Midsummer, July. Ganlin Town, Hubei Province.

It has been three months since there has been a drop of rain.

The sun is like a big cooking cake that has just come out of the oven. It is scorched yellow in color, hot to the touch, and steaming with steam. Everything in the world is dyed yellow by this big cooking cake. The grass and trees have long withered and turned yellow. The same goes for the crops in the fields. There was yellow dust floating on the road, which was already several feet deep. The dust flew up in the wind and painted all the houses in the town earthy yellow.

Even the sky is gray and yellow, no longer the blue it used to be.

It's a pity that although the cake is big, it is not edible.

Huguang Province is the largest grain producing area in the Ming Dynasty. It is known as the "Land of Fish and Rice". Ganlin Town is located at the northern end of Hubei Province, on the bank of the Han River. The soil and water are fertile. The rice produced is also famous for being crispy. Tributes are often sent to They were fed to the emperor in the palace in the capital. But this is all in the past. Today, not to mention rice, even the most drought-tolerant rye cannot be grown in a few acres in Ganlin Town.

What is worse than the three consecutive years of drought is the four consecutive years of drought. In the disaster years, rice is as valuable as pearls. The bark of the poplar trees on the roadside outside the town has been stripped and chewed up.

Those who gnawed away the bark of the trees were not locals from Ganlin Town. After all, Ganlin relied on the Han River. Despite years of drought, the river that was originally more than a hundred feet wide turned into a stream several feet wide. But after all, there is still something The water can be used to irrigate the fields and grow a little food to make a living. It is not only Ganlin that suffers from drought, but the entire Hubei border. Not all prefectures and counties have rivers passing through them.

The crops have not been harvested. The only way to survive is to run away. From Hubei to Henan, Ganlin Town, which is close to the official road, is a must-pass. Therefore, in the past few months, people inside and outside the town have .Groups of homeless people can be seen everywhere on the streets. They are the ones who have gnawed away the bark of the trees.

The number of these refugees is increasing, and there are already thousands of them. They bring their families with them, but they bring no food with them, let alone silver. The bark and grass will soon not be enough for them to eat.

But in this world, there are both hungry people who don’t have enough to eat, and there are also rich people who eat well.

"Linjiang Tower" is the largest restaurant in Ganlin Town. It is located on the main street in the center of the town, close to the Han River. Although the Han River has now turned into a small stream, the scenery is greatly reduced. But the Linjiang Tower's But business is booming. There are no discounts at all.

It had just reached noon. There were already twenty or thirty horses tied to the horse posts in front of the building. In the restaurant hall on the upper and lower floors, more than half of the guests at each table were full. This is a must-pass for official roads. There are always a lot of merchants traveling between Huguang and Henan provinces. Linjiang Tower is the largest restaurant within a hundred miles from north to south.

The more than twenty guests sitting in front of the four Eight Immortals tables facing the window in the east are the most luxurious ones. But each of them carries a sword on his back and is dressed in elegant clothes. They are all dressed up as warriors in the world.

The three men headed by them all had steel knives slung across their backs. The blades were wrapped in green cloth and could not be seen. Only the handles were exposed. There were floating pendants made of gold and silver threads tied to them. They were shaped like feathers. It's special.

The man in the middle is about forty years old. He has a green beard and a white face. He has thick eyebrows and round eyes. The two people on his left and right are one in his mid-thirties and the other is younger. Although he has no beard, his appearance is somewhat similar to that of the green-bearded man. .Obviously three brothers.

The "Fengchi Gang" is a relatively small Baidao sect in Qizhou, Hubei Province. The "Five Phoenix Chaoyang Sword" inherited by the sect is also a famous sword technique in the martial arts in Henan Province. It is said to be better than the Wuhu Escort Bureau in Xiangjing The "Five Tigers Cutting Door Swords" are even more powerful. These three people are Guan Xiong, the leader of the "Fengchi Gang", and his two younger brothers Guan Hao and Guan Jie. They are known as the "Three Phoenix Wings" in the world.

Sitting at the four Eight Immortals tables around them, those who were drinking with the Guan brothers were all disciples of the "Fengchi Gang", with the exception of the middle-aged man opposite Guan Xiong.

This man is tall and tall. Even when sitting, he is six feet tall. He is a head taller than "Phoenix Wing Sanying". He has a bronze square face. He also has no beard, but has sharp edges and corners. He is quite powerful. Compared with others The warrior's attire is different. He does not carry weapons with him. He only wears a dark black robe. Under the big sleeves, a pair of big hands are exposed. The joints are protruding. However, it is obviously the appearance of an external martial arts master who has been practiced to the extreme.

On his right thumb was a dark steel ring about an inch wide.

"Arhat Boxing" is a well-known outer sect boxing technique in the world. This strong man in black robe is the elder of the "Arhat Gate" in Henan Province. His name is Qi Yuanhao. It is said that a form of "holding the mountain and surpassing the sea" has been practiced to 100% heat. He is sent as a gift. Nicknamed "Nezha the Iron Arm".

Compared with the "Fengchi Gang", the "Arhat Sect" has much greater power in Henan Province. Not only does it occupy most of the territory of Guide Prefecture and Runing Prefecture, but it also has a huge backer. It is the Seventh Clan. The head of the sect is the "Shaolin Sect". The "Arhat Sect" is originally a side branch of the "Shaolin Sect". The leader of the sect, Fang Changsheng, the "Boxing Champion of Six Provinces", was also a lay disciple of Shaolin.

