Chapter 48

The sky was turning pale, and with the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking, the white mist surrounding the mountains faded away, revealing the endless green mountains and clear waters and a small village at the foot of the mountain.

Smoke from cooking rises as the hardworking villagers carry their farm tools to the fields and begin their day's work.

The world outside is changing rapidly, with tall buildings springing up one after another. However, Xiaohe Village, a remote village surrounded by mountains, has not had time to get rid of poverty and backwardness.

A few children were shouting and joking on the dirt road in the village as they ran from one end of the village to the other.

It is the age when people hate me the most. I climb trees and climb over walls, and occasionally I can hear one or two old people laughing and scolding.

However, it is the children's carefree laughter that adds festive cheer to the small village.

Although backward and downtrodden, there is still hope.

The flower buds that represent hope are fearless, yet there are places they dare not go.

That is the house at the back of the village, a little far away from where the villagers gather, and close to the foot of the mountain.

When passing by from a distance, the children turned into quiet quails and walked on tiptoe, fearing that the noise they made would attract the scary old man in the courtyard and have him capture them all. It was said that the old man was a giant monkey.

As for what will happen after being captured, I don't know, but it will be terrifying anyway...

In a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, behind a black wooden door, an old man with completely gray hair and wearing old, washed-out work clothes is facing away from the camera, scooping water from a wooden barrel beside him with a ladle.

The old man should have been tall, but his back was hunched, and his thin body could hardly support the loose work clothes.

It can be seen that the old man’s life is not so satisfactory.

The old man held a watering can and moved slowly between the fields, pouring water on the vegetable leaves that had wilted due to the scorching sun.

Just looking at his back, I really don't understand why this slow-moving, thin old man would be kept at a distance by a group of mischievous people.

Until the old man straightened up, the camera turned from behind him to in front of him.

The old man didn't look very friendly to begin with. There was a long, hideous scar on his left cheek that ran through his forehead, eyelids and cheek. Under his drooping eyelids were numb eyes without any spirit.

There is a deep depression between the eyebrows, which makes him look very formidable.

The old man's right eye was cloudy, and he squinted his right eye with great effort while moving with the crutch in his other hand. With the help of his unclear vision, he moved slowly. It was obvious that his eyesight was not very good.

The audience knows that Grandpa Li, who has a scary face and doesn't look like a good person, should be the protagonist of the show.

Just as the "director" said in his confession at the beginning, Grandpa Li seems like a fierce man. If they had a neighbor like this when they were children, they might also be afraid of him.

If it was just a ferocious face, it would be fine, as one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. However, the plot that followed made the audience frown uncomfortably at the protagonist.

There is a son in the village who made money and bought a house in the city. He wants to bring his elderly parents to the city to live a good life. These days, the villagers are praising the son after dinner.

"Promising."

"How filial!"

The villagers kept saying to their son, "You must study hard in the future, get into college like your brother Hu Zi, and get a job in an office after graduation!"

For the people of Xiaohe Village, they can either change their future through studying or their children can find a good job in the city and become decent city dwellers.

Otherwise, you would have to drop out of junior high school and follow your elders to the construction site to move bricks at a young age. You would work hard all your life and end up with a lot of illnesses but not be able to save much money.

It’s not about getting something from the children, but just for them to have a good life in the future, so that they don’t have to be poor all their lives like them. I also hope that the children can grow up to be successful.

At the entrance of the village, a luxurious car led the way, followed by a truck carrying things. The two old men lived the life of city dwellers under the envious gaze of their neighbors.

However, they took away all the furniture, but still left some things behind.

A black puppy, about four or five months old, poked its head out of its tattered nest, seemed to understand something, and ran after the car, howling and moving its four little legs to catch up.

How could four legs catch up with four tires? The familiar smell at the tip of the nose was getting farther and farther away, and the little black dog's whimpering became more pitiful.

