Chapter 3 The Bracelet

, as wide as two fingers, pitch-black, without patterns, flat, I don't know what material it is made of. Zhang Xiaohua was waiting to take a closer look, when she heard Zhang Xiaolong's joyful voice from down the slope; "Xiaohua, come quickly, there is something to look forward to." Zhang Xiaohua jumped up happily after hearing this, and didn't bother to look at this pick-up again. He carried the bracelet in his arms, picked up the hoe and slid down the hillside, not noticing the lightness when he was holding the bracelet just now.

When Zhang Xiaohua ran to the bottom of the slope, what she saw were the smiles on the faces of Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu, and Zhang Cai's slightly bitter face. Hearing what Zhang Xiaolong said, I realized that the bottom of the well is not a layer of stones, and the stones are not too big, as long as the wellhead is enlarged, the stones can be removed, but the length of this expansion is at least three steps

At this time, the sun was hanging high in the sky, and it was past noon. But because the well has been dug deep, nothing can be seen at the bottom of the well, and it is all illuminated by an oil lamp brought down the well. Zhang Xiaohua's face showed no determination in the flickering light. He thought for a moment, then raised his hoe and dug in one direction, "Dang, Dang..." The sound continued, and he changed several directions, but also The same is true, this... but what to do, it seems that it is really the end of the mountain.

Zhang Xiaohua wanted to give up a little bit, so let's go up first, and wait until the mouth of the well is enlarged, and then take a look. But my mother hasn't delivered the food yet, why don't I dig it from the bottom first? After thinking about it, Zhang Xiaohua didn't stop, and then from the waist-deep place in front of her, she found a direction and dug there. While digging, she suddenly heard another "bang" sound, and Xiaohua couldn't help being startled, was it another stone? But then there was another hoe, but there was no sound. Zhang Xiaohua was surprised, but she didn't think much about it, maybe it was a small stone, as long as it wasn't a big stone. After digging about one step forward, Zhang Xiaohua tried to dig down again, expecting in her heart not to hear any annoying voices, but in the end he was not much comforted, the stone was also under the step in this direction.

Just when Zhang Xiaohua was about to take a rest and change direction again, Zhang Xiaolong's voice came from above, "Xiaohua, come up to eat quickly, mother is here to bring food." Zhang Xiaohua was pulled up from the well by the elder brother, looked at Zhang Xiaohua's face, Zhang Xiaolong didn't ask any more questions, just brought him food and watched him gobble it up. Then he said consolingly, "It's okay, Xiaohua, this place is not good, should we go to another place, the hillside is so big, there must be a place where we can dig a well."

After eating, Zhang Xiaohua's face obviously improved a lot, and she seemed no longer gloomy. Seeing the well digger go down the well, she smiled and said to Zhang Xiaolong: "I see, brother, I'll go up to the field to have a look. Come again." Zhang Xiaolong patted Zhang Xiaohua on the shoulder, without saying anything, walked away with an empty bamboo basket.

Zhang Xiaohua carried her hoe up the hillside, and came to her decent field, put the hoe aside, and sat on the ground, looking helplessly at the land that could not be watered, thinking Do you want to carry water from the river by yourself in the future? When his eyes fell on the hoe, he found that there was a piece of mud on the hoe, which was probably brought up when he was digging underground just now. Zhang Xiaohua rubbed her foot on the hoe, but it didn't come off. He brought the hoe over, cleaned the mud with his hands, and found that there was a round thing on the hoe, and it was still stuck tightly. Zhang Xiaohua tilted her head and thought for a while, probably when she was digging in the well just now, that The sound of "boom" is the sound of the hoe digging into the ring. No wonder there was no sound anymore, it turned out that the quilt was put on the hoe. Zhang Xiaohua wanted to get the ring off the hoe, but she tried to pry it with a branch, and tapped it lightly on a stone, but it didn't work. If you knock it hard on the stone, you may be able to get it off, but there is no guarantee that it will not be broken. You can't go down the well to dig soil with this thing, Zhang Xiaohua is a little helpless again. In the end, Zhang Xiaohua made up her mind, raised the hoe with half her strength and knocked it on the stone, and heard a "bang", the ring was not broken, and the hoe didn't come off.

It was also Zhang Xiaohua who exerted all her strength, knocked it down several times, and finally got it off. The inexplicable ring was not broken, and it seemed to be very strong.

Zhang Xiaohua picked up the ring and wiped off the dirt on it with her clothes. Then she saw clearly that it should be a bracelet, about two fingers wide, pitch-black, without patterns, flat, and I don't know what material it is made of. become. Zhang Xiaohua was waiting to take a closer look when she heard Zhang Xiaolong's joyful voice from down the slope: "Xiaohua, come quickly, there is something to look forward to."

