245, Back to White Deer Academy (please complete order)
For several days.
Bai Gui spared several hours every day to serve Master Ma, and he never got tired of it.
Master Ma was hit by a black bullet, and his injuries were repeated, causing high fever. This was the disease that brought Master Ma down and even led to his death.
On the first day of treatment, Bai Gui was not fully prepared.
So the next day, he exchanged some wound medicine from later generations. After cleaning the wound with alcohol and bandaging it, Master Ma's injury slowly healed and would not get worse.
At this time, there are only about ten days left before the end of the year.
"I wrote a letter a few days ago that I am going to Zishui County to visit Mr. Zhu..."
"Mr. Zhu is my master."
"The weather has been good these days. It hasn't snowed. It won't be too troublesome to go to Zishui County..."
Bai Gui said goodbye to Master Ma.
Originally, after visiting Xu Xiucai, he was going to visit Mr. Zhu in a few days, but when he visited the patriarch Bai Jiaxuan that night, he inevitably mentioned this matter. The patriarch Bai Jiaxuan said that Mr. Zhu was out visiting friends and giving lectures, so he probably had to pay a visit.
Some geniuses could only return to Zishui County, so this matter was delayed...
Mr. Zhu is Bai Jiaxuan’s brother-in-law.
Therefore, the information Bai Jiaxuan received was more accurate than Xu Xiucai's.
And... Now that the New Year is approaching, it stands to reason that Mr. Zhu will not not return to his hometown.
Moreover, during these days, he also heard the news of Mr. Zhu's return to his hometown, and he may have already arrived home.
So he is going to White Deer Academy now and will not miss anything.
"You have just returned to Qin Province, and it is necessary to come and become a disciple. My injuries are fine now. Although my body and bones are much worse than before and I can no longer use a knife, I can still live for more than ten or twenty years..."
"I have Brother Hao taking care of you here, so nothing will happen to you."
Master Ma was lying on the hospital bed and said with a smile.
His face was much rosier than a few days ago, but not as good as before.
Too much difference!
A serious illness nearly drained his energy.
If an ordinary person had a fever that went away several times, he would probably have died a long time ago. He was able to survive for more than half a month and was treated by Bai Gui, thanks to his good health.
Now his condition is stable and all he needs to do is recuperate.
It won't be a big problem if Bai Gui, the apprentice, is not around. Besides, Bai Gui has been serving for more than ten days, which is not a short time...
The two talked for a while.
Most of them talked about Mr. Zhu’s affairs.
As a native of Qin Province, Master Ma knew Mr. Zhu and respected Mr. Zhu, a successor of Guan Xue Taoism. This was one of the reasons why he decided to accept a disciple after hearing that Bai Gui was the successor of Guan Xue.
"Brother Hai, I've been thinking about it these past few days. It's time for boys to get married and girls to get married..."
"Brother Hai has reached the age of marrying a wife. The sooner you marry, the sooner you can spread your branches and continue your bloodline..."
"So I plan to go to Long Province after the New Year's Eve to help Brother Hai get married and arrange the wedding. This is also my responsibility as a senior brother."
During the conversation, Bai Gui hesitated for a while and then mentioned this matter.
He was not familiar with Master Ma's status among swordsmen or robe brothers, but he thought it was not too high.
Nowadays... even if Master Ma recovers, his physical strength will probably be almost useless. If he beats ordinary people, a dozen of them may not be his opponents, but if he continues to be a swordsman, without his former strength, his status will inevitably decline.
It’s easy to say how much honor someone can show you if they respect their past kindness, but it’s hard to say if they don’t respect their past kindness...
So he helped Brother Hai arrange the wedding, firstly to fulfill Master Ma's "dying" wish, and secondly, to help Master Ma calm down the scene and let others know that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse and support the scene.
Raise children to prevent old age, store grain to prevent hunger.
When a martial artist gets old, his boxing is afraid of losing strength, so he often accepts apprentices when he is young. This means that he should accept apprentices as early as possible. When he can no longer fight, he will let his apprentices fight for him. This is also the obligation of apprentices to maintain the dignity of the master...
Of course, this is just a metaphor, and it does not necessarily mean a martial arts competition.
But as a conscientious disciple, you have to worry about what to do if your master is old and can no longer fight.
"Since Brother Hai misses my mother-in-law, I'm glad that you, as a senior fellow apprentice, can help me think about it."
Master Ma said happily.
He was happy that he had the foresight to accept such a filial disciple.
…
Half a day later, Bailu Town.
Bailu Town, like Zishui County, is close to Zishui, so Bailu Town is basically the only place to go to Zishui County. But going to Bailu Village does not necessarily need to pass through Bailu Town, from the official road of the provincial capital
You can get to Bailu Village.
"It's almost the New Year's Eve, and the town is becoming more lively."
"By the way, today should be the Bailu Town Market..."
"There are quite a few people rushing to the last episode."
