Li Shoumin introduced his two younger brothers, named Li Xiangji and Li Shouji respectively.
Everyone exchanged a few words before everyone sat down and started eating.
This family has very good rules. Mrs. Zhou is the elder and sits at the head of the table. Zhou Hexuan is the guest and sits on the right. The eldest brother Li Shoumin sits on the left. The two younger brothers sit on the front with their backs to the door.
All the dishes on the table were home-cooked side dishes. Only the twice-cooked pork was meat, and it was deliberately placed close to the guests. The rice was a bit rough and yellow in color, and it looked like it was aged for more than three years.
Zhou Hexuan only glanced at the dinner table and had a basic understanding of the family's situation - the family tradition was very strict, but the economy was not rich.
Li Shoumin took the initiative to ask about Zhou Hexuan: "Brother Hexuan's accent is very correct. Is he from Zhili?"
"My ancestral home is Hebei," Zhou Hexuan began to fabricate his resume. "I grew up in Nanyang when I was a child. Later, when my family fell into trouble, I moved around with my parents. After the death of my two elders, I wandered around the Western countries. I just returned to my country by boat a while ago."
Li Shoumin had only studied in a private school and said enviously: "Brother Hexuan is a top student in which famous Western school?"
"I feel ashamed to say that although I have traveled around the world, I do not have a formal diploma," Zhou Hexuan said with a wry smile. "The main reason is that I have no money in my pocket, so it is very difficult to fill my stomach. This time when I return to China, I plan to find a job in Tianjin to make ends meet.
."
Mrs. Zhou suddenly interjected: "Shanji, you can help Mr. Zhou keep an eye on it."
Zhou Hexuan quickly asked: "Where is Brother Shoumin employed?"
"I can't talk about being high. I only have a job at the New Tianjin Evening News." Li Shoumin briefly explained his situation.
He used to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Peiping and was considered a minor civil servant. Later, when the Second Zhili-Fengtian War broke out, the warlord Hu Jingyi joined forces with Feng and Sun Dazhi, so Li Shoumin took refuge with Hu Jingyi and became the military secretary. He traveled to various parts of the north to fight in wars, and later followed
The troops were stationed in Tianjin. Hu Jingyi died of illness in April last year, and Li Shoumin lost his backer, so he took off his military uniform and worked as a proofreader in a newspaper.
Li Shoumin's second brother Xiangji just turned 20 last year and works as a clerk in Tianjin Lili Bookstore. His third brother Shouji is still in school.
Zhou Hexuan inquired: "How is the salary at the newspaper?"
Li Shoumin smiled and said: "Then it depends on which newspaper company you look at. The newspaper with the greater sales volume will have better benefits. What, Brother Hexuan wants to join the newspaper company?"
"My writing is not bad." Zhou Hexuan said vaguely.
Li Shoumin said enthusiastically: "Then I will help you ask tomorrow to see if our newspaper office is still short of people."
…
After dinner, Mrs. Zhou cleared the table and washed the dishes, leaving Zhou Hexuan and others to continue chatting.
Li Shoumin talked about a lot of domestic situations, while Zhou Hexuan introduced the customs of Western countries in a messy manner. He did not dare to go into too much detail, so he could only talk about the folk customs of Britain, the United States, and France. Thanks to his travel experience before traveling, Zhou Hexuan still felt comfortable with this.
Some understanding.
"When it comes to Italy, the most interesting one is Venice. The entire city is built on water. People take to the streets not by carriages and horses, but by rowing. The city's bridges and water streets are crisscrossed and connected on all sides." Zhou Hexuan
Open up the conversation and say.
Li Xiangji said in surprise: "That's strange. The city is full of water, and the humidity must be very heavy."
Li Shoumin smiled and said: "It has a bit of a Jiangnan water town flavor."
Zhou Hexuan added: "The Carnival in Venice is particularly famous. On that day, every citizen will wear a mask and pretend to be someone else. At this time, people no longer have classes, rich or poor. Counts can dress up as beggars, and farmers can also dress up.
As a prince, the commoners and nobles enjoy themselves and perform their own life drama."
