Chapter 149 The Orphan of the Zhao Family

The rain was thick and the sky and water were connected. As soon as it rained, Yunwu Village entered winter.

Even if it rained, it would not affect the villagers' good mood for watching the opera. A stage was set up at the entrance of the village committee, and visitors could sit in the corridor without getting wet. The elderly who were afraid of the cold used iron wire to fasten the iron basin, spread a layer of ash on the bottom, and put a few scarlet charcoals on it. Cover it with ash, and put one or two green steel charcoals around it, so that they could hold on until the end of the opera.

Liang Jingxuan crouched at the door holding the little rabbit. Rainwater gathered at the corner of the eaves and poured down along with the rain, soon digging a big puddle on the ground. Lu Sui went to the brick factory. There were government officials who came to conduct a surprise inspection on safety issues. Liang Jingxuan wanted to go, but it was raining heavily, so Lu Sui didn't let him go.

Song Huizi was chatting with Aunt Zhang in the living room. They both disliked rainy days because it was inconvenient to travel and they were always soaking wet. But they would go to see a play even if it was raining, not to mention knives.

Aunt Zhang had been here for more than two hours, but she hadn't seen Lu Jun. In the past, whenever she came, Lu Jun was always afraid that she would say something bad about him, so he would stare at her closely.

"Where's the Army? Is he playing mahjong or taking a nap?"

Song Huizi gets angry when she talks about this. "He went to play mahjong before dawn. He has been like this for the past few days. Xiao Sui brought him breakfast... I am so angry. If it hadn't been raining, I would have gone to the mahjong room and overturned the mahjong table!"

"You just have too good a temper. Beat him to death once, do you think he will dare to do it again? Look at Zhang Bing, he drank a lot in the early years. Once he was drunk, I put a kitchen knife to his neck, and he never dared to drink again!"

Aunt Zhang's name was Zhang Yunqiao. She was from Zhangjiazhuang in the next town. When she was young, she was a beauty. There was no girl prettier than her in the whole town.

There is a bridge in Zhangjiazhuang, and beautiful girls with hot tempers are called bridgeheads. It roughly means that they can suppress and control men.

Aunt Zhang has been married for so many years and has managed Zhang Bing very well. Lu Jun is a troublemaker who always gives Zhang Bing bad advice.

Every time he was beaten up by Aunt Zhang before he could do anything. Zhang Bing was beaten, and Lu Jun hid in the pig pen with Liang Jingxuan in his arms. He thought that if Aunt Zhang came to settle accounts with him, he would use Liang Jingxuan to block her.

In the end, Aunt Zhang did not come, but Song Huizi came, who picked up a broom and hit him. Liang Jingxuan was afraid that he would be hit, so he ran to the living room with his head in his hands. No matter how much the army shouted for help, they did not save him. He was stupid, but he still knew who was the boss in the family.

The little rabbits in the living room were having fun, jumping and running around. The army's cigarette stick was placed on the coffee table and almost fell. Song Huizi wrapped it in newspaper and put it in the drawer.

Aunt Zhang teased her while chewing melon seeds, "I can see that you just can't bear to fight in the army! If it was when you were young, I could understand why you couldn't bear to fight, after all, his appearance was still good, but he's old now, what's there to be reluctant about?"

Song Huizi had just swallowed the melon seeds, but after hearing her teasing, she choked them out and coughed several times, "Cough cough cough..."

"Hey, slow down!" Aunt Zhang said to her.

"Aunt, what's wrong with you?" Liang Jingxuan ran in holding a rabbit.

"It's okay, I just got bitten..." Song Huizi coughed until tears came out. The phone at home rang, Liang Jingxuan put down the little rabbit and answered it. It was Li Yu's grandmother calling.

"Xuanbao, the troupe is here, call your second aunt quickly, and remember your aunt Zhang, don't forget, you don't need to bring chairs, your grandfather and I will bring them for you."

"Okay, we'll be there right away!" Liang Jingxuan put down the receiver.

"Aunt, Aunt Zhang, Grandma said we can go now. The opera troupe is here!"

"So soon? I'll go home and get some more peanuts and melon seeds. Huizi, wait for me!" Aunt Zhang can't do without peanuts and melon seeds when watching a show.

"Okay, don't forget to lock the door."

"Remember!"

Song Huizi stroked the thickness of Liang Jingxuan's clothes, which were a bit thin. "Xuanbao, go to the room and put on the thick coat I bought you the other day. The corridor is drafty everywhere, and it will be even colder when it gets dark."

Liang Jingxuan pouted, "That one... doesn't have the bunny embroidered on it."

Song Huizi raised her hand and hooked his nose, "I'll embroider it for you when you come back!"

"Okay!" Liang Jingxuan picked up the little rabbit and ran upstairs.

