NOVEL WEB Chapter 17 I don’t want to talk about things in this village.
When I opened the door and saw them, my face was full of surprise, as if I didn't expect that there would be passers-by asking to stay overnight.
This made the Xue family and his son very ashamed.
They didn't want to trouble someone with such a difficult family situation, but this was the only one that opened the door to them after knocking on several doors.
"How many of them are foreigners?" the old man asked hesitantly.
"Yes, we were delayed on the way. We came down when we saw a village under the official road and wanted to stay overnight."
"That's it." The old man looked at them again and again before opening the door and letting them in.
General Xue didn't feel anything unusual. These people had all been on the battlefield and killed people, and their auras were different from ordinary people. Ordinary people were timid, so it was normal for them to observe more.
The old man was still very warm-hearted. Knowing that there were many of them, he took them to knock on the two houses next to each other and arranged for them to stay.
As for General Xue and his son, they took Long Baoer and lived in the old man's house.
This family consists of an old couple and a young man who is about the same age as Xue Lei.
There was a hot kang burning in the room, and the old man asked the Xue family and his son to sit on the kang to keep warm. The old woman and her son sat in front of the stove and started working.
General Xue put Long Baoer, who was wrapped tightly in her arms, on the bed and took off her cloak.
"Hey, is this the guest's lady?"
General Xue smiled and said, "We are just ordinary people. There is no such thing as a young lady."
"Guest, don't say that. One look at you, I know you are no ordinary person." The old man smiled.
"It's just that the lady is too thin."
"Alas." General Xue looked at Long Bao'er and sighed, "This is my little niece. My sister is no longer alive, and I am going to take her home."
The old man understood instantly. Although he didn't understand the details, you can imagine what the child would suffer if he lost his biological mother.
It is said that if you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather. This is definitely not a lie.
The old man thought for a while and shouted towards the outer room, "Mother Haizi, our family still has some fine food, please make some!"
"Brother, that's unnecessary." General Xue quickly stopped him.
When he came in, he took a brief look at the surrounding environment.
This is the vigilance they maintain all year round, not intentionally checking for anything.
At this glance, it is clear that this family is really a poor family. The three adobe houses seemed to have not been repaired for a long time, and there was a chicken coop in the yard, which looked empty.
Apart from the two stoves on the left and right, there was nothing valuable in the house.
In a home like this, fine grains are probably reserved only for the holidays.
"It's rare to have guests at home, so we can't let them accompany us to eat rice bran." The old man said with a bitter smile.
General Xue thought for a while and stopped blocking him. He turned to look at Xue Lei and said, "When we came out of Anping Mansion, did your Aunt Xie pack food for us?"
"Ah, it seems so." Xue Lei also remembered.
That was what Mrs. Xie specially prepared for them to eat on the road, just so that they could use it when there was no inn.
Along the way, they would rather stay in a hotel early than miss a dormitory, so the food was never used. At this time, General Xue remembered, "Lei'er, go get the food and give each family a share."
"Okay." Xue Lei asked Long Baoer to sit on the kang and play by himself, then turned around and went out.
Mrs. Xie prepared quite a lot of food for them. It was in the compartment at the back of the carriage. There were rice noodles, prepared steamed buns and the like.
Xue Lei divided most of these things among the two families. The soldiers had been running around for a day and they couldn't live without enough to eat.
Xue Lei brought the remaining few frozen steamed buns and a pack of snacks into the house.
The steamed buns were handed over to the old woman to heat. Xue Lei put the snacks on the table, "Are Long Baoer hungry?"
"I feel sorry for the guests when they come and ask you to prepare food." The old man said, "This is some dried fruit at home in the autumn. Let's give it to the lady."
What farmers call dried fruits are wild fruits picked from the mountains in autumn, then sliced and dried in the shade, then stored in the shade. You can eat a few slices in the winter when your mouth tastes dull, and it will be enjoyable anyway.
It's incomparable to the candied fruits soaked in honey sold in stores.
However, Long Baoer was not picky about food, and he ate the dried red dried fruits from the mountains very deliciously, even though he would squint his eyes and shrink his neck due to soreness from time to time, which made General Xue and the old man laugh with joy.
When Xue Lei brought the snacks back, Long Baoer was very obedient and sensible and pushed the snack bag in front of the old man, "Uncle, eat it."
"Uncle doesn't want to eat it. Miss, you can eat it yourself."
The little girl thought for a while, "Long Bao'er ate uncle's food, and uncle also wanted to eat Long Bao'er's food. Uncle said, this is called pear exchange."
"It's a reciprocity of courtesy." General Xue corrected from the side.
"Oh, yes. It's a courtesy." Long Baoer said seriously, "So, if uncle doesn't eat it, I can't eat it either."
"This……"
"Brother, don't be polite. It's hard to refuse my Long Bao'er's hospitality."
The old man could only pick up the smallest piece of snack and lightly bite the edge.
Sweet and soft, it is a good thing.
But after taking this bite, the old man put the snack aside and stopped moving.
He has bitten this thing and cannot put it back. But he couldn't bear to enjoy such a good thing by himself.
Long Bao'er didn't care about this. Seeing the old man eating snacks, she sat aside and continued to nibble on the red dried mountains.
"Brother, what is the name of this village? Why is there not even an inn?" General Xue asked in confusion.
You must know that this place is next to the official road. After passing the big town that we passed at noon, this is the only place. Unexpectedly, there was no place to stay.
"This is called Baijia Village. The village is full of poor people who rely on the mountains to make a living. How can anyone afford to open an inn?"
"No, I saw that there is a very wealthy family in the village, isn't it?" Xue Lei asked from the side.
"Oh, are you talking about the family in the middle of the village?"
"That's right, the red painted door of his house looks quite impressive, and there are two stone horse posts at the door." Xue Lei nodded, "We originally thought about staying at his house for a night."
"His family won't stay overnight." The old man smiled and shook his head.
"Old man, you are really right. Not only does his house not stay overnight, but no one answers the door of several other houses. Why is this? Is there any taboo in your village?"
"It's not that there is any taboo in our village, but that their family..." The old man hesitated after asking Xue Lei about several families they had knocked on.
The old woman just came in to set the dishes and chopsticks, "Old man, we don't want to talk casually about things in our village."