20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 656 Xiaoqing
Cleaning up overnight is no problem.

The ghost knocked on the door to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, and the King of Hell Li took revenge. The two sides joined forces and fought against each other, each getting what they needed and getting what they wanted.

The Hongmen banquet was held to capture Lao Mang. It was quite a commotion, and they just wanted a scene. If they didn't kill him, they wouldn't be able to vent their anger, and if they weren't ruthless, they wouldn't be able to establish their authority. After cutting off a few heads of their enemies, they would prepare for the whip-raising ceremony and announce it to the world.

By the next morning, the mess had been cleaned up and the sun was still rising over Laoyeling as usual.

The sun shines through, the mountain breeze blows gently, birds fly around the woods, the sky is clear and blue, everything is dazzlingly bright, and it is finally a new day.

There was nothing on the ground except a few bloodstains to prove last night's filthiness, but the bloodstains had already solidified, and in a flash, they returned to dust.

After breakfast, Liu Kuaitui immediately led his men back to Ning'an County, reported the whereabouts of the two leaders of the "Anti-Feng Army" to the government, and notified the Hunchun local authorities to issue a strict search order.

Jiang Lianheng and Li Zheng went out for a walk and discussed the time and place of the whip-beating ceremony.

The rest of the brothers were either torturing Lao Mang in the woods or burying the body at the foot of a distant mountain. Only a few leaders were left with nothing to do, so they all gathered in the mud house of Shenjia Store, playing chess and chatting to kill time.

Zhao Guoyan suddenly had a new little brother. Ever since Erma came to his rescue last night, he has been following him like a little shadow, going wherever he goes and being inseparable.

At this moment, he started chattering in the house again.

"Brother, let me see your hand!" Erma said patiently, "The Pudao last night was not clean. You can't just keep pestering me like this. I have a secret recipe. Try it!"

Zhao Guoyan raised his hand and chased him away: "Go away, go away, stay aside, don't keep hanging around in front of me, are you annoying?"

Er Ma refused to leave, saying the same old clichés over and over again: "Brother, you really saved my life, you have to repay me, otherwise I won't be able to sleep at night!"

"No need, just bear with your insomnia and don't nag me!"

Zhao Guoyan pointed at the door and continued, "Didn't I tell you to leave? The door is right there, go do what you need to do!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, the door suddenly opened.

Several gang leaders looked sideways, and saw Xiaoqing standing alone at the door carrying a blue cloth bag.

"Hey, isn't this the female warrior from our Shen's shop?" Sun Xiangyang immediately perked up and sat cross-legged on the kang and joked, "What's up? Did you come over to keep us company when you saw that we were bored here?"

Xiao Qing rolled her eyes, showing no fear, raised her hand and pointed at Zhao Guoyan, and said, "I'll go find him!"

Everyone was stunned, it seemed unexpected, yet reasonable.

The old whistle replied with a smile: "If you go find him, what should I do? Who will come find me?"

Others followed suit and said, "Sister, we are also penniless and single, what should we do? Can you show some sympathy to us?"

"Bah, do whatever you want, it's none of my business!"

Xiaoqing was a hot-tempered person. She immediately retorted a few words and then ignored everyone's teasing. She walked straight into the house.

Zhao Guoyan was startled and asked hurriedly: "No...what are you going to do?"

Xiaoqing walked forward quickly, slammed the blue cloth bag in her hand on the table, and said unhappily: "Here, there's medicine!"

Before he could finish his words, a burst of smacking sounds could be heard in the room, mixed with a few teasing remarks.

The old whistle quickly rolled up his sleeves and said with a grin, "Oh, I cut my arm last night. It hurt so much that I couldn't sleep all night. Am I going to die?"

Sun Xiangyang was no better. He covered his ribs with his hands, lay on the kang with his head tilted back, and began to moan: "Shaozi, yours is nothing. This is a life-threatening disease. I have a bad heart and have had it since I was a child. It always hurts and never gets better. Later, a doctor told me that there is no cure for my disease. I have to let that 16 or 17-year-old girl rub my hands. What can I do?"

