Chapter 4 Sneaky drink

There are many trees in the courtyard, including bamboo, willow, maple, pine, boxwood and sycamore.It's just that before it's time to vomit green, as far as the eye can see, there are heavy grays everywhere.Occasionally, thick tree stumps can be seen on the ground, showing annual rings.Yunjisang knows that these trees are not just for viewing, but also for storing wood. As they walked, they talked about some anecdotes about the world.Luo Jiankong is extremely talkative, eloquent and witty, obviously he is a veteran in dealing with people.But Yun Jisang always felt that he was more than affectionate and not sincere enough.To Yun and Zhuo, he had a lot of compliments, but he seldom paid attention to Ming Huan.Such a utilitarian person, no wonder the senior sister would alienate him.Thinking of this, Yun Jisang couldn't help shaking his head slightly.

"Brother Yun, do you think there is anything wrong with this garden?" Luo Yankong asked tentatively, as if sensing his displeasure. "The layout of Guimen's courtyard is luxurious and elegant..." Yun Jisang came back to his senses, looked around, and considered his tone, "It's just that although the design of this courtyard is exquisite, the style is not uniform. Between the corridors and pavilions, There is always a taste of silos." Luo Jiankong looked surprised: "Unexpectedly, brother Yun is also familiar with the way of gardens. Yes, the rules of my puppet sect are that all disciples of the sect have their own garden. How to layout and plan is up to you. Everyone did it with their own hands, and even the plants and trees in the garden were planted by themselves. In this way, although these gardens are connected to each other, they are inevitably out of place." "What is the reason for this? How does this garden look like? Can it be used for evaluation?" Zhuo Anjie asked with a smile.

"This..." Luo Jiankong seemed a little embarrassed to say. "Forget it, we didn't come to see the garden anyway." Zhuo Anjie waved her hand and continued to move forward. Luo Jiankong smiled awkwardly, and led them towards his residence. Luo Jiankong's mansion is at the northeast end of the Terracotta Warriors Mountain.There are three tile-roofed houses in the hanging mountain style, and one wing room on the left and right corridors.There is a willow in front of the door, and there is a small pool not far away. There are a few goldfish in it, swimming up from time to time, spitting bubbles leisurely.

On a small purple case, there is a set of Yingqing warm bowls and two white bird celadon cups.A fire was set up next to the table, and the red flames licked the small purple clay stove, and puffs of water vapor curled up. Luo Yankong opened the bottle, filled it with hot water, and said with a smile: "The mountain is very humid, I didn't feel it when I was young, but now it's okay, and I get cold at night. I also drink some rice wine from time to time to warm my body. "New wine from green ant fermented grains, small red clay stove. You really know how to enjoy this mule..."

Smelling the aroma of the wine in the room, Zhuo Anjie closed her eyes slightly, her face intoxicated: "Well, this aroma is elegant and gentle, neutral and peaceful, but Huiquan wine?" She opened her eyes and looked at Luo Qingkong. Luo Jiankong raised his thumb, among other things, when it comes to wine, Xiao Zhuo, you are a well-deserved proud daughter of heaven." Zhuo Anjie frowned and said, "Stop talking about these useless things, what about the drinker?" "It's a coincidence for you, I just simmered some deer tendon the day before yesterday, and I prepared it for myself today, but it took advantage of you, the female wine fairy." Luo Jiankong shook his head, and pressed the machine on the side of the desk.A two-foot-square wooden turtle slowly crawled out of the back room, carrying a large white-glazed bowl on its back. The deer tendons in the bowl had been stewed translucent white, soaked in dark red soup. Among them, it is very lovely with ham, udon bamboo shoots and green coriander.Yun Jisang saw her, but frowned slightly.

