Turning the tide in the Red Chamber

Chapter 83 [083]

Liu Xianglian is actually a descendant of Li Guogong's Liu family.

He could have been a wealthy and idle person, but it is a pity that in his father's generation, there is no one to be an official butcher, and the population is withered and has already fallen.

After the death of his parents, his family situation became more embarrassing.

But his dandyism as a son of a family has been inherited very comprehensively.

For example, cockfighting and running dogs, playing and singing, sleeping in flowers and sleeping in willows, etc., Liu Xianglian knows all of them and is proficient in them all.

It stands to reason that in order to make a living, Liu Xianglian should go to Li Guogong's mansion to find an errand.

But Liu Xianglian loves face, and she doesn't want to go to her relatives' house to humble herself.

So he found another way and entered Rongguo Mansion to become a helper, specifically to accompany the young master and buddies to have fun.

Liu Xianglian's character and conduct are full of contradictions.

He is not reconciled to being obsequious, trying to flatter and please others.

He still retains the self-esteem of a child of an aristocratic family, and he refuses to be humble.

Although he was doing things to help others, he did not servilely curry favor with anyone.Just being a casual person who comes and goes freely.

With an arrogant attitude, he mingled with wealthy families and maintained his poor self-esteem.

For such a person with a complicated personality, extremely aloof on the outside, but extremely low self-esteem on the inside, if he was recruited with gold and silver, he would probably feel humiliated.

Only by influencing him with the righteousness of the world and brotherhood, and becoming a close friend with him, can he make him work for him sincerely.

The plan for now is to find an opportunity to make friends with him.

In the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu and Liu Xianglian have similar temperaments and have a very close personal relationship. You can ask Jia Baoyu to be an intermediary to build a bridge, and meet Liu Xianglian first to see if he agrees with you?

Jia Chen acted swiftly and resolutely, never procrastinating, and acted as soon as he thought of it.

He immediately found Jia Baoyu and asked him to invite Liu Xianglian out to have dinner at Lumingxuan Restaurant.

When it was almost noon, Jia Chen brought Lin Daiyu lunch first, and then rushed to Lumingxuan Restaurant.

When he saw Liu Xianglian in the box, Jia Chen's eyes lit up, he was such a handsome and cold-faced gentleman.

The temples are cut like knives, with sword eyebrows and star eyes, the eyebrows are long and straight, and the tips of the eyebrows fly into the temples obliquely, the eyes are sharp and sharp, showing sharpness between glances.

Jia Baoyu introduced with a smile:
"Brother Chen, this is Brother Liu Xianglian and Brother Liu."

For this kind of arrogant and arrogant person, it is better not to wait for the other party to say hello first, so as not to let the other party misunderstand that you are big.

Jia Chen took the initiative to salute and said:
"I have met Brother Liu Shi!"

Liu Xianglian also clasped her fists in return and said:
"I have seen Brother Chen."

Jia Baoyu laughed and said:
"Brother Liu Shi likes to express his love for the mountains and rivers, wandering between the world, springs, rocks, mountains and forests. He is happy and elegant. He has the same temperament as me, and has a very close personal relationship."

Jia Chen greeted:
"I heard that brother Liu Shixiong is generous and heroic, and he is a hero. It is a great honor to meet you today."

People praise others more and more, Liu Xianglian has low self-esteem and needs the approval and respect of others. Hearing this, she immediately smiles and feels happy.

"I've also heard that Brother Chen is capable of both literature and martial arts, and that he wrote the famous book "Disciple Regulations", which is famous in the capital and enjoys a high reputation in the literary world.

Seeing Jia Chen's bold words and generous temperament, Liu Xianglian couldn't help feeling close to him, and called Jia Chen from "Brother Chen" to "Brother Chen".

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Jia Chen and Liu Xianglian ate and chatted, and the relationship between the two gradually became familiar.

Liu Xianglian's face was cold and her heart was hot, with the smell of alcohol rising, she gradually opened up the chatterbox.

Jia Baoyu was too young to drink, and he became drunk not long after.

Together, Jia Chen and Liu Xianglian helped him to rest in the next room. The two of them met their bosom friends and felt that they couldn't finish talking, so they went back to the private room to continue drinking.

