"There is a man in Ge Village, named Fang Er. He lost his parents when he was young, and he lives with his sister. When he grows up to 28, he is lucky to have the opportunity to earn a small family business. Unfortunately, his marriage is not going well. He is nearly 30 years old and has not yet been married.
"After Fang Er became successful in his career, he saw that his sister and brother-in-law were still living in poverty and had a pair of young sons to raise. He couldn't bear it, so he often provided support and help.
"Sister, my brother-in-law's life is getting better because of this, and he is also grateful. We get along with him every day, and he is always worried about Fang Er's marriage and urges him to get married and have children as soon as possible.
"Fang Er always smiled bitterly and said that maybe he was not destined to get married, and he might end up alone in his life. If that was the case, he would have to help his two nephews to see him off, and he would also leave the family's meager wealth as a gift.
"When my sister and brother-in-law heard this, they would always get very angry and scold him for talking nonsense.
"Two years later, marriage came unexpectedly. Fang Er went out on business and met a woman by chance. He fell in love at first sight and fell in love with each other. So he asked a matchmaker to find her and they were about to get married.
"However, it's a pity that Fang Er was suddenly killed less than half a month before the wedding. He returned home drunk at night and was pushed off a cliff to death.
“Later, after several thorough investigations, the government finally caught the real culprit.
"The murderer is Fang's second sister and brother-in-law."
The first story the old storyteller told after he sat down was short and concise, and it was Ye Yuzhou's first time to hear it.
Considering the identities and net worth of the guests present, although this story is unpleasant, it is somewhat of a warning.
However, the merchants did not buy it.
Some of them realized that the warning point in the story was actually on Fang Er himself, and it was better. They just felt that this section was not interesting and not worthy of applause.
The other part only heard how vicious and hateful my sister and brother-in-law were, and while feeling uncomfortable, I couldn't help but get angry: I spent money to listen to books, but you tell people such evil things to scare people? !
Immediately, the boos and boos started, and even the new guests, who were impatient and had a bad temper, shouted out what they were talking about.
The old storyteller was neither anxious nor annoyed, and then slowly told two more short stories containing philosophy.
As a result, no one liked to hear it, and the boos and boos were even greater.
These merchants usually hung out in Goulanwashi in Chang'an or elsewhere, and mostly listened to strange and erotic stories, or historical novels, and they couldn't listen to his kind of stuff at all.
In fact, the old storyteller can also tell historical stories, and he often tells them, and every time he tells it, it is really exciting. He talks about the erotic affairs and dirty things of the palace, the rich and powerful, and the charming fox demon or female ghost, and he is especially good at it...
But this old man has a weird temperament. He only likes himself. He talks about whatever he likes according to his mood every day, and he never cares whether the listeners like it or not.
Looking at today's situation, it's nothing more than that he suddenly doesn't want to say those things.
In fact, not only story-telling, but also everything this old man does is done by himself.
The people of Gucheng were spoiled by him. It's because he has been in Gucheng for these years and has real prestige. More than 90% of the babies born in Gucheng in the past five years were named by him, and 10% of those who were buried had the location and funeral details. He shows us all the time.
The merchants present had no reason to spoil him. They spent money to have fun drinking tea and listening to books.
Seeing that today's game is about to be smashed...
"Otherwise, sir, what are you going to say today that can't be said anywhere else? To be honest, I came here just to hear that."
A merchant in the corner spoke. Obviously, this is a regular customer who often travels to Gucheng.
The old storyteller tilted his head and squinted at him.
The new guests at the scene were also curious and turned to look at him, "What can't be told?" "What kind of story?" "What can't be told?"
"Where? You can't say it in Chang'an, you can't say it in Hangzhou, you can't say it in Yanzhou, you can't say it in all the states in the Zhou Dynasty..."
The regular customer smiled and explained patiently.
The old man does have a special program that occasionally comes here. Perhaps storytellers from other places dare not say even a single sentence. They are afraid of offending people and getting into trouble. If they don't get enough protection, they will be jailed.
Regular customers of the teahouse call this program "Storyteller's Evaluation of Ancient and Modern Times".
It is said that it is ancient and modern, but in fact it is more modern. The important ministers, generals, celebrities, noble families, and even emperors and queen mothers of the Zhou Dynasty... dead and still alive, old storytellers dare to comment, and many times they say it without being polite. .
You know, he is not a court official, he is just a common man.
In fact, even the officials in the court probably did not dare to evaluate the royal family and ministers with his attitude and perspective.
Therefore, it was fortunate that we were in a poor place like Gucheng, where there was not even a government office. Otherwise, the old man would have been arrested long ago to take revenge.
"He, isn't he afraid of making unreasonable comments about government affairs?" After the regular customer patiently explained, the new customers immediately became interested and turned to look at the old man.
"Can you really comment? Dare you comment?!"
The old man lowered his head and slowly drank a sip of tea. Then he raised his eyes and looked back and said, "What's the storyteller afraid to say?"
This sentence is quite powerful.
"Then, sir, first tell me about the current situation in the world?" a guest asked.
"I don't judge the world." The old storyteller replied.
He said it so bravely, but he was discouraged after the first question.
The guests were about to boo again.
"You people are not even considered chess pieces at this point, and you are not worthy of listening to me tell you how the world is going to end." The old man said lightly.
This sentence unexpectedly suppressed the boos that were about to rise.
The audience was obviously looked down upon, but for a moment they were in a daze and showed no reaction or objection, as if they were all suppressed.
"Sir, it is true that you have never commented on the world. It has always been like this." A regular customer stood up quickly and helped explain. He then saluted the old storyteller and said, "Sir, sometimes people in the south comment on the world. Do you listen?"
"Whose?" the old man asked, as if he was very arrogant and wanted to pick and choose the person he liked before deciding whether to listen or not.
"Pinghai Ji Shiren." said a regular customer.
The old man was sitting and nodded, "Let's talk and listen."
In fact, when a regular customer said the words "Historian of Pinghai", Ye Yuzhou already knew that the strange old man would be willing to listen.
Because even he had heard the name "Historian" no less than ten times. In this small teahouse, he also knew that the old storyteller recognized this person.
Pinghai is a city located in the southeast of the Zhou Dynasty and connected to the border with Zhangzhou. In terms of its specific nature, it is generally protected by the Zhou Dynasty, but it has a certain degree of independence.
It is a port, with developed sea and land trade, and is known as the richest in the world. There are countless wealthy merchants in the city.
And this historian, whose real name is Xie Guanmin, is the son of the former richest man in Pinghai City, and he is also the eldest son.
Of course, he himself is nearly 80 years old now, the richest man's father had passed away decades earlier, and Xie Guanmin, as the eldest son, did not inherit the family business.
He left all the family property to his younger brother and lived alone without marrying or having children. He only kept books and wine as companions and devoted himself to recording history.
Emperor Taizong of the Zhou Dynasty once ordered him to be appointed as a historian to compile a record of his life's achievements. He resisted the order and recorded it, saying: His Majesty the Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty's self-reported achievements are often exaggerated.
Taizong was benevolent and would not kill anyone who was not guilty. He was specially named "Historian of Pinghai" and allowed him to independently record history and write books without being criticized or punished. This has been the case for nearly sixty years.
Therefore, everyone in the world said that in his glass of wine, there are sixty years of aging in the world, and the changes in the temples and rivers and lakes.