Zhuo Anjie said again: "That's all there is? Is there anything children can eat?" "Yes! Yes!" Luo Jiankong patted his forehead, and pressed a few times on the turtle's back casually, and the wooden turtle turned around and crawled in slowly. After a while, it came out with a plate of coir raincoat cakes.Seeing Ming Huan, he immediately beamed with joy, hugged the wooden turtle and kissed him twice. Zhuo Anjie stretched out her finger, and flicked on the wooden glans: "I see that your place is deserted and deserted, and you don't even have a servant to order you around. Maybe you are reluctant to part with the little money?" Luo Jiankong filled her wine , put down the jug, and sighed: "You know, we are here to make mechanism puppets, and what we pay attention to is the word 'secret'. There are so many skilled craftsmen in the world, if anyone's tricks are accidentally passed on, then It’s like losing someone who eats. To tell you the truth, when it comes to agency news, the Tianjimen can be called the best in the world. Compared with others, our puppet gate can only be regarded as good at the puppets. It turns out that there is nothing, Since the door developed the method of ringing the bell, people have never stopped coming to inquire about the news. Therefore, the door never invites servants. As long as it is labor, it will not use manpower where organs can be used. This is not , I also built such a thing..." He pointed at the wooden turtle as he said.

"How long can this tortoise go?" Ming Huan asked while lying on the ground, stroking the wooden tortoise. "If the machine spring is fully loaded, it can take at most a cup of tea." Luo Jiankong said complacently. "This thing is exquisite, but just looking at its stupid appearance, one can tell that its usefulness must be limited." Zhuo Anjie pouted. Luo Yankong said haha: "Isn't this just for fun? Is it possible that I really expect this thing to be of great help? The movements of each puppet are pre-set, and I really want to use these things to do it. Things, that’s very troublesome.” “That’s not necessarily the case, brother Luo’s wooden ox and horse is an exception.” Yun Jisang took his eyes away from Ming Huan, and said solemnly, “In the past, Zhuge Kongming built a wooden ox and horse, and it was built in Shu. On the top of the road and the natural barrier, he transported food and grass for hundreds of thousands of troops. When the old master was a military counselor in Myanmar, he tried to make a wooden ox because of the difficulty in transporting food. He could barely walk around, but the load was not satisfactory. I thought the so-called Wooden cows and horses are just false rumors, but after seeing Brother Luo's masterpiece today, I realize that the ancients were sincere and never deceived me."

Luo Hankong smiled slightly, and raised his glass to drink, but when the wine reached his lips, he realized that the wine in the glass was empty, his face blushed slightly, coughed, and while refilling the wine, he said casually: "Brother Yun Congratulations. There are very few records about Yu Mu Niu Liu Ma in ancient books. We only know that he has a square belly, a curved head, one foot and four legs, his head is in the collar, and his tongue is on his abdomen. I learned the key to it. According to records, the wooden ox built by Zhuge can carry ten people’s food for a month. Calculated as one catty of rice per person per day, the load should be around 300 catties. My wooden ox can carry up to two One hundred catties, although it is not as good as the ancients, but it can be considered barely enough." Seeing this, Yun Jisang smiled slightly, but did not speak.

But Zhuo Anjie asked: "I don't know how much it cost you to make this wooden ox?" Luo Fankong thought for a while, and replied: "This wooden ox is made of high-quality rosewood, and all the mechanical parts are expensive. I'm afraid it will cost about five hundred taels of silver. Why, Xiao Zhuo? Do you want to make one too?" Zhuo Anjie laughed and said, "That's it, a live ox costs only a few dozen taels of silver, and you transport two hundred catties of grain, but it costs ten times as much silver as a live ox. Which general is willing to spend such a high price to use it to transport grain and grass? Aren't you afraid of losing your money?"

"I'm just doing it myself for fun, do I really expect the court to use this vulgar thing like me?" Luo Jiankong said sarcastically, but subconsciously glanced at Yun Jisang. In Yun Jisang's view, although Luo Jiankong's wooden ox is exquisite, the cost is obviously not low.Since the wooden ox and horse are used by the military, the cost must not be too high.The reason why Gong Shenheng was unable to imitate Kong Ming's wooden cow and horse was also because of this.Originally, he was embarrassed to speak out because of the master's face, but unexpectedly, Zhuo Anjie pointed it out.After pondering for a moment, Yun Jisang said slowly: "Livestock transports grain, after all, it needs to transport more fodder and prevent diseases. If brother Luo can reduce the silver consumption of this wooden cow to about a hundred taels, I can do it for Luo. Brother recommends this item to Master Xing."

