laughing saint

Chapter 2

In the winter of 1021 in the Daoxuan calendar, Yangcheng, a town in the south of the Daoxuan Dynasty
The sunlight scattered lazily, covering the entire streets of Yangcheng, giving it a little bit of golden light.

In the early morning, there were people passing by in twos and threes on the street. The workers who cleaned the street vigorously waved the broom in their hands. The broom made of bamboo leaves rubbed against the gray stone surface on the street, making a rustling sound.

Occasional birds chirping, occasional house dogs barking, people in Yangcheng slowly stretch their waists, uncover the warm bedding, and step down from the bed that can sleep peacefully regardless of whether it is comfortable or not. Everything in Yangcheng seems to be So harmonious, compared with the war in the northern border of the dynasty at this time, Yangcheng is very peaceful here.

Tranquility is more about a state of mind of people. Only when they feel safe can they be at peace and enjoy life without disturbance.

The scorching sun is rising, the chill is gradually dissipating, and the awakened Yangcheng is very lively. The wide variety of food in the market seems to really explain something. The people here live very comfortably.

Since the word coziness appeared, it has been a word with wisdom, coziness varies from person to person, and coziness has given different definitions because of different classes.

At the corner of Sajin Street in Nanshi City, there was a pair of teenagers dressed in old and worn cotton-padded clothes. The older one was 14 years old named Li Dazhuang, and the younger one was 13 years old named Chen Xiaofan.Li Dazhuang was talking endlessly, Chen Xiaofan kept silent and listened with a smile on his face.

"Xiaofan, you said it's already noon, and we haven't even got a single copper coin, so how do you live today!"

Chen Xiaofan kept smiling and said nothing, or he didn't know how to answer Li Dazhuang's words, so he could only laugh.

Chen Xiaofan smiled very warmly, beautifully, and sincerely. Li Dazhuang looked very annoyed!
"Why are you laughing! You didn't even get a copper coin, but you are still laughing, why are you pretending to be cowardly!"

Chen Xiaofan looked at Li Dazhuang with an undiminished smile, making Li Dazhuang feel a little unnatural, making Li Dazhuang more and more annoyed.

"What are you looking at! I think you are wrong!" Li Dazhuang scolded, spitting.

Chen Xiaofan smiled and said: "I don't think you're wrong. Men like to pretend to be aggressive. I'm 13 years old now, so I can be considered a man. If I'm a man, I like to pretend to be aggressive. No one can help me now." Pretend, I don't have the money for people to be pretended by me, very helpless, I can only pretend by myself.

I like to pretend with my left hand. I know you like to pretend with your right hand. Every time I see you pretending to be yourself, your expression is very cool, so I know you also like to pretend. Since we all like to pretend, then you Don't be so annoyed. "

Li Dazhuang obviously did not expect to say such words from Chen Xiaofan's mouth, and he kept saying it with a smile, as if he was talking about a very holy thing, an eternal truth, Li Dazhuang was at a loss for words and could only continue. Cursed: "I don't even know what that stinky Taoist priest taught you, just talking nonsense all the time!"

"This is not nonsense, this is the truth, and the truth is often held by a few people, and those who hold the truth are often spurned by the privileged class, because they don't want too many people to hold the truth, they only want people to understand what they think The truth, but I was very unlucky to grasp the truth, so I can only be a beggar!" Chen Xiaofan retorted with a smile.

"But I didn't grasp the messy truth you said, but why am I a beggar?" Li Dazhuang asked with interest, because he always wanted to know why he was born a beggar.

Chen Xiaofan looked at Li Dazhuang seriously, and Li Dazhuang waited seriously, hoping that Chen Xiaofan could really say something to change his destiny.

After a while, Chen Xiaofan replied concisely: "That's because of your bad luck!"

"Fuck~ It's just such a nonsense after watching it for so long!" Li Dazhuang cursed, knocked on Chen Xiaofan's little head, and said angrily: "Master, since you have grasped the truth, can you tell me what we are doing today?" How about lunch?"

"How about we go to Juxianju?" Chen Xiaofan suggested.

Juxianju is a high-end restaurant in Yangcheng, where literati, practitioners and dignitaries often gather.Juxianju is located next to the river, with bamboo as the curtain and pine as the bone. The environment is very quiet, and the dishes here are also very delicious. A "Jade Seafood Cup" is based on Yangcheng's unique green blood shrimp and Yangchun fish. The ingredients are stewed, which is very delicious and famous all over the world.

