Early the next morning, Guo Song set out for Xinfeng County. There were two horses in the stable, one was his Fire Dragon, and the other was his Hexi Get Black King Kong, which was named by Gan Feng.
The Fire Dragon King is so eye-catching, and just as he was about to take out the Black King Kong, the groom hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Master Guo, Brother Hei has had diarrhea these past two days and is feeling a little weak. Can you please ride him again in a few days and let him have a good rest for two days?"
"
"Why do you have diarrhea?" Guo Song asked with a frown.
"The weather is too hot. It is normal for livestock to have diarrhea. The veterinarian came the day before yesterday and gave them medicine. He repeatedly told them to take good care of themselves for a few days."
Guo Song glanced at Huotanma worriedly and asked, "Will the diarrhea be transmitted to my Fire Dragon King?"
"Probably not. The diarrhea stopped yesterday, but my body is still a little weak."
"Okay! Let it rest more, and I'll ride the Fire Dragon King."
Guo Song didn't want to ride his Fire Dragon King. The main reason was that the Fire Dragon King was too tall and strong, which attracted people's attention. He didn't want to cause trouble.
However, Guo Song is also a person who loves horses. Since Black King Kong is weak, he decided to ride the Fire Dragon King. Just be careful.
He led the horse out of the Taoist temple, got on the horse, and urged the horse to run towards Chunming Gate...
Xinfeng County is located about 40 miles east of Chang'an. It was built imitation by Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, because his father missed his hometown of Feng County, Xuzhou.
Xinfeng County belongs to Ji County and has a large number of troops stationed there. It is responsible for guarding the capital, especially Bashang to the west of the county seat, which is a traditional garrison area.
It was almost noon when Guo Song arrived in Xinfeng County. The address Gan Feng gave him was that Gan Lei's pastry shop was near the Xicheng Gate. It was called Huanghe Pastry Shop. The signboard was easy to see.
It's just that the name of the store made Guo Song a little unhappy. It reminded him of Huangheguan, which was obviously the name of the store given by Li Wenyu.
After entering the city gate, Guo Song looked around. Although Xinfeng County was also dominated by neighbors, there were many commercial shops along the street near the city gate, which was not as strict as Chang'an.
Guo Song soon found his target, Huanghe Pastry House, next to a grocery store. The facade was small, but the signboard was huge. A group of people gathered around the door of the store, wondering what they were looking at.
Guo Song dismounted from his horse, led the horse forward, and saw a young woman in a coarse cloth skirt with one hand on her waist, pointing to the roof and shouting: "Damn fat man, if you can, don't get off, I don't even cook."
Come on, let me see what you’re eating tonight?”
"This sound..."
Guo Song recognized it at once. This was Li Wenyu's voice. He couldn't believe it. How could Li Wenyu, who was so enchanted by Gan Lei and as gentle as a bird, become so aggressive?
"Senior Sister Li!"
When the woman turned around, it turned out to be Li Wenyu. She had not seen her for only four years. She seemed to be much older. There were thin wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She must be twenty-four or five years old at most!
Li Wenyu recognized Guo Song at once, and a look of joy appeared on her face. Then she thought of something, and the joy on her face disappeared and became very sad.
She glanced at Guo Song, with a look of gratitude mixed with pain in her eyes, then turned back and shouted to the roof: "Damn fat man, your brother is here."
She lowered her head, did not greet Guo Song, and went back to the house with a sad expression.
Guo Song was confused by Li Wenyu's series of complicated expressions. At this time, a whistle came from above his head.
Guo Song raised his head and looked towards the roof, only to see a familiar big fat face peeking out from the roof, speaking in mute words and pointing to the back.
Guo Song understood immediately and quickly led his horse to the back. As soon as he reached the back, he saw Gan Lei jumping off the wall and hugging Guo Song. He was so happy that he almost burst.
"My good brother! You are finally here. My brother misses you so much."
"Senior brother, why are you fatter than before?"
"Damn fat man, explain everything clearly before you leave." Li Wenyu's roar came from the backyard.
Gan Lei was so frightened that he pulled Guo Song and ran away, turned two corners, and crawled into a neighborhood through a broken hole in the wall. He patted his chest and said, "Today the tigress is showing off its power. We can't afford to offend her, so we can only hide!"
