Chapter 13: First Sight
There are about dozens of households in the town, there are two or three inns, the original place name of the three rivers is the three rivers, one river through Luoyang, one river through Xijing, one river through Nanyang, although it is not prosperous, but it is the place where the carriage and horses must stop.
The inn arranged is very simple, and there are only two kinds of food, which are said to be local specialties, one is braised pork, which smells very gluttonous, and the other is local tofu, which is said to be famous far and wide! Xiaobai asked for two dollars of tofu and ten dollars of braised pork, and he ate it fragrantly. This tofu is not tender in the mouth, but it is very chewy to chew, with a long-lasting bean flavor and a crispy sauce, which has an endless aftertaste. The aroma of braised meat is impressive, the thin soft fragrance is delicious, the fat entrance will not melt, the fat is not greasy, Xiaobai can't help but eat it. Everyone in the company was amazed that a child could eat so much.
Sleep well after being full of wine and food, Xiaobai doesn't meditate anymore, he sleeps on the bed, and it is the middle of the night when he wakes up, and he doesn't know what time it is. Before setting off in the morning, Xiaobai jumped excitedly, two meters away, Xiaobai's fist wind could extinguish the candle, and the body felt full of strength, Xiaobai had a feeling of eagerness to try.
Although this road is said to be eating and sleeping, but very calm, every time the carriage arrives at a place, it will be transferred to the local carriage and horse, the companions on the road are more or less, Xiaobai is not very accommodating, meditating on the car during the day to practice "Changchun Gong", stopping at the hotel at night to practice body boxing, and the progress is very fast, now Xiaobai can penetrate the three or five inches thick plank, Xiaobai is excited.
On the morning of the ninth day, the coachman said that he would be able to go to Leshan tomorrow. Passing through a small town called Dazhu, two passengers came up one after the other.
A young man who got into the car first, with a simple face, a dark complexion, a bow and arrows on his back, dressed as a hunter, brought up a cage, covered by a black cloth, saw Xiaobai grinning at Xiaobai, sat next to Xiaobai, took out a piece of cooked meat from the frame he carried, and took out a dagger to eat meat.
After a while, another old man came up, looking very obscene, and his eyes were full of shrewdness, as if he was chasing this young man, and when he came up, he said to this young man: "Fifth Brother Zhang, the price I give is not low! You go to Jinguancheng to inquire, can a piece of skin be sold for ten taels?"
The young man known as Fifth Brother Zhang ignored the shopkeeper, cut off a piece of meat and gave it to Xiaobai and said, "Little brother, eat meat!"
Xiaobai smelled the smell of meat, unceremoniously took it and ate it, even said thank you! I don't know what kind of meat, it tastes like beef, it is very delicious, Zhang Wuge smiled and said: "Zhangzi meat!
The old man swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said to Fifth Brother Zhang: "Fifth Brother Zhang, how about it? Ten taels of silver is a lot, enough for you to build two tiled houses and take a daughter-in-law!"
Fifth Brother Zhang said: "This purple fox, I saw it for the first time in five years of hunting, and I didn't sell it for ten taels of silver when Zhang Yuan went out in the west! This skin is added to a big tail, and it is just right for the rich lady in the city to make a scarf! I don't believe it, when I arrive in Jinguan City, no one will give twenty taels of silver?
The old man swallowed another mouthful of saliva and said hurriedly: "Twenty taels? Why don't you go and grab it? Jinguancheng doesn't go three or five times a month? I don't know what the market is? A good East China Sea mink coat is only twenty taels of silver! If you go to Jinguancheng, you will go back and forth for at least two or three days, and when you arrive at Jinguancheng, it is a big city, and it costs ten copper coins to drink saliva, and three or five copper coins to sit on a bench, in case you can't sell it, do you have the money to come back? Sell it to me now, ten taels of silver, and I will also give you the money for the car, so as not to delay you to go up the mountain to hunt tomorrow!"