Bai Gui walked to the entrance of the town, got off his horse, held the horse's reins, looked at the crowd of people, and thought.
There are vendors selling food along the street.
The weather has been good these days. Except for mornings and evenings, it is warm and not too cold at other times.
Villages gathered in a certain area will have fixed times, and small vendors will hold markets within a fixed area.
Ji means gathering, and market means selling.
The villagers who come to the market are also called going to the market.
Soon after, he walked to Wangji Restaurant.
Wangji Restaurant is located in the most lively and prosperous place in the town, but the town is only so big. The so-called lively and prosperous is the main street. There are only a few food shops in the town. No matter how you open it, it will not leave the bustling place.
Far.
When the restaurant waiter saw a guest coming, he spontaneously led the horse to a nearby stable.
"Uncle Wang, come and have some food."
Bai Gui walked to the counter and smiled.
Restaurants in rural areas like this usually have a few fixed dishes, as well as some dishes that are not on the menu. For example, if you occasionally hunt a rabbit, you will have rabbit meat for cooking, and sometimes if you hunt a pheasant, you will eat it.
Can cook with wild pheasants.
In addition, there are not many vegetables out of season at this time, but they can be grown near the hot springs, but these green vegetables are not affordable for ordinary people and are expensive. Scarce things are more expensive, so some seasonal vegetables will not be included in the menu.
When you go to a restaurant to eat, it all depends on what you did today.
Shopkeeper Wang responded immediately, "Sir, please take a seat and wait a moment."
He was looking down at the abacus, looked up at Bai Gui, and immediately knew something in his mind.
At first glance, you can tell that this is a good value for money!
but……
Shopkeeper Wang frowned slightly.
He had just heard Bai Gui call him Uncle Wang, a title he had heard many times in Bailu Town. In a place, you can always get close to relatives if you have seven aunts and eight aunts. It is common to call him Uncle Wang.
But this gentleman dressed in a long gown called him Uncle Wang, which was the first time he heard it.
"It must be Mr. Bai. I didn't expect Mr. Bai to come to the shop..."
Shopkeeper Wang immediately thought of something, and said nervously with a flattering smile on his face.
He has been a restaurant manager for a long time, and his intelligence is beyond the comparison of ordinary people.
Among these ten miles and eight villages, there are not many people who have the ability to come out.
With Bai Gui's dress, he immediately thought of Gui Wazi who had delivered goods to him a few years ago. He looked vaguely similar, and he immediately had an idea in his mind and made a judgment.
"Just order whatever Mr. Bai wants to eat, and I will give Mr. Bai a free meal..."
"Mr. Bai finally came to the store once."
Shopkeeper Wang said quickly.
He is afraid.
Ever since he learned that Bai Gui had won the Three-Yuan Scholar Award four years ago, he had been worried that Bai Gui would come to take revenge. After all, when Bai Gui came to deliver goods in the past, he secretly lowered the price and made at least more than twenty taels of silver from it.
If you are an ordinary person, this is a normal behavior.
But who would have thought that Bai Gui's carp turned into a dragon, climbed the Dragon Gate, became a three-yuan scholar, and went abroad to study...
His status has changed, and what he did before was considered "normal" is now considered humiliating!
"I wanted to come here before, but couldn't get in..."
When Bai Gui heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said jokingly.
He didn't take Wang Ji's Restaurant into his heart. Otherwise, as a Sanyuan scholar, it would have been more than enough for him to come to Wang Ji's Restaurant to seek revenge four years ago, and he wouldn't have waited until today.
But today I happened to walk to Wang Kee Food Shop.
If you're interested, it's okay to come in, sit around, and have a few words of teasing.
"No matter what Xianggong Bai says, someone can stop you."
Shopkeeper Wang complained secretly.
It happened a few years ago. Logically speaking, he had forgotten all about it. But he was afraid that Bai Gui would seek revenge, so he remembered it deeply. When he saw the dilapidation of Bai Gui's clothing, he was worried that it would affect the business of the restaurant, so he put it in his mind.
It blocked the door.
But he didn't dare to say this out loud.
Bai Gui smiled faintly and was noncommittal.
Take a seat.
After a while, shopkeeper Wang personally served the wine and food, which were of the highest quality.
"This is an apology banquet. Please don't blame Mr. Bai."
"What happened in the past was my uncle's fault. Cheng Yi will give me something later..."
He kept bowing and said with a smile.
Cheng Yi, originally meaning travel expenses, was a sum of money given by relatives, friends or superiors as expenses when the ancients traveled far away. However, later on, some people came up with a clever name and borrowed the name of Cheng Yi to pay bribes.
Talking directly about money would be too vulgar, but Cheng Yi sounds much more comfortable and elegant.
"No need, Cheng Yi. I'm just here to have a meal."
"There was no big grudge before..."
Bai Gui took a few chopsticks of food and said.
