Chapter 3 Taiping Town
Thirty miles south of Taiping Mountain, there is a market town called Taiping Town.
The town is not small, with hundreds of families. Two streets crisscross through Taiping Town, and the center of the town is the Cross Street. To the northeast of the cross street is Qianqiu Fu Distillery, which is a century-old shop, and the old liquor brewed is well-known far and wide.
Today, the granddaughter of the shopkeeper of the wine shop is full moon, there are many people who come to celebrate in the town, and the face of the door of the Qianqiu Fu Wine Fang is draped in red silk, and the people in front of the door come and go, the river is endless, and the festive permeates the entire cross street.
Qianqiu Fu Distillery is located in front of the store, with a row of eight doors in front and a three-entry courtyard in the back. The large courtyard where you enter is full of square tables, chairs and stools, which are as red and colorful as the outside of the gate. The guys at the wine shop and the chef at the Taiping Restaurant next door were busy arranging a banquet.
In front of the winery stood a short and fat middle-aged man, with a ruddy complexion and a short beard on his lips, forty or fifty years old, dressed in a brown brocade robe wrapped around his body, as if the fat on his body was trembling as he walked. This is the owner of the winery, Wu Degui Wu shopkeeper.
Shopkeeper Wu stood in front of the winery, constantly arching his hands and smiling, greeting the guests, but his smile was a little stiff.
It was nearly noon, and there were two Taoist priests on the street north of Tianping Town. The old Taoist priest in front of him held his head high, his hands behind his back, and three locks of long beard under his chin were gently blowing in the wind. The little Taoist priest in the back followed suit, carrying a long sword behind his shoulders, hanging his hands, and swaying back and forth in his wide-sleeved robe.
These two are Qingyun Dao Chang and Xiao Yi.
Thirty miles was not far away, and the master and apprentice walked slowly and unhurriedly for nearly two hours.
In the middle of spring, the sun is a little hot and dry on the body almost noon. The master and apprentice hurried early in the morning, and by this time the water had not entered. The master is okay, he still walks briskly and freely, and he is not frightened. Xiao Yi was already sweating, and his stomach was rumbling for a while.
"It's finally here!"
Xiao Yi followed two steps and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He had been to Taiping Town countless times before, and he was indifferent to the street scenes on both sides, and his head was full of sweet fruits and big fish and meat.
The master ignored Xiao Yi, and for many times from childhood to now, the master and apprentice have been walking long distances like this, passing through the streets and alleys. In this way, Xiao Yi is accustomed to it, but because of his young age, he never sees the master outside, and he will call out casually when he is thirsty and hungry. The master was not surprised, intentionally or unintentionally, he boiled the muscles and bones of the disciples.
The north street is not long, and in a blink of an eye, the two of them arrived in front of the Qianqiu Fu Wine Workshop. When the shopkeeper Wu saw it, he hurriedly took two steps forward, and his original stiff smile also relaxed, with a smile in his eyebrows, and he arched his hand and said: "Oh......!
The old man of Qingyun Dao also showed a reserved smile on his face, and bowed back.
"Shopkeeper Wu doesn't need to be polite! Lao Dao promised that he would definitely come to drink this glass of water and wine. ”
"Thank you, chief! Hurry, please come inside! Hehe! The little one is a lot taller. Hurry up, please ...... too."
Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly turned sideways and stretched out his hand to invite.
"The old shopkeeper is overjoyed!"
Xiao smiled and grinned at the shopkeeper Wu and returned the salute, and then followed the master towards the courtyard.
The twenty or thirty square tables in the courtyard were full of people, greeting each other, and the surroundings were very lively. The master and apprentice were led to the left-hand guest seat next to the main table by the shopkeeper Wu, arranged for the two to sit down, and then busily greeted the guests in front.
There was no one else at the table where Xiao Yi and Qingyun Dao were sitting, and there was a tea cup fruit spot arranged on it early. He drank a cup of tea with his master, and then he couldn't wait to grab the fruit and pastry on the table and stuff it into his mouth.
After a while, a plate of fruits and two teas fell into his stomach, and Xiao Yi felt that the hungry insects in his stomach stopped screaming, and his stomach was much more comfortable, so he looked at the master sitting upright next to him, and glared at a pair of black eyes with a smile, and looked at the courtyard curiously.
The courtyard was filled with Wu's relatives, friends and neighbors, all drinking water and chatting and waiting for the auspicious time to come.