Zhang Xiaohua jumped up happily when she heard this, she didn't care to look at the bracelet she picked up again, she put it in her arms, picked up the hoe and slipped down the hillside, she didn't notice the light feeling when she was holding the bracelet just now.

When Zhang Xiaohua ran to the bottom of the slope, what she saw were the smiles on the faces of Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu, and Zhang Cai's slightly bitter face. Hearing what Zhang Xiaolong said, he realized that the bottom of the well is not a layer of stones, and the stones are not too big, as long as the mouth of the well is enlarged, the stones can be removed, but the length of this expansion is at least three steps. The larger the wellhead, the greater the amount of soil to be dug. Of course, it will take a long time, and the money for others will also be more. However, fortunately, there is no need to re-select a place, re-open the well, and no need to carry water to irrigate the ground, which can be regarded as a good result. Seeing the happy faces of the three children, Zhang Cai was the only one who was secretly worried. He hoped that such stones would not appear again in the future. If there were so many times, the well might not need to be dug again.

The work in the afternoon was simple. The well diggers re-measured the wellhead according to the size of the rocks, planned how to enlarge it, and dug the soil again. After such a small disturbance, everyone started working in an orderly manner.

Back home at night, after dinner, before going to bed on the kang, Zhang Xiaohua didn't even think about the bracelet in her bosom. It was only when he took off his clothes that it fell out and he remembered it. However, he was too sleepy after a long day of exhaustion, so he didn't think much about it, so he stuffed it under the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

This night, everything in the Zhang family was still the same as before, the oil lamp was extinguished early, and the fence door was shaken by the wind. The dead grass on the yellow mud wall was also blown up, waving weakly. Only the moonlight from the sky shines through the window on the dilapidated table and bedding, and everyone falls asleep. In the quiet night, there is only the sound of snoring one after another.

The only difference is Zhang Xiaohua, no, it should be Zhang Xiaohua's dream! His dream is no longer the pork belly before, but flashing everywhere! Like a kind of breathing, the brilliance flickers and flickers.

In the early morning of the next day, when the first rays of the rising sun shone on Zhang Xiaohua's face, Zhang Xiaohua opened her eyes. I looked around suspiciously, but didn't find anything flickering, and only then did I know that all the flickering was a dream. Shaking his head self-deprecatingly, he prepared to go back to sleep. However, only then did he realize that listening to the snoring of his two brothers, he seemed unable to fall asleep, and he was full of energy, so he had no choice but to get up and get dressed.

When Zhang Xiaohua walked to the yard, she saw her mother cooking on the stove in the yard, so she went to fetch water from the well in the corner to wash her face. Seeing Zhang Xiaohua coming out, Guo Sufei was very surprised, and said, "Xiaohua, why did you get up so early? I was tired all day yesterday, so let's sleep more today, I have to work for a while."

While fetching water, Zhang Xiaohua said, "I'm not going to sleep anymore, mother, I'm not sleepy anymore, and, you see, I've already rested, and now I'm full of strength, and I can crush that rock with a hoe. With that said, he put down the water basin and made a movement of hoeing the ground.

Guo Sufei smiled and said: "Okay, Xiao Hua is good, when she grows up, she will be the pillar of the family just like your father."

Zhang Xiaohua blushed and said, "Mom, I'm already this old, don't tell me to be obedient, it's so ugly."

While talking, Zhang Cai came back from the outside, holding a handful of vegetables in his hand, and asked, "Who has grown up? Why does Xiao Hua wake up so early? Don't sleep for a while."

Then he handed the green vegetables in his hand to Zhang Xiaohua's mother, and said: "Some of the grass in the vegetable garden has grown, and I have to pull it out when I have time. I have been busy with the well these days, so don't give our vegetables to her." It's gone wild."

Guo Sufei took Qingcai and said: "Don't you mean your son, it's the first time I got up so early today, and I will be a good hand at work in the future."

Guo Sufei continued cooking for the family, and Zhang Cai also entered the house. After Zhang Xiaohua washed her face and had nothing to do, she walked out of the yard.

Although it was still early and it was almost winter, the farmers couldn't stay idle, and there were already many people walking around in the village. Some drove ducks and geese to the river, some gathered grass from the river to feed chickens and pigs, and some had already carried hoes and were ready to go to the fields. Zhang Xiaohua walked on the small path in the village, feeling different today than before, and I can't tell the difference. She just felt energetic, with a feeling of inexhaustible strength, or that every part of her body contained strength. . But he didn't think too much about it, he just thought he had a good night's sleep last night. When Zhang Xiaohua came home, everyone had already started eating. He finished eating in a hurry, and went to dig the well with his father and brother.

