As Leo Lin went from village to village to learn skills from his master, the rumors about Mia's departure also followed his footsteps from village to house. People talked privately about this carpenter woman surnamed Lin, but they didn't know the inside story. The only rumors are that Mia has not returned to her natal family in the south for a long time, and there are some wild speculations.
That afternoon, the rumor of Mia's departure brought the long-lost matchmaker to Leo Lin's home. She twisted her little feet and stepped into the door, sitting cross-legged on the kang.
The matchmaker first asked Leo Lin whether he had written a Geng letter before he and Mia were married. Leo Lin asked what Geng letter he had written. The matchmaker slapped her thigh with a loud sound and said:
"There is such a strange thing in the world. A man and a woman entered the bridal chamber without writing a Geng invitation or matching their horoscopes."
The matchmaker asked about Mia's birthday, and Leo Lin shook his head blankly; when the matchmaker asked about Mia's zodiac sign, Leo Lin still didn't know anything about it, and the matchmaker yelled again:
"There are such strange things in the world. You don't know the woman's birthday or her zodiac sign, and you marry her into your family. No wonder this little beauty never comes back."
The matchmaker said that only by knowing birth dates and zodiac signs can we know whether they are symbiotic or incompatible, and can we infer misfortune, fortune and longevity. She said: "A person born in the year of horse cannot be matched with a person born in the year of cow, and a person born in the year of sheep must not be matched with a person born in the year of rat. This is called The white horse is afraid of the green ox, the relationship between the sheep and the rat is broken, the marriage between the snake and the tiger is like cutting with a knife, the rabbit tears at the sight of the dragon, the golden rooster and the jade dog are hard to escape, the pig and the ape are together, the two dogs are in different troughs, the two dragons are in different pools, the sheep Luohukou... You are born in the Year of the Sheep. You two may be compatible with the Sheep and the Rat, or the Sheep and the Tiger. "
The matchmaker counted on her fingers and said, "You didn't write the Geng Tie in eight characters, and you don't know the woman's birth date, day, month, and zodiac sign. Should you have taken her over in a sedan chair on the wedding day?"
Leo Lin still shook his head. This time, the matchmaker clapped both hands on his thighs and exclaimed: "There are still such strange things in the world. As the saying goes, there is wind even when you fan a broken fan, and it is majestic when you sit on a broken sedan chair. Let's not leave that aside. When it comes to prestige, you don't need to carry the woman back in a sedan chair. The woman's feet are not yours, they are hers, and she will leave at any time. This little beauty will definitely not come back. "
Leo Lin sat on the bench, looking at the matchmaker sitting on the kang, saliva flying, and waving the pipe in her hand up and down. Finally, she sighed and said, so be it, she will go around to visit again to see if there is anyone suitable for her. Miss. She told Leo Lin that there would be no young ladies from wealthy families this time. Although Mia would never come back, she would still occupy the main room, and the one she would marry could only be regarded as a Concub!ne. Young ladies from wealthy families would not be allowed to come back. willing to be a Concub!ne.
The frustrated Leo Lin nodded and said to the matchmaker: "Just behave yourself to other girls."
Before leaving, the matchmaker suddenly remembered something and asked Leo Lin if he still remembered the lady from Liuzhuang. That beautiful woman immediately emerged in Leo Lin's memory. He remembered that the woman who once made his heart beat was walking towards him in a spacious hall in a deep house compound in Liuzhuang. He remembered When she filled his cigarettes, her hands were trembling. He remembered her name, she should be Liu Fengmei.
