The small courtyard looks simple and simple from the outside, but there is something hidden inside the gate.

In front of my eyes is a small plum forest. The snow that fell last night has not yet melted, covering the red or white plum blossoms. It is really "snow like plum blossoms, plum blossoms like snow" [Note 1], and it is hard to tell who is who.

A path paved with bluestone slabs in the forest leads to the depths with twists and turns.The old man walked ahead and led the two of them through Merlin.Behind the forest is a green pond, the edge of the pond is frozen, and the snow is piled on it, like a furry fox fur scarf.

The branches and leaves of the remnant lotus can be seen faintly in the water, "There is no clear lotus pond this year, Uncle Zhou." Chi Qiuyi said.

The old man stopped, "Wang'er went out this year."

"Oh, where did he go?"

"I went back to the northwest, and said that I would bring that girl back. Neither my sister nor I could persuade her, and you and Mr. Wen didn't come sometimes." The old man lamented.

"How long have you been gone?"

"Gone last fall."

"Maybe there will be good news this year." Chi Qiuyi was optimistic, "I'm going to the Northwest in a few days, do you have a message for him?"

The old man shook his head, "Don't bother Mr. Chi, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Now that he is gone, I don't have to worry about it."

"It's hard for you to think about it. What's there to eat today? My friend and I are here for the tooth-beating ceremony." Chi Qiuyi's voice turned to the point.

The old man was amused when he heard this, "Young Master Chi is here today. I just picked up a batch of fresh fish from the East China Sea this morning. They were still alive when they landed, and they were kept iced all the way."

"It's my friend who is lucky." Chi Qiuyi said and looked at Rong Yan.

Hearing this, Rong Yan raised his head and smiled faintly.He was just eye-to-eye with a goldfish in the pond.The fish has a gorgeous shape and a huge tail, soaking in the water looks like a morning glow.Rong Yan deliberately walked closer to see more clearly, the fish seemed to feel Rong Yan's sight, not only not afraid of people, but also swam closer.

"I still don't know what this young master's name is?" asked the old man.

"He..." Chi Qiuyi hesitated for a moment, there were not many people with the surname Rong in Qingyang City, calling him "Master Rong" was tantamount to revealing himself.

"My surname is Qi." Rong Yan said.

"Yes, his surname is Qi." Chi Qiuyi hurriedly followed.

"I've seen Mr. Qi, and I just saw that Mr. Qi is interested in this fish. Why don't you give it to Mr.?" the old man said politely.

"I can't accept a gift the first time I come to the door." Rong Yan shook his head and said, "This fish is really good, but I will definitely not accept it. I will come here often in the future."

"Young master Qi is right." Chi Qiuyi said, "This fish was given to you by sister Pan, how can we win people's love?"

"Who is this sister Pan?" Rong Yan asked.

"It's Uncle Zhou's daughter, and she's married out of town."

"It turns out that the old man's son and daughter are not around." Rong Yan said and looked at the old man sympathetically.

The old man laughed loudly, "I still say the same thing, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. This old man runs this tavern by himself, and he doesn't have to worry about food and clothing. He has time to chat with different customers every day. It is a great fortune in the world. But The old man's ability is really limited, so he can't repay his benefactor for saving his life. Thanks to his benefactor, he is willing to come to this old man to have a simple meal, and this old man is very grateful!"

"Where is Uncle Zhou, you are good at craftsmanship, and everyone is willing to come to support you, that's your skill." Chi Qiuyi said embarrassedly.

"Benefactor?" Rong Yan caught the key words in the words, "Is this benefactor?"

"Yes, it's Mr. Chi."

"What's going on here, I'd like to hear about it."

"It's a long story, the two of you might as well go into the house and talk slowly while I make a pot of good tea for the two distinguished guests."

Rong Yan followed the two into the back room, and found that the decoration in the room became more and more elegant.The entrance is a few pots of narcissus waiting to be released, two pots of dark green Clivia and a few light green calamus.There is a screen on the left side of the room. On the screen is a pair of landscape painting, which shows a man and a horse walking under the moon, and the inscription is Moon Mountain Man.

"Who is this mountain man?" Rong Yan looked at the painting and asked with interest.

"It's a friend of Mr. Wen's," Zhou Bo replied, "the one in the painting is Wangqiu Mountain where he used to live in seclusion."

"Oh, I've heard you mention Mr. Wen many times, but who is this Mr.?"

"That...you should ask Mr. Chi!" Zhou Bo looked at Chi Qiuyi, noticed his uneasy expression, and smiled.

Chi Qiuyi didn't speak, but her expression became even worse.

Rong Yan understood who that person was, and nodded suddenly, "I'd better not ask, I'm here for dinner today, eat!"

"You two, please sit here."

Uncle Zhou led them around the screen. Behind the screen was a round wooden table and several chairs.The texture is not high-quality, but it still catches the eye.There are several calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, and the one in the middle is the most powerful. It reads "Let's try new tea with new fire, and take advantage of the time for poetry and wine." [Note 2]

Rong Yan got closer and saw that it was Wen Mingchong who wrote the signature.

Wen Mingchong?Chong, mountain also.Could it be Wen Zheng's words?

"Who wrote this word?" Rong Yan asked.

"Mr. Qi has good eyesight, this calligraphy is from Mr. Wen's hand." Zhou Bo happily replied.

Rong Yan looked at Chi Qiuyi, Chi Qiuyi just kept a straight face and said nothing, Rong Yan became more and more sure. "I see. It seems that you, old man, have a deep connection with Mr. Wen. You donated letters and asked friends to send paintings."

"Speaking of which, the relationship between the old man and Mr. Wen is thanks to Mr. Chi." While speaking, Zhou Bo finished brewing tea, and the fresh fragrance of tea spread.

