He patiently stood there for a long time. After a full two-quarters of an hour, Mr. Zheng finally stopped. But there were still some people asking questions around him, so he could only follow them and watch.
After the group of people dispersed, Mr. Zheng collected the money basket and tied it into a small bundle, and squeezed out of the crowd while handing over his hands.
Li Bochen led his horse to follow him, and saw him slowly walking down the street while waving his fan, and finally entered a food shop. He groaned in his heart, secretly wondering if this person wanted to talk to him again? Fortunately, Mr. Zheng just found a table to sit at, ordered a few food and drinks, and started drinking by himself.
He breathed a sigh of relief, tied his horse outside the restaurant, walked in, and sat down opposite Mr. Zheng.
There were still a few tables occupied in the restaurant, but not all empty tables. Mr. Zheng was stunned for a moment, looked up at him, but didn't say anything. He just smiled and drank slowly again.
Li Bochen said: "Mr. Zheng, I just heard you speak, and you spoke very well."
Mr. Zheng only raised his wine cup to him.
Li Bochen said loudly again: "Brother, here are three more delicious dishes. Look forward to them."
The guy responded from afar. Mr. Zheng put down his wine cup and said, "Hold on. This official, Zheng, has no merit and no salary. What's going on?"
Li Boxen said: "I just heard you say that Linxi Jun was assassinated, and I'm a little curious - how did you know about this?"
Mr. Zheng stared at him and said, "Oh... you are from the government? Official, you have nothing to do with this matter, right?"
Li Bochen smiled and said: "Mr. Zheng misunderstood, I am just a commoner, just curious."
Mr. Zheng didn't know what he was thinking, and said slowly: "Oh. This is something our bookstore does. Of course I heard about it from others."
Li Bochen was stunned, Shu Xing? what is that? But then he woke up. Those who sell pigs have a pig shop, and those who sell charcoal have a charcoal shop. These storytellers also have a book shop, right?
In this world, transportation is inconvenient and news travels slowly. If these storytellers want to talk about something new, they naturally have to share their knowledge with each other. This is really interesting.
He said he heard it from others... So did the storyteller in Linxi know about it and spread it slowly? If that were the case, the news would be even more reliable.
Li Bochen changed his mind again, thinking that when he was in Jinghui Tower, Ye Lu first persuaded him because he felt that he was weak and the easiest to succeed. But he was killed by himself, and his accomplice should know his resolute attitude.
According to what Ye Lu said, the accomplice came to Mengjiatun first, intending to threaten him with the Chang family. Did he later learn about Ye Lu's death and realize that he couldn't use it anymore?
So he went to lobby Linxi Jun instead?
That person should have known that he had Beichen's luck, would he have told Lord Linxi about it? Thinking of this, he felt his heart tremble. But then I thought, no, it won’t. The reason why Lord Linxi has never been able to recover Li Jing is probably because he is not the Spiritual Lord of Beichen.
If Ye Lu's accomplices told Linxi Jun who Beichen's luck lies with, wouldn't they be doing him a big favor? If Lord Linxi were more "decisive in killing" and killed himself, his luck would naturally fall on him. That way, he would be even harder to control!
If you look at it this way, those people will not dare to kill themselves for the time being.
He breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little lucky - doesn't this mean that there is no longer that enemy who doesn't know where he is hiding in Mengjiatun?
Then what he has to do will be much easier, he only needs to concentrate on finding the cave ruins!
Thinking of this, he finally felt a little happy and said, "Mr. Zheng, thank you very much."
Mr. Zheng didn't know why he suddenly thanked him, but he just nodded and smiled: "You're welcome."
At this time, the waiter served the food, and Li Boxen took out a dozen large coins and put them on the table, saying, "Mr. Zheng, please use it slowly."
He was about to get up and leave, but Mr. Zheng said again: "Slow down."
He stretched out his hand and pushed the money away: "I said, I won't receive any reward for my merits, so I don't want you to come and invite me."
Li Bochen was stunned. He didn't expect this man to be so powerful when he wasn't telling stories. In this case, he was happy and planned to take the money back. But just as he was about to stretch out his hand, a thought popped up, and he sat down again and said, "Mr. Zheng, can you make money by storytelling?"
Mr. Zheng sighed, placed the wine cup gently on the table, and frowned slightly: "What on earth do you want to do? Want to learn storytelling?"
He looked him over again and said, "With your wealth, you don't need to be in this line of work, right?"
