Farming Comb Paintings Return Home

The moon is crossing the maze, the shadows of the trees are verdant, and the dew is deeper.

A young man in white staggered along the river bank, followed by four or five strong men with fierce eyes.The young man looked anxious as if he was running for his life, but he staggered, obviously he could be caught easily, but the strong men behind him followed him leisurely like a child, not rushing forward at all.A man in red was the last one, waving a gold-painted fan and walking leisurely while watching the show.

Although the boy ran with all his strength, he couldn't run fast because of his physical discomfort, and his heart hurt even more.I have escaped for most of the night, but there is still a long way to go from where that person lives. I am afraid that I will not be able to reach it in this life. I keep retracing the face that is deeply burned in my heart over and over again in my mind. But deeper despair.The young man coughed violently, his throat seemed to be coughing up blood, his body trembled, his feet slipped, and he almost fell, causing him to panic all of a sudden, and he lost his direction even with his steps. .

The bitter river wind blowing towards the face with moisture woke up the young man's trance. The young man came back to his senses and realized that he had run to the end of the river embankment. It's a group of tigers and wolves waiting around, and there is no way to escape now.The young man stopped and smiled wryly, turned around and straightened his back, the river wind made his thin clothes rattle.The man in red waving his fan waved his hand, and the brawny men rushed forward and surrounded the boy under the dike.

Standing alone on the embankment of the river, the young man wearing only his middle coat is called Qu Xian. He is a young man who has only been broken for a few months in Hongxinglou, the best brothel in the county. He refuses to receive customers after the first night, so I want Fazi escaped.The strong men surrounding him were naturally the nurses sent by the madam to take him back.The man in red who was looking at him jokingly was a bit more special, his name was Quqin, he was also a male servant in the building, but he was the confidant of Madam Hong, the old bustard, and he found someone running away at night, and he was the thorn in his side. , so secretly reported to Mama Hong, and finally got her permission to come out and take someone back.

Quqin yawned lazily, covered her mouth with her orchid fingers, and did not speak. She scratched the white-clothed boy who was standing on a high place and condescendingly with her eyes like hooks, as if she was examining what was so special about him. At the office, he was able to squeeze himself out of the top seat back then, but now he seems to be just a fool, and he doesn't need to think about it, so what if he was very popular, one day he will fall down, and whoever enters the building is not allowed to receive customers ?It's crazy to even try to escape.

Quqin sneered, and there was a bit of disdain in her sarcastic eyes.In Hongxinglou, Quqin's eyes in red are notoriously poisonous, Qu Xian, who is naturally timid, was stared at and shuddered, but her straight waist did not soften a bit because of it. On the contrary, the man stared back frankly and boldly.

The strong man in the lead saw that Quqin stood silently for a while, thinking that it was not easy for his brothers, and he was called up and arrested in the middle of the night while he was still sleeping soundly. He was full of complaints but could only swallow his anger, so he tried He opened his mouth and said, "Young Master Quqin, do you think it is possible to escort him back?"

After hearing this, Quqin came back to her senses and put away her fan, tapped the big man's shoulder to make him back up, and said in a sharp voice: "No hurry, let me talk to my good brother first, to persuade him, say Maybe he figured it out and followed us without being tied up."

"Yes, yes, you say it, you say it." The leading burly man promised, waved his arms to let his subordinates get out of the way.

"My sweetheart, isn't it cold to stand there? Come down quickly, my brother will feel bad if he is frozen. Don't blame your brother for reporting to your mother, just listen to him." Quqin played in her hand. Fan Fan, it can be regarded as having a good accent, but after all, Qu Xian is a woman who has been in the brothel with him for many years, so the meaning of making things worse in the other party's words can't be missed.

Seeing that Qu Xian was stiff and ignoring him at all, Qu Qin's face changed a few times, and finally she turned back to a smiling face, and continued to persuade: "You entered the industry at the age of nine, and you became the top card at the age of 13 and became a Qing Dynasty official. In those few years, but now you are seventeen, it will be too late if you don’t pick up guests. Brother, seeing how clever you used to be, I think you should have seen through the dirty things in the building long ago. Why? Thinking of running away again now? Let me tell you, it’s time to make a good fortune while you’re young and rely on your body. Isn’t it just being a prostitute? It’s no big deal. Go back to see your mother with my brother, and my brother will take care of it for you. Say good words and avoid punishment this time!"

Qu Xian stood on the embankment of the river and looked down at Quqin who was pretending, tears burst out suddenly.Quqin couldn't hear a single word.If he goes back, even if he really speaks good words for himself, he will not be able to escape Mama Hong's punishment.Mama Hong raised him for half a month in vain, expecting him to make money, but now that the child is gone and healed up, she refuses to receive guests, and has offended many high-ranking officials with her stubborn temper. It's not like I haven't seen a cheap prostitute for one night. If he goes back with Quqin now, will he still have a way out in the future?

