Fairy Sword Inquiry 1

Chapter 18 Charming Moon and Flowers, Brothel Temporarily Invites Dibu
Xingyan father and son rushed downstairs following the sound of the drunk old man rolling down, but found no trace of the old man no matter what.

"This old man has quick feet." Old Zhangtou said.After finishing speaking calmly, he suddenly panicked:
"Ah! Let me tell you, do you think this old man is a god just now?! He should have fallen here—a sin—but why did he disappear in a blink of an eye?"

Seeing the old Zhang Shenlong seeing the head but not the tail, the old Zhang Tou felt so weird.Seeing what Daddy said, he woke up and said: "No way, in broad daylight, can we suddenly bump into a fairy? This fairy also invites us to eat and drink, and send this to that? Thinking about it, it's impossible." "In my opinion, the old man was probably helped by someone to turn the corner." Xingyan proposed another possibility for his father, denying the fairy tale.What he said was really out of filial piety;
With my father's honesty and straightforwardness, if I really thought that I met a fairy this time, I would inevitably be suspicious from now on, and I would feel uneasy about working and sleeping.

Hearing what his son said, Lao Zhang pondered for a while, and felt that his idea was too absurd.It's still my son who reminded me correctly, otherwise I will be laughed at by others if I speak rashly in the future!

However, although he comforted his father with his mouth, Xing Yan couldn't help turning over in his heart.In his heart, Xingyan felt that this matter was indeed quite strange.The old man was vague, and seemed to have some understanding of what he and Ju Ying did in Poyang County the day before yesterday.But fortunately, this old man who knew well appreciated the behavior of the two of them, otherwise he wouldn't be the host and give the flute book at the same time.

"Could it be that I really met a fairy?"

Although he deceived his father by making up a story just now, he couldn't deceive himself.But after thinking about it, he probably wouldn't; just like what he himself said just now, how could it be so easy for him to meet a god.correct!Thinking about what the old man did, it was very similar to those strangers written in the biographies of rangers.

"Hmm! It should be like this, hehehe!" Xingyan felt that he had found the right solution, so he let go of one of his worries.After the father and son had found a reasonable explanation for the adventure just now, they began to discuss what to do next.The old man said to his son:
"Xing Yaner, there are still these two rabbits that haven't been sold, so Dad will sell them first. You haven't been to the private school for two or three days, so hurry up and take a look! I'm afraid Mr. Ji is already angry?"

"Okay, daddy has to be careful alone." "It's okay, daddy will sell this pair of rabbits randomly this time, regardless of the price." "Okay, then I'll go."

"Well. Remember to come back early for dinner." The father and son talked casually and said goodbye.

However, when Xingyan watched his father turn the corner, he himself didn't move a few steps.Now Xingyan thought in his heart that he didn't want to go to some private school.I have read the private lessons of the Ji family for so many years, and I have read almost all the classics and history collections that I should read; I can get a little bit of everything about the poems, books, rituals and music that the gentry families need to learn.In fact, it doesn't matter if I miss these few private lessons. Anyway, as a child from a poor family, I never dared to expect to get any food and clothing from these poems and books.For him now, the top priority is to find another odd job as soon as possible, otherwise his future meals will be a problem.

This year he is already a 16-year-old boy. A child from a poor family has long been in charge of the family. Although he is called a teenager, he is already considered a half-adult. Xing Yan is really embarrassed to live at home for free.Where are you going?Daoxianglou?Judging by shopkeeper Liu's face with a crooked nose just now, it is obvious that there is no hope for Daoxianglou.Where should I go?The boy hesitated for a moment.At this time, the sun was just above the head, and there were people coming and going on the street, and there was a constant stream of busy people passing by the dumb boy.After thinking about it for a while, the young man who was worried about food and clothing suddenly brightened his eyes: "That's right! Why did I forget the gift from the old man just now?" Looking at the plot of the book, I thought to myself that I haven't tried the flute yet.Thinking of this, Xingyan hurried to a secluded place, took out the flute from his pocket, and prepared to try playing it.

Strange to say, the jade flute "Shenxue" in this hand not only has a refreshing appearance, but its material may also be a bit peculiar.It stands to reason that a flute made of ordinary jade is heavy in the hand, and it is not suitable to hold it there for a long time to play.Moreover, the stone is hard, not as clear and tough as bamboo, and the notes made of jade are often not as clear and melodious as bamboo flutes.

Therefore, although there is no shortage of jade flutes in this world, they are basically just used by rich people as a cover: either hang a silk wreath, and then put on a red sandalwood frame, and offer them as decorations in the study like a Bodhisattva ——

This is called a "vase"; or there are some romantic children who can't leave the flute in their hands when they meet with friends, and hold it by their side, which looks a bit more coquettish, and it probably has the same effect as the "autumn fan".All in all, the so-called jade flute and white jade flute in this world are actually hollow stone sticks, which can be used by knight-errants to dance or take advantage of, but serious musicians are not very good at it.

