Looking at Zhou Wensheng's somewhat collapsed appearance, Lin Qingyin looked at him speechlessly: "What do you think? Do you think I asked you to be the snake last night?"
Zhou Wensheng, a forty-year-old man who looked at Lin Qingyin grievously, his expression was so skeptical. He just saw the little master rubbing his stomach and swallowing. As a chef, he knew very well. What does this action represent...
That is obviously greedy! !
Looking at Zhou Wensheng's eyes, Lin Qingyin couldn't help but touched her own face. He had only known each other for a few hours. Why did he misunderstand her so deeply? Does she look like someone who eats everything
"Don't worry, that snake can't be eaten." Lin Qingyin sighed depressedly: "Besides, the snake that appeared last night is not a physical entity. You can't cook it even if you have a pot!"
"That's right." Zhou Wensheng heaved a sigh of relief and quickly echoed: "I really don't have this technique. But what is the matter with the little master snake? Is it malicious to our family?"
Lin Qingyin felt her hungry stomach and felt that she didn't even have the strength to answer questions. She turned and walked downstairs: "I will announce the answer after breakfast."
Zhou Wensheng hurriedly followed. He was very fortunate that he had prepared a good breakfast, so that he could temporarily let the little master forget about eating snake meat.
When Lin Qingyin and Zhou Zihao went down, Grandpa Zhou and Grandma Zhou had finished their breakfast. The old couple was sitting in the window watering the flowers and plants by the window, and seeing Lin Qingyin smiled and said hello: "Little girl from the city Come here to play?"
Although Lin Qingyin looks like a high school student, she still can't call her grandparents to outsiders, so she can only smile politely: "The two old people are good, how did you rest last night?"
"It's very good!" Grandpa Zhou said vigorously: "As soon as we sleep until dawn, our place is quiet and sleeps very nicely. Did you sleep well last night?"
Lin Qingyin nodded. She arranged a formation in her room before going to bed last night. The snake couldn't get in at all, and it didn't bother her at all.
"The countryside is quieter than the city, and there are no lights and cars at night. Naturally, I would sleep better." Grandma Zhou smiled kindly: "In the years when I took care of Zihao in the city, I always sleep at night. Even when I fell asleep, it was very shallow, and a little movement could wake me up. Later, when Zihao was able to go to school by himself, our old couple moved back quickly. At the time, we were still living in the old house next to it. As soon as I entered the house, I felt extremely secure. In the words of your young people, it means you have a sense of security."
Grandpa Zhou also echoed with a smile: "That is, don't look at our old house at the time, but I think it's more comfortable than living in the high-rise buildings in the city." After saying this, Grandpa Zhou saw his grandson's eyebrows. I got up and quickly added another sentence: "Of course, the villa my grandson built for me is also comfortable, so I moved in right away."
Several people were amused by what the old man said. The old man took a small shovel and gave Hua loosen the soil, and said without looking up: "You think we are joking, but in fact we are talking about the truth. There is a patron saint in our house. Yes, as long as you often go home and live, you are guaranteed to be safe outside."
Old man Zhou used to say this often, but the family thought it was an old man who was afraid of loneliness, so he used this to deceive them. In private, several children half-joked that the older the old man became, the more he looked like a child. What he said made people laugh. Fortunately, Zhou Wensheng's brothers respected the old people. Everyone took turns to come back to accompany them, for fear that the two old people would feel lonely.
Zhou Wensheng and Zhou Zihao thought so before, but after seeing the scene last night, the two realized that the words that the old man said that seemed like a joke may be true, and that scary white snake might really be possible. Is the patron saint of their family. After all, the white snake often enters and exits their room before he can see it, and it doesn't hurt them in the slightest, except that it affects their sleep a bit. What is even more frustrating is that the white snake entering and leaving their room seems to be checking whether they are sleeping well.
