Three days later, the elder ordered his servants to drive a carriage to take him and Meng Zhong to Zhuangzi's retreat.

At this time, in the carriage, in addition to Meng Jian and Meng Zhong, there were also Meng Hu and Meng Sui, two friends with whom Meng Zhong had a very good relationship.

Among them, Meng Jian also has similar requirements and expectations for his grandson Meng Sui, that is, he hopes that Meng Sui will also be fortunate to be able to worship under Zhuangzi, as for Meng Hu, this kid is purely interesting and goes to join in the fun, and he may not know when he will escape back to the family.

Zhuangzi's hermitage is located between "Xiayi" and "Mengbo", near the upper reaches of "Hushui" and away from the road, there are many bamboo forests and woods nearby, and the environment is beautiful, and it is a secluded place with few people.

After more than two hours of travel, the carriage came to a dense bamboo forest, in which there was a path paved with gravel, and the carriage slowly followed this path, and in a moment came to the manor where Zhuangzi lived in seclusion, which was called Zhuangziju.

After a while, the carriage slowly stopped in the open space in front of Zhuangzi, and the elder Meng Jian, Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui, the three little guys, stepped out of the carriage in turn.

At this time, Meng Jian straightened his clothes, and immediately turned to the three little ones and said, "Remember, don't be rude." ”

Seeing that Meng Zhong and the three nodded, Meng Jian walked on crutches and led them towards the door of Zhuangziju.

On the periphery of Zhuangzi's residence, there is a courtyard wall made of earth and stone, and there is a dilapidated wooden door half-open in front of it, although an old wooden block is nailed above the courtyard gate, which may have served as a plaque, but the wooden board is empty and nothing is inscribed.

So, what the hell is this thing for?

Meng Hu blinked, and gradually felt that there was something strange about the manor in front of him.

He walked straight to the half-open courtyard door, and when he pushed the door slightly, the wooden door creaked open, presenting the courtyard to everyone.

But it is rude to enter without the permission of the master, although the door of the courtyard is open at this moment, but Meng Jian did not dare to rashly lead the sons in, so he stood outside the door and shouted: "Is there anyone?" The old man was recommended to visit Zhuangzi. ”

As soon as the words fell, two figures came out of nowhere in the courtyard, both of them were half-grown children of the same age as Meng Zhong, and after the two of them whispered a few words, one of them walked quickly to a house in the courtyard, and the other hurriedly walked to the gate of the courtyard, bowed to Meng Jian, and said respectfully: "This is the place where Master Zhuang lives idlely, I don't know what you have to do?" ”

Meng Jian smiled when he heard this: "The old man is the Meng of the Meng family, and he has come to visit Master Zhuang. ”

As soon as he heard this, the surprise on the young man's face became even stronger, and he hurriedly walked out of the courtyard gate and bowed to Meng Jian again, and said, "The boy is the son of the Le clan, "Le (yuè) enter", and meet the elder of the Meng clan. ”

"Okay." Meng Jian smiled and nodded, as if praising the young man for keeping a good manner.

In fact, in the Shangqiu area, the Montessori, Ge, Le, Hua and other big families all intermarry with each other, and even in some political issues, the families basically advance and retreat together, which is why this young man called Lejin treats Meng Jian so respectfully.

"The old man will introduce you and others, these three people are the sons of my Meng clan, Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui. …… I hope the four of you will be more close in the future. Meng Jian smiled and introduced Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui.

"Do as the elders do."

Le Jin glanced at Meng Zhong and the three of them, and a few different colors flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he honestly responded to Meng Jian's expectations, which made Meng Jian have a good impression of him.

After the four little guys saluted each other, Meng Jian asked Le Jin again: "Le Jin, can Uncle Zhuang live in the house now?" ”

The Zhuang Uncle in his mouth, that is, the old servant who served Zhuang Zhou, is also the actual caretaker of this residence today, and he is more than ten years older than Meng Zhi.

But in fact, this 'Zhuang Bo' is not actually surnamed Zhuang, but surnamed "Xiang", which is also the surname of the child, but for some reason, this old man voluntarily gave up his family name, and served Zhuangzi for decades, and is currently the most trusted person in Zhuangzi, which is why he is called Zhuang Bo.

"Yes." Le Jin nodded and said: "The young man saw that the elder came to visit, and he has asked the clan brother to pass it on his behalf, and I believe that Uncle Zhuang will ...... in a while."

As soon as he said this, he saw Meng Jian raise his head and look behind him, so he subconsciously turned his head to look, and sure enough, he saw an old man in the depths of the courtyard walking a few steps towards this side.

Obviously, that old man is Zhuangzi's most trusted servant, Uncle Zhuang.

Seeing this, Meng Jian took the initiative to step forward, and said with a smile while saluting: "Brother Xian, don't come to harm, Meng Jian is polite here." ”

"Huh."

The old man, who was called Uncle Zhuang, hurriedly stepped forward to hold Meng Xuan's hands, and said, "How can the old man be worthy of Meng Zong's blessing......

In fact, Meng Jian and Zhuang Bo had known each other as early as twenty or thirty years ago, and remembered that the Meng clan had invited Zhuangzi to the family's hometown to pay a feast, but since Zhuangzi had lived in seclusion, the two had rarely interacted with each other.

After some greetings, Uncle Zhuang asked with a smile: "Brother Xian came today, I don't know what is important?" ”

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui who were standing behind Meng Xuan, and there was a slight sudden look in his eyes, obviously he had probably guessed Meng Xuan's intention.

