Thanks for the invitation: In ancient times, people shared children

I've been dreaming a lot lately.

I always touch pebbles, watch fireworks, and run around in an unfamiliar village. The people there always tell me that there are better-looking pebbles and better-looking fireworks on the West Mountain. In short, they describe it as a treasure land with everything. But those people also say that there are wolves on the West Mountain.

So I never went there once.

These days I suddenly stopped having that dream, and instead I kept dreaming about that boy talking to me.

He always said - "The money is gone..."

"My tongue is gone..."

"Just... it's gone... just..."

His mouth was dark as if there was nothing in it, and his words were vague and a little scary. I don't like dreaming about him.

And I always feel that the last thing he wanted to say was not "It's over", but "Help me, save me" or something like that.

But why didn't he just say it?

I kept an eye on the outside, but I never saw him again, neither in person nor in spirit.

Maybe this is just a dream?

It has nothing to do with me anymore.

The prince's illness was still not healed, but Eunuch Chen said that he was better than the previous two days, so the two messengers started to urge him again. Everyone packed up their things and estimated that they would leave soon.

—October 23, the ninth year of Tianji

This was the child's first time in Huixi Town.

This place seems to be even worse than Peijia Town. There are low wooden houses everywhere and the streets are not busy.

People are lazy and lack energy.

Several elderly vendors were shouting "Fruits and vegetables" in a half-dead voice.

"Fish, big fresh fish"

"Chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, freshly laid eggs"

When I walked in, I saw that the vegetables were not very fresh, the fish had their bellies turned up, and the freshly laid eggs were so dirty that they attracted flies.

No wonder those people don’t want to go there again after buying things twice.

I don’t know where the fresh vegetables in the kitchen come from.

The cook who brought her here said, "We'll go shopping on our own. If you want to shop, go ahead and do it for a while. If you don't want to, just follow us. We have to be back before dark anyway."

Children naturally want to go for a walk.

After agreeing with them to meet at the town entrance, the group went their separate ways.

The child looked around and picked out a woman selling baskets. He asked, "Grandma, I want to ask if there's a boy in this town who's about this tall and thin and goes to the creek outside the town every day to look for things."

The grandma selling the baskets looked at her and shook her head.

Not a word was said.

"Okay, thank you. I'll ask someone else."

The child thought that she might not be able to speak, so he went to ask the vendors who had shouted a few times.

The response was also a shake of the head.

"I don't know." "There are many boys this tall." "I think all the children in town are quite thin." "I've never seen one." "I've never heard of one."

"What are you doing with him?"

Finally hearing something different, the child perked up immediately and asked expectantly, "I owe him money. Do you know where he lives?"

"I know. It's far away. Just give me the money and I'll take it there for you."

The child took a step back and looked at the old man selling eggs: "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Where did this old bastard come from? He wants to cheat people out of their money as soon as he opens his mouth.

The child saw that the vendors were clearly making glances at each other, as if they had made up their minds not to tell her.

I simply didn't ask them.

I made up my mind to go around and look for it myself.

After running a few steps, no one called her. The child looked back at those people and really ran away.

Huixi Town is not a very big town, and you can walk around the two streets with the most stalls and shops in just a quarter of an hour.

You can walk from south to north in half an hour.

It's not difficult for children to run around the whole town.

The difficulty was that she didn't know the way. She would often see a wall in front of her while running. It was not impossible for her to climb over it, but what if she jumped into someone else's yard after climbing over it?

The child had no intention of causing trouble; she just wanted to know what the dream was all about.

So when you encounter a blocked road, you have to go back and start again. It’s strange to say, although most houses are similar, there are definitely subtle differences because the people who live in them are different.

For example, in Peijia Town, some wealthy families have new tiles on their roofs, and they have peach charms and lanterns hanging at the door.

Some families are poorer and cannot afford bricks and tiles, so they use thatched roofs. Those who are diligent and hardworking will take good care of the roofs, while some people's roofs are not even as good as a chicken coop.

Some people planted vegetables by the wall, some planted flowers, and some planted nothing but piled up a row of bricks and placed a few useless empty pots.

The houses are similar, but the difference can be seen because of the different people who live in them.

However, this place feels pretty much the same.

The uniformly low wooden houses are very depressing, as if no one takes care of them. There are no peach charms or even a "Fu" character pasted on the door.

Looking around, it seems like a deserted place, if it weren't for the sounds you can hear from time to time.

The child must have thought that he had entered some extraordinary illusion or was dreaming.

It's hard not to get lost in a place like this.

When the child heard the sound of feeding chickens for the third time, he did not run away and decisively knocked on the door of the house.

The sound of "Gugugugu, come and eat" suddenly stopped.

After a long while, he spoke again: "Who is it?"

"I'm asking for directions. I'm lost and don't know how to get out," the child said sheepishly. "I'd also like to ask you about someone."

After she finished speaking, there was silence on the other end for a long time. The quiet children wanted to leave, and then the person inside opened the door.

An old face was wedged between the cracks in the doorway. "Go out of this alley and go straight to the right. Keep going in this direction. When you see a locust tree, turn left. If you see a poplar tree, you've taken the wrong path and will have to ask someone else. If you're not mistaken, you'll see the memorial archway at the town entrance once you're on the main street. The road will be much easier then."

"Thank you, I also want to..."

"I don't know him," the grandmother interrupted the child before she could finish. "I seldom go out, and I don't know anyone else. It's no use asking me. If you want to find someone, you should go to the mayor's house and ask. It's still that road. When you see the willow tree, you'll reach the mayor's house."

Child: ...So straightforward?

"What kind of official is a mayor? Why have I never heard of him?"

"The mayor is in charge of the town, just like the village chief. He's not an official. I'm afraid there's no such thing outside. This is unique to us. If you have any problems, you should go and talk to the mayor."

She closed the door in one go, and it sounded like she had bolted it.

have to.

There is no choice this time.

It’s so troublesome to find someone. I shouldn’t have come here if I had known.

The child followed the old lady's instructions and went out to the street after seeing the locust tree. He immediately noticed the difference. Why was this side so much better than the other side? The wooden house suddenly became a brick house.

The height of the house was no longer shorter, as if a hunched-backed person suddenly straightened up. Although it was still the same person, one could clearly feel that he looked more energetic.

This should be thanks to the young people who are building the houses...