Xiao Yidong glanced at the west and saw that the shopkeeper Wu had attracted the two from the front. A woman dressed in red, seventeen or eighteen years old, tall, willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, very handsome, but there was a hint of melancholy between the woman's eyebrows. Behind him was a young man, in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a resolute expression, a tall and mighty figure, and a narrow sleeve tunic dress. These two should be people with martial arts.
"Two of you, please!"
Shopkeeper Wu led the two to the table of Xiao Yi's master and apprentice, and arched his hand to Qingyun Dao Chang and Xiao Yi and said: "Dao Chief, these two are Miss Yuan and Che Dart Head ...... of the Taiping Dart Bureau in this town" He turned around and introduced to the two young people: "This is the Qingyun Dao Leader and Xiao Yi Chang of Xuanyuan Temple......
The two young men hurriedly bowed and said in unison: "Yuan Fengming of the Taiping Dart Bureau, Che Hai has seen two Taoist leaders!"
Qingyunzi sat still, holding his long beard in his hand, looked at Miss Yuan for a moment, and bowed his head slightly: "The ...... of the Taiping Dart Bureau Oh, is it Yuan Wanzhang's daughter, and she is already so pretty......"
Yuan Fengming frowned, glanced at Che Hai next to him, and the two exchanged glances. The name of the head of the Xuanyuan Guan Qingyun Dao is unknown to few people in Taiping Town, and it is not surprising that the other party saw him when he was a child and knew the head of the Taiping Dart Bureau.
Xiao Yi saw the appearance of the master leaning on the old and selling the old, so he hurriedly stood up and arched his hand: "Xuanyuan Guanlin has seen the eldest brother and sister, please sit down!"
Yuan Fengming noticed a little Taoist priest next to Qingyun Daoist, seeing that he was just a child, but he was a serious adult, she couldn't help but smile, and said: "Thank you Xiaodao Chief" She sat next to Qingyun Daoist, while Che Hai was sitting next to Xiao Yi with a big grin, stretched out his palm and patted it.
"Thank you, little brother!"
"Oops...... Big brother's hands are so heavy!" Xiao Yi felt like his shoulder had touched an iron scale, and he couldn't help but crook his shoulder and bark his teeth.
"Senior brother, don't have a light or heavy ...... in your hands."
Yuan Fengming next to him reminded loudly.
"Hehe! I'm sorry little brother, it's purely unintentional!"
Che Hai grinned, raised his hand and fell to Xiao Yi's shoulder, suddenly remembered something, and shrank back again.
Looking at Che Hai's honest and straightforward appearance, Xiao Yi felt close, so he quipped: "Brother Che's martial arts must be very high! Your slap is like a discus, no one dares to fight you, hehe......"
Che Hai was about to pat his chest and boast, looked up at his senior sister Yuan Fengming, his expression darkened, his voice suddenly lowered a lot, and said softly: "Looking at the appearance of the little brother, you should know martial arts, my little kung fu is far from the first-class master in the rivers and lakes!"
Yuan Fengming saw that his senior brother had changed his reckless habits in the past, and he couldn't help but sigh slightly when he thought of something.
Xiao Yi saw that the master was silent, Yuan Fengming and Che Hai lowered their heads and sighed again, suspicious but not easy to ask, so they simply changed to a stuffy gourd, leaving only a pair of eyes dripping and turning.
Also dressed in a brown robe, in his twenties, not tall, shrewd and capable, greeting guests everywhere is the son of Wu's shopkeeper, Wu Heng.
The one who arranged the dishes with a few guys should be the old man Mei in the accounting room of the Taiping Restaurant.
Dressed in white, holding a folding fan and shaking his head, it is the young owner of Taiping Restaurant, Mei Chinese.
At the table with Mei Gongzi were several shopkeepers of the money village and tea house in Taiping Town.
Several shopkeepers were talking around Mei Gongzi, and the people in the courtyard were noisy, and they didn't know what they were talking about, and they turned their heads from time to time to look at Xiaoyi's table. Xiao Yi noticed that the other party was not looking at himself and his master, but his eyes fell on Yuan Fengming and Che Hai. It's just that the two of them sat silently, unconcerned about the situation around them.
The auspicious time has arrived, the whip outside the gate is blowing, and the banquet begins. All of a sudden, the courtyard was staggered and lively.
Xiao Yi also shook off his cheeks and started eating, while Qingyun Daoist poured himself a drink. Although Qingyun Dao Chang is not taboo in meat and vegetarian, he can only be simple because of his ugliness. Nowadays, it is rare to have delicious food, and the master and apprentice also took the opportunity to satisfy their cravings, eat what they see, and eat what they catch.
