Volume 5: The Age of Storms Chapter 0608: Clearing the Clouds
"I don't care about the status of the person I marry, as long as the other person treats me well."
The word "good" is too metaphysical and there is no unified standard.
If a boss says to his employees, "Work hard and I will give you a new sister-in-law next year," how would the employees know how hard they have to work in order to successfully get a new sister-in-law?
The safest thing to do is to work yourself to death and die suddenly.
Meng Po has a younger sister named Meng Jiangnu, who is very pretty. Don't worry, you will still have a chance to find a new sister-in-law after you go down.
"Very good." Nan Yi nodded and asked, "Does Xiao Tian on the train last time have anything to do with this case? If it's inconvenient, don't tell me."
Luo Qianqian said: "It's not inconvenient. I would tell you even if you don't ask me. Xiaotian's real name is Tian Jing. She is a mistress nicknamed Tianzhi. Tianzhi is one of the devil's subordinates. It is not clear what he is responsible for yet.
Tian Zhi was very cautious and didn't tell Tian Jing too much about himself, but Tian Jing did tell us a name, which was also a nickname, called Shi Han E."
"Which one?"
"The ruler on the left, one on the upper right, one or two."
"Oh, Tianzhi, that means Heavenly Dao. Please spell every word of the name at the end for me."
"The shi in stone, the han in secret letter, and the goose in chicken, duck, and goose."
Nan Yi asked thoughtfully: "Do you know other people's nicknames?"
"No, there are only these two. The others are the devils."
"Let me think about it." Nan Yi racked his brains and thought hard for a while before saying, "In the late Tang Dynasty, there was a man named Duan Chengshi. He wrote a book called "Youyang Miscellaneous Records" which covers a wide range of topics. One of the volumes in this book is called "Shishi", which tells stories about ghosts and gods and tomb robbers.
In fact, there is such a story: In a place called Beiqiu in the Tang Dynasty in Lu province, there is a tomb of Duke Jing of Qi. A group of people entered it and went down the tomb passage about ten meters away. They found a stone casket. When they opened the casket, they found a living goose inside.
After the goose was released, it flapped its wings and flew deeper into the tomb. The group followed the goose into the underground palace and walked down another three or four meters. Suddenly, a puff of green smoke came out. A bird happened to fly in the air and was smoked by the green smoke, so it fell from the sky.
Obviously, Fei Niao was poisoned. Seeing this, the group of people dared not go any further.
Don't ask me why there are flying birds in the tomb passage, it's just what it says in the book, and that's not the point, stone coffin, goose, what do you think of it?"
"Are you trying to say that the nickname of the Stone-Han Goose comes from this story?" Luo Qianqian said.
"Not only the Stone Goose, but also Tianzhi." Nan Yi nodded and said, "Perhaps you will think it is a coincidence, but what if I tell you that the reason I know about the book "Youyang Miscellaneous" is because of Lou Xiaoyuan?"
"He was the one who told you about this book?"
"Yes, the second time I met him, he told me a story about Li Ji trying to kill his own grandson Xu Jiye. Later I asked him where this story came from, and he told me Youyang Zazu. I later found the book and read it all over."
"Grandpa's surname is Li, and grandson's surname is Xu?" Luo Qianqian asked in surprise.
"You don't even know this, it's not right. In the past few years, the crosstalk "Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong" was often broadcast on the radio, and it also talked a lot about the history of the Tang Dynasty. Even people who haven't read much know that Li Ji is Xu Shiji."
"Mr. Nan, just stick to the facts and don't take the opportunity to ridicule me." Luo Qianqian said angrily.
"That's not what I meant. Many people do know this. Forget it, let's not talk about it. You just need to know that Tianzhi and Shihan'e both have allusions in Youyang Zazu. If my guess is true, then Li Tangming's nickname is not the devil in "Little Devil", but the son of the devil.
In addition to these three nicknames, you can pay attention to the nicknames Baby in the Bottle, Pipa Scorpion, Flying Head, Jade Axe and Feathered Woman. These nicknames have allusions in "Youyang Zazu", and most of them are related to tomb robbing.
By the way, if there is really a nickname called Feathered Woman in use, it may not be just one woman, but two people, a man and a woman. "
"Why do you say that?"
"There is a section called "Dong Yong" in "Youyang Zazu", which is one of the earlier legends about Dong Yong. The Weaver Girl was ordered by the Jade Emperor to weave cloth for Dong Yong to pay off his debt. The man farmed and the woman wove, and they naturally fell in love over time. However, the Weaver Girl was only following orders, and after paying off the debt, she had to return to heaven to report.
The day will come when the two of them will separate...
Forget it, I won’t go into details. In fact, it is similar to the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. You only need to understand two points: one, the Weaver Girl is also called the Feathered Girl, and two, the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl appeared later than "Youyang Zazu".
Do you know "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"?
Luo Qianqian: "Yes, it was written by Pu Songling."
“ Many stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio have prototypes in Youyang Zazu. In fact, many ghost legends in the Ming and Qing dynasties also have prototypes in Youyang Zazu. It is no exaggeration to say that Youyang Zazu is a source material library for ghost and tomb-robbing stories.
Based on my limited understanding of Lou Xiaoyuan, he should have a deep knowledge of classical Chinese and history. In a sense, he should be considered a man of letters.
Most intellectuals have the habit of showing off, but they don’t do it very directly, but rather in a very subtle way.
Although the nicknames I mentioned earlier sound very straightforward and nothing magical, they are the origins of many majestic titles.
