Lord of the Desert

Chapter 69
The scorching sun in the afternoon overwhelmed the coldness of Xiliang in winter.

Upstairs and downstairs, there were many bold words for a while.

And when the voice below stopped, Hong Sheng suddenly pressed the window sill and responded loudly:

"Bending for 20 years,

See the blue sky in the palm of your hand;
The man is determined to open the gate of heaven,

There is a new chapter on the rooftop. "

He blurted out four sentences, but the young master of the Seven Meridians of the Hunran Realm had trembling fingers and his face was flushed red.

In Dahua Martial Arts since 2000, Kaitianmen has always been used to refer to breaking through the artistic conception.

Jietiantai is a landmark on the outskirts of Shenjing, enshrining martial saints of all dynasties.

"The man is determined to open the gate of heaven, and there will be a new chapter on the rooftop..."

Li Shenji repeated in a soft voice, first shook his head slightly, and finally couldn't help stroking the jade pendant on his waist.

Then, he also spoke:
"Qingyun did not reach the sky,

The flying dragon dives into the silver carp;
The phoenix loses its feathers,
Also hidden among the chicks. "

The two little poems came out, and the voices of people upstairs and downstairs were completely uproarious.

Seeing so many eyes pointing and looking up, Li Shenji's face paled, he clutched the jade pendant tightly and turned to avoid the hall.

But Hong Shengrao's face was red like blood, and he pinched the window sill with cracks, and he was still nailed in place against thousands of eyes.

"Brother Sheng, great poetry, great spirit!"

A particularly loud applause came from below.

Hong Fan followed the prestige and found that it was Chi Xinchi who was crowded in the crowd on the street.

Beside him is Zheng Fuqu and Lianyuan, a pair of master and servant.

Seeing the "enemy", the two of them immediately turned cold and looked away.

On the side of Penglai Pavilion, several young masters who were originally sitting in the second seats exchanged glances, and they all came to Hong Fan's side by coincidence, and waved their hands to persuade him to play a song too.

Hong Fan wanted to decline at first, but when he turned around and saw the martial arts list written in Minghuang Brocade again, he no longer felt so far away.

The warm atmosphere, the gazes of the crowd, and the voices of people gathered into the wind, like ropes, tied him, a foreigner from a foreign land, to this small frontier town.

The bland but fulfilling memories of the previous life flashed like a revolving lantern, followed by the scorching heat and flying sand and rocks during the practice in this life.

It seems equally true.

So, he couldn't hold back his emotions after all.

"I have no poetic talent, but I once read a couplet in an ancient book, which can match my mood today."

Hong Fan didn't want to plagiarize, so he uttered his words before singing.

"I hope that all of you here will not lose or forget if you are trapped or hurt in the future:

Remember to take Yunzhi today,
It was once the best in the world! "

There was a sudden silence between heaven and earth.

The crowd breathed into fog, and Wubang went for a ride like a drum.

Hong Fan's voice echoed and wandered among the buildings on Anning Avenue, spreading further and further away.

Then, the applause from all directions exploded wildly.

······
A few days later, the first day of November.

Winter is already deep, but there is not much snow in the dry Jinhai City.

At the beginning of the morning (nine o'clock), most of the chill in the early morning receded, and there were only a few thin frosts at the corners, stubbornly resisting the sun.

In the only small courtyard with a single door in the Hong Mansion's inverted courtyard, a palm-sized yellow-throated bunting was parked high on the window lattice, rubbing against the abundant charcoal heating inside.

In the house, Qiude was sitting behind the desk, checking the accounts, and listening to the middle-aged man complaining about it.

"Please, sir, when will the new maid assigned to my family by the clan arrive, you have to give me an accurate word this time."

The man cried out.

"I've been waiting for a month and a half. Recently, my wife is also taking care of my old mother. He finds excuses to quarrel with me every day, and life is almost impossible..."

His eyebrows and eyes were pulled down in distress, like a character horoscope.

But Qiude was unmoved.

"Brother Hongda, I can't change the maid, I have to wait."

He said without raising his head, and after double-checking, he drew Zhu Zhu at the bottom of the ledger.

"Please, sir, you're cheating on me!"

