After walking to the west of the shadow of the sun, the father and son entered Qingshi County. They walked along the street and looked at the shops and people beside the road. Xiao Ning seemed to feel that everything was new. Now he was sitting on the bullock cart. I forgot everything that happened on the way.
Qingshi County is not too big, just a small town with a radius of more than ten miles. It only has official roads and inns, so it is somewhat popular.
As people flowed away for a while, Xiao Changling stopped the oxcart in front of a courtyard. The courtyard was two or three acres in size, which was already quite large in this county. The vermilion gate separated the two sides, and a pair of stone lions stood in front of the gate. There is a plaque "Wang's House" hanging high on the door, and there are two young people standing on either side of the door.
After getting off the oxcart at this door, Changling hurriedly walked a few steps and bowed to the two people at the door: "Excuse me, brother, is this the palace of Wang Wei?"
When the young man saw that he was wearing a long gown, he was much more polite, "Exactly, what's the matter with this gentleman?"
"Oh, I would like to ask if there is a bow club in the house recruiting disciples, can it be here?"
"Haha, the gentleman said that we are the 'Qingshi Gong Society'. You go to the back street and it is opposite the back door." The young man also smiled and pointed the way to him.
Xiao Changling quickly thanked him and came back to lead the ox cart around the back street. Sure enough, there is a yard in the back street, with an area of five or six acres. The gate is closed and the corner door is open. The plaque on the door reads "Qingshi Gongshe". Xiao Changling stopped the bullock cart again, held out his son and walked towards the corner gate.
There was also a porter under the corner door. Hearing his intention, he quickly let the father and son into the courtyard. There is a row of tile-roofed houses at the entrance of the courtyard. After the father and son entered the house, the concierge went to find the steward to receive them.
Before the concierge returned from the cup of tea, Xiao Changling heard footsteps coming from outside the house. It seemed like two people were approaching the house while talking.
Chang Ling hurriedly looked up and looked outside the house. There were two people walking side by side. The person on the left was just in his thirties. He was more than seven feet tall, with his arms hanging down to his knees. He was wearing a green outfit and a hero scarf on his head. A pair of deerskin boots, he was born with fair skin, thin eyebrows and long eyes, and a short beard under his chin, which showed his spirit.
Next to him was a big man, who seemed to be in his forties, nine feet tall, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, with a dark face, big round eyes, a long robe, a curly beard under his chin, and two quick boots that could catch the earth tiger. His arms can be as thick as two legs of an ordinary person.
Xiao Changling frowned when he saw the two of them. He always felt that this tall man looked familiar. At this time, the two of them saw someone in the room and stopped. The shorter one had not yet spoken, but the taller one had already taken a few steps forward, looked at Chang Ling carefully, and asked hesitantly: "Mr. Xiao?"
Chang Ling nodded slightly, but before he could say anything, the dark-faced man opposite him knelt down with a plop and said, "Young man Yu Fangzhou has met your benefactor." As he spoke, he bowed his head.
Changling was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to help him. After looking carefully, he dared to ask: "Are you Brother Yu?"
The dark-faced Yu Fangzhou nodded quickly, took Xiao Changling's arm and moved to sit down. At this moment, Xiao Ning was confused. The white-faced man smiled slightly, stepped forward and patted Xiao Ning, and came to pay homage to Chang Ling. Before Chang Ling could ask for advice, Yu Fangzhou quickly announced himself, "My dear friend, this is me. Junior brother Wang Wei is the master of this place."
Upon hearing this, Chang Ling was about to stand up to greet him, but was pushed down by Wang Wei. He laughed and said, "I often hear my senior brother talk about how he was saved by a benefactor five or six years ago. I didn't expect to meet Xiao Engong here." ah."
Xiao Changling also smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Brother Yu would still remember what happened five or six years ago. I'm so ashamed."
"How can we forget the grace of saving my life!" Yu Fangzhou said sternly from the side, "That day I even fell ill and injured in the inn, and no one paid attention to me even though I had money. If it hadn't been for my benefactor's care for more than a month, Yu would have been buried in a mass grave. There is a withered skeleton on the post. But when we parted, I saw that my benefactor was in a bad mood, and I did not dare to ask for advice from my benefactor. Later, I often regretted it, and even in the past few years, I had no way to repay my kindness. Today, I am lucky that the sky has eyes and let me I meet my benefactor again here."
Xiao Changling also smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Back then, I had just won the dog, and I had a reputation as a scholar. I went to the provincial capital to take the exam in high spirits. When we met in the inn, we just helped each other. I didn't want to lose my reputation later, so I was in a bad mood for a while. Jia, I packed up early." After saying that, he looked up at Yu Fangzhou and asked, "I haven't asked Brother Yu how he is doing."
"Hi!" Yu Fangzhou waved his hand with a smile. "Don't mention it. I had enough wandering in the world and wanted to go to the border to join the army. I didn't want to be ambushed by my enemies on the way and was seriously injured. Fortunately, my benefactor rescued me and saved my life. After I recovered from my injuries, I still went to the border, but I didn't expect that after five years in the army, I was still a white man, and I was not on good terms with my superiors. I took off my armor and returned home in a rage. When I heard that my junior brother had opened a bow club, I came to join him."
