Lin Jiabiyu

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the snow that had stopped for a day really started to fall again.Several shopkeepers and fellows got up after resting all night, and the fire was almost burned.After turning off the fire and walking out of the house, the group of people was divided into several pieces, three or two huddled together, shrinking their necks, squinting their eyes slightly and got into the carriage.

The young man and the old shopkeeper got into the carriage in the middle together, and there was another kind-hearted middle-aged shopkeeper in his forties.

Holding a bong, the old shopkeeper opened the curtain to watch the movement outside. Seeing that the wind and snow were getting bigger and bigger, he sighed after a long time: "I haven't seen such a heavy snow in more than ten years. Hey, it's cold!"

The cold wind rolled in from the opened curtain, and some ice flowers were wrapped in it, making all three of them shiver.The young man hastily pulled down the curtain.

Seeing that the old shopkeeper was still supporting the curtain with a bong, exposing a gap for ventilation, and the cold wind poured into it, the young man looked at the old shopkeeper helplessly and complained: "Old shopkeeper, this wind is blowing so hard that people are going to freeze to death. Blow it on my forehead! You'd better let the curtains down."

The old shopkeeper laughed, took back the pipe in his hand, lit the young man and laughed and cursed: "You are the only young man who is afraid of the cold! You are so young, you must look like a little girl!"

The young man frowned and snorted, turned his head with some surprise, and turned to vent his anger on the stove in the carriage.

The old shopkeeper and the middle-aged shopkeeper who had been sitting silently next to him looked at each other and laughed for a moment.

The young man snorted again, but bent his head and handed the hot tea to the hands of the old shopkeeper and the middle-aged shopkeeper, and hummed in a less polite tone: "No, drink tea!"

The old shopkeeper was not annoyed, took a sip of hot tea from the teacup, patted the barrel of the pipe and smiled at the middle-aged shopkeeper: "This young man just can't stand it on the face, and he has nothing good to say, but he is in a good mood!"

"The old shopkeeper is always a good judge of people, and I think this kid is also very good." The middle-aged shopkeeper also nodded with a smile, and then smiled at the young man, "Brother Yi, I am afraid that I have made a lot of money by going this time. Things? You are at your age. It's time to marry a wife. I'll be your matchmaker and find a good girl for you. When you settle down and start this business, you have something to look forward to. It will save you all day long. Buy some inconspicuous things, or give them to the prostitutes in this building or that garden, and you should also save some money. Raise a son in the future!"

The young man's name was Xue Yi, his real name was unknown, but he had been using this name since he arrived in Yuanjiang.The middle-aged shopkeeper with a peaceful face and a little fat is surnamed Xiao. The surname Xiao is Beiyan's common surname. Shopkeeper Xiao knows a lot of people and is very popular.

No one knows the origin of the old shopkeeper holding the dry tobacco.I only know that the shopkeeper has been running business in the Yuanjiang area since he was 30 years old.Travel north and south twice a year, from Daqin to Beiyan.Then to the eight parts of the grassland, I have been to various places, and I have seen a lot.In addition, he has a harmonious temperament, a strong body, and often gives advice to young people, so he is quite respected by the shopkeepers in Yuanjiang area.

"Bah! Bah! I don't want to raise a son!" Xue Yi frowned with disgust and impatience, his slightly delicate brows together.He spat several times, gritted his teeth while snorting. "At this point, raising a son means losing money! Shopkeeper Xiao, don't worry! I am at ease in this way, and if I have a daughter-in-law, why not suffocate me to death? Besides, I am alone, and I really want to go to war Also run faster, if you drag your family with you, you may not be killed by someone..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Shopkeeper Xiao slapped Xue Yi's forehead with a cup, and taught in a helpless and funny tone, "Let me say you kid, hey, you can't keep your tongue, but you still know in your heart that you want to take your daughter-in-law with you." My son and son ran away, but the things in this head...why are they all about losing money, fighting, and fleeing?"

The middle-aged shopkeeper sighed while talking, and pointed at Xue Yi, feeling a bit at a loss for what to say, he finally let out a long sigh, looked at the old shopkeeper with a wry smile and said: "This kid is kind-hearted and kind, but his words are not pleasant! Fortunately, I still want to tell him about my brother-in-law's niece, the old shopkeeper has a look, hey, I don't even know how to say it!"

"Then don't talk about it!" Xue Yi hurriedly picked up the words, and the three words of reluctance were clearly written on Junxiu's face. Shopkeeper Xiao, take a look. When we walked down this trip, there were soldiers guarding everywhere, even stricter than during the previous year's war. If nothing else, let's talk about Yuanjiang. This has been going on for so long. When the spring comes , once the water in the Yuan River melts, the grasslands will be grazing again... I reckon that this war will start before the spring! The world is desolate, what kind of wife should I take? Your eldest niece, you still want to give it to someone else Bar."

Shopkeeper Xiao nodded at Xue Yi dumbfounded, and finally simply shook his head and ignored the boy.

The old shopkeeper sipped his hot tea with a dazed expression, and his cloudy eyes remained motionless, as if looking at the things in front of him and seeing the gods.

When the tea in the cup was finished, the old shopkeeper came back to his senses, smiled and persuaded shopkeeper Xiao: "Don't follow the common knowledge of young people, this kid is used to living alone, and he is afraid of marrying a wife."

Before he finished speaking, Xue Yi blushed, snorted fiercely, and glared at the old shopkeeper angrily.Seeing the old shopkeeper smiling benevolently, Xue Yi's shoulders drooped, and he seemed to be discouraged for a moment. He looked away weakly and muttered: "The old shopkeeper loves jokers!"

