A Collection of Old Sayings by Fourth Sister You

Chapter 184 Meeting the Best Him: Red Dust (19)
19
Where is the busiest place in Forty-Nine City? Qianmen Street is the number one.Everyone knows that it is a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, full of workshops, trading stalls, and shops of old things.There are teahouses and wine shops for people to rest while enjoying the entertainment. Fengyaju is built at the intersection of Yingyingxie Street, facing Dashilan to the east and Liulichang to the west.The Seventh Prince keeps a private room there all the year round, where he will talk about bird scriptures with bird friends.Fengyaju gradually developed, and later it became not only a restaurant, but also a small bird market.For example, I got a backer Hong'er, and it looks like your Ming Jier is good, and we can exchange it if we talk about it.Today, the Seventh Prince brought a new orchid chop, and wanted to exchange his pigeon tiger with King Heng. A thin chain was tied to the bird's leg and he held it in his hand, so that the bird stood on his shoulder, and then he went out.

Na Jin prepared the sedan chair and waited on the Asmen, and when he waited on the sedan chair, he didn't forget to remind him, saying: "Master, the fourth master is going to come over to the mansion today, don't you want to wait before leaving?"

Hongtao scraped his scalp with a fan, "I'm not at home, let's make another appointment when he comes, don't delay me to change the bird."

"What about the guards? You have to ask the people close to you, this time there are a lot of people..."

He returned his hand, "Love so and so." As he spoke, he got into the sedan chair, kicked the curtain, and the curtain was shaken, and he fell down.

The Seventh Prince is an inconspicuous prince, he works under him, as long as he spends his time playing with him, he doesn't have to worry about anything else.Najin beeped happily, clapped his hands and called the sedan chair, the sedan chair walked in front, followed by two little eunuchs carrying birdcages, all the way to Fengyaju in a grand way.

When he entered the door, he saw that everyone he had known before was there. Liang Beile found a mynah somewhere, lay on the table and raised two fingers, and said to the bird: "Look, how many are these? "

The bird paused, quite disdainful, "Isn't it Er."

Liang Baylor divided his thumb and index finger, and gestured at it, "How much is this?"

Now the bird's wings fluttered, and it shouted loudly: "Eight horses, nine are always here, all open..." Who dares to punch in front of it, this bird has a keen mind and remembers everything.

Everyone in the hall laughed, and Hongtao grinned and said, "Well, it has a Sichuan flavor, and I bought it from people in Sichuan."

Seeing him coming, the clerk in the shop hurried forward to beat Qian'er, and said with a smile: "My lord, come inside, please, and change the cook according to your order. Today, there is enough vinegar on the grilled cakes, and the acid is kept cool. Almond tofu The sweet-scented osmanthus syrup served is also boiled with honey, and the sugar can be stretched two feet without breaking, and it’s all ready for you.”

Hongtao hummed, "Hi, new cook, let me try my hand at a bowl of spinach puree soup."

"Come on." The waiter smiled obsequiously, "This time, I invited a chef from Tianjin. The first-grade official swallow, shark's fin cap, and sweet-scented osmanthus fish bone are all specialty dishes. Don't you want to try them?"

Hongtao sat down on the Arhat couch in his robe, with two iron eggs in his hands spinning quickly, he laughed and said: "What do you know, the simpler it is, the more it can test people's ability. If you can't even make spinach puree soup well, The shark's fin was also made into vermicelli for me in his hands."

The clerk answered countless yeses, "Then you rest first, and the younger one will wait outside for Prince Heng, and he will invite you here as soon as he arrives."

Then just wait, Hongtao sent a few people who often play together to come in and sit together, and analyzed his orchid chop from mouth to claw.Those people tabooed him as a prince, even if they caught a chicken and left it there, they agreed.

Those who can sit together must be with birds, Hong Tao took a quick look and saw that Tong Si had brought two cages, both of which were covered with black cloth.He raised his chin, "What kind of stuff do dogs not pick up? Didn't rush to show it to me, it's probably a good thing."

Tong Si smiled and said: "Look at what you said, when did I forget you when I have something good? They are the two red buns sent by Zhuangzi yesterday. If the prince likes it, choose one as my tribute to you."

