Red Mansion Reader

Chapter 116 Bai Suzhen at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain

When the white clouds are changing for thousands of miles, where the clear sky meets the horizon, dazzling light rushes with the wind, and they pass through the hills outside the city; on the wilderness like floating waves, the shallow river shines with a golden light like beeswax.

As the "eldest daughter" of the Grand Canal, Yangzhou City in the early morning is like a bright pearl that wipes away the dust.Even in such a bleak winter, its beauty is somewhat thrilling.

The victims who got up early were still a little numb.As soon as they walked out of the camp, they were attracted by the excitement in the distance.

Now it was time for the porridge shop to serve dinner. The man who went out asked his family to take care of the child, and he took the porridge utensils for a walk.Their attention inevitably fell on the noise.

This is the only way to the porridge shop. The people who stopped were somewhat curious as they watched Xin Suzhao directing a dozen craftsmen and twenty or thirty students to keep busy.

"What are they doing?"

"I heard it's going to be a stage?"

"Why do you do this? If you want to spare time, it would be better to let us go to the city."

"That is, a group of scholars who are full of food and have nothing to do, thinking about useless things all day long."

Everyone's evaluation is not very high. In the days when the future is invisible, people's pursuit of life is decreasing, and the anxiety contains the basic demands for food and clothing.

Xin Suzhao can definitely hear these whispers, but he can't do anything, since it's a friend's request, so why not do it, let's do it first.

In the porridge shop, there were not a few scholars who questioned Chen Heng.

It's just the first day today, and everyone is waiting.Wait for a chance to watch the jokes of Yueyi Academy.

"Brother, tell me why our record is wrong?"

Because Chen Heng entered school early, a classmate who was obviously older than him had to yell "brother" aggrievedly.

Just listening to this person's tone, it sounds very aggressive.

Chen Heng was not angry either. He knew that he had denied the other party's efforts for half a month with just one sentence, and the other party would definitely be dissatisfied.

But he still explained forcefully: "Look at this place." Chen Heng pointed to the words on the paper, "A one, four households in Hedong, three members from the Zhao family, two people from the Huang family..."

His voice gradually became higher, and Chen Heng repeated his question again, "How many old and weak women and children are there in these people's families, and how many adults are there, can you tell?"

The classmate was left speechless by Chen Heng's question, hesitated for a long time and said: "It's all done in the government office, you let us remember such details, what's the use?"

"It's useful, it's very useful." Chen Heng took a deep breath and calmed down his tone, "Please also ask Shixiong to bring someone to register again, and it must be clear."

The classmate couldn't help stomping his feet. If it wasn't for people from other academies staring at him right now, he might want to have a good argument with Chen Heng.

"Let him do what he wants." Du Yunjing at the side saw that the boy was still a little bit dissatisfied, so he simply asked for help.

"Oh, I see, Brother Du."

Juren's speech is extraordinary, and his classmates are not good at talking, so they had to leave disgruntled.

Chen Heng glanced at Du Yunjing gratefully, then called the heads of other academies over, and emphasized his request once again according to the rhetoric just now.

After all these people had gone out, Du Yunjing took advantage of the gap and asked, "Then what am I going to do?"

"Summarize and classify this information." Sitting on the wooden bench, Chen Heng stretched out three fingers, "Brother Du, we are short on time, and I can only give you three days. Remember to keep the information of those who do not have adult males at home, only One male, and two or more males, are distinguished."

"Okay." Du Yunjing nodded, although he couldn't see the meaning of doing so, but after all, he had put down his words to help yesterday, and there was no need to ask more questions at this moment.

Chen Huaijin, who was busy at the porridge shop early in the morning, suddenly came up with a bowl of porridge, and advised his nephew, "No matter how busy you are, eat something first."

Last night, Chen Heng didn't go home at all, and rested in the camp outside the city with a few classmates.

When Chen Huaijin went out in the morning, the members of the old Chen's family urged him to take care of their children.

"Second uncle, I'm not hungry." Chen Heng was about to refuse, but Xinda had already brought the bowl, tested the temperature with the back of his hand, and handed the porridge to the second brother.

Xinda also started to act like a rascal, without saying a word of warning, he just stared at Chen Hengmeng.

Chen Heng couldn't stand the stares, so he had to take the porridge, and after a few mouthfuls, Jiang Yuanbai ran into the camp suddenly.

"Brother Heng, Brother Heng."

Jiang Yuanbai is open-minded and loves to chatter, and he is not afraid to meet strangers.Chen Heng arranged for him to divide the camp.