The old man curled his lips and said, "Come on, who is so ruthless? If you move your hand any further, it will almost go into your waistband!"

"Ah?" Sun Xiangyang pretended to be surprised, "My heart is not here? Then where did my heart go?"

As he spoke, he fumbled around like he was looking for change, muttering to himself, "Where is my heart?" Finally, he pointed to the blue cloth bag on the table, slapped his thigh, and said, "Oh, I guess my heart is there!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Xiaoqing was a girl after all, and her face turned red as she listened. She turned her head sharply and glared at him, saying, "What are you whining about? You are a bunch of grown men, how shameless!"

Everyone laughed even harder, and started to make a noise: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, are you angry or embarrassed? Why did your face change so much?"

When everyone teased her, Xiaoqing became anxious and cursed a few obscene words, but the blush on her face spread rapidly without her noticing.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan waved his hands and said, "Okay, okay, stop making trouble!"

Sun Xiangyang and the others didn't care about that. They just wanted to watch the fun and said in a weird tone, "Oh, I'm so sad, but I dare not say it!"

Now, even Zhao Guoyan felt a little embarrassed.

Erma was a man who knew how to handle things. He was just worrying about how to repay his gratitude, so he immediately stood up and suggested, "Brothers, we've been stuck in the room for a long time. We're just sitting there doing nothing anyway. Why don't we go out and get some fresh air?"

"Okay!"

Sun Xiangyang immediately got off the kang, picked up his shoes, and said with a smile: "Let's go out and move around, and by the way, see how that old man is doing!"

When everyone heard this, there was a loud commotion for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, they all pushed and shoved their way out.

Zhao Guoyan also wanted to go out, but just as he was about to stand up, he was pushed back to his seat by everyone with a wicked smile.

The door closed tightly with a bang, and everything was so quiet that only the worries could be felt.

A man and a woman alone suddenly became speechless.

Then, several figures slowly emerged on the snow-white window paper.

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan immediately picked up the broom on the kang and smashed it against the window frame. With a "clang", the figure disappeared and a burst of sly laughter came from outside the window again.

"Don't pay any attention to these bastards!"

Zhao Guoyan looked at the window as if he had a stiff neck. He was talking to Xiaoqing, "You are a little girl. You shouldn't come here by yourself. It's too dangerous."

"It's just a beard. I'm not afraid of them." Xiaoqing untied the blue cloth package by herself, and the blush on her face gradually faded away.

Zhao Guoyan still looked toward the window, listening to the small noises around him, and said, "By the time you feel scared, it's already too late."

Xiao Qing hesitated for a moment and murmured to herself, "My father said... he feels more at ease when you are here."

Zhao Guoyan shook his head: "Your father is too kind to me. If these beasts start to do something naughty, I can't stop them by myself."

"medicine!"

"what?"

"I said the medicine is here!" Xiao Qing knocked on the table twice, thought for a moment, and then added, "My father asked me to bring it to you!"

Zhao Guoyan woke up as if from a dream and turned around quickly. It seemed that his stiff neck had not yet healed. His neck was stiff and hard. He did not look at the girl, but just clasped his fists and said, "I know. Thank your father for me. If there is nothing else, I won't see you off."

Xiao Qing frowned and said, "I'm lending you this medicine, but I didn't say I'd give it all to you. After you've applied the medicine, I have to take it back!"

Zhao Guoyan looked embarrassed and said anxiously: "Well, what's the matter... well, you put it here first, I will send it back to you after I use it."

"Aren't you guys going to join the Lianzhuang Association?"

"Oh, yes, yes, then I'll open the door for you first, and then you can come out and get it!"

"You don't mind the effort?"

"Is it difficult? I can apply the medicine now. Actually, there is no need to apply the medicine. I am fine with it. Do you want to apply the medicine?"

