Chapter 6 Signing the Lot

Chen Pingan came to the east gate and saw the man sitting cross-legged on a tree stump at the gate of the fence, lazily basking in the early spring sun, closing his eyes, humming a tune, and slapping his knees with both hands.

Chen Pingan squatted beside him. For the young man, the matter of debt collection was really hard to talk about.

The young man could only look quietly at the broad road to the east, which was winding and long, like a thick yellow snake.

He habitually picked up a handful of soil, held it in his hands, and rubbed it slowly.

He once followed Old Man Yao over the mountains and ridges around the town, carrying a heavy luggage full of various objects including hatchets and hoes. Under the guidance of the old man, he would stop and go everywhere. Chen Pingan often needed to "eat soil". He would grab a handful of soil and put it directly into his mouth, chew the soil and taste the taste. Over time, practice makes perfect, and Chen Pingan can clearly understand the texture of the soil even if he just grinds it with his fingers. So much so that later, when Chen Pingan weighed some broken porcelain pieces from old kilns on the market, he could tell which kiln mouth and even which master fired them.

Although Old Man Yao is withdrawn and unkind, and often beats and scolds Chen Pingan, once, Old Man Yao disliked Chen Pingan for his poor understanding and was simply an ignorant idiot, so he threw him in a fit of anger. In the wilderness, the old man returned to the kiln entrance alone. By the time the boy walked the sixty-mile mountain road and approached the dragon kiln, it was already late at night. It was raining heavily that day. When the boy who was stumbling in the mud finally saw a little light in the distance, the stubborn boy was struggling to survive alone. Then, for the first time, I felt the urge to cry.

But the young man has never complained about the old man, let alone hold a grudge.

The young man comes from a poor family and has never read a book, but he understands a truth beyond books: except for your parents, no one in the world should treat you well.

And his parents passed away early.

Chen Ping'an couldn't bear his temper and was dazed. The sloppy man seemed to think that there was probably no way to get through. He opened his eyes and said with a smile: "It's just five cents. If a man is so stingy, he won't have a big future in the future." "

Chen Ping'an looked helpless, "Aren't you just worrying about it?"

The man grinned, showing his jagged yellow teeth and said with a smile: " So, if you don’t want to become a bachelor like me in the future, don’t worry about the five cents.”

Chen Pingan sighed, raised his head, and said seriously: “If you are short of money, these five cents. Forget it, but we have agreed in advance that in the future we will not be able to default on a single copper coin."

The man with a sour smell turned around and said with a smile: "Little guy. , With a bad temper like yours, you will easily suffer big losses in the future. Haven’t you heard the old saying that suffering is a blessing? If you suffer a small loss, you are not willing to suffer..."

He caught a glimpse of it. The young man held the soil in his hands, paused for a moment, and said narrowly: "It's your fate to face the loess and turn your back to the sky."

Chen Pingan retorted: "Didn't I just say that I don't want five cents? Don't you think it's your fate?" Not a snackdeficit? "

The man was a little deflated and looked annoyed. He waved his hand to chase people away: "Gungungun, it's really hard to chat with you. "

Chen Pingan loosened his fingers, threw away the soil, stood up and said: "The tree trunks are very damp..."

The man raised his head and smiled and cursed: "I still need you to teach me a lesson? Young men are so strong that they can flap pancakes on their butts! "

The man turned his head and glanced at the young man's back, crooked his mouth, and muttered something that seemed to be a depressing curse to God.

————

There is a courtyard behind the school, with a small wooden door leading to the bamboo forest on the north side. p>When Song Jixin and his maid were listening to a story under the old locust tree, they were called to play chess. Song Jixin was reluctant, but the man said it was Mr. Qi who wanted to see if they were good at chess. Changjin, Song Jixin had an indescribable feeling towards the unsmiling Mr. Qi, which could be called both respect and fear. Therefore, Mr. Qi personally issued this edict. Song Jixin had to keep the appointment, but he must The young man in green shirt had to wait for the storyteller to finish telling the story before going to the backyard of the school. The young man in green shirt who helped the teacher tell the story had to go home first. , I didn’t forget to tell Song Jixin not to arrive too late, and kept repeating the same old tune, saying that my husband is the most disciplined and doesn’t like others to break their promises, etc.

