A boy is eight or nine years old, an age when even dogs are annoyed.
Chen Shi is already eleven years old and has passed the age when dogs get annoyed. However, he is naughty and mischievous and has become a tyrant in Huangpo Village. Everywhere he goes, chickens and dogs are restless. Even ducks that pass by him have to lay duck eggs before they can leave.
, it can be said that people hate dogs.
This morning, Chen Shi finished his breakfast, put down his bowls and chopsticks, and ran out happily, shouting: "Grandpa, I'm going out to play!"
Grandpa was tall, wearing a black robe embroidered with large peonies. He stood in front of the altar table in the main room, lowered his head, and responded angrily: "Don't run too far, don't go to the river, come back early at noon..."
"knew!"
Chen Shi didn't wait for his grandfather to finish what he said, then he ran away without a trace.
In front of the altar table, Grandpa was still facing the altar table, chewing slowly, and after a long while he rolled his Adam's apple with difficulty and swallowed the food. Then he stuffed the candle in his hand into his mouth and bit it down.
He chewed it slowly.
There are two candlesticks on the table, one is an incense burner, and the candles on the other candlestick have been eaten until only the candle tears at the bottom of the candlestick are left. The incense in the incense burner is steaming with smoke and is about to be burned out.
Grandpa put down the half-eaten candle, took out a few sticks of incense, lit it, inserted it into the incense burner, took a deep breath of smoke, and showed an intoxicated look.
Behind the incense burner, there is a black spiritual tablet.
What is written on the spirit tablet is my grandfather's name.
The ancestral virtues and fragrances are the spiritual position of the Chen family and Chen Yindu.
"When you are full, you won't eat people."
Chen Shi beat Grandma Yuzhu's dog until it howled until the big black dog surrendered. He then took three or four dogs from the village to fight with the dogs from the neighboring village. After returning from the victory, he climbed up the tree to build a bird's nest.
, his head was pecked all over by the mother bird, and he almost fell off the tree.
A moment later, the boy picked up a dead snake and threatened Erni at the east end of the village to cry for father and mother. Soon after, he came to the old lady Wuzhu's melon field to steal melons. The old lady was so angry that she chased her for three miles.
Can't shake it off.
This was Chen Shi's unpretentious morning.
At noon, Chen Shi came to the Yudai River outside the village. Although he was sweating from the heat, he still resisted the urge to go into the water.
There was the sound of playing in the river, and three boys about his age were having a water fight in the middle of the river, very happy.
They were three water ghosts who drowned the year before last, so Chen Shi did not dare to go into the river to play.
The last time he jumped into the river to play in the water, he was dragged into the deep water by these three guys. One hugged his feet, one hugged his waist, and one choked his neck. They almost drowned him.
die.
Grandpa jumped into the river and beat the three water ghosts severely before rescuing them.
"Chen Shi, come and play together!" A child waved to him.
The other two children had innocent smiles on their faces and waved to him: "Let's play together! A water fight is fun when four people have it!"
The older children laughed and said: "Don't be afraid, it's not deep at all, it only reaches our waist!"
"Come on down! What's the point of playing alone?"
…
Chen Shi ignored them, turned around and came to an old willow tree in Huanggangpo.
The three children were still standing in the middle of the river, but there was no sound of playing, no smiles on their faces, and they slowly sank into the river.
"You bad guy from the old Chen family, you will drown sooner or later and become your scapegoat!" a child cursed angrily.
The river water gradually covered their lips, noses, eyes, and tops of their heads, and finally the three children disappeared.
A pair of feet slowly hung down from the willow tree, dangling in front of Chen Shi.
A scholar was hanging on a willow tree. When he saw Chen Shi looking up, he stuck out his scarlet tongue at him, which was about a foot long.
Chen Shi didn't pay attention. The scholar had been hanging for a longer time, and his body had long since decayed. Only his soul was still hanging here.
He came to the willow tree, placed a piece of watermelon in front of the stone tablet under the tree root, and kowtowed to the stone tablet: "Godmother, I came to see you again, and I brought you a piece of watermelon. It's very sweet."
Shibei was his godmother. When Chen Shi was still very young, his grandfather said that Shibei was good in everything, but his life was not strong enough, so he had to become a godmother with a strong life in order to support him. So he took him to Wainneck
Under the willow tree, he was asked to worship this stone tablet and become his godmother.
