Perfumery

71-80

Chapter 71 Sister Returns Home

Aunt Bai squeezed in the crowd, and felt that the people rushing in from all directions almost crushed her. Her outstretched arm seemed to be hit by someone, and the hand holding Lady Xia suddenly loosened. She was so scared that she screamed and hurriedly looked in the direction of Lady Xia. She was small, and only saw a figure of Qiuxiang. She hurriedly squeezed over and took Lady Xia's hand again.

Lady Xia looked back at her, her mouth moved, and she couldn't hear what she said , but it was basically telling her to follow.

The hand that was held struggled for a few times, and Aunt Bai held it tightly, and she didn't dare to let go. Seeing the huge crowd, she lost her mood to play, and just followed closely, letting the crowd push her around and go with the flow.

After walking for a while, they finally broke through the crowd and came to a quieter place outside the temple.

"What are you doing holding my hand?" A voice of displeasure and coquettishness rang out.

Aunt Bai raised her head suddenly and found that there was a young lady standing next to her wearing the same autumn-colored dress, with red lips and white teeth, but she was not Miss Xia, and her hand was still tightly holding the other person's. Aunt Bai's head suddenly buzzed and she was completely confused.

The young lady took advantage of her distraction and pulled back her hand. Seeing that her hand was wet and full of sweat, she took out her handkerchief in disgust, wiped it, and scolded her again with dissatisfaction, "What a jerk you are. Why are you holding my hand? If I didn't see that you are also a young lady, I would have thought I met a pervert! "

"Daughter, what's wrong?" There was a burly woman standing next to her. She pulled her over and looked at Mrs. Bai suspiciously.

"She just kept holding my hand!"

The woman said, "Why didn't you shake her off earlier?" The

young lady nodded a few times, blushed, and didn't say anything.

"Where is Mrs. Xia?" Mrs. Bai was terrified, her eyes widened like copper bells.

"What Mrs. Xia? I don't know." The young lady was a little embarrassed and angry, and her tone became worse.

The woman immediately realized what was going on. She glared at her daughter in a warning. She felt sorry for the young lady in front of her, but she was afraid of getting into trouble. She hardened her heart and took her daughter away. They walked hurriedly and disappeared in the crowd in a blink of an eye. Mrs. Bai

followed them subconsciously for a few steps, and then realized that she was surrounded by a huge crowd. Fear went through her limbs and reached her heart. It was as if someone had poured a basin of cold water on her head and nailed her to the spot. She looked around and saw unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar environment. She couldn't even find the direction she came from.

Aunt Bai cried anxiously and called "Mrs. Xia" several times, but was drowned out by the noisy voices. waited She for a while, but no one came to look for her. She stumbled a few steps, but she didn't realize that she was walking farther and farther away and had already circled behind the Big Buddha Temple. It was

not until the sun set that pedestrians dispersed and there were fewer people to disturb her. Aunt Bai finally managed to identify the direction she came from. She hurried back to the front of the temple, but even the vendors had to go home.

Someone saw that she was alone, and no matter what their intentions were, they came up to talk to her. As soon as they called out "Mrs. Xia", they saw the other party running away as if they had seen a ghost.

Mrs. Bai had never talked to a man alone. In her opinion, everyone around her had a malicious look on their faces. She was scared and panicked, so she ran without thinking.

Mrs. Bai could now vaguely distinguish the direction from which she came. She even had the crazy idea of ​​running back, so she ran without caring about anything. It was not until the sky became darker that she realized how stupid she was. She took a few steps and fell. Her legs seemed to be filled with lead. Looking at the shadows around her, she trembled and burst into tears.

She fell to the ground and cried for a long time. She had no choice but to get up again. Seeing the last bit of light, it also fell down the mountain. Mrs. Bai barely recognized the direction and walked towards a certain place with difficulty according to her memory of the way she came.

After walking for more than half an hour, the outline of a dark house appeared in front of them. Aunt Bai laughed and cried, and said repeatedly: "Thank God, I finally found this temple. Let me stay here for one night. When I return home tomorrow, I will ask my brothers to come and burn incense and fulfill my wishes."

The temple she was talking about was just an abandoned land temple that she saw when she passed by on the way here. Mother Zhao told the story of this dilapidated temple in vivid detail, saying that the land god here had offended a certain immortal and was dismissed. Anyone who came here to burn incense would have their wishes dashed, so the temple was later abandoned.

Seeing the ruined temple was like seeing a rope when falling into the abyss. She didn't care about the legends of gods and ghosts. She stumbled in. The temple was in ruins. A gust of wind blew through the holes in the wall, blowing out a smell of earth.

Aunt Bai hid in the innermost part, sat on the ground, curled up, stared at the sky outside, and started to cry again, but she didn't dare to cry out loud, for fear of attracting some wild beasts.

She hid for a while in fear, because she was more and more tired after traveling all day. She forced her eyelids to open, but her eyes were staring and lifeless.

At this moment, a series of dragging footsteps came from outside, approaching step by step. Aunt Bai's face was pale, tears in her eyes, and she struggled to take a few steps back. She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run except the main gate.

A dark figure appeared at the door. Aunt Bai's vision was blurred. She could only see ragged clothes and unkempt hair. Although there was still a distance between them, she could already smell a foul odor. It was a beggar!

Aunt Bai's heart was filled with despair. She imagined what might happen to her and really wanted to die immediately.

