After that, the two of them chatted casually. Most of the time, she talked while he listened. She talked about the scenery of Lingzhou in her eyes. Of course, most of it was about the education of the two children in her family. She said that the older children were not bad and were not so naughty. Although no one had ever heard the teachers praise them and most likely they would not be able to pass the county exam. Even passing the county exam and becoming a scholar would not be easy. However, every time she saw the child reading under the light and shaking his head like a scholar, she would feel very happy for no reason. At the same time, the younger child gave her a headache. He would rather work in the fields than study at a private school. At such a young age, he wanted to go to war and kill barbarians. In the end, she said that she did not know how the other places in Beiliang were doing. In the past two years, at least the children in Lingzhou could get cheap books from private schools. It was so cheap that even a poor family like her felt it was cheap. This was because there was an official surnamed Xu in Lingzhou. It was his idea. That official seemed to have said that Beiliang had fewer people, but there could be more scholars. She did not know if it was true or not. In any case, those books were indeed much cheaper than five or six years ago.
That was why she said that official surnamed Xu was a good person. Unfortunately, she heard that he left Lingzhou to become an official in Liangzhou.
Hsu Fengnian smiled gently and looked into the distance. He said softly, "Ju Zi is good in everything, but his alcohol tolerance is bad."
The woman did not understand and did not ask further.
There was business at her stall. The woman asked, "Sir, can I have that lot back?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled, "Then I will have to look for it. Sister-in-law, you go ahead. I will send it back to you when I find it."
She nodded. After she stood up, the woman suddenly blushed, "Sir, you can call me aunt. Don't call me sister-in-law!"
Hsu Fengnian was confused. The woman snorted and went to the stall next door.
Hsu Fengnian shook his head. He did not understand. He held the bamboo tube upside down and poured out the bamboo lots. After Yuchi Youquan and Xuanyuan Qingfeng, five of the original one hundred and eight lots were missing.
He found the bamboo stick that the woman had shaken out and stood up to deliver it.
She realized that this young man, who was so idle that he had become a fortune teller, didn't seem to understand what she meant. Thus, she felt a little embarrassed.
She glanced at the bamboo stick and carefully put it away. She raised her head and asked, "Which stick? Don't lie to me. "
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said seriously, "I'm not lying."
She smiled and said, "Go, go. Sister-in-law won't delay you from swindling money."
Somewhat depressed, Hsu Fengnian sat back down at the table and resumed his old business. He was familiar with the business and began to openly solicit business.
It was just that the old Taoist with the goatee had left behind such a mess. Good news didn't leave the house, but bad news traveled a thousand miles. In addition, the nearby stalls believed that Hsu Fengnian was a money-grubbing swindler. Moreover, he was young and didn't wear a frightening Taoist robe. Naturally, he gave people the impression that he didn't know how to do things properly. Groups of pilgrims and tourists passed by, clearly not interested in stopping to draw lots. It was rare that two or three young women wanted to say something and went forward to draw lots. In the end, they were all tactfully refused by their family elders or men of the same age. Hsu Fengnian could only drink the calming soup in small mouthfuls. He was really bored to death. Hsu Fengnian gradually changed from sitting upright and still, to sitting with one leg crossed over the other, and then to lying on the table and shaking the bamboo tube. In the end, he simply shook out bamboo lots himself. He didn't even look at the lot and casually threw it back.
The woman next door wiped the sweat from her forehead and teased, "How can you do business like this? The most difficult thing in the world is to take money from other people's pockets. Young master, you're really good! "
Hsu Fengnian sighed and said, "Do you really want me to borrow a Taoist robe from Wudang?"
The woman was puzzled and said, "Young master doesn't seem like someone who lacks money. Do you really care about that little bit of money?"
Hsu Fengnian subconsciously glanced in the direction of the thatched cottage and said with a gentle smile, "My wife is the most useless. She only likes to collect copper coins. No matter how big or small they are, she doesn't dislike them. She's just like a miser."
The woman was overjoyed, "It's a good thing your wife isn't here!"
Then she advised, "Women are all like this. Young master, you should be more open-minded."
Hsu Fengnian deeply agreed, "Swallows eat mud, many little drops make a mickle. This is the truth."
