Whoever wins the crouching dragon wins the world

After the first snowfall, the temperature dropped below zero, and the outdoor breath turned into water mist, and the cold wind whistled, raising the flags hanging high on the streets and alleys of Nanyang.

It was just the right time for Fulai to close down.Warm up with spirits. Alcohol is a big item of consumption in winter. The shopkeeper followed my suggestion and removed the two square tables in the shop to make room for a bar. The stove for warming wine is kept running day and night, and business is booming. "Auspicious snow really heralds a good year!" He is in good spirits every time he celebrates a happy event. He has just recovered from the wave of bankruptcy, and he wishes he could open around the clock, and the business will last until the 28th of the twelfth lunar month.

"Let's close the door!" With the loud chorus, the shopkeeper personally put a wooden board on the door, with a red strip on the board, informing the neighbors that the market will open on the eighth day of next year.The shopkeeper's lady was all smiles, and she gave out a red envelope worth two taels to each of us girls, and even went to the Taoist temple to ask for auspicious amulets, and asked me to keep them close to me: "The world is chaotic, you are a woman guarding the shop alone, You need to rely on the talisman to keep you safe!"

On the New Year's Eve reunion night, Ah Xiang and He Dacheng are locals, and their parents are looking forward to it.The shopkeeper has just survived a catastrophe. This year, he will take his wife and children back to his hometown to worship his ancestors, and pray for his ancestors to bless his business.After careful calculation, only I can stay in the shop and watch the door.

The shopkeeper pulled a thick cloth to cover the door tightly, and packed the sauced meat and pickled vegetables into the urn, apologetic: "There is bacon hanging in the backyard, which is specially reserved for you. You must finish it, don't save it for me. Remember to close the door tightly, and ignore anyone who knocks on the door. In case of emergency, raise the red lantern in the back room to the height of the attic, and the shopkeeper on the street will come to help when he sees you." He was worried about me being a woman The housekeeper was specially entrusted to the good neighbors to look after him, so I was too worried.

Although there is a lot of wine and things left in the store, on auspicious days like New Year's Eve, even robbers and thieves have to rush home for a reunion dinner. Who would be interested in skipping the night to start work?Standing on the street at dusk and looking left and right, thousands of houses are closed, only the smoke from the kitchen can be seen, and there is not even a ghost on the road.

In the previous life, there were always fireworks in my hometown during the New Year, but the Three Kingdoms didn’t even popularize firecrackers. The whole New Year’s Eve was quiet, and occasionally a few words of laughter leaked into my ears, but they disappeared after listening carefully.In previous years, I celebrated festivals in thatched huts, serving tea and holding ink at the age of being playful, and Zhuge Jun was good at joking, and you kept saying what you said, and I passed the New Year without knowing it.I am used to the excitement in the thatched hut, but I am alone tonight, and I always feel that the time is extremely difficult.

After chewing the bacon and drinking the plum drink, I looked in front of the Buddha seat of the God of Wealth, and I didn't even burn a stick of incense.The candlelight reflected my figure, the shadow stretched long, and even bent at the corner of the wall, making the surroundings even more empty and lonely.

I put the ham made by the shopkeeper's wife on the pot to steam, and tried my best to persuade myself to eat a few more pieces. After all, it was New Year's Eve, so I shouldn't treat myself too badly.Since he can no longer accompany him, he should at least have a good meal.

However, the taste buds seem to have been on a big holiday, and they can't taste the deliciousness that pork should have.

I don't know what kind of scene it will be in the thatched cottage at this moment?

Since helping the shopkeeper to tide over the difficulties, Kong Ming seems to have suddenly realized the existence of me. Every now and then, he would come to the wine shop to pick up someone under the banner of checking his homework, and occasionally "drop in" to buy wine.Although I was secretly delighted by the change in his attitude, I also knew that pies would not just fall from the sky.There must be a reason why Kong Ming is like this, but with my elm head, I can't guess or figure it out.

I know that I still love him, but it seems that I have passed the stage of loving him.Now that Kong Ming looks at that handsome face, he is as pleasing to the eye as before, but I have never experienced arrhythmia or a sharp rise in blood pressure.

This is probably what many people call "growth".

So when Kong Ming knocked on the door lightly and entered the room covered in wind and snow, I looked at the vast expanse of white snow behind him, and the first thought that popped into my mind was: "It's such a cold day to use a fan, Mr.'s thinking is really different." For ordinary people." He never thought of the ten miles of snowy road he walked in the severe cold.

Kong Ming was stunned for a rare moment, then chuckled and put the fan covered with ice slag beside the stove to defrost, and explained in a very righteous and awe-inspiring way: "Being upright is not about changing with the times, it's about being elegant."

...too lazy to talk to this psychopath.

I gagged him by serving the leftover bone broth.

Kong Ming took a sip and said in surprise, "Why does the soup smell of alcohol? Did you add vegetable wine?"

certainly.Kong Ming doesn't like the smell of alcohol in his dishes, so I never add cooking wine when I cook in thatched cottage.But in my previous life, from snacks to big dishes and wine, I used local materials after entering the wine shop, and I quickly changed back to the habit.

Today, when the raw meat was put into the pot, I didn't know that Kong Ming would come, so naturally I only cared about my own taste.

"Actually, there is a special taste under careful tasting." Although Kong Ming praised a few words, the spoon in his hand never touched the soup in the pot again, and he only picked up the sauced meat, boiled chicken, peanuts, etc. Wine and vegetables can be eaten at one go.I haven't seen him gobbling like this for a long time, I just felt very glaring, and couldn't help frowning: "Is there no New Year's Eve dinner prepared in the thatched hut?" Could it be that Lin Yuejie bullied others and kicked her husband and brother out of Zhuge's house during the New Year's Eve? ?

