Chen Bing was startled. She didn't like strangers getting too close to her, but Li Yunniang put her hand between the two of them and shouted loudly: "Mei Decai! What are you going to do!"

The man's name is Mei Decai. He has a handsome face and a certain aura. He is the only son of Mei Yisong, a carpenter in Huahu Village. Mei Yisong, a carpenter in Huahu Village, is not very good at living in Huahu Village. He is also a bit lazy and unwilling to work hard. He studied carpentry skills and made some tables, chairs and wooden boxes, but he couldn't make other large items. For this reason, his income was never very stable, and he never remarried after losing his wife in his early years. And Mei Decai and his father It's completely different. He is hard-working, loves to work hard, and his craftsmanship puts Mei Yisong far behind him, so his life is much better.

Mei Decai smiled awkwardly and said: "I haven't seen Er Niang for a long time, and I miss you. I just wanted to ask how my body is recovering. By the way, Er Niang, I Here is a steamed cake stuffed with meat, it is very delicious, come here, let’s eat it for you!”

Chen Bing did not know Mei Decai, so he did not reach out to take the steamed cake. Out of politeness, he said to him: "Thank you for your kindness. I have eaten the steamed cake and I am full."

"Hahaha, Mei Decai, you have nothing to do to be courteous again. Do you really think Er Niang will like you?" The speaker was Fang Mengshan, a well-known gangster in Huahu Village.

Mei Decai exhaled through his nostrils, snorted, and said with a smile: "Fang Mengshan, we all went to the county town to sell things so that we could get some money to support our family. What are you going to do? Are you going to pawn your pants to pay off your gambling debts? ?" Mei Decai's words caused everyone on the donkey cart to burst into laughter.

Fang Mengshan was not annoyed by what Mei Decai said just now, and said with a smile: "Although I, Fang Mengshan, am a bit more adventurous, I am not ready to become a householder. I went to the county today to sell this hairpin." ." After saying that, he took out a silver hairpin from his arms. The hairpin has a slender body and a plum blossom pattern on the tail. It is very beautiful.

Yang Yuniang, who was in the same car, had sharp eyes and was very greedy for the hairpin. She said loudly: "Fang Mengshan, how come you have such a beautiful hairpin? What use does a man like you have for this hairpin? Maybe you stole it somewhere. !”

Fang Mengshan carefully put away the hairpin and said with a smile: "Haha, why can't I, a man, have this hairpin? I, Fang Mengshan, don't steal or rob, but this hairpin was one that I picked up on someone on the official road a few days ago. , that person lost, so he had to use this hairpin as gambling money to compensate me. Hehe, Yang Yuniang, I'm afraid you are jealous of this hairpin and want to slander me and take it for yourself. Hehe, if you really want it , how about calling me good brother and I will give it to you?"

Yang Yuniang was furious, she spat and gritted her teeth: "Sigh! Fang Mengshan, you shameless thing, who cares about your hairpin? You want me to say that you stole this hairpin. There is no basis for saying so, but you can't. Do you have proof that this hairpin was lost to you by someone else?"

Chen Bing was amused after hearing this and thought: "It seems that Fang Mengshan is right. This woman named Yang Yuniang has indeed fallen in love with that hairpin. Since he said it was Guan Pu who got it, how could he do it?" Have proof."

But Fang Mengshan smiled and said: "Hey, it's true that there is no evidence of death. I don't know the person's name. I don't know where he came from or where he went. You can say whatever you want. Just say that this hairpin is alive. He won't fly into your arms by himself. Hehe, even if you want to call me a good brother now, it's too late. I won't give you this hairpin today."

Yang Yuniang sat there angrily, looked at Mei Decai sadly, and could not speak for a long time. Fang Mengshan smiled and said to Mei Decai again: "Brother Decai, since Er Niang doesn't like you, I am in a hurry to go out today.

We haven't eaten yet, so you can eat this steamed cake with me." Before Fang Mengshan finished speaking, he snatched the steamed cake from Mei Decai's hand and stuffed it into his mouth.

inside.

