The Stairway to Immortality

The

carriage caravan was driving on the road in the woods, and Zhao Shiyu in the carriage sorted out the bamboo box, which contained a bamboo kettle, as well as a few changes of clothes, a small leather bag containing the dried hare meat dried by his mother and some dry food, and two pairs of straw sandals and cloth shoes given by Mo Lao at the bottom of the box.

"Dunzi, you get in the car and sleep, are you really a pig?" Xiao Chai pointed to the pier and smiled

, "You... You're the pig, you're swaying in the car, you're swaying, I'm sleepy, aren't you sleepy?" said Dunzi.

The old man outside the carport laughed and said, "Isn't this very good, little dolls, the road we walk is still long, sleep if you want to, stay in the car every day and be bored too much, it is a blessing to be able to fall asleep in the car."

Goudan climbed out of the carriage and looked at the old man and said, "Sir, why are you wearing an iron hat? Are you afraid that the birds in the sky will peck at your head?" "

Don't call me old man, just call me old man with an iron hat, this hat is a soldier's helmet, my son has worn it, he died on the battlefield, and when I see him, only this iron helmet is still intact, and his body has been trampled by war horses and people, hey..."

"I picked up the iron helmet and put it on my head, and when I thought about my son, I touched the helmet, and later learned that my son killed the enemy cavalry and took the helmet strap on his head, which is a kind of pride, but he is also dead," said the old man in the iron hat, touching the iron helmet.

Erwang interjected and asked, "Aren't you a convoy that walks outside all the year round, how can your child

go to the battlefield?" The old man in the iron hat was full of wrinkles, his clear eyes were recalled, he looked at the sky with a horsewhip in his hand and said, "I was rescued by Lao Zheng to get to today, we are good brothers in the same village, that day I wanted to wear a helmet and go with my son, have a reunion, and was about to seek death and be rescued by him, and then at his request, I followed the horse team, and I followed it like this until now."

Zhao Shiyu and Goudan also came over, "How many days have we been walking this way, Iron Hat Lao" Goudan squatted beside Iron Hat Lao and asked.

"It's going to take a year to get to Yue Kingdom, maybe half a year, maybe longer than I said, by the way, what's your name, little guys?" asked the old man in the iron hat.

"My name is Qian Ye, my name is Zhao Shiyu, his name is Zhao Zhan, the name next to you is Qian Liang, and the pig lying in the car is called Qian Yunli, all of which are the names given by Mo Lao" After the dog finished speaking, the pride was written on his face, and the partners all bowed their heads and laughed, leading the old man in the iron hat to laugh, and the dun zi had already fallen asleep, and the sound of snoring came out, everyone looked at the scenery and chatted, the old man in the iron hat was full of smiles, I haven't seen him so happy for a long time.

In the carriage of the first car at the front, Zheng Lao and the strong man sat facing each other, and there were several dishes of exquisite side dishes on a small table in the middle, and the two chatted while drinking, and they both had joyful smiles on their faces.

"Zheng Lao, your abacus is good, send the child outside as an apprentice, one person can earn more than a dozen taels of silver plus the money sent by Mo Lao, this business is really cost-effective, hahahaha" The big man picked up the wine jug and took a sip and said.

"Songtao, this time there are only two children, Goudan and Xiaochai, the boss promised a child to apprentice five ingots of silver to eight ingots of silver, we are getting the pass order from Zhao Shiyu Xiaowa, it will be more comfortable" Zheng Lao's shining eyes revealed the breath of gold and silver.

"I'm really with the right person, that piece of pass can be used in any country, that is, you can walk on the official road without fear of suppression by officers and soldiers, which makes us how many goods we can walk in a year, think about it and be happy" Songtao raised the pot again and drank it.

"You don't understand, this brand is worth thousands of gold in my eyes, with this brand, we can transport official copper and iron, as well as salt, that's a daily gold baby!"

Zheng Lao touched his beard and shook his head, and then the two laughed loudly, at this time, there is no need to say more, just be happy.