The woman let out a long breath and raised her hand to stroke the hair on her temples that was soaked in sweat, "Sister-in-law will go back first."
Hsu Fengnian asked curiously, "Going down the mountain so early? There are so many things scattered here and there. Can you move them? "
She pointed to a young woman who was slowly walking over from the mountain road outside Lv Zuting and said with a smile, "She's my niece. She sells rouge and face powder at Yuqing Guan, which is higher up the mountain. I reckon she's already sold out. In the past, she would come even later to help me. Today, I'll be lazy and go down the mountain early."
Hsu Fengnian stood up and said, "If we go down the mountain from here, there are still a lot of mountain roads to go. Sister-in-law, I'll help you pick a path?"
She shook her head and said firmly, "No need. I have a lot of things here, but they're not heavy."
Hsu Fengnian joked, "Sister-in-law, just take it that I have bad intentions. In any case, I'll send you to the memorial arch at the foot of the mountain, okay?"
The woman lightly spat and glared at Hsu Fengnian who spoke without thinking. She laughed and said, "You're not afraid of being disliked, but I'm afraid! My niece is very shrewish. What, could it be that you've taken a fancy to her? Then sister-in-law can be a matchmaker. "
Hsu Fengnian glanced at the young woman who was getting closer and closer. He gasped. Her waist was not a willow tree, but a big locust tree. He smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it."
She took the opportunity when her young niece was not close to the two neighboring stalls. She faced Hsu Fengnian and asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"
At this moment, she saw that the young man was handsome. His eyes were especially clear. They were so clean that they were like the Elephant Washing Pool she saw when she first climbed Wudang Mountain.
Hsu Fengnian said, "I've been outside Liangzhou Pass, to Huaiyang Pass, and to Hutou City."
She said calmly, "I see."
Hsu Fengnian grinned.
She asked for no reason, "Do you think the Beimang barbarians will fight all the way here? Will they fight all the way to Lingzhou?"
Hsu Fengnian's expression was firm and said, "As long as there is one person left in the Beiliang cavalry, then the Beimang barbarians' horses will not be able to step on the grass and trees inside Beiliang Pass."
She nodded and then smiled. "You talk so big. You speak as if you're a high-ranking official."
Hsu Fengnian laughed and said, "I'm not a high-ranking official."
She said unhappily, "Do you even need to say that?"
Hsu Fengnian was still unwilling to give up. "Sister-in-law, you really don't need to help carry the burden?"
Her following words made Hsu Fengnian dumbstruck. "Don't call me sister-in-law. I've seen many jianghu people these days. I heard them say that when our young prince roamed the jianghu, he had a catchphrase. It was something like 'nothing is better than dumplings, nothing is better than sister-in-law'!"
Hsu Fengnian wiped his face with his hand. He was devastated.
Did no one mention the phrase 'return my ass' I said at the top of the snowfield to you? Isn't it more arrogant than this catchphrase?
Besides, this phrase was also heard by a sloppy wooden sword ranger somewhere and then he insisted on teaching me.
The woman's eyes were mischievous. She didn't say anything else and turned around to pack up.
Hsu Fengnian looked at her back and finally didn't dare to call her sister-in-law. He only asked, "Did the government embezzle or delay the payment of the pension?"
She paused and didn't turn around. She shook her head and said, "No. His old sergeant often sent us extra money a few years ago. It wasn't last year."
She paused and then said softly, "I only heard this spring that the old sergeant died in Hutou City."
She didn't turn her head after that.
She knew that the first marriage lot she shook wasn't the bamboo lot in her arms. She didn't know how to read, but she remembered the number of words on the lot.
But this wasn't an important matter.
Commoners, no matter how hard their lives were, as long as there was hope, they could grit their teeth and live.
Her hope was the two children. As for whether the lot she shook today was good or bad, it didn't matter.
In the end, before she and her niece took the burden and left, she inadvertently saw the young man who always gave people the impression that he was clean. He sat behind the table with his back straight and his hands clenched in his lap. He was quiet.
He didn't look like a young man, but more like an old man. The spring breeze was far away and he could only silently bask in the warm autumn sun.
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.
