Chapter 1 Chapter 1
It's raining, it's already late autumn.
The wind wrapped around the few leaves on the dry sweet-scented osmanthus tree in front of the courtyard, and the patter of rain wet the soil and fell into the dilapidated house.
I heard people say: If someone is going, a tree will die before the court.
Zhang Fangyuan didn't believe in these evils at first, until he saw with his own eyes the green and tall sweet-scented osmanthus tree outside the window, the leaves withered and yellowed in the autumn wind overnight, and the trunk became light and unstable. .
The sweet-scented osmanthus tree was planted when he was 20 years old, and it has been more than 50 years old now. Over the years, no matter how dry it is in summer and how thick the snow is in winter, the yard is still full of sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance in autumn.
Such a tenacious sweet-scented osmanthus tree died without warning.
Over the years, there was only one old bachelor in Zhang's courtyard, who lived alone for decades, and now that the tree in front of the court was dead, the only person who was going to die was Zhang Fangyuan himself.
He was lying in the cold room under the rain in the late autumn night, his body was as limp as a puddle of soft mud, hunched in the black and iron-like bedding, and even taking a breath could take half of his strength.
There was no light in the room, and the only thing guarded by the bed was the cold wind blowing in before the window paper was pasted. The rain fell and the sky darkened, making the room more and more lonely.
Ever since he was bedridden, his life has been muddled. When he is more energetic, he touches the wall to get up and cook a few bites of food. No one will come for ten days and a half months.
The consciousness has been blurred for so many days, but today is very strange. After nightfall, he felt cold, and when he heard it was raining outside, his consciousness suddenly became clear, and he was able to distinguish between cold and heat.
His heart was wide open, knowing that tonight was the last hour.
After waking up, he quietly listened to the sound of rain that filled the house. The dilapidated roof could not cover the rain, and it leaked straight into the house, and the nearest ones dripped on the side of his bed. Insufficient strength, he can only lie on the bed like a hay and think about his muddled life.
The Zhang family was not deserted, and it was lively in the past. He, Zhang Fangyuan, was not an orphan. Before the age of twelve, he was always a child with a father and a mother, as well as uncles and cousins. At that time, he lived a chic life. Today he went to the fields to catch fish, and tomorrow he went to the mountains to hunt birds. He also learned the butcher's craft from the old widower in the village. He was a good hand at everything.
Because he is the fastest jumper and has a muscular body, the children in the village embrace him as the king of children, calling the wind and the rain, and he said that no one in the village dares to say anything.
How proud he was at that time, he patted his chest and told his old lady that he would become a landlord in the village, earn thousands of dollars, build a house, marry three or five wives and have a bunch of children, so that the Zhang family would continue to prosper.
His mother always laughed at him for not knowing the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, he was not practical and prudent at all, and he just talked empty words every day.
Zhang Fangyuan made a wish and wanted to prove it to his mother. How can he think that day has not come yet, and his father came back drunk and beat and kicked his mother. His mother jumped into the river, Zhang Fangyuan hated it. I wanted to bite his father to death, but before he bit on it, his father swallowed it the next day, and only then did I know that his mother stole the man, and I couldn't be more angry
Zhang Fangyuan took care of the funeral of Lao Tzu and his mother, and his life was upside down.
Taking the money the family saved for him to marry a wife, eating, drinking and having fun, and befriending some worthless rich young masters in the city, they were used as knives and encouraged to bully men and women on behalf of the young masters. No matter how capable I am, in the end, I was blamed for others, sent to prison, and came out sick and disabled and couldn't find a job.
He thought he had spent his whole life recklessly and freely, but in the end he didn't even have a person to retire to the end of his life. Uncles, cousins, and cousins didn't want to see him, and he, a rotten kid, was left out of the clan long ago.
The reputation in the village is also muddy, and he has always been a useless old widower and a bum with no business... After being ill for a long time, the enthusiastic villagers did not come to pay attention to major matters, and finally ended up alone and died in bed.
It was only at the end that he realized that this was an absurd waste of his life.
His eyes were straight open, with remorse in his heart, staring at the dead osmanthus tree outside the house, maybe he didn't know when he lost his breath.
Zhang Fangyuan, Zhang Fangyuan! Are you at the head of the house?
Zhang Fangyuan!
In a daze, Zhang Fangyuan seemed to hear someone calling his name, followed by a violent knock on the door. He was a little annoyed that any junior in the village could still call him by his name, no matter what, he was of the grandpa's generation. But the sound of knocking on the door and shouting was really loud, and he jumped up from the bed.
Only at this time did he realize that something was wrong, when did his body become so strong and light. He walked out of the house in disbelief, the cold wind was blowing outside, the grass withered, the yard was empty, and the sweet-scented osmanthus tree that had been with him for decades was gone.
You're in the house, the water in Xu's house is boiling and you can't come over, people are so anxious! Hurry up, take your things and go, the meat buyers are here, so it's useless to ask people to wait.