When the two little beggars talked about going to the "Juxianju", of course they didn't mean going there for a dinner party, because the little beggars had no money, no power, and no transcendence of practitioners, so they couldn't be virtuous, so they couldn't gather virtuous people.

Hearing the name of "Juxianju", Li Dazhuang spit, as if seeing delicious food, he hesitated for a while and said: "Those helpers there are so fierce! Every time we go to clean up the leftovers dumped at the back door , They always chased us with sticks and beat us, yelling that this is what they want to feed the dogs! We won’t be allowed to eat it.”

Chen Xiaofan looked at Li Dazhuang's tangled look, smiled and said, "Did you forget that you can ask Xiaoqing to help?"

"Wouldn't Xiaoqing be suspicious of those helpers who always ask Xiaoqing to help?"

Chen Xiaofan said with Chen Zhu in his heart: "There is no doubt, Xiaoqing likes dogs very much, and often raises dogs. Those helpers will believe that she is feeding the dogs with the leftovers."

Li Dazhuang's eyes lit up when he heard Chen Xiaofan's eyes. The original sentence was sour and bitter, but it was as sweet as honey to him. He would not lament that this person is not as good as a dog, but just wanted to find Xiaoqing quickly. help.

"Then let's go quickly, Xiaoqing prefers to talk to you, Xiaofan! Our lunch or even dinner depends on you!"

Chen Xiaofan nodded confidently and said: "Let's go, let's go over now, if we go late, we might really be eaten by dogs!"

Competing with dogs for food is not an honorable thing, but Chen Xiaofan walked steadily, looking very calm in the sun.

Li Dazhuang on the side was a little uncomfortable with Chen Xiaofan's calmness, or his face was thinner than Chen Xiaofan's, so he whispered: "Xiaofan, I'm going to compete with the dog for something to eat, you can Don't you take the steps of a soldier to go to war?"

Chen Xiaofan smiled and replied: "Soldiers go out to fight the beastmen, we are not capable enough, so we go to fight the dogs. In a sense, we are fighting the beasts just like the soldiers, for survival. Then why can't we go calmly?!"

"Is this also the truth?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I admit that what you said gave me a sense of satisfaction, let's go! Let's go to meet our victory together." Li Dazhuang said as he stood up straight.

After walking through several streets and bypassing several roads, Chen Xiaofan and Li Dazhuang came to the courtyard where the kitchen of "Juxianju" is located.

Like the other girls in Juxianju, Xiaoqing had just finished her work. There were a lot of guests in Juxianju at noon. Although Xiaoqing was only responsible for serving the dishes, if there were too many people, the work would still be exhausting.

Xiaoqing is 15 years old this year. She doesn't know what her surname is. She has been waiting for her parents to come back and return her surname to her. This is her wish since she was sensible. The wish is simple but pale.

Xiaoqing is relatively handsome, and according to the shopkeeper of Juxianju, it matches the temperament of Juxianju. She has been working in Juxianju since she was eight years old, eating here and sleeping here, so she became the owner of Juxianju. people.

Chen Xiaofan climbed over the small fence very lightly, and pretended to bark a few dogs near the kitchen, the barks were very similar, few people could tell the difference between the barks and real dog barks, but Xiaoqing could.

Xiaoqing smiled unknown, quickly took two more mouthfuls of rice, got up and took the vegetables that hadn't been poured into the leftover bucket, made some rice, put it in the basin, covered it, and put it on the table. The little girl at the same table said: "Those little guys are hungry, I'll feed them first."

The helpers and chefs in the kitchen, both male and female, knew that the little guy Xiaoqing mentioned was a puppy raised in the restaurant, and they didn't have the slightest suspicion, because Xiaoqing really often stayed with the puppy.

Xiaoqing went around a corner, and a smiling face protruded from the corner. The smile was so sincere that people could feel a deep sense of gratitude.

"Miss Xiaoqing! You're here!" Chen Xiaofan said softly.

Chen Xiaofan is used to adding the word "姐姐" when calling Xiaoqing, firstly because Xiaoqing is indeed two years older than him, and secondly because adding the word "姐姐" easily makes people feel pity for young people, and it is not suitable for women or girls. Special works.