Li Bochen smiled secretly and thought to himself, I'm afraid you don't know that all my current wealth is in this outfit. But he still said seriously: "It's like this. Although what I heard from Mr. just now is good, it seems that everyone is tired of hearing the story. We can also talk about the interesting story of Linxi Jun's assassination, but this kind of thing doesn't happen every day. Bar."
Mr. Zheng looked at him and smiled: "Oh? Do you have any insights?"
Li Boxen said: "I don't have a good idea, but I have a set of books. If you are interested, sir, I can tell you a passage."
There was some sarcasm on Mr. Zheng's face, but he only said: "Sir, storytelling is not storytelling."
Li Bochen also understood this. Everyone can tell a story, but storytelling is different. There is a lot of emphasis on the tacks, beams, buttons, and pen insertion between the main and backward strokes. This person probably felt that he was overestimating his abilities, but after all, he had some restraint and did not say it directly.
He then smiled and said: "The three moral emperors and the five emperors, the fame of Xiahou and Shangzhou, the eight hegemons and seven heroes were in trouble in the Spring and Autumn Period, and they rose and fell in an instant. There are several lines of names in the history of Qing Dynasty, and there are countless barren hills in Beimang. The predecessors sow and others reap. It's nothing more than that. It’s a fight between dragons and tigers!”
"The Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty is in office, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and all the people are happy and prosperous——" [Note 1]
When he spoke, Mr. Zheng drank another glass of wine. When he read the closing poem, although his eyes were a little surprised, his face was not moved. After he said something more, his expression gradually became serious and he glanced at Li Bochen again.
Li Bochen thought it was funny, but he continued speaking seriously. He remembered this set of books very clearly. There was not much fun to be had when I came here. I listened to this book over and over again so many times that I knew it by heart. He slowly talked about half of the first chapter, which only took a quarter of an hour, and then stopped.
At this time, Mr. Zheng held the wine cup and frowned. Seeing that he stopped, he asked: "What about next? Is this the first time?"
Li Boxen said: "It's half a time. What do you think of my set of books, sir?"
Mr. Zheng pondered for a while and said: "Just listen to these, it's not bad."
Then he said loudly: "Brother, add another bottle of wine!"
He took another wine cup, poured it out, handed it to Li Bochen, and said seriously: "Zheng is blind, and I didn't expect that you are also a member of the same group - Zheng Zhao, what do you call me?"
Li Boxen said: "I am Chen Boli."
"Mr. Chen is also in the bookstore?"
Li Bochen smiled and said: "I don't have that ability. In fact, this book is not mine, but belongs to Mr. Shan. I listened to it and wrote it down."
Zheng Zhao was a little disappointed and said: "Oh, that's it. Mr. Shan... what is your name? Where are you now?"
Li Boxen said: "Mr. Shan has passed away."
He made a confession in his heart and said, "But you entrusted me with this book before."
There was joy in Zheng Zhao's eyes again. He pondered for a while and said, "Mr. Chen, I also have a teacher, and my teacher is still alive. Although your book is good, but..."
Li Boxen said: "Mr. Zheng misunderstood. If you like this set of books, I can sell them to you."
Zheng Zhao was stunned for a moment and frowned: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
Li Boxen said: "That Mr. Shan is a reclusive person. I have obtained his book, so naturally I don't want to bury it. But I am not a book trader, and I have no such plan for the time being. If he followed me into the earth, wouldn't the world be like this? Another wonderful book is missing? I feel very uneasy. If Mr. Zheng likes it, he can let this book be passed down, and I will feel better."
He said this smoothly and thought, this is bad. If you say it in such a high-sounding way, I'm afraid it will be difficult to negotiate the price. But when Zheng Zhao heard what he said, he immediately said: "This makes sense."
Li Bochen smiled inwardly and thought to himself, oh...it turns out he also really wants this book.
He became silent, and Zheng Zhao also raised the wine cup to him and drank another glass. Li Bochen said that this book was passed on to him by "Mr. Shan". Since it was a gift from an old friend, it was inappropriate to exchange it for money now, so it was naturally difficult to ask for it. Zheng Zhao seemed to be very dignified, but he was also a sophisticated man, so he didn't speak.
Li Bochen sighed, wishing that Xiaoman was here. I had to say first: "Mr. Zheng, regarding the price..."
Zheng Zhao asked: "What is the name of this book?"
"Three Heroes and Five Righteousness."
"What a good name." Zhang Zhao pondered for a while and said, "Two thousand dollars."
Li Bochen was stunned. It’s not that I thought the money was small, but I didn’t expect so much. If it doubled again, it would be just a house - is storytelling so profitable?
Seeing him like this, Zheng Zhao said, "Does Mr. Chen think it's inappropriate? If it's not appropriate, we can discuss it again."