Therefore, even though Qi Yuanhao was sitting on the chair with an arrogant expression, Guan Xiong, the leader of the "Fengchi Gang", was still very respectful and polite to the elder of the "Arhat Sect". His two brothers also With a smiling face, he raised his wine bowl and toasted again and again.

The banquet was very sumptuous. Several jars of old Shaoxing wine were opened. In order to entertain Qi Yuanhao, Guan Xiong ordered the best dishes in Linjiang Tower. A whole table was laid out with chicken, duck, fish and delicacies. Quite a few.

The aroma of wine and food on the table floated along the lobby to the door of Linjiang Building. It also drifted into the nose of a teenage girl on the street. The little girl sniffed and had a salivating look on her face. . He took a step forward and ran towards the door of the restaurant.

There are so many homeless people on the street. A high-end restaurant like Linjiang House is not accessible to casual visitors. When the waiter at the door saw a child rushing in, he immediately shouted: "Stop." ." He reached out and picked up the little girl's back collar and grabbed her back.

The little girl's clothes were very dirty. She was obviously the child of those refugees. The waiter shouted: "Where is this little girl from? Go, go, go. This is a place where rich men drink. No." You can get in."

He was extremely impatient. He was about to throw the little girl away, but when he looked at her face, he couldn't help but stayed for a moment.

This girl is actually very beautiful. Her little apple face is white and rosy, and her dark eyes are as bright as gems. She has a neat flow on her forehead, and her long hair is flowing behind her head, loosely tied with an emerald green ribbon. It is tied to the ground. It is dark and shiny. It looks like the finest silk and satin.

Just when the waiter was in a daze, the little girl had broken free from his grasp and jumped down to the ground. However, the waiter stopped her at the door of the restaurant and could not enter. She said, "Let me in."

The voice is delicate and crisp, like jade beads falling on a plate.

The waiter came to his senses and asked, "What's the little girl's name? You can't go in alone. Where are the adults in the family?"

He asked this because he saw that the little girl had a pretty and cute appearance. Although the clothes on her body were dirty and old, the fabric seemed to be of good quality. Moreover, it was a brocade skirt with large sleeves and a round neck commonly worn by ladies from scholarly families. So he guessed that this girl Maybe the baby is not a refugee, but got lost when the adults in the family went out. Maybe he got his clothes dirty while playing, which is why he looked like this.

The little girl replied: "My name is Ningning. My parents are on Pine Seed Slope."

Songzi Slope is a small hillside, not far from Ganlin Town. It is a gathering place for refugees from all over the world. The hillside is covered with pine trees. The trees often have pine seeds, which is why they are so named. However, There is not a single pine nut left there today. Even the bark is hard to find.

It turned out that he was still a refugee.

The shopkeeper's face suddenly elated and he was about to drive her away. But the little girl suddenly stepped forward and hugged the shopkeeper's thigh and said: "Uncle shopkeeper, my parents haven't had anything to eat all day. Ningning wants to go to the restaurant I sell and sing here to make money to buy steamed buns for them to eat. Can I ask uncle to let me in?"

With such a little girl holding her legs and begging, even a hard-hearted person would be soft-hearted. The shopkeeper really couldn't reach out to chase her away. He only frowned and said: "You are a little girl. You don't know how to sell or sing. You'd better go to the outside of the town to find it." Your parents."

Ning Ning said, "I really can sing. When I was in my hometown, my parents often took Ning Ning to the teahouse. Ning Ning could sing the little songs that the singing sisters sang. My father even praised me for singing better than them." "

As she spoke, she took out two half-foot-long bamboo boards from her waist and said, "Uncle, if you don't believe it, Ning Ning will sing it to you."

She often goes to teahouses to listen to people singing. This little girl must have come from a good family. She must be at least the daughter of a well-off family. This can be seen from the fabric of her clothes and her cute appearance.

But when a severe drought came, entire villages, entire towns, and even entire cities in Hubei Province became refugees. Even such a teenage girl could only follow her parents who had left home to flee and endure hunger. Not only was he hungry, but he even wanted to come to a restaurant to sing.

What kind of world is this? God is really short-sighted. The shopkeeper thought to himself.

When he saw the little girl taking out the bamboo board, she really wanted to sing to him. He immediately patted her little head and said, "Okay, okay, no need to sing. Go in. But be careful. Don't offend the guests." Otherwise, I can’t bear the blame from the shopkeeper.”

"Thank you, uncle. Don't worry, uncle. Ning Ning will definitely not offend the guests." Ning Ning was overjoyed. She stepped forward and walked through the door.

Linjiang Building has two floors, both with open halls and elegant rooms on all sides. The space downstairs is larger and there are more guests.

Ning Ning found an empty table in the center of the hall downstairs. She climbed onto the chair with both hands on her hands. It was because she was too short. If she didn't stand on the chair, it would not be much higher than the Eight Immortals table. The guests couldn't see it at all. After climbing onto the chair, she took out two bamboo boards and started banging them "crackling".

The loud sound of the bamboo board immediately attracted the attention of all the diners in the hall.

After knocking for more than 20 times, Ning Ning stopped. She coughed lightly, opened her mouth and sang: "The golden lady fell into her horse makeup. The partridges picked the autumn fragrance in the forest... Wearing the flowers through the strands and coiling the fragrant snow. I once annoyed the romantics. Lu Lang..."

This is the opening line commonly used by storytellers and singers in teahouses. It is also called the "setting poem". Xiao Ningning is probably used to hearing it. At this time, she is knocking on the bamboo board, half-reciting and half-singing. She has learned it in a formal way. It's just her age. He is young and his voice is crisp and tender. He is different from ordinary rap artists, but he has a unique sense of humor.
Chapter completed!