During the Yuanfeng period of the Song Dynasty, there was a young man in Qizhou who played iron in his home.
The young man's name is Meng Ke, and his father learned the art of blacksmithing in his early years, opened a blacksmith shop, and lived with his wife Wang.
Father Meng was short-tempered and often reprimanded the Wang clan. Wang's gentleness, often laughing and dissolving, his father's hundred steel-like men, in his smile into a soft finger, Meng Ke grew up here.
He grew up with his parents, and at first he just pulled the fire and blowed the wind, and when he was older, he wanted to take over the sledgehammer in his mother's hand. The reason was very simple, he was distressed by his mother and did not want her to worry too much.
At the age of eighteen, the young man was at ease with all kinds of iron tools, and his skills were already very skilled.
In the winter of this year, the young man went to the city to buy charcoal, but unexpectedly saved a dying person and caused a catastrophe at the same time.
I.: The man in the wilderness is injured, and he can't bear to save people
Meng Ke was already eighteen years old, and some of the children of the same age in the village were married at the age of sixteen, and both his father and mother were very anxious about his affairs.
Meng Ke himself didn't care too much, this kind of thing depends on fate, fate is not enough, and he can't play a role in being in a hurry.
Iron needs to be made of charcoal, and in the past, my father used to buy it. When you buy less, you will pick it up from the city, and if you have more, you will hire some foot pickers to help, which is a particularly tiring job.
Seeing that the season was winter, there were snowflakes in the cold wind, and the family should add charcoal, So Father Meng was ready to go into the city to buy it.
Just a few days ago, he ate bad things, even diarrhea for a few days, his stomach was weak, and he was walking. Seeing this scene, Meng Ke prepared to enter the city on behalf of his father.
Growing up so big, he did not go to the city alone to buy charcoal, the reason is not complicated, he feels that he has become an adult at the age of eighteen, but in the eyes of his parents, he is still a child, let him go by himself, his parents are not at ease.
But at this time, his father was really unable to enter the city, so he handed over the money to him, and his mother Wang Clan was even more instructed, so he went into the city.
The mother said a lot, it was a bit wordy, but Meng Ke was not bothered at all, although the mother played iron, but the temperament was gentle, never spoke loudly to her son, let alone reprimanded, all of them were slow and whispered to talk to their son.
In Meng Ke's heart, her mother was the most beautiful and gentle woman in the world.
The mother nags, but she can't rest assured of her son, if he is a son but dislikes it, isn't it a little muddy? Other people's mothers don't nag themselves, and the young man thinks very clearly about this.
He was very much looking forward to his going to the city, and he had no worries, he didn't have much money with him, and there would be no accidents.
This was just his wishful thinking fantasy, he did not know that this time into the city, it was a foot into the road of life and death, and both hands pushed open the door of right and wrong.
The village was forty miles from the city, and when he came out of the house, he strode forward, and the eighteen-year-old boy, who had grown up by the iron stove since childhood, had developed a strong body, and did not know what it was to be tired.
Twenty miles from home, he cut a short path into a particularly desolate place, which was said to be a wood, but not a forest, because the long trees were not woods, but some crooked neck elm trees and willow trees.
From time to time there are bulging mounds in the middle of the trees, and I don't know who buried the ownerless here, but over time, the place has become desolate and terrible, and ordinary passers-by only want to hurry through here, and definitely do not stop here.
Meng Ke didn't know what fear was, and he didn't have any fear thoughts, cutting a short path through these strange trees, and there was no specific road, only a young man like him would do so.
He was burying his head in the road, when he suddenly heard a humming sound, he stopped sharply and looked around, and the humming sound was indeed there, and it came from a short distance from the side.
If the father hears this sound, he will definitely lift his feet and go, will not stay, and will not look.
He was curious, wanting to see what kind of person would be in such a place, and listening to the sound of humming, like someone was hurting, and the boy was good by nature. This place is desolate, except for a person like him who cuts a short path, no one will usually pass by, if you ignore it, you will not be willing to go.
He followed the sound, and after walking about two or three inches away, he saw a man lying in the grass and mud, dressed in black, throwing a wooden box on the side, and was moaning in pain.
