On the fifth day of February, the spring rain arrived.

At night, the darkness spreads. The drizzling rain, like a knife, cut through the shroud of bitterness. The drizzle fell to the ground, turning into droplets, spreading clouds of mist, and turning into another barrier, cutting off the sound of heaven and earth.

The first rain of spring, accompanied by the warming footsteps. However, for the small inn in this remote port at this time, it dilutes some of the heat of the indoor hustle and bustle. In the port of Lizhou in the southeast of the Southern Zhao Kingdom, this place is the sea of waves to the east, and there is no home for ten miles away in the west, south and north directions. Therefore, this only inn has become one of the few footholds for travelers from the south to the north.

As the night deepened, the inn was still brightly lit, and the guests at the table pushed their glasses and changed their lamps, listening to the stories told by the storyteller in the lobby, while exchanging different opinions with their companions. The hustle and bustle of the conversation promoted the fiery atmosphere, making the huge "Treasure Pavilion" three big-character signboards in front of the inn vaguely reflect the bright light.

It was noisy here, and only the young Qiu Shaohu was leaning against the counter alone, settling accounts and recording accounts quickly with a brush, bored.

Occasionally glancing out of the window, he saw that the beads were falling outside, and the rain was getting heavier, covering up the noise of the room, so he couldn't help but nod his head and say to himself: "Good rain knows the season, when spring happens." ”

Then he yawned again, looked a little tired, stretched his waist and said, "The spring rain is as precious as oil, and it is the time to fall asleep." ”

The limerick was recited, and then he lay on the counter, with a childish spirit between his eyebrows, and his eyes that were as smart as a torch also showed a little laziness.

"Xiao Qiu, another pot of tea!" The guests at the table suddenly greeted him.

"Oh, here we are!" Qiu Shaohu immediately got up, took the rag that wiped the table in one hand, and carried a teapot in the other, and walked quickly to the table that called him. Put away the dishes, wipe down the table, and pour the tea in one go. In the youthful spirit, with the ability to take things for granted.

This table is close to the middle hall, which is the position of the storyteller, and the storyteller's clear voice depicts the scene as if he was there: "That is Yundi Village under the snow-capped mountains, the fire is soaring, the blood is dripping, and the tragedy of destroying the village is vivid." But the gang didn't expect that one of the survivors would run out in the end......"

The storyteller's storyteller, called "The Legend of Revenge in the Clouds", is the most popular story in the town lately.

"Hey, Xiao Qiu, you said that you are so nimble and literate, why do you have to go all the way to the capital." A diner said, "That place is unfamiliar with the people, and the people of the capital are above the top, and they look down on us in the remote countryside." Wouldn't it be best if you just stayed here and became a door-to-door son-in-law for the boss's wife? When the time comes, let's join together and eat your wine! ”

Everyone burst into laughter, and there was no malice in the laughter.

Everyone is already familiar with the details of this young man. The young scholar of the Han family bid farewell to his mother and hometown, and traveled thousands of miles to the capital in order to gain fame, and slept all the way, but stopped in their small place, and the reason was extremely realistic—his entanglement was used up.

If you continue to walk by land, it will not hurt, it is nothing more than looking for some wild fruits when you are hungry and sleeping under a tree when you are sleepy. But then from Lizhou to Jingshi, how do you have to take the sea route to Chaomen City first, and then transfer inland water transportation to Kangjing, how can you not do without the word "water". If you don't have the money to take a boat, you can't move an inch.

Fortunately, there are still several months before the entrance examination, and the innkeeper has taken him in, and Qiu Shaohu has been able to work as a helper here to continue to earn travel expenses. In addition to settling accounts and doing miscellaneous work, daily work is to contribute one's own good pen and ink.

The standard official book of the Taiwan Cabinet specially practiced by the scholars for the imperial examination is horizontal and vertical, neat and generous, whether it is recorded or carved, it is extremely beautiful. After Qiu Shaohu came, the words on the plaque were changed by his own hands, changing the original "Fengyue Inn" to "Jinbao Zhai". In his words, "Most of the guests who come and go to the inn are merchants and goods, and they are very wealth-seeking and informal, and it is better to wish them a wide range of wealth than to promote elegance." The name of 'Jinbao' is a good luck, and guests are willing to come in and sit more. ”

Not only did the proprietress allow him to change the signboard, but now there are two couplets in front of the inn, which are also written by Qiu Shaohu himself:

"The wind passes through the clouds, and the guests chase the silver moon for thousands of miles."

"The waves pass through the tide sea, and the wealth opens a golden road."

