More than a hundred years later, this railway to the sea is still amazingly intact

Ode to Orange Flow

◎ Zhang Wei

Old Wen Gong waited for his son's family to return from overseas and lived alone for a long time. He was accompanied by a cat named "Ode to Tachibana".

Winter is coming to an end, and people on the other side of the ocean are still difficult to determine the return date. Spring was coming, and he looked out the window and said, "Let's go live in the mountains, where one of our stone houses is located." ”

Tachibana looked at him with wide eyes.

Old Wen Gong stroked its forehead: "Oh, let's go, the spring there is bigger than here." ”

One

Tachibana went out of town for the first time. On a March morning, the wind was cool. It clings to Old Wengong's legs and endures the bumps. An old van with the smell of smoke in the cab. The car climbed over several large slopes, and the driver had to smoke. Lao Wen Gong pointed to the orange song. The driver put the cigarette aside.

The mountains are getting higher and higher. There are many pine trees, and layers of dark green in the distance. Birdsong was heard, and Tachibana stood up, pressing his paws against the window. "There are a lot of birds in the mountains, and there are many things you haven't seen." He put his hands on its back and looked outside.

It's a big deal. He quickly withdrew his hand and held his waist.

Wish I could have arrived sooner. Maybe I'm in too much of a hurry. - he thought so, did not say it. The willows have not yet sprouted, and spring is still on the way. "Spring goes north, we go south, we will meet it at the stone house." He said to Ode Tachibana.

The car climbs hills, turns. A deep ravine, a steep slope. A small river below the slope is about to dry up, revealing pebbles of all sizes, like a pile of Easter eggs. Three small birds flew across the river and a large bird called in the mountains.

Tachibana slammed his knees against Old Wengong and looked out of the car.

The mountains are deeper. Ah, a wide river appeared, and on the opposite bank were connected houses: from the river to the mountainside, it was a large area high and low, all made of stone. It's like an old castle.

Tachibana leaned close to the window.

Old Wen Gong stood up, touched his head to the roof of the car, and sat down again.

The car drove along the river and approached the stone house several times, but did not want to enter. Old Wen Gong stretched out his finger, and the car kept going around. Eventually without crossing the river, it sailed to a high slope on the north bank.

There is a lone stone house on the slope, across the river from the stone house on the south bank.

The car door opened, and immediately the sound of the river was heard.

Old Wen Gong hugged Orange Song. He hunched over when he got out of the car, and it fell on his back. He grabbed the two front paws on his shoulders and stepped to the ground.

The driver looked at the stone house, lit a cigarette and took a deep breath: "Can this live people?" ”

"Oh, it's good, my son came last year, and the family spends the summer here."

Unloading. How many cartons, miscellaneous. There are so many books.

"They can live, and so can we." He shrugged the orange song on his back, holding its front paws with one hand and lifting a wicker basket with the other. It was the dwelling where Orange Song moved, its bed.

The driver helped move a bunch of things into the house and was leaving. Old Wen Gong thanked and watched the car drive down the high slope. His forehead was covered with sweat, his gasps were heavy, and he sat on a wooden pier to rest.

Tachibana sniffed around, counting the items he brought with him, exploring the original items. Old Wen Gong stood up, found out a green-glazed bowl it used in the city, added water, and put some food. It drank a little water, walked through the scattered debris, and walked to the other room.

Old Wen Gong closed his eyes. Some breathlessness. You need to stay for a while and wait for the respite to subside. Like Ode Tachibana, he also wanted to see the stone house.

Tachibana walked away for a moment before turning back, rubbing his knees and raising his face. "You want to know more. Well, this is my grandfather, it's an interesting house. When the weather is nice, let's hide and seek together. ”

He's been here twice, and that's a long time ago. The first time I remember was with my wife. At that time, the two had just reached middle age. She followed him around the house, amazed, and always asked about the builder of the stone house, the old grandfather.

"It's a pity that we never see that person again." He said to Tachibana and stood up.

It walked ahead, standing down from time to time to wait for him. I remember the first time I came here. As he walked, he introduced his deceased ancestor to his wife: he was the richest man in the mountains, and had built a large courtyard on the south bank of the river. The old man probably wanted to calm down, and went to the north bank of the river to build this lonely stone house.

It sits on a raised cliff top and does not look tall. There are two rooms connected to the east, west, south and north, the living room facing the sun, and the stove house and stacking house facing the west. He had the impression that there were always neatly chopped wood by the passageway leading to the stove house, and through it there was a small hall, and the door was led by steps, from which to a zigzagging, wide and narrow cloister. It connects complex underground spaces. Old things are piled up everywhere, and the things hanging on the walls will fall off at the slightest touch: mushrooms, dates, dried potatoes, garlic skewers. There are all kinds of unused utensils, most of which are half decayed.

Walking through large and small compartments, groping forward, and finally always returning to the ground, back to a large room facing the sun, which is the main house. It turned out that the underground corridor was an intertwined loop. He said to his wife, "The old man must like hide and seek. ”

"Definitely."

"He would play this game with his juniors."

"yes, how interesting!"

Old Wen Gong remembered that time he found a bouquet of dried flowers in the corner of the underground hut, sniffed, and there was a faint aroma. He held it, stumbled over, and handed it to his wife.

"Ode! Where are you? He knew it couldn't wait to play with himself, and exclaimed, "Not yet." We have a lot of time. We first have to settle in and cook our first meal. ”

Can't find Ode to Tangao. It's too twisty here. He walked down the winding corridor, hunched over a low door the next, and stepped up a few steps. In order to see clearly and to breathe, he opened several small windows in a row.

It's so quiet here. Some corners shimmered, and more were pitch black. "This kind of place, Tachibana Song definitely likes. Of course, I like it too. His voice was a little louder and he wanted it to be heard.

There is still no trace of it. He finally had to clap his hands, calling and climbing steps one by one. Turning the two corners, the light became a little stronger. Sunlight shines through the window lattice, illuminating a small door. This is the little hall, and next door to it is the main house with the kang.

What is to do immediately is to sweep away the dust from the kang, polish the windows, and put on the bedding. Fluffy quilt with hibiscus flower pattern. Buckwheat husk pillow. "It's a great place to sleep." He lay on his back for a moment, looking at the sun, thinking about his first meal to make.

Rice and stir-fried cabbage, also steamed yam. Splitting wood crackled in the stove: there were three large stone stoves, now only two were used. The cooking utensils used by his son's family are still there, and this time he brought a saucepan, some dishes and cups.

Fragrant rice. Tachibana is back.

"Let's eat a full meal, take a nap for an hour, and get to work. The first day is always busy. You are anxious to get acquainted with this place, this has to be slow, it is more complicated here. ”

An oval dining table made of old willow wood, very strong. There were two large plates and three small plates on the table. "I'll find a chance to have a drink." He grunted and sat down.

Two

Slept for a while, it was fragrant. Old Wen Gong woke up, and Orange Song was still curled up in the nest. "Tired, walked such a long way." He looked at the large round ball in the wicker basket and admired its sleeping position for a while.

Busy all afternoon. There are so many places that need to be cleaned, and this has to be done little by little. He did not rush, not like wiping, but stroking. This stone house is too old, a real old man in the mountains. "And I'm just eighty-six years old." He said this and looked at Tachibana Song, who was still curled up.

Find a desk. No. There was an old-fashioned rolled-up wooden table in the stacking room, presumably used to place offerings to the gods, which looked like a large ingot. He dragged it to the living room.

There is a broken cabinet, remove a few crooked doors, and it is also a good bookshelf. A stack of books was put up, and everything changed. "I have a study."

He looked around the bedroom and the outside room, thinking that something should be hung on the wall. "There's always a little bit of decoration." He craned his neck and felt a throbbing pain in his waist and back. His hands struggled to support the rolled edge of the ingot-like wooden table. It turns out that the curled edge still has such a use.

The sun tilts to the west. Most of the sky was dyed orange-red. Old Wen Gong stood in front of the door, looking at the high and low stone houses on the other side of the river. They are built according to the trend of the river valley, so imposing. At this moment, they are red and shy. In such a large castle-like village, there is no human voice, and there is no cooking smoke.

He froze, and then remembered that it had been quiet since he stepped on the riverbank. Yes, not even a single bark of a dog was heard. "People here like quiet, including the animals." He looked across the bank and shook his head, "But it's still too quiet." ”

Old Wen Gong told himself: Don't be in a hurry in everything, sleep peacefully first, and enter the village early tomorrow morning. He was going to visit the villagers and buy some daily necessities in the shop.

Before the sun set, he began to prepare his second meal. In addition to rice and cabbage, two small plates were added to the table: dried fish and miso melon. Without electricity, the cover of an old-fashioned oil lamp was wiped shiny by him. Next to it, is a shiny goblet.

Tachibana jumped on the table, looked at the lamp, and didn't care to eat. He tried to stop it from stepping onto the table, but held back. The flickering flame is really joyful. He poured himself a shallow red wine.

Tachibana Song's tail tickled his face. "Song, it's time for us to celebrate. What a night. Starting today, I will tell a story every night before I go to sleep. ”

He picked up the cup, and Tachibana kept watching. "Oh, okay." He reached out and dipped a little wine and wiped it on his mouth. It sips, keeps sipping, jumps to the ground.

He said, "Not suitable for children," pinched a small dried fish and chewed it carefully.

There are stars in the window. He wrapped his scarf around and walked out of the house.

I haven't seen such a clear galaxy for a long time. The night sky here is not black, but violet. The call of a large bird drew his eye across the river. There are no stone houses high and low, muddy, black, wrapped in the vague silhouette of the mountain. No lights, not a glowing window.

There is no electricity in the village either. How is this possible? There are always candles and oil lamps, right? He opened his eyes wide and searched for it over and over again. No, there really isn't a window that's lit. The river is roaring, and the sound of the water at night is even louder. After a while, birds were chirping again, on the mountain, behind the village.

Tachibana leaned on his lap at some point, also looking across the bank. "Song, your eyes are good, can you see the light?" He pointed into the distance.

He watched it together. Later, his gaze froze: in a blurry stone house, high in the southwest, a small light shone through. Orange, very faint, but really peeking through a window.

"Oh, there is light."

They stayed a little longer. The wind is not strong and somewhat cold. It's cooler than expected. There was a smell of rotting grass in the air, as well as the fishy smell of silt. A hint of green vitality mixed in it, this is the breath of spring. Spring is not far away, and if it hadn't been delayed, it would have come to the slope south of the stone house, over the slightly higher mountain, and came to the riverbank.

"The two of us came early, we are early." He picked up Tachibana and went back inside.

The lights are warm. The light brings back to childhood, to many similar nights: his grandmother reading to him and telling him stories. He remembered her voice.

He sat down on the kang and wrapped himself around the quilt. Tachibana stayed in the willow basket for a while, then jumped on the kang and sat down beside him. It purrs and its nose moves frequently. He lifted the corners of the covers and let it in. A quilt patterned with hibiscus flowers covered him and it tightly, revealing only his head. He put the pillow on his back, and he was half lying and half reclining with it, much more comfortable.

He picked up a book, remembered something, picked up his phone and took a selfie. "It's really nice. You look serious. He lowered the screen to Tachibana Song.

It's still a little cold to wrap around the quilt. He went to the stove house to get some chopped firewood and fill it into the kang hole. The crackling sound of burning sounded and warmed up.

Tachibana Song's body is hot, and it makes people feel comfortable when close to it. He looked at the symmetrical pattern on its face and found that it was the pattern of a large butterfly, "so wonderful that only the heavens can draw such a face." Song, we're so warm together. ”

A pang of weariness hit and he took a nap. Tachibana Song's eyes were too close, which made him wake up quickly. It had been watching him fall asleep just now, and its nose was about to touch his face. He wanted to kiss it. "But the book says that the bacterial community in our mouths is different, and your throat hurts if you get saliva. What a good three-petal small mouth. He patted it.

It's time to tell a story, and he has a pact with it. The stars outside the window are blinking. If there are stars, there must be stories. "Grandma tells me stories every night, and I'm next to me, like you."

"No one has her who can tell stories. On summer nights, we sat under the acacia tree, and at first I listened alone, and then more people came to listen to the stories: the big hedgehog with the little hedgehog in its mouth and on its back, moved one by one; The yellow weasel and the little fox also came, lying on their stomachs under the purple locust without saying a word; In the group listening to the story, the grasshoppers are the smallest, hiding behind leaves. ”

The crackling sound of chopping wood burning became smaller.

"They were quiet, no one noticed them, and they hid in the dark shadows around them. But they listened for a while and forgot everything because they were fascinated. They giggled and later cried. It startled me. ”

Tachibana stared at Old Wengong.

"'Leave the rest of the story for tomorrow, it can't be told.'" Grandma always ends up like this. ”

Another wave of weariness hit. He narrowed his eyes. He snored, and Tachibana narrowed his eyes.

Their snoring rose and went low, one after another, until dawn.

Three

The first thing after breakfast is tea. The electric tea stove I brought didn't work, but fortunately, I found an old-fashioned tea stove. The aroma of tea filled the air, and he was happy. While drinking tea, Tachibana took care of himself on the side. He always thought it took a bit too much time on personal hygiene. "It's always a good thing, though."

This led him to think about his bath. Hot water, stoves, and showerheads are indispensable. He wanted to get it all right in two days. How nice it was to have a hot bathroom. However, non-slip mats and shower heads can only be bought at the store.

He planned what he needed to buy for a while, drank a cup of tea, and got ready to go out. He hunched over and let Tachibana fall on his back. "Let's go to the village. Take a good look. Look at the folks, and the cats and dogs. ”

They descended from the stone steps next to the house. Looking for a bridge, no. The water in the center of the river is not wide, and there are several large stones at the narrowest point, which you have to step on to cross the river. The water flow is more than twenty meters wide, and there is a little rush in the middle, making a noise. A black fish jumped out of the water and splashed with a splash.

After landing, the slippery bluestone under his feet, he grabbed the orange song on his shoulder with one hand, and supported the low wall with the other. A stone house with a lot of shingles on the roof, dark green moss in the cracks of the stone, and a bunch of vines hanging from the wall. Along the way uphill, the stones of the alleys were trampled shiny.

Walked to the end of the alley, turned into another alley, and saw no one.

They came to the spacious crossroads, which is the center of the village. There was a shop, approached, and found that the doors and windows were closed and the locks had rusted. "In such a big village, there must be people, there will be more than one shop. Let's be patient. Old Wen Gong patted the orange song on his back.

Turn around several wide, wide and narrow alleys. Stone houses are nestled on hills, some lying on small flat lowlands, others on high platforms. Uphill streets and alleys, the stone walls on both sides are more than ten meters high. Passing through the arches and drilling into the deep and long stone alleys, he thought of the ancient castle again.

"The houses are there, the streets are there, the trees are there, the people are gone." Old Wen Gong sat on the stone platform, wiping his sweat. Tachibana sat on the side, looking into the air—there was the sound of wild geese. A black bird jumping on one branch is a black thrush. Tachibana stood up. The thrush flew away. A small lizard first poked through the rock gap and then dashed away. Tachibana Song jumped over, the little lizard stared with its head held high, and its jaw fluttered rapidly. Tachibana took a step back. The little lizard is gone.

They return to the crossroads. The stone houses here are exceptionally tall and old, with grass and moss hanging on the walls. Old Wen Gong patted his head and finally remembered the owner of these tall stone houses: grandfather's father, that is, grandfather. Of course, these huge buildings have long belonged to the village. The only thing left for his descendants is the riverside hut.

As he walked, he exclaimed, "What a stone house! It looks like a palace up close! "It's the heart of the whole village, and the big and small stone houses have spread out to the river and climb up the mountainside. Judging by the initial judgment, this is an abandoned village. But he was always unwilling, and walked through several streets and alleys in one go, and then went around west.

He came to the end of a narrow alley and was greeted by a small tall window.

There seemed to be someone inside the window, and the orange song on the back was moving. He saw clearly: the window was ajar, and there was a figure inside, a woman. She was watching them from above.

He raised his hand in greeting: "Ahhhhh ”

The woman in the window poked her head out. She was fifty or sixty years old, and her hair was a little gray. She just smiled and didn't respond.

"You're the first person I've seen!" Old Wen Gong said loudly.

She had been crouching against the window. "Well, I saw it." Her voice was soft.

He thought she was looking at the cat, so he turned his back to her and said, "This is Ode Tachibana." We live across the river. ”

She left through the window. After a while, she stepped down the stone steps and stood more than ten meters away, with a happy face: "I saw the lights on the other side last night, and I knew that someone was coming!" ”

"My surname is Wen, and people call me 'Lao Wengong'." He introduced himself. She raised her face and didn't say anything. He asked about the shop, and where did the people go?

"Ah, there are no shops. People, all moved to the town, all went to the city to work. There are only three people left here. ”

"Empty village? Such a big village? He looked around and tilted his head as if asking Tachibana Song.

"Come and drink water at home." She said, turning away without waiting for a response.

Old Wen Gong said "thank you" and stepped on the stone steps with her. She heard him gasp and stood down and waited for a moment. On the high ground there is a small piece of flat land, three stone houses, a fenced courtyard, and in the courtyard there are two ridges that have just been built. Inside the house, it was neat and tidy, with very little furniture. As soon as Old Wengong entered the door, he saw a painting on the wall: a fat doll holding a big fish.

Tachibana came down from his back.

"Big watery cat. How old is it? She looked at it and folded her hands in front of her chest.

"Just two and a half years old. Seventeen pounds and two taels. Your last name? ”

"My name is Li Zhuanlian." She repeated, "I saw the opposite lamp last night." ”

Old Wen Gong also remembered the light he saw at night and shouted: "Ah, I see, it turns out to be your window!" ”

Four

Old Wen Gong drank a glass of water. Tachibana Song was no longer in a hurry. She tried to touch it, and it dodged. He said to it, "It doesn't hurt. ”

"How fat, how handsome." She looked at it.

Old Wen Gong shook his head: "Actually, it's not too fat, but it has a double back." ”

Li Zhuanlian finally touched it. She turned and took a slice of ham sausage. Tachibana ate it and pursed her lips.

"I want to buy soap, soy sauce and salt, vegetables and meat, some daily necessities." Old Wen Gong said.

Li Zhuanlian nodded: "There is a string of township cars, passing by once in ten days and a half months, entering the village and honking a few horns." Just stop for a moment. If you can trust it, leave it to me. ”

"That's great!" He took out pen and paper from his pocket, wrote down what he needed, and handed them over along with a wad of money.

Li Zhuanlian put the money in a bowl and looked at the piece of paper: "I can't recognize a few words." You say it all over again, I can remember. ”

"A pound of meat, a fish, salt and sauce. Soap and sesame oil. A section of loofah. Shower head and rubber water pipe. Leafy greens are best. ”

He said no more.

"I remember it all. Will buy when I see it. I have loofah in my house. She said and went outside the house, and sure enough, she took one back.

"It's for scrubbing baths. I'm going to get a bathroom, so I also need a showerhead. ”

Li Zhuanlian understood, and smiled: "I also have 'lotus' in my name, I can't forget it." Uncle who loves cleanliness is a learned person at first glance. ”

"It's been more than twenty years since I retired. I don't know how to thank you. He stood up slowly, and Tachibana had fallen to his back. He thanked again and remembered something when he went out: "You said there are two more people in the village, who are they?" ”

"'Old Thorn Crutle' and great-grandson 'Water Root'. They lived east of the village, under the cliffs east of the Great Crossing. ”

Old Wen Gong read their names and left.

