Record of ups and downs in troubled times

"If one day our tricks are revealed, I will turn into a ghost and beat you to death!"

Xu Dongyang scolded him, but Fu Xiyuan still had a playful smile and didn't take it seriously.He cursed back every word, and repeated the matter that was on his mind just now: "Come on, before you turn into a ghost, tell me what the border said? I have always felt a little bit uneasy in the past two days. Come on, did something really happen?"

"What could happen?" Xu Dongyang saw that the herbal tea over there was exhausted, so he picked up the pot and refilled a porcelain cup for him. "There are the Lu family and the Feng family on the border. They are all prosperous people. What kind of trouble can happen? But, if you want to say something strange, there is really a strange thing. I send a lot of medicinal materials to Feng's every year; but this year It's strange, they refunded half of the money back, and it's not as easy as before."

"Then you figured out why?"

Fu Xiyuan's demeanor was very much like an old rabbit who would prick up his ears as soon as there was a sign of trouble.

"Border military affairs, no matter how powerful I am, I can't reach in!" Xu Dongyang picked up the ink clay pot again, and refilled the porcelain cup in front of Fu Xiyuan. "What's the matter, do you want old general Feng Zheng to entrust me with a dream? I'm going to invite a few alchemists to perform rituals and invite the old general to come down to earth?"

"Get lost!" Fu Xiyuan was already very unreliable, and it was pity that he was even less reliable than himself in making friends. "Worry a little more. When the trade route passes by, check it for me again. Fanguo has changed hands. I'm afraid there are plans for the border, but you must not relax."

"What you said is really concerned about the country and the people." Xu Dongyang said it perfunctorily, but secretly remembered it in his heart. "Little brother has poor eyesight, could it be that you, elder brother, are the emperor of the dynasty?"

Brothers who have played with each other since they were young, make jokes with each other, but they also know that each other is trustworthy.Fu Xiyuan put forward the words, even if Xu Dongyang didn't answer "yes", he dared to leave the matter to Dongyang with confidence.

A pair of old friends here are drinking herbal tea and talking about the sky; in Jing'an Temple on the other side, Young Master Fu is also playing happily with Xiao Tang'er: Although Mu Tang has a dull temper, Young Master Fu is a looking-for A master of fun.Even if he was alone, he could coax himself into a good mood.

Lu Aozhi, the kid from the Lu family, is a good gambler.Fu Qichen mingled with him, and only learned some superficial skills of stealing and betting, and although he didn't dare to go to a serious casino to show his cowardice, but playing in front of Jing'an Temple, he could still bump into a dead mouse and get some money back. Oily.

Above the game of gambling, winning or losing depends on fate, so there is no need to force it.But Mr. Fu still has a problem, he will definitely lose the last game; this game must be the one where he bet the most; and in the last game he loses, he will never obediently hand over the money to others .

Therefore, often, when others finish gambling, they are either happy or angry.After he gambled, he would definitely lead the creditors to chase after each other in the streets and alleys, having a great time.

In fact, the only one who is "happy" is himself.This strange person seems to like the sense of urgency of being chased and beaten; or, does he like to sweat profusely after running for his life?

unknown.

At this time, the morning light has dispersed, and it is noon.Before the gambling stall in front of Jing'an Temple showed up, more and more pilgrims came to the temple to pilgrimage. Mr. Fu took Mu Tang and played around in the treasure hall for a while. Finally, they felt that the pilgrims were disturbed, and the two headed towards the backyard.

Outsiders are not allowed to enter and leave the backyard at will.But Fu Qichen is not afraid of ghosts and gods, and Mu Tang is not much different from ghosts. The two boys drilled dog holes, climbed low walls, and slipped into one of the many courtyards of Jing'an Temple with peace of mind.Judging from its pattern, it is probably a small vegetable garden.

In the northeast corner of this ordinary small garden, there is a peach blossom tree gracefully standing.