Li Boxen said: "Yes, Mr. Zheng. But there are one hundred and eighty chapters in the book, so I have to tell you slowly. I have to go out of the city at night, so if we talk about it in the afternoon, we can only talk about a dozen chapters. "
Zheng Zhao stared: "One hundred and eighty times? Mr. Chen, are you serious?"
Li Bochen didn't know whether he thought it was too much or too little, he just said: "Seriously. I remember them all clearly."
Zheng Zhao was stunned for a moment: "It's really... a strange book. The biggest one I have here only has seventy chapters. That two thousand dollars is really inappropriate... It's four thousand dollars no matter what."
He frowned and thought for a while: "Okay, Brother Chen, you can also tell me slowly, and I will pay you as much as I listen to you. Do you think this will make a difference?"
Li Bochen smiled and said, "Okay."
He really hoped to have more contact with Zheng Zhao. This person also seems to be very upright, and it is not boring to get along with him. More importantly, an idea came to his mind for no reason -
People's hearts. Because he has the support of the people, Lord Linxi can be like a fish in water in Li land. But in this world, if people want to know something, they must rely on official announcements or word of mouth. The influence of many storytellers like Zheng Zhao together can be said to be very great. And bookstores can exchange news... Aren't these people the "media"?
If only I could get some help from a calligrapher——
He was startled when he thought of this. Did I... never think about really "settling down" in my heart?
He smiled bitterly in his heart again, secretly thinking that it would be impossible for me in my current status. I just hope that these happy days can last a few more days.
At this time, the waiter brought the wine, so he filled it up, took a few more bites of food, and said, "Mr. Zheng, let me finish the first chapter for you first."
From noon to the latter part of the afternoon, I spoke twenty times in two hours. Since he is not telling stories to others, many things are easier. Zheng Zhao took out a pen and paper and took notes while listening. Li Bochen noticed that he used a strange writing style when recording. It looked crooked, but he wrote very fast. He guessed it was also a unique way of writing.
He didn't stop until the sunshine outside turned golden and the wind picked up again.
Zheng Zhao let out a long breath and said: "I said 'not bad' before, but now I have to say 'excellent'. It would be great if Mr. Shan was still alive. I really want to ask him for advice in person."
Then he said: "Brother Chen, can you give me an overview of the next twenty chapters?"
Li Bochen then briefly described what happened next.
Zheng Zhao then vented his anger again, left his seat and saluted Li Bochen. Li Bochen hurriedly supported him and said, "Mr. Zheng, what are you doing?"
Zheng Zhao smiled bitterly: "I judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. At first I thought you were going to trick me a few times, but after hearing this, this pattern is naturally a masterpiece. I believe what Brother Chen is saying is real."
Li Bochen smiled and said: "As time goes by, people's hearts are revealed, and we have to deal with each other more. There is no rush. Brother Zheng, actually I came to the city to buy a house. It's not early now -"
Zheng Zhao hurriedly said: "Oh, okay, okay."
He reached out and took out the money bag from the small bundle next to him, and counted it again and again. Li Bochen turned away and looked towards the street.
After a while, Zheng Zhao put a piece of silver collar on the table and said: "I don't have any change here. Brother Chen, the twenty rounds today are 480 dollars. If you have the extra 520 dollars, make it mine." Deposit money.”
Li Boxen did not refuse, put away the silver collar and said, "Thank you very much."
He thought again: "I can't tell when I will come to Houcheng again. But if you are talking about this set of books, you should prepare them. These twenty chapters are enough for the time being. I live in Mengjiatun, Mr. Zheng If you want to hear what’s going on these days, you can come find me there when you have time.”
Zheng Zhao nodded and said, "Okay, it's settled."
The two said goodbye. Li Bochen took the money, got on his horse, and went along the street to find a shop to buy. In the end, there were too many things to buy, so I planned to spend 100 yuan on a wooden cart. But I thought that I wouldn't need this thing every day, so I might as well buy a suitable one, so I added another three hundred dollars and bought a car with elm wood and varnish.
The man from the carriage shop helped him hitch the horse and showed him how to drive the carriage. Li Bochen tried it, but he didn't dare to drive in the city, so he just led him along. After buying all the things, I walked to the door of Qijin Pavilion again and saw that the door was closed. Maybe the people inside knew that something had happened.
He sighed inwardly and walked out of the city gate along the street. After walking for a while, the pedestrians gradually disappeared, and the sun slowly disappeared into the distant mountains.
He stopped and said, "Come out."
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Note 1: From Shan Tianfang's storytelling work "Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses".