The people in the car also heard the puppy's barking. The old man who was picked up saw the puppy refusing to stop through the rearview mirror. He showed a hint of hesitation on his face and looked at his older son in the driver's seat: "Son, do we really not want a watchdog anymore?"

The man didn't even turn his head. He said calmly, "Dad, the city's security is pretty good. You know what the police do? They catch thieves. Those who break into homes and rob people get jailed for life. We don't need dogs to guard the house."

He glanced at the two old men out of the corner of his eye, and before they could speak again, his son's words rang out again:

"Our house is a building, not very big, and the soundproofing isn't great. If the dog barks in the middle of the night and disturbs the neighbors, we'll get complained about. Besides, I've already told you two that Jiajia doesn't like dogs. If you bring her back, we'll definitely have a fight."

"Forget about the cats and dogs in the future. You don't have to worry about being bored. Next year, Jia Jia and I will give birth to a grandson for you two. Then you will have a little grandson to accompany you."

When the two old people heard they were going to hold their eldest grandson, their expressions relaxed. The man stepped on the accelerator and said directly, "It's also good to leave the puppy in the village. There's plenty of food in the mountains, and it won't starve to death if it runs around. It's not a sin. Don't worry."

The little black dog disappeared from the rearview mirror, and the two old people became quiet. Just like that, the puppy was abandoned in Xiaohe Village.

The audience's hearts were broken when they saw the little black puppy, who was still a puppy, limping back to the yard where its owner no longer lived, returning to its small and broken nest alone, and licking its paws that were scratched by sharp stones because it ran too fast.

[Ahhh, such a small puppy, it's so cute and pitiful. ]

[Is there anyone in the village who can adopt a puppy? Please.]

In rural families, if there is a need to keep a dog, there is no need to have more dogs. If there were no dogs kept in captivity for various reasons in the past, the little black dog would not be picked up.

The little black dog became a dog without an owner in the village, and people called them - little stray dogs.

Very hungry, the food bowl is empty.

I'm very thirsty and the water basin is dry.

The little black dog hadn't eaten or drunk anything for several days. Finally, it seemed to understand something: no one wanted it anymore.

The instinct of survival allows the little black dog to be independent and find food and water.

At first, the little black dog couldn't find anything and could only eat grass roots and catch insects out of hunger.

Later, the little black dog learned to rummage through garbage.

Occasionally, people in the village would have extra or rotten leftovers, but no one would take care of them. The little black dog would feed itself, sometimes hungry and sometimes full, and was very thin, but fortunately it survived.

【Tough puppy, woo woo.】

[What a great baby! If I meet you, I will definitely raise you.]

Xiaohe Village has a good environment. The children may be naughty but they are all very kind. Occasionally, some children will secretly feed the little black dog.

But soon, a new crisis emerged.

In addition to the little black dog, there is another stray big yellow dog in the village. Due to the severe competition for survival resources, the relationship between the two dogs is not good.

Although the big yellow dog did not bite the little black dog to death, every time he saw the little black dog, he would try to drive it out of the village.

As the seasons changed, the little black dog grew taller.

One day, when the grown-up black dog was chewing a bone, the big yellow dog appeared.

In the past, when there was no little black dog, Xiaofang would occasionally sneak out bones. For the big yellow dog, Xiaofang, who would give it bones from time to time, was the best human cub, and Xiaofang's bones were also its favorite thing in the world.

It buried each piece of bone carefully in the ground. Every day it would stay beside the bones and sleep peacefully.

Seeing the little black dog gnawing on the bone that should have belonged to it, the big yellow dog got really angry for the first time and bared its fangs at the little black dog.

The little black dog sensed the danger, and it howled and tried to retreat with its tail between its legs. However, the big yellow dog, who usually let the little black dog go, did not lose his temper this time, and lowered its body in an attacking posture.

The yellow dog has realized that when the little black dog grows up, it will inevitably threaten the old dog's status.

New and old grudges are settled together.

