Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 32

Li Kui took Fang Chongyong to Xuanpingfang, and before entering the gate, he saw people queuing up outside.

A fortune-telling business is so booming, it has to be said that Chang'an people in the Tang Dynasty were quite superstitious.

Fang Chongyong was amazed at this scene, and he asked Li Kui a little puzzled: "This Wang Sheng, how much is one life?"

"Five hundred Wen, no one will deceive you, no counter-offer."

Li Kui said very confidently.

What a fool, how much money is so easy to fool.Forget it, everything in Chang'an is expensive anyway, so it's not bad.

Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong was speechless, and told Ah Duan to prepare the money.

Fang Chongyong originally thought that the queue would have to wait until dark, but he didn't expect that the queue moved very fast, and it wasn't long before it was their turn.Wang Sheng looked like a Taoist immortal, and there was a little Taoist boy beside him who was responsible for collecting money.

The whole yard was filled with all kinds of things, including boxes containing money and various kinds of cloth. It was obvious that business was going very well.

Fang Chongyong is a little bit convinced why Honglianchun is so popular in Chang'an.

Even a fortune-telling costs [-] yuan at a time. The price of "tertiary industry" in Chang'an is indeed not cheap. The price of Honglianchun was set too low at the beginning!
I don't know if there will be a chance to ask Li Longji for some mental damage fees in the future.

"Are you asking for a future?"

The Taoist priest named Wang Sheng looked at Li Kui and asked.

"Yes, the Taoist priest is really a fortune teller. He knows what he is asking for before the lottery is drawn."

Li Kui said with some excitement.

"Looking at your attire, the Taoist priest certainly knows that you came to Chang'an for the imperial examination, so it doesn't matter."

Fang Chongyong said angrily, this Li Kui is simply someone who is stupid and rich in money.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, I'll tell the fortune later, I'll take his money, I won't take any of your money."

Wang Sheng stroked his long beard and said with a smile.

Soon, after signing it, Fang Chongyong didn't see the words on it, but saw that Wang Sheng didn't take it seriously and said to Li Kui: "After this time, I will make a small official with a big sesame seed, and then I will send it to Chang'an.

If you don't want to, just don't take the test.Misfortune is where blessings rest, and blessings are where misfortune lies. "

Wang Sheng spoke very casually, but Fang Chongyong was counting how many words he had said.

Are there fifty?It cost more than ten cents a word, and it was hard for him to say it so daringly.

Fang Chongyong mentally mourned for Li Kui for a few seconds. Sure enough, he found that Li Kui's complexion had turned from sunny to cloudy and was about to rain.

Li Kui has been familiar with poetry and books since he was a child, and he believes that he has a lot of knowledge and a brilliant literary talent.

All in all, he felt that when he was awarded an official position after being promoted to middle school, only the official position was not worthy of his talent, and his talent was definitely not worthy of the official position!
If he can win the first place this time, it will be fine if he is a big sesame official in Chang'an. After all, he is a Beijing official.

But if he is sent out to be a small official, it would be better to rely on the favor of the family instead of taking the imperial examination route!Zangfang, the Li family's aunt in Longxi, has never stopped being an official. It can be said that she has been an official for many generations.

It's really not a problem for Enyin to become an official, but I'm a little sorry for his "talent".

Li Kui looked unhappy. He dropped a money bag on the table and turned to leave, but was stopped by Fang Chongyong.

"Taoist Priest, I want to go to Zheng County, Huazhou to find my wife. What do you think?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Wang Sheng and asked calmly.

I didn't expect that the kid in front of me could talk in such detail. It still sounded like a "ridiculous" thing.Wang Sheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and asked Fang Chongyong to draw lots.Fang Chongyong randomly took one and handed it to the other party for inspection, but he didn't even read what was written on it.

Soon, Wang Sheng waved his hand and said, "You can go or not, it's all just a thought, it doesn't matter."

Ok?
Hearing this, both Fang Chongyong and Li Kui felt a little baffled.What kind of interpretation is this?
"Could you please go into more detail?"

"You are just a boy, do you need to be told in such detail about getting married?"

Wang Sheng asked a little speechlessly.

"That's it."

Fang Chongyong sighed, put the money bag in Ah Duan's hand on the table, and wanted to get Li Kui's again.

He has [-] coins in working capital, so he can still afford a treat.

“How can fortune-telling be spent on other people’s wealth?

Bankruptcy and disaster relief.

Pindao just said, it’s free for you.People can't stand without faith. "

Wang Sheng pressed his big hand on Li Kui's purse very persistently, and then signaled Fang Chongyong to take his money away quickly with a worried expression on his face.

"Let's go. Thank you, Taoist Priest, for clarifying my doubts."