It was almost noon when we returned to the opposite bank. When preparing lunch, I found that there was only half a small cabbage left. "It's troublesome. I underestimated the situation in the mountains. He broke off two vegetable leaves, thought about it, and put one back.

There is not much chopping wood left. Only inexhaustible water: the hand-pressed well is in the stove house, and this equipment is really wonderful. He could not imagine the creativity and ingenuity of his predecessors. My father was a railway engineer, and once he returned to his hometown, he did this big thing.

A steady stream of water, somewhat sweet.

Tachibana looks good when drinking water. Old Wen Gong filled the tea stove with water and said to it, "The sweetest water." ”

After his nap, he stood in front of the window for a long time. A stone house on the opposite bank glows yellow and golden in the sun. "The House of Gold." He said.

Tachibana scratched the wooden pier a few times with both paws, jumped on the windowsill, and looked out with him. "Such a good village, they are really willing to do it. Who would figure this out? He looked at Ode Tachibana.

"Find time, we have to walk the streets from scratch and see this amazing village. It has been here for at least a few hundred years. He sighed and walked away.

He wanted to find a rope. He went underground and rummaged through the clutter. A cut of grass rope, a little pull and it breaks. A strip of cloth is also not used. Finally, I found a hemp rope and dragged it, and it was quite strong.

"We're going to the river to find firewood, which is more important than anything else." He added a dress and patted the orange song.

The sun is great and the weather is nice. There are a few frogs dancing by the river, and a cloud of small insects are swirling. On the locust tree squatted a very fat magpie, silent. He raised his hand to the birds in the trees. "Click, click!" It barked, its long tail cocked, and flew away.

The river is surrounded by large blue-black stones and white sand. Tachibana played on the sand and lay down on her back with joy. He put away the dry branches scattered on the ground, some as thin as a thumb, some as thick as an arm. There was a larger willow pier, which he tried and could move.

"Such a good firewood, if the village is there, we will not pick it up." He said to Ode Tachibana.

Bundle the firewood and divide it into multiple backs. The rich harvest was piled up in the stove house, and he looked at it for a while, sawing it into sections and yarding them up. Two thick pieces of wood remained, a large willow pier, which required the use of an axe.

I haven't picked an axe for a long time. He kept Tachibana a little further away. Raise the axe to your shoulder and chop it down hard. The axe is embedded, and the wood does not move. Laboriously remove the axe. This time rounded. It's done.

Chopping firewood all afternoon. Sweat like a pig. The split wood gives off a fragrance and smells good; Stacked up, it looks good.

After Old Wengong finished this, he found that his whole body hurt. He sighed, braced his hands on the rolled edge of the desk, and stood for a long time. Tachibana looked at the chopping wood in the stove house and walked over with his tail cocked. "We got a big job. Firewood, rice, oil and salt, firewood ranks first. He wrenched his finger and told it.

The sun is about to set. He remembered what he needed to buy and muttered, "Li Zhuanlian." ”

The last two leaves were used up for dinner. "Tomorrow we can only eat rice and dried fish. It's not a hard time. He grabbed the orange song on his lap and picked up the white porridge.

Tachibana ate the two small fish on the plate and licked the white porridge. "You're not squeamish at all, that's fine." Old Wen Gong watched it eat before he began to eat. The small fish is a little hard, and he chews it slowly.

Before going to the kang, he stood in front of the window for a while, looking across the river. It was pitch black. The sky is full of stars. He looked in one direction for a moment and saw. Ode Orange jumped over, and he pointed to the southeast, high above, where there was a small orange window.

Five

This is the fourth day. From the day before, he and Tachibana ate only rice, gruel and dried fish. He knew that the country car had not yet arrived. Keep an eye on the horn in the distance, no. "Who knows, maybe the car will never come again, and there is no business to do in the village of three people." He sighed.

On the sixth day, Old Wen Gong came to the river with orange song on his back. He wanted to find something here. There is a silt in the middle of the stone, covered with fine grass clippings. Flick away the grass clippings and see the green camelin. "Huh!" He said.

Tachibana picked up clumps of grass clippings with him. So much green. In addition to camelin, it was also found that the half-cut wide leaves were lamb's feet.

A large handful of camelina and sheep's foot leaves were picked.

The camelina is taken from the root, and the white root is sweet. The sheep's foot leaves should be blanched in boiling water. Mix the two wild vegetables together, dip a little salt and batter, and put in the boiling oil. The meal was fantastic.

"The car didn't come for a month, and we could handle it. When spring arrives, everything is available. Old Wen Gong told Tachibana Song. He wanted to sing a song.

In addition to collecting food, the most important thing he did was to build a new stove. It is located in the corner of the stove house, connecting to the original flue. Or go underground, rummage through a large wooden basin from there, try it, leak. Soaked for half a day, the gap tightened and no longer leaked. The fire is burning and you can take a bath.

Old Wen Gong first rubbed the loofah bowl with soap, and then applied it to his body. Tachibana Song kept watching. "I'm an old man who loves cleanliness. However, when it comes to personal hygiene, you have to learn from you. ”

It was refreshing after the bath. He paced around the house in thick clothes. It was a good time in the afternoon and the light was bright. He opened the box and took out a heavy, boxy wrapped cloth wrap and placed it in the middle of the table.

Tachibana squatted to the side, his eyes narrowed. The room was extremely quiet.

The flower cloth wrapped up little by little, revealing a thick wad of paper. "I'm going to work. It's a big job for me. It will be finished. He rested an old-fashioned pen on paper.

Tachibana looked at the paper on the table, turned to the side and stared, motionless. "You're thinking. I don't know what you're thinking. But it's great that you have to focus on thinking about something every day. ”

He also fell into thought. About half an hour later, he rubbed his temples. "Thinking is tiring, I was able to think for two hours straight when I was younger, just like you." He looked at Tachibana Song, "But not now, not as good as you." You are the best at this. ”

There was a tuk tuk knock on the door.

It's Li Zhuanlian. She stood in the doorway and carried a basket. Before Old Wen Gong left the table, Tachibana Song had already jumped up. It took a step forward, took another step back, and its nose twitched non-stop.

Inside the basket were two cabbages, a bottle of soy sauce, a bottle of vinegar, a handful of green onions, and a piece of tofu. "There is no fish and meat, and there is no showerhead." Li Zhuanlian put things away one by one, "I bought you an extra bottle of old vinegar." ”

"It's good. That's great. He moved over the stool and poured tea for her.

Li Zhuanlian looked at the room and said, "I've never come in. Ah, yes. She took the tea and sucked it, and looked at the orange song on the side, "What a big cat." She took a step forward and Tachibana walked away. She looked up at the surroundings: "I heard the old thorn say that there is a pressurized well in this house." ”

Old Wen Gong nodded, invited her to visit the stove house, and let her personally press the handle of pressing water. Water gushed out. She shouted, "Ouch alas. Reaching out and taking a sip, he smacked his lips, "Sweet water." ”

Coming out of the stove house, she saw a thick wad of paper on the table. Old Wen Gong closed the unfolded flower cloth and tightened the pen. She said: "This cloth is the same as the curtains in my house, it is a lotus flower. ”

Old Wen Gong knew that "Zhuan Lian" was a sunflower. Only then did he notice that the cloth was really the pattern of that flower.

"I can't read a few words. Such a big pile, densely written, this will be written for a lifetime, right? ”

Old Wen Gong wrapped the flower cloth more flatly, as if it had just been taken out of the box. He wanted to pack it in a box right now.

"What is that?" Li Zhuanlian pointed to it.

Tachibana jumped onto the table and slammed his cloth bag tightly.

Old Wen Gong coughed. There was some pain in his left chest, and he patted it. "Oh, it's all words, you just saw it."

She got closer, stroking the package.

"This," Old Wen Gong moved it away, "I'm sorry, you sit down and drink tea." Well. ”

Li Zhuanlian stood up and rubbed her hands: "Then I'll go back, if you have anything you want me to do, just tell me." ”

"It's already a hassle for you to buy these things for me. I don't know how to thank you. He looked around the house to find a gift for her.

"Alone." She said.

"I'm fine with Tachibana Song." He straightened up.

Li Zhuanlian turned around.

"Thank you, thank you!" He sent her outside the door and watched her descend the stone steps and step on the stones in the center of the river.

Six

The days passed quickly, and I had lived in the stone house for eleven days. The weather was nice and the south wind was blowing warmly. At noon, he moved the wooden pier outside the door and basked in the sun for a while. Tachibana curled up on the sand on one side.

"Spring has turned over the mountain." Old Wen Gong said that the green vitality in the wind was aggravated, and there was a hint of floral fragrance, "probably the flowers of the big mountain and the sun slope have bloomed." ”

There were several birdsongs. Tachibana no longer lies down. Old Wen Gong stood up. Birds flew into the river and from tree to tree. The long willow branches have taken on green.

"Let's go to the village, we shouldn't stay at home in such a good spring." He went back to the house and tied his scarf and let Orange fall on his back.

Descend the stone steps, cross the river, and step on the stones in the center of the river. The river was happier than ever, lapping on the stones, splashing water on the legs of his trousers. "Let's not fall." He had to look at each step before stepping on the next rock.

I stood for a while before going ashore, looking at the water marks on the rock wall. There are horizontal lines, some deep and some shallow. "Once upon a time the river was full of water." His fingers glide between the horizontal stripes for Tachibana to see.

Stepping uphill, he and Tachibana both looked southwest, where there was Li Zhuanlian's small courtyard. "Let's go to the crossroads and head east." He patted it.

The potholes of the stone road are deep and smooth, and the streets and alleys are all connected by them.

The windows along the street are tightly closed. But Old Wen Gong always felt that the owner of the house was still there. He occasionally stopped and looked through the glass, black hole.

The streets are quieter deeper. The yellow and cyan stone walls illuminated by sunlight reminiscent of the whole village taking a nap, as were chickens, dogs, geese and ducks. He relaxed his steps, afraid of waking up something.

It's crossroads again. He walked around the tall stone houses that surrounded several courtyards. They are so big and tall, and older than expected, they are the most chic and elegant buildings of that era. The sunlight illuminates the elaborate stone walls, heavy wooden doors, and carved windows. "This is the man from a long time ago, grandpa's father, that is, grandfather, built up." He reminded himself mentally.

He had heard his grandmother say that this tall stone house was famous inside and outside the mountains: not only did there not have such a good big house in the entire southern mountainous area, but there was no better house outside the mountain.

To the east is a long slope. There are longitudinal dents in the stone road under the feet, which turned out to be the ruts of the car. "How many cars and years it takes to grind the stone into this form." He stood and sighed.

When Old Wen Gong squatted down to stroke the car marks, Tachibana Song jumped off his shoulder. It looks straight ahead. He followed its gaze and raised his head, exclaiming, "Ah! ”

A little further on the steps, stood a tall, thin man on crutches, clinging to a little boy.

"This must be the old thorn and water root." He stood up and raised his hand to them. The tall thin old man slowly turned his face to this side. He saw the bronzed face of the old man in the sun, and his straight waist. The little boy has a slender body and has been attached to his grandfather's leg.

Old Wen Gong quickened his steps and walked over.

The old man on the steps looked down at the people coming. The little boy bit his finger in his mouth. He approached, and the little boy stared intently at the orange song lying on his back.

"I heard Li Zhuanlian say it! Ah, it's great to meet you guys! As soon as he came up, he introduced himself and raised his finger to the other side. The old man listened, did not make a sound, and then looked at his raised hand and made a sound: "Oh." ”

The old man walked down the steps with his crutches and stepped on the ground with a sound. The little boy wanted to come to Tachibana and was held by his grandfather.

"Are you old?" Old Wen Gong asked loudly.

"Imaginary ninety."

"How many years older you are! But how tough you are! Old Wen Gong looked at the person in front of him and lowered his voice. He found that the other party was not deaf and eye-catching, extremely thin, but his eyes were sharp. The back is straight and strong.

The little boy approached, and Orange Song nestled on the shoulder of Old Wengong. He picked it up and let the little boy touch it: "You will be friends, come on." ”

The little boy is very white, his skin is delicate, and the vasche on his forehead is clear. The boy's index finger touched Tachibana's neck. Old Wen Gong asked the boy to hug Orange Song, handed it to his arms, and immediately pressed the boy to stumble.

Tachibana broke free to the ground.

"That stone house has been to before, there is a pressurized well, good." The old man held his head high.

"Welcome, I have good tea there." Old Wen Gong was close to his ear and said loudly.

The old man took a step back: "I can hear me." Well. ”

Seven

There is more green in the river.

After morning tea, Old Wen Gong stood outside the door for a while, and had no intention of returning to the house.

He descended the stone steps, Tachibana following him. On the north bank of the river, next to several tall locust trees, there is a large area of brilliant flower branches, shining brightly. "It's forsythia, like gold! Look at plum blossoms and apricot blossoms! The cloves are about to bloom and will bloom in a few days! Followed by peach blossoms, pear blossoms, mountain cherry blossoms, so many flowers, you can't see it all, they will crowd the rivers, alleys, and hillsides! As I said, spring here is huge! ”

The orange song burrows under the flower branches, where something is moving. It thought of deep in the bush, with many petals on its body.

There was a rustling sound. A hedgehog comes out from the other side of the bush. Tachibana jumped over and fell to the ground, motionless. The hedgehog stopped. Tachibana jumped up and stretched out his front paws to caress. The hedgehog curls up into a thorn ball.

A flock of grey magpies attracts Ode Tachibana. Its gaze followed them, and when it turned back, the hedgehog was gone.

"Let's go see the plane trees and poplars again." Old Wen Gong walked ahead.

There are stones of different sizes on the banks of the river, and in the middle of them are patches of sand, thin and white. Tachibana Song can't bear such a place, always lie down and roll.

The poplars are relatively distant, each tall and muscular, with smooth and shiny pale cyan bark. The locust trees vary in height and form small woods, just budding their leaves. Old Wen Gong bowed his waist and looked at it for a while, and then squatted under the forest, looking at the sparse green. "This is camelin, but also rehmania, horsetail, motherwort, horsetail and sedge." He pointed to Tachibana one by one.

A thick bush of bush reeds with an inlet next to it. A red waterfowl flew in fright. Tachibana tiptoed towards the bay, his head turning quickly, his eyes chasing the shadow of a fish in the water.

There were several neighing sounds from the other side. "Horn!" Old Wen Gong shouted and stood up. There was silence. He believed he had heard correctly.

He was looking forward to the car, which would bring much-needed food, especially a "power bank." The phone is dead and has been cut off from the outside world. Li Zhuanlian agreed, saying that as soon as the car came, everything would be solved. "Meat and vegetables, a bottle of old vinegar, you can't do without vinegar." She said.

"Let's go, the Kushi Gang is coming." He recited the ode to orange. His most urgent thing is to talk on his mobile phone: his family members across the ocean must hear him every week and know what is wrong with him. Also, he needs to fight with an old guy on time.

The man was a year older than him and lived on the eastern coast of the peninsula. They retired together, and now they are far apart, and their only connection is on their mobile phones.

Old Wen Gong pulled Orange Song's two fat paws and stepped on the stone in the center of the river. "We quarreled for decades. This stubborn guy. ”

After going ashore, step directly into that street and alley, drive southwest, climb all the way to the stone house on the heights.

There are sweat particles on the forehead. He had to rest for a while to let his breathing calm down.

Li Zhuanlian was busy in the ridge of the small courtyard, uncovering the small pottery bowls on the ground—below were the two-lobed leaf buds that had just been unearthed.

"Ah, Old Wen Gong is here!"

"I heard the horn blaring."

Li Zhuanlian shook her head: "No, definitely not." ”

She invited him into the house. He was still a little panting. "How tired you are running around, I'm going to buy it, I'll send it immediately." She handed over the water glass. "Sorry, maybe I heard it wrong." He quieted Tachibana for a moment—it was looking at the plate on the small table with an egg in it.

Li Zhuanlian peeled the egg and gave the yolk to Orange Song.

"I overlooked a lot of things when I came to the stone house. Unexpectedly, the village is empty. He looked at the peeled eggshell.

"I have five chickens and a goose. Give the old thorn some eggs. He gave me water. ”

He didn't understand. Li Zhuanlian explained: "Only Lao Thorn has a mountain spring in his home, which is the sweetest in the village. Then there's your pressurized well. ”

Old Wen Gong said that he had seen their grandfather and grandson. "He's a few years older than me, straight, amazing."

"He doesn't eat big fish and meat, he relies on good water." She pointed to the bucket next to the table, where the water was taken.

Li Zhuanlian led him to the side of the small courtyard to take a look. There was a chicken coop under the stone weir, and the geese raised their heads and shouted when they saw the living people. Old Wen Gong understood: this is the "horn sound" heard by the river. Tachibana bypassed the goose and approached a few chickens, and the goose fluttered its wings and chased after him. Tachibana Song jumped away.

"The goose is a chicken guard, and there are yellow wolves at night." She said.

When leaving, Li Zhuanlian gave him three eggs. I can't excuse myself. He said: "I have nothing to send you, if you like, also send water, I am closer there." ”

Li Zhuanlian clapped her hands with joy.

Eight

Breakfast with eggs. Old Wen Gong gave half of the egg yolk to Orange Song, and kept the rest for himself. Small dried fish and canned ham, gruel and bread, ok. The tea stove sounded.

He sat at the table next to a cup of strong tea. Every day at nine o'clock sit down, turn the book, and memorize a few lines. Tachibana thinks in its own place, sitting upright or curled up for an hour. Its thinking was over, and it stood up and rubbed Old Wengong's leg. It wanted to invite him to play along, and he made a gesture of decline.

The phone was dumb and tossed aside. He put the phone farther away, but a rough voice sounded in his ears. This is auditory hallucinations.

"This guy has been stubborn all his life, like me." He opened the wooden box and took out the cloth bag with a sunflower pattern.

This big pile of paper is really thick. He unwrapped the cloth bag, as if looking at a strange object, looked from the front and side, and reached out and pressed it. "Li Zhuanlian said well, this is my life." He divided them into piles and placed them side by side in front of his eyes. The bottom pile is two centimeters thick and still blank. "When these grids are all filled, it will be finished." He stroked his left chest.

His head hung low and looked at the handwriting of different shades. It was decades of trekking, intermittent, stumbling along the way, but fortunately not lying down.

"As long as you crawl forward, you will leave a trace." He stood up and looked at the worn bookshelf. Thin and thick dozens of books, ancient books, various picture books. The thickest are several reference books. They are all old friends who have always followed themselves.

One morning more than fifty years ago, he and a group of people drove a day and night in a truck to a walled farm. They never again lay down on their desks, carrying stones, ramming and digging ditches every day.

One evening, he carried heavy loads across a slope without dodging a speeding quarry.

He was in a coma for three days and three nights. The left chest is ruptured, the lumbar vertebrae are fractured. Sitting in a wheelchair for half a year, survived. After returning to the farm, his new job was to look after the storehouse and record incoming and outgoing goods every day.

Because there was paper and pen, waiting for the gap between the vehicles, he wrote down some pieces of paper. Leaving the farm a few years later, he brought back a wad of paper of various colors.

What he wanted to do was to connect them together and make them a book. Because of the heavier and heavier breath holding, as well as back pain, it is almost difficult to lie down. But he couldn't throw away the pieces of paper. He always took them with him, to the library, to survey the road, and fainted again and again.

