He was not the only one who was worried. The others were also worried. If they put too much in their backpack, they would not be able to carry it. It would take them about half a month to walk the designated distance. No matter how much they put, it would not be enough.
Li Xun got the secret book from Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, so he was not worried at all. He smiled and asked the others, "Did you bring a shovel?"
"Yes, but the shovel is useless. We can't eat the wild vegetables. They taste like wood in our mouth." The person who spoke just now quickly nodded and took out the shovel that was passed down by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan from his backpack. Now, each of them had one.
"It's good that you brought it. Don't worry about the rest. Did you bring salt?" Li Xun asked another thing.
Everyone nodded together. Blankets, salt, shovels, bowls, lime, fire sickles, ropes, and telescopic sticks had become essential things for them. Even if they put less food in their backpacks, they could not lack these things. Otherwise, it would be easy to get into trouble. There was also a spare pair of shoes, the kind with small lumps on the bottom.
"Then don't be afraid. This time, I brought more things than you. I filled a small tube with vegetable oil. I can share some with you. It's not your fault. You didn't know before." Li Xun only said that it was enough to bring things, but he did not say what they were for.
Everyone wanted to know very much, but they did not dare to ask. They could only remember these words and wait for the right time. With fried noodles and water, Li Xun and the others ate quickly. After they finished eating, they went on the road without waiting for others.
Seeing that the imperial nephew left, the others followed one after another. Fortunately, they could hold the food in their hands and did not need to squat in one place to eat.
*****
The mountain is covered with red maple leaves. The path leads into the secluded thicket. The pavilion is high, the road turns, and the building is short. Grinding the ink to leave a poem, and putting down the brush to wait for the paper to be empty. The woodcutter occasionally sat down and talked in detail about the thick autumn.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan changed out of their good-looking but troublesome clothes. Under the protection of several people, they climbed the mountain next to them.
Only after taking a few turns and walking on a small path did he realize that there were quite a lot of scholars here. Perhaps autumn was the time when great poets were in high spirits. Every pavilion and building that he came across were filled with poems written by people.
When there was no place to write, there was a specialized person who would hang a piece of white paper there and let people continue to write. Some people had already dipped their brush in ink and found that the paper they had just hung up was occupied by someone else, so they could only wait.
"Xiao Bao, look, this poem is well written. Today is late autumn, I'm here to climb the mountain. The poultry were also climbing, a duck and a cliff. This person must be very good at singing. Yiyayiyayiyo. "
Wang Juan said to Zhang Xiaobao with a red face as she looked at the chicken chop.
"Yes, it's not bad. It's a good poem." Zhang Xiaobao praised.
"So this young master and young lady can also tell that my poem is not bad? It's really sentimental. "
Just as Zhang Xiaobao finished speaking, a person who was about to pick up a brush and write a poem said. The two of them were stunned. They actually met?
Wang Juan's mouth moved. "Xiao Bao, remember to remind me to write my surname backwards. I don't want to be like him."
"Okay, I'm glad. If he wants to be surnamed Zhang, I will write it separately. The top is Bow, the bottom is Chang." Zhang Xiaobao expressed his understanding.
This person seemed to be unsatisfied with what he had just said. He stopped and said, "Then do the two of you know the meaning of my poem?"
He really didn't mind that the children in front of him were young and treated them as two people who could talk to each other.
Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiaobao and gave him a look. Zhang Xiaobao curled his lips and said, "According to my guess, this is a poem with the world in mind. From the last line, you can tell. A duck and a cliff. A duck standing on the edge of a cliff. Looking at it, one is worried that it will fall. If even a duck can be treated like this, how can a human be treated like this?"
"That's not right. My poem is a sentimental poem about the past. Young lady, you say something." This person didn't plan to let go of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan so easily. He shook his head and looked at Wang Juan with expectation.
Wang Juan had no choice but to bite the bullet and stare at the 'poem'. She wanted to find a sentimental meaning from it.
"Oh! I know. You must have a duck at home. When you miss home in the autumn, you climb up and see other people's ducks. You think, 'Home is at the corner of the sea, and I am at the end of the world. There are ducks at home, and there are ducks here too. You feel sentimental, right? "
Wang Juan held back for a while and finally said it.
This person nodded. "Yes, although it's not the center, it's not far. When I saw this duck, I thought, 'Why aren't you a wild duck? That way, you can fly very far. Don't tell me you want to jump off the cliff and fly? If I grew wings, I would definitely go home and take a look. "
"Yes, yes, yes. That's right. It's very artistic. Then Brother Wang, you are busy. We will go up first." Zhang Xiaobao quickly agreed. After he finished speaking, he grabbed Wang Juan's hand and was about to run up.