Xiaobai listened to the old man fooling Fifth Brother Zhang, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Fifth Brother Zhang was a little moved, after all, he only hunted and had never been to Jinguan City, he was a little apprehensive, seeing Xiaobai smiling, he smiled and said to the shopkeeper Wan: "Look, this little brother is smiling!"
The shopkeeper Wan glared at Xiao Bai fiercely and said, "Fifth Brother Zhang is also playing tricks, give me a happy word, okay or not? No, I'll get out of the car! I'll add you another tael of silver, is there more!"
Fifth Brother Zhang was a little moved: "You add more?"
The old treacherous shopkeeper sighed and said: "Eleven taels of silver, if it works, it will be sold, and if it doesn't work, it will be pulled down!"
Xiao Bai thought to himself, it turns out that this 10,000 shopkeeper is not to take a car, but to buy a purple fox from the little brother! I'm afraid this purple fox is not only worth one or twenty taels of silver, Xiao Bai's brain turned quickly in an instant, this purple fox has no local market, even if the shopkeeper is fifteen taels, I am afraid it is bound to win, then the purple fox must be more than twenty taels when he arrives in a big city like Jinguancheng, Xiao Bai thought about reminding Fifth Brother Zhang not to be deceived by this old man.
Xiaobai couldn't bear to be fooled by Fifth Brother Zhang, so he said, "Brother Zhang, what purple fox, can you let me take a look?"
Fifth Brother Zhang lifted the cover of the cage, and Xiaobai saw a purple fox in the cage, with shiny fur, looking very beautiful and cute, curled up and licking the wounds on his front legs, with big eyes and tears looking at him. Xiaobai's heart felt an inexplicable pain. Fifth Brother Zhang immediately put down the cloth and said to Xiaobai cautiously: "Little brother, the fox is human, you must not stare at it, be careful to be fascinated." My mother said that in the past, many hunters caught foxes and let them go, not to mention, they even committed suicide, but they were fascinated by foxes, and I didn't dare to look at its eyes when I caught this fox!"
Xiao Bai didn't speak for a long time, the carriage set off, and the shopkeeper Wan didn't get off, it seemed that he would not give up until he got this purple fox, and the patience of the merchant should not be underestimated. Fifth Brother Zhang was disturbed by Xiaobai, but he was not in a hurry to sell it to the shopkeeper Wan!
The three people in the car fell silent, only the sound of the hunter brother eating meat, in this awkward silence, seemed a little harsh. Xiao Bai remembered those desperate eyes, plucked up the courage and said, "Brother Zhang, can you sell me the fox?"
Fifth Brother Zhang looked at Xiaobai with a smile and said, "Little brother, you won't be fascinated by this purple fox, right?"
Shopkeeper Wan also sneered contemptuously: "Hairy boy, how many taels of silver do you have?
Xiaobai untied his burden, took out all the silver, paid three taels for the fare, and spent dozens of dollars on the road, and now there are seven taels and twenty-eight dollars left. Xiaobai took the silver in his hand and said, That's all. The shopkeeper said: "I gave eleven taels, but I didn't sell them to me, little hairy boy, you are less than seven taels!"
Fifth Brother Zhang was embarrassed: "Little brother, I expect to go to Jinguancheng to exchange for twenty taels of silver, and go home to build a house and marry a daughter-in-law!"
The three fell silent again. Xiao Bai tore up the meat given by Fifth Brother Zhang and put it in his hand and put it in the cage, through the cloth, Xiao Bai could feel that the fox was eating the minced meat in his hand. Xiaobai said: "Fifth Brother Zhang, shall I wrap it up?"
Fifth Brother Zhang closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, but did not speak. Xiaobai tore off a piece of the baggage, lifted the cage cloth, and reached in to clumsily bandage the fox's injured leg.
There was silence again in the carriage, and the shopkeeper's eyes were purring, not knowing what he was thinking. Xiaobai is also trying to save this fox no matter what, and when he thinks that it will be skinned, in order to put her fur on his body and put it on his neck, Xiaobai is inexplicably heartbroken!