Meng Ke stepped forward in surprise and carefully examined this person. It was a man in his forties, eyes closed, blue lips, and a pool of vomit on one side.
As if sensing someone coming, he tried to open his eyes to call for help, his eyes were open, but his mouth was only humming, which seemed extremely painful.
"What's wrong with you?"
After Meng Ke asked the question, he felt stupid, this person was obviously unable to speak, was he not asking in vain?
At this moment, he saw that the man had a hole in his left leg, crouched down and looked closely, there were two rows of tooth marks, and there was an opening with black blood in the middle.
It was bitten by something.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly stood up and began to search around.
Although the man could not speak, he could see his movements, saw him crouch down and stand up, thought he was going to leave, and his whole body trembled with anxiety, but he could not make a sound.
Meng Ke was not leaving, but looking for something.
He did not know what this man had been bitten by, but he had heard his mother say that all things are mutually exclusive, and that poisons in the wild will live in a place where they are mutually exclusive. In other words, most of the people who are bitten have an antidote within ten steps, but they need to be identified.
He searched for a while, and found a nest of strangely shaped insect eggs seven or eight steps away from the hanzi, thinking that this thing had bitten the man. It was just an insect with such a strong toxicity, but Meng Ke was unheard of.
He concluded that it could not be a snake, for it was winter and there would be no snake. On the side of the eggs grow several inconspicuous grasses, the blades of which are jagged and very thick.
He plucked these blades of grass, put them in his mouth and chewed them into a paste, and then pasted them where the man was bitten.
After a while, black blood began to flow from the wound, and after a moment it turned red.
Meng Ke let out a long breath, he didn't know if this leaf could save this person, but the dead horse was used as a living horse doctor, he couldn't imagine that it really worked, and at the moment, it seemed that this person was saved.
Hanzi's pain decreased slightly, he opened his mouth to thank him, but still could not make a sound, Meng Ke waved his hand, signaling him not to speak, first rest for a while and then say.
The man seemed to be very anxious and tried to prop himself up, but his whole body was stiff, he did not listen to the call at all, and he could not succeed in what he wanted.
Meng Ke suddenly realized that Hanzi somehow passed through here and almost died after being bitten by a snake. He is now rescued and does not want to stay here any longer.
He originally thought that saving people by himself was just a matter of convenience, and when the man was better, he would leave on his own, and he still had to go into the city, and there were still more than ten miles to catch, and he could not delay too long.
But seeing that the man was unable to move, since he had saved people's homes, he would save people to the end and bring them out of here.
Thinking of this, he wanted to bend down and carry the man on his back, but as soon as he bent down, he found a problem. It is easy to carry the man out of here by yourself, but what about the box on one side?
Lifting his foot and kicking a little, the box did not move at all, and seemed to be particularly heavy.
He was still embarrassed, when he suddenly heard another humming sound coming from not far away, and when he turned his head to look, he couldn't help but be stunned.
II.: The Hanzi in the alley, after returning home, Meng Ke was wronged
Why was he stunned? Because he saw a girl in the grass not far away. He had just been concerned with saving the man, and when he was looking for grass, he did not notice the girl, she stood up at this time, looking blankly in front of her.
What's going on?
Meng Ke looked at the girl helplessly, the girl looked at him with a blank face, the Hanzi was already much better than just now, the expression on his face changed several times, but Meng Ke did not notice.
After the girl was dazed, she was afraid, and her small mouth wanted to cry as soon as she flicked it, and Meng Ke quickly waved her hand: "Girl Mo is not afraid, she is not an evil person under the sun, just a passerby." ”
"That... So can you send me home? ”
"Where is the girl's house?"
When the girl listened to his question, she was dazed again, and seemed to want to try to remember, but she couldn't think of anything, and she seemed extremely annoyed.
I don't know where my home is? When Meng Ke felt strange, the girl slowly walked over, and he found that there were blood stains on the back of the girl's clothes, and it seemed that someone had hit her in the back of the head.
What the hell is going on here? Who is the girl? Who is Hanzi? What's in the box?
Meng Ke was confused by Zhang'er Jingang, hanzi was already able to move at this time, he slowly climbed up, but still could not speak.
At this time, the party entering the city is justified, the girl's injury needs to go into the city to be treated, and the Hanzi also has injuries on his body, and he needs to go into the city to buy charcoal.
