Chapter 179: Old house

On the second day of March, on the first day of Shangsi, just after midday, the Lu family’s masters, men, women and children all boarded their cars and rode horses and headed for the holiday in the countryside.
The Lu family’s old house was said to be in the countryside, but in fact it was in a small town named Chishui 60 miles away from Pingzhou City. The town is not big, but there are more than one hundred families, mostly with the surname Lu, scattered scattered on both sides of a few small streets that can be seen at a glance. The street is made of rammed soil, and when it rains and snows, sewage flows across, making it muddy and terrible.
But at this time, just in the evening, the warm breeze is blowing, the spring is bright and beautiful, the sky is floating with paper kites of various colors, the willow trees beside the planting road are gently fluttering in the spring breeze, and the full green buds on the branches are shining brightly. Glimmer, the mother-in-law who sells tea under the tree is ringing the lamp, the salesman carrying the burden is shaking the salesman's drum, the children are laughing, among the pedestrians on the street, a hawker, and a dog lying on the ground basking in the sun , Chasing each other. Stop to drool when you see something delicious, stop and take a silly look when you see something good, laugh when you are happy, cry when you are unhappy, and wherever you are, rolling around , Mud and tears on the face of crying are also common things. It is a lively and lively spring scenery.
As soon as the Lu family’s carriage appeared on the street, sharp-eyed children laughed and laughed at you and pushed me. I pushed you and stretched my neck, stood tiptoe on the street watching the fun, and the dogs followed in the fun, 〖 Excitedly chased the carriage and barked endlessly. The adults heard the movement and had to come out and look.
Mrs. Lu didn’t take the air. He ordered someone to stop the car, went down and picked up the prepared candies from Fan Bao, handed them to the children closest to him, and kindly asked them where they were. Yes, the children are of course timid, and they disappeared as soon as they picked up the candy, but he was not angry, and smiled and greeted the people he knew on the street.
When he got out of the car, it was natural that Master Lu Er, Master Lu San and other men would not stay on the horse or in the car anymore. They got out of the carriage and followed him respectfully, with smiles on their faces, and The clansmen and neighbors talked cordially, and there was nothing to say about it. Intentionally or unintentionally, Mrs. Lu took Lu Yan with him and solemnly introduced him, his most proud grandson.
Everyone was full of inexplicable awe for people who could read characters and fame, especially Lu Yan, which was launched by the grandfather of Lu, so they were extremely enthusiastic. The enthusiasm was so enthusiasm that Lu Yan was a little overwhelmed, and embarrassedly asked Grandpa Lu for help, but Grandpa Lu just chuckled and pretended not to understand him.
Lin Jinrong looked out through the light blue screen windows. Among the group of people, Lu Yan's tall and thin figure was particularly conspicuous. He was trying his best to maintain his demeanor and calmness, but his ears were red and his smile was a little stiff.
Lu Yun laughed in a low voice: "Second brother, I'm embarrassed." Lin Yuzhen said indifferently, "What's so embarrassing? How many people want this and can't get it." He looked at Lu Yan next to Lu Yan with some sarcasm. Shao "Look at your elder brother, he wants it very much, but unfortunately, he is the fate.
Lu Yun glanced at Lin Jinrong. Lin Jinrong had already retracted his gaze and sat quietly, as if he hadn't heard what Lin Yuzhen said just now. Lu Yun couldn't help thinking that since Lin Jinrong had entered the door, he had never said anything ill of anyone in front of them. He basically pretended not to hear anyone when he heard them. I would not persuade.
It would be fine if Lin Jinrong was an honest person from beginning to end, but Lin Jinrong was not, just pretending to be noble, in fact, there was a bad heart hidden under his beautiful and harmless skin. Thinking of this, Lu Yun felt very uncomfortable, so he smiled: "Sister-in-law, what are you thinking?" "I was thinking, this place is very good, I don't know what the old house looks like." Lin Jinrong He raised his eyes and looked at Lu Yun with a faint smile.
She hates this place. She was not able to return to the old house the year she first entered the door, but after giving birth to Ning'er, that is, when she was seventeen years old, Mrs. Lu arranged for the whole family to go back to the old house. At that time, Grandpa Lu solemnly carried Ning'er, who was still in her infancy, to the Lu family's ancestral hall, and after worshipping the ancestor, he personally wrote Ning'er's name on the genealogy.
Since then, she has only returned to the old house twice, once in the second year after Ning'er's death, when Lu Yan passed the exam, the family came back to worship the ancestors, and the other was when Grandpa Lu died and was buried.
But no matter what time, she had never seen such a lively and relaxed scene, nor had she seen such a shy and uncomfortable Lu Yan. What she saw was Lu Yan, who secretly and Wu Xiang didn't give in to each other, always wanted to be better than others no matter what, desperately trying to prove that they were not worse than others, taciturn, indifferent, and well-mannered.
