Chapter 18 I don't want to be a man who doesn't believe what he says
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Yellow Sand Tavern.
Madam Su felt that a lot of strange things happened today.
She just heard a strange sound, and then she saw a man in white coming to her tavern. She clearly remembered that the man in front of her had already checked out and left this morning.
He Yidao glanced at Mrs. Su on the counter and walked over.
"Boss Su."
Madam Su didn't know where He Yidao came from, so she asked, "Didn't Mr. He leave this morning? Why did he suddenly come back?"
"Something happened on the road." He Yidao looked at Mrs. Su in front of him and said.
"Then Mr. He plans to stay in a hotel? Or buy wine?" Mrs. Su is not one of those ignorant women. Seeing that He Yidao didn't tell her the reason, she naturally wouldn't ask.
He Yidao breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Boss Su, Brother Zhong often drinks at your place?"
Madam Su didn't expect He Yidao to ask this question, "Yes, he likes to drink here."
"I heard that he had no money, so he borrowed a lot of wine money from Boss Su?"
Mrs. Su nodded and said, "That's right. He said he would return it to me in the future."
He Yidao said nothing more and asked again: "I wonder how much wine money Brother Zhong owes here?"
When He Yidao said this, Mrs. Su was not stupid, so she naturally understood what He Yidao meant, "Master He turned back from halfway just to help Zhong Wu pay back the drink money?"
"Yes, I want to pay back the wine money that Brother Zhong owes the landlady."
Madam Su was stunned, but she was not the kind of fool who refuses to pay someone back, so she took out a few account books from under the counter and said, "Wait a moment."
He Yidao waited quietly for a long time, standing aside and watching Madam Su fiddling with the abacus.
"Forget it."
Madam Su finally moved the last bead.
"Master He, I'm very curious. You've only been in Huangsha Town for a few days, and you've only known Zhong Wu for a few days. Why did you treat him to a drink and help him pay back the wine money you owed?"
He Yidao said: "This is what I owe Brother Zhong."
"Do you owe him?" Mrs. Su was a little surprised. She looked at the abacus again, "A total of two..."
"By the way, Mr. He, where is Zhong Renren? Do you know where he is?"
He Yidao glanced at Mrs. Su, his expression was calm, but gave people an indescribable sadness, "Brother Zhong, he is gone."
When Mrs. Su heard this, she felt a little uneasy. She smiled and joked: "Where can he go as a down-and-out scholar?"
He Yidao smiled, "Perhaps it is a world that a gentleman longs for."
Mrs. Su is not stupid. After hearing these words of He Yidao, she also made a guess in her mind.
"Boss Su, have you calculated the total amount of wine money Brother Zhong owes?"
"I suddenly remembered something."
"Huh?" He Yidao was a little confused.
"Zhong Wu often calls himself a gentleman. Although he is down and out, he has always been a man of his word."
"Boss Su, what do you mean?"
"Zhong Wu said in my tavern that he would pay back the drink money with his own hands. I also told him that except for the money he took with his own hands, I would never accept it."
He Yidao watched Mrs. Su shake the abacus on the table and close the account book in her hand.
"I don't know if Zhong Wu can still be such a person who keeps his word, but this little girl knows very well that 'people who don't have faith don't know what they can do'.
Therefore, the little lady once said that she would not accept money from anyone except Zhong Wu, that is, she cannot take it. I may not be able to accept Mr. He’s money."
"unless……"
"Unless what?" He Yidao asked.
"Unless Mr. He gives the money to Zhong Wu and then asks him to pay it back in person, I cannot accept the money."
He Yidao stood by the counter and stared for a long time, not knowing what to say.
Finally, he took a step back, distanced himself from the counter, bent down and bowed to Mrs. Su inside the counter.
This is an unethical etiquette.
"I think...Brother Zhong would be very happy if he knew."
Saying yes, He Yidao left Huangsha Tavern without any further explanation.
"Madam boss, when did you say that to that boy Zhong Wu? How come I didn't know about it?"
"I want you to know everything I say?"
"Well, not really, but I've never heard this sentence before... Besides, how many words can you say in a day..."
"Go to work!"
…
…
As He Yidao walked on the road, he thought about the few things Zhong Wu told him last, one of which was asking him to help pay back the wine money he owed Madam Su.
Another group of students he couldn't worry about.