As they chased each other, the little black dog fled in fear, but the big yellow dog behind it followed closely.

Until the little black dog approached the house at the foot of the mountain.

The big yellow dog wandered around twice, bared its teeth fiercely at Xiao Hei, and then retreated unwillingly.

The little black dog lay on the ground panting heavily.

The footsteps approached, and the little black dog raised its head. Grandpa Li, who was leaning on a cane and wearing sunglasses, was approaching from afar. The little black dog stood up from the ground, and quickly retreated to the corner of the wall obediently and quietly.

The crisis was resolved, however, the big yellow dog's hostility towards the little black dog became stronger.

If the little black dog was in other places in the village, he would immediately be discovered and tracked by the big yellow dog until he ran to the territory that the big yellow dog dared not set foot in, which was near Grandpa Li's house.

After a few times, the little black dog gradually realized that this area at the foot of the mountain was safe.

As the little black dog made a living around here, he inevitably came across Grandpa Li.

The little black dog is very smart and perceptive. It will not bother or approach humans unless they are asked to do so.

Grandpa Li and the little black dog did not interfere with each other. The little black dog did not come forward, and Grandpa Li did not drive away the puppy that was hiding in the hole in the courtyard wall.

[Grandpa Li isn't that scary. Did he deliberately leave the hole unsealed?]

【The elderly are quite nice.】

However, perhaps it was because of a period of peace that the little black dog developed an unnecessary misunderstanding.

When the old man came home again carrying water from the well, the little black dog greeted him happily, wagging its tail.

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Li frowned fiercely.

The audience who noticed this detail had a feeling something was wrong.

However, the little black dog seemed not to notice. It even tried to welcome the old man home with enthusiasm and joy. When it met the old man at the gate of the yard, Grandpa Li put down the shoulder pole and bucket.

"Woof!" The little black dog stood up on its legs, imitating the old man's previous movements, and put its two front legs on the gate and pushed forward with force.

It was trying to push the door open for the old man.

It was also trying its best to please the old man in front of it.

The puppy finally pushed the door open, and before he could even claim credit, he was met with a cold shout: "Go!"

The little black dog looked at the old man with wet eyes, as if it didn't understand what was going on, and barked softly.

"Go away." The old man raised his hand and made an obvious gesture of driving him away.

The little black dog understood something, but seemed unwilling to believe it. It whimpered and took a half step back, but in the end it moved forward again. It had not given up yet.

He lifted his feet and carefully pulled up the old man's trouser legs, all his claws carefully tucked into his pads, and a pitiful groan came from his throat.

It not only makes the audience feel that the pets are cute, but also makes the audience feel sad when watching the puppies trying hard to sell themselves.

[Grandpa Li probably doesn't dislike the little black dog, so why not just take it in?]

【It’s really nice to have a dog and a person as companions. 】

Under the expectant gaze of the audience, Grandpa Li bent down and slowly extended his hand.

"Woo." The little black dog was also looking forward to it, with bright eyes. He raised his head desperately, hoping to rub his head into the warm palm sooner.

Grandpa Li's palm brushed past the little black dog's head and fell to the ground below, where there was a stone.

After picking up the stone, Grandpa Li mercilessly threw the little black dog that was hooked on his trouser leg away. He narrowed his eyes in the direction of the little black dog, waved the stone in his hand threateningly, and said in a hoarse tone that had not been spoken for a long time: "Go, go."

"Woof!" The little black dog circled anxiously but refused to leave.

"Bang" the stone fell beside the little black dog. It was obvious that the little black dog was frightened and jumped up from the spot.

“Woo…”

There was another "bang" and the wooden door slammed shut, blocking the little black dog and its whimpering outside.

This door was just pushed open by the little black dog.

[Shouldn't the normal plot be to just adopt the puppy?! ]

[Oh my god, I take back my praise. What a wicked old man! He even threw a rock at a puppy.]