Thinking of this, Meng Ke took the box in his arms and took the injured man and the dazed girl into the city.
He had been delayed on the road for a long time, and it was already half afternoon after entering the city, and he had originally thought of separating himself from the man and the girl, and he himself had brought them to the city.
But what he did not expect was that the man did not let him go, but took him to a stop in an alley next to a broken house.
Hanzi probed his brain to see through the house, and the expression on his face was very serious.
Meng Ke was anxious in his heart, if he came home too late, his mother would definitely worry, he couldn't always accompany hanzi around the city.
But at this moment, the Hanzi suddenly spoke: "The box is handed over to you, you have to take good care of it, I have something to do when I enter the house." If I go in for an hour and don't come out, you will take the box to Cheng Jiazhuang and give it to an old man named Cheng Dabiao in the village. ”
As soon as Meng Ke heard Hanzi's words, he was furious, this Man didn't know when he would be able to speak, but he didn't even say it, now he wanted to find his own box, but he didn't even have anything in the box, and who was this girl with a blank face?
The man didn't tell him anything, but now he wanted to enter the house?
When he tried to hold hanzi, hanzi had already walked out of the alley, and his head would not solemnly confess: "If I don't come out after an hour, you must not go in to find me, let alone stay here, and leave quickly." ”
Hanzi said and went into the house, leaving an angry Meng Ke and a still dazed girl.
After Hanzi entered, the door of the old mansion was closed, and an hour passed, and Hanzi did not come out, and Meng Ke was secretly anxious. After waiting for a while, the hanzi still did not come out, but instead four or five hanzi appeared with a woman with a white veil on her head, and these four or five men carried a large box.
The box they were carrying was huge, and they were discussing something as they walked.
Meng Ke thought of the solemn confession of the Hanzi before entering the house, did not dare to go out to block and inquire about these people, and when these people passed, he did not hesitate any longer and took the girl to go elsewhere.
What Hanzi did made Meng Ke feel strange, but this girl didn't know what he asked, no matter what he asked, the girl looked miserable, it seemed that she couldn't remember what had happened before, nor could she remember what she was called or where she lived.
He still held the box with the girl, and he didn't know where to go, thinking about it, he felt that he would buy charcoal first, he would have to hold the box, and he would definitely not be able to pick it back, so he hired a few to pick feet and take the girl home to talk about it.
He went to the place where the charcoal was sold in the city, and after inquiring about the price, he let the pickers go in front, and he followed the girl in the back, and when he rushed home, it was already dawn.
The mother-in-law Wang Clan was in a hurry, and when his father saw him returning at this time, he couldn't help but sink his face, needless to say, blaming him for being unreliable, not doing things firmly, and worrying his parents at home.
He also did not care about the explanation, and sent the people away after settling the foot-picking money, so that he had time to sit down and rest.
When Wang Shi saw his son enter the city, not only was there a delay in time, but when he returned, he held a box and was followed by a girl.
Most importantly, there was blood on the girl's back clothes, and Wang was very worried.
Of course, she believed in her son, who had grown up in her hands, and she knew his disposition, and she could never do anything harmful, but what should be the explanation for this?
He told the story of what happened on the road, and the father and mother listened with a blank face, and Wang Shi's heart was soft, first pity the girl who could not remember anything, took the girl's hand and sat down, and examined the back of her head.
There was only a very small wound on the back of the girl's head, it should have been hit with a wooden stick, no big problem, but who was she? What is the relationship with Hanzi? Why in that wasteland?
This matter was only known to the girl and the Hanzi, and now that the Hanzi was missing, the girl could not remember anything, and Meng Ke's whole family was in distress.
"What's in the box?"
Listening to his father's question, Meng Ke shook his head, he had never opened the box at all, how could he know? And he wasn't going to open the box, it was someone's stuff, and he couldn't peek.
Hanzi's actions in the city made him angry, and he could obviously speak, but Hanzi did not speak, so that he did not know who the girl was. But Hanzi entrusted the box to him, and he did not agree, but if he never saw Hanzi again, he would send the box to the Chengjiazhuang that Hanzi said.
Without commitment, you can't take it for yourself!