After a little thought, Kong Ming knew that I was thinking wrong, and said with a smile: "Don't blame Mrs. Lin, she set off with Brother Jun to visit her brother in Jiangdong three days ago, so today I am the only one staying at home for the New Year."

"It's only been a year, and you're rushing to Jiangdong?" I asked suspiciously.It is only natural for a bride to meet her elder brother, but it is a long way to Jiangdong, and even if she travels fast, it will take more than a month.They can wait until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month before setting off.

"A letter from my elder brother, saying that Sun Zhongmou intends to hold a gathering of talents after the spring. Those who come don't ask where they come from. As long as they have real talents and learning, they can become the guests of the Sun family." Zhuge Jin's original intention was to invite both younger brothers to go to Dongwu. Try it, if you are lucky enough to win Sun Quan's favor, and your brothers will fight in the future, Zhuge's family will definitely be able to establish a world in Soochow.Unfortunately, Kong Ming had no intention of assisting Sun Quan, and insisted on continuing to wait for the Ming Lord in the thatched cottage, while Zhuge Jun and Zhuge Jin had been separated for several years, and emotionally he was more inclined to advance and retreat with the second brother.

Only Lin Yuejie thought this was a rare opportunity, and tried her best to persuade her husband to make the trip: "Second brother has been wasted for more than ten years, and now he is still incapable of writing and martial arts. Does the husband want to be as successful as him? Besides, the second brother still has the reputation of being very wise. But my husband is not famous, how can I become an official if there is no recommendation from my elder brother?" She is not very optimistic about the development of Soochow, but she knows that others may come to ask Kong Ming to come out of the mountain admiringly, but it is absolutely impossible to travel thousands of miles to Nanyang to find him. A little-known Zhuge Jun.

Scholars, farmers, businessmen, and the Lin family have been in business for generations, but their social status has long been a problem.Lin Yuejie doesn't understand politics, but she has set her ambition to be an official's wife since she was a child.On the day of her and Zhuge Jun's big wedding, Zhuge Jin was far away in Soochow and could not return to Nanyang to watch the ceremony. Lin Yuejie deliberately strengthened her relationship with her husband and brother, and specially wrote letters to get close to her elder sister-in-law. .Therefore, this time Soochow was going to hold a gathering of talents, and before Zhuge Jin made any moves, Lin Yuejie had already received the news from Fan's family, and prepared a long paragraph of lobbying speeches for Zhuge Jun.Zhuge Jun reckoned that his ability was not as good as his second brother's, and thinking that it would be difficult to become an official by himself, he also felt that his wife's reasons were quite reasonable, so he couldn't help hesitating.

In the end, it was Kong Ming who made the final decision: "It's okay to be in Nanyang. Since you can't make up your mind, why not go to Jiangdong, watch the situation and make a decision later."

Zhuge Jun took it for granted.That night, Lin Yuejie was told to pack up her clothes and leave for Soochow.

Therefore, only two bachelors, Kong Ming and Fengcha, are left in the thatched cottage this year.

I was surprised and said, "Why didn't Fengcha come?" Fengcha is an orphan, and he has nowhere to go but the thatched cottage.

"He wants to stay and watch the house." Kong Ming didn't feel ashamed to leave the boy to eat alone, and said confidently, "Don't worry, I sealed a red envelope for him. He bought a lot of pastries and snacks during the day, and he will never Hungry."

Eating cakes on New Year's Eve, I really have to cry for this hard-working loyal servant.

I stared and said: "When I leave later, I will bring some fish and meat back, and I will serve tea to celebrate the New Year."

Kong Ming got up cheekily: "In that case, Liang will serve tea to thank Miss Nanshuang."

I ignored him, took the broken tea into my palm, put it into the pot, and watched the tender green leaves tumbling in the water.After a while, the fragrance of tea lingered in the room.

I am not a tea drinker.In the previous life, the beverage industry was developed, and you could choose from milk tea, cola, and fruit juice, no matter which one was better than the bitter green tea.In the Three Kingdoms, tea became a staple drink, but it was expensive. The most expensive Shifeng in the Ming Dynasty was worth more than gold, and even ordinary clear tea was not affordable for ordinary people.Therefore, I hated Kong Mingming's clinking sound, but he still wanted to slap his swollen face and pretend to be a fat man to buy tea.I can't even eat enough, what tea do I have?

However, seeing the frozen feather fan brought by Kong Ming just now, I kind of understand the tortoise mentality of the so-called famous people—the same as modern people tighten their belts to buy luxury goods.Even if you squeeze the subway with an LV on your shoulders, it also represents a kind of spirit that actively integrates into the upper class.Kong Ming's ancestors all belonged to the scholar class, but he failed to shelter his ancestors.If you don't inherit some of the literati's hobbies, and you can farm at home with peace of mind, you will definitely be abandoned by your official career after a few years.

In the Three Kingdoms, any powerful person would disdain to associate with vulgar merchants and farmers.If Kong Ming is a reckless man who doesn't know the three flavors of tea and Zen, no matter how talented he is, Bole will not set his sights on him.

His lupines, like his tea, are a distinct class marker.He thus extends an invitation to potential employers.

Kong Ming took the teacup, put it back on the table after savoring it carefully, and praised: "After three days of farewell, I will look at you with admiration. Your tea-making skills have improved a lot."

"It's the tea made by my shopkeeper. What does it have to do with tea art?" I have no talent in tea art, and I am busy in the shop, let alone have time to practice.I turned off the tea stove, and the room suddenly became dark. Kong Ming's face flickered with the flickering candle light, and his expression was uncertain.

The reunion of lonely men and widows on New Year's Eve is too ambiguous, and I don't want to indulge the empty hopes in my heart.

This time, let me issue the eviction order.