Aspirations

Chapter 19 A Gentleman Doesn't Stand Behind a Dangerous Wall

"Shop, here's half a catty of fried dough sticks and a bowl of tofu brain." The woman sat down slowly and tapped the table, "Please hurry up, I have to hurry."

"Yes, yes, guest officer." Li Guanyu got up from the ground, washed his hands and set the fire, and finished it in one go. After a while, he fried the fried dough sticks and brought them up.

"Thank you, guest officer, for saving your life..." Li Guanyu wanted to bow, but was stopped by the woman's hand.

The woman took off her bamboo hat, her face was like flowers and jade, her hair was like a waterfall, and her eyes were like stars. If her complexion was not too pale, even if she was a goddess, she might not have her beauty.

Li Guanyu only felt a "boom" in his head, as if it had exploded. God, there really is such a beautiful woman in the world.He also thought that looking like a fairy was just the imagination of literati and writers. Although he had never seen a fairy, he dared to say that a fairy was less than one percent of the beauty of the woman in front of him.

"The two of you were going to Zhongshan Village in Lingshou County just now?" Mantuo glanced at Li Guanyu casually, and took a small bite of fried dough sticks.

"Yes, yes, if you return to the benefactor, they are the people of the third prince, and they are going to visit a person in Zhongshan Village, Lingshou County." Li Guanyu hurriedly told all the news he had heard.

"Understood." After Mantuo finished eating, he raised his hand and threw a piece of money, "Don't sell breakfast anymore, and don't come to Happy Forest in the future. It's better not to stay in Shangjing and find a place with beautiful mountains and beautiful waters. Anju...but remember?"

"But..." Li Guanyu was reluctant to spend hundreds of dollars a day on the breakfast stall.

"If you want to live, do as I say." The woman's face turned cold, she got on her horse and left.

Li Guanyu stood there in a daze, seeing the woman walking in the direction of Huaguan and Mu En, he remembered something, and suddenly shuddered, and said to himself: "It seems that she still has to kill them all, no, I have to hurry up. Pack up and leave, if she repents and insists on killing me, I have no chance of life."

"Thirty pass?" Li Guanyu noticed the money left by Hua Guan Muen when he was packing, and immediately smiled brightly, "I didn't get beaten in vain, I earned thirty pass, ah, fifty pass, I read it right? Really? The one is fifty, and God has finally opened his eyes, and I, Li Guanyu, have finally developed. When I take a concubine, I will take a concubine when I go back."

The amount of money left by Mantuo was [-], and Li Guanyu earned [-] out of thin air. Not to mention concubines, it is not a problem to buy a decent house.He couldn't bear to have a small breakfast stall, and he didn't clean it up. He packed more than a hundred copper coins, threw it down the stall and walked away.

Since then, Li Guanyu has never been seen in Happy Forest again.Where he went and why he left suddenly, almost no one knows.

It's getting bright soon.Lack of Li Guanyu's happy forest, as usual, gradually became lively.Except for a few people who noticed that Li Guanyu didn't appear, most people didn't care about Li Guanyu's disappearance.

Among the people who came and went, most of them were passers-by. They just passed by Li Guanyu's stall, and then there was no possibility of meeting again. Who can remember a stranger who passed by?

When the sky was bright, a gorgeously dressed scholar came to Li Guanyu's stall.The scholar is handsome and beautiful, wearing a long gown, floating with the posture of immortal style.With delicate eyebrows, elegant demeanor, red lips and white teeth, she is a talent.

"Lang Jun, Happy Forest is still more than thirty miles away from the capital. It's not too late for us to take a rest and then go on our way." The boy said in a soft voice. He was fourteen or fifteen years old, with a small and tall nose and beautiful eyes. Her ears were as white as jade and her cheeks were as rosy as clouds. If it wasn't for a book boy, just looking at her appearance would make people suspect that she was a maid.

"Okay, let's take a break for half an hour." The scholar sat down and tapped the table with his fingers, "Shop, serve the dishes. You are good at cooking, and you have one serving of each."

"Lang Jun, the store is not here." The book boy smiled and stuck out his tongue. The tip of his tongue was pink and ruddy. He tied his horse and rolled up his sleeves, "Why don't I cook by myself."