After all, his father had more experience than he had in life, and after staring at the box for a while, he carried the box to the outside of the iron furnace. There was a pile of coal ash outside, which they had left behind from their strikes, and father dug a hole in the coal ash and buried the box in it.
Meng Ke understood his father, this box was heavy, and he didn't know what it contained, so he hid it first, and then planed it when he was ready to send it.
Father Meng had just buried his hands and washed his hands, and Meng Ke found that the foot pickers after leaving had returned, but there were still a few soldiers behind the pickers.
The pickers pointed at him and nodded, and the soldiers rushed up, and without saying a word, locked him and took him.
This frightened Wang and Meng's father, they are ordinary iron strikers, the son is suddenly locked up, can the parents not worry?
Meng Ke also felt strange: "Why arrest me?" You let me go. ”
The soldiers did not say much, and took him out of the house to return to the city, wang clan did not trust his son, and followed with her husband, the girl had nowhere to go, had to sit in the courtyard.
Halfway through, Meng Ke understood that the reason why he was locked up was because there had been a robbery outside the city in the past two days, when passers-by merchants were robbed and people were tied to dense forest trees and died.
The local area is tracking down, and it is heard that a boy who buys charcoal is walking suspiciously with a box. They looked for them all the way, and in the middle of the road they met the turning pickers, and when they inquired, the pickers took them to Meng Ke's house with them.
Meng Ke was shocked to hear this, and he didn't do anything, but on the contrary, he saved a person.
He told him what happened when he entered the city, only that he had indeed picked up the box, but he did not say what Hanzi had finally entrusted, and he felt that since the people had entrusted it to him, he would bring the box to Cheng Jiazhuang.
People were suspicious of the letter, and anyway, they took him back to the city, so they went to the wasteland he said to check it out, and sure enough, they found the traces of what he said.
At the moment, some people went back to bring the girl and the box, and someone else took Meng Ke into the city and went to the old mansion to look for the inexplicable man.
Entering the old mansion in the city, they found nothing, not to mention the man who was saved by Meng Ke, there was no one in this house, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
People in the same street said that this house was originally owned by a businessman, and then there was a fire in the home, and the businessman's whole family was killed, and the house was deserted, and no one wanted to sell it, and no one usually lived there.
At the same time, the people who turned around to find the girl and the box came, and they brought the girl, but the box did not bring it. They turned the soot upside down, but they didn't find the box.
The girl confirmed that Meng Ke had saved people, but as for the box, she did not know.
The soldiers eventually released Meng Ke, because there was no evidence of his suspicions, and the most important thing was that at the time of the looting, Meng Ke had been working iron in his home, and everyone in the village could testify.
He returned home with a palpitation in his heart, secretly blaming himself for why he had to take care of such a trivial matter, and now it seemed that something had caused him, and the box was obviously buried in the coal ash by his father, but why did it disappear?
He was blaming himself, but the girl dragged the box out of the corner of the yard. Meng Ke was stunned when he saw it, and it was strange that she couldn't find it, it turned out that she had hidden the box.
He did not dare to hesitate any longer, he wanted to send the box back to Cheng Jiazhuang immediately, and after completing this matter, he had nothing to do with this matter.
His parents also agreed with his idea, it happened that there were a few people in the same village who wanted to go out, he let the girl live at home first, and he followed these people all the way to Chengjiazhuang.
III.: The woman in the snowstorm is suspicious, and the truth is that Meng Ke has a wife
The people in the same village go out to enter the jujube, and the people are engaged in the business of picking up and selling dates. Now that it is winter, it will be the New Year after a while, and every household needs steamed jujube cakes, and these people need to stock up.
Meng Ke is kind by nature, but he is not a fool, on the contrary, he is very smart. He now understood that he should have caused trouble by saving people in the wilderness, and the man entrusted the box to himself and entered the old mansion, but he did not appear again.
Of course, a person cannot disappear in vain, so where has he gone? Who were the men and the veiled women who appeared later? Since it was a robbery incident, there must be a bunch of thieves in it, what if the thieves found themselves?
Therefore, he sent boxes to follow others, even if the thieves targeted him, they would be jealous of these people who were traveling along the way.