Lin Jinrong raised his head and looked out again. The noisy crowd in front finally dispersed. Lu Yan was looking in her direction. He seemed to know that she was looking at him, and smiled invisibly at her. Before the smile was put away, he was caught by Lu Shao. Hold your shoulders and hug away.
The carriage drove forward again and stopped at the end of the largest street in the town. The brightly painted gate stood watching a group of men, old and young, some of them wore ruffled robes, and some even wore short coats and shoes. Grandpa Lu ordered people to stop the car again, led the men to greet him, and went through the gate together, and went straight to the middle hall to have a banquet.
The women and children drove in through the side door in an orderly manner, and entered the second door quietly.
After getting out of the car, they went to the huā hall to eat together. A group of people was busy and arranged for Mrs. Lu before they dispersed. The servants led them to their respective rooms and courtyards to rest.
The old house has been around for a few years, and it has not lived for a long time. The thick stone wall is high and cold, covered with moss, and the courtyard is very narrow. During the day, sunlight can only shine in at noon, and it is mostly cold, even in the dog days. You can't afford to wear single clothes in this room.
Although he had only been here a few times, Lin Jinrong never liked this place, much less the courtyard given to her many times. There is not a single tree in the yard, let alone huā, the ground is full of bluestone slabs glowing with cold light, standing in the center of the yard, looking up at the sky, only a very small piece can be seen. The oppression is so popular that I can't breathe.
The room is even more uncomfortable. The outer room only has two cabinets and a seat, a table and a few stools, and the inner room only has a bed and a photo table. Narrowness is secondary. The most important thing is that the light is very dim. The windows on the outside are very narrow, and there are no windows at all in the inside. They are opaque and not ventilated. Even in daylight, you need to hold a light to see clearly.
Lin Jinrong has been here three times, the first time is infinitely beautiful, the second time is miserable, and the third time is insensitive. Without Ning'er, then this will be the first of three times, and the scenery is boundless. Standing under the corridor, Lin Jinrong looked up at the palm-sized sky that was gradually darkening and thickening. He hated this place from the bottom of his heart.
Lychee led Dou'er to spread the utensils of Lin Jinrong and Lu Yan in the room. From time to time, he looked up suspiciously at Lin Jinrong who was standing motionless outside the door. After watching it a few times, I couldn't help it, and told Dou'er to clean up, go out by herself, and stood beside Lin Jinrong and said, "What is grandma looking at?"
Lin Jinrong looked back at her with a cold expression in his eyes: "I didn't see anything."
Lychee didn't dare to ask more, only smiled and said, "Isn't grandma tired after sitting in the car for a long time? The back room is already cleaned up, so grandma might as well go wash and lie down to rest. Presumably the second master must be drinking tonight. , I don’t know when you can come back. You won’t be able to sleep well at that time. You will get up early in the morning. I heard that there is a section of the road where you can’t get through and you have to walk over.
Lin Jinrong lowered his eyes and shuffled in. After finishing washing, he sat on the couch for a long time before Fang entered the back room, smelling the musty smell of his nose, and opened his eyes to look at the top of the tent.
The wick exploded, and a low voice of lychee came from outside: "Grandma has been waiting for you for a long time. I can't hold it before going to sleep. The second master wants to sober up the soup?" Drunk. How can I get drunk so easily?" Lu Yan's voice was cheerful, "Fetch water for me to wash." Lin Jinrong closed his eyes.
Not long after, the door was slightly opened, Lu Yan came in with a faint smell of alcohol, walked to the bed and sat down, took off his shoes and robe, and put his hand on Lin Jinrong’s shoulder. He couldn't help but say that it was with her. Kissed on the cheek and laughed in a low voice: "Aron, don't pretend to be asleep, I know you have been waiting for me."
Lin Jinrong was speechless, opened his eyes and looked at him: "Was it so early?"
"Grandfather said that he was going to the grave tomorrow. Everyone went to bed early, so they died." Lu Yan lifted up and turned off the light in one breath, lay down next to her, and hugged her tightly in his arms, hesitatingly said: "A Rong, are you all right?" Lin Jinrong was silent for a moment and said: "Okay. But don't you have to get up early to worship your ancestors tomorrow?" Lu Yan gently put his forehead on her back: "A Rong?"
"Huh?" Lin Jinrong felt that tonight he was a little different from usual, but he didn't understand why he was like this.
Lu Yan turned her over in silence to face him. Although the room was dark and dark, Lin Jinrong knew he was looking at her. He was getting closer and closer to her, and she could feel the sound of his gradual rapid breathing blowing on her face, causing the hairs all over her body to stand up, and a heart clung tightly, not knowing where to put it.
"A Rong, when I go back from here, I'm going to Mr. Zhu. Do you want to stay here for more time? Grandfather said, if we two don't want to go back with them, we can live here until the tenth day of the day and then go back. I think it's good." His hand slid gently into her clothes and caught her earlobe.
"..." Lin Jinrong wanted to say something, but couldn't say it.