Seeing everybody was looking at him, Xu Xiaojie giggled and said, "This happened a few days ago in Guiren Square. It is said that there is a family surnamed Xia living in Guiren Square. The daughter of the Xia family likes a young man surnamed Sun from the same square, but she is too ashamed to confess to him. This daughter is illiterate, so after thinking about it, she gave the young man a silk handkerchief."
The young man received the young woman's handkerchief, but he did not know what she meant, so he went to ask a scholar in the square for help. The scholar took the handkerchief and looked at it twice, but there was not a single word on it, and there was also no picture on it. The scholar was a bit confused. However, the scholar carefully thought about it, and then said to the young man, "Congratulations, congratulations, the young woman has feelings for you."
The men who were slurping their Pasta soup all said at once, "How could that scholar see through a blank handkerchief?"
Xu Xiaojie proudly said, "That's why I say scholars are scholars, they are very quick-witted. That scholar said, 'Look at this blank silk handkerchief, no matter how you look at it, no matter how you look at it, there's only a thread on it.' 'Silk means thinking,' isn't it because the young woman likes you? In the end, the two people's happy occasion came to an end. "
One of the men slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! Why didn't I think of it? Isn't it? A handkerchief made of silk, doesn't it express love? "
What Xu Xiaojie was talking about today was the love affair between a man and a woman, and did not talk about the affairs of a government official's family. If they were allowed to continue talking about this topic, perhaps this morning's conversation would turn into the love affair between a man and a woman.
Yang Fan had a mind to lead them to end this topic, to change the topic to the anecdotes and anecdotes of government officials, so he said, "In my opinion, I am afraid that the young woman who gave the handkerchief to the young woman herself did not think so much. She is a woman, but she was willing to give the handkerchief that she always carries with her to that man; her affection is very clear. It's just that the man she likes is a bit straightforward, so he did not think of this point. The scholar couldn't help but think a little more complicated. But fortunately, his thoughts were also on the matter of love, so he didn't hinder the other party's good time. Chen Ershu, you are working for the assistant minister's fu. Have there been any special events recently? "
That Second Uncle Chen was engrossed in eating noodles. After eating, he raised his head and smiled. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, a young girl wearing a green waist-length skirt and a white wide-sleeved shirt walked towards them as if there was no one else around.
The girl's steps were light, like a cat's. Only when an acquaintance greeted her would she show a very "surprised" expression and look at them seriously. Then, she would suddenly realize something and greet them politely.
"Is Chen Ershu here?"
The young girl walked closer and narrowed her eyes as she asked the crowd. Just five feet in front of her, a rough man with a full beard was sitting against a tree. This person was the Chen Ershu that Yang Fan had just called. Chen Ershu stood up and greeted the girl. In a bright voice, he said, "Miss Xiaodong, you've come. I'm here."
"Oh, Chen Ershu, your robe is done."
Miss Xiaodong's somewhat unfocused eyes seemed to find a focus. She walked towards him. A man sitting on a rock to the side eating noodles quickly moved his leg, afraid that he would trip her.
Miss Xiaodong walked towards Chen Ershu with a smile. She handed over the robe that was hanging from her arm and said in a small voice, "Second Uncle, your robe is done."
Not only did this young girl have a delicate voice, but she was also relatively thin and weak. She looked quite pretty, with a few playful freckles on her nose and cheeks, but they weren't very obvious.
Chen Ershu put down his bowl and wiped his hands on his clothes. He took the new robe and looked at the fine stitches and neat workmanship. He said happily, "Haha, Xiaodong, your robe is really fast and good."
Xiaodong smiled and said, "Second Uncle is too polite. If Second Uncle likes it, you can come to my house to make robes in the future. We're all neighbors, so the price will definitely be lower."
Chen Ershu nodded repeatedly and said, "Of course, of course."
Xiaodong hesitated for a moment, and a faint blush appeared on her face. In a small voice, she said, "Just now … I think I heard Erlang's voice. Is Erlang … also here?"
As Xiaodong said this, she narrowed her eyes and looked at the other people sitting under the tree. She was born with poor eyesight. In modern terms, she was born with a high degree of myopia. When she looked at people, her eyes would subconsciously narrow.
Yang Fan was a bachelor, and his family didn't run a restaurant. He ate here every day, so how could he not be here? Miss Xiaodong was asking a question that she already knew the answer to.
At this time, Yang Fan was holding a bowl of soup and timidly hiding behind someone else's back.
Ever since that one time when Miss Xiaodong fell and was coincidentally seen by him, he rushed forward to help her up. This Miss Xiaodong seemed to have feelings for him. As long as she saw him, she would like to find something to say to stick to him. Although Yang Fan could vaguely guess what she was thinking, she hadn't confessed, so he couldn't clearly reject her. He could only try his best to avoid her.