Hong Da's expression turned serious, and his voice became louder.

"I've already asked before I came, and I know that there are two newcomers in the maid's room, and they are teaching the rules, so I came here..."

He was speaking confidently, but when Qiude raised his eyes, his voice softened again.

"I beg you, sir, I don't have any other intentions, but you accepted the courtesy last time."

Hearing what Hongda said, Qiude had no choice but to stop writing: "There are indeed two, but someone has already decided."

"How come someone has made an order, why don't you say first come, first served?!"

Hong Da made a gesture and pressed down on the table suddenly, but he didn't dare to use his strength.

"It's not impossible for you to say first come, first served."

Qiude replied.

"People are wanted by Asahiyuan, you just go to the door and explain your truth."

"Asahiin?"

Hong Da was taken aback when he heard the words, and immediately came to his senses.

"Is it our Xingjun?"

This time, his voice was three points softer than before.

Qiude nodded and was about to reply when he heard footsteps coming from the courtyard.

Hong Da turned his head to look, and saw a chubby boy striding in, stuffing cakes into his mouth as he walked.

"Brother Fu, why are you here so early?"

Qiude took the initiative to greet him, but he didn't get up, but his attitude was affectionate.

"Please, sir, I have nothing else to do, just come to ask if things are all right."

Hong Fu, who came in, cupped his hands at Qiude, and then nodded at Hong Da who was facing him, before asking with a shy stomach.

"The things have been loaded into the car, and Ajie will take someone to Chaoriyuan later."

Qiu De replied immediately.

"As for the two maidservants, they've already been chosen. They're named Tao Hong and Liu Lu. They're both honest and appropriate, and they're quick to do things!"

He replied with a smile, and glanced at the unhappy Hong Da.

The latter winked, and had no choice but to get up and move to the chair beside him, giving way to the armchair which was hot.

"Ah, that's good! My Aunt Liu is the most kind-hearted. If the new girl has a lot of heart, there will be more twists and turns in the family."

Hong Fu thanked Hong Da in a low voice before sitting down.

"That's natural. If I can't do this well and delay the cultivation of the second young master, wouldn't it be a big crime?"

Qiude smiled, and poured Hong Fu a cup of tea from his cup.

The corner of Hong Da's mouth twitched, only to see that the big housekeeper also made him a cup, and his complexion just recovered.

"It's been hard work for Fu Geer to run several times for these trivial matters in the past few days!"

After drinking hot tea together, Qiude sighed.

"No wonder everyone in the clan says that the second young master is closest to you."

Hong Fu liked to hear this.

"No way, two brothers in one world, if I don't help him, who will help him?"

The little fat man said proudly, shaking his legs happily.

······
In the afternoon, Hong Mansion Asahi Courtyard.

The semi-old building was cleaned up, and several men in short coats with bare arms were struggling to move the iron load to the designated corner of the courtyard.

At the end of last month, Hong Sheng proposed at a small-scale family meeting that the conditions of the second brother's courtyard were too poor and needed to be replaced.

No one blocked it without opening their eyes.

So, in less than ten days, Hong Fan moved to a new house.

Compared with the old house, Chaoriyuan also has only one entrance, but its area is several times larger.

Excluding the small attic for storage on the second floor and the hexagonal pavilion in the courtyard, there are six officially usable rooms.

At this time, Hong Fu was sitting in the pavilion with his legs crossed.

"Brother Fan, Tui Gong Wan, Yin Xue Xiang, and Qi Gathering Pill, according to the ratio of three, two, and one, a total of six months' supply, bought in my name."

He pointed to the wooden box on the table and took out another silver ticket and two broken silver ingots.

"I still have 18 taels of money left."

PS: Hong Sheng's four sentences are written blindly.

Li Shenji's four sentences are adapted from Cao Zhi's "Yanzhi Poetry":
Qingyun is not fashionable,
Yunlong dives as a fish;
God Luan lost his concubine,
Also from Yanqueju.

[It must be remembered that taking Yunzhi today, once promised to be the best in the world] One sentence is changed from "Thirty Strategies of Little Elephants" in the Qing Dynasty poetry group.

(End of this chapter)