Chapter 13 Stealing Peaches

When Pu Songling was young, he once went to Jinan Prefecture to take the exam. During the Spring Festival, according to the customs of the ancients, businessmen from all walks of life had to beat gongs and drums, carry colorful buildings and flower sedan chairs, and go to the government office to congratulate them, which is called "Yanchun".

On that day, there were a lot of people. Pu Songling followed her friends to see the bustle. There were walls on all sides, noisy and noisy, and the voice was boiling, and the ears were buzzing.

Looking at it, I saw four officials sitting in the lobby, all dressed in red. At that time, Pu Song was young, and he could not tell the size of the official position for a while.

Suddenly, an old man came out, holding a thirteen- or 14-year-old child in his hand, holding a pair of bamboo baskets, walked to the lobby and stopped. He respectfully saluted the four officials. Then his lips opened, as if they were talking, but tens of thousands of people gathered in the hall, whispering and whispering, and they couldn't hear it clearly. The old man said something, and only faintly heard the four officials laughing happily.

After a while, a man in blue came out of the lobby and said loudly to the old man, "The master has an order. I order you to perform a trick."

Old Hanonuo agreed and asked, "What kind of trick is it?"

The man in blue said proudly, "What do you know? Let's listen to the best one.

The old man said, "The villain is good at reversing creatures."

The man in Tsing Yi asked, "What is an inverted creature?"

The old man said, "It snows in June, and peach blossoms bloom in the middle of winter. This is also an upside-down creature."

The man in blue didn't believe it and said with a smile, "Well, you have a strange skill, so turn it into a peach for the officials."

The old man agreed, took off his clothes to cover the bamboo basket, looked at the spectators under the stage, pretended to be embarrassed, and said to himself, "The officers are really difficult. In the cold winter, the hard ice has not disappeared. Where can I go to pick peaches? If you don't take it, and you are afraid that the official will punish you. What can you do?

The child said, "If the father has promised others, how can he go back on his word?"

The old man frowned and thought, "What my son said is very true. I have thought about it clearly: it is snowy in the cold spring. If you want to pick peaches, there is nowhere to look for them in the world. Only nine days above, in the peach orchard of the Queen Mother, there are warm four seasons, and there may be peaches. For today's plan, only heaven steals peaches.

The child said, "Father is really good at fooling around. Ha, nine days are high, is there any road traffic?

The old man said, "Don't worry, I have my own way." After saying that, he leaned over and opened the bamboo basket and took out a rope from it, about dozens of feet long. He held the end of the rope in his hand and threw it into the air. The rope grew longer and higher it was. It gradually fell into the clouds and hung in the air, a few feet away from the ground, and did not fall.

The old man told the child, "My son, come here quickly! The task of being old and weak, unable to climb the rope, and stealing peaches has to be handed over to you. He pointed a long rope and said, "Follow this rope all the way up, and you can go straight to the peach garden."

The child's face turned pale: "Father is so confused. This rope is only the thickness of chopsticks. How can it reach the sky? If you climb halfway and the rope breaks, won't the child fall to pieces?

The old man said with a serious look, "The man said a word. Since his father has promised others to take peaches, how can he not believe it? Good boy, don't be afraid. As the saying goes, wealth is in danger. If you succeed in stealing fairy peaches, the officials will definitely be rewarded, and a hundred taels of gold are not a problem. At that time, how about marrying a beautiful daughter-in-law for your father?

The child said, "Don't lie!" Between words, he grabbed the rope, circled up, moved his hands and feet, like spider silk, and fainted into the sky in a blink of an eye.

After a while, a peach fell from the sky, as big as a rice bowl. The old man was overjoyed and held Xiantao in his hand and dedicated it to the four officials.

The officials were surprised and passed the fairy peach back and forth for a long time. You take a look and I will touch it, but with the naked eye, I can't tell whether the peach is true or false.

Suddenly, there was a thumping sound, and the rope fell to the ground. The old man's face changed greatly and he shouted, "No, my son is a thief stealing peaches. I have found that my life is in danger." Before he finished his words, a head fell from the sky and stared forward, with handsome eyebrows. Who else is there if it's not that child?

The strange thing was not finished, and then a left leg fell from the sky, and then the right leg was broken with both hands and limbs, and fell one after another.

The old man cried sadly, picked up his son's body piece by piece, put it in a bamboo basket and covered it with clothes. He went to the four officials and knelt down and said, "The child lost his life by mistake because he stole peaches. Officers, please treat the poor old man and give some broken money to take care of the funeral for the dog. The old man is grateful, and he will tie a grass ring to repay his kindness.

The four officials were shocked and nodded one after another, "It should be." They put their hands into their arms and took out a lot of silver and gave them to the old man.

The old man put the silver into his waist bag, patted the bamboo basket, and called a person's nickname, "Ba Ba'er, why don't you come out to thank me? When will you stay?" As soon as he finished speaking, the bamboo basket was lifted, and a child came out of it, knelt down and kowtowed to the lobby.

The child is picturesque, not someone else, but the old man's own son.