Fan Qiteng left in a special happy mood. Before he got on the horse, he asked the waiter to add a serving of salted beans for each table.
Other people got up to see him off. They looked at Fan Qiteng's small figure with envy. They were not only envious that Fan Qiteng could borrow more money, but also envious that he met Zhang Xiaobao yesterday and got the method of making wontons from Zhang Xiaobao.
"Xiao Ba, a bowl of wontons." Dou Qiong shouted at the waiter. She didn't mention that she would be treated. She still had money for a bowl of wontons.
The old man who left his hometown with his grandson was still in a trance. On the way here, he had heard many people talking about Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, but he had never felt so real. What was the matter with the loan?
"Grandpa, it's delicious." The old man's grandson ate the steamed bun and looked at the half bowl of hot water left. In the end, he couldn't resist the temptation of another bowl of wontons and chose not to drink the water. As a result, he, who had never eaten wontons before, was instantly conquered by the delicious taste of wontons and shouted at his grandfather.
The old man looked at his grandson who was eating wontons and didn't worry that the little thing would eat too much. Although the little thing was only seven years old, his appetite was not small. Moreover, on the way here, there was little oil in his stomach. Every meal he ate was comparable to an adult.
What made the old man absent-minded was that he almost didn't recognize the country he had heard of before. Because it was remote and located at the border of two countries, the old man and others who were similar to the old man didn't have a sense of belonging to the Tang Empire. Anyway, there was no local government, so it was fine to say that they belonged to any country.
The thing that made the deepest impression was not long after his grandson was born. In the past, every two or three months, he had to come out of the mountains, cross two rivers, and walk down the last river for half a month to trade with the local people for salt.
At first, the price was very high, but he was already used to it. After his grandson was born, he occasionally went down with other people in the 'village' to trade. He found that the salt was cheap, and it was no longer black. One kind of salt was white and delicate, and the other was very cheap, with a little black color and big grains.
Later on, he heard people say that they would continue to head east, where they could find work and earn more money. Only then did his son and daughter-in-law leave. When they left, his grandson was only three years old. Ten years later, they never saw each other again.
She had originally planned to beg for money along the way when she brought her grandson out. Who would have thought that from the moment they met with the first official, their way of life was different. The people who came and went wore good clothes, and they even received money. The official's request was very simple. The grandmother and grandson had to report their names, tell them where they lived, and then put their fingerprints on three pieces of paper that they did not recognize. One of the three pieces was for her to keep.
After that, the yamen gave them money and someone told them how to get there. Unfortunately, because they had never been out before, they took the wrong route and took a big detour. After spending all their money, they had to rely on others to help them along the way.
Whenever they met people on the road, they would listen to what they said. They heard a lot, but they were not complete. The one who felt it the most was that the people in the yamen were stupid. They actually gave money just by leaving a fingerprint. The people they met on the road were generous and did not care to treat them to food.
It was only today that they heard people speak, and someone even asked them to eat wontons in an apologetic manner. They felt the most emotional. When they were young, they ate wontons once when they exchanged food with others. The taste was still unforgettable.
Standing by the table, the old man felt like he was in a dream. When the others sat down again and his grandson called him again, saying that the wonton in his bowl was delicious, he suddenly woke up. He sat down again, scooped up a wonton with a spoon, put it near his mouth, and gently blew on it twice before putting it into his mouth.
A strong meaty flavor immediately filled the old man's mouth. After drinking a mouthful of fresh and hot soup, an indescribable smile appeared on the old man's wrinkled face.
"Use a spoon." The old man corrected his grandson's way of eating wontons with chopsticks. His eyes began to look at the people around him, feeling that everything in the world had changed.
"Old man, do you want some wine?" Dou Qiong asked as she poured a bowl full of wine and brought it over.
The old man grinned and said, "That's good to hear. I'm always afraid that people will lie to me and say that the school arranged for the kid in Yizhou City is a lie, and that the job at the yamen is a lie."
The old man didn't refuse the offer of wine, but talked about something else. He had been very tired along the way, so he didn't know much about Tang. After hearing about it from others, he would always mention it casually when he met people again. One was to verify what he had heard from others, and the other was to show that he was familiar with Tang so that he wouldn't be bullied.
Many times when he was sleeping with his grandson by the roadside in the wilderness at night, he would be awakened by the slightest noise. If it weren't for the fact that he still had a grandson to take care of, he might not have been able to survive.
