One day later, twenty miles north of Songyuan City, outside a small town.

A clear stream flows slowly, the stream water is clear and the fish swims flexibly. A fish line suddenly flies, and the hooks strung with shrimps fall into the stream, creating a ripple.

Fang Xiaonian squatted on a stone by the stream, holding the chin with one hand and shaking it gently with the fishing rod with the other hand, as if he wanted the fish to take the hook quickly. Fu Yingyue moved the branches aside and set up a fire.

"I've finally taken the bait now!"

After a while, Fang Xiaonian pulled the fishing rod suddenly, as if a big fish was hooked. The hook drew a curve in the air, shining under the sunlight. Unfortunately, there was no fish on it, and the bait skewed on it had disappeared.

Fang Xiaonian was very embarrassed and caught Fu Yingyue laughing at him, so he made an excuse and said, "It's obviously already caught, it's a big one. I think it must be because I used too hard when I retracted the rod just now and accidentally threw the fish off."

“Where have you gone?”

He covered his forehead with his hands, looked around, pretending to behave for a while, and changed the topic and said, "Sister, do you think the other party has seen the words I left?"

Fu Yingyue nodded, and Fang Xiaonian said regretfully: "Then why not come? Alas, I originally wanted to catch a big fish, so it would be boring."

At this moment, a hunchbacked old man carrying a bamboo basket slowly walked on the other side and appeared in the sight of the two.

The siblings looked at each other.

Fang Xiaonian saw the alert in Fu Yingyue's eyes.

The latter saw the excitement in the former's eyes.

However, when Fang Xiaonian looked at the old man again, the excitement in his eyes disappeared. He shook his head to Fu Yingyue, indicating that the old man was just an ordinary person.

It seemed that because the bamboo basket on his back was too heavy, the old man stopped and unloaded the bamboo basket and sat on a stone to rest. Fang Xiaonian shouted: "Mother-in-law, do you need help?"

The old man looked at the other side and waved his hand, "No need, the old woman has rested enough and can carry it, so I won't bother you, a man."

Fang Xiaonian put down the fishing rod, stepped on the stones between the streams, and jumped over them. When he approached the other side, his feet slipped, he leaned back and almost fell into the water. If the other party was a killer, this was definitely the best time.

However, nothing happened.

Then Fu Yingyue followed closely and went close with Fang Xiaonian. She saw the old man with frost hair, his hands were covered with calluses, and his sickle. There were many wild bamboo shoots in the bamboo basket next to him. He must have just returned from digging bamboo shoots in the forest.

The white-haired grandmother glanced at Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue, and smiled with kind eyes: "Whose child is this? The handsome young man and the beautiful girl are so beautiful."

Fang Xiaonian carried the bamboo basket on his body, weighed the bamboo shoots on his back, and smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, don't worry, my sister and I are not bad guys, and I won't steal your bamboo shoots. Don't be polite, let us carry them back for you."

The old man was happy and smiled helplessly, "Okay, come with me."

When I entered the village, there were not many households, about a dozen households, far away from the hustle and bustle, quiet and peaceful. The elderly’s village house was shabby and not messy. There was a vegetable field in the yard and a few chickens and ducks were raised.

Fang Xiaonian put down the bamboo basket and looked at the scenery in front of her that was similar to that in Meiyan Village's home. When she thought of Lao Fu, she couldn't help but take out the wine pot and drink it. Then she frowned and shook the wine pot. It was obvious that there was not much left. Seeing this, the old man smiled and said kindly: "At a young age, he is just a little drunkard. Is there no wine in the wine pot?"

Fang Xiaonian smiled and said, "There are not much more."

The old man smiled and said, "The old lady can't ask you for help in vain. It just happened that there was still some wine left at home and no one drank it. It's just a wine from ten years ago. I don't know if I can drink it."

Fang Xiaonian rubbed his hands and smiled: "If you can drink it, you should drink it. This wine is more expensive. It is rich in fragrance and mellow in taste, but it is best."

"It turns out to be a little drunkard." The old man said, "Let's do it, eat at my grandma's house at noon, and I'll give you the half jar of wine left at home."

The old man brought Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue into the house, and then went to the vegetable field to pick some vegetables. He ignored Fang Xiaonian's dissuasion and insisted on killing the chicken and duck. He set up a fire and started a stove. After working for a while, he brought the food to the table, including a plate of green vegetables, a plate of braised chicken, and a large bowl of wild bamboo shoots and old duck soup. Although the bowls were simple, they were all full of color, fragrance and taste, which was not worse than ordinary restaurants.

The old man finally brought a jar of wine from the side room, but saw that there was no trace of dust on the jar, and even the red cloth wine seal was brand new and bright, not like the old wine should have. Fang Xiaonian asked, "Mother-in-law, didn't you say that the old wine for ten years? This..."

The old man smiled and said, "It's old wine, but I will take it out every day to wipe it, so that it keeps the same as ten years ago. But don't worry, the seal has never been opened, and I think it will not break, so drink and see."

