See the wind and snow again.
The city of Pisces Jade City is already showing signs of the approaching New Year, and the vendors in and around the streets are naturally working a lot harder. Even if everyone is almost rich, no one will dislike having too much money in their family, so although the old snow has not yet melted in the long street The new snow has fallen again, and the layers are the most slippery. However, the city is still lively. Even from the farthest reaches of the city, people come to the city to go to the market to pick up new year's goods. In any case, it is because of the footsteps of countless people. , most of the snow in the city was removed, making it smooth enough. There is only one city in the Pisces Jade Realm. The inner and outer cities are very large and cannot accommodate the people who come to market during heavy snowfalls. Therefore, there is a strange scene in front of you. Except for a few people wearing hats and hats, it is almost everyone's head. They are all covered with frost and snow, and as far as the eye can see, people are all gray-headed, which adds a bit of interest.
During such seasons, there are certainly many smart merchants in the city. The shops that are open for business will slightly lower the prices of the items in the shops, which happen to be at quite attractive prices. Judging from the smart people running errands and negotiating prices in the shops, It is the sharp tongue that destroys the remaining hesitations of those who come to the door. However, those who think the price is acceptable will most of them fall in love without knowing it, or they are won over by extremely clever flattery. Either the people in the shop were able to dispel their concerns with their sharp tongue, and within a few days, all the merchants in the city were making enough money.
Together with the pastry shop in the city, the business has been very good recently. After all, the New Year is approaching. Even people who are accustomed to being frugal and running a household have to buy some pastries for their families to try. During the New Year season, they always have to taste some pastries that they were reluctant to part with in the past. The fresh things you buy probably have more of a New Year flavor. If you are used to being wealthy, you may not have such a strong New Year flavor. The owner of the pastry shop is a middle-aged man. He fell ill when he was young and has always lost mobility in half of his body. However, it is precisely because of this that he has learned the art of making shortcakes and tea snacks passed down from his ancestors. , the truth is that the shortbread is made of exquisite materials, and the price is really not cheap, but the business is often not bad, not to mention that in this season, the door is often opened at sunrise, and the shortbread is sold out before noon, and there are still dozens of people outside. Hundreds of people were waiting. Although the owner of the pastry shop is already in his prime, he has not yet gotten married. Most people are curious, just because of his craftsmanship, steady and down-to-earth temperament, and his family is also very well-off, how come he is not willing to ask for a marriage even now, and he is so popular among his peers? Most of the heirs are already past their prime, so I really don’t envy them at all, and I don’t believe anyone. But the shop owner always smiles honestly and says that he is worried about his heirs. If he inherits such a strange disease, it will be useless to seek medical advice. Road, it is not a punishment to come to the human world after such a long time. Besides, I really don’t know how to get close to women. I can only take care of this shop. I am good at making cakes and pleasing girls. I can’t learn how to do it.
To say that the sociable pastry shop owner is familiar with anyone, it is probably the swordsman who once killed a dragon on the river. It is said that the latter bought cakes on credit and should be disliked, but the shop owner who has always been taciturn The time when the owner talked the most was when the swordsman came to buy cakes. I don’t know whether it was because he had a similar temperament or because the swordsman had said a lot about his experiences in the world. The owner of the cake shop, who was often honest, honest and even a little shy, would always bring up the subject. The swordsman chatted for a long time.
But as of today, the swordsman has been in the future for more than ten days. When the shop owner goes out to look for ingredients for shortbread, he often wants to visit the swordsman's mansion, but after thinking about it, he doesn't seem to be that familiar, so he goes there rashly and disappears. I had to please him, so I put my thoughts aside for the time being, but even if the daily shortcake supply exceeded demand, I would always leave one for the swordsman.
Recently, there has been another regular customer in the pastry shop, but it is the old man from the blacksmith shop who always refuses to show his face. Perhaps he has been spoiled by the surprisingly fresh taste of the pastry. Every day before dawn, there are few people in the city. In the dead of winter, a strange old man who is still shirtless is always the first to come to the door and ask for a box of shortbread. He happens to enter the house and chat with the shop owner for half an hour. When there are more and more people in the city, he clapped his hands and leaves, continuing to do his own thing. His own business.
What surprised the owner of the pastry shop was that this old man who rarely showed up and spent all day working in the blacksmith shop actually recognized the swordsman who had been here for a long time, and in his words he looked down upon his younger generation. The meaning of being worthless made the pastry shop owner quite surprised.
The old man said that the young man still owed him something, but he has not paid it back yet. It is also very interesting these days. It is the uncle who owes money on credit, and those who collect debts will lose their status. Even good words may not be able to recover the old debts. , some people are not convinced by the declining trend of the world, which makes the shop owner very confused. However, he didn't have much of a mind to begin with, so he had to listen to the old man's complaints. He often took the time to ask Yun Zhong how he was doing, but the old man scoffed, and then sighed, saying that he wouldn't have to save cake for that kid for a while. If he didn't do many things, If you look closely, you will inevitably feel like you are drifting with the crowd and living a confused life; but if you really want to be clear and careful, it is like carrying a heavy burden and walking down a dead end. It is estimated that when you find the way around, you will be weighed down by the heavy burden and become less human. Will you be crushed first, or will you have to To straighten out the way forward, it all depends on your own destiny.
