SFS Chapter 143 On the way
Chapter 143 On the way
After an autumn rain.
A swordsman accidentally entered a fruit forest and saw the tempting fruits on the trees. They were washed by the rain and were so tender and shiny that they seemed to be able to produce juice if you squeezed them lightly.
After an intense ideological struggle, the swordsman finally couldn't help but pick one to taste.
It was this action that was seen by the old farmer who was guarding the orchard. The old farmer blew his beard and glared, thinking that while I was not paying attention, another fruit thief came and rushed over immediately with a knife and fork.
However, when he saw the swordsman with a long sword from afar, he began to have doubts in his heart and began to back down. He planned to shout a few words and then let the matter go.
The harvest this year is good, and there are still large tracts of fruit trees that have not been harvested, which is not something that ordinary people can see.
What surprised him was that this handsome and tall drunken swordsman was surprisingly easy to talk to. After learning that the orchard belonged to him, he took the initiative to apologize and was willing to pay.
This really made the old farmer feel embarrassed. He scratched his head, saying that he had never seen such a scene before.
After all, he was a simple and honest man. The anger in his heart had long gone, but he didn't want to really accept the other person's money. Seeing him like this, the swordsman smiled and changed the subject, chatting with him to ease the atmosphere.
The old farmer gradually became interested in the swordsman's peaceful voice and couldn't help complaining to the swordsman. Recently, there were always outsiders passing by the orchard. Those people were of low moral character and always took advantage of the situation to pick a few fruits.
It's not that he was stingy with the fruits, the old farmer just couldn't swallow this anger. His son was seriously ill in bed recently, and he had to pick all the fruits in the forest by himself. The workload can be imagined. At this critical juncture, someone came to steal the fruits. His already depressed heart was further fueled by the fire, and he naturally couldn't help but get angry.
In addition, if everyone picked a few, especially the good ones, as the number of people increased, the loss would not be small for someone like him.
When Li Changxiao heard this, he thought that he had accidentally offended the other person, no wonder he was so angry.
He looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. He had been sleeping in the wild recently. Although it was a unique experience to integrate into nature and feel nature, he couldn't do this all the time. After all, he was a civilized man and he should sleep in a bed occasionally.
After much thought, he proposed a condition. He would stay overnight at the old farmer's house. The next day, he would help the farmer harvest the fruits, and then leave with a basket of fruits so that he could eat them on his journey.
The old farmer shook his head vigorously, still fearing Li Changxiao, the wanderer.
I am just an ordinary citizen and I don’t know any martial arts. What if this swordsman has ulterior motives?
The swordsman had no choice but to reveal the sack on his back. Once he opened it, the glittering silver instantly blinded the old farmer.
He has been growing fruit trees all his life and has never seen so much silver.
Li Changxiao stated his purpose. There was no shop in front and no one behind. Even if he knew martial arts, if he encountered a big bear or a big tiger, he would only end up filling his stomach.
Besides, I am not a person who is short of money, so naturally I will not look down on the melons and dates of the old farmer's family, so there is no need for me to be so alert.
The fruit farmer agreed, and he took Li Changxiao to the hut in the forest.
The house was not big and was made of wood, but the structure was quite solid. Li Changxiao couldn't help but praise the old farmer for his skillful hands. Such living conditions were far better than those of others, as most people still lived in thatched houses.
The old farmer's face darkened and he told the swordsman that he and his son had built the house together, but his son had been seriously ill and bedridden some time ago.
Having said that, the old farmer wiped his tears, brought a bowl of water to Li Changxiao, and asked him to go into the house and sit down first.
Li Changxiao pushed open the wooden door and sat down on the kang. It was autumn now and the nights were actually very cold. However, as soon as he sat on the kang, the coldness in his body slowly faded away. Although it was not as fast as drinking, it was very soothing and could easily make people sleepy.
His eyes fell on the young man lying in bed not far away.
