Wang Liulang

一

It was a fine day, when Xu Da dragged his broken boat into the river, the net rope coiled on the boat crashed into the water, and the shaken waves were shining brightly against the afternoon sun.

He stood at the bow of the boat and didn't care about the net rope, he just looked up at the Yi River today.Not long after, he turned around and went into the cabin to search for a long time, took out a wine gourd, pulled out the cork, and the strong smell of fermented glutinous rice drifted away with the wind.Holding the gourd in one hand and the oar in the other, Xu Da touched the river bank, and the boat dragged the rope and swung into the center of the river.

He casually tilted the gourd slightly, and the muddy wine gurgled into the river, and the traces disappeared in an instant.At this time, Xu Dacai finally laughed to himself, and said in a low voice, "I didn't come a few days ago, so I neglected you." Ang Zang's body was half up to the sunlight, and half hidden in the shadows.

Then Xu Dacai started his day's work.He let go of the fishing net and waited intently. After a while, fish struggled to swim from the downstream one by one, all of them burrowed into his fishing net.In the evening, the fish he caught were full of baskets and boxes, and even the boat sank a little.

The people who were fishing next to him gradually packed up and were about to go home, some of them came over and asked him, "Are you going home, Da Xu?"

Xu Da shook his head.

Others also know that there is no one in his family, and all he cares about is fishing and selling fish, and he is scrounging and saving money in order to marry a wife, and he always finishes work at dawn.They all shook their heads and left.

Xu Da slowly collected the net and threw it on the bow of the boat, then looked back at the empty wine gourd.

As the sun sets in the west, the soft and dim light dances and sparkles on the river, casting shadows like deep swirls.The river breeze at dusk was slightly cool, blowing on Xu's big and strong arms, and blowing his slightly messy hair.

Suddenly there was a splash of water on the side of the boat, a fish jumped out and fell onto the board of the boat, and then saw a pair of thin hands on the side of the boat, a delicate face appeared in the water, it was a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, looking at Xu Da on the boat laughed so hard that he couldn't see his eyes.

"I'm coming!" The boy called out to him with a smile.

In an instant, the evening light ended, and the day entered the night again.

***

Xu Da escaped from the south with his parents when he was very young. At that time, the Yellow River diverted and the bad fields were flooded. A broken boat was seized, and the family of three had a shelter.Not long after settling down by the river outside Zicheng, my mother fell ill and died, and the father of the Xu family simply took the broken boat and abandoned farming for fishing.

Two or three years ago, my father also passed away.Whether it was two years or three years, Xu Da himself couldn't remember clearly.From then on he fished alone and always caught the most and the best fish.In addition to eating for myself, I have to pick them up and sell them in the market every few days, and save the remaining money to beg for my daughter-in-law.

When he was fishing, he had a habit of bringing a gourd fermented glutinous rice wine with him every time he went out to the river, and drank while fishing.But every time before getting off the net, half a gourd is sprinkled into the water, chanting words in his mouth.When others asked him, he laughed and said, "This is for the drowned ghosts in the river." Others could not help but think of his experience of fleeing with his family along the river, so it was not easy to ask.

Xu Da met this boy three months ago, in the twelfth lunar month of winter.At that time, the night had fallen, and the dark river was covered with a cool mist, perhaps because the weather was too cold, and today's harvest was not good, Xu Da did not collect the net, and pulled the boat a little closer to the shore, and took out the wine gourd to drink He took a sip, frowned, and immediately set up a fire on the boat, preparing to warm the fermented glutinous rice.

At this time, a young man walked slowly along the river bank.The young man was wearing a long white dress that could drag the floor. He walked crookedly and fluttered, as if he was absent-minded. His eyes quietly glanced at Xu Da's stove, and then moved away immediately.

Xu Da was startled, his eyes followed the young man who appeared out of nowhere, but the young man circled his boat twice, his eyes still glanced at the stove from time to time, but he just didn't look at Xu Da.

Xu Da rubbed his head and looked at the stove. At this time, the water was boiling on the stove, and the water in the rough pottery wine pot was sizzling, and the warm and deep wine fragrance was wafting out.Xu Da suddenly realized: "Young master, if you don't dislike it, why not sit down and drink with the villagers to drive away the cold?"

The young man's eyes lit up, he immediately jumped onto the boat, he paused again, lowered his head to straighten his clothes, and then sat down squarely across from Xu Da.Xu Da carefully looked at him, this young man was really good-looking, with a pair of clear eyes on his palm-sized handsome face, blinking, straightforward and evasive, like a little adult, it was funny.

Xu Da didn't use the tattered wine gourd anymore, but took out two wine glasses and poured them slowly with the young man.The teenager looked young, but he was very skillful in clinking glasses and drinking, except that he was not talkative, like an old alcoholic.

"It's so cold, but you don't have much to wear." Xu Da was at a loss for words.

The young man tilted his head, "I have no clothes to wear, so I'm not cold." The voice was clear and crisp, like a bird singing in the mountains, but his words were a little confused.

