Xie Ming

A cracked watermelon and a crooked cow.

In a field in Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture, under a melon shed, and in the shade of a tree.

The melon eaters had a nice chat with the melon farmers.

In the end, the story of the cow was not finished, but the onlookers were determined to leave.

"Oh, forget it. I can't talk to you anymore."

"I have something urgent to do here. I have to go now."

"Two melons, how much is it?" asked the melon eater.

"Hey, a cracked melon is not worth much."

"They are all local country folk. If you want to take them with you, just give them two copper coins and it's over."

"If not, forget it." The melon farmer spoke honestly and didn't ask for much.

"There's no reason not to pay."

"Uh, here, this is for you."

As he spoke, the melon eater took out a five-cent copper coin from his waist.

This kind of money is marked as worth 5 cents of silver, but in the current year, it is only worth 2 cents.

Even so, the melon farmers who took the copper coins still gave more.

After all, as Gang Yan said, two watermelons cost two small coins, and five small coins were needed to exchange for one winning one.

So the melon farmer got up and prepared to go back to the shed to make money.

"Oh, okay, let's talk later."

"This is used to pay for the melons, so you don't need to change it."

After saying this, the spectators probably didn't want to cause any trouble, so they didn't bother about it and prepared to go on their way.

But the melon farmer is also a kind-hearted person.

"Oh, don't, don't."

"Two melons, two boys."

"Looking for it, looking for it."

"Wait a minute, I'll get you the money."

As he said this, the melon farmer trotted back and put the boy into the man's hand before the melon eater got on his horse.

"Haha, when doing business, there are business rules."

“You can give it up, but you can’t take too much.” Melon farmers have their own rules.

Upon hearing this, the melon-eating person laughed in disappointment.

"Haha! You don't have to be so serious."

After saying this, the man did not delay any longer. He mounted his horse, whipped it, and galloped forward.

But the skinny horse couldn't help moving, and it ran with a limp and a grovel, which looked awkward, and its speed was not very fast.

After the man left, the melon farmer watched him leave and then turned around and brushed his legs.

It was only at this moment that I saw a bright spot on the ground under the sun.

I bent down to pick it up and found it was a silver grain.

"Hey--"

"Hey, hey"

"Your money has dropped!"

"Hey, hey, the money fell."

The melon farmer, who was a good man and never kept the money, saw a silver particle and without thinking much, he hurriedly chased after it.

Thinking about sending the money back.

He ran with all his might.

There was a windbreak forest not far ahead. When I turned the corner and looked again, I saw a cloud of dust. The man who had just come down to eat the melon had disappeared in the dust.

The melon farmer felt uncomfortable and sighed, not knowing what to do.

"Oh, this, this"

"What do you think I should do? Oh my..."

As he walked back angrily, the melon farmer hung his head, trying hard to find another way to pay back the money.

But it is at this moment!

But suddenly there was a clanging sound!

Following the noise, the old melon farmer was also startled and looked up.

Unexpectedly, when he was distracted for a moment, his teahouse and melon shed were hit by a horse and smashed to pieces.

The watermelons on the roadside were shredded and blood-red. The wooden frame shed behind which I usually took a nap had its front support pillar broken, so it tilted and made a crackling sound.

puff--

Then there was a burst of dust and smoke, and it collapsed with a loud bang.

"Hey, hey"

"What, what are you doing?"

"Oh, my melons, my shed!"

Seeing this, the melon farmer didn't care that he had just finished farming and hurried back to the shed, slapping his legs in pain.

Snapped!
But at this moment, the person who fell off the horse and was not present kicked out and stood up from the broken wooden planks.

The man reeked of alcohol, and his fat face was red and purple.

"Fuck it! What are you talking about?!"

"Old..., Laozi" he choked and burped.

"Damn it, who told you to put things on the road? Huh?!"

"Fuck you, old man, you look like you don't want to live anymore!"

The perpetrator came in rashly, and instead of apologizing, he stood up and whipped the melon farmer with a horsewhip, causing the farmer to shrink back and fall to the ground.

"Hey, hey, okay, okay!"

"I told you not to drink those drinks, but you got caught, didn't you?"

"Hmph, hurry up! Our godfather wants us to catch someone. We just caught up with him. Don't let him get away again!"

Just when the fat and drunken man was trying to take advantage of the melon farmer, a middle-aged man with a beard on another horse came rushing over and spoke to him.

Looking over, these two were wearing black shirts, with gift badges hanging around their waists and swords slung across their waists.

Judging from his clothes, he is exactly the constable in the yamen.

"Hey--"

"Ouch, ouch!"

"Captain, police, stop beating me, stop beating me." The melon farmer also begged for mercy to avoid physical pain.

After hearing what his colleagues said, the fat and drunkard Xu was really afraid of delaying the mission, so he paused and gave up.

"spit!"

Immediately, he spat a mouthful of phlegm at the melon farmer, venting his anger.

In contrast, another man with a bearded face asked.

"Hey! You old fool."

"There's a tall, thin guy riding a lame horse, dressed in shorts, dressed like a country bumpkin, named Ning Ji, who has never passed by here?!"

"He is a wanted criminal of the imperial court. There will be a reward for anyone who finds out about his crime!"

"Did you see it? Tell me the truth." The bearded man came to question with his horse head turned away.

It seemed that the melon farmer was afraid of seeing the people from the yamen, so he dared not hide the truth. He raised his hand and pointed in the direction where the melon eater had just left.

After finishing the work, the fat and drunkard saw that the clue was connected, so he did not delay any longer and jumped and climbed onto the horse's back.

Finally, they took two melons. The two of them ran forward in a hurry, one in front and one behind, one fast and one slow!
Time flies and it is already the early afternoon (around 3:00 p.m.).

The fragrance of rice wafts through the fields, and a slight cool breeze blows down, slightly easing the stuffiness.

Not far away on the dirt road, a group of three riders were galloping towards them, raising dust.

When we arrived in front of the original melon stall and teahouse, we stopped in a hurry.

"Haha, Yue Xiu, you unlucky star, you must be tired from running."

"Rest here for a while."

"Hey, old man, this tea of ​​yours..."

"Why did the sign fall off?"

"Do you have tea? Give me a pot. I'm so thirsty that my throat is about to smoke, huh? Haha."

The voice was clear, a gust of dust blew by, and Jin Xiaolang's figure and head appeared. He looked relaxed and smiled at the old melon farmer.

Right now, in this melon shed, the blood-red flesh that was smashed at noon has been buried with soil.

But the shack on the roadside could not be maintained for a while, and the sign was half hanging, which looked quite ridiculous.

There were three small tables on the roadside, and at another corner, two passers-by dressed like country folk had already occupied a corner.

After Xiao Lang dismounted, his two companions Yue Xiu and Sang Men Xing followed closely. The three of them approached the small table and sat down casually.

However, the way these three people were dressed and looked like was a bit too conspicuous in the fields.

(End of this chapter)