CHAPTER XLIII

Two men and a woman rode horses on a mountain path that was inaccessible.

Maybe it's to appease the people of this land, or maybe it's to prove that he's a better monarch than Northern Qi. After Daliang pacified the world, the first thing he did was to open mountains and build roads for some villages in the north.

Twenty years have passed, and the villages within a radius of 50 miles of Youzhou City have basically opened the road. This mountain path, which was already difficult to walk, is almost never seen again.

Lin Anyan thought that after a debate about war last night, Qi Liyun would never pay attention to himself again.

But he never expected that early this morning, Qi Liyun took the initiative to apologize to him in the name of roast duck, which made Lin Anyan feel much more comfortable along the way.

He also took the initiative to tell her a lot of jokes, and she listened to them all, which was good.

As for Dong Fengming, Qi Liyun told Situ Xiao everything that happened yesterday early in the morning.

Although Situ Xiao had a bit of a headache about provoking a bad star, after all, human life was at stake, and Situ Xiao did not blame them.

The trees around this path are not dense, after all, twenty years is such a long time for a person, but it is only a moment for this forest. The trees that had been cut down for passage were not restored in an instant.

The woods under the sun, only insects and birds chirping, but it does not make people feel noisy, but there is a kind of peace born from the heart.

Just when Lin Anyan was riding a horse with his eyes closed, comfortably enjoying this rare tranquility, Qi Liyun suddenly shouted, "Be careful!"

I saw Qi Liyun support the horse's back with one palm, and the whole person flew out, and then made an elegant spin in the air, and then landed, already holding an arrow in his hand.

"Who?!"

Hearing this stern question, a sturdy middle-aged man walked out of the woods.

The man's dark skin was wrapped in a coarse linen robe, and he held a worn-out bow in his hand, looking at Qi Liyun and the three of them with a look of surprise.

Seeing the honest man who looked like a farmer in front of him, Qi Liyun was also a little hesitant.

But after all, an arrow had just been fired at them, so she scolded, "Who are you, why did you attack us?"

Hearing Qi Liyun's words, the man's face was panicked, and he hurriedly shook his head and waved his hand:

"The woman misunderstood! The woman misunderstood! The villain is a farmer here, named Ma Houchen. I was out hunting today, and I just saw a rabbit and an arrow missed. It didn't hurt you, did it?"

Situ Xiao looked at the man who claimed to be Ma Houchen, turned his head and smiled at Qi Liyun and said, "It's okay, although that arrow was shot at us, it was really not aimed at us, just return the arrow to him." ”

Hearing Situ Xiao's words, Qi Liyun didn't pursue anything anymore, handed the arrow to Ma Houchen's hand, turned around and got on the horse to leave.

"Wait a minute, the villain's house is not far ahead, if the three don't dislike it, go to the villain's house to drink a bowl of water and then leave, it is also a villain's apology." ”

When Situ Xiao heard this, he just wanted to find an excuse to refuse.

However, before he could speak, he heard Lin Anyan say, "Brother Ma, is there a village ahead of here?"

Ma Houchen shook his head and said with a smile: "Hahaha, how can I be, there is only me in front of this thatched house." There were no people for miles. ”

Hearing this, Lin Anyan seemed to be interested, and even took the initiative to get off the horse and chat with Ma Houchen.

"Brother Ma is still a reclusive outsider?"

Ma Houchen waved his hand and said: "Little brother smiled, what a master in the world, I just don't want to live in a crowded place, I just moved out by myself." ”

After hearing this, Lin Anyan turned his head and said to Situ Xiao with a smile: "Uncle, daughter-in-law, let's go by anyway." It doesn't hurt to go to the eldest brother's house and sit down. ”

Qi Liyun wanted to refute something, but was stopped by Situ Xiao shaking his head.

"Brother Ma, you just said that there are rabbits around here, but I haven't seen rabbit meat sellers in Youzhou City. ”

Ma Houchen seemed to like this handsome young man very much, and said with a smile: "The people of Youzhou City like to eat pork and duck meat, and they don't care about rabbit meat, in fact, it is still sold, but the store is hidden in the corners, I'm afraid Lin Gongzi didn't find it." ”

Lin Anyan nodded, and said thoughtfully: "That's true, the duck I ate in the city is really the best I have ever eaten in my life." ”

"Dare to ask Lin Gongzi where he eats?"

"Quanjude. ”

When Ma Houchen heard the name of the store, he laughed, waved his hand and said: "It's not me who said, I'm afraid that Lin Gongzi, a foreigner, has been deceived, the duck of Quanjude is an egg, and the people of Youzhou City eat roast duck from the Duck Building." ”

Lin Anyan had an incredible expression on his face, and asked in an exaggerated tone: "Impossible, the duck in Quanjude is very delicious, what kind of fairy place is the duck building, and it can be roasted better?"

When it comes to this roast duck, Ma Houchen seems to be a treasure.

"Duck House is a serious century-old store, and Quanjude has only been open for eight years. Does Lin Gongzi know how the duck building roasted the duck?"

