The stars have leaked weak light in the sky, the mountains are surprisingly quiet, the starlight looks particularly dazzling, and the starry sky gradually ran out to play, but this desolate mountain village was still poor.
Master Zhou came to the stove with difficulty and cautiousness. He watched the young man drinking hot water from a distance. It seems that the hot water is many, many times more delicious than white rice.
Where is there any leftovers? The young man himself drank a few bowls of boiling water and filled his stomach to his fullness, intending to let Mrs. Lai touch his bulging stomach...
Master Zhou saw tears in his eyes here, and his heart was full of emotion! As a parent official, how could he not let him feel chilled when he saw such a shocking scene.
Master Zhou quietly left the stove again and limped back into the house. The old lady had finished the bowl of porridge. Master Zhou hurriedly handed his porridge to the old lady and said, "Old lady, I just told you My son has already eaten on the stove and his stomach is full. You can eat this bowl."
The old lady shied away again and again. In the end, she couldn't help Master Zhou. The old lady drank the bowl of porridge. At this time, the young man also came in. After he saw it, he was embarrassed to say anything. The young man usually goes hunting, but today I met. When Master Zhou was down, he only took care of Master Zhou, so he didn't catch any game.
They rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, the wild vegetables in the mountains, prey, etc. are their food, they have no extra money to prepare food, young people have to take care of their mother, and no extra effort to make money.
The young man forced to pretend that nothing happened. He still cheerfully came to the old lady, lined his stomach and said: "Mother, I have eaten, look at this stomach, how bulging. Haha, no prey was caught today. But wild vegetables are also good."
The old lady looked at her son lovingly, and burst into tears. The old lady burst into tears.
"Oh! Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..." The old lady kept coughing to herself.
"Don't blame you, mother, it's because the child has no abilities. I will definitely catch the prey tomorrow and let the mother have a good meal." The young man kept touching the old lady's back with his hands while comforting.
Master Zhou looked pale at the moment, and he didn't want to keep watching. Master Zhou rebuked himself and said, "The old lady is incompetent and can't let the people live and work in peace. It's because I haven't traveled everywhere to make a family like you suffer from poverty."
Master Zhou wanted to test the character of the young man, but when he saw this, he couldn't stand it anymore. He planned to tell his true identity and help this broken and poor family.
When the old lady and the young man heard Master Zhou's words, they looked at Master Zhou inexplicably and asked, "What does the poor poverty of our family have to do with this injured person?"
He is different from other officials. He often inspects the people and often understands their suffering. Although he is in a remote and not very wealthy place, the most powerful officials here are not interested at all.
He has just been here for more than three years, and he still doesn't know much about some people and things. But he loves the people like a son, never cheats the people, and never fights against a bully. He is upright and has high prestige in the hearts of the people.
The old lady and the youth changed their faces when they heard that Master Zhou had reported herself to her family. The old lady got up hurriedly and came to Master Zhou to give a salute.
The young man helped the old lady to salute Master Zhou together.
"Cough cough, Master Zhou cough cough... You are cough cough, great man, everyone cough cough... It is said that you cough cough..." The old lady coughed and said, the young man kept stroking the old lady's back.
"Old man, don't say anything, you have a good rest, I will arrange it tomorrow, and I will definitely let you live a happy and good life." Master Zhou still kneeled, the young man hurriedly pulled him up and said: "Big brother, oh no, Master Zhou , Are you the legendary Zhou Qingtian?" The young man said excitedly.
"Zhou Qingtian dare not say it, but I am the local parent official Zhou. I just came to the local area. I need you to follow me and be my confidant, and work together to manage the place, to rectify the local tyrants slightly to win, and to vent their anger for the people."
"Ahem, you hurry up, cough! Promise Zhou! Cough, Qingtian. Cough..." When the old lady heard that Master Zhou wanted her son to help Zhou Qingtian, the old lady knew that Zhou Qingtian was a good person, and if her son was. With him, not only can I do facts for the people, but also give a little hope for the rest of my life.
Thinking of this, the old lady urged her son again and again regardless of her cough, so that he hurriedly agreed to Zhou Qingtian.
When Master Zhou saw the old lady like that, he instantly felt very unbearable, so he said: "First help the old lady go to the house and rest, I have something to say to you."
The young man agreed again and again, and got up and helped his old mother into the back room. In fact, a rag was hanging down, and there were many small holes. He opened the rag, and inside was the back room, which was a thatched house.
The old lady was trembling and coughing continuously. As she walked, she looked back and nodded to Master Zhou.
The young man said that the old lady was sent into the back room to rest, but he came out and knelt in front of Master Zhou and said, "Zhou Qingtian is famous, and Wang Qiang has been admiring him for a long time."
This was the first time that the young man reported his family after the meeting between Master Zhou and the young man. At this moment, Master Zhou realized that the young man was called Wang Qiang.
Master Zhou hurriedly helped Wang Qiang up and nodded to him with satisfaction.
"Wang Qiang, someone Zhou needs a personal guard. You are willing to be my right-hand man. Let's manage the place together and find a way out for this poor place to survive." Master Zhou solemnly said to Wang Qiang.
