245, Return to Bailu Academy (Request Full Order)
For several days in a row. Google search reading
Bai Gui took several hours every day to serve Master Ma, and he never got tired of it.
Master Ma was shot by a black gun, and his injuries recurred, causing a high fever, which was the disease that dragged Master Ma down and even killed him.
On the first day of treatment, Bai Gui was not fully prepared.
So on the second day, he exchanged some wound medicine from later generations, and after cleaning the wound with alcohol and bandaging it, Master Ma's injuries gradually healed and would not worsen.
At this time, there were only about ten days left before the end of the year.
"I wrote a letter a few days ago, saying that I would go to Zishui County to visit Mr. Zhu..."
"Mr. Zhu is my master."
"The weather has been good these days, and it hasn't snowed. It won't be too troublesome to go to Zishui County..."
Bai Gui said goodbye to Master Ma.
Originally, he was going to visit Mr. Zhu a few days after visiting Xu Xiucai, but when he visited the clan leader Bai Jiaxuan that night, he inevitably mentioned this matter. The clan leader Bai Jiaxuan said that Mr. Zhu was out visiting friends and giving lectures, and it would probably take a few days to return to Zishui County, so this matter was delayed...
Mr. Zhu is Bai Jiaxuan's brother-in-law.
So the information Bai Jiaxuan got was more accurate than Xu Xiucai.
And... Now it's approaching the end of the year, it stands to reason that Mr. Zhu will not return home.
And he also heard the news that Mr. Zhu returned home during these days, and it is very likely that he has already returned home.
So he will not go to Bailu Academy in vain.
"You just returned to Qin Province, and it is necessary to pay homage to your master. I am not injured now. Although my body is much worse than before and I can't use a knife, I can still live for more than ten or twenty years..."
"I have my brother Hai to take care of me here, so it won't be a big deal."
Master Ma smiled while lying on the sickbed.
His face was much rosier than a few days ago, but it was not as good as before.
There is a big difference!
A serious illness almost drained his vitality.
If an ordinary person had repeated fevers, he would have died long ago. He was able to hold on for half a month and was treated by Bai Gui, thanks to his original good body.
Now his condition is stable, and only recuperation is left.
It won’t be a big problem if Bai Gui, the apprentice, is not around. Besides, Bai Gui has served for more than ten days, which is not a short time...
The two talked for a while.
Most of the time was about Mr. Zhu.
As a native of Qin Province, Master Ma knew Mr. Zhu and respected Mr. Zhu, the successor of Guanxue. This is also one of the reasons why he decided to accept Bai Gui as a disciple after hearing that he was the successor of Guanxue.
"I've been thinking about Haige's marriage these days. Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough..."
"Haige is also at the age of getting married. If he gets married earlier, he can have children and continue his bloodline earlier..."
"So I plan to go to Long Province to help Haige get married and arrange the wedding after the New Year. This is also my responsibility as a senior brother."
During the conversation, Bai Gui hesitated for a while and talked about this matter.
He was not familiar with Master Ma's status among the swordsmen or Pao brothers, but he thought it would not be too high.
Now... even if Master Ma recovers, his martial arts are probably almost useless. It's easy to fight ordinary people. Ten or so may not be his opponent. But if he continues to be a swordsman, without the martial arts of the past, it is inevitable that his status will decline.
If others give him some honors out of respect, it’s fine. But if they don’t, it’s hard to say…
So he helped Haige arrange his wedding, firstly to fulfill Master Ma’s “deathbed” wish, and secondly to help Master Ma to calm down and let others know that a lean camel is bigger than a horse, and to keep up the good work.
Raise a son to prepare for old age, store grain to prepare for famine.
When a martial artist gets old, he is afraid of the young, so he often takes in apprentices when he is young. This is why he needs to take in apprentices as early as possible. When he can’t fight anymore, he lets the apprentice fight for him. This is also the apprentice’s duty to maintain the dignity of the master…
Of course, this is just a metaphor, not necessarily to fight.
But as an apprentice, he has to worry about what to do when his master gets old and can’t fight anymore.
“Since Haige wants a wife, I’m glad that you, as a senior brother, can help him think about it.”
Master Ma said with relief.
He was glad that he had foresight and took in such a filial apprentice.
...
Half a day later, Bailu Town.
Bailu Town, like Zishui County, is close to Zishui, so Bailu Town is basically a must-go place to go to Zishui County. And you don't necessarily need to go through Bailu Town to go to Bailu Village. You can get to Bailu Village from the official road of the provincial capital.
"It's almost the end of the year, and the town is a lot more lively."
"By the way, today should be the Bailu Town market..."
"There are a lot of people rushing to the market."
Bai Gui walked to the town entrance, got off the horse, held the reins, looked at the crowd, and thought.
There are vendors hawking along the street.
