Chapter 8 Barnyard Grass

After Chen Pingan returned to the yard, his eyelids kept twitching, with his left eye jumping for wealth and his right eye for disaster.

So Chen Pingan sat on the threshold and began to imagine that he was drawing blanks with his hands hanging in the air. Soon the straw-shoe boy entered a state of selflessness. Diligence as a young man is one thing, but it is also very important to be able to cope with hunger, so Chen Ping'an has developed the habit of pulling out blanks whenever he has something on his mind. When it comes to firing porcelain, God's will is the most important thing, because before the kiln is opened, no one knows whether the glaze color and shape of a piece of porcelain will ultimately suit their needs, so they can only leave it to God's fate. However, before firing the kiln, drawing is undoubtedly the top priority. However, Chen Pingan was considered by Old Man Yao to have poor qualifications and mostly did some physical work such as clay training. Chen Pingan could only watch carefully from the side and then practice by himself. Clay, pull out the blanks yourself, looking for the feel.

The sound of the wood door opening was heard in the yard next door. It turned out that Song Jixin was returning from the school with his maid Zhigui. The handsome young man sprinted and easily stepped onto the low wall. After squatting down, he released his palms and They are all stones the size of fingernails, with various colors, such as suet, green beans, white lotus root and so on. This kind of worthless stone, of various sizes, can be seen everywhere in the small town's creek beach. Among them, a bright red stone that looks like chicken blood is the most popular. Mr. Qi from the school carved one for his disciple Zhao Yao. Song Jixin thought he had a special affinity for the seal. He tried to exchange it with that guy several times, but he refused.

Song Jixin threw a stone, which was not very strong, and hit Chen Ping'an on the chest, but the latter remained indifferent.

Throw it again, this time it hits the straw-shoe boy on the forehead, but Chen Pingan still remains unmoved.

Song Jixin was not surprised by this. He threw seven or eight pebbles in a handful. Although Song Jixin intended to make Chen Pingan suffer and distract him, he still did not directly hit him. Chen Ping'an's arms and fingers, because Song Jixin felt that this was a defeat.

After Song Jixin threw the stones, he clapped his hands. Chen Pingan took a long breath, shook his wrist, ignored Song Jixin at all, thought for a while, lowered his head, and held the five fingers of his left hand like a knife.

The skill of jumping-knife is not a unique skill among the old potters in the small town, but old Yao Tou’s jumping-knife technique will give a thumbs up to everyone who sees it. .

Old Yaotou had several apprentices, but he could never really satisfy the old man. Only when he got to Liu Xianyang did he think he had found someone who could inherit the mantle. When Liu Xianyang was practicing in the past, Chen Pingan would squat aside and stare hard as long as he had nothing to do.

Liu Xianyang has the best reputation, and only knows that Chen Ping'an is tight-lipped, so he often uses Lao Yao's secret formula to scare the latter, such as "If you want the knife to move steadily, your hands must not be Rigid stability, in the final analysis, is a stable mind."

But when Chen Pingan asked what a stable mind meant, Liu Xianyang was confused.

Song Jixin watched it for a while and found it boring, so he jumped off the wall and entered the house.

The maid Zhigui stood by the wall. If she had not tiptoed, the upper half of her face would have been exposed. Even so, it was already vaguely obvious that the girl was a beauty.

She thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoes, her eyes falling around the poor boy, and finally found two favorite stones on the ground, one was scarlet and clear, and the other was snow-white, both of which were from her family. The young master just threw away what he didn’t want.

She hesitated for a moment, lowered her voice, and said timidly: "Chen Pingan, can you help me pick up those two stones? I like it very much."

Chen Pingan He slowly raised his head, his hands did not stop, they were still very steady, and his eyes signaled her to wait a moment.

Zhigui smiled brightly, like the first green buds on the branches after the beginning of spring, extremely beautiful.

It’s just that the young man had lowered his head and missed this moving scene.

The corners of her mouth were raised, and her eyes were gleaming, as if there were tiny living things swimming leisurely in them.

When Chen Pingan stopped what he was doing and asked which two stones they were, the eyes of the maid Zhigui returned to normal, as usual, as soft as spring mud after the rain.