Luo Yankong was overjoyed at first, but then he showed embarrassment: "This... I'm afraid it's a bit tricky. Even if the wood is almost the same, the gears, springs and other things are absolutely unavoidable. No matter how you calculate it, it can't be less than Three hundred taels, unless..." He hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and shook his head. "If you have any difficulties, Brother Luo might as well speak up." Yun Jisang said lightly. Luo Jiankong smiled wryly and said: "If you really want to reduce the cost of this wooden ox, you have to devote all your energy to manufacture a large number of gear springs of the same scale. But now the master's thoughts are all on the chime clock, so why would he invest in it?" It's a pity, a pity..." I couldn't stop sighing. Zhuo Anjie said strangely: "If you can really put this wooden cow and horse into the army, it's hard to say that it will be famous in history, and it shouldn't be a problem. Since your master Cao Zhong can bring the Puppet Sect to where it is today, it must be a big deal How could someone miss such a great opportunity?" From Zhuo Anjie's mouth, Yun Jisang already knew something about Cao Zhong's past.Before Cao Zhong came to power, the puppet family was poor and useless, and they only made some money by making silk puppets and stick puppets for folk artists.At the beginning of Cao Zhong's ascension to the throne, he set up the purpose of developing the hair-shaking puppet.In fact, compared with the hanging silk puppets and stick-head puppets that have to pull more than a dozen threads at every turn, the hair-shaking puppets are the out-and-out king of puppets. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the technique of shaking the puppet has been lost, so there was a lot of doubt in the puppet family at that time.Unexpectedly, it only took Cao Zhong five years to reappear this technique in the world, and the Puppet School became famous for a while.It’s just that although the hair-shaking puppets are wonderful, they are just playthings after all. Although there are many people who come to enjoy them, there are very few people who want to buy them.Even so, Cao Zhong took the opportunity to get in touch with many rich and powerful families, and even got a Sanjie of Zheng Shilang.A year ago, he succeeded in imitating the western chime clock again. Now the chime clock of the puppet family has become a wonderful thing for the rich and powerful to show off. number one hero.How could such a person fail to see the meaning of Mu Niu Liu Ma? Luo Yankong hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "The reason why master has been able to impress those rich and nobles in the past two years, and donated his official position, is due to the self-ringing bell. I am afraid that master will not be willing to part with this piece of fat. Alas, not much to say Now, those of us who are disciples, just do our own thing well, the things in our sect are handled by our master." Just as she was talking, she heard footsteps outside, and someone called out, "Know Kong, know Kong!" The voice was melodious, and the delicate part was like the weeping of willows and warblers, even better than spring. Luo Yankong hurriedly got up to greet her: "Little teacher, why are you here?" The woman laughed, and said bluntly: "I came to ask you to borrow money. A few days ago, on Lu Wang's birthday, your master was lavish, and now the door is a little bit tight. Among you brothers, don't It is you who can grab the money... Are you entertaining distinguished guests? I would like to see where the nobles are that make you so heartless and nervous." The voice of the voice turned with the footsteps, and there was a sudden panic in the room. Bright, there is already a green figure.The woman stood pretty and lively, with her hands slightly swaying, her watery almond eyes were rolling, and her eyes were full of infinite amorous feelings. "Hey, what a beautiful sister." The woman glanced at Yun Jisang first, then sat down beside Zhuo Anjie with a smile, "Is my sister an old friend of Fangkong? I don't know where she is from? Are you married? Sister This figure is really enviable! It's the first time I've seen someone who can dress so vigorously in white!" Zhuo Anjie, however, sat still and let her look at her gracefully. non-stop. Seeing this, Luo Jiankong hurried forward to introduce the two parties.It turned out that this woman was Cao Zhong's concubine Wang Biyan, and she was also the most favored person in front of Cao Zhong's eyes. "It turned out to be Mrs. Ru. We just arrived, and Mrs. Ru got the news. Could it be that you have some kind of ear retribution here?" Zhuo Anjie looked at the other party with a smile.I saw that Wang Biyan was wearing a lake green long dress woven with golden makeup, bow shoes embroidered with clouds and dew flowers, and a jade flower headband on her