The weather has been good these days. Except for the morning and evening, it is warm at other times, not too cold.
Villages gathered in a certain range will have fixed time, and small vendors will hold markets in a fixed range.
Ji means gathering, and Shi means selling.
The villagers who come to the market also call it going to the market.
Soon after, he walked to Wangji Restaurant.
Wangji Restaurant is located in the most bustling and prosperous place in the town, but the town is so small that the so-called bustling and prosperous place is just a main street. There are only a few scattered food shops in the town. No matter how they open, they will not be too far away from the bustling area.
When the restaurant waiter saw a guest coming, he spontaneously led the horse to a nearby stable.
"Uncle Wang, come and have some food."
Bai Gui walked to the counter and smiled.
Restaurants in rural areas like this usually have a few fixed dishes, as well as some dishes that are not on the menu. For example, if you occasionally kill a rabbit, you can use rabbit meat to make dishes. Sometimes you kill a wild pheasant, and you can use the wild pheasant to make dishes.
In addition, there are not many vegetables out of season at this time, but they can be grown near the hot springs, but these green vegetables are not affordable for ordinary people, and they are expensive. Scarce things are more expensive, so some seasonal vegetables will not be included in the menu.
When you go to a restaurant to eat, it all depends on what you did today.
Shopkeeper Wang responded immediately, "Sir, please take a seat and wait a moment."
He was looking down at the abacus, looked up at Bai Gui, and immediately knew something in his mind.
At first glance, you can tell that this is a good deal!
but……
Shopkeeper Wang frowned slightly.
He just heard Bai Gui call him Uncle Wang, a title he had heard many times in Bailu Town. In the same place, it is always possible to reach out to relatives, including seven aunts and eight aunts, called Uncle Wang.
But this man dressed in a long gown called him Uncle Wang, which was the first time he heard it.
"It must be Mr. Bai. I didn't expect Mr. Bai to come to the shop..."
Shopkeeper Wang immediately thought of something, and said nervously with a flattering smile on his face.
He has been a shopkeeper for a long time, and his intelligence is beyond the comparison of ordinary people.
In these ten miles and eight villages, there are not many people who have the ability to come out.
With Bai Gui's dress, he immediately thought of Gui Wazi who delivered goods to him a few years ago. At this glance, he looked vaguely similar, and he immediately had an idea in his mind and made a judgment.
"Just order whatever Mr. Bai wants to eat, and I will give Mr. Bai a free meal..."
"Mr. Bai finally came to the store once."
Shopkeeper Wang said quickly.
He is afraid.
Ever since he learned that Bai Gui had won the Three-Yuan Scholar Award four years ago, he had been worried that Bai Gui would come to take revenge. After all, when Bai Gui came to deliver goods in the past, he secretly lowered the price and made at least more than 20 taels of silver from it.
If you are an ordinary person, this is a normal behavior.
But who would have thought that Bai Gui's carp turned into a dragon, climbed the Dragon Gate, became a three-yuan scholar, and went abroad to study...
His status has changed, and what he did before was considered "normal" is now considered humiliating!
"I wanted to come here before, but couldn't get in..."
When Bai Gui heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said jokingly. valley
He didn't take Wang Ji's Restaurant into his heart. Otherwise, as a three-yuan scholar, it would have been more than enough for him to come to Wang Ji's Restaurant to seek revenge four years ago, and he wouldn't have waited until today.
But today I happened to walk to Wang Kee Food Shop.
If you're interested, it's okay to come in, sit around, and have a few words of teasing.
"No matter what Mr. Bai says, no one can stop you."
Shopkeeper Wang complained secretly.
It happened a few years ago, so it stands to reason that he would have forgotten all about it. But he was afraid that Bai Gui would seek revenge, so he remembered it deeply. When he saw Bai Guichuan's condition, he was worried that it would affect the restaurant's business, so he blocked the door.
But he didn't dare to say this out loud.
Bai Gui smiled faintly and was noncommittal.
Take a seat.
After a while, shopkeeper Wang personally served the wine and food, the best wine and food.
"This is an apology banquet. Please don't blame Mr. Bai."
"What happened in the past was because I, as an uncle, was wrong. Cheng Yi will give me something later..."
He kept bowing and said with a smile.
Cheng Yi, originally meaning travel expenses, was a sum of money given by relatives, friends or superiors as expenses when the ancients traveled far away. However, someone later made a clever name and used Cheng Yi's name to bribe him.
Talking directly about money would be too vulgar, but Cheng Yi sounded more comfortable and elegant.
"No need, Cheng Yi. I'm just here to have a meal."
"There was no big grudge before..."
Bai Gui took a few chopsticks of food and said.
Four years ago, shopkeeper Wang lowered the price of the pheasants and hares he "hunted" a lot, but to be honest, the grudge wasn't that big, and it wouldn't escalate to the point of killing them.
