Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu went out together after breakfast. One went to the private school, and the other went to Jing Shang Hall for labor reform.
"It's a nice day. It's windy in the afternoon, so it's best to fly a kite." Yu Shu stood at the gate of the courtyard and looked up at the clear clouds above the mansion.
Yu Xiaoxiu looked up at the sky with her for a while, then he lowered his head and twisted the strap on his shoulder, "I'm leaving."
"Come back soon."
"Oh."
Yu Shu fed the carp hiding behind the tree, and then walked to the West Courtyard.
She came early, and there was only one customer wandering in the hall of Jing Shang Hall. Yu Shu took the initiative to greet him and asked what he was going to do today.
"Wipe the floor." The man ordered casually, but his eyes were fixed on the divinatory plates.
The wind blew a lot of dust through the skylight on the roof last night. The floor that was wiped the day before was only clean for two days.
Yu Shu looked around the hall and found the bucket in the corner. Someone put the bucket she used yesterday next to the bamboo bed. The old Taoist was lying on the bed with one leg over the edge. He was snoring and sleeping soundly without a quilt.
Yu Shu was a little confused. She put the bucket behind the door after using it yesterday. How did it go there?
She walked over quietly and didn't look at the old Taoist. She took the bucket and left. She didn't expect that the moment she took a step, her clothes were pulled from behind.
"Aha —" The old Taoist yawned and sat up crookedly. One of his hands was still holding the corner of Yu Shu's clothes, and the other hand was rubbing his eyes. He said unhappily,
"I was having a good dream, and you woke me up."
"Sorry, Taoist, please continue to sleep." Yu Shu quietly pulled the corner of her clothes out of his hands. She took two steps back, turned around, and walked quickly.
She didn't hear anyone calling her from behind. She walked to the door and slowed down. She couldn't help but look back. The old Taoist was sitting by the bed and stretching. He didn't call out to her or follow her.
Yu Shu felt that she was thinking too much. Maybe he didn't put the bucket on purpose.
Walking to the well, Yu Shu put down the bucket and shook the rope for a while. When she felt that the water was full, she held the roller and shook it up. There was a lot of water, so she used all her strength to lift the roller. When the water came up, she carried the heavy bucket and put it down, panting a little.
"His aptitude is too weak, too weak. Sigh."
Yu Shu stiffened her neck and turned her head. She could hear the sound of "Ka Ka" coming from her spine. She saw a wrinkled face made of tree bark.
Although he already knew that this old man was ugly, when he looked at him in broad daylight, the layers of dried skin on his face were even more obvious. His pair of overly protruding eyes were even more frightening. If this face were to be shown, it would definitely scare all the children in the city to tears.
Without waiting for Yu Shu to retreat in fear, the old Taoist retreated to the side, but he did not walk away. Instead, he looked at Yu Shu and shook his head. He paced back and forth a few steps, then looked at Yu Shu again, sighed, and shook his head again, as if there was something he could not decide on.
Yu Shu originally wanted to stand with him for a while out of courtesy, but when she saw the look of disgust on his face, she immediately dispelled the idea and left with the bucket.
"Stop, come back."
Yu Shu pretended not to hear him and walked on her own path. She didn't think that the old Taoist would look for her for something good. She didn't want to find trouble for herself.
However, after two steps, she was grabbed by the collar from behind. Her body shook and the water in the bucket spilled out. Because she was holding the bucket in front of her, half of the water spilled on her dress. In a blink of an eye, the water seeped into her dress and made her knees cold.
Yu Shu almost lost her temper, but the old Taoist didn't notice. He grabbed her collar and pulled her to the side rudely. She didn't have time to put down the bucket in her hand, so the water kept spilling out. He wouldn't stop until her whole dress was wet.
"What are you doing? Let go, let go!"
Ignoring Yu Shu's struggles, the old Taoist walked to a secluded corner at the back of the room. Only then did the old Taoist let go of Yu Shu and threw her aside. Looking at her frantically splashing water, he blew at his beard and said in a gruff voice,
"Kneel and kowtow to the old Taoist."
Kowtow, kowtow your head!
Yu Shu squeezed the water on her dress and tidied it up. She looked up and stared at him gloomily. She thought that she had met a psycho. No wonder her eyelids kept twitching this morning.
Seeing that she didn't move, the old Taoist changed his posture impatiently, "Hurry up and kowtow. If you are slow, don't blame me for changing my mind."
"Ha," Yu Shu was so angry that she laughed. She straightened her wrinkled dress and raised her eyebrows, "You'd better change your mind. Hurry up and change it now."
The old Taoist didn't like her very much. Seeing her unruly look, he was even more unhappy. His face turned serious and looked even uglier than before.
"I have my reasons for asking you to kowtow. If you don't kowtow now, don't regret it."
Regret? She had done a lot of regretful things in her previous life. She had tasted all kinds of suffering and bitter results. If she had to do it again, as long as she didn't go against her conscience, there was nothing in this world that could make her regret!