Dou Qiong was stunned by the old man's mumbling and relieving words. She soon understood what was going on with the old man. She guessed that he must have been very careful and on tenterhooks along the way. It was normal to be afraid of being bullied and cheated when traveling.
However, Dou Qiong suddenly realized that she hadn't felt like the old man for a long time. The last time she had the same feeling seemed to be yesterday, but it also seemed to be very long ago. When did it start?
"Yizhou … Logistics Camp?" Dou Qiong stood at the old man's table with a bowl of wine in each hand and murmured.
The old man stretched out his hands covered with blue veins and calluses and carefully took the wine. He took a sip and smacked his lips, revealing his yellow teeth with two missing teeth. He praised, "Good wine. What's the Logistics Camp of Yizhou?"
"It's nothing. It's just an army that used to be temporarily used to deliver things in wars. Now it still exists, but it's different from before because two people are missing."
Dou Qiong shook her head hard, trying to shake away the idea in her mind. She casually explained to the old man, raised the wine and proposed a toast, and also smiled.
"Deliver things? Deliver things to the army? Oh, I know. Before I came out, there were many people who delivered things on the other side. It's not easy for them to carry things on their shoulders and hands. They delivered food. My side didn't send many animals, and they were all people they found from other places. They were all like us and had a hard life. Although it's called an army, in fact, they can't fight in wars. The name of the Logistics Camp … Haha. "
The old man had his own little calculation, and at the same time, he also had the thought of showing off like many ordinary people. He tried his best to show that he knew more. He was different from those old guys who surrounded Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan all day. Those old guys were all shrewd, and it was hard for others to guess what they were thinking.
The person who was treating them interrupted, "What do you mean, old man? The Logistics Camp can't fight in wars? Haha, if the Logistics Camp of Yizhou can't fight in wars, there will be no strong army in the world. I don't know how the armies in other places are famous, but the Logistics Camp of Yizhou's fame is built with corpses. "
"Whose corpses?" The old man asked with a slightly unconvinced look.
"Ours." Another person in the small team spoke, but the expression on his face was very calm.
The person who heard his voice immediately felt embarrassed. Obviously, since he could say this, he must be from Tubo.
"The leader is the one you mentioned just now. I've heard many times along the way, Cuckoo. The one who cooperates with her is another name, Xiao Bao. Demoness Cuckoo, a smile that can destroy the whole world, and a ruthless Xiao Bao who kills without spilling blood. "The person who continued the conversation couldn't help but shiver.
The old man was stunned. He unconsciously drank a mouthful of wine and recovered from the alcohol. He asked puzzledly, "Didn't you say that the two of them were doing good deeds? They wanted the government to help the people and let the children be literate. Why did they kill people? "
Another person in the original Tubo team said, "They only help the people of their own country. Take you for example. If you admit that you are the people of the Tang Empire and put your fingerprint, you will be helped. If you don't admit that you are the people of the Tang Empire and don't put your fingerprint when they ask you to, you and your grandson will starve to death on the road."
The old man was also shocked. He didn't think of anything else when he was imprinting his handprint. He didn't think of anything else. Anyway, he and his grandson were penniless. They wouldn't be sold. They weren't worth anything. Who would have thought that this would happen?
"You were beaten up by them and many people died. Then they put your fingerprint?" The old man guessed and asked.
"Actually, not many people died in the war. In total, there were only about 100,000 people. The ones who really died were Xiao Bao's extermination plan. Later, we found out that he didn't show any mercy. In addition, our king also agreed, so we surrendered. After we surrendered, our lives started to get better. If we had known, why did we fight?
Who was it? He came up with a plan to dig up the Yangtze River, and the place he dug was the place where the father of Cuckoo and Xiao Bao was an official. "
This person obviously didn't hate Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. Instead, he hated the person who came up with the plan.
The old man didn't hear this on the way. He couldn't follow the other party's train of thought. After hearing it, he asked, "Who is their father?"
"A third-rank official in the imperial court, the Minister of Works, Zhang Zhong, Zhang Yongcheng. Even if I tell you, you don't know how powerful he is. He is very, very powerful. He is much more powerful than the most powerful official you have ever seen. Even the most powerful official you have ever seen would have to depend on luck to meet him. You might not even have the chance to meet him in your entire life."
Dou Qiong helped to explain. In fact, he didn't know in the past. The officials in the capital were too far away for him. It was as if he didn't live in the same world. Now, there were more newspapers. There was a detailed introduction of the official positions in the newspaper, including their ranks and functions. Those who didn't buy the newspaper would ask others to help them copy it. Those who could read would take it out and read it by themselves. Those who couldn't read would find someone to read it.