The matchmaker told Leo Lin that the wealthy lady named Liu Fengmei was actually neither deaf nor mute. The matchmaker said that she was already married to the Sun family of Kaijuhe Qianzhuang in the city. Then the matchmaker sighed, saying that before Liu Fengmei got married, her family was full of people, including tailors, carpenters, painters, bamboo craftsmen, metalworkers, and carvers, who made clothes for all seasons and various daily utensils for her. . Because the work was being done day and night, the courtyard was filled with lanterns and there was an endless stream of people coming and going. On her wedding day, the scene was even more spectacular. Dozens of bridesmaids lined up in a long row, and her dowry seemed endless. Generally speaking, when a wealthy family marries their daughter, at most half the dowry is required, but the Liu family's marriage includes the land and house. Such a full dowry has not been seen for many years. Miss Liu's family was sitting in a large sedan carried by eight people. The sedan was surrounded by red silk, with glass beaded lamps hung at the four corners, and big red balls hanging from the bottom. The most eye-catching thing is the longevity material, which is at the end of the dowry queue. The longevity material has been painted at least ten times, and the color is so bright and deep that you can't tell whether it is red or black. It has not been seen in many years that longevity materials are used as a dowry. This is the style of the Liu family. All the expenses of the young lady from birth to death were used as a dowry, and even the longevity materials were prepared.
When the matchmaker said this, she sighed and said that when she was first tested, all she had to do was agree, and now she would be Leo Lin's.
She looked at Leo Lin and said with regret, "It's a pity that a good marriage was lost."
The matchmaker told Leo Lin that she had heard that when she got married, the young lady of the Liu family wore a phoenix crown on her head and a red scarf on her face; she wore a red silk shirt and an embroidered red robe; and she wore a red skirt, red trousers, and red satin embroidered shoes. The young lady of the Liu family was dressed in red. I heard that when she got off the sedan in front of the red gate of the Sun family in the city, many onlookers screamed. She looked so charming when she came out of the sedan, just like a peony emerging from its bud. Open up.
That night, Leo Lin was tossing and turning on the kang, unable to fall asleep. As long as he closed his eyes, he would see Miss Liu coming out of the sedan dressed in red, followed by her figure walking in the hall, and then Mia wearing The floral cheongsam appeared outside the gate at that dusk moment, and such scenes passed by his eyes like the wind.
Leo Lin thought of the piece of colorful satin. It was he who took out the colorful satin and placed it on the table in the Liu family's hall. That was the reason why the marriage ended and the subsequent coming and going of Mia happened. That night, the piece of colorful satin was far and near in Leo Lin's mind, lingering in his mind. In the end, he felt that it was all fate and fate.
One month before the wheat harvest, Leo Lin went to the city and made several scythes in the blacksmith shop to prepare for harvesting wheat. He also bought two pieces of colorful satin. Although Mia had left, he still had to live his life in the future. , it is still necessary to go on a blind date with the matchmaker, marry a girl and grow old together, so that the Lin family's incense can continue. It's just that this time I must marry a well-behaved girl, and I can't marry an unknown woman again.
It was already dark when he returned home. He saw the kerosene lamp on the window sill and heard the creaking sound of the loom. He was startled at first and dropped the sickle in his hand, and then he felt crazy. Jump, lead the donkey a few steps into the house.
Mia is back, still wearing that floral cheongsam. She sat in front of the loom, looking sideways at Leo Lin, her delicate face half-dark in the light of the kerosene lamp.
Leo Lin stood there, holding the donkey in his hand. He led the donkey into the house without knowing it, and stared at Mia blankly. He felt that Mia was smiling at him, but he couldn't see the look in Mia's eyes clearly. After a while he asked her as if talking to himself:
"Is it Mia?"
He heard Mia's voice: "It's me."
Leo Lin asked again: "Are you back?"
Mia nodded: "I'm back."
When Leo Lin saw Mia getting up and leaving the stool, he continued to ask: "Did you bring back the big yellow croaker?"
Mia did not answer, but slowly knelt down. Leo Lin asked again:
"Where's the little yellow croaker?"
Mia shook her head. At this time, the donkey shook its head and a bell sounded. Leo Lin turned his head, glanced at the donkey, and shouted to Mia:
"Why are you coming back? You stole the gold bars accumulated by my ancestors, and you come back empty-handed, yet you dare to come back."
