Fox Road Travel Notes

Just outside the city are mountains.

Taihang towers across the north and south, like Pangu's giant axe, splitting the land of North China in two.

After entering the mountain, Chen Zican controlled the horse to move slowly, so that the big black horse could conserve its energy. If there was an emergency, there was always some hope of escape.

He inquired at the inn in the morning. There were countless thieves in the Taihang Mountains.

Chen Zican wanted to ask for the details, but the innkeeper hesitated and just shook his head and sighed, telling him to be careful.

At noon, Chen Zican followed several carriages to a small village, where everyone rested in a tea shed at the entrance of the village.

Chen Zican also entered the tea shed with Guan'er. He was not in a hurry anyway and stayed with them from a distance along the way.

If they really encounter robbers, their target will definitely be these luxurious-looking carriages first.

With them standing in front of me and blocking the arrows, I and Kou'er always feel more at ease.

He found a broken table and sat down. Kuo'er diligently rinsed the tea bowl and poured tea for him.

I took out the dry food and found some sesame seed cakes.

Chen Zican took a bite with a grimace on his face: "Kou'er, do you love sesame cakes so much?"

Kou'er ate it sweetly: "Yeah - it's not bad, it's cheap and can fit easily."

After a pause, he took another hard bite: "Kou'er only survived on half a piece of sesame cake..."

Chen Zican didn't understand what she was saying, but he saw that what she said was a bit sad, and he thought to himself that she left home and worked as a slave at an unknown age. She must have some past events that she didn't want to tell anyone, and it was hard to ask questions.

At this time, two scholar-looking guys walked into the tea shed waving folding fans.

A man with a bun face, fair and fat, a big face and a big mouth, he doesn't look ugly at all.

But coupled with his puffed-up chest and belly, as if no one else was around, it made people feel funny.

The man next to him was wearing a green shirt. Apart from being a little dark, he had good facial features. He was in his thirties and looked like he had a lot of poetry in his heart.

As soon as he entered the tea shed, the dark-faced scholar took a step forward, pulled open the long bench, and said solemnly: "Brother Xi, please!"

The fat man was not polite. He sat down and put the robe beside him, making the bench creak.

He looked at the large porcelain bowl in front of him and frowned.

The black-faced scholar didn't wait for him to speak, and shouted loudly: "Store, get rid of all you stupid guys!"

"Is this urine soup for people to drink?"

Then he turned back and shouted: "Bamboo smoke, hurry up and light a fire. Make a pot of the hair tips you brought home. Don't eat all the food. Let Mr. Xi's noble servants rest more. They are useless things..."

Chen Zican looked at the big bowl with tea stems floating in his hand, frowned, and laughed.

The black scholar glanced over with some displeasure.

His eyes fell on Kuan'er's face, suddenly brightened, and he took a greedy look.

Then he pretended not to care and turned to greet Mr. Xi: "Brother Xi, you are in prison this time. With my brother's talent, he will definitely prosper in this small Imperial College."

"See you next time. I think you are already famous in Beijing."

Mr. Xi felt very comfortable with these flattering words and waved the folding fan in his hand: "Thank you, Brother Ma, for your kind words."

"I'm just borrowing a little bit of shadow from my elders, it's nothing."

The scholar surnamed Ma sighed: "Brother Xi, this is too modest."

"My brother comes from a prominent family in Jiangzuo, and his family has cultivated and studied. Over the past hundred years, despite all the ups and downs, he has always stood firm."

"In the previous dynasty, during the bandit turmoil, my uncle donated hundreds of thousands of stones in food and was awarded the title of Shaoqing of Taipu Temple."

"The Heavenly Soldiers went south, and my uncle donated another hundred thousand to pay for the army. Even His Highness the King of Yu said that the Xi family were obedient people of the Qing Dynasty!

"In the past few years, the Xi family has helped the new dynasty to save their family from destruction. They raised their own food and salary to form a rural army. They fought bloody battles with bandits in the two lakes for many years to ensure the smooth flow of food routes south of the Yangtze River."

