Not long after Su Sanzai left, the young man had not yet gone to the rural school. He said that Mr. Cui was not in the school. He believed it and was going to talk about it later, so he sat back under the old locust tree again. The old monkey was not there. , he could only be alone in a daze.
A few years ago, when the old drunkard just passed away, it was probably the worst time in the boy's memory. When the old Liangtou, the former watchman of the town, stood up from the bamboo chair and walked out of the hut, waving to him. Previously, the seven-year-old boy sitting under the bronze bell had been thinking about a question in his mind in a daze, that is, if he was like those who have passed away, wouldn't he need to be hungry?
Even before the moment of tea when Lao Liangtou waved to him, he actually felt that he might never need to get up from under the old locust tree again. The only thing that the young boy, who was only seven years old at the time, was a little worried about was, I just wonder if I close my eyes and take my last breath under this old tree, will someone come to collect my body?
If no one cares about him, it won't matter. The four words "fallen leaves return to their roots" that old drunkards often say probably mean this, right? It would be nice to put some fertilizer on the old locust tree that had shaded him for several summers, even if it gave him back the care he had always received.
But...what if someone takes care of it? Would the person who came to bury him feel that he had troubled him? Will they take him away while cursing a few words, saying that he is a lonely ghost that no one wants, and that he will cause trouble to others even after he dies?
At that time, although there were no rumors in the small town that he was a lone star and was destined to defeat his relatives, the old drunkard had a bad temper and did not have a few real friends. Before he was picked up, he had It is true that more than thirty people have died, so the young man has experienced what "people's words are fearful" from an early age, so even though he is young, he is already very afraid of troublesome others, and even more afraid of being criticized by others. point…
It was just that the dizzy little boy at that time had no strength to walk another three miles and go to the old drunkard's grave to wait for death. Moreover, he did not have the nerve to mention it to Old Liangtou later. At that time, the old man walked out of the hut and faced him. When waving, he even thought the old man would say, "If you want to die, stay away and don't block my door!"
There may be two more words added at the end, bad luck!
Fortunately, what happened next was different from what he had vaguely imagined.
In this world, it is never surprising that someone speaks ill of someone, but if someone occasionally says a few nice words from the bottom of his heart, it doesn’t even require a gentle tone, and it can make the person listening think about him from the bottom of his heart. long time.
Time flies, and now six years have passed since that scene. In the first three years, he followed Lao Liangtou to make a living, and in the next three years, he ate with Hou Junchen. But deep down, he understood that that sloppy man was actually In the same way, it is not that there is a lack of the morsel of food he brought over. Let’s not mention anything else. Just talk about how much the old watchman earned as a wage earner, and the old monkey who takes over will have the same amount, although he will not be rich. Although he is expensive, he is not hungry at all, so the middle-aged man who has always been slovenly and has not even changed a pair of shoes for many years probably just thinks that a lonely kid like him will not be able to talk to anyone all year round. Three sentences, maybe the day of death is not far away, that's all.
From beginning to end, those three people, two dead and one alive, were all for his own good.
Therefore, on that rainy night on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the moment the red-dressed red lotus offering wine appeared, the young man completely extinguished his remaining half thoughts of leaving this world.
Today's young man from the Chu family cherishes his life and is very afraid of death, but he is not afraid that he will not have time to take another look at the world. He just doesn't want anyone to ask for an explanation for the life debt owed by some people!
…
Just when the poor boy was in a daze, a handsome young man dressed in white, with a long sword on his back and a white paper folding fan slowly came from the west side of the East Street of the town. With a smile, he looked at the young man under the tree with great interest.
This young man in white, who once apologized to the young man in black on behalf of Yuanjia Jianzong in front of the Zhu family's mansion, has a surname of Qiao and a given name of Haoran. He lives up to his name, with a bright moon and a clear breeze.
The young man in white walked closer and saw that the young man under the tree had not yet recovered, so he stood far away and looked at the surrounding streets and courtyards, the old locust tree and the old bronze bell hanging on the tree. While waiting for the boy to wake up.
