The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 17: Goodbye is always a small joy
Li Diudiu came to see his master Changmei, but not only Li Diudiu came. Xiahou Zhuo, who often slept until dawn, came, and Yan Qingzhi, the instructor who usually did not care about things, also came.
With a bandage still on his arm, Xiahou Zhuo looked at the little guy hugging his master. His nose felt sore and he was even a little envious.
The Taoist was dirty, smelly, old and poor, but when Xiahou Zhuo looked at him, he just felt that that was what a father should be like.
Where is his father?
He was high and mighty, and at least no one in Jizhou dared to provoke his father. However, the impression he had of his father and the old Taoist priest did not match at all. The more he thought about it, the more envious he became.
There is a small river in Jizhou City, and people often go to the riverside to enjoy the scenery. On the open space by the river, Li Diudiu opened the package and took out an iron pot. Yes, it was an iron pot, and there were also chopsticks, colander, plates and other things. Everything you need.
He set up the iron pot by the river, ran to a well not far away, fetched a bucket of water, and boiled water by the river.
"Aunt Wu said that dumplings are only delicious when they are fresh out of the pot. The taste will change if they are left over."
Li Diudiu took out bags of raw dumplings like a magic trick.
The old Taoist sat beside him and watched him, with stars in his eyes. He was not coveting the dumplings, but was looking at Li Diudiu with eyes full of satisfaction.
When the dumplings were put into the pot, Li Diudiu looked quite handsome with his serious look.
"Aunt Wu also said that dumplings are cooked when they swell up."
He squatted beside the iron pot and looked at the dumplings in the pot: "Why aren't they puffed up yet?"
Just at this moment, three men in detective uniforms strode over. All three of them frowned, and after seeing the court uniform on Li Diudiu, they obviously hesitated.
But when they saw the clothes on the Taoist priest with long eyebrows, the disgust between their brows became more intense.
"Sir, are you giving alms to the beggar?"
One of the constables clasped his fists and asked Li Diudiu politely.
Li Diudiu's face turned cold: "Who is this beggar?"
The old Taoist quickly pulled him back and said, "Don't argue with the official."
He stood up, bowed, and said apologetically, "Three officials, I will just eat here and leave after I finish eating. I will leave soon."
The leading constable looked the old Taoist up and down, then suddenly kicked him: "Sir, you are so kind, but you dare to eat it?!"
His master had been hungry for many days and had no strength to dodge, so he was kicked over by the constable. The constable changed his expression faster than turning pages of a book. After kicking the old Taoist master over, he became polite again when he faced Li Diudiu.
"Young master, when you have had enough fun, come back. There is no point in taking care of an old beggar like him. The governor has issued a strict order that no beggars are allowed to be seen in Jizhou City. They will affect the image of Jizhou City."
Li Diudiu had no time to pay attention to him. He ran over to help his master up and asked him how he was.
At this moment Li Diudiu finally understood why he had never seen any beggars on the streets in Jizhou for so long. It turned out that it was not that there were no beggars, but that they would chase away every one they found.
What he didn't know was that some of them were not driven away but were thrown into prison, and he didn't know when they would become scapegoats for others.
"Why did you hit him!"
Li Diudiu stood up and roared, with murderous intent in his eyes.
He was only eleven years old, but the constable actually panicked when he saw his eyes. His eyes were so fierce, like a young tiger.
"Fuck you guys."
A dark shadow jumped over and punched the constable in the face. The punch was so powerful that the constable fell sideways and hit his head on the ground. He was unable to get up for a while.
Xiahou Zhuo still had a bandage on his right arm, so his left-handed punch wasn't very smooth, but it was powerful enough.
"How dare you attack the government officials!"
Another constable reached out and grasped the knife handle: "You are so brave!"
Xiahou Zhuo walked forward with his shoulders swaying, and asked as : "Do you know who I am? I'll tell you, my name is Xiahou Zhuo, why don't you try to draw your sword?"
The three words "Xiahou Zhuo" seemed to have a great deterrent effect not only in the academy, but the constable was obviously stunned after hearing these three words, and immediately bowed and said, "Master Xiahou, please forgive me for not recognizing you. I'm sorry, sorry."
Xiahou Zhuo raised his hand and rubbed it on his mouth, then walked over and slapped the constable in the face: "Do you know each other now?"
The constable didn't dare to fight back after being hit. He even stood up quickly and said with his head down, "I'm sorry, I'll remember Master Xiahou's appearance this time."
Xiahou Zhuo said: "You are just a group of people following orders. I won't make things difficult for you. Get out of here."
"Yes Yes Yes……"
The three men who were so aggressive just now turned around and ran away. It would be a lie to say that there was no resentment in their eyes, but no one dared to let Xiahou Zhuo see it.
"thanks, thanks……"
The old Taoist bowed to Xiahou Zhuo, who held him up and said, "No, no, it's just a small favor."
He looked at Li Diudiu. Li Diudiu clasped his fists and was about to speak when Xiahou Zhuo reached out and picked up the chopsticks, picked up a dumpling from the pot, blew on it a few times, then put it in his mouth, chewing it with big mouthfuls and huffing, because it was still hot after all.
After finishing a dumpling, Xiahou Zhuo handed the chopsticks to Li Diudiu: "Stop talking nonsense, we are even now."