During festivals, Chen Shi needs to come to worship his godmother and offer offerings and incense.
This is often the custom in rural areas.
Countryside people worship godmothers. Some godmothers are ancient trees, some are stones of unknown origin, some are temple gates in the mountains, and some are unknown tattered stone statues on hills. They just pray for peace and protection from external evil.
Grandpa once said that this stone tablet was of ancient origin and must have supernatural powers and could protect Chen Shi, so he made Chen Shi his godmother.
It's just that in the past two years when Chen Shi knelt down to worship his godmother, he didn't feel anything supernatural.
The stone tablet is old, and you can vaguely see a few handwritings, including the words "grandma" and "only".
There are other words that are buried in the soil, and the stone tablet is entangled with the roots of old trees and cannot be dug out.
Chen Shi paid homage to his godmother and said to himself: "Godmother, my grandpa is getting weirder and weirder. He always turns his back to me. I haven't seen his face for a few days. He even eats while carrying me.
, I don’t know what I am eating... Several of my chickens died yesterday morning. They were not bitten by weasels. The weasels did not dare to come to my house to steal the chickens..."
The stele didn't respond to him.
But I don't know if it was due to dazzling eyes, but Chen Shi seemed to see the writing on the stone tablet. There was a faint light flowing for a moment, but then disappeared.
The young man didn't take it seriously, took out a few sticks of incense, lit them, and stuck them in the soil in front of the stone monument.
Seeing the scholar hanging from the tree, he kicked his legs in anxiety.
"You have your share too."
Chen Shi took out a stick of incense, lit it and inserted it at the scholar's feet. The scholar hanging on the tree smelled the incense and looked intoxicated.
Chen Shi stretched out comfortably and lay lazily under the tree, with his hands behind his head. He was not afraid of the scholar hanging on the tree and the water ghosts in the river. He didn't know when he could see these other people.
The "people" who cannot be seen have long been accustomed to it.
"Grandpa has almost made lunch, but in recent times, the food he cooked has become less and less delicious. The chicken he cooked yesterday was still raw, and it was bloody when I served it. Godmother, I always feel that grandpa has been a little agitated recently.
Something's wrong, it seems like it's going to eat me."
Chen Shi held a straw stalk in his mouth, his eyes were dazed, and he had a maturity that was different from his age. He whispered, "Last night, grandpa made me some medicine again and asked me to soak it in the medicine jar, but the fire was too high.
It's so hot that the water is boiling. I think he wants to cook me..."
After a while, the scholar ghost hanging on the tree finished inhaling a stick of incense, relaxed, and said: "I'm fine. Xiao Shi, you can ask now."
——Xiao Shi is Chen Shi’s nickname. Some people in the village call him Xiao Cheng, although they are often sarcastic.
Chen Shi let go of his worries, took out a volume of ancient books, and while reading, he asked: "I still don't understand this passage. The Master said: Whoever made the figurines first has no descendants? How should we interpret it?"
Huangpo Village is located in a remote area, there are no private schools, and the Chen family is very poor. Chen Shi has nowhere to study, but fortunately the person who was hanged from the tree was a scholar. Therefore, Chen Shi dug out some ancient books from home and came to Willow Tree when he had something to do.
Next, ask the scholar for advice.
After the scholar-ghost had inhaled the incense, he would answer his questions. Therefore, even though Chen Shi was in his teens, he had already read poetry and books.
"The meaning of this sentence is that the Master said that the first person who offended me has been beaten to death by me."
Scholar Ghost explained, "Master wants to tell us that we must eradicate the roots of things we do, especially those who offend us."
Chen Shi nodded in confusion, read it word for word, and then asked: "Now that it's come, let's make peace with it, how should we interpret it?"
"Since the enemy is here, don't leave and bury him here."
"Then what is the interpretation of this sentence in Sichuan: The deceased is like a man, and he does not give up day and night. How should we interpret it?"
"The Master stood by the river and said: A truly powerful person should stand by the river like me and watch the corpses of the enemies drifting down the river regardless of day or night. The Master was so powerful that he killed the enemy's corpses and left them floating in the air.
The surface of the river is full. We, the scholars, must learn more from the Master."
…
After Chen Shi asked all the questions that he didn't understand, the scholar and the ghost answered fluently, which made the young man admire him very much. He raised his head and said: "When I grow up, I want to be like the master, and convince people with virtue! By the way, Zhu Xiucai, you are so talented and knowledgeable, so why?
