The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty

Before dawn, Wu Yilang had already gotten out of bed and shook his son awake.

Wu Xiaolang hugged the quilt tightly, feeling sleepy, "Father, I don't want to get up..."

Wu Yilang also yawned, "Get up quickly, do you still want to watch the Cuju game? If you go late, you can only climb on the tree to watch."

Hearing this, Wu Xiaolang was immediately refreshed, turned over and got up from the warm blanket, "Hurry up, let's go quickly!"

Xiao Lang got up in a daze, "Go after breakfast, I'll do it now."

"What about breakfast? Let's buy some food at Kaibao Temple." Wu Yilang said.

"That's right." Wu Xiaolang got dressed in three or five steps, "Father, let's hurry up, I want to sit in the front."

"Okay, son, I'll drive the mule." Wu Yilang drove the mule out, carried his son up, and then rode the mule to Kaibao Temple.

At this time, the sky was still only dim, and when we arrived outside Kaibao Temple, the temple hadn't opened yet, but there was already a team outside.Seeing that there were not too many people, Wu Yilang felt a little anxious, "Son, you go to line up, daddy will send the mules first."

Wu Xiaolang nodded and ran wildly.

Wu Yilang left the mule at a store he was familiar with, and then went to the queue, found Wu Xiaolang, and stood by him. After a while, there were quite a few more people behind them.

Wu Yilang rejoiced in his heart, fortunately they split up.

There was a scent, and the peddler pushed the trolley and hawked along the line, "The deep-fried dough sticks, the prime minister's deep-fried dough sticks, are delicious and crisp——"

Wu Yilang and Wu Xiaolang's stomachs made a "goo" at the same time, and Wu Yilang shouted: "Give me three!"

There were also voices from the side.

"I'll take two too."

"I want one."

……

The hawkers smiled and handed the fried dough sticks one by one to collect the money.Since the trials started, his business has improved a lot.

Of course, there are also indifferent, they either have already eaten, or are waiting for another breakfast.

Wu Yilang gnawed on fried dough sticks, and heard someone discussing today's game behind him.

"I think the Xiejie team will win this time." A middle-aged man rubbed his hands and said, "As for the captain Yang Zong, I met him in Xiejie before. He played ball on the street. You can kick wherever you say, God!"

"Hey, what's this? I've had dinner with him! It's just that he hasn't been out of the stall recently. Instead, it's his younger brother. I heard that he practices hard at home every day."

"Actually, I don't think so. The Shenfeng team is also very good. Do you remember the last time at Daxiangguo Temple? Who was it for? Anyway, it was a miracle! When the ball kicked off, I didn't After counting to ten times, a goal was scored! I didn’t even see what happened.”

Before Wu Yilang could speak, Wu Xiaolang was already chewing on fried dough sticks, and shouted vaguely: "Xiejie team, Xiejie team is the best!"

Everyone looked at the kid and laughed, "You little doll, you also support the Xiejie team."

Wu Xiaolang nodded vigorously, "Of course!"

Anyway, when queuing up, idle is also idle, everyone discussed in full swing, and Wu Yilang also joined in.

At this time, a young man wearing a blue jacket, hat, earmuffs, mask, and gloves came up to them, "Hi, excuse me, I am a reporter from Tokyo Daily, may I ask you?" A few questions?"

The scene was silent for a moment, and then erupted.

"It's a reporter from the Tokyo Daily—"

"My God, are we going to be in the paper?"

"Ask, ask, will you write our names?"

……

"Please calm down." The reporter was obviously used to this scene, first took out his work card from his arms, and showed everyone clearly that his name was written on it: Cai Wei.

——I heard that some time ago, Kaifeng government arrested several rogues who pretended to be reporters to cheat food and drink. Since then, "Tokyo Daily" has made a rule that you must carry your work card with you and show it before the interview, regardless of whether the interviewee is there or not Ask to see.

The identification method of this work permit was also published in the newspaper.

After showing his work permit, Cai Wei took out a pen, ink, and paper from his pocket, and began to write while asking questions, feeling a little sad at the same time.

Alas, the probability of geniuses coming out of the Imperial Academy and Yushitai is too high. Many of his colleagues don't even need to bring a pen and paper when they go out for interviews, they just need to memorize them.

"You all came to watch the game? When did you line up?"

"Where do you live the farthest? What time do you get up?"

"Which team do you like? Is there a player you particularly like?"

Cai Wei asked a question and wrote down some meaningful answers.At this time, there were already many people around, all staring with bated breath, watching Cai Wei ask questions, or marveling at the speed at which he wrote.

Finally, Cai Wei asked their names again, and this behavior immediately caused another commotion.

Wu Yilang said excitedly: "Will we be published in "Tokyo Daily?"

Cai Wei said with a smile: "I might as well, if our editor-in-chief approves my manuscript, then you will be able to see your name in the next issue of the newspaper."

If the previous one was obviously ignored, everyone cheered.

Wu Xiaolang also tugged at Dad excitedly, imagining that his name would also appear in the report.His classmate once was in the school and accepted an interview on behalf of everyone, and he still walks with his chin up.

-

Yun Yan held a bag of fruit in her hand, looked around on tiptoe - there are too many people here today, he and Zhao Yunchu came together, just to buy some snacks for watching the game, just came back and was caught The crowd was submerged, and Zhao Yunchu was nowhere to be found.

Today's game is a match between two popular Cuju teams, one is a private Cuju team from a certain clan's mansion, and the other is a non-governmental grassroots Cuju team. It is rudely called "Xiejie Team".