And this jade flute "Shenxue", the blame is here.Although it is not as light as a feather in the hand, it is not much heavier than the ordinary bamboo flute; when it is played, its music is melodious and melodious, but it is clearer than the bamboo flute.So I tried blowing for a while, and Xingyan almost burst into tears!

"Thank you, old man! I, Zhang Xingyan, finally have a flute!" No wonder Xingyan was so excited.In Ji's private school where he studied, there are also ritual and music courses.The most common bamboo flute is the introductory musical instrument used to teach children how to read notation in the ritual music course.However, even though the ordinary bamboo flutes in the market cost only a few dollars, Xingyan from a poor family could not afford them.For the Zhang family, if this money is not used for food, clothing and clothing, it is a crime.

Therefore, whenever this kind of class is held, Xing Yan will go to the wild bamboo forest to cut a bamboo tube, and then use a knife to cut out eight holes in the bamboo tube at intervals according to the specifications.However, although the making method of this flute is simple, you only need to use a knife to gouge out the hole, but this bamboo is not tofu, so it is really not easy to carve out a round hole without edges and corners in the bamboo pipe like this.Often, the hole that Xingyan cuts out at the end does not look round or square, or seven sides, or hexagonal, or eight holes in eight shapes, which is really irregular.In this way, the effect of his self-made flute music can be imagined, often the bass can barely make do, but the treble is really bleak and unbearable to listen to...

So Chad Zhendi, who was full of excitement, opened the music book "Shuilongyin" given by the old man again.But this time, he was a little disappointed.It turns out that in this thin score book, the flute score written in the notation of Gongchi is really unexpected and unimaginable.This piece of "Shuilong Yin" mostly uses feather sounds, extremely high-pitched, and often repeats and changes in addition to changing signs, it is really...

"It's not someone's bragging!" This is Xingyan's evaluation.

After the excitement subsided, the problem of finding a job came back to Xingyan.It's just that this time, Xingyan is not as distraught as he was at the beginning.Soon, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he shouted:

"I have a place to go!" It turned out that Xingyan caught a glimpse of the new flute "Shenxue" in his hand, and immediately had an idea in his heart.It turned out that he suddenly remembered that just a few days ago, he passed by the largest prostitute in Raozhou City, "Huayue Tower", and accidentally saw a bright red poster posted on the screen wall at the entrance of Huayuelou. Say "recruit flute master" and so on.At that time, Xingyan was just passing by and was bored, seeing the red paper dazzled, so he went to have a look.Now that he has lost his job in Daoxianglou and received a flute from a generous man, he must go to a brothel to try his luck.

It's just that now that I think about it, it's been four or five days since the publication of the post, and I don't know if anyone has made it first.Now going to Huayuelou to apply for a job has almost become Xingyan's only hope, so he can't help worrying about gains and losses, so he hastened his pace and rushed towards the prostitute "Huayuelou" on Qianmen Street.

In fact, as the so-called concern leads to chaos, Xingyan said that worrying is superfluous.Thinking about this time, the men who can play the flute with two hands are either rich children or literati. They obviously will not commit themselves to the humble brothel to compete with Xingyan for jobs; while those poor children who have enough reasons to grab jobs will I have no mind or time to learn this non-farming musical instrument.Moreover, even if some of them want to learn, they may not have the opportunity.From this point of view, Xingyan can listen to Ji Lao's pedantic teachings, which can be said to be an outlier among the poor children.Besides men, among those women, there are many musicians among them.It’s just that there are not many talents in the fireworks team in this small town of Raozhou, not to mention that this flute is a bit special-there is a saying in the market: "The sound of bamboo is suitable for powder, only the hole flute; the flute can be temporary but not permanent. .Men focus on sound, while women focus on capacity. When playing the flute, the sound is audible, but the capacity is hard to watch.”

This statement is pretty much the same.I think that when that woman played the flute, her breath was congested and her cheeks were swollen. No matter how beautiful you are, you will become miserable.

It's just that although there are not many people who are good at playing the flute, the flute is indispensable in this prostitute's music troupe; the silk and bamboo troupe mainly relies on it to produce the melody.Therefore, Zhang Xingyan, a young man who didn't know that he was a scarce talent, was worried in vain.When he arrived in front of Huayue Tower, he was delighted to find that the red post was still there, but the color was a bit dim; overjoyed, Xingyan quickly stopped the tortoise who thought the customer was coming to talk endlessly, and directly explained own intention.