Seeing that it was him, Chen Heng hurriedly said, "Don't worry, just speak slowly."

"There are not enough people, give me some more people." Jiang Yuanbai came straight to the point, and didn't even bother to take a breath.

"How many people are left?"

"Twenty... no, give me thirty more,"

Chen Heng thought about it carefully, and said simply: "There are more than 40 people at Plum Blossom Academy, I will give them all to you. Remember, the victims must choose who to live with, and when they are divided into good ones, you will put up a sign. Statistics I have other seniors to do it myself."

"Okay." Jiang Yuanbai responded positively. He is currently one of the people who support Chen Heng the most.Only after the order was issued, the man had already run away without a trace.

Cui Youdao, who didn't know when he came, looked aside for a long time, and asked: "Chen brother, can you tell me why you don't use regions to divide? Isn't it easier and more convenient to divide like this?"

Seeing that it was him who asked the question, Chen Heng couldn't be perfunctory. Thinking that this person would be of great use in the future, he let him sit on the wooden bench next to him, and said very patiently: "Brother Cui, you know what happened to these victims on the road. ?”

Cui Youdao was stunned, he didn't expect to be asked such a question, he just shook his head without saying a word.Seeing his appearance, Du Yunjing couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know either." Chen Heng spread his hands and pointed to the victims outside the porridge shop, "But these people know. The people around me, who have done bad things, those people are not easy to contact , they know better than we do."

"Forcibly gathering them together, we thought that there would be support from fellow countrymen. But we don't know whether there are people who seek wealth, murder, and domineering? We can't waste time and effort to ask one by one. Let's investigate."

On the way to escape, it is not a picnic outing with laughter and laughter.Chen Heng is not a supporter of the inherent evil of human nature, but he also knows to what extent human evil will be magnified where the law fails.

"If you sleep at night, you have to be wary of the neighbors next to you. No matter how much porridge you eat and how many clothes you wear, their lives will not be at ease!"

Hearing Chen Heng's answer, Cui Youdao was speechless for a while, and couldn't help thinking about his previous actions.Seeing him deflated, Du Yunjing felt relieved and said proactively.

"Wonderful, a small method can separate the black sheep. What about the last remaining group of people? Brother Heng, what do you want to do?"

It's quick for you to change your mind, Chen Heng blinked, "No restrictions on entry and exit, strict supervision. Now that the disaster is serious, some things can wait until later, and we will free up our hands to clean up slowly."

Du Yunjing was very sorry to hear that, his temperament was already biased towards happy love and hatred.From his impassioned pen during the test, Chen Heng knew that he was a sharp sword.

Such a person cannot be placed on the front line, otherwise it will only cause more trouble.In fact, what he is more suitable for is overall planning and supervision.

"Brother Cui, I have an extremely important matter to ask you. This matter must be done by you, and only if it is done. We can really take the first step."

Seeing Chen Heng speak so seriously, Cui Youdao couldn't help standing up, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Chen, just talk."

"I wrote a letter last night. I hope you can take it and invite a few theater troupes from the city." Chen Heng took out another letter, handed it to the other party, and bowed deeply, "Please You, brother Cui."

"Okay, when the city gate opens at noon, I will enter the city right away."

Cui Youdao has real talents and learning, and seems to have a gentle temperament, but he is as proud as Du Yunjing in his heart, but the latter is more sharp.One advantage of a person like him is that he doesn't bother to use dirty tricks behind the scenes.

In addition, the other party has the halo of Xie Yuan on his head, so it is very appropriate to entrust Cui Youdao with this kind of social affairs that go out and show up.

Chen Heng stood up straight, his eyes were facing the city gate.He smiled and pointed, and said loudly, "Brother Cui, look."

Cui Youdao turned around, and saw that the city gate, which was only open for two hours a day, was slowly opening.

"This……"

Du Yunjing also stared wide-eyed, and only then did he understand the weight of Shan Zhang's words of "prefect's document".You must know that the opening and closing time of the city gate has been maintained for more than a month.

What did my classmate tell the magistrate? ? ?
Cui Youdao was also surprised. A pair of eyes secretly looked at the unattractive Chen Heng. The latter bowed again, "Please, Brother Cui, let them come, the sooner the better."

Cui Youdao didn't make a sound, just nodded solemnly, turned around, and walked into the bright sunshine.

The business in the congee shop was still going on in full swing. Cui Youdao, who bid farewell to Chen Heng, came all the way to the gate of the city. He saw that the officers and soldiers on guard checked more carefully, and the number of officers and soldiers was more than before.

