At this time, the capital is already full of lights, and there are less than three days to go before the National Day ceremony. But the atmosphere is not very strong, but even more depressing.

Gu Shangqing rode again, letting Dongzi turn around and go south. It is said that it is three miles outside the south gate, and it is another courtyard of the ancient family.

Su Jinyao couldn't help but feel a little nervous when she thought of seeing the old man of the Gu family again.

Because when I saw him this time, my own (shēn) was different, and what kind of attitude should I use to greet him?

"Jin Yao, in fact, what I asked me to take you over is also what grandpa meant." Gu Shangqing approached the carriage and said while following the speed of the carriage: "Grandpa still has a lot of impressions of you, I just mentioned it, she remembers." ”

Su Jinyao smiled and asked, "Is the old man's (shēn) body okay?" The last time I saw him, it was two or three years ago. At that time, the old man was still like a child, and he took Qin Si and Wu Wu's shopkeeper away. ”

Painting and poetry

Thinking of the old man of the Gu family, Su Jinyao felt a burst of kindness in her heart. Maybe the kind of pro (qíng) whose blood is thicker than water is really imprinted in the bones.

Gu Shangqing saw that Su Jinyao was thoughtful, so he said, "You don't have to be nervous. Now that we've known each other for a long time, and now we have another pro (qíng), it should be more cordial. ”

Su Jinyao smiled and took a long breath. Even though she was still a little apprehensive in her heart, it wouldn't take much time to travel more than three miles.

Seeing that a house appeared in front of him, the courtyard in Wangjing Town was much larger, but it was not very conspicuous. Instead, it's more like an ordinary farm yard, except that there are more flowers and plants in the front and back yards.

By this time, it was almost dark.

Gu Shangqing knocked on the door, and when the little guy who opened the door saw that it was the eldest young master, he hurriedly opened the door, and called two horse boys to come over to lead the horses and pull the cart.

Su Jinyao listened to Gu Shangqing's words and waited until the carriage entered the courtyard before getting off.

She looked around, and her heart felt kind. I don't know if it's because of the people who live here? The layout resembles an ordinary farmhouse, reminding her of the rì who first crossed here.

Gu Shangqing walked over, pulled Su Jinyao's wrist and said, "Don't look at it, come in with me first to say hello to grandpa." ”

Su Jinyao promised in her mouth, but her heart jumped "thump".

The format and layout of this village courtyard is also very simple, with front and back yards, east and west wings. There is a row of large houses facing north and south in the back.

Gu Shangqing led Su Jinyao directly into the main hall, and when he saw that there was no one in the hall, he pulled Su Jinyao back again. While saying: "At this time, grandpa should be in the room." It's time for dinner in a little while. ”

"Then if I pass like this, will it disturb the old man?" Su Jinyao is not usually such a tangled person, but now she doesn't know what's wrong, and she is still dragging it out.

Gu Shangqing glanced at her and whispered, "It's useless." That's your grandfather too, what else are you bothering about? ”

Without giving Su Jinyao another chance to hesitate, Gu Shangqing had already pulled Su Jinyao to the door of the room, and had already knocked on the door: "Grandpa, I'm here with Jinyao." ”

The corners of Su Jinyao's mouth twitched, and she took a deep breath, always feeling bottomless in her heart.

"Come in." The voice of the old man of the ancient family can't hear anything (qíng), but it is still the same peace.

Gu Shangqing pushed open the door, but pushed Su Jinyao in front and said, "Jinyao, go in and ask for the most dessert." ”

Su Jinyao let out an "um", but she had already been pushed in by Gu Shangqing.

This room is not elegantly furnished, but casually (xìng). The furniture is the kind that looks functional, and the placement is very comfortable.

For example, there is a low table next to the soft couch, and in addition to a simple tea set, there is also a small shelf, which can be used to put a few books that can be opened casually.

For example, there is a step ladder next to the shelf, and it is more convenient to step on the step ladder to get the top layer.

In addition, there is a pair of scissors next to the flower pot of the flower stand, so you can enjoy the flowers when you are not working, and you can also do some pruning with your hands.

It's the subtlety of these small details that doesn't make people feel cluttered, but there are things to take advantage of when you need them, so the furnishings in the house are casual and comfortable.