"It's me who will come." The scholar was also forthright and did not avoid people. He took off his long shirt, put on only a short jacket, and put on the apron left by Li Guanyu. He kneaded the noodles skillfully, and then threw the noodles into the frying pan. The fritters rolled, and after a while, golden fritters came out of the pan.

The book boy was not idle either, fanning the fire beside him.The two cooperated tacitly, and after a while, fried dough sticks and tofu brains were placed on the table.The two looked at each other and smiled, not shy about the strange gazes of the people around them, burying their heads in their mouths.

A few stores who knew Li Guanyu saw that Li Guanyu's booth was occupied by a scholar, so they came forward to ask him to understand, but they were shocked by the scholar's arrogance and arrogance, and no one dared to take a step forward.

The scholar and the scholar boy finished their breakfast, and when they got up to go on their way, the scholar raised his hand and threw ten copper coins.After thinking about it for a while, I felt that it was wrong, and took back seven.

"I only took the store's face and used the store's oil, and the store didn't contribute, so the three cents were enough." The scholar bowed his hands to the surrounding crowd, "Everyone, bear witness, I, Zhang Hou, did not steal the store's information. I just borrowed the treasures from the store to use it, I did it myself, and I had enough food and clothing, so I paid three cents for the fee, and it was two clearings."

Everyone laughed, and they were all amused by Zhang Hou's behavior.Zhang Hou's approach is true or false, at least he is fair on the surface, making people impeccable.What puzzled everyone was that the scholar and the boy shared two horses. In Daxia, where horse resources were scarce, even high-ranking officials of the fourth and fifth rank traveled mostly on donkeys or mules, and there were very few riders. Not only did the scholar have a horse himself, but even the scholar boy also had a horse, which shows that he must be a son of a wealthy and noble family.

Since he is a child of a wealthy family, it is very rare to know how to cook. A gentleman is far away from the kitchen. How can a scholar have a reason to go to the kitchen?Well, for the time being, no matter why the scholar is a child of a wealthy family and is skilled in cooking, just saying that he can calculate even a few pennies clearly and shrewdly makes countless people amazed.

Thirty miles of road, it is not far or near, but fortunately it is the official road. Zhang Hou and Shutong rode their horses and whipped the whip, and they entered the city at noon.

The two wandered around in the city, and asked more than a dozen inns in a row, but they were all full. The two had no choice but to lead the horse along the street all the way west.

"Langjun, Shangjing is really prosperous, and it's much better than Quanzhou."

"I can't say that, it's better to go to Beijing than to go to Beijing, and Quanzhou has the beauty of Quanzhou." Zhang Hou stretched out his hand to support the book boy's back, and his loving eyes fell on his face, "Shi Er, you have been running around with me for several months. If you have more than enough time, you will be sleeping in the open air, suffering from exhaustion and hardship, and I have wronged you."

"Walking with Langjun all the way, no matter what the mountains and rivers are, I'm happy." Shi'er's face was filled with happiness, her little face was raised, playful and cute, where there was still the slightest look of a book boy, she was clearly a naive person girl.

"Are you hungry? Let's eat first." Zhang Hou looked up and saw that it was a three-storey restaurant with black lacquer gold characters on the main entrance - good times are always here, he pointed with his hand, "good times are always here. ...the name is very auspicious, so here it is, no matter if you have a place to stay at night, just focus on the things in front of you and talk about it. When you have enough food and drink, you have the energy to find an inn, right? Haha."

The two entered the door, and Xiao Er greeted him: "Two guest officials, please come upstairs."

The two followed Xiao Er to the second floor, chose a seat and sat down, Zhang Hou looked around, got up again and said: "The second floor is not good, it is better to go up to the third floor to see far."

Xiao Er looked embarrassed: "Guest officer, the third floor is full."

"Full of customers?" Zhang Hou blinked and smiled, turned and walked upstairs, with a relaxed tone, "Let the two guests give up their seats, if they don't have a seat, they won't turn. "

"Guest officer, guest officer..." Xiao Er followed closely with a smile on his face, "I'm sorry, guest officer, the owner has set the rules, and good times often won't drive away guests, and won't dislike the poor and love the rich."

"Do you dislike the poor and love the rich? When did I let you guys hate the poor and love the rich? Haha." Zhang Hou kept walking, and he came upstairs in a few steps. The layout of the third floor and the second floor are different?"

