Within Huaibei, there are hundreds of miles of scorched earth.
Two people and one cow were walking slowly on the steaming, dry and cracked ground. It was Zhang Xiu and his party who were coming to Beijing to take the exam.
Zhang Xiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and complained anxiously: "After crossing the Huaihe River, why didn't a drop of rain fall? If this continues, it may lead to a severe drought."
Yan Feng was obviously more energetic than him and said, "I asked a few aunts on the way, and according to them, there hasn't been a drop of rain in Huaibei for two months."
Zhang Xiu has always been deeply impressed by his gossip ability. Just when he was about to make a joke, he was suddenly startled and frowned: "The weather is a bit abnormal. Could it be some evildoer? I have heard of a man named Hanba before. The monster will be devastated as soon as it is born, do you think it is her fault?"
Yan Feng shook his head in surprise: "I've never heard of it. I heard from my master that rainfall is controlled by the Dragon King in various places. Maybe the Dragon King here took a nap, and when he wakes up, it should rain. "
After hearing this, Zhang Xiu said with a hint of anger: "According to what you said, the Dragon King here has obviously neglected his duties! If I were the local magistrate, I would order people to carry out his statue from the Dragon King Temple. First, whip him with a whip for three days and three nights, and then if it doesn’t rain, I’ll blast him with a cannon!”
"This is the first time I've heard of this method of praying for rain!"
Yan Feng took a breath and quickly walked a few steps to put some distance between him and Zhang Xiu.
Zhang Xiu was stunned and asked, "Why are you walking so fast?"
Yan Feng said with a vigilant look on his face: "I'm afraid that you will implicate me when you are struck by lightning later..."
"boom!"
As soon as the words fell to the ground, a thunder suddenly sounded in the sky!
Zhang Xiu shivered and looked up at the sky. He saw no clouds in the sky. There was just a thunderbolt in the clear sky. He immediately said angrily: "You can make it rain if you have the ability. How can you scare me?"
Immediately afterwards, as if in response to Zhang Xiu's words, a strong wind swept across the sky and earth. In an instant, dark clouds were dense, lightning and thunder thundered, and huge raindrops fell.
Yan Feng was suddenly hit by the cold rain, and shivered involuntarily. He glanced at Zhang Xiu, who was carrying water drops and not even a trace of rain stained his clothes. He said in a dumbfounded voice, "I didn't say that." of……"
Zhang Xiu felt the cool breeze coming, showed a comfortable expression, and said: "If we walk further, we will reach the town. Let's walk faster and find a place to take shelter from the rain."
Yan Feng nodded, quickened his pace, and within a short time, he arrived at the town.
Fortunately, there is an inn on the main street of the town.
After he entered, Zhang Xiu also arrived on an ox, handed the old scalper to the waiter, took off his bamboo hat and sat down at a table.
Yan Feng wiped the rain off his face and shouted: "Bring a jar of good wine and four plates of side dishes to go with the wine!"
Zhang Xiu quickly added: "It needs to be cheap!"
Yan Feng rolled his eyes at him speechlessly and complained: "Are you a Pixiu? I remember that you found a lot of money from Taoist Qianyuan's Taoist temple?"
Zhang Xiu explained helplessly: "It's a lot of money, but it can't keep me alive. If I don't plan carefully, I'm afraid I won't even be able to afford a coffin board in the future."
While he was talking, the waiter put the wine and food on the table and said with a smile: "You two gentlemen, please use it wisely. It's half a penny in total. It won't be too late to pay the bill after you two have finished eating."
Yan Feng tore open the seal of the wine and took a swig of it. He felt like he was alive again. He picked up the chopsticks and picked out a piece of meat. His expression changed slightly. After swallowing the meat in his mouth, he looked towards the old shopkeeper behind the counter. Look.
"Shopkeeper, your meat is a bit stale."
The shopkeeper chuckled and said, "What you call fresh meat? Can fresh meat only be sold at this price?"
Zhang Xiu nodded and said in agreement: "What the old shopkeeper said makes sense. Brother Yan, please stop being picky. With half a penny, we can't afford to suffer a loss or be fooled!"
Yan Feng smiled helplessly, and then started to eat hungrily.
The shopkeeper smiled at the two of them and said, "Seeing as the rain won't stop for a while, shall I prepare a room for you two?"
Zhang Xiu nodded in agreement, and then his eyes were fixed, and he suddenly discovered that there was a small golden fish lying on his bamboo hat.
The little golden fish has a slender body, only about the size of a thumb. It lies on the edge of the bamboo hat, its tail flutters gently, and it keeps opening and closing its mouth, looking like it is thirsty for rain.
When Zhang Xiu saw it, his eyes immediately softened: "What a poor little guy, you were blown here by the strong wind. Fortunately, you met me. If you had met someone else, you would have become A bowl of fish soup..."
As he spoke, he grabbed the small fish, glanced at the water tank on the side, threw it with his right hand, and accurately threw it into the water tank.
The old shopkeeper's eyelids twitched and he said: "Sir, I advise you to fish it out."
Zhang Xiu squinted at the old shopkeeper and said dissatisfiedly: "Isn't it just that I ruined your tank of water? It rained so heavily today, and I will miss you water in the future."
The old shopkeeper looked strange and said: "You are right, but there is not even a drop of water in my vat..."
"..."
Oh haha!
After Zhang Xiu was stunned for a moment, he quickly got up and walked over. When he looked into the tank, he saw that there was not a drop of water at all.
The little golden fish had been knocked unconscious and lay motionless at the bottom of the tank, with a pair of dead fish eyes rolled up and white foam spitting out from its mouth...
After a few ladles of water went down, the little golden fish staggered over and stared at Zhang Xiu with a pair of powerful fish eyes, showing a very human expression, as if it was angry and kept twisting. body.
When Zhang Xiu saw this, he felt interesting in his heart. After thinking about it, he picked up a glass and poured it into the water jar. He said, "I broke you just now. I'll toast you a glass of wine as apology."
After the golden fish swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, the frequency of its body swings gradually slowed down, but the eyes staring at Zhang Xiu became even more sad and angry, with a hint of confusion mixed in with the sadness and anger.
Hum, my dignified newly appointed Dragon King of Huaihe River, can you please me with just a glass of wine?
And according to her knowledge, this glass of wine... must have been mixed with water! !
As she thought about it, her body slowly sank to the bottom of the tank and became motionless.
Zhang Xiu was slightly amused and fiddled with her twice. Seeing her impatient look, she twisted her body a few times and said with a smile: "Are you drunk? Well, where should I release you?" There are no rivers or lakes nearby..."
After Yan Feng had eaten and drank enough, he stepped forward and observed the golden fish at the bottom of the water tank, and said thoughtfully: "This little fish seems to be no ordinary thing..."
