He was afraid that Qingdou would worry about it and said that the stove was not cold, so he changed the subject and asked, "Is it busy today?"

"Yeah." It was lively, of course it was lively, but standing in the cold temple, Aomame couldn't be happy.

She was so thirsty that she swallowed the tea foam in one breath, and hurriedly opened the wrapping cloth on the basket, "These are the vegetarian buns steamed by my mother. You can eat them." Opening the aluminum box, Aomame's eyes became hot and she sniffed. Quickly swallow the bitterness in your throat. Cheng Qingbai said that if you cry here next time, you will not be allowed to come. "Every dish girl has some, you can choose the meatless ones, they are all carefully selected dishes from the new sister-in-law's house." , I haven’t seen anyone here.”

Cheng Qingbai glanced at it, nodded, and encouraged her to sit down, "How many tables are there?"

"Twelve tables."

"Who have you invited?"

Qingdou 1510: "We don't have many relatives in our family, and a lot of people came to my new sister-in-law's house. In the evening, my second brother Xiao Nancheng's friends came directly to have dinner."

Qingdou also said that the second sister-in-law's rich father also borrowed the second brother's car. It took a month to go through the procedures in Shanghai to buy a brand new Santana. It is said that this car can buy four or five houses.

Cheng Qingbai took a deep breath, "I'm afraid it would be wronged for such a girl to marry into our family."

Aomame: "Indeed."

The grievance was severe, and the Feng family had a debate with their second brother on whether to marry or marry into a wife. The house was full of smoke and burned with cigarettes for several months.

The Feng family refused to give in, and the final wedding was the result of a hunger strike by the sister-in-law. Of course, Qingdou did not say anything about the good news but not the bad news. He only said: "Second brother will definitely be very good to my sister-in-law!"

After suffering so much anger, as soon as he mentioned Feng Rongrong, Cheng Qingsong immediately turned into a giggly idiot. What is this if not love?

Cheng Qingbai: "The wedding must have cost a lot of money."

"I don't need to worry about such mundane things as you, a monk from this world," Aomame said, dimples appearing as if he were asking for rewards, "Brother, I'm in high school!"

"You said it in your letter." This silly girl. Cheng Qingbai used the aluminum sling to refill her glass of water, "Which university are you planning to take?"

Aomame was frustrated, "I don't know if I can afford it."

"how?"

"Last year, colleges and universities started to charge fees. I heard that it costs 200 yuan per academic year." Now that I think about it, technical secondary schools are indeed very good. They don't cost money. They can be completed early and find employment early. After all, isn't going to college also for work?

Qingbai smiled: "You just have to take the exam, and I'll read it for you."

Qingdou was moved and said, "My second brother said the same thing."

However, the eldest brother is a poor monk, and the words of the second brother can no longer be counted. He married his sister-in-law in order to be honorable, to prevent his sister-in-law from being wronged, and to prevent the Cheng family from losing face in the village and incurring a huge debt.

Weddings and sacrifices are both legal money-burning activities. The difference is that weddings burn real money. When all the ostentation is combined, it’s like an overbearing and ruthless hand keeps digging into your pocket. This also costs money, and that also costs money.

.

In years when prices are unstable, the cost of getting married is even higher.

A month ago, Wu Huiping stayed up all night and finally took out the dowry money she had saved for Qingdou Qingzhi from the bottom of the cupboard.

The second brother said that he would earn it back so that his two sisters could marry happily. Wu Huiping asked him to just pay off the debt and live a down-to-earth life, and she would save the money for Qingdou's education.

"Where's Qing Zhi?"

"Qing Zhi has gone to elementary school! She is getting more and more beautiful!" People in the family said that the ordinary figure was created casually by Empress Nuwa, but Qing Zhi's eyebrows were carefully carved by Empress Nu Wa. They are as dewy as in the painting.

Fairy boy.

"Are you still skinny?"

"Skin, hands and feet are never fair." He acts recklessly and always gets bruises all over his body.

Cheng Qingbai followed Qingdou's eyebrows and the photos she sent, trying to outline a more delicate Qingzhi.

He smiled kindly: "How's the result?"

Speaking of this, Qingdou's enthusiasm for praising Qingzhi immediately dropped: "It's not bad." Not so good, but he was still in grade. In Wu Huiping's words: The second child is just like the youngest, he is not good at studying. When he was three years old, he saw

Lao, this girl Qingzhi is a troublemaker.

"That's good."

The brother and sister, who had not seen each other for more than half a year, lost themselves in conversation. When they came back to their senses, it was foggy under the mountain.

Cheng Qingbai urged Qingdou to go down the mountain quickly, as he wanted to drink wine.

Aomame thought, yes, and rubbed her hands, remembering her mother's instructions when she left, and said sensibly: "Then I'll see you eat something before you leave."

Cheng Qingbai lowered his bald head and said softly: "I won't eat after lunch."