"Wait, I see that the two of you are not bad. Don't you have a sentimental sentence? For example, the two of you have done well last year and this year. Why don't you leave a piece of calligraphy here for future generations to see? "
This person stopped Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan and insisted that the two of them write something sentimental.
"Cuckoo, you write. There's really no other way. We have to deal with one. Let's go." Zhang Xiaobao let Wang Juan take the lead this time. His writing was better than this person's, but the time he had to practice was too short.
"Okay … Okay." Wang Juan had no choice but to run to this person and take the brush. She spread the paper on the stone table. When she was about to write, she said, "I don't know how to write poems. I will just write something fun. Sentimental. I will definitely be sentimental."
As Wang Juan spoke, she wrote the Liu script. Her wrist was not strong enough and was a little soft. After she finished writing, she threw down the brush and pulled Zhang Xiaobao to run.
After the two of them left, this person smiled and looked at what Wang Juan wrote. "Lalala, you are the wind, I am the sand."
"Hehe, a child will be a child. It's fun to write." When this person saw the first few words, he laughed out loud. The person beside him also curiously came over and read, "Lalala, you are the wind, I am the sand. When I blow duckweed, we are a flower. When I laugh, the flower falls. "
The person beside him looked at the words on the paper and then looked at this person surnamed Wang. He laughed and left without saying anything.
"Young Master Wang, I wonder if you can give this paper to me?" Just as this person surnamed Wang was polishing what Wang Juan had written, another person who had also just arrived walked up to him, glanced at the words, and said to him.
"This …."
"Young Master Wang, I have a hundred copper coins here. I can exchange it for the words in your hand. Young Master Wang also wanted to write. How about I give you another hundred copper coins?" This person immediately added.
"Okay." The man surnamed Wang didn't hesitate. When he saw that the two hundred copper coins were about to be sold, he wrote one as well. Together with the one written by Wang Juan, the man in the pavilion copied it and sold it to him.
"Go, quickly send this to the official. Tell the official that this was written by a little girl from Zhuangzi." This person took the item and hurriedly turned around and walked back. After walking for a while, he gave the order to the person in front of him.
The person nodded and carefully put away the words. He turned around and ran away. This person took out what the person surnamed Wang had written and glanced at it. He cursed, "Rubbish."
He rolled it into a ball and threw it into the mouth of a toad that was carved out of wood. It was a special garbage bin.
A person carrying a basket on his back and a broom in his hand swept the branches and pebbles on the road. He glanced at this person and then glanced in the direction that the other person had left. He unhurriedly swept the ground under his feet and turned around to walk in another direction. Just as he turned around a corner, he suddenly sped up.
He stared at the figure of the person who had left until they reached the foot of the mountain. He saw that person running towards the pier. He said a few words to a person in the carriage beside him. Soon, a horse carrying a person also went in that direction.
*****
"That was too scary. Later, we will take a detour and don't meet him again. I will remember and not talk nonsense in the future." Wang Juan patted her chest and said with lingering fear. She had run all the way to the top of the mountain with Zhang Xiaobao.
"Yes, he was too persistent. I hope that he didn't participate in the Imperial Examination. His writing was also terrible. Yes, standing here and looking down, it is indeed spacious and bright. It's just that this place hasn't been fixed yet. There is only a platform and no railings. It would be bad if he fell."
Zhang Xiaobao opened his arms and felt the wind blowing. He looked at the scenery below and said happily.
Wang Juan also said, "Yes, after fixing the railings, we still need to add two nets below. I'm afraid that people will stand on the railings to enjoy the scenery. It's a pity that we don't have good steel cables. Otherwise, it would be even more fun to slide down."
"Okay, let's go down and shake off the tail. Let's see how the lake is being fixed." Zhang Xiaobao whispered and pulled Wang Juan down another path. The people protecting them still followed behind.
Going down the mountain was slightly slower. There was no main road and it was rugged. The stairs were also cut out from the mountain and there was only a rope to protect them.
When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, there were three carriages waiting for passengers parked side by side. The people protecting them first surrounded the three carriages and waited for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to enter. Only then did they protect one of the carriages and quickly move in the direction of the yamen.
As soon as the first carriage left, two people got on the second carriage. After giving the order, they also moved in the direction of the yamen.
After the second carriage left, the last carriage changed direction. The sound of horses' hooves could be heard as they went to the lake.
After about a quarter of an hour, the third carriage stopped. The door opened and Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came out. Seeing that there was already water and there was still a dam around the lake, they held hands and ran over.
"Okay, when the dam is finished, we can dig a canal to connect to the Little Luoshui. It will be much more convenient to come here next summer." Wang Juan stood in the pavilion by the lake and planned.
"Yes, that's right. It's just that there is no spring on the mountain. Otherwise, there would be a small river for those scholars and beauties to play with." Zhang Xiaobao was slightly regretful.
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