The next few days were also stable, the surface of the well was enlarged, the stones were dug up from the bottom of the well, and the well was drilled deeper and deeper. When the piece was dug out, it looked flat and cold to the touch. Zhang Xiaohua asked her two elder brothers to take it under the tree at the head of the field. When preparing for the summer, it was used as a rest between work. couch. As for the bracelet, Zhang Xiaohua also kept it in the back of her mind, and put it under the pillow, completely forgetting it, but his dream had already been replaced by flashing pork belly, but he didn't realize it. arrive.

After another few days, there was still no water coming out of the well, and Zhang Cai was a little worried at this time. Seeing that winter is coming, the soil layer is about to freeze. Although the bottom of the well will not freeze, it is not so smooth to work. That night, after the family had finished eating, they had already gathered together to do farm work. Zhang Cai frowned and discussed with Guo Sufei that there would be no water at the bottom of the well in a few days.

At this time, Guo Sufei said: "My son's father, do you know that Mr. Wu's family in the neighboring village has also acquired a piece of land on the southern hillside?"

Zhang Cai said, "I don't know, but I heard that Nanpo is also digging wells."

Guo Sufei said: "That well was drilled by Mr. Wu's family. Just like us, it was also used to irrigate the fields. Today I went to the river to pull weeds to feed the chickens, and I met Guo Quan's family at the entrance of the village. Her sister-in-law is not married. Did you give it to Mr. Wu's brother, guess what she said to me?"

"What are you talking about? Could it be that the well has already produced water?" Zhang Cai asked in surprise. "Didn't they drive later than us? The water came out so soon?"

"You just want to get out of the water soon, something more evil than getting out of the water!" Guo Sufei said angrily.

"Hey, what is that?" Not only Zhang Cai was attracted, but the curiosity of the three brothers of the Zhang family was also aroused.

"They dug a well and dug out a small broken box!" Guo Sufei went on to say, "When the box was dug out of the well, it was broken by a hoe, revealing the contents inside. Although it was covered with mud, it could still be seen clearly. The pearl and agate inside! Tell me, why didn’t we have such good luck, we hit the biggest broken stone earlier than they did.”

Just when the family was lamenting about the fortune of Mr. Wu's family, Zhang Xiaohua remembered what she also dug out of the well. He said excitedly, "Father, mother, I also dug out the treasure from the well." Under the urging and eager eyes of his family, he took out the forgotten bracelet from under the quilt.

Zhang Cai took it, took it under the oil lamp and watched it carefully, and saw that it was a black, flat object made of unknown material. It is more appropriate to call it an iron ring than a bracelet. He couldn't see why, so he handed it to Guo Sufei. Guo Sufei took it, weighed it first, rubbed it with his fingers for a while, and said, "It's so light, it doesn't look like it's made of jade, and there are no patterns. I guess it's nothing." Jewelry. It looks like something from a child's house, Xiaohua, you can play with it." Zhang Xiaohua took it in a moody manner, and handed it to the two brothers, as if it was his fault that he didn't dig out the pearl and agate.

The bracelet was twirled in the hands of the two elder brothers, and then passed to Zhang Xiaohua. It seemed that no one was very interested in this ugly thing, so Xiaohua had no choice but to put it in her arms again.

Guo Sufei went on to say: "Well, if it's really a good piece of jewelry, I might consider keeping it as a betrothal gift when I match your elder brother in spring."

This time, the family's emotions were ignited again. After the beginning of spring, Zhang Xiaolong will be in his twenties, and it's time to find a girl to settle down. Based on their own impressions, the family began to argue with Zhang Xiaolong one by one. When the oil lamp was extinguished, the whole family was still full of thoughts, but for tomorrow's well digging and farm work, they all had to sleep on the kang.

Before going to bed, Zhang Xiaohua took out the bracelet from her bosom, and was about to put it under the quilt again, but then she thought again, what Mr. Wu dug up from the ground was a treasure, and mine was also a treasure, so I had to keep it well . But where to put it? After thinking for a while, he put the bracelet on his wrist. What a coincidence, it fit snugly against his wrist. When he waved his arm, the bracelet wouldn't slide up and down. Zhang Xiaohua was secretly delighted, this was simply tailor-made for him.

Until he fell asleep, he didn't think about how he would slip through his wrist if it fit so well with no gaps. Not to mention that the pork belly in his dream every night is long gone, only the infinite flickering in his mind.

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