on Jixiang Street.

Ning Nian and the old cha had already rushed back to the post house.

The old man plugged the latch upside down, and before the two of them could sit down, they heard the sound of chains outside the door.

The old man immediately scolded: "The thunder tiger of the dog day, even Lao Tzu can't believe it." ”

Someone outside heard the old man's scolding, and immediately replied: "Wu Ye is angry, our helper is also for your good, after all, we can't guess Ning Xiaocha's temper, you don't think about him, you have to think about yourself." ”

The old man snorted coldly and ignored it, found two wooden stools and placed them next to the brazier, and beckoned to Ning Nian.

Ning Nian sat down and had nothing to do.

He stared at the strange jumping flames in the brazier.

The old man then sat down, took out a small wine jug from his arms, took a sip, and asked, "Do you want to drink?" ”

Ning Nian shook his head.

The old man was slightly disappointed: "Young man, one can't make a knife, the other can't drink, and his life is a little boring." ”

Ning Nian looked up blankly, looked at the knife and then at the wine, and did not make a choice.

The old poor man didn't force it, and poured a big sip of wine.

Ning Nian looked at the old errand and suddenly felt that he should find something to do, so he got up and came to the center of the room, his back was straight, his feet were slowly separated and his shoulders were at the same level, his legs were slightly bent, and his palms were placed on both sides of his waist, and he made a fist start.

The old man was stunned, and he didn't swallow a sip of wine and unconsciously flowed into his throat.

"Ahem...... Ahem......! ”

The old man was choked for the first time in decades, coughed violently, his thin and wrinkled old face was swollen red, and a sip of wine squirted out, and a tongue of fire burst out of the brazier to swallow the wine in an instant.

Fortunately, the old man was not too close to the brazier, otherwise this tongue of fire would have burned his eyebrows.

Ning Nian did not stop the movements in his hands, his body was stretched, his breath was even, he played very seriously, every move and style were as flawless as possible, and every punch he threw gave people a feeling of naturalness, which was very good-looking.

Ning Nian had practiced this set of boxing techniques no less than a thousand times, and while he slowly handed his fist forward, he turned his head and asked with concern, "Master Wu, are you okay?" ”

The old man's voice was already a little hoarse, but now his speech was even more indistinct, and he cleared his throat and said embarrassedly: "Do you practice boxing when you have nothing to do on weekdays?" ”

Ning Nian replied while punching: "Well, sometimes I can't sleep during the day, and I will go to the school on Ruixiang Street to secretly learn literacy." ”

The old poor man liked Ning Nian's child very much, he stared at Ning Nian for a while, and noticed that this set of boxing techniques was wide open and closed, both offensive and defensive, not like a wild road, so he asked: "This punch was taught to you by Ning Yuanshan?" ”

Ning Nian nodded and said: "Well, my father taught me to practice this set of boxing since I can remember, but unfortunately I was stubborn and didn't know how to cherish it when I was a child, so I didn't study hard, and then I learned that I learned it seriously, but it was too late." ”

The old man knew Ning Nian's life experience, knew what he was referring to, took a sip of wine, sighed, and stared at the brazier for a moment.

Inside the inn.

The firelight flickered.

One old and one young.

One drinks.

A punch.

After a long time, the old man finally came back to his senses, and he saw that Ning Nian's forehead was sweating slightly, so he said, "Ning boy." ”

Ning Nian didn't stop moving in his hands.

The old poor man knew that Ning Nian was listening carefully, so he continued: "Your temperament should be changed, if you continue like this, you will suffer a big loss sooner or later." ”

Ning Nian paused, thought about it, got up and put away his fists, and went directly to the brazier and sat down.

He looked at the old poor man and said with a serious face: "I was in the gambling house just now, I thank you very much." ”

The old man waved his hand freely and freely to signal that he didn't need to mention it again, but continued: "I know you have a stubborn temper, but I still want to say that we are soft-spoken, and many times we don't need to be so serious about doing things, and this Black Tiger Gang is not as simple as you think." ”

Ning Nian knew that the old poor man was for his own good, so he nodded and didn't say anything.