Li Diudiu opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
Xiahou Zhuo turned around and left, waving his hand at Li Diudiu with his back to him: "Eat your dumplings and talk to the old man."
After Xiahou Zhuo left, the old Taoist asked, "Who is this young man?"
"Xiahou Zhuo."
Li Diudiu took out the dumplings and handed them to his master: "Master, eat quickly."
The old Taoist held the dumplings, his eyes moistened again: "Okay, okay, I'll eat... I'll eat."
Li Diudiu took out the five taels of silver from his bosom and handed it to the old Taoist priest with both hands: "Master, I made some money in the academy. You can use it to stay in an inn first. Choose a worse inn to stay in first. I have inquired and the price for the worse inns is about two taels of silver a month."
"How can you make money in the academy?"
The old Taoist's expression suddenly changed.
"I……"
Li Diudiu smiled and said, "A reward, because I performed much better than others. Every time the master asked a question, they couldn't answer it, only I could answer it. This is a personal reward from the master."
The old Taoist breathed a sigh of relief: "That's fine, but you are not allowed to do bad things to make money. You are still young, and your studies are your priority. You keep the money for yourself, and the master can make money."
"Well……"
Li Diudiu said: "Then I'll just take the money and spend it recklessly."
The old Taoist thought for a moment and said, "I'll keep it for you."
He took the silver and stuffed it into his arms, then handed the plate of dumplings to Li Diudiu: "Eat it."
Li Diudiu said, "I eat it every day. I bring it for you. Master, please eat quickly."
The old Taoist grinned foolishly and ate one bite at a time, his cheeks bulging with food.
Far away on the roadside, Xiahou Zhuo was standing against a tree, looking at Li Diudiu by the river. He was worried that after he left, those constables would come back to cause trouble, but he didn't know why, the more he looked at the old Taoist, the more uncomfortable he felt.
"Give me thousands of gold and silver, but it is not as good as their laughter and joy."
Xiahou Zhuo let out a long sigh.
After having dinner by the river, Li Diudiu accompanied his master to find an inn. Xiahou Zhuo still followed them from a distance, but what he didn't know was that the carriage was also following them from a distance. He was looking at Li Diudiu and the old Taoist in the distance, and Yan Qingzhi in the carriage was looking at him.
But compared to the past, Yan Qingzhi's eyes when looking at Xiahou Zhuo were a little softer.
The conditions of this inn do seem ordinary, but for an old Taoist, having a place to stay, a warm quilt, and a hot bath is all he needs. What more could he ask for?
This is satisfaction, great satisfaction.
Li Diudiu was busy making arrangements. Seeing the hospital uniform on Li Diudiu, the innkeeper . It was bigger and had a big wooden tub for bathing. It was much more comfortable than other small rooms.
Li Diudiu personally boiled water and poured it into a large wooden barrel, basin by basin. Then he rubbed his master's back. His master was so embarrassed that he just wanted him to go out and wait.
Li Diudiu refused. He stood behind his master and wrapped his hands with a towel twice, then rubbed them again and again. It was amazing that the mud rolled into strips, and he felt a sense of accomplishment while rubbing them.
"When you were little, I rubbed your back. Now you rub my back."
When the old Taoist said these words, his eyes turned slightly red.
"Don't come on."
Li Diudiu laughed and said, "Every time you took a shower, you threw me into the river. Don't think I don't remember you holding my feet and rinsing them in the water, just like rinsing a rag..."
The old Taoist smiled but said nothing. In fact, he thought too much about Li Diudiu. When Li Diudiu was four or five years old, he threw him into the river to bathe himself. He watched from the side, seemingly not caring at all, but that was how Li Diudiu's swimming skills were trained.
"Master."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"It's okay, just yell."
Li Diudiu answered with a silly smile.
The old Taoist lay in the hot water tub, feeling that his life was worth it. Compared with this moment, the past ten years of hard work were nothing. Li Diudiu's filial piety filled him with joy.
I feel a little proud... I am worthy of being the one who taught him, hahahaha...
"Master, you stay here for now. I will try my best to save some money to buy you a house in Jizhou City. I have inquired about it. A house costs about 200 taels. It shouldn't be a problem."
"Study hard!"
The old Taoist turned around and looked at Li Diudiu seriously and said , "Master, please stay in the inn for the next month. Once I have clean clothes, I can go out and find a job. You have to believe in your master's ability. I will make money myself. You just need to take care of your studies."
"Know."
Li Diudiu responded, but as a young child he had big ideas and he would do whatever he wanted to do.
"There are still 20 days left for the monthly exam. After I pass it, I can go back to class."
Li Diudiu was talking while scrubbing his master's bath, as if he had endless things to say. He roughly recounted everything that had happened to him in the Four Pages Academy in the past ten days. The only thing he didn't mention was the thing he thought would make his master worry.
Pick up good things to talk about, fun things, delicious things.
"You can't lose anyone."
The old Taoist said seriously: "At least you have to get a top few in the exam. You are different from others. You have to work harder."
Li Diudiu said seriously, "Can you guarantee the top four?"
His master nodded: "That's fine."
Li Diudiu chuckled.
The master had never been to the academy. Guo Huaili took him in both times. The master didn’t know that there were only four people in total including him.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Li Diudiu laughed heartily.
The master asked him, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's fun to hide the old man."
