Hearing Su Xiaomeng's words, I suddenly couldn't figure out her intention. It is not easy to enter the circle formed around any profession or thing, and it must go through a process. After thinking about it, I can only think that it is because
The piece of bronze I found in the Dead Village became a bargaining chip to enter the circle.
I have to admit that the bait thrown by Su Xiaomeng is very fragrant, and I have no reason to refuse. Although I don't want to deal with strangers too much, but other than this, is there any way to get more information?
"If it's convenient, then I'll leave it to you." I thanked Su Xiaomeng seriously.
"Tsk, tsk." Su Xiaomeng sighed exaggeratedly and said, "It seems that you are also very polite. It's completely different from last time."
Because we wanted to get in touch with her circle, we didn’t talk too much about bronze. We agreed on a time and place to meet. After hanging up the phone, I took the first step and went to the agreed place to observe.
After a while, I found that it was a very busy street in the old city, with countless shops and a large flow of people. I explored all the surrounding situations, even including the routes to retreat and escape in case of danger. In the past,
Experience tells me that when a person lives in this society, he must not have the intention to harm others, but he must have the intention to guard against others.
Then I rested for two days to recover from the fatigue of running around for days. During this period, I also tried to make some efforts, but that kind of bronze was too rare. I couldn't find any information on it either on the Internet or in books, so I had to give up.
Soon it was time to meet. The specific place we made an appointment was at a teahouse next to a Sichuan restaurant. Northerners rarely have the habit of spending time in teahouses. The business of the teahouse is not good, so I can observe it more clearly. I didn't
Go directly to see Su Xiaomeng, but guard secretly near the teahouse.
About ten minutes later, I saw a young girl running into the teahouse. She was not tall, but her long hair was as smooth as silk. It was fluttering as she ran. I couldn't quite see it.
I knew her appearance clearly, but the first time I saw her, I felt in my heart that this should be Su Xiaomeng.
She probably felt that the agreed time had arrived, so she hurriedly opened the door of the teahouse, raised her legs and stepped in. The moment she crossed the threshold of the teahouse, her slender legs formed a very elegant and beautiful figure under the jeans.
The posture. Looking at her is like looking at many young girls who are used to a lazy life but have to rush for something.
I observed carefully. After the girl who was suspected to be Su Xiaomeng appeared, the surrounding situation was normal. The flow of people was still bustling, and there was no smell that made me feel strange. I watched it secretly for about ten minutes. After I made sure there was nothing unexpected, I slowly walked away.
Walking out of the street corner, we approached the teahouse.
As I expected, the business of the teahouse was extremely deserted at this time. When I entered the door, I saw the girl who broke into the teahouse before, sitting at a seat by the window and looking around. I felt like meeting a friend.
, slightly expecting, and slightly nervous, paused for a few seconds, then raised his feet and walked towards her.
When she saw me, she stopped looking around, tilted her head slightly and stared at me for a moment, then pursed her lips at me, as if asking.
"Su Xiaomeng?"
"It's me, it's me!" She suddenly became excited, but at the same time she seemed a little dissatisfied: "You are fifteen minutes late."
"There's a traffic jam." I said and looked around secretly. It was indeed quiet in the teahouse and there was no one else.
When I sat opposite her, I immediately saw this girl who appeared suddenly very clearly. She seemed to be about 24 or 5 years old, but I wasn't sure because girls nowadays are easy to distinguish.
Wrong true age.
She is very white, petite and delicate, with a few light freckles on her face that are not very conspicuous, and a small tiger tooth. To use a more popular saying, she is the kind of cute girl who looks very cute.
.
"Oppa, what do you want to drink?" Su Xiaomeng grinned, her little tiger teeth sparkling, and pushed the teapot in front of me towards me, saying: "The specialty here is Fujian's Tieguanyin, Sichuan people buy raw tea leaves
, and then stir-fried with a unique technique, it is definitely completely different from the Tieguanyin you have drunk before.”
After all, she and I were not the kind of friends who would die at the sight of light, so gradually, the little nervousness in my heart completely disappeared. I chatted a few casually and drank some tea. The tea was indeed very unique. The tea leaves from the southeast came to the southwest.
Go and give birth to another flavor.
"You are stronger and more experienced than I thought." Su Xiaomeng held his cup in both hands, tilted his head and thought for a while, then lowered his voice and said, "Tell me, how do you find bronze?"
"Don't doubt that I'm lying to you." I took out the photo of the bronze, waved it in front of her, and said, "I didn't bring the bronze, but this photo is not a forgery."