The second floor can accommodate dozens of people eating at the same time, but the third floor is much smaller. Although it is not a single room separated from each other, it can only accommodate a dozen people.Looking around, there are only three tables of guests.There are only three or five guests at each table. Unlike the hustle and bustle on the second floor, the guests at several tables on the third floor are all talking in low voices, and there is no noise.

"Guest officer, guest officer..." Xiao Er stopped in front of Zhang Hou, three points with a smile, three points in politeness and four points in dissatisfaction, "The upstairs are full of distinguished guests who are always in good times, if there is no VIP card or reservation in advance, three The building is not open to the public, please forgive me."

If Xiao Er was just laughing and being polite, Zhang Hou might still give in. Besides Xiao Er’s accompaniment and politeness, the undisguised dissatisfaction that Xiao Er showed made Zhang Hou angry, remembering that Xiao Er deliberately emphasized that The good times are always those who don't hate the poor and love the rich. He understood something and sneered: "What is a VIP card? It sounds new, let's hear it."

Little Er raised his head slightly and said contentedly, "There are three types of VIP cards in good times, one is made of silver, the other is made of gold, and the other is made of beautiful jade. The silver VIP card is worth [-] yuan, and the gold VIP card is worth [-] yuan. The value of the Meiyu VIP card is [-]. The three VIP cards can be used in restaurants, inns, tea shops, and caravans in all the good times in Daxia. The silver card is [-]% off, and the gold card is [-] cards. The Meiyu card has seven cards...Which kind of card do you want to apply for?"

Zhang Hou opened his mouth wide and laughed exaggeratedly: "Grab money... One hundred dollars to buy a silver card, how much is the silver card? How much is the gold card? Is there a way to send a card?"

"Guest officer..." Xiao Er stretched his voice, his eyes squinted, "VIP card, which is always in good times, is a symbol of status. If you are not a wealthy person, you can't apply for it. It's not for anyone who has a few taels of silver or copper coins. Can you be a regular guest of good times, and want to send a card without spending money? There is a way, but I am afraid that the guest officer will not dare to give it a try... There are still vacancies on the second floor, please go downstairs."

Zhang Hou's eyes swept away, and he had a panoramic view of several tables of guests.There were three people at the table by the window, two rather handsome scholars and one attendant. The attendants were nothing. Although the two scholars were handsome in appearance, their clothes were extremely ordinary. Just by their clothes and manners, it could be concluded that they were not rich and wealthy. precious person.The other tables were different. Everyone was well-dressed and imposing. They all exuded an aura of opulence and wealth and the majesty of those who had been in high positions for a long time.

Zhang Hou rolled his eyes and smiled: "What's the way to send a card without spending money? Tell me now."

"It's useless to say that the guest officer must be hungry too. Go downstairs and have a good meal. The same is true." Xiao Er is self-restrained. Although there is a slight disdain in his expression, he has maintained enough from beginning to end "The food on the second floor and the third floor is the same, the ingredients are the same, and the preparation method is the same. The only difference is the level."

"When people fight for one breath, they compare the noble and the low, and they want the high and low." Zhang Hou opened the folding fan with a "snap", and covered his face with the fan, revealing only a pair of eyes that kept beating, hehe smiled, "Sh'er, you Tell me, do I have the ability to get the VIP card that Haojingchang is giving away?"

"Yes, of course there is." Shi'er put his hands on his shoulders, raised his eyes, raised his chin, and his nostrils turned to the sky, "Hmph, little Er, quickly tell me what the method is. Any problem, he can handle it."

Shi Er Shutong was dressed up, her voice was shrill, her eyebrows were like mountains and eyes like water, her waist was thin and her hips were wide, her neck was slender without an Adam's apple, and a discerning person could tell at a glance that she was a woman disguised as a man.

Xiao Er didn't break it, hehe smiled: "The water should not be too full, and the words should not be too round, guest, do you really want to give it a try? After Hao Jing Chang established the rules of free card delivery, no one has succeeded. I can If something goes wrong, you have to bear the consequences at your own risk.”

Zhang Hou laughed loudly: "It seems that I have no responsibility for what I said. I do what I do and what I don't do. Brothers, bear a witness. This is my voluntary act. If there is a mistake, I will bear it alone!"

The two scholars and an entourage sitting by the window, since Zhang Hou and Shi Er went upstairs, have been looking at them curiously.At this time, seeing Zhang Hou asking everyone to testify, the two looked at each other and stood up together.