When Song Jixin brought Zhigui to the backyard of the school, there was a cool breeze and a gentle young man in blue shirt, Lang Ru. As usual, he was already sitting on the stool in the south, with his back straight and his body straight.

Song Jixin sat down opposite the young man in green shirt, facing north. The gentleman is sitting in the west, watching the chess game in silence.

Whenever the young master plays chess with others, his maid Zhigui will go for a walk in the bamboo forest so as not to disturb the three "students", and today is no exception.

In this small town, there is no so-called scholarly family, so scholars are rare.

According to the old rules established by Mr. Qi, Song Jixin and Qing. When the man in the shirt wants to guess, he plays black first.

Song Jixin and his peers on the opposite side started learning chess almost at the same time. However, Song Jixin was very talented and his chess skills improved rapidly, so he was taught two lessons. Mr. Qi, who is skilled in chess, regards him as a high-level player. When he guesses first, Song Jixin takes out a handful of white chess pieces from the chess box. The number is different and is kept secret. The young man in green shirt then picks out one or two chess pieces. There are two black stones. After guessing the odd or even number of the white piece, you can play black first, which gives you the advantage of moving first. In the first two years of the game, Song Jixin had no choice whether he played white or black. Defeat.

However, Song Jixin was not very interested in playing chess. He spent three days fishing and two days drying nets. On the other hand, the young man in green shirt with inferior qualifications was both a student in a rural school and a book boy, spending all day and night with Mr. Qi. MutuallyEven if you just watch Mr. Sitting and playing music, you will benefit a lot. Therefore, the young man in green shirt can occasionally win by chance from playing black. Now, as long as he plays black, the victory or defeat can be between 50 and 50 with Song Jixin, and his chess skills are strong. Progress is obvious. Regarding this kind of ebb and flow, Mr. Qi said nothing and just stood by and watched.

Song Jixin was just about to grab the chess pieces when Mr. Qi suddenly said: "Today you will play a game of chess with white."

The two teenagers were confused. No one knows what "seat chess" is.

Mr. Qi spoke slowly and slowly. After carefully explaining the rules, it was not complicated. He just placed the black and white pieces in the four-star positions.

The middle-aged man's twists and turns are skillful and flowing, which is pleasing to the eye.

The young man in green shirt who usually likes to abide by the rules was dumbfounded after hearing the "bad news". He looked at the chessboard blankly and finally said cautiously: "Sir, it seems that many of the rules will no longer be used." "

Song Jixin frowned and thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he relaxed and said: "The chessboard pattern has become smaller."

Then Song Jixin raised his head as if to take credit. He smiled and asked, "Right, Mr. Qi?"

The middle-aged Confucian scholar nodded and said, "That's true."

Song Jixin glanced at his peer opposite. He raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Do you want to give me two moves first, otherwise this guy will definitely lose."

The boy opposite suddenly blushed and murmured, because he knew full well that he was winning more and more times. More and more, in addition to the increase in chess skills, the real main reason is actually Song Jixin. In the past two years, he has become more and more absent-minded in playing chess, and even a little tired of it. For many winners and losers, Song Jixin even deliberately let go, or made the first move. After clearly gaining the upper hand, in the middle of the game, Song Jixin would deliberately take risks in order to slay the dragon.

When it comes to playing chess, the talented Song Jixin is the first choice whether it is fun or not.

For the young man in green shirt, from the first time the twister fell on the chessboard, he was obsessed with winning or losing.

Mr. Qi looked at his disciples and said, "You can go first with Bai."

Then the young man in green shirt moved slowly, cautiously and carefully, step by step. Song Jixin's moves are still flying, opening and closing, and the antelope hangs its horns.

The temperaments of both parties are worlds apart.

After only eighty moves, the young man in green shirt lost completely. He lowered his head and pursed his lips tightly.

Song Jixin rested his elbows on the table, held his chin, twisted the chess piece with two fingers of one hand, tapped the stone table gently, and stared at the chess game.