【You don’t have to love me, but please don’t hurt me. 】

The film critics raised their eyebrows, knowing that Huan Xu was probably trying to criticize first before praising.

The question is how to make up for it and regain the audience's favor for the protagonist.

If used well, the idea of ​​first criticizing and then praising can be the key point; if used poorly, it can be digging one's own grave.

The audience's anger was not over yet.

The little black dog did not leave just because the stone was thrown at it. It was very persistent and cheerful.

Even if they are treated coldly, a new day will always greet humanity with full enthusiasm.

Even if Grandpa Li did not accept it, it automatically assumed the responsibility of guarding the house.

Grandpa Li looked at the puppy wagging its tail at the door and secretly observed him through the crack in the door, and became even more silent.

Finally one day, he stopped using stones to scare and drive away the little black dog.

Just when the audience and the little black dog thought the old man had softened, the old man found a scraper and cement. He wanted to repair the courtyard wall and block the small hole where the little black dog had gotten up.

After dark, the little black dog came back from foraging and circled around the wall, but could not find the familiar hole.

Its home was gone again. Well, that hole never belonged to it in the first place. It was stolen and shamelessly occupied by it.

In the setting sun, the little black dog's ears drooped and its bright eyes dimmed again.

The little black dog whimpered for the last time, as if saying goodbye. Under the setting sun, the little black dog turned and left, walking very slowly, as if waiting for someone to call him. As long as there was a call, he would definitely stop, forget all the betrayal and abandonment, and throw himself into the arms of humans without hesitation.

But... no.

The little black dog disappeared into the mountains. The village was the territory of the big yellow dog, and the humans at the foot of the mountain didn't like it either. Its only way out was in the mountains.

Xiao Hei is gone. Ahhh, he's still a child. How can he survive in the mountains?

[Old Li, what on earth are you doing?]

Old man Li sat in the yard, weaving bamboo baskets in the dark.

After one night, there were several new bamboo baskets in the yard.

Before daybreak, Old Man Li carried the basket on a shoulder pole and went out in the dark, leaning on a cane.

There were also other villagers who occasionally went out in groups of three or five, but the old man was alone.

Their destination was the same: a market at the other end of the mountain, at the junction with other villages, which took more than half an hour to walk along the mountain road.

There is a big market on the main road here every Wednesday. Outside vendors come on tricycles or drive small trucks to sell all kinds of things, and some villagers come to sell their own goods - chickens, ducks, fish, eggs or seasonal vegetables.

Old man Li found a corner to set up a stall and sold the bamboo baskets he wove.

Back in the village, without the noisy barking of dogs, Old Man Li seemed a little uncomfortable for a moment. He paused for a moment, then quickly quickened his pace and returned to the yard.

The days passed by uneventfully and quickly. Xiaohe Village was still Xiaohe Village, Old Man Li was still the ferocious and weirdo, and the little black dog disappeared from Xiaohe Village.

But the audience knows that Xiao Hei is still struggling to survive in the back mountains. After a few months, maybe it’s time to call it Da Hei.

There is a winding stream at the foot of the mountain. Occasionally, Dahei comes here to drink water. From a distance, you can see that the puppy has grown up, but he is thinner and more miserable.

It seems that because it was abandoned and rejected by humans twice, it has become introverted and timid. When it sees human traces from afar, it will immediately run back to the mountains.

Experienced film critics know that the foreshadowing is almost complete and a turning point is expected next.

Sure enough, it was another market day. Old man Li, who was selling bamboo baskets in the corner, was silently fiddling with his stall like a sculpture. Suddenly, he looked up and looked at two young men from the neighboring village who were standing not far away and talking.

One of them had dyed yellow hair and the other wore a flowered shirt. They were two little hooligans from the neighboring Xin'an Village.

"Damn it, your pockets are cleaner than your face. My mouth has lost its flavor. Damn, whose meatballs are so fragrant that they keep coming into my nose? Don't you know I'm hungry? You have no sense at all."