head, and her hair was fragrant. "Look at what my sister said, our place is only a little bit bigger than the tip of a needle. If there is a trouble in someone's house, you will know it in a while." Wang Biyan took Zhuo Anjie's hand and said with a smile, "We rarely have guests here. , It’s hard to find even a warm place. My sister will stay here for a few more days, so I can talk to my sister more personally.” “If Madam Ru is interested, An Jie will offer a toast to Madam Ru first. "Zhuo Anjie drew out her hand, filled the celadon cup in front of her, raised the cup with both hands, and after a brief gesture, she drank it all in one gulp. Seeing that she drank boldly, Wang Biyan also took a sip, and then raised his glass to Yun Jisang with a smile: "Young Xia Yun, Biyan has admired your reputation for a long time, and seeing you today, you and I are also destined, come on, Biyan respects you." Yun Jisang untied a gourd from his waist: "Yun is injured, so he can't drink more, and can only use tea instead of wine." He bit the gourd plug and took a sip . Wang Biyan glanced at Zhuo Anjie, and said with a smile: "My sister is really strict, and Yun Shaoxia can't even drink a glass of wine. In this case, this glass will fall on my sister." Wine glass, persuade Zhuo Anjie Yingying to drink.Zhuo Anjie didn't shirk, she raised her glass and drank it down. The appearance of Wang Biyan made the atmosphere on the wine table more lively.Luo Ankong is even more hospitable, not only communicating with Yun Jisang on topics that Yun Jisang is interested in, such as magic tricks, but also humbly asking for advice from time to time, and even full of praise for Zhuo Anjie's various heroic deeds in the world.Even Zhuo Anjie didn't remember some trivial things, but he——too, they were all treasures. Such a person is really hard to hate.Unknowingly, even Yun Jisang's attitude towards him eased a lot.After several rounds of drinking, Luo Kankong's words became more and more intimate, and he seemed to have regarded himself as Yun Jisang's close friend. After another round of toasting, Luo Yankong asked with concern: "I heard that Brother Yun is highly valued by Lord Xing, Minister of the Ministry of War, and intends to recommend you as an official in the court. Brother Yun is favored by Lord Xing. If you enter the official career, you will be promoted. It's just around the corner, but why did you refuse Lord Xing's good intentions and start to be a Jianghu man again?" "The height of the temple and the distance of the rivers and lakes are the same, and they are almost the same. No matter where they are, the conflicts between each other It’s inevitable. Besides, the battles in the court, killing people without blood, are a bit more dangerous than the shadows of swords and swords in the rivers and lakes." As he said that, Yun Jisang flicked his empty right sleeve, "Yun is a cowardly person. He lost one hand, but he still has one to use. If he loses his head, but he doesn't have a spare head, it's better to go back." Good." Wang Biyan's face was a little more drunk, and she giggled coquettishly: "Young Xia Yun is really a funny person, Sister Zhuo, Biyan envies you to death." Zhuo Anjie said calmly: "Mrs. Ru is joking." Maybe he was really drunk, Wang Biyan's body swayed slightly, like a peony blooming in the rain: "Young Xia Yun's mentor is Senior Gongshen, right? After he was drunk, he composed a jade song in downtown Jinling, and it was a sensation. Since Yun Shaoxia is his old man's disciple, he must also know the melody, if he is happy today, Bi Yan will boldly sing a song, please listen to me..." As he spoke, he hit the plate with his chopsticks and sang in a clear voice: "There are many right and wrong places to know people. Yesterday was a minister, and today a stick disciple. It is better to go back and escape the disaster. Life is lived in a puppet shed. I am afraid that I will not know the pain in my heart. There is no place to hide when you pull a string. You kill it, and it kills me again. A mess is full of corpses, don't blame it for laughing and singing crazy." The song was soft and melodious, but between the lines was full of blood and madness. Ming Huan didn't quite understand, but instinctively felt scared, so he covered his ears with his small hands, and slipped into Master's arms. "Mrs. Ru is drunk. Brother Luo..." Yun Jisang frowned.Luo Jiankong also felt that Wang Biyan was losing his composure, and was about to step forward to persuade her, but there was a soft knock on the door outside. Boom, boom, boom... The knock on the door was low, as if afraid of waking up the people in the house, and seemed to be asking for something.Hearing the knock on the door, Yun Jisang had a strange hallucination in his heart: it was a lost soul who knocked on the door outside. After wandering in the wilderness for many years, he finally found his home...