But at that time, I did have the intention to crush Shopkeeper Wang to ashes!
He is not a living Buddha or a great good person.
However... now my mood has changed, time has diluted everything, and my anger is not so strong anymore.
After walking to Wang Ji's Restaurant, I saw that shopkeeper Wang was exhausted and apologized for the meal, which made a lot of his dissatisfaction dissipate.
You can't really suppress Shopkeeper Wang. At his position, this is a bit of a loss.
It’s similar to the allusion to Liu Chi Alley. In the countryside, try not to use the big rules from outside. People who know the world and understand etiquette will naturally respect you and let you stay three feet away from the hospital...
And if someone is unsophisticated, some people will teach him how to do things.
It’s not that there’s no need to fight, but it’s not necessary.
"Yes, yes, Mr. Bai returns to his hometown. As the elder..., no, no, no, how can I, a fellow countryman, not prepare for Cheng Yi?"
Shopkeeper Wang continued.
He didn't know whether Bai Gui was sincere or fake.
After dinner.
Shopkeeper Wang took out two small yellow croakers as Cheng Yi.
A standard small yellow croaker, one or two. It can probably be exchanged for more than forty silver dollars.
"No need, I don't lack the money."
Bai Gui declined.
He took out three single-cent silver coins from his sleeves as meal money and put them on the table.
The cost of this meal is about three cents. If it's less, it won't be too much, if it's more, it won't be too much.
"My dear nephew, please accept it. If you don't accept it... I feel uneasy!"
Shopkeeper Wang smiled bitterly and confessed.
He finally understood that he was really not as good as this group of scholars in making excuses, so it was better to tell the truth frankly than to be conceited.
"Since Uncle Wang insists on doing this, it's easy to handle."
"I see it's winter in this town, and there are a lot of people who lack food and clothing."
"If you really want to apologize to me, just give me porridge. As for the time, you decide for yourself..."
Bai Gui paused and said.
Every winter, there are definitely many beggars who starve to death!
Along the way, he also saw some beggars along the way, and almost all the scattered copper coins he had on him were used up.
He is not a compassionate and good person, but if he can help, he will help.
It just so happened that Shopkeeper Wang wanted to apologize.
Instead of doing this, it is better to let shopkeeper Wang give porridge to relieve these victims.
A few days ago, he redeemed the Taoist talent of "deep blessings", but he never felt anything unusual. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that this profound blessing and talent had changed his life. It only gave him a starting foundation, and he would need to add more bricks and stones on his own in the future.
As for adding bricks and mortar, he thought for a while, maybe it would be easier to start with good deeds.
"Soup soup?"
Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Since this is what my nephew ordered me to do, I will give you porridge for a month."
"Sign up as a good nephew."
He is not a simple bad person. He is not willing to do such good things as giving out porridge, and it is not easy for him to make money. But he was absolutely willing to use the lost money to give out porridge.
Giving porridge can also give you a good reputation.
Why not!
…
What happened with Shopkeeper Wang was just a small episode.
After Bai Gui came out of Bailu Town, he rushed to Zishui County before sunset.
Zishui County is a small basin surrounded by mountains.
Therefore, when going downhill from Bailuyuan to Zishui County, you need to pay attention to the road conditions to prevent slipping and falling, so the speed will inevitably slow down.
White Deer Academy.
Knock on the door.
"Mihe, why are you here so late at night?"
"Don't be careful."
Zhu Bai opened the side door of the academy and welcomed Bai Gui in, half complaining.
"I heard that sir is back."
"As a student, how can I remain indifferent? I haven't seen my mentor for several years and I really miss him."
Bai Gui smiled and brought the gift to the living room.
Along the way, he also took a careful look at Bailu Academy. Sure enough, as Xu Xiucai said, it was a lot depressed, and a thin layer of dust fell on many windows and doors in the front yard.
The withered yellow leaves, mixed with the remaining snow from the previous days, fell on the steps.
You know, at this time in the past, even if it was approaching the end of the year, there were still many members and students studying hard here, and the lights in some lecture halls were bright, not as dim as they are today.
Without fame and fortune, few people can persevere and continue studying hard.
It is inevitable for people to get separated.
"Wait a moment. Your husband will be back soon. He must have gone to the Confucian Temple somewhere."
"I'll cook for you. I'll stir-fry some more vegetables today."
"I remember that your favorite thing was the steamed stuffed buns stuffed with cabbage and meat that I made."
Zhubai smiled.
Bai Gui is a member of her clan, has a good reputation in the clan, is her husband's favorite disciple, and has been staying in the back house for a long time. She has long regarded Bai Gui as her own.
"Master Wife, remember to put a few more drops of sesame oil in the stuffing of the buns..."
"It tastes delicious that way."
Bai Gui saw that Zhu Bai had already walked from the living room to the corridor.
He quickly stood up and shouted.