At dusk, a scholar stepped on the last ray of the setting sun and came to a small county town under a remote county in Yingzhou.
The name of the county town is ordinary, Changshi, but this small county town has a nice name, called Yuqian.
The scholar happened to squeeze into the county seat before the city gate closed. Although the guard guard was half an hour late for his shift, he didn't feel angry when he saw the scholar in front of him with an apologetic face and a smile.
He even kindly reminded: "Sir, do you have any relatives in the city who have joined the old family? If not, you have to hurry up. All the inns in the city close early. If you go there late, you may be rejected."
But when the words came to this, the soldier saw that the scholar didn't even carry a bag, and he smiled dumbly. Maybe this scholar was from the city and he was talking too much.
However, the scholar wearing a green robe that had been washed and turned white nodded in thanks, and then even asked: "I remember there is a small teahouse in the city, on the east side of the city, with a unique name, Wuqishanqing. I wonder if it’s still open?”
The soldier was startled, then slapped his forehead and said proudly: "Sir, you have asked the right person. If it were someone else, I don't know the place you are talking about, sir. If you ask me, you are asking the right person. The business of the teahouse is not good, but It's still open. The old shopkeeper is very nice. Every time I go out and pass by there, the old shopkeeper will ask me to have a drink of tea before I leave. Are you a relative of the old shopkeeper? Why don't we go there together? I'll be there after my shift. If you want to go back, it's just the right way."
The scholar thought for a while, nodded and said, "That's fine."
After that, he stood quietly by the city gate, waiting for the soldier to change his shift, and then the two of them headed to the east of the city together.
The soldier who had taken off his armor and had put on common clothes asked curiously as he walked: "What is the relationship between sir and the old shopkeeper? If they are close and have nothing to do, and can take time out, they should come and visit the old shopkeeper from time to time. Although the shopkeeper looks healthy, he can’t say for sure after so many years.”
The scholar smiled and said: "He is a distant nephew. He lives far away. He is in Changban County. It is not easy to come here."
The soldier nodded seriously, "Yes, it's too far away, and the mountain road in the middle is not easy to walk. But it has gotten a lot better in the past few years, right? At least the monsters outside the city are not as rampant as before. The guardian envoy , has really done a lot for us, and the days are getting more and more promising.”
The scholar smiled and asked, "Is life really so good?"
The soldier waved his hands and said with a smile: "If you really want to say that everything is good, everything is good, then it must be false, but can't things be done bit by bit? This evil has lasted in Daliang for more than two hundred years, and now it is not visible to the naked eye that it has been reduced. Aren't you young? Besides, in the past ten years since His Majesty ascended the throne, those high-ranking immortals have become less arrogant, don't you think? Now those officials who keep their word are doing good things and doing good things for the people below. Isn’t it visible to the naked eye?”
"My son knows that you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. As long as you can see hope, it is a good thing."
The soldier spoke to himself, his face really filled with joy.
The scholar could feel his satisfaction and happiness, so he nodded and said softly: "It's not bad, the world is getting better after all."
"Yes, yes, the world is the same today and will be the same tomorrow. I used to feel panicked, but now I feel more at ease."
The soldier followed the scholar to a place in the east of the city. This place was relatively remote. The small teahouse was inconspicuous. There was a wooden sign hanging outside the door, which read the words "The fog rises and the mountains are green." I'm afraid that even a child with ordinary education wouldn't be able to write like this.
"This is it."
The soldier came to the door and called the old shopkeeper several times, but no sound came from inside. The soldier scratched his head and said with a smile: "The old shopkeeper is old and in good health, but his ears are really not working well. How about I go in and help you find it?"
The scholar smiled and declined, saying that it was not necessary and that his uncle could just go and see it himself.
The soldier nodded, very measuredly, but after looking at the scholar for a moment, he still said: "There is something I said, which may not be pleasant to listen to, but I still want to say, sir, you came to see my uncle, why didn't you bring any gifts? "
The scholar didn't feel angry at all, but took out a bag of tea leaves from his sleeve and said with a smile: "The tea I brought here specially, my uncle likes other things, but not that much. If he has good tea, he really likes it." ”
The soldier smiled awkwardly, apologized, and left.
The scholar stood at the door and looked at the soldier's back for a long time before walking into the small teahouse.
There are actually only two wooden tables in a teahouse. The space is not large and there is no room for more.
At the counter in front, there was a large iron kettle, steaming gurglingly, making the teahouse feel like a fairyland.
There was an old man with white hair and white hair lying on an old bamboo chair behind the counter. The bamboo chair creaked as the old man swayed.