The Yuanjia Sword Sect has always had a strong reputation. It started with the fiery-tempered founder of the Sword Sect. When faced with people in the world, regardless of whether he was a comrade or not, he only had one sentence: "Don't look back when you encounter an enemy with a sword, and drink wine with your friends under the table." Let's go." But today, the young man in white with the word "Haoran" in his name did not choose to come here with a drink, because he was not sure whether the young man of the same age sitting under the tree knew how to drink?
The young man in a daze under the old locust tree didn't know the purpose of the visitor, but he was used to not bothering others and didn't like to keep others waiting, so he took a deep breath to withdraw his thoughts, looked at the young man in white with a smile on his face, and asked He said: "Is something wrong?"
The young man in white clothes opposite smiled and shook his head, and replied, "Nothing to do, just drop by when I have nothing to do."
The young man in white walked closer while smiling, pointed to the position next to the poor young man, and asked with a smile: "Can you sit down?"
Chu Yuanxiao glanced at this peer who seemed to be different from some of the immortal youths he had met before, then glanced sideways at the spot he pointed at, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "No one You can sit naturally."
Qiao Haoran followed his example and turned around and sat down on the ground. He didn't care that the overgrown weeds and empty soil would stain his pure white brocade gown, which was as clean as new.
Of course, a piece of clothing is nothing to a noble son of the Immortal Family who comes from the third-grade Immortal Sect. It may not even cost money. However, such behavior will never appear on Ke Yuzhi of Shuixiu Lake. , and it will not appear in Zhang Jinhuai of Yunlin Sect. This is not to say that anyone is definitely wrong, but when dealing with people and looking at the world, what you say may not be as good as what you do.
The poor boy looked at the boy in white's unobtrusive movements, raised his eyebrows with interest again, and just looked at him quietly without saying a word.
Qiao Haoran smiled and said, "Do you need me to introduce myself?"
"Otherwise?" Chu Yuanxiao shrugged. Although he asked a rhetorical question, his tone was not harsh. At least judging from the previous series, this young man in white who suddenly visited was easier to detect than Ke Yuzhi. Come up with the meaning of the word "friendly".
"My name is Qiao Haoran. I come from the Yuanjia Sword Sect of Longchi Continent. I am the useless immortal sect that was supposed to be behind the Zhu family, but was robbed of its face by Shuixiu Lake." The young man in white said it in one sentence without any hesitation. So he scolded his own master.
Obviously, when Chu Yuanxiao heard this statement, he couldn't help but twitch his lips, looked at the young man in white and said helplessly: "Aren't you afraid of having your legs broken by the elders in the family when you talk like this?"
As a result, the young man named Qiao did not say anything because he was afraid. Instead, he leaned back against the trunk of the old locust tree, crossed his legs, and touched a piece of dogtail grass from who knows where, holding it in his mouth. He said vaguely: "It doesn't matter, I'm not the first one to say this anyway. If anyone wants to use this as a reason to beat me, he must first go and beat up the ancestor of my family who built mountains with swords." Dun! As long as anyone has this ability, even if he gets beaten, I will be convinced!"
Hearing this, Chu Yuanxiao looked back at the carefree young man in white again. He finally understood what Su Sanzai meant when he said "The Yuanjia Sword Sect is so angry" in the storyteller's bookstore. This one in front of him was still The young man who didn’t know why he came here was indeed worthy of that four-character comment.
"So...why are you here?" Thinking about that comment in his mind, the poor boy asked another question. Many times, people who act very friendly may not necessarily be good people.
The young man in white who was lying half-lying against the tree heard this and glanced sideways at Chu Yuanxiao, then said with a smile: "Want to hear the truth?"
"if not?"
"I've heard some stories in the past few days, and I thought you had a good temper, so I was a little curious, so I came over to have a look." Qiao Haoran's words were very straightforward and honest, without any hidden secrets.
In fact, when the young man in white said that he was from the Yuanjia Sword Sect, Chu Yuanxiao had already made some guesses. The so-called "heard some stories", the most likely one was Shuixiu Lake. They and Shuixiu Lake The disputes between us were even before him, and there were actually some causes and consequences, so he simply asked directly: "Can I understand what you said, because you also have disputes with Shuixiu Lake, so the relationship between us Should it be considered the enemy of the enemy?”