Zhou Zihao couldn't help crying when he thought of this. Is this white snake too much maternal love
Although they were thinking this way, the two of them didn't dare to ask questions rashly. They were a little uneasy and waited for the little master to finish the meal and quickly reveal the answer to the mystery. Zhou Zihao felt a little impatient for the heart and liver.
The little master ate breakfast happily, but the chef Zhou Wensheng, who was admired by the little master, had no intention of eating. He couldn't swallow a soup dumpling, and watched the little master's mouth full of oil.
Lin Qingyin came to another cage after eating one cage, and mixed with a bowl of fried noodles after eating the second cage. Zhou Wenshan wanted to ask the little master where the half-table meat that he ate last night was gone. This digestion It's too fast.
Finally the little master put down his chopsticks, Zhou Zihao, who was also waiting eagerly, cheered and hurriedly passed the wet towel, got up eagerly and asked, "Do you want something to drink?"
Lin Qingyin looked outside the window and wiped his fingers with a wet towel: "The sun is good today. You make a pot of tea. Let's go to the yard and chat with the two elderly people."
The villa built by my own family, the yard alone is the size of an acre of land, and the old couple planted a lot of flowers and vegetables in the yard. It's late autumn now, and many flowers are in bloom, but the big red pomegranates falling on the pomegranate tree look very attractive. In addition, there are a dozen pumpkins half-hung on one side of the garden, each of which is as big as a small pot. Huang Cancan looks like it.
The old people don't have any concept of scenery decoration. They pay attention to practicality, but the young Zhou Zihao who paid the money to build this villa has some petty bourgeois feelings. The combination of the two is a set of solid wood tables and chairs placed under the pumpkins. You can sit and drink tea in the sun while looking at the mountains that are not far away, or you can see the harvest in the yard.
After hearing Lin Qingyin's instructions, Zhou Zihao quickly moved the set of tea trays and tea sets to the yard, sitting on a stool to boil water and make tea. Lin Qingyin stood in the middle of the yard with his hands behind his back and looked at the old house of the Zhou family next to him. With an enthusiastic look, Fat Wang standing behind Lin Qingyin seemed to be asking something quietly.
Grandpa Zhou surreptitiously beckoned to his son, Zhou Wenshan rushed over when he saw this, and asked in a low voice in accordance with the old man's actions: "Dad, what's the matter with you?"
"Does our Xiaohao like that little girl?" Grandpa Zhou snarled in Lin Qingyin's direction, frowning a little tangledly: "I think that little girl is not very young. Isn't she a minor? "
Zhou Wenshan really didn't know Lin Qingyin's age, but he heard his nephew say that this little master was still a high school student, and he might be under eighteen years old.
"Dad, what do you ask about the age of other girls? Little girls don't like to talk about this now." Zhou Wenshan stretched out his hand to support his arm: "Why don't we go outside for a drink of tea and sunbathe, now these few days When the weather is good, you must stay outside for a while so that your bones are strong."
Grandpa Zhou stretched out his hand and patted the winking son's hand, looking a little impatient: "Why are you so uncaring? Look at Xiaohao's diligent manner, do you like that? Little girl? I told you that it’s not okay. People probably haven’t grown up yet. Tell Xiaohao that we can’t do this kind of thing. This is a crime."
Zhou Wenshan didn't expect his father to have such a rich imagination, and said somewhat dumbfounded: "You think too much, Xiaohao has absolutely no unreasonable thinking about that girl, and he doesn't have the guts to think about it."
When the old man heard this, he relieved his mind. Seeing that Zhou Xiaohao's white tea was almost brewed, he stretched out his hand and patted his wife's hand: "Go, go out for a cup of tea and sunbathe."
The two old people walked out slowly, hand in hand with each other. After leaving the door, Grandma Zhou grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds on the concrete floor by the window and placed them on the table, peeling them one by one patiently.
Zhou Zihao poured the tea, and shouted to Lin Qingyin: "Little Master, the tea is ready."
