In the money shop, a clerk was cutting silver. The calico cat was playing in circles all over the floor. The journey to Pingzhou is a mountainous road for hundreds of miles. There are few people, but it is not uninhabited. It is just that there are few people and there is no big city, so it is difficult to buy and stay. Song You feels that it is inconvenient to use money, but there is not much copper left. Today So I specifically asked a money shop to come and exchange it.
Dayan's official silver is flat, wide at both ends and thin in the middle, making it easy to cut. The waiter was also very skilled in the business. He just cut out a small corner, took out the gun and weighed it. He immediately smiled and showed it to Song You.
"My guest, no more, no less, just one or two."
“Good craftsmanship!”
"It's also luck." The waiter smiled and accepted the corner, returned the remaining piece to Song You, and then took out a large bunch of copper coins, an extra small bunch, and some more.
"Other places are not full. For convenience, ours is full. Please rest assured, sir."
"I'll count them."
"Just count!"
"Okay." Song You smiled and sat down, and actually started counting. Xiangle County's recent silver-to-money ratio is one thousand two hundred and one.
Song You asked the restaurant manager when he was eating, and the owner said the same price. Of course, money shops charge a commission for exchanging money.
I had exchanged money once in Yidu before, and that time the exchange rate of one tael of silver was only 1,190. I don’t know whether it was due to local factors or time factors, but it was higher here.
Don't think that money shops should value trustworthiness, and think that most money shops in the world are fair people. In fact, in Dayan, it is a common phenomenon in society to do something with copper coins, and everyone has even become so accustomed to it that they don't think it is a thing. To the extent that I felt guilty, I felt it was natural.
Anyway, everyone is like this, and it is natural for both parties to come and go. But generally I don’t do anything with the clothes.
Firstly, many people, not to mention exchanging money, even use silver to buy things, but also bring their own coins. Secondly, the court is strict about this, and cheating violates the law. On the contrary, if a string of money is less, no one will hold it accountable. , who forbids me from counting wrongly?
Anyway, I have some free time today to count my money. More than a thousand articles are not easy to count. Fortunately, Song You was patient enough.
At some point, the calico cat also sat over, sitting upright next to him, raising its head and stretching its neck, looking at him eagerly.
Not long after, Song You put down the money: "This is a lot of nine hundred and eighty yuan, which is short of twenty coins."
"Ouch!" the clerk shouted in a very surprised tone: "Even if the clerk who counted the money was careless and made a mistake, I'm sorry sir, I will make it up for you." Without counting, he turned around and went to get it. money.
It's already obvious - I always make nine hundred and eighty here, and there's not much difference between the left and right. If you don't care about it, then treat it as if I earned an extra twenty cents. If you care about it, you can count a thousand cents. , the count is correct, then I will apologize to you without saying a word and just provide you with supplies.
It’s actually hard to say. Of course it is human greed and petty thoughts, but it is also the inertia of society, a common phenomenon.
There is also quite a bit of room for contemplation and savoring. But Song You still asked: "Aren't you going to count?"
"I'm not good at counting. I'm afraid I'll make a mistake. Besides, my husband is a master in spiritual practice. How could he lie to me?" the man said while counting the money, his tone was very natural.
"Even if the gentleman counts wrongly, the difference is only a few pennies at most. We are all distinguished guests when we come in, so we should treat him as a small shop and treat him well."
"Very good." It's also a bit interesting. After collecting all the money, Song You went out and put it on the horse without saying anything.
However, the calico cat still sat in the money shop, sometimes turning to look at Song You, sometimes at the clerk at the counter. When Song You was about to leave and the clerk wanted to give a warning, she suddenly jumped up on the counter and faced him. The guy let out an angry sigh, and immediately jumped down again to chase Song You.
Run fast. The guy was left standing there stunned. ... Most of the county towns are built near the water. When you walk out of the city gate of Xiangle County, you will immediately see a small river. The stone arch bridge is very charming and spans the small river. It is lunch break at this time. No one is walking on the bridge. The willow tree at the bridge head by the river hangs down its silk ribbons, which are thin and long, swaying in the spring breeze.
