(1)
Jiangzhou is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River and has developed waterway transportation. It is the hub of water transportation connecting the north and the south. Because it is located on the edge of the mainland, far away from the center of the war, the army is strong and the people are prosperous, and the people can live and work in peace and contentment. The economy is prosperous and there are many tourists coming and going, which is really a strange situation in troubled times. It takes at least several days to travel from Yangcheng to Jiangzhou, and Bai Feng, Zhao Kuo, and Murong Yan traveled all the way to enjoy the mountains and rivers, hoping to encounter more interesting people and things. Therefore, it is very leisurely to drive a horse and stroll along the official road lined with green clothes.
Although the three of them have never been to Jiangzhou, they have heard from oral traditions from merchants that Jiangzhou is a completely different place from Yangcheng in the Central Plains and Yuyi in the north of the Great Wall. If the people there didn't speak the same language to them, it would make people feel like they have arrived in another country.
The three people riding horses and walking in the middle of the road looked curiously at the merchants and pedestrians passing by. An old man in a raincoat passing by, holding two net bags of fish in his hands; a caravan coming from a distance, with boxes of goods behind him; and a group of monks who had just passed behind them chanting sutras and chanting Buddha's praises. Surrounded by a coffin and ready to be sent to a distant place. After Zhao Kuo asked, he learned that they only dared to continue on the road because they heard the news that the banditry in Yangcheng had been eliminated.
This caused Zhao Kuo to exclaim: "Brother Bai, it's all because of you that they can continue to live a normal life!"
Bai Feng replied unhappily: "It wasn't me, it was the dead soldiers who paid for it with their lives..."
Murong Yan saw that the expression of the young man next to her had lost its leisurely expression, so she tugged on his sleeve and looked at him with concern. Bai Feng just responded with a smile, and then looked ahead expressionlessly.
Half a day after setting off, the three of them passed by a small teahouse on the edge of the official road. The teahouse is located in the center of a three-way road, surrounded by mountains and forests. A blue flag with the words "Small Shop in the Forest" printed on it is placed in the most eye-catching position to attract passers-by. It was a scorching sun, so there were many guests at the table. Several of them also planned to go to the teahouse to rest and inquire about the road conditions ahead.
The small teahouse is run by only two people, an old couple. One person entertains the guests and the other serves the dishes. After Murong Yan and Zhao Kuo found their seats, Bai Feng went to ask the old woman who was entertaining the guests what dishes she wanted. The two people sitting at the table on the other side took the opportunity to discuss something secretly.
Zhao Kuo, who was sitting opposite Murong Yan, covered his mouth with his hands and asked quietly: "Miss Murong, have you noticed anything wrong with Brother Bai?"
"Yeah!" Murong Yan replied with an attitude of extreme approval: "I think he must be hiding something from us!"
At the same time, Bai Feng appeared quietly beside the two of them, smiled and asked: "What are you... talking about?"
"I...we are talking..." Before Zhao Kuo could finish speaking, a girl's shout came from the road they came from.
"Help! Someone help me..."
The sound is getting closer and clearer. "Why does this sound sound so similar..." Zhao Kuo muttered to himself, then turned to look at the place where the sound came from, and then said: "My sister?!"
I saw Zhao Xiaomei riding on a galloping horse, teetering on the edge of her seat. She tried her best to press her body close to the horse's back and hugged the horse's neck tightly with her hands. This is the most common method to deal with a crazy horse. The little girl closed her eyes and had completely lost control of the horse under her crotch. The horse rushed straight towards the small teahouse. Fortunately, when he was about to hit someone, he turned into another fork in the road.
Zhao Kuo felt helpless as Zhao Xiaomei flew by in front of him. He could only suck in the dust caused by the horses flying by, coughing and asked: "What's going on?"
At this time, Bai Feng had already jumped lightly onto the horse tied to the wild tree by the road, and followed Zhao Xiaomei at full speed. The young man quickly approached the galloping horse step by step. He crouched on the horse while controlling the horse. Seeing the right moment, he jumped up from his horse and sat behind Zhao Xiaomei.
Bai Feng immediately grabbed Crazy Horse's reins, pulled it back hard, and kept making "oo" sounds to comfort the horse. Crazy Horse had to slow down because the bridle was controlled again, and the boy's "horse language" also played a role. After struggling for several miles, Crazy Horse finally stopped.
