Nightfall Chapter 107: A bowl of noodles in summer night, a tea master by the lake
Chapter 107 A bowl of noodles in the summer night, a tea master by the lake
Chang’an City is a city with no regrets, except for its summer.
In June, the sun is getting brighter and the temperature is getting higher and higher, the scorching heat envelopes the streets and lanes, and occasionally the wind blows, which is also an abomination, and the warm breath blows. The original verdant and full leaves, purple the grapes on the shelf, brought out the ice cubes in the homes of princes and nobles, and opened the doors and windows of common people’s homes.
All the doors and windows on the pavements along Lin 47 Lane are open.
Compared with the risk of theft, the horror of death from heatstroke is obviously greater. The frustrated little servants were sitting on the stone steps, looking around weakly, guarding against the thieves who also stayed at home to enjoy the cool, while the shopkeeper and the owner carried bamboo chairs and buckets to the small back street. Alley.
The alleys are quiet and narrow, covered with green locust trees, and there is not much sunlight during the day. In addition, the night breeze becomes a few minutes faster by the narrow alleys, and it will be relatively cool when it blows on people.
All kinds of bamboo beds and small square tables have completely blocked the narrow alleys back to the street. Neighbours lie on the bamboo beds and chat lazily, and beside the small square tables are the melons moistened with well water. fruit.
There are people who are used to having fun in hardship, and even ate with a bowl of oil-spattered noodles. The sweat from the hot peppers mixed with the sweat from the sultry heat, to deceive yourself with poisonous tricks. This night is not It’s so hot.
From time to time, there will be a clear pop in the alley. It sounds like adults are educating naughty children. In fact, people are just slapping their greasy and sweaty backs with towels dampened with well water.
“If you don’t know, don’t know! In such hot weather, do you still want to find a foot warmer!”
The husband and wife of the fake antique shop are arguing day after day about the issue of concubine. The people in Lin 47 Lane have long been tired of listening, and even began to wonder if this is a kind of alternative flirting.
There is also a back door on the back of Lao Bi Zhai. It has not been used a few days ago, but now it finally came in handy. Ning Que lay on the bamboo chair, took the wet towel that Sangsang handed over, and sighed. Wiping his naked upper body, listening to the arguing on the bamboo bed next door, I wondered where the literati said the truth in life in the market.
Since he was boring, he left. He put a wet towel on his shoulders, got up anxiously and greeted the neighbors around him and went back to his courtyard. Sangsang carried a bucket in one hand and a bamboo lounge chair in the other. Struggling to follow.
The little maid wore a thin blue shirt today, with bare arms and legs, and her black face was ruddy. Being cold and not easy to sweat does not mean that she can’t feel the heat inside and outside the eaves, but it makes her feel even more bored. She looked at Ning Que by the well and asked: “Master, can I put the cloth on the outside Take it off?”
He drew a bucket of fresh cold water from the well. Ning Que was ready to pour it on his head with both hands. He went to the annoying summer. Suddenly listening to these words, he couldn’t help but add to his troubles, and taught him: “Although you are young, you are a girl after all. There is no reason to undress in front of a man. Now it is not when you are three or four years old. I can wipe and take a bath for you. You are about to become a big girl. It’s okay to be sober.”
Sangsang gave him an annoyed look and asked: “You didn’t answer me, Master before, is it really interesting to take revenge? If you go to kill one a few days later, you are not bored.”
“This was originally an interesting and irrelevant thing.”
Ning Que replied: “We now eat leftovers every day, and we have to go to Maokeng to **** every day. Isn’t this dull and repeatable? But you have to do it. Because if you don’t eat, you’ll starve to death, no If you shit, you have to suffocate to death. It’s boring to kill and revenge, but if you want to live a little peace of mind, no matter how boring, you still have to kill.
After saying this, he lifted his hands up and then flipped over, and the whole bucket of cool well water splashed on him, and then poured on the stone floor of the small courtyard, the whole person was instantly energetic. After a shake, he immediately noticed that his lower body was a little bit cold, and he was surprised to see that the cotton shorts he was wearing were washed down.
Sangsang looked at his exposed half of his butt, and the trousers tightly tucked between his hips, giggling unusually, his little hand covered his lips, but he couldn’t hide his joy. child.
Ning Que lifted his shorts, turned his head angrily and said, “What to look at? Killing is always more interesting than this kind of thing.”
Sangsang put down his little hand covering his mouth, looked at him and replied seriously: “I will make a bowl of fat intestine noodles later.”
……
……
The city of Chang’an in summer is the darkest and the coolest before dawn. The residents who were forced to lie down on the street by the long hot night and borrowed the breeze to enjoy the coolness returned to their beds and took advantage of the coolest time. , Doing the most beautiful and deep sleep, intending to make up for all the time lost in the summer.
No one is sleeping in Lao Bi Zhai.
Sangsang made a bowl of fragrant noodle soup, with a lot of chives, six or seven fat sausages and two large intestines in the noodles.