Shopkeeper Xiao also became happy now.The old shopkeeper put down the teacup, looked at Xue Yi lovingly, and sighed after a long time, as if he was talking to himself, or to the two people in the carriage.

"Hey, I'm afraid there will be a fight. Looking at the situation this year, it's not quite right..."

Shopkeeper Xiao's eyes flickered slightly, and he said with a broken smile: "Why did the old shopkeeper say such things? There will be a fight in the Yuanjiang area sooner or later. Hey, there is no way to do it. The public is right and the wife is right. We were originally a family. After everyone finished fighting, we continued to do business, and we didn't have to go far. Didn't Weimeng Khan and General Yuchi both publish the notices, saying that they shouldn't disturb the people? I have little knowledge, but the old shopkeeper is talking about it What's wrong with that?"

"You're right," the old shopkeeper lit a cigarette and took a puff.There was a bit of melancholy and emotion on his face.

The carriage was smoky for a while, Xue Yi choked on the smoke, coughed several times, and even coughed up tears. While opening the curtain to breathe, he turned his back to the old shopkeeper and begged for forgiveness: "The old shopkeeper should take less than two bites. Smoke it, it's choking, cough cough..."

Seeing this, the old shopkeeper laughed and cursed, and extinguished the cigarette in the pipe with tea.But he still kept his mouth in his mouth and paused, before continuing: "It doesn't matter if it's Yuanjiang alone, but after this trip, I'm afraid Daqin will be in chaos too! The old man heard from some old brothers who have been with him all year round , the court has been arguing since the end of the year. I heard that the old emperor might not be able to bear it anymore. Hey. It’s really hard to say when this chaos breaks out... It’s ordinary people who suffer in the chaos. I can see it, but these young people..."

The old shopkeeper nodded to Xue Yi and sighed in a low tone. "Hey, the old man only hopes that the north can be more stable. At least it can make people live in peace and beg for food. After a few years, the situation is stable. These young people have gone through hardships and experience, and the business is also easy to do. This day There is hope. Now, hey... it will be a while, Brother Yi's words are not unreasonable. I'm afraid there will be no place to run by then!"

This time Xue Yi also sighed, holding the tongs in his hand and fidgeting through the red coals in the stove.

Shopkeeper Xiao also looked melancholy and shook his head helplessly.I was silent for a moment.

The atmosphere in the carriage suddenly became a little dull.

The carriage drove slowly along the snow-covered path, leaving ruts all the way on the white snow.When the sun went down, the group finally arrived at Tianhe City.

After getting out of the car, the shopkeepers unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. The profits from running business on both sides of the north and south are extremely rich, but accidents are prone to accidents. Now that they have returned safely, they naturally feel relaxed.

Several shopkeepers got together and bid farewell to each other, with joyful smiles on their faces. This time they finally returned home just before the end of the Spring Festival.

Shopkeeper Xiao bid farewell to the old shopkeeper and Xue Yi, got into his own carriage, and went all the way back to Xiao's mansion.

The carriage is warm and spacious, and the furnishings are many times better than the dilapidated carriages along the way.

Shopkeeper Xiao kept frowning and sighing one after another. When the carriage reached Tianhe City Street, he took a deep breath, opened the curtain and told the waiter outside: "Brother in a while Go outside the city and tell Little Brother Luo that he has brought back all the things he wanted, please come and pick them up from the shop when he is free."

Lao Ding agreed, and when shopkeeper Xiao was sent back to his residence, he turned around and ran to the military camp stationed outside the city while taking advantage of the night.

Early the next morning, the grocery store of the Xiao family had just opened, and shopkeeper Xiao was watching people moving things around, when a handsome and slightly shy soldier walked in, patted Shopkeeper Xiao on the shoulder and said with a smile: "The shopkeeper's It's back! It's been several months, I thought the shopkeeper would come back years ago, but I've been waiting for a while!"

"Brother Luo is here," shopkeeper Xiao turned his head to see the visitor, also with a smile on his face, and hurriedly invited him to the inner room. "Hey, look at me, I can't be called Brother Luo anymore. I heard that you've been promoted? It's time to call you sir. Master Luo, please—"

"The shopkeeper will be able to make fun of people. Brother Luo is better, so let's call the shopkeeper that." Brother Luo smiled shyly, but his voice was very loud. He cupped his hands at shopkeeper Xiao, and then walked into the room.

The room was very warm and clean. Shopkeeper Xiao handed a small box to Brother Luo, and explained with a smile: "It contains all the things I want. Brother, see if it suits you."

Brother Luo opened the box with a smile, picked up one of the extremely delicate and small coral-carved pine trees and looked at it, then lowered his head to glance at the other objects in the box, then closed the box, and smiled at Shopkeeper Xiao: "Thank you for your trouble, shopkeeper. Yes! How is the shopkeeper's journey? I heard that Daqin's side is not peaceful? The shopkeeper didn't let anyone stop him, did he?"

"I'm really stopped, I'm afraid I won't be able to bring back this box!" Shopkeeper Xiao couldn't laugh or cry, paused, and then sighed hesitantly, "But this road is not very peaceful, especially near Daqin capital. , there are soldiers guarding everywhere, and the battle is tighter than the previous year. Hey, I heard that the emperor of Daqin is about to die, and I don’t know if it’s true or not..."

Brother Luo smiled and listened to shopkeeper Xiao, a gleam of light flashed through his eyes very quickly. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

ps: Thank you Qiongqiong for your reward; thank you for the pink ticket for the captain's children's shoes; thank you for your subscription support.Recommend the book to a friend.Title: Fisherwoman; ISBN 3000142; Author: Zhuyuan Qingqing