Kaifeng Bistro

——If you want to watch the sunrise, you have to wait until dawn. ——

The beginning of winter is approaching, and in the evening, Bianliang City in Tokyo stands in the afterglow of the setting sun. The tall dark gray city walls are stained with a layer of light red.On both sides of the official road leading to the city gate of Kaifeng, rows of elm trees have grown for a hundred years. Although the leaves have fallen off long ago on the thick branches, the black branches still block the dust blown up by the cold wind. Guard this bustling capital city.

Through the vertical and horizontal tree shadows, in the light blue night sky that has not been dyed by the setting sun, a round crescent moon has quietly risen.

Not far from the city gate, a young man in a white shirt walked forward unhurriedly. He was slender and looked a little thin, and his clothes were quite thin. covered most of his face.

On the boy's back was a huge bamboo basket covered with a thick cotton cloth and tightly covered.

"...Do you know where this is? This is Kaifeng, Kaifeng! I'm going to drink tea, go shopping at the night market, take a bath, listen to an opera, and I want to see Su Dongpo, Su Dashi..."

A thin girl's voice came from the basket and penetrated into the boy's ears.Before the young man could answer, another ironic laugh sounded coldly: "Su Dongpo? Hehe... Su Dongpo is still studying hard in Bashu. Besides, the University scholar Su will not have any common language with you. Yes. Do you want to meet a famous person? Do you want me to send you to meet Bao Qingtian?"

The bamboo basket shook violently. Amidst the gnashing of teeth and sarcasm, another timid child said, "You... can you please stop arguing, let's... let's enter Kaifeng , what to eat, where to live..."

There was silence in the basket, and the two voices sounded at the same time: "Tan! Know! Wind!"

After about a cup of tea, a young man named Tan Zhifeng stood not far from the city gate. He was still carrying the basket, but behind him, there were three companions with different expressions——

A pretty girl in pink with bright eyes and arms folded around her chest excitedly looked into the city gate in the distance.Beside her, the tall young man in green robes folded his hands behind his back, with a cold expression on his face, and occasionally looked around with a bit of vigilance at the people passing by.

Behind the two was a younger boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was wearing a dark brown short shirt and trousers, and looked blankly at the three people in front of him.

Seeing that the official path came to an end, Tan Zhifeng stopped.He held the edge of the bamboo hat with his white fingers, and lifted it up slightly. The face under the bamboo hat was facing the last ray of sunset, which seemed unreal in the dark red light—this is a delicate, beautiful, clear picture. The moving face, like a flower blooming for the first time, is stained with the morning dew and the rays of the rising sun.

His eyebrows are like black, black and white eyes are crystal clear and bright, his nose bridge is high, the corners of his mouth are slightly raised, and he looks at Kaifeng in front of him with a kind of piety like a pilgrimage.

His smile is touching and suffocating, as if the cold winter in the evening will be gently turned over by a hand, and the sun will rise in the next moment, and spring will return to the earth.

Attracted by the young man's appearance, several passers-by who passed each other slowed down their pace and looked back in surprise, but when they saw the faint smile on the young man's face, a warm current surged in their hearts, making the curious They all looked back.

Tan Zhifeng immediately put down the bamboo hat, and stood silently under the gate of Kaifeng for a while.He reached out and groped around his neck, and pulled out a thin red rope.A small pendant hung on the red rope, as light as a drop of water, but also seemed to be heavy, stretching the red rope tightly.

At this moment, Tan Zhifeng's smile flashed a trace of bitterness, and he said softly: "I hope I can find you this time, I..."

Before he could say a word, there was a "bang", and several people behind him bumped into Tan Zhifeng one after another—"Alas! Tan Zhifeng, the door is about to close, why are you standing here?!"

"Without money, everyone in and outside the city will be killed by the northwest wind!"

"Zhifeng, Brother Zhifeng, you will find us a place to live..."

The three of them were arguing, Tan Zhifeng automatically blocked their voices, and carefully stuffed the water drop pendant into his collar. "Let's go." He finally opened his mouth: "Find a place to live first and then talk about... the money, I will slowly figure out a way... By the way, when did I treat you badly and you don't believe me so much? Huh? What about people? ?”

The sky was dark, and the city gate was very crowded. You pushed and bumped into each other, and the bamboo hat seemed to be a little in the way.Tan Zhifeng raised his hand and patted his face lightly, and took off the bamboo hat.

Strangely enough, the face that was eye-catching under the city gate has now become ordinary, and it will not attract anyone's attention at all.

Tan Zhifeng didn't dare to delay, so he quickly found a secluded place, opened the thick cloth covering the big basket and looked inside, and saw a pink hyacinth plant in three exquisite blue and white porcelain vases, A group of bright green and lush green dills, and a pot of light brown, chubby succulents looked at him quietly, and shook the leaves at him.

