Chapter 52

The courtyard houses in Jinghua City are famous all over the world.

Every large or small courtyard has its own legend. Of course, there are also many people who have never been to Beijing or lived in a courtyard house. They admire the name of the courtyard house and send many beautiful imaginations. They read books, see pictures, or watch movies, leaving behind some shadows of the courtyard house. Send with infinite longing. Mr. Tao Yuanming did not bend his waist for five buckets of rice and finally found a paradise (of course, the premise that he could not bend his waist for five buckets of rice was that his family had 50,000 buckets of rice to support him...) The poem goes: All birds are grateful for their trust, and I love them too My hut.

People have the same heart and the same reason. On the road of wandering life, who doesn't want to have a stable and quiet home? Siheyuan, no matter how big or small, live with the door closed, you can’t see the inside from the outside, and you don’t need to see the outside from the inside, no regrets with others, no competition with the world, quiet and serene, it is an ideal nest. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, and even a few decades ago, there were countless people in Jinghua who settled down in the countless courtyard houses, raised their children and took care of them, from infants to adults, from blackheads to white hairs, from generation to generation. Enjoy life year after year.

With the pace of the times, the appearance of the city is changing more and more quickly. All new ones replace the old ones, and all eras replace the old ones. Siheyuan will also be replaced by more and more concrete buildings. Instead, there must be fewer and fewer quiet, simple, and ancient courtyard houses that can represent the style of Beijing, and the existing ones are becoming more and more dilapidated and impractical.

However, at the foot of the world-renowned Fragrant Hills, along a narrow but quiet asphalt road, after passing a dozen towering skyscrapers, and then walking for about half an hour, there are more than a dozen antique buildings. The complete courtyard is surrounded by lush green forests, and the blue-gray walls are looming in the gaps between the trees. If it weren't for the sign of 'No Tourists' under the woods beside the road, and dozens of plainclothes men with expressionless faces and desolate faces standing on both sides along the way, I believe the citizens of Jinghua City would definitely like this. An elegant place suitable for morning exercises.

Now, a very ordinary black car with Hongqi brand approached slowly, and when it came to the stop sign for tourists, the tinted glass shook silently, and the driver reached out and handed a pass to the two plain clothes who came over. One of them took it over, first looked at the license plate and then carefully verified the pass, then straightened his feet slightly, raised his hand as a salute, and then waved his hand to signal his companion to back away.

The window was rolled up again, and the car continued to move forward slowly, until it stopped in front of the courtyard in the middle. A young woman in her twenties got out of the car, her skin was whiter and more delicate in a goose yellow tunic dress. At first glance, she is not so beautiful, but she seems to exude a kind of temperament that is heart-wrenching, especially the slightly raised corners of her mouth, with a sense of rebellion and arrogance. But this rebelliousness and pride disappeared when walking into the main room in the courtyard, replaced by a playful and uncontrollable joy.

"Uncle, you are finally willing to come back and take a look." As soon as the 37605944 bamboo curtain was lifted, the woman saw a middle-aged and elderly man who couldn't tell how old was sitting at the head of the Eight Immortals table, and stepped forward excitedly. Going in, she said coquettishly: "Uncle, you always said that you would come back to see Yingxia when you have time, but this wait made Yingxia wait for nearly two months, and your words don't count..."

"Welcome to the summer!" A middle-aged man sitting in the horizontal position saw his little daughter being so presumptuous to the General Secretary of Huaxia, so he couldn't help but reprimanded her: "It's not that big or small, your uncle How many important things do you have to do in a day-to-day life? Do you think you can be like you, going around crazy every day..."

"Dad, you just like to talk about people..." The woman pursed her pretty mouth, and came to the middle-aged man at the head of the Eight Immortals table coquettishly, grabbed his hand and shook it: "Uncle, you have to take care of you!" This younger brother is gone, he always loves to train Yingxia..."

Not waiting for Yingxia's father to stare and say that she is not old or young, the middle-aged and elderly man chuckled, raised his hand and stroked her hair pityingly: "My Yingxia is right, your father has loved Zhenger since he was a child." Those with eight classics are not likable at all. Don't be afraid, as long as uncle is here, you can make trouble in Yingxia."

"Brother, Yingxia is already 22, not a child anymore, you can't spoil her all the time." Yingxia's father persuaded with a wry smile.

"Hehe, she's still a child after all...you are too serious, third child, no wonder you got the nickname of a cold-faced god in the military area." At this time, a middle-aged man sitting under the Eight Immortals table also laughed. speak.

Seeing that the two uncles were pampering her, Yingxia stuck out her tongue at her father Song Pingyue mischievously, then turned to ask her second uncle Song Pingchuan: "Second uncle, is Sister Fengdong here?"

Song Pingchuan, who is now the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Guangdong Province, pretended to be jealous and said angrily: "Look at you little girl, I will look for you, Sister Fengdong, when you come. Why, you don't like being with your two uncles?"

"It's just a few old men, what's there to play with..." Ying Xia muttered in a low voice.

"Smelly girl, what are you talking about?" Song Pingyue glared, and Song Yingxia hurriedly leaned against uncle Song Pingjiang in fright, and said coquettishly, "Look, uncle. Dad always looks like this every time he sees me." look."