Four years ago, shopkeeper Wang lowered the prices for the pheasants and hares he "hunted" a lot, but to be honest, the grudge wasn't that big and it didn't escalate to the point of killing them.
But at that time, I really had the intention to crush Shopkeeper Wang to ashes!
He is not a living Buddha or a great good person.
However... now my mood has changed, time has diluted everything, and my anger is not so strong anymore.
After walking to Wang Kee Restaurant, I saw that shopkeeper Wang was in a bad mood, and with this meal and apology, a lot of his dissatisfaction dissipated.
You can't really suppress Shopkeeper Wang. At his position, it would be a bit of a loss of status.
It’s similar to the allusion of Liu Chi Alley. In the countryside, try not to use the big rules from outside. People who know the world and understand etiquette will naturally respect you and let you stay three feet away from the hospital...
And if someone is unsophisticated, some people will teach him how to do things.
It’s not that there’s no need to fight, but it’s that it’s not necessary.
"Yes, yes, Mr. Bai returns to his hometown. As the elder..., no, no, no, how can I, a fellow countryman, not prepare for Cheng Yi?"
Shopkeeper Wang continued.
He didn't know whether Bai Gui was genuine or fake.
After dinner.
Shopkeeper Wang took out two small yellow croakers as Cheng Yi.
A standard small yellow croaker, one or two, can be exchanged for about forty silver dollars.
"No need, I don't lack the money."
Bai Gui declined.
He took out three single-cent silver coins from his sleeves as meal money and put them on the table.
The cost of this meal is probably about three cents. If it's less, it won't be too much, if it's more, it won't be too much more.
"My dear nephew, please accept it. If you don't accept it... I feel uneasy!"
Shopkeeper Wang smiled bitterly and confessed.
He finally understood that he was really not as good as this group of scholars in making excuses, so it was better to tell the truth frankly than to make excuses.
"Since Uncle Wang insists on doing this, it's easy to handle."
"I see it's winter in this town, and there are a lot of people who lack food and clothing."
"If you really want to apologize to me, just give me porridge. As for the time, you decide..."
Bai Gui paused and said.
Every winter, there are definitely many beggars who starve to death!
Along the way, he also saw some beggars along the way, and almost all the scattered copper coins he had on him were used up.
He is not a compassionate and good person, but if he can help, he will help.
It just so happened that Shopkeeper Wang wanted to apologize.
Instead of doing this, it is better to let shopkeeper Wang give porridge to help these victims.
A few days ago, he redeemed the Taoist talent of "deep blessings", but he never felt anything unusual. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that this talent of "deep blessings" changed his life, but only gave him
He has laid a starting foundation, and he needs to add more bricks and stones in the future.
As for adding bricks and mortar, he thought for a while, maybe it would be easier to start with good deeds.
"Soup porridge?"
Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Since this is what my nephew ordered me to do, I will give you porridge for a month."
"Sign up as a good nephew."
He is not a simple bad person. He is not willing to do such good deeds, and it is not easy for him to make money. But he is absolutely willing to use the lost money to donate money.
Giving porridge can also give you a good reputation.
Why not!
…
What happened with Shopkeeper Wang was just a small episode.
After Bai Gui came out of Bailu Town, he rushed to Zishui County before sunset.
Zishui County is a small basin surrounded by mountains.
Therefore, when going downhill from Bailuyuan to Zishui County, you need to pay attention to the road conditions to prevent slipping and falling, so the speed will inevitably slow down.
Bailu Academy.
Knock on the door.
"Mihe, why are you here so late at night?"
"Don't be careful."
Zhu Bai opened the side door of the academy and welcomed Bai Gui in, half complaining.
"I heard that sir is back."
"As a student, how can I remain indifferent? I haven't seen my mentor for several years and I really miss him."
Bai Gui smiled and carried the gift to the living room.
Along the way, he also took a careful look at Bailu Academy. Sure enough, as Xu Xiucai said, it was a lot shabby, and a thin layer of dust fell on many windows and doors in the front yard.
The withered yellow leaves, mixed with the remaining snow from the previous days, fell on the steps.
You know, at this time in the past, even if it was approaching the end of the year, there were still many members and students studying hard here, and the lights in some lecture halls were bright, not dim like today.
Without fame and fortune, few people can persevere and continue studying hard.
It is inevitable for people to get separated.
"Wait a moment, your husband will be back soon. He probably went to the Confucian Temple somewhere."
"I'll cook for you. I'll stir-fry some more vegetables today."
"I remember that you like to eat the pine and cypress meat stuffed buns that I made the most."
Zhu Bai smiled.
Bai Gui is a member of her clan, has a good reputation in the clan, is her husband's favorite disciple, and has been staying in the back house for a short time, so she has long regarded Bai Gui as her own child.
"Master Wife, remember to put a few more drops of sesame oil in the stuffing of the buns..."
"It tastes delicious that way."
Bai Gui saw that Zhu Bai had already walked from the living room to the corridor.