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According to Mr. Qi’s rules, when two sides play chess, they can throw in the stone and admit defeat silently. The words "I lost" must not be said.

No matter how unwilling the young man in green shirt was, he still slowly invested his money.

Mr. Qi told his disciples: "Go ahead and practice calligraphy. There is no need to clean up the mess. Just write three hundred 'forever' characters."

The young man in green clothes quickly stood up and bowed respectfully to say goodbye..

Song Jixin asked softly after the young man disappeared, "Sir, are you leaving here too?"

The elegant scribe with frosty white temples nodded and said, "One ten-day period." He will leave within a few days."

Song Jixin smiled and said: "That's just right, I can still see you off."

The teacher hesitated for a moment and finally spoke. Said: "There is no need to see me off. Song Jixin, when you go outside the town in the future, remember not to be too arrogant. I have nothing else, three Mongolian books, "Primary School", "Ritual and Music", "Guanzhi", You can take it together and review it frequently. You must know that if you read it a hundred times, the meaning will be obvious. If you can read more than ten thousand volumes, and write with spirit, you will naturally know the true meaning of this book in the future. Books, arithmetic "Jingwei", chess records "Peach and Plum", and anthology "Shan Hai Ce", you can read them in your spare time, and you can also improve your mood."

Song Jixin looked surprised, a little embarrassed, and said proudly. Courage said: "Mr. seems to be 'entrusting' me, which makes me uncomfortable."

Mr. Qi smiled softly and said softly: "It's not as exaggerated as you said. We meet each other everywhere in life. There will always be a day when we meet again."

When this gentleman smiles, it makes people feel like they are in the spring breeze.

He suddenly said: "You go to Zhao Yao's place and say goodbye in advance."

Song Jixin stood up and said with a smile: "Okay. Then this chess game is troublesome. Sir, please take care of me."

The young man ran away happily.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar bent over to pick up the chess pieces. It seemed that there were pieces here and there, in disorder, but in fact, they were black first and then white. He started picking up the black piece that Song Jixin placed last, in order. Push it backwards, and you’re right.

I don’t know when the maid Zhigui had returned from the bamboo forest. She just stood outside the firewood gate and did not set foot in the yard.

He did not turn his head and said solemnly: "Take care of yourself."

The girl who grew up in Mud Bottle Lane had a confused look on her face at this time, she was soft, weak and timid, and she was delicate and charming. Pitiful.

The gentle Confucian scholar showed a hint of anger and slowly turned his head to look.

Indifferent eyes.

The girl still looked dazed.

Innocent.

The middle-aged scholar stood up, looked at the girl with a jade tree facing the wind, and sneered: "You are a traitor!"

The girl slowly calmed down the innocent expression on her face, and her eyes gradually Cold, with a sarcastic smile on his lips.

She seemed to be saying, what can you do to me?

She looked directly at the Confucian scholar.

There seemed to be a pair of pythons confronting each other inside and outside the courtyard.

The two hate each other.

In the distance, Song Jixin shouted loudly: "Zhigui, go home."

The girl immediately stood on tiptoes and replied obediently, "Hey, okay , Young Master."

She pushed open the firewood door and ran past the teacher. After running a few steps, she turned around and said a blessing to the figure behind her, with a gentle and pleasant voice. "gentlemen, Zhigui left first. ”

After a long time, the Confucian scholar sighed.

The spring breeze was warm and the bamboo leaves swayed like the sound of turning a book.

————

The young Taoist priest wearing a lotus crown was cleaning up the stall and sighing. When people in the small town who knew him asked about the reason, they just shook their heads and did not answer.

The last one was here. The newly married woman passed by this place and saw that the young Taoist was so abnormal. She stopped shyly, her voice was soft and soft, and she asked questions. Her pair of moist eyes that could speak, but under the handsomeness of the young Taoist. The young Taoist glanced at the woman quietly, his eyes slightly downward, and saw a bulging scenery. Then the Taoist swallowed and said something. The hexagram says, "Today, Pindao calculated a lot for himself. The lot will be very bad. ”

(End of this chapter)