Old man Zhou just picked up the teacup and was shocked by this sentence. The hot tea came out of the teacup and spilled onto the back of his hand. He unconsciously let go of his hand because of the pain, and instantly the purple sand teacup fell to the ground and shattered.
Zhou Zihao didn't care about the lack of a cup of the tea set he bought at a high price, so he quickly reached out and grabbed Grandpa Zhou's and said, "Grandpa, go to the faucet to flush cold water, or it should be foaming."
Zhou Wenshan couldn't help but muttered as he went to help the old man: "You said that you are so old, why are you stunned? You see the back of your hand is red. Oh, I said you got up quickly, sit here. What do you think?"
Grandpa Zhou sat on the chair and didn't move. He stared in Lin Qingyin's direction and asked Zhou Zihao: "What did you call that little girl just now?"
Zhou Zihao was annoyed when he heard these words that he hadn't spoken out of his head. He glanced at Lin Qingyin a little uneasy, looking very pitiful, bewildered. Lin Qingyin walked over with his hands on his back, looked down at the red burn marks on the back of Old Man Zhou's hand, and reached out to cover his hand.
Zhou Zihao and Zhou Wenshan only saw Lin Qingyin holding Grandpa Zhou's hand, but the heart of Grandpa Zhou, who was covered by Lin Qingyin's hand, was like a stormy wave, his eyes staring straight at Lin Qingyin, surprised. Can't say a word of.
About half a minute later, Lin Qingyin took his hand off, and saw that the hot red back of the old man's hand had restored his original skin color, and there was no trace of it.
Zhou Zihao looked at the back of Grandpa Zhou's hand with some doubts, and asked uncertainly: "Grandpa, do you want to put on ointment?"
"No." Grandpa Zhou pushed away Zhou Zihao's hand, with a more solemn expression on his face, got up and made a respectful gesture to Lin Qingyin: "Master, please sit down."
"Old man don't need to be so polite." Lin Qingyin smiled and sat next to Grandma Zhou. He squeezed the sunflower seeds from the table for a moment and squeezed them in his hands, putting the slightly damp melon seeds into his mouth.
The melon seeds that have just been peeled from the sunflower have a lot of moisture and are not crispy, but they have a unique fragrance and sweetness. Lin Qingyin took one and thought it tasted good, and couldn't help but stretch out his hand and pinch another one from the old lady.
The old lady looked at Lin Qingyin taking melon seeds one by one like a little squirrel, and quickly reached out a handful of them and put them in front of her, and said with a smile: "If you like to eat, eat more. I grow it myself. No pesticides."
Grandma Zhou liked Lin Qingyin very much, but Grandpa Zhou looked at Lin Qingyin with a very complicated expression. The white tea on the table is for five years, and it takes seven full minutes to boil it for a good taste. He sprinkled all the boiling hot tea on the back of his hand as soon as he poured it into the cup. At that time, he felt a scorching sensation of pain escaping from the skin. Lin Qingyin covered his burned area with his hand, and a cold breath came out of the painful skin, and quickly wandered through the skin, quickly suppressing the hot pain.
No one else could see anything unusual in the scene just now, but Grandpa Zhou knew clearly that he had met an expert, and this expert may have come to hide a lifetime secret for himself.
Grandpa Zhou stretched out his hand and took the tea cup in front of Zhou Zihao, and drank the tea in one tremblingly. After he calmed down a bit, he asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the master invited by your grandson." Lin Qingyin peeled off the pine melon seeds and said in a chatting tone: "They always sleep in the villa and want to ask me to see what's going on."
Grandpa Zhou showed an angry look on his face. He raised his head and gave Zhou Zihao a fierce look, and quickly said: "There is nothing wrong with my family, or how could my wife and I sleep so securely?" I thought of Lin Qingyin just now. After healed the scald himself, the old man calmed down his tone, but there was a begging in his voice: "Maybe they are used to the bustle of the city, so they didn’t sleep well when they came back. I promise that this will never happen again in the future. . You are a master, it's not worth wasting time on such a trivial matter."
