father was Xu Baihu—not his real father.

When he was two or three years old, Chang Geng came here with his widowed mother, Xiu Niang, to join his relatives, but who knew that his relatives had already moved away with his family and left for nothing.It happened that Xu Baihu, an officer and soldier of Yanhui, died early and had no children. He fell in love with Xiuniang, so he married her and came back to fill the house.

Xu Baihu took people out of the customs and went to collect the annual tribute from the barbarians, and the days to return to the city were mostly these two days.

The border town is poor, and children don’t have much snacks. Every time the soldiers return from paying tribute, they will bring some cheese and dried meat from the barbarians and sprinkle them on the roadside along the way, which often attracts urchins to snatch them. This is called "grabbing wild goose food".

Since it is a "robbery", a bunch of youngsters will inevitably fight, as long as the fight is not bad, the adults don't care, and they fight themselves to gang up and make a big show of it.

For this kind of thing, whoever can get Chang Geng to join the gang will be invincible.

Chang Geng has been meticulous in practicing martial arts since he was a child—there are many military households in the border area, and there are not a few children practicing martial arts, but it is hard to practice kung fu. Since then, he went to Jiangjunpo to practice sword alone every day. He has practiced hard for many years, and his perseverance is amazing.

Today, Chang Gengxu is not yet fourteen years old, and he can already lift an epee weighing more than 60 kilograms with one hand. Although he knows it well and never participates in fights with urchins, those little boys are somehow afraid of him.

Chang Geng didn't take it to heart when he heard this, and said with a smile: "How old am I, what kind of wild goose food do I pick?"

Ge Pangxiao said reluctantly: "I have made an agreement with Mr. Shen, and Mr. Shen also nodded. We will take our vacation for a few days."

Chang Geng walked slowly with his hands behind his back, the epee knocked on his calf every now and then, ignoring Ge Pangxiao's childish words.

Whether he reads or not, and whether he practices swordsmanship is up to him, and it has nothing to do with whether his husband takes a holiday.

Ge Pangxiao: "Besides, Mr. Shen said that he wants to change the medicine for Uncle Sixteen. He may also go out to buy herbs these days, and he is not at home. You have no place to go. Come with us and practice all day long." What's so interesting about swords?"

Chang Geng finally took these words to heart, paused immediately, and asked, "Didn't Shiliu just come back from Changyang Pass, why is he sick again?"

Ge Pangxiao: "Ah...it seems, he has never had a good time."

"Then I'll see him." Chang Geng waved his hands at the two little followers, "Hurry up and go home, it's getting late, and your father will beat you up after dinner."

Ge Pangxiao: "Hey, big brother, that..."

Chang Geng was not interested in listening to his "this" and "that" endlessly. Boys at this age, one year older is one year older, and their size and ideas are very different. Chang Geng can't play with Ge Pangxiao and the others anymore.

Relying on his tall legs and long legs, he had already gone far in the blink of an eye.

The little fat man made a trip for nothing, but no one was invited. He sighed in disappointment, and turned his head to stare at Mrs. Cao: "You have something to say!"

Mrs. Cao's face was flushed, her eyes were wandering, the look of bossing Ge Pangxiao just now had long since disappeared, and the young girl held her chest like a spring: "My eldest brother Chang Geng looks better when he walks than others."

Ge Pangxiao: "..."

I can no longer bring this present treasure out.

The "Mr. Shen" and "Uncle Sixteen" that Ge Pangxiao mentioned are a pair of brothers, and they have a close relationship with Chang Geng.

Two years ago, when Chang Geng was still young, he slipped out of the city gate to play alone, accidentally lost his way and ran into a pack of wolves, and was almost taken away. Fortunately, the Shen brothers traveled here.

Mr. Shen drove away the hungry wolf with medicinal powder, saving his life.The two brothers later lived in Yanhui Town for a long time. Xu Baihu rented an empty yard of his house to them, thanking them for saving their lives, and did not charge rent.

The elder brother's name is Shen Yi, a failed scholar. Although he is not very old, he has lost his ambition to be an official. He is "Mr. Shen".