"You guy can't lie down, you still have to climb forward." The guy with a thick throat shouted. They returned from the farm together, and they were neighbors.

That guy now lives on the peninsula, where they spent half their lives.

The two talk every once in a while. Behind the ears of the other party, the voice is getting louder and louder, and the temper is also bigger. "We're all old guys. You have a son by your side, but no ode to orange. Old Wen Gong said so.

Without that grinning voice, a lot is missing. Soon after arriving at the stone house, he informed the guy. The other party asked: "Did you bring that big job?" When it's done, I'm going to have a drink. Old Wen Gong "uh-huh-oh", unwilling to talk more about this topic.

Without a power bank, you can't talk to your son's family and the noisy guy, and you can't sit at the table safely. He stroked his chest and stood in front of the window for a long time. From here you can see the other side of the river. No one crossed the river.

Tachibana ran back and let out a slightly louder cry. Ah, a wound on the bridge of the nose. "Oh my God!" He stepped forward and grabbed it. Fortunately, the wound is shallow. "But what's going on? As I said, the underground is full of miscellaneous things. ”

Tachibana looked back and led him forward. He followed it underground. The light here is too dark, it would be nice to have a flashlight. The eyes had just adjusted a bit, but Tachibana had long since disappeared in front of him.

There are debris everywhere, and the oldest of them has been around for hundreds of years and is piled up here. The thought of their age made him awe-inspiring. "So, you shouldn't throw away any of them." Curved corridors lead to cubicles, which have been old for a long time, some of which have not been visited for at least decades.

"I'll find you. Even if it's the first time hide-and-seek. He tried to get through a narrow place and with a snap dropped a wicker hat that buckled right on his head. He took it off and thought it would still work. The hat reminded him of his father. "This must belong to him, the railway engineer."

Can't find Ode to Tangao. Its body is too flexible and soft to drill anywhere. He sat down to rest, turned his head, and found a shelf next to him with a dark gray wooden box on it. Open, inside there is a bouquet of white candles and a three-pronged bronze candlestick. He packed them all together in his pocket.

Tachibana twisted and walked over, and there seemed to be something a few meters behind him. Ah, see clearly, it's a yellow weasel. He understood what was going on with the wound on Tachibana's nose.

Tachibana turns back from time to time to introduce a new friend. Old Wen Gong beckoned to it. The yellow weasel approached little by little, stood up, and lifted its front paws. A delicate little face, a pair of big eyes of water spirit.

"Let's play together. Don't fight. Old Wen Gong said to the yellow weasel.

He remembered one thing: no rats were found in the house, thanks to the yellow ferrets.

He is happy that Tachibana has new friends.

Nine

Two days later, Li Zhuanlian came. She carried a basket with purchased items in one hand and a bucket in the other. As soon as she entered the door, she took out a handful of vegetables, a piece of meat, and a bottle of old vinegar.

Finally, her hands slipped into her pocket and magically pulled out two boxy pieces of metal: palm-sized and shiny.

"I know it's a power bank. Well, it's time to talk to someone from afar! Old Wen Gong took it and looked left and right, "How come it's two?" ”

"If you want to rotate it, show it to you first, and bring the other one back to let the village car charge." There is a charge. She made a point, offering money. Old Wen Gong nodded and stroked:

"No wonder it's called 'Bao'!"

He wanted to call the other side of the ocean right away, and it was still early. But after a while, the call came back. The other party's tone was eager and joyful. They landed a stone on the ground.

Tachibana Song looked at the pile of things that Li Zhuanlian had brought and fiddled with a few eggs. Old Wen Gong said: "How can I thank you! She held up the bucket: "I'll fetch water!" ”

He pressed the water handle for her. She said, "What sweet water, just like the old thorny family." What a blessing it is that his family has a mountain spring alone! ”

Speaking of the old thorns, Li Zhuanlian said more. She reveals a secret: the old man is the oldest, toughest man in the village, and eats the least. "He will live to be a hundred years old."

"Ah, that's an amazing guy, the waist plate is so straight."

Li Zhuanlian glanced at him: "The old thorns all rely on mountain springs. Water, better than anything. His son and grandson's family are all working in the city, but he can't leave, he can't bear the water. ”

"I'll definitely go see his water!"

"Your body will also be tough, and your water will be good!"

His hand moved away from his left chest: "It was hurt before." Fortunately, did not lie down. I will drink more of this water. ”

Li Zhuanlian carried a bucket full of water and left. Old Wen Gong stood in front of the door and kept watching her cross the river.

The tea stove rang. He drank different teas, taking a little of each, mixing them together. He looked at the wicker hat and thought about his father. This was an amazing man, grandpa sent him abroad and learned to build railways. When he returned to China, he immediately participated in a major event: the construction of railroads, starting from the city, all the way to the eastern peninsula, to the sea.

More than a hundred years have passed, and this railway to the sea is still intact.

In the first year of the railroad repair, my father returned to the old house by the river. It was during this trip to his hometown that he dug a pressurized well in his house. The whole village saw this as a miracle.

I thought about my father, and I thought about my grandfather. Haven't seen him. Grandpa's biggest credit may be sending his son abroad and learning to build railways.

Grandpa's father, the grandfather, is the grandfather, and his greatest credit is to build the largest stone house in the village and build this hut by the river.

In the afternoon sun, Old Wen Gong stood in front of the door and looked at the opposite bank for a while, and then looked back at the single house. For the first time, he seemed to notice that there were so many mosaic patterns on the wall: pumpkins, geese, corn, pigs, hedgehogs, flowers... Ah, there are cats, several cats.

Old Wen Gong looked around the stone house. On the west wall, there is a big cat made of orange stones. He watched it for a long time. "Grandpa likes cats, maybe there is an orange cat too."

He turned to look at the river, only to find that the green on both sides was getting stronger and stronger, and the cloves were blooming, and the aroma was very strong. He went back to the house to say hello, but Tachibana was not there. "It has new friends."

Old Wen Gong sat at the table in a trance, and the phone rang. "It's not easy to find you. Hidden deep in the mountains. ”

Old Wen Gong shouted into his mobile phone: "This is no longer what it used to be!" People are gone, nothing is gone! However, I am doing well with Tachibana Song. ”

The other party smiled: "A small seal appeared on the beach." ”

Old Wen Gong stood up at once: "Huh? Be more detailed, start from the beginning! ”

"Well, the sky had just dawned, and the people who got up early to rush to the sea saw it. It is a spotted seal, just born, with a layer of white hair on its body. Pulled away by environmental protection personnel. ”

Old Wen Gong shouted loudly: "No injuries? Nobody treated it roughly, right? ”

"I like it so much. This little seal is exactly the same as the one we saw more than a decade ago, and it's wonderful. Ah, and lo and behold, all these years have passed. ”

It was this call that made him no longer stable. He walked around the house for a while, and then went to the underground corridor. He shouted Tachibana Song, opened several small doors in a row, and did not. He sat down to rest and gasped: "I had good news for you, playful fellow. ”

Dinner stewed with mushroom broth. Rice, potatoes, sauce melon. Before adding salt to the broth, take a spoonful and leave it for the orange song. Add salt and pepper, and add old vinegar. Two bottles of old vinegar have been placed side by side on the material rack. "Well, Li Zhuanlian prefers this thing."

It may be that the smell of broth makes Tachibana hurry back. The wound on his nose was mostly healed. A hearty meal. Old Wen Gong brought his bowl to the table and added a thick cushion to the stool.

Both he and Tachibana ate a little too much.

At night, as usual, he crouched in front of the window and looked at it for a while: "Look how dense and big the stars in the sky are." How nice is the Milky Way here. He pointed to the starry sky, and Tachibana snuggled aside. It was dark across the river. He looked closely to the southwest and saw the shiny little window.

Old Wen Gong moved the lamp to the windowsill, lifted the corner of the quilt, and let Orange Song in. He was half-sitting and half-lying with it, and the quilt was pulled to his chin. It's time to tell a story.

Tonight it's about baby seals.

Ten

After a good night's sleep, he had a dream and woke up still vivid: he went out in the warm spring and walked on the south bank of the river. Next to him is a child in loose clothes and pants, and on his shoulders is a trembling bamboo burden. At one end are a few old books, and the other is tea and pastries.

He and the child sat cross-legged under the tree, flipping through books, eating pastries and drinking tea. The little boy was clothed and corset, tied in a bun, and had a red dot the size of a broad bean on his forehead. "His name is Ode Tachibana and he's my bookboy."

He woke up thinking about that dream and touching Tachibana Song. Its back was against his chest, hot as charcoal. The firewood in the kang cave has been extinguished. He hugged it for a moment.

Good morning sun. Such a good spring, should not be stuffy in the house. Old Wen Gong went out with Orange Song.

I went down the stone steps, did not cross the river, and walked all the way to the north bank. I'm going to see the cloves in front of me. He remembered his student days—the most common thing in that seaside school was cloves. The first time I met my future partner, I was under the lilacs. She's twenty-one.

Far away from the flower, Old Wen Gong saw two figures, one tall and one short. He patted the orange song and quickened his steps.

The old thorn looked over, like a stranger, clutching the water root with one hand.

"It's me! Dude! He raised a hand.

The old thorn said, "Hmm. ”

Mizugen broke free of his grandfather and ran over. Tachibana turned to the other side of his shoulder.

"It's so early for the old brother to cross the river!" Old Wen Gong shouted, exclaiming in his heart: really thin, but the waist is straight; The eyes were sunken, but bright and round.

The old thorn raised his crutches and pointed to the river: "The bridge has collapsed." That's what your grandfather built. ”

"It would be better if it was a stone bridge, the wood would decay." He glanced at the remnants of the bridge and immediately knew that he had said something wrong—there was a pile of scattered stones.

The old thorn stopped talking and looked down at the clove. With a small shovel in his hand, he bent down to dig under the tree and dug out a bitter vegetable tree. His two pockets were already bulging.

Tachibana jumped down and burrowed into the bushes. The water roots also descended, and half of his body leaned into the branches and leaves.

Old Wen Gong dug up some bitter vegetables and handed them to the old thorns. The old thorn stuffed his pocket and turned to look for the child.

Water roots and orange ode drilled out of the shrub.

They walked back together. When he arrived at the stone in the center of the river, the old thorn said: "Cross the river." "He stepped on the first stone. The water is a little urgent. Old Wen Gong felt that the time was still early, and followed him to the stone.

They walked all the way to the crossroads. In front of the tall stone house, the old thorn stood down, turned to the old Wen Gong and said, "Come home." ”

"Thank you brother for the invitation." He was delighted. He always wanted to see that famous mountain spring.

As you go east, the stone road gets higher and higher. The old thorn crusade lived at the highest part of the village: an ordinary stone house, made of yellow stone, not large, probably a century-old house. The courtyard was narrow, with dried vegetable leaves, gourds, sickles and heads hanging under the eaves.

"I want to see your mountain spring." Old Wen Gong said.

Without a squeak, the old thorn entered the room, took the bitter vegetables in his pocket into the basket, and then walked into the middle room. Near the north wall lies an oval pool hewn from stone, above which a bamboo pipe sticks out, blocked by a wooden plug. Old Wen Gong wanted to pull off the plug, and the old thorn took the first step. Clear water gushing out.

Old Wen Gong reached out to take the water and drank it. Cool, sweet. He was thinking about the water in his house, wondering which of them was better.

The old thorn said, "I drank your water. That's fine. ”

"I want to treat you to tea." I have old tea. ”

The old thorn nodded and turned to look at Tachibana and the child on the side. Tachibana Song's tail was grabbed, and it looked at the two people, and then slapped the water root.

The old thorn pulled the child to his side.

The host left Lao Wen Gong to eat. Bitter vegetables stir-fried soybeans, corn nest. A simple meal.

Drink water after meals and drink directly from the mountain spring. Old Wen Gong remembered a saying: This person all depends on mountain springs. Old Thorn Crucius ate and drank enough, and began to talk about Lao Wengong's ancestors: "Every generation of your family has produced an amazing person. Grandpa builds big houses, grandpa plants trees, and your dad builds railways. ”

Old Wen Gong lowered his head: "I didn't accomplish anything." ”

The old thorn looked at the top of his head, and then looked at the window: "When I am idle one day, I will show you the big houses of my grandfather." ”

Eleven

In the middle of the night, Old Wen Gong felt a chest pain and was a little stuffy. He sat up and inhaled heavily. Cold, put on clothes, and add a few pieces of chopped wood to the extinguished Kang Dong charcoal fire.

There were no stars outside the window, it was overcast. The sky is about to change, and the chest and waist are giving a preview. "It's always good to rain, spring rain." He sat at the table and lit the lamp. Tachibana is still sleeping.

The breath holding is getting heavier. He walks, expands his chest, and breathes deeply. With a pain in his waist, he lay on his stomach at the table. A layer of sweat oozed from the forehead. By the time the pain passed, it was three o'clock in the morning.

He also wanted to sleep for a while. I finally took a nap. Tachibana Song's beard tickled him, and it grunted loudly. He was half asleep and blocked it with his arm. I don't know how long it took, he heard the sound of rain.

"I love the rain, it's the first spring rain." He wanted to sit up, but Tachibana climbed to his chest and stepped down. It grunted as it stepped on it and squinted its eyes. "Very comfortable." He also narrowed his eyes and stroked its forehead.

Tachibana stomped for ten minutes. He dissuaded, but its grunt was even louder. "Good boy, okay then." He flipped over and moved Tachibana a little further down. It steps down the waist at once, the rhythm is even, calm and calm.

Tachibana stepped on it for another ten minutes.

It rained until half morning. The sun comes out, and the sky and the earth are fresh. Old Wen Gong got up late and combined his breakfast and lunch meals. Egg yolks, dried fish, vegetable porridge and soup. Tachibana Song ate a little more than usual. It pursed its mouth, sat for a while, and began to take care of itself.

After drinking tea, open an atlas book. Tachibana leaned over to the album. "The little seal I told you about is here." He stretched out his finger and pointed to the color map.

That's the Gulf of the Eastern Peninsula. My father built the railway there, and Old Wen Gong was born there. Grandpa was gone, and Grandma went to the peninsula to take care of him. "I followed my grandmother one step at that time, just like you followed me." He stroked Tachibana Song's spine, "She told me so many stories. ”

Tachibana exclaimed with a raised face. "Oh, this is not storytelling time. I'm going to work, Ode. ”

Tachibana cocked his tail, lingered on the table for a while, and left.

Old Wengong's index finger pressed the album and recorded it on the paper. He moved a few cardboard boxes behind the shelves and pulled out a stack of cards. They are colorful and stacked on the table like playing cards. He picks one by one.

It was getting darker, and his face was almost taped to the card.

There was a knock on the door. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the open door.

"I, Old Wengong." Li Zhuanlian's voice.

She carried the bucket through the door. "Ah, get water." He stood up and wanted to take the bucket. Li Zhuanlian said that she would come, took out a few eggs from her pocket and put them on the table, and entered the stove house.

Carrying a bucket of water, she said, "I'm here to ask you to eat." ”

"Eat? Tonight? ”

"Just wrapped the dumplings with camelin. The latest camelina vegetables. Let's go. ”

Old Wen Gong did not have the slightest preparation. He replied "oooh," looking left and right, shouting orange songs. When it came out, Li Zhuanlian was already waiting outside the door.

"Let's go. Don't delay any longer. He urged Tachibana.

The sky is full of orange and red, and the sunset is so beautiful. They descended the stone steps. The floral fragrance in the breeze is very noticeable. The call of pheasants came from the blurry shadow of the mountains.

There is a white begonia in Li Zhuanlian's small courtyard, which is blooming.

"Why didn't I pay attention before?" He stood under the tree and asked.

Li Zhuanlian was busy as soon as she entered the house. White steam was bubbling on the stove, and the fragrance permeated the air. Old Wen Gong found that there were already two plates on the small table in the room.

Hot dumplings are served. He pointed to the small table: "If you don't mind, add another plate." ”

He sat opposite her, next to him was Ode Tachibana. Li Zhuanlian added old vinegar to his plate, and when the bottle reached for another saucer, he blocked it.

"I gotta say, it's the best dumpling I've ever had." He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. Tachibana ate four dumplings and left the table. Old Wen Gong looked at Li Zhuanlian under the lamp and wanted to say a word of thanks.

"What a begonia." He said.

Drinking tea after meals is wild herb tea. He took a sip: "It's also the first time." ”

"How difficult it is for you to be alone!" She sighed.

"There's Ode Tachibana. Do you take care of the courtyard yourself? ”

"It's yourself!"

When leaving, Old Wen Gong looked at the neat ridges under the fence and caressed the begonia tree with his hand.

Li Zhuanlian used a flashlight to illuminate and helped him down the slope all the way to the other bank.

twelve

For a few days, the weather was sunny, Lao Wengong breathed comfortably, and his waist no longer ached. He sat at the table for days on end, moving the brick-like reference books around, and the cards were all spread out. Many of the cards are not their own, they are neat and beautiful. "I, ah, it's really time to sprint." He said to those cards.

Tachibana went to play with the yellow weasel and spent about the whole day playing hide-and-seek. In the evening, he brought his friend back, and the little one did not look rusty. For the first time, he looked at a yellow weasel so closely, admitting that it was beautiful.

"It's much smaller than you, Song, don't bully it."

The phone rang, it was the old guy. Just after talking for a while, he pulled the seal: "You've been looking for it for most of your life, do you know why?" Because you're an old seal! ”

"Well, that's right. I should stay in the sea, as soon as I am thrown ashore it will be difficult, and I need to move forward little by little. I can't get out of the water. ”

"As soon as you leave the water it's bad, you can use your fins as your feet. Dive into the ocean, that's where you are. Go harder, sooner. ”

Old Wen Gong pouted, unable to speak. "How did my hapless old seal rush so far offshore?"

Can't answer. The old guy shouted into his phone:

"That's not an ordinary wave, it's a storm surge!"

He talked to the old guy for a while, happy and tired. He put down his phone, wrapped the sunflower cloth squarely, and put it in a cardboard box. It's time to prepare dinner. Only a few potatoes, a little dried fish, and a small piece of meat remained. Li Zhuanlian did not come for a week, which means that the Kuanxiang car has been delayed again. "It seems that I should also grow a few seeds of vegetables and raise two chickens."

The next day, Tachibana returned, followed by the yellow ferret. "Song, if you want to treat me, you should also inform me in advance. This time it was embarrassing. ”

Lao Wen Gong took out a small dried fish, picked out the pieces of meat in the potato soup, and divided them into four portions with large fingernails - one each for orange song and yellow ferret, and kept two for himself.

Only potatoes for dinner.

He thought of Lao Thorn and Li Zhuanlian, who might have extra vegetables there. But he didn't want to beg for it. After dawn, he went to the river bank to collect two pockets of wild vegetables: camelina and bitter vegetables and willow sprouts. He found that the locust leaves were about to unfold, which meant that the locust flowers would soon bloom.

Then it's the height of spring, it's a big day. Dotted with locust flowers, clusters of bees surround the branches. Old Wen Gong remembered the locust flower cake branded by his grandmother. "When the locust blossoms, I show my hand."

Wild vegetable rice for two days in a row. There were not many dried fish, he did not eat it, and gave it all to Tachibana Song.

Finally waited for Li Zhuanlian. This time her basket contained meat and fish, two boxes of canned food, and a small bundle of yams in addition to radishes and leafy greens. This is enough to prepare a feast. When Li Zhuanlian pressed the water, he was wondering whether to ask her to stay for dinner.