"Xiaofan, be hungry, eat quickly." Xiaoqing's tone was full of love.

"Thank you Miss Xiaoqing, I will wait for me to become famous in the future, and I will definitely repay you well!" Chen Xiaofan said after taking the food.

"No need to say thank you, you should go with Da Zhuang to see if you can find a job, it's not a problem to always rely on begging like this."

"Don't worry, Miss Xiaoqing, I'm working hard. If I can understand the spirit of heaven and earth, I will definitely have a bright future when I am admitted to Daoxuanxuan Academy!" Chen Xiaofan said slowly and confidently.

"Oh!~~" Xiaoqing sighed.

"What's the matter, Miss Qing?"

"I'm not talking about you, don't always be fooled by that stinky Taoist priest, he taught you to practice, but it's been two years, what did he teach you? Not everyone can be a practitioner, Xiaofan, you should keep your feet on the ground How about?" Xiaoqing persuaded.

"I think I have a chance to become a cultivator. Didn't Hong Qiye, the saint who shocked the mainland back then, also come from a beggar? I think I have many similarities with him."

"Hong Qiye?"

"It's the saint who was born as a beggar and killed a giant dragon with only eighteen palms." Chen Xiaofan explained.

Chen Xiaofan has always liked Hong Qiye very much, maybe Hong Qiye was a beggar like him, anyway, Chen Xiaofan always has a proud look when talking about Hong Qiye.

Seeing Chen Xiaofan's joyful expression, Xiaoqing knew that her persuasion failed again.

Xiaoqing shook her head and said, "Okay, my sister is going back to eat, you should go back quickly, don't make Da Zhuang wait too long."

"Miss Xiaoqing, please go, I will go back first."

Chen Xiaofan bid farewell to Xiaoqing, and climbed over the wall again. Li Dazhuang outside the wall was indeed waiting a little anxiously. When he saw Chen Xiaofan came back, he couldn't wait to ask: "What's delicious today?" He grabbed the basin in his hand and opened the lid.

"Haha, since it's sweet and sour dace and a few pieces of charcoal-grilled corner beef, it's not bad!" Li Dazhuang smirked in satisfaction.

Chen Xiaofan poked his head over, looked at the dishes in the basin, and said with a satisfied smile, "It's true!"

Li Dazhuang stretched out his hand and grabbed a piece of horned beef barbecue, just about to eat it, Chen Xiaofan patted the back of his hand heavily, and slapped the horned beef he just picked up into the basin.

Chen Xiaofan glared at Li Dazhuang and said: "You want to kill Miss Xiaoqing, if you want to eat it, you can't eat it here!"

Li Dazhuang smiled awkwardly, obviously he hadn't thought about the problem of not being able to eat here. After a brief smirk to apologize, Li Dazhuang stared at the food in the basin, spat again and said, "Good Xiaofan, hurry up and order a meal." Come on, I can hardly bear it!"

Chen Xiaofan suddenly had goosebumps all over his body, Li Dazhuang's cute act like a baby, in Chen Xiaofan's view, no, it should be said that most normal people would find it quite disgusting.

Of course, some people with special aesthetics, those who like to watch muscular men act like daughters, will find Li Dazhuang's acting like a baby very cute.

Chen Xiaofan scolded with a smile: "You big fool, when did you learn to play tricks?"

"Playing with small thoughts? I don't have one!"

"No? Then when you spoke like that just now, you didn't want to disgust me, so that I couldn't eat it so disgustingly, you can eat more!"

"Chen Xiaofan, you are the only one who thinks so much! Well, stop talking nonsense! I'm hungry!"

"I'm hungry too, let's go."

"Where are you going?" Li Dazhuang asked.

Chen Xiaofan told Li Dazhuang with a smile: "Beside the river, there is a forest of smoked willows."

The old Taoist taught Chen Xiaofan that delicious food needs to be tasted in a beautiful environment, so as to taste its beauty and taste, Chen Xiaofan deeply believed in this, so he decided the location in the Willow Forest.

In the shade of the willow trees, the river breeze is slightly rippling and cool. Two teenagers in shabby cotton clothes, one stout and the other elegant, eat with their heads down and look up at the river. Very natural and casual, casual is a kind of comfort!
(End of this chapter)