"How embarrassing is this? I've heard that Hongzi has a good voice, so I want one, so I don't want to go to the bird market..." He said, stretching out his hand to remove the cover.Hibiscus cage, thin bamboo branches brushed with tung oil, and two jade drying rods in the middle, revealing fineness everywhere.Inside was a cage of birds, one big and one small, one rough and one rough in color, without opening their mouths, squatting on the bars.He put down the veil, licked his lips and said, "I can't study Hongzi thoroughly. Since you said you would give me one, then it's up to you."

In fact, Tong Si was in a panic. For a bird-loving person, cutting love is more painful than cutting flesh with a knife.What should I do, this is the prince, it's too late to hold it up and respect it, I can't offend others for a bird.But the Seventh Prince is a man who is not good at playing with birds, and half a bottle of vinegar is dangling around, so he can be fooled.So I moved up the two cages, lifted half of the black cloth to look at the appearance, and said with a glance: "The prince likes it, so I have nothing to say about giving it to you. I will pick a good one for you, and I will earn my own face. I will tell you Ah, Hongzi is divided into south road and east road. The sound of the east road is fast and heavy, which is not good. The south road is slow and crisp, and everyone who raises their families loves the south road. Look at this..." He pointed at the gray-haired one, " The authentic South Road product, Xingtai Hongzi, sounds like stick and red, not to mention how juicy..."

"Hongzi is from South Road. You are right from South Road, but it's not Xingtai Hongzi, it's Handan Hongzi."

People in the private room were talking about it, and suddenly someone came in at the door, and looked up, it was a small man with a fair face.Everyone was stunned, but the Seventh Prince smiled, "Do you still know birds?"

Dingyi went in and called Qian'er, "Going back to my lord, I used to live next to the bird market with my master, and I watched people selling birds every day. I can't say for sure. It's okay to say seven or eight points."

Hongtao glanced at Tong Si, "Okay, you kid dare to cheat in front of the master!"

Tong Si was taken aback, of course he couldn't admit it.He took a look at the visitor, cupped his hands and said, "Little brother, why do you think I'm Handan Hongzi?"

"Look at it." Ding Yi smiled, "I'm lying, listen to me right. Handan Hongzi is big, with gray hair, Xingtai Hongzi is small, with gray hair. Handan Hongzi has few voices, so he can't speak Water, Xingtai Hongzi has a good sound, but it has many problems, and it is easy to get dirty..."

Her tongue twister made people dizzy.Hongtao patted the table and said, "Come on, don't explain so much, which one of these two is better, just keep it."

Ding Yi answered the question, and glanced at the other cage. The bird was inconspicuous, a head smaller than that one, and its coat color was not bright, it was a white claw.She snorted at the Seventh Prince, "In my humble opinion, that one is not Xingtai Hongzi, but Jiangnan Hongzi. Don't look at it's unobtrusive appearance, but it has a good voice, with a soft, melodious and smooth voice. If I were you, I’d rather keep that one. If you don’t believe me, just peel off the cloth and let them call, compare the two, and you’ll find out which one is the best.”

The Seventh Prince really went to reveal it, the bird raised its voice when it saw the light, the big one was not bad, but it was obviously inferior to the small one when put together.The smaller one screamed crisply, which made people feel comfortable.The Seventh Prince was overjoyed, and slapped Mu Xiaoshu on the shoulder, making him half as short as he said, "Okay, good boy, his character is not very good, and being able to watch birds is considered a craft. Tong Si, you boy You are notoriously cunning, and today you have committed crimes on the door of the Lord, do you believe that I will expose your skin?"

"Yo," Tong Si hurriedly bowed, "I was also fooled, saying that Xingtai belongs to Xingtai. I wanted to give you the small one, but I was afraid that you would not like it. If you look at it like that, I will give it to you. It recommended it to you, and you thought I was stingy... You see, you are a prince, and the bird is not good at showing off, so it would be a shame to you."

The Seventh Prince was in a good mood, and he didn't care too much about it. He even left the cage together, "I know you don't want it, and I don't want you in vain. I have a Huboluo in my house, a young one, and I will call someone to give it to you tomorrow." Send it."

Tong Si wiped off his sweat, got up and thanked him obediently, and withdrew with the rest of the people.

This time it was Hongtao's turn to look at Dingyi, he touched the cage, and then looked at the person in front of him, "I didn't see it, you still have this ability. Are you only able to see Hongzi, or can you recognize other birds?"