The young man in white smiled when he heard this, "It doesn't matter. If we really just want to go against Shuixiuhu, the Yuanjia Sword Sect can take out dozens or even hundreds of sword immortals, but one or twenty." There is still a general, there is no need to seek allies or other calculations."
As he spoke, he changed his position again and found a more comfortable position to lean over. He changed his arm to rest on a root as strong as a dragon's claw at the bottom of the old locust tree, and then continued: "I I just feel that if you have no cultivation, you dare to confront Shuixiu Hu, whose combat power is already at level 4 alone. This temperament is very suitable to me, and I won’t be embarrassed to make friends with you. .”
That’s what he meant, but Qiao Haoran’s words were actually not quite accurate, so Chu Yuanxiao shook his head and said: “It doesn’t mean anything to me that the fourth grade is not the fourth grade. I don’t even know what it means. What’s wrong, besides, I’m not fighting alone, Miss Li from the Xihe Sword Sect helped me.”
The young man in white smiled when he heard this, then looked at the hut across the road, and said: "It doesn't matter what you don't know clearly. The words 'mighty and unyielding' are enough. In fact, if you had seen that surname in the first place, Just kneel down, Ke, and I won’t think you’re wrong either, it’s just that there won’t be another meeting like today.”
"That's it?" Chu Yuanxiao was a little surprised by what Qiao Haoran said. He didn't win the fight, but after many days, he got a compliment from others. This is how people calculate wins and losses these days. ?
Unexpectedly, the young man in white smiled and replied, "What else?"
After saying this, the poor young man twitched the corner of his mouth, "Okay, you have the final say."
But at the same time, he was a little curious. He looked at the young man in white and asked: "Actually, I am also a little curious, how does your Yuanjia Sword Sect plan to deal with Shuixiu Lake?"
Qiao Haoran thought for a while, shrugged and said: "Judging from the way I looked before leaving Longchizhou, the old men at home don't seem to have any plans to take action for the time being, but..."
"What?" Chu Yuanxiao asked.
The young man in white glanced at Chu Yuanxiao, then sat up, opened the folding fan with an empty surface and took a look at it, and suddenly said with a sullen face: "I didn't even have the chance to get one. The folding fan of the ancestor's poems, what kind of bullshit virtue does that person named Ke have, dare to use something that even my direct disciple and grandson are not qualified to use?"
After saying that, the young man turned his head and spat to the side, and spat out the piece of dogtail grass far away. There was no trace of the fairy etiquette, and he said with a malicious look: "Sooner or later, I will have to tear down his Shuixiu grass." The Ancestral Hall on the top of the lake is not allowed. If I don’t let him named Ke sit at the children’s table from now on, I won’t be named Qiao!”
…
After watching Qiao Haoran leave, the poor young man did not forget the business and turned around to go to the small town school on Taoli Street.
The young man in white who had just left gave him a pretty good feeling. He was not as condescending as Ke Yuzhi of Shuixiu Lake, and he did not seem to have an indescribable coldness and alienation like Miss Li of Xihe Sword Sect. , but he is somewhat similar to the slovenly guy Hou Junchen across from him, he is carefree and informal.
As for what the young man said about making friends, Chu Yuanxiao actually didn't take it too seriously. Can a person who flies in the sky and someone who swims in the water become friends? Maybe, but it's not certain that they can become friends, or not.
Whether there is friendship or not is not a matter of time.
In the rural school, the master in blue shirt has returned from the sea of clouds and is sitting behind the desk in the study again. The paperweight has also been put back in its original position.
In fact, it stands to reason that study objects of different sizes and shapes, such as paperweights, should generally appear in pairs on the same desk. They are rare and elegant items for readers to play with and appreciate when they are free. It is also a desk document that is very useful when literati are painting for Wen. It pays equal attention to elegance and has a lot of exquisiteness. However, for some reason, the paperweight that the small town school teacher has held in his hand for a long time today is a solitary piece. It should be with it. The other matching piece does not seem to be in the current rural school, and its whereabouts are unknown.
