Chapter 220: Fighting in the Market, Playing Chess to Win
Chapter 220: Fighting in the market, playing chess to win
On the first day of the first lunar month, before dawn, Shen Tang and Liu Xiangling each held wooden sticks and beat the chicken manure that had been prepared. They called it "beating the ash pile", which was actually a humorous custom of seeking wealth. Then, Lian'er brought persimmons and oranges, and Shen Tang broke them open. Everyone shared the food, saying: "Everything is good." May everything be good and good for the year!
After everyone had changed into new clothes, they first handed over the messages they had already written to a group of guards and servants, asking them to send greeting messages to Shi Hao and other acquaintances at their residences! These people were all important officials in the court, and they would send greetings to them. Naturally, there was an endless stream of them visiting them for the New Year. It was not convenient for Shen Tang to visit them in person, so he sent in greeting cards first and waited until today to visit them at home. The two of them had no relatives or friends in Lin'an. Shi Hao, Zhou Bida and others had no time to visit today, but Lu You and his wife still wanted to go there.
After informing everyone, the two of them took two maids and guards and headed towards the Su family's old residence.
Sure enough, although Lu You had some colleagues in the capital, his official position was small, so no one visited him. He himself also sent a few farewell letters and did not go out. Because of Tang Wan's incident, the elders of both parties were very unhappy with the two of them. They were extremely dissatisfied, so there were only the couple and two or three servants in the mansion.
Lu You and his wife were naturally extremely happy for Shen Tang's arrival.
After visiting each other and chatting for a while, it was dawn. After some discussion, they split into two groups. Tang Wan and Liu Xiangling took their maids and several guards to the temple to offer incense, while brothers Shen Tang and Lu You , naturally have no interest in these, but go to the market to buy them.
The so-called Guanpu is gambling. However, unlike ordinary gambling houses, Guanpu is more entertaining, and there is almost nothing that cannot be Guanpu!
Especially in the Song Dynasty, almost everyone from the scholar-bureaucrats to the common people had a great interest in this pass. However, the court was worried that this pass would affect people's lives and the image of Lin'an, so it was banned most of the time. However, on this Yuan Dan day, from the first to the third day of the lunar month, the imperial court opened Guanpu, allowing the people to have fun. The two walked to the market, and sure enough, the colorful sheds of Guanpu were connected together. The products in the colorful shed include pearls, crowns, combs, shoes and socks, and more!
As for the types of Guanpu, there are also many types. You can Guanpu with acquaintances or with strangers. The objects of Guanpu can be the same tourists or people in shops.
The two shuttled among the crowds, listening to the constant shouting and watching the singing, dancing and juggling with special skills. It was so lively! The two also fought several times, agreed on the price and goods, and used copper coins to determine the winner. .In the end, the loser pays and the winner takes away the item. The two of them win or lose, which is extremely enjoyable.
After walking around for a long time, the two of them were a little tired.
"Brother Xian, can you play chess?" Suddenly, Lu You asked Shen Tang.
Shen Tang nodded, "I know a little bit, but I'm not proficient!" Shen Tang's words were somewhat modest. In his last life, he was in the mountains and had very few recreational activities. Playing chess is a rare opportunity for leisure. .
As for the opponent, naturally he was the only old Taoist priest. The old Taoist priest was extremely skilled in chess, so Shen Tang was naturally not his opponent at first. In order to win against the old Taoist priest, Shen Tang spent a long time studying various chess methods, chess records, etc. In the end, Finally, I was occasionally able to win one or two games against the old Taoist priest. In his excitement, he even took the title of "Shengtian Banzi"! However, these were naturally inconvenient for Lu You.
"Well, there's someone playing chess in front of us, and there's a tea stall. Why don't we play two chess pieces and have a sip of tea and have a rest?"
Shen Tang took it easy and followed the crowd for more than ten steps. He saw an old man with a white beard sitting quietly in a corner, with black and white chess pieces in front of him. Beside the old man, there was a small tea stall. Standing up, a man and a woman took care of the guests coming and going.
"Old man, what do you mean by playing chess?" Lu You stepped forward and asked.
The old man looked at the two of them and said calmly: "Ten copper coins a game!"
Lu You obviously had a lot of interest in playing chess. He immediately asked the tea stall nearby to bring two bowls of tea soup. He and Shen Tang also sat down. The black and white pieces were clearly laid out and they started fighting with the old man.
However, interest does not mean talent after all. Lu You's chess skills are mediocre, and he lost two games in a row after a while!
"My dear brother, I'm afraid you have to help me regain my position. My father-in-law is very good at chess, and I am no match for him!" Lu You said with a wry smile.
Watching the two of them playing chess, Shen Tang also aroused some interest. Dang even nodded and changed places with Lu You!
Shen Tang takes black as the first mover, and the white-bearded old man responds with white, and the two of them compete against each other. Different from Lu You's chess playing style, Shen Tang's chess playing is extremely fierce and strange. The pieces must be fought for, and they would rather exchange pieces than retreat at all. The old man's chess skills were indeed extraordinary, but he was overwhelmed by Shen Tang's fierce offensive. Halfway through the chess game, the old man had already surrendered.
When the chess game started again, the old man held black, and Shen Tang's style remained the same. Although the old man tried hard to maintain it, in the end, he still lost two eyes.
"Young master has great chess skills, but the method of playing chess is..." The old man was a little unwilling to give Shen Tang twenty copper coins, but he said calmly.
Shen Tang responded with a smile, "The purpose of playing chess is to win, just like two armies facing each other. How can there be any difference in means?"
"You, Master Chen, is just a little humble to you. What are you proud of?" A woman's voice like a silver bell suddenly came. Shen Tang looked back and saw a woman wearing red brocade clothes with feet on his feet. A woman wearing a pair of riding boots and holding a riding crop in her hand was standing behind him and glaring.
Although this woman looks young, she has bright eyes and white teeth. She is obviously everyone's daughter.
Seeing Shen Tang, the woman glared at Shen Tang fiercely, "Playing chess is a gentleman's sport, you are so shameless!"
Naturally, Shen Tang would not be serious with this little girl, but simply responded, "I, the Great Song Dynasty, lost half of my kingdom because I was too much of a gentleman!"
After that, he ignored the woman's cannibalistic gaze and directly put the twenty copper coins in his hand on the tea table beside him, then got up and left with Lu You.
"snort!"
Seeing that Shen Tang was ignoring her, the woman immediately snorted and wanted to catch up with her whip.
"Princess, Princess..." The white-bearded old man hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, "Princess, it's just for fun to play chess, why take it seriously!"
With the old man blocking her, the woman naturally stopped and said, "I just can't stand how proud he is. He just happened to win two games against Master Chen. What does it matter? Besides, judging from his chess playing style, he is definitely not a good person."
The old man gave a wry smile, and after some hard talk, he finally stopped the unruly princess. Then he closed the chess stall directly.
"Princess, we should go into the palace to pay homage to Your Majesty."
The woman pouted, "If you go to the palace, you have to stay in the palace for these few days. Although there are many people in the palace, there will be no bustle in the market! Moreover, the emperor will definitely inspect Guangling's studies, and maybe he will also
Being preached to!”
"Your Majesty is also doing it for the princess's good!"
After the boy picked up the chessboard and other items, the old man and the young man slowly disappeared into the bustling market.