Gao Shulin said: "There are not many things today, just two rotten cotton coats, which can't be sold for a lot of money."

I said, "Why do he even want to rotten cotton coats? You told him to pick up valuable things and take them."

In the darkness, I heard Gao Shulin laughing. After laughing, he said, "This man is a little stupid and always picks up valuable things."

That night, Gao Shulin asked me a lot. He was very concerned about me and again raised the topic of finding me a good wife. I happily catered to him.

At that time, I believed Gao Shulin's words and believed that Bodhi really only stole two cotton coats that day. Later, when I grew up, I carefully savored the words that day, and realized that Gao Shulin was cheating on me. He didn't want me to know what he had stole.

Only Gao Shulin and Bodhi know about the things that are stolen.

The reason is very simple. If Bodhi did steal two cotton coats that day, then the two cotton coats would not be put into a floral backpack no matter what. The cotton coats were all cotton, not duck down. At that time, there was no such high-tech as duck down. The rich man wore woolen tweeds, and whether it was woolen or cotton, there would be a big lump when folded. How could such a big lump be put into a floral backpack?

It took me ten years to figure out this truth.

As usual, today is the repetition of yesterday, and tomorrow is the continuing today. The circus performs in one village and one village. At that time, the villages in the north are very scattered, with vast land and sparse populations. Sometimes it takes two days to see a village, and sometimes it takes three days to see a village. As long as you see a village, the rich people in this village will suffer. Bodhi's work is very meticulous. After the circus is over, the rich people will return home and will not find important items stolen for a long time. Even if the rich people find that they have been stolen, it is difficult to doubt us; even if we suspect us, we have already run far away with a light carriage and cannot catch up.

On the winter solstice that year, Cui'er caught a cold and had a high fever. The circus wanted to continue performing south, so she left Cui'er in the inn. Cui'er was weak and needed someone to take care of her, so she left me. My life was still capable of being a telephone pole.

Cui'er and I stayed in the inn room. I touched Cui'er's forehead and it was hot. I asked for a porcelain bowl of hot water, brought it to Cui'er, and called her. However, she didn't say a word, as if she had fainted.

I didn't know what to do. Thinking that the only person in the world who was good to me was about to leave me, I suddenly felt very sad. I hugged Cui'er's head and started crying.

I don’t know how long I cried. When I was sleepy, I fell asleep with her head in my arms. In my sleep, I saw many people coming. They were surrounded by a coffin. Cui'er was lying in the coffin. They were about to carry Cui'er to bury me. I pounced on it and crawled on the coffin and shouted, “You can’t be buried, you can’t be buried.” But no one listened to me, so I tried to cry so that everyone could hear my crying.

When I woke up, it was already dusk. I opened my eyes and saw Cui'er still lying on the bed. She looked at me with a smile and said, "You are crying."

I nodded.

Cui'er asked: "Why are you crying?"

I said, "I dreamed that you died, and I cried."

Cui'er smiled and touched my dirty cheeks covered with tears and said, "The little guy is quite conscientious. Don't worry, I won't die. The King of Hell won't accept me."

As night came, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. In the winter in the north, water turned into ice. It was the winter solstice, and the north started counting nine. If you don’t take action in 1929, you will walk on the ice. This is the coldest time of the year. At the intersection outside the inn, there are many people burning paper money, and some people shouting in a short voice: "Come back, come back."

I asked, "What are they shouting?"

Cui'er said: "Today is the winter solstice, and we will burn paper money for the dead and call the dead to go home and take a look."

I asked, “Can the dead go home?”

Cui'er said, "Yes." He suddenly stopped talking, and I saw her shivering in the haze.

Cui'er whispered, "Come up and go to bed, let's sleep together, cover a quilt, so warm."

I climbed onto the kang with a touching touch, trying to uncover the quilt covering Cui'er's body. Cui'er pushed me away, and she said, "Look at you, you're dirty, you haven't washed your clothes for hundreds of years. Take off your clothes and come in again."

I took off my clothes and got into Cui'er's quilt. When Cui'er touched me, she screamed: "Why have you taken off all?"

I said, "I only have one cotton jacket and one cotton pants."

Cui'er giggled in the darkness, and she said, "I didn't expect you to be like this."

I was next to Cui'er's body, Cui'er was only wearing underwear and underwear. Her body temperature was not as hot as in the afternoon. Her body was very soft, as soft as a cotton bag. When I was a child, I felt like I was sleeping in the same bed with my mother, but suddenly I came back. I hugged Cui'er and felt very safe and warm.