After hearing this, Wang Wei also waved his hands and said with a smile: "Senior brother, you are too polite. It doesn't matter if you don't talk about the past. Today, Mr. Xiao En is bringing the young master here. Is there something going on?"
Changling also smiled, "It's just that I have something to ask you, Ning'er, to come over and pay homage to Uncle Yu and Uncle Wang."
Xiao Ning was very obedient and quickly came forward to salute. Yu and Wang also hurriedly helped each other. Xiao Changling continued: "This is the dog Xiao Ning. I came here to ask Yuan Wang to join the Bow Club to learn archery for a few years. I wonder what Yuanwai's surprise is like?"
"Okay, I'll teach him personally when he comes!" Before Wang Wei could say anything, Yu Fangzhou shouted.
"Senior brother, this matter must be discussed in the long run." Wang Wei interrupted his senior brother's words quickly, "Xiao Engong..."
Before Wang Wei could finish his words, Chang Ling waved his hand to interrupt, "You two can't talk about the same benefactor. I took care of what happened back then. Besides, we are destined to meet again today. Why should we be so rigid about what happened in the past?" .”
"How can this be done..."
Before Yu Fangzhou could finish his words, Xiao Changling hurriedly said: "If you continue to be polite, you two will look down on me."
Wang Wei laughed and hurriedly came over to smooth things over, "Okay, since Mr. Xiao En is a cheerful person, we also ask you to call you brother. We will keep our friendship in our hearts, so we won't talk more here."
After this, Yu Fangzhou reluctantly agreed. Only then did Xiao Changling ask: "What did Brother Wang say was wrong just now?"
"Brother Xiao, my son is still young. It is still too early to learn to bow. If you injure your muscles and bones, it will last a lifetime."
Yu Fangzhou suddenly understood, nodded repeatedly and said: "Yes, yes, brother, why don't you let your nephew learn martial arts with me for a few years first, and then let him practice bowing later."
Xiao Ning's eyes lit up when he heard about learning martial arts, but his father said again: "I still don't want him to learn martial arts. I just want him to learn in archery. The Xiao family has always passed down poems and books, so I still want him to learn martial arts." He took the literary examination."
Yu Fangzhou frowned after hearing this, and Xiao Ning lowered his head again. Wang Wei smiled again and said, "Where does Brother Xiao live now?"
"Oh, I still have my ancestral home in Sanmen Village in the south of the city, with a few acres of thin farmland. I have a private school in the village where I just live my life."
"Well, sixty miles from the city is not that far." Wang Wei smiled and stroked his short beard, "How about that? I think my nephew was also taught by Brother Xiao himself. There is no big academy in Qingshi County, next door to my house There is also a private school. My husband is from Bianjing. His surname is Wan. He is a nice person. He asked my nephew to stay with me for a while. I will take him to the private school tomorrow. I will let him study Chinese in the morning and practice bowing in the afternoon. Let’s lay a foundation first, and then we’ll see what happens in a few years, and then we’ll see what our brothers think.”
"No, no, it's not Xiao's fault to bother Brother Wang like this." Xiao Changling waved his hand quickly.
"That's it!" Yu Fangzhou made the decision before others had decided.
"I think this is the most suitable way." Wang Wei said with a smile.
"That's not right, that's not right..."
"What's wrong?" Xiao Changling was interrupted by Yu Fangzhou slapping the table before he could finish his words, "My nephew can't live in the cold or hungry with us. After a long time, we will send him back so that you and your siblings can meet him." That’s fine, you can come and stay for a few days if you have time, and if you lose a hair, it’s all my fault!”
"Yes, Mr. Wan from Bianjing is familiar with me and has learned a lot. Letting him teach my nephew for a few years will be of great benefit to his success in the future." Wang Wei also advised with a smile.
"This..." When it came to this knowledge, Xiao Changling also hesitated, thought for a while and said, "Okay, all the expenses will be reported outside, and I will go back and prepare."
"Is it worth it?" Wang Wei said with a smile, "Senior brother and I have a life-long friendship, and his kindness is my kindness. Brother Xiao is no longer an outsider. Although Wang does not dare to call himself rich, he has little family assets. Ning'er is my nephew, and my uncle can't even support his studies. Does Brother Xiao look down on me or does he look down on me?"
When it came to this matter, Xiao Changling had nothing to say, so he had no choice but to thank the two of them. There was nothing to say that day. In the evening, the palace held a banquet to receive the Xiao family and his son. Wang Wei asked Xiao Ning to move to the inner house. Xiao Changling just refused and told Xiao Ning to live in the society like a normal Gongshe disciple. Yu and Wang could not. Only then did they prepare an upper room in Gongshe for Xiao Ning to live.
In the early morning, Xiao Changling saw that his son was all arranged, so he went to Yu and Wang to say goodbye. Yu Fangzhou wanted to keep him here for a few days, but Xiao Changling said that there were still children in the village private school who needed to be taught by him, so he couldn't. After delaying for too long, the two had no choice but to take out the gold and silver as gifts. Chang Ling declined all of them, and only asked his son to study hard, and asked the two to take care of the younger son, so they drove the bullock cart back to their hometown.
Xiao Ning stood by the road and looked at his father's retreating figure. He felt empty for a moment. At this moment, Wang Wei came up, patted his shoulder and led him towards the house. Stepping into the gate of the palace, the sun has already risen, casting thousands of golden lights. Facing the sun, it seems that everything is a new beginning.
