Gusu Academy, Wen Peng spent a year here, and he has long been accustomed to life here.

The weather is getting colder, and the family asks someone to bring clothes for the winter.

Wen Peng rarely goes out to play, and stays in the academy to read books on weekdays. I have long memorized the lessons taught by my husband.

In recent days, Wen Peng has been particularly interested in history books, whether it is official books or wild history, he likes to read them.

These days, the college is closed, and the children go out in groups to play. The atmosphere of the New Year is getting stronger and stronger, and the market is also very lively.

Wen Peng got up early and read in the study hall.

The gentleman passed by and saw that a child was still in the school, and he was very curious.

When I walked into the house, I found that it was Wen Peng, I was very pleased, and said with a smile: "What book are you reading?"

Wen Peng heard the sound, raised his head, and saw that it was the master, so he quickly got up and replied, "Master, the student is reading the Book of Han." ”

"Oh, do you know that reading history is not good for fame?" said the gentleman with a smile.

Wen Peng replied with a smile: "Master, students read according to their preferences, not for scientific examinations. It is wise to read history. Take history as a mirror, dress properly, distinguish between right and wrong, be reasonable, know the rise and fall, and gain and lose. ”

After hearing a few words, the gentleman was very happy. He ordered Wen Peng to sit down, turned around and was about to leave, walked to the door, thought about it and turned back, and said, "It's better to go out for a walk, it's better to believe in books than to have no books." Read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles. The local customs are more interesting than what is described in the book. After saying that, he laughed and left.

Wen Peng sat down and continued reading. After a while, Wen Peng raised his head and looked out the window, there were a few small birds on the big tree next to the house, chirping non-stop.

Wen Peng looked in a daze, and there were several children running in the study, but he didn't notice it.

"We've been looking for you for a long time. One child asked.

Wen Peng turned around and found that there were several children standing beside him, these people were his good friends, including two girls.

"Nothing, just hearing the birds chirping reminded me of home. ”

"Homesick, right? Let's go out and have fun, it's fun outside. I heard that there is also a shadow puppet show, but it is fun. Let's go, stay in the school, it's too boring. ”

The boy said, and the other children chimed in. One of the girls continued: "Yes, let's go out and play, my house is here, we have a lot of fun places here." It's a shame you don't go every time. ”

Everyone was shouting, and several boys pulled him out of the school.

Not far from the academy, the children let go of Wenpeng. This is the first time Wen Peng has come out to play, and he feels that Gusu City is much bigger than at home.

Blue bricks and gray tiles, pavilions and pavilions, water pavilion corridors. The long river runs through the city, the clouds and trees surround the embankment, and the small bridges flow the water.

There are many shops and a dazzling array of goods. The city is a jewel, Hu Ying Luo Qi competes in luxury, and the car is like a flowing water and a dragon.

Business travelers gathered, people were boiling, wine shops and singing buildings, all night long.

On the bridge, people come and go. Under the bridge, pleasure boats, merchant ships, and rivers are endless.

The boat walks in the water, and the person swims in the painting. What a paradise on earth!

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, there have been many wars in the north, and more merchants have come to Suzhou and Hangzhou with their families to settle down and do business, and some displaced farmers have also come to Jiangnan to seek a living.

By the time the empire was first established and the policy of recuperation with the people was implemented, the population of Suzhou had swelled to several million, and there were countless skilled merchants and craftsmen doing business here. With the canal dredged again, the water transportation and land transportation in Gusu City are more convenient.

Suzhou Province originally developed silk weaving industry, Gusu City and the surrounding places, engaged in the weaving households have reached thousands, nearly 10,000 looms, and there are merchants continue to expand in the surrounding areas, such as Yanyuzhuang and other places.

The development of the silk weaving industry has led to the prosperity of other industries such as dyeing workshops and clothes, and the abundant silk, cloth and clothing are sold at home and abroad.

In recent years, the empire reopened the sea route, and opened the sea ban, and overseas countries also came here to trade, for a time Suzhou City, merchants gathered, all industries prospered, Oriental Ocean, South Sea, and even Western merchants also came and went here.

The prosperity of commerce, the rise of overseas trade, and the granary of the imperial court made Gusu City an important commercial town in the empire for a time, and also became one of the richest areas of the empire, and one-tenth of the empire's taxes came from Suzhou Prefecture.

The children are turning around in the market, where there are not only snacks unique to the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, but also noodles in the north, sugar gourds, pastries and so on, which dazzle the children and drool.

