Yesterday's drizzle stopped and it cleared up today. The weather in spring is relatively mild. After the clearing up, there will usually be several days of good weather.
The sky was just getting bright and Uncle Liu was still sleeping, so Xiaoyu was woken up by his sixth uncle.
Today is market day in the ancient town of Yu'an. The town is not as good as the city of Yangzhou. Meat is only sold on the third and ninth day of the month.
The meat in the town is also cheaper than in Yangzhou City. Today, the third day of March, is the day to go to the market.
Uncle Liu and Xiaoyu had to leave early and come back early, meat had to be bought, and the wine in the tavern had to be sold.
Uncle Liu coveted Xiaoyu and got Uncle Liu's money to buy a donkey. This boy was lucky. The money Uncle Liu gave him to buy a donkey was a lot more than half a month's wages.
"You brat, have you brought your money? Remember to buy a donkey for Uncle Liu."
Xiaoyu saw the disdainful look on Uncle Liu's face and knew that he was thinking about the money to buy the donkey.
"Take it with you, let's go." Xiaoyu frowned and replied, "The extra ones are mine, you old man, don't even think about it."
Uncle Six muttered: "Tsk, I still don't like him. Hurry up and follow him."
An old man and a young man came out of the courtyard. The courtyard door was against the old locust tree. There was only a door, not a courtyard door. In the courtyard were the stone tables and benches of the tavern.
Yu'an Town is only a few miles away from here, about the same distance as the outskirts of Yangzhou.
The two of them took advantage of the white sky, one carrying a basket and the other walking in front.
It is true that Xiaoyu is the one carrying the basket, and Uncle Liu is the one leading the way empty-handed.
With Xiao Yu in the tavern, Uncle Six's usual work naturally falls on Xiao Yu.
The pole was not the bamboo pole that Xiaoyu used to hide his sword, but Uncle Liu's peach wood pole. There were several poles in the tavern, and Uncle Liu didn't care which pole Xiaoyu used.
Xiaoyu would only carry a bamboo pole when he went out to kill people.
The apricots are broken and red, and the algae are green.
The two crossed several hills and walked straight to the town along a small pond covered with green algae.
On the street, the wine and teahouse doors had just opened, and the old man from the steamed bun shop on one side had already been shouting for a long time...
Pastry shops, rouge stalls, and vegetable stalls are gradually becoming bustling with people.
In order to save money, Uncle Liu did not take Xiaoyu to eat steamed buns, saying that he would go back to get the vegetables after buying them.
He walked in front to buy, and Xiaoyu followed behind with a basket to collect vegetables, radishes, tofu, meat, chicken, duck...he bought what he needed to buy.
After a while, the vegetable basket was full.
The two were ready to go back.
The vegetable dam was full of stalls selling vegetables, and there were no livestock sheds. Uncle Liu got busy and forgot about buying a donkey.
Uncle Six took a quick step and walked towards the entrance of the market.
Xiaoyu followed, and she was out of the market and on her way back.
Seeing that Uncle Liu seemed to have forgotten to buy the donkey, Xiao Yu reminded him:
"Uncle Six, donkey, donkey!!"
Uncle Six turned around and glared at him, scolding: "Little brat, who are you calling a donkey?"
Xiaoyu frowned, scolding Uncle Liu secretly in different ways, frowning and winking, and explained: "Uncle Six, donkey, Uncle Liu's donkey..."
Uncle Liu slapped his forehead and remembered, "Yes, Uncle Liu's donkey!"
Xiaoyu smiled slyly, but didn't point it out.
Uncle Liu glared at him, thinking that Xiao Yu was laughing at him for forgetting that matter, and cursed: "Little brat, since Uncle Liu asked you to buy it for him, go back and buy it now. Don't delay things on the way. , bought breakfast and rushed back. Today is no better than yesterday. There are more people passing by the tavern in the market today. You have to be busy. Don’t come back at noon again. If you are careful, I will deduct your wages. "
After Uncle Liu finished speaking, he reached out and took the burden from Xiaoyu's shoulders, "Go quickly."
It was a rare opportunity to be lazy for a while. Xiaoyu looked happy and said with a smile: "Dele, I'll go right away."
Uncle Six picked up the load and went on the road. When he saw the boy running back to the market, he shouted from a distance: "Go back to the tavern quickly!!"
Xiaoyu didn't even look back, weighed the silver coins in her hands, and shouted back: "I know!!"
...
After passing through the busy city, Xiaoyu didn't have time to go to the teahouse to listen to books at this time, so he went straight to the north of the market in Yu'an Ancient Town, where the livestock was sold.
The small town has a small population and good folk customs. The people selling livestock are not Yaozi, but a few local farmers who raise and sell donkeys.
There were only a few animals under the poplar tree at the road entrance, and they were not good products. After picking and choosing, Xiaoyu chose the most expensive donkey, which only cost three taels and five cents.
Uncle Liu gave him close to five taels of silver, and the rest went into Xiaoyu's pocket. He also had the capital to occasionally ask for leave to rest with Uncle Liu.
The shortest way back to the tavern is through the downtown area.
Xiaoyu hummed a little tune, rode on the donkey, squeezed into the crowd, and headed back.
When the crowd was getting crowded, a group of swordsmen in bright clothes and angry horses rushed towards them from the other end of the street, causing the people around them to move to both sides in a hurry.
"Get out of my way!! We are on our way!" The leader was a woman with handsome eyes and slender eyebrows. She had an oval face and long flowing hair. She was dressed in indigo clothes and had a long sword at her waist. She was very pretty.
