On the way back to the inn, Wei Yingdian's state of mind was obviously completely different from when he arrived. He was no longer surprised and worried, but more calm and relieved. There were even faint signs of sudden enlightenment, just like Zhu Yihou gained the fortune after losing his mind. Deng Fuqing swallowed her heart and grew her arms.
When Qi Jingzhi saw it, he knew that although Wei Yingdian said that reincarnation was real and illusory, he actually believed it in his heart. Looking back on his words and deeds today, he knew that this old man had clearly not told all the details of the sacrifice in his dream. He said that he had anticipated Zao Nuo's incident from the beginning, and this trip was just to verify one or two things.
Originally, Qi Jingzhi was still suspicious of the child who broke open the door at night to deliver dates, suspecting that the date woman was raising spirits and using magic to fake reincarnation to defraud people of money. But now that Wei Yingdian has such a person, even the monks would envy him. I gained a lot of experience and gained a lot. Whether I was deceived or not during this trip is irrelevant and there is no need to delve into it.
The three of them took the bullock cart and wandered all the way back to Qu'a town. When paying the driver, Wei Yingdian, who had been distracted, suddenly remembered that he was penniless and could only watch Qi Jingzhi pay with an embarrassed look.
Since they had not eaten in the morning, Wei Yingdian and his servant were already hungry, so they immediately took Qi Jingzhi to find a wine shop next to the river beach.
After sitting down, Wei Yingdian asked the waiter to cut meat and sell wine, while winking at his own waiter and asking him to go back to the inn to get money quickly, saying that Qi, who had been working so hard, was not allowed to spend any more money.
Qi Jingzhi was naturally obedient. When he saw that the waiter was serving Qu'a yellow wine, his heart moved. He immediately put the date bag on the table and opened it to serve as a companion to the wine.
"You buried your bones in the mud under the spring, but I sent them to the world with a head full of snow."
Seeing this jujube bag, Wei Yingdian, who had already calmed down, couldn't help but sigh again: "Brother Yu asked himself that it was not the seed of infatuation, but looking back on what he saw today, he couldn't help but feel sad. Everyone knows that there is suffering, hunger, and ghosts under the spring. They are not allowed to eat, so they pay special attention to the incense of their children. Thirty-one years after the death of Zao woman's late husband, someone even burned incense at night and offered him a meal of jujube. After Zao woman herself died in that year, I don't know who else can remember it. she……"
"Brother Wei can pity the poor and the elderly, which shows that he has a benevolent heart in his heart. It is difficult for the world to know what happened under the spring. Brother Wei also said before that once the body dies and the future is lost, we will do our best to pray for you. That’s all it takes to have a clear conscience.”
Qi Jingzhi's parents died young, and he couldn't help but feel emotional at this moment. His eyes swept over his right arm, and he thought about the two jujube trees with supernatural growth, the boy delivering jujubes, and the otter girl who beat jujubes. When the sun dies, there may not be anyone who cares about it.
Thinking of this, the young man paused and said softly: "If you keep thinking about it, there will be echoes."
Wei Yingdian's eyes lit up when he heard the words. He chewed these eight words over and over again and couldn't help stroking his palms and exclaiming: "A wise brother talks so much, but a foolish brother cannot compare! Life is like a message for hundreds of years. Those who can keep it in their hearts for a long time don't just think about it like this." ?」
After saying that, he reached into the jujube bag, took out one and put it into his mouth, biting it loudly.
Qi Jingzhi looked in his eyes and couldn't help but curling up the corner of his mouth, feeling that this old man was really as he said, he was very happy and aware of his fate.
The young man also reached out and took out a date. He opened his mouth and bit it. It was indeed crispy and sweet, with a faint aroma of wine lingering between his teeth.
The two of them immediately pushed the cups to change cups with the bag of dates. After drinking two bowls, they suddenly heard noises coming from far away outside the wine shop.