Chen Pingan picked up the two stones in the direction her fingers pointed and walked to the wall. As soon as she raised her hand, the boy in straw sandals had already placed the stones on the wall.

She picked up two stones and held them tightly in her hands.

If someone is looking for this thing deliberately, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, which is rare to find in ten years.

Even if you don’t mean it, the destined person is like a piece of junk on the street. You can get it at your fingertips. It all depends on your mood.

Chen Pingan asked with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of slugs blocking your door and scolding you for a long time?"

She did not admit that her young master stole other people's things, but she seemed to have no shame to deny the fact. , just smiled and said nothing.

There lived a mother and son in Mubo Alley. Their fighting skills were unrivaled in the town, and only Song Jixin could compete with them. Among them, the child is particularly naughty, with two slugs hanging around all year round. He likes to fish in the creek and pick up stones. The fish he catches are kept in a large water tank, and the stones are piled next to the water tank. Song Jixin just liked to provoke this little thorn. Every now and then, he would go and steal a few pebbles. He couldn't see them for a day or two, but he couldn't stand it. Song Jixin often touched them away. Once the child confirmed that he was missing the treasure, he would His hair would explode, like a little wild cat whose tail was stepped on. He could scold him outside the courtyard for an hour, but his mother would never dissuade him. Instead, she would fan the flames and deliberately expose Song Jixin as the former superintendent. The matter of the official's illegitimate child made Song Jixin so angry several times that he almost went out to fight with the bench, but the maid Zhigui tried hard to dissuade him.

Suddenly, a sharp voice sounded, "Song Jixin, Song Jixin, come and catch the traitor. Your maid and Chen Ping'an are flirting with each other. It's obvious that they are hooking up! You no longer care about your family's intercourse." Maid, maybe she will climb over the wall and knock on Chen Pingan's door tonight! Get out quickly, tsk tsk, tsk tsk, Chen Pingan's hands are touching that little girl's face,

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You haven’t seen that Chen Ping’an laughed so disgustingly...”

Song Jixin didn’t show his face at all.Face, he shouted directly in the room: "What is this? I saw Chen Pingan and your mother tugging at each other last night. After I caught him, Chen Pingan pulled his claws out of your mother's collar." Come out, it’s your mother’s fault too, she’s so spectacular and plump there, poor Chen Ping’an is so tired that he’s sweating..."

Someone kicked Song Jixin hard in the alley The gate of the courtyard said angrily: "Song Jixin, come out and challenge! If you lose, you give me Zhigui as a maid, and you will feed me, make a bed, and wash my feet every day! If I lose, I will give you Chen Pingan." How about a handyman? Just ask if you dare. Anyway, whoever dares is just a turtle!" Song Jixin said lazily, "I'll take a look at your father! "Huang Li, it's not a good time to spank your son today, Gu Can, you're lucky!"

The child outside the house banged on the door, "Zhigui, how frustrating it is for you to follow such a naughty young master. You should just follow." Forget about Liu Xianyang eloping, anyway, that stupid guy looks at you as if he wants to eat you."

The maid Zhigui turned around and walked towards the house.

Inside the house, Song Jixin was carefully wiping an emerald green gourd. It was an old object of unknown age and one of the "family properties" left by Mr. Song. Song Jixin didn't pay attention to it at first. Later, I accidentally discovered that every time there was a thunderstorm, the gourd was buzzing. However, after Song Jixin took off the lid, no matter how he shook it, nothing slipped out. When he poured water and sand into it, it still came out as water. And sand, no more, no less. Song Jixin was really at his wits end. In addition, he was upset when he was scolded by Gu Can's aggressive mother outside the house, who said he had an illegitimate child with a mother and no father. So Song Jixin took a knife to the gourd and beat him. The result of chopping made the young man stunned. The blade had been rolled over, but the gourd was still intact, leaving no trace.