"You are so loyal to the emperor and patriotic, how can you not see it in the eyes of the wise emperor!"

He suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "I heard that this time the governor personally petitioned for the Xi family, requesting a seal and recommending my brother to the Imperial Academy."

"Brother, you are from a royal family and have a bright future, so what else can you say?"

He turned around and scolded: "Zhu Yan, is the tea ready? Lazy slave, why don't you come over and serve Mr. Xi?"

The little book boy named Zhu Yan agreed and ran over, took out a celadon tea set from a wooden box, and poured the freshly boiled tea in his hand.

Mr. Xi waved his hand: "My Xi family has worked hard for the imperial court, so the emperor will not treat us badly."

"It's true that I have to stay in the Imperial Academy for the past few years, but it won't make anyone bored!"

He looked around, waved his hand to let the bamboo smoke go away, and gestured with his fingers for the scholar surnamed Ma to come over.

"Hey, Brother Ma, I heard that you are very familiar with the Flower Streets and Willow Lanes in Beijing. Are there any interesting places that you can point out to me?"

Although he lowered his voice, Pavarotti's figure and rich voice still allowed others to hear clearly.

The scholar surnamed Ma was upright and said: "Brother Xi, what are you talking about!"

"My little brother went to Beijing to take the exam this time, but unfortunately his luck was bad and he lost his reputation."

"I'm just thinking about going back to hang my butt and study poetry and books, so I don't have time to spend time with women!"

Mr. Xi smiled strangely, his fat cheeks trembling: "Tsk, tsk, that's not kind! It's not kind!"

"Brother Ma, I regard you as a confidant and friend, but you are looking down upon me."

"Although Brother Ma is unknown on the yellow list this time, his other names are so big that they have already reached my ears."

He covered his mouth with a fan: "I heard that Brother Ma was so smitten with the girl Ziyuan from Zuiyue Tower that he made a promise for three lifetimes."

"She secretly gave you all the money she had saved by selling herself for seven or eight years, Ma Dacaizi, just thinking that you would help her get out of her citizenship and live together together."

"But Brother Ma, you are trying to escape like a golden cicada..."

"Haha, high, really high!"

Shusheng Ma's face looked like a pig's head covered in soy sauce. He hesitated for a while, not knowing how to answer.

Chen Zican and Kuo'er looked at each other with disdain on their faces.

In the corner of the tea shed, a man dressed as a farmer sat with his back to them. He slammed the tea bowl on the table and snorted.

Mr. Xi over there seemed to have never heard of it, and was still only interested in these romantic affairs.

He pulled Ma Xiucai and said, "Oh, Brother Ma, as a man, we are nothing but straw paper to wipe our butts when we treat these vulgar fans."

"What are you embarrassed about? Come on, talk about it, tell me..."

Chen Zican leaned over to Kuan'er's ear and whispered, "Come here."

The two of them walked into the house, and Chen Zican said to the dozing shopkeeper: "Do you, the cook, have anything to eat?"

The shopkeeper wiped his eyes and said: "This bastard has nothing to eat except carrots and winter melons. He can't get into the mouth of our guest!"

Chen Zican stretched his head into the kitchen to take a look and waved: "Can you sell me that winter melon?"

"Hey, they are all grown at home, so they are not valuable. Guests can take whatever they like." The store owner continued to express his sleepiness.

"Master, why did you buy this? We don't have a pot..."

Chen Zican stretched out his hand to stop her and picked out a green-furred winter melon weighing about four or five kilograms.

I saw a knife on the table, I cut it in half and took out the pulp.

Kuan'er watched curiously. Chen Zican stuffed two halves of winter melon into her arms, thanked the store owner, and pulled her away.

Kou'er was half pulled and half hugged by him in a daze to the back of the house. Chen Zican peeked from the corner...

Mr. Xi was still pulling Ma Xiucai to talk about his fireworks affair.

When Ma Xiucai saw that he was not making fun of her, but that he truly admired his romantic skills, he let go and spit, and the two of them laughed extremely obscenely.

But the old farmer with his back turned seemed to have fallen asleep on the table.