Guo Song frowned when he saw that Gan Lei was actually wearing short clothes, wrapped around his legs, and dressed like Wu Dalang, "Senior brother, what's the matter with you that you're acting like this?"
"Hey! It's hard to explain. Let's go have a glass of wine and sit down and talk slowly. But my brother doesn't have a penny, so I can only treat you."
There was a tavern diagonally opposite. Guo Song tied his horse outside and followed Gan Lei into the tavern. A bartender laughed and said, "Hey! Fat brother is rich today?"
"Go away, my brother is here. Of course he wants to have a drink. Go get a bottle of sake from your shop."
"It's okay to drink. I'm just afraid that fat brother will be punished by kneeling down when he goes back. My sister-in-law has told me that you are not allowed to drink. If something happens, don't blame us."
"I don't blame you, hurry up and get the wine."
The bartender ran to get the drinks, and the two of them sat down at the table. Guo Song hesitated and asked, "Brother, what's going on with Senior Sister Li? You see me looking conflicted?"
Gan Lei smiled bitterly and said: "She thought about you every day in the past few years and praised you for your kindness and righteousness. She has always been very grateful to you, but a few months ago she heard that the master was killed by you, so she became silent.
I dare not mention you in front of her."
Guo Song suddenly realized and asked quickly: "Which old witch is her master?"
"Her master was Dingxuan, and you cut her throat with a sword. We thought she was an old witch, but Wen Yu had deep feelings for her. When she heard that her master was killed, she cried for several days."
Guo Song was speechless. When he killed the three old witches, he never thought that he would face Li Wenyu in the future.
At this time, the bartender gave a jug of wine, and Gan Lei quickly grabbed the jug and filled their glasses.
He picked up the wine glass and drank it with a "squeak!" look on his face, "I haven't had such a good wine for a long time."
Guo Song looked at Gan Lei for a long time and asked, "Senior brother, how could you be so miserable?"
Gan Lei lowered his head and said for a long time: "I have never been in contact with the secular world, and I don't understand the sinister nature of people's hearts. Four years ago, I started a business partnership with someone, but was deceived. I lost all my money and still owe a fortune."
Due to the debt, I had to work as a coolie to carry goods at Bashui Wharf, while Wen Yu washed clothes for others. I worked for two full years, but I was too embarrassed to go to the senior brother. Later, the fourth brother came and gave me a hundred coins.
, we just paid off the foreign debt and opened this bakery, but the business is not very good, so we have to make ends meet!"
Guo Song was really annoyed. He knocked on the table with his fist and said, "Brother, you have been practicing martial arts for fifteen years and you are actually doing hard work?"
"I swore to Wen Yu that I would live peacefully and never lick blood on the blade. She actually did it for my own good. The world is very chaotic these days. Although my martial arts skills were glorious for a while, they did not end well in the end. She was afraid that something would happen to me.
, was killed."
"Are you so afraid of her?"
Gan Lei picked up the wine glass and drank it all, and sighed: "Actually, I'm not afraid of her, but I really feel sorry for her. Sometimes it rains and I can't make any money. She is pregnant and still washes clothes until late at night.
She has been with me for four years and has never enjoyed a good day. As you can see, she is much older than before and has been worn down by life."
As she spoke, Gan Lei's eyes turned red, and she said with tears in her eyes: "I heard that she was going to build the Golden Body Pavilion for Master, so she gave me all the thirty taels of silver that she had saved so hard in the past two years. Like this
Good woman, of course I have to give her a little bit."
Guo Song was silent. He also hid the weakest feelings deep in his heart. For so many years, he never dared to touch it and wrapped it up layer by layer. However, Gan Lei's words touched his heart again inadvertently.
The tender chord deep in his heart.
"Senior brother, do you have a child?"
Gan Lei nodded, "I have a daughter who is just three years old. She looks like her mother. She is named Zhang Yu'er."
"Then senior brother will sell cakes here for the rest of his life?"
Gan Lei shook his head, "I definitely have to find something to do. It doesn't matter if I am miserable, but I can't let my daughter...she, she doesn't even have new clothes."
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "Now that I'm down the mountain, I won't let my senior brother live in such embarrassment. Anyway, the three old witches are dead and no one will pursue you anymore. You can go back to Chang'an!"