All the way to the scenery in full view, over the mountain and across the bridge that is Zhao Shiyu and his partners, never seen the scenery, accompanied by the iron hat always talked and laughed, gradually it was dark, Zheng Lao pointed to a piece of grass in the distance on the head car, the location is close to the official road, the terrain is relatively flat and suitable for camping, the caravan carriage walked out of a circle on this grass, the circle just let the head car and the tail car connect together, and the sunset Xishan day should also get off the car to carry out activities.

And when they all got out of the carriage, the coachman dismounted the horses and brought them to a grassy place, where the horses had rested and fed after a day's walk.

The bodyguards shouted and rushed into the woods, and Zhao Shiyu and their little brothers were quite dazed after getting out of the car, and they stayed in place in a daze and didn't know what to do.

The old man in the iron hat walked up to them, smiled and pointed in the direction of the dart masters entering the jungle and said, "They have gone to catch game, don't be stunned, go and help feed the horses, and collect some horse grass, you don't have to do the rest, okay go."

Zhao Shiyu and his friends took a sickle to cut the grass, fed the horses to eat some fresh grass, and after a while, the dart masters brought game and threw it on the ground, and then someone pulled out a few thick and long bamboo buckets from under the carriage and handed them to the dart master on the horse, and the dart master put the bamboo tube on the left and right sides of the horse's body, and then went to fetch water.

The people who stayed behind set up tents, packed food, cooked rice, and boiled water, all of which were done all year round, and this set was quickly completed.

The place around the carriage is just right, everyone in the convoy can eat and sleep in it, the dart masters come back, the bamboo tube is full of mountain spring water, the boiled water is poured into a large wooden basin, the dishes and chopsticks used for eating are poured into it and scalded, the water just brought into the pot is added with rice, and the boiled water is ready for the female family to use, for everyone to wash clothes or bathe.

It was completely dark, Zhao Shiyu and his five children had already fed the horses, several of them had been quick with their hands and feet since they were children, they did this work for a while, and the horses were fed and there was nothing to do, they fought and made trouble, and laughter echoed in the mountains from time to time, and the iron hat sat on the roof of the carriage shed and watched the children smoke, smiling from time to time, watching the children play and remembering a lot of the past.

The dishes at night are really rich, roasted hare and roasted venison, a pot full of meat stewed in the pot, another pot is full of rice aroma, and a few wild vegetables, everyone is eating and drinking together, talking and laughing.

Zheng Lao and Song Tao don't eat with everyone, they sit not far away, there are several plates of food on a square table, and the two are laughing and talking while eating.

Zhao Shiyu and his children shook off their cheeks and ate hard, they have never eaten so many vegetables when they are so old, the village is more bitter, and they may not eat rice during the New Year, but they also ate it today.

The old man in the iron hat sat next to them, holding a fat gourd in his hand, the gourd plug was pulled out, and the aroma of wine overflowed, a sip of wine, a mouthful of food, and then a puff of cigarettes, and he ate very happily.

The people sitting around were surprised to see the old man in the iron hat eating this way today, and asked one after another, "Old man in the iron hat, you drink, smoke, and eat vegetables today, this is a long time since you see it, why are you so happy today?" The old man

in the iron hat squinted and smiled, his face was red, and he burped and said, "I am happy to make the children amused, so naturally I want to drink some, eat and drink enough and have a good dream, hahaha, a good day." "

The meal had been eaten for a long time, when the wolf howled from the woods, and the horses neighed in fright.

"It's really annoying, this group of beasts is here to join in the fun, don't panic children, let's go and come" Song Tao finished speaking, got up and patted the soil on his buttocks, picked up a torch in his hand, followed by a dart master with a flat shovel in his hand, and a small iron kettle in the other hand, the dart masters collectively went out into several groups, and walked into the forest in the night, and it didn't take long for a big tree in the distance to suddenly catch fire, and then around the outside of the convoy rest area, a big tree was ignited, and the big trees in the distance were burning like a giant torch illuminating the surroundings.

The people in the camp hurriedly packed up the dishes and chopsticks, washed them and put them in the boxes, and the wolves were still howling around, and in the eyes of the caravans, they sang in unison in the distance like a choir.