Seeing Lin Anyan shaking his head, Ma Houchen casually picked up a branch on the side of the road and gestured: "The roast duck method of the duck building is called fork barbecue duck, and the materials used are local ducks fattened by secret methods. ”

"That's not all, the duck's skin is crispy, but the meat is not fully cooked, and it's time for the flesh to separate. The chef at the Duck House will take out the duck, insert a hollow reed into the skin and flesh of the duck to inflate, and wait for the air to open the skin before forking it back to continue roasting. The duck skin is crispy and the meat is tender, wrapped in sweet noodle sauce and shredded green onion cucumber strips, the taste... ”

Lin Anyan was drooled by Ma Houchen's words, and couldn't help but "hiss~".

Seeing the two rough old men walking in front of each other on foot, and chatting happily as if they were tired of seeing each other, Qi Liyun asked Situ Xiao very incomprehensibly: "Strategist, why do you agree with Lin Anyan's opinion." ”

Situ Xiao just smiled faintly and replied calmly: "Who do you think is the most anxious about our trip?"

"That must be Lin Anyan. ”

Situ Xiao nodded, pointed at Lin Anyan and said, "He is the most anxious to go to Taibai Mountain to learn art, so he won't want any accidents along the way." In that case, why did he delay this half-day trip?"

Qi Liyun shook his head and looked at Situ Xiao suspiciously.

Who knew that Situ Xiao actually said that he didn't know.

"Let's follow him, I'm also curious about how smart Lin Anyan's little cleverness is. ”

After walking for about half an hour, everyone saw the thatched house in Ma Houchen's mouth.

The house is not large, but it is delicately furnished, and the outer courtyard is also a simple fence made of wooden stakes, and there is a small piece of farmland in the courtyard, which seems to have just been turned over.

Everyone sat in the courtyard like this, and Ma Houchen took out a few porcelain bowls and poured tea for everyone.

"Brother Ma, have you always lived here alone? It's a little far from Youzhou City, and the road is difficult to walk, isn't it very inconvenient. ”

Hearing Lin Anyan's question, Ma Houchen paused for a moment, and then replied with a wry smile:

"To tell you the truth, I used to live in Youzhou City. ”

Qi Liyun asked puzzledly, "Then why did you move out?"

Ma Houchen didn't seem to be willing to mention the past, but replied a little perfunctorily: "Something happened at home, my father, mother, wife and children are all dead, and my family is ruined, I don't want to live in that sad place anymore, and I don't want to interact with people anymore, so I simply moved to this mountain." ”

Hearing such a tragic past, Qi Liyun just wanted to open his mouth to comfort, but was interrupted by Lin Anyan: "Then how long have you moved out?"

"More than ten years. ”

Everyone chatted for a whole morning, although Ma Houchen tried his best to keep everyone to finish lunch and taste the cucumbers he planted before leaving, but Lin Anyan still refused kindly.

Leaving Ma Houchen's house, Qi Liyun asked curiously, "Why did you want to go to his house so much at first, but you didn't stay when it was time to eat?"

Lin Anyan looked at Qi Liyun and asked with a serious face: "Why does he live alone, and there are four porcelain bowls at home?"

Qi Liyun was a little confused by this question, and subconsciously responded: "Maybe it's for serving food?

Hearing this answer, Lin Anyan looked at Qi Liyun like a fool.

"That field has obviously just been turned over, and looking at the size of the most variety of rations for that season, cucumbers are summer vegetables, it's almost winter, why does his family still have stock for us to taste?"

Because she grew up in Siqi Villa, Qi Liyun has never gone to the street to buy vegetables, let alone know when vegetables should ripen, but she didn't expect a wealthy son to understand this.

Lin Anyan continued to take care of himself: "The most important thing is that I talked to him a lot on the road, including the roast duck we ate a few days ago. ”

"Quanjude? What is this? Such a delicious thing, he used to live in Youzhou City, and he must have eaten it. ”

Lin Anyan smiled, shook his head and said, "That Quanjude has only been open for seven or eight years, but he knows the inside story so well, don't you think it's strange?"

Hearing this, Qi Liyun suddenly realized something. She looked at Lin Anyan with an incredulous expression, and Lin Anyan showed her trademark evil smile and nodded lightly.

Situ Xiao added calmly: "That Ma Houchen said that he had left Youzhou sadly for ten years because of the destruction of his family, but he knew that a store that had just been open for seven or eight years. You mean he's lying to us. ”

Lin Anyan nodded, then sighed a little helplessly and said, "I don't know how much money Dong Fengming gave him, but that meal must be uneatable." ”

Before Lin Anyan finished speaking, Situ Xiao, who was walking in the front, reined in the horse's head and stopped in place. Lin Anyan was still curious about what was going on, but saw Situ Xiao's helpless face.

"I'm careless, and I shouldn't drink water. ”

As soon as he finished saying this, Situ Xiao fell off his horse with a sinking head.

Qi Liyun hurriedly got off the horse and wanted to help, but as soon as she moved, she suddenly felt weak, and her internal strength seemed to be sucked dry by something, and she kept losing it, so she was dizzy and fell off the horse directly.

Qi Liyun, who was already a little unable to see clearly, faintly saw a group of people walking out of the woods with various weapons sneering before fainting.