A letter burned by Song Jixin in the early years wrote: "The gold, silver and copper coins that the government office moved to the small courtyard will ensure that you, the master and the servant, have enough food and clothing. In your spare time, you can collect some insights." The antiques that please your heart should cultivate your temperament. Although the town is small, the coarse food can nourish the stomach, the books can nourish the Qi, the scenery can nourish the eyes, and the loneliness can nourish the heart. From now on, you can do your best to obey the destiny, and you will be blessed in the future. "

Although Song Jixin resented that man, he didn't want to spend too much money. In a small town with simple folk customs, it was difficult to spend a lot of money. Over the years, Song Jixin still paid off. I really fell in love with the rag collecting business. There was a big red lacquer box full of odd things like green gourds. It's just that Song Jixin had a mysterious and mysterious intuition. There was a large box with more than thirty items in various categories. This gourd was the most valuable, and then there was a rusty purple gold bell. When it shook, he could clearly see the hanging weight hitting the inner wall. , it should have made a crisp sound, but it was silent, which made Song Jixin both horrified and surprised. Finally, there was a simple teapot signed "Mandrill". Song Jixin liked the rest of the items only superficially and could not be called love at first sight.

A child named Gu Can stood outside the door, yelling and angry.

Not long after, the scolding stopped abruptly.

Then Chen Pingan saw the guy suddenly push open the door to his courtyard, with a face full of panic. After bolting the door, he squatted beside the door and kept winking to himself, asking him to squat next to him.

Chen Ping'an didn't know what was going on, but he ran to the child's side, squatted down and asked softly: "Gu Can, what are you doing? Did you make your mother angry again?"

The child showed the size of the white bowl with both hands, then patted his chest and said with emotion: "Song Jixin's father was really scared to death."

Chen Pingan asked: " Are you talking about the storyteller under the locust tree?"

The child nodded vigorously, "No, the old man's hands don't have much strength, and even I can't lift it, but the broken bowl is really bad. Man, it's so scary!"

The child suddenly grabbed Chen Pingan's arm, "Chen Pingan, I really didn't lie to you this time! I can swear that if I lie to you, I will let Song Ji. I will die hard!"

Chen Pingan raised a finger and made a silent gesture.

The child shuts up immediately.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, gradually rising and falling.

One thing brings down another.

The child, who was originally fearless, sat down on the ground, reached out and wiped his face randomly, his face turned pale. It was obvious that this slug named Gu Can was really scared. Half dead.

The child suddenly asked: "Chen Pingan, that guy didn't go to my house, right? What should I do?"

Chen Pingan said helplessly: "I will accompany you and I will come back to you." Come home and see?"

The child stood up suddenly, then sat down slumped, saying with a sad face: "Chen Pingan, my legs are so weak that I can't walk."< /p>

Chen Pingan stood up, bent down and grabbed the child's back collar, carried the child with one hand, opened the door latch with the other, and walked out of the yard.

The child's home was not far from here, only about a hundred steps away. As expected, Gu Can saw the old man in his yard, and his mother even brought a stool for the old man.

At that moment, the child felt that the sky was falling, so he chose to hide behind Chen Pingan and let the taller one go up.

Chen Pingan did not disappoint the child and protected him intentionally or unintentionally.

When the naughty boy Gu Can held Chen Ping'an's sleeve, he immediately became filled with pride for no reason.

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The old man didn't care about this. He sat on the bench and thought about it for a while. The white bowl in his hand disappeared out of thin air.

Gu Can’s legs immediately became weak again, and he hid in the Chen room.Behind Ping An, there was trembling fear.

The old man glanced at the surprisingly calm country woman, then at the frowning straw-shoe boy, and finally said to the shrinking child: "Little kid, do you know your family's water supply?" What's in the tank?"

The child shouted from behind Chen Ping'an: "What else are there, the fish, shrimps and crabs I caught from the stream, and the loaches and eels caught in the fields! If you like it, just take it away, you're welcome..."

The child's voice became lower and lower, obviously lacking confidence.

The woman smoothed her hair at the temples, looked at Chen Pingan, and said softly: "Peace."

Chen Pingan understood what she meant and rubbed Gu Can's head. , then turned and left.

In the depths of the woman's eyes, there was a hint of guilt hidden towards this straw-shoe boy.