Mei Decai originally wanted to use this steamed cake to show his courtesy to his second mother, but he didn't expect the courtesy to be given to him. Instead, he got into trouble. He blushed and said angrily: "Fang Mengshan! You! You! Don't bully others too much. I

Today, I will beat you until you kneel down and beg for mercy!" As he said this, he used his old fists to attack Fang Mengshan.

Zhang Liulang, who was driving the donkey cart, opened Mei Decai's fist with a loud sound like a bell, "Who dares to do it!" After Zhang Liulang looked around, he said again: "Who doesn't have eyes and still wants to be here?

If someone does anything in my car, I will throw them out!"

Zhang Liulang's face was pockmarked and he was strong and strong. Mei Decai knew that he was no match for Zhang Liulang, so he stopped talking. However, Fang Mengshan smiled and patted the dust on Zhang Liulang's clothes, and said with a playful smile: "Brother Liulang, yes

I'm sorry, sir, you have a lot, so don't argue with me. When I sell the hairpin, I will give you a dime of wine to eat when I get back."

Chen Bing shook his head and thought: "This Fang Mengshan is just a piece of meat on a hob. In Huahu Village, he is probably the most ecstatic person. And there seems to be something wrong with the way Yang Yuniang looked at Mei Decai. Hey, this little flower

Hu Village is still very complicated.”

The donkey cart traveled for nearly an hour and a half before arriving at Chengbei Gate of Changxing County. Zhang Liulang jumped off the donkey cart and shouted: "It's already the end of the chen and the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. I'll wait here. I'll be here before the hour."

Let’s set off back to the village. Please keep an eye on the time and don’t miss it. If you miss it, just walk back by yourself!”

Chen Bing and Li Yunniang followed Chen Tingyao into the county town. Chen Bing patted Li Yunniang beside him and whispered in his ear: "Yunniang, this Mei Decai just seemed to be..."

Li Yunniang said close to Chen Bing's ear: "Er Niang, you lost your memory after falling into the water, so of course you don't know something. Meide has proposed marriage to your father."

Chen Bing tensed up, his face turned dark, and asked: "Ah? Really? Then did my father agree?"

Li Yunniang chuckled lightly and said: "You are your father's favorite. He holds it in his hand for fear of falling, and holds it in his mouth for fear of melting. He is not willing to get engaged for you so early. He just found a reason to do it.

Then Med was sent away."

Chen Tingyao heard this and smiled and said: "Second mother, you are not only the most important person for my father and mother, but also the person who is my brother's most important protector. If Mei Decai dares to come again, I will beat him everywhere."

No."

Although Chen Bing felt warm in his heart, his face still got hot after hearing this. Chen Tingyao knew that Er Niang was thin-skinned, so he changed the topic and said: "Er Niang, Yun Niang, you two will follow me to Wu's feet first.

Shop, it’s not easy to keep this fish, and with the bumps along the way, the fish will die easily. If it dies, it will be worthless, and you will get scolded by your mother-in-law when you go back."

Wujia Jiaodian, although it is called Jiaodian, is the third largest restaurant in Changxing County. The largest restaurant is Deyilou in the southeast of the county, and the second largest restaurant is Deyilou's biggest rival, Dexianlou.

Arriving in front of the Wujia foot shop, shopkeeper Wu saw that it was Chen Tingyao and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "Oh, Dalang, you are finally here. Where is your father? Why didn't he come today?"

Chen Tingyao finally put down the burden on his shoulders, rubbed his shoulders with his hands, and said with a smile: "Hello, shopkeeper Wu, my father went fishing in Taihu Lake early in the morning. He said that the weather is good today, so he can catch more, and he can give more to tomorrow.

Shopkeeper Wu."

Shopkeeper Wu said with a smile on his face: "Da Lang is becoming more and more talkative now. Who are these two?"

Chen Tingyao replied: "Oh, this is my sister Er Niang, and this is Li Jia Yun Niang."

Shopkeeper Wu’s eyes were fixed on Yun Niang for a long time. Chen Bing covered his lips with his hands and coughed heavily. Shopkeeper Wu glanced at the load of fish reluctantly and said: "Ah Cai and Ah Fu,

Hurry up and get the scales and barrels to catch the fish."