Su Jinyao does not (jìn) thinks that the old man of the ancient family usually looks here and fiddles with flowers and plants, which is really a leisurely (qíng) elegance, and can be repaired (shēn) and raised.

The old man of the ancient family was sitting behind the table at this time, holding a pen in his hand, but he did not write, but carefully studied the rice paper on the table.

Gu Shangqing pulled Su Jinyao over, and the two of them saw that the paper painting was an ink painting Danqing. Now it's just a few brushstrokes, and it's a distant mountain range. Look at the snow cover on the top of the mountain, and the pine branches under the mountain are also layers of white.

But it seems that the painting has stopped here, and I can't see what I want to express, but I always feel that there is an empty piece of the boss in front of me, which is really uncomfortable.

Gu Shangqing looked at it for a while, and then asked, "Grandpa, what is this painting trying to paint?" Far mountains? Falling snow? Or a pine forest? ”

The old man of the Gu family put down the pen in his hand, looked up at Gu Shangqing, looked at Su Jinyao again, and then raised his chin towards Su Jinyao and asked, "Girl, what do you think?" ”

Su Jinyao is also looking at the painting, and always feels that the artistic conception of this painting is quite profound, and it is not as concise as it appears now.

When Old Man Gu asked her, Su Jinyao frowned, pursed her lips again, thought about it very seriously, and then said: "Old Man Gu, I think I already understand the meaning of your painting, but I can't draw, can I write it for you?" ”

"Write? How to write? The old man smiled, looked at the painting again, then removed the paperweights on both sides, turned the painting half a circle and pushed it in front of Su Jinyao, and said, "I want to see how you can write what I want to paint." ”

Su Jinyao pursed her lips again, took off a trumpet from the pen holder, dipped it in ink, and then (dàng) the tip of the pen, and said: "The writing is ugly, don't be surprised by the old man." "Let's just pick up the pen and write it.

Gu Shangqing hurriedly pulled Su Jinyao's shirt under the table, and said in a low voice: "You write elsewhere, don't write in painting." ”

Su Jinyao neither answered, nor listened to Gu Shangqing's suggestion, but swam with her pen and wrote "brush".

Gu Shangqing couldn't help frowning slightly, and his heart followed suit.

Others don't know, but he knows the old man of the ancient family best. The old man has a quirk, he likes to paint, but he doesn't paint easily.

It is always when the artistic conception and mind have arrived that they will improvise a painting. And it has to be neat and neat, all in one go.

If there is a slight pause in the process of painting, and you feel that you can't paint the original artistic conception somewhere, you should tear the painting off.

Therefore, the paintings of the old man of the ancient family are also self-contained in the capital and are very famous.

And Su Jinyao has now written directly on this unfinished painting, if the old man's interest in returning to paint is disturbed, he will definitely anger Su Jinyao.

But if the old man's painting is finished, he thinks that Su Jinyao's handwriting is not good, then ...... Was the painting torn or left behind?

Gu Shangqing was still worried about Su Jinyao, Su Jinyao had already written a few lines of poetry.

After writing, Su Jinyao put down the pen, turned the painting back half a circle, pushed it back in front of the old man, and said, "Please take a look, is this what you want to express?" ”

"Thousands of mountains and birds fly away, and thousands of people disappear. Lonely boat, fishing alone in the cold river and snow. The old man read it out slowly, but after reading it, he was silent for a long time.

After listening to the old man's reading, Gu Shangqing was stunned for a moment, and then pulled Su Jinyao's sleeve under the table and asked, "You made this poem?" ”

Got the token of the Gu Family Army

Gu Shangqing tugged at Su Jinyao's clothes under the table. Su Jinyao turned her head to look at him and grimaced at him, neither saying "yes" nor "no".

Gu Shangqing swallowed dryly, rolled under the Adam's apple, and then poked Su Jinyao's waist again.

When Su Jinyao turned her head to look at him, she saw Gu Shangqing give her a thumbs up.

Su Jinyao smiled slightly, didn't speak, just quietly looked at the face of the old man of the ancient family (qíng), not letting go of a slight change.

After a moment, the old man of the Gu family took a deep breath and picked up the brush he had put down again.