Li Kui respectfully bowed to Wang Sheng a little discouraged, and pulled Fang Chongyong away.Ah Duan carried the money without saying a word, and the group left Xuanpingfang in a blink of an eye.

After walking out, Li Kui still looked sullen and upset.He was originally the one who asked Fang Chongyong to come and play, but now he was the first to be unhappy, not having a child with enough concentration. At this moment, Li Kui felt a little ashamed.

"It's close to my house, why not go to my house for a glass of water and wine. There are also two scholars who are rushing for the exam living there, so it's not bad to have a meal together for fun."

Fang Chongyong comforted Li Kui and said.

When the two came to the Fang family's house, they found that Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun had gone out to visit "distinguished guests" and were not here at all.

Fang Dafu served a plate of steamed chicken, a plate of fried eggs with leeks, a plate of pickled pig ears, and a plate of pickles that looked like sour radish.

It is also very common in Chang'an City, where you can buy a few buckets of turbid rice wine for a hundred coins.

This is down-to-earth ordinary food and wine.

Fang Chongyong suddenly discovered that Fang Dafu seemed to know a lot about how to serve guests of whatever level he received.It will not make Li Kui lose face, nor will it be too generous to make the other party feel flattered.

Fang Laique's father is really capable for setting up the food and drinks without giving instructions.

Thinking about something in his heart, Fang Chongyong said to Li Kui: "My brother and I hit it off right away. A little bouillon is not a respect. Come, I will do it first."

Fang Chongyong drank the turbid rice wine in the white porcelain wine glass in front of him. It tasted similar to the rice wine in his previous life, but it was sweeter, and it tasted like a drink.

This kind of wine is very simple to make. You just need to take out the liquid after brewing the rice wine without filtering it.

However, due to the subtle differences in the koji and crafts, good turbid rice wine is neither sour nor topped, and it is a drink that will appear when entertaining guests and friends.Even the same kind of drinks can be classified as high or low.

The two ate and drank, and soon the stamina of the rice wine came up, and Li Kui began to complain about the court.

"Nowadays, there are countless people in the court who are lying on their backs. If I become the Prime Minister in the future, I will definitely get rid of all these mediocre people and let the capable people take over.

At that time, it will be enough to be worthy of the support and cultivation of the sage above, and worthy of the support of the people below, this life is enough! "

Li Kui began to talk about his ambitions, Fang Chongyong just listened quietly, nodding from time to time, without commenting.

In addition to agreeing with Li Kui's suggestion that "the imperial examination should be open-book, but the questions are more difficult," Fang Chongyong spent the rest of the time listening alone and drinking heavily.

"My dear brother! Why does a man have no wife! You are the son of Fang Jieshuai, why bother about marrying a wife? Even if I am a relative of General Wang's wife's family, I have to say a few words about you.

Don't think of yourself so lowly, man.Will Fang Jieshuai's son still fail to marry the little lady? "

Li Kui is not very good at drinking, and started talking nonsense after drinking half a liter of wine.Inside and outside the words, Fang Chongyong was puzzled so actively to marry Wang Zhongsi's family.

"People cannot stand without trust. If you promise to others, you must do it. Whether you can do it well is another matter, but you can't pretend that there is no such thing."

Fang Chongyong put down the wine glass and said in a deep voice.

"Well, people are hard to break down. General Wang is really lucky to have a son-in-law like you."

Li Kui sighed.

"Brother Li, what do you think the world is like now?"

Fang Chongyong asked slowly.

"Although there are flaws, the four words of peace and prosperity are still worthy of it."

Li Kui said very cautiously, such words cannot be said indiscriminately.It doesn't matter how Fang Chongyong is, but Li Kui is a person who is going to take the imperial examination, and if he talks nonsense, the consequences will be unpredictable.

"A lot of things are hidden under the surface. Ordinary people can see the beauty of the surface, but not the cruelty inside.

For example, hard work in the fields, on the surface, seems to be a matter of course for farmers.In fact, those are unnecessary things for farmers.

In other words, this kind of thing is not something they are born to do, like eating and drinking; they are driven by external things and have to do these things.

In order to survive, one must work; and the product of labor can only survive, year after year, day after day.

When farmers work in the field, they are not affirming themselves, but denying their own existence;

Instead of feeling happy, the farmer will feel unhappy and even numb;

When working in the fields, farmers cannot give full play to their own expertise, and also torture their bodies and destroy their spirits.

Not only can't get rid of it, but it has to be passed down from generation to generation.

Whether it is a tenant without an acre of land or a good family with an acre of land, they can feel at ease and happiness outside of working in the field, such as drinking a sip of wine, such as eating a meal, or such as the happiness of the relationship between husband and wife.

