Fisherman

We moved the chestnuts back to the cave without much rest, and went out to look for food. It rained in late autumn and it got dark early. In order to avoid danger, everyone quit work before dark, but they didn't work for a long time.

When they went back to the cave, Hu San'er and the others had already returned.

The cave has been cleaned up by the women, and it is much neater than when everyone first came to the cave. All the weeds in the cave have been pulled out, and all the pots and pans have been cleaned and placed neatly. They were all used to collect water outside the cave.

As for the two teams that came out of the cave, Zhao Qian's group found chestnuts, persimmons, wild hazelnuts, and some wild vegetables.Wild hazelnuts look like a net of sun-dried vines, they can't fill your stomach, at most they are snacks, after all, they are eaten, and the old man Li said that they have the effect of curing fever, so he took these small ones Things came back.

Hu San'er and his group peeled a lot of palm bark and picked up a lot of broken firewood.All the things brought back from outside the cave were wet and had to be dried by fire.

Palm skin, in particular, needs to be dried and then woven into mats.The men were already drenched when they came back from the outside, and all these delicate tasks were handed over to the women and boys in the cave to do.

The men who went out were tired, but because they were tired, they forgot the pain of losing their loved ones and the worries of being alone and helpless on the top of the mountain. Looking at the supplies piled up in the cave, they all felt a sense of accomplishment.

Zhao Qian ran into the dark cave again to change his clothes, and walked around the cave barefoot.

Brother Zhou took his wet clothes to the hole to wring them dry, and said, "Brother Zhao, be careful not to get your feet pricked by chestnut thorns. Last time you pricked your hands, it hasn't healed yet."

"No problem."

He went to sit by the fire, where the men drank hot water to warm their bodies. Seeing him coming, Hu San'er handed him a bowl.

At this time, a group of men only had one set of clothes. When they went out, they wore thinner coats, so they put thicker coats in the cave. Several of them could only be shirtless. They took off their clothes and dried them, which made him seem very particular.

Hu San'er punched him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Zhao Qian, you change your clothes and go inside to change them, what's so shameful?"

As he said that, he pulled his clothes again: "Let me see if your body is like a little brother, weak board."

Everyone followed and laughed.

Zhao Qian pushed Hu San'er away with a slap: "Have you seen what it looks like? Come on, sleep next to me tonight, let you see enough!"

Hu San'er touched his nose: "I've never seen it before, I can't compare to you."

The women who were busy in the cave didn't care about a group of men telling nasty jokes, and the little girls didn't dare to listen to it. They blushed and hid far away, wearing hats made of banana leaves and knocking chestnuts outside.

Brother Zhou, who was squatting on the side tidying the palm skin, could not help lowering his head when he heard everyone talking. He was afraid that everyone would fool around and play jokes on him. He had nothing to do with Brother Zhao, and Brother Zhao treated him like a brother. Similarly, there is no overstepping. Thinking of this, my heart is magnanimous, but there is a faint feeling of disappointment.

Zhao Qian said to Hu San'er: "If you can't compare, don't compare."

Everyone laughed again.

Having said that, Brother Zhao is suffering in his heart, and he has never seen it before...

However, although Brother Zhao was laughed at by everyone, the relationship has become a lot closer. Enough of the jokes, Zhao Qian took this opportunity to bring the topic back to the right track: "Let me tell you what I will do tomorrow."

Hearing this, everyone quieted down, put away their hippie smiles, and became much more serious.

"What's the arrangement for tomorrow, tell me."

"It's definitely not enough to rely on some wild fruits and wild vegetables. It's not enough to eat, and it won't make you strong if you eat it for a long time. There is a river on the mountain. Let's go see if we can catch some fish tomorrow. In addition, we have to dig some traps. If we can Catch some wild game, and there will be meat to eat."

Hearing this, everyone was very motivated: "Success!"

"Then are we going to be in the cave again tomorrow? The cave has been cleaned up." The woman came over and asked again when she heard the arrangement of work.

"Master Li will stay in the cave tomorrow, so you all will weave baskets with him, and store the food in the cave well, and if you can go out to pick some wild vegetables, go out and pick some wild vegetables." After a pause, he continued: "But you need to be together Go out, so I can be taken care of."

"it is good."

After arranging tomorrow's tasks, the women gave full play to their cooking talents and made dinner. After eating in a hurry, everyone packed up and found a place to sleep.

This is the second night in the cave, without the exhaustion of the first day, lying on the hard ground, it is still difficult to fall asleep.

Zhao Qian and Brother Zhou lay side by side. It was already dark outside the cave. The firelight on the simple stove illuminated the cave warmly. Zhou Geer turned sideways and kept his eyes open, staring at the edge Toasted cloth shoes.

"What's the matter, can't you sleep?"

Brother Zhou raised his eyelids: "I remembered that the shoes you bought were not taken away, it's a pity."

"It's just two pairs of shoes. I'll just buy them from you when we go out later." Zhao Qian said softly, resting his arms on his pillow.

But it's still a pity that Zhou Ge'er didn't say it out, feeling a little bored, but the comfort is that the pearl is still there, and he keeps it with him, so he hasn't lost it.

Seeing that he was staying up late, Zhao Qian had a flash of unhappiness in his eyes, turned over, and comforted him: "It's okay, take a good rest, I've been tired all day."

"Yeah." Brother Zhou responded, exhaled, and closed his eyes.

Zhao Qian kept looking at the man, and saw that his eyes were not open again, and when his breathing gradually stabilized, he couldn't fall asleep. Looking at the rugged roof of the cave, thinking of Hu San'er's jokes today, he couldn't help but think about it. Sigh, if he is still in the village, life is peaceful, he goes out to sea to fish every day, and gets along with Zhou Geer in harmony. The two of them live together, maybe they will gradually have different feelings.

