Enter Chang Xiangsi and help Jingzhai fight

The chopsticks were also made of wood. I picked up a piece of mushroom and saw out of the corner of my eye that Yu Xin had already started eating. I no longer had any worries and started to eat with relish.

Although the food was simply seasoned, the ingredients were all grown in the wild, giving it a unique flavor. I ate a bowl and a half of rice, and ate chicken stewed with mushrooms, stir-fried pork with peppers, cucumber with jelly, fried eggs with dried day lily, and wild vegetable soup. I couldn't eat the remaining half bowl of rice, but I was embarrassed to leave it, so I had to poke at the edges with chopsticks, hoping that I would have the power to eat it.

Tu Shanjing ate slowly and had just finished his own bowl. He quietly moved my bowl and started eating the rice. I looked at him gratefully, but he didn't look at me, but gave me a slightly upturned corner of his lips.

The middle-aged man was only concerned with eating, not saying much. But the old man, who had drunk several cups of hot wine, suddenly became energetic, opened his squinting eyes, and asked Jing: "Mr. Bai, I heard that you are a scholar. I wonder if you could write a poem for this scenery in our Zhuangzi, so that we can show off to scholars in the future."

Tu Shanjing pressed the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief and replied respectfully: "In that case, I will show my ugliness."

The little girl, who had not eaten much of the food and was sitting in the old lady's arms, jumped off the ground and ran away. Not long after, she ran back and spread out the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone at the empty table next to her. She said to Tu Shanjing, "Big brother, please."

Tu Shanjing bowed to everyone at the table, then stood up and sat at the table next to him. He concentrated on thinking for a while, then began to grind the ink. Soon, he wrote a painting with great enthusiasm.

I stretched my neck, but couldn't understand the words. I just watched the fun. I saw that although the words were winding, they had their own style and were sharp. The words were like the person, round but sharp. The girl lay on the table and read aloud: "The clear frost intoxicates the maple leaves, the pale moon hides the reed flowers. The smoke from the cooking stoves is green and there are houses on the mountain."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent, and then everyone praised him endlessly: "This young man is quite talented. He wrote a poem in just a few strokes. Amazing!"

"You said that scholars are different! They use the same words, like maple leaves and smoke from cooking fires. We see them every day, but when they are connected together, they sound so... so..."

"You can't even praise someone, so stop making a fool of yourself by commenting on them!"

The old man clapped his hands tremblingly and praised: "Good, good!"

Ali showed the paper written by Tu Shanjing to the old lady, who was delighted: "Look at him! Look at you, all you do is run around and play all day long. It's more painful for you to study than to die!"

Ali scratched his head and said loudly, "Grandma, I'm not cut out for this! My future lies elsewhere!"

The old lady glared at him and said, "I don't know when you will be able to make it! In my opinion, instead of going out to run around, you might as well follow this teacher and work for him. Let him teach you for two years, and then you can come back tomorrow to take the imperial examination or something, and you don't have to do this rough labor every day!"

Before Ali could reply, Tu Shanjing bowed and said, "Thank you for your praise, old lady. I am ashamed that I have never passed the imperial examinations. It would be great if I could teach the children. I would never dare to hinder your future."

The old lady handed the paper to the middle-aged woman who walked behind her. The woman took it away and probably framed it. The old lady said, "Alas, the young master is extremely talented. One day he will definitely be admitted to the imperial examination!"

Tu Shanjing came back and sat next to me, raised his glass and saluted from a distance: "A man's ambition is to go far and wide, and it's enough to find a job that he likes."

Alili agreed: "Yes, yes, you see, the master has said so!"

The old lady rolled her eyes at him, looking disappointed in him.

After three rounds of drinking, everyone was full and satisfied. The discerning servants removed the messy cups and plates, replaced them with clean white ones, and placed a few plates of seasonal fruits on the table. I couldn't eat at all. Seeing the purple grapes and the yellow pears, both of them were very juicy, I couldn't help but regret it. Tu Shanjing handed a pear to Xiaowei, and took a small bunch of grapes and put them in his sleeves, and said with a smile: "Excuse me, Xiaowei loves to eat fruits. I was afraid that she would make a fuss at night, so I prepared them in advance."

The old lady agreed with a "sure thing", and told the maid behind her to send some more to our room in the evening.

Tu Shanjing took out a small brocade box from his sleeve, put it on the table respectfully, and said, "We met by chance, and your manor has shown me hospitality. I have nothing to repay you, but I bought this ointment by chance on the way. I heard it has miraculous effects on backaches, leg pains, colds, and bone pains. I see that the weather is getting colder, and if anyone in your manor has this kind of trouble, you might as well try it."

Ali's eyes lit up, and he picked up the brocade box and handed it to the old lady. The old lady refused to take it and said hurriedly, "My lord, you are so thoughtful! I don't deserve it! We are doing business, how can we accept money and gifts from customers!"

Tu Shanjing smiled and said, "We are just gathering together tonight to have some fun. There is no distinction between master and servant, let alone guests. This is just a small gift between friends. It is not a respectful gesture, but I hope you will accept it."

The little girl tugged at the old lady's sleeve: "Grandma, just take it. Haven't you been complaining about the cold weather these past few days and your knees and waist aching?!"

The old lady frowned and looked at Tu Shanjing: "This..."

Tu Shanjing made a "please" gesture and said, "Please accept it. If it is useful, after we settle down, I will send this servant of mine to tell you where you bought it and who configured it."

The old lady sighed, then accepted the brocade box and said, "Young Master, you are kind-hearted. Thank you very much."

Tu Shanjing smiled and toasted again: "Mutual."

After their conversation, the atmosphere became more harmonious. Yu Xin seized the opportunity and picked out some of his travel experiences, exaggerating them, which made everyone in the room marvel and laugh.

During all the time I've been hanging out with him, I haven't experienced any of the things he described, which made me feel a little amused. I wonder where he got these stories from from his years of traveling around the country, but they sound so convincing.

Maybe because I ate too much rice, I felt a little sleepy. I covered my mouth with my hand and yawned secretly, but when I raised my eyes, I met the old lady's eyes.

The old lady cleared her throat and said with a smile, "Oh, I haven't been out for a long time. Listening to these travel stories is more interesting than anything else! I was so engrossed in listening that I even forgot the time. You all must be tired after a long journey, right? Why don't we stop here today and have a drink tomorrow?"

Note: The verses in the text are adapted from the poem by Xu Youren of the Yuan Dynasty.