Ruan didn't continue what she was busy with. She quietly looked at Lin Manliu who was sitting across from him and said, "If you have anything to ask, just ask."
"Thank you Aunt Ruan for six months..." After the boy in short shirt spoke, he bowed his hand again.
Later, Lin Manliu and Ruan asked about some past caravan travel schedules and whether Master Ruan would mention some outside matters to Ruan every time he returned home, so as to use these things as a reference for future exploration directions. , During the conversation between the two, Lin Manliu could feel Ruan's worry about her husband not returning this time, and her embarrassment about living in this Fengcheng in the future.
As the two of them talked, the time came to noon, and the sun shone into the courtyard, with a bit of midsummer warmth reflected on the chickens in the courtyard. The thin hens seemed to feel more comfortable in the sun, and gave out The subtle sound of chicken crow "cluck, cluck, clack...".
"I've asked everything Manliu wanted to ask. Thank you Aunt Ruan for telling me. It's almost time to cook, so I won't bother Aunt Ruan anymore." Lin Manliu stood up and said. There was some fine dust on his trouser legs, and his short shirt The boy didn't intend to slap him now. It would be a bit rude, so he didn't bother.
"It's okay... I just want to apologize for going to your house this morning. I hope your family won't remember it..." Ruan said with a slightly apologetic tone. After finishing speaking, she also stood up together, planning to send someone off. The young man arrived at the gate of his courtyard.
"It happened for a reason. Aunt Ruan acted like this because she was anxious and had no solution. Neither my parents nor I will have any complaints. I just hope that Aunt Ruan will take care of her health in the future and wait for Master Ruan's safe return."
"Well...that's natural. I'd like to thank Nephew Lin first."
Lin Manliu and Ruan walked to Chaimen together. The boy in a short shirt took the lead to step out of the courtyard and down the stone steps. Ruan stood in the courtyard door. The two of them were in the same position as Lin Manliu had just visited Ruan. The only difference is that at first Ruan was full of resentment and unwillingness to face this young man who had just arrived. Now it was just a conversation between the two parties. She was not satisfied with the young man under the stone steps in front of her and the pastry shop in Dongcheng. The shop has changed a lot.
"There is no need for Aunt Ruan to see you off. Next, I will go and ask some other aunts. After the inquiry is completed, I will inform my family and prepare for the trip." Ruan who was at the gate of Lin Man Liu Dynasty waved. He waved goodbye.
Ruan, who was in the courtyard gate, did not respond verbally. She closed her eyes and nodded, indicating that she understood, and then closed the door.
The boy in the short shirt waited until the Chaimen was closed before turning around and leaving, preparing to go to the next address related to the caravan. Not long after the boy left, there was a sound of whimpering coming from the Chaimen. It was a woman crying, but the sound was extremely soft. If you didn't listen carefully, you would have thought it was the rooster crowing in the courtyard gate.
During Lin Manliu's subsequent visit, the situation was basically the same as when he visited the Ruan family. As soon as he knocked on the door or met him in the street, the other party thought that the young man was coming to show off in front of him. In front of these troublemakers, they showed off that they had some relationship with the old god who visited the Star Observation Temple, so that they could humiliate him and give him a good look.
Therefore, the first thing the young man in a short shirt does when he meets someone is to explain his purpose of coming first so that the other person's face will not look so ugly. He keeps talking to the person until the other person is no longer angry, and then he can inquire about the caravan. related matters.
After Lin Manliu's hard work that day, he finally visited most of the family members of the caravan. However, there were some who didn't want to hear what he had to say at all. The courtyard door was closed tightly to prevent the boy in short shirt from having any chance to ask. These few We can only visit again later.
Today, the chats under the shade of the trees in the East City also had more topics that were different from those in the past. The first one was talking about the Lin family pastry shop, but it shocked the entire East City. Even some wealthy men in the west of the city may not be able to visit those in the city. The Taoist priest Xingguan got acquainted, and the Lin family pastry shop actually had a direct relationship with the old god on the mountain.
"Did you see what happened in front of the Lin family's shop today? The Lin family is quite prestigious. In the future, the gentlemen in the west of the city will probably come to curry favor..."
"Isn't that right? I heard that the old god on the mountain took a fancy to their child with thin arms and legs and said he wanted to take him as his disciple."
"Why did I hear that the two relatives of his family who didn't know where they came from had some friendship with the old gods on the mountain?"
"Yes, yes, that's what I heard. Why don't my family have such relatives?"
But as the boy in the short shirt walked around the streets, the chat under the shade of the tree started with different stories about how the old god greeted each other with gifts in front of the pastry shop, and began to evolve into the "young master" of the Lin family who once looked timid. He began to make it clear that he was provoking neighbors and vowed to turn the entire East City upside down...
"Hey... look at that boy from the Lin family. In the past, he would just throw himself to the ground and wait for his sick and weak mother to come to rescue him. Now he has climbed up to the old god. It's different. Don't cause trouble in the future. Come after me."
"Just wait. I remember that last year, the business of his pastry shop was getting better for a while, but you told people that his pastries were not clean and were browned."