He couldn't figure it out, how could he push himself to this point now?I only blamed myself for my bad luck, and spent my whole life in this shady business, but who taught those small thoughts that have been silent in my heart for 17 years that have no roots, but in this cold spring bloomed?But that night, all he could think about was him.

Qu Xian knew that the man was a good man, and believed that as long as she spoke, he would find a way to save him no matter what.But he is poor, and he cannot afford it.Even if the scenery is no longer, as long as it is a girl in Hongmama's hand, which one can easily get rid of it.

He knew that this life was just a dewy marriage with him, and it was because he begged and begged so much that night that he persuaded him to help him reluctantly. That person has been remembered in his heart, and he still plans to remember it for the rest of his life?

It is said that a whore is ruthless and would rather be broken than broken. It is ridiculous to apply this to a young man who is overthrown by thousands of people, but Qu Xian does not regret it.

The fingers tightly clenched under the sleeves caused the nails to pierce the palm, causing waves of pain.Qu Xian exhaled softly, relaxed her body, gave a faint smile, cleared her throat, bowed to those people surrounded by the river embankment, and then said slowly: "Brother Qin, thank you Qu Xian for your kindness. There are also those cares in the past, as a younger brother, I wish I could express them one by one. But only this time, I'm sorry."

After finishing talking, Qu Xian closed his eyes, opened his arms and fell backwards, his thin body fell into the turbulent river behind him like a kite with a broken string.

The Qingliu of the river is constantly rushing, if someone can replace him and repeat this experience, I hope he can stay with that person for a peaceful life, Qu Xian thought so in his heart, even though he was nostalgic in every way, he finally swallowed his last breath .

※※※

The rooster crowed all over early in the morning, and the chilly spring day was still dark. Most of the farmers in Shanqiao Village were immersed in the dream. The whole village was quiet and there was not much noise. He just woke up, but Li Cong who lives at the head of the village has already got up early.

Li Cong has long been used to such days of getting up early and being greedy for night. He got up, opened the door, went out to practice a set of boxing in the yard, fed the two old hens in the cage, and then went back to the house to put the vegetables brought back from the village head's house last night on the board. The car was tied up with a hemp rope, and some hot water was boiled to wash and wipe himself. Before going out, he took some stove ashes and smeared it on his face. Finally, he closed the door and went to the yard, lifted the handlebar, and wrapped the rope for binding vegetables. With a few laps on his shoulders, he pushed a cart of vegetables out of the village.

Today is the day when the monthly payment is settled, and it is also a work holiday once every two months. The food from the county magistrate's house has to be delivered in the morning. The planted wheat is still overwintering in the field. There is nothing to be busy during the slack season. However, the fur dealer from Nanjun is coming to the village today. After returning later, he might as well go up the mountain to hunt for some prey to sell.

Li Cong thought this way in his mind, and walked for about half an hour, and it was still dark when he arrived at the county.He pushed the cart to the back door of the county government office, put down the handlebars, untied the hemp rope from his shoulders to loosen his muscles and bones, then raised his hand and knocked on the copper ring on the door twice.

The sleepy-eyed cook came out and opened the door thinking about his fat belly. Seeing Li Cong, he beckoned him to push the dishes into the door. When a cart full of vegetables returned to the back door, he stuffed the money into Li Cong's hand like alms and said, "Hey, this is the monthly money for this month and last month, take it."

The cook's rude action caused some pushing and shoving. Li Cong didn't hold the money firmly, and the copper plate fell from between his fingers and fell to the ground with a clanging sound.He bent down and picked up the few copper coins that had fallen on the ground, and counted them together with the previous ones. There were only half twenty coins, and ten copper coins were missing.

Li Cong raised his head and silently asked the cook what happened to the ten copper coins that were missing.The cook was not surprised by Li Cong's silence. Ever since he knew whether Li Cong was dumb or a slave, he had nothing but disdain in his eyes.Ten copper coins is not a lot of money to the cook of the county grandpa's family, but it is a lot of deduction here and there.The most bullied among the long-term workers is this Li Dasha. It is not the first time that his monthly payment has been reduced, but now seeing his eagle-like eyes, the cook feels a little guilty.

Although Li Dasha from Shanqiao Village has a low status, his powerful muscles are indeed on his body, and he is two heads taller than the short and fat cook. There may not be a few who can stand up to it.

The cook glanced at Li Cong, who was holding on to the monthly money and would not give up without asking for clarification, and said boldly: "The delivery of the food was late on the ninth day of last month, and the half of the twenty or twenty cash is the remaining money after deducting that time." Yes, your little money will not be missing from the county magistrate's mansion, so hurry up and take it away."

The ninth day of last month?Li Cong squinted his eyes to recall, but he remembered.But he was late, it was obvious that the cook was sleepy and missed opening the door. He waited stupidly for more than an hour outside the back door, his hands and feet were numb from the cold, but now he still has to deduct wages...