"Who isn't? I'm even worse off than you. When we were stewing meat at home, the eldest, the second, and even the little beast the old man raised had bones, but I didn't even get to taste any meat."

"I went to the old man to ask for an explanation, but I almost got beaten up. I asked him, 'How can a little beast guard the house? I'm useless. Damn it, I'm not even as good as a beast.'"

As he spoke, the yellow-haired man's eyes suddenly turned, and he said in a mean tone: "Speaking of little beasts, I really thought of a way to satisfy my hunger."

The two of them whispered to each other and laughed maliciously.

[God damn it, they actually set their sights on Dahei.]

[Old man Li, did you hear that, Old man Li?!]

Old man Li heard it, and the man in the flowered shirt and the yellow-haired man also noticed the old man's eavesdropping, but they were not afraid of the old man.

They are the village bullies, and they should be afraid of a blind old man.

The yellow-haired man waved his fist and threatened: "Old man, if you dare to tell anyone, you're done."

Old man Li lowered his head silently. The flowered shirt glanced at him and didn't take him seriously: "Let's go."

Old man Li's cowardly look made the audience feel suffocated again.

[He hits Xiao Hei hard, but is submissive to the thugs.]

[You didn't save yourself, but told others instead. You're so sincere. I'm impressed.]

The moon is above the branches, and the dark sky is dotted with stars.

There was a burst of dog barking in the forest, and two black shadows approached the black dog from the front and back.

The skinny black dog barked arrogantly, with helplessness in its eyes.

The demon showed no mercy. The iron rake came closer and closer. Every time it fell, it was like the scythe wielded by the god of death. The black dog's resistance only aroused the demon's sinful pleasure:

"Good boy, come here, be obedient and I'll give you a quick death, otherwise you'll be the one who suffers."

There were several wounds on the black dog's body and blood was flowing.

Just as the man in the flowered shirt raised his pickaxe again to attack the big black head, he suddenly heard footsteps and a light approaching, and the old man's hoarse and angry voice rang out in the woods: "Stop!"

The old man's voice exploded in the forest. The yellow-haired man and the man in the flowered shirt were startled and instinctively retreated. The rescued Dahei groaned and quickly moved away from the two of them, running towards Grandpa Li, like a child who finally found his parents.

However, the man in the flowered shirt and the yellow-haired girl reacted quickly.

There was only one person, and it was an old man's voice. There was no need to be afraid of him.

Looking in the direction of the fire, isn’t that the one-eyed old man from this morning?

"Old man, are you looking for death?"

"Why don't you get out of here?" Old man Li's attitude angered the two guilty thugs. The yellow-haired one rolled up his sleeves and was ready to teach the old man a lesson, and then kill the little beast hiding behind the old man in front of everyone.

However, before the yellow-haired man and the man in the flowered shirt could make any move, Old Man Li rolled up his sleeves, raised his hand, and dropped the flashlight on the grass. The insects with spread wings at the light source flew towards the light without fear of life or death, and he swung his crutch and smashed it down hard.

It doesn't matter if you can't see clearly, a general idea is enough, not to mention that the black dog can help, barking to remind Old Man Li.

The crutch came down hard and fast. Although Old Man Li was thin, he was very strong. An old man faced two young men and beat them until they screamed.

"Fuck, it hurts so much, please stop, uncle, grandpa, ancestor, please stop."

"If someone dies again, we know we are wrong."

Who is the uncle? Old man Li has no nephew anyway.

The old man was blind and deaf, so he pretended not to hear anything even if he heard it. He kept swinging his cane, which fell down with a sound of breaking wind, hitting the two thugs.

The old man beat them and scolded them: "I'm so greedy that I haven't eaten meat for a long time. I'll beat you to death so that I can make soup with you."

Combined with the hideous scars on the old man's face, it really looks like that.