They were all there, Tan Zhifeng breathed a sigh of relief, and carefully covered the cotton cloth again.

He carried the basket on his back and continued to walk forward. At this time, the light of the setting sun had completely dissipated, but the city of Kaifeng was still as bright as day, with brightly lit lights, and smiling guys with headscarves standing at the entrances of various hotels, Tirelessly attracting guests.

Tan Zhifeng looked up. On the side of the crowded street, huge wooden shelves were built in the shape of birds on both sides, but the middle was covered with flowers of different colors. It was magnificent and magnificent, like a towering ladder to the sky. This is the "Cailou Huan" "Gate", the prominent sign of the famous restaurants and tiles in Kaifeng to attract customers.

The so-called Wazi, also known as Washi, is a good place for the people in Kaifeng to pass the time.There are dozens of Goulan in the Sangjia tile house in front of you. Various singing and dancing dramas are staged day and night. The arena was packed.

"Zhifeng!" "Tan Zhifeng!" "Brother Zhifeng, I want to go and see..."

Tan Zhifeng squeezed forward with all his strength, and asked the people around him, "What's going on tonight?"

The other party glanced at him with the eyes of a country bumpkin, and said briefly: "Jiao Da."

Tan Zhifeng looked forward and vaguely saw a few guys guarding the door. He asked in a low voice, "Is there a fee to go in? How much?"

The disdain in the other party's eyes deepened: "The seats in the back cost fifty yuan per person. As for the seats in the front, I don't think you need to think about it. If you have money, you may not be able to book it!"

The basket behind Tan Zhifeng shook again, "Quick, quickly see what he can sell for money?"

"What is this? An old almanac, from the Tang Dynasty?!"

"what about this?"

"Looks like some tattered books... and some tattered clothes..."

Tan Zhifeng carefully squeezed out with the basket in his arms amidst the discussions between you and me. Looking back, the gorgeous silk flowers swaying on the Caimenhuan Building were like fireworks blooming, reflecting the deeper and darker night sky.

He suddenly wanted to stay for a while, and there seemed to be an extremely faint familiar atmosphere in the crowd attracting him, but it was only for a moment, and soon disappeared.

There was already a discussion in the basket about whether he wanted to sell his few clothes, so Tan Zhifeng hurriedly walked in the opposite direction.This time he learned his experience, avoided the crowd, and turned into a quiet street, but unknowingly, there were fewer and fewer people, and he began to lose his composure.

"Excuse me..." Seeing a young man in a t-shirt pass by with difficulty, Tan Zhifeng hastily called out to stop him and asked, "Excuse me... Where can I get a cheap place to stay overnight? "

The man was short and thin, with a sickly face.After being stopped by Tan Zhifeng, he saw that Tan Zhifeng was busy and dusty, and he was carrying a basket, showing a bit of sympathy, and said: "Scholar, right? Why don't you go to the nearby Zhuquemen East, the Taixue side? Wheatstraw Lane Mansion" It's too much, and it costs a few dollars a day..."

Tan Zhifeng stared into the young man's eyes, and from the other's eyes, he felt deep anxiety and frustration, as well as a trace of irritability.Although there were not many spells left that he could activate, he still quietly injected some of his spiritual power into the young man's body.

After pointing out the way, the young man quickened his pace and ran away in a hurry.Tan Zhifeng looked at his back and frowned.This person's state is not quite right, I hope that little bit of spiritual power just now can help him keep a little clarity in his heart.

At the same time, he also realized that the city of Kaifeng might not be as glamorous as it appeared on the surface.

……

He guessed right, just now, in the tile house of Sangjia, on the high platform, gongs and drums were beating, two burly men were fighting together, surrounded by railings, the whole place was crowded with people on the third and outer floors, From time to time bursts of deafening applause burst out.

And behind the high platform, in the cold wind, there was a row of men of different heights who were also bare-chested and stiff from the cold.A middle-aged man wrapped in a satin robe and a mink warm hat walked slowly past them, and finally stopped in front of the last tall man.

"That's him?" The middle-aged man opened his mouth in a deep voice, and another man in charge behind him nodded quickly and said: "Yes, yes, he said he can defeat Duan Iron Tower, sir, look... "

The middle-aged man raised his head and carefully examined the young man.The young man was more than eight feet tall, with a thin face hidden in the shadow cast by the high platform.His upper body was stripped like everyone else's, and his muscle lines were not particularly obvious, but they were smooth and full of vitality.With broad shoulders and narrow waist, and long straight legs, he stood firmly among the trembling men waiting to play, like a tall and solemn statue, strong and perfect, awe-inspiring.

The middle-aged man sighed and asked, "What's your name?"

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Asking for favorites, asking for comments... I will apply for the list soon, I hope that the favorites and comments will increase before the list...