"If I didn't believe you, would I meet you?" Su Xiaomeng pouted slightly, but still stared at the photo without blinking. This small detail made me notice that bronze really has a huge allure to her.
.
"Tell me about that circle."
The circle that Su Xiaomeng mentioned has a small number of people, because there are only a few people who have access to bronze, so it is very difficult to develop new members. After Su Xiaomeng learned about this circle, he probably only absorbed one or two people. The most discussed in this circle,
It's that kind of bronze. Of course, until this time, I didn't know the specific use of bronze, but I can imagine that if there are just a few pieces of bronze handed down from a long time ago, then they are just cultural relics at best.
This circle generally does not accept strangers, but Su Xiaomeng said that I am lucky because they just accepted a new member about three or four months ago, so at this time, it will be less difficult for me to get close to the circle than in the past.
More importantly, I have a piece of bronze in my hand, which is a very important bargaining chip. People in the circle regularly carry out some activities, and the main purpose is to find bronze. Now that I have brought bronze to their door, they can't refuse.
"Wait a minute, tonight is the day for our gathering." Su Xiaomeng drank tea and said: "We will know how it goes."
It was still a long time until evening, and I regretted it later. Su Xiaomeng's mouth was more efficient than the radio station, and she never stopped. I endured listening for a long time, and then I ate and bought some things with her.
I couldn't stand this, so I lost my patience with her, and urged her to get down to business quickly.
At nightfall, we moved from the old street to another street about 100 meters away. It was a little more remote. The old residential area had been demolished and there were few people. Su Xiaomeng took me to a bar that had been closed down for a long time.
, and then knocked on the door.
This bar should be a place where their circle usually gathers. When I entered, there were about five or six people inside. Their gatherings were rarely attended by outsiders. Anyway, I felt that these people were very unfriendly, and there was a vague look in their eyes.
There is a sense of alienation and even a bit of hostility.
Su Xiaomeng ignored the others for the time being and took me to the bar. There was a man sitting there, playing a chess game by himself.
"Lao An, someone is here." Su Xiaomeng stopped joking and said to the person seriously: "Take a look."
This man held the chess piece, slowly turned around and glanced at me. He was about forty years old, very dark and thin, and it was no surprise that he looked as gray as a pebble, but this
The feeling people give me is very unusual.
"What's your name?" The man named Lao An looked at me and asked lightly.
"North." I thought clearly. These people who have been searching for something all year round already have quite a lot of experience. They can find ways to find things, and they also have the ability to find out the details of a person. If I
If you give a false name now, it will definitely do more harm than good if they find out.
"Northern..." Dark and thin Lao An smiled and said, "Sit wherever you like."
The conversation with him was just a few sentences. I couldn't figure out what he meant for the moment. Just as I was thinking about it, Su Xiaomeng pulled me aside and I asked her how things were. She blinked and told me that she wasn't very good either.
It is clear that Lao An is a yin-yang person, and even people in the circle cannot understand his true thoughts.
After talking to Su Xiaomeng for a while, Lao An called her over there. After she left, I walked around the shabby bar alone. Those five or six people gathered together in twos and twos, all drinking. These people were very unhappy.
It's easy to make contact, and that kind of gaze can drive people away. I didn't want to make trouble for myself, and I didn't talk to them. I turned around and focused my attention on a big fat man.
That guy weighed at least 200 kilograms. He looked like a pile of moving meat when he sat there. He probably didn't have dinner and was eating very enthusiastically while holding two packages of chicken legs and elbows. He was much kinder than the others.
When he saw me walking over, he not only didn't look at me with a estranged look, but instead took the initiative to say hello.
"Have you eaten? Let's have some together?" The fat man held up his half-eaten elbow to show me. Because he was too fat, he couldn't see his eyes when he smiled.
"Have eaten." I had just arrived here and I had to at least find someone to ask about the situation, so the fat man gave in and I sat down across from him, took a can of beer and drank while talking to the fat man.
"No one cares about you, right?" the fat man said, looking over there, and whispered to me: "Don't take it personally, they were like this when I first came here."
When I said this, I suddenly remembered that Su Xiaomeng told me that a few months ago, the circle had just absorbed a new member. Could it be this fat man?
The fat man was kind and easy to talk to. We got to know each other after chatting for a while. I didn’t know if it was appropriate to inquire about the situation now, so I asked a little bit. The fat man probably knew that everyone who could be brought here must be absorbed into the circle, so
I also said a few things.
"How did you get in?" I asked the fat man. Judging from the large gold chain weighing almost a pound hanging around his neck and the watch on his wrist, he didn't look like a poor man.
"I'm very unjust." The fat man chewed his elbow and muttered: "I was forced and had no choice."