When they reached the middle of the bridge, Song You refused to leave. He stopped and stood by the bridge, holding on to the railings and blowing the spring breeze. He looked at the small river in the distance and the old man beating his clothes. He didn't know what he was thinking.
"Bang bang bang..." The sound of beating clothes came from afar and echoed in the air.
"Yan An."
"Sir." A swallow landed on the guardrail of the stone bridge. Before Song You could speak, he said first: "I just went to ask for directions for you. The road in front of you is about thirty miles away and is the boundary of Pingzhou." Song You was a little surprised: "You go and ask of?"
"Yes, I flew forward, turned into a human form, and asked the local farmer. This is what the old man said." Yanzi paused for a moment and said ashamedly,
"In the past few days, I was supposed to see my husband off, but every time I asked for directions, I had to ask him in person. It's really shameful."
"Those who are good at martial arts should follow martial arts, and those who are good at literature should follow literature. You have your temperament and ability. You have been a great help along the way, so why do you need to do this?"
"Sir, there is no need to comfort me. I only found out after asking that it is simpler than I thought."
"That's fine." Song You said no more and just continued what he originally wanted to say: "Since the front is the border of Pingzhou, just send it here. It's time for you to go back."
"..." Yan Zi didn't speak for a moment, looking at him with a pair of dark eyes, and then said: "I have been walking with you during this period. I have been taught by your words and deeds, and you have been nourished by your spiritual energy. I want to thank you."
"It's my turn to thank you for your kindness."
"The ancestors want to send the swallows of the tribe to search for crops in other places. I have thought about it for a long time. As a member of the tribe, I should also go." Yanzi seems to be still in the period of changing his voice, and his voice is very juvenile.
"If that were not the case, I would really like to follow you, stay by your side, search for streams and paths for you, and see the vast world."
"Have you decided to go overseas?"
"Yes." Swallow's one-word answer was very much like Song You's habit. He thought about it for a while, and then continued: "I was originally afraid that the south was too far away, and I was afraid of walking with other swallows. I was also afraid that after trying hard to find it for a long time, I couldn't find it. I couldn’t find it, but walking with my husband, I felt that the distance was not far away. Although the mountains outside the mountains were different from the mountains in front of me, the essential differences were not big. If I think about it carefully, it is my family’s natural habit to go south. , I should also experience that vast world..."
"Actually, it's good to be alone." Song You said with a smile,
"But this is better. Maybe if you go out for a while, you will feel better about going out. Maybe if you go out for a while, you will feel lonely. In short, you will know after going out and comparing."
"If I come back and feel lonely, I will follow my heart like your husband. If I come back and feel that the world is vast and the fun is endless, I will follow my heart like your husband."
"You are smarter than me." Song You smiled,
"When I came down the mountain, my master said to me, I hope that I can find the fun in this world and find peace of mind during this trip. Now I give these words to you. I hope you can find your own happiness and find yourself as soon as possible. A place of peace of mind.”
"It's just a goodbye at this time, I don't know..."
"I just hope that you and I will have another day to see each other again."
"Take care, sir."
"Take care of yourself too." The swallow said no more, flapped its wings and flew into the blue clouds, becoming a smaller and smaller black dot.
The calico cat raised its head and stared, and then looked back when it was out of sight.
"he's gone!"
"yes."
"It's just us again."
"Can't bear to part with it? You even helped him catch butterflies."
"I have no idea……"
"Then you're not smart."
"?" The calico cat was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to retort, he saw that the man had turned around and walked away, leaving only his back and the words: "Let's go, it will only be us for a long time in the future." The calico cat had no choice but to follow with small steps.
As soon as they got off the bridge, there were pedestrians in front of them, walking in their direction, as if they were going into the city. It was the old woman who was beating her clothes just now.