Xu Da laughed and said, "No wonder I have to drink to keep out the cold."

The boy looked at him and smiled, but he laughed too, his eyes shone brightly against the fire, "I like to drink."

"The sages and sages in ancient times are lonely, but the drinkers keep their names." Speaking of wine, Xu Da raised his spirits.

The boy wondered: "You look like a rough person, but you have read Taibai's poems."

Xu laughed.

The young man said: "Li Taibai also drank carelessly and fell into the river and drowned, have you heard of it?"

Xu Dao: "That's really the best way to die in the world."

The boy was taken aback for a moment, then laughed even more, raised his wine glass to salute him, and drank it down in one gulp.From this sentence, the two talked more and more speculatively. The young man was shy at first sight, but after getting acquainted with him, he was cheerful and happy. The surrounding eyes don't care at all.Moreover, he seems to be full of knowledge, citing scriptures and classics, and knows everything. Xu Da did read some books in the village school in his hometown, but it is far inferior to that of a young man, so he is more interested in talking.

At four o'clock, the wine that Xu Da brought had run out, the young man gave him a drunken smile and pushed him, "Here is the wine, here is the wine!" There is no movement on the net, and it seems that there is no gain at all tonight.

The young man looked at his face and said, "What's the matter?"

Xu Da shook his head. "I didn't find any wine, I drank it all."

But the young man stood up and said earnestly, "I'll go downstream and see, and drive the fish away for you."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and left, before Xu Da had time to stop him.But just a few moments later, the boy came back crookedly and fluttering, and waved to Xu Da with a smile: "The fish is coming!"

Only then did Xu Da hear the sound of sipping in the net, and he quickly drew the net in. The net was very heavy, and when he pulled it up, there were three or four big fish about a foot long. He was both happy and surprised, and looked up at the young man, saying no with gratitude. Speak up.

The boy smiled and said: "How can you thank me?"

Xu Da said earnestly: "If it wasn't for the young master, I would have returned without success tonight! I'm really sorry..." He untied the fishing net, hurriedly sorted out the largest herring, held it in his hands alive and well, and wanted to present it to the young man, "For Thank you, please accept it!"

The teenager smiled and looked at him, but didn't reach out to pick it up.

The appearance of Xu Da holding the fish is quite funny.At this moment, he felt that the young man who was still intimate just now was a little far away from him.

The young man paused, and said softly, "I'm the one who's been bothering your family's fine wine for so many times. I'm the one who feels sorry. If you don't dislike it, every night from now on...give me a little bar."

The young man raised his head, his eyes gleamed brightly, as if he was looking forward to it, but also as if he was afraid.

Xu Dalian hurriedly said: "Naturally, it's a great honor! It's just one night, so many times... In the future, if you want to come for a drink, you can come anytime, and I will always be here waiting for you."

I'm always here waiting for you.

There was no other meaning in these words, but as soon as he said it, his face burned inexplicably, but luckily the night covered it so that the other side couldn't see clearly.When the young man heard this, his originally silent expression immediately stretched out, and he smiled blindly: "That, that's good!"

"Then..." Xu Da hesitated, "May I ask your surname, and how you will be called in the future..."

"My surname is Wang, and the small character is Liulang. You can just call me Liulang."

"Liu Lang." Xu Da also reported his name, "Country people don't have any good names, I—"

The boy interrupted him with a smile: "I know, I know, you are Xu Yunsheng."

two

From then on, Liu Lang would come to Xu Da for a drink every night, and drive fish for him after drinking.From winter to spring to summer, the two never broke their appointment.But the day before yesterday, Xu Dade was a matchmaker, so he bought his outfit and went to meet the other girl's house, so he delayed for a few days and didn't come to fish.Seeing Liu Lang again today, he wanted to explain first, but unexpectedly, Liu Lang drank wine by himself, as if he didn't care about it at all.

The air in the summer night was already sweltering hot, and the smell of alcohol was on the head, and the darkness in the eyes was full of light and warm wind.Liu Lang is still the familiar Liu Lang, smiling and persuading him to drink, his eyes are childish and sly, making him want to frown but dare not, so he can only drink one cup after another.

In the trance of the night, he remembered the girl in the boudoir whom he had seen in the past few days.For this matter, he purposely put on new clothes that he had never worn before, a crown scarf and gown. Because of his tall stature, he also showed a somewhat rough demeanor.But in the end, he didn't really see it, he just looked at it from a distance of several feet through the curtain, and then announced his name.He vaguely remembered that girl was sitting sideways in the banquet, she looked very thin, but her back was straight and her voice was gentle, she was the kind of woman he was willing to marry back home.The next step is to negotiate with the girl's parents and matchmaker, which is very difficult...

Liu Lang stared at him curiously, blinked: "What are you thinking?"

Xu Da suddenly came back to his senses, looking at Shang Liulang's unconcerned eyes, he felt a little annoyed for some reason, thinking that he could finally speak out, so he said directly: "I don't want to hide it from Liulang, brother, the matchmaker said a few days ago , met yesterday..."