Song Pingjiang, who is now 60 years old and looks about forty-five or sixty-six, the general secretary of Huaxia, chuckled: "Little girl, beating is kissing and scolding is love..."

"Cut..." Song Yingxia dragged her voice, pretending to be disdainful and said: "Uncle also learned the language of young people? I won't play with you anymore. I'm going to find Sister Fengdong. Is she in the No. 7 courtyard?"

"Go quickly, since you know she's in No. 7 Courtyard, why don't you go quickly?" Song Pingyue frowned.

"I'm here to see my uncle, not to see you, an old man..."

Before Song Pingyue raised his hand to slap, Song Yingxia turned around lightly, opened the curtain and ran out, leaving only a series of giggles.

"This girl..." Song Pingyue shook her head and sighed, "You're as ignorant as a child at this age..."

"I'm talking about the third child, you have to try to change your face when you go home, or you won't be able to support you when Yingxia arrives, haha..." Song Pingyue was taken aback by Song Pingchuan's joke, But then he and Song Pingjiang laughed together.

After the guards delivered three cups of Pu'er tea, Song Pingjiang coughed lightly and said, "Third son, this time I asked my second son to come to Beijing from Guangdong. Say?"

"Big Brother, Second Brother." Song Pingyue picked up the teacup and took a sip, raised his head and his face returned to seriousness: "Do you still remember that incident thirty years ago?"

"Thirty years ago?" Song Pingchuan asked wonderingly: "What happened thirty years ago? It was a special period at that time, and something happened every day... Ah, you are not talking about Lanxia, ​​are you?!" Said Later, the tone suddenly became more serious: "Could it be that you have Lan Xia's whereabouts?"

Hearing about Song Pingxia, the fourth sister who has been missing for thirty years, and even Song Pingjiang, the general secretary of the world's third largest country, who has encountered countless major events, the teacup he just picked up trembled, and he widened his eyes wide Eyes, shortness of breath and asked: "Third brother, is this true?"

"Big Brother and Second Brother," Song Pingyue didn't answer anything, but carefully took out a green finger wrench from his pocket, and gently put it on the table: "You guys... still remember this finger wrench?"

"Jasper Finger Wrench!"

Song Pingjiang and Song Pingchuan looked at each other, Song Pingjiang picked up the wrench and put it in front of his eyes, looked at it carefully several times, and murmured: "Pegasus stepped on the snow and shot Sirius. How could I not remember our old What about the Flying Wolf that was passed down by the ancestors of the Song family? Unexpectedly, after thirty years, I would be able to see it once after thirty years..."

Wrench finger, the finger wrench worn on the hand during archery in ancient times was used to cover the thumb. When drawing the bow, insert the bow string into the deep groove on the back to prevent the thumb from being strangled. It first appeared in the Shang Dynasty and was popular from the Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty. However, its original function gradually weakened in the later period, and it evolved into a man's decoration.

Most of the finger rings worn by ordinary people are made of white jade. However, in terms of quality, the superior ones are comparable to the inferior ones at first glance, but they are completely different in their bones. Aristocrats choose emerald quality as the top choice, its color is turbid and clear with different patterns, green and clear as water is invaluable, non-nobility dare not wear it lightly. In terms of its size and thickness, it can also be divided into civil and military. The martial wrench refers to more plain surfaces, and the wen wrench refers to more finely cast poems or patterns on the outer wall.

There are seven small letters engraved on this finger, which can't be more petty, but it is clear at a glance: Pegasus treading snow and shooting Sirius.

According to the legend of the elders of the Song family, Guo Ziyi, a general under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, had meritorious deeds in driving away the Hu captives. In view of his skill in both civil and martial arts, he asked the jade craftsman to make this article as a reward for him. Until June 10, the second year of Jianyuan (781) during the reign of Emperor Dezong, Guo Ziyi passed away at the age of 85. The eldest son Guo Yao turned around and rewarded this flying wolf finger to the ancestor of the Song family, Song Hun, who saved his life.

This finger ring has always been regarded as a family heirloom in the old Song family. It has been passed down from generation to generation for more than a thousand years. It was almost destroyed during the special period. Fortunately, Song Pingxia, the youngest daughter of the Song family at that time, wrapped it with a red headband. , as a small hair accessory tied to the big braids that girls of that era had, which allowed this thousand-year-old finger ring to be preserved.

Seeing this finger snapping, the three brothers of the Song family thought of their younger sister, Song Pingxia, who was for the sake of the entire Song family but was considered rebellious for what she did at the time. If she hadn't bravely stood up and admitted that she had pasted up the big-character posters that were considered counter-revolutionary at the time, to cover up the three brothers of the Song family who were the real activists, and how could there be old people? Song's today?

Thinking of this sad history, Song Pingjiang, as the general secretary of the country, had a sparkle in his eyes, and said with a slightly choked voice: "Thirty years, no matter how hard we searched afterwards, there was no news of her. .Even my parents think that she is no longer alive. In fact...she doesn't want to see us!" Thinking of the situation at that time, the entire Song family let a young girl go out to take the blame. It's no wonder that Song Pingjiang felt Ashamed, it is no wonder that Song Pingxia no longer goes home to recognize her relatives.

The atmosphere in the room became tense for a while.