It's a good thing now, living a precarious group life, he still has to go outside the cave to find food every day, worrying about things to survive, some things seem to be automatically left behind, I don't know what Brother Zhou is thinking , but if this continues, I'm afraid they will really become brothers.

He scratched his hair, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, the cave was rustling, the whispering voice slowly seemed to be snuffed out, and gradually everyone fell asleep.

I don't know how long it took, and he felt sleepy for a while, and he was about to go to bed.

Just when he closed his eyes, Brother Zhou, who had not moved beside him, suddenly became short of breath, waving his arms, and muttering.

"Don't leave me, wait for me."

"Wait for me!"

He was startled, and quickly grabbed Brother Zhou's hand: "Shaoyu, what's wrong?"

Zhou Ge'er closed his eyes, still plausible words in his mouth.

"Little rain!"

As if he heard his cry, Brother Zhou sat up, opened his eyes, and took two long breaths with blurred eyes.

Seeing that the person got rid of the nightmare, he reached out and patted him on the back, and asked softly, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Brother Zhou seemed a little confused whether it was a dream or reality, he lowered his head and did not speak.

"It's okay, I'm here." Zhao Qian mentioned that he wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

Brother Zhou's eyes were a little red, and while he was wiping his sweat, he suddenly smashed his head into his chest, his body was still shaking.

Zhao Qian paused, tightened his arms, and wrapped the person in his arms: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

When the person's mood stabilized, he asked gently: "Can you tell me what you dreamed?"

Brother Zhou didn't speak, the rain outside the cave slapped on the leaves, and the noisy sound made the cave more quiet.After a while, Zhou Ge'er's tone was a bit out of force: "I dreamed of the shipwreck more than ten years ago."

After a pause, he suddenly seemed to be in a dream, talking about the shipwreck more than ten years ago, when the Zhou family only had two children, he and his elder brother, when the sea water rushed towards the village, Zhou father put his arms around the nearest I, calling Zhou Wangshi, started running. Zhou Wangshi took the eldest son and fled to the mountain side together.

After running for a long time, the elder brother couldn't run anymore, Zhou Wang carried him to run, women's strength is naturally not as strong as a man's, no father Zhou can run, and when he couldn't walk, he asked father Zhou to put brother Zhou down Holding the eldest son.

When Zhou's father was in trouble, Zhou Wang scolded: "Brother, can I pass on the incense of the Zhou family to you!"

After scolding, Father Zhou put him down and picked up his eldest brother. Zhou Wang's hands were already numb and sore, and he couldn't hold him anymore, so he coaxed him to run for a while.

He was walking on his calf, and he was also afraid in his heart. Zhou Wangshi pulled him, but he couldn't keep up with her steps. After a few steps, he tripped and fell to the ground. Zhou Wangshi was anxious and afraid, so he threw away her He ran away with Father Zhou.

For some reason, he didn't cry, and got up quickly. At that time, there was no concept of death, only the fear of being left behind by his parents. He kept running after him, calling for his parents. The empty-handed men who ran past saw him pitiful, Just caught him and carried him on his shoulders, and he died in the shipwreck.

From then on, he stopped talking. Originally, he just wanted to piss off his parents and make them care about him again. Unexpectedly, as time passed, everyone became cold to each other and could no longer get close.

Originally, he thought that he would never think of these things again. After all, there were too many chilling things. If he took each one of them to heart, then he might not be able to let go of anything in his heart. But he never thought that he would dream of dreaming tonight. See these past events.

After hearing what he said, Zhao Qian felt that the knuckles of his hand on Brother Zhou's back turned white, and he had unknowingly clenched it into a fist. He thought that his life had been full of suffering, and he had lost his loved one early, but compared to Brother Zhou, it seems that having it is much worse than losing it.

He felt more and more fond of the person in his arms, and his voice was a little hoarse: "Don't worry, Brother Zhao will never abandon you."

Brother Zhou's eyes became much clearer. He came out of Zhao Qian's arms and raised his head to look at him. The dark face with the stove behind his back was very handsome.

After they left the cave today, the women left behind said that he had changed a lot since he fell into the sea, and some girls were still discussing that although he looks vicious now, he is considerate of everything, takes good care of women, and is in danger It's not messy, and the voice became quieter when he said it.

He was both happy and disappointed. He was happy that Zhao Qian was accepted and recognized by everyone, but he was also disappointed. He might be eliminated from his side one day. After all, he really had no merits.

Zhao Qian didn't know what he was thinking, her flickering eyes were uncertain, she thought it was because he hadn't calmed down yet, she held his rough hand, and smiled: "Everything is over, with me by my side in the future, don't worry." It will make you feel wronged."

"Thank you Brother Zhao."

Zhao Qian hugged him again, a hug without sex, which should be regarded as comfort.

At this moment, a woman got up at night, looked at the two people embracing each other in the firelight, rubbed her eyes, and laughed: "Look at you two, there are so many people! Be careful."

The woman suddenly interrupted the dull atmosphere, Brother Zhou blushed, and hurriedly pushed Zhao Qian away, looking at the woman who was about to explain, but the woman turned around and went out of the cave without waiting for him to say anything.

"Go to sleep." Zhao Qian couldn't help but wanted to laugh, and fell to the ground again. Seeing that Brother Zhou still didn't move, she said again: "My aunt is so old, I haven't seen anything, I won't talk nonsense if I hug her."

Brother Zhou touched his forehead, and slowly lay back.