The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 65: Making Money
After returning to the academy, Li Diudiu had a faint illusion of being reborn as a human being. He was a person who often reflected on himself. Because of this illusion, he reflected on himself again and at a certain moment he felt that he was very much like the weak animals.
For example, a squirrel carefully comes out of its tree to find something to eat. When it looks up, it sees a falcon circling in the sky. At this moment, it must feel that the tree is the safest place.
For example, a hare crawled out of its nest, looking around and preparing to eat some food. Not long after it came out, it saw a python swimming over. At this moment, it must have felt that the nest was safe.
If other people knew that Li Diudiu was thinking about these things, they would definitely think he was boring, or even a little childish. People over the age of eighteen who think about these things would be considered childish, but they don’t know how much effect this seemingly childishness has.
But Li Diudiu thought of more than that. He went on to think, if the squirrel noticed the danger and fled to the tree, then would it not be dangerous?
No, the falcon will still catch it.
If the hare goes into its nest, will it be safe?
No, the python would eat it if it got in.
After all, if you are not strong enough, your nest will not be stable.
Li Diudiu thought, he regarded the academy as his own home, but could this home be guaranteed to be safe from any danger ?
No!
Yan Qingzhi was a teacher at an academy, which was a very prestigious and prestigious position in the eyes of the common people. However, in the eyes of a small sergeant in the Criminal Investigation Department, a teacher at an academy was nothing. When he looked at Yan Qingzhi, there was only contempt in his eyes.
If Yan Qingzhi is a relatively strong rabbit, then that sergeant is a weak python...
Li Diudiu sighed and thought to himself that he was just a weak rabbit.
So the nest is useless, the only thing that matters is to become strong. It is still a rabbit, but this rabbit is so strong that when the falcon flies down, it grabs the falcon's neck and slaps the falcon thirty-six times with its left and right hands.
Then they pluck all its hair and stew it for food. In the eyes of the falcon, the rabbit is no longer a rabbit. Not only in the eyes of the falcon, but also in the eyes of tigers, leopards, jackals and wolves, rabbits are no longer rabbits.
But the overlord.
After reflecting on these things, Li Diudiu began to re-examine his goals. They were too small and insignificant.
A house was his entire goal before, and everything he fought for was for this goal. But when he reflected that even the academy was not safe, the sense of security that a house could bring dropped sharply.
But the house still has to be bought. It is a promise, it is a responsibility, and it is the first goal in his life.
So after reflecting on these things, Li Diudiu started thinking about how to earn enough money to buy the mansion. Giving extra lessons to the students in the academy would have to wait until the academy resumed classes. Now, besides him, there were only the chefs in the cafeteria. What could he give them as extra lessons?
Would you like to learn the eighteen ways to cook the duck at President Gao’s home, or the seven ways to stir-fry the vegetables at Mr. Yan’s yard?
Go out, you must go out.
With this idea and this goal in mind, Li Diudiu begged Yan Qingzhi to take him to Shulin Building the next day. There were not only books in Shulin Building, but also various musical instruments were stored there.
Every morning, Li Diudiu helps Mr. Yan take care of the courtyard. In addition to reading and reviewing his homework, he spends almost the entire afternoon in the Shulin Building practicing various musical instruments. Fortunately, he is a person who learns things quickly.
On the first day he was learning the piano in Shulin Building, and listening to the music made people feel that they would be sorry for the sound of the piano if they did not plant two acres of cotton.
Really, it would be a blasphemy to not treat this piano with cotton.
Three days later, even though the sound of the piano could not be said to be like flowing water in the mountains, it already had the artistic conception of a small bridge, green willows and a home.
Five days before the end of the field holiday, Li Diudiu agreed with the instructor in Shulin Building that he would return the borrowed musical instruments before dark and would pay for any damages. Then he set off in high spirits.
He chose a teahouse and mustered up the courage to negotiate with the owner whether he could be allowed to play his musical instrument there, and if he received any reward, he would split it in half with the owner.
The shopkeeper did not agree, as he did not think such a child could have any ability. However, the shopkeeper's wife agreed, so it did not matter whether the shopkeeper agreed or not.
The lady looked at Li Diudiu as he spoke seriously and was so attracted by the young boy with rosy lips and white teeth that she agreed immediately and even said that she could treat Li Diudiu to a meal if he was willing.
Li Diudiu gritted his teeth and refused.
The shopkeeper’s wife didn’t know how tempting a meal was to Li Diudiu, and how much of a choice Li Diudiu had to make with gritted teeth.
In Jizhou City, one can still vaguely see the former prosperity of the Great Chu. There is no shortage of rich people in the city, especially the ladies of wealthy families who have nothing to do. Their daily lives probably consist of shopping, playing cards, or drinking tea and listening to music in teahouses.
The atmosphere in the Great Chu is actually quite open, and many wealthy ladies have young husbands outside. Li Diudiu doesn't know that he is already testing the edge of danger. Of course, it's not him who is testing, but someone else who will test him madly in the future.
On the afternoon of the first day, Li Diudiu set up his business in the teahouse . The business was pretty good. After Li Diudiu had been waiting for less than half an hour, more than a dozen guests had come to the teahouse to sit down and drink tea and chat.