Yu Shu straightened her clothes and snorted. She stared at the old Taoist in front of her. Her gaze was extremely calm, fearless, and free. The old Taoist who was blowing his beard and glaring at her was stunned and in a trance.
When he came to his senses, she was already gone, leaving only a puddle of water on the ground.
"Hiss —" The old Taoist stretched out his hand to cover his chest and gasped. The feeling of fear just now was still there. God knew that he didn't see the whites of her eyes at that glance.
"Ancestors of the Three Pure Ones, what was that …"
***
Yu Shu wiped the floor of Jing Shang Hall clean. When she went back, she didn't see the strange old Taoist again.
On the way back, she thought about what had happened just now. Her anger subsided and she felt it was ridiculous. According to her experience of watching TV and reading novels in the previous generation, the old Taoist was probably some kind of otherworldly master. He asked her to kowtow probably to teach her some skills. However, the old Taoist was arrogant and looked down on her poor talent and lack of spirituality. He hesitated for a long time and finally made a decision to put on airs and put on airs in front of her.
It was really ridiculous. Who begged him to like her? If he didn't like her, he shouldn't force her. He even threatened her. This was the most annoying thing.
Probably guessing most correctly, Yu Shu didn't feel it was a pity. She lived again to enjoy life and pursue it. At the same time, she could teach her younger brother and cultivate him into a man. If she was destined, she could find a good man who was easy to control and get married and have children. She just wanted to live happily and freely for the rest of her life. Those "good things" that fell from the sky were not suitable for her.
After returning to the courtyard, Yu Shu changed her wet clothes and hung them up to dry. She also took back the two sets of clothes she had washed yesterday, folded them, and put them in the cabinet. Then, she began to pack the things she would take with her in the afternoon.
After wrapping a few pieces of pastries, she asked Auntie Liu to find a bamboo tube for her to fill with water. She also brought her purse and a book, stuffing them all into her little flower bag.
When she was almost done, Yu Xiaoxiu came back from school. When he entered the door, he saw her packing things for the trip. He looked a little happy, but he didn't show it. He pretended to not care and put the bag on the table.
"What do you want for lunch?"
"Aunt Liu hasn't come back yet. I don't know. Can you ask?"
"Okay."
Yu Xiaoxiu went out and came back after a while. "Noodles."
Yu Shu took out the map of Yiyang City that she asked Uncle Saturday to draw yesterday. She spread it on the table and called Yu Xiaoxiu over to have a look. The sister and brother knelt on the bench and put their heads together to study it.
"Look, the Ji Mansion is here. This is Changmenpu Street. This is the private school. This is the river I mentioned. This is the east, this is the south, this is the west, this is the north. Tell me, which way should we go?"
"… You don't even know the way?"
"I am. Don't change the topic. Tell me quickly."
"This way …"
Aunt Liu came to the door. She wanted to ask them if they wanted to eat soup or fish noodles. Seeing the situation, she smiled and didn't have the heart to disturb them, so she went back to the kitchen.
***
"Aunt Liu, we are leaving. We won't be back for dinner tonight."
"Miss, Young Master, be careful. Stay away from the river. It is dark at night. Come back early."
"Got it. See you, Aunt Liu!"
Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu went out with a small bag and a kite. According to the map, they walked half a circle in the east of the city and found the river bank. The scenery was much more beautiful than Yu Shu had imagined.
There was a plum forest across the river bank. It was blooming for the last time before it withered. Red and white interweaved, thick and light. When the wind blew, it rolled up the fallen flowers on the ground and overflowed with an intoxicating fragrance. Looking at it for a long time, under a tree in the forest, a vague white shadow condensed. It was like a fairy spirit born from the plum forest, which made people's heart beat fast.
Yu Shu blinked and the white shadow disappeared. She secretly laughed at her blurred eyes. Standing by the river and looking at the other side, she liked the scenery so much that she wanted to cross the river. Yu Xiaoxiu called her twice and then reluctantly withdrew his eyes.
"Here, I don't know how to do it." Yu Xiaoxiu gloomily handed the kite with the string to Yu Shu.
Yu Shu tied the string quickly and handed the kite to Yu Xiaoxiu. She stepped back and stretched the string of the kite. When the distance was close, she shouted to Yu Xiaoxiu.
"Run with me. When I say let go, let go quickly."
"Okay!"
"Raise it higher. It's running away!"
Yu Xiaoxiu obediently raised the kite high. Hearing her shout, he hurriedly followed.
"Let go!"
She loosened her hand and the gray eagle flew up with the wind. Before Yu Xiaoxiu shouted, it tilted its head and fell down.
"Ah!" Yu Shu screamed. The two of them ran over and picked up the kite. Seeing that it wasn't broken, they heaved a sigh of relief and continued to fly it. They tried a few times but failed. Just when Yu Xiaoxiu looked at them suspiciously and Yu Shu was about to lose her composure, the wind started to blow on the riverbank again.
"Hurry up, run faster!"
"Let go!"
"Ah!"
"It's flying! It's flying! Xiaoxiu, come here! "
"Coming!"
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