Fortunately, the weather has been pretty good in recent days.
The houses in Changjing City are not as spacious as outside the city, especially the houses of the housekeepers in Xichengdian. They do not have yards to dry the bacon, so they can only dry it outside the house. However, there are not many people who make bacon.
People walking on Willow Street in recent days can see that the shop with the flag "Tao" and the sign "Remove Rats and Worries" has bacon hanging out to dry. After a few days of drying, new sausages were added.
And Sauce Pork. The amazing thing is that there is often a cat lying at the door to bask in the sun and sleep, but it never steals meat to eat. Instead, when other cats and dogs come, it will wake up immediately and drive them away.
Everyone who comes and goes finds it magical.
There was also a miscellaneous book writer who regarded it as a strange event in Changjing and recorded it in his book.
When the cat is not around, he is a Taoist priest.
Anyway, someone has to guard it.
Sometimes the Taoist's cat would be there, and often the cat would be sleeping soundly at the door. Countless leaves fell in the autumn wind, and the Taoist would sit at the door with a bench and put leaves one by one on it until it was buried.
The cat knew it, but didn't pay attention.
After a while, Song You took the meat back into the house and hung it on the beam of the stove instead of taking it out to dry every day.
Changjing is also gradually turning from autumn to winter.
The neighbor woman hasn't come back yet.
The scholar ghost has not come back either.
The winter in Changjing is colder than that in Yizhou. The Taoist has already changed into winter clothes. As the weather gets colder, he also lights up the stove. He often uses the stove to boil a pot of tea and skewer a few skewers of meat for roasting, which saves a lot of time.
After dinner, I sat in front of the window on the second floor with a book and spent the whole afternoon, killing another half day.
In the evening, I went out for a walk to see Changjing in winter.
Changjing is the same as Yizhou. When winter comes, most of the clothes of the prosperous times are gone. The poor people in Xicheng are like ownerless cats and dogs everywhere. They still look the same in spring, summer and autumn. When winter comes, they are all gone.
It is really like wandering at the border between life and death. Maybe one night, people huddled at home or even on the streets will be frozen to death the next day when they fall asleep.
I heard from people in the teahouse that people freeze to death every day.
"The disease of the times..."
The south is still like this, but I wonder how miserable it is in the north.
Song You is sitting upstairs with a book in front of him.
This book was the "Yu Di Ji Sheng" that he had bought in Yidu. What he opened was the first page of the book, which was a simple map of Dayan.
The stove was burning in front of me, and there was a teapot on the stove. There was a gurgling sound in the pot, and the heat was rising.
What was boiled inside was official tea, with red dates and sugar added.
Next to the stove lies a calico cat.
The Taoist stretched out his hand to lift the teapot, placed it on the edge of the stove, filled a cup and a small bowl with tea, one was an ordinary pottery cup, and the other was fine exquisite blue and white porcelain.
You can't tell, but when it's placed in a hollow blue and white porcelain bowl, it's clear and bright red, making it very ornamental.
"Miss Sanhua is drinking tea."
"Cool it for a while before drinking."
"Okay." Song You tightened the paper fur on her body, "It's better to be the Sanhua Empress. She has developed the ability to change. She can change whatever clothes she wants."
"Miss Sanhua is amazing."
"It has been three seasons since we arrived in Changjing. After this winter, we should leave."
The calico cat immediately raised its head and looked at him:
"Are you leaving again?"
"There will still be some time," Song You said, "but we should start preparations in advance."
"Will you come back?"
"nature."
"oh……"
"Then let me ask the powerful Lady Sanhua to talk about it." Song You picked up a cup and drank tea, "We have started spring. After leaving Changjing, should we go north or south?"
"Miss Sanhua doesn't know."
"Going to the north will lead to troubled times, with demons and monsters causing trouble, and the people will have a hard time. Going to the south will be more peaceful, but you can also go to Fengzhou Yeshan to have a look." Song You said to her, "What do you think, Empress Sanhua?"
"Sanhua Empress will follow you."
"That's it..."
Song You raised his cup and slowly sipped the tea, lost in thought.
Changjing is the center of the world. Since arriving in Changjing, all kinds of harvests have been great, but I cannot stay here for a long time. I will eventually leave.
Even though he knew that Changjing was about to change and storms were about to rise, he still couldn't stay here.
This kind of historical drama often takes several years or even more than ten years to perform, and I cannot stay here just for it.
However, Changjing is the center of the world, not only in the political, economic and cultural sense, but also in terms of geographical location. And Dayan is so big that no matter whether you go south or north, you only need to go from one state to another, in a detailed and appropriate way.
To travel and gain experience, you still have to go back - it’s not necessary to go back, it’s a better route plan.
It is equivalent to dividing Dayan Prefecture into roughly four levels from north to south. Walk north, then east to the easternmost point, complete one level, come back and walk another level. In this way, you will complete two levels and return to Changjing.
Then take the remaining two floors to the south.
I just hope that when I come back next time, I can encounter the historical drama of Changjing, even if I just hear about it, it would be good.
"Speaking of which..."
Song You had finished the tea in the cup, but he did not put down the cup. Instead, he smelled the fragrance of orchids remaining on the wall of the cup again, and then continued to say to the calico cat: "It's getting colder and colder recently.