Li Diudiu walked up with a guitar in his arms. He was a little nervous and didn't know what to say, so he simply leaned over slightly as a greeting, then sat down and started playing.
Mrs. Sun from the teahouse is nearly 40 years old and has no children. Normally, in an ordinary family, a woman would not be able to hold her head up high. No matter whether it is a man's problem or a woman's problem, not having children is always considered a woman's problem.
But Mrs. Sun did not feel any pressure in this regard because her husband did not dare to do so.
In this era, a woman's confidence can only come from her family background, and Mrs. Sun just happens to belong to this category.
"Young Master Li!"
Madam Sun asked the maid to bring a stool over and waved at Li Diudiu.
Li Diudiu blushed, not knowing that his first loyal fan had appeared like this.
The first piece of music he played was "Yanshan Xing" which he learned from Mr. Yan. This piece of music was originally a marching song, but no one used it later. When the cavalry of the Great Chu marched towards the grassland in a mighty manner, a zither player composed this piece of music after seeing that scene.
There was a clanging sound from the first note, without any slowing down transition. The moment Li Diudiu's fingers passed across it, it was like a swordsman's sword leaving the scabbard, or a soldier's white feather flying off a bowstring.
Everyone looked at Li Diudiu.
"Where did this kid come from?"
“I didn’t notice.”
The guests who were busy chatting just noticed Li Diudiu's presence, and their attention was attracted to Li Diudiu at this moment.
One song begins like a fierce battle, and the other ends like a triumphant return.
When Li Diudiu let go of the strings, the teahouse became quiet. No one spoke. It was so quiet that even the sound of a needle falling to the ground seemed clear enough.
Bang...bang...bang...bang.
Madam Sun stood up and was the first to applaud. She kept Li Diudiu in the beginning just because she liked children. She had no children and thought every child was cute. A child as handsome as Li Diudiu was likable in himself, especially his harmless face which made Madam Sun like him even more.
"reward!"
Madam Sun clapped her hands and said, "Reward!"
Shopkeeper Sun covered his face.
The first reward money for Li Diudiu came from his wife. According to the agreement with Li Diudiu, the reward money was split in half, so he lost half ...
Madam Sun set a good example. In this teahouse, everyone who had the leisure to drink tea, eat snacks and chat, none of them was short of small coins. They threw out handfuls of copper coins, showing some arrogance and condescension.
Li Diudiu didn't feel embarrassed at all. He leaned over to express his gratitude, and then picked up the copper coins scattered on the ground one by one, not leaving any behind.
I make a living through my studies, there is nothing shameful about it.
After playing three tunes in a row, Mrs. Sun, the die-hard fan, played her role again. After the first tune was played, Mrs. Sun sent someone to invite several ladies who were familiar with her. Those ladies came very quickly, and most of them arrived in time for Li Diudiu's third tune.
As a result, the copper coins scattered on the ground were more than twice as much as before. Li Diudiu couldn't understand why these ladies were more generous than the men.
How could he know that if he were a young girl, those men would be much more enthusiastic in throwing coins than they are now.
"Well, I invited you."
Madam Sun enthusiastically introduced Li Diudiu to the sisters: "Don't tell anyone, he is a member of the Four Pages Academy. He didn't come here for money, but to practice. He doesn't even have the courage. Who knows, he might not come here one day."
As soon as these words came out, the sisters felt even more excited, although they didn't know what excited them.
"Young Master."
A lady asked, "Besides playing music, what else can you do?"
Li Diudiu thought about it, and then answered seriously: "Eat."
He was really serious, but as soon as the word came out, those who were listening to the song all laughed and said that this little guy was really humorous.
Li Diudiu thought to himself that you are the one who is humorous...
In order to convince people, he explained more seriously: "I really know how to eat. Relatively speaking, playing music is nothing compared to eating."
Madam Sun asked, "What can you eat?"
A young woman next to her said with a smile: "In a few years, this little guy will eat me up."
A group of women laughed, and Li Diudiu thought they had a very low sense of humor. What was so funny about these words?
Women are so naive, Li Diudiu came to this conclusion.
"How about...I'll perform a show for everyone?"
Li Diudiu said more seriously: "But there is one thing, you have to pay for everything I eat."
A lady smiled and said, "Why, you eat me and I have to give you money?"
So the group of women started laughing again, and Li Diudiu thought that their sense of humor was getting lower and lower... He looked confused, and those ladies laughed even more happily.
Another lady smiled and said, "How much does it cost to eat? I'll treat you to whatever snacks and small dishes you want in this teahouse, as long as you can eat them."
Li Diudiu said: "Maybe it's not just about the money..."
Who would believe that?
So Li Diudiu began his performance.
When he was half full, the ladies had already opened their mouths wide and their eyes were round. They looked at Li Diudiu as if they were not looking at a person but a beautiful pocket and just poured food into it.
"This is more enjoyable than playing music."
The person who said this was not a lady, but a middle-aged man. He was chatting with a few friends and had forgotten what they were talking about.
"reward!"
He pointed at Li Diudiu and said, "Just for the way you eat it, this is a reward!"
The attendants around him immediately grabbed a handful of copper coins and scattered them out. The coins fell to the ground with a clatter. After the first clatter, the following clatters became a continuous one.
Shopkeeper Sun looked at Li Diudiu, his eyes full of business opportunities.
