At the junction of Hebei Province and Shanxi Province was a well-known mountain range, Taihang Mountain. It stretched endlessly, surrounded by clouds and mist. The fragrant air made many city people who breathed in car exhaust fascinated.
Taihang Mountain had a well-known history. It was as far back as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period when Duke Huan of Qi attacked the Jin Dynasty and seized Han Xingyang in Taihang Mountain. The famous guerrilla warfare in the Taihang Mountains during the Anti-Japanese War.
However, what was rarely known was that in the endless mountain range of Taihang Mountain, in a place that was difficult for people to see, there was a village with 25 families called Lugou Village. It got its name because of a Lugou Spring in the village that had never dried up.
It was like a secluded place, quiet and peaceful. Today, a village that didn't even have any unusual activity even after a person died was unusually lively. There was only one reason: the Qiao family had produced two college students at the same time.
According to the words of the old ancestor who had lived in the ancestral hall for ninety years, after waiting for a lifetime, there were finally two Elementary Scholars. What an honor!
The Qiao family's two children were admitted to the university. One was an elder sister, Qiao Lianxiang, and the other was Qiao Liansheng. The children of poor families were named according to the village's customs. They were named with fragrance and good fortune. Therefore, these two names were given to them by the ancestors.
When the old ancestor named them, he probably didn't think that the life of this pair of siblings would be so miserable. Eight years ago, the pillar of the Qiao family, Qiao Xianjing, had fallen. The only cultured person in the village who could sing a few lines of Peking opera and write calligraphy that was as beautiful as a New Year painting had fallen. Perhaps it was not appropriate to say that Qiao Xianjing had committed suicide.
Other than the Qiao family, no one knew the reason for his suicide. They opened their eyes and pricked up their ears, trying to find out something fishy from the expression and behavior of the Qiao family's daughter-in-law who was blind in one eye. However, this woman, who was full of nobility when she followed Qiao Xianjing into the village twenty years ago, had no expression on her face. As usual, she was sitting on the stone at the door of the house and knitting a sweater for Qiao Lian, the idiot.
A year ago, this half-blind woman, who came to Lugou Village with a noble aura but was as diligent as a donkey, also died. She died of illness, not suicide. The Ma family's daughter-in-law next door to the Qiao family could testify to this.
This half-blind woman who had stayed in Lugou Village for 20 years without any expression on her face had her eyes open when she died. She was sitting on a rock in front of her house, holding a black sweater that she had just knitted. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, pulling a shallow arc. It was a faint smile. A pair of lifeless eyes, one black and one white, looked at the black sweater in his hands and revealed a satisfied smile.
The Ma family's daughter-in-law said that the half-blind woman was so sick that she couldn't even walk. She still tried her best to support herself with a wooden stick to knit a sweater on the stone at the door of the house. She asked her why she didn't rest. She said that Er Maozi was going on a long journey and couldn't be too shabby.
To this day, the Ma family's daughter-in-law often sighed with emotion. This half-blind woman was really a god. She could even predict what would happen a year later. If she had known that she was so divine, she would have asked her to tell her when our Ma family would have someone promising. It would also give us hope.
As dusk gradually fell, the small house of the Qiao family became quiet. For the whole day, more than 90 people from 24 families in the village came to congratulate them and also sent some eggs, cooking oil, and so on. Even Wang Xiaohu, the little brat who always liked to stick to Er Mao, offered a jar of steel balls.
In the room, Qiao Liansheng was holding an admission letter from Tsinghua University. She stared blankly at the two photos in the white photo frames placed against the wall on the cabinet. Her eyes rolled around for a long time under her black glasses. Finally, she carefully folded the admission letter and stuffed it at the head of the bed. There was also a lighter under her pillow.
"Sis, are you asleep?" In the dark room, Qiao Liansheng was lying on the bed. She turned her head and asked softly to Qiao Lianxiang, who was lying on the other side of the bed with her eyes closed. Her eyes were extremely bright in the dark night.
Qiao Lianxiang turned over and sighed." No! He couldn't sleep. We've already been admitted to university, but our parents aren't here.”