"Who are you asking?" Xiaoqing asked curiously.

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and said, "I didn't ask anyone. It doesn't matter whether I go or not. I don't care. So I'll go. I can go by myself!"

"Who said I was going to give you medicine?"

"Of course, I can do it myself, just do it myself..."

Zhao Guoyan turned sideways and reached out to fiddle with the bottles and jars in the blue cloth bag. They were all small porcelain bottles without labels, and he couldn't tell what their effects were. He got anxious and sweat started to seep out of his forehead. Xiaoqing took out two porcelain bottles, one large and one small, and put them on the table, saying:

"This is a medicinal wine that kills viruses, and this is an ointment. Apply it and it will heal quickly, but it will sting a little."

"Okay, okay, thank you very much..."

Zhao Guoyan haphazardly unwrapped the bandage on his right hand, picked up the medicinal wine, pulled out the cork, and began to rinse the cut on his palm like pouring water, which immediately spilled all over the floor.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing hurriedly shouted, "Hey, don't waste things. There's not much of this medicinal wine to begin with."

Zhao Guoyan was very straightforward. He immediately held up the bottle and reached into his pocket while saying, "Excuse me, how much is this wine? I'll compensate you."

"Who asked you for money? Just because you have money, you can ruin things?"

Xiao Qing glanced at the wound on Zhao Guoyan's palm, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Forget it, you don't look like a workman, you are just messing around, I will do it for you!"

"There's no need for that, right?" Zhao Guoyan clenched his hands, "It's not a big deal anyway!"

"Hey, I'm just a little girl and I didn't say anything. You, a grown man, why are you so embarrassed?" Xiao Qing pouted, looking a little dissatisfied, and immediately rolled up the bottles and jars on the table, "Use them if you want, or don't, you take my kindness for granted!"

After saying that, he picked up the medicine bag and was about to leave.

But before she even reached the door, the girl suddenly stopped, thought for a moment, turned around, and asked again: "Hey, you really don't need me to help you apply the medicine?"

"No, no." Zhao Guoyan lowered his head and tried to tie the bandage again, but without anyone to help, it was a bit awkward to do it with one hand.

"whispering sound--"

Xiaoqing still didn't leave. Her cloth shoes scraped lightly on the ground twice. She suddenly became shy and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Hey, my father told me that you saved him that night when we went into the mountains... I wronged you. Well, my father asked me to come and apologize to you. That's it!"

"Oh, nothing!" Zhao Guoyan said quite frankly, "Your father is the guide, we have to save him, otherwise we wouldn't even know where 'Niu Xin Ding' is."

Xiao Qing was stunned, and the slight apology on her face just now disappeared immediately. She said hurriedly: "I knew you didn't mean it that well!"

The distance between the two of them widened a little, and Zhao Guoyan returned to normal: "I'm just telling the truth, so you don't need to apologize or thank me. I'm not the kind of person who would put on airs over such a thing."

Hearing this, Xiaoqing suddenly remembered something and said, "My father said that you are a person with clear thoughts."

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and said, "Don't flatter me. There are only a few people in the world who can think clearly. There are so many things that I have to deal with. In the end, I just want to comfort myself."

Xiaoqing didn't understand what he said, and thought Zhao Guoyan was just being mysterious. She immediately made a "tsk" sound and said, "My father doesn't praise people easily. If he says you are, then you must be. Anyway, I came here to apologize to you for the misunderstanding and wrong accusation against you."

Zhao Guoyan was busy tidying up the bandages on his hands. After hearing this, he suddenly remembered something and said hurriedly, "Oh, by the way, I also have a misunderstanding that I want to clarify with you."

"What misunderstanding?"

"Uh... this, this..."

Zhao Guoyan couldn't open his mouth, and the bandages in his hands became more and more tangled. Finally, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"If you are sick, forget it!"

Xiao Qing glared at him, then looked at the messy bandages on his hands. Finally, she couldn't help it and quickly stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and said, "It's really tiring. It makes me upset just looking at it. Don't move!"