Mia bowed her head and knelt there, trembling. The donkey shook its head again, and another bell sounded. Leo Lin turned around and roared at the donkey in anger:
"Don't shake your head!"
After Leo Lin yelled, he fell into confusion. He looked at Mia who was kneeling on the ground and trembling. The room was silent. After a while, Leo Lin sighed, waved his hand and said sadly:
"You should leave quickly before I have an attack."
Mia said softly: "I am pregnant with your flesh and blood."
Leo Lin was startled and took a closer look at Mia. Mia's abdomen was already bulging. Leo Lin was at a loss. Looking at Mia's pleading eyes and listening to her crying voice, he didn't know what to say for a long time. Finally, he sighed heavily and said to Mia:
"Get up."
Mia was still kneeling there, still crying. Leo Lin said loudly: "You stand up, I don't want to help you, you stand up by yourself."
Mia stood up tremblingly. She wiped away her tears and said to Leo Lin, "Please, let me give birth to my child here."
Leo Lin waved his hand to stop her from talking. He said, "Don't tell me, tell my parents."
In the quiet night, Leo Lin and Mia walked to the cemetery in the east of the village. Leo Lin still led the donkey, and the bells rang clearly in the night sky, but he didn't hear it. He forgot that he was still leading the donkey. They walked to the graves of Leo Lin's parents. Leo Lin pointed to the tombstones of his parents under the moonlight and said to Mia:
"Kneel down."
Mia held the child in her belly with one hand and bent down diagonally. With the other hand, she found the ground and knelt down carefully.
Leo Lin waited for her to kneel down and then said to her, "Say it."
Mia nodded, put her hands on the ground, and said to the tombstone of Leo Lin's parents in the moonlight:
"I'm Mia, I'm back...I didn't have the face to come to see you, but I was pregnant with the Lin family's flesh and blood. I deserve to die and have to come back. If I cut off the incense of the Lin family, it would be a sin." For the sake of the child, please spare me. This is the heir of the Lin family. I have to send him back. Please let me give birth to the child in the Lin family..."
Mia cried intermittently, and Leo Lin said to her, "Get up."
Mia stood up and reached out to wipe away her tears. Leo Lin led the donkey back, and Mia followed behind him. At this time, Leo Lin heard the donkey's bells and realized that he had been leading the donkey. He reached out and patted the donkey and said sadly:
"Only you follow me."
Leo Lin walked for a while, turned around and saw Mia holding her belly in both hands and struggling to walk, so he stopped and when Mia walked forward with her head lowered, he picked her up on the back of the donkey. Mia was surprised at first, and then cried out. Leo Lin led the donkey and walked in front. He listened to Mia crying on the donkey's back, sighed and said softly:
"You lied to me and kidnapped my family's gold bars. I shouldn't have accepted you. Thinking that you already have my flesh and blood and the Lin family has a heir, it means..."
At this point, Leo Lin shook his head and said, "You didn't swear in front of my parents' graves. You didn't swear that you wouldn't leave in the future."
After Leo Lin said this, he stood still and looked up at the stars in the sky. His mind went blank. It wasn't until the donkey beside him jingled again that he led the donkey and continued to move forward. After entering the yard, he turned around and took Mia off the donkey's back. When he was about to put her on the ground, he saw the threshold. After hesitating, he carried Mia over the threshold.
Leo Lin settled the donkey and walked to the door of the back room. He saw Mia skillfully taking out a quilt from the closet and laying it on the kang that recorded their sweet past. After Mia laid the quilt, she looked up and saw Leo Lin standing at the door. , couldn't help but smile.
Leo Lin asked her: "Where are the gold bars?"
Her smile froze instantly, and she lowered her head and said nothing.
Leo Lin asked: "Who did you give the gold bars to?"
She still bowed her head and said nothing.
Leo Lin asked again: "Who are you, Alex?"
Her voice hesitated: "My brother."
Leo Lin turned and left. It was a silent night. Leo Lin sat silently on the small stool, staring at the loom illuminated by the faint light of the kerosene lamp.
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