I opened a tea shop in Bianjing

It was raining heavily, and Zhao Si and Yun Xiang were trudging on the muddy road. The mud had swept up to their calves, and their faces and hands were also mottled with muddy water.

In normal times, Yun Xiang would definitely hate himself like this.

But right now, she only feels that life is more precious than ever, so she has no time to care about him.

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and the road is getting more and more muddy.Yun Xiang touched the rain on his face, raised his eyes and looked forward, but saw a misty mist, and he couldn't see his fingers.

At this time, her feet were sore, and she tripped over a branch again. With a cry of "Ouch", she fell into the mud.Muddy water splashed everywhere, and half of his face was stained with muddy water.

She cried in disgust, and tried to wipe it with her hands, but her hands were also dirty, and she could only get dirtier with rubbing.

Zhao Si hurriedly knelt down to help her, and said, "Let's go, if they catch us, we will die!"

Yun Xiang glared at him fiercely, slapped his hands heavily in the mud, and said, "If you don't leave, they will kill me if they catch me. I have been tossing all night, and if I don't get killed, I will die of exhaustion." gone."

"Xiang'er, now is not the time to be angry." Zhao Si said, "If you die, how much does it mean for me to live alone? Just treat it for me, and you have to live."

Yun Xiang suddenly became angry and said: "Bah! You will coax me! You say you are King Jian, so I will recognize you as King Jian? Didn't you say that person is your good friend? Why did he want to kill him again?" You? Can I still believe what you say?"

Zhao Si raised her eyebrows, and held her shoulders tightly with her hands. "Don't touch me!" Yun Xiang shook his shoulder and shook off his hand.

Zhao Si just gave a wry smile and said, "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but you are a daughter, do you know what will happen to you if you fall into the hands of those strong men?"

"What's the end? If you can't fight, you will die." Even though he said this, Yun Xiang's tone softened a lot.

"Hmph! I'm afraid you'll die!" Zhao Si said, "If you catch a girl like you, they'll stick a piece of wood or a peach pit in your mouth so you can't bite your tongue, and then strip off your clothes and let others insult you." , and then you will be paraded through the streets with a rope leading the oxen, and finally you will be tightly covered with a fishing net, and you will be cut to death with a small knife."

Yun Xiang's small face turned pale in an instant, and his eyes became twinkling.She didn't speak, but her muscles were shaking, and she already had strong fear.

"Let's go, it's better to die than to die from exhaustion." When Zhao Si came to help her again, she didn't resist.

The two stood up, Yun Xiang sobbed again, and said, "It's fine, why did I run away from home, why did I run away from home, I want to go home..."

"Okay! I'll take you home." Zhao Si took her hand and walked forward.

Just two steps away, Yun Xiang suddenly stretched out his other hand to hold his wrist, and said, "You are a repeat offender, if you go into the city, will you..."

Zhao Xi smiled sadly and said: "I am a dying person, as long as I can protect you well, what does it matter if I hand over my life?"

Yun Xiang's eyes were full of tears, and suddenly he jumped on him, hugged him tightly, and said, "No! I don't want you to die, I want you to live with me."

Zhao Si patted her head and said with a smile: "Regardless of life or death, we have to go to the city. Don't worry, I am covered in mud now, no one will recognize me."

So they walked forward hand in hand. After walking for an unknown amount of time, the torrential rain gradually subsided, and the icy air almost froze people's noses and ears.The two looked up at the sky, and the sky as black as ink was slightly pale.

Zhao Sixin's hair tightened, and he thought to himself: "I have to go to the city at night, I'm afraid I will reveal my identity after dawn."

Yun Xiang suddenly pointed forward and said with a smile, "Look, Zhao Lang!"

Zhao Si looked in the direction of her finger, and indeed saw the looming city wall and the lights on the city tower in the hazy mist. Although they still couldn't see anyone, they knew they were not far from the city gate.

The spirits of the two were suddenly lifted, and they speeded up their pace unconsciously.

The soldiers on the tower had burning eyes, and looked around cautiously like a searchlight. Suddenly, they saw two figures walking towards the city gate, and they couldn't help shouting, "Who are they? Stop!"

"Stop whoever comes!" The soldiers on the tower shouted in unison, majestic. "Ah?" Yun Xiang was taken aback, and hurriedly pulled Zhao Si to a stop.

"Who are you?" A soldier on the tower asked while lying on the wall.

