After rebirth, mother is hard to do

Chapter 19
The old man lazily took a sip from his cup and said lightly, "Ma'am, did you go to the wrong place? This is a tea house, not a restaurant. If you want to sell vegetables, turn left and walk a hundred steps forward. There is a A restaurant with a good business.”

Meng Yuxuan let go of the burden on her shoulders.She looked around and said softly: "Mr., what I'm looking for is the tea house."

The old man laughed and said, "Oh? Why is that? Don't you sell vegetables?"

Meng Yuxuan took out a few pieces of hawthorn cake wrapped in lotus leaves from the pick, and led Shangguanxi's little hand towards the old man.

There have been no customers in the teahouse for a long time, and they are the only people in the whole lobby.The old man is the boss here.It is said that he was a Juren and used to be an official, but because of his upright nature, he couldn't understand the darkness in the officialdom, so he resigned and came back to run this teahouse.

In the first few years, literati and poets heard about the old man's reputation and came here to ask for advice.Suddenly, this teahouse became the most elegant place nearby.The business here has plummeted since last year, even so the old man still runs the teahouse calmly.If you have guests, you will welcome them, and if you don't have them, you will drink by yourself. Life is free and easy.

"This is the hawthorn cake I made, sir, taste how it tastes." Meng Yuxuan put the hawthorn cake wrapped in lotus leaves in front of the old man.

The old man glanced at the hawthorn cake, and said lightly: "It is exquisitely made. Unfortunately, the old man has no extra money to buy pastries. If Madam wants to do business, you can go to a restaurant or dim sum shop. I am afraid that I will disappoint you here." gone."

Shangguanxi frowned, looked at Meng Yuxuan, shook her arm and said, "Mother..."

Shangguanxi was worried that Meng Yuxuan would hit a wall again.Over the years, he has been protected by Shangguan Huan so well that he has never encountered such things.Seeing Meng Yuxuan deflated now, his first reaction was to give up instead of continuing to fight.

Meng Yuxuan smiled reassuringly at him.She looked at Qin on the opposite side and walked slowly.

This piano is treasured by the old man, and he cherishes it very much at ordinary times.In the past, when business was good, the old man would play the piano.If he meets a guest with good piano skills, the old man will generously let the other party play with his piano.Over time, this piano has been placed here without moving.

The slender fingertips gently caress the strings, and the melodious sound of the piano is like a brook, like the warm sun in winter, like flowers blooming in spring.Meng Yuxuan thought about everything in her past and present life, suppressed her fear of the past, and gazed at her hope for the future.

Today she plays casually, without a formed piece of music.Thinking of happy things, her piano sound is happy.Thinking of unhappy things, her piano sound is melancholy.Thinking of the despair in her previous life before her death, her piano sound was suppressed and silent...

Tears flow down the cheeks.Meng Yuxuan's eyes were full of pain and sadness.Tick ​​tock, tears dripping on the strings, forming an echo.

"Father..." Shangguanxi looked at Meng Yuxuan sadly while weeping. "Why does mother's piano sound make me so uncomfortable? I miss dad so much."

The old man wiped his tears, and when the tears dried, he wiped and dried again, his eyes were red.He said tremblingly: "When I resigned from office and returned to my hometown, my heart was so desperate. What a song! What a song! I didn't expect there to be such a master in the countryside! I'm really ashamed."

The song is over.Meng Yuxuan stopped, stood up and bowed to the old man and said, "Mr. made me laugh."

"Madam is good at piano skills, I am ashamed of myself." The old man stood up and returned a salute.

"You don't need to be polite, sir. I'm just a little woman in the countryside. How can I have a master's piano skills?" Meng Yuxuan said politely: "However, the little woman can play a lot of tunes, some of which come from outside the Great Wall. It is said that I learned it from the ranger."

The old man raised a smile, pointed to the opposite chair, stroked his beard and said, "Madam has something to say. But what do you want me to do?"

"I want to cooperate with my husband." Meng Yuxuan sat on a chair and pushed the hawthorn cake on the table in front of the old man. "Taste it, sir."

The old man did not refuse this time.These sour scholars have the greatest respect for talented people.With Meng Yuxuan's piano skills, even if she wants to talk nonsense next, the old man will give her face.This is the difference between an untalented country woman and a talented country woman.

"Sweet and sour, it feels warm after swallowing it. It's really delicious." The old man said. "How does Madam want to cooperate?"

"Can I borrow Mr.'s pen and ink?" Meng Yuxuan smiled mysteriously.

The old man's eyes were bright, and he immediately found a pen and ink for Meng Yuxuan.He laid out the paper and made a gesture of please.

Meng Yuxuan wrote: the water is turbid if there are insects, the fish is fishing when there are fish in the water, the water is full of water, the rivers and lakes are small;

"Good couplet! Ma'am, you are a genius!" The old man read this pair several times in a row, applauding non-stop. "Wonderful, really wonderful. Adding worms to water makes turbidity, and adding fish to water makes fishing. This is a couplet."

Meng Yuxuan endured her embarrassment and wrote again: red flowers are everywhere, and there are many trees and greenery.