In addition to being a hermit, Mr. Shen also serves as a doctor, a ghostwriter for letters and couplets, a teacher and a "long-arm teacher". Teach a group of teenagers to read and write, send the students away at night, and then roll up their sleeves to repair steam lighters, steel armor and various puppets, subsidize the family, and hide in the world.

Mr. Shen knows everything, he can make money and take care of his family. He is also good at cooking and cooking. I heard that he was in poor health since he was a child, and the family might not be able to raise him up, so he didn't choose a tuba size, because he was born on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, so he named it "Sixteen".

Shen Shiliu didn't study or work all day long. He didn't know how to hold the oil bottle upside down, and he didn't even see him pick up the water. He either wandered or drank. He was very ignorant and had almost no merits.

Besides looking good.

He looks really good. The old birthday star in the town personally testified that he lived to be almost 90 years old, and he has never seen such a well-groomed man.

It's a pity that no matter how good it is, Shen Shiliu suffered from a serious illness when he was a child, and his body was burnt out. His eyes could only see things two feet in front of him clearly, and he couldn't even distinguish between men and women if he was ten steps away.He is still deaf, and he has to shout everything to him, every day when he passes by the door of Shen's house, he can hear the gentle and refined Mr. Shen barking at him like a mad dog through the courtyard wall.

All in all, Shen Shiliu was a deaf and blind sick man.

According to his conditions, he should be a blessed little boy, but unfortunately, in this border town, other than poor ghosts and poor gods, no one can afford to take care of even a celestial being.

According to local customs, when there is no way to repay the great kindness and virtue, they will recognize their relatives, those with children and grandchildren will recognize them, and those without children and grandchildren will recognize themselves.

The Shen brothers rescued Chang Geng from the mouth of the wolf, it was a life-saving grace, and Chang Geng took it for granted that one of them was his adoptive father.

Mr. Shen's brain was ruined by reading, and he insisted that it was unreasonable, but he didn't dare to accept it. On the contrary, his brother Shiliu was so happy that he changed his name and called "son" on the spot.

In this way, that bastard Shen Shiliu took a huge advantage - if this idle and sick child becomes poor in the future, Chang Geng will have to support him until the end of his life.

Chang Geng walked through the yard of his own house with ease, turned outside from the corner gate, and arrived at Mr. Shen's house.

There are two bachelors in the Shen family, and they don't even have a hen, so naturally there is no need to shy away from anyone, he always comes and goes as he pleases, without knocking on the door.

As soon as he entered the yard, a smell of medicine and the sound of Xun like gossamer came rushing towards his face.

Mr. Shen is frowning and making medicine in the courtyard. He is a young man with the appearance of a scholar. He wears an old gown. He is not old, but he always frowns.

The sound of the xun came from the house, and the slender figure of the person blowing the xun was hit by the dim light on the paper window. It was obvious that the level was not good, and it was hard to tell what the tone was. Sometimes there were one or two tones that could not be played. The whole story is hoarse and hoarse, bringing out a strange desolation and burnout.

It might be a bit far-fetched to say that this is the sound of music, Chang Geng listened carefully, and felt that if he had to praise it, it could only be said that he howled in a very tactful manner.

Hearing footsteps, Shen Yi smiled at Chang Geng, and then shouted at the back room: "Ancestor, please be merciful, you've blown out the urine, Chang Geng is here!"

The one who played the xun turned a deaf ear, and depending on his hearing, he probably didn't hear it either.

Mr. Shen looked pale.

Chang Geng felt that the person blowing the xun was still full of energy, he didn't seem to be sick, so he put half his mind at ease first, and asked, "I heard that Mr. Ge Pang's novel is going to change the medicine for Shiliu, what's wrong with him?"

Mr. Shen looked at the quality of the medicine soup, and said in a bad mood: "It's nothing, it's just a change of season, and the medicines are different in four seasons. This disease is delicate and difficult to take care of - yes, you came just in time. He didn't know where he got it today." It’s a thing, and I want to send it to you tomorrow morning, go and have a look.”