Zhang Fangyuan looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar young face in front of him. He remembered that this kid was the fourth child of the Chen family, a neighbor of their family. When he was young, he often followed his buttocks, but this kid fell to the bottom of the cliff when he was weak. He fell to his death, it was already decades ago, how can he still stand here now?
Why are you so dumbfounded!
Zhang Fangyuan said: What are you calling me for?
I see that you drank too much wine in the city yesterday and you are still not sober. Today Xu's family slaughtered pigs, and you promised them to slaughter pigs early in the morning. Now you are still dawdling in the house. What do you think I called you for?
Chen Si saw that the person in front of him was still wandering, but he went into the house and cleaned up all the pig butchers for him.
Zhang Fangyuan stared blankly at the familiar and unfamiliar environment around him, as if he had returned to more than fifty years ago, when he was nineteen years old, even the yard was still empty, and the sweet-scented osmanthus tree had not been planted yet. .
He ran around the house, and finally stopped by the well to look at his young face and his bulging chest muscles that were stretched by his clothes.
He rubbed his face, and later even pulled his face until he gasped in pain.
A surge of joy slowly rose from the soles of his feet, so rushing that he almost lost his footing.
What are you doing there? You must be bewitched.
Zhang Fangyuan ignored Chen Si's question, happily snatched the thing in his hand, and touched this set of old buddies he had spent a lot of money on. The handle was still clear in wood color, and the knife It was never blunt, everything was still brand new.
Chen Si was thinking about why this person looked weird today, when he was suddenly pulled up: You are the one who has returned to your soul, hurry up, don't make everyone wait.
Chen Si was being carried by Zhang Fangyuan, and seeing the person who was striding forward with his mouth almost splitting to the ear, he felt weird and creepy.
He couldn't get up and down in his heart, and softened his tone: Fang Yuan, you should go to the city to eat less bars in the future, I know you are not short of the money, but you go every day, the village where you come and go It's time to talk nonsense again. I think you are acting weird today, and besides, at our age, it's time to talk about marriage. Who would dare to come to the door if the reputation outside is bad.
Zhang Fangyuan really didn't remember anyone saying such pertinent words to him before, Xu Shi never listened to him in the past, but after all his life, hearing such admonition now and now, he couldn't help being moved, he hooked Passing Chen Si's neck, he agreed: Okay. I won't go to the city to eat and drink.
Chen Si knows that human nature is not so easy to change, and Zhang Fangyuan is also pitiful. He used to be a good young man, but his temper has deteriorated due to a great change in his family. Now he has the virtue of drinking and playing, and he can be persuaded to come back without a few words. .
If he could really listen to the words, the uncle of the Zhang family would not close the door and be cold-faced when he met Zhang Fangyuan, and the aunt on the other side of Zhang's mother's natal house would not sigh and avoid it.
But when Chen Si saw Zhang Fangyuan's sincere attitude, even knowing that he didn't take his words into his heart, he still had a smile on his infected face: That's right, half of the pigs killed by Xu's family today are sold and half are sold. There are a lot of people who buy meat. The winter solstice is coming soon, and my mother also asked me to mortgage pigs for Xu's family. Then I can bargain for a price and buy two catties of meat to go back to the tooth-making festival.
Zhang Fangyuan said cheerfully, We have to eat mutton during the winter solstice, it's warm.
Chen Si sighed: That stuff is so expensive, nearly half the price of pork, how can I afford it.
Zhang Fangyuan's eyes were full of smiles: I'll get some back tomorrow, and you can come to my house to eat.
Chen Si's eyes lit up: Really? Are you really calling me?
What are you doing, food tastes bad when eaten alone, but it tastes better when eaten by many people.
I'm afraid you are the only one in our village who can say this.
Zhang Fangyuan laughed. He was indeed the only one in the village whose parents passed away and left some money. He ate enough for the whole family by himself. Naturally, he was more free and easy than ordinary people in this regard.
Chen Si was very excited, and he talked more and more, mysteriously said: I heard that the Xu family has killed a lot of people this time, not only to buy meat, but also matchmakers. I heard that they want to find Mrs. Xu looked at the girl and said kiss.
Zhang Fangyuan raised his eyebrows. He used to focus on the city and didn't know much about the gossip in the village: About marriage?
Are you confused? Xu Shaochun, the second daughter of the Xu family, passed the exam last year, but she hasn't been selected yet. I'm going to join in the fun. Chen Si showed a man's usual flirtatious smile: What if I'm lucky? It was spotted by the second girl.
Zhang Fangyuan raised his eyebrows. This Xu Shaochun is recognized as the village flower in their Jijiu Village. The girl was born with a juicy look, even the daughters raised by some wealthy families in the city can be compared. The matchmaker said that she is easy to give birth to. Lord, the men in the lost village can't find the north.
Now that the little girl has reached the age where she can marry, she will naturally become a favorite.
When it comes to this matter, Zhang Fangyuan's heart is also hot.