The reason why Jing'an Temple is famous and is called "Shenxian Temple" by the population is precisely because the flowers, plants and trees in it seem to completely ignore the changes of the seasons, just like the blessed land of gods.Now it's almost winter, but the vegetable garden in the temple is lush green, and the peach trees in the temple are full of fragrance.

For a while, it was as if spring and winter were reversed, and time went against the current.

Mu Tang looked surprised.He is not good at speaking, and can only express his sense of surprise with actions: he walked to the peach blossom tree on his own, and trampled the ridges in the garden in a mess.

"Don't go! Come here!" Fu Qichen didn't stop him.

It was a very, very small thing, but looking at Fu Qichen's expression, it seemed that what Mu Tang had on his head was not a peach blossom branch, but a large guillotine with a severed head.

Mu Tang stared at the scattered peach blossoms, his eyes were straightened, and he couldn't hear anything in his ears.

"come here!"

"What's under the tree? Why don't you let him go?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Young Master Fu said perfunctorily, "There is a ghost under the tree." Before he finished speaking, he walked quickly, grabbed Mu Tang by the collar, and dragged him back.

Cheng Xiao, who stayed behind, looked at a woman in dismay.

It was the woman who came with Cheng Xiao who was asking questions just now.She is Cheng Xiao's cousin and also Cheng Xiao's unmarried wife.This time I came to Jing'an Temple, like Cheng Xiao, I specially escorted Mrs. Cheng Nan and Cheng Yu to pray for blessings: Cheng Wei was going to marry into the palace and become a queen, so he came to the temple in advance to ask for a lottery.

"You two... how did you get in here?"

No wonder Cheng Xiao was puzzled.Naturally, there is no threshold for worshiping Buddha in Jing'an Temple, but if you want to pray in Jing'an Temple, you have to have a close relationship with the Jing'an master in the temple.It's not surprising that the Cheng family can come in, but Fu Qichen and another young master... shouldn't be invited in in a dignified manner, right?

"How can I come in? You invited me in?!" Probably because of the peach tree, Young Master Fu's anger still could not be calmed down.

"No..." Seeing that he was angry, Cheng Xiao secretly regretted what he just asked.He hurriedly changed something that he cared about for a long time: "I haven't seen it for a long time these days, so I forgot to ask. I sent that snake slough to your house, will it be effective if it is used? If it is a good medicine, should I use it?" Find some more?"

Fu Qichen had long forgotten about this matter.He is careless when giving things to others, and he rarely takes things to heart when receiving things from others.This smelly habit is not good, he knows it himself, and Fu Xiyuan has told him many times, but since he can't change it no matter what, he can only let his own temper.

But it's true that he can't change it, and it's true that he can say what he says in the scene.Fu Qichen hurriedly came out with a smile on his face, and apologized: "Brother Cheng! I'm sorry! I also wanted to go to the door to thank you a long time ago. Recently, something happened and my feet were entangled. I'm really sorry! It's better to bump into him the next day." day……"

"You gave it?" This was the first time Mu Tang interrupted others.

For some reason, he just doesn't like Cheng Xiao.He had met very few people, and although he had different attitudes towards Ying Guzi and Fu Qichen, he didn't have any resistance to them in his heart.As for this Mr. Cheng Xiao, he clearly disliked him.

He always felt that Cheng Xiao's face was covered with a thick, thick layer of powder.

"I'll give it back to you." Mu Tang said again inappropriately.This time, Fu Qichen pulled him hastily, and ended the situation with a smile: "Brother Cheng! It's better to hit the sun every other day. Is it convenient for you? I'll treat you! When it comes to the good food and dishes in the whole dynasty, whether it's pigs, cattle, chickens, sheep, or Flesh and green vegetables, as long as it suits your taste, I don’t know if there is no younger brother! You don’t need to look at Mu Tang, Xiao Tang already wanted to thank you, what he said just now was to amuse you!”

