It got dark and no one came to the door. Chai Tiannuo left amidst the chuckles of the scribes, knowing that he had acted too hastily.
How can a beggar with no writing skills be able to trust others and write letters on behalf of others?
Chai Tiannuo couldn't help but laugh loudly, never expecting that his own generation of literary saints would actually be here today.
The scriveners stopped laughing and looked at each other, looking at the figures retreating in surprise. They could tell that it was not a bitter smile, but a smile from the bottom of their hearts, with just a hint of self-deprecation.
"After all, you have to eat food one bite at a time. If you want to become fat in one bite, it's really too much."
Shaking his head slightly, Chaitino walked to a food shop on the west side of the market before it was completely dark.
These days, I have been optimistic that Lin Puji Grain Store sells both refined grains for human consumption and feed for livestock. If you are three big men, you can be a little surprised if you can't guarantee them all.
"Is there anyone?"
After entering the shop with half of the door panel installed, no one was seen in the hall. Chaitino shouted twice, and a dusty waiter came out beating his body.
Originally there was a smile on his face, but when he saw Chaitino, he collapsed. He thought it was a customer coming to the door, but unexpectedly it was a beggar.
Just as the waiter was about to scold and drive him away, Chaitino interrupted him with a wave of his hand:
"I'm not here to beg, I just want to buy some food to satisfy my hunger."
The waiter put away his impatience. After all, he was a guest, so he smiled and said:
"Some good millet has come in these past two days and is being ground into powder. Would you like some?"
Looking at the three big coins in his hand, Chai Tiannuo smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"The millet cake is indeed delicious, but these days I only have three cents left to cut firewood, so I really can't afford it. It's just enough to feed the animals, so I'll give it to you."
He stretched out his hand and handed over the hot boy that he was holding, but what Chai Tiannuo was thinking about was that back then, when he and Man'er didn't have enough money to travel to Beijing, the girl's idea was to buy some food to satisfy her hunger.
Many years passed by, and the beautiful woman passed away, leaving herself struggling with this world.
"Why don't you go begging?"
The waiter looked at Chaitino with a bitter face and asked softly.
Chaitino shook his head, waved his sleeves and said:
"I am not a beggar. I borrowed these clothes from the gods in the temple. After all, I have hands and feet. Even if I am hungry, I don't want to touch this food."
After looking at Chaitino carefully, the waiter asked him to wait, turned around and went into the back room. Not long after, the old shopkeeper came out with him, also covered with a lot of grain powder.
"Young students, the ingredients are what animals eat. Everything in them is mixed together. How can people eat that?"
"Old shopkeeper, if the animals can eat, I can eat it. If I'm hungry, I can even eat dirt. There's nothing I can't eat."
Chai Tiannuo smiled bitterly. The old shopkeeper thought for a while and waved the waiter to go to the back room to get food. He took the three big coins and put them away seriously.
After a short effort, the waiter brought out a large cloth bag and handed it to Chaitino. The old shopkeeper patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Nothing is always smooth sailing in this world. No matter how hard it is, you will get through it. Don't lose heart."
Chaitino carried the cloth bag and saluted the old shopkeeper, turned around and walked out of the shop.
Chaitino knew how much the three grown men could buy. The cloth bag might not weigh more than twenty or thirty kilograms, and even the amount of material was far beyond that.
Feeling a little tired after walking out of the city, Chaitino squatted down to rest. He opened his pocket and took a look. He smiled from the bottom of his heart and said with emotion:
"I've met a lot of good people in just a few days, and the education here is not bad."
What is in the cloth bag is not some ingredients, but red noodles mixed with a little bran. Although it is not considered a fine grain and the taste is not very good, it is not bad in nutrition and feels full. Not to mention three Wen, it is thirty Wen.
Can't take it off.
Chaitino shook his head slightly. He originally wanted to taste the sour and fermented but nutritious ingredients in Man'er's mouth, but it seemed that he had no chance.
Turning around and looking at the small town under the night, Chai Tiannuo smiled again. Due to people and things, he suddenly felt that this small town was very good!
As the saying goes, good things come in pairs. Chaitino carried the food up the mountain and found mushrooms growing beside the rotten wood on the roadside. He lit a fire in the temple and had a delicious meal with little oil and salt. His initially impetuous heart was completely restored.
It became quiet.
As I thought before, the road is ultimately to be walked step by step, and there is no point in being impatient.
On the second day, after eating the cake, Chai Tiannuo picked up a long knife and chopped firewood again. With food to satisfy his hunger, he saved the four or five cents of money he made every day.
More than half a month had passed, and he had almost eaten enough food. Chai Tiannuo had also saved one or two hundred dollars, but what made him most happy was that he was in good health.
These days, when the sun rises and the sun goes down, I eat enough food and wild vegetables from the mountains. My body, which was originally injured and injured, has finally recovered. Apart from a few more scars, everything else is normal.
Even for firewood, he could carry four bundles down the mountain at one time, finally looking like a man.
After selling firewood at the market that day, Chaitino first went to a second-hand clothing store to buy a scholar's robe.
If you want to be a contemporary calligrapher, you must have a decent appearance. Furthermore, I feel a little regretful that the gods in the temple have been ruined these days.
There was a white gown in the store, but Chaitino did not choose it. Instead, he spent fifteen cents on a gray gown with some frayed cuffs and a used coolie shorts.
Today is no longer the past. The immortal body has blessed me with no dust, and I have a lot of money and silk in my hand. White clothes are good-looking but not easy to wear. If I accidentally get dirty, a gray shirt that does not show dirt is more suitable for me today.
After changing clothes in a second-hand clothing store and coming out, the disgusted expression that had been glaring at him immediately disappeared. Chaitino sighed, a man relies on his clothes and a horse relies on his saddle. What he said is not wrong at all.
After buying the correct Four Treasures from the store, Chai Tiannuo went straight back to the mountains without leaving the stall.
After cleaning and drying the sacred robe, Chai Tiannuo spread out the rice paper and ground the ink carefully. He picked up the pen and was reluctant to write large characters. Instead, he carefully wrote two lines in small regular script with hairpin flowers:
"The water floating in the sky brings endless trees, and the rain clouds bury half of the mountain."
After writing two lines of words, I felt immediately relieved.
Early the next morning, Chaitino tidied himself up neatly, loosened his hair, tied it with a wooden hairpin, and went down the mountain with the four treasures.
Same place, same people, but the expression of the guy who borrowed the table and stool was very different, with a hint of smile on his originally stiff face.
There is a stall at the end of the alley, and a piece of white paper is posted on the wall, clearly written:
"One hundred words and three essays, don't take a penny if you don't follow your heart."
Other people's writings were all written in 100 words and 5 essays. Chai Tiannuo broke the rules by doing this, but it was also a helpless move. After all, the newcomer was in a bad position. Without discounts, how could there be business?
The other scriveners just looked at it and ignored it. The same reason is true. For a newcomer, no one will take advantage of the discount. After all, most of the people who need other people's scriveners are illiterate. If they write nonsense and make mistakes, it will be bad.
Already.
Chaitino sat there for several hours. People came and went in other booths, but he was deserted. However, compared with the previous time, he felt much more peaceful now, so he just waited. 33
At the end of the hour, a chubby wealthy businessman hurriedly walked over. He looked at the stalls first, then asked about the price. He frowned dissatisfiedly and said:
"How can one hundred words, five pens, and two hundred words not be ten pens? How dare you, half-assed scholars, to make money, charge such a high price for your job!"