Zhao Si raised his head and replied: "Master Huijun, I am a traveling businessman who came to Tokyo, unexpectedly I met a strong man just outside the city, and I managed to escape with my humble wife!"

The soldiers looked at the two of them and saw that they were covered in mud and their clothes were disheveled, so they had no doubts and continued to ask, "What kind of strong man?"

"I don't know, I just heard what they said about the Cao Gang. The leader seems to be named Wan." Zhao Si replied.

"Cao Gang?" This sentence caused a commotion among the soldiers.

So the soldier hurried down the tower, opened the city gate a crack, and rode out by himself.

He got off his horse when he came in front of the two, looked at them and said: "You heard clearly, it is indeed Cao Gang?"

Zhao Si said: "Listen clearly, it's Cao Gang!"

Yun Xiang didn't dare to look at the soldiers, but just nodded vigorously.

"Where are they?" asked the soldier.

The two pointed in the direction they came from at the same time.

The soldier nodded and asked again: "Since you are traveling merchants, what about the goods?"

Zhao Si replied: "Master Jun, it's a blessing that my young husband and wife escaped with their lives, why did you return all the goods!"

The soldier also felt reasonable, looked around to confirm that there were no other people following him, then sized up the two of them, and said: "In that case, you can go to the nursing home in Anjifang to take shelter for a while, and wait until the imperial court wipes out the strongmen, I will report to Kaifeng Mansion for you."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Jun." Zhao Si hurriedly bowed to him, and Yun Xiang followed suit.

"You don't need to thank me, this is the great kindness of the emperor." The soldier pointed to the city and said, "Go in now, another military master will take you there."

The two thanked him again, then entered the city gate, and led by another soldier, they headed for the nursing home in Anjifang.

For more than a hundred years since Chanyuan, there has not been a large-scale war in the Song Dynasty. Although it was peaceful with Xixia, it was still in the northwest border. Not too strict.

At this time, the sky was already slightly bright, and "Yexianglang" pushing a dung cart could already be seen in the city of Tokyo. Several households had also removed the door panels and splashed wash water on the street.

The cold wind suddenly blew up, Yun Xiang held Zhao Si's hand tightly, feeling the little warmth from his palm.

The nursing home was a shelter provided by the Song court for the widowed and lonely. It provided free housing and simple food, and later also provided free medicine for the seriously ill. It can be said to be the harbinger of the welfare system.

However, having said that, the nursing home is still a dilapidated scene.As soon as Yunxiang and Zhao Si came over, the smell of rancidity and mildew came over their faces.

Yun Xiang hurriedly covered his mouth and nose, looked up, and saw only a few dilapidated houses nearby, the people here were scantily clad, and their dirty bodies seemed to have never been washed.

Some of them were sleeping, and some were leaning against the corner and staring blankly at the person coming.

Yun Xiang tugged at Zhao Si's sleeve and said, "Let's go, I don't want to live here."

Zhao Xi smiled and said, "Just be patient for a while, don't wear clothes."

The soldier explained a few words to the caretaker of the nursing home, and the caretaker was obedient and very attentive.

The soldier turned to the two of them again and said, "Although this place is simple, it is better to have roof tiles to cover your head than you to go wandering."

Zhao Si laughed and said, "That's right. Dao Si used to live in a shabby room, but I am Dexin. My husband and I are satisfied with this place."

The soldier nodded and left. The guard came with the books and asked impatiently, "Name, why are you here?"

Zhao seemed to make up two pseudonyms at random and asked the watchman to register.As soon as the guard recorded it, he felt that something was wrong. He looked up at Zhao Si and said, "Your accent sounds like a person from Tokyo. How can you say that you are a tourist here?"

Zhao Si was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "To be honest, I'm busy all year round, and I speak the languages ​​of different places. When I come to Tokyo, I naturally speak the official language."

"Oh?" The guard looked him and Yun Xiang from head to toe, and said, "Then tell me a few words in your hometown dialect."

"Nong can listen to the slave's talk. There is a Tang poem saying that you can ride a crane to Yangzhou with a hundred thousand guan in your waist. It is my friend Yangzhou."

Yun Xiang boldly said something.Zhao seems to also feel strange, why can she speak Yangzhou dialect?
The guard looked at her again. Although her face was covered with mud and her clothes were torn, she had a pair of sparkling eyes that were quite delicate, and she had the charm of a Jiangnan woman.

"Are you from Yangzhou?" the guard asked while recording, "What is the history and customs of Yangzhou?" It was like chatting.