Will you hang yourself here?"
The scholar ghost sighed and choked with sobs: "Nowadays, there are traitors and sycophants in power in the court, and villains control the literary fortunes. I have a lot of economics, but I failed to pass the exam ten times. I insulted the learning of the saints, I am ashamed to see my family, and I hang myself here. It's all over."
As soon as he said this, the sound of wheels suddenly came.
Chen Shi closed the book, stood up and looked around, and saw several horses on the country road surrounded by an exquisite and gorgeous carriage approaching.
Sitting immediately was a muscular man, wearing a red flying fish suit. He was very capable, his eyes were like a torch, and he glanced this way.
"Sir, there is a child!" One of the men sat on a horse and bowed to the person in the car.
"Child? Good kid, good kid."
A female voice came from the car and said with a smile, "The child is simple, has no scheming, is easy to handle, and will not cause trouble. Fang He, go ask that child."
"yes!"
A man in a flying fish suit dismounted, walked quickly to Chen Shi, took out a piece of broken silver the size of a finger, and said gently with a kind smile on his face: "Little boy, this piece of silver will buy you candies. Brother, I want to ask you something.
, when you were playing in this village, have you seen some children? They are the kind of strange-looking children, children who don’t look like living people. They are like, like...a group of porcelain dolls!"
Zhu Xiucai hung on the tree and said vigilantly: "Xiao Shi, don't pay attention to him! This person is the Jin Yiwei in the city, a powerful eagle dog, and he has evil intentions. Jin Yiwei's money is called life-buying money. If you take his money, be careful not to lose your life."
!”
Although it is still the Ming Dynasty, the imperial power is waning and local dignitaries have emerged. The royal guards are no longer the royal guards, but have become the bodyguards maintained by the families of the world's nobles, and they mostly work for the world's nobles.
Chen Shi stared at the broken silver in the hand of the man in Feiyu suit. He wanted it very much, but he shook his head and said, "My grandfather said you can't take things from strangers."
The man in the flying fish suit became more kind and said with a smile: "My name is Fang He. We didn't know each other just now. We were strangers. But now that you know my name, don't we know each other and are no longer strangers? This is what I give to you.
The reward is not something from a stranger, right?"
Chen Shi nodded happily and caught the broken piece of silver.
Fang He smiled: "Since we are friends, can you tell me if you have ever seen those children who look like porcelain dolls?"
Chen Shi nodded: "Are the children you mentioned less than a foot tall and appearing in groups?"
Fang He showed joy, nodded hurriedly, turned around, and his voice was trembling: "Sir, that thing is really here..."
Before he finished speaking, a figure suddenly flashed past in the carriage. Chen Shi felt a smell of fragrance blowing towards his face, and saw a dignified and beautiful woman in purple clothes appearing under the tree.
The other men in flying fish uniforms hurriedly dismounted and hurried to the foot of the tree, surrounding Chen Shi and the woman in purple.
The woman in purple clothes has a beautiful appearance and snow-white skin. She wears a flying fish suit on her upper body and a horse-faced skirt on her lower body, which is also purple. Her face is a little excited, but she pretends to be calm and smiles slightly: "Little brother, have you seen those porcelain dolls? Where are they?"
Chen Shi did not answer, looking at the purple-clothed woman's shoulder with a strange expression.
The woman in purple was slightly startled, then turned her head and looked over her shoulder, but found nothing wrong.
"Little brother, I have a question for you!" A man in a flying fish suit stepped forward and shouted, showing his majesty.
Chen Shi withdrew his gaze. The reason why he looked at the woman's shoulders was because the scholar's feet happened to be resting on the woman's shoulders at this moment.
The place where the woman stood was exactly where the scholar hanged himself.
The woman in purple glanced at the man who spoke, and her face darkened: "How presumptuous!"
The man in the Feiyu suit hurriedly retreated.
The woman in purple looked cheerful and said: "Little brother, we are from Xinxiang, we are not bad people..."
Chen Shi raised his head, met the woman's gaze, and said with a sweet smile: "Big sister is so beautiful, even more beautiful than Zhu Youcai!"
When the woman in purple heard this, she was very happy: "This child can talk, and I can leave a complete body for him later. It's just that the name Zhu Youcai doesn't sound like a woman's name. I think it's a beautiful woman, but it's a pity that the country bumpkin gave him a rough name."
.”
Chapter completed!