Unexpectedly, a man next to him pulled a fast one and pushed him forward while he wasn't paying attention. Yang Fan cried out and staggered. The bowl of soup he was holding in his hand spilled out. Not only did it spill onto his hand, but it also splashed onto Miss Xiaodong's skirt.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Miss Xiaodong, I wasn't careful … "
Yang Fan turned his head and glared at the man, then turned his head to apologize to Xiaodong. Miss Xiaodong moved closer and saw his appearance. She happily said, "It's alright, Erlang didn't do it on purpose. Don't be so polite. Are you scalded?"
As Xiaodong said this, she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and helped him wipe the oil stains on his hand.
Yang Fan awkwardly said, "Uh … Miss Xiaodong, I'm fine. The soup is already warm, you don't need to … this … hahaha … "
Miss Dong held his hand in her own and carefully wiped it for him. She said softly and slowly, "Erlang is living alone. You should be more careful in everything you do. Don't always act rashly. Are your clothes dirty? Why don't you take them off and I'll take them back to wash for you? "
As she said this, she actually wanted to take off his coat. Yang Fan was shocked. He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Ah, it's alright, it's alright! Miss Xiaodong, you don't have to be too polite. I … I only have this set of clothes. If I take it off, I won't have anything else to wear. "
Xiao Dong faintly sighed and said: "Men have to go out and entertain guests. How can they not have a set of decent clothes? This is a man's face. Erlang, come home with me. I will help you measure your body and make a new set of clothes for you." Xiao Dong sighed and said: "You are a man after all.
Yang Fan laughed dryly and said, "No need. I … am very short of money. I can't afford to buy a new set of clothes right now."
Miss Xiaodong softly said, "That's not a big deal. You can give me money whenever you have it. Even if you don't have any money, it's … it's alright …" At this point, Miss Xiaodong slightly lowered her head. Her face showed a bit of shyness.
Yang Fan embarrassedly said, "Many thanks for Miss Xiaodong's kindness. For the time being … I don't need to buy a new set of clothes. When I want to make clothes, I'll definitely ask Miss for help. Oh, Bōshō called me. I think there's something he wants me to do. That … Miss Xiaodong, I'll leave first. See you later. "
Yang Fan picked up the rice bowl and fled. A few men's laughter came from behind him, "Beta Persei is so unreasonable. This is even clearer than 'silk is thought'. Why do you pretend to be stupid?"
"That's right, that's right. Beta Persei, Aunty Hua's knitting workshop is very profitable. Aunty Hua only has one precious daughter. She loves you very much. Why don't you be her live-in son-in-law? From now on, you'll have a good life and you'll have a sweet wife who loves you."
Everyone laughed. Xiaodong's face was flushed like a peach blossom. She was so embarrassed that she stamped her feet and said, "Oh, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm going to ignore you." After saying that, she lifted her skirt and slipped away. Although her eyesight was poor, she was familiar with the workshop. Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be any problem.
Looking at the girl's fleeing figure, louder laughter came from under the tree.
… …
The work of the workshop workers was scattered. There were no fixed tasks. Yang Fan wandered around and leisurely finished her day's work. When night fell, she went with Maqiao to lock the workshop's door.
Luoyang City implemented a curfew. At night, other than government officials and people with special permits, no one else was allowed to pass. All of the common people lived in a square. These square were equivalent to a residential district. Outside of the square, there were nearly two zhang high walls. Even at night, the doors had to be locked.
Once the door was locked, all the streets became deserted. When the curtain of night completely covered the earth, the streets became even darker. Not even the shadow of a ghost could be seen. Every household had their lights on, like the stars in the sky. Marquis Wu's patrol officers patrolled the streets from time to time. If anyone went out at night and was caught by them, they would suffer.
There were also places that were brightly lit. Rich and powerful families would host large banquets in their homes to entertain guests. They would drink wine and dance to liven things up. In the brothels, beauties would sing and dance. The sounds of bamboo flutes and orioles would be heard. No one would care about you. The curfew only forbade you from going out at night. No matter how lively you were at home, it had nothing to do with others.
However, rules were set by people. If people set the rules, then there would naturally be people who broke the rules. Other than the main roads like the Cross Street and the alleys, if the residents walked around at night, the Wu Hou would usually turn a blind eye to it, too lazy to care about it.
Yang Fan's home was at the end of the seventh section of the first section of the workshop. In the dark of night, he quietly slipped out of his courtyard. He quietly stood in the middle of the alley for a while. Seeing that the road was very quiet, he sneakily moved forward. At the same time, a black shadow sneaked out of the eighth section of the alley.
"Qiao Ge 'er!"
"Xiao Fan!"
The two people gathered together and cautiously looked around. Maqiao patted Yang Fan's shoulder and said: "Let's go, time to do something!"
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.