Che Hai just drank with his head down, while Yuan Fengming took a sip with a wine glass. The two of them didn't know what they were pondering. There were four people at a table, only the master and apprentice of Qingyun Dao were like no one around, eating and drinking happily.
was looking down and holding a pig knuckle ruthless little one, hearing a congratulatory voice, he hurriedly raised his head.
I saw a middle-aged woman walking into the courtyard with a baby in her arms. The crowd stood up and gathered in a circle, vying to see each other. Xiao Yi turned his head to look at the master, and saw that he had already returned to his earlier appearance of sitting upright. Although Master has good wine, he doesn't eat much, so he should be full of wine and food. Yuan Fengming and Che Hai also put down their cups and faced the celebratory crowd.
A group of people walked towards Xiao Yi's table under the guidance of Shopkeeper Wu.
"Qingyun Dao Chief, this is my granddaughter of the full moon, please take a look at it......
After the shopkeeper Wu bowed, he hurriedly led his wife to walk towards Qingyun Daoist with the baby in his arms. Yuan Fengming and Che Hai got up to dodge.
Xiao Yi jumped up and stood behind the master.
"Don't worry, shopkeeper Wu, let the old man take a look......"
Qingyun Daoist slowly stood up, leaned over and stared at the baby carefully for a while, then frowned, smiled at the shopkeeper Wu and said: "It's okay! Passing by Taiping Town before, the shopkeeper Wu once asked Lao Dao, your granddaughter is less than a month, and her body is weak, so Lao Dao promised to come when the moon is full, and he will give Wu's shopkeeper a way to save his life and prolong his life." And now that the old way has come, please shopkeeper Wu and your neighbors be restless!"
Shopkeeper Wu looked pleased.
Qingyun Dao took his long beard in his hand and ordered: "Shopkeeper Wu, please serve with pen and ink." In addition, prepare good cinnabar, yellow paper ......"
Xiao Yi also craned his neck to glance at the swaddling clothes, and saw a small person with a thin red wrinkled face and closed eyes. I couldn't help but secretly wonder, this kid is really ugly.
Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly asked his subordinates to prepare, and in a blink of an eye, a square table and pen, ink, cinnabar and other things were sent to the front. Qingyun Dao Chang gently pulled up the sleeves of his robe with one hand, twisted the pen with three fingers in one hand, condensed his mind, the pen was dipped in cinnabar, and he silently recited words in his mouth. Then he picked up another pen, pondered for a while, prescribed a prescription, and handed the paper talisman and prescription to the shopkeeper Wu and said: "These three talismans are: dispelling wind talisman, which can ward off wind and evil spirits; The three charms are worn with you, and there is a pair of bath soup, 20 herbs and boiling water to boil the soup, and the children are bathed every day, which has the effect of replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the body. ”
Shopkeeper Wu was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed down to thank him. The wife of the shopkeeper Wu and Wu Heng are also happy. The crowd of onlookers praised each other, and praised the merits of the old immortal. Xiao Yi also looked proud, but Qingyun Daoist himself looked calm.
"Thank you, Dao Chang! Thank you, Dao Chang! It is the luck of Wu's whole family to have the Dao Chief help to diagnose and treat his granddaughter. Wu Heng quickly sent the gift money......"
"Hehe, it's free! Shopkeeper Wu is more polite! It's nothing more than a gesture......" Qingyun Daoist shook his head slightly and declined.
"How can this be done?" said Shopkeeper Wu anxiously.
"Two jars of wine and the remaining cinnabar yellow paper can be sent to the old way. My master and apprentice have been full of wine and food, and they will return to the mountain. Daoist Qingyun said undoubtedly.
Wu obeyed the instructions of the Taoist chief, quickly moved two jars of cellared old wine and took it away with the Taoist chief, and the carriage and horses were waiting!"
Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly beckoned his subordinates to get busy.
Xiao Yi and Master walked out of the wine shop and saw that a carriage had stopped at the door.
The master and apprentice said goodbye to the Wu shopkeeper father and son, and the younger one helped the master to sit in the carriage, and he jumped on the front of the car and sat side by side with the handlebar of the car. He was happy in his heart, he didn't have to walk when he went back, and he could still sit in the carriage and watch the scenery!
The driver was a middle-aged man who was honest and honest, driving an old horse. Seeing the lively and active little Taoist priest smiling and sitting with him, he grinned, said hello, and set off with his whip.
The wheels of the carriage turned, and the carriage moved forward.
Xiao Yi burped comfortably, leaning against the wall of the carriage and looking to the sides.
Before the car left the intersection of North Cross Street, a coquettish voice called from behind the car: "The chief of the road is slow down......