There was also the little girl in red makeup who arrived at the rural school with Mr. Cui, the teacher of the private school. It was probably because she had been staying in the sea of clouds these days and rarely went out, and she was very fond of the small rural town that was the dojo of the Confucian saints. The school was very curious, so after the discussion with the seniors in the world, she told her master that she wanted to leave, and then she followed the Confucian scholar in blue to Taoli Street. The little girl simply pretended not to notice... The old man was very coaxing, and when she came back after visiting the house, she brought him skewers of candied haws.
So when Chu Yuanxiao arrived outside the rural school, the first thing he saw was not the gentle and elegant small-town private school teacher, but the girl in red who was wandering around in the rural school. The two of them had known each other for a long time. On the day when the Han couple visited the Chu family, Miss Jiang had spoken uprightly.
The girl in red didn't seem surprised by the young man's arrival, but seeing him standing outside the door hesitating and not crossing the threshold made her feel a little interesting, so she walked to the door in three or two steps and looked at the door. The slightly embarrassed young man asked with a smile: "Why don't you come in? If you don't even cross the threshold, how can you find the people inside?"
The young man glanced at the beautiful girl in red, and first called "Miss Jiang". Then when he heard the girl's question, he scratched his head awkwardly and was embarrassed to say that in fact, he had not had many opportunities to come here before. He came here occasionally. Once or twice, it seemed that Mr. Cui would appear at the intersection of the bamboo forest without waiting too long at the door, so it was not particularly important whether he crossed the threshold or not.
The girl in red looked the boy up and down again, then looked back at the stacked thatched cottages behind the bamboo forest, then lowered her head and thought for a moment, then simply stepped out of the threshold, walked around behind the boy, and pushed him with a slap. The boy was on his back, pushing him forward, and he had to lift his feet to cross the threshold to avoid tripping over the threshold and falling out.
When the boy stood still, he found with some helplessness that he had entered the gate of the rural school. The cheerful and charming voice of the girl in red came from behind: "Look, if you just go in, it won't happen!" Why do you have to be so careful? No one asks you for money, and it makes people think you are stingy for no reason!"
This is the first time that this young man from a poor family has stepped into the courtyard of a rural school since childhood. When the old drunkard was still alive, the old man always loved to curse and talk about nonsense benevolence, justice and morality when he was drunk. , what’s the use of thinking about that thing, it’s better to save money and buy a few acres of land to grow food to fill your stomach!
So at that time, although he was a little envious that children of the same age could come here to study, he did not have the opportunity to enter this courtyard.
Later, after the old drunkard passed away, he followed the old watchman to walk the streets and patrol the town every day. The old man named Liang never said that studying was useless, but sometimes passed by the rural school. When they were at the door, they would teach him to read the two strings of words written on the couplet at the door of the rural school. Although they never explained what they meant, the young man would still be confused and find them interesting.
It’s just that the young man at that time had already lived a life where he had to rely on himself to fill his stomach. He was self-reliant and barely had enough food and clothing. The copper coin he had every day had to be used for food, which was not enough to pay the money to study in a rural school. The amount is less than 200 to 300 yuan, which is enough to repair the money.
Later, after Lao Liangtou passed away, he lost even his daily copper plate. Fortunately, he could solve the problem of eating by himself when he got older, but he still had no spare money to live a life with books to read. The good days are naturally far away from this courtyard.
Therefore, not having the opportunity to set foot in the courtyard of this rural school, which represented the four words of "knowledge and knowledge" in the young mind, was probably the biggest regret of this poor boy who had been in poverty since childhood in the more than ten years before he saw the red lotus offering wine. , even more regrettable to him than the "Lonely Evil Star" theory that was widely circulated in the streets and alleys of the town.
Therefore, after the young man was pushed into the village school by Miss Jiang today, he could not help but feel a little shaken, as if his long-cherished wish had come true, and his heart felt like a spring breeze.
The young man from the small town, whose heart was surging like an ocean, turned around and looked at the girl in red with a peach-like face. He saw a smiling expression on her face, and she raised a pink-carved white jade hand to hold it. He pumped his fists to cheer him up, and when he opened his mouth to speak, there was no sound, but the shape of his lips seemed to say two words, "Come on!"
The young man grinned, and the spring breeze ruffled his heart in circles. He felt comfortable all over his body, as if seeing the warm sun.
…