But it's a good thing after all, I can't tell what it feels like.Just looking at the opened gate, Cui Youdao felt a little more relaxed, and finally he didn't have to waste time to go back to the city every day.

After passing the inspection, Cui Youdao quickly walked into the city.He noticed that the neighbors near the city gate were all poking their heads, as if wondering how the gate had been opened properly.

"Could it be that the disaster victims came in?"

"Impossible, I didn't hear anything."

The floating gossip made Cui Youdao's originally relaxed mood tense.Sighing for some reason, he came to Sanchunfang's Liyuan with mixed emotions, and visited the first theater troupe.

The Guan family opera troupe is quite well-known in the city. Their troupe leader is a steady man in his fifties, and he has a famous actor in Tsing Yi, Die Yi, under him.

After explaining his future intentions to class leader Guan, Guan Changhe took Cui Youdao's letter.I don't know what the classmate wrote in the letter, but the head teacher Guan frowned the first time he saw it.

The air fell silent, and there were sounds of apprentices practicing kung fu outside the hall.The sun shone into the room through the door, and the head of the Guan class hesitated for a long time, and his eyes quietly fell on Xie Yuan.

Cui Youdao coughed lightly and asked, "Is there any difficulty for the class leader?"

"I have a small question, I don't know if it's safe outside the city?"

"I don't know." Cui Youdao followed Chen Heng's instructions and only confessed the truth.

A few more questions were asked, and the two parties suddenly fell silent.

After a while, seeing that the other party hadn't spoken yet, Cui Youdao also waited a little impatiently.

He is an honorable person, whenever he wants to see the actor's face, he immediately said: "If the troupe leader is in trouble, why not return the letter to me, and I will go find someone else."

"No, no, no." Scholars these days are not easy to offend, let alone a promising Jie Yuan. Leader Guan waved his hands repeatedly, and said with a wry smile, "I'll go, I'll go."

Although Cui Youdao was a little surprised, he still thanked him.The two parties agreed on a time.

He immediately got up and rushed to the next house, visiting several houses in a row, and all the class masters he saw frowned and distressed when they saw Chen Heng's letter, and finally had to agree.

Cui Youdao was really curious. After leaving the last troupe, he couldn't help opening the letter that had been read several times, only to find that there was only one word written on it.

Righteousness.

Thick ink was splattered on the white paper, a simple word.But it made Cui Youdao laugh out loud. Standing by the side of the road, he couldn't help thinking, this classmate of his looks kind-hearted, but he has a dark heart.

…………

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The neighbors in the east of the city are really blessed today. They saw the city gate open in just one morning.Before noon, several theater troupes rushed out of the city under the banner.

"What's the situation, what's the situation? Why don't the victims of the disaster come in, and the people in our city have to run out."

"What are these opera singers doing? What time is it, why don't you stop and hide?"

They looked at it for a long time, but they couldn't understand it.While whispering to each other, a few men selling newspapers ran past on the street.

"Listen carefully. We are going to watch a big show outside the city tonight. We have a big play outside Yangzhou city tonight. The gates of the city can't help it. Everyone can go and see it if they want to."

What?Even the access control was cancelled?
Just as everyone was about to stop the newspaper seller for questioning, another group of armored soldiers hurried past and rushed to the outside of the city gate.

Seeing the officers and soldiers crossing the border, everyone hid in their homes again. When they probed again, not only the officers and soldiers left, but even the newspaper sellers disappeared without a trace.

"Are you going?" Someone asked the neighbor next door.

"What's there to do? You haven't seen a play. If you're trying to squeeze in with the refugees, what should you do if something happens?"

"makes sense."

Outside the city gate, the theater troupe invited by Cui Youdao just arrived at the porridge shop, and several troupe masters surrounded little Chen Heng in the middle, and the tone of the conversation was neither good nor bad.

The actors who followed them all looked nervous, protecting their own sisters and girls in the middle.

"Welcome if you are far away, welcome if you are far away." Chen Heng smiled all over his face, making it impossible to see that he is also a ruthless character who uses his power to oppress others. "I didn't expect so many righteous people to come. It's a great thing."

Can we not come?You don't even look at what you write.If you don't come, how can our team sing and live in Yangzhou in the future.Several class leaders shook their heads, suppressed their complaints, and only asked about their own arrangements.

"Who can sing The Legend of the White Snake?" Chen Heng asked curiously. He had never been to the Liyuan, but Xue Biao had only heard about this play.It is also uncertain who among these troupes is better at the story of the white lady.