He paused and looked at Liu Lang, only to see that Liu Lang was listening to him seriously.He couldn't help turning his head away.

"So I missed the appointment in the past two days, and I feel very sorry..." Liu Lang still didn't answer, Xu Da was agitated for no reason, raised his glass and laughed: "Brother, punish yourself with a glass, punish yourself with a glass!" He immediately drank it down.

But Liu Lang suddenly said: "So that's the case, how about that girl? Is she good-looking, good-natured, and big brother happy?"

Xu Da frowned slightly, and concentrated on thinking about the woman's appearance and temperament, but he couldn't figure it out at all, so he shook his head, "I don't know, but the family background is good, local people, some family assets..."

"Then why do people like you?" Liu Lang asked with his head tilted.

This question was straightforward, Xu Daxin felt unhappy immediately, and suppressed it, "I... I have no father and no mother, and I am a foreigner, so I am definitely not worthy of her; but I am a fisherman, and I am hardworking. point--"

"I drove all the fish you caught." Liu Lang smiled softly.

Xu Da suddenly stood up, shaking the boat slightly, "Liulang! I know you don't like me, so why humiliate me like this? I, Xu Yunsheng, have never done anything wrong since I was born. My daughter-in-law, what's bothering you? You and I have a tacit understanding, I didn't expect you to be like this—"

The anger stopped abruptly, and he finally found that Liu Lang, who had always bowed his head, was trembling all over, his pale fingers clenched the wine glass convulsively, but he couldn't hold it, and the wine glass fell on the board with a clang.

There was a cloud of evil fire in Xu Da's heart, but he became dumb at this moment.

He sat back silently, knowing that it was the fault of venting his anger. The meeting between him and the woman did not go smoothly... He couldn't help but think again, if it was Liu Lang who proposed marriage instead, such a handsome young man would speak so elegantly Any girl will be happy, right?Never screwed up like himself...

But compared to his appearance and speech, what I value more is his honesty and naivety mixed with his true nature...

Thinking wildly like this, Xu Da raised his head to look at Liu Lang, and slowed down his voice: "I'm sorry, it's me..."

Rokuro shook his head.His trembling stopped, and gradually, his usual clear smile returned to his face. He covered his sleeves and drank a glass of wine, licking his slightly pale lips, "I'm the one talking too much."

As soon as these words came out, the evil fire in Xu Da's heart was ignited again.Maybe he really drank too much tonight, or maybe there was poison in the wine. He suspected that Liu Lang was crying just now, but it was too dark for him to see clearly. Find tear stains on the Internet before giving up.Liu Lang took a step back and found that he couldn't avoid it, so he just stared at him without saying a word.

At the moment when the two were very close, Xu Da suddenly felt a chill.Subconsciously, he reached out to touch Liu Lang's shoulder: "Are you cold?" But Liu Lang grabbed his hand all of a sudden.

This time he won't mistake it, Liulang's hands are cold, like well water that has just seeped from the ground, not only cold, but also gloomy, and painful.

Liu Lang always had a smile on his face, he had never seen or felt such a Liu Lang, and for a moment what floated in his heart was not fear, but pity.

"I'm cold." Liu Lang said clearly, and quietly exhaled into his ear, the breath was cold.

Xu Da trembled slightly, but clenched his hands even tighter. He turned his head and was about to speak, but was kissed by Liu Lang.

He was terrified, and before he could struggle, he felt that the cold air from the other party's mouth had paralyzed his whole body, making him unable to move at all.He opened his eyes wide and saw that Liu Lang's long and slightly curved eyelashes were drooping, as if he had put all his eggs in one basket, but instead he became shy.

The soft moonlight fell down, reflecting Liu Lang's beautiful face like an illusory dream——

In Liu Lang's childlike smile, there is a poisonous and thorny temptation, the temptation of a mature man.

There is probably no woman in the world who can compare to Liu Lang.

Xu Da suddenly gave up the idea of ​​struggling, and gave birth to such a strange feeling of abandonment——

If Liu Lang was angry and wanted him to die, he would die.

The coldness between the lips and teeth suddenly disappeared.

Liu Lang let go of him, he was stunned for a while, and then suddenly realized that he was able to move, the blood in his whole body was flowing rapidly again, and all the evil fire seemed to rush towards the door of his heart.He raised his head, and Liu Lang was already a few steps away from him, standing on the bow of the boat.

Xu Da stepped forward and was about to speak, but he said with a smile: "I'll come back tomorrow night."

"I'll come back tomorrow night", this sentence, he said every night.He said goodbye to him every night and reunited with him every night, which Xu Dadu never cared about in the past.But tonight, Xu Da called out unbearably: "Liulang, stay a little longer—"

Hearing this, Liu Lang opened his eyes slightly, and glanced at him like a child.Immediately, he smiled again, turned around, jumped ashore, and drifted downstream.

In a moment, it was gone.