He did not send out an invitation. He thought that the first banquet should be more formal.

It was a full meal for the night. Tachibana raised his tail and walked around the house. He added firewood to the kang dong, and after a while he would wrap the quilt together, warm and sit warmly. He goes to bed late and doesn't need much sleep, looks at the stars and moon every night, thinks about things, and finally tells a story.

The sound of chopping wood burning is so good. In this particular month, it is much warmer outside than inside, especially after nightfall, when it is a little cold inside. "I'm an old guy and I don't have firepower on me, so I need a stove even more." As he said this, Tachibana jumped on his lap, "You are my stove." ”

He sat at the table, hugging the orange song, and twisted the lamp into large. After looking at the room for a while, I felt that the wall was light, and something should be pasted. "I'm going to write a big letter." He said, got up and bowed his waist, pressed his chin on Orange Song's forehead, and went to a corner to rummage through pen and ink and rice paper. He brought it on purpose.

Tachibana jumped onto the rice paper laid out, and he had to take it aside.

Dipped in ink, I want to write the words. In the end he wrote eight words:

"Deep and difficult to migrate, more ambitious".

Signed with name and sealed. Stick it on the wall and look away. Hopefully, write another one:

"Green and yellow mixed, the article is rotten".

Tachibana stood under the large characters that had just been pasted, looking up. Old Wen Gong read it twice and said to it: "This is a poem by Qu Yuan, the great poet of the Warring States, and he is praising an orange tree." ”

Before falling asleep, a call came from the other side of the ocean. For many reasons, the family's return date has to be delayed. Old Wen Gong told them: "Everything is fine here. Quiet, with books, with ode to orange. Yes, bedtime storytelling, it's a regular show. The son said, "The little one is looking for grandpa." Over there sounded the voice of the grandson:

"I want Ode to Tangerine!"

Wake up from a night's sleep. Always ringing that childish voice. Moist eyes. In the dream, a pair of small hands wrapped around his neck, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Ode Tangerine. Its small red mouth is only a few centimeters from itself. He grabbed it and pressed his chin against its forehead. After a while, he looped his index finger and thumb again, and kissed it across his mouth.

"Okay, that's much better." He rubbed its belly, which was extremely silky. Every early morning, its heat radiates from its body. He turned his back and let his fiery body wrap around his waist.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was wonderful. Old Wen Gong stood in front of the door and looked at the stone house on the other side. It changes in the sun, from the mountainside to the shore, high and low in different colors, the sunny side shimmering gold. "If I were a painter, I would paint this village over and over again."

He felt frustrated when he remembered that the stone houses were empty. He will not forgive those who have left.

He was warming up and he was going back to the house.

A baker's dozen

Ten to twelve o'clock every day is the best working time for Lao Wengong. He prominently marks the weekend on his calendar, when it's a day when it's rain or shine, and he's going for a walk on the riverbank. This is the most enjoyable moment of Ode Tachibana.

When he thought of this river and this mountain belonging to his ancestral home, he had a strange sense of closeness. The banks of the river are full of stone, and there is very little arable land, some of which is only as large as a kang and a window, and it is surrounded by stone weirs. This is reclaimed from generation to generation.

He didn't understand why the older generation had chosen this place. Why was such a large stone house built? The houses were built from the south bank of the river and climbed to the high slopes, and the buildings were built one after another, all made of stones. How much hard work and patience does that take?

"We know too little about this stone house." He said to Ode Tachibana. He never entered the interior of those tall stone houses at the crossroads. It was his own family mansion, designed and built by his grandfather. Just talking about these large, elaborate buildings, how much time did they take? How much manpower was used?

Old Wen Gong carried the orange song on his back and walked on the stone roads. Walk through the broad streets, enter the narrow alleys, I don't know how many stone steps you step on, how many alleys you drill. They zigzag back and forth, making it easy for people to get lost. "If I were a child, how obsessed I would have been with this kind of place." He lamented Ode to Tachibana.

It's not too late either. He felt that as long as his chest and waist did not protest, he could still get in and out here. The carvings on these arches, stone pillars, and lintels, are truly beautiful. It's all done with a chisel.

A gecko jumped between the cracks in the rocks, and Tachibana jumped over. A small thistle hangs from the stone wall, its thorny leaves covering the gecko. After a while, the little thistle powdery silk flap blooms.

Tall plane trees, paulownia flowers are budding to be placed, they are vertically upward, each bundle is like a candle waiting to be burned. The elm tree produces dense elm money, but unfortunately it is too high to pick. "That's a real delicacy." He looked up at the canopy and said.

Tachibana followed behind and did not run far. Old Wen Gong had long been lost, so he had to look up at the sun from time to time. There are too many streets and alleys to count, because they are all made of stone, so they are very old and strong, and their faces are similar. The stones have been touched and trampled on from generation to generation, and many places are shiny with porcelain.

The body is sweating. Turning out of an alleyway, Old Wen Gong saw the tall thin old man at a glance, he was still standing on the steps, and the little boy was next to him. He called: "Brother Thorn! ”

The tall thin old man turned his face and pounded the stone steps with his crutches, which was regarded as a reply.

As soon as Tachibana saw the water root, he climbed onto the back of Old Wengong.

He and Tachibana followed their grandfather and grandson and walked forward together. The old thorn is in good interest today and walks a little faster. Old Wen Gong no longer worries about getting lost.

After walking for a while, I descended a few steps in a row and saw the crossroads in front of me. "I promised to show you the grandfather's house, so let's go." The old thorn pointed forward and felt a bunch of keys from his waist.

Shui Gen broke away from his grandfather's hand, jumped, and stuck out his tongue at Tachibana Song: "Go to the big house!" ”

As he got closer there, Old Wen Gong's pace also became faster. He kept staring at the long and short string of keys in the old thorny hand.

The door opened. The door panels are thick and the threshold is high. The courtyard is slate and polished. As soon as you enter the courtyard, there is a long wing room with small carved windows, and in front of the window is an old pomegranate that is turning green. Looking in from the small window, I couldn't see anything.

The main house is high. The beams and wood inside the house are very thick and somewhat dark in color. Old Wen Gong wanted to stay in the house for a while, inhaling the faint smell of pine resin. Old Thorn walked out first and stood in the sunlight waiting for him. In the courtyard are colorful pebbles paved with dahlia petals and a phoenix.

There is a moon gate on the left and right of the courtyard, leading to two small courtyards that are separated. Begonia and lilacs are planted here, as well as unknown trees. Too quiet, too floral fragrance.

"These two small courtyards, plus the big house in front, used to be a school." The old thorn turned his voice deep and looked at the water root.

Old Wen Gong understood that it was time for Shuigen to go to school.

The old thorn opened several rooms in a row, which were full of stacked tables and stools. There are blackboards on the walls. Old Wen Gong walked over and looked at the few big words left on it: heaven, earth, mountain, and water.

Old Wen Gong grabbed Orange Song's two fat claws, turned to Old Thorn and said, "If you don't dislike it, I can spend two afternoons a week teaching Shui Gen to read." Also, simple arithmetic. ”

Old Thorn's eyes became sharp: "Is that really so? ”

Old Wen Gong nodded.

The old thorn pulled the water root tightly, let him stand opposite the old Wengong, and said, "Bow!" ”

Out of the courtyard is a long covered cloister that zigzags to different stone houses. Some rooms are narrow and long, others are wide, black holes or bright and bright, each is different. Some rooms have wooden escalators, which climb up to the second floor and up to the attic.

"I'm confused, it's another great place to hide and seek." Old Wen Gong gasped. He was amazed at the building, and at the old thorn that had been walking ahead: this man was bigger than himself, and his legs and feet were so dexterous.

The old thorn said: "Without ten times eight times, no one can figure out the alleys and houses here." I dare say that your grandfather is a man who is too playful, an eccentric person. ”

"It's fun. I now know that the stone house on the other side of the river is just a smaller version of here. ”

fourteen

Coming out of the courtyard, Lao Thorn told Lao Wengong that the village leader was his distant relative, so he left him the key to the big stone house. "All went to town and town. I'm not going. The village has been around for hundreds of years, and this is home. ”

Old Wen Gong nodded: "And Li Zhuanlian." ”

The old thorny gaze turned to the southwest. On the high slope over there, stone houses shone in the sun. He nodded: "A good man. ”

"Has it always been herself?"

"When she was eighteen, the man went to the side and never heard from her. Later, a man who played cotton left without being heard. ”

"Her life is really bitter."

The old thorny gaze withdrew from the stone house and looked at him: "It was those two men who suffered their lives. They are gone, and they can no longer drink the good water here. ”

Old Wen Gong lowered his head. He was thinking about Li Zhuanlian, about the neatly lined yard, the begonia trees, the chickens and the geese. "Those two men won't see this anymore." He said in his heart.

When he broke up with Old Spiny Crutch, he invited Old Spike to drink tea at home again. The old thorn nodded, looked at the orange song on his shoulder, and grabbed the water root.

He returned to the riverbank stone house, opened the door, and the first thing he saw was the upright yellow ferret. It was waiting for a friend, with its two front paws raised in front of its chest. Tachibana jumped off his back.

They raised their front paws, touched them, and ran away.

The first thing is to burn the tea stove. Before drinking tea, he pulled the water pressure handle and reached out to take a little water to drink. Cool, indeed a little sweet.

He thought that in order to thank the generous good man, it was really time to hold a family banquet here.

This banquet should be presentable, the etiquette should be thorough, and the dishes and drinks should be exquisite. It was an old stone house, and he thought that there might have been scenes of feasting and drinking in the years gone by.

That funny old man must be enthusiastic, and he will do that.

Old Wen Gong found a letterhead with a rose pattern and wanted to make an invitation. The brush put up a book, and just wrote the word "respects", and immediately realized that the other party could not read. Change a piece of letterhead, but don't know what to do. Later, he drew a goblet. "Well, that's what it means."

The invitation comes in an envelope and sits on the shelf.

From three to five o'clock in the afternoon, Old Wen Gong was lying at the table. Reference books and atlases are stacked above the head. Pick and quote cards over and over again. When the sunflower-patterned cloth was packed in a wooden box, it was already dark. He lit the lamp but did not leave. Contemplate for a moment and open the wooden box again. A pile of them opened and stared at the blank grids for a long time.

In about an hour, he filled a grid. He thought this page was very important.

Tachibana rubbed his leg, reminding him that it was time to prepare dinner. "It was a great day. We looked at the village and saw the largest stone houses. Moreover, the start of construction went smoothly. He patted Tachibana and got up and went to the stove house.

It was hard to sleep this night. He looked at the orange song beside him, it was sleepy, and it was sleeping with its paws covered in its face. He put a towel on it and sat up.

He remembered that the unfolded pages were still on the table. He approached with the lamp, read the last written page, and stroked his chest. I really wanted to talk to that guy, but unfortunately it was too late. "This guy is noisy and will curse." He held back, lit the tea stove, and draped himself in thick clothes.

On a mountain spring night, the chill is heavy. On that farm decades ago, the nights were colder than here—

He curled up in the corner of the warehouse, waiting for the last trucks to return in the middle of the night.

Behind the high wall there is a cave through which strings of trucks rumble through. In the early hours of the morning, the big iron gate rang and trucks drove in. The stevedores who followed the car jumped down, and one of them slapped him the shoulder. It was that guy, the same age as himself, no, he was a year older.

He was hit and in a coma for three days and nights, and the first person he saw when he woke up was him. Old Wen Gong still remembers his round eyes, the hawthorn on his face, and the tears in the corners of his eyes.

"This old guy's ears are getting more and more back, and he has to shout on the phone." Every time Old Wen Gong spoke to him, if Tachibana squatted aside, he explained it like this.

Tonight he wanted to tell the other party: about that long-unsolved case, that cute animal, his idea has never been firmer. "This ancestral stone house is indeed a good place to think about things."

After drinking a cup of piping hot tea, it was much warmer. He also wanted to work for a while and continue to fill in a few lines of grids. I don't know how long I have been lying on the case, but when I look up, it is already three o'clock in the morning.

The moon is above the mountain depression. The stars are sparse. A bird called and flew across the riverbank. In the silent night, birdsong travels far away.

"What made you rush overnight?" He touched his nose against the cold glass and muttered to himself.

fifteen

Early in the morning, before drinking tea, the phone came arguing. Old Wen Gong and that guy really had a soul: "Old seal, are you still climbing there?" It's not far from the sea, give it a hard go! ”

His chest was hot and he said, "Hmm. I seem to hear the sound of the waves, fluttering. ”

"That's the last leg of the road. I cheer for you by the sea. Tell you, I want to be an old seal too! ”

Old Wengong's eardrums were shocked. The guy's last "leopard" word is a plosive. Tachibana Song's eyes widened, it didn't know what was going on.

"You know, I've been pondering the word 'raze.' We all belong to the Dongyi tribe. The Yi people founded the kingdom of Lai and invented iron smelting and silk. The black pottery they fired was thinner than an eggshell, creating a civilization more advanced than the Yellow River civilization. He preached to Tachibana and waved his hand.

Tachibana jumped onto the table.

"What is 'raze'? I've been looking for it for more than forty years. The ancients always said that it was 'a hunter with a bow and arrow'. But I thought it was a seal. ”

Old Wen Gong took Orange Song into his arms, rested his chin on its forehead, and closed his eyes.

"It's the name of a clan, so it's vital." There are many ways to write the character 'Yi', all of which depict the appearance of a seal. He put the orange song down, found the paper and ink, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He wrote all the different "Yi" characters from ancient times to the present in one breath. Step back and take the printing mud.

The door slammed and a crutch reached in. Old Wen Gong shouted: "Old thorn! ”

The old man pulled the water root into the house and looked around the house. "Welcome." Old Wen Gong supported the old thorn and patted the water root.

Shui Gen shouted and jumped to the table in a few steps. It turned out that the orange claws were stained with printing mud, and there were a few more red dots on the rice paper.

Old Thorn looked at the rice paper and apologized: "I really didn't come at the right time!" ”

Old Wen Gong looked at the paper on the table and stroked his chin: "No, no, Tachibana Song has stamped me, and it is helping me, which is equivalent to saying, 'This matter is so decided!'" He gave a thumbs up to Tachibana Song, then pasted the large written letters to the wall.

The old thorn leaned closer to read the words. The tea stove sounded.

"I can't read any of these words."

Old Wen Gong read several large characters on the wall for him and explained them in detail. The old spiny said, "I haven't seen a seal. Ate oranges. ”

"This water is good." Old Thorn took the teacup and took a sip, smacking his lips, "When your father was digging the well, we came to see." I was young. I remember your dad leading the work and wearing a wicker hat. ”

"The hat is still there, just put it underneath."

"What an amazing man. And your grandfather, what a good house he built. Four generations of grandchildren, all amazing! The old thorn pointed inside the house.

Old Wen Gong lowered his head and swallowed the word "ashamed" into his stomach. What he wants to hear most is the stories of his ancestors, especially his grandfather. Listening to my grandmother, grandpa was the most playful person in the world, built one wonderful house after another, and had nothing else to do, so he went outside the mountain, and never came back.

"So what's going on?" He asked.

"I heard that he saw a bird under the mountain that he had never seen before, and he chased it all the time, went to the other side of the mountain, and chased farther and farther."

"What kind of bird is that?"

"Phoenix." The old thorn thumped the ground, "It can't be wrong." ”

Old Wen Gong had heard similar statements before. Today, in the sunny spring, he no longer doubts the legend. The tea was fragrant, and he added tea to the old thorns.

Because he sat on his knees with the old man, he could now see each other more clearly: a strong, short-ground tooth; The skin is not wrinkled much, fine and transparent; Clear eyes. He said in his heart: This must be because of water, water is really important.

As they talked, Mizugen and Tachibana went down to play. He said to the old thorny canees, "They are playing hide-and-seek. There is no better house for this. I don't want to tell you, I, as the master, have been lost in it three times. ”

Old Thorn nodded: "I'm not surprised at all. Said glancing at him, "You wear so much?" ”

"Oh, maybe the stone walls are too thick and it's too cold in the house this season. In the middle of the night, I had to get up and add firewood to the kang cave once or twice. ”

The old thorn stood up with a pout: "How can this be?" Such a house should not be like this, let alone spring, it is a cold winter moon with a big north wind, and it will not let you freeze. How so? ”

The old thorn turned to look at the kang cave, stretched out his crutch and knocked on the stone wall, spun around the stove house, and said, "There is no mechanism that has not been opened." ”

Old Wen Gong smiled.

sixteen

It was almost noon. Old Wen Gong wanted to make lunch, but Old Spiny prevented him from lighting a fire in the stove. His crutches tapped from the four walls of the stove house and pounded the floor a few more times. Finally he looked at the row of three stoves in the stove house, lifted the roof of one of the largest unused stoves, and climbed up the stovetop.

Old Wen Gong watched him flip up and down and thought of the yellow weasel. Because he wanted to follow him, Old Wen Gong kept bending over and raising his head, already a little tired, but the other party did not breathe, and threw the crutches aside early.

The old thorn squatted on the stone platform, knocked a few times, looked down for a long time, clapped his hands and jumped down.

He found that several stones on one side of the stone platform were loose, and after a few fiddles, he pulled out several stone slabs of different lengths. "Uh-huh, got it." He nodded.

Old Wen Gong looked dazed.

The old thorny instructed him to light a fire in the different hearths, change the stone slabs in turn, and then run outside the house himself. There were many chimneys on the roof, and the old thorns built pergolas to watch them.

It turned out that the stoves in the house were connected to different flues, some leading directly to the chimney, and some circling the wall chamber for a while before rising into the roof chimney. Where the stove fireworks go is determined by the stone slabs that can be drawn.

The old thorn asked him to set the fire on fire, pull open a stone slab, and sit down to drink tea. After only half an hour, the wall became hot. "In a few moments, the room will be warm." The old thorn patted the wall, "This is called the wall of fire." ”

The house gets hot. Old Wen Gong had to take off his thick coat. "From tonight, I will never have to get up in the middle of the night to add firewood to the kang cave. Thank you for the guidance. ”

"In the cold winter months, sitting here and drinking tea is better than anything." Old Thorn stomped on the stone slab under his feet, "There are also two flues underground, which are specially prepared for three or nine days. ”

Old Wen Gong was stunned.

The old thorny crutches pounded the stone slabs under his feet, and the sound was indeed different. "What a clever old man he is, how many tricks he has hidden in the big stone house and this small stone house in the village, enough for us to guess for a lifetime."

"That's true!"

"The big stone house in the village, there are so many chimneys on the roof, but where is the stove? How does the water in the lotus pond flow in and out? Once I climbed in from the attic, passed through three doors, and touched into two huts that I had never seen before, and there were kang and tables in them, but I couldn't turn them out. I was so anxious to cry when I saw a badger probing his head. I finally followed it and drilled around before I came out of a hut where chopping wood was stacked. ”

"You lead me and Tachibana Song!"

Old Thorn shook his head: "I'm afraid of getting lost." ”

"Grandpa was so much fun. He is different from everyone. ”

Old Thorn looked at the mountain shadow outside the window: "It's different." Legend has it that he was like a child until he was old. Such a person could not be left in the world, you see, in the end the phoenix led him away. ”

The old man sighed, was going home, and refused to have lunch together. He shouted out to Mizugen. There was no response.