Lizhou is remote, the sea is windy and rough, and the climate is harsh. It's just that the geography is limited, and the merchants can only pass through here, and there is no other choice, so there are many complaints. But in Qiu Shaohu's pen, the wind and waves have become a good omen for sending them a bright future, and it seems much more festive. In addition to praise, I also have a little more appreciation for this new young guy.

is usually teased like this, and Qiu Shaohu doesn't care. It's just that another voice came from the ear: "This master really torments me, Xiao Qiu will definitely soar in the future, how dare I leave him here." I can borrow his light and add a blessing to my small shop, and the concubine will be satisfied. ”

The soft voice overshadowed the thousands of noises in the lobby. Except for the storyteller, everyone involuntarily stopped their voices, and even lowered their breathing, staring at the stairs with a pair of eyes.

A lady walked down from the second floor slowly, with a generous demeanor. The purple gauze skirt hugged her, cascading down her snow-white skin like a waterfall. Although the years have left some traces in the corners of her eyes, they still can't hide her style. The long lanterns hanging high upstairs are soft and the light falls like a veil, reflecting the gorgeous ornaments on the bun, and the graceful face seems to be glowing.

The proprietress of the inn, Chu Jieyun, has been running this inn since her husband died a few years ago, and she is over thirty years old but the charm still exists, not only in the small town of Lizhou, but also within a radius of 100 miles are quite famous. Merchants who heard its name wanted to get a glimpse of it, because most of the customers of the small shop came because of the proprietress alone.

"Mrs. Chu's words are wrong, and you didn't ask your guy what he thinks, how can he make a decision for him."

It was the ruffian who sat alone in one place who spoke, he was a lot of idle people in the local area, but every time he came here, he seemed to be very regular, at least in Qiu Shaohu's eyes, he was a qualified guest who never owed debts.

"To gain fame, although you can ascend to the sky in one step, you are finally confined to that imperial city, and you are a slave of the emperor's old man, where can you be free to travel all over the world. If you don't see the world with your own eyes, your life will be boring. If you are lucky, you can find the legendary fairy island outside the world, and it is a free escape that the emperor can't ask for. ”

The ruffian shook his head, very proud of his high-minded talk.

There was a lot of coaxing in the four people, and they all wanted Qiu Shaohu to express their opinions. Before Qiu Shaohu could answer, another figure came in from outside, and before the person arrived, the voice had arrived, and he shouted loudly: "Open me a first-class guest room, I'm going to do big business tomorrow!" ”

"Yo, isn't this Boss Li, I met the God of Wealth again, how many guest rooms are there, let my guy take you there." Chu Jieyun motioned to Qiu Shaohu, and the young man immediately caught up, took Boss Li's big bag and small wraps, and walked towards the second floor.

The sudden person interrupted everyone's topic, which made people bored for a while. Soon, however, someone beckoned the proprietress to drink with them, and the rest of the diners began to laugh and laugh again. Chu Niangzi coped with them on the one hand, and on the other hand, she was hospitable from time to time, which can be said to be at ease. Qiu Shaohu also came down from the second floor soon after, and when he heard someone asking him to add wine, he was busy helping out.

In the hustle and bustle, the night is getting deeper.

It was past four o'clock, and most of the drinkers were gone. The inn was about to close, and only a few people were still here. Outside the house, the rain fell like waves, and it seemed that there was a strong wind blowing from the open sea, and it gradually became a torrential rain.

The storyteller slapped the wood and finished the last story. I put away the folding fan, poured a cup of tea to moisten my throat, and got up to leave.

"There is Mr. Lao, this is today's account." Chu Jieyun took out the money from today's accounts and handed it to the storyteller, which was the reward that the other party deserved. The storyteller took a few pieces of broken silver, weighed them, and without looking at them, put them in his pocket, walked out of the door with his things, and disappeared into the vast night rain.

"And yours, this is today's wages." A few more copper plates were handed over to Qiu Shaohu, who was keeping accounts on the side, and Qiu Shaohu took them over to check, no more, no less, exactly ten wen, and couldn't help but say to himself: "It's enough to eat a day's baked cakes." ”

"Hahaha, Xiao Qiu, you can be content." Among the few guests left, the one who spoke now was obviously drunk, and said with a drunken and unscrupulous attitude: "More than 20 years ago, the imperial court crossed to the south and threw the old capital and the great rivers and mountains in the north to the Dingguo Tao family and the barbarian slaves of Luzhou, and ended up being the emperor behind closed doors in Kangjing. But for you, the road to be taken is half less, and the entanglement can be less than half prepared, you say, isn't that a good thing? ”

The guests used the strength of the wine to talk louder and louder, and everyone could hear it in the empty lobby.

Just as he was talking energetically, a sharp wind paved the surface with a heavy momentum. Caught off guard, the guest fell on his back under the chair, covering his mouth and bleeding, and two broken front teeth were clearly visible in the fragments of the ceramic bowl on the ground.