Seeing Grandpa trying his best to defend, Zhou Zihao whispered: "Grandpa, we have all seen it."
Grandpa Zhou turned his head abruptly, his voice trembled: "What did you see? I said that our house has nothing."
"I saw a snake!" Zhou Zihao glanced at Lin Qingyin and told the facts: "The little master set up the formation. In the middle of the night, we saw a luminous and transparent snake coming in through the gate. It was room by room. Check it again, and finally lie down at the door of your bedroom,"
Seeing grandpa's pale face and trembling limbs, Zhou Zihao grasped his grandpa's hand: "Grandpa, don't be afraid."
Grandpa Zhou shook Zhou Zihao's hand abruptly, and his eyes looked sharper than ever before: "What happened to that snake? Did you kill it?"
"The snake has no entity, why should we kill it?" Zhou Zihao said with an innocent look: "We went back to the room to sleep when we saw it lying at your door, but the snake came in when I was about to fall asleep. Now.” Zhou Zihao said, muttering a little complaining: “No wonder I felt that something was looking at me when I was sleeping here before. The co-author is this ancestor.”
Grandpa Zhou heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that the snake was not injured. He leaned back in his chair and drank a cup of tea in silence before turning his head to look at Lin Qingyin: "You didn't hurt it, did you?"
Ordinary people have nothing to do with an intangible snake, but a master like this is not the same.
"No!" Lin Qingyin said in his usual tone: "I took them to admire the heroic appearance of the giant snake yesterday, and then I went back to my room to sleep without even touching it."
Seeing that Grandpa takes the snake very seriously, Zhou Zihao nodded quickly to confirm Lin Qingyin's words, and Grandpa Zhou was relieved.
Seeing that his family didn't seem to dislike the snake, Grandpa Zhou finally spoke.
"Actually, I knew the snake's existence, but I didn't expect it to still guard my home."
Hearing these words, even the old lady turned to look at Grandpa Zhou: "What's the matter?"
"My family had a senior official in the Ming and Qing dynasties. I don’t know how many students and clan members have been trained, and they can be regarded as a well-known scholarly family in Qicheng. I don’t know since when my ancestors developed a habit, that is, every Generations of children and grandchildren have to record the great events and miracles that happened in the clan, and then pass this note down from generation to generation, which is also a way for future generations to understand the life of their ancestors.
"The handwriting left by the ancestors passed to me. There are quite a few large boxes. In fact, I don't have all the notes in my hand. For hundreds of years from the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the present, only one-tenth of the total number has been preserved. , But this one-tenth has let me know a lot of things that I have never dared to imagine.
"The personalities of the people who take notes in each generation are different, and the focus of their records is also different. Some recorders have more disciples who are sensitive and eager to learn. Strange things. Some of these strange things happened in the clan, and some were heard from the ears, because they were too interesting and were written down."
Mentioning the notes he had read, Grandpa Zhou couldn't help showing a nostalgic smile on his face, and his tight body relaxed.
"When I was a child, I was in the midst of a war. Although I was also in a private school in the village, my husband also taught some characters and some poems, and didn't teach anything. At that time, there were not so many books to read like children now. I don’t even have a textbook. We will learn whatever the husband writes on the board. It’s very boring. The extracurricular books are something that I can’t even think of. When I know more words, I’m not satisfied with doing it every day. He told her husband to recite the Analects of poetry, always looking for something new to see. My father was too troubled by me, so he gave me a key to the brass lock.
"Back then, my house was uploaded by our ancestors. Although it was not as big as one-tenth of its heyday, it was the best house in the village at that time. At that time, my house had more than ten rooms in the front and rear yards, and there was only one house. The door is locked all the year round, and there is a yellow-orange-orange brass lock hanging on it. What my brother and I like to do when they were young is to pick up the cracks in the door of the house and look inside, betting each other and guessing what’s inside. What is it."