Old Wen Gong went below. It's quiet here. He didn't want to alarm them and relaxed his pace. Pushing open a small hidden door, turning a few corners, I somehow stepped on the wooden steps, and down a stone slide. The moment he slipped down, he felt like he had become a child.

He landed on a pile of blades of grass and rubbed his eyes to identify his surroundings. There was a bright gaze in the black shadow.

"Ode?" He exclaimed.

The soft body jumped and disappeared.

He fumbled back to the corridor in the dim light, trying to take the familiar path through the small hall and back to the big sleeping room. Around one corner, Mizugen wears a wicker hat and stays in the shadows. The hat was too big and covered the small face. He made a gesture to Old Wen Gong not to squeak.

Not far away came the sound of pounding. The old thorn came down. Old Wen Gong pulled Shui Gen into his arms: "Child, let's play again tomorrow." ”

The two of them are gone.

seventeen

Tachibana walked around the house and walked around. Old Wen Gong knew that it was satisfied.

The house was warm. He looked at the previously unused stove and saw that it was the largest of the three. The charcoal fire inside will be extinguished, and in order to have a long comfortable night, he has added a few thick pieces of chopped firewood.

Lunch and dinner are combined. Steamed salted fish with mushrooms, red sausage and pickled radish, cabbage root. Open a box of canned powder belly, flip it, or put it away. There were several piles of pancakes as thin as paper on the plate, which Li Zhuanlian bought a few days ago, sour, he had never eaten before, and produced in the area of Mount Tai.

He scalded an old glass of wine and wanted to treat himself. Sour pancakes are smeared with tempeh and add a little salted fish. "Well, that's also considered delicious in the mountains."

Li Zhuanlian takes water about once every three days. Seven days passed and she never came. "Maybe sick." Old Wen Gong said to Tachibana Song at breakfast.

On the eighth day, she still did not come. "We're going to break the cooking, so she must not get sick." Old Wen Gong wanted to go see her. He picked up the invitation card on the shelf, hesitated, and put it back in its place.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Lao Wen was lying on the case, and Li Zhuanlian came in with a basket and bucket.

Her face was beaming, and there were a few sweat particles on her brain. The basket is full: fish and meat, greens, tofu, sour pancakes, a bottle of old vinegar. She put them one by one on the table. There was also something in the basket, which was bundles of neatly bundled toon leaves.

"It's been days, I'm worried." Old Wen Gong said.

"I have calculated that salted fish and pancakes can be eaten until noon today."

"You really count."

Li Zhuanlian smiled: "Know why I delayed? At this time of year, it's just about ten days, it's a day to make money. ”

Old Wen Gong looked at her. She picked up a bouquet of toons: "I pick it all day long, pick it for three days, and the village car will come and buy it." ”

"So it is! This is great! Old Wen Gong looked at the half of the red toon young leaves and put it on his nose to sniff.

"It's all about this season all year round. Harvested home during the day and made with maranza at night. ”

Only then did he discover that it was Maran leaf that tied the toon. "How exquisite!" He marveled and stroked the toon leaves.

"It's best to scramble eggs with it. Pickle a few altars and put them up and eat them for a year. She said, looking up at the wall, a few large newly pasted letters.

Old Wen Gong rubbed his hands: "I don't write well." ”

She pursed her mouth, watched, and touched it.

Old Wen Gong read them again, word by word, explaining what they meant.

Li Chuanlian nodded: "Uh-huh." When winter was over, my mother built a charcoal brazier and sat at the kang table and painted flowers. I learned it from her. ”

He remembered the "fat boy holding fish" in her house, which she had drawn. "This is great! If not, can you draw one for me? ”

"Fat boy? A big fish? ”

"Draw an orange tree, an orange tree that bears a tree of fruit!"

Li Zhuanlian shook her head: "This has to have a map." My mom left some, and I went back and looked for it. ”

"I see. I wish there were orange trees in the map. ”

After Li Zhuanlian left, Old Wen Gong was still thinking about painting. He thought it would be nice to have an orange tree on the wall covered with golden fruit. "This tree should be straight and have a large crown." His index finger slid across the table, thinking about what it looked like.

He remembered something and said to Tachibana Song, "Let's help her pick toons in the afternoon, it's very important for her." ”

The afternoon sun was strong and the temperature outside was much higher than in previous days. As you descend the stone steps, two butterflies dance and orange sings on their backs.

On the other side, as soon as he stepped into the alley, he saw the tall tall tsubaki trees under the stone weir. He gestured there, and Tachibana jumped off his shoulder. The young toon stems are born shortly after they are at the top of the branches. "Pick some, keep some." He began to pick, talking as he went.

Some toon trees were so tall that he had to climb the weir.

Tachibana saw a large fat bird with colored rings on its neck. It fell down, moved forward, and the big bird flew away.

Old Wen Gong stood on the stone weir, grasping the toon tree with one hand and fiddling with the branches and stems with the other. The moment the leaves landed, Tachibana pounced.

"If only you could put them together." Old Wen Gong came down from the stone weir, grunted, and collected a field of stems and leaves in his arms.

Someone called in the distance, it was Li Zhuanlian, and she ran towards this side. She held Lao Wengong: "I saw someone standing on the weir from above, and I was startled. Oh my God, what are you going to do if you fall! I'll pick it and give it to you! ”

"I'm picking it for you. This season is important to you. ”

Li Zhuanlian sniffed and said nothing more.

eighteen

At night, the smell of toons is everywhere in the house. Old Wen Gong didn't have time to wash the green juice off his hands, and just wanted to sit for a while.

The inside of the house is much cooler than the outside. He wanted to add firewood to the hearth, and as soon as he stood up, he "ouched". Constant tingling pain in the lower back. He crouched on the table, his hands clutching the rolled edges of the table. After a while, I tried to straighten my waist, but I couldn't take a step.

"And this?" He was surprised by himself. Sit down, cling to the table, pounding your waist little by little, pinching to appease.

Old Wen Gong still remembered the heavy blow on the farm -

After sleeping for three days and nights, he woke up without feeling in his lower limbs, and every breath caused tearing pain in his chest. He hated his body that could not move, and he shouted in a hurry. The doctor said, "Be content, you have picked up a life." Since then, he has learned that "body" and "mind" are not the same thing, they are actually equivalent to the relationship between colleagues, and they have to be discussed in case of trouble.

He thinks that he has always favored the "heart" for a long time, and many times does not care about the "body". Two of them, one does not want to grow up, and the other is aging. "There are three vertebral fractures, and you can't do without a wheelchair in this life." The doctor said.

The brother in the neighboring shop looked at the doctor and shouted to him, "That's not going to work." How can that work? ”

This guy is rough and scary, and he keeps yelling. Old Wen Gong was a little desperate. But a year later, he really stood up.

Tonight he had been comforting his body, wanting it to quench the fire. Tachibana came over and rubbed him, one by one.

"Song, I know it's time to prepare dinner. But I couldn't move. You still have leftover porridge in your bowl, so let's take it first. ”

Tachibana raised his face. He stroked its forehead and chin, and pressed its wide back. "As I said, you're not particularly fat, but you have a double back. Seventeen pounds and two taels, okay, whoever sees it will shout 'boom'! ”

Tachibana licked his hand. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Boom! ”

Old Wen Gong kept rubbing his waist, and after half an hour, the tingling eased a little. He stood up straight with the back of his chair and held back his moan.

He moved little by little, and finally entered the stove house. It was difficult to bend over, and in the end, with great effort, I filled the hearth with a few pieces of chopped firewood. "Okay, it's okay this night."

That guy with a rough voice was always reckless, and he actually called when Old Wen Gong was struggling to climb up the kang. "What's wrong with you? Guilty of the old cow's breath holding again? ”

Old Wen Gong dripped sweat on his forehead and said, "Boom! ”

"How are the past few days?"

"Boom!"

The phone dropped. Finally climbed onto the kang.

Tachibana ate a little porridge, pursed his mouth and jumped on the kang, snuggled up to him. He looked at it for a moment and stretched out two thumbs to brush its brow: "It would be more comfortable that way, wouldn't it?" ”

Tachibana Song's face was round and large, especially tonight. "Maybe a little fatter again." He tried to move and bent down. Tachibana jumped on his back and stepped on his waist in one fell swoop.

Old Wen Gong's face was buried in the pillow, and he spoke with an urn: "Song, you are 'timely rain'!" Maybe we shouldn't be picking toons today. But I always wanted to help her and do something for her. ”

Tachibana squinted, stepped on it calmly, and grunted in his mouth. Old Wen Gong turned his head to look at it, and felt that at the moment it was like a patient, diagnosing and thinking doctor with a long beard.

"You're silent, thoughtful, always focused on your own business. Even if it is play, hide and seek, it is very serious. There are so many qualities in you that I can learn. He didn't say it, it stayed in his heart.

I don't know when I fell asleep.

When I woke up, the window had become brighter. He looked out the window and thought of a man who was still busy at night – sitting on a maza, dividing the fragrant Tsubaki leaves into equal portions, and tying them one by one with marangrass.

"Spring is so good, spring can do a lot of things." He turned to look for Tachibana Song, which had already walked away.

A small bird peeked out the window, its smooth head tilted a few times. Old Wen Gong said: "You are early! The bird pecked at the glass, and it was a crisp greeting.

Old Wen Gong pressed the kang with both hands, tried many times, but still could not sit up. "It's not that I'm too lazy, but my body is too heavy and I can't drag it." He said to the bird outside the window.

Sunlight spills in.

Tachibana Song appeared in the house. Old Wen Gong felt that the sun shone on his face, especially the two beards, and there was a majestic look. "There will be breakfast, but later." He raised his voice and said.

At nine o'clock in the morning, there was a knock on the door.

Old Wen Gong couldn't get out of the kang to open the door, so he had to open the window with great difficulty.

It's water roots. The little one crouched down on the window and looked at it, and jumped in.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to lie down a little longer. You play with Tachibana Song. ”

Mizugen looked at him, fingers biting into his mouth. After a pause, Mizugen yelled, opened the door and ran.

nineteen

The old thorn came, followed by Shui Gen.

Old Wen Gong wanted to sit up several times, but was stopped by the old thorn. Old Spiny opened a glass bottle that he had brought with him. Tachibana jumped up, sniffed, and dodged. The old thorn asked the water root to add firewood to the stove, then took the bottle and poured a little into the palm of his hand.

It turned out to be medicinal wine. The old thorn rubbed Lao Wengong on his waist, and rubbed it slowly for a while.

"I shouldn't be picking toons."

"You shouldn't climb on a stone weir." Old Thorn put away the bottle, "I was standing on the eastern slope yesterday and saw it." ”

The temperature inside the house has risen a lot. The old thorn wandered around the house for a while and returned to the kang. He stretched out his hands and made the gesture of "getting up", not helping people. Old Wen Gong bowed a little with the other party's gesture, and actually sat up straight.

"In another hour, you will come down the wall." The old thorn said a word, pulled the water root and went home.

Sure enough, when the time came, Old Wen Gong was really able to move and stand under the kang. He used double his time and strength to prepare dinner for himself and Tachibana Song. To get water, he crouches half of his body on the handle of pressurized water and lets the water gush out.

Egg scrambled toon, very fragrant. Tachibana didn't like the smell of leaves and only ate batter fish soup.

The moonlight outside is so nice. He put on his clothes, opened the door a little, and stood for a moment. The sound of water in the river seems to be cheerier than ever. He could tell the difference between "tom" and "flapping", which was a frog and a fish jumping. They are no longer settled in the moonlight. Everything is more like the peninsula sea when I was a child, there, by the river, children frolicked night and night, chasing under the poplar trees -

"Big head, guess where I am?" A child sticks to a tree and shouts.

The big head climbed forward like a cat, reached the aspen, jumped up sharply, and hugged the man and the tree together.

He didn't play with them because grandma captivated him with stories. Grandma told the story of "Ice Baby" for many days: "They were born on sea ice, they were not afraid of the cold, and every year around La Ba they climbed to the shore and stayed there until spring." ”

He cried, "Ice baby! ”

"They live with mom and dad in a little house made of ice. They were covered in white fluff and had big watery eyes. In the spring, the shore was green, and they followed their parents back to the depths of the sea. ”

A long time later, Lao Wengong learned that the "ice baby" that his grandmother said was a baby seal born in the bay of the peninsula. Before the climate changed, the ice rows of Bohai Bay and Liaodong Bay were connected, and adult seals had to travel thousands of miles every year, swimming from the northernmost ocean, building Xiaoice houses on the ice rows, and giving birth to their children before early winter.

Tonight, Old Wen Gong looked at the opposite bank: there was a bright window high in the southwest direction. "She's still tending to the day's harvest. What a hardworking person. ”

He turned back to greet Tachibana Song, wanting him to come over and look at the stars. Tachibana Song was indifferent, sitting under the lamp, thinking.

At this time in the past, he would sit on the kang with it, wrap up the quilt, and enjoy the best time of the day - telling stories together, the world was south, the north and the north. When it hears joy, it slides its body to the bottom and lies on its back, revealing its soft belly. That was the part that Old Wen Gong loved to touch the most.

Back at the table, Tachibana was still thinking.

"What are you thinking? I think you have something on your mind. He looked at its solemn brow.

Tachibana Song's two front paws moved, glancing at him, her gaze still cast in place. It was the depths of the night.

Old Wen Gong had no intention of reading books and thought about the things of the past few days. He remembered: except when they went out together, Tachibana really spent more time alone in meditation. Oh, I haven't seen that weasel in a long time! "Ah, the good friend is gone, it feels lonely."

Old Wen Gong took pity on it. The sudden departure of a good friend is no small matter. "If you don't say goodbye, it's even worse." He let out a long sigh.

This night he had a dream: a group of "ice babies" sat on floating ice, ate, chatted, and were as jovial as swinging. They laughed and said. There are familiar faces among them, and if you look closely, there are orange songs and yellow ferrets, which are close together. The closest to them is their grandson.

Grandpa and grandson are close to each other. Sure enough, just after waking up from a dream, he received a call from across the ocean. It's the little guy, crunchy crying: "I want orange!" ”

There is no way. He held the phone to Tachibana Song's ear. It pricked up its ears, sniffed the phone, and turned to arch his hand.

After breakfast, he felt that it was time to work on his desk. Calculate it, if you can have three hours a day, that can fill in about eight hundred spaces. There are more than 40,000 spaces left, and that takes less than two months.

"Oh, that's too smooth." He stood up, stared at the thick wad of paper, and shook his head. "Maybe a little too optimistic. Know that in many cases, you can only gasp and lie there. You're an old seal covered in scales. ”

Tachibana spends less time going underground. It often circles around the table a few times and then goes back to the old place to think. He was lying on his desk, occasionally turning his face to look at it and saying, "With your brain and concentration alone, I'm much worse than you." ”

He had to admit that three hours a day was difficult. As long as you work for two days in a row and sit for half an hour in one breath, it is a little unsustainable. His chest was tight, his waist was heavy, and there was a tingling pain in his crotch—at one point he even heard a squeaking sound in that area. "Huh?" He lowered his head and held his breath to catch the sound. No. Probably an illusion. But the crotch is really displeased, and it is protesting in its own way.

He still remembers the farm that afternoon: it was bloody red and a stone cart rumbled by. The moment bad luck strikes, it is always caught off guard.

He tried to reduce his desk time to two hours a day. "Just keep at it." He dialed an old friend by the sea, who was eating strawberries with his granddaughter. "Strawberries? So early? "He was a little jealous.

The other party's mouth made a gurgling sound: "In the warm shed, fool." ”

"I can work about two hours a day."

"That's great too! That's two hours of climbing forward! You old seal! ”

Every time he was quarreled by this rough voice, he would add some strength to his body. He crouched down and stroked the orange song, assuring it, "Wait a few more days and I'll be able to hide and seek with you." ”

twenty

The water root came, carrying a thin stone slab - inlaid with wooden edges and tied to straps. Old Wen Gong took it off the child's shoulder, stroked it front and back, knocked it a few times, and listened to the voice of "Dangdang": "Good board." ”

Shui Gen pulled out another talc strip.

"These are all things that children used to bring to school decades ago, and today's children have never seen them. Grandpa gave it to you? ”

Mizugen nodded: "Grandpa said to come twice a week, literacy and arithmetic." ”

"Yes, this matter was decided earlier."

Lao Wen used talc strips to draw a few times on the stone slab, erase them, and draw them again. "It's really a good object to learn, well, let's use it."

Tachibana was fascinated by the stone slab and kept it around. Lao Wengong said to it: "You can only play after class, we will go to class now." ”

Mizugen sat at the table, straightened up, fingers biting into his mouth. His hair was smooth and soft, brown instead of black; Fair skin, nearly transparent. Old Wen Gong stroked the child's braincase, grabbed a stone pen and wrote down a big character: "People".

Mizugen immediately pronounced it.

He wrote another big word: "Heaven".

Mizune also knows. It turns out that the old thorn has taught the child four words: "heaven", "earth", "man" and "hand".

"That's nice." Old Wen Gong said. He was thinking about what words to teach next, as well as pinyin and arithmetic. He believes that all teaching needs a plan, and it is best to make a curriculum first. He believes that pinyin needs to be done with characters. Thinking like this, he recited a string of letters as if singing.

Mizugen and Tachibana looked at him together, their mouths wide open.

He himself could not have imagined that he would sing such a song. There were birds chirping outside the window, which made him wonder: Can you use some animals to represent these letters? It's not easy to forget. He thought first of geese, ducks and chickens. "Well, think slowly."

Tachibana took every word on the slate carefully at first, then walked away.

An hour later, the first lesson ended. Tachibana took the water roots underground.

Old Wen Gong began to do his own thing. Only then did he realize that he was already very tired. He had to lie down and rest for a while.

"I'm an old seal who doesn't admit defeat, as long as I don't stop, I will always climb to the beach!" Now that the front and rear fins are sharpened with calluses, this is not afraid of thorny sand! He gritted his teeth, got up, and sat down at the table again.

The handwriting on the paper overlapped, the color, shade, and paper were all different, and many places were pasted and repaired, like patches on old clothes.

How did you become obsessed with sea seals and finally become an old seal? Is it because of the story of grandma "ice baby"?

Mom and Dad were busy building the railway, and the longer the railway, the farther away they were, and there was only grandma by their side. She has been alone since very early on: her grandfather loved to plant trees, planted all over the mountains, and finally got lost in the woods.

The most memorable story of "Ice Baby". Grandma said that a long time ago, there were countless rivers and bays in the eastern part of the peninsula, and they were born here. "There are rows of ice in the bay, and they are full of ice huts, one after another. The climate is good, and there is endless food, so parents come here to raise them. Later, the climate changed, the river dried up, the lake was gone, and the 'ice baby' never came again. ”

He still remembers one early winter, when an "ice baby" suddenly appeared on the south side of the coast. It turned out that it got lost, crawled too far in the opposite direction, could not find the sea, and cried all night on the beach. People went to see the crying child and found that all four of its fins were ground with blood. Everyone was distressed, lifted it up and sent it into the sea.

Grandma said, "That's a baby spotted seal." ”

That day, he and his grandmother learned the news too late, and when they arrived at the shore, the lost "ice baby" had already left. But he and his grandmother both saw a long mark on the beach, left by the baby seals crawling.

Decades passed, and early this winter, the coarse-throated friend reported the startling news: another "ice baby", the little spotted seal, came ashore.

This time, it must have been lost again.

