Everyone loves Huo Qubing

From the moment I could hear and see, I always heard my mother mention a word - "Zhan Luan".Dressed in animal skins, wearing a felt hat, and holding a ring-shaped knife, he rushed to my mother and chopped my grandfather to death with his own hands like a chicken.

Mother screamed and woke up from her dream.She always has the same nightmare.She rewrapped the wrapping cloth that had been torn away from my hands and feet, and held her tightly in her arms.

"Qubing, mother loves you."

"Mother, I love you too." I blinked and smiled happily at her.

She smiled at me, but her big beautiful eyes were full of sadness.She said slowly and hesitantly: "But mother can't stay with you anymore."

Someone opened the door and came in.

"This is Pingyang Mansion, you are safe, sister." A sweet voice came.When I was a child, I thought it was the most beautiful voice in the world, like a sunflower on a stalk of a wheat field outside the city, holding the sun down from the sky and holding it in front of me, full of warmth.

"Sister, you go out to get some fresh air first, you will be unhappy if you stay in the room like this all the time." My aunt took me from my mother's arms, her voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate, jingling.

Mother nodded, looked back at me, put on her coat and went out.There was reluctance, nostalgia, and firmness in her eyes.

Reluctant, why would mother be reluctant?I will always be her Qubing.

"Auntie!" I tried my best to raise my head, smiled a flower to my aunt, and freed my hands and feet by the way.I want to tell her that I can already climb.

The kitchen sent rice soup, and I inhaled the aroma vigorously.Auntie made it, the millet is finely ground, and it still has some medicinal fragrance.A bowl bottomed out, my aunt sang beautiful songs, and I fell asleep in the sound of gurgling water.

I didn't see my mother that afternoon, my aunt's singing was beautiful, and I slept soundly.

Feeling sleepy for a long time.The blue-black sky was pressed down little by little, trying to drive away the remaining glow.

There was a commotion outside.I could hear the knock on the door, the hurried footsteps, and after a burst of noise, the uncle's loud voice and the second uncle's anxious whispers.Yes, I am the happiest child in the world, I have many uncles and aunts, each of them loves me very much.

I was frowning, hesitating whether to cry or not, the aunt who was sleeping next to me had already woken up, her face was full of surprise.Without giving me a chance to protest, she quickly put on her coat, wrapped me in a blanket, and went out barefoot.

There was chaos outside the door.In the narrow courtyard, servants came from all directions, whispering and buzzing.The men rushed to rescue, mixed with the crying of the female relatives.

A gorgeously dressed woman appeared at the gate of the courtyard, followed by two servants.Princess Pingyang directs the servants who help with her beautiful and slender orchids.

The eldest princess' eyes fell on me, she opened her red lips lightly, and said to the aunt: "My husband, take the sickness into the house quickly, if you catch a cold, both adults and children..."

She paused hesitantly, but did not continue.But my aunt understood what she meant, and soon she and I returned to that warm room full of mother's body fragrance.

But I don't want to, I don't want to stay in this room, and there is no mother here.I have already seen my mother, she fell asleep on the cart in the middle of the yard, just like she usually sleeps next to me.My mother's hair was all wet, and her clothes were all wet, as if she had just bathed me, and I was wet too.

I want mother, I want to crawl to her, I want to sleep beside her.I don't want the strange man next to her, yes, the guy with the turban and the commoner clothes, I've never seen him before, why is he so close to my mother!

"Hey, Qubing, stop crying." My aunt hugged me helplessly and walked around.

I finally fell asleep again, and before closing my eyes, I heard a name.

Chen Zhang.

***

I never saw my mother again until I learned to walk.I heard from others that my mother has been living in Zhang Zhang's house.

"It's a pity that I can't think about such beauty." They said it several times.However, I couldn't figure out what they meant by these words, and my aunt didn't want to tell me, but from their occasional conversations, I knew that my mother threw herself into the river a year ago. What is "diving into the river"?

When I could talk and run around, my aunt finally let go and allowed my aunt to send me to live in Chen's house.

Passing through many green farmlands, I can't remember how many small rivers I have crossed, and how many hills I have climbed. When I woke up, I entered the countryside.My second uncle told me that he used to live in the countryside, with green terraces, gray brick walls, lush courtyards, and loess tiles.There are white sheep in front of the mountain, yellow cattle in the fields, and occasional deer behind the mountain. If you are lucky, you can even meet wild horses.My second uncle's description made my heart flutter, not to mention envying the beautiful scenery of the countryside.

Then the second uncle changed the conversation and told me how scary it was to meet the Huns, scaring me with "ahh".I responded with a "giggle" laugh.I am not afraid of the gentle and jade-like second uncle who pretends to be a Hun soldier.The second uncle is usually good at wielding knives and guns, and he is also good at riding horses. The key is that he is very attentive in teaching me and never scolds me.If my aunt treats me like a mother, then my second uncle is like my father.There are many children without fathers in the servants' yard, so I don't care about the father whose surname is "Qu" that I have never met.

The wooden cart creaked and stopped in front of a brick house in the field. It was exactly as my second uncle described it. The smell of grass, maybe wheat. In short, I really like the feeling of emptiness mixed with the cold air.Before my aunt could pack up my luggage, I quickly got out of the car and ran to the field ridge, where some of my favorite sunflowers were blooming.

"Don't run away, Qubing, go this way!" Auntie's nice voice came from behind.

As soon as the little uncle called out, Tian Jian suddenly poked out several small heads.

"Your name is Qu Bing?" One of them was covered in mud and asked me fiercely.

"Yeah, what's your name?"