Two little hooligans who have watched too many Young and Dangerous movies: "......?!" Aaaaaa, the perverted murderer in the mountain village is going to die!

The two gangsters didn't dare to look back and ran away in a hurry. Old man Li sat on the grass, gasping for breath.

The smell of blood came, and the old man had wounds of varying lengths on his arms and legs. Compared to crutches, the two thugs had iron-headed farm tools in their hands.

The black dog smelled the smell of blood and circled around Old Man Li anxiously, sticking out his tongue to lick it, but was coldly pushed away by Old Man Li again.

The commotion on the mountain was quite loud, which naturally alarmed the villagers.

Dahei glanced at the old man and said, "Woof!"

Then he spread his limbs and ran down the mountain, not caring about the big yellow dog over there that might bite him to death.

Before Dahei could go down the mountain to look for someone, men from the village came looking for him.

The old man refused the help of the villagers, and returned home without saying a word, leaning on his crutches.

Dahei followed Old Man Li a few meters away, not daring to go forward, nor leaving, until he sent the old man to the yard.

The courtyard gate was closed, and Dahei huddled together beside the gate, licking the wounds on his body. From time to time, he looked up into the courtyard, his big eyes filled with worry.

After Old Man Li in the main room simply treated the wound, he did not turn on the light. Instead, he took iodine and gauze, and opened the courtyard door again with a hideous old face.

"Woof!" The moment he saw Old Man Li, Dahei stood up, forgetting the old man's cold face and the injuries on his body, and wagging his tail.

Looking at Dahei with a stupid look on his face, Old Man Li squatted down and applied iodine on the puppy with a fierce and not at all gentle movement, and then wrapped it with two rounds of bandages.

The gate was closed again. Old Man Li still didn't let it in, but he didn't drive it away either.

The next day, two broken bowls with chips appeared at the foot of the wall outside the door. One bowl contained more water, and the other bowl contained a steamed bun or some noodles every day.

The audience only then realized: [Awesome, your uncle is worthy of being your uncle, he is a ruthless man but doesn't talk much.]

Old Man Li saved Xiao Hei, and I'm very grateful, but I also remember him throwing a rock at Xiao Hei.

Looking back, although Old Man Li threw rocks, he never hit the dog once, and he never called it a "beast" when he chased it away. I suddenly feel that Grandpa Li might be more gentle than I imagined. I believe he had his own reasons for rejecting Xiao Hei.

[The following plot should be explained. ]

Many families heard the noise in the back mountain last night. While taking a break in the fields, everyone started discussing that two hooligans from the neighboring village came to the village to steal dogs. Regardless of whether they were their own dogs or not, they were despised and scorned by the villagers.

"If these little thieves dare to come to Xiaohe Village again, I will break their dog legs."

After scolding the two little hooligans, the topic unconsciously turned to Old Li, and the audience only then learned that Old Li's name was Li Shu.

A tanned middle-aged man sat by the edge of a field, rolling a welding cigarette in his rough, calloused hands, and lamented to his children:

"Li Shu, you youngsters don't know this, but he's actually a pretty good guy. We were deskmates in elementary school. He was a good student with a good temper, and he even explained homework to me. But I'm not very smart. Alas, fate is so cruel, it's such a pity for him..."

It was obvious that there was something hidden, but fortunately the man's son gossiped about Old Man Li's past for the audience.

Of course, some viewers were surprised by the information revealed by the middle-aged man. Although he did not look young, he was still an uncle.

So, Uncle Shu is the real uncle, not Grandpa Li?

[Uncle looks at least twenty years older than his peers.]

The film critics nodded secretly. Having just reversed the impression of the protagonist with an event, he immediately brought out the ups and downs and changes in his life experience to arouse the audience's curiosity. Director Huan was as steady as ever in character creation in his works.

Not only the audience didn't believe it, but the middle-aged man's children also didn't believe it: "Dad, please tell me more."

"Okay, tell me then. It's a long story, and I heard some of it from others."

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