That old guy studied the ocean all his life. Lao Wengong himself did the history of Dongyi, and half of his time was spent on ancient texts. That guy knows everything about the Eastern Peninsula, the entire Liaodong Bay and the Bohai Bay. For years, they were both fascinated by the story of "Ice Baby".

He wrote down different characters for "Yi". He felt, no, he directly believed that this was the era, the peninsula area crisscrossed the rivers and lakes, and ancient ancestors used this character to write down the image of seals.

The guy was a young oceanographer at the time, and he strongly agreed.

At that time, Lao Wengong felt like a spotted seal, swimming in the sea. Curious, or hard, he swam too close to shore. As a result, a sudden storm surge threw him up and slammed him onto land. He fell far, miserably, surrounded by rocks and thorns.

Just like that, he was covered in blood and began to crawl. I just want to go back to the sea. Those days when the blood scab was torn, those moments of unbearable thirst, he could no longer crawl. It was still the same thick voice that roared next to him: "Don't stop! You'll find the coast, climb back to your place and back to the ocean! ”

For decades, this guy has been yelling.

He was out of his mind, and Tachibana and Mizugen returned. He wanted to draw a small spotted seal on the slate to show them, but it didn't look like it.

twenty-one

The aroma in the south wind is getting stronger and stronger. Old Wen Gong looked at the other side and said to himself: "Yes, the sycamore has bloomed." There is a bigger piece, so shouldn't it be wisteria? ”

He turned back to look for Tachibana and said, "If the sycamore and wisteria are all open, we can't stay in the house, it's a loss!" ”

Tachibana squinted at the riverbank.

"I know you're thinking about that weasel. I know what it's like to miss it, it's really uncomfortable. But life is like that, friends leave, come back, or never come back. Alas. Old Wengong's eyes were moist.

"Let's go to the village, it will make you happy!"

Old Wen Gong walked down the stone steps with the orange song on his back. As soon as I entered the river, a steaming aroma came to my face. Nothing can suppress the fragrance of flowers. The white sand near the shore is verdant and butterflies are swirling. Tachibana Song was a little anxious, and Old Wen Gong had to let it come down.

Several small birds probe in the reed leaves. Two frogs shot out like arrows.

On the other side of the river, Old Wen Gong saw that the tall and low toon trees next to the stone weir had been harvested. "Li Zhuanlian's hand is so fast." He turned to look at Tachibana Song, "Her hand picks up the tsubaki leaves, as fast as you." ”

The plane trees in the streets and alleys, each with a large purple and red flower crown, are like countless candlesticks lit together. Old Wen Gong raised his face for a long time, and when he lowered his head, there were purple vines hanging down the stone wall one after another, and a waterfall of flowers splashing.

"Oh my God, we fell into the whirlpool of spring!" Old Wen Gong stood by the wisteria flowers, holding on to the stone wall, motionless.

"This spring this sea of flowers surged in the mountains, only the five of us have seen it, only the birds know." He grabbed Tachibana Song's two front paws and walked forward, his steps slow.

Walk south for a while along the stone path, then head east. "Look ahead, look up!" He shouted Ode to Orange.

At the crossroads there are several strangely large plane trees, and their corollas are extremely large. He quickened his pace.

He stood under the tree for a long time, and his neck hurt. "Song, you should understand by now what spring is and how big spring is here!"

Tachibana hugged his neck, his beard tickling.

On the east steps, two thin figures, one tall and one short, stood. Old Wen Gong beckoned, and raised his crutches over there.

"Outside the mountain, I never dreamed it would be like this!" Old Wen Gong said loudly, walking quickly to the front of the steps, a little breathless.

The old thorn said: "Hmph, these old vines, the youngest is also hundreds of years old. They are as old as stone houses. ”

Together, Shui Gen and Orange Song went behind the stone wall and burrowed into the vines.

"This kid is playful. But he learned twenty words. The old thorn tilted his head to look at the shaking vine, remembered something, and turned his face, "You don't move here, I'll go back in a moment." ”

Old Wen Gong stayed where he was, waiting for the old thorn. Orange songs and water roots make a crackling sound under the vines, as if capturing something together.

Only a moment later, the old thorn came out of the alley. Old Wen Gong was taken aback—he seemed to have a sword behind him, and from here he could see a cloth belt on his chest and a hilt exposed from his shoulder. He greeted him.

The old thorn crusade stood and slowly turned around to let him see what was on his back.

By God, it turned out to be a big sun-dried fish. "Oops, good fellow!" Old Wen Gong shouted out.

The old thorn took off the big fish, hung it on his body, and said, "This is given to me by Li Zhuanlian, and I gave it to the teacher of Shuigen." ”

"Ah, this gift is too valuable, how can I thank you!"

"I don't like meat. How to eat, you have to ask Li Zhuanlian. The old thorn instructed.

Old Wen Gong walked forward with a big fish on his back, and he had a strange feeling. As if he had caught it with his own hands. Tachibana followed him, glancing up at the big fish from time to time.

When crossing the river, he took Tachibana in his arms and climbed the stone steps in one breath.

Go back inside and put the big fish on the table. It's time to look into it. This is a freshwater fish with gray spots. It is 96 centimeters long and 24 centimeters wide at its widest point. He measured it, wrote down the value in the notebook, and then asked Tachibana Song next to him: "Can she catch such a big guy?" ”

He looked at the big fish on the table and shook his head: "It's in the water, and its strength is as strong as a leopard!" ”

Li Zhuanlian came before dark. This time she brought meat, eggs and vegetables, as well as three citrus. Old Wen Gong placed the fragrant golden fruit on the bookshelf and asked, "Found the map?" ”

"Nope." Li Zhuanlian sighed, "There are only maps of peach trees and apple trees. ”

"Hmm. So let's think of a way. Old Wen Gong straightened the three citrus, turned to the big fish, "I don't believe you caught it." ”

The corners of Li Zhuanlian's mouth shrank and did not speak. She was looking at Tachibana Song—it kept staring at the fish, its paws so hard that it seemed to jump at any moment.

"It's in the water, it's going to be a great character." He said.

Li Zhuanlian nodded: "I arrested it." ”

"Huh? From this river? ”

"It's this river."

twenty-two

Li Zhuanlian's words made Old Wen Gong marvel. Will there be such a big fish in a river that is about to dry up? It was about the same a long time ago - when the water was so strong that the stone bridges were washed away.

Li Zhuanlian said of catching fish: "It was taller than me when it jumped out of the water. The eyes are so fierce, staring at me. ”

"Just because it left the water, it was unlucky." He thought of an unfortunate old seal.

"To eat this big fish, you have to have a saw. It is harder than wood and sawn into pieces first. "Li Zhuanlian Bibi paints and introduces the practice of fish.

Old Wen Gong wrote in a small book.

"Soak for a day and a night, put in a mud bowl, add green onion, ginger and oil. Have tempeh, cabbage root. ”

"Remembered. Please continue. ”

"Then it's frying and stewing, with artemisia and a little leek. Use old vinegar when closing the pot. ”

"You value old vinegar."

"Finally, it's about making grilled fish. It is so crispy that even the fish bones can be eaten. But have a good tooth. Li Zhuanlian looked at his mouth and stopped talking.

Old Wen Gong stared at the book, a little regretful. He felt that none of these four practices were suitable for Tachibana Song. What do you do to make Tachibana like it? He didn't ask, leaving it to himself.

Li Zhuanlian went to the stove house to get water, wiped her hands, took out a piece of paper from her pocket and said, "After so many days, it's time to settle the bill." You give me a bowl of money, I buy you something. ”

Old Wen Gong remembered that that night, she put a wad of money she handed over in a bowl.

"A bowl of money has whole zeros, I wrote it down. You look at the bill. She flattened the paper on the table.

Old Wen Gong saw that a bowl was drawn on it, and the total amount of money was written next to it. Then meat and tofu, fish, vegetables, in turn, indicate the amount of money. "This is great, how good this is!" He admired the paintings.

"That's it, settling the accounts brother, I do everything in one lump sum." Li Zhuanlian pushed the piece of paper over.

Old Wen Gong is still watching. Although they are sketched, how vivid they are! Moreover, they could simply emit a smell, such as spinach, and he smelled its green life. He rubbed his hands: "It's wonderful!" ”

Li Zhuanlian is gone. Old Wen Gong watched her walk towards the stone steps from the window, and then went out again, watching her cross the river.

"What an amazing woman." He returned to the room and said to Tachibana Song, who jumped on the table, "She can write and martial arts, and she is not ambiguous!" ”

The phone rang. Ho, it's him, the noisy guy: "Everything is still going well, right?" Good food. How is the food? It's not an exaggeration to drink it in moderation. ”

He had to keep the phone away from his ear. He was happy and said, "The food here is no worse than in the city, no, it's better than there!" The main thing is that the water is good! Well, it's the peak bloom right away, and neither Tachibana nor I have a pollen allergy problem, so, it's a treat! ”

"Can you eat fish?" Old seals can't do without this. ”

"Of course. I'm about to eat a big fish. How big it is, you listen well: four centimeters is one meter! ”

"Ouch, I want to rush over! But can you handle this big fish? I heard that it is necessary to stew with old wine, and I am not afraid of fire. ”

Old Wen Gong smiled: "I'm sorry, this is not the practice in the mountains." ”

There is still an hour before dark. This is when productivity is at its highest. He clipped all the doubts marked on a large pile of paper, annotated them, and wrote down the books and reference books that needed to be proofread in the future.

He tried to look up some information on his phone, and eventually found that it was full of errors. "It's the most unreliable thing." He grunted and pushed aside, only to stumble upon a picture on the screen - an orange tree.

"Song, come and see, most of the things about the map can be solved."

Before dinner, an inspiration crossed his mind, and it came suddenly. The reason was to go out to breathe, and at a glance I saw the sunset reflecting the river channel red, illuminating a clump of grass. "Would that be a cattail?"

He knew that there were many kinds of cattails, and only the tender core of cattails could be called "pucai". He never forgets how his grandmother picked delicious pu cores to make pu choi soup when he was a child.

He couldn't help it, and immediately went to the bottom of the stone steps. You don't need a lot, just a few dozen tender cores. He took it in his hand and sniffed the aroma all the way:

"It must be cattails."

twenty-three

Reluctant to go to sleep. He polished the lampshade and made a lamp umbrella.

Tachibana waited on the kang in advance, waited for a while, and began to nap. Old Wen Gong pulled the quilt to its chin.

He sat at the table for a long time. No more daytime work, just thinking about things. The three faces on the other side of the ocean flashed one by one, and finally stopped on a young face. My wife left too early, and she hadn't seen this little face. The little one raises her eyebrows, or has her look.

"After you leave, I will be alone. They wanted to return from the eastern peninsula to be reunited, but they left. Now, thankfully, I'm with Tachibana Song. He got up and paced, his voice nonchalant, "That time on the farm, you were scared half to death." You came from hundreds of miles away overnight, and I just woke up one day. You hold my hand and can't say a word. ”

He opened the box next to the bookshelf and pulled out a stack of cards. He picked out a pile of them, sniffed it, and pasted it to his face.

"Don't worry, my old seal can still climb forward. Tonight, I heard the sound of the crashing waves again. ”

He stared at the place where the light was not shining, it was a deeper night, connecting everything inside and outside the house, the village and the mountains.

"The first time we returned to our ancestral home, you were happy like a child. You tugged at my hand and jumped up and down this labyrinth. You are very curious about the old man who built this house. ”

He muttered to himself and fell asleep on the table.

At midnight, someone draped him in a dress and walked away. He knew it was his wife. She transcribed cards in another room and slept late every day.

He was awakened by footsteps and rubbed his eyes. A back disappeared in the corner of the room. He barked and didn't respond. He stood up, took a few steps, and turned back to take the lamp on the table.

He held the wall with one hand and a lamp in the other, and walked down the steps through the small door of the stove house. The clothes on his body slipped off several times, and he tightened his grip. He heard footsteps disappear below.

"I know you're going to prepare a late-night snack and come down to find dates and red beans. Watch your feet and let me illuminate you. His voice grew louder, almost shouting.

"Where are you?" Unable to hear a response, he became louder and stomped his foot hard.

"Hide and seek? Aha, I'm a veteran of this! With the corners of his mouth deflated, he stepped down the steps, paused for a moment at the turn, and gasped for air.

Pushing open several small doors in a row, the night inside was even thicker. He looked at every corner with his palm lamp and removed the clutter. Silence everywhere. "From here, it's the stone slide." He went around the side of the slide and wanted to climb the steps.

"I'm coming." He said, taking a big step - the place to land was still night, not steps. He fell.

Exactly how long he lay down, he didn't know. When I opened my eyes and thought about where I was, I couldn't figure it out. He was about to sit up, reach out and grab something, and there was a sharp pain in his waist.

The pain reminded him of Ode Tachibana. "I've always been with Tachibana Song, Song! Ode! He shouted. He listened to his own voice, suddenly hoarse, and endured the sting with every word he spit out.

He panted, using more force, and wanted to sit up. He still shouted ode to Tachibana and did not respond.

He felt entangled in an invisible silk mesh. Breaking free again and again, all failed.

He went to sleep again. Waking up entirely because of a burst of calls - the sound is all too familiar, this is Ode to Tangerine! It was it, that wet little mouth touching his face over and over again, calling non-stop. He couldn't speak, only holding its fat claws.

Tachibana arched his arms, hands and legs, and finally jumped on his chest and stepped on it. It closed its eyes and purred sharply. He wanted to roll over and let it step on his waist, but he couldn't move.

twenty-four

Old Wen Gong was surrounded by three people: Lao Thorn Qiu, Shui Gen, and Li Zhuanlian. Tachibana sat to the side. "I couldn't figure out what was going on. I may have slept too long. He looked at them one by one, very sorry.

It was a little after ten o'clock in the morning. The first to enter the stone house was Li Zhuanlian, who took water and delivered vegetables, and she could not find the owner,

Thinking he had gone to the village, he sat down and waited for a while. Later, she chose the spinach and leeks she brought to dry the leaves, and washed the taro and sweet potatoes.

Waiting for Mizune, as soon as he entered the door, he looked for Tachibana Song, shouted and ran below. After about a few minutes, the water roots jumped up and ran away.

Li Zhuanlian was a little confused, and he didn't know that something was wrong until the old thorn came here.

The old thorn coated the old Wen Gong with medicinal wine, squatted on the side and rubbed it, and said: "The fall is not heavy, I will help you up in a while." ”

After staying for half an hour, the old thorn patted Old Wengong's face, stretched one arm under his armpit, and asked Li Zhuanlian to go to the other side to learn his appearance. "Slow, up." He said.

Old Wen Gong was picked up. Tachibana kept watching, his eyes wide.

The old thorn made a "uh-huh" sound in his mouth and moved forward. He and Li Zhuanlian carried people up the steps.

After tossing for a while, they finally helped Old Wen Gong to the big house and let him lie on his back on the kang. Li Zhuanlian went to the stove house. The smell of rice began to permeate. Old Thorn Crusade sat on the edge of the kang and said to Old Wen Gong, who opened his eyes: "Below, it's really a good place to play!" ”

Old Wen Gong smiled.

Li Zhuanlian brought a bowl of vegetable porridge and wanted to feed Lao Wengong. The old thorn stopped her and raised the pillow a little higher. Old Wen Gong was half sitting and half lying down, and Old Thorn Zhu stuffed the bowl over.

"Look how hard he caught." The old thorn said to her.

Old Wen Gong gasped, and it took a long time to drink half a bowl of porridge, eat half an egg and a taro.

Tachibana Song eats the remaining half of the yolk of Lao Wengong.

Old Thorn and Li Zhuanlian stayed in the stone house all afternoon. The old thorn turned on the medicinal wine every once in a while, smeared and rubbed it for the old Wengong. When it got dark, Old Thorn applied it one last time, put the bottle mouth on Old Wengong's mouth, and said, "Take a sip." ”

Old Wen Gong took a sip and choked out tears.

Old Wen Gong lay flat, his hands stroking on the top of his head and next to the pillow. Water root pushed Tachibana Song over. Tachibana climbed up to his chest and pressed, stepped on it for a while and moved down. Old Wen Gong bent down and let Orange Song step on his waist.

The old thorn said, "Good. ”

It was dark. Li Zhuanlian looked at the broken lampshade and said, "Let me accompany him tonight." ”

The old thorn said, "You better go back." He patted the kang mat, "Shui Gen, you sleep here with Tachibana Song." ”

Mizune promised loudly.

Old Thorn Zhuo left with Li Zhuanlian. Shui Gen and Orange Song lay on either side of Lao Wengong. They soon fell asleep.

At two o'clock in the morning, Old Wen Gong woke up.

"My waist is much better." Old Wen Gong said. He looked out the window, wanting to see a window in the distance. No. Only shining stars. "Sleep. I'll tell you stories after dawn. Now is the time to sleep. He said to the waking water root and orange song.

The light came in through the window, and Tachibana stretched and let out a long yawn. Old Wen Gong also opened his eyes. In fact, he has not slept since he woke up in the early hours of the morning, and he has been thinking about things. He has to lie on his back most of the time, which will hurt a little less. Mizugen is still sleeping. Old Wen Gong looked at him intently.

Mizugen has a bulging forehead, very white, hair the color of corn tasse, and long eyelashes.

The door rang, and it was Li Zhuanlian who came in. She was carrying a basket with a lid in her hand, and the aroma was coming out of it. She leaned over the kang and looked at Old Wengong. "All night." He told her. Tachibana jumped to the basket and stepped on the water root.

Uncover the basket and untie a coarse cloth bag with several rice dumplings inside. "This is what I made in the morning, red dates, fragrant glutinous rice." She peels off the bamboo leaves.

Just then the door slammed, and the old thorn came in. He held the crutches with both hands and stared at her: "Hurt like this, how can you eat rice dumplings?" ”

"What do you eat?"

"Yam fish soup!"

twenty-five

Old Wen Gong was able to walk around under the kang, and he could last for three or five minutes at a time. "I have to thank you very much, otherwise it will suck." He said.

"Thanks should be given to medicinal wine and yam fish soup." Li Zhuanlian said.

The old thorn said: "The main thing is that the water is good. ”

Old Wen Gong nodded, turned his face to look at Shui Gen and Tangerine Song who were playing on the side: "There are also two little guys." He remembered something and looked out the window, "How long until acacia blooms?" ”

The old thorn replied: "Ten days." ”

"Day in bloom?"

"Thirteen days."

Old Wen Gong looked at the old thorn: "As long as you don't miss the locust flower." To be honest, Tachibana and I came here more than half for locust flowers. ”

Li Zhuanlian's eyes widened: "So it is!" ”

The old thorn said: "Don't worry, you can't make a mistake." ”

"I'm so happy. Many years ago I saw the locust flowers here, ho, blooming like a hill. That time with my wife. At night, because of the strong fragrance of flowers and the moon, it is honestly difficult to fall asleep. We went to the river and sat under the locust tree. ”

The old thorn crutch pressed the crutch, and the weight of the whole body was pressed on it.

"These days, Zhuanlian comes to make yam fish soup every day, and Brother Zhuanji gives me medicine. But I don't have a decent gift for you. ”

The old thorn said, "Oh, Shui Gen knows thirty-two words. ”

Li Zhuanlian said: "If you want to be willing, just give me the writing on the wall." ”

"That's not hard at all. In two days, I will write exactly the same words. ”

The old thorn glanced at the wall: "Give me one too." ”

Old Wen Gong nodded: "Definitely." He went on to say what those few lines meant.