At this time, Meng Jian arched his hand and said: "Brother Xian, the grandson of our family, Mengda, a few days ago, because he learned that his mother had been ill recently, he remembered it day and night, so he said goodbye to the Hui clan to serve his mother. It has not been reported in advance, and I hope that the virtuous brother will not be surprised. ”

Zhuang Bo seemed to be smiling.

As the family commander (housekeeper) of Zhuangziju, of course he knew that Mengda, the grandson of the Mengshi family, would say goodbye without saying goodbye.

But to be honest, he didn't care about it - after all, there were so many children of other families who had come and gone over the years, and how could it be that Munda alone?

As for Zhuangzi, the owner of this courtyard, he will not care, as Munda said, he has lived in Zhuangzi for two years, but it is not certain that Zhuangzi has never cared, and may not know that he exists.

In the words of Zhuang Bo, his master Zhuangzi was already immersed in the realm of "Tao" at this time, and was almost no longer affected by worldly people or things.

But then again, since Meng Jian used "filial piety" as an excuse to cover up the reason why Meng Da did not say goodbye, even if Zhuang Bo knew very well what was going on, he would not debunk it, but instead followed Meng Jian's words and praised Meng Da a few words in his heart, probably praising filial piety and something like that.

After the accusation, Meng Zhu recommended Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui smoothly and normally, hoping that these three clans would serve Zhuangzi instead of Meng Da.

Looking at Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, and Meng Sui, and then at Meng Jian, Uncle Zhuang smiled quite burdenedly.

It has to be said that the kindness of the families to send their sons and nephews to serve Zhuangzi has always been a burden for Uncle Zhuang, because he knows very well the purpose of these families, and he also knows that these families will not be able to fulfill his wish on the side of his master Zhuang Zhou after all.

After staying in Zhuangziju for two years but still not being accepted as a disciple by Zhuangzi, it is not a special case, sometimes Zhuang Bozhen really wants to tell those families directly: Don't send your sons and nephews over again, my master doesn't need it, and he won't accept disciples anymore.

But these straightforward words, Zhuang Bo is not easy to say directly, after all, he doesn't want to offend these families.

And at this moment, in the main house on the north side, an old man walked out.

I saw that the old man was wearing a soap-blue cloth robe, holding a cane in his hand, and a gourd the size of two fists was tied to the cane with a rope, and he walked slowly to the courtyard gate without distraction.

"Master." Uncle Zhuang bowed and immediately asked, "Where is the Master?" ”

Obviously, this old man in a soapy green cloth robe was Zhuang Zhou, and I saw that after listening to Uncle Zhuang's inquiry, he didn't answer, but raised his left hand and pointed obliquely in a direction with his left index finger, and then witnessed Meng Jian and the rest of the people walking by like this.

Seeing that he was also ignored, Meng Xuan's face was also a little unbearable, and he hurriedly bowed his hand and said, "The contemptible person is recommended, and I have seen the master." I wonder if the master still remembers the contemptible people? ”

Zhuangzi stopped when he heard this, turned his head to look at Meng Zhi, and nodded calmly, not knowing whether he wanted to show that he remembered Meng Jian, or simply respond to Meng Jian's salute to him.

After nodding, he left on his own.

During this period, whether it was Le Jin, or Meng Zhong, Meng Sui, and Meng Hu, they couldn't make his eyes stay for even a moment.

Looking at the back of Zhuangzi leaving, Meng Jian let out a long breath of depression that was almost ignored, and said to Meng Zhong with a slightly wry smile: "Look, it is indeed necessary to do 'homework' in advance, right? ”

Meng Zhong nodded slightly, watching Zhuangzi walk away.

For the past three days, he has been staying in the house recommended by the elder, who has done his 'homework' for him and Mengsui to understand and familiarize himself with Zhuangzi's perverse and autistic personality and attitude towards the world, so as to prescribe the right medicine.

"Are you sure?" Meng Jian asked again.

At this time, Zhuangzi's back had disappeared from the courtyard gate, so Meng Zhong took his gaze, nodded and said, "The kid will do his best." ”

Seeing this, Meng Jian laughed, patted Meng Zhong's shoulder and said, "Okay, if you can become a disciple of Master Zhuang, the old man will definitely come to congratulate you!" ”

As soon as he said this, Zhuang Bo and Le Jin both showed consternation.

You must know that in the past 20 years, I don't know how many people have wanted to become disciples of Zhuangzi, but so far not only have not one succeeded, but even these people have never even been noticed by Zhuangzi.

And now, Meng's elder Meng Jian is so optimistic about that kid named Meng Zhong?

Thinking of this, Uncle Zhuang said with a smile: "Brother Xian, it seems that you have high expectations for this son, however, don't blame Brother Fool for pouring cold water on you, if you want to become a disciple of my master, it is not so easy to ......."

Hearing this, the smile on Meng Zhi's face did not change at all, his left hand was on Meng Zhong's shoulder, he looked at Zhuang Bo and said firmly: "No! This son can definitely do! …… Do you want to make a bet with the foolish brother? ”

“……”

Seeing that Meng Jian was so determined, Zhuang Bo was a little stunned in his heart, and turned his head to look at the young man named Meng Zhong intently.

According to his personal feelings, although this boy named Meng Zhong seemed to be steady and humble, these alone were not enough to arouse his master's idea.

Or is this son now sharp and introverted?

Brushing his beard, Uncle Zhuang was thoughtful.

Although he didn't believe Meng Zhi's blind confidence, he had already memorized the name Meng Zhong.