"Yes." Qiao Liansheng responded but didn't continue. His bright eyes stared at the two photos on the cabinet for a long time before he chuckled.
"Sis, do you think Beijing is big?" Qiao Liansheng turned to the side, supporting half of her tanned face, her eyes filled with endless fantasies.
"I don't know. It should be very big! Why are you thinking so much? Won't you see it in a while? Go to bed early!" Qiao Lianxiang did not seem to be in the mood to speak. She was slightly annoyed. She turned over and faced the wall, but two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.
Qiao Liansheng was stunned for a moment before smiling, revealing a row of neat white teeth. Closing his eyes, he touched the folded admission letter under his pillow and the cold lighter beside him before falling into a deep sleep.
The sky was slightly bright. Qiao Liansheng got up from the bed, put on a black shirt, and quietly went out. Closing the door, Qiao Liansheng secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Standing at the door of the house, she looked up at the mountain covered in stone walls and walked out with a smile on her face.
This mountain was called Dog Bone Mountain, a name given by the ancestors of the previous generation in the village. Because the arched peak in the middle of the mountain looked like a dog with its back arched, it looked fierce. The ancestors said that this mountain was too fierce and should be given a cheap name, so Dog Bone Mountain was named.
Dog Bone Mountain was also special. The entire Lugou Village was filled with mountains, but only this place had the Bone Flower. It just so happened to grow between the cliffs, and could only be seen from afar, but not reached. When Qiao Xianjing was still alive, he would often sit on the arched mountain peak with a picture frame and draw with a brush.
Needless to say, the painting was really similar. It was really beautiful, and the strokes were very vivid. The flower bud of the Bone Flower was like a head, and its four petals were pointing in four directions, north, south, east, and west. It was exactly the same! The villagers all said that this was an evil flower and could not be touched. If they looked at it too much, they would suffer. Therefore, the elders in the village often lamented that Qiao Xianjing had painted himself into the palace of the King of Hell because of this pitiful flower.
When the sun rose from the eastern mountains, Qiao Lian arrived at the peak of Dog Bone Mountain. She respectfully kowtowed three times to two square stone tablets that were less than half a meter tall under a pine tree that swayed in the wind.
The half-blind woman who had died a year ago was buried under the stone tablet on the left. There was no name on the tablet. It was clean and not even stained with dust. This was what the half-blind woman requested before she died. She said that when she came to Lugou Village, she had forgotten her previous name. The villagers called her half-blind, but she had never shook her head. She had to come clean and leave clean.
On the right was buried Qiao Xianjing, who had committed suicide eight years ago for no apparent reason. A flower of pity was carved on the top, and at the bottom were eight words: The heart is frightened, and the soul is a shadow ghost.
No one in the village understood, not even Qiao Liansheng. Only the half-blind woman stared at the words and sighed, saying that Er Mao Zi had suffered!
Sitting in front of the two stone tablets, Qiao Liansheng took out a lighter and the folded admission letter. Carefully blocking the whistling wind, he lit the letter at a corner.
He held the corner of the admission letter and watched it burn in the whistling wind. In the end, it turned into ashes and scattered around.
After a long while, Qiao Liansheng took out a box of cigarettes and stuffed three into his mouth. After lighting it up, he placed it in front of Qiao Xianjing's tombstone. ** Qiao Xianjing had smoked five packs of cigarettes, and he had not finished them until he died.
Qiao Liansheng lit another cigarette and put it in his mouth. He took a light puff and spat it out with a frown. The taste was bitter, just like his current heart. It could not relieve the pain, but it could only make him feel better.
After finishing the cigarette, Qiao Liansheng stood up and patted the dust off his butt. He looked at the clean stone tablet and said softly,""Mother, I'll listen to you. I'll go to Beijing, and Sister will go to school.”
He turned his head and looked at Qiao Xianjing's stone tablet. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. After a while, he squeezed out three words from between his teeth,""I'm leaving."
Putting away Qiao Xianjing's only remaining box of cigarettes, he turned around and walked down the arched spine of Dog Bone Mountain.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。