The little man on the apex

This day happens to be Xiaoman, which is considered to be the most interesting solar term by Yan Heyi.

There is a poem that goes: "The mountains are green and the plains are white, and the rain is like smoke in the sound of cuckoo."①

In early summer, the grass and trees are in full bloom, the flowers are in full bloom, it’s rainy and misty, and there is no paddy field at home, so you don’t have to bend over and roll up your sleeves to plant rice seedlings, and then make a pot of tea to drink. It’s natural and relaxing.

People say that the flowers are half in bloom and the wine is slightly drunk, so it is not good to be too full, and it is best to be small.

In previous years, on such a day, Yan Heyi would have to chant a few sour poems to express his feelings or melancholy that had nowhere to rest.

Ever since the little ancestor came, Yan Heyi hadn't been so pretentious for a long time, after all, what suddenly appeared in the day was the real ups and downs.

It doesn't matter whether Da Man hurts her body or Xiao Man is the best. At this moment, Yan Heyi's heart is full of anxiety.

After Yuan Xi ran out, he was stunned for a moment, and after realizing it, he immediately chased him out, but there was no sign of his little ancestor.

He first searched in front of and behind the house, but he didn't find anyone, so he ran out along the alley, turned back halfway, and broke into Aunt Gu's yard.

"Aunt Gu, have you seen Yuan Xi?"

Aunt Gu was tending the flowers she had planted in the yard. Yan Heyi called her twice before she heard her, and said in a daze, "I didn't see him, hasn't he come back yet?"

Yan Heyi didn't bother to explain, she just said that if she saw Yuan Xi, she would definitely keep him until she came back.

After finishing speaking, he went out of the alley and searched for every place Yuan Xi had been to.

Yuan Xi hid in the pile of firewood in the yard, and when he heard Yan Heyi's footsteps in the distance, he quietly got out.

He climbed over the fence of his yard two or three times, deliberately avoiding Aunt Gu's sight, and walked along the path behind the house into the mountain.

After walking a few steps, Yuan Xi regretted that he didn't wear shoes.

The pebbles on the ground hurt his feet, and he didn't know if he was bleeding. He just walked forward, the more he walked, the more wronged he felt, and he wiped his tears carelessly, and he left the village in a short while.

He followed Yan Heyi into the mountain twice, and he only remembered the road leading to Qin Peng's tomb, which was the place where he fell off the cliff at that time.

Just halfway there, there was thunder in the distance, and the clouds were low, as if a heavy rain was brewing. Yuanxi panicked a little, but still didn't turn around.

Sure enough, it was raining, and it was like pouring in an instant. The high soil was washed down by the rain, mixed with gravel and gravel, and the road was muddy a lot. Where Yuan Xi walked, there were faint traces of blood in the rain-soaked footprints.

He ran forward in a fit of anger, and fell down many somersaults, and finally came to a cave, just under the cliff that fell off at that time.

It was already dark, and only when there was a thunderstorm would it light up for a moment.

Yuan Xi sat in the cave, hugging his knees, his face was covered with muddy water mixed with tears, and his body was shivering with cold.

Just now, there was no room for anything to say, so he just walked away in a daze, without shoes, and when he went out, he took a piece of clothing to wear, and now he looked carefully, it turned out to be Yan Heyi's long gown.

From Yuan Xi's point of view, between his face and that of outsiders, Yan Heyi chose the latter. It doesn't matter how close you are to yourself when there is no one on weekdays. When you are in front of outsiders, you have to avoid it, for fear that others will say What.

self-respect?He even said that I am not self-respecting!

You have no self-respect, and your whole family has no self-respect!

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi silently apologized to Yan Heyi's parents: Uncle, aunt, I didn't mean that, don't be angry.

It's your family, Yan Heyi, who bullies others.

He was cold and hungry, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he was, the tears flowed again and again, and finally he had no strength, leaning against the stone wall, thinking foolishly: Yan Heyi, if you come to me now, I will forgive you .

Naturally, nothing answered him but thunder.

I don't know what was calling in the distance, it sounded like a wild beast, Yuan Xi hugged his shoulders tightly, and closed his eyes hard.

Yan Heyi, if you come to me within half an hour, our account will be cancelled.

There was no timer, Yuan Xi didn't know how long it had passed, and he didn't know when the half-hour deadline would be up. In the end, he was a little disheartened and fell asleep drowsily.

-

Yan Heyi found the private school all the way, and then searched the fields and fields, and also searched several forests, but Yuanxi was not found.

After almost searching the village, he went to the hillside of Shangsi Festival, but he still couldn't find Yuanxi.