A few people ran around and stopped in front of a pawnshop. The girl named Xiaoyu pointed to the shop and said, "Here, it used to be the silver village of Boss Shen, the richest man in our Suzhou City, but unfortunately it changed hands later, and the boss who took over started the pawnshop business." ”

With that, they continued on their way. Wen Peng was curious, so he asked why the richest man in Suzhou City wanted to sell the silver village.

Xiaoyu said: Don't you know this?

So, Xiaoyu told them the story of the cornucopia, and the other children were very envious.

They talked and walked, and when they got tired of walking, they came to a wonton stall on the street.

Wen Peng sat with them on the side of the road eating wonton, Wen Peng wanted to listen to more stories, but the girl didn't tell it.

Wen Peng raised his head and looked at Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu was in a daze, looking behind her, and it took a long time to come back to her senses.

Wen Peng asked her what was going on. Xiao Yu said: "It's nothing, I saw a sedan chair in the past just now, and there was a girl staring at us." I don't know which lady it is? ”

Wen Peng turned his head, the sedan chair had already gone away, and the roadside was full of passers-by and vendors.

Wen Peng urged Xiaoyu to continue. Xiao Yu laughed happily, and then told the story of Boss Shen, and when it came to the end that Boss Shen became an immortal, Wen Peng didn't believe it.

Wen Peng didn't believe in the monsters, although he had also read a lot of monster novels, but he always felt that it was a trick to deceive children.

Wen Peng asked, what kind of immortal are you doing?

Xiao Yu was so happy that she couldn't eat it, she said: "Everyone here says that he is the god of wealth in the sky, and Nong doesn't know." ”

The children were also amused by Xiaoyu's expression and hometown dialect.

Wen Peng couldn't continue to ask, he lowered his head and was about to eat, Xiaoyu leaned his head over and whispered: "Let me tell you, I heard that their house was later seized by the imperial court, and he was confiscated to Dali." My father didn't let me talk nonsense, or I would be killed. ”

After Xiaoyu finished speaking, she returned to her seat, and the children wondered what they were muttering.

Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue and said with a smile: "I just told him, whoever eats late, who pays, haha." After speaking, he stood up, and didn't care whether Wen Peng finished eating, he pulled him up and ran, laughing as he ran.

These children realized that they couldn't care about eating, and they wiped their mouths with their sleeves, and they had to open up.

The boss was busy serving food to the other guests, and when he saw it, the hula was all gone. After a while, he came back to his senses, and was about to chase after him, when he saw a little fat boy sitting on the stall. stopped chasing, pretending to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, staring at the little fat man.

The little fat man looked at the boss staring at him, his eyes widened, his anger came up, and he complained in his mouth: "Look at it, this young master won't run, they want to play tricks on me, see that I can't run, it's too bullying." ”

As he spoke, he drank all the soup in the bowl and sighed.

The boss saw that the child was well-dressed, and thought that his family was not bad, so he should not be in arrears, so he said with a smile: "If the son thinks it is delicious, he will come often next time." The six of you have a total of six texts. With that, he stretched out his hand.

The little fat man took out a small string of copper coins from his waist, handed it to the boss, and said, "No need to look for it." ”

When the boss saw it, he was so beautiful that he hurriedly said, "Gongzi Xie." ”

The little fat man replied unhurriedly: "Don't worry, the rest of the money will be calculated for our next meal." With that, he turned around and left, hurried after him.

In other words, this little fat man's name is Jia Gui, his ancestral home is Huizhou Mansion, and he later moved to Yuhang. Because his father was a businessman in Suzhou and Hangzhou all the year round, he usually had no time to take care of him, so he was introduced by someone and sent to Suzhou Academy to study.

Although his parents were born in the mountains, they were wealthy, they liked to be vassals and elegant, made friends with literati, and hoped that their children could be scholars. Although the family background is good, this Jia family has a thick family style, and like many fellow villagers, they have set up private schools in their hometowns.

Jia Gui caught up with them, only to see a few people at the railing, watching the ducks in the river playing in the water.

The little fat man caught up and panted and said, "You guys are so bad, bully me, right?"

They were about to leave, and Jia Gui said, "I said brothers, stay and let me take a breath." ”

After waiting for a while, Xiaoyu took everyone to a theater garden, where many people were listening to Xiaoqu.

Passing through the crowd, they came to the back door of the theater. When I got out, I saw a group of people sitting around a stage, watching the performance on it.

There were some stools in the venue, and most of the people who came to see them were women and children, and there were not many people, so a few people found empty stools to sit down.