"Brush" a few strokes, and a river was drawn. And by the river, there is still a white patch of frozen snow. On the surface of the river, there is a small boat, and an old man of the boat is fishing alone.

The old man's god (qíng) could not see clearly, and could only see that his large hat and dense cloak covered his whole person.

After painting, the old man of the Gu family took a breath again. Then, next to the poem written by Su Jinyao, he wrote down the payment and (rì) period. Finally, a seal was taken out and stamped under his name.

After the old man of the Gu family stamped the cinnabar seal, Gu Shangqing clapped his hands twice and said: "Good poetry, good painting, such a profound artistic conception is really rare." Distant mountains, falling snow, lonely boats, and fishing, seem to be lonely but imply freedom and casualness (xìng). ”

"Haha, it's really good poetry." The old man of the Gu family picked up the painting, looked at it carefully, and then said, "Actually, I originally wanted to tear up this painting." The momentum that started painting suddenly broke when you knocked on the door, and I didn't know how to continue. It's the girl's four lines of poetry, just twenty words, that can write such a profound artistic conception. It's rare for me to be able to see the old man's smile in my mind. ”

After speaking, Old Man Gu opened the drawer at hand, took out a bronze medal from it, put it on the table, and pushed it in front of Su Jinyao. said, "Girl, take it." ”

"This is ......" Su Jinyao picked up the bronze medal in surprise and looked at it repeatedly.

The bronze medal is oval-shaped, and his palm is a circle smaller, and the three leaves are stacked so thickly. The front is an "ancient" character, surrounded by a twig pattern.

And the back ...... It turned out to be the word "military order". This is a token of the Gu Family Army?

Su Jinyao looked at the token, looked at Old Man Gu, and finally looked at Gu Shangqing, hoping that which of the two of them could give him an answer?

Gu Shangqing looked at the token and said with a smile: "Thank you grandpa." ”

Su Jinyao came back to her senses at this time, and immediately bowed (shēn) and saluted, "Thank you, old man." ”

"Huh? I took my Gu family's military token, shouldn't I call it grandpa? The old man of the Gu family deliberately kept a straight face, then knocked on the painting on the table, and said, "If it weren't for these poems that won my heart, this token wouldn't be given to you now." ”

Su Jinyao is not stupid, obedient and obedient, and suddenly understood what the old man meant. Hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said, "Grandpa, my granddaughter has thanked me." ”

"Well, that's pretty much it." The old man of the Gu family nodded and said, "Now, you only have one bronze medal, but you are a woman, and you can only lead a team, and one bronze medal is almost the same." ”

Gu Shangqing listened and said with a smile: "Yes, Jin Yao only has a team of 3,000 people, and a bronze medal is enough." ”

What does this mean? Can a bronze medal lead only 3,000 people? Su Jinyao found that this brand should be graded.

Gu Shangqing pursed his lips and smiled quite proudly, then took out a silver token from his belt, shook it in front of Su Jinyao's eyes, and said, "Look, this is the second-class military order of the Gu Family Army, which can mobilize 20,000 people." ”

Su Jinyao looked at her token and said, "This is divided into three levels: gold, silver, and bronze, right?" The gold token is the commander of the Gu family army, the silver token is the general other than the commander, and the bronze medal is the captain? ”

"You're one level less." Gu Shangqing explained to Su Jinyao: "The Gu family army is divided into four grades: gold, silver, iron, and bronze. You got it right for the gold and silver medals, and the iron medal is the captain, who can lead a team of up to 10,000 people. The bronze medal has the lowest level, and can only lead 5,000 troops at most. ”

Su Jinyao looked at the bronze medal in her hand again, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She thought that this thing was the same level as the Olympic medals, and dared (qíng) to say that iron and bronze are expensive here, so it was really nonsensical to have an extra iron medal.

However, there is no good brand. According to Gu Shangqing's explanation, the three thousand mountain bandits currently led by Su Jinyao should already be counted as part of the Gu family army.

Thinking of this, Su Jinyao let out a sigh of relief. From this point of view, it doesn't seem to be so difficult to really enter the Gu family.

Gu Shangqing felt that the first plan with Su Jinyao was a success, and the old man had already admitted that she could incorporate the team as the Gu family army because of a poem by Su Jinyao.

