I saw that the old man first took a porcelain teapot, opened the lid, dug out two spoonfuls of tea leaves from the tea can and put them into the pot.
Then, he picked up the burning kettle from the stove beside him and poured boiling water into the teapot lightly.
After filling the teapot with hot water, the old man put the lid back on and simmered the tea.
"Master, where are you going?"
"Uncle, I want to go to the county town. Are there any cars passing here?"
"Then it depends. There are buses going to the county town every day, but not many."
"Uncle, you are a local, you must know a lot about this place, right?"
"Master, you are making fun of me, a peasant. I am old, so I know some old news."
As he spoke, the old man took off the cover covering the porcelain basin, took out a tea bowl from the basin, rinsed it with water from the kettle, and placed it on the chopping board.
After pouring the tea that had been brewing for a while in the teapot into the teacup, the old man opened the lid of the teapot and poured the tea in the teacup back into the teapot to "make tea."
After a while, the old man stood up and put the tea bowl in front of Xie Liuyun, then poured him a bowl of tea.
"Master, the tea is ready and you can drink it."
Xie Liuyun picked up the tea bowl, took a sip of tea, nodded, and praised: "Yes, this tea is really authentic and delicious."
Hearing this, the old man said with some satisfaction: "Master, I was right! This tea is authentic jasmine tea produced in Zhejiang, but my water is good, how else could I make such a good tea?"
The Chinese tea ceremony pays attention to the water used to make tea. In the "Tea Classic" written by the tea sage Lu Yu, there is a large chapter on the evaluation of water from various places in China. It can be seen that the water quality is the ultimate condition that determines whether the tea is good or not.
After Xie Liuyun drank a cup of tea, he asked with interest: "Uncle, where did you get this water?"
The old man pointed behind him and said: "It was taken from the Wen River just outside our village. People here have been drinking water from this river for generations. How sweet it is!"
Wenhe River is the mother river of Anqiu, with a total length of more than 100 kilometers. Our ancestors settled here very early.
Hearing from the old man that the water he drank was taken from the Wen River, Xie Liuyun felt inexplicably excited.
"Uncle, what is the name of your village? How far is it from here to the county seat?"
"Our village is right behind, more than two miles away from here, and it's called Nanwanggao. If we want to go to the county seat, we still have to walk thirty miles. If there is no car to go there, it will take a while.
"
"Nanwang Gao", Xie Liuyun said the name of this village, "Uncle, can you tell me the origin of this name?"
"Do you think the name of our village is a bit strange?"
"Yes! It's a bit strange, but when I hear the name, I feel that there must be a story in it. So, I want to hear you tell it."
The old man picked up the tea bowl in front of him, drank some water, and wiped his mouth, "To be honest with you, I really know some old news about our village. As far as I know, I will tell you about it, young master!"
While talking, the old man began to talk about some anecdotes about his hometown.
Their place originally belonged to a vassal state called Chunyu State established when King Wu of Zhou divided the world. It was later replaced by the State of Qi. The old capital of Qi State faced their village across the Wen River.
The village is located on the high ground near the water on the north bank of Wen River to the west of the original Qicheng City. It belongs to the hometown of Qi State.
The village is named "Wang Gao", where "Wang" refers to the royal cities of Chunyu and Qi Kingdoms, and "Gao" refers to the high ground by the water, which is the Wen River.
The combined meaning of "Wanggao" refers to the village located on the highlands near the Chunyu Kingdom and Qi Kingdom, located on the bank of the Wen River.
This village was originally called Dawanggao Village. Later, a small village called Xiaowanggao Village grew up in the north of the village, and later it was called Beiwanggao Village. This village is located to the south of Beiwanggao Village, so it was renamed Nanwanggao Village.
After telling a story about his village, the old man poured himself a bowl of hot water and drank the water slowly to moisten his slightly dry throat.
Xie Liuyun listened with rapt attention, his thoughts were brought back to the ups and downs of two thousand years ago, and he even forgot to drink tea.
Unexpectedly, a small and inconspicuous village has such a long and profound history.
"Young master, hurry up and drink the tea while it's hot? It won't be good if the tea gets cold later!"
Only after the old man's reminder did Xie Liuyun remember to continue drinking tea.
He picked up the teapot and poured himself tea, and asked: "Uncle, did you just say that this place once belonged to the 'Chunyu State'?"
"Yes! That's what I heard from the elders, and it is also recorded in the county annals. Although I am illiterate, there is a private school in our village, and the teacher is my peer! I often bring this up when chatting.
Say it!"
Xie Liuyun thought of the letter left by his father. The name of the sender was Xie Chunyu.
At that time, I felt very strange. I had never heard of a relative with this name in my family?
Now, I have come to Anqiu to deliver a letter, and I know that a vassal state named "Chunyu State" once appeared here in history. Could it be such a coincidence?
Xie Liuyun felt that he was gradually getting closer to the answer to the mystery left behind by his father. A small corner of the mystery had been revealed.
Xie Liuyun drank tea, looked at the old man, and asked tentatively with a glimmer of hope: "Master, have you ever known a man named Yong Ji?"
After hearing Xie Liuyun's words, the old man had a strange expression on his face and couldn't help but lean forward, "Master, how do you write the name of the person you are talking about?"
Xie Liuyun thought there was a way, so he stretched out the index finger of his right hand, dipped it in the tea bowl, and wrote "Yong Ji" son on the chopping board with a finger pen.
The old man stood up, supported the chopping board, tilted his head and looked at the words written by Xie Liuyun. After carefully analyzing them, his face changed drastically.
He raised his head suddenly and asked in a trembling voice: "Master, did you write this correctly?"
Xie Liuyun shook his head, "Uncle, the name of the person I'm talking about is written like this, there is no mistake. Do you recognize this word?"
The old man slowly sat down, his expression more relaxed than before, "I know this word, although I can't write it, but how can I not recognize my surname? I see this name every year, and I greet you every year."
of."
The old man's words made Xie Liuyun confused. What is going on?
Seeing that Xie Liuyun didn't understand what he meant, the old man realized that what he said was not very clear, so he explained: "Young Master, you just asked me if I knew Yong Ji. I was really puzzled by your words.
I was shocked. In order to confirm whether we are talking about the same person, I had to ask you to write these two words. After you finished writing and I read it, I knew who you were talking about and what I was thinking.
It's the same person. This person named Yong Ji is my ancestor!"