Grandpa Zhou recalled that year and couldn't help but smile: "I didn't expect my father to give me the key."
Speaking of grandpa holding a cup and drinking tea this week, although Zhou Zihao was impatient to hear it, he could see that Grandpa Zhou recalled the events of the year with a happy smile on his face, so he suppressed his curiosity and patience. With temperament, I listened to Grandpa Zhou about his childhood.
"After I got the key, I couldn't wait to open the door. After opening the door, I found that there were one big box after another, and there was a set of tables and chairs beside the window. They looked very clean. There should be people often. Cleaning up. I opened the box and looked at the full books in it. I suddenly became excited. I couldn't wait to pick up a book sitting on a chair by the window and read it. The first story I read back then was about snakes.
"The ancestor who recorded that story was an ancestor in the Daoguang period. His name was Zhou Tonghe. Zhou Tonghe went to Beijing to rush for the exam when he was 30 years old, but it didn't take long for him to leave Qicheng. It was heavy rain. Zhou Tonghe used this road when he went to his mother-in-law’s house. He knew that there was a cave on the nearby mountain to shelter from the rain. The people at that time were simple and kind, and often people put some in the cave when they went up the mountain to chop wood and hunt. Firewood in case of emergency. Don’t look at those firewood as worthless, but if someone encounters bad weather and hides in a cave someday, this firewood can come in handy.
"Zhou Tonghe hurriedly finally ran into the cave when the heavy rain came. He put his suitcase on the straw-paved ground, drew some firewood from it, lit a fire, and baked his wet clothes. It's here. At that time, Zhou Tonghe heard a strange bird cry outside, and then a huge thunder rang out. An eagle with its wings scorched by the thunder fell from the sky and fell in front of the cave. There is a big white snake clutched tightly in his paws.
"The white snake seems to have fought with the eagle. It looks scarred. In addition, it has been so thin that it has been affected by the lightning and has suffered some injuries. It is already a little dying. At that time, "The White Snake" was very popular among the people. The white snake was not dead, so Zhou Tonghe and Maoyu used a knife to peel off the eagle's claws and rescued the white snake. Zhou Tonghe dragged the huge white snake into the cave and his clothes were wet. That's right, and the white snake looks even less energetic.
"Zhou Tonghe has no experience in treating snakes, but he didn't want to let it go. He sprinkled some gold sore medicine on the snake, then tore a piece of Chinese clothes to help the snake wrap up, and shared the hot roast chicken on the shelf. More than half of the white snake.
"It rained for three days and three nights. One person, one snake, and two worked together to eat Zhou Tong and the braised duck with smoked chicken sauce and pork with them, and the rain stopped. Zhou Tonghe did not change the medicine for the white snake the last time. Helped it to bandage, but reached out and touched its head, half-jokingly said: "I'm going to Beijing to take the exam, you can take care of yourself. If you become a god in the future, remember to come to me to repay. '
"Zhou Tonghe was just a joke. After he got out of the cave, he left the matter behind. That year, he was admitted to the Jinshi, but his rank was average. After giving his family the good news, he went outside to become an official. "
Seeing his children and grandpas and a few outsiders listened with gusto, Grandpa Zhou said more and more vigorously: "Zhou Tonghe is very thorough in his life. Although his official career is not prosperous, his life is stable and stable, and nothing has happened. When he has been in office, he has been in office. After his fiftieth birthday, he made a report and returned home.
"There are many descendants of Zhou's family, and Zhou Tonghe is not the eldest son. It is very inconvenient to live in the old house after returning home, so he decided to build a house and move out. There are many trees in Shanbo County, and there is no shortage of wood to build a house. The speed is fast, but in half a year, Zhou Tonghe’s house was almost built. On the day of Shangliang, Zhou Tonghe laid tributes to worship the gods according to the rules. Throwing on the beam, at this moment, I don't know where it came from. A stout white snake climbed onto the beam. It hung on the beam and looked down, then retracted the huge body and quickly disappeared.
