Today is the beginning of autumn.
In an inconspicuous tavern in the south of the city, the shopkeeper Lao Liu rubbed the tip of his red nose with his hand. At this time every year, he sneezes easily and his eyes are itchy. These are old symptoms and he never takes them seriously. .
It just opened in the early morning and it was crowded.
Lao Liu lay on the chair and took two puffs of dry cigarette, letting the mellow breath circulate in the abdominal cavity first, and then spit it out slowly. The feeling of numbness and comfort all over the body was so refreshing.
Once in front of all the drinkers, Old Liu once said that he could give up drinking and sex in this life, but he could not give up smoking. This was his real favorite.
The waiter next to him probably didn't sleep well last night, so he dozed off with his head in his hands.
Lao Liu casually hit him with an iron smoke pot.
"What's wrong, shopkeeper?" The younger brother raised his confused face and wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth.
Lao Wu glanced outside the door, too lazy to talk nonsense to him.
The waiter said oh, stood up and stretched lazily.
Lately every morning, the shopkeeper would ask him to go out to the street to see if any strangers had entered the city.
Today the avenue in front of the door was still empty, not even a single person was seen. The waiter went out to take a look and then came back.
As soon as he sat down, the sound of rapid horse hooves could be heard on the street.
Seeing that the person was still sitting still, Old Liu slowly exhaled the smoke: "You are deaf."
The waiter reluctantly walked out of the door. At this time, four horses stopped at the door.
"Boy, prepare some high-quality fodder for the horse and let it run for a day."
Immediately, a strong man in black shirt came down first and shouted in a rough voice.
I saw the second brother nodded listlessly.
The strong man casually punched his shoulder with his fist: "Hey, cheer up!"
The waiter was in pain and couldn't help but glare.
The strong man didn't take it seriously, laughed, and patted the young man on the shoulder.
Four people filed in, and one person spoke first: "Shopkeeper, serve the wine."
This man wears a bamboo hat on his head, holds a long sword in his hand, and is dressed in a snow-white gown. He has a tall figure, speaks in a low voice, but is indistinguishable from male to female, and is full of energy, giving people an invisible sense of majesty.
Seeing a few people casually finding a seat to sit down, Old Liu put a smile on his face and trotted over: "Dear guests, would you like to order something to eat? The shop is simple, so I hope you will bear with me."
"We first came to your place, and the shopkeeper looked at us."
The man in the bamboo hat put down the sword in his hand and lifted up the black veil around the bamboo hat, revealing a heroic face.
The handsome eyebrows, the high bridge of the nose, the cold yet gentle fox eyes, and the charming smile.
When traveling in the world, for the sake of convenience, there are always daughters who dress up in men's clothing. Old Liu is not surprised, but he feels that the person in front of him is far more heroic than the man.
When the waiter came back from the stable, he happened to bump into the shopkeeper in the kitchen.
Old Liu was busy cutting the meat and quickly asked him to prepare the wine.
Following the shopkeeper's instructions, the second brother rinsed all the dishes with clean water before putting them on the table. He then brought two jars of unopened osmanthus old wine. After opening them, a fresh fragrance suddenly hit his nostrils.
The strong man in black shirt sitting closest to the waiter sniffed hard, showing a little intoxication.
The waiter carefully picked up the wine jar and filled it up for the four guests one by one.
At this time, there was a man on the table wearing a felt hat and carrying two swords at his waist. He was the first to pick up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Then he frowned.
"How about third brother?"
The strong man in black shirt asked after seeing this.
The big man in the felt hat shook his head in disappointment: "I didn't expect that in a place like Yujing, the drinks would be so bland."
The strong man in black shirt took a sip, sighed, and commented: "This wine has more than enough aroma but not enough wine taste. It is suitable for literati and ordinary people in the city to drink for themselves. How does it suit the taste of our knights and knights?"
"Boy, give me some wine instead!"
The last man with a scar on his face and a fierce appearance said angrily when he heard this.
Seeing the waiter's expression of embarrassment, the man with the scar was about to get angry when the man in the hat glanced at him, but the latter remained silent.
"Don't be afraid, little brother, just go about your business."
The man in white clothes disguised as a man took off his bamboo hat and looked easy-going.
The waiter nodded hurriedly, followed the way of Jianghu people, clasped his fists, turned and left.
"This little brat!"
The strong man in black shirt laughed and cursed, then picked up the wine bowl again.
The waiter returned to the kitchen and started thinking about it.
In fact, there are two kinds of wine in the tavern. One is called Anran Sijun. This wine has an amazing intensity and extremely spicy taste. It tastes very refreshing and enjoyable. However, due to the complicated production process and scarce reserves, unless there are distinguished guests coming to the door, the shopkeeper usually Not willing to take it out to entertain.
The other type is the most commonly sold osmanthus aged wine in our store. It uses old osmanthus trees 30 miles outside the city. It is mashed and mixed with distiller's yeast made of wheat and peas in a certain proportion. After cellaring and fermentation, it is filtered through steamers and other methods. , the aged osmanthus wine produced has a light aroma and a smooth taste, suitable for all ages.
Old Liu came out of the back kitchen and just served the cooked beef to the guests when he caught a glimpse of Pei Liang walking in.
Old Liu just glanced at him without saying hello, but Pei Liang understood the situation and found a quiet place to sit down without saying a word.
The four of them also looked at the young man in red who had just entered the door curiously.
