"It was Liu Tuantou who didn't let me wake you up!" Sancho replied a little aggrievedly: "He said it would be fine as long as the sun sets before the top of the tree!"
"Damn it!" Wang Wenzuo looked outside and saw that the sun had already set halfway. He cursed in a low voice, quickly got some well water and wiped his face, and then took Sancho all the way to the wine shop.
Like most of the residences of local residents, the wine shop is a long house, half of which is below the ground, with small windows to better keep warm. Wang Wenzuo opened the heavy curtain and got in. A sour smell mixed with the irritating smell of alcohol hit his nose. He subconsciously covered his nose and stopped.
The wine shop is more spacious than it looks from the outside. There are a dozen large wooden barrels against the wall on the right side, and a stove on the other side. Several waiters are running around carrying trays. The landlady is scooping out a pungent-smelling liquid from a wooden barrel. This is a kind of wine made from birch sap and corn, which is very popular among locals. The long tables were packed with people, most of them dressed in Tang Dynasty costumes. There were warriors and businessmen sitting on stools, whispering to each other, and laughing loudly from time to time.
Wang Wenzuo felt his sleeves being pulled twice, and when he looked back, he saw Sancho staring pitifully at the landlady—to be precise, it was the wooden spoon in the landlady's hand that was scooping out wine, and saliva was dripping from the corner of his mouth. come out.
"Okay, okay!" Wang Wenzuo reluctantly took out a piece of meat (common name for the five-baht coin in the Sui Dynasty) from his wallet and stuffed it into Sancho's hand: "You can only drink two cups, not more." !”
Sancho nodded quickly, made an unknown sound in his mouth, grabbed the copper coins and ran towards the landlady. Wang Wenzuo looked around, finally found his friend's table and walked towards it.
"Sanlang, you're finally here!" Liu An waved his hand enthusiastically: "Get out of the way and make room for Sanlang. This stewed rabbit meat is good. Try it, Sanlang!"
Wang Wenzuo smiled at his companion who made way for him and sat down. Liu An was right. Although the stewed rabbit meat didn't look good, it tasted really good. The rabbit meat was brown and dripping with hot soup, mixed with... With large pieces of turnips, radishes and mushrooms, the original earthy taste of the rabbit meat was removed. He ate a few pieces and suddenly felt warm.
"Sanlang!" A wooden cup was stretched out from the side. Wang Wenzuo took the cup and saw a flattering face: "I heard that you have made great achievements this time and been awarded the second rank. Are you serious?"
Wang Wenzuo could feel the envious glances from all around. He was a little excited and a little upset. He took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Oh, it's just a fluke!"
"Sanlang, please don't be too modest!" Liu An next to him interjected: "Of all the people present at that time, you were the only one who saw the key. How could this be a fluke?" At this point, he said that at that time Wang Wenzuo found clues to the intelligence from the wooden stick that Xizuo carried with him and told the story. Everyone at the long table was in awe of Wang Wenzuo.
"You don't know yet!" Liu An said with a smile: "Sanlang is from the Langya Wang family, and he and Liu Duhu are family friends. Just now Liu Duhu gave him a seat, and they had a great conversation!"
After everyone heard this, their gazes towards Wang Wenzuo changed from envy to awe. It turns out that at that time, the Northern and Southern Dynasties were only a few decades away, and the imperial court mostly selected officials based on their family status. The top-ranking families could equal the ministers, while the low-ranking families could not achieve the same results as the states and counties, and the common people were even more miserable. There are many sources of high-grade clans: those who moved to the south have "overseas surnames", with Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao being the big ones; those in the southeast have "Wu surnames", with Zhu, Zhang, Gu, and Lu being the big ones; and those in Shandong have "jun surnames" ", Wang, Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng are the big ones; Guanzhong is also the "county surname", Wei, Pei, Liu, Xue, Yang, and Du Shouzhi; Daibei is the "Lu surname", Yuan, Changsun, and Yuwen , Yu, Lu, Yuan, Dou Shouzhi. The above "Qiao surname, Wu surname, Jun surname, and Lu surname" are collectively referred to as the "four surnames". "Anyone who has not the four surnames will not be selected for the purpose of selecting a scholar, a state chief, or a county meritorious officer." The Langya Wang family is the "Wang" among the Qiao surnames. ". Although after the Sui and Tang Dynasties unified the world, these aristocratic clans no longer had the same majesty as before, but the centipede insects are still alive and aloof in the eyes of the public.
"It turns out that Sanlang comes from the Langya Wang family, no wonder——"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a noise from the door, and then heard the boss's wife scolding. Wang Wenzuo turned around and saw that it was Sancho who was hugging a wine barrel tightly and putting his head into the barrel to drink. , completely ignoring the boss’s wife’s punches and kicks. He quickly stood up and walked to the door. He blocked the landlady's fists with one hand and pulled Sancho's head out of the barrel with the other hand. He said with a smile: "Don't beat him. He is mine. I will pay you any amount." That’s it with you!”
"Your man?" The proprietress looked Wang Wenzuo up and down. The man in front of her was tall, with high cheekbones, a thick beard connected to his temples, and a pair of bright black eyes. The original insult came to his lips. He swallowed it back, glanced at his mouth and said, "A shepherd slave is worthy of my good wine! That's all, just take ten five baht coins!"
Wang Wenzuo counted the money and put it in front of the landlady, and pointed at Sancho lying on the ground: "Get some cold water to wake him up!"
"Sancho drank too much wine just now. It has been dealt with!" Wang Wenzuo returned to the table: "Let everyone laugh!"
"Sanlang, you really don't look like a member of a high-ranking family!" A person next to him sighed: "To treat a Sanhan Mu slave so well, if it were me, I would have whipped him dozens of times to wake him up! "
"Because I'm not from the Langya Wang family in the first place!" Wang Wenzuo slandered, but he said with a smile: "We are in a foreign country with enemies everywhere, so it's better to be more lenient to the people below. Maybe we will need it sometime. Fuck them!"
"What Sanlang said is true!" Liu An nodded: "Judging from the secret letter carried by the fine craftsman yesterday, I'm afraid Ansheng's life will not be easy for a few days!"
There was silence around the long table, and people were speechless as they stared at the remaining wine in their glasses. Baekje is a mountainous country, full of mountains, valleys, swamps and large tracts of forests. Villages and towns are scattered among them. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, these forests are so dense that even the midday sun cannot penetrate, as if they had been there since ancient times. None were disturbed. The gloomy north wind blows the shadows of the trees, like ferocious living creatures. Outsiders can feel that they are being stared at by an inexplicable thing that is cold and full of malice. It makes you just want to turn around and leave quickly, but this is absolutely Thoughts that should not be expressed in front of the superior.