"Miss Zhao, it's okay now. There's no need to hug the horse's neck anymore." Zhao Kuo looked at the little girl in front of him and comforted him.
The little girl opened her eyes in panic, only to realize that she had stopped where she was. She breathed a long sigh of relief, sat up, and inadvertently leaned into Bai Feng's arms. The little girl looked up subconsciously and found that it was Bai Feng who had saved her. She stared at her big brown eyes, and after looking at each other for a while with the young man behind her, both of them were greatly embarrassed.
The younger sister caressed her cheeks with her hands and lowered her head shyly, while Bai Feng jumped off the horse in a panic and apologized to Zhao younger sister: "Miss Zhao, I apologize for the offence!"
The little girl said hesitantly: "No...no...thing."
"Miss Zhao, please go and meet Brother Zhao quickly! He will definitely be very worried about your safety!" Bai Feng raised his hands and lowered his eyebrows, not daring to mean the slightest offense when he spoke.
"Then... what should you do?" The younger sister looked sideways at Bai Feng and asked.
"I'll hold the horse for you down there..."
Zhao Xiaomei expressed a slight disappointment, thinking that she could ride on the same horse again... but she had no choice but to agree: "Okay..."
Bai Feng led Zhao Xiaomei's mount towards the teahouse. After a while, Bai Feng met his horse, as well as Zhao Kuo and Murong Yan beside the horse.
When Zhao Kuo heard that his sister was acting strangely, he immediately stepped forward and asked, "Little sister, why are you here? Where are dad and the others?"
"Uh..." Zhao Xiaomei hesitated for a while and said, "I'm worried that you and Sister Murong will suffer! As for dad, I have already left a letter to explain. I believe he will understand!"
Zhao Kuo looked at Bai Feng and Murong Yan who were sneering at the side, and said helplessly: "Can you stop being willful? If it hadn't been for Brother Bai just now, with your horse-taming skills that you had just glimpsed, you would definitely have ended badly!" "
"I..." Zhao Xiaomei choked and said, "I even want to go out to play with you!" As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of the little sister crying and whimpering was heard.
Murong Yan smiled and tried to dissuade her: "Master Zhao, please don't be angry now. My sister has been traveling for a long time and she must be very hungry. If you have anything to say, we can talk to you back to the teahouse..."
After a while, everyone returned to the teahouse, drinking tea and eating while chatting about the little girl's secret escape. After they were seated again, the lady boss brought out the food.
"Here comes the some noodles!" the old woman said, holding four bowls of some noodles.
The little girl smelled several bowls of some noodles and complained dissatisfiedly: "Why are there only some noodles... Is this so edible?"
Zhao Kuo responded disdainfully: "When I travel around the world, I am lucky enough to have a bowl of plain noodles to eat! If the eldest lady doesn't want to, it's still too late to return to daddy!"
"Zhao Kuo, do you have to go against me?" the younger sister replied angrily.
"I'm doing this for your own good!" Zhao Kuo said in kind: "You stinky girl who doesn't know how to live or die!"
"You!" The little girl was so angry that she was speechless and said, "I won't eat this thing anyway!"
Murong Yan on the side looked at the two brothers and sisters having an indissoluble quarrel, showing a very embarrassed look, and winked at Bai Feng on the side, asking him to think of a solution.
After a moment, Bai Feng smiled and said: "Miss Zhao, when you go out, you don't want to eat well, you just want to be full. This is a truth that adults understand, how can you not understand?"
The little girl asked in surprise: "Is this true?" Then she looked at the plain noodles on the table, touched her already hungry belly, and started eating with big mouthfuls.
Zhao Kuo felt incredible about this and said to Bai Feng in admiration: "Brother Bai, I really belong to you!"
"After eating this bowl of noodles, you are boarding our 'thief ship'. Don't leave casually!" Bai Feng continued.
"I never...never said I wanted to leave. It was Zhao Kuo who wanted to drive me away..." the little girl said while eating big noodles.
Zhao Kuo was completely convinced by Bai Feng, and he quickly started eating noodles without caring about his wayward sister. Although pedestrians and merchants passing by will inevitably stir up some dust, it does not prevent the few wanderers who are away from home from filling their stomachs by eating monotonous plain noodles.
