"Old sir, what do you want soy sauce for? Do you want me to serve you another plate of pork head?"
Kong Xiucai licked his lips inadvertently, but after hesitating for a moment, he pretended to be indifferent and smiled: "A plate of pig head meat is a sign of your arrogance. If I have another plate of pig head meat, it is a sign of your pity. I, Kong Xiucai, like to be arrogant." A good person, but not a pitiable person."
At this time, the soy sauce Kong Xiucai asked for was also brought out. He stretched out his hand to pick it up, but the waiter ignored his hand.
Kong Xiucai had no choice but to pick up the plate and ask the waiter to pour half a plate of soy sauce before he gave up.
The plate originally containing the pork head meat was filled with soy sauce, and oily flowers floated on the dark soy sauce.
Seeing that he had succeeded in soy sauce, Kong Xiucai dipped his chopsticks in soy sauce, put it in his mouth and took a sip, then took another sip of wine, his face full of satisfaction.
Bao Guowei watched with interest.
"Young man, don't look down on this! These chopsticks are dipped in soy sauce, and the salty taste in your mouth is also a good dish to go with wine."
"Hey! Little brother, thank you for the pig head meat. I told you that I, Kong Xiucai, will not eat your meat for free. Just wait, I will go back and write a calligraphy for you!"
"It's okay, it's just a plate of pork head meat. My name is Bao Guowei. I went to a foreign school in Zhicheng Middle School. I heard from the guys that your surname is Kong, sir. Do you dare to ask me your name?"
"Kong Xiucai!"
"Huh? Old sir, Xiucai is not a name, but if you really don't want to say it, then don't force it. After all, why do you need to know the name to make friends?"
Kong Xiucai waved his hand and explained: "My name is Kong Xiucai. When the Qing Dynasty was still there, my Kong family was a famous family in all the villages. I went to private school when I was four years old, and later became the first scholar in the village!" "
"Later, my father died and I couldn't keep my family's property, so I changed my name to Xiucai to commemorate my passing the examination."
Bao Guowei originally thought that Kong Xiucai was looked down upon by the people around him and made fun of him, so he used the name of scholar to ridicule him for not being able to pass the examination.
He himself said that he was a real scholar, and the name of the scholar was only for commemoration. However, what he said was confusing, and I don’t know how true or false it was.
But truth or falsehood is not important to Bao Guowei. Who knows whether Kong Xiucai was admitted as a scholar?
Seeing that he was interesting, Bao Guowei asked the waiter to bring him a jar of wine. He also sat on the steps and asked the waiter to bring him a pot of tea.
When Kong Xiucai saw this, he smiled so hard that his eyes almost closed.
Kong Xiucai picked up the wine flask and wanted to pour wine for Bao Guowei, but was stopped.
"No, I don't drink. I just ate and drank some tea to help me digest."
Kong Xiucai laughed loudly, poured the wine into his bowl, and took a big gulp. It seemed that he had not drank so much in a long time.
"Okay! This is fine, drink tea to digest, that's good!"
Bao Guowei didn't mind it either. He drank, and he drank. People who were passing by saw two men in long gowns sitting on the steps of the waterside tavern drinking, and everyone found it strange.
"Young man, don't tell me, you are the second one wearing a long gown and drinking here, oh... no, drinking tea. I tell you, it's not that I don't want to go in, I'm sitting on the doorstep, this wine ! It only tastes good when you drink it!"
Bao Guowei chuckled and said: "Yes! Mr. Kong, you are right, this is the fun!"
"Don't call me Mr. Kong. I don't teach. I'm not a gentleman. I'm a scholar."
"Okay, Kong Xiucai!"
"But I would like to ask you, since you have this ability, why don't you find a job? These days, there are not many literate people. If you are really serious, I might recommend you to become a teacher."
Kong Xiucai glanced at Bao Guowei, drank the remaining half of the bowl of wine, waved his hands, and said with a smile: "Haha, no need, these are just temporary livelihoods, how can we make a long-term living?"
Bao Guowei became interested and asked: "Why do you say that? As long as you work hard and work hard, there is not necessarily no way out."
"Haha. You are Emperor Hui of Jin back then, why don't you eat minced meat? In today's troubled times, how can you have a peaceful life? Look at those farmers, they don't work for others, the land belongs to them!"
Bao Guowei became more and more curious and continued to ask: "It's better to work for others than to starve to death yourself, right?"
"Death sooner or later will lead to death. If you don't change your worldly ways, these people below will not be able to live in peace! Look at those squires and landlords, as well as the wealthy families in the city, who are not stepping on our heads and sucking our blood? ?”
"You are not me. How do you know the hardships we endure? You just stand on a high place and point everywhere, laughing at why we are not born taller and have nimble hands and feet."
"Confucius once said that benevolence is one's duty, but there is still a long way to go. But even if we work for a lifetime, those at the top should still be benevolent, and no matter how far we go, there is still a long way to go!"
Seeing his open-mindedness, Bao Guowei suddenly felt much more enlightened. Although many of his views were negative and escaping from the world, this was inevitably not a reflection of the world.
"Little brother, I'm in love with you today! Come on, I'll take you to my house for a sit-down!"
"this?"
Bao Guowei was a little hesitant. After all, Lao Bao went out this morning and didn't know where he went. If he didn't go home, he would be worried.
When Kong Xiucai saw Bao Guowei like this, he thought he was unhappy and looked down on himself. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. If you have something to do, just do it yourself and don't worry about me!"
"No, I happen to be free today. Since Kong Xiucai invited me, I will naturally go there!"
"Okay! That's it, let's go!"
With half a jar of wine left, Kong Xiucai took out a gourd and poured all the wine into it.
Before leaving, Bao Guowei asked his waiter to pack two more kilograms of soy beef, two kilograms of pig head meat, two jars of white wine, and four or five large white steamed buns. Kong Xiucai saw this and did not refuse.
Kong Xiucai took Bao Guowei to the Earth Temple. A little further on, there was a courtyard with a large wooden door without a lock.
The couplets affixed to the door have turned yellow, but the words can be vaguely read.
"The virtuous descendants of the family will be great, and the family will be enriched by brothers."
Entering the house, there is a courtyard that has not been repaired for a long time and has long been abandoned. Several rooms are unoccupied and have spider webs. Only one room is open, bright and clean.
When I walked into the house, I saw only a wooden board on a bed with some waste paper stacked on it, a long table with pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and a bench. There was nothing else, and the house had only four walls.
The whole room was painted a rich liver color and gave off a musty smell.
This reminded Bao Guowei of the scene after the Bao family was robbed by creditors, but at that time the Bao family was even more shabby than this.
"Sit, sit wherever you want!"
Bao Guowei couldn't find a place to sit, so he sat on the bed. As soon as his butt was placed on it, it made a crunching sound.