Ning Que finished eating fragrantly, wiped his mouth, put on an old and ordinary coat, put on a brand-new, featureless hat, covered most of his face with a mask, and wrapped it in a coarse cloth Hao Pu Dao and the **** umbrella, then pushed open the back door of the small courtyard, greeted the little maid softly, and walked into the night.
Walking through the quiet streets and alleys of the East City, during the cool night breeze, both tired residents and alert dogs are falling asleep sweetly. The whole city seems to have never awakened, but occasionally The sound of the wheel of the water truck rolling over the bluestone slab suddenly sounded, and then gradually moved away until it disappeared.
The faint light of the lantern illuminates the road not far from the water truck, shaking and restlessly.
Ning Que, who had been silently squatting in the gap of the big bucket, jumped down when the water truck passed by the side entrance of the Fangshi somewhere in the South City. His feet landed quietly, and his body quickly flashed into the night of the Fangshi side alley. in. Then he took out the map hand-drawn by Sangsang and glanced at it for the last time in the dim light.
Just as Sangsang doubted, planning to kill someone after a while, this kind of thing is related to the quiet, bitter and happy reading life in the academy and the noisy and annoying city life in Lane 47. It’s very unmatched, and this boring repetition is really meaningless. But for Ning Que, who returned to Chang’an from Weicheng, eating a bowl of fatty intestine noodles or fried egg noodles from time to time, and then killing others to avenge him, is like writing a few words and meditating for a few hours. It has become a very important part of his life. An important part has even become a certain lifestyle.
Whenever you kill an object of revenge, every time you wipe out a name on the oiled paper list, you will feel that the burden on his shoulders will be less, the body will be relaxed, and the sticky blood on the hands will be lighter. ——Everyone instinctively yearns for a relaxed and happy life, so his instinct requires him to continue.
Sangsang prepared all the living habits, living habits, living habits, such as knife-wrapped masks, coats, hats, maps, and goals for him. A black-faced little maid walking through the streets of Chang’an, presumably would not cause any caring people. Note that Ning Que is not worried about her safety, but believes in her ability.
So whenever the sword was about to go out of its sheath, he never thought that his blade would not be able to cut a person’s head, including today. When he quietly entered the Fang Market by night and walked towards the small lake behind the tea house, he had already started to pay homage to the general mansion and many people in the village with that person’s head in advance.
Today he will erase the third name on the greased paper list.
The owner of that head is Yan Suqing, 41 years old, a former military clerical appraiser.
This person is skilled in the art of tea ceremony seals and emblems. After being driven out of the military by the imperial court, he became a tea master specially hired by a famous tea merchant in Chang’an City. According to Zall’s investigation, General Xuanwei was accused. The ironclad evidence of treason and collusion-the three letters were personally verified by this person, and it may even be forged by this person.
He still has many unexplainable connections with the Yanjing Border Tucun case. Back then, Xiahou’s army pointed at Yan State, but when he was late on the edge of Minshan Mountain, Yan Suqing was in the Xiahou army. What is puzzled is why, as an appraiser of the Ministry of Education, appeared on the frontline battlefield full of blood.
Yan Suqing now lives in a small lakeside building bought by a tea merchant. Ning Que quietly walked along the lakeside, looking at the row of quiet small buildings on the lakeside, looking at those seemingly distant. In the inexhaustible but implied ancient meaning of the bamboo wall and grass house, the eyebrows exposed outside the mask slowly raised, and suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Because this small building near the lake is too quiet.
Living in Chang’an is not easy. It can be said to be an inch of gold. In the bustling and bustling city, the word “Qingyou” means pure and expensive, very expensive. Ning Que knew that Yan Suqing was deeply trusted by the tea merchant, but he believed that no matter how extravagant and generous the giants were, it was impossible to give such a small building on the lakeside to his subordinate tea masters.
The morning light still hasn’t arrived, and the view on the lakeside is still dark. Only the water waves reflect the lights of I don’t know where, with a slight dim light, Ning Que walked to the front of Linhu Xiaozhu, across the estranged bamboo wall, watching The huge stone-carved chair under the stone steps in the courtyard, looked at the thin middle-aged man in the chair, paused slightly and then pushed in.
A small oil lamp was lit, and the thin middle-aged man sat on a stone chair, holding a crude tea cup made of mud in his left hand, and tapping the corner of the ebony tea table with his right hand, watching calmly The teenager who opened the door, suddenly a faint smile appeared on his thin cheeks, and said softly:
“The so-called tea ceremony is actually just using complicated procedures to strengthen a sense of ritual, thereby creating a sense of solemnity.”
“Many people think that when I drink tea at home, I must burn incense and bathe, worship Haotian for a long time, and then the sea washes the cup and makes a silent play to get the tea soup into my lips. Actually, it’s not the case, my favorite in my life I’m still holding a big teacup to drink tea. It’s probably a habit developed in the army. I still like to be more direct.”
“Such a hot summer night, young man, you were uneasy sleeping in your house but strolling along the lake, presumably…you came to kill me.”