In the blink of an eye, it was the third year of junior high school, and Shao Xi rushed to Bailu Academy early in the morning.
Bai Dinggong was already waiting for him in the study. Bai Jinqing was standing outside the door. Today he specially changed into a set of more elegant white clothes. There were no patterns on the sleeves and hem. Maybe he was afraid that the Liu family would think he was wearing fancy clothes. In fact, he dresses very elegantly on weekdays.
After arriving outside the study and greeting Bai Jinqing, Shao Xi was called in by Bai Dinggong.
"Shao Xi, what do you think of the gift I prepared today?"
As he spoke, Bai Dinggong pointed to a calligraphy and painting spread out on the desk. It was written by a famous artist a hundred years ago. Now it is worth a lot of money on the market. It is also a collection that literati are eager to collect. This shows that Bai Jinqing is really talented. It took a lot of thought.
"Expensive yet elegant, giving this gift will not seem rude or inelegant. It is indeed the best choice."
Bai Dinggong snorted lightly.
"Did you say anything to Jin Qing when you left here yesterday? In the past two days, he was jumping up and down, busy, and enjoying himself more than anyone else. He found this calligraphy and painting, and I don't know how much money he spent on it. , I’ve never seen him care so much about something.”
Shao Xi smiled and said: "It's better to be considerate. No matter what the reason is, it will only be good for us, the Liu family and the others today, and there will be no harm."
Bai Dinggong stroked his beard and glanced out of the corner of his eyes and said: "This boy spends all his time on this and doesn't pay much attention to other things. If he can't find an official position like his father in the future, How to settle down and build a career?”
"Sir, isn't he also outside the court? But it does not affect his reputation. Everyone has his own direction in life. As the elder, he can point the direction for the younger generations. As for the way to go, it still depends on each person. .”
Bai Dinggong sighed and said, "I understand this too, but it's just that when it falls on my grandson, I can't help but worry more."
“Students understand that in the eyes of our elders, no matter how much we achieve or how far we go, we are still just children.”
Bai Dinggong laughed.
"Although you are young, you have a deep understanding of people's hearts. You will definitely achieve great success in the future. Without further ado, let's set off for the Liu family!"
After saying that, he stood up and walked out the door. Shao Xi followed closely and left the study together.
Bai Jinqing, who was outside the door, saw the two people coming out. After bowing to Mr. Bai Ding, he hurried into the study to pack the gifts into boxes, and then chased them out.
Several people got on the carriage and drove all the way towards Liu's house.
Not long after, the coachman reined in the horse, and the few people sitting in the car knew they had arrived at Liu's house.
After Shao Xi and Bai Jinqing helped Bai Dinggong out of the car, Bai Jinqing hurriedly climbed up the steps with the greeting card and went to knock on the door.
The door opened a crack, and a middle-aged man dressed as a servant stood inside. When he saw Bai Jinqing, he asked: "Who is the young master? Why are you knocking on the door?"
Bai Jinqing cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Bai Jinqing, is a disciple of Bailu Academy. Today, I accompanied Old Master Bai Dinggong, the headmaster of the Academy, to visit Mr. Liu Xingzhai at his residence. Could you please help me to send a message to Mr. Liu, please send me your greetings here!"
With that said, Bai Jinqing handed over the greeting card with both hands.
The servant inside the door must be a knowledgeable person. When he heard that Mr. Bai Ding came to visit his old lady, he hurriedly took the invitation with both hands.
"It turns out to be Mr. Bai. Please wait a moment, Mr. Bai. I'll go in and make the announcement."
"Thank you."
Bai Jinqing came back, took the brocade box containing calligraphy and paintings from the carriage, and stood behind Bai Dinggong, waiting for the Liu family to open the door.
Not long after, the main door of the Liu family opened wide, and Liu Xingzhai personally greeted him from inside.
Shao Xi took a quick look and found that the old man of the Liu family was about the same age as Bai Dinggong. Both of them had white hair and beards. However, his body and bones looked very strong. However, his temperament was very different from Bai Dinggong. Liu Xingzhai looked more Majesty, more like an official.
Although the two old men have been arguing for decades, they are still polite when they meet. Whether it is out of true love or hypocrisy, they always have to save some face for each other.
Entering the hall, the guests and hosts took their seats. Bai Dinggong first sent New Year greetings politely, and then called Bai Jinqing to present the gifts.
Liu Xingzhai probably never thought that Baiding Guild would come to visit one day and bring such an expensive gift, so he seemed to be caught off guard for a moment.
After seeing the calligraphy and painting given by Bai Dinggong, Liu Xingzhai kept nodding his head and saying that he had longed for this painting and calligraphy for a long time, but he just didn't have the chance to get it. Now Bai Dinggong has fulfilled one of his wishes, so he is very grateful.
At this time, Liu Xingzhai's behavior didn't look like he was just pretending. It could be seen that he genuinely liked the calligraphy and painting in front of him.
After receiving such a heavy gift, Liu Xingzhai naturally had no choice but to remain silent, so he ordered his servants to prepare wine and food for him to entertain Bai Dinggong and his entourage at home.
It is said that it is easy to talk at the wine table. Bai Dinggong came here with a purpose. When he heard Liu Xingzhai said that he wanted to treat him to a banquet, he happily agreed and said that he and Liu Xingzhai would have a good drink. After so many years of arguing, he still couldn't do it. Still old friends.