A few days ago, I heard people in the teahouse opposite say that it has snowed in Beiqin Mountain."
"It's snowing and cold."
"Yeah..." Song You said, "It's cold in the city, let alone outside the city."
"Yes."
"Why don't Sanhua Empress go out to hunt mice at night? It's the coldest at night. If you go to catch mice, you have to stay outside all night. Not everyone will prepare a stove for Sanhua Empress. Why don't Sanhua Empress finish this?"
Just rest as soon as you order." Song You looked at Mao'er, "It's better to stay warm at home."
"Miss Sanhua is not afraid of the cold!"
"Yeah?"
"In the past, when Sanhua Empress was in the temple, she would go out to catch mice even in cold weather."
"No need now."
"Now Empress Sanhua is even more powerful."
"That's it..."
Song You nodded and said nothing.
I just want to find someone to make her a mobile nest in a few days. It doesn’t need to be too complicated. It just needs a larger basket with a quilt inside and a layer on top. I can carry it with her every time I send her to work.
Go and take it back when you come back. After Sanhua Empress works the night shift every day, she can sleep in it and it will be warmer anyway.
Then Song Youcai said: "I want to go to Beiqin Mountain to look for Doctor Cai and the Snake Immortal again. Does Sanhua Empress want to go with me?"
"when to go?"
"In two days?" Song You paused, "It happens to be snowing in the mountains. It will be too cold in a while, and we have to leave after the spring begins. We have to wait for Empress Sanhua to finish this first
one."
"Can't find it again this time?"
"forget about it."
"..."
The calico cat hesitated, but after only a moment of hesitation, he stood up: "Miss Sanhua, I will follow you."
After saying that, he stretched himself and started licking the tea.
Perhaps he had never tasted sweetness before he became a demon. Once he attained Taoism, he found the taste so delicious that every time Songyou made tea, he would put a lot of sugar or honey in it. Although Changjing
Sugar is almost always added to tea in winter, but if you drink it for a long time, Song You will also worry about your health.
…
A few days later, one morning.
There is morning light in the middle of the heavy fog.
What is the best thing to do today?
It is better to travel and sleep better.
When Song You woke up naturally from his sleep, he took Cangshan Picture with him and left the city with Empress Sanhua.
It's not that I'm afraid that the Cangshan Picture will be lost at home, but that there is no bay red horse. If I want to stay outside in winter, I can't do it without a blanket, so I can think of it as a storage device.
As I walked slowly through the city, I could see how many people were suffering in front of me.
After leaving the city and walking towards Beiqin Mountain, the familiar road was no longer familiar to the scenery.
The further we go, the colder it gets and the wind gets stronger.
I spent a day at the foot of the mountain and slept one night in the open. When I got up the next morning, I saw that Beiqin Mountain was completely white.
Sanhua Empress still looked like a cat, with no shoes on her little feet. She came down from the wool felt. As soon as she stepped on the ground with one front paw, she immediately retracted it and looked up at him:
"It's so cold outside."
"Want me to hug you?"
"No~"
"You feel less cold when you walk."
So one person and one cat packed up their things, put them in the painting, then carried the painting box on their backs and continued on their way.
Walking a little further up the mountain, you can see the snow.
Song You originally wanted to hold Sanhua Empress in his arms or invite her into the sack, but she was too strong and insisted on walking by herself, so he had no choice but to leave a string of plum blossom footprints on the ground covered with frost and snow.
The deep mountain world under winter frost and snow is extremely quiet. It seems as if all the birds have disappeared in the mountains. Although there are people living on the mountain, there are no footprints on the road. Except for the occasional sound of broken branches falling and falling snow, almost no animals or insects can be heard.
The so-called sound of broken branches and falling snow has become a kind of decoration of silence. It not only does not disturb the silence, but also enhances it.
Compared with the buzzing of insects in summer, it is almost unbelievably quiet.
The further you go up, the thicker the snow becomes.
One person and one cat walk slower.
This time it took nearly a day to reach the original hut of Dr. Cai at dusk, but unfortunately, no one was found. It even felt that Dr. Cai had not found anyone since the last time he came here.
Never came back.
Song You had no choice but to stay one night in front of the house of Doctor Cai, and the next morning, he walked deeper into Beiqin Mountain.
After walking a short distance, there was no way.
Looking up, I saw vast white mountains.
"Um?"
Song You looked at the mountain on the left.
There is a path on that mountain. It looks like a huge boulder rolled down from the top of the mountain, leaving an obvious trace in the snow. However, the trace is not straight up and down, but it does not look like it was caused by a rolling boulder from the top of the mountain.
Song You and Sanhua Empress looked at each other and then walked in that direction. When they got closer, they could see clearly that it was not caused by rolling stones.
So follow this trace and move forward.
Another trip over mountains and ridges.
When I climbed up a hill and looked forward, I saw the end of this trail.
I saw a small lake in the vast white snow-capped mountains. The water was smoky. There were pines and bamboos on the lakeside, and there were several thatched huts, all covered with heavy snow in mottled white. There was a small boat floating on the lake, which could be seen from a distance.
I saw a figure wearing a raincoat, sitting on a boat fishing quietly, the scene was extremely quiet.
Song You looked at Sanhua Empress again and took steps forward.
The grass is deep and the snow is heavy, sometimes even up to the knees.
Slowly walked to the lake.
…
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