The two old men looked very old, with gray hair, short stature, and even more stature when they became rickety. They were also dressed very simply, barely keeping warm, and the spring water was still a bit cold. At this age, Even though it was a common thing these days, Song You still felt a little pity for her.
The two old women were carrying large buckets of clothes. Because they were too heavy, their bodies tilted involuntarily to one side and they fell over when walking, which made them even more sad.
But at this moment, Song You saw the old woman walking behind raising her hand with the mallet to poke the back of the old woman in front. The old woman in front was too lazy to pay attention at first, but after two more He couldn't help it any longer, so he turned around, held up the mallet and stumbled back a few steps to chase him, as if he was about to hit him. The latter also stumbled back a few steps and avoided it with a smile.
One age, like two children. With such a humble face and a bright smile, the few remaining teeth can be easily counted at a glance.
After a few commotions and a moment of stalemate, the two gray-haired old ladies panted, picked up their clothes and walked back, but they walked side by side, with no one daring to go ahead.
Song You quickly and respectfully retreated to the roadside. Two old men passed by him.
"Meow?"
"What's wrong."
"Um?"
"I'm afraid of getting in the way of the old man."
"Oh I can't stop it..."
"Yes." Song You stepped forward and chased the calico cat. Horse bells tinkled. The Taoist holding a bamboo stick and the old man carrying clothes completed an ordinary encounter.
Looking back again, he saw the two old women looking back at him and whispering to each other. Their voices were vague and unclear as they were blown by the wind. They were discussing where this young and strange little Taoist priest came from.
The steps don’t stop. Not far out of the city, there were few pedestrians on the road. I arrived in Xiangle County yesterday and spent a night in a hotel with a nice room. He asked the owner and said that this road was originally an ancient road, but it was really difficult to walk. This road was used when the world was in chaos. This is one of the reasons why Xuzhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The previous dynasty spent a lot of effort to open another road, and fewer people took this road.
When there are fewer people, there are more monsters. When there are more monsters, there are fewer people. If the court doesn't care, it will be a vicious circle.
To this day, I still don’t know whether the imperial court controls it or not. There are few villages on the general road, but there are a few cities with very few people. There are also a few pass military towns, so this is still the territory of King Dayan.
With the help of a stick and a light body, we can travel thirty miles and arrive in no time.
"Pingzhou boundary." Song You walked to the boundary monument again and stopped to look at it. Yesterday was the vernal equinox, and today is also the vernal equinox.
Take another step forward and you will be out of Xuzhou. Another new state. I saw the sky in front of me was heavy and rainy, and what I saw was a landscape like ink and wash, with heavy mountain shadows and heavy fog. One mountain was higher than the other, and I couldn't tell the end of the mountain. It was like a picture of a thousand-mile river and mountains.
As the hotel owner said - this road is difficult. Pingzhou is also mountainous, but it is different from the mountains in Anqing, Xuzhou. Anqing is a small mountain with thousands of peaks forming a forest at a glance. Pingzhou is a big mountain. Not to mention thousands of peaks at a glance, even a mountain is full of trees. When I looked in front of my eyes, one part was in the clouds and the other part was in the clouds, so I couldn't see it completely.
Not only are there many mountains, but there are also many canyons and cliffs. This road passes through the mountains, along the mountainside, through the canyon, and past the cliff. If you encounter something that cannot be bypassed, you have to go all the way up, through the sea of clouds, and over the pass.
It was fine during the day, with occasional sightings of people. At night, the mountain demons cry and wild ghosts blow fire. Song You couldn't see this.
I only saw the clear springs in the mountains, the wild fruits in the forest, the free little monkeys, the wild trees and flowers scattered all over the ground after a spring rain, the sea of clouds covering the sky and the earth, and the fungi that emerged after the rain.
Even the abandoned huts on the roadside, coupled with the leisurely mood and countless fallen flowers, seemed to him to be a scene of their own.
I recommend "Into Unscience" by the novice fishing girl. It is an experienced author. The story is wonderful, the volume is large, and it can solve the book shortage!