Yes, I have forgotten that he is a real monk. Qingdou always remembers what a good person his eldest brother was in the past and how many people were proud of him. Even today, he is still the only college student in Chengjia Village who has passed the exam.

"Oh." She hesitated, wondering whether she should persuade him to eat, "I thought it would be fine if he didn't eat meat."

Facing the girl's helpless look, Cheng Qingbai could only take a bite of the bun.

The buns were cold and covered with a tough, hard-to-bite dough. He chewed them fiercely and showed them to her, filling his thin cheeks with bulges.

He forced a smile and asked, "Is this okay?"

Aomame nodded and walked out.

When she leaves, he delivers.

"Brother, don't send me off. I know the way. You go in quickly." After saying that, he still followed. Aomame added, "It's cold outside and you don't have any hair. Don't freeze."

"Um."

Finally, the sound of farewell footsteps stopped, and only the mountain wind blew past my ears.

Qingdou disappeared around the first bend, and Cheng Qingbai walked to the dead tree and vomited the bun in his mouth.

-

It is said that the road down the mountain is easier than the road up. Aomame was not. She walked down the mountain with a heavy heart.

The eldest brother had lived in the mountains for ten years. Last year he was ordained, and Qingdou realized later that it turned out that the eldest brother really wanted to become a monk, and it was not Wu Huiping's prevarication - he was just recuperating in the mountains.

My feet became warm after moving, and I felt the pain of a rough and blunt blow.

The elder brother's cold and chapped hands, the thin and convex cheekbones and the smooth head repeatedly irritated Aomame's eyelids. She stretched out her hand to wipe her eyes, but accidentally stepped on them in the wet and slipped.

Her teeth were chattering in pain, but her first reaction was - it's over, the new clothes are dirty, and she will definitely be scolded when she goes back. As for Qing Zhi, she herself didn't go any better.

Finally reaching the level ground, Aomame had mud in her hands. She clapped her hands and walked towards the parking platform of Minami Benzan Mountain.

Parked at the foot of Beimen Mountain was a black car, which stood out in the gray fog.

She didn't think much and just hurried on. In addition to poor peasants, there were also many wealthy people who came to burn incense. Passing by the incense store, Aomame glanced at the clock on the wall.

It's half past four in the afternoon, not too late, and there are two more buses.

As I walked further, something gradually started to feel wrong.

During the New Year, there were few people on the road. At first glance, there was only an old woman holding a child on the two-meter-wide gravel road. Today, the weather was cloudy, the wind was strong, the fog was heavy, and the crowd was thin. The news of the disappearance in the newspaper was filled with fear.

Aomame noticed that the wind behind her was going in the wrong direction, and cautiously turned sideways to take a peek with her peripheral vision.

Although there was no one around, her instinct told her that someone was following her.

Thinking like this, the sky became cloudy again.

Aomame tried her best to stay calm and ran behind the mother-in-law and grandson.

Even though Aomame didn't look sideways, she could still feel that the person was following her.

After a while, the old woman turned slowly and tremblingly with a stick, walking towards the endless yellow land.

Aomame's pillar of nothingness was gone.

She didn't dare to look back, as if there was a fanged monster behind her. At that moment, the image of Wu Huiping beating Qing Zhi came to mind. At that time, she didn't understand why Qing Zhi was beaten like that after eating the candy given by a stranger. Now she understands

.She must reiterate it to Qing Zhi when she goes back. This feeling is too scary.

The man followed her like a shadow, his breath always swirling behind her.

It must be a man, Aomame heard his shameless breathing!

Fear held back her steps, making it difficult to move as if her legs were hung with lead stones. She gritted her teeth and imagined that Brother Shitou might drive a donkey cart to pick her up.

When she finally moved under the stop sign, she was almost crying.

There was red paint on the ground, which was written with the name of Nanbenshan Station on it. The light was not good, so at first glance, it almost looked like blood.

She felt that she was surrounded by an invisible but fierce murderous aura.

Nan Bian Mountain is located in a remote location and is surrounded by desert. Today is the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, which has already passed the God of Wealth Day. The villagers who go to the mountain to ask for children often get up early. Now at four or five o'clock in the evening, everyone has gone home to get their jobs. Who is at the top of the barren hill?

Go nearby.

The mist is hanging low, and the sky is getting dark. Those who take pictures of flowers are afraid that they will come out to abduct children.

The more Aomame thought about it, the more frightened she became. She almost bit her lip. Finally, she couldn't hold back her fear and curiosity. Her heart was filled with fear and curiosity, and she put on a fierce look. She stared hard, glanced angrily from side to side, and then stared straight at the ground.

, slowly replaying the details of those two seconds in my mind.

Huh? There seems to be no one.

Did she think too much?

Impossible, someone is clearly following you.

Aomame took a deep breath and quickly glanced left and right. There was really no one there.
To be continued...