For example, I talk to you about Zhu Yuanzhang, but I don’t say his name directly, but I say Zhu Wusi’s son.
When I say Zhu Wusi's son, you may not realize that I am actually talking about Zhu Yuanzhang. In this way, I am showing off to you implicitly and crushing you in my knowledge.
Of course, Lou Xiaoyuan may not necessarily mean to show off, he just really likes the book "Youyang Miscellaneous";
Or maybe his subordinates were just chess pieces in his eyes, and he didn't even bother to think about the nicknames. Maybe he was holding the book "Youyang Miscellaneous" at the time, and he just picked a few names at random from the book, without any special meaning at all."
"So what's the meaning of the nickname you mentioned?"
"All three nicknames match, which is a great reference. If you find another one of their accomplices and the nickname happens to match, then it will be of great help to you in finding the next one."
What Nan Yi said were all his speculations and could not be fully believed, but Nan Yi himself was certain that the inspiration for Lou Xiaoyuan's nicknames for his subordinates came from "Youyang Zazu".
If he had not read "Youyang Zazu", he would not have known that the baby in the bottle refers to the drought demon, the flying-headed one refers to zombies, the jade axe refers to aliens on the moon, which can also be said to be the prototype of the story of Chang'e and the Moon Rabbit, and the scorpion with the pipa refers to a powerful fairy.
These nicknames seem to have no connection with each other, but they correspond one by one to the division of labor in tomb robbery, and also to the positive, negative, escape, wind, fire and rumor elimination of Qianmen.
Besides, tomb robbing and reselling cultural relics are both shameful activities. The purpose of a nickname is to hide the real name. There is no need to call it so loudly. Why do you have to call yourself king, god, or tiger? Are you afraid that others will not notice you?
"I'll talk to Captain Zhou and take your words as a reference."
"It would be great if I could really help you." Nan Yi looked at his watch and said, "Someone asked me to have dinner at Fangshan Restaurant. It's almost time, let's go there now."
When Nan Yi and the other arrived at Fangshan Restaurant, Chen Feng was already seated.
When Chen Feng saw Nan Yi, he was about to speak, but Nan Yi said first: "I have good news for you. The horse you liked very much in New York was bought by me a few months ago. It is now in Xiangkeng. You can stop by to have a look when you are on a business trip."
Nan Yi suddenly said this, so Chen Feng had to think about it. "New York and Ma, they are talking about my embarrassing things. I bought them a few months ago... I have seen them several times recently, but I didn't say it earlier or later, but now."
Chen Feng glanced at Luo Qianqian next to Nan Yi, and thought again: "I don't know him. He is having dinner with me. It is impossible for Nan Yi to bring a stranger here. Why must he bring one? New York, Ma... Shit, there is a Lei Zi hanging around him, what the hell."
"You actually bought it. How much did you spend on it?" Chen Feng said in surprise.
"The horse is already old, so the price is not expensive at all, just about the same as the shipping fee." Nan Yi pointed at Luo Qianqian and said, "Let me introduce you to Luo Qianqian, my friend."
"Hello, my name is Chen Feng, please take a seat."
After listening to Nan Yi's introduction, Chen Feng spoke in a lukewarm tone.
"Well, thank you."
Luo Qianqian chose a seat next to Nan Yi and sat down.
Nan Yi: "What did you order?"
"Braised bear paws, lotus bird's nest, red shark fins, goldfish duck paws, and fried chicken breasts. I'm going all out today. This meal will cost several hundred yuan." Chen Feng said with a bitter face.
"Haha, if you feel bad, I'll just smell the bear paw later."
"That's nonsense. I want to make some changes to the yard. I want to make a pond and raise two turtles and some koi in it. I also want to put a waterwheel on it. Not the kind with a round disc that relies on a water channel. I want the kind that you pedal with your feet."
What Chen Feng was talking about had actually been mentioned during the last dinner. When Nan Yi heard him say this, he immediately understood that Chen Feng had understood his hint.
"The scientific name of the thing you're talking about is a keel waterwheel. In some places, it's also called a tipping wheel or a pedal wheel. Do you plan to just watch it as a sight, or do you plan to pedal it when you have nothing to do?"
"It would be best if I could step on it twice, but if I could, the thing would have to be big, and it would take up too much space..."
Nan Yi and Chen Feng chatted back and forth about the waterwheel. After a few sentences, they talked about something that they didn't talk about last time.
Anyway, whether we have talked about it or not, it’s all bullshit and there is no truth to it.
Neither Nan Chen nor the other had the awareness that "there is nothing that cannot be said to others". With Lei Zi sitting next to them, there was no way they could get to the bottom of the matter.
The atmosphere during the meal was not tense, but the three people at the table all had greasy mouths.
Bear paws, so rare. I heard that if the Japanese TV station hadn't come to shoot a documentary called "China's Food Culture", Fangshan Restaurant wouldn't have found ways to get a few more bear paws. If the quantity was not large, it would have been impossible for Nan Yi and his friends to eat them.
After eating and drinking, Nan Yi said goodbye to Chen Feng and took Luo Qianqian to the Great Wall Hotel.
After checking in at the front desk, Nan Yi and the other person appeared in the room shortly afterwards.
"You sleep on the bed and I sleep on the sofa. I don't have the habit of sleepwalking and I don't plan to go to the bed. Don't come over here in the middle of the night."
"De Xing, who wants to go over there? You go out for a while, I'm going to take a shower." Luo Qianqian said with a blank look at Nan Yi.
" Is an hour enough?"
Luo Qianqian rolled her eyes at Nan Yi again.