While Fu Qichen was talking, he habitually hooked Mu Tang's shoulders, making the two of them very affectionate.Seeing this intimacy in Cheng Xiao's eyes made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Even if he didn't come with his mother and sister today, he still had to decline Young Master Fu's invitation.He had always had the idea of ​​being friends with Fu Qichen, but now he suddenly felt a lot of frustration for no reason. This very heavy frustration made him almost speechless.

He blinked, and slowly said "no need" in a soft voice.

Saying this "no need", I was a little at a loss for a while.Cheng Xiao hesitated for a moment, turned around and wanted to drag his cousin away, but just after taking a few steps, he turned around again and said to Young Master Fu, "The pilgrims are leaving, and the sister-in-law in the temple is coming back to the backyard. It’s definitely not easy to get out over the wall. Why don’t you just walk on the right path, and if you meet people who only mention my name, they will let you pass.”

"Okay, thank you brother Cheng for taking care of me." Fu Qichen grinned and nodded kindly. "Goodbye."

The Cheng family turned left and right, and disappeared.Looking around, Fu Qichen still felt that the peach blossom tree was very dirty.He bit his lower lip, bared his teeth again, and decisively dragged Mu Tang out of the temple and down the mountain.

On the way down the mountain, I realized what it means to "catch up early rather than in good time".Unexpectedly, this day is the day when there are temple fairs in the eighteen villages beside Jing'an Temple.When the two of them went up the mountain, it was still early, and the temple fair had not yet been set up, but now that the sun was setting overhead, it was already bustling up and down the mountain from Jing'an Temple.

Mr. Fu is a man who has seen the world.There are all kinds of gadgets placed, erected, pushed, and hung along the road, but none of them caught his eyes. He was happy to see those beautifully dressed little girls who came to visit the mountains with smiles on their faces.But Mu Tang is not so elegant, even if a girl stands in front of him with her breasts open, he still finds it an eyesore and wants to push her away.

The two of them stopped and went, each with their own thoughts.

Walking halfway up the mountain, Young Master Fu tugged Mu Tang's sleeve and motioned him to look over: a little girl in green was sitting behind a wooden cart, and was smilingly arranging "happy goods".

The little girl is just young and has a beautiful appearance.The two big eyes are watery and full of affection, and there are two round dimples on the pink cheeks. Whenever she smiles, it is almost so sweet that people will melt their hearts.

"Tsk! Xiao Tang'er, you don't know that when the girl is at this age, it is a good time that all kinds of beauty in the world can't match." Young Master Fu smacked his lips and stabbed Mu Tang's waist, "Look at the girl's eyes, they are rolling around you. Xiao Tang'er, are you still a man? With such a beautiful girl looking at you, you can walk like this without blushing or beating your heart Square and upright? Okay, I admire you!"

Nagging, he pulled and dragged Mu Tang towards the small shop.

Mu Tang was brought up by Ying Guzi, and Gu Zi adhered to the way of a sage, and never talked to him about the defense of men and women, so he never took it seriously.This time he followed Fu Qichen obediently and obediently, not because of that charming lady, but because of a "happy item" in that shop.

Xihuo is the name in the capital of Chaoyang.Whenever there is a temple fair in any village or any store, they must sell such gadgets.Since it is placed in the street well, of course its material will not be much better, it is only for a peaceful and festive look.

The one Mu Tang took a fancy to was called Binocular Fish, which is a common type of fish.

Binocular fish, as the name suggests, has two eyes in one fish.Cut open from the heart to separate the yin and yang; combine the two into one, and become a round and full-bodied binocular fish.In the present one, the two parts are connected with a wishful lotus knot, and the upper and lower parts are woven into a wreath. Although the knife is very rough and the wood is not too rare mahogany, but it is wild and interesting, and it is a pretty accessory.

"Hey, girl, can you take this off and have a look? Look at the young man next to me, his eyes are straight."

The girl smiled shyly, and stretched out her hand to untie the knot tied to the shelf, but Mu Tang suddenly reached out, pulled hard, and took off the "two-eyed fish" first.