"It's fine for the two young masters to sit as they please."

The two found a seat and sat down.

"This door has also been entered, and the tea has been brewed. Now let's talk about the matter between you and Mr. Chi." Rong Yan said.

Uncle Zhou poured a cup of hot tea for each of them, "Mr. Qi, don't be in a hurry. You can drink this rough tea first. I'll go to the back kitchen to have a look, and I'll be back soon."

After Zhou Bo left, Rong Yan immediately looked at Chi Qiuyi, who turned his head to the side, as if he didn't want to say anything.

"You don't want to talk? Then I'll ask Uncle Zhou."

"Then go ask, he won't tell you!" Chi Qiuyi said angrily.

Rong Yan really went out.

"Hey, you really want to ask!" Chi Qiuyi became impatient, and hurriedly followed, "I said that's not it!"

It turned out that Uncle Zhou's real name was Zhou Rusheng, a native of Xuanwu in the northwest, who fled to Qingyang City four years ago, encountered robbers on his way, and was rescued by Chi Qiuyi.Chi Qiu realized that the old man had nowhere to go with his family, so he wanted to find an errand for his son in the General's Mansion.When Wen Zheng heard about this, he volunteered to help the old man open this tavern in the south of the city, and he also introduced many friends to come over.Only then did the old man settle down in Qingyang City.

"Uncle is really a kind person." Rong Yan said with a smile.

Chi Qiuyi snorted coldly, "It's just a pious appearance."

"I don't know why Little General Chi has such a problem with uncle."

"Holy... Young Master, don't talk nonsense, how dare I have any opinion on King Wuxuan."

Rong Yan laughed angrily at Chi Qiuyi's attitude of not eating oil and salt, "Forget it, you can do whatever you want. The garden here is nice, I'll go out and have a look."

"I will accompany you!"

"You left too, what should Uncle Zhou do if he can't find anyone when he comes back? You just wait here, I'll just take a look in the garden, nothing will happen."

Chi Qiuyi felt that what Rong Yan said was reasonable, so she didn't bother her, "That's fine, son, be careful on the road."

Rong Yan didn't stay in the yard for long, but went to the kitchen.Sure enough, Uncle Zhou was busy in the kitchen. The kitchen invited many helpers. Uncle Zhou was getting old, so he only needed timely guidance.Seeing the distinguished guest coming in, I became anxious, "It's the villain who didn't entertain well, please stop the honored guest!"

"I'm here to see you, Uncle Zhou."

It was Rong Yan's idea that the two of them came to a side hall. He had to ask Uncle Zhou alone if he had any questions.

"I just chatted with Mr. Chi, and I mentioned that Mr. Chi rescued you four years ago."

"It's true." Mentioning four years ago, Uncle Zhou's eyes widened, "Master Chi's kindness will never be forgotten by our family."

"Mr. Chi also said that Mr. Wen opened this tavern for you."

"That's right, one of the two sons is our reborn parents, and the other is our food and clothing parents. How can the old man be able to get the help of the two sons."

"Wait a minute! Please talk to them face to face. What I want to ask you is, were the two young masters on good terms four years ago?" Rong Yan interrupted Zhou Bo's endless lyricism and got straight to the point.

"Young Master Qi, why do you ask this?" Zhou Bo asked vigilantly.

"Mr. Chi and I have known each other for a short time, but we hit it off right away, and Mr. Wen and I are related. Seeing that their relationship is not good, I am very sad to be caught in the middle." Rong Yan pretended to be distressed.

"Oh," Zhou Bo sighed heavily when he heard this, "I don't know when the two young masters suddenly became like this. When I first met Mr. Chi four years ago, he was indeed inseparable from Mr. Wen. Same siblings. But one day, the two young masters will never come to the shop together again."

"Old man, think about it again, did such a major change really happen overnight?" Rong Yan asked earnestly.

Uncle Zhou frowned and thought for a while, "I really can't remember clearly. This situation has been going on for at least two years. It's been two years!"

two years?Rong Yan's eyes lit up, where did he hear about it at this time!

"Thank you Uncle Zhou, you must not tell Young Master Chi about my coming to see you." Rong Yan said mysteriously.

"I know, Mr. Qi, you have good intentions, I won't talk nonsense."

At this moment, word came from the kitchen that the meal was ready.

Rong Yan and Zhou Bo went back to the house together.

Chi Qiu was very surprised when he saw that they came in together, "Have you gone to see Uncle Zhou?"

"I met you on the road." Rong Yan lied without changing his face, and Chi Qiuyi didn't have the slightest doubt. "The tea is getting cold."

"The old man makes another pot."

"What tea do you want to make? Isn't the food ready? Serve the wine!" Rong Yan greeted him knowingly.

"Young Master Qi is right. It's time to serve the wine. I'm going to get the wine now."

While Zhou Bo was getting the wine, the servants brought over the dishes, and plates of exquisite seafood filled the table.

"It smells fresh." Rong Yan praised.

"It was delivered overnight quickly." The servant serving the dishes said proudly.

"Mr. Qi, would you like to try it first?" Chi Qiu saw that Rong Yan liked it, so he picked up a salt and pepper whitebait for Rong Yan.

"Uncle Zhou hasn't come back yet, so it's not good to use chopsticks now." Rong Yan became cautious.

"Mr. Qi, don't be polite with me." Zhou Boqia brought back wine at this time, "Mr. Chi is not used to drinking on an empty stomach. You always have to eat something before drinking. How about you, Mr. Qi?"

"I don't care much. Now that Uncle Zhou is back, I won't be polite."

The author says:

[Note 1]: From Song Lu Benzhong, "Treading on Shasha"

[Note 2]: From Song Su Shi's "Wang Jiangnan · Transcendent Taiwan Works"

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