Whoever wins the crouching dragon wins the world

Because of my "ignorance of good and evil", the shopkeeper didn't like to talk to me for several days, and Ah Xiang was also very indifferent. He always assumed an indifferent attitude when talking to me, and didn't even bother to share gossip with me.And I don't like to inquire about right and wrong. I didn't know about Ah Xiang's suggestion. I didn't realize it until I saw the notice of Anmin posted by the government.

In fact, in detail, the disturbance of bandits in the suburbs is not news. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, many peasants were displaced and forced to plunder everywhere for their livelihood. In desperation, many people were killed.However, these grassroots bandits are not vicious thugs, they never rob and kill women, children, the old and the weak, and they only like to pick corrupt officials to kill them, so although they frequently act, their reputation is not bad.

However, the bandit leader who now occupies the mountain as king is not the same as the previous conscientious predecessors.These up-and-comers who have just fallen into the grass only took root in Nanyang ten years ago, and their methods are cruel and ruthless. They have never been particular about "robbing the rich and helping the poor". The last half of the biscuit in his hand is raised and lowered with a knife in his hand, and there are few people alive, so he is full of evil.They control the commercial roads in and out of Nanyang, looking for bad luck for caravans every now and then, which makes the circulation of goods difficult and artificially raises the price of goods. Nanyang people will hate it when they mention it.

"It's a pity that Dacheng's mother is seriously ill, Dacheng can't get away from him, and these jars of wine are in a hurry, otherwise, how could you put yourself in danger..." According to the client's request, these wines had just been taken out of the cellar. The dug up apricot tea must be delivered to a wealthy household in the north of the city before sunset.

I looked up at the sky, and it was dusk. Although the sunset glow had covered the sky, the bright moon was still gone.The journey from the wine shop to the north of the city can take up to an hour, if you hurry up, you can definitely return before dark.

"It doesn't matter, the sky is still bright! And the north of the city is so big, I think I'm lucky, how can I be so unlucky to meet robbers?" I hugged the wine jar in my arms, and comforted the shopkeeper with a smile, "The family who ordered the wine I live on the side of the street, at this time, the road is full of pedestrians rushing home to eat, I will walk along the main road, and keep it safe."

"That's true, but as the saying goes, don't be afraid of [-], just in case—" The shopkeeper shook his head, and seemed to think that what I said was reasonable.Besides, he had no choice but to send me this trip, he could only take care of me again and again, "Go early and come back early, so that I can rest assured..."

After nagging and exhorting me for a long time, he was finally willing to let me go out.Of course, he is unfounded.As I expected, no matter how powerful the robbers in the north of the city were, they were not strong enough to block the main road in broad daylight. I walked along the official road without squinting, except for an uncle who often came to the wine shop to buy wine and chat. , I saw three farmers and traders returning home together, without any surprises, and arrived at their destination in a short while.

A woman in charge, in her twenties, had obviously been waiting at the door for a long time, and when she saw me coming, she was obviously relieved: "It's finally here! The little lady has worked hard, and these coins are used to buy some snacks." Let’s eat.” She took the wine politely, skillfully took out a few copper coins to reward me, and even grabbed a few cakes and put them in my hand.Looking closely, it turns out that it is a blessing cake engraved with the pattern of "Fortune and Longness". It is so small and delicate that it can be swallowed in one bite. It is very delicate and cute.

"Thank you sister, this cake is sweet and fragrant, so delicious!" The taste buds are surrounded by the sweet and soft texture, and I can recognize the flavors of preserved fruit, melon kernel and other condiments one by one, and the lard that will change the face of later generations appeases the taste. Looking at my stomach with little oil and little meat, I only feel sweet and delicious, and its taste is endless.

Probably because she saw how I was eating, the lady in charge laughed for a while, then took out a few more cakes and stuffed them to me in a very considerate manner, and explained to me why I should share them while shouting "Good luck, promotion and fortune!" Give me the cake: "This is the blessing cake. If you eat the blessing, you will remember your appearance, and the blessing will chase you in the future!"

This is a local custom.This wealthy family is doing funeral affairs. The owner is an old man in his 80s. Although life and death are not embarrassing, but the world is rare since ancient times, this is a happy funeral for him.Local Zhibaixi wants to drink heirloom wine and eat Chuanfu cake, because the local dialect has the same pronunciation of "Xing" and "Chuan", so the heirloom wine needs the apricot flower as the raw material, and the apricot-flavored wine can be dipped The blessing of longevity for the elderly.Eating Chuanfu cakes pays attention to auspiciousness, and it is also a means for families of prosperity to compare with each other—locals like to invite high officials and scholars to write inscriptions for the elderly, and then make molds and press them on the cakes, and give them to relatives, friends and neighbors to taste.Naturally, the more famous the person who wrote the inscription, the more face the host will have.

The family I gave the wine to has a small fortune, but unfortunately, the ancestors bought the property by selling cosmetics, and now none of the children is an official, and they can't reach the standard of a wealthy family, and they can only barely enter the ranks of local tyrants.Because it is "a lowly servant who made a fortune", the real high-ranking and powerful families are ashamed to be with him, and the high-ranking official Hongru also cherishes feathers and is unwilling to accept the request for inscriptions.

It was Kong Ming who wrote the inscription for this family.

"Mr. Wolong asked Mr. Wolong to write my grandpa's fortune cake. Mr. Wolong, have you heard of it? He is Mr. Shui Jing's disciple, but he is very smart. He often compares himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi..." At the door, the servant spared no effort. He promoted the name of "Mr. Wolong" to a few young people who came to the funeral from other places, but unfortunately the audience refuted him in just three sentences.

——"Is Mr. Wolong an official?"

——"No."

——"Has Mr. Wolong ever written a book?"

——"Never."

——"Mr. Wolong, do you have paintings and calligraphy handed down from generation to generation?"

——"I haven't heard anything about it."

"Then there is no merit at all?" One of the young men dressed in short clothes pouted immediately, "How dare you compare yourself to the sages like this? How shameless! If it is as you said, he is a scholar who has reached the weak crown, and he has not yet become an official. , you can imagine how little it is..."

"That's because Mr. is indifferent to fame and wealth! Mr. is a man of great talent, so he should naturally choose the leader of the Ming Dynasty. How can he go out of the mountain rashly. Back then, Liu Yuzhou personally came to the door to ask Mr. Wolong to help him, but he didn't have the ambition to achieve great things. Luck, so I was rejected by the master!" The boy said dissatisfied.

"Who is Liu Yuzhou? I've never heard of his name and surname, so I think he's an unknown junior." The young man said disdainfully, his voice was muffled, and he seemed to be chewing with food in his mouth.While the boy was arguing, he walked towards the inner room together with him, and the sound of their conversation soon disappeared.

Leave me alone.