I heard Cui'er sigh softly in the darkness, and I didn't know why he sighed.

This was the first time I slept with a woman other than my mother. Although we did nothing that night, sharing the same bed made my feelings for Cui'er rise in geometric shape.

That night, we lay together and said a lot. This was the first time in my life that I was able to talk to someone older than me. It was the first time in my life that no one called me to drink.

Cui'er said that Gao Shulin and the tree stump were cousins, and their ancestors were all performing circuses; the telephone pole was an orphan picked up by Gao Shulin on the road, and saved him with a bowl of rice soup; Bodhi was also saved by Gao Shulin and others. One year, they were walking on the road, and a person ran away with injuries on his legs. When they saw them, they took out two gold ingots, and pointed at the back and pointed at two gold ingots. They understood what they meant, so they hid Bodhi in the carriage and said to the villagers who were chasing: "Someone ran forward." They deceived the villagers and saved Bodhi. After that, Bodhi joined them and cheated and stealed. Bodhi was a foreigner, and few people could understand what he said.

What is the relationship between Qing'er and Cui'er? How did they come to the circus? I didn't ask, and Cui'er didn't say it.

In the second half of the night, we were still sleepless. Cui'er drank a porcelain bowl of cold boiled water and said that her body temperature had dropped and her illness was cured. I was very happy to hear her.

Cui'er said: "Tell my sister a story, and my sister loves to listen to stories the most."

I thought about it and told a story. This story was told by the teacher in a private school. It was said that there were father and son. The first time they walked out of the mountain, and they could not see the sky outside the mountain. The son said, "Dad, the sky outside the mountain is so big. If the sky is cloudy, it will take at least half a year." His father looked around and said to his son, "Okay, my child, why did you say such stupid words? If someone heard this, I don't know how to joke. Dad tells you that if the sky outside the mountain is cloudy, it doesn't take half a year, two months is enough."

Cui'er giggled and said, "Your story is not as good as mine."

I said, "Then you say yours."

Cui'er said: "There is a silly woman in the mountains. Her mother told her since she was a child that she could not suffer any losses. If anyone bullies you, you will give it back twice. One day, the silly woman came home and happily told her mother that I had taken advantage of today. Her mother asked, "What are you taking advantage of?" She said: I saw a man on the street. He touched me and I touched him twice. He touched my face and I touched his face twice. She hooked my arm with her arm towards the remote alley, and I also hooked him with my arm. In the remote alley, she unbuttoned my pants, and I also unbuttoned his pants."

I couldn't understand, so I asked, "How come I bleed?"

Cui'er touched me and said, "The stupid boy will understand when he grows up."

I don’t know when we fell asleep that day, but when we woke up, the sun was already high. Cui'er said, “Let’s go out shopping?”

I said, "Okay."

I haven't gone shopping for a long time.

This is a county town. At that time, there was only one main street in the county town, and the rest were alleys. On the side of the street were grocery stores, cloth shops, steamed bun shops, bun shops, and blacksmith shops. There were very few shops. There was a City God Temple on the edge of the county town. A clay sculpture that could not be named was enshrined in the City God Temple, and opposite the City God Temple was a stage. The architectural layout at that time was very particular, with the city gate facing the theater. The theater talked about the theater, and the city gate talked about the City God Temple. The actors sang opera, which was for the audience to watch, and the City God Master.

I don't like watching opera. Those people on the stage who wear boots on their feet and flags on their backs stood still for a long time, making people feel upset. However, Cui'er likes watching opera very much. She stared at the stage with anger or joy on her face.

There are many people under the stage. I stayed boring and walked out of the theater to play with just one word. Outside the theater, there were a few children scattering almonds. They sprinkled four almonds on the ground. The other party took one of them. You had to tie the two farthest apart together. After the collision, you would win; if there was no sound, even if you lost, give way to the other party to sprinkle almonds.

I joined them and played together.

I had just played for two games, and suddenly I heard a noise coming from behind. I turned around and saw Cui'er walking out hurriedly, followed by several slutty men. One of them put his hand on Cui'er's shoulder and refused to let Cui'er go. Seeing this, I grabbed the almonds, ran over, pulled the man's other hand, and took a bite.

The man let go of Cui'er because of the pain and bent down. The other men rushed over, and I threw the almonds in my hands at them, and they stopped together. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cui'er pulled me and ran away.

They chased after me, but there were many people in the county that day, and it was an annual temple fair. Cui'er pulled me and made a few turns in the streets and alleys, and got rid of the pursuit.
Chapter completed!