She abandoned her distracting thoughts, turned to the old man and asked: "This immortal master who came from afar, is he going to buy this opportunity, or grab it?"

The old man shook his head and smiled. Said: "Buy? I can't afford it. Steal? I can't take it away either."

The woman also shook her head, "It was like this in the past, but it may not be the case in the future."

Originally When the old man with a leisurely attitude heard this, he suddenly waved his sleeves and moved his fingers like flying as if he was struck by lightning.

The old man sighed and said: "Why is this happening!"

The woman looked cold and said with a smile: "How many good people do you think this small town has?"

The old man stood up, took a deep look at the confused child, and seemed to have made a big decision. With a flick of his wrist, the white bowl reappeared.

The old man walked to the large water tank that was half a person tall and quickly scooped a bowl of water from the water tank.

Although the woman pretended to be calm, her palms were actually full of sweat.

The old man sat back on the stool and waved to Gu Can: "Little baby, come here and take a look."

The child looked at his mother, and she nodded with encouraging eyes. .

After the child approached, the old man blew gently into the water in the bowl, causing ripples.

The old man smiled and said: "Open your mouth."

At the same time, the old man touched the child and took out a locust leaf from somewhere on the child.

Twist your fingers together, but not hold them firmly.

The child subconsciously groaned.

The old man flicked his finger, and the green locust leaf fell into the child's mouth.

The child was stunned on the spot, and then realized that there seemed to be nothing strange in his mouth.

The old man didn't give him a chance to ask, and pointed to the white bowl in his palm, "Look carefully to see what's there."

Gu Can's eyes widened and he looked intently. First, I saw an extremely tiny black dot, then gradually turned into a slightly eye-catching black line, and finally slowly grew in size, as if it had turned into a small earth-yellow loach, rolling happily in the ripples of the water in the white bowl.

The child, who had a confused mind, suddenly had an idea and exclaimed: "I remember it! I got it from Chen Pingan..."

The woman slappedHe slapped his son's face with his palm and said with an angry look: "Shut up!"

The old man was not surprised by this and said calmly: "We monks, in order to prove immortality, are treasonous. This little struggle does not count. What. Don’t be so nervous. It belongs to your son and he can’t escape. It belongs to that boy and he can’t keep it.”

This child named Gu Can weighs less than forty pounds.

But the weight of its "roots" is incredible.

So when this old bowl-holder with magical powers used an ancestral secret technique to touch and weigh his bones, he naturally couldn't lift Gu Can.

This is the premise for him to accept a disciple.

Otherwise, wouldn’t a three-year-old child be asking for death by holding gold through the market?

The old man smiled casually, but his eyes were cold, and he said slowly: "Of course, even if it originally belonged to that young man, so what? Now that I am personally in charge, it is no longer his."

The child was silent and his teeth were chattering.

The woman was relieved.

The old man put on his kind and kind face again, "My child, this bowl contains the entire river water, and now it also has a small dragon. From now on, you are my direct disciple. . ”

“I am a ‘True Lord’, and I am only half a step away from being the ancestor of the ‘Kai Zong’. Although I am a lower sect... In short, you will naturally understand in the future, the True Lord and the Kai Zong. The weight of these four words."

The old man laughed and said: "It will only weigh more than this bowl of river water."

The child suddenly cried, "This is wrong! It belongs to Chen Ping'an!"

The woman was so angry that she raised her arms high and wanted to teach this stupid son a lesson.

The old man waved his hand, smiled, and wrote lightly: "Having such a heart is not all bad things."

The child lowered his head and wiped his tears and snot from his nose with the back of his hand.

The woman looked at the old man quietly.

The old man smiled knowingly and nodded.

Those who share the same ideals, everything can be said without saying anything.

When the child raised his head, his mother and the master, who had fallen from the sky inexplicably, were smiling faintly.

The child turned his head. When Chen Pingan left, he did not forget to close the courtyard door.

————

The small town is like a crop field, catching up with the big year and the harvest season.

But some people are just a barnyard grass mixed in the rice. They are looked at once and never look at them again.

For example, the boy in straw sandals walking alone in Mud Bottle Alley.

(End of this chapter)