"Women and children are a little scared when they see such a big white snake, but the elderly said that the presence of snakes in the house is a good sign. It is a house snake to protect the peace of the family. Do not harm them. Zhou Tonghe is concerned about this kind of thing. Very disapproving, but Shang Liang had to say auspicious words on this day, and he did not say anything disappointing.
"The new house was completed, and the custom-made furniture went inside. After a few days of drying, Zhou Tonghe's family moved in. The house that Zhou Tonghe built was not small, and he had been an official for his entire life. People usually talk about him. I don’t know how much money they have made. This sentence caused a group of gangsters to be moved when they heard it. At night, they took the knife and went into the yard to kill people. As a result, the white snake appeared just as soon as they blew the incense and entered the house..."
Before Grandpa Zhou could finish his words, Zhou Zihao couldn't help but interject and ask: "Grandpa, didn't you say that everyone has passed out? How do you know that the white snake is coming out at this time?"
Grandpa Zhou gave him a glance: "Zhou Tonghe woke up after being drugged the next morning and found that there were five or six dead people lying down in the room. The faces of these people were distorted, and the bones on their bodies should not be squeezed. It was broken. Zhou Tonghe had been an official for a lifetime, and he didn't know how many cases he had sentenced. He knew what was going on at a glance at many corpses. After inspecting the corpses, he remembered the white snake that appeared on the day of Shangliang.
"These gangsters are all murderous in the county, and they have done many murders and robberies. The county grandfather of this county also has a headache for them. Now that the gangsters are dead, the people in the county are happy. For their strange way of death, Many people have different opinions, but Zhou Tonghe's neighbors believe that those people were hanged by a house snake. After all, everyone had seen the snake on the day of the Liang Liang. It is not a problem that such a thick body entangles a person to death. At this time, someone who was curious asked Zhou Tonghe if he had rescued the white snake before, and how he felt that the white snake was here to repay his favor.
"Reminded by his words, Zhou Tonghe finally remembered the life of the snake he had saved when he was young. It's just that he said a joke at the time, and he didn't expect that the white snake would really come back.
"Zhou Tong and immediately asked people to enshrine the tablets of the White Snake at home. They put chickens and ducks and other tributes on the fifteenth day of the new year, and then closed the room until the next day when the door was opened, the tributes were gone. ."
Grandpa Zhou sighed softly: "Just like this twice a month, Zhou Tonghe has worshipped the Orochi for 20 years. Although Orochi received all the tributes, he never came out once. Zhou Tong and the 70-year-old At that time, he was infected with the cold for a long time. In his last few days, the white snake who rarely showed up appeared in his room, lying on the side of the bed to accompany him. After Zhou Tonghe breathed, the white snake straightened his upper body and bends towards the corpse. After three waists, he climbed onto the beam and disappeared.
"Since then, the Zhou family has not seen the white snake again, but the tribute placed on the fifteenth day of the first day will still disappear the next day, which makes the Zhou family feel very at ease. It is a pity that only three generations have passed and the family snake is worshipped. The problem slowly relaxed, and the fresh chickens and ducks became steamed buns and fruits to deal with things. Since then, the tribute has never disappeared. After decades, even the tribute for dealing with things. It's gone."
Grandpa Zhou picked up the tea cup and said softly: "When I was young, I felt very sorry to see this place. On the fifteenth day, I stole my family's money and bought roast chicken and big fat duck. According to the book. Step, set the altar and incense table, and worship the house snake."
Zhou Zihao felt that he was courageous enough. Unexpectedly, his grandfather was fatter than he was when he was a child. He actually relied on a book of seemingly fictional notes to bravely set up the tribute. Isn’t he afraid of holding it? Isn't it a house snake but a mess
"Grandpa, is that white snake here?"
Grandpa Zhou nodded, showing a warm smile: "At the time of the day, it came!"