In Qiupu County, Chizhou, there is a barren mountain, called "Qi Mountain". The clouds of Qishan are steaming and the clouds are blue, and the mountains are stacked and green, which is magnificent. It's a pity that although the mountain is magnificent, it is finally a little less famous, so it is rarely visited.

At the foot of Qi Mountain, there is a small mountain village. The small mountain village is hidden in a mist that seems to be real and illusory. The mist was as cool as water, chilling the quiet and peaceful land on this side.

In the middle of the night, all the men, women and children in the village fell asleep, and the dim moonlight seemed to be going to sleep. Even the wild cats, which go out at night to feed, gently step on the shriveled meat pads, for fear of breaking the tranquility of the village.

This quiet village was silent in darkness, except for a pair of dark yellow lanterns in front of a small inn on the west side of the village, still trembling in the autumn wind.

Don't look at the fact that this inn is only a two-story building, and the mottled and dilapidated façade seems to be blown away by a gust of wind, but it has received countless years of ups and downs intact. No one can remember how many years this inn has been open, this inn is like Qi Mountain behind the village, silently stationed on this land, reluctant to move half a step.

Although the inn is not big, it is also well-equipped. On the first floor, there are 412 square tables in length and width, each table can seat about 10 people, and the second floor is a guest room. Despite the name of the guest room, it is actually a small cottage with two beds, and that's it. There are also sixteen such rooms. In the backyard, there are four upper rooms in the east and west wings, and the north room is used for the shopkeeper's household.

He had never seen so many guests come to the inn since the innkeeper had taken over from his father. Decades of desertion have almost made him forget how an inn should receive guests. Fortunately, there is only one inn in the small village, and the farmers and woodcutters also frequented it on weekdays, drinking wine, eating vegetables, chatting about homely things, and passing the time. There are also newlyweds who are married, and the old man is waiting for the banquet to entertain, so that he will cook some food. Now, the craft is useful.

"Xiao Er, another plate of sauced beef, two catties of daughter red, you don't have to look for the rest of the money!" Among the guests at the table by the window, a strong man with a big shoulder and a round waist took out a tael of white silver from his waist, slapped it on the table, and shouted loudly.

I saw this strong man, with a leopard's head and eyes, a dark face, naked and naked, straddling the long bench, holding a large bowl of wine in his hand and pushing glasses with the guests at the same table. The drink flowed down the corners of the strong man's mouth and passed through the muscles of explosive power in front of his strong chest, and the light refracted by the drink, making the strong man's muscles appear more shiny.

This strong man has drunk eight catties of liquor in a row, but his face is only red, and there is no difference in his behavior, sitting and lying down, and he is a good man.

When this guest first arrived at the inn, the shopkeeper just glanced at him from a distance, and he was scared into a cold sweat. At first glance, the guest's face seemed to be entrenched in a slender centipede with a brown and red body, and it was announcing its territory to the surrounding eyes. When the customer approached, the shopkeeper realized that it was not a centipede, but a long, narrow scar with deep bones.

However, this scar is no cuter than a centipede.

Fortunately, the guest personality is very easy-going. Seeing the shopkeeper looking at him stupidly, and not knowing how to greet customers, he already knew in his heart that this child was afraid that he was frightened by his hideous appearance. So he smiled mildly at Xiao Er and said, "Little brother, what's the matter?" Haven't seen a scar, have you? When you were young, you were a little injured on your face, but it didn't scare you, right? ”

Although the guest looked vicious, the fierce face when he laughed instantly became much thicker. Seeing his smile, the shopkeeper was no longer as scared as before, and after listening to his explanation, the last fear seemed to drift away with the breeze outside the door, and he felt a little close to this strong man.

At this time, hearing the strong man beckoning him, the shopkeeper immediately took the wine and meat and sent it to the table for the strong man, but he did not accept the strong man's silver.

"Little brother, why don't you charge for wine?" The strong man looked at the shopkeeper who was about to turn around and leave, and asked.

"Guest officer, the money you gave for the drink before is enough, and this money can't be collected anymore anyway."