Old Liu, who returned to the kitchen, casually ordered:
"Go and get two jars of Anran wine that have been stored for ten years and serve them to the guests in red clothes at that table."
The younger brother was stunned on the spot.
"Go quickly"
"Shopkeeper, when will the distinguished guest come to the store..."
"Stop talking nonsense, put down your drink and leave without taking any money."
"oh"
———
When the second brother respectfully placed the two porcelain red wine bottles on Pei Liang's table, the young man smiled slightly and took out a gold ingot from his arms.
Before Pei Liang could speak, the waiter obeyed the shopkeeper's instructions and turned around to leave.
Pei Liang was not surprised and just put the ingot on the table.
After tearing open the red seal and taking out the tight cork, a strong and overbearing aroma of wine immediately filled the air.
Pei Liang didn't smell it carefully and took a big sip from the bottle.
After drinking the strong wine, Pei Liang's whole body was burning like a slow fire, and the powerful stamina rushed directly to his forehead, making the young man's face turn red instantly.
At the table next to him, except for the man in white who looked calm, the other three swallowed in unison, their eyes burning.
After so many years of wandering in the world, they had never drank any wine, but they had never smelled such a strong and mellow aroma. The alcohol bug in their stomachs had long been seduced, and they became increasingly thirsty and unbearable.
The man wearing a felt hat glanced at the wine jar on his table again, endured it for a while, and finally took the lead.
"Snapped"
A jar of osmanthus wine was smashed to the ground by him.
"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, get out of here!"
Hearing the roar in the hall, Old Liu ran out quickly.
"Speak well"
The man in white shirt was obviously the eldest among the four, and he frowned at the standing man.
The man in the felt hat nodded slightly, and most of his anger had dissipated. When he saw the shopkeeper coming out, he couldn't help but sneered: "Could it be that the shopkeeper looks down on us Tianshan sect members."
Old Liu was shocked and clasped his fists quickly: "It turns out he is a hero of the Tianshan Sect. I have admired him for a long time!"
The man with the scar on his face thought that Old Liu's words were sarcastic, and he couldn't help slamming the table and shouting: "You've been lying on your back for so long, do you think I'm stupid?"
Old Liu looked even more flustered and at a loss.
At this time, Pei Liang laughed and threw another bottle of unopened wine. The strong man in black shirt had quick eyes and quick hands and reached out to catch it steadily.
"Thank you, young hero"
The strong man in black shirt chuckled, opened the bottle of wine, and slapped the tip of his nose with a look of greed on his face.
Only then did Lao Liu suddenly come to his senses, and he quickly smiled bitterly and said: "I understand, it turns out that the heroes are dissatisfied with the fact that the wine served to them is not as light as the wine served to this guest, right?"
"We all pay for drinking, so why does the shopkeeper favor one over the other?"
At this time, the man in white shirt who had been silent smiled slightly, his tone was calm, and he didn't blame much.
Old Liu suddenly looked apologetic, clasped his fists at the four of them one after another and said, "You have misunderstood. This guest deposited this wine in my store. It is not my Liu's property. How dare you favor one over the other!"
"Oh, you two have known each other for a long time?"
The man in white shirt looked like he was smiling but not smiling.
Lao Liu immediately nodded with a wry smile.
At this time, the strong man in black suddenly rolled his eyes, clasped his fists at Pei Liang and said, "May I ask, young hero, what is the name of this wine? How can it be so mellow?"
Pei Liang glanced at Lao Liu, stood up and said, "Let's do this. In order to eliminate the misunderstanding, can I write down the name of this wine at the same time as the shopkeeper?"
"So good!"
The man wearing a felt hat clapped his hands quickly and said.
"I'll get some paper and pen." Old Liu turned around and Pei Liang waved his hand and said, "Why bother?"
He walked to the table for four, dipped his fingers in the wine in the bowl, and started writing on the table.
The strong man in black clothes also picked up a bowl of wine and asked Old Liu to turn to another table and follow suit.
Pei Liang wrote the four words "Missing you sadly" in one breath. The handwriting was clear, elegant and full of strength.
"Good name"
The man in white shirt looked at these four words, his eyes filled with light and admiration.
The strong man in black waited for Old Liu to finish writing, and after everyone compared them, they found that they were exactly the same.
At this time, the man wearing a felt hat who was the first to have an attack was quite upright. He knelt down on one knee in front of Lao Liu and said in a deep voice: "I was reckless. Please apologize to the shopkeeper!"
Old Liu hurriedly helped the man up and kept saying heroic words were too serious.
"Shopkeeper, I, the Tianshan sect, have been disrespectful. I will pay double compensation for any losses caused to your store."
The man in white shirt said heroically.
"How dare you, how dare you, it's all a misunderstanding, I'm just asking for this drink as an apology to all the heroes!"
Old Liu looked flattered.
Pei Liang looked bored and was about to return to his seat when the man in white suddenly stood up and said, "Your Excellency has an extraordinary mind and is admirable. I would like to sit down and have a drink!"
Pei Liang stared at the man in white shirt and smiled: "What do you call the girl?"
The man in the white shirt seemed to be free and easy, and responded in one breath: "Ding Baiqing of the Tianshan School."
At this time, the man wearing a felt hat also stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Qin Ying of the Tianshan Sect"
"Xu Yuan of Tianshan School"
"Tianshan Paimaguan"
The strong man in black shirt and the man with scar face clasped their fists.
Pei Liang nodded, and finally clasped his fists and said, "I am Pei Liang, who has no sect and no sect. He is a swordsman."