Qi Jingzhi turned to look out the window and saw an energetic old man in linen clothes and straw sandals walking slowly past the door. There were many people following behind him carrying empty fish baskets and empty wooden barrels, including the inn where he was staying. man.
He and Wei Yingdian looked at each other, both recalling the anecdote they heard from the boatman yesterday about how there was only one old man selling fish here and he didn't wait until after noon.
I saw the old man pacing slowly with his hands behind his back and a low stool in his hands.
When he passed by the door of the wine shop, he suddenly paused, took off the wine gourd from his waist, and threw it to the waiter who had been waiting at the door. He said: "The rules for wine are still the same. As for the food with the wine...take one." Just roast chicken."
The old man stood in front of the door and stopped, and everyone behind him also stopped, showing no sign of impatience.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Otter!"
Waiter promised one
He made a sound and ran back to the kitchen quickly. He came out not long after, holding a wine gourd and an oil paper bag in one hand, and an empty fish basket in the other hand. He followed the old man consciously. .
Seeing this, Qi Jingzhi grabbed the date bag, looked at Wei Yingdian again, and then stood up in unison.
Wei Yingdian even said hello to the other side of the counter, pointed to the rice wine on the table, and asked the shopkeeper to keep it for a few of him. The shopkeeper seemed not to be surprised and agreed without any hesitation.
The two of them walked out of the door and followed the others to a rocky beach near the river.
Qi Jingzhi noticed that there were several caves scattered among the rock crevices on the river beach, and outside each cave there was a long and brightly colored feather.
Qi Jingzhi was very familiar with this kind of feathers. It should be the pheasant tail, which is the tail of the mountain pheasant.
The old man walked over slowly as usual, pulled out the pheasant tails one by one, and shouted twice.
When the cave was neutral, many small green-black beasts came out, which looked very similar to the otter girl Qi Jingzhi had just seen.
There were always seventeen or eighteen of these little guys. As soon as they came out of the cave, they jumped on the old man with joy, pulling at his trousers or climbing on the hem of his clothes, and kept circling around him, as intimate as a domestic dog.
The old man played with the otters for a while, then coughed and pointed toward the river not far away.
As soon as the little guys heard the military order, they immediately lined up in a long queue, walked to the river one by one, and jumped into the water with a splash.
Seeing this, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but be surprised. No wonder the waiter called the old man "Old Man".
He watched intently for a moment, and saw that apart from the fact that this person was full of energy, comparable to a strong man, there was nothing special about him. The dozens of otters had ordinary auras, which were far different from the otter girl.
The otter man found a flat place and placed a low stool on the spot. Then with a move of his hand, the waiter from the wine shop immediately ran over and offered him a wine gourd and roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper.
Mr. Da sat down as if no one else was around, spread out the oil paper bag on the ground in front of him, tore off a chicken leg, opened his mouth and bit into a large piece, chewed it happily, opened the wine gourd, raised his head and took a sip.
The aroma of meat and wine spread, and Wei Yingdian immediately felt hungry and thunderous.
He rubbed his stomach with some distress, then walked over to the waiter at the wine shop and gave a few instructions.
The waiter hesitated for a moment, then handed the fish basket in his hand to Wei Yingdian, and ran towards the way he came.
Wei Yingdian walked back with the fish basket, pursed his lips towards Mr. Otter, who was eating and drinking happily not far away, and laughed in a low voice: "I asked the waiter to bring two copies in the same way, and you and I will also follow the example of Mr. Otter." "My lord, my feet are full of green mountains and green waters. When I am happy, I will have white wine and yellow chicken!"
After he said that, he suddenly slapped his head: "That's wrong, that's right, the white chicken with rice wine should be in front of you!"
Unexpectedly, although Wei Yingdian spoke softly, the otter's ears were very sharp. When he heard the voice, he turned around and said with a smile: "Smiling, white hair is still tangled with sharp locks, I am happy in the world of mortals, but I don't know how to fish in the coop!"
