Zhen Lian of the Red Chamber

The carriages lined up slowly, and they were about to enter the city soon. The soldiers at the city gate checked the guides of Li Laosan and his wife, and then paid the entrance fee. A soldier walked to the carriage and opened the curtain of the carriage to take a look. Make sure there is no problem and let it go.

Seeing this, Li Laosan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, let go of his worries, and drove into the city in a carriage.

Zhen Lian looked outside, and when she entered the city, there was a wide avenue that allowed six carriages to run side by side.There are many cars and horses on the avenue, and there are many shops on both sides, including inns, teahouses, taverns, pawnshops, workshops, etc.

Not far away, there were faint shouts of vendors one after another, and the streets were bustling with people coming and going.

The carriage continued to move forward, turned left at a crossroad ahead, and drove for another half an hour before getting off at the entrance of an inn.

Outside the door, there was a young boy who came up to him with a smile on his face. Seeing a carriage and horses, he greeted them and called another person to lead the carriage to the backyard.

Li Laosan took off the luggage, handed the carriage to Xiao Er, and followed Xiao Er into the inn. Zhen Lian was also carried by Mrs. Li out of the carriage and followed.

After checking in, Li Laosan asked the shopkeeper again, "Is there a tooth shop near here?"

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded: "There are quite a few, which one is the guest officer looking for?"

Li Laosan lowered his head and thought for a while before slowly answering: "You can buy or rent a house or land!"

"These two kinds of guests can go to the same place, it's the most fair! You go out of this gate and go straight west, there is a small intersection in front of you, and when you get there, just go north for five hundred steps!" The shopkeeper handed him a hand. pointed in the direction.

Li Laosan thanked him, and followed Xiao Er to the room with Mrs. Li.

When Zhen Lian woke up the next day, she didn't see Li Laosan, so she knew that he was going to rent a house in Yafang, which he inquired about yesterday.

It was only after Zhen Lian had finished her lunch that he came back from the outside.

Li Laosan entered the door and sat down to drink tea, then said to Mrs. Li: "I found a place, pack it up quickly, we'll go there!"

Mrs. Li didn't ask any more questions, she quickly packed up the things and handed them to Youngest Li.He went to Zhen Lian again, tied Zhen Lian and hugged her, and the two went out.

Checked out at the shopkeeper.After leaving the inn, the carriage has been led to the door by Xiaoer, and there is a small wooden bench beside the carriage.Seeing Mrs. Li stepping on the stool to get into the carriage, Li Laosan took the reins from the second hand and jumped into the carriage, drove the carriage west, and turned south at a cross street.

Zhen Lian looked out, and the carriage became more and more remote.The car stopped half an hour later, Li Laosan got out of the car and walked to the gate of a small courtyard, took out the key to open the door, turned around and led the carriage into the courtyard slowly.

"Here we are, old lady, get out of the car!" Li Laosan's relaxed and joyful voice came from outside the door.

Mrs. Li responded, turned around and untied the cloth strips tied to Zhen Lian's hands, and bent down to get out of the carriage.

Knowing that this is where she will live in the future, Zhen Lian carefully took out the handkerchief stuffed in her mouth, got up and got out of the car.

Outside is a small farmyard, the house is half old, obviously some years old.There are three main rooms, and two small side rooms next to it. On the right side of the yard, there is a small vegetable field against the wall. The field has just been turned over, and the soil is still wet.On the left is a tree of unknown species, taller than the house, its leaves have already fallen, and there is a large tank filled with water under the tree.

After entering the door, a few tables, chairs and benches are placed opposite the door, and there is a door on the left and right sides, which should be the entrance to the other two rooms.

Old man Li and his wife chose the room on the left, and Zhen Lian was placed in the room on the right.

Zhen Lian was still very surprised when she heard the allocation. She thought she would be placed under their noses to watch over her, or she would be put in those two small rooms. She didn't want to be able to live in this room again. The supervision of myself will definitely not be as strict as when I am on the road!

Thinking of the suffering and exhaustion on the road, he was tied up all the way, his mouth was covered with a veil, and only his feet were able to move.He only let himself go when they stayed at night, and his hands were also rubbed blue several times, always just right but rubbed red again.There are only two meals a day, morning and evening, and there is no water or food on the road. All the way to here, there is no bone in the body that is not painless!

It's not that Zhen Lian didn't want to escape or ask for help when she was staying at the hotel, but after driving like this one day, her body was sore at night, and her mouth was stuffed for a day, so she had already reined in, and she could only speak carefully in a low voice. You can't even open your mouth and call for help, how can you escape!

There was no one to help clean the house, so Zhen Lian had to do it herself.

The furnishings in the room were simple, with only a bed and a chair, and no other furniture.The room was fairly clean, presumably someone had cleaned it.

Zhen Lian untied the quilt that Pozi Li put on the bed, took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed to spread the quilt.The quilt was very big, but Zhen Lian was weak, so the quilt was dragged onto the bed. By the time the quilt was laid, Zhen Lian was already sweating profusely from exhaustion!

Putting on her shoes and going out, the two were still tidying up, Zhen Lian glanced at them, seeing that the two were not looking at her, she walked quietly to the door with her feet on her feet, and ran quietly towards the door.

She ran down the steps to the gate, and sure enough, the gate was closed. The latch was a little high, and she couldn't reach it. She glanced at the yard, but there was nothing to step on. Zhen Lian let down her face in disappointment.

Even if he called for help and recruited someone, Li Laosan and the others could say that they were naughty, or that they had brain problems and other reasons to prevaricate others, and they would not believe what a four-year-old child said.No wonder you are so relieved to come out by yourself!