"Haha! I really didn't expect you, Mr. Ding, to come! Over the years, you and I have been at loggerheads and have almost broken off contact. I thought you hated me now and would never care about me anymore."
"What did Xingzhai say? You and I are just arguing about this political theory, but how can we forget the friendship we had as classmates? It's just that the affairs of the academy are complicated, and we really don't have time! We are too busy ,too busy!"
Shao Xi looked at the two old men in front of him who were being polite to each other, and murmured to himself, "I didn't expect that famous people in this world would do this kind of thing of scolding their mother behind her back and praising her when they met. It's so ruining the worldview."
"Xingzhai, I have brought two people here to introduce you to you. This Bai Jinqing is my grandson and a disciple of my academy. You saw him when you were young, but he wasn't very good at it."
Bai Jinqing had been taught by Bai Dinggong since he was a child and was very knowledgeable about etiquette. When Bai Dinggong mentioned him, he quickly stepped forward to salute Liu Xingzhai and say hello.
"Ding Gong, you are being too modest. Although Jinqing usually behaves in a low-key manner, his talent and knowledge have long been well-known among the younger generation. If he is said to be incompetent, isn't your request too high? I haven’t seen you for so many years, but I never thought that this child is already a very talented person. If any girl from your family can marry into your Bai family in the future, she will be really lucky."
When Shao Xi heard this, he thought to himself, "Hey! This is a good start. If the conversation goes smoothly, there might be something interesting."
"Xingzhai, you are so ridiculous! I heard that your granddaughter Liu Ling is also a talented woman and quite famous among the younger generation!"
Liu Xingzhai looked regretful, "After all, she is a woman. Sooner or later she will marry and become a wife. Good or bad will belong to other people's families in the future."
When Shao Xi heard this, he couldn't help but retorted: "Junior dare to add a word, I don't think a woman belongs to someone else's family when she marries. No matter who she marries, she will always be your granddaughter. Instead of saying she is married, she will be your granddaughter." Now that you have lost a granddaughter, it would be more appropriate to say that you have gained a grandson."
Liu Xingzhai was stunned by Shao Xi's words. Only then did he notice the other young man behind Bai Dinggong. He was not inferior to Bai Jinqing in appearance and temperament, and he liked him at first sight.
Seeing Shao Xi speak, Bai Dinggong quickly introduced to Liu Xingzhai: "This is my inner disciple named Shao Xi. Compared with Jin Qing, he is a bit better. He is considered my favorite disciple."
Seeing that Bai Dinggong had begun to introduce himself, Shao Xi hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, bowed and said, "Junior Shao Xi pays homage to Mr. Liu."
Liu Xingzhai stroked his beard and looked Shao Xi up and down, nodding his head.
"Yeah! What a handsome young man, with an extraordinary bearing! Although he is different from Jin Qing, you can tell at a glance that he is definitely not an ordinary person."
"Senior, you've been rewarded. I'm really ashamed that I got to be my disciple because of my mentor's wrong love. This time, I've prepared a small gift for you. I hope I won't laugh at you."
With that said, Shao Xi presented the brocade box with both hands.
Liu Xingzhai said with a slightly surprised look on his face: "As expected, he is Ding Gong's disciple, and he is so polite. He prepared a gift for his first visit. It is really very polite."
Bai Dinggong had a proud look on his face, "This boy is quite a gentleman. He is much better than you and I were when we were young. It is a blessing for me to take him as my disciple."
"Indeed, this boy, like Jin Qing, is a young man who will be loved at first sight."
Liu Xingzhai said as he opened the brocade box given by Shao Xi. After the box was opened, when he saw what was in the box, he stayed on the spot as if someone had tapped his acupuncture points.
"This is……!"
Shao Xi saw Liu Xingzhai's reaction and secretly laughed in his heart: "Why do people here react like this when they see marbles? If they knew that my shoulder pockets were full of these things when I was a child, I wonder if they would Psychological breakdown?”
"This thing is called Yunxia Glaze Bead. There are several colorful clouds in this glass bead. Under the sunlight, it shows its crystal clear and flowing beauty. This is the filial piety of the younger generation to Mr. Liu."
At this moment, Liu Xingzhai wanted to stuff the glass beads into his eyes. He pinched the glass beads with two fingers, walked to the door and stretched out his hand under the sun to look again. He saw the glass beads shining brightly, and the colorful textures inside the beads. It was so beautiful that Liu Xingzhai had already forgotten about it and didn't care about the people behind him.
After a long time, Liu Xingzhai was reluctant to walk back and carefully put the glass beads back into the box.
"Even the royal family has not collected this item. How can I accept such a valuable thing for nothing? I accept your offer, but this gift is too precious. I really don't dare to accept it!"
When Shao Xi saw that he had the opportunity to speak, he asked: "It's just a pearl! How precious and valuable is it? Compared with the knowledge of the old gentleman and my mentor and the ambition to benefit all people in the world, It’s just a common thing! Really precious things are not held in the hands, but placed in people’s hearts. Sir, do you think this junior is right?”
This sentence made Liu Xingzhai even more shocked. Was this what a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy said? Who is this person in front of me?
"Why did you come today?"