It seems that the iron should be struck while (rè), and now it is time to make an effort for Su Jinyao to fight for the return of the ancient family (qíng).

Therefore, Gu Shangqing said: "Grandpa, since you have already asked Su Jinyao to change your words, then look at the genealogy of our Gu family, when will you be able to add Jinyao's name?" Let her recognize her ancestors and return to her ancestors. ”

After hearing this, Old Man Gu raised his eyebrows and looked at Gu Shangqing, and said, "What do you think grandpa means by giving the token to this girl?" ”

Gu Shangqing immediately said: "Recognize Jinyao." ”

But Old Man Gu shook his head and said, "If I recognize her, then she should be holding the same silver medal as you." ”

Gu Shangqing retorted: "But grandpa, didn't you still let her kowtow?" ”

"(shēn) is the commander of the Gu Family Army, can't I stand her kowtow?" The old man of the Gu family deliberately widened his eyes and said, "This token is already considered to be taken care of. If it weren't for her really good poem, there would be no bronze medal. ”

"Grandpa, you mean, if the poem is good, you can get the token of the Gu family?" Su Jinyao pulled Gu Shangqing by the hand, motioned for him to step back slightly, and asked her to come and talk to the old man of the Gu family.

Gu Shangqing was helpless, knowing that he couldn't fight now, so he had to try to let Su Jinyao speak. After all, Su Jinyao's poem just now made the old man laugh.

Old Man Gu looked at Su Jinyao, nodded, and said, "I (ài) talent, cherish talent, your poems are done well, I will naturally have a reward." It's good that when I was in Anji City, I saw that your story was well written, and I accepted you directly. Otherwise, do you think that Fei Hung Fang will sell everything? ”

Su Jinyao smiled after hearing this, and said, "Since grandpa has such a mind, it is the best." If you like poetry, I'll send you a few more poems and see what they're worth. ”

Bronze medal for silver medal

"Send me a few more? Ha ha. After listening to Su Jinyao's words, Old Man Gu didn't know whether he was happy, or felt that she was not self-sufficient, but he was smiling anyway.

Su Jinyao didn't care what this old man meant, and deliberately pretended to be stupid. nodded and said seriously: "That's right, I don't have any other big skills, but there will be hundreds of poems in this poem." If you think it's feasible grandpa, you can make a price, and I will sell you all the poems in my stomach. ”

"Haha, they all say that they are tiger girls who will go out of the door, you girl is really a tiger." The old man is still smiling. But I did open the drawer, found an iron sign, and placed it on the table.

Su Jinyao glanced at it, but then looked at Gu Shangqing, pointed to the silver plate in Gu Shangqing's hand, and said, "Grandpa, don't be stingy, take out a piece like that." ”

"That?" Old Man Gu looked at the silver medal in Gu Shangqing's hand, shook his head in disbelief, and said, "Girl, do you think that all the poems in the world can be called quatrains?" If you can say ten good poems, this iron brand is already very good for you. But if you say you can make hundreds of ......."

Speaking of this, the old man paused, and sure enough, he took out a silver sign from the drawer, put it side by side with the iron plate, and said, "Hundreds of quatrains are also embarrassing for you." Now let you compose twenty more poems, but with the theme of wind, frost, snow, and rain, the poem composed has any of these four words, and can be called a good sentence, and the silver medal belongs to you. ”

Su Jinyao looked at the two brands, and said in her heart: Ten poems can be exchanged for an iron medal, and forty poems can be exchanged for a silver medal. However, it is not a little bit that the rank of (shēn) has increased, which is a good deal.

It's just that it's a proposition to be made with wind, frost, snow, and rain as the theme, and it's a little difficult.

After thinking about it, Su Jinyao asked, "Then if I really make it, grandpa can't be tricked." ”

Old man Gu said: "I'm also dozens of years old, I won't lie to you, a teenage girl." ”

"Okay, that's a deal." After Su Jinyao finished speaking, she took the brush that had just written poems on the table, re-unfolded a piece of rice paper, and began to write poems.

There are three hundred Tang poems, and Su Jinyao searched them in her mind. There are countless verses of wind, frost, rain and snow, and it is really not a problem to write dozens of them casually.