Min Hui is a full-fledged house girl, so far she has never traveled all over the world in such a short period of time. Except for her hometown, she has never been to places north of Beijing or south of Shanghai.
She and Xin Qi rushed from Harbin to Kunming non-stop. After getting off the plane and taking a bus for three hours, they arrived in Xingshui County. The two booked a room in a hotel near the station and slept for one night. The next morning Come to the lobby and ask the waiter at the front desk how to get to Anya Village.
"It's not far, about 50 minutes by bicycle." The front desk said.
"Can taxis go in?"
"There are no taxis nearby. Why don't you go ask on the street to see who passes by Anya, and give them some money to give you a ride."
The two walked on the street for a while . They circled around and found a tricycle. The owner of the car was an uncle in his fifties who happened to be passing Anya and was willing to give them a ride. Xin Qi gave him a hundred yuan. The two then sat on the wooden plank in the back seat, one on the left and one on the right, squeezed together with a pile of watermelons.
After sitting for less than 20 minutes, the tricycle turned off the cement road and walked onto a narrow muddy road.
On the left is a large green paddy field, and on the right is a depression full of vegetables. Behind the paddy fields are farmhouses one after another, with black tiles and white walls, hidden among huge banana trees.
The uncle was humming a little song while stepping on the cart. The muddy ground was uneven, and the watermelons on the cart rolled eastward and westward for a while, fearing that the watermelons would be damaged. One, it's like juggling.
After riding for more than ten minutes, the dirt road became narrower and narrower, leaving only a field path as wide as one person, covered with muddy water.
The uncle parked the tricycle aside and told them to get off: "The car in front can't get through. You see—go straight along this road, and you will see a yew tree in 20 minutes. Go around it and go to the right for fifty One step is the entrance to Anya's village."
The sun is dazzling. Min Hui set up an awning and looked forward. There were many big trees beside the road, and she didn't know which one was a yew. Seeing that she was confused, the uncle smiled and said: "When you get there, you will see a very tall tree full of red fruits, which is easy to recognize. When you come back later, you should go here. There are a lot of tricycles on the road back to the county, stop one at random, and everyone will be happy to take you for a ride as long as you give them money."
"Okay, thank you uncle!" Xin Qi and Min Hui was about to get off the car, the uncle thought for a while, and then Said, "Forget it, I'd better give you a little."
"Then these watermelons—"
"No one will take them. Everyone in this area knows that I planted these melons."
The uncle took off his shoes and threw them on the car. , Seeing that both of them were wearing white sneakers, they said: "There is a rice field in front, and the ground is full of water. Take off your shoes before walking, otherwise, the white shoes will turn into black shoes." The two had to take off their shoes and socks, put their shoes Stuffed into a backpack, then rolled up the trouser legs and walked barefoot in the muddy water.
"Uncle, do you also live in Anya Village?" Xin Qi asked.
"Yes."
"Ask you about someone: He Xiangu—do you know him?"
"Yes. Her name is He Cuigu. Because she can tell fortunes, the villagers nicknamed her 'He Xiangu'. She lives in the village. The second house in Dongtou."
"Does she live alone?" Min Hui asked.
"No, there is also her husband. I call him 'Uncle Yao'. Her natal family and her son also live in the village."
The uncle seems to like to walk on the muddy ground, with his big feet squatting on the muddy water, "One Where are the family members?"
"Then, is Aunt He Xiangu at home recently?" Xin Qi walked beside him, splashed all over by muddy water.
"Yes, I talked to her yesterday." The uncle glanced at him, "Did you come here specially to find her?"
" Yes, ask her about something."
"She opened a local restaurant at the entrance of the village , sometimes at home, sometimes in restaurants."
Just as he was talking, a large flock of ducks suddenly jumped out of the rice bushes and swayed past Min Hui's feet. Min Hui dodged to the side and stepped into the paddy field. Xin Qi quickly grabbed her.
"Huh——" Min Hui felt that something was stepped on under her feet, and she stretched out her hand to fish in the water, and a fish jumped out, and she caught it quickly, "Ah! Why are there fish here?"
"This It’s cornflower fish, a kind of crucian carp.”
The uncle laughed, “Didn’t you know that fish can be raised in rice fields? In May, fry are put into seedling fields, and in August, the millet blossoms, and the fish turn into rice after eating the cornflowers. It is very plump, and this is the season to eat the flower fish."
"Where can I get it?" Upon hearing that it was someone else's fry, Min Hui quickly put the fish back into the field.
"He Xiangu's family's local restaurant has it. This is a special dish. Her daughter-in-law cooks it herself and braises it with homemade fermented bean curd. It's very delicious. You must remember to eat it."
"Wow, He Xiangu's family Everyone is so capable." Min Hui praised.
"Not all. Uncle Yao is very lazy, doesn't do farm work well, and likes to drink too much. Her family's money was obtained by He Xiangu from outside. This woman is very smart, bold and daring, and has a sharp mouth."
While chatting, the uncle brought them to the door of He Xiangu's house, then turned and left.
Min Hui knocked on the courtyard door, saw that it was only a disguise, pushed it lightly and walked in.
The concrete floor in the middle was covered with peanuts, and an old woman was sitting on a rattan chair next to her, wearing a navy blue Shilin cloth shirt and a string of silver bracelets on her hands. Opening her eyes, she asked, "Who are you looking for?"
The old lady spoke Mandarin, which surprised Xin Qi and Min Hui.
"Excuse me, does He Cuigu live here?"
"I am."
"Hello, auntie!"
He Xiangu narrowed her eyes and looked at them with vigilance: "Is there something wrong?"
"That's right," Xin Qi said politely, "We were introduced by Tong Tianhai."
"Tong Tianhai?"
He Tianxian was taken aback, "Who is it? I don't know him."
"You may not remember much. Twenty-three years ago, he asked his cousin to adopt a boy from you, remember? About one and a half years old?"
"Nothing." He Xiangu shook her head resolutely.
"Can you recall it carefully?"
Afraid of scaring her, Min Hui added softly, "Tong Tianhai said, at that time you had two boys in your hands, both were over a year old, one was white and fat, the other was yellow and Thin? Tong Tianhai took the fat and white boy away. What about the remaining boy? Do you know who adopted him?"
"How can I remember things that didn't happen? Made it up out of thin air?"
He Xiangu Hehe smiled, "Besides, what does this have to do with you?"
"That child may be my brother. My brother was abducted when he was one and a half years old. Do you remember that yellow and thin boy——his Where is your hometown?"
"What's yellow and thin? I'll say it again," He Xiangu's tone became colder and colder, her dark bags under the eyes twitched like eyebrows, "I've never seen you Brother, you are looking for the wrong person."
"Auntie, please don't get me wrong. We have no other intentions, just want to understand the situation and see if we can find any clues from you."
" I don't know Tong Tianhai, nor I have met his cousin, and there is no one-and-a-half-year-old boy!"
He Xiangu rolled her eyes, tilted her body, and took a sip of the small teapot next to her, "I don't know where you are from. .. -->>