Li Siye asked Li Meier again: "Where has your teacher Gao Shi gone?"
"Oh, my mentor felt deeply that the prosperous place of Chang'an was too comfortable and had too many social activities to sharpen his desire to study. He moved away from Chang'an last year and now has a separate property near Qishui. He has come to Chang'an several times when he came back.
Look at me."
Li Siye muttered: "You are so good at writing poetry, why should you hone your desire to learn? I think he just wants to find some peace and quiet for yourself. If Gao Shi went to Qishui, wouldn't your studies be delayed?"
"Brother, I don't know. Mr. Gao will live in Qishui every spring and summer, and return to Chang'an in autumn and winter, just like the migrating birds. I spent half a year listening to Mr. Gao's explanations and teachings.
I will spend half a year reviewing and consolidating the knowledge taught by my husband. If my brother wants to meet the master, he will have to wait until after August."
"This man is quite reliable." Li Siye nodded and turned around to greet Yan Xiaosi: "Xiaosi, don't be restrained. Bring the horse into the stable and come sit in the house."
Li Mei'er held his brother's sleeves, raised his head and said, "Brother, you may not know that Mei'er's tea-making skills are getting better and better now. She is far better than Sister Wenran. You and the guests can wait in the main room with peace of mind. I will cook it for you."
Let’s have some tea.”
Li Siye sat on his knees peacefully in the hall. Those comfortable days in Chang'an were back. He drank a cup of tea every afternoon and spread the bamboo mat on the corridor. The brother and sister lay on it. Looking up, they could see the thick and mottled canopy of the mulberry trees and the sparse light.
Projected down, it gives people a strange sense of coolness. The comfort and comfort of life are nothing more than this.
He asked Wenran casually: "What is Zhang Xiaojing busy with recently?"
"Of course I will continue to be his bad guy, investigating and handling cases."
Li Siye nodded, Mei'er had already cooked the tea soup, scooped out four bowls with a teaspoon, and offered the first bowl to the guests. Yan Xiaosi blushed and was about to shirk it, but the lady had already brought the bowl over with both hands.
, he quickly took it, lowered his head and took a sip. The taste was indeed extraordinary. How extraordinary it was, he couldn't tell.
Mei'er served the tea to her brother in turn, smelled it and touched herself. After Li Siye took a sip, he couldn't wait to ask: "How is it?"
"That's right." Li Siye smiled and said, "But I'm used to drinking, so I can't taste the quality of tea. I'm afraid you're going to play the harp this time."
Li Meier asked Yan Xiaosi again, and Yan Xiaosi could only say nervously: "I don't understand either, but it tastes delicious."
Such an answer meant nothing to her, and seemed like a polite greeting. The two girls chatted quietly together. Li Siye was still immersed in the joy of returning home, holding a tea bowl and savoring it in the corridor. Yan Xiao
Sijiu sat on the floor, looking a little at a loss. The whispers between the two girls made him seem out of tune with the atmosphere in the room. If Li Meier made him feel ashamed, then Wen Ran made his heart beat faster and made him feel ashamed.
.
Li Siye turned around and saw his embarrassment, so he simply waved and said, "Xiaosi, come with me to move the wine to the east wing."
The east wing is backed by the wall of Xinchang Square, and there is a two-foot-wide gap between it and the square wall. The two-foot-wide distance is not for convenience of travel, but the relevant regulations of the court. There are also regulations in this regard that no windows are allowed to open facing the street.
, it is not allowed to build an attic overlooking other people's houses. The remoteness of the east wing gave Li Siye great convenience. He also wanted to imitate Zhang Kuo and dig a storage basement under the wing, so he needed to think about it from the beginning.
Li Mei'er also saw her brother carrying wine from outside to the house, but she didn't show any interest. A woman seeing a man's wine is like a man seeing the embroidery in his daughter's hand. There will be no psychological fluctuations.
, this is enough to show that her psychology has begun to change from a child to a woman.
Li Siye suddenly realized clearly that his sister was already fourteen years old and would have her haircut next year. Then she would have to get married in the future, and then she would definitely not be able to stay in college.
Suddenly, a familiar and somewhat scornful voice came from outside the door: "But Meier's brother is back."
"Zhang Xiaojing!"
