The autumn wind was chilly, and the Green Ant Wine was in high demand. The willows at the intersection of the two relay roads outside the city were particularly thick and strong. Under the shade of the willows was a clean wine shop. The wine seller was an old man in his fifties. As business was getting better, he let his son and grandson, who were busy farming, come here to help with the business. Originally, it was more suitable for the daughter-in-law to do the odd jobs. After all, only a woman could put her face down and bargain with the customers. The old man was a simple man. After doing business for more than ten years, he was still shy and could not open his mouth. However, a few years ago, his daughter-in-law had caused a disaster by offending a group of drunken and troublemakers. The old man did not dare to let her suffer. Even now, he still had lingering fears. At that time, if it were not for someone passing by the wine shop who could not stand the sight of those dandy young men in bright armor, he would not only have to pay to avert the disaster, but also his daughter-in-law's chastity. Even now, when he thought about it, the old man still felt guilty and uneasy. He felt that he was useless. Later on, when he heard that those young men who relied on their connections to join the army were probably the personal guards of the Crown Prince of Beiliang, the old man accepted his fate. However, it was a pity that the Great General was like a tiger father and a dog son. When he was drunk in private, he would curse a few words about the ways of the world. He thought that when the Great General passed away one day, he must not let the Crown Prince be the King of Beiliang. Everyone said that General Chen Zhibao was invincible on the battlefield, but he was kind to the soldiers and the people. The old man and some of the old farmers in the neighborhood who were about the same age also thought that General Chen was good at fighting and would not be bad if he became the King of Beiliang in the future.
Today, the old man was in a good mood and took out the homemade Green Ant Wine that he could not bear to drink. Green Ant Wine was not expensive to begin with. High officials and dignitaries could afford to drink it, and the common people also did not lack the money to buy it. Only black-market merchants who were blinded by greed would drink it. However, there were also good and bad Green Ant Wine. Generally, it was sold in bulk by the catty and by the bowl. Although the old man was kind, he was not willing to lose money and take out the mellow aged wine. The main reason was that the old rich man who was sitting there drinking wine was his benefactor. That year, if it was not for this old man who stopped that group of lawless soldiers, his daughter-in-law would have been dragged to the barracks by those bastards. Today's jar of Green Ant is free of charge!
In the old man's opinion, Elder Brother Xu, who was drinking, couldn't be a rich gentleman. He was dark and skinny. He probably worked hard to earn money. However, he was dressed well. At least his clothes looked like silk and satin. It was comfortable to look at.
After dealing with a table full of customers, the old man finally had some free time. He draped a wet towel over his shoulder and sat at the table next to him. He smiled and said, "Brother Xu, why don't you call Nephew Yuan over for a drink? I haven't seen you guys for two years. What's wrong? Are you afraid that I'll go bankrupt from drinking? "
A tall man with a dignified appearance stood at the edge of the shade. The old man remembered clearly that he was the one who had taught those little bastards a lesson. Later, he learned that he was Old Brother Xu's adopted son, surnamed Yuan. The old man had been selling wine here for many years. He had seen many children of rich families come and go, but none of them could compare to this Young Master Yuan. Old Brother Xu had such a good character and appearance as his adopted son. Good people are rewarded. However, today was different from the few times they had met before. Old Brother Xu had brought a pair of people with him. One was a young scholar, and the other was a well-behaved little girl. It was strange that Young Master Yuan wasn't sitting at the table to drink. Could it be that the scholar was Old Brother Xu's biological son and granddaughter? They didn't look alike. However, the old man wasn't a gossipy woman. He didn't mention this.
The rich man waved his hand and smiled, "He doesn't like to drink and is arrogant. Even if I personally persuade him to drink, he will say that excessive drinking will make things worse. His reasoning is always better than mine. I can't win against him. Brother Huang, let's just let him be."
Old Huang smiled and nodded, "It's fine, it's fine. Not drinking is better than drinking. Unlike Young Master Yuan, my son isn't cut out for great things. He always sneakily drinks a few mouthfuls when I'm not paying attention. I'm too lazy to scold him. We're already so old. We've thought things through. "
The old man with the surname Xu drank a mouthful of Green Ant Wine. He took a deep breath and snorted. With a face full of joy, he said, "Brother, your words are very straightforward."
The old man was happy. He laughed and said, "What do you mean by straightforward? It's all nonsense. We don't know any reasoning. We're just living our lives. My grandson went to a private school to learn how to read. I'm just waiting for him to change the word 'wine' on the brochure. It doesn't matter if it looks good or not. It's fine as long as he can recognize it. "
The old man thought for a moment and said, "My son's handwriting is quite good. Why don't we use it first and change it when your grandson learns how to write couplets?"
Old Huang was stunned. He rubbed his hands and said with an embarrassed expression, "That's good. But won't it be too troublesome for you?"
The old man waved his hand and smiled comfortably, "It's fine. I'm here today to wait for my son to come home. When he finishes drinking, won't it be easy? It's just that I don't have a pen and ink. "
Old Huang slapped his thigh and said, "If you don't have it, then go get it. The village isn't far. It's two miles away. I'll get my grandson to go get it. That brat's legs are very nimble."
There was a child who had been in the private school for less than two years who had been happily squatting nearby. He rested his chin on his hand and peeked at the little girl sitting at the table. He felt that she was really beautiful. When he heard his grandfather praising his legs in front of everyone, he felt very proud and smiled. Without his grandfather's instructions, he stood up and disappeared.
Old Huang generously took the bowl of wine that Brother Xu handed over. He took a sip and asked with a smile, "Brother, is your son a scholar who wants to take the imperial examinations?"
The old man shook his head and said, "He's not very educated. However, I've been forcing him to go out for the past few years. He travels very far and doesn't stay at home for many days. Sometimes, I regret it."
The old man sighed and said, "Brother Xu, young people should go out and experience more. Otherwise, they won't be able to support a family. Brother, your family business is definitely not small. Unlike us who only have one mu of land our whole lives, Young Master Xu will definitely have to suffer more. It's a good thing. "
The scholar who didn't drink much smiled and raised his head to look at the end of the posthouse road.
Old Huang only drank half a bowl of wine before he went to greet the other tables of customers. The tavern was a small business with a small profit margin. It was rare to have a repeat customer, so all of them were unfamiliar faces. The table of scholars didn't have loud voices, but it sounded like they were talking about the world. Old Huang couldn't understand them anyway. The table of people who had been in the jianghu were mostly dressed in simple clothes. Among them, there was one who was dressed in brocade clothes and had a loud voice. He spoke with a foreign accent, but he was relatively generous. Other than two jars of Green Ant Wine, he also ordered a few catties of cooked beef. The tables of people didn't interfere with each other's business. The scholar talked loudly and arrogantly.
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