Li Zhuanlian said: "Orange tree, how good. I'm going to paint that orange tree. ”

Two days later, Old Wen Gong was much lighter. He walked around and stood in the doorway for a while. The sky is blue and white clouds are floating on the top of the mountain. The sound of water in the river was still there, but he smelled the green vitality of the water plants and the muddy smell of the fish.

"In another week, Tachibana and I will be able to cross the river."

Mizugen was here all day. He wanted to play with Tachibana and didn't want to sit at the table. It's best to have a time before going to bed and listen to stories with Tachibana Song.

In addition to learning words, he also learned arithmetic. Shui Gen added the words on the wall together and shouted: "Eight plus eight plus five, equal to twenty-one!" ”

Old Wengong said, "It's really good. He asked, "And the signature and the red seal next to it?" ”

Shui Gen replied in a louder voice: "Three plus three plus two equals eight!" ”

"Great. Smart kid! ”

Tachibana sat in the corner for a long time, and Mizune asked him to play, but it refused. He wanted to take it into his arms, and it glared and sat farther away. Shui Gen complained to Old Wengong.

"You can't disturb Tachibana Song's thinking. It thinks every day, whether sitting, lying down or walking. Old Wen Gong said.

Mizune looked at Tachibana Song. It still had that look, only looking in one direction.

"When it concentrates on doing things and thinking about things, none of us can disturb it, let alone force it to change its mind. We people can't do that. Mizugen, don't you think this is remarkable? ”

Mizune lowered his head. Then Mizugen went to the side and sat down. Sometimes he looks at a place, sometimes he lowers his eyes. Old Wen Gong handed him a glass of water, and he said, "I'm thinking. ”

Li Zhuanlian brought vegetables and fruits, as well as a little meat. What made Old Wen Gong particularly happy was a shiny lampshade she brought. "Ah, I thought I would never find it again. This is wonderful! ”

The broken lampshade was replaced and a lamp umbrella was remade.

After dinner, Lao Wengong rolled up his sleeves and spread the rice paper on the table. Under the bright lights, water roots and orange songs surrounded me. Old Wen Gong dipped in ink, wrote three large characters in one go, and then stamped them with a red seal.

"It's the same as the writing on the wall." Mizune said.

"That's right. This is what I sent to your grandfather and Li Zhuanlian. ”

He put the words away. Tachibana jumped onto the kang and Mizune sat next to him.

It's time for storytelling.

twenty-six

Old Wen Gong wrenched his finger and counted the day when the locust flowers were open, and the day when the full moon was reached. "They're not the same day. However, the locust flowers grow into small bracts, and then open a little bit, also like a crescent. He looked at Tachibana Song. The phone rang.

"Old seal, I want to hear your voice again." The old guy shouted as soon as he came up.

"What do you mean by ''?"

"As soon as your four old fins are hardened, they make that sound in their mouths." He laughed, rough, rattling, not bad at all.

Old Wen Gong did not scream. He was a little distracted: Where have I climbed now? "Four old fins", as it is right, they have long worn calluses, and they do not care about thorns and earth and rocks. All that's left is to keep going!

"Are you asleep? Speak! ”

"Speak, okay. Well, I'm thinking about the 'whoa' thing. Sorry, though, it looks like someone knocked on the door. ”

"Good! Good! "It's still roaring over there.

He patted the phone and had to hang up.

The old thorn is coming. He stepped forward, stretched out his crutches and hit Old Wengong's back, and snorted.

When drinking tea, the old thorn was too drunk and added white water. He looked at Tachibana Song walking back and forth in the house and said, "Good cat." ”

"It's not too fat, but it has a double back." Old Wen Gong said.

"You should have a double back, too! Dude, what the hell is going on with you? Farm? I know that. Anything else? ”

"It was just building walls, digging holes, carrying bags. One day, a small car pulled me to the beach. There is a small building there, and a few of us live in it, and we can read, write, and eat powder every day. I like pink belly the most. ”

"Pink belly. And later? ”

"Later let's praise one person specifically, and that's the worst person. I quit. ”

The old thorn raised a pair of sunken eyes: "And such a thing?" Who is this person? ”

"You don't know, a man from ancient times. And just like that, they sent me back to the farm. ”

"The pink belly is gone."

"It's gone." Old Wen Gong replied, and suddenly remembered the clay bowl in the stove house—below was an open can of powder. "This sucks." He went to the stove house, uncovered the clay bowl, and saw round balls covered with green hair. "What a pity. What a pity. ”

He couldn't hide his frustration. He didn't say it was a meal left for that banquet.

The old thorn looked at the words on the wall and smacked his lips: "You have a lot of literacy and many stories." Blessed is Mizugen. ”

Old Wen Gong looked at the bulging hand with green tendons, and there was a little ink on his index finger. "My grandmother told me the stories. There was no one else around, only grandma. Some things I don't believe, but they are still unforgettable. ”

"Tell me about it."

"Grandma said that grandpa turned into a tree."

The old thorn patted his leg: "You have to believe this!" ”

He looked at the old thorn and rubbed his fingers.

The old thorn took a sip of tea: "Your grandfather loves trees, and he has led people to plant all over the surrounding mountains. There was a mountain king who looked everywhere for a tree called 'Birch' to use to build the axles of chariots. They escorted your grandfather into the mountains. ”

"Grandma said that he didn't want to identify which one was a birch, and he couldn't escape, so he became a tree in the mountains."

"The people of the king of the mountain are gone, and your grandmother and the people of the village go up the mountain to find your grandfather. Your grandmother put her arms around tree after tree, crying, asking which one. Some people say, scrape it with a sickle, which one bleeds, which one is. ”

Old Wen Gong lowered his head.

"Your grandma stopped them. She is afraid that your grandfather will be in pain. But for several days she went up the mountain. She later saw that many large trees had sickle scratches, and the bark oozed tears, shiny and not red. ”

"Then it's not grandpa."

"He's one of them. Definitely in. Your grandmother believes, and the whole village believes. ”

Tachibana kept walking around, not squinting. It stood down at this time and looked at the two people.

Old Wen Gong sighed and said nothing more. He stood up and took a large letter.

The old thorn "chirped" a few times and took it with both hands. He stroked the words on the paper, and finally stared at the seal: "How red!" ”

twenty-seven

The peak season of harvesting has passed, and Li Zhuanlian can come to the stone house on time again. Old Wen Gong said: "Can you buy me a powder belly a day or two in advance on the day of the locust blossoms?" ”

Li Zhuanlian wrenched her finger and said, "Do your best." She got two large letters and said, "But I haven't found the orange tree map yet." ”

Old Wengong remembered, opened his phone, and pointed to the picture above. She said, "Slow and slow," glance at it, and write down a note on paper.

"When I go back, I will draw a big picture of a peach tree and an apple tree."

"I wanted its branches and leaves to be folded and shaped like an umbrella. It should be fruitful, and its leaves should be fat and green. Also, the upper and lower left and right fruits are symmetrical. He instructed.

Li Zhuanlian pursed her mouth: "Well, I understand." ”

She's gone. He watched her cross the river—she carried a bucket of water, stepped on the foaming stones in the center of the river, and her body was agile.

After a while, the water root came. Lao Wengong said: "According to the class schedule, it is time to know 56 words today. ”

After an hour of study, it's time to play. Mizune gestured to Tachibana Song, learned that it agreed, and jumped. They left.

Old Wen Gong removed the stone slab of the water root, played with the card box and reference book, and took out the cloth bag with a sunflower pattern.

The sun illuminates the table. He thought it was a great working day. He remembered a punchline he had heard before: the days he remembers are life. Now he wants to change: the days of good work are life.

But just half an hour after lying on the desk, a dull pain began to feel in his waist. He stood up, wriggle, pounded, and finally had to leave the table. He came to the window and looked at the silhouette of the mountain in the distance. He started thinking about the days that could be called "life." "It's a pity, not much, at least not as much as you think. The reason is simple and unfortunate – someone wouldn't let me live that kind of life. So, I must say, my 'life' is very thin. ”

He returned to the table and repeated, "Thin! ”

Looking at the grids waiting to fill, they look like some eyes, looking at an old man, full of kindness. Because of this, he believes that every word written must be worthy of them.

The mottled pages in front of me have accumulated such a thick pile is amazing. Those paragraphs, scrawled or neat, make a big difference. Some fragments are glued, much like cloth of different colors. Some words should be re-transcribed, and today they look like strings of wriggling ants.

He remembered each page: mood and situation, where he was. There was some memorable help. Yes, he will first of all, no, he will always thank someone, that old guy. This guy is still shouting and drinking on the phone, and he does not adhere to it.

How many dry roads and waterways that that person walked with himself. They were once lost on a barren mountain, dying, and rescued by a medicine collector. He fainted alone on a stinking private boat, and it was the guy who risked his life to come to the rescue. On the long road to explore the "ice baby", in the dark night of solving the ancient riddle, that person does not give up, and may accompany him on the last journey.

A pang of guilt welled up. He felt that maybe it was a little late, and a solemn decision should be made about that guy. "Without him, my old seal would lie in the thorny dirt and rocks, desperate and lonely to death."

This time he didn't delay anymore and immediately called the old guy. The other party is very impatient and may have something at hand. But he quickly relented and said, "Nothing. Go ahead. ”

Old Wen Gong was short of breath and a little nervous. He said as plainly as possible: "It's okay, I just missed you." I think, I think when it's done, we should sign together. I didn't do it alone. ”

It's eerily quiet over there. Only for a moment, the man's anger broke out, shouting: "You shut up for me!" ”

"But we always have to respect the facts."

"The truth is, you're a hapless old seal!"

The phone hung up. But he could still hear the man panting and see his angry red face. "Forget it, make this guy angry."

He looked at his phone and chewed on the two words he had just spit out: "Unlucky." Yes, battered, dying, and others. Fortunately, he eventually woke up, came back to life, and got rid of his wheelchair. Instead of the wheel, he could use four old fins and move forward inch by inch.

The sharp pain that hit from time to time, the suffocation and gasping all night, on and off for decades. He kept remembering, like sewing a tattered shirt, interspersing those pieces of paper day and night. One day, it was the early spring when the plane trees were blooming, and a famous "taidou" came to the peninsula. The leader asked him to accompany him -

Once, remembering that it was between the banquets, he finally couldn't help it and began to ask for advice. Be careful, respectful, and courteous, and say the word "raze". "Taidou" listened, and his eyes rolled behind the lenses.

"'Yi', I think it's a seal."

"Taidou" was startled, laughed, and coughed. The lady next to her hurriedly went to pat her husband on the back. Lao Wengong explained: "Of course, the classics do not say so. However, I think, this is a personal opinion. ”

"Taidou" was still coughing and turned his face away. Madame said, "Please don't make Mr. laugh. She turned to the leader on the side, "Sir will not be able to stand it!" ”

The leader shot a stern gaze.

When he returned that night, he couldn't sleep and his chest was throbbing. His wife warmed him and raised his back.

Since then, he has had a new nickname: Old Seal.

twenty-eight

Old Wen Gong wants to see open the big fish. He sawed it into many segments, then into smaller squares, and packed them into a jacaranda porcelain altar.

He remembered the method of making fish taught by Li Zhuanlian and prepared to try them one by one. Cabbage root, tempeh, mud bowl, everything. He thought none of the four methods she said were suitable for Ode to Orange Song. "The fifth method should be invented." He thought about it, thought for a long time, and finally wrote it down: leaching salt, chopping finely, adding vegetable crumbs, adding flour, making bean-like granules, and drying in the sun. "That way it will like."

At dinner, the old man said to Orange Song: "Until your dim sum is made, egg yolk is still the first choice." He gave it egg yolks, ate sour pancakes for himself and water roots, and drank salty porridge.

Lao Wengong was most interested in the living and eating of Lao Thorn, especially asked about three meals a day. Mizugen said that grandpa only drank a little bit of porridge at every meal, "vegetable porridge".

"That's why he's so skinny. But the waist is straight. I'm three years older. ”

"He loves mushrooms and climbs on willow trees to pick them."

Old Wen Gong stared at Shui Gen: "Is there such a thing?" ”

"Grandpa saw a big yellow mushroom on the willow tree and threw it away. He climbed into the tree in a moment. ”

He smacked his lips, thinking about the man who climbed the tree. "It's like an old monkey." He grunted.

They went to the kang. Shui Gen and Orange Song were squeezed together, and Old Wen Gong had to move a little inside. Mizugen pinched Tachibana Song's nose and wanted to kiss it. Old Wen Gong had to stop: "This is not possible. ”

"Its little mouth is cleaner than mine."

"That's not okay either. It is different from our oral bacterial community. He pointed to his mouth, "My throat hurts." ”

"I'm not afraid of pain."

"Tachibana is afraid."

Mizune stretched out his legs and tried to clamp Tachibana Song. Tachibana narrowed his eyes and sat down behind Old Wengong.

"Let's tell a story." Old Wen Gong pushed the oil lamp into the windowsill to look at the night outside the window.

Mizugen focused, resting one hand on his chin.

"Let's still say 'ice baby' today, that is, the little spotted seal." They're as big as orange songs, or even smaller. ”

Mizune tilted his head to look at the orange song. Tachibana sat upright.

"Every year before winter, their parents leave early and set off from the far northern ocean. Arrive at Peninsula Bay, it's December, and the ice row has just formed. Huts began to be built, and they were to be born in huts. ”

"A cabin made of ice?"

"Mom and Dad dug out the ice nest with their teeth, and it was a small house with a dent." Bingwa's born, they live with mom and dad. ”

"How cold is that!" Mizune said.

"They like igloos like this, it's the best place for them, and in their opinion, the peninsula bay is wonderful, neither cold nor hot. That's why Mom and Dad traveled thousands of miles from the northernmost ocean. It would take months, overcoming the odds and dodging sharks and sea wolves. Nothing can stop them, be sure to arrive on time. ”

"Just to give birth to 'Ice Baby' here?"

"Yes. Because the ice row in Bohai Bay is only available in December, it begins to melt in March of the following year. So mom and dad have to do so many things in less than four months: build a nest, give birth to an 'ice baby', let the 'ice baby' grow up, and learn the skills to survive. The family lived in a Xiaoice house, went out every day to bask in the sun, climb on the reef to play, and have fun until the end of March. ”

"Do they eat fish?"

"Eat fish and eat shrimp. There are many shallows in Bohai Bay, and there are many rivers entering the sea, and the rivers come all the way from the mountainous plains, bringing countless delicious things. Great seals take their children to play in the bay, and they can also follow the river channel to the land's water lakes. These places are completely different from the ocean and are a paradise for baby seals to grow and play. ”

Tachibana listened intently, his right paw raised to his mouth, motionless.

Mizugen shouted, "Oops! How nice, little seal! ”

"Think about it, the peninsula bays at that time, how many watery lakes along the coast, there were spotted seals everywhere! Some of them lie on the ice row, some climb to the shore, and some swim into the river and lake in one breath. They could be seen everywhere at that time. ”

"I love baby seals! They are like orange songs, and they all have two beards! I'm going to the bay! Mizugen shouted.

"Due to climate change, spotted seals are rarely seen in the bay now."

"Why 'change'?"

"There are always things that have to change, such as our stone house, there were still many people a few years ago. A few decades ago, hundreds of years ago, there were so many people here. His voice lowered.

Tachibana jumped onto the windowsill. Old Wen Gong wanted to hold it for a while, but he refused. It sits under the lamp and looks out the window for a long time.

"We're talking about spotted seals, but there are many other species. It is said that there are more than forty species of seals in the world, and they are all docile and lovely. There is only one called 'leopard seal', which is a particularly ferocious fellow, invading the same kind and injuring people. ”

"That's the villain of the seals!"

"Yes. There are always bad guys. Old Wen Gong stopped talking. After staying for a while, he got up and found a pen and paper and wrote a big "Yi" character.

"It's the fifty-seventh word you know."

"What is it?"

"The seal painted by the ancients."

twenty-nine

Old Wen Gong told himself: work at least two hours a day. In the grunting of the tea stove, Ode to Tachibana will accompany for a while. He flipped books, wrote, and when a book was stacked as high as his shoulder, Tachibana would leave.

Mizune, as in the past, comes two afternoons a week. He wrote on the slate, pronouncing out some rhyming sentences aloud.

One afternoon, Mizugen and Tachibana Song still went to play below. After a short time, Mizugen ran up shouting and said, "We found a big hole!" ”

Old Wen Gong put down the pen in his hand. As he descended the steps, he braced himself against the wall and walked slowly. The light below is very weak, and it takes a while to get used to it before you can see it clearly.

Water roots jumped ahead, stopping from time to time to wait. "Song, where are you?" Old Wen Gong shouted. No response. Mizune said, "It must have gone into the hole on its own." ”

The narrowest part of the promenade can only pass by one person. Mizune jumped through an oval-shaped hut and stepped forward, standing on a swing-like swinging bridge. Old Wen Gong had only come once, thinking that it was a child's thing, and he was a little scared.

Shui Gen pointed to the stone under the bridge: "Look! ”

There is a black hole hole. Old Wen Gong rubbed his eyes, and only then did he see the orange song—it poked its head out of the gap in the stone. He called and came closer, but it retracted. It turned out that there was a large gap in the middle of the stone.

Tachibana called inside, leading Lao Wen Gong in. At the foot is a pile of collapsed rubble, and looking ahead, there is a narrow curved tunnel: about a meter wide, the ground is paved with flat stone slabs, and the top is a tight vault. There is no end in sight, only a faint light.

As it moves forward, the light becomes dazzling. The entire underground passage has a total of more than 50 meters. Its exit has been blocked by stones, and light comes straight in through the gap.

He lay on his stomach on the tightened stones and looked out from the gap—a patch of shaking bushes and grass, the most dense of which was bushes. He smelled the mud and heard the sound of water. "Oh, got it, we're on the riverbank!" He said to Tachibana Song and Mizune on the side.

Tachibana played with the stone gaps, and it was difficult to get out. Old Wen Gong and Shui Gen tried to push the exit open several times, but with a lot of effort, the stones were still firmly blocked there.

"That's not okay. Our strength is too small, we have to think of a way slowly. Old Wen Gong persuaded Shui Gen.

Back in the house, it was already hot and sweaty. He sat at the table, waiting for his breath to subside, thinking about the old man. He didn't know how many secrets were hidden in the stone house, including the larger building at the crossroads.

The door rang, and he went to open it. It's Li Zhuanlian. After she entered the house, he went outside the door, took a few steps forward, and looked back at the stone house. Its exterior walls are made of colored stones to spell out various patterns, it is not tall, the roof has a little more chimneys, and the rest is nothing special.

Back in the house, Li Zhuanlian raised the basket in her hand to him: "I really can't buy it, there is no 'powder belly' as you said." Only ham. ”

"Oh, it's a pity."

"Is pink belly that good?"

Old Wen Gong wanted to say that this would be a main course at the banquet, but held back. Embarrassed, he told her, "I didn't eat anything when I was a child. One day Dad brought back a powder belly, and Grandma used a thin thread to tie it into pieces. That taste will never be forgotten. ”

The water root was on the side, pursing his tongue. He looked back and saw Tachibana walking towards the stove house, and patted his head: "Let's go to the big hole!" ”

As he walked forward, he said, "Zhuanlian, there is something I want you to help with." Let's go! ”

Li Zhuanlian followed down, forward, she sighed: "Look at these twists and turns, you have to confuse people!" ”

After entering the cave, Li Zhuanlian stopped speaking. At the end, Old Wen Gong pointed to the stones: "You have to push it away." ”

Li Zhuanlian pushed several times, and the stone did not move. She looked up and down, touched, and finally found a handle-like piece of wood. She grabbed it and shook, dragged it, pulled it out. The stones creak. As soon as she pushed, with a boom, the hole opened.