The old man looked at the bonfire in front of him and said, "Don't be afraid, this is a common thing, the beasts are afraid of fire, light a few trees, dig a ditch from the fire around, you just have to sleep in peace, just let the beasts sing to you and put you to sleep." Five

children lay on the animal skin blanket, looking up at the sky and looking at the stars, sometimes occasionally looking up at the burning trees in the distance, there were people standing on the carport in all directions around the carriage to stand guard and guard, and it was very tiring to ride the car for a day, and Zhao Shiyu and his companions slowly fell asleep.

After eating and sleeping, the old man in the iron hat walked past the children, walked to his sleeping place, smoked a cigarette and went to sleep, the night was so quiet, the stars were twinkling in the sky, the lit trees were crackling, and the bonfire was still burning vigorously.

This night was peaceful, and at dawn, Zhao Shiyu got up as soon as he opened his eyes, kicked the dog with his foot, and shouted, "Qian Ye is up, if you don't get up, I will report your nickname, haha." "

Hey... Get up, this guy is more like a pig than I am, and the one who sleeps is called death," said Dunzi, sitting on the dog's ball.

"He's sleeping very deeply, so he won't wake up, I'll teach you how to wake him up, take care of it" Erwang sat on the dog's face with his ass, and then let out a loud fart.

The dog suddenly woke up, grabbed Erwang's thigh and pinched it fiercely, Erwang's thigh hurt, and he jumped up at once, he rubbed his leg in pain, and said with a wicked smile, "Good guy, you bastard, learn this trick from Xiaoya." The

dog scolded fiercely, "You little kings and eight lambs, there is no good bird, you wait" wiped his face vigorously, and when he turned around, he found that Xiao Chai was still asleep with his eyes closed and grinding his teeth.

The four of them pounced on Xiao Chai at once, and folded Xiao Chai back to Luohan, which made Xiao Chai breathless, followed by a burst of fighting.

The old man in the iron hat came over and said with a smile, "Eat the bastards, wake up and start to play, eat quickly and then get

in the car, we will set off" Breakfast is also very rich, for their five children, a pot of battered sweet potato porridge plus dried meat and pickles is the best breakfast, seeing the delicious appetite, pick up the bowl, pick up the chopsticks, eat big, after eating and drinking, the carriage has already been set, and everything in the camp is put into the car.

The convoy was shouted by Zheng Lao, and everyone responded to the horse-mounted car, and the children on the carriage were all around the old man with the iron hat, and the pier was asleep again, and the talkative and noisy dog egg said with a straw pole in his mouth, "The old man with the iron hat, the old man with the iron hat, do we eat so well every day?" The

old man in the iron hat replied with a smile, "When people are full, they have spirits, and when horses are full, they run fast, and our caravan has no designated residence, and we have been sleeping in the open for many years, and both men and horses must eat well and be full."

Zhao Shiyu's curiosity rose and he asked, "What should we do on a rainy day?

How to eat, how to sleep?" "Set up a tent to eat in it, dig a drainage ditch around, no matter how heavy the rain is, you will know when the time comes" One question after another, the iron hat always replied without annoyance.

Zhao Shiyu ordered the dog to help the old man with the iron hat pinch his shoulders and rub his legs, the old man with the iron hat was very happy along the way, spending every day in the carriage, seven days passed in a blink of an eye, and the caravan slowly entered Ancheng, which is the most prosperous place in the Min country, and it is also the place where the largest population gathers.

The carriage of the caravan slowly approached the city gate, and a group of officers and soldiers stopped the carriage in front of them with official knives on their waists, and Zheng Lao poked his head out and said with a smile, "Leader Wang, it's good to not see you for many days, the old man is here to give you a gift." The

leader of the king was wearing a walking armor, holding a folding fan in his hand, fanning the wind, chuckling lightly on his face, arching his hands and clenching his fists and saying, "Got rich again, Zheng Lao, your convoy is getting bigger and bigger, yes, add another carriage, go check it."

Leader Wang waved his hand, and the officers and soldiers carried knives and began to check, so the people in the car had already gotten out of the car, and Zhao Shiyu and they were among them.