He paused, raised the wine gourd in his hand and looked at Wei Yingdian in agreement, and continued: "In my opinion, the words of this predecessor are naturally good words, and the two of them are undoubtedly wonderful people! If you don't dislike it, come down Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few drinks and chat and laugh?”
Wei Yingdian was startled when he heard this, and immediately his eyebrows were filled with joy: "Haha, I didn't expect that there would be such a reclusive sage like Mr. Ta on the beach of this water town. How dare we brothers disobey him!"
He immediately took Qi Jingxiao to the river beach and was about to greet him. Then he heard Master O say, "You two, please don't stick to those vulgar etiquettes, otherwise I will not be able to enjoy this meal."
As Mr. Ot said that, he handed the wine gourd in his hand to Wei Yingdian, and his deep eyes turned around Qi Jingzhi seemingly unintentionally.
Wei Yingdian couldn't care less about this, he quickly thanked him, took the gourd wine and took a sip without hesitation, nodded and praised: "This rice wine from Qu'ezhen is really not bad!"
While he was talking, he stared at the roast chicken in front of Mr. Da. Chinese website
The corners of Qi Jingzhi's lips curled up slightly, and he handed the date bag in his hand to Mr. Otter: "Old man, these dates can also be used with wine. Can you exchange them for a chicken leg for me?"
"oh
? It's from Mrs. Zao's family..."
Mr. Ota glanced at the jujube bag and immediately nodded happily: "If you want to exchange anything, you two can eat and drink with me!"
"My virtuous brother knows me! Mr. Ota, I'm not going to be polite. When the wine and meat I want arrive later, I will definitely give you back double the amount!"
Wei Yingdian laughed and put the wine gourd into Qi Jingzhi's hand. He turned around and looked around before moving two fairly flat stones over.
He took a piece by himself and left a piece for Qi Jing, and then without any courtesy, he pulled off the remaining chicken leg and gnawed on it.
Qi Jingzhi also sat down. Seeing that Wei Yingdian was eating too quickly, he had to hand the wine gourd back to him. He reached out and took out a date, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.
Wei Yingdian quickly took a big sip and immediately praised: "With the roast chicken, this wine tastes even more mellow! Mr. Ta really knows how to enjoy it!"
Mr. Ta also smiled when he heard this and said leisurely: "As the saying goes, rice is the meat in the wine, Qu is the bones in the wine, and water is the blood in the wine. The meat, bones, and blood of our Qu'a yellow wine are all top-grade, and the natural flavor is excellent."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!" Wei Yingdian asked curiously as he felt his hunger and regained a bit of energy.
Mr. La threw away the chicken bones in his hand and picked up a jujube in his hand. While eating, he counted the treasures of his family: "First of all, let's talk about the meat in this wine. The local area is rich in glutinous rice. The grains are large and plump, fragrant and sticky, and as white as jade. It is naturally suitable for brewing. Besides, the malt koji used for brewing is also made from the best red wheat in the area. It has a rich aroma and is also a top quality product."
Wei Yingdian immediately nodded in agreement: "Xunyang County has a mild climate and abundant rainfall, and the farmland around Qu'a is irrigated by rivers and lakes, so the rice and wheat grown will definitely be good."
"Well, you are quite knowledgeable!"
Mr. Ta praised it, and then said: "In the end, the blood is in the wine, and this is the most important thing. Speaking of which, it is still related to Naqu Ahou Lake. When the depression was dug to make the lake a few years ago, the young men were An ancient well of unknown age was dug out on an unnamed hillock. It was inscribed with the name *** Spring. The color of the water in the well was like milk, and it was as sweet as ice. The princes in the county were greatly surprised and tried to order people to use it to make wine. Sure enough, Very mellow!"