Both have supporters because they have played quite a few games.However, the latter obviously has more supporters, just look at today's scene - most of them are holding support items of the Xiejie team.

Flags with slogans printed on them, straps, etc., are all sold nearby...

After all, the Xiejie team members are all civilians, which makes the people of Bianjing, especially those in Xiejie, feel a sense of identity.Seeing the Xiejie team go down step by step, it is now the last few decisive games, which makes them very happy and even more excited.

"Master Yun?" In the crowd, someone patted Yun Yanhui on the shoulder.

Yun Yan turned around and saw that it was a reporter from "Tokyo Daily", "Xiao Cai, are you the only one here to interview?"

Cai Wei shyly said: "There are two other colleagues, we are in charge of different parts, they are interviewing the Cuju team, I am interviewing the audience, are you waiting for someone here?"

"I was waiting for Zhao Yunchu, I got separated from him." Yun Yan replied helplessly.

"There are indeed too many people here today." Cai Wei also felt lingering fear when he thought that he was so crowded that he almost lost his shoes.

Yun Yan looked back at his face, and the bulging burden of manuscript paper, and said, "You must be quite tired, right? It's good to be busy with the trials. The normal schedule of the league is not so tight."

"Although I'm tired, I'm also very happy." Cai Wei thought that before the start of the trials, his part didn't attract much attention.But after the trials started, the attention has increased.

I don't know why, but for a moment, it seemed that everyone was paying attention to the Cuju League!Several Cuju teams became famous overnight, especially those grassroots teams. Among them were folk artists and traders.

But overnight, they changed from being uneducated to big celebrities in Bianjing, sought after by countless people.

Cai Wei witnessed this with his own eyes, which made him very emotional.

Because of running cuju games, I can often get in touch with the players of various cuju teams, so Cai Wei’s family has many relatives and friends who hadn’t contacted him before. Balls used by favorite players, etc...

Not to mention, because the competition was well written, some readers wrote to the editorial department to praise it.

Yun Yan looked back at Cai Wei with a smile, as if he had experienced all of this.Whether it is hardship or happiness, all kinds of tastes are mixed, and they also bring him valuable life experiences, which will benefit him endlessly in the years to come.

Cai Wei said embarrassingly: "I still have to interview the vendors around me, excuse me."

"Go." Yun Yan went back to say goodbye to him, looked around, and climbed to a horse tethering stone, at a glance, it was really crowded with people, and she couldn't see clearly, so she called out Zhao Yunchu's name.

Zhao Yunchu jumped up in the crowd, "Brother Yan, I'm here!"

If Xin Qiji hadn't been born, Zhao Yunchu would have quoted his "suddenly looking back" sentence to describe his mood.

Zhao Yunchu was also looking for Yunyan to return, with his strength, he was pushed away from his original position by the crowd before, it was really scary.

Yunyan jumped back and down again, Zhao Yunchu also squeezed to Shuanmashi's side, and reunited with Yunyan.Even though it was a cold day, there was sweat on his face.

The two arrived at the gate of the temple together, showed their identity certificates, and then they were released.

When a certain number of people are accommodated, Kaibao Temple will be closed. Even so, there are still so many people outside.If you are lucky, you can climb a big tree and watch the game from afar.If there are no trees to climb, you can only sit on the ground and listen to the sound.

In order to hold the competition, these temples used as the venue, but a piece of land was specially repaired, and the audience seats were set up as Yun Yanhui said, stepped, so that it is convenient to watch.

The auditorium is already packed, it's completely free, first come first, so there are always diehard fans queuing outside before dawn.

When Yun Yanhui and Zhao Yunchu arrived, the players just entered the field, and there was a deafening mix of screams and applause in the audience.

This also triggered a chain reaction, and people outside also shouted, applauding for their favorite Cuju team, even if they couldn't see it, let them know their support.

The Cuju players on the court waved their hands from time to time. They were apprehensive at the beginning, but now they are used to it.Such a big battle was all aimed at him, even if there were some Cuju artists, he had never seen it before.

Fighting all the way out, even the grassroots of the Xiejie team, the psychological quality is very different from the past.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Yunchu said with emotion: "There are more people every time. Last time I went to the street, the whole street was discussing the Cuju League."

This really swept the city, everyone was discussing the game, and they all knew the names of their favorite Cuju players by heart.Since the "Tokyo Daily" has interviewed some popular Cuju teams, their personal information is also cherished by fans.

"This shows that we have succeeded." Yun Yan replied.

Zhao Yunchu: "Well, I was thinking, what will happen to these losers in the future? After they have gone through all this."

Those who win will become professional Cuju players in the future, and those who lose will be one step away, and there will be two worlds.

"You reminded me," Yun Yan replied calmly, "In a few months, we can ask "Tokyo Daily" to do an interview with the ex-air team."

Zhao Yunchu: "..."

On the field, the Xiejie team kicked off the ball with a show of skill, which opened the prelude to the game, and the cheers from both sides echoed in my ears.

Yun Yan's voice came back to Zhao Yunchu: "By the way, last time you applied to crack down on the phenomenon of setting up private bets on the results of the game, how is it?"

Zhao Yunchu nodded hurriedly: "It has been approved, and Baofu Terrace also promised to start cleaning as soon as possible."

"That's good," Yun Yan said seriously, "We can open the official lottery when the league starts..."

Zhao Yunchu: "..."

Yun Yan replied: "What are you looking at! I warn you, don't look at me with such eyes! Instead of using black gambling houses to make profits, isn't it better for us to formalize it? It can also fill the treasury by the way. Do I want to earn this Money, I’m all for the country and the people!!”