Shopkeeper Wu finished weighing the fish and shrimp, and then made a calculation and said: "Six white water fish cost ten cents each, silver fish cost four kilograms and four taels each, and cost fifteen cents per catty. You also brought two turtles this time, but they are too small.

These, each one costs you twenty cents, I’ll do the math, the total is..."

"The total is one hundred and sixty-six cents, right?" Chen Bing answered first.

Shopkeeper Wu finished the abacus and said in surprise: "That's right, Erlang. Your sister is very good at mental arithmetic."

Chen Tingyao scratched his head and said, "Shopkeeper Wu is laughing at me. This is the first time I know Erniang can do mental arithmetic."

Chen Bing deliberately showed off his mental arithmetic skills, but said very self-effacingly: "Shopkeeper Wu, this is not really a skill. I'm just lucky and I happened to get it right."

Shopkeeper Wu counted out one hundred and sixty-six coins from the money box and handed it to Chen Tingyao. He said cheerfully: "Erlang, please count the money first. Erniang is really young. If you are willing in the future, come to Wu."

It's okay to help out at the foot shop. Today is New Year's Day, and there is a gathering at Wanghu Temple. Erlang can take his second wife, Yunniang, to go and have a look." Shopkeeper Wu glanced at Li Yunniang a few more times after finishing speaking.

Chen Tingyao thanked him and said: "Since I can trust Shopkeeper Wu, there is no need to count the money. The three of me have other things to do, so I will say goodbye."

After saying that, he took Chen Bing and Li Yunniang and left the Wujia foot shop.

In the snack shop diagonally across from Wujia Foot Shop, one person said to another person: "Can you see clearly?"

Another person replied: "See clearly."

The man before asked: "How?"

Another person replied: "I want it."

"This Changxing County is square and not very big. It only takes two-quarters of an hour to walk from the North City to the South City, and it only takes this time to walk from the East City to the West City. It's just that the roads between Chu and Zhejiang in our country have been prosperous since ancient times. Although this county town

Although it is small, it must be prosperous." Chen Tingyao was very interested and introduced Changxing County to Chen Bing.

"Look, Erniang, there are all these restaurants, big and small, selling food from all over the country. For example, there are all kinds of soup, Hu cakes, stone tripe soup, steamed noodles and rice that are common in the capital. There are also things that are unique to Taihu Lake.

Food, such as braised mutton with wild rice and white silk, Qianzhang Bao, wok rice dumplings, and orange cake are also available. By the way, if you want to eat, I will buy some." Chen Tingyao took out four cents and did not wait for her.

The two of them replied, bought two pieces of orange cake, and handed them to Chen Bing and Li Yunniang.

Chen Bing and Li Yuniang did not accept the orange red cake. Chen Tingyao was quite surprised and asked: "Why don't you two eat it? This orange red cake is also a special delicacy of Taihu Lake and cannot be eaten elsewhere."

Chen Bing felt a little sorry for Chen Tingyao and said: "What about you, brother? Why don't you eat? You got up earlier than me today. Those fish are not light at all. Plus the barrels and the water in them, you are so heavy on your shoulders."

I felt so tired and distressed just looking at it. I only regretted that I was too weak to share the burden for my brother. Today on the donkey cart, the three of you and I only ate some steamed cakes. I am afraid that my brother would have been hungry for a long time. This orange cake

If you don’t eat it, Yun Niang and I will never eat it either!”

Chen Tingyao thought to himself: "My sister has a stubborn temper. If she doesn't eat, she will definitely not eat. And she is weak, so she takes this opportunity to eat more. My mother also paid special attention to me when she went out. Think about it.

I can't do it without eating it." Chen Tingyao had no choice but to buy a piece for himself, chewed a bite, and praised: "It's so sweet, Erniang, Yunniang, eat it quickly, it's really delicious."

Chen Bing and Li Yuniang happily took the orange red cake. After all three of them finished the orange red cake, a man next to him suddenly walked up to Chen Tingyao. He looked at the three people in front of him and said in surprise.

: "Isn't this Chen Tingyao?"


Chapter completed!