The woman reined in her horse and saw a lot of passers-by. Her brows and eyes were full of irritation, and she shouted angrily.
The horse jerked, causing an old woman selling vegetables to stumble. An enthusiastic civilian on one side hurriedly supported her.
The woman didn't feel guilty at all, and hurriedly cursed: "Get out of the way! We want to pass."
Xiao Yu thought to herself: She is beautiful, but unfortunately she is a bit arrogant.
The civilians and traders on both sides who were going to the market hurriedly backed away to make way for this group of people from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, there were too many people in the market and the streets were not wide enough. The group of swordsmen on horseback had to slow down, move away from the crowd, and move forward slowly.
Unexpectedly, Xiaoyu led a donkey and walked in front. He tried to move left and right, but in the end he couldn't avoid it.
The woman walked behind the donkey led by Xiao Yu. Seeing that the road was blocked, she held back her resentment and cursed: "What the hell are you stupid donkeys for not getting out of my way!"
Xiaoyu knew that she was scolding him, so he didn't care. He turned around and smiled and said, "I'm sorry, there are so many people here, and I, the donkey, can't move away. Please bear with me... bear with me."
The woman saw that he was an ordinary farm boy, dressed in rags and rags, with his hair tied randomly, with a look of disgust on his face. When he looked at the road, he really couldn't get out of the way, so he could only frown and said sarcastically:
"It's okay, I was scolding the donkey, not you!"
Seeing that this woman was arrogant and addicted to scolding, Xiao Yu felt a little angry in her heart. Seeing the woman's gorgeous clothes, she frowned, raised her hand and slapped the donkey she was holding.
"You beast, I really can't tell. You even know a relative who can ride a horse. When someone talks to you, why don't you reply? Why did you start playing tricks with me right after I bought you?" Xiaoyu finished fanning the donkey and put it away. The donkey's rope pulled.
The donkey was slapped in the face and let out a "ooo" sound.
Xiaoyu heard the donkey bray, looked at the woman on the horse with harmless eyes and asked: "Do you understand?"
The woman heard Xiao Yu scolding her for being a relative of a donkey. Before she could act rudely, she saw the boy looking at her seriously and asking such a question in a strange way. She subconsciously replied: "What do you understand?"
Xiaoyu smiled and said: "Didn't you just talk to the donkey? The donkey answered, but you couldn't understand it? I guess, it probably said: 'Can't move'!!"
When the woman heard this, she drew her sword and pointed it at Xiao Yu, angrily yelling: "You little beast, if you dare to call me a donkey, I will kill you!!"
Xiaoyu frowned with an innocent look on her face and replied: "Girl, how could you have heard that I called you a donkey?"
The woman jumped off the horse, holding a sword in her hand, and quickly rushed to Xiao Yu, just about to have a seizure.
"Jing'er! Don't be rude!" Behind her, a middle-aged man from Mashan, dressed in fine clothes, with an oval face and a mustache, frowned and scolded.
The woman turned to look at the man, stamped her feet, and said coquettishly: "Dad, this little beast called me a donkey!! You heard it just now."
The man said sternly: "Don't be rude! Put your sword away for me! This guy didn't offend you. He scolded you when you opened your mouth. Just get on your horse and we will follow him out of the market together!" "
The woman looked at her father impatiently, curled her lips, and snorted coldly, "I'm not going up, just follow him. There's no difference between riding a horse or walking." After saying that, she sheathed her sword and glared at Xiaoyu angrily.
After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he cupped his fists and said to Xiao Yu: "Brother, please go ahead. We are really in a hurry and we can't move on this road. We can just follow you out of the market. My little girl is so cute, please forgive me. .”
Seeing that the middle-aged man spoke politely, Xiao Yu couldn't say much to ridicule him. He waved the donkey rope, put it on his shoulders, and replied with a joking smile:
"It's okay, it's okay, let's go!"
After saying that, he led the donkey and walked in front casually, as if he didn't care how the girl behind him glared at the back of his head.
The group of people slowly squeezed out of the market, and then the woman stepped on the stirrups and mounted her horse, ran to Xiao Yu, glared at Xiao Yu, "You wait for me, girl!"
Her father frowned behind him with a hint of anger, and said in a deep voice: "Jing'er!"
Hearing this, the woman said angrily: "Dad! You... Humph! See if I don't go home and tell my mother. I'm being bullied and yet you still speak for outsiders!! Humph!" After saying that, he reined in his horse and ran. Went along the horse road outside the ancient town.
The middle-aged man walked slowly to Xiao Yu and said apologetically again: "My discipline is inappropriate, please forgive me."
Xiao Yu waved the rope of Qian Donkey in his hand and replied with a smile: "It's not in the way, it's not in the way, don't pass, don't pass."
The middle-aged man clasped his fists and saluted, and simply replied, "Goodbye." Then he reined in his horse and led a group of swordsmen behind him.
After passing the busy city, Xiaoyu rode on the donkey and went all the way back to Uncle Liu's tavern.
As the horse trail passes, several old locust trees shine brightly in the morning light. People occasionally come and go at the door of the tavern. Under the old locust tree in front of the door, a train of fine horses is tied.
Xiao Yu frowned and cursed in her heart, couldn't it be the group of people just now who were working in Liushu Tavern? The sun was just rising. Could it be that the arrogant woman and her gang were having breakfast in the tavern?
With curiosity and anticipation of trouble, he bought the donkey after a light rain and walked in through the courtyard gate, holding it carefully.