Then I wrote another couplet: Divide the water and eat by the Fenshui Bridge, and separate from each other; look at the flowers under the flower pavilion, look and see.

He stopped writing, looked up at the old man with a smile and said, "What do you think of these pairs, sir?"

"Good word, good right." The old man bent down and gave a very respectful salute. "There are red flowers everywhere, and there are many green trees and green trees. It is the same character upside down. It is simply wonderful. Madam's ingenuity is beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Meng Yuxuan quickly lifted the old man up, and said modestly: "Sir, you are polite. In fact, these pairs were made by my teacher. I just pick up his teeth. Please sit down, sir, and let's talk about cooperation next! Presumably Mr. I'm a little interested now."

"Madam, please sit down." The old man said respectfully: "Perhaps the pairing is the work of respecting the teacher, but these words were written by the lady herself. The old man can see it clearly. Without more than ten years of hard practice, it is absolutely impossible to write so well. words."

Meng Yuxuan did not refute this point.Those days of practicing talent in the brothel were like living a dead life, she deserves the respect of others.

"Sir, I have heard about it for a long time. If you want to recreate the glory of the past, no, it should be said that if you want to create a glory that is better than that of the past, you have to rearrange this place. I have a few ideas, sir. Listen Listen, if we agree, we can talk again. If not, just pretend I haven't been here."

"Madam, please tell me." The old man stroked his beard and nodded.

"This is the first idea, you can hang the upper couplet on the wall, attracting scholars to answer the second couplet. If you publish the second couplet, you will be free of tea money for three days." Meng Yuxuan paused, looking at the old man's expression.

"Hehe, madam doesn't know something. The old man's tea house doesn't charge a high price. Three days' worth of tea is nothing." The old man laughed.

"The tea money for three days is really nothing. But that's not the point. The point is that the person got the right match. This shows his face in front of his classmates. The teacher can also offer a reward, which lasts for one month. You can reward other things for the top three scholars who make the most pairs and do the best. For example, the top four treasures of the study, or the top Confucian uniforms, etc. It is up to the gentleman to consider."

"Also, what do you think of my piano skills?" Meng Yuxuan looked at the old man with a smile.

"Worthy of being called a master." The old man made no secret of his admiration for her.

"If I play a song in the side room of the teahouse, will anyone listen?" Meng Yuxuan continued.

"If there is Madam's piano sound, the business of the teahouse will definitely turn around." The old man thought for a while, stroked his beard and smiled.

"Okay. I can play at Mr.'s place. However, Mr. is not allowed to reveal my identity or describe my appearance. In the first three days, in order to attract customers, I came to play a piece every day. After three days, I will not Come and play every day. I will play for ten days, once in ten days." Meng Yuxuan said: "I admire Mr. as a man, and I want to help him save the business of the teahouse. But I have only one condition, that is, to sell me in the teahouse. The pastry. This hawthorn cake costs five cents a piece. If there are other pastries, the price will be determined at that time."

"Although most scholars are children of poor families, there is never a shortage of rich men in this world. This price is suitable." The old man nodded in agreement. "My husband's surname is Zhou, Madam can call me Lao Zhou. I don't know Madam's surname yet, where is it from?"

"My surname is Meng. You can just call me Mrs. Meng. This is my son." Meng Yuxuan didn't say where she lived.She admired the old man, but she hadn't talked to him all the time.Sometimes it's better to keep a little mystery. "Having said so much, I haven't asked Mr. Zhou what he means. Are you willing to cooperate with me?"

"Haha! I'm not stupid. Mrs. Meng has given me so many ideas, and they are all good ideas to save the teahouse. How can I disagree? This cooperation is beneficial to me. Of course I agree." Elder Zhou said with a smile. "But I also have a condition. If Mrs. Meng is willing to write down your teacher's couplet and hang it here, you will get [-]% of the business of the old man's restaurant."

"Heh!" Meng Yuxuan chuckled. "At first I thought Mr. Zhou was not good at management, but now it seems that I am blind. However, I agree with your terms."

"Mrs. Meng is refreshing. This old man won't let you suffer. Then let's write now? This old man hasn't written for a long time, and today I'm going to make a fool of myself and leave my calligraphy here." Meng Yuxuan agreed to the old man's conditions, which made the old man overjoyed ban.

After all, the couplets that Meng Yuxuan wrote just now are all excellent works.For Mr. Zhou, who loves talents like his life, it is the happiest thing to see more knowledge about people and learn from them.

One old and one young, a man and a woman write like gods.Elder Zhou raised his head to look at Meng Yuxuan from time to time, and was amazed every time he looked at her.

"That's right! Good character! What kind of font is this? It's completely different from just now. Mrs. Meng's teacher is really amazing." Elder Zhou looked excitedly at the new font written by Meng Yuxuan.

"Mr. Zhou won the award. I don't know who the teacher is. He likes to travel, he lives all over the world, and never says his name to others." Meng Yuxuan cut off Mr. Zhou's idea of ​​inquiring.

(End of this chapter)