Zhao Guoyan couldn't help being a little stunned. When he looked down again, he saw the girl was already applying medicine to him.

There is only one kind of hardworking people in this world who can't stand other people's tedious work. They get annoyed when they see it, and they have to do the work neatly themselves before they feel happy.

Xiaoqing is probably such a person.

Sure enough, once the girl got started, no matter how entangled she was, she straightened them out immediately.

In just the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, the disinfection, application of medicine and bandaging were all done neatly and neatly, looking no worse than that of a professional nurse.

The sunlight shining through the window paper is not dazzling. Dust is floating in the house. Although there is no wind, it stirs up a vortex.

Xiaoqing's face was so bright and transparent that it had lost its outlines, as if it had merged into the air.

She tied a knot on the bandage very seriously, then suddenly raised her head and said, "It's done!"

"Oh, thank you Miss Hai!" Zhao Guoyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Qing looked at him, and while packing up her medicine bag, she smiled and said, "You are not as good as me!"

"What's not as good as you?"

"When I was a kid, I didn't feel as much pain as you do when I took this medicine. Look at your head, it's all sweaty!"

Zhao Guoyan wiped his forehead and said hurriedly: "I am ashamed, ashamed..."

"Okay, this is my apology to you. We are even now!" Xiao Qing clapped her hands, feeling relieved. "By the way, my father asked me to ask you, when are you leaving?"

"It will be soon, probably in the next two or three days!" Zhao Guoyan asked, "Why are we delaying your work?"

"Nonsense, with so many bearded men refusing to leave, the people in the village are afraid to go to the fields. If people waste time on the fields, the fields will waste people for a year. We can't afford to waste time. Let's go!"

After Xiaoqing finished speaking, she smiled again and turned around to say goodbye.

This time he was really leaving, but when he arrived at the door, he found that the door had already been locked from the outside by Sun Xiangyang and others.

Xiaoqing clapped her hands twice and yelled, "Open the door!"

The bandits outside the door laughed and said, "Is the job done? We haven't had the wedding yet!"

Xiaoqing was embarrassed and annoyed, and immediately responded: "Go and make trouble for your mother, open the door!"

…………

Outside the door, Sun Xiangyang and others were squatting on the ground, making obscene remarks and making a fuss.

At this time, Jiang Lianheng and Li Zheng were walking towards this side from not far away after taking a walk.

Erma was sharp-eyed and noticed that the two bosses had returned, so he quickly ran forward, shouting as he ran: "Boss Jiang, Boss Jiang!"

Jiang Lianheng stopped, looked him up and down, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Erma, the one who tipped you off!"

"Do you have a problem with me?"

"Um... I want to ask, when does Boss Jiang plan to leave?"

"Does this have anything to do with you?" Jiang Lianheng frowned and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Why are you still hanging around here, waiting to collect Old Mang's body?"

Erma quickly apologized with a smile: "No, no, no, I'm here to see Brother Zhao...it seems like he still has some things to do, how about you stay a few more days?"

As he spoke, he moved closer to Jiang Lianheng and whispered a few words.

Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, he heard a loud bang from a mud house in the distance.

Zhao Guoyan kicked the door and broke it, then shouted at Sun Xiangyang and the others, "Stop the fucking fuss, are you still interested?"

Soon, Xiaoqing walked out of the house, her face flushed. She glared at the people outside the door fiercely, cursed them as "stinking hooligans", and then hurried towards the Lianzhuang Association.

Bandit Hu didn't care about that. When he saw the door open, he immediately shouted, "Hey, Lao Zhao, you look pretty good. It took you so long to come out. How can a little girl bear it?"

The old whistle went even further, chasing after the girl and shouting, "Hey, female Bodhisattva, don't go, isn't it my turn?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Jiang Lianheng saw this and laughed a few times, saying, "It's quite interesting, then stay a few more days!"

(End of this chapter)