The story of the White Snake, which was written into a book and "Warning the World" in the Ming Dynasty, is a well-known opera in the south of the Yangtze River.That theater troupe can't sing, that's a strange thing, it belongs to a stupid troupe with only a long history and no talent.

It's just that it's someone's turn to sing well, and several class leaders looked at Guan Changhe together.Dieyi from the Guan family troupe is a master at playing the white lady.In Yangzhou City, he is not a person who has earned his fame.

Being so recognized by his peers, Guan Changhe is somewhat complacent.He didn't shirk, just cupped his hands, "Let's go to the Guan family class, Mr. Xiao Lang, do you want to start singing now?"

"No hurry, no hurry." Chen Heng shook his head with a smile, and pouted in the distance, "Wait for those storytellers to finish their scripts first."

Several class masters turned their gazes together with their disciples.Among the victims in the distance, there was a storyteller dancing every few dozen steps, and among them, Mr. Youshan's booth had the most people.

He Youshan is really a rare talent.He talked from "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio" to "The Legend of the Shushan Swordsman", occasionally interspersed with the story of "Three Words, Two Beats".The witty and witty stories told in each story only made the refugees feel delighted when they heard it.

These storytellers are naturally written by books such as Hu Ji and Wang Ji.Originally, Chen Heng only asked Xue Biao to invite these two families, but he didn't know how the news spread, and many storytellers also volunteered to come.

At the beginning, there were not many people listening to books, but after dinner, they couldn't find anything to do, so they simply dragged their families along to join in the fun.

Seeing the officers and soldiers who came to patrol the crowd, the order on the scene was considered stable.The class leaders let go of their worries for a while, and said to Chen Heng: "If Xiao Lang has no other orders, then I will take someone to dress up first."

"Are there any singers among you?" Chen Heng asked again.

The troupe masters couldn't help but smile, didn't realize that you black-hearted little gentleman can still joke, and most of our theater troupe are opera performers.

"I have a piece of music here, which I heard from a passing Taoist priest before." Chen Heng quickly explained, "It's just that I don't understand music theory, I can only sing a few lines, and I don't know how to arrange the repertoire. I may ask some of you to recommend it to the old man. master."

That's right, the class masters nodded, and called out some old musicians from their own families, asking them to listen to Chen Heng's orders.On the other hand, he took people to another place. This time the matter was arranged in a hurry, and Chen Heng didn't prepare a shed for them to store clothes and dress up.

Several theater troupes simply joined together, put a few sticks directly on the ground, and surrounded a clean place with a red cloth as tall as a person.

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Night is approaching, and the sunset embraces the earth and the stars.Outside the city today, it is rarely bustling.

Xin Suzhao is still leading people to check the stability of the stage, and several masters are already decorating the curtain and props on the stage.After the rehearsal by the storyteller in the afternoon, there were already many disaster victims gathered around the stage at night.

There are not so many stools on site, most people are standing, and the young children are riding on the shoulders of their fathers.Although their complexions are not very pretty, under the bright moon, people can still see the hope in their eyes.

An inexplicably relaxed atmosphere spread in the bright night when the gongs and drums were beating.

People can't say why, but they are not as wary of the people around them as they used to be.

Everyone is waiting, looking forward to the opening of the stage.

At this time, more than a dozen corners came out from behind the scenes.They dressed up a little, not in actor's clothes, but their faces became a little paler.

When the drums sounded, the young apprentices sang.

"Bai Suzhen at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain, who has cultivated this body for thousands of years in the cave. Ah~~ah~~"

Isn't it a rap show?Why did you hear Qu'er first?Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, unable to distinguish the arrangements of the scholars for a moment.

"Diligent practice is the way to gain the Tao, and you will be transformed into a human being. Ah~~ah~~"

"Focus on the Tao without distracting thoughts, take refuge in the Three Jewels and abandon the world of mortals. Ah~~ah~~"

When he heard the phrase "Hey, hey, hey", Jiang Yuanbai, who was hiding in the corner, couldn't help pulling Chen Heng and asking, "Where did you hear this song from a passing Taoist priest?"

"Isn't it?" Chen Heng nodded with a smile. He sat on the wooden stool and twisted his body, keeping his eyes on the expressions of the refugees in the front row. "How is it, isn't it good?"

"I've never heard of it. Do Taoists sing songs now? It doesn't sound like Jiangnan tunes, nor Bashu tunes."

Jiang Yuanbai was very puzzled. The tune was fresh and natural. Although there were only a few lyrics that didn't make it to the table, it could be heard by disaster victims who could not read a single word.

Chen Heng shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and explained, "Then you have to ask that Taoist priest."