Then, they would memorize it. When they were chatting with others, they would have something to talk about. Today, they could talk about it with people who didn't know. It seemed very knowledgeable.
The old man raised his head and thought about it. He sighed, "So it's because they have a good father."
"Old Sir, you are wrong. But it's also true. Without a good father, they can't be born. But our feelings for them definitely have nothing to do with their father. To say something disrespectful, if their father dies, we should live our lives. But if they die one day, sigh, I don't dare to think about it. I really don't dare to think about it."
Dou Qiong patted the old man's shoulder and said with a fatherly look.
"Grandpa, it's gone. The meat is gone." The old man's grandson actually ate up the whole bowl of wontons in a while, even drinking up the soup. He raised his head and said to his grandpa. It seemed that he wanted to eat more.
"Little guy, don't eat anymore. If you eat more, your stomach will burst. Lil Eight, do you have any dried fruits? Give some to the little guy and let him grind his teeth."
Dou Qiong knew that the little guy was addicted to eating and ate so fast that he didn't feel full for a while. But after a while, he would feel full. Noodles and meat were digested faster than rice, but there was still time. It was better to eat some dried fruits.
"No dried fruits, but there are fresh fruits. Last year, the Sitong Temple helped to cultivate the former apples. My master planted a batch of them and kept them until now. They haven't gone bad. Give some to him."
Lil Eight's attitude to the old man and his grandson was also good. He treated them as people of the Tang Empire, and also as people who came back to their parents' home for the first time. He wanted to let them feel the warmth of home as much as possible.
So he ran back to the house and took out an apple and a plate of boiled fava beans. These were his snacks. He put them in front of the child and the old man. The fava beans were used to drink wine.
The old man was very embarrassed. He had taken advantage of others today. He raised his eyebrows and asked Dou Qiong, "Little brother, how much is today's food worth?"
"It's not worth much. Just like what the old man said to the little guy just now, when he is successful, he can help others. We're going back to Yizhou, so we can take care of each other. Lil Eight, rent a mule cart from your stall. We'll send you home directly. Our mules are also tired. Let them rest and give them a ride. "
Dou Qiong decided to be a good person to the end. This time, they had made a lot of money, so it didn't matter if they spent some money.
The little guy didn't care about the adults' business. He took the apple and took a big bite, eating it happily.
The old man raised the sleeve of his coarse linen clothes to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. He drank two mouthfuls of wine and was silent for a while.
At this moment, an eagle cry sounded in the sky, attracting everyone's attention.
"Shuiyun!" Someone cried out in surprise, "Why is Shuiyun coming out at this time?"
As soon as the voice fell, the ground began to tremble, followed by the sound of horse hooves. A large group of soldiers and horses appeared in the direction of Yizhou City. The people on the horses all looked serious. In front of the horses was a flag with the word 'Tie' written on it.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched in shock as the cavalry troop rumbled past. After a long time, the old man patted his chest and said, "I thought they were here to kill people. How scary."
Dou Qiong took a deep breath and said, "I think they are here to kill people, but not us. I haven't seen anyone along the way who should be killed. Why are they even sending Shuiyun and the Tibetan Underground Cavalry Battalion? "
"I think there are people from Duoshi hiding somewhere nearby. Otherwise, they wouldn't send General Shuiyun out." Another person guessed.
"That, that beautiful white eagle is a general?" The child asked excitedly.
"His name is Shuiyun, a general of the Tang Empire. He's very powerful. Other eagles can't beat him. As long as he's in the sky, he's the absolute ruler." Lil Eight introduced him with a smile.
The old man thought a lot and asked, "Are they going to attack the troops that are transporting goods over there? I, I have something to tell the people in charge. There's something else in their troop. It's very powerful. Who can help me find it? "
"Sir, you're not lying? Are you telling the truth? " Dou Qiong didn't expect this old man to have intelligence. Normally, he wouldn't bother Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, but it was easy to get military intelligence. He could see it at any time.
After asking and seeing the old man's confident look, Dou Qiong quickly ordered Lil Eight, "Set up the carriage for us. Leave my mule here first. We'll leave right away."
Lil Eight nodded nervously and said, "Okay, I'll be right away. I still have horses here. I'll look after your things. Let's go."
Not long after, Dou Qiong and the other two left the goods and the mule. Each of them rode a horse and guarded the mule carriage. They carried the grandmother and grandson to Yizhou City at the fastest speed.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