Up the few steps in front of the house.Zhen Lian turned around and stood still, looking out of the courtyard, the whole city was surrounded by mountains, and the pavilions and pavilions in the distance were faintly exposed under the tall trees, with blue bricks and tiles, stone foundations and cornices, antique.A wisp of wind blows, carrying a faint cold fragrance.

On the opposite side, you can see several small courtyards similar to this one. The distance is a bit far, about ten meters away.

There are neighbors on the left and right, separated by a distance of four or five meters, the house is similar to the one here, and there is no one in the yard, and no voice can be heard.

This place should be at the very edge of Jinling City, so secluded!

After turning around in the yard and returning, he saw that the doors of the two side rooms were not closed, so he walked towards the one on the left.

Pushing open the door, looking fixedly, it is a kitchen with a stove, a small fire pit, a cabinet and a wooden barrel.After reading it, I went to the room on the right. The room on the right was empty and there was nothing.

After walking around, she felt that it was not interesting, so Zhen Lian went back to the house.

Li Laosan and his wife have packed up and are discussing going out to buy some necessities for life.I also heard that Li Laosan said that he would go to another Yafang to find out if there was any land for sale in the nearby villages, so he could buy a few acres and rent it out so that he could harvest some grain.

Zhen Lian found a chair and sat down to listen to them.Although they didn't have the wind, food and camp along the way, the food and food they lived in couldn't be said to be good.When they arrived in Jinling City, they could only live in rented houses.

Besides, when they come here, everything has to start again, and there are more places to spend money. I don't know what they will do to make a living by then.

Zhen Lian thought of herself again and sighed!I always think about them in the life of ordinary people, thinking about what normal people should do. They make a living by abducting and selling children. Here they have no family, no relatives, no friends, no house and no land, and they can go to What are you doing?Only the old man can do it!

Zhen Lian shook her head, she really thinks a lot, why do she think so much?It's a big deal to solve your own problems first, and you don't have the ability to help others!

After discussing with Mrs. Li, Li Laosan took her for a walk in the yard, went back to the room, drank some water, and went out.

Mrs. Li sent him back, went to the kitchen and took out a wooden barrel and a bundle of straw ropes, walked to a square wooden board in front of the kitchen, lifted the board, and there was a well underneath.

On the tall well platform, four large bluestones are inlaid at the wellhead, and the brick wall of the wellhead is covered with tender moss.

Zhen Lian walked over and saw her tie the rope to the handle of the wooden bucket, holding the other end of the rope in one hand, and throwing the bucket into the well with the other. After hearing the sound of "bang", she grabbed the rope with both hands and shook it back and forth. , Slowly pulling the rope to lift the water up.

Zhen Lian looked at the bottom of the well curiously. The well is cylindrical, and the inside of the well wall is made of bluestone, smooth and flat.A trace of cold air rose from the bottom of the well, bringing a chill.

Thinking of those TV dramas and novels about throwing herself into a well, killing someone and abandoning a well, Zhen Lian shuddered, rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, didn't dare to think about it, and left in a hurry.

In the afternoon, Li Laosan drove back and bought a bag of rice noodles, a piece of fat meat, a pot of kerosene and some seasonings, a load of firewood, some sets of bowls and chopsticks, and some daily necessities.The two of them moved two times before they finished moving, and Zhen Lian also went over to bring some small things into the house.

Mrs. Li poured a glass of water for Youngest Li, watched him drink it, and then asked, "Have you heard of any land?"

Li Laosan shook his head and sighed: "Not yet, the years have been good, and there are probably not many people selling land. Even if we have, we may not be able to catch up with them by chance. We can't buy high-quality land. Just wish I could get a medium one and be lucky!"

"Then wait a little longer! I also thought it would take some time." Mrs. Li didn't force her, and concentrated on sorting out the things she bought.

"I have asked the people in Yafang to let me know as soon as they have news, and I will go out to inquire after a while!" Li Laosan stood up and walked out and said, "I will go shopping again!" He went out and drove away.

Grandma Li watched him go out, put down the things in her hands and closed the door, and came back to continue tidying up.After tidying up, it was getting late, so I took the bucket to the well to fetch a bucket of water, and said to Zhen Lian, "Go and wash the dishes!" After finishing speaking, without looking at Zhen Lian, she went to the stove by herself, Pour the water into the pot and turn on the fire to boil the water and cook the rice.

Zhen Lian found a basin, just washed the dishes and chopsticks with water, and then heard Granny Li say: "Wash the vegetables there" and pointed to the cabbage on the side.

Zhen Lian had no choice but to pour the dirty water, and when she came back to wash the vegetables, she ran twice to finish washing the vegetables.

The rice cooked by Mrs. Li is already fragrant. She is cutting vegetables on the stove. She is cutting very fast and evenly. It seems that the knife skills are good!

Zhen Lian had nothing to do for a while, and she was fascinated by seeing Mrs. Li: Most people in ancient times got married in their teens, and they could have grandchildren in their thirties. Li Laosan and his wife should have children and grandchildren at this age, but the two of them left their hometowns Came here to settle down, I don't know what's going on?It can't be that I have done too many bad things, so it's time for retribution!Thinking of this, Zhen Lian grinned silently!

Mrs. Li was quick in her hands and feet, and she was ready soon. Seeing Zhen Lian in a daze, she asked her to go and light the fire.

Zhen Lian walked to the small bench behind the stove and sat down. Seeing that the fire was getting weaker, she threw a piece of firewood into it. She had lit a fire at home before, so this would still happen.

Li Laosan didn't come back until dark, Mrs. Li cooked the food, and the few of them went to sleep after eating!