After drinking a few more cups, Liu Xianglian said with a smile:
"I heard from Baoyu that Brother Chen's weapon is a long sword. Coincidentally, I use a pair of mandarin duck swords. Brother Chen and I hit it off today. How about we compare?"

Jia Chen smiled and said:

"Of course, it's just that swords have no eyes. How about we use chopsticks instead of long swords and compete in the street downstairs?"

"Okay!" Liu Xianglian readily agreed.

Jia Chen took one chopstick, while Liu Xianglian took two chopsticks because she was used to using two swords.

The two went downstairs, walked to a small open space by the street, saluted each other with fists in their hands, and then fought with chopsticks.

After fighting for a few rounds, Jia Chen was secretly amazed that this Liu Xianglian was really skilled in martial arts. He had fought against other people before, and he needed at most three or five moves to win the opponent.

But this time in the fight with Liu Xianglian, they even fought each other for more than ten moves, and the winner was not yet decided.

The two fought inextricably, and their moves were exquisite, which attracted many passers-by to watch.

From time to time, there was one or two cheers and applause from the crowd.

After more than [-] rounds of fighting, Liu Xianglian swiped her left hand and wiped the chopsticks across Jia Chen's throat.

Jia Chen hastily retreated half a step, but Liu Xianglian's left hand just now was just a false move, and immediately took a step forward, and the chopsticks in his right hand thrust forward, stabbing Jia Chen's chest.

Just when he thought the blow was sure to hit, Jia Chen suddenly made a wrong step, swayed his body, and avoided the blow. At the same time, instead of retreating, he took half a step forward and snatched into the opponent's arms. Pick it diagonally upwards.

The next moment, the head of the chopsticks touched Liu Xianglian's jaw.

Judgment is made, the outcome has been divided.

Both sides took two steps back.

Liu Xianglian cupped her hands towards Jia Chen and said:
"Brother Chen has strong martial arts skills and exquisite swordsmanship, which opened my eyes, and I was convinced of the defeat."

Liu Xianglian was secretly startled, he had been in the Jianghu for many years, he rarely met opponents, and he had never been able to beat himself in swordsmanship, Jia Chen was the first.

Jia Chen politely said:
"Brother Liu Shi is also very skilled in martial arts. To be able to fight against Brother Liu today is really a great joy in my life!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, and returned to the box.

As the saying goes, if you don't fight, you don't know each other, and the relationship between the two has drawn a lot closer. Jia Chen said tentatively:
"Brother Liu Shixiong is knowledgeable and talented. If he doesn't enlist in the army, he will be a marquis and a general." Liu Xianglian smiled and said modestly:
"Brother Chen is over-reputed. My martial arts skills are mediocre, and my strategy is mediocre. How can I expect to be a general? I am alone now, relying on the Jia family to help me make a living. I can only feed one person and the whole family will not worry."

Jia Chen persuasively said:
"Brother Liu Shi is still unrestrained. As a descendant of the Jia family, I come from a poor family. I managed to earn some money by selling books. I plan to open a bodyguard agency, hoping to make a living from it."

Hearing this, Liu Xianglian's eyes widened a little. He usually likes to wield knives and guns, so he is naturally interested in martial arts like the Escort.

"In the business of escort agency, you need escort escorts to go everywhere. I don't know how many bandits, thieves and water bandits you will encounter. It's really not easy!" Liu Xianglian sighed with emotion.

Jia Chen pretended to be a little depressed and smiled:
"What brother Liu Shi said is true. I am worried about where to find kung fu masters, but unfortunately, I haven't even recruited a kung fu master so far, let alone the backbone of escorts and escorts."

Liu Xianglian sighed lightly and said:

"I wanted to help Brother Chen, but it's a pity that I offended someone who shouldn't be offended, and had to leave Shenjing City for a while to avoid the limelight. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help."

Jia Chen asked curiously:
"I don't know who Liu Shixiong offended? If you trust me, you might as well tell me. Although I am soft-spoken, I know some friends. Maybe I can help you out."

Liu Xianglian frowned and remained silent for a moment, then smiled wryly and said:

"Brother Chen's kindness, I appreciate it, but I advise Brother Chen not to go into this muddy water. The person I offended has an extraordinary status."

(End of this chapter)