Li Cong is not a fool, so he thought to himself that it would be fine for the cook to deduct one or two copper coins privately in the past, but now it is time for him to save money, and he was deducted ten coins all at once, when will he be able to raise enough for that? 30 taels?

Li Cong pursed his lips and looked at the cook, hesitating whether he should ask for the ten cents.The cook probably felt that it was too much, took out another five copper coins and threw them on the ground, complaining: "This is bad luck! Let's go!" Then he flung his sleeves into the kitchen and ignored it.

Li Cong squatted down silently, picked up the five copper coins on the ground, blew them, pulled out the money bag from his pocket, carefully put it in, put it back in his lapel, and put it close to his body, stood up, walked out the door, and walked to the cart Pulling the hemp rope over his shoulders, he pushed the empty cart away.

After that, I went to Huang Yuan's family in the east of the city to receive the monthly salary, which was half twenty or thirty yuan. The two long-term jobs cost less than two taels in two months, and I could barely make ends meet.If it is an ordinary person, the monthly payment will be more, but after the new emperor ascended the throne, the law was revised again, stipulating that slaves are not allowed to do business, take part in imperial examinations, or be appointed as officials, but can only be slaves, maidservants, menial labor, or couch work. Those who work in the hospital usually only pay half of the wages of slaves. Fortunately, Li Cong has been used to living alone for so many years, and he doesn't find it hard. It's just that he can't save much money over the years. There is nothing but worry about something.

Li Cong sighed as he counted the money in his hand, thanked the old housekeeper of Huang Yuanwai's mansion, carefully put the broken silver and copper coins into the purse, and planned to push the cart back to the village.

It was a cold spring day, and the street was deserted, and there was no one there. The wooden wheels were grunting on the bluestone road. Li Cong clenched his handlebars tightly and tried to take the remote road, passing by the Hongxing Building involuntarily. He stopped, straightened up and looked up for a while, then shook his head and continued to drive back.

Pushing the empty cart was no more tiring than before. Li Cong was thinking about the deer on Dongqiao Mountain, so he accelerated his pace even more.After leaving the gate of the county seat, you can already see the continuous Dongling Ridge when you look up, and the river bank is a moment away.Qingliu County is located at the border. Although the mountains and rivers support people, they also block the roads. The mountains and rivers can't be compared with other rich cities.In addition, Emperor Jing had just won the world, fearing that encouraging trade exchanges when the foundation of the country was not stable would cause foreign enemies to flee and aggravate internal strife, so the policy of locking the country has been implemented for many years since the date of the change of dynasty.The imperial court explicitly prohibited the frontiers from doing business with neighboring countries. As a result, the thriving frontier merchants in the past gradually declined, and even the East County lost its former vitality. More than 20 years later, most of the businessmen who failed to do business moved their families inward to find another way of life. Most of the people who stayed were poor people. The emperor's kindness was hard to come by. It is not uncommon to be exiled to this place.

The Qingliu River lies south of the sea and has not been frozen for many years. Although the water is dry in winter, it is also humid.Embankments were built and trees were planted on the river bank near the county seat, and only grass and rocks remained in the suburbs of the mountains.Li Cong drove along the embankment, which was quite a distance from the county seat. The embankment gradually became shorter, revealing the exposed river bank.A gust of cold wind hit his face, and the fog cleared a little. He turned his head inadvertently, and suddenly saw something floating in the water not far away, like a person lying on his stomach, wrapped in white silk all over his body. cloth.

Maybe it's Luojiang's clothes.Li Cong thought so in his heart, he didn't want to worry about it, but the thing seemed to have eyes in the dark, and it was pushed by the waves to look at him and rushed forward. He vaguely felt that it was not clothes, but a drowning person. There was still an indescribable sense of familiarity in the figure, so he stopped and stared at it carefully. The man just happened to thump when he looked over, and he was still alive!

Li Cong was startled, and thought to himself that there was no reason to be dead, he hurriedly dropped the cart, took off his cotton coat, jumped into the water, swam with all his strength, and hugged the man's waist to prevent him from slipping into the middle of the river.Li Cong felt that the person in his arms was limp all over, and thought it was a girl. It was not until he pressed the person on his chest to the bank that he realized that it was an overly thin young man. Fortunately, the person was not far from the river bank. Cong easily fished people out of the river.

Li Cong wiped his face and threw the river water away. He didn't care about the blackness of his hand. He knelt on the ground and pressed both hands on the chest of the young man who was lying flat and pressed hard twice.Li Cong leaned over to hold the boy's head, and after he spit out the water, he brushed away the hair sticking to his face, and when he saw the boy's face clearly, he suddenly exclaimed: "Xiao Xian ?!"

The boy who was rescued ashore struggled to open his eyes a little, muttered something in his mouth, and finally fainted again due to his exhaustion.