They pulled away the bushes and reeds, went out of the hole, and found themselves standing on the riverbank. Here is a high platform with a dark waterhole below. Li Zhuanlian clapped her hands: "Ah, big pool!" This is where I catch fish! ”

Tachibana jumped down the steps and circled around the pool, sniffing hard.

"The water is deep and you can hide big fish. But how do you catch it? Old Wen Gong looked confused.

Li Zhuanlian pointed to the waterhole: "For three or nine days, it froze tightly. I brought an iron pickaxe, chiseled a big hole in the basin, sat down and waited, and the big fish jumped out. ”

Mizune didn't believe it: "Why?" ”

"I don't know. It jumps out, followed by a school of small fish. ”

Old Wen Gong understood: the waterhole was sealed, and the big fish was suffocated. "No matter how big a fish is, it must be breathable! It breathes! He shouted loudly, looking at the blue sky with a sad and indignant expression.

Back in the house, Old Wen Gong instructed: Don't tell the cave in advance, we found a secret passage, which was the secret left by the old man. Li Zhuanlian smiled: "There is no one in the village, who to tell to go?" ”

Mizugen asked, "Doesn't grandpa tell either?" ”

Old Wen Gong hesitated for a moment, stroked his brown hair and said, "We can't hide from him. ”

thirty

In the dead of night, Tachibana slept next to him. Old Wen Gong has been sleepless. He opened the window to a small gap to sniff the midnight breath. The night air mixes water, trees, mountains, and the smell of the starry sky. "Yes, the stars and the moon also smell."

He remembers sitting with his grandmother on the white sand by the river as a child, looking at the stars for a long time. At one point he said, "I smelled the stars." "What does it smell like?" He thought for a moment and said not exactly. He wanted to say: like the peaches hanging in the treetops in the deep winter, the peaches left behind are frozen purple-red, and a layer of transparent ice is formed on them.

Later he also smelled the moon - unlike the stars, it was similar to hydrangeas. When the moon is full, the whole sky and earth are its smell, and it is very strong. He kept sniffing and said, "Ah, the moon! ”

Tonight, he sniffed continuously. "There is no way, a habit developed since childhood." He sighed and closed the window.

Can't sleep, would love to talk to the old guy in the peninsula. That person has a habit of going to bed on time and gets angry when disturbed. But in the end, he did not hold back, and still dialed the other party's phone.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened his mouth, the other party cursed and cursed, and when he heard who it was, it was slightly better. "I'm really sorry, I'm like this because, during the day, I just discovered a secret. I'm going to tell my best friend. ”

He spoke of the secret passage leading to the river: secluded and refined, surmounted by stone vaults, the exit blocked by bushes and reeds, and sealed with stones.

"I'm getting more and more curious about my grandfather, that ancestor. He was under a stone house, and he spent so much thought. I was thinking about his intentions. Is it just for fun? ”

"Fun is important in itself. This is his creation. In this life, people should leave their own works, it must be their own, different from others. This requires concentration, making up your mind, and not looking at other people's faces. Well, you get the idea, old seal. ”

The last sentence made Old Wen Gong silent for a long time. This nickname is familiar with the other party, so it can be tolerated and accepted. Initially, it was the opposite, what an insult.

"To be honest, I was almost ruined by this nickname." His voice was small, only to himself, strangely caught by the guy behind his ear. The other party laughed: "That's it, so what?" Since it is, then climb back into the sea! Well, you didn't lie down, you're a good guy! ”

"You're my brother." He was full of respect.

"That 'Taidou' caused you to stop work for half a year. Fortunately, your stubbornness is even greater! ”

Old Wengong closed his eyes: Am I stubborn? I might as well as Ode Tangerine! Look at it, what a comfortable creature, doing only its own thing, who wants to force it, persecute it, will never comply.

"Time, too fast, too fast. People have only one life, neither short nor long. ”

That is the end of tonight's conversation. He fell asleep and slept comfortably. Tachibana seemed to have kissed him on the face, but did not wake him up.

In the morning, the glow illuminates the windows. He woke up feeling in a good mood and full of energy, expanded his chest after the kang, and started preparing breakfast. He cooked porridge for himself, steamed custard, and put a few slices of sour pancakes on the plate. Orange Song with half egg yolk and a little porridge. He remembered the fish balls he had dried the day before yesterday and went outside the house to bring them. The way Tachibana munched on fish balls made him happy.

When he drinks tea, Tachibana usually concentrates on hygiene. If it suddenly stops when licking its front paws and looks up at the person, its curled paws are still under its jaw, it looks like it says, "I have the right." ”

"Yes, you have the right to do your own thing, as long as it is beneficial to others and the world." He looked at it and stood up.

He pulled an envelope from the shelf, an invitation for that dinner. He looked at it and said to himself: "Perhaps, at the same time, it will be sent to the old thorn." Yes, what an oversight. He sat down, found a letterhead with a pine pattern, drew a goblet as well, and put it in the envelope.

As soon as the invitation card was put away, the old thorn led the water root, and as soon as he entered the door, he said: "This is not the time for the children to go to class, but I heard that the big hole is here, come and take a look." ”

"Of course. This matter can only be done by consulting the old brother. ”

Water Root leads the way, and Tachibana Song follows. When he descended the steps, Old Wen Gong held the old thorn crutch, and the old thorn crutch removed his hand.

After entering that passage, the old thorn immediately slowed down. He looked carefully, touched the wall, looked up at the arch stone above his head, and said, "How delicate the work! How tight the stone seams are! ”

Lao Wengong asked: "Brother, I have never understood, why did the grandfather put so much effort?" What is this for? ”

"He's a big playmaker, maybe for fun, for hide-and-seek with children. But," he added, turning to look, "also to guard against bandits." ”

"Anti-bandits? Ah, I didn't think of that! ”

"You should have thought about it. The world is changeable, and there are bandits. One year, legend has it that a bandit chased your grandfather, and as soon as he rushed into this hut, the people disappeared! Today I know what's going on! ”

Old Wen Gong looked at the old thorn.

"That's an amazing guy. Such people and bandits cannot be caught, and they cannot be kept in the world. He was finally taken away by the phoenix. ”

thirty-one

After repeated retention, the old thorn agreed to eat here. Old Wen Gong went to the stove house, and the old thorn said: "Don't be busy, I can't eat much." ”

Three side dishes, rice and porridge were placed on the table. Tachibana also has a dish with a handful of fish balls inside. Old Spiny took one out of its dish, chewed it, and said to Old Wengong, "Come some." ”

Old Wen Gong took a clay pot filled with fish balls. The old thorn fell a little in his bowl and ate nothing else.

After the meal, Lao Thorn was very happy, wiped his mouth, and drank tea with Lao Wengong. "It's tea." He mixed water into the cup and raised the cup, "Your ancestors all did great things, I said, your grandfather built a big house, your grandfather planted mountains of trees, and your father built the old railway!" To you, here you are..." He looked around and took a sip.

"I'm ashamed." Old Wen Gong said.

"I don't understand what you're doing." The old thorny took a sip of tea, like a sip of spirits, and reached out to brush it under his chin.

"In two days, the acacia flowers will bloom." Old Wen Gong remembered an important thing.

"Yes, I haven't forgotten. I looked at the locust tree on the way, and it was fast. ”

Old Wen Gong wanted to tell him: On that day, in addition to watching the locust flowers, there will be a banquet. But he didn't say.

The old thorn turned his face to look for water roots. Mizune was playing with Tachibana Song, and wanted to move its beard, but it dodged a step and raised his hand to slap Mizune. Shui Gen covered his face and looked at the old thorn.

"Can't pull the beard!" Old Spiny made a frightening gesture and turned to Old Wengong, "It sits up straight, it looks into the distance... Oh! ”

Old Wen Gong knew that the old thorn couldn't find the right word. To put it for yourself, it is: awe-inspiring and inviolable.

"Ode Tachibana taught me a lot. I mean, I and it, want to stay here for a long time. However, I heard that the winters in the mountains are frighteningly cold. ”

"Brother, this is the ancestral house, you should stay the most. Winter? The people who built this house have thought of everything, and there is nothing warmer in the world! ”

"I believe. I think every season is good. ”

"Then you need to say it! See you in spring; go to the river to bathe in summer; Autumn, the fruits of the mountains; Winter, the best is winter, the tea stove rumbles, and you sit on the big kang, covered with a soft quilt. He said, turning to look to the side.

"Oh brother, I'm fascinated by what you say!"

The old thorn went to the kang and pinched the quilt and said, "It's okay." But before winter, let Li Zhuanlian play the cotton in the quilt. The man who played cotton was gone, and the craft remained. Hey, a good girl. ”

Old Wen Gong did not speak. He was thinking about Li Zhuanlian's small courtyard, the blooming begonia in the courtyard.

"Man," the old thorny man pressed his hands on the crutches, his mouth deflated, "why are you willing to go down such a large stone house?" There are mountains, there are rivers, the main thing is good water, not to mention so many flowers! I really don't understand! ”

"I don't understand either."

The old thorn clenched his teeth and grinned. At this time, Old Wen Gong found that one of the other party's teeth was intact. The old thorn looked at him: "Your father likes his hometown, and he didn't want to leave when he came back that time." After the railway was repaired, the leaves returned to their roots. He started to drill a pressurized well. ”

"Have you seen him? Talk about it. He was pleading.

"I was young. The whole village came, to see the pressurized well, to see your father and your mother. They wore watches. Your mom also has a yongo visor. The two are really kind, giving old cigarettes and candy to children. Unfortunately, they didn't stay for a few days, they left and never came back. ”

"How nice it would be to settle here!"

The old thorn pouted. Old Wen Gong was used to this action of his, which was regret, anger, and powerlessness.

"Just legends. The village elders told us that the people above asked them to build the railway. To the east to the sea, then to the west. Repair, repair, always repair. What is the West Side? A big desert with no edge in sight. ”

"Grandma said that my mother drew and my father built roads, and they all came back from abroad."

"Exactly. The railway was built into the great desert, it was time to stop, but it couldn't stop. ”

"Why?"

"In the distance, there is a glowing city. Further on, the city is still there. If you can't reach it, just fix it. I went into the desert like this and never came back. ”

thirty-two

Old Wen Gong propped his elbows in front of the window and looked at the moon on the mountain depression. Tachibana waited. He looked back at it: "What a good night, the sky is indigo." ”

Tachibana jumped onto the windowsill. A silver moth lands on the glass, and it extends its right paw to hold it. The moths are still there.

Lao Wengong began to tell the story and continued to say "ice baby": "The little spotted seal has just been born, and the hair on its body is smooth and thin, just like your belly. ”

Tachibana sat on the right side of Old Wengong, a foot away from the pillow. It was warmer, and they no longer pulled the quilt under their chins. Old Wen Gong said, "If I were younger, I would take you to the beach." According to an old friend, just in the early spring of this year, another 'ice baby' came ashore. This hasn't happened for a long time, and as I said, the climate has changed. ”

He looked into its eyes and looked at it for a long time. "Song, what do you see? What are you thinking? You don't say a word. ”

When did Tachibana look at himself so closely? Oh, from a long time ago, from the very beginning. It is now less than three years old, and it is said that their age is multiplied by seven compared to that of a person, that is, Tachibana is now equivalent to a young man around twenty years old.

Its gaze interrupted his narration. Moonlight poured in from the window, and there were pink halos on the lamps. "Contemplative eyes, pure eyes, inquiring eyes. Also, strange eyes, warm eyes, cold eyes. ”

He sat up straight—he had just composed a poem. Ah, is it possible? I've always aspired to be a poet! However, I tried it when I was young, and it was difficult. "But, perhaps, just now," he said, staring at it, "your eyes tonight are as clear as the moon!" ”

The dream of being a poet was dashed, but it was never forgotten. He once said to his son, "Try it, maybe you can be a poet." The son said, "Haha, haha." ”

"That kid finally engaged in finance, domestic and foreign flight, this no, can't fly back for a while." He said to Ode Tachibana.

Old Wen Gong was silent for a while, and then he had a thought: If I can't be with Tachibana Song, the next generation, that family of three, can't take care of it. He was saddened. Later, I thought of my grandson and remembered his call "I want orange", and my mood was slightly better.

He wants the little one to learn to be quiet, like a song. The little one is so naughty that he even pulls his tail. "It was because of my face that he didn't slap you." He said.

It was late at night. Difficulty falling asleep. Old Wen Gong found that Tachibana Song was like himself tonight, without sleepiness. He knew why—tomorrow was that big day, and the locust flowers on both sides of the river were about to bloom.

"Let's go to bed early, gather our spirits, and go see the locust flower." Haven't we been waiting for this day? He lay down first and patted the orange song.

He pretended to snore. Tachibana got closer, probably wanting to touch his forehead with her nose. Sure enough, gently, the tip of the nose was a little wet.

Old Wen Gong fell asleep.

Waking up too late. He said to the sleepy-eyed Tachibana Song: "We have to hurry, there are important things today and tomorrow!" ”

Breakfast was not hasty. Order a tea oven, boil white porridge, bake shortbread, and serve two dried fish.

"What a fragrant tea, it's a pity that you can't drink it." He raised his glass to Tachibana Song, "You have to have a festive look, Song, I said, after the locust blossoms, I will show my hand." ”

He went to the bookshelf to get the invitation. After seeing the locust flowers, there is an important matter, that is, to personally hand them into the hands of the two. He filled in the specific time on the invitation: seven o'clock tomorrow night.

"Let's go, we'll be busy today and tomorrow." He put the invitation in his underwear pocket and pressed it.

As soon as you go out, you will be scented with smoked flowers. "This is extraordinary! The locust flowers by the river are famous, and I heard that those who collect honey come to the riverbank every spring to set up tents. Of course, this is in the past, and times have changed. ”

He grabbed Tachibana's two fat claws and stepped down the stone steps.

Ten o'clock in the morning. What a good sun, not a single cloud in the sky. On the north bank of the river, the canopy of trees turned snow-white overnight, covered in silver, and piled up like a hill and like a surge.

He stood on the last stone step and held his breath.

"Song, it's time for you to get off your back, you have to look up close, take a good look." It's the climax of spring! One orgasm after another! The other day we saw Yingchun, Forsythia, Peach and Plum, Mountain Sakura, Lilac, Sycamore and Wisteria! Wisteria flowing down the stone wall! You have to remember! ”

Tachibana sniffed as he walked, narrowing his eyes. Lightly, like fear, like shyness, it walked up to a tall locust tree. It looks up, jumps, and climbs up. It climbed to the top of the tree in one go.

Old Wen Gong looked for its face from the flowers. Nice dense corolla.

"Tachibana Song, where are you?"

thirty-three

For a grand evening, Lao Wen Gong carefully prepared. This was the first banquet. He felt he was holding a late banquet on behalf of his loved ones.

There were only two families and three people attending the banquet. But this is the whole mountain village, all the folks.

Due to the conditions, the dishes can only be so. He thought the dinner was both sumptuous and exquisite. Tachibana was involved from the beginning - it broke some locust flowers on the top of the tree, and when the locust flowers fluttered on the ground, Lao Wen Gong carried them in his arms.

It will be served as a main course at the end: locust flower cake, charred on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant, slightly salty and with a hint of honey.

He was glad he had brought a few goblets with him. "I can't fix this poor problem in my life, but what a distinguished guest!" He took out the cup and polished it.

He looked at the table for a long time: all the books were put away, and it became a rectangular dining table. The fly in the ointment is the curled hem at both ends, which is too eye-catching. The whole table is like a large ingot, more like an offering table.

"How nice it would be without these two curls." He grunted, looked back and forth, and tapped the tabletop.

It can only be done. Good for the cutlery. He was particularly pleased with the three-pronged bronze candlestick and a pack of candles. "We light candles tonight!" He said to Ode Tachibana.

Tachibana jumped on the table and sniffed the freshly laid tablecloth. Old Wen Gong leaned down and saw a wooden handle under the curl. He twisted and the rolled edge moved - it turned out to be flipped down.

"This is wonderful!" He shouted and clapped his hands. Grandpa is really a god man! How did he know that one day he was going to change to a dining table? "Everything was perfect, superb!"

He wrote each dish on paper: pickled gherkins, ham, toon eggs, cabbage soup, fried fish, stewed mushrooms, sliced cabbage. Finally: Sophora flower cake. He looked at the menu lined up like a poem and nodded: "Not bad." It's a pity that there is no powder belly. ”

In the middle of the afternoon, cups and white porcelain plates are laid out one by one. A bottle of good dry red, a bottle of old wine.

At five o'clock, there was a knock on the door. Li Zhuanlian came in advance and brought a few pine eggs. She wanted to help cook, and the old Wen Gong said, "This is not okay." You are a guest. ”

Li Zhuanlian had a cloth roll in her other hand and never put it down.

"What kind of baby is that?"

Li Zhuanlian put the cloth roll down. As it unfolds little by little, a brilliant color is revealed - an orange tree.

large umbrella-like canopy, dark green leaves; The fruitful fruit is dotted with branches, and it is born symmetrically up and down, left and right.

Old Wen Gong stood in front of the table and did not make a sound. Tachibana jumped onto the table, and Old Wen Gong quickly grabbed it. He took a deep breath: "How awesome! This is the orange tree I want! ”

Li Zhuanlian clasped her hands in front of her chest.

"Let's stick it to the wall! With it, it's a real dinner party! We'll toast it later! ”

He put down the orange ode and looked for a place to stick. It was taped to the middle of the wall, opposite the table.

Old Wen Gong set up the stool, straightened the five porcelain plates, and added a white napkin. He went to the stove house to finish the final dishes and let Li Zhuanlian sit at the table.

It was getting dark, and the candles were inserted with bronze three-pronged candlesticks. Crystalline cups and porcelain plates reflect candlelight.

A fragrance overflowed, and Li Zhuanlian couldn't sit still. She tried to push open the stove, but the door was closed.

"Oops, it's so fragrant!" Li Zhuanlian shouted outside the door.

The old thorn crusade pulled the water root with one hand and appeared with a cloth bag in the other. Old Wen Gong brought out a large and round locust flower cake. "Brother!" He cried, put down the cake, patted the old spiny on the shoulder, and stroked Mizugen's hair.

"I don't have anything else good, so bring this." Old Thorn opened the cloth bag and took out a bunch of mushrooms, as well as a large glass bottle, which was a bottle of water.

"It's the best, and there's nothing better than them!" Old Wen Gong held it with both hands.

Everyone take their seats. Tachibana sat on a raised stool, beside Old Wengong, opposite Old Thorn. Like everyone else, it has a small dish on a large porcelain dish, the difference is that it is full of fish balls.

Before the official banquet, Lao Thorn took some fish balls from the orange song dish and put them in his own plate.

Old Wen Gong raised his glass and stood up, looking at the orange tree on the wall.

Candles sparkle, branches and leaves shake, and golden fruits can be plucked as soon as you reach out.

"Dear ladies, gentlemen! On this night of the blooming locust flowers, please accept our blessings – me and Tachibana Song – both of us! ”

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