On the stage over there, the repertoire of "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" is being played. I saw a puppet in the shape of a traveler, accompanied by gongs and drums, came to an inn, on which was written: "Three bowls are not posts", and there were people on the side dubbing: Anyway, this Wu Song came to Jingyanggang-

The play was staged, and the children were fascinated by it, clapping their hands from time to time.

Wen Peng was curious, so he leaned to the side of the stage and saw two people standing behind the scenes, with puppets on their fingers and singing in their mouths.

A young lady, dressed in plain clothes, looks like she is twenty-eight years old, her eyes are watery, and she is tied with a big braid.

She performs and talks at the same time.

Seeing Wen Peng looking at herself, she whispered and asked him to sit back quickly.

Wen Peng hurriedly ran back, and everyone asked him what he was watching, and he smiled silently. After a while, it turned out that the puppet outside was controlled by someone.

After the repertoire of "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" was finished, the young lady held the plate, came to everyone, and received a reward.

Jia Gui, who was in the last row, looked at everyone vigilantly, and was about to run away when he was pulled by a child.

Everyone smiled and said: Don't be nervous, you don't have to run this time, but you still pay, Young Master Jia.

Jia Gui looked helpless, he was about to pay, but was stopped by another boy, who was called Sun Mingde.

He smiled and said to Jia Gui: "Everyone is teasing you, why don't you spend money every time." ”

After speaking, he took out a small string of copper coins, stepped forward, put it on the young lady's plate, and said to the young lady that they still want to see it.

The young lady smiled and said nothing, she turned to collect money from the crowd around her, and some of them hurried away.

Sun Mingde saw that those people were angry, got up and grabbed a middle-aged man who was walking behind and had not yet left, stretched out his hand to ask for money, and he said eloquently: "If you don't give money to watch the play, you are really not ashamed." ”

The child's words caused the people around him to laugh incessantly, and the man's face was flushed with shame, so he had to take out a few pennies from his body, put them on a plate, and then hurriedly walked away.

The young lady hurriedly thanked and smiled at everyone: There is money to hold a money field, but there is no money to hold a personal field. When the little woman went out, she also asked the parents of Gusu City to take care of her.

Then he returned to the front of the stage and said: Let's continue to act, the next play "Monkey Haunting the Heavenly Palace", and walked behind the scenes after speaking.

A couple of kids were drawn in and sat there until the end of the pitch, where they helped clean up the bench.

Wen Peng was curious, so he asked the young lady where he heard this story.

The young lady told him that it was handed down by the older generation, and if he liked it, he would come to listen to it often in the future.

Xiaoyu smiled and said that there is no need to read in the future, just come here to listen to books.

When the young lady learned that they were from the academy, she was full of envy, and she liked them very much, and asked them to come often. The father and daughter packed their things and drove away in the carriage.

The children went to the bazaar, looked at the shops, walked through the streets and alleys, and Wen Peng also bought a copy of "Three Kingdoms" at the bookstore.

Xiao Yuyuan wanted to take everyone to see the shadow puppets, and everyone proposed to eat some snacks before going.

Xiao Yu thought about it, at this time, the shadow puppet show should not be out of the stall, so she went to eat some food with them.

When night falls, the city of Suzhou is brightly lit.

Many shops are hung with lanterns, some flower boats float on the river, and women with flowers stand on the bow of the boats, waving to the passing crowd.

At this time, a melodious and mournful sound of the piano came from an official boat and echoed on the river.

On the boat, several dignitaries were eating and drinking, and a peerless woman was sitting on the bow of the boat, holding her jade hand and flying on the piano, as if complaining of a desolate encounter, as if sighing for the warmth and coldness of the world.

The streets are bustling with people coming and going. There are fortune tellers, jugglers, storytellers, and snack sellers. The liquor shop was full of diners, the gambling house was crowded with people trying their luck, and from time to time there was the sound of singers singing in the distance......

Xiao Yu took a few people and shuttled through the bustling crowd, and it took a while before they arrived at the place.

At this time, there were still few people, so they grabbed the front row and sat down. After a while, the crowd filled all around, and the show began.

I saw that the stage was separated by a layer of white yarn, and there was a lamp inside, and after a while, someone was talking inside: Today's repertoire is Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

As soon as the sound fell, behind the white curtain, two butterflies flew out, accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums, and a "young man" walked out, and there was a "scholar" reading beside him. Behind the scenes, a man sounded again, singing melodiously and tactfully......

As the night deepened, Suzhou City was still bustling, and several people headed in the direction of the college.