"We are trying our best to save money. In fact, we also want to return to Chang'an. But now we have no money, and we don't want to burden Senior Brother."
"It doesn't matter. I have a small house with three acres in Xuanyangfang, Chang'an. You can move in. I live in a Taoist temple myself and am very free."
Gan Lei's eyes widened, "Lao Wu, don't scare me. You have a house in Chang'an City? It's actually Xuanyangfang!"
"Senior Brother, you didn't use martial arts, but I did. I gave Senior Brother three hundred taels of gold, including the house, which I earned in Lingzhou and on the grassland. I found that making money is really easy, but
Money doesn't mean much to me."
"Is it easy to make money?"
The corner of Gan Lei's mouth twitched, and his head shook like a rattle, "I find it very difficult to make money. I carry a burden to sell cakes every day, and my voice is hoarse. I only sell two to three hundred coins a day."
Guo Song smiled slightly and said, "In a few days, we will go to Zhongnan Mountain and hunt some good leopard skins."
Gan Lei still shook his head, "You think too simply. If hunting could make money, those hunters would have made a fortune long ago. Is it our turn?"
Guo Song leaned forward and lowered his voice and said: "Going to Zhongnan Mountain is just an excuse for you to go home and explain. Let's go to the Royal Forbidden Garden. There are many rare birds and animals there. If we hunt a tiger and come back, the tiger skin alone can be sold for hundreds of dollars."
"
Gan Lei was also a bold and arrogant man in the past, but he has been suppressed by his wife in recent years. He dare not think or do anything. Guo Song's words made his eyes light up. This is actually a good idea. He should give his wife a hard time.
, maybe she will agree.
At this time, a little fat man ran in from outside with a smile, and whispered in Gan Lei's ear: "Aunt Li came to my house to borrow a large washboard. Uncle Zhang is going to be miserable tonight, so run away for your life!"
After saying that, the little fat man made a face and ran away quickly.
"Get out! Get out! Get out! Don't spoil my mood for drinking."
Seeing Guo Song looking at him with sympathy, Gan Lei waved his hand and said, "Don't believe these rumors. My wife is a smart-mouthed woman. I broke the washboard in my house, so she wants to borrow a new one."
of laundry.”
Guo Song shook his head, angry and funny, and said to Gan Lei: "It seems that today is not a day for drinking. Senior brother, please go back first! The house is being transferred. Senior brother will find out when he goes to the capital in a few days. We will meet again in the capital."
Have fun drinking."
"What do you mean, you want to leave? You haven't gone to my house yet!"
"I just came to see my senior brother today, and I will come to visit my sister-in-law and niece next time."
As he said that, Guo Song took out a heavy bag of jewelry from his horse bag. There were about twenty or thirty pieces. He found this in the skin of Governor Abu Si. He had no use holding it. He originally planned to give it to a few people.
Since the senior brother gave me three hundred taels of gold, this package of jewelry will be given to Gan Lei.
He stuffed the cloth bag to Gan Lei, "This is a gift for my niece. It's the prize I won in the riding and shooting competition on the grassland. Senior brother, take it!"
Gan Lei saw a finger-sized sapphire exposed from the gap in the package. He was startled and quickly pushed it away, "This is too expensive, I can't have it!"
"Brother, I left this specially for you, otherwise I would have given it to the Tang slaves on the grassland. If you don't want it, I will give it to the group of beggars at the gate of the city. Believe it or not, I will give it to them now.
"
"Go! Go! Go! I'm just being polite to you, but you still take it seriously."
Gan Lei snatched the package and stuffed it into his arms unceremoniously, "My family is now poorer than a beggar. We still owe more than a dozen pounds of flour money and sugar money. Those bastards come to ask for debts all day long. It's almost like
It drove me to death!"
Although Guo Song still had more than a dozen taels of silver in his arms, this bag of jewelry was worth at least several hundred guan. You could exchange any piece of it for twenty or thirty guan, so there was no need for Guo Song to give him any more silver.
"Then senior brother, please go back first! We have agreed to come to Chang'an Qingxu Temple to see me in a few days. We will go hunting in the Forbidden Garden, and then we will make a careful calculation to see what senior brother can do to make a living in the capital."