Dingyi said: "I don't recognize them all, but the thrushes and orioles are quite reasonable."

Hongtao nodded, "Like this Hongzi from the south of the Yangtze River, three inches small, but a little bit capable. I said, why did you come here? You are a little executioner who also plays with birds?"

Let's just say hello, anyway, he hasn't said anything good since I met him.Dingyi said no with a very sincere expression, "I know that the prince comes here every day, and he will come to serve you when he sees the right time."

"The sun is coming out from the west?" Hongtao picked up the sweet wine on the table and sipped his mouth, then turned his eyes to look at him, "Last time I told you to work in the garden, you don't want to, why are you here today? I see you boy You have no good intentions, but you are still thinking about becoming Geshha!" Leaning on the low mother-of-pearl table, he rubbed his index finger on the bridge of his nose, "Your body is really bad, but today you are showing off by picking a bird In one hand, there is no one around me in Geshha who has the ability of you. I don’t like to be a errand, and I go to the north to wear a bird handle, which makes people look unseemly. If there is Geshha with a bird handle , then let’s work together. Take the title of bodyguard, and do the job of raising birds..." The seventh prince was actually moved by his own words, patted his thigh and heyed, thinking that this is simply a great innovation that has never been seen before or since. .

When Dingyi heard it, did he strike right?In fact, just living near the bird market is the next best thing. When she was ten years old, she followed the nurse's man to cling to birds, just to carry that big net and set it up in the woods.If a bird accidentally bumps into it, the unlucky one will die, and the unlucky one will be arrested, tidied up, and sent to a special bird collection place.The bird collector will give a face to the bird, see this is low-grade, twist the neck and peel it, and send it to a restaurant for wine and dishes;When she was small, she would stand by and watch people pick birds. People saw that she was good-looking, and liked to tease her, saying, little tree, is this bird handsome, or your bird handsome?Then teach her how to recognize male and female, how to distinguish between big and small sex.

When people are wandering outside, they have learned a lot, and they accumulate confidence.I didn't think much of it at the time, but it came in handy in an emergency, which was great.

"That's it." The Seventh Prince pointed at her, "Can you ride a horse? If you can't even ride a horse, you can't follow the bird."

Ding Yi hurriedly said yes, "I knew how to ride a mule when I was a child, but I changed to a horse later on, and I'm pretty good at it."

"Yo, that's right." The prince smiled, his eyes gleaming, "You don't want to go into the cellar, but you just want to be with me if you dare! Say it earlier, we are acquainted, and it is not difficult to accommodate."

The corner of her mouth twitched, and she sang: "Didn't I be afraid of you before? You are a prince, and we are ordinary people. We tremble when we are near you. We dare not make any unreasonable demands."

"That's right." He teased Na Hongzi with a bamboo stick, and said, "Work hard, I won't treat you badly. Ask Na Jin about your salary and let him introduce you to the guard."

I tried every means and plan, and now it's finally done, I can't tell the feeling in my heart.She planted seedlings and bowed down, "My lord... Thank you, my lord, I will definitely do a good job. But you want to take the birds to the north, it's cold in the north, I'm afraid the birds in the south won't be able to stand it."

Hongtao smacked his lips, "Isn't there you! Let them make a cage the size of two fists, you carry it in your arms, just put it on your chest, ah." He glanced at him, "Take good care of the bird. Your errand, why not keep you?"

Two small cages, one on the left and one on the right, are tucked into the clothes... Dingyi blushed a little, this prince is wicked, he never forgets to play tricks.Now that he has confessed a few words, she is still thinking about how to explain to her master, because she asked the prince to show her, "My master didn't know that I was going to work for you, so I have to go back and tell you. Go to the palace to find the person in charge, do you think it will work?"

The Seventh Prince is not easy to deal with when he makes things difficult, and he is not awkward when he is easy to talk about.He waved his hand, "That's what it should be. Wipe the front butt clean to serve the new master. Don't lead me around. I'm not the twelfth master."

She responded, "Then master, this slave will leave now."

The prince flew over with his eyes narrowed, and said with a smile: "Your boy is clever enough, and you can change your words very quickly. Come on, get out!"

Dingyi hit Qian'er again, but left the private room.

(End of this chapter)