"His name is Zhao Puonu." Before Hutou could answer, a kid next to him jumped out.The kid who grabs the conversation is surnamed Gao, and his name is very long. Others call him Gao and don't know.I am the youngest among the children in Pingyang Mansion. The person in front of me is probably younger than me, so I can consider taking him as a younger brother.

"Qubing, how many times have I told you not to run around?" My aunt picked me up like a chicken.

I struggled to wave to the group of little heads, making a "see you later" gesture.

***

Although Mr. Chen is a commoner, when I saw the blackened brick house, the gray roof tiles, the low white walls, and the loess-floored ground, I felt indescribably depressed.It's really aggrieved for my mother to live in the country. It's better for the whole family to squeeze together and live in the original place.Cao Shi, the owner of Pingyang Mansion, is a prince of ten thousand households, at least in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, he will not short everyone.

Pushing open the wooden door in the front with great effort, it was dark and smoky, and there was no one there.I knocked open the room on the left with my shoulder, but it was also empty.

"Mom?" I felt distressed immediately, and there was a cry in my voice.

My aunt hugged me, and a beautiful voice sounded from behind: "Qubing, don't be nervous, your mother may not be at home."

"Wei Shaoer! How long are you going to stay in the Chen family!"

The door of the room on the right was opened, and the sharp voice made me jump up from the ground.

The gray-haired old woman was supported by the maid, and tremblingly crossed the threshold, before she could react, the old woman picked up the crutch and swung it at the aunt.

"You crazy woman, tear down my son's house, give me back my daughter-in-law, give me back my daughter-in-law!"

Facing the sudden attack, my aunt instinctively protected me in her arms, letting the crutches of the old woman fall on her back.I tried to break free from my auntie's arms, but she held me so tightly that I kicked and screamed in anxiety.

What did my aunt do wrong?We are new here, a strange old woman, who doesn't ask the truth, doesn't know right from wrong, why beat my aunt!

As soon as I broke away from my aunt, I only heard a "swoosh", time stood still for a moment, and blood gushed out of my mouth.

The old woman panicked, threw away her crutches, and sat slumped by the threshold, sighing.

"Look, Wei Shao'er has brought all the cubs, this is to occupy our house!"

I stood there, my tongue hurt a little, liquid came out of my mouth, and the rust-like smell slipped into my throat, and I was choked a few times.

"Excuse me, do you have a clean cloth and herbs to stop the bleeding?" My aunt wiped it for me with her sleeve. "My daughter-in-law".

The front door was suddenly opened, and several figures rushed over.Although my face was covered in blood by my aunt, and my eyelashes were a lot red, I vaguely saw that the first person who walked in was Chen Zhang, followed by my mother.

Later, according to my aunt's recollection, the wooden stick hit my jaw, and my tongue was bitten by the deciduous teeth and almost broke.Blood gushed out of my mouth, coupled with my weird expression, and the loud "gudong" sound when Huali fainted.

"Anyway, it's quite scary." The aunt said, "But you are strong enough, so young, that you didn't cry after being beaten like that."

"It's a pity," I shook my head, "As far as I can remember, the first meeting between my mother and me ended in a bloody mess."

Since then, my good impression of the Chen family has disappeared.

We barely lived in the Chen family until our second uncle came to see us.The aunt told the second uncle in the letter that there was no way to stay here any longer, and that the mother had already improved. Since Chen Zhang’s original partner ran away from home a while ago, the old woman couldn’t stand the stimulation and began to beat the mother, and the mother changed a little bit. As a sign of melancholy, the second uncle decided to take my mother and me back to Pingyang Mansion.

Before leaving Chen's house, taking advantage of the time when the adults were packing their luggage, I slipped to the ridge of the field again, submerged in the green ears of wheat.Every time Zhao Puonu, Xiao Gao, and the group of friends gather together, the location is very conspicuous, just a big tree and two sunflowers.

These days I have become familiar with that group of people.Poor children in the mountains play with similar things.Such as aphids, ants, ladybugs, mud, occasionally smashing a bird's egg, poking a hornet's nest, and getting a bruised nose and a swollen face.As I live in the county town, although it is a servant's family, I have a long wooden sword sharpened by my second uncle, a small piccolo made by my aunt, and a wild rabbit given to me by my aunt, although I never feed it. The second uncle has been feeding.When my uncle was free, he took my hand and took me to the market to exchange copper coins for candied haws, which was much more interesting than in the countryside.

Thinking of this, I seemed to have a lot of confidence, and walked straight towards the group of people, pointing at the tiger's head: "Zhao Polu!" Hiss, it hurts so much, and my tongue hasn't healed yet.

Zhao Ponu turned his head and saw that it was me, he grinned, revealing two pointed canine teeth.Zhao Ponu doesn't talk much, he likes to laugh, I think he's a bit silly and easy to tease.

"I'm going to have an elbow." I reluctantly said to my friends.

"Go? Where are you going?" Gao Bushi asked.

"Of course four go home."

"I will miss you." Zhao Puonu hesitated to express regret to my new buddy.

miss me?I laughed wildly in my heart, haven't you been bullied enough by me for so many days?

Passing through the mountains, rivers and water villages, the distance from the Chen family gradually drifts away.Walking to a river, surrounded by many people, I saw a woman crying like pear blossoms with rain, and she was about to jump into the river, and another young man seemed to dissuade the woman.However, he accidentally didn't stop her, and the woman fell into the river with a splash, and the boy had to take off his shoes and go into the water to save her.

"These two are so funny!" I laughed out loud.

Mother's face was pale, and her two beautiful eyebrows were frowned. Since I saw her, she has been so preoccupied and rarely speaks.

Aunt Doutou gave me a greeting: "Kids, don't talk nonsense."