Sourness

Mi Yue swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and became a little nervous for some reason, "Is it Quanshui Town? I have never been there, but I have heard of this place. It is said that there was a huge mudslide disaster one year, and the residents all moved out?"

The old man nodded, "That happened later. It used to be a very lively town, and the villages in the nearby mountains would come to the town to go to the market at the end of every month. Usually, if you catch any prey, or gather in the mountains If you go to the mountains, you will also sell them in the town."

Mi Yue recalled that Lin Qingshan also said that Quanshui Town is a very lively place.It's a pity that this excitement has been submerged in the dust of history.

Village Chief Song looked in their direction and coughed twice in displeasure.

The old man smiled and said, "Oh, I'm getting old and can't sit still. Young man, can you accompany me to the yard?"

Mi Yue readily agreed.

He also wanted to hear what the old man said about Quanshui Town.

Mi Yue looked in Lin Qingshan's direction, Lin Qingshan nodded with a solemn expression.He seemed to want to follow along to hear what the old man would say, but there were already a lot of people waiting in the brigade headquarters, and he couldn't leave.

"Okay, you and Grandpa Hu go for a walk outside, and watch the hunting dogs by the way, don't let them bark endlessly." Lin Qingshan instructed a few words, then turned to Village Chief Song and said, "Village Chief Song, Shall we continue the meeting?"

Village Chief Song froze for a moment, "Oh, oh, okay, let's have a meeting."

Mi Yue followed Grandpa Hu out of the village chief's office.

The courtyard of the brigade headquarters is very spacious, after all, it is the place where the whole village is often called for meetings.I heard that there are any activities in the village, such as showing movies, holding banquets, inviting opera troupes to come and set up a stage to sing operas... They will all be chosen in the courtyard of the brigade headquarters.

The shed for tying up the livestock was built in the corner of the brigade headquarters as soon as the entrance was made.The roads in the mountains are difficult to walk, and many sections of the road cannot be driven by car, so sometimes the villages rush to each other, or need to contact each other in urgent matters, and often ride donkeys or horses.

At the moment, there are only a group of hunting dogs from Uncle Ma's family tied up in the barn, plus a little fox brought by Mi Yue.

Although the venue is not big, there are fodder troughs, water tanks, and various sundries piled up in the corners. A group of small animals can barely play hide-and-seek.

There are two old persimmon trees outside the barn with dense canopy, casting a lot of shade in the yard.There was a stone table and a few small benches in the shade, and Grandpa Hu pulled Mi Yue to sit down.

Mi Yue touched the big hairy head a few times, put it down, and let it play by itself.

After leaving the environment where the whole room was full of people, Da Mao was no longer so restrained, and ran into the shed with jumps, and hugged Little Pearl out.

The hounds were not happy, and lay on the railing, whining and chirping.

Miyue touched the little pearl that was covered in grass clippings, and seeing that it was clearly having fun, she smiled and said, "Okay, let's go and play. Don't drill into a place that is too small, or you won't be able to squeeze it out."

Little Pearl rubbed against Miyue's palm, and started scratching Da Mao's arm with her paw, signaling it to send it back to the game immediately.

Da Mao hugged it and ran away without complaint.

Grandpa Hu watched this scene with a smile, and said to Miyue: "When I was in my twenties, because my family was too poor... You see, the conditions in our village are limited, and there are no valuable mountain products in the nearby mountains. I There are many brothers in the family, and there is not enough food. Later, I followed my relatives to Quanshui Town to do small labor for others."

Mi Yue sat beside him and listened carefully.

"My relative worked in Quanshui Town a few years ago, and after saving some money, he set up a business in the town to do small business, such as grain, oil and non-staple food."

Mi Yue nodded, applaudingly waiting for him to continue.

Although he still doesn't know what Grandpa Hu is going to say.

Grandpa Hu looked at the mountain peaks shrouded in mist in the distance, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was lost in memories, "I was a small worker in a relative's shop, the kind who ran errands back and forth, and often needed to travel to various villages Running errands for delivery."

He glanced at Mi Yue beside him, and Mi Yue nodded obediently.

Above their heads, a chubby owl flew around the yard, swooped mischievously, brushed Mi Yue's scalp, and plunged into the shed.

The hounds in the shed were startled and started barking.

A smile appeared on Miyue's face.

Grandpa Hu suddenly said, "...I saw it back then."

Mi Yue didn't hear the half of his previous sentence clearly, she was a little stunned, "What?"

"I mean, I was also a strong young man back then. There was a delivery job in the store, and the boss arranged for me to go." Grandpa Hu looked at him with a smile, "You know that there are many in the mountains near Quanshui Town. the village?"

Mi Yue pursed her lips, "I seem to have heard of it."

Grandpa Hu nodded, "I don't know how many large and small villages there are in the mountains. Some villages are deep in the mountains, and the villagers are used to having little contact with outsiders. However, they also regularly do business with some larger villages. , Buy some food, daily necessities, etc., this is a common thing.”

He mentioned the village in the deep mountains, and Miyue thought of Lin Qingshan who went exploring in the deep mountains and then broke his leg, and the barefoot doctor Baoshan he met.