But when people entered the jujube and did not go to Chengjiazhuang, when there was still a distance from Chengjiazhuang, the wind and snow were great, and the cold wind mixed with the snowflakes of the palm of the human hand fell downwards, and the person who entered the jujube and Meng Ke walked separately at the fork.
Meng Ke only wanted to hurry to Cheng Jiazhuang, buried his head and rushed forward for a while, and found that the wind and snow were too big, and it was half the effort for him to rush in this way. There was a village in front of him, and a woman from a family on the edge of the village came out to carry firewood, and warmly invited him into the house to avoid the wind and snow.
Meng Ke thought for a moment, at this time the wind and snow are too big, he is too tired to rush, there should be many people in this village, this woman looks harmless, she went in to avoid the wind and snow, there should be no problem.
Thinking of this, he nodded and entered the room.
The house is much warmer than outside, the furnishings are simple, it is a normal peasant family, and there is a man, according to the woman, this man is her husband.
Meng Ke felt safe, he asked the two of them about Meng Jiazhuang, Hanzi smiled and said that it was not far away, there were still ten miles to go.
Meng Ke was stunned after hearing this, and then stared at the woman's skirt.
The woman was about to close the door, but Meng Ke suddenly swooped up, he smashed the wooden box in his arms at Hanzi, the wooden box fell heavily on Hanzi' body, hitting him by surprise, and the box also broke apart after landing, and even rolled out of it several pieces of iron left by Meng Ke's family.
At the same time as smashing the box at the Hanzi, Meng Ke had already strode to the door, pulled the woman open, and snatched the door out by himself.
As soon as he went out, he heard several shouts and curses in the house, obviously not only the woman and her husband, but also other voices.
With the sound of the sound coming out of the room at the same time, several men chased after them with sharp blades, chasing and cursing.
Meng Ke originally wanted to run into the village, but after going out, he went straight forward, and actually ran to the road when he came. The next few men did not give up, and as they watched as they got closer and closer, a group of people came from the opposite side, and one of them, Meng Ke, actually knew that it was the soldier who had captured him.
The soldiers also recognized him, and greeted the people who were chasing after him, and after a fierce battle, they subdued them, took the blades off, and bound them all.
Meng Ke was shocked at the side, he didn't understand who these people were in the room, and he didn't know why there were soldiers coming.
The soldiers pointed their thumbs at him and praised him for his cleverness, which made Meng Ke feel inexplicable, what the hell happened?
The wind and snow outside were too strong, and everyone entered the farmer's house together and found the tied farmer family in another house.
It turned out that the woman and a few men had suddenly arrived an hour ago, claiming to beg for some hot water, and after letting them into the house, the men suddenly threatened them with sharp blades and tied them up and threw them into another house.
And what exactly did Meng Ke find? Without hesitation, he smashed the box at someone else?
It turned out that he entered the house and casually asked Cheng Jiazhuang how far it was, and the other party said that there were still ten miles to go, which made Meng Ke feel strange. Because when he followed the villagers on the road, the villagers said that the process was still thirty miles away.
Of course, he believed the people in the same village, because it was a group of people who were out every day carrying burdens and selling goods, and the most knowledgeable was the way, and this man was obviously lying, or he did not know how far away.
Because he felt that he had caused trouble by saving people in advance, he was very vigilant, and when he heard that the man was wrong, he became suspicious. Looking at the woman again, he saw that there was a problem with the skirt.
The skirt that the woman wore, moped the floor, as if she were hurriedly put on, and did not fit, should not be her clothes.
Meng Ke suddenly remembered that when he was in the city, after the man he rescued entered the house, there was a woman covered with a light veil among the several people who came out.
He thought he might have fallen into a trap, so he threw out the box and snatched the door and fled, and it turned out that he was not wrong, otherwise he would die here.
And what happened to the soldiers who came? They had originally gone to Meng Ke's house again, but the girl in Meng Ke's house suddenly remembered what had happened before, and she told the soldiers what had happened, and the soldiers followed all the way behind, but happened to save Meng Ke and caught the thieves.
Meng Ke still did not understand what was going on until this point, and the soldiers began to go back with him and a few thieves.
After returning to Meng Ke's home, the girl looked at him with gratitude in her eyes.
