Song You was awakened by the sound of gongs and drums outside.

When I opened my eyes in a daze, it was already the first day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Mingde.

The banging sound outside continued.

Song You took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. The air was very cold and the temperature was extremely low. In such weather, he should stay in bed for a while.

But he still lifted the quilt.

The calico cat huddled next to his thigh, lying down and burying her head deeply, her ears trembling slightly with the rhythm of the beating outside, especially the harsh sound of gongs and cymbals. It was obvious that she had also been awakened, but she still

I lay down and refused to get up. I thought I was very tired last night.

"..."

Song You couldn't help but leaned over, got close to Mao'er, and took a deep breath on her.

As expected, there was a warm brine smell.

Turning his head again, he scanned the room and found that the small movable stove in the room had slightly changed its position. It had been moved to and back again. A small pot was placed on the table. It was washed clean and could be used as long as possible.

If you imagine what it experienced last night, none of those things happened.

At this time——

The cat didn't know whether it was because the quilt left and the coldness replaced the warmth, or because he was confused by the Taoist's sniffing action on his body. He finally raised his head and stared at him with sleepy eyes.

"fine……"

As soon as the Taoist loosened his hand, the quilt fell down, covering the calico cat tightly.

It's really cold in the northern morning.

Exhaling a breath, it was a rich white color. When the Taoist got out of bed, he quickly wrapped himself in paper fur, then came to the window, opened it and looked down.

Although the town is small and there are not many people, the New Year atmosphere is not dull at all.

The Taoist looked at the window for a long time.

When he withdrew his gaze and turned around, he saw that the cat on the bed had a head come out from under the quilt, and only one head came out. To be precise, only the facial features were exposed, and the chin was pressed against the mattress. One can imagine

Judging from her body posture under the quilt, her eyes were half-closed, feeling sleepy, but she kept staring at the Taoist.

Seeing the Taoist looking over, she asked:

"Is today New Year's Day?"

"yes."

"Is it another year?"

"yes."

"Is it spring?"

"There are still a few days until the beginning of spring."

"When are we leaving?"

"It's too snowy in the north. Let's go after the snow melts."

"Are you going out?"

"Go out and buy some steamed buns." The Taoist said to her, "Does Sanhua Empress want to eat?"

"It seems like Sanhua Empress has just eaten it."

"..."

"The mice here are so small, only..."

When the calico cat was talking, the quilt shook for a while, and he stretched out a small paw in a white glove, as if he wanted to show the size of the northern mouse, but found that he couldn't use only one paw, so he had to use two paws.

It felt inconvenient and unnecessary, so he shrank back and continued to stare at the Taoist:

"It's small anyway, as big as Didi'er. Oh, it's about the same size as a pastry and round. Sanhua Empress can eat several of them in one meal, but Sanhua Empress made a lot of them last night and kept them all. Taoist priests these days

There is no need to ask Lady Sanhua to eat."

"..."

The Taoist hesitated to speak, and in the end he only left one sentence: "Ms. Sanhua worked really hard last night."

"It's not hard work."

"Then I'm going out."

"You go out."

The calico cat still kept its posture, with only a cat face emerging from the quilt, its eyes staring at the Taoist.

The Taoist shook his head and went out and went downstairs.

The calico cat also retracted its head.

The shopkeeper has been waiting downstairs for a long time.

"Sir, are you up?"

"get up."

“Prosperous New Year!”

"The store is also auspicious."

"Oh, by the way, sir, were you cooking the braised pork in the room last night?"

"No."

Song You could only answer truthfully.

Then he nodded to the shopkeeper and went out to the street.

A swallow followed him in the sky.

The streets are really lively on the first day of the first lunar month. This liveliness has little to do with prosperity or not. It is the rebound of the desolation and depression that has accumulated for a year. It will last at least until the first few days.

Except for the day of the beginning of spring, when the Taoist realized the spirit of the beginning of spring overnight, he still did not practice much. He only spent his time and energy on studying food. When he was free, he would walk out of the city and listen to books next door. In the past few days, he could meet him every day.

The young man named Xu Qiu'an refused to sit with him when the Taoist asked him to sit with him again. In the next few days, he may have started working again, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The business of the inn is gradually improving.

Song You lived here for a month.

The weather has warmed a lot, but the snow has not gone away outside the city.

Song You adheres to the concept of "the money he carries is Sanhua Empress's hard-earned money, so it must be saved". He negotiates with the store and continues to live here until the snow melts outside the city. The price is the same as the monthly subscription, but he will be charged for one day's stay.

The price for one day is equivalent to cheaper.

The store owner is an honest person and agreed.

But during this period of time, this gentleman has made the store anxious and confused.

What's anxious is that since New Year's Eve, people have been coming to ask what was cooked in the inn that day and whether it can be eaten in the store. However, although this gentleman has cooked braised pork twice these days, who can

Thinking that the pot of brine can be reused? Even if he wanted to learn from it secretly, there was no chance. That would make him extremely anxious.

Later, there were several midnight scents. Once, the store owner lit a lantern and searched around the house, but could not find the source of the fragrance. He couldn't help but be puzzled.

Fortunately, every time after midnight, the brine in the big pot will be less, and the water line will drop significantly. But now, the brine is almost used up, and this gentleman seems to be leaving. I wonder if I can watch it again.

Let him prepare the marinade again.

How can the store not be anxious?

There is still one doubt -

On the first day he moved in, this gentleman said that he had two friends in the city, and he had seen them in the inn these days. One was an extremely beautiful little girl, and the other was a

The extremely beautiful young man looked nothing like a normal person. As time went by, he found that these two people often could only go in and out, and they often came out without being seen going in.

At the same time, when the gentleman goes out, he is often followed by a calico cat and a swallow-like bird.

The shopkeeper often talked about this with his wife at night.

I also talked quietly with my relatives.

All I know is that this gentleman is not ordinary, he should also be an expert in spiritual practice with considerable abilities.

It's gradually arriving in early February.

The Taoist walked out of the inn again, followed by a little girl on the left, wearing three-color clothes, and a young man on the right, wearing black and white clothes.

"Sir, are you going out again?"

The store owner greeted him, but couldn't help but look behind him.

"yes."

"Where are you going again?"

"Let's go for a walk outside the city. The snow seems to have started to melt these days. Let's go for a walk by the river." The Taoist smiled at him and said, "Maybe in a few days, it's time to say goodbye to the store."
To be continued...