"The extra money given before is a reward for you, and you just accept it. I've seen a lot of young people, but there are really not many people like you who are not greedy for money and are not slippery, and today I am happy, and you can take this money as a reward for you. Don't be in a hurry to refuse, you're not too young, you never thought that one day in the future, you would walk out of the foot of this Qi Mountain and see the outside world? ”

The shopkeeper originally just shook his head and refused to accept the money, but when he heard the strong man mention the world outside the mountain, his eyes flashed, he was really moved, for children who grew up at the foot of the mountain since childhood, the world outside the mountain is naturally full of rainbow-like mystery.

The strong man saw that the child's eyes were shining, and knew that his mind was alive, so he picked up the silver and gave it to the child, but the shopkeeper still just shook his head and resolutely refused to accept the silver.

When the strong man saw this, he had no choice but to give up.

The shopkeeper smiled and watched as the shopkeeper refused to accept the strong man's silver. For this silver, in the eyes of the shopkeeper, it is okay to accept it, and it doesn't hurt not to accept it. After all, loyal people do business, and some of them make enough money. The second child of this shop is not an outsider, but is actually the only son of the shopkeeper. The inn was originally a cold business, and the daily income was just barely enough to be self-sufficient, and the shopkeeper could not afford to hire a man, so he had to do his own accounting room and also be the head of the kitchen, and the daughter-in-law helped to do it, and the teenage son did not have his father's cooking skills, so he helped the family entertain guests.

The shopkeeper's son is in his early tens, dull, and his fat flesh wraps him tightly, if this child laughs, he must be as endearing as a big-bellied Maitreya Buddha, but he always has a serious and dull face, like a little gentleman. Such a child is born with a lack of aura, and I am afraid that he will not be able to be a shrewd businessman in the future. Fortunately, he doesn't make any mistakes in serving tea and pouring water on weekdays, and he is even more sincere in honoring his parents at home. The shopkeeper knew that he wanted to make the business of this ancestral inn bigger and stronger, and he was afraid that he would not be able to count on this son. But for this son, he is still very satisfied. Raising children to prevent old age, no matter how smart a mind is, it is not as valuable as a filial piety. What's more, he didn't expect this son to be very promising, after all, he was his only seedling, and he only hoped that this son would inherit his inn and live his life as his duty, just be safe.

The shopkeeper sent his son to entertain the guests, and at the same time peeked at the gold lords and guests. Although he didn't have much contact with people from outside the village on weekdays, he understood that it was very uncommon for a high roller to be able to casually throw out a silver or two just to eat a few glasses of turbid wine and a plate of beef, even in the county's restaurants. What's more, these high rollers are not just rich. These guests were dressed in short clothes, the exposed parts of their arms were all hard muscles, their eyes were shining fiercely, and the densely wrapped cloth behind each of them was probably a real iron guy.

"I'm afraid it's not a few bandits who want to settle in Qishan, right?" The shopkeeper thought in horror that he was afraid that if he didn't serve well, his family would have to meet again in the next life.

Although they are afraid, this group of people is absolutely unprovoked, not to mention that these people are really magnificent. The shopkeeper thought about it, if these bandits really wanted to kill here, I am afraid that they would not give him such a generous reward. The money earned in one day today is enough to tell his son that a good girl still has enough money. I talked to my daughter-in-law about this a few days ago, and the daughter of the blacksmith's house next door looks very good. If his son has a daughter-in-law, he can fill in a big fat grandson for himself. I don't have the ability, just this one seedling, don't cut off the roots of my son. It is better for the son to have a few more children, carry forward the family, and he can hand over the hotel to him, tease his grandchildren, and enjoy the joy of family. Thinking about it, I didn't realize that I was thinking far, and the anxiety in my heart was relaxed a little, and I was even more happy to see the beautiful life in the future.

The shopkeeper was thinking about the gains and losses, but the people at the wine table were pushing their glasses and changing their glasses, and at the same time whispering something to each other. The scene was also harmonious.

I didn't feel that it was getting late, and the sleepy moon finally couldn't resist the deep sleep, and fell asleep deeply, and there were only black clouds in the sky.

The shopkeeper saw that it was getting late, and all the guests in the inn wanted to stay overnight, so he wanted to close the door.

As he walked towards the door, a strong fragrance of flowers came to his nose.