What the hell is going on? Who is the girl? Who is the man who was bitten by an insect? What did he do when he entered the old house? What's in Chengjiazhuang? Why did the man disappear after entering the old house? What exactly did Meng Ke get into trouble with?
It turned out that the girl was the daughter of the robbed merchant, surnamed Chen, called Ying'er. They moved their families, carrying in boxes the belongings they had accumulated from their father. The father was stingy and did not look for a dart board, and as a result, the family of three mistakenly entered the edge of the wasteland.
This attracted the attention of a group of thieves, who were qizhou locals. They robbed merchants not far from the wasteland and started to hurt people, and because Ying'er was beautiful, the thieves were crooked and wanted to take her away.
Just as a soldier was passing by, they scattered and fled, and made an appointment to meet in the old house. The Man surnamed Cheng entered the wasteland with Ying'er and the box, but was bitten by poisonous insects and could not move. After Ying'er escaped forward a few steps, she also fainted in the wild grass due to a previous injury in the back of her head.
Later, Meng Ke passed by, saved the thief surnamed Cheng Hanzi who was bitten by the insect, and found Ying'er who woke up, but she was hit on the head, resulting in a temporary amnesia, and she could not remember the previous events.
After entering the city, because the Hanzi surnamed Cheng was bitten by poisonous insects and delayed the time, he was afraid that several accomplices would have doubts and then blackmailed him, so he entrusted the box to Meng Ke and let him send it to Cheng Jiazhuang's own home.
After the confession, he entered the old house alone, and several accomplices were really suspicious of him, so they forced him to ask him where the box went.
He did not say, was destroyed by several accomplices, Meng Ke saw several people carrying boxes, that is, they put the Hanzi surnamed Cheng into boxes and carried them out of the city to bury.
Meng Ke held the box to buy charcoal to attract the attention of the soldiers, he was arrested, and the box hidden in the coal ash was changed by Ying'er, who was left alone at home, and the soldiers did not find it.
However, Meng Ke attracted the attention of other thieves because he was caught, and he targeted him.
Although Ying'er can't remember the previous events, she vaguely feels that the box is her own, and she doesn't tell Meng Ke, but quietly replaces the contents of the box, which is why Meng Ke threw out the box and why there was iron inside.
Meng Ke did not know that the box contained iron blocks, and he took the box to Cheng Jiazhuang and stared at his thieves all the way. Because there were people accompanying them, they were not easy to get started, and when the wind and snow were in full swing, they entered the farmer's house in advance and tied up their masters, preparing to use Meng Ke to avoid the wind and snow to grab boxes and destroy people.
Unexpectedly, Meng Ke was clever, and he managed to escape after seeing the strangeness in the conversation and the skirt, and the thieves were also fully exposed.
At this point, the truth of the matter was revealed. The contents of the box were originally owned by Ying'er, and of course they had to be returned to others. Meng Ke is kind and Ying'er is grateful, and she has no relatives in her hometown, so she has been living in Meng Ke's house.
A year later, Ying'er married Meng Ke with the belongings in the box, and the two were married. Ying'er has a lot of wealth, but Meng Ke has not given up playing iron.
After the two got married, they had two sons and a daughter, and although Meng Ke played iron, Ying'er let the children read and write. Twenty years later, two sons passed the test, and the fate of the Meng family changed.
Sister-in-law Hei said: Meng Ke's experience can be described as strange, he saved people because of kindness, but he did not expect to save a thief. The thief carried a box and a girl, and Meng Ke was also in trouble.
He became vigilant, hurriedly delivered the box, mistakenly fell into the trap of thieves and then successfully escaped, and finally not only got the contents of the box, but also got Ying'er's heart, which can be described as a blessing due to misfortune.
However, this kind of blessing is not accidental, he first saved people, and then he knew that something was wrong, but he still had to carry the box and send it over, because he thought he was entrusted by others, so he had to finish the matter.
If he saw a Man surnamed Cheng in the wilderness and did not come to his rescue, then there would be nothing to come.
Meng Ke chose what others did not choose, endured what others did not bear, and finally got what others would not get.
Some people only see getting, but the facts tell us that before getting, there are first bears and choices, what do you think?
(This article was first published by Black Sister-in-law!) ）