The old messenger continued: "According to common sense, at least four or five errand officers should be stationed in a post house, but over the years, apart from me, the government has never sent a young man here, that is, you, they saw that you were young and your family lived nearby, so they didn't take you to heart, so they transferred you over." ”

Ning Nian listened very carefully, and saw that the fire in the brazier was gradually weakening, so he picked up the burning stick on the side and pestle it a few times.

The old poor man also stared at the brazier and persuaded: "Try not to provoke the Black Tiger Gang, even if the Great Zhou Law is strict, we can't afford to provoke it." ”

The fire in the brazier grew stronger.

Ning Nian stared at the flames and suddenly said: "My family used to live in Suzaku Street, I remember that there was an old locust tree with a crooked neck in front of the door, when I was a child, I often begged my mother to put me on the tree, so that I could see the excitement in the distance, I was happy, and my mother laughed." ”

Under the firelight.

The old man stared at the slightly green face, and he understood that this hard-working child was willing to tell him about the past, which meant that he had regarded himself as the closest person, so he listened silently.

Ning Nian continued to mutter: "Later, my father received the edict, and he left for more than a year, and he didn't come back suddenly until the end of the second year, but since then, he has been ill and has never recovered. ”

"In order to treat my father's illness, my mother sold everything she could sell, and finally we moved from Suzaku Street to Ronghua Lane, but although life was hard at that time, I was not sad."

Later, my mother also fell ill, and in the end she didn't survive that winter. Before her death, my mother kept telling me that I must live well and be a good person, and my mother also said that I should do more good deeds, so that although the blessing has not come, the disaster has been far away. ”

"After my mother left, I firmly remembered everything she said, and I didn't dare to forget it."

"Later, only my father and I were left in the house, and my father was lying in bed and regretting every day, saying that he was sorry for me and my mother, and let us both suffer with him, and I could see that he was really regretful and sad. I didn't know how to comfort him at that time, in fact, I always wanted to say to him, my mother didn't blame him at all, and I didn't blame him. ”

"But until my father died, I didn't say these words."

"After my father and mother are gone, there is really nothing left in the house except a bed, and I am scared at night, so I cover my head with a quilt, thinking about my father, thinking about my mother, thinking about the thoughts they left me, thinking about the truth that my mother taught, and thinking about the boxing techniques taught by my father."

"I cherish these thoughts, and I don't dare not cherish them, after all, there are not many things, and if I forget them, there will really be nothing."

Ning Nian's expression was calm, as if the things he was telling had nothing to do with him.

The old man's heart trembled, a little uncomfortable, he was used to seeing life and death in his life, and he could naturally understand Ning Nian's feelings, until this time he finally understood why Ning Nian's temperament was so stubborn sometimes.

It turned out that this hard-working child took his mother's teachings and his father's identity as relics.

Although he doesn't say it, he has always practiced it.

He did what his mother said, he inherited his father's identity as a fast catcher, he wanted to save money to buy back the old house on Suzaku Street, climb the old locust tree with a crooked neck, and take a look at the bustle of the street......

He......

There's a lot more to do.

The old man sighed secretly, moved the wooden stool, forced the wine jug into the young man's hand, and said, "Taste it, young man, how can you not drink." ”

Ning Nian held the wine jug and thought for a long time, but finally followed the example of the old poor man and poured a big sip violently.

Bad wine is hard to swallow in the mouth.

Ning Nian didn't know how to drink, relying on his youth and vigor, he endured the sour and hot taste and swallowed it in one gulp.

The bad wine entered the throat, and the throat instantly felt as hot and painful as a knife, and then this pain flowed downstream, and finally came to the lower abdomen and exploded, turning into a warm current and gradually disappearing.

Ning Nian's choked eyes burst into tears, and he forced his cough to say in a hoarse voice: "It's not delicious." ”

The old poor man smiled and said, "You know a fart!" ”

Ning Nian also smiled: "It feels quite comfortable." ”

The old man looked at him kindly and said with a smile: "Yes, you don't care if the wine is good or not, it's this comfortable drink." ”

Ning Nian nodded after hearing this, but handed the wine jug back, stood up and continued to practice boxing.

