South of Liyang, Jufeng Town was a hub of the Longitudinal Canal. It was originally a remote village that no one cared about, but in a short twenty years, it became a bustling town. It had everything that one could wish for, and did not lose out to the famous towns of Jiangnan.
A green-robed Confucian scholar entered Jufeng Town with a small bag on his back. He did not stand out in the crowded town. Now, there was a saying in Jufeng Town: The people returning to the north were cowards, the people going south were the nobles. Because recently, the sound of horse hooves could be heard near Jufeng Town. There were large groups of cavalry going south to reinforce Guangling Road. It was said that the situation was about to be settled. The important people in the imperial court, especially the important people in the military, were all trying their best to send their children and grandchildren into the army going south. The most exaggerated thing was that a certain old general, who was one of the stabilizing forces of the two Liaodong border, had just let his grandson get a position as a military officer. Very quickly, he chased his grandson out of the border army and threw him to the battlefield of Guangling Road. It was said that in a flash, he became the military advisor of the general of the southern expedition, Lu Shengxiang. Naturally, his future was bright.
This Confucian scholar did not find an inn to rest at, but went straight to the famous book market of Jufeng Town. On both sides of a three hundred paces long street, there were large and small bookstores. Even though Jufeng Town's history was not more than twenty years, but many of the bookstores dared to advertise themselves as century-old shops. It was just that most of the people who bought books laughed it off and did not care about it. The Confucian scholar did not choose those bookstores with golden signboards, but entered a small and dark bookstore at the back of the street. Even though it was small, it had all the essentials. The father and son of this bookstore engraved books, sold books, and edited books. They did not have any rare books to sell, and they definitely did not find any famous books that could not be engraved by the imperial court. But the value was in their careful selection. Occasionally, there would be a few West Chu Southern Edict Edition or Northern Edict Edition. Whether it was good enough or not depended on personal preference.
Seeing this Confucian scholar cross the threshold, the middle-aged shopkeeper, who was entertaining a group of young customers, smiled and hurriedly put down his business to welcome him. The Confucian scholar in front of him was a regular customer of his shop. He didn't come often, and he didn't buy many books, but for more than ten years, he would visit almost every two years. Most importantly, he had a good chat with his father, so much so that his father, who rarely drank, would always make an exception and insist on pulling the Confucian scholar to sit down and have a drink with him. It was said to be a drink, but as they drank, they could drink at least two catties of wine.
The Confucian scholar smiled and asked, "Where is Brother Chu? Last time, he said that he could not find the face painted version of 'The Insect Under the Light'. I brought it for him." The middle-aged shopkeeper calmly said, "Mister Cao, my father passed away last year." The Confucian scholar was stunned for a moment. He was a bit sad, but he still took out the book from his bag. The middle-aged man smiled and said, "He left. When my father passed away, he was seventy years old. Before he passed away, he often smiled and said that it was rare to live seventy years old. Mister Cao, my father was not sick or injured. He passed away after a good night's sleep. As his sons, there is no need for us to worry too much. " "However, before my father passed away, he often said that if he could have a drink with Mister before he died, his life would be complete." The Confucian scholar with the surname Cao said apologetically, "I originally had the opportunity to come here last year, but I left in a hurry and felt that it was inconvenient. If I had known, I would have come no matter what." "Take this book. When you go back to Brother Chu's grave and offer him a toast, just burn it."
The middle-aged shopkeeper smiled and joked, "Mister Cao, then I won't give you any money."
The Confucian scholar quickly smiled and waved his hand. After drinking so much wine for so many years, how could he have the nerve to ask for money? Right, if I remember correctly, your family's Fisherman and Woodcutter should be coming of age, right? "
The middle-aged man seemed to get angry whenever he talked about that bastard. He helplessly said, "Don't mention that bastard. Mister Cao, you don't know that our family can't be considered a family of poets or scholars, but for better or for worse, we are people who interact with sages every day." "Who would have thought that the older that kid grew, the more he refused to listen to advice. With his skinny bamboo body, he insisted on joining the army. Not long ago, he followed a few of his good friends in town to the county capital, saying that there was a back door that could be opened. If they were lucky, they could directly go to the south to fight. In the end, he came back sullenly. When I asked, he didn't say anything. Every day, when the rooster crowed, he would get up and run to the side of the canal. "Mister Cao, that kid is old. As his father, my words have no effect. However, he has listened to you since he was young. If Mister isn't in a hurry to leave, I'll go look for him. Mister, you must help me talk to him. If you can get him to come back to his senses, I'll give Mister a set of West Chu's Chongwen Guan's Winter Snow Collection. That's a good thing that even my father couldn't bear to take away. He told me to keep it as a family heirloom and pass it down from generation to generation."
Without waiting for the Confucian scholar with the surname Cao to say anything, the middle-aged shopkeeper didn't even care about his business and ran out into the street to look for his son, who was getting more and more worrisome as he grew older.
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