The young man was tall and strong, but he had a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, and looked very miserable. No wonder the old farmer was so sad that he cried when he talked about his son. He was at the most energetic age, but ended up with such a miserable ending.
It is no exaggeration to say that it was a catastrophic disaster.
Li Changxiao turned around and asked the old farmer if he had any dispute with anyone recently. His son looked like this, maybe he was beaten by someone.
While burning firewood and cooking, the old farmer talked to Li Changxiao, saying that disputes were natural.
At this time of year every year, villagers from the mountain and passing wanderers would occasionally come to steal fruit, but his son had a straightforward temper and was strong, so conflicts often occurred.
At this point, the old farmer told Li Changxiao helplessly that it was not that they were stingy. He also understood that passers-by were thirsty and could not help but pick one or two to taste. But if everyone picked a few, the harvest that year would be pitifully low.
However, the old farmer asked the town's barefoot doctor to check on his son, who was found to have no injuries at all, not from a fight. The symptoms were a bit like a stroke, but they were not a stroke. In short, there was no cure for the disease.
As he spoke, the old farmer brought the food up one by one.
A bowl of steamed rice made from coarse yellow rice, which is a coarse grain, and you can tell from the appearance that it won’t taste very good. There are also two side dishes, one is fried nuts with vinegar, and the other is fried mushrooms with chili peppers.
The old farmer's hands, which served the meal, were covered with calluses and wrinkles.
The coarse yellow rice tastes terrible, the more you chew it, the more bitter it becomes. The nuts fried in vinegar are very sour and a bit bitter, but you can taste a fruity aroma if you taste it carefully. It is not delicious but it has a unique flavor. The only dish that is worthy of praise is the fried mushrooms with peppers. The peppers are old dried peppers, which are quite spicy. The mushrooms were picked on the spot when we came back, and they are fresh enough, as if you can smell the scent of autumn rain and soil.
Li Changxiao was not picky either. Based on the principle of not wasting food, he ate all the rice and vegetables together.
Outside the wooden house, it soon fell into darkness.
The old farmer asked Li Changxiao to go to sleep first as he still had to feed his son and give him a bath.
late at night.
After the old farmer finished everything, his eyes involuntarily looked at the burlap bag behind the swordsman.
He swallowed.
The white silver seemed to be imprinted in his mind. He had been distracted by the work just now, but now that he had finished everything and it was late at night and everyone was asleep, his mind slowly became active again.
If I had this money, I could go to a farther place and hire a better doctor to treat my son.
perhaps……
It will be fine.
But... the old farmer was struggling internally, with a look of hesitation on his face, and his hand subconsciously reached for the small knife on his belt.
Just... kill this swordsman.
This money is yours.
The old farmer took a deep breath. The desire in his heart became stronger and stronger. Under the great pressure, his brain began to lack oxygen and he felt a brief sense of suffocation. There was a constant buzzing in his ears. He looked at the swordsman, as if everything was right in front of him.
He just stood there, and his clothes were already soaked with cold sweat on this cool autumn night.
The old farmer ultimately failed to swing the knife. The moment he decided to give up, he became completely depressed. He gently opened the door, walked a few hundred meters away, and burst into tears.
The swordsman simply turned over and continued to sleep soundly. The feeling of sleeping on the kang was really good. It was much more comfortable than sleeping on a tree trunk, the ground, or the riverbed.
Li Changxiao's speed is actually quite fast, and he is probably still ahead of Mu Qin and others.
He did not set out too late. The key point was that after leaving Lingtian Dynasty and crossing the Northern Desert and continuing to move north, he saw a big river with surging water. Li Changxiao jumped into the river and fell asleep. He slept for three days in a row. When he woke up, he found that he had been washed far away. He estimated that he saved fifteen days of journey, which was also a coincidence.
If he was just waiting here.
Maybe I can meet some old friends.
(My neck is a little uncomfortable, so I'll take a day off today. There's only one chapter.)