However, the old man did not seem to be disturbed by the sound, and instead went to sleep with his eyes closed.
The scholar put the tea leaves on the counter, untied the string outside, and unfolded the kraft paper. Inside was a small ball of green tea leaves.
Just when the scholar opened the tea leaves, the old man's nose suddenly twitched, and then he murmured: "Good tea, good tea."
He frowned as he spoke, as if he didn't understand why there was such good tea in the world.
However, he quickly opened his eyes, sat up, looked over the counter, looked past the big iron pot, and then saw the young scholar behind the counter.
The old man blinked, and there was a trace of disbelief in his cloudy eyes. Just as he was about to speak, the young scholar took the lead and announced his family name, "The surname is Cao, and the name is heavy. Old Lu, can't you remember?"
The old man named Lao Lu snorted coldly and muttered: "No matter what you call Cao Zhongcao Dog, as long as you are happy."
"Make tea."
The scholar was too lazy to talk to the old guy now. Instead, he came to a wooden table and sat down slowly.
"It's a good thing you knew how to bring some good tea to see me, otherwise no matter what your name is, I would have called you a lover."
The old man reached out and took out two large bowls, grabbed some tea leaves and threw them in. At the same time, he also threw a handful of tea leaves into his mouth.
He smacked his lips, somewhat satisfied.
The scholar said helplessly: "It's been so many years since sesame seeds rotted millet, why are you still brooding about it?"
The old man brewed tea with hot water in a large iron kettle, then brought two large bowls to the table and snorted: "How many more years will it take for you to be a weak lover?"
As he spoke, he pressed the two large bowls in his hands heavily on the table. Although the tea inside was agitated, not a drop of tea spilled in the end.
The scholar named Cao Zhong looked at the tea bowl in front of him and laughed angrily: "You drink tea like this now?"
"What's wrong? Now I can make tea however I want and drink whatever I want. Who else dares to say anything wrong?"
The old man sat down in front of the scholar and even stretched out a finger to stir the tea in the bowl.
Cao Zhong sighed and said, "If those girls who had seen you when you were young knew what you are like now, I'm afraid they would all sigh, and their ears would be filled with the sound of heartbreak."
You must know that when the old man in front of me was young, he was born as a man of great wealth and majesty. At that time, there were countless ladies in the world who spent a lot of money just to be by his side and watch him make tea.
But now, there is no trace of the former style.
The old man didn't bother to pay attention to the scholar in front of him, but picked up the tea bowl and took a big sip. At this moment, the old man seemed to be drinking tea not made from extremely precious tea leaves, but the kind of tea beside the official road. Shop, a large bowl of tea made from thinly chopped tea leaves that can be drunk casually from Daliang Tongbao.
Cao Zhong picked up the tea bowl, took a sip, and said with satisfaction: "It's not bad, my tea-making skills haven't deteriorated, but this doesn't look elegant."
The old man sarcastically said: "Ya, you are so romantic, do you have eggs? Can they be used as food?"
Cao Chong glanced at the old man, frowned and said, "There seems to be a lot of resentment? Is it against me?"
The old man sneered and said: "How dare I do this to you? If your disciples and disciples know about it, why don't they all spit foam and let my old bones drown?"
Cao Zhong smiled and said: "Now I don't seem to have many disciples or grandchildren."
"Retribution, retribution!"
The old man clapped his hands and his face turned a little red, as if he was really happy.
Cao Zhong was helpless, rubbed his cheeks, and said with emotion: "I know you have grievances, but it must be more than just the word "Bo Qinglang", but you also have to think about it, I have been disappointed with this world for too long in my life. .”
"disappointment?"
The old man narrowed his eyes, "Why are you disappointed? What the hell do you want to see in the world? Just because you want to see it, you haven't even put half an effort into the world you want to see..."
"Oh, you made a start, but you just made a start, and then you just ignored it and just watched with cold eyes!"
The old man sighed.
Cao Zhong frowned and said, "There are some things that cannot be accomplished by one person."
"Can't it be done by one person?"
The old man spat, "What about Lao Yue? That guy doesn't know this truth? Didn't he just die when he said he would die? He said he would die when he said he would die. You keep thinking about the world, but at the critical moment, you gave up even half of your strength. ? After sitting on the sidelines and watching, you still have to shamelessly say, I have been disappointed with this world for a long time, are you too impatient to panic?"
Speaking of getting excited, the old man looked around, as if he was looking for someone to take advantage of him, and he was about to give the young scholar in front of him a slap on the head.
The scholar said nothing and just shook his head.
The old man was startled, and then heard some footsteps outside the door.
A voice asked: "Can I still drink tea? It's the shopkeeper's."