"How could it be me! You must have remembered the wrong person. I had some friendship with Mr. Lin in the early years, and I used to slander other people's cakes..." The voice of the speaker became quieter and quieter, for fear that someone might be interested. If you listen to it, it will affect you in the future.
Lin Manliu walked on the streets of Dongcheng, summarizing the things he asked about today one by one. He carefully wrote down some useful places and travel times. He planned to go home to discuss with the old liar and plan the future. Long travel routes.
However, it is worth mentioning that during today's investigation and inquiry, we learned that the caravan had encountered people who had not returned home for a long time, but they were able to return safely in the end, which gave the boy in short shirt more confidence. .
Lin Manliu made up his mind and prepared to go home first and inquire about the remaining houses later. Just like this, the boy in a short shirt ran in the sunshine, walking lightly through the streets of Dongcheng, heading towards the pastry shop, turning around You can see your home after passing the fork in the road in front of you.
In front of the courtyard gate, I saw the old liar leaning on the eaves, probably waiting for me to go back. The young man's running steps became slow. I don't know if the man in front of me, who is also a teacher and friend, was annoyed by his words today. Still angry, Lin Manliu walked five or six steps in front of Ye Dangting, then stopped and stood waiting for the other party to speak.
But the boy in the short shirt waited for a while, but didn't see the other party asking questions. Thinking that he might still be angry with himself, Lin Manliu was about to explain.
Unexpectedly, Ye Dangting suddenly looked at him and said, "Is this evil young man from East City finally willing to come back after his inspection?"
Lin Manliu was a little confused by this question from the evil young man from Dongcheng. He asked with some confusion: "...What evil young man from Dongcheng?".
I heard Ye Dang let out a sigh, and then pointed at the boy in a short shirt in front of him, "You have been out for so long today, and you don't know what people outside say about you? They say that you are now protected by the old gods on the mountain. First in the morning I humiliated all the aunts in the alley in front of the door. During the day, I was still not satisfied with my anger and actually came to the door to ask for an explanation."
After hearing Ye Dang's words, the young man in short shirt understood the reason. When he was walking in the streets today, the neighbors he usually knew deliberately avoided him. He thought it was just because he walked a little faster, but he didn't. I never imagined being passed down like this.
"I just came to visit those aunts to ask about the caravan... Oh, gossip is the most hurtful thing," Lin Manliu said helplessly.
"It doesn't matter. Now that the rumors are like this, in the future no one from Dongcheng or the entire Fengcheng will come to your door and mess with your family. Maybe there will be some rich people in the west of the city who want to come over and have some relations with your family. After all, those people are the most powerful. You are a person who believes in stargazing," Ye Dangting said casually.
Hearing that his family might be in trouble later because of these things, Lin Manliu began to think deeply. He must prepare some methods to deal with it. Otherwise, how could his family be stable after he ran away?
Seeing the boy in a short shirt thinking deeply about things in front of him, Ye Dang heard that Ye Cai had guessed most of the things and said, "These things are actually not bad things. In the future, Shiyi and I will naturally pay attention to these personnel trends in Fengcheng. You Since you have to travel far by yourself, how are you doing today?"
Hearing the first half of the old liar's words of comfort, the young man felt a little relieved. However, the second half of the sentence asked him how he was preparing, which made him a little surprised.
"You won't stop me from going out by myself?".
"What are you doing to stop me? If you really want to run away, I have to let you stay. Besides, since you really feel that your wings are hard, you should go out and fall hard to understand what pain is!" Ye Dangting looked disgusted. said.
"Oh..." The boy in a short shirt responded when he heard the old liar's reply. His tone seemed a little disappointed, but also seemed to be happy.
"Forget it, go into the house and say, you're not smart. I mean, I'm afraid you'll be put into a sack and sold before you get out of Jiannan." Upon hearing this, Ye Dang turned around and went into the house.
Lin Manliu followed Ye Dangting back to the pastry shop in his home. As soon as he entered the room, he saw his mother and master behind the counter, both looking at him with a smile, and the young man also laughed at the same time. He waved his hands to the two of them.
There was a food box on the counter. When Lin Manliu approached, Lin's mother opened the food box. Inside was a bowl of rice and two plates of side dishes. There was some steam on top of the food. It was just finished not long ago.
"Miss Eleven counted the time and said that you will be back soon. Mother, I went to heat up the cold dishes. Man Liu must be tired from being outside today. Eat quickly." Mother Lin smiled at the boy in a short shirt. said.
"Yeah!" Lin Manliu responded with a smile. While lifting the bowl, he also looked at his master and smiled at him. Eleven also nodded.
Ye Dang listened behind him and saw that the young man was moaning and groaning all the time while eating. He raised his hand and knocked Lin Manliu on the head, "Why are you laughing? Eat your food!".
Eleven was speechless watching this scene, and then his smile faded, and he looked at Ye Dangting with a dead look in his eyes.
After noticing Eleven's eyes, Ye Dangting had no choice but to scratch his head and pretend to laugh stupidly. Mother Lin tidied up her child's messy hair while the boy was eating, and Lin Manliu feasted in such an environment.
Although it was just reheated food, the boy tasted it very delicious.