The beggar was also stunned when he saw someone in the broken temple. He stood there without moving, looked up and down at the shivering little girl, said nothing, turned around and went out again. After walking two steps, he wanted to find another place, but he couldn't bear it, so he crossed his legs and sat at the door not too far away.

Aunt Bai said goodbye to her family in her heart, but she saw the man go out in the end. She was stunned for a moment. The man did not really leave. With the moonlight, she could see a shadow like a tree stump blocking the door. If the man had rushed in, Aunt Bai would have been mentally prepared. The worst that could happen was a fight to the death. But the other party retreated and just stood at the door. With a turn and hope, Aunt Bai almost collapsed.

She was worried all night until the sky turned pale . The man did not step into the temple again. Aunt Bai knew that she had met a good person. She bravely stood up and staggered to the door. The person sitting at the door stretched and stood up at the same time.

Mrs. White was startled and almost stuck to the door frame. The man looked at her, made way for the door, and walked away slowly.

Mrs. White only had time to look at him once, remembering his resolute chin and a pair of bright eyes.

She was grateful and ran as fast as she could until she ran to the right road and met the man. She was relieved and felt as if she had lived her life again.

Mrs. Bai didn't dare to take the bus, not because she didn't want to spend money, but because she was alone and was afraid that she would be taken away after getting on the bus. It was really a difficult journey, but she fell at the last one. She asked people while walking. Fortunately, she remembered where she lived. After walking for most of the day, she actually walked back to West Street. Looking at the bustling crowd, she finally put half of her heart back in her stomach, and her feet moved faster. She never knew that she had so much strength in her body.

...

At the Bai family, everyone was depressed and sad, and they didn't sleep all night.

Bai Xin almost counted with his eyes closed, and finally waited until dawn. He got up without saying a word, put on his clothes in a hurry, and met his eldest brother when he walked out of the room. Both of them looked pale.

"I told my mother. When she wakes up, let her tell us that we have gone out to look for her." Dalang's voice was lifeless, showing his fatigue.

Bai Xin nodded, and the two of them went out side by side without saying a word. They had not taken a few steps when they were stopped by a carriage.

The curtain was opened, and a familiar face appeared from the back. Cheng Wenren said with a little concern: "I went to look for you yesterday afternoon. I heard that your eldest sister was missing. Have you found her?"

Bai Xin shook his head with a gloomy face.

Seeing that he left so early and didn't push his usual truck, Cheng Wenren actually guessed it, "Where do you want to look for it? Take my carriage, it's much faster than the car you call outside."

At this point, Bai Xin couldn't pretend anymore. He hurriedly thanked him and climbed into the car with his elder brother, "Let's go to the Big Buddha Temple."

Cheng Wenren couldn't help frowning when he heard that they were going to the Big Buddha Temple. It was outside the city and there was a secluded road in the middle.

Along the way, the car was unusually silent . Cheng Wenren knew that Bai Xin was anxious, so he didn't say a word.

Today, there were not many people in the Big Buddha Temple. Compared with yesterday, it seemed deserted. Bai Xin ran to the temple to ask again, and searched around a few times, but still found nothing.

Bai Xin was in agony. Another day was about to end, and his hope was getting slimmer. At this moment, a donkey cart slowly drove over. In the cart sat Xia's mother. When she saw Bai Xin, she shouted enthusiastically with a big smile on her face, "Sanlang Bai, go home quickly, your elder sister went back by herself."

She said it with full confidence, as if she had made a great contribution to Bai's mother's return home. After she finished speaking, she noticed Cheng Wenren standing with Bai Xin. Seeing that this man was tall and handsome, wearing gold and silver, his eyes were like two candles, staring at him closely.

Bai Xin was a little bit unconvinced of the good news that came out of the blue. He rushed forward and asked loudly, "Is it true? My elder sister has really gone back?"

Mother Xia was still looking at Cheng Wenren, and said absentmindedly, "Well... really... yes, she has gone back."

Bai Daluo laughed and cried, wiping his tears.

Bai Xin didn't know what to do next . Cheng Wenren grabbed him and said in a soothing voice, "Congratulations, go home quickly."

Bai Xin was pulled into the carriage by Cheng Wenren. He felt dizzy and a little unreal. Until his butt touched the soft cushion, he asked blankly , "Did she really say that my elder sister went home?"

Cheng Wenren smiled and nodded, patted his back, "Yes, your elder sister went home."

Mother Xia was so envious of the luxurious carriage that she paid the fare and secretly sent away the donkey cart that brought her here.

The driver refused to give in and was stopped by her, shouting: "The price we agreed on is for a round trip. You changed your mind at the last minute and only went there without coming back. It's not half of the price. You should at least give me another five cents."

Seeing that the carriage was about to leave, Mother Xia didn't care about the pain. She quickly took out five cents and stuffed it into the other party, and climbed onto the carriage in two steps.

Cheng Wenren saw that this person was here to deliver a letter, and it was not easy to stop her, so he had to acquiesce to her.

As soon as Mother Xia got on, she chattered non-stop, asking about Cheng Wenren's identity in a roundabout way.

Before he found his eldest sister, Bai Xin had imagined countless times what it would be like when he found her. Now that he heard that his eldest sister had returned, he was afraid that it was just an illusion.

Until he got home, he stood at the door, looking at his elder sister who looked listless and haggard in the middle of the room. Bai Xin stood there, tears streaming down his face unconsciously.