Grandpa Hu lit a cigarette for himself, and said slowly: "I remember there is a village called Zhang Village, they are the big customers in the store. Every month, people from their village will come to the store on the market day Leave a list, write down the things you want to buy, and calculate the price clearly. Then leave a deposit, and pay the final payment after the delivery of the goods in the store at the end of the month."

Mi Yue was at a loss as to where Zhang Village came from.

"The location of Zhang Village is already deep in the mountains. When the weather is bad, the road into the mountains is very difficult." Grandpa Hu sighed and said: "Sometimes I drive a few cars into the mountains, and I can't get back for three to five days. Come."

Mi Yue thought about the road conditions on the road from Majiayu to Jinhua Village, and felt that the conditions of the mountain roads decades ago must have been worse than the current conditions.

"Especially the last part of the road, the carriage can't get in at all, and people can only move in." Grandpa Hu said with emotion: "Fortunately, we brought a lot of people, and there were also some businessmen who bought fur and mountain goods with us. Handle, if the villagers come out to help with the move, at least they can handle it. But after a long time, I can also see that these people in Zhang Village are not kind people."

Mi Yue's eyes widened, thinking to herself that the turning point of the story is finally coming.

"One time, the weather was bad, and the delivery date was a few days late. After we transported the things to the yard in Zhangcun, we found that there was already a group of people waiting there. They were all from the mountains, too. A group of strong men, leading donkeys and horses, are waiting for our delivery."

Mi Yue licked her dry lips, "Who is it?"

Grandpa Hu glanced at him, with a smile on his face, "A group of people who are quite similar to you. The lads are all tall, strong, and handsome. Behind their donkey cart, there are several particularly strong donkeys. A stag with such huge horns on its head..."

Grandpa Hu stretched out his hand and gestured, his eyes revealed a look of amazement, "Everyone is so meek, they leave as soon as they are told to go, and they can carry things when they are asked to pack... There are also a few big birds following them, it doesn't look like they are training It seems that she has been raised by her side since she was a child, and she is also very obedient."

Mi Yue glanced at Xiaomao who was bullying the hounds in the shed, and somewhat understood the meaning of Grandpa Hu's meaningful eyes.

He must have felt that the interaction between Miyue and Xiaomao Damao, including Little Pearl and the hounds, made him feel familiar, and then brought back the memories of many years ago.

"At that time, the donkeys and horses carried a lot of things on their backs, including herbs from the mountains, game, fur and other things," said Grandpa Hu, "The merchants who followed were all very smart. The people who sell them are all from these mountain people?"

Mi Yue nodded, "Did they leave the people in Zhang Village and make deals directly with the people in the mountains?"

Grandpa Hu nodded, "In the past, there was a middleman like Zhangcun, and they didn't feel that they were at a disadvantage. Now the people who got rid of Zhangcun directly negotiated prices with the people in the mountains, only to find out that Zhangcun's asking price in the past was really dark, and the two of them Withholding money, the businessman gave ten yuan to the people in Zhang Village, and they transferred two yuan to the people in the mountains...How can this business last for a long time?"

Mi Yue was a little worried, "Isn't this an enmity?"

Grandpa Hu slapped his thigh, "Isn't it just a feud? I heard that the village is deep in the mountains and it's inconvenient to get out of the mountains, so they entrusted Zhang Village with a lot of business. It stands to reason that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. Isn't that just Is it something about brothers helping each other? But this kind of human heart... Once money is involved, it can't stand consideration."

Mi Yue didn't know if these villagers who kept the stags were relatives and neighbors of Baoshan.But he was still attracted by the story told by Grandpa Hu.

Grandpa Hu shook his head, "I heard from the boss that there are a lot of conflicts between this Zhang village and the village in the mountains because of money, but what to say, everyone has their own difficulties, maybe it is really inconvenient for people in that village to go out. , there is no better choice. So, they are good for a while, bad for a while... just let it go."

Mi Yue asked him, "What happened next?"

"Then who knows." Grandpa Hu shook his head, "But I reckon, they will fall apart sooner or later. No matter what the relationship is, let me tell you, young man, as long as money is involved in it, it won't fall good."

Mi Yue also agrees with this statement.

He thought that Baoshan and his relatives (if they were really them) might not know this truth.But they still chose to cooperate with Zhangcun. I am afraid that there is really no better choice.Also worried about the relationship with Zhang Cun for many years, so he can only continue to communicate in such a muddle.

Or, these people in the deep mountains also thought of other ways, but they outsiders don't know that's all.

Mi Yue muttered to herself, "I always feel that these mountain people will suffer."

Grandpa Hu was silent, and shook his head after a while, "It's hard to say whether you will suffer or not. But then there was a disaster in the mountains. If the village in the deep mountains also suffers from disasters, I'm afraid people in Zhang Village may not be able to lend a helping hand."

He glanced at Xiao Housheng's young and tender face, and swallowed the second half of the sentence.

It's nothing if you don't help, the old man sighed in his heart, maybe the people in Zhang Village will take advantage of the fire to rob.

If you really want to get to that point, those people in the deep mountains can't find other helpers, that's terrible.

The author has something to say:

The story of Zhang Village is in the episode of "The Secret of the Winter Solstice"~~

An earthquake occurred in the mountains, and the Shanshen family was attacked by poachers again.The people of the Shanshen Tribe asked for help from Zhang Village, but they were robbed and killed by the people of Zhang Village~~~

Oh, it's all in the past~~~