"So the princes could not bear to destroy it, so they preserved the ancient well and the hill, which have now been turned into a small island in the lake. From then on, the best Qu'a yellow wine was made with the water from the ancient well* It is brewed with ** spring water. Because of this, in just one or two years, this wine has become a famous wine in the county from a local brew in a small town, and is even famous throughout Junzhou. If it were not for the inconvenience of transporting water in the lake and the insufficient production of rice wine, it would be a famous wine. Yang Daqi is no exception!"
"I see!"
Wei Yingdian listened leisurely and fascinated: "Although my ancestral home is Xunyang, I haven't returned to my hometown for a long time, and I don't even know the scenery of my hometown. I'm really ashamed!"
Qi Jingzhi was very emotional after hearing this. A Qu'ahou Lake not only changed the terrain and water potential, but also affected the lives of countless people nearby. The fate was connected and influenced each other.
There seems to be a great mystery in this, but unfortunately he has not dabbled in this way, so he really can't understand anything. If it were Liu Muzhi here, he might be able to make further progress.
While his thoughts were racing, Qi Jingzhi suddenly heard the sound of the river water. He immediately turned around and saw that the dozen otters from before were already holding live fish in the river with their claws in their mouths, and one by one they appeared on the river bank. .
After these little guys came ashore, they suddenly divided into four teams, each occupying the four directions of southeast, northwest, and neatly placed the newly caught river fish on the ground. They themselves also lined up in rows, holding their front paws in front of their chests, quietly Look up at the sky quietly.
What's even more amazing is that the river fish are obviously still alive, but they are motionless, with no intention of escaping or resisting.
"Huh? Is there a Das Festival at this time of year?" Wei Yingdian suddenly let out a surprise.
Without waiting for Mr. Ota and Qi Jingzhi to respond, the former doctor of the Ministry of Rites had already started to recite, shaking his head: "The Book of Rites: Yue Ling" says that in the month of Mengchun, the east wind thaws, the stinging insects begin to stir, the fish climbs on the ice, and the otter Sacrifice fish and the geese will come.”
"According to this theory, the otter sacrifice should be held in the Mengchun month. At that time, the ice breaks and the fish come out. They are the most tender and plump. The otter will eat them, so he sacrifices them first! As the saying goes, if a otter gets a good fish, he says
God has mercy. First of all, I don’t dare to eat, but I hold my scales in my hand and look at Qingxuan! But now that it’s autumn, how can we still see Dassai? "
Hearing this, Mr. Otter was stunned at first, and then laughed: "This is a big mistake! Otters are ferocious by nature and take pleasure in killing. When eating fish, they often only take one or two bites of each fish and then discard it. These eaters The leftover fish were piled up together and looked like sacrifices, so some people thought of it and called it "Das Matsuri". "
"Although these dozen of them have been tamed by me and no longer dare to kill or eat fish without permission, the problem of accumulating fish has remained, and it looks more like that. But to put it bluntly, this Dassai is nothing Is it because of their animal nature, so how can they distinguish the seasons?"
Hearing this, Wei Yingdian refused to believe it: "But this matter has been recorded in many books. For example, the book "Piya" also said that the otter beast, a genus of Western white tigers, is fox-like and small, green and black. The skin is like lying wings, taking carp from the water, spreading it in all directions, and then not eating it, the world calls it sacrificial fish. Is everything written wrong in these books?"
The smile on Mr. Otter's face did not diminish, he shook his head firmly and said: "You have read the book to death! As the saying goes, it is better to have no book than to believe in the book..."
As he spoke, he reached out and tore off a chicken wing and handed it to Qi Jingzhi: "Brother, do you think this is true?"
Hearing this, Qi Jingzhi looked away from the little guys by the river, and the hazy undertone in his eyes quietly disappeared.
The young man turned his head, reached out to take the chicken wings, and smiled at the old man: "I have never seen otters elsewhere, so I dare not lie. But these things in front of me are clearly offering sacrifices to the sky above, loess below, and sacrifices to the earth in front. Jiang, Houji... you are such a bad otter!"