Yun Xiang was about to answer, but the guard rushed to say, "Let him talk."

Zhao Si grew up in the deep palace since he was a child, how did he know the history and customs of Yangzhou, his palms were sweating for a while, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

Seeing that the identities of the two were about to be revealed, suddenly someone called from a distance: "Old He!"

The watchman looked back and saw a man who looked like a local rich man, wearing luxurious silk clothes.

"Yo! You're old!" The guards didn't care about Zhao Si and Yunxiang, and hurriedly went up to greet them, and greeted him, "Mr. Yuan, you're hardworking when you're old!"

Looking at this man, Yun Xiang always felt that he was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't tell where he had seen him.

Zhao Siyi took her hand and said, "Go in quickly!" So they both went in and got mixed up in the crowd.

The caretaker surnamed He came with the rich man Yuan, and there was a small commotion in the nursing home. The children came to beg for food, and the servants who followed the rich man Yuan also came. Open the cloth bag that you carry with you, and distribute the dough cakes mixed with sugar to the children one by one.

"You are really a living Bodhisattva!" The guard said with a smile: "The government allocates food every month, and you have to add another sum. You are really the reincarnation of a living Buddha."

The rich man Yuan looked at the poor people here, his eyes swept over their faces one by one, and when he saw Yunxiang, his eyes suddenly showed something strange.

Yun Xiang felt this strangeness, but she didn't think much about it, she just thought it was an illusion caused by her being too nervous.But this strangeness only stayed for less than a second.

The rich man Yuan turned his head and said to the watchman, "Build a porridge shed immediately."

"Yes!" The guard responded and left immediately.

Being a caretaker in a nursing home is hard work. Although there is no such thing as a low-level job in Song Dynasty, people often call such a job a low-level job together with grave guards and Ye Xianglang.

Because they have to stay with the stench all year round.Although these people in the nursing home have government assistance, it is very limited.Most of them are malnourished and dying.

The so-called poor and short-sighted people, many people do not hesitate to rob or steal in order to survive, which will indirectly bring trouble to the caretakers of the nursing home.

However, the benevolent rich man Yuan spread his money every month, not only saving many poor people, but also saving the caretaker surnamed He from a lot of trouble.That's why he's so diligent.

Young men with some strength helped rich man Yuan's servants and the guards set up the porridge shed, and then lit the fire to cook the porridge.

But Zhao Si and Yun Xiang hid in the dark, and no one noticed them.

"Xiang'er, how can you speak Yangzhou dialect?" Zhao Si asked.

Yun Xiang smiled wryly, and said, "Dad used to go there to pick tea from time to time, and I used to go there when I was young, so I learned it."

"I see." Zhao nodded thoughtfully.

Yun Xiang glanced at the porridge shed in the distance, and said, "Zhao Lang, let's have a bowl of porridge too, I'm hungry."

But Zhao Si cast a rather stern look at her and said: "No, you and I are gold and jade, how can we eat with these beggars. If we eat this porridge, we will really become beggars." .”

"But..." Yun Xiang tugged his sleeve lightly, and said, "If we don't eat, we will starve to death."

Looking at the poor Yunxiang, Zhao Si's heart also softened, and he could only sigh and say: "A man can bend and stretch, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if he is humiliated once."

So he took Yunxiang's hand and went to line up to get the porridge.Although the bowls given to them were very rough and looked like they hadn't been cleaned for a long time, but Yun Xiang, who had been tossing all night, was already hungry, so he couldn't care less about it.

After receiving the porridge, she quickly thanked her and then squatted at the entrance of an alley and drank it. Other beggars also squatted around.

Looking at her now, there is still the reserve and grace of the second girl of the Mo family, she is clearly a poor beggar woman.

At this time, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder from behind, and Yunxiang looked back, and it turned out to be a six or seven-year-old girl, who also seemed to be living in a nursing home.

Yun Xiang thought she was here to grab his porridge, so he quickly drank up his porridge and said, "I don't have any more here, you can go there to get it."

The little girl shook her head and asked, "Big sister, do you want to eat pancakes?"

Yun Xiang was stunned, and hurriedly asked, "Do you have pancakes?"

The little girl nodded and said, "Come with me." Then she took Yun Xiang's hand and went deep into the alley.

"Where is there cooking cake?" As soon as Yunxiang finished speaking, he felt his eyes go dark, and then he lost consciousness. The whole process was so silent that when Zhao Xi squeezed out the porridge from the crowd, he couldn't find it. It's her time.