The height of the two is almost the same, one is handsome and handsome, the other is handsome and rough.The handsome and handsome scholar was wearing a white shirt. He chuckled and bowed to Zhang Houyao: "Brother, I would like to testify for you."

The handsome and rough scholar was wearing a gray shirt. He casually bowed his hands and said with a wave of his hand, "Looking at what Xiongtai is doing, he is also a man of temperament. You don't have to be constrained by modesty.

"That's right." Zhang Houchong bowed back to the two of them, laughed, and said to Xiaoer, "Xiaoer, tell me what the rules are."

Xiao Er didn't say much at the moment, came to the table of the two scholars in a few steps, and smiled humbly: "Please, the two guest officers, move the table out of the window."

Without saying a word, the two lifted the table and moved several feet away from the window.Xiao Er pushed open the window, looked out of the window, leaned half-body outside, pointed upwards forcefully: "Keguan, the last of the four characters 'good fortune is always in' above, there is a stroke missing, The owner said that whoever can make up the last one will be presented with a golden card with good times."

"Gold card, [-] pips, haha, yes, a sum of [-] pips, it's worth it, it's very worthwhile. This rule is very sincere..." Zhang Hou put his hands behind his hands, strode to the window, and came to the window in high spirits. After only one look out of the window, the laughter stopped abruptly, and he took a deep breath, "This, this, this is too high, isn't it?"

Haojingchang is on three floors in the restaurant. At the entrance of the first floor, Haojingchang has four large italic characters. There is no signature, and I don't know which famous artist's handwriting is. The brushwork is vigorous and elegant.On the roof of the third floor, there is also an attic with a height of about ten feet and a sharp top. There is also a sign hanging on the top of the attic, with black characters on a white background and four characters in official script written on it - good times are always there.It's just that the last word "is" is missing a horizontal line. If you stand on the first floor and look at it, it is too far away to see clearly.Looking out from the window on the third floor at this time, I can clearly see it.

The four characters of "good times are always there" in the official script are simple and elegant, and they faintly reveal a kingly atmosphere. One of the famous names.It's just that since he is a famous artist, why he wrote less, it should be intentional.

It's also strange, and I don't know who is the owner of the good times. Why do you ask a famous person who is not available to ordinary people to write the plaque "Good times are always there", but it is necessary to write less?Well, let’s take it as a deliberate legacy of a famous family. Why does the owner who is always in good times hang up on the attic and set up such a rule that makes people add a gold card to give away a gold card?
It's really weird!

When Zhang Houzheng was puzzled, Xiao Er became impatient, chuckled lightly, knocked on the window lattice and said, "Guest officer, please go downstairs."

"Hey, what's so great, downstairs is downstairs, anyway, it's just a meal inside and out, upstairs and downstairs, can't make a difference in the world? Langjun, don't need any gold cards, you can't bet your life on your own. Shi'er gave up, pouted, and pulled his thick sleeves, "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and he who does his best to die is a righteous life; a shackled death is not a righteous life. Therefore, I lost my life because of an unfortunate death. Compared with the great cause of Langjun, the immortal event, what is a small golden card with good times?"

The handsome and handsome scholar and the handsome and rough scholar looked at each other. They were standing in a position where they could see the four characters on the attic without leaning out of the window.The handsome and handsome scholar shook his head and smiled: "Brother Shen, if it were you, would you dare to try it?"

"Why don't you dare?" The handsome and rough scholar raised his eyebrows, raised chopsticks in his hand, and pointed at the country with a heroic pair, "Please go to Lingyan Pavilion for a while, if you are a scholar of ten thousand households? Now that the Great Xia is prosperous and peaceful, if I was born in When I was at war with the Jin Kingdom, I joined the army and served the country. I am not afraid of thousands of troops, not to mention the small eaves in front of me?"

The handsome and rough scholar turned around and clasped his fist at Zhang Hou: "If Xiongtai is worried about his life and safety, and if you can trust him, it's better for me to try it for Xiongtai."

"No, no, it's Zhang's business, how dare you take care of Xiongtai?" Zhang Hou returned his salute, took off his long shirt while speaking, and threw it at Shi'er. He looked up at the sky and smiled, "Little Er, bring a pen."

(End of this chapter)