Li Siye rolled up his sleeves, pushed open the door of the east wing and walked out. He clasped his hands and said excitedly: "I was just about to go find you, but I didn't expect you to come to the door."
Zhang Xiaojing folded his arms and leaned against the wooden wall and said calmly: "Every year when there is a guard of honor for the Jiedu envoys who return from Anxi to perform their duties, I wonder if you are among them, and you have to come to Xinchangfang to wait for such a day or two. I didn't expect that you would be there.
I've been waiting for three or four years, and I'm waiting for you today. What, after three or four years of living in Anxi, have you made any progress?"
Yan Xiaosi didn't have a good impression of Zhang Xiaojing in front of him. Maybe he felt that he spoke too casually and didn't respect Captain Li enough.
"There is no talk of improvement. It's just a dawdling. I'm now in Diazhuan City, the old place where you once stayed. After the reorganization, I became the captain of the Eighth Regiment of the Thirty-Three-fold Chongfu. The three regiments that suffered the worst battles that year
They’re all together.”
Zhang Xiaojing smacked his tongue slightly, then lowered his head, chewed the betel nut in his mouth, and spit it out on the ground with a pop.
"I almost forgot about this place, and now you remind me of it again, and I feel very unhappy, so you can go buy some drinks and mutton later, and you should compensate me."
Yan Xiaosi smacked Zhang Xiaojing's name, and it seemed familiar to him. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he was inexplicably shocked. It turned out that he was one of the nine people who survived the battle at Fengsui Fort in Dialong City. Nine people were awarded eight flying cavalry officers.
The scattered officials once made them, the Anxi soldiers, admire and envy them, but now this man was standing in front of him.
Zhang Xiaojing didn't pay attention to the changes in Yan Xiaosi's mood, and maybe he didn't notice him at all. He looked into the side room, saw the wine jars on the ground, and then showed joy: "Hey, we have prepared so much.
Wine, then I’ll have to carry a few bottles back after I drink it later.”
"I can't give you this wine, and I can't let you take it away either."
"Why?"
"The jar is not filled with wine."
Zhang Xiaojing nodded silently, without even asking what it was. He strode towards the main hall and said, "I'm going to see Wen Ran and Mei'er. You go out quickly and buy me wine and meat."
Li Siye arranged for Yan Xiaosi to unload the ox cart and lead the oxen into the stable. He went to buy wine and mutton nearby.
Although the East and West markets are the distribution and sales centers for most commodities, regarding daily necessities and the convenience of the people, there are merchants selling wine and meat in almost every market, either in the open or in the dark, or cooking at home.
Cooking meat to make wine, or wholesale it from the Western Market at a low price and transport it back to the factory. Both of these business methods have considerable profits.
After a while, real wine and meat were bought, and Li Siye, Zhang Xiaojing, and Yan Xiaosi sat on their knees on the floor of the hall, holding wine bowls and chatting and drinking.
He had been in this courtyard before, and Zhang Xiaojing told him about the customs and customs of Qixi, which filled his heart with thoughts of the journey. Now that he has returned from Anxi, he no longer has the hope and sense of mystery that he had at the beginning. What Li Siye said casually made Zhang Xiaojing nostalgic.
.
"Ten years as a soldier in the Western Regions has indeed benefited me a lot. Li Siye, you have finally established a foothold in Anxi. You will have a lot to do in the future. Unlike me, after ten years you will only be a small robber catcher."
Li Siye was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect Zhang Xiaojing to be sore too?
Wen Ran and Mei'er were rubbing incense sticks in the corridor. Mei'er suddenly turned around and said, "We have another guest."
But it was Zhang Lu who led a young man to stand in the yard, raised his hands and clasped his hands and asked: "May I ask Mei'er, Miss Wen Ran, if Zhang Shuai is here?"
After Zhang Xiaojing heard the voice, he held the wine bowl and simply asked two words: "Is something wrong?"
Zhang Lu forked his hand and replied: "The fish bit the hook."
Zhang Xiaojing frowned slightly, with a focused and careless expression. He raised his head and drank the wine in the bowl. He turned back to the main room and put the bowl on the ground. He said, "I'm really sorry. I happened to have something to do today. I'll come see you for a drink another day."