He Yidao had seen the group of children that Zhong Wu taught and knew that Zhong Wu taught them well, but he did not expect that Zhong Wu had such deep feelings for them.
Next to the small river in the south of the town.
Hutou and Ke'er were still waiting for Mr. Zhong.
"Ke'er, tell me, why haven't Xiaopeng and the others come back yet?"
"have no idea."
Ke'er shook his head, imitating the tiger's head and sitting on the stone, holding his head in his hands.
"Ke'er, do you think Mr. Zhong will come again? It's been such a long time."
Ke'er nodded quickly and said, "Brother Hutou, sir will definitely come."
"Well, it will definitely come."
Hutou seemed to have some faith and regained his courage to speak.
The two children seemed to have their own minds, and after cheering each other up, they stopped talking.
"My mother once spent a lot of money for me to study in a private school in the town, but the teacher in the private school didn't like me and always liked to hit my palms with a ruler." Hutou sat blankly for a while and suddenly spoke again.
"Why do the teachers in the private school beat you, Brother Hutou?" Ke'er tilted her head and asked.
"Because he thinks I'm stupid and I can't remember any of the messy things he asked me to carry. So he will hit me."
"But you didn't memorize what Mr. Zhong asked you to carry. Mr. Zhong has never beaten you!" Kerr said.
"So, I don't like private schools. From that time on, I never wanted to go to a private school. My mother once forced me to go there, but I didn't want to and would always skip school.
Because of this, I was beaten many times by my mother."
"I once skipped school and met Mr. Zhong by the river. Mr. Zhong would tell me stories and ask me to memorize some things. Sometimes what he asked me to memorize were the sword fairies in the stories he told.
Even if I can't recite what gentlemen say, Mr. Zhong has never hit me."
"Ke'er, what do you think I should do if my husband really doesn't come back?"
Hutou's young face was completely filled with melancholy that was inappropriate for his age.
"I don't know either." As she said that, Ker held up her cute head with both hands.
…
…
He Yidao stood in the woods by the river and listened to the two children by the river talking about Mr. Zhong in their mouths.
When they stopped talking, they walked out of the woods.
"Who are you?" Hu Tou looked up at the strange man in front of him, and his originally excited eyes turned into vigilance.
He Yidao looked at the two children, one boy and one girl, in front of him, with a trace of doubt in his eyes.
"Where are the others?"
Hutou was a little nervous and quickly protected Ke'er behind him. He didn't know what the man in white in front of him wanted to do.
"Who are you anyway?"
"I am your friend, Mr. Zhong." He Yidao looked at Hu Tou protecting Ke'er behind him and nodded. Although Hu Tou looked silly, his nature was not bad.
"Mr. Zhong's friend?" Hu Tou lowered his guard after hearing the three words "Mr. Zhong".
"You lied! Mr. Zhong has never had any friends!" At this time, Ke'er, who was behind Hutou, suddenly shouted.
'This girl is quite clever.'
He Yidao glanced at Ke'er, who had a head sticking out from behind Hutou, and thought to himself.
"I am really your husband's friend. Your husband asked me to tell you a story." He Yidao smiled kindly.
"Tell a story?" Hu Tou glanced at Ke'er behind him and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Yes, it's a story about a scholar. Are you willing to listen?"
"We only listen to the stories told by Mr. Zhong! Where are Mr. Zhong and the others?" Hu Tou said stubbornly.
"This is the story your husband wanted me to tell you. Your husband can't come today."
Hu Tou looked at Ke'er and hesitated for a while, then finally said:
"Okay then. You go ahead and talk."
"Before telling the story, your husband asked me to check a few words he gave you yesterday." He Yidao said again, "Can you write it?"
After hearing what He Yidao said, Hutou and Hutou gradually believed that He Yidao might really be Mr. Zhong's friend.
"I..." Hutou touched his head, seeming to be in a dilemma.
"Can write!" Ke'er, who was standing behind Hutou, gradually believed what He Yidao said.
"Okay, let's write it again."
Kerr nodded, then picked up a branch from the ground next to him and started writing on the ground.
Ke'er's handwriting is neat, square and powerful.
I saw four big characters written in Ke'er's "pen":
Cliff Academy.
As for the tiger head, after seeing the four big characters that Ke'er also came up with, he followed suit and wrote them out, but his handwriting was not as beautiful as Ke'er's.
"Your husband asked me to tell a story about a scholar..."