"Nonsense, it should be beaten!" A tall and thin man sat at a table not far away, but there was a bowl missing in front of him. Opposite sat a ragged woman, but one hand was tied with a chain, and she didn't dare to look up.

The man looks emaciated, but his muscles and bones are bursting up from under the skin, and he looks strong and powerful. The face is boxy, the skin is dark, like a piece of basalt carved out, and there is a small scar from the side of the face to the neck.

It seems that this man is a sergeant with unarmored armor, and he has experienced many bloody battles.

Seeing the guests get up in embarrassment, the sergeant stared at the people and said coldly: "The soldiers are fighting on the front line, not for people like you to chew their tongues in the back!" The barbarians in Luzhou are ferocious and bloodthirsty, and the northern pottery thieves are cunning and betrayal, even if we are invincible, but every inch of land lost is the last drop of blood shed by the soldiers, and they have no choice but to drop it. There is no blood for us, and there is no peace for you! If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will spare you, and my dead brothers will come to you in the middle of the night to ask for your life! ”

The sergeant's words, with an invisible and captivating atmosphere, made people shudder. The drinker immediately sobered up for the most part, and no longer dared to look at the other party, so he immediately got up and crawled away.

"Hmph, bloody battles and invincible battles, what you say is really good." But at this moment, another voice dared to touch the sergeant's brow.

Leaning against a table in the doorway, sat a new craftsman. He was passing through this small town in search of work, and the hammer and saw were placed on the ground, but the huge hammer head was much smaller than his rough hands.

Hearing the sergeant's words, the craftsman put down the wine bowl and said with a sneer: "I have also worked for the army, just for them to fight a knife, three catties of iron can give me a pound and eight pounds, it is not as good as my firewood knife!" The army is not good at fighting, and every day it studies the matter of drilling camps to trick up, and it deserves to be defeated. If the border army had half of what you said, the warships of Langguo in Luzhou would not be in the open sea all day long, so those of us who live by the sea would also be worried. I see that those brothers of yours really know how to know, and they should have come to you first! ”

The cold words, accompanied by the loud sound of rain outside, were like thousands of troops roaring on the impact. The two men glared at each other, and they didn't let go.

"Oh, it's raining too much, lady, borrow your shelter from the rain, and give me a bowl of warm ......" A hawker hurriedly ran into the house with a flat pole. As soon as I took a step, I felt the tension in the lobby, and I hesitated for a while, "That, I'm wrong?" ”

"Hey, interesting." The ruffian hasn't left yet, watching the play on the sidelines.

"It's okay, you sit down. The other two, don't quarrel, what the hell, what a ghost, my guy is knowledgeable, he is upright, with him, ordinary ghosts don't dare to approach. Chu Jieyun smiled slightly, walked to the middle of the two, and stopped their quarrel.

"It's a pity that righteousness can't be exchanged for wages." Qiu Shaohu muttered, beckoned the vendor to sit down, and after adding a bowl of wine to him, he returned to the counter and took a nap with his head propped up.

"Humph!" The sergeant and the craftsman also sat down separately, and there were only a few people in the inn, and there was silence for a while.

Qiu Shaohu opened his eyes slightly and looked out the window.

Under the black clouds, the torrential rain was like a dense stream of arrows, reflecting the cold light in the cold. It's a boundless obstacle, and you can't see any light anymore. The picturesque place is a prison, and the whole world is trapped in the glimmer of this small inn.

Half of the Akikuni, the last dark night, has not yet fully arrived, but it can't illuminate Kyushu.

"Bang!" A man pushed the door in, menacing, and the sudden situation scared half of the vendor's wine.

The person who came was wearing a soap-colored plate-collared robe, holding a self-defense knife, and wearing an official token, dressed like an official, but he was a local county lieutenant.

The county lieutenant didn't care so much, and after looking around, he said coldly: "Where is Boss Li?" ”

"He should still be upstairs, just in the first ......" As soon as Qiu Shaohu's words fell, he saw the county lieutenant rushing straight to the second floor with lightning speed.

The incident happened suddenly, and everyone present was inexplicable, whether it was a ruffian, a sergeant, etc., they couldn't help but follow.

"What's wrong?" Qiu Shaohu ran at the end, and saw that everyone was gathered at the gate, his face gloomy. followed everyone's gaze, but saw that in the open door, Boss Li was lying on the bed, with a black face and round eyes, and he didn't know when he had died.

Just now, a murder happened when everyone didn't know it!

"Oops!" Qiu Shaohu said suddenly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"He hasn't paid for the store yet." Qiu Shaohu is a matter of course.