"Look carefully, the famous actor is about to enter the stage." Xue Biao interrupted the argument between the two, and drew their attention to the white lady and Xiaoqing who came out.

Under the moonlight, the sound of the flute gradually rises, and the erhu is melodious.Before the white lady could speak, there were already excited applause from the crowd.

It's been too long since they've had a normal life.

I wonder if these fragments can remind them of the time when they lived and worked in peace and contentment in their hometown.

With the moon like a bright moon, Chen Heng carefully looked at each refugee, and it was not until a smile appeared on their faces that he felt that his busy day was not in vain.

Affected by this atmosphere, the salesman who was originally ordered by the government office couldn't help shouting hard.They didn't want to come.

Leaving aside the danger, how much money the victims would have, if it wasn't for the government's mandatory requirement, the peddler would be happy to come here to sell.

It's just that they walked all the way, and found that there are still people who are willing to buy some gadgets for their noisy children.

Although there are not many of these people, they cannot support the large number of victims.Every salesman was accompanied by an officer and soldier to guard him. After running around several times, everyone earned more or less money.

In fact, those who can come out to escape, who will not put some silver on their body for self-defense, in case of emergencies.

It's just that before, no one has ever considered this like Chen Heng.

The repertoire on the stage has already talked about the meeting under the broken bridge. The actor playing Xu Xian is really handsome, with a crisp and crisp voice.Just by listening to it, people can think of Yang Liu Yiyi's passionate West Lake.

In the evening, the opera was sung until Haishi, and three opera troupes were called in succession to support the stage.

During this period, famous operas from all over the south of the Yangtze River were staged one after another.

Until the end, Cui Youdao, who was elected, had to go up to the stage and say to the victims who retained the actor: "There will be tomorrow, and there will be the day after tomorrow, and there will be days in the future. Everyone, go back with peace of mind and have a good rest." Disperse.

"What a pity." On the way back, Jiang Yuan grumbled, "Such a chance to show off, Brother Heng, why did you let Cui You go up?"

Chen Heng folded his hands behind his head, and Mingyue lengthened the shadows of the group.He looked at it for fun, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"I snatched his job because I had a better way. But after all, brother Cui did nothing wrong. His current age and fame can convince everyone. It is more suitable for him to go than me."

Xue Biao and Qian Dayou couldn't help but nodded, the former said: "That's right, Brother Heng, you don't have to worry. If you really want to do this well, I don't know how many people in Yangzhou will remember your kindness."

Chen Heng smiled, he really didn't pay attention to this matter.It's not that he doesn't like fame, how hypocritical it is to say this.It's just that when I devote myself to a good thing, I can't help but forget these trivial things in my mind.

Doing good deeds without asking for reward.I don't think I have forgotten the teachings of my hometown elders in my previous life.

Chen Heng raised his head and looked at the bright moon. In a few hundred years, will those old people in his memory look at the same bright moon?

"Brother Heng, are you still staying here tonight?" Qian Dayou asked.

"Yeah." Chen Heng nodded, his plan had just begun to complete the first step, and he absolutely dare not go back now.

What if there is something that people from other academies can't find themselves.

"Then I'll stay here too."

"Okay, I'll stay with you."

"Me too, me too."

I don't know who opened the mouth first, several friends looked at each other and smiled, and walked side by side towards the lights of the porridge shop.

"Don't be afraid of few sparks, only see fellow travelers."

"Brother Heng, you just recite this half sentence?"

"Let me imitate the tone of the mountain chief: the rhythm is wrong, go back and do it again."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

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The next day, the morning light broke out.

After the hilarity last night, most of the victims were still sleeping soundly. Only a few people who got up early came out of their tents and saw other strangers. It is unknown who started it.

"Have you got a meal yet?"

Such a plain greeting made the eyes of the person being asked redden.He didn't know how long he hadn't been asked like this.In my memory, there are scenes of fleeing and running away, as well as other people's cold words.

These words hide a lot of care that is not worth mentioning, quietly blowing the anxiety and uneasiness in people's hearts, and gently soothing them.

People living in this land have inherent good morals.It will only hide in the corner for a short time, and it is absolutely impossible to disappear.

He shook his head and asked kindly, "Going to the porridge shop, are you together?"

"it is good."

"Where is brother from?"

"My family is from Shandong, you..."

　It's seven thousand words, brothers, let's discuss it, how about I make up a chapter and add more?
　　Ask for a ticket Ask for a ticket.There will be an update later, I will make a [-]D update for you today, don't say that brothers are ignorant on Saturday.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)