The old man opened the seal and poured a full bowl for Fang Xiaonian. Fang Xiaonian picked it up and put it on his nose and smelled it. Then he drank a big sip and said with a long breath: "Ha—good wine!"

The three of them had dinner together, and the old man only ate rice and vegetables. Fang Xiaonian knew that although the old man wanted to leave more for these two guests, more of them must be frugal and natural. The chickens and ducks that were not necessarily eaten once a year were not used to using chopsticks.

Fang Xiaonian asked, "Mother-in-law, are you the only one at home?"

"Yes, my husband and daughter are gone."

The old man picked up a green vegetable and continued calmly without waiting for Fang Xiaonian to ask: "My daughter was stolen by a bandit in the mountains ten years ago. My man went into the mountains and tried his best and never came back."

Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue looked at each other and frowned, but the old man looked calm, as if talking about other people's affairs: "My daughter was only ten years old at that time. People in the village said that she was beautiful and wanted to marry our family. They almost stepped on the threshold of the house. Unfortunately, they disappeared after saying nothing."

She looked at Fu Yingyue and smiled and said, "If you are still alive now, you should be about the same age as a girl and about the same height."

Fang Xiaonian asked, "Dare you ask my mother-in-law about Gui Geng this year?"

The old man said: "I'm forty this year."

Fang Xiaonian was stunned. The old man had a deep white hair and looked like he was 60 years old. His actual age was only forty years old. You can imagine how much it would be to lose his husband and daughter. He asked again: "This is not far from Songyuan City, so the government doesn't care?"

"As soon as my daughter was thrown away, we went to the government for help, but the government said we would make a long-term plan, so we sent us away. If it weren't for this, my man wouldn't go into the mountains and fight to the death."

The old man put down the bowls and chopsticks, looked at the wine jar on the table, and smiled bitterly: "My man is famous for being honest in the village and never drinks. But when he came out of the government that day, he bought a jar of wine and took it home for the first time. At night, I let me cook two dishes, and drank alone silently for a whole night. The next morning, he walked into the mountain with a sickle."

The old man turned his head and looked at the threshold again, saying, "I still remember that I was crying and begging him not to go. He just held my face and said that his daughter was killed. He, a father, always had to do something and give his daughter an explanation. Even if he couldn't even kill a bandit in the end, at least he had been there."

The old man looked faint and touched his face with his hands, as if her husband's hand was still holding it there.

Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue couldn't bear to disturb him and did not make any noise. After a long time, the old man withdrew his gaze and looked at the wine jar again, saying, "This half jar of wine is the half jar left by my husband ten years ago. I love and hate it."

She gently touched the wine jar and said softly: "I am very grateful for this jar of wine. In the past, many people in the village said that my husband was a coward. I have heard a lot, and sometimes I can't help but complain in my heart that a man is honest and good, but in the end he still lacks a little masculinity. But this jar of wine lets me know that my husband is a real man, better than any man in the village, this is this!"

She gave her thumbs up, her eyes were full of spirit, but she quickly dimmed, and she shook her head and smiled bitterly: "But I hate it too. If my husband didn't drink it, he wouldn't go into the mountain to die."

She picked up the wine jar, poured it all over Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue, and poured it into her bowl. She rubbed her eyes with her tiger's mouth and smiled and said, "Over the years, I have wanted to pour out this jar of wine several times, but I still can't bear it. Today I will take this opportunity to drink it all."

Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue saw that although the old man was laughing, they were even more sad than crying. They watched her raise her head and drink. They choked twice in the middle, and they still drank all the food with all their energy.

Fang Xiaonian and Fu Yingyue also raised their heads and drank them all over. Fang Xiaonian placed the wine bowl heavily on the table, looked at the empty bowl and sighed: "This wine is delicious, but it's a bit over the top. Why do you want to kill someone after drinking it?"

He looked at Fu Yingyue and asked, "Sister, what do you think?"

Fu Yingyue raised her eyebrows, her eyes as sharp as a sword.

The old man wanted to pour it again. Fang Xiaonian held her hand and smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, you just said that you have to give me all this wine, so you don't allow me to drink one cup after another."

The old man was stunned, and Fang Xiaonian smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't drink you for nothing. After your husband finished drinking, he carried a knife to the mountain. Today, my sister and I will learn from him. I promise that we will do what he hasn't done for him. How about it?"

The old man said seriously: "Don't joke, Weihu Mountain is not a joke, they..."

Fang Xiaonian waved his hand and smiled, "Don't worry, mother-in-law, my sister and I were practicing when we were eleven years old. We are doing this."

Fang Xiaonian grabbed the wine jar and walked out of the threshold with Fu Yingyue. After looking back, he looked back at the old man and said seriously: "I am destined to go to a place called Zhenwu Mountain in the future. Even if I have worked hard all my life, I may not be able to escape the ending of never returning, but I will still go. Just as your husband said back then, he has at least been there."

The old man seems to understand.

Fu Yingyue held Fang Xiaonian's hand tightly.
Chapter completed!