Listening to what he said, and carefully looking at his appearance, this Gui Gongmen was a little hesitant.But after thinking about it, since no one came to apply for the job after so many days, at least someone came to the door now, so naturally the old bustard, Aunt Xia, should know.

After Mr. Gui informed him and got permission, Xingyan followed him into the inner room, and saw Aunt Xia, the bustard of Huayuelou.This aunt Xia is in her 30s, and she still looks charming.Unlike other procuresses in brothels, they all like the prostitutes in the building to call themselves mother, but this Huayuelou's procuress prefers to be called aunt.

Xu Shi was indeed hard to find a flute master, so without much trouble, Xingyan just played a few little tunes on the jade flute, and passed Aunt Xia's review.The old procuress, Aunt Xia, didn't raise many questions about Xingyan's professional level. Instead, she was more interested in the tube Shenxue in his hand. She asked this shabby young man this and that, and asked him where he got it so well. flute.Hearing Aunt Xia's question, Xingyan didn't hide much, and briefly explained the reason for what happened in the morning.After talking like flowing water, Aunt Xia couldn't help sighing, saying that he was very lucky to meet a strange person.After settling down, Xingyan found that he was very satisfied with this new job.Working as a musician in Huayuelou, although the salary is not too much, it is still much higher than the odd jobs I had before.Moreover, the biggest advantage of working in Huayue Building is that Huayue Building provides him with food and lodging, which solves his biggest life problem that has not been resolved for many years!
What made him even more overjoyed was that he heard from Aunt Xia that if he was lucky and met a kid from a rich family who pretended to be rich, he might get extra money if he played the song.Although this money-rewarding brothel takes a third of the money, for Xing Yan who has never really made any decent money, these can be regarded as a good income.

For Xingyan, there is another benefit in entering Huayue Tower.Although Huayue Tower is the largest prostitute in Raozhou City, after all, Raozhou City is not very big, and it is not a very important place, and there are not many merchants.Therefore, in Huayue Building, their music troupe basically had nothing to do during the day, and only at night when there were guests asking girls to accompany them to drink, they asked the music troupe to play music to add to the fun.Therefore, he can just go out to listen to Mr. Ji's class while he has nothing to do during the day, or do some other chores.

Of course, even though he was working as a musician in a brothel, Xing Yan never thought that he would be ridiculed by his gentry classmates.To him, face is secondary, and finding a way to eat and drink is the most important thing. As long as he earns money decently, he is willing to do even the most humble thing.

In fact, after studying in Ji's private school for the past few years, Xing said that this poor kid has unknowingly accumulated a certain prestige in the school.He is a young boy from the mountains, he is an odd number in the school. Not only is he smart and quick in reading, but he is also physically fit. He can dig out bird nests in trees and fish in rivers. In the eyes of children of the same age from wealthy backgrounds, he is so powerful.After being naughty in several fights, Xingyan has become a king of kids!Except that he is poor in food and clothing, other times he was echoed by everyone, no one dared to look down on him!
Of course, apart from this, they dare not easily laugh at Xingyan's dedication to being a musician in a prostitute—if they fight against the ear god of Huayuelou, if they sneak around one day to do it, it will be a rite of adulthood. As soon as he sees him go back and make a big show, it will be very bad!

The "Huayue Building" from which the young man will seek food and clothing is the largest prostitution house in Raozhou City. It is located on Qianmen Street and faces south.Although the Huayue Tower has many houses in front and back, but the front door is not very big; a street archway with two bottoms and two floors, the upper and lower sides are painted red, and some acacia flowers and birds are painted on the intervals, which is quite in the style of a brothel.It's just that due to the lack of repairs for a long time, the paint color has turned dark red, and the red paint has peeled off in some places and peeled off a lot.

On both sides of the gate of Huayue Tower, there is another couplet hanging, which says: "The same kindness can be freed, and the man in colorful clothes is the black clothes." I don't know who made this couplet, but it is also interesting. humorous.In the first couplet, the Buddhist theory of "liberation" is deliberately misinterpreted, and the whole couplet also has the meaning of making fun of Avalokitesvara in white.Although this couplet is very disrespectful to Buddhism, but at this time it is to suppress Buddhism and uphold Taoism, and everyone is at ease with this "column" couplet that blasphemes Buddha.

In any case, the 16-year-old Zhang Xingyan officially became a member of the music troupe of "Huayuelou", the largest prostitute in Raozhou City, Ganzhou Prefecture, after losing his cherished job as a waiter.

However, what makes the young man feel a little guilty at the moment is that after solving the problem of board and lodging, the heart of Taoism in his chest has gradually weakened without knowing it...

(End of this chapter)