The old man did not go back to the house, but then snuggled into a chaise longue, covered with a quilt and closed his eyes to recuperate.

……

Outside the inn.

It's dark at night.

The vendors on Taixiang Street who have been busy all day have few people closing their stalls and closing their doors to rest, and the number of pedestrians has gradually begun to decrease.

The other end of the street.

Not far from Suzaku Street, there is a green house called Yichun Garden.

The Qinglou was full of people, and the dusty woman leaning on the door waved her sleeves, hooked the railing and sang songs, and kept greeting the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

The second floor of Yee Chun Court.

In a private room.

The interior of the house is beautifully decorated and magnificent.

A group of dancers are dancing in the middle, and the singers behind the screen are full of music.

In front of the dancers, a group of men and women sat on the ground with their backs against the low couch.

In the crowd, two handsome young men were wearing open clothes and chest leaks, hugging left and right, so unhappy.

One of the older youths had a blushing face and hazy eyes. He held a delicate wine jug in one hand, and the other hand wandered back and forth on the woman's body, the woman couldn't stand the itch, leaning on the young man's arms and smiling coquettishly.

Another young man looked proud, and also pointed at the older young man with a wine jug and said, "Du Gongzi, how does that foreign woman taste?" ”

The young man known as Du Gongzi withdrew his hand, leaned into the woman's arms, handed the wine jug to his mouth, took two sips with the tip of the spout, and laughed with a blurred eye: "It's really the most beautiful in the world, so wonderful!" ”

"Hahaha......"

The younger youth laughed wildly when he heard this.

Du Gongzi also laughed wildly.

Du Gongzi smiled and lay sideways on the woman's lap, stretched out his left hand and slowly slid his index finger on the woman's face, and sighed: "Why didn't I know that there was such a fairyland in the south of the city. ”

The younger young man smiled: "Chang'an City is so big, it's not surprising that you don't know, even I only knew about this place by coincidence, thinking that there is such a good place in the south of the city, how can I forget Du Dagongzi, after finishing school today, I will quickly run out and ask you to come here to talk about it, hahahaha." ”

Du Gongzi laughed wildly and said, "Those who know me, Brother Chen." ”

The younger young man raised his hand and pointed at Du Gongzi and said, "Like-minded, like-minded!" ”

The two looked at each other and laughed maniacally again.

It's just that Du Gongzi smiled and suddenly sighed.

The younger young man didn't know why, and asked, "What troubles does Du Gongzi have?" ”

Du Gongzi lay on the woman's lap, his expression was a little depressed: "Chen Gongzi doesn't know, I've been bored to death recently, my father locks me up at home every day to read and write, if it weren't for my mother saying today that she would go to Baiyunguan to repay her vows, I would have a chance to sneak out, otherwise you won't be able to see me." ”

A hint of cunning flashed in the eyes of the younger young man, and it was fleeting, and he pretended to be surprised: "It shouldn't be, why did Du Gongzi's family style suddenly become so harsh?" ”

Du Gongzi burped, sighed and said: "My father thinks I only care about pleasure every day, and I don't end preaching every day, I listen to it with a big head, I couldn't help it a few days ago, and accidentally refuted two sentences, I didn't want to directly make the old man angry, and cut off my monthly silver, brother, I am really poor and penniless now." ”

Chen Gongzi rolled his eyes and said indifferently: "What big deal should I be, isn't it silver, how much do you want, Young Master Ben doesn't have anything else, just a lot of money!" ”

Du Gongzi struggled to get up when he heard this, got up from the gentle township, shook his head and said: "The borrowed money will always be repaid, my father will be fine if he stops me for a month or two, but he really wants to stop for a year and a half, when the time comes, where will I get the money to pay you back, I have to think of a way to make money, this is the long-term solution." ”

Chen Gongzi closed his eyes when he heard this, seemingly thinking, but in fact, he was secretly happy in his heart, he deliberately paused for a few moments before opening his eyes and said: "I really know a few ways to make money." ”

Du Gongzi instantly came to his senses, looked at the other party with drunken eyes and said, "I want to hear it in detail." ”