After dark, there were few people on the road. Every time Yan Heyi met someone, she had to ask them. The clothes on her body were stained with muddy water, sticking to them wetly, and the crown on her hair fell apart.

He couldn't find his long gown, so he put on Yuanxi's outer gown in a hurry. The sleeves were cut short, and they were tightly bound around his body.

Niu Er drove an ox cart from far away. He went to the town to sell vegetables today, but was blocked by heavy rain on the road. He hid in someone's house for a long time, but he didn't see any sign of the rain stopping, so he came back in the rain.

Seeing him, Yan Heyi waved her hand to signal him to stop, and asked hoarsely, "Second Brother Niu, have you seen our Yuanxi?"

The sound of the rain was loud, and there was still thunder in the sky. Niu Er couldn't hear it clearly, so he squinted his eyes and said, "Mr. Yan, what are you talking about?"

Yan Heyi repeated at the top of her voice, "Have you seen our Yuanxi?"

Niu Er waved his hand, and was about to say no, when he suddenly remembered something, and said loudly: "I seem to have seen it. On the way here, I met a tall and thin brother who ran into the mountains. I don't know if it's him."

On the way, he happened to meet Yuan Xi who was running towards the mountains. He was running too fast and the rain was heavy, so he didn't see it too clearly.

Yan Heyi seemed to have grasped at straws, carefully asked the specific direction, thanked her in a hurry, and ran along that road towards the mountains.

The rain was heavy, and the footprints were almost washed away, but there were still some marks left in the mud. If you look closely, there are bloodstains in the puddles.

Only then did Yan Heyi remember that Yuan Xi didn't wear shoes when he went out. He followed the footprints, came to the bottom of the cliff with half-guessing, and called out loudly: "Yuan Xi, where are you?"

"Come out please?"

"I was wrong, Mr. Yan knew it was wrong, Yuan Xi—"

He was so blessed that he continued to raise his voice and shouted: "Tomorrow I will take you to the town to buy roasted chicken legs to eat, as well as rose pine nut candy, fried sunflower seeds, candied fruit, candied mountain red—"

"It's time for the chicks at home to be fed, and they're all hungry—"

Yuan Xi was sleeping drowsily, his stomach was uncomfortably hungry, and in his dream he was running wildly looking for something delicious, when he heard something shouting about roasted chicken legs and pine nut candies, he suddenly woke up with a start.

When I woke up, I found that there was still a dark cave around me, and there was no warm food, as if I had suddenly fallen into an abyss, and my grievances were overwhelming.

Yan Heyi's voice was approaching, and she shouted outside again: "Yuanxi—Jiang Yuanxi—"

Hearing this familiar voice, Yuan Xi instantly felt a lot more at ease. All the grievances and fears in his heart were turned into a little awkwardness. He couldn't help but pouted and muttered:

"Do you call me by my first name now?"

"It really is rusty."

Yan Heyi's voice seemed to be outside the cave, and it seemed to be far away and near, but she couldn't find it here.

What a fool.

If you can find me, I won't care about you.

After a while, hearing Yan Heyi's voice gradually fade away, Yuan Xi panicked, picked up a small stone from the ground, and threw it outside with all his strength.

When Yan Heyi heard the sound, she hurriedly turned around, only to find that there was a hidden cave hidden in the bushes.

Ashamed to say, Yan Heyi was temporarily neglected by his mother when he was a child, and locked up in a dark room for one night. Since then, he has been afraid of this dark and cramped claustrophobic place.

Bolding up his courage, he bowed his body and poked inside. It was so dark that he couldn't see clearly.

There was a thunderstorm outside at the right time, and the cave was bright for a moment, Yan Heyi saw the figure huddled in the corner, a hanging heart finally let go, no matter what the claustrophobia was, she rushed over in three or two steps .

As soon as she got close to Yuanxi, Yan Heyi noticed that the man seemed to be trembling, and felt a wrenching pain in her heart. She pinched her fingertips and squatted gently beside him.

Yan Heyi's voice was also a little trembling: "Yuanxi."

After calling out this name, he couldn't speak anymore. He raised his arms to hug him, but stopped in mid-air again.

In the darkness, after looking at each other in silence for a moment, Yuan Xi choked up and said, "I'm hungry."

"Where's the roast chicken?"

Yan Heyi didn't bring anything to eat, she couldn't bear to say: "Let's go home and eat, bear with it a little longer, okay?"

Yuan Xi sneezed, his nose was stuffy and he said, "I have half a steamed bun in my pocket, which was given by Uncle Feng."

The author says:

①: "Country April" Weng Juan (Song Dynasty)