When the three of them arrived, the seats were basically full. People from the whole village, young and old, with their families, packed the corridor. Fortunately, Li Yu's grandmother had saved a seat for them, otherwise they would have had to stand at the back to watch. Before the show started, there was a lot of noise under the stage. Once the show started, adults and children watched the show quietly and attentively.

The first play was "Wu Song Fights the Tiger". Although the tiger was played by a human, it was lifelike and extremely ferocious. The tiger's roar shocked the whole audience, and the children who were chatting in the audience were so scared that they dared not say a word.

Liang Jingxuan was wearing a white down jacket, holding a little rabbit, and leaning on Song Huizi's shoulder. He was not scared at all, and whispered in Song Huizi's ear, "Aunt, his roar doesn't sound like a tiger at all, but Uncle's roar does!"

Song Huizi smiled, but her smile froze in the middle of her smile. She looked around and found that the Army had not come. But when she arrived just now, she called the Army and the Army said they would come right away.

She thought she couldn't see it when she was sitting, so she stood up to look, but she still couldn't see it when she stood up. The people behind her were blocked by her and complained continuously, so she quickly apologized and sat down.

The play on stage ended, but she felt uneasy. The drums started beating like rain, and the play began again, but no one understood the first line of the song. Not even many people knew which play it was from.

"Xiao Qiu, what play is this?" Aunt Zhang asked Ma Qiu, who was sitting in the front and had attended junior high school.

Ma Qiu turned aside and said, "Sister-in-law, this is called "The Orphan of Zhao"!"

Song Huizi felt as if something heavy had suddenly hit her heart, causing her to feel a sharp pain.

"What is The Orphan of Zhao about?" Aunt Zhang asked again.

"It's about revenge. Generally, few people would play this role. It's not very auspicious..." Ma Qiu said in a low voice.

"It's not auspicious..." Song Huizi was worried.

"Yes, the first part talks about revenge, and the second part talks about humanity, loyalty and sacrifice... It's quite tragic and tragic..." After Ma Qiu finished speaking, Aunt Zhang became even more curious, "Give me a brief account!"

Ma Qiu continued, "It is about Zhao Dun, a high-ranking official of the Jin State during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was framed by the general Tu'an Jia, and his entire family of more than 300 people were slaughtered, leaving only an orphan alive. In order to preserve this last bloodline of the Zhao family, Cheng Ying and Gongsun Chujiu devised a plan..."

The darkness swallowed up half of Song Huizi's face. No one saw her wipe away the tears. She went to grab Liang Jingxuan woodenly, "Xuanbao, we don't want to watch anymore. Let's go home, go home quickly!"

The Liu family compound had not been cleaned for a long time. When it rained, the humidity became even heavier, and there was a slight smell of mold in the air. A few crows stood on the eaves, and water drops rolled down their feathers like eyeballs.

The wrinkled bed was covered with a faint yellow stain. Liu Guoqing's face was as thin as a skeleton, with only a layer of skin covering it. His hands, which were wrinkled and covered with age spots, tightly grasped the quilt covered with mold spots.

Last time I was frightened by a ghost, and now I can't sleep soundly even when I hear the sound of rain. I heard the door open in a daze. After a while, there was no sound again, so I closed my eyes.

Suddenly, a pungent smell of smoke woke him up. He opened his furrowed eyelids and turned sideways. Lu Jun, dressed in mourning clothes, was squatting in front of his bed, burning paper money. He looked to the side and saw Lu Chuan's black and white portrait on a chair.

When Liu Guoqing saw Lu Chuan's remains, he shouted, "Ah...ah...is there anyone...anyone here?!!!"

There were not many people living near the Liu family's home. Liu Ming went to the village committee to watch a play. The closest person, Mrs. Shao, was also deaf.

Liu Guoqing grabbed the quilt and crawled to the bedside, looking at the expressionless Lu Jun with a vicious look, "Lu Jun, it's you... it's you, right? I am like this now because of you... Do you know something? Or do you know everything..."

Lu Jun didn't say anything, but looked at him like an old wolf. How long had he waited for this day? Lu Sui was thirty this year. He was only seven when his elder brother Lu Chuan died, and it has been exactly twenty-three years now. Before leaving, he tore off today's calendar, which showed eight thousand three hundred and ninety-five days.

He carried the hatred of the murder of his brother, father, mother and son for twenty-three years. He grew old, and so did Liu Guoqing.

He ignored Liu Guoqing and continued to burn paper money. On the day his elder brother died, he was indeed gambling. He gambled from morning to night, and when he had only ten dollars left, he drew the best hand of cards in his life, a straight flush...

Looking at the Tonghuashun, he had already decided to buy Dong'e Ejiao for Song Huizi, a grass carp for Lu Sui, and a new set of clothes for his parents. He would give the remaining money to his eldest brother and he would never gamble again.

But before he could play his straight flush, he was stabbed from behind...