Seeing that Master Zhou said so sincerely, Wang Qiang immediately replied, "Wang Qiang is not talented, thanks to Master Zhou, I am willing to do the best for the master, follow the master, and have no different intentions."
"Haha, great. With you in the future, that gang of bullies and local tyrants will be nothing to say. It's really great. It seems that this injury is worth it. Ouch, oops, it hurts again. "
Master Zhou was so excited that he forgot the scar and almost stood up happily. Only then did he remember that his injury was not healed, so he kept yelling.
Wang Qiang got up immediately, helped Master Zhou, and asked with concern: "Master Zhou, are you okay now! You must not be okay."
Wang Qiang then said: "Today you only scratched a little skin and had a broken right leg, but I took it all for you. You need to cultivate well, or I will help you to rest."
As Wang Qiang said, he walked forward to help Master Zhou. Master Zhou also thought about it. He was already injured and his body was in pain at the moment. He wanted to rest early.
So Master Zhou followed Wang Qiang to another room. At the same time, he took out a jade pendant and handed it to Wang Qiang.
For a moment, Wang Qiang felt that it was cold and slippery in his hand. Wang Qiang raised his brows and thought, "What is this?"
"This is my token. I don't think you have any paper or pen at home, nor can you write letters. Tomorrow you will go to the county government to give this thing to my butler. The butler is a person who has followed me since childhood and is worthy of trust. He will send someone to pick us up."
Master Zhou took out the jade pendant he was wearing, and told Wang Qiang how to get people to pick them up. Then Master Zhou went to lie down in the hut.
After Wang Qiang comforted Master Zhou and lay down, he went to take a look at his old mother's room, turned around and left the thatched hut. He stepped on the stars and dewdrops and ran towards the county office without stopping.
The beasts were constantly howling across the hills along the way. This Wang Qiang grew up in the mountains and knew the wolf, insects, tigers and leopards well, as well as the areas where they moved.
He avoided the areas where wolf, insect, tiger and leopard were active, and rushed to the county government. No accident happened overnight. Wang Qiang quickly walked through the mountains and forests, stepped on the trail, and finally came to the prosperous county seat.
In the wee hours of the morning, there are already a lot of people who go out to set up stalls are busy, some are carrying loads, full of vegetables or fruits, and the two ends of the heavy shoulder are shaking heavily, as if the burden of life is also happy at the same time. Ups and downs in anger, sorrow and joy.
The sky was just getting bright, and the avenues on both sides of the county hall were filled with large and small pavements, and the hot breakfast was already out. The sky was getting brighter, and the pedestrians on the street were sparse.
Wang Qiang has been guarding by the county hall, bursts of scent puffing his nose, he ate a mountain chicken a few days ago, and hadn’t eaten anything for two days, and rushed all night, his stomach was already groaning at this moment. , But he didn't get distracted, his eyes were staring straight at the door.
After finally waiting for two people dressed as government officials to open the door, he hurried forward to talk.
"Two masters, I have something to ask our housekeeper Zhou." Wang Qiang said politely to the two-door servant.
The two government officials looked at Wang Qiang, one eyeball was more glaring than the other. At first glance, the young man in front of them was dressed in tattered clothes. At first glance, he looked like a beggar, but the young man had awkward eyes and firm eyes. Abnormal, with a warm smile.
A government officer said unhappily: "Who are you, what can I do with our housekeeper?"
"I was entrusted by Master Zhou to come here to find Steward Zhou."
When the two government officials were dragged by Master Zhou, their eyes widened. One of them rushed in. After a while, a gray-haired old man ran out.
"It's you, young man, you have news from Master Zhou, hurry up and come in with me." The old man stepped forward and grabbed Wang Qiang's hand and said.
"It's me, old man, Master Zhou asked me to bring you a letter. Are you the housekeeper Zhou?" Wang Qiang saw the old man in front of him, and he found that the old man's eyes were full of anxiety, and his face was concerned. Wang Qiang had already guessed This old man is the old housekeeper Zhou said.
The old man took Wang Qiang into the inner house, and the old man let his servant serve tea and some snacks. When Wang Qiang swallowed when he saw the food, he picked up the exquisite snack and swallowed it one bite at a time.
The old man saw that he had finished eating, and he didn't seem to be full, so he asked his servant to get some breakfast.
Wang Qiang ate and drank enough, and he looked at steward Zhou with joy, and steward Zhou also looked at him happily. The old man’s face was kind of love after the vicissitudes of wind and rain, and he looked at Wang Qiang in tattered clothes with affection. Can't help nodding.
As the saying goes, good things travel thousands of miles away, and bad things don’t go out. Now that someone comes to report Master Zhou’s news, the old housekeeper is already relieved, so he doesn’t rush to ask Master Zhou’s news, but waits for the young man to eat and drink, so he opens his mouth.
"Strong man, your surname, Master Zhou..."
Before the old man had finished speaking, Wang Qiang quickly took out the token given by Master Zhou from his arms and handed it over to the old housekeeper respectfully.
When the old butler saw the token, his eyes were kind, and he said, "I know he will have great luck and good luck, and nothing will happen."
"Well, Zhou Qingtian is a good person. He is now recovering from injuries in my house. He has only a little bruise and a fractured left leg. I have already received it and I am raising it."