After all, farmers work just to make ends meet.The harvest of the fields brought their rations and daily necessities, and they were bound to the land to continue farming as a matter of course.

From this point of view, they can no longer be regarded as a group of people, but are controlled by the fields, like cattle and horses.

However, when they saw others taking away the things produced in the fields, their inner emotions were numbness, or... hatred? "

Hearing these words, Li Kui was shocked!
If it seems easy to understand, why can't he fully understand it together?

"What do you want to say, my dear brother..."

Li Kui asked in a low voice, feeling that his aura was much weaker.

"A businessman sells wine. When he sees the wine, what does the wine look like to him?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a drunken eye.

"Businessmen value profits, I'm afraid they only have money in their eyes."

Li Kui sighed.

"That's right, if I were a businessman, I would never pay attention to how delicious and delicious the wine was when I saw those fine wines. I would only think that the wines in front of me are golden mountains and silver mountains!
I don't care about anything else.

Even if the wine tastes like horse urine, as long as it doesn't prevent me from selling it, I don't care about it.

Don't you think I'm being controlled by the idea of ​​making money?I worked hard to make money, but in the end it was money that controlled me.

The sons of good families were assigned to the fields, but instead they were controlled in the fields by mediocrity and exorbitant taxes, and lost the opportunity to change their lives.Day after day I don't know what I'm doing.

The brave generals made great contributions to the country's opening of borders, but for the sake of their achievements, they had to continue killing people, setting fires in border towns, and provoking disputes.

Those who made meritorious deeds were instead controlled by their own meritorious deeds, and had no choice but to continue to make meritorious deeds in the border town, walking on the road of killing people.

Brother Li, tell me, can we find answers to these things in today's peaceful and prosperous world?

How can a person not be controlled by his own creation? "

Fang Chongyong was so drunk that he lay on the table, these words were almost muttered out.

"I……"

Li Kui looked at Fang Chongyong, who was already drunk to death, with a lot of words stuck in his heart, and he didn't know how to say it.

He thought that after he became an official, he might also encounter things similar to what Fang Chongyong said.

In order to climb up, I have to do something I don't like, to be a dog officer.

What I want to do, because of various restrictions, I can't do it.

Flying with dogs is to climb up, and after climbing up, continue to play with dogs, until one day they can't get along and end up disastrously.

In what Fang Chongyong said just now, there is great wisdom that ordinary people cannot understand.

It is hard to imagine that a child could say such a thing.

"I'm not as good as you..."

Li Kui stood up and sighed, looked at Fang Chongyong who was drunk, bowed down and bowed deeply, and after saluting, he turned and left the other courtyard.

……

"Don't pretend, don't pretend, I can't pretend anymore!"

In front of an ox cart outside Chunming Gate, Fang Dafu was still loading things needed for the trip onto the cart, and Fang Chongyong hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

Such as bamboo umbrellas, oil caps and oil coats, medicine bags (there are many emergency pills and snake repellents in them), belts (similar to suitcases), and a lot of dry-baked mustard biscuits as dry food.

Everything is missing!

On this trip to Zheng County, Huazhou, not only was Ah Duan the guard, but also Zhang Xun, who was both civil and military, volunteered to be a coachman to drive Fang Chongyong.

According to him, this is "the great virtue of repaying the kindness of the public in case of emergency."

"Xiao Langjun, do you want to beat the drum to clear the way?"

Fang Dafu asked with a smile.

Beating drums to say goodbye is a custom passed down from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. This time Fang Chongyong traveled to the Wang family. Although it was not a marriage proposal, it was almost the same.

But it can't be looked down upon.

"No, no, no, keep a low profile, a low profile."

Fang Chongyong said awkwardly, and waved his hands, indicating that Fang Dafu could go back.

The bullock cart began to bump forward, and Fang Chongyong sat in it, his body shaking.This official road is almost one of the best roads in the Tang Dynasty, but Fang Chongyong, who had already experienced a horse-drawn carriage on the way back to Chang'an, did not look forward to traveling by land at all.

Bumps are inevitable, it depends on how big the bumps are, alas.

He couldn't help sighing.

"I always feel as if I have forgotten something important. What is it?"

Fang Chongyong suddenly felt that he had forgotten something, and he couldn't remember it for a while.

I have successfully found my home, now I am going to solve the issue of Wang Zhongsi's transfer order, what else is there to deal with?
It shouldn't be difficult for Lao Zheng to escape, by the way, who else is there?

Fang Chongyong remembered that there seemed to be an inconspicuous person who followed them into the city, who was persecuted by his scumbag father, what's his name?

That person should be okay, right?Jin Wuwei shouldn't embarrass him, right?
Fang Chongyong thought with some guilt.

(End of this chapter)