"It's interesting, it's interesting that there is such a festival in the world." Li Shoumin said repeatedly, and he asked, "Are there any beautiful mountains, rivers and dangerous peaks abroad?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "The highest peak in the world is undoubtedly the Himalayas in China."
"The highest peak in the world is actually in China?" Li Shoumin was surprised. Many people don't know this kind of popular science knowledge.
"On the border of Tibetan areas, it is covered with ice and snow all year round and is inaccessible. No one has been able to successfully climb it so far," Zhou Hexuan said.
Li Shoumin's favorite thing was mountain climbing and swimming. When he was a child, he climbed Emei three times and Qingcheng four times. Later, he climbed Mount Tai, Huashan, Qilian Mountain, Diancang Mountain and other famous mountains. He said longingly: "I must go to the Himalayas in my lifetime."
"
Zhou Hexuan continued: "The second highest peak in the world is the main peak of the Kunlun Mountains. It is called 'Qiaogoli' in Tajik, which means tall and majestic..."
Li Shoumin clapped his hands and exclaimed: "China's mountains and rivers are indeed extraordinary. The second highest peak in the world is also from China!"
His third brother Li Shouji suddenly asked: "Is it the Kunlun Mountain in the legendary Queen Mother of the West?"
"I don't know if there is Queen Mother of the West on the mountain." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
Everyone continued chatting until about 10 o'clock in the evening, before Zhou Hexuan stood up and left. Before leaving, he asked Li Shoumin for a stack of used newspapers.
Returning to his bedroom, Zhou Hexuan found that most of these newspapers were "New Tianjin News", "New Tianjin Evening News" and "New Tianjin Xiaobao", which were newspapers issued by the newspaper company where Li Shoumin worked.
He briefly browsed the social news in the past six months, and quickly turned his attention to the "New Tianjin Evening News". This newspaper serialized storytelling and novels. Let's not ignore the storytelling for the moment. The novel is a very primitive martial arts novel, which has not yet been published.
Break away from the scope of Three Heroes and Five Righteousnesses.
Maybe he can contribute to the "New Tianjin Evening News" and copy a few martial arts novels to earn some royalties. Zhou Hexuan also wants to redeem his watch as soon as possible.
Have a good night's sleep.
Early the next morning, Zhou Hexuan figured out the time to get up. After getting dressed, he went to the landlord to ask for some water to rinse his mouth.
Tianjin had a tap water company in the late Qing Dynasty, but tap water pipes are not yet common. Those who have their own wells drink well water. Most citizens have to buy drinking water. There is a specialized profession called water deliveryman.
Zhou Hexuan asked the landlord for a bowl of water. When he returned to the yard, he found Li Shoumin standing in the yard.
This gentleman squatted with his legs slightly apart, placed his hands and palms on his chest and abdomen, closed his eyes slightly, and breathed long and silently, as if he was practicing some kind of exercise.
Zhou Hexuan was surprised. He waited for the opponent to finish the exercise and then walked over and asked: "Brother Shoumin, are you practicing Qigong?"
Li Shoumin explained: "An old Taoist priest in Mount Emei taught me the breathing technique, and I have been practicing it since I was a child."
"It turns out you are still a master of martial arts, so disrespectful." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
Li Shoumin waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm not a martial arts master. I haven't even learned a single move. It's just breathing techniques."
Zhou Hexuan asked a few more questions and found out that Li Shoumin was telling the truth. This breathing technique was only used to strengthen the body and would not be of much help in fighting.
The three brothers of the Li family soon left for work and school, and Zhou Hexuan also prepared to go shopping on the streets. He needed to buy pots and pans, as well as pens, ink and manuscript paper for writing.
While walking on the street, Zhou Hexuan suddenly remembered Li Shoumin's identity. Wasn't he the author of "The Legend of Shushan Swordsman"?
It was Li Shoumin who first invented the fairy tales of later generations and the tribulation in fantasy novels. Many settings in the novels of Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng and Wen Ruian also borrowed from Li Shoumin's works. This man can be said to be the founder of the fairy tale novels!