Even though the words were covered in mist, the owner of the pastry shop still heard the hidden meaning, and was naturally a little worried. He rubbed his hands nervously, and used his rather inflexible left hand to add lamp oil, "So, Young Master Yun is in trouble this time, that is. I'm not very capable, so I don't know how to help you. You've always been reluctant to move around, probably because you're an expert and don't want to live in the world. If you can help Young Master Yun, I'd be very grateful."
"You know, the word gratitude is worthless." The old man took a bite of the shortbread with satisfaction, looked at the dull and honest face of the person in front of him, and said without hesitation, "You and I met by chance, but it was just a casual conversation. The last two times, brother, your gratitude is really not that important to me. We are all businessmen. There is no reason to sell cakes without paying money. We need to see real and stable benefits before we are willing to pay as little as possible. Price, this is common sense in the world. Besides, if you can't help, you can't help. You don't know the experience of that kid over the years, but I know that although the journey seems to be difficult, when encountering major events or difficult situations, most of them will Someone stepped forward to answer questions and clear up the misunderstandings. Over time, this person’s walking skills are low and he will suffer big losses sooner or later, so even if I want to help, I can only watch with cold eyes."
"But you are different. Sometimes the crucial point to break the game can be obtained without any effort. Maybe when that kid goes out again and meets you, a person with excellent pastry skills, he will be able to find the most crucial point. Whether the reason is enough to convince yourself, or whether you can find a way to solve the problem by yourself, you will benefit a lot."
The owner of the pastry shop really wanted to say that he would deliver a box of pastries to his door every day from now on, but after thinking about it for a moment, he still felt a little shabby. Most likely, the owner of the blacksmith shop, who was a well-spoken man, did not care about these pastries, even if he himself It's not a bad job, but it can't be considered a valuable item.
The old man had rested enough and finished eating the box of cakes in front of him. He stood up and was about to leave when he remembered to tell him, "Don't keep the box of cakes for Mr. Yun. Anyway, they are delivered to me every day. Now I give them to him every day." When you go out for a walk, you naturally don't bother that boy to come and deliver the cakes. The Clay Bodhisattva cannot save himself when crossing the river, so how can he let him deliver the cakes."
"It doesn't matter where the box of pastries that Shaoxia Yun buys every day is sent, but it is a matter between the store and the customer. People who do business sometimes don't just care about money, as long as it is enough."
The old man who walked out of the door stopped for a moment, hummed coldly, and walked away.
People who have lived in the city for many years know that the old man in the blacksmith shop here has not been out of the city for many years, and rarely even goes out. They thought that this old man was also a god who had been incapacitated for many years, and no longer needed to eat or drink, let alone Speaking of going out of the city, every time he came to visit, the old man was always busy blacksmithing with his shirt off, and his craftsmanship was superb. It only took half a day to hammer a new hoe, but even so, the people in the city were still very unfamiliar with this old man. The old man who doesn't go out has no relatives and no friends. He is like a stubborn stone standing in the city. Even if others want to chat with him, the old man will rarely talk to him. Naturally, he will ignore other people's good intentions and remain alone until now.
But after returning home today, the old man put on neat and tidy clothes, put his sleeves on his hands and left the city.
One of the boatmen carrying people across the river was missing a strong old man. When the old man inquired about the time, he heard that the two or three boatmen said that the old man had returned to his hometown, and most of the time his children had taken him back to live and recuperate. He had been busy for almost his whole life and enjoyed After a few days of happiness, I guess I won’t come back here again.
After all, we are ordinary people, how can we expect that gods are around.
Perhaps because he had not been out of the city for many years, the old man felt a little emotional, so he was more generous with his actions and threw a lot of money to the boatman.
In the cold winter, the river is frozen, and only a very narrow section of the river is not frozen. Most people are stepping on the extremely thick river ice. Except for those who are leisurely and interested and are willing to take a boat, there is really no business coming to the door. The boatman Thanks a lot, I plan to earn more copper coins, and I am full of heroic spirit when I sing loudly. The old man walked to the foot of the cliff, stepped straight into the cave, picked a place to sit down, and arranged the tea cup on the table. He didn't look like a visitor. He turned a blind eye to the old man in front of him who looked almost exactly like him and crossed his legs. He looked around, muttered a few words about how cold the mother was, and then continued to fiddle with the objects on the table without saying a word.
The old man opposite was no less skilled in cultivating qi. Since the old man didn't speak, the old man didn't speak either. He pulled up the iron rope to look at the waves of the cold pool, and then sat down peacefully, like an old monk in meditation.
No one knew what these two identical old men said, but in the end the blacksmith shop owner walked away angrily and walked into the heavy snow.
The old man in the cave still looked indifferent. He took a sip of the extremely hot boiling tea and showed no joy or sadness.
There is a saying among Taoist sects that killing three corpses was originally intended to get rid of people's ignorance, greed, delusions and distracting thoughts, but now someone has gone against the grain. Now it turns out that he has beheaded the shopkeeper of the blacksmith shop in the city, or the shopkeeper of the blacksmith shop has killed him, even if he has reached the realm of transcendence and sainthood. None of the old men could figure out the secret, and they could only know one thing, that is, the old blacksmith was more like a human being, and he himself was even less human.
"Obviously you and I know the four words on the plaque, but we still want to leave this matter to that young man because you don't have the face to write those four words now."
The old man lowered his eyebrows and rubbed the iron rope in his hand. Immediately, there were water waves surging in the cold pool, and then it fell silent. Outside the cave, there was snow flying in the sky, and there was silence inside the cave. The two contrasted with each other, and it was cold and dead.
