Carp Talk (I)
What a wonderful story of "the fragrance of cakes lingers among the sisters". I thought it was a heartwarming story, but it ended up with such a tragic ending. Therefore, whenever Xiao Lin thought of Gao Qing, his heart ached.
But the dead cannot be resurrected, and Chu Mo did not give the two another chance.
Okay, next one then.
That day, after working as waiters for Chu Mo for another day, Xiao Lin and Mu You finally had the time to stand in front of him, stretched out their hands to him, and asked for the next booklet.
"Have you thought about it? Are you going to take the next step?"
"Yeah." The two said in unison.
Chu Mo was also a straightforward person. Since they had spoken, he casually pulled out a few more books from the bookshelf and handed them back to Xiao Lin.
Apart from the successful "The Aroma of Cakes Fills the Air with Sisterly Love", they still have four stories to solve.
Spreading out the four booklets, Xiao Lin glanced at them casually, and finally, his eyes unconsciously stopped on the booklet on the outermost side.
It was clearly written on it - "Red and Black Become Brothers, Carp Talk".
This is even more mysterious than the previous story. It uses colors and animal names to get away with it, and even the protagonists can't tell how many there are.
Interesting, Xiao Lin picked up the booklet and handed it to Chu Mo: "Take this one."
Chu Mo leaned forward and took a closer look at the ink on it. He smiled knowingly and said, "Are you sure?"
"Sure."
"good."
After he responded, Chu Mo stood up.
Xiao Lin and Mu You knew what he was about to do, so they closed their eyes consciously.
In a moment, a familiar white light appeared, followed by an annoying dizziness. After a while, the three of them landed back in Liuxiang Residence in Tianling City.
Unfortunately, as soon as they settled down, the cold winter suddenly turned into scorching heat.
After the brain returned to its place, Mu You immediately felt a wave of heat coming towards him. He opened his eyes immediately and saw that he was really going to be roasted to death.
"It's so hot! It's so hot!" He shouted loudly and took off his cotton coat suddenly. However, he didn't want to show his inner clothes, so he had no choice but to leave his cardigan on.
Xiao Lin was also feeling extremely hot, so he quickly unzipped his cotton coat and took it off.
Just as she was about to hang it on her arm, Mu You snatched it away first.
"Thanks……"
As soon as the first word of thanks came out, Mu You immediately replied, "No need."
It seems that this story actually happened in the summer.
However, it still feels good to be back in Tianling. Even the shop of Liuxiangju is much bigger and not as cramped as Yunchong.
Well, the first story has broadened their horizons, and next time, they must be competent writers!
"The final chapter of the original story tells of a child with a clear and innocent heart, initially diligent and unyielding, but succumbing to the endless temptations of gain, gradually becoming swayed by his lust for money. Ultimately, he joins his good friends in a sinister path, causing untold suffering and a cloud of sorrow for the people..."
"Now you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. You must rewrite this destiny and bring peace and order to all people. Don't forget to offer a cup of tea so that those who have lost their way can drink the water of repentance."
Xiao Lin and Mu You nodded in unison.
Okay, now, the story begins -
There are many merchants in the huge Tianling City. There is a saying among the people: He's cloth, Wang's wine, and Qin's cakes are the three treasures of the city.
There is a saying among the people that "all businessmen are dishonest". Isn't this true?
In such a society, if businessmen do not seek social status for themselves, they should at least seek social wealth for themselves, right?
That day, following Chu Mo's instructions, Xiao Lin and Mu You put down their work and went to the street to pick out some cakes to take back.
"Ten cents." The auntie at the pastry stall gave this price after weighing several heavy packages of pastries.
She asked Chu Mo for a purse again, and no longer hung it around her waist as openly as before. Instead, she learned from her mistakes and hid it in her sleeve pocket, which was much safer.
This time he had some money on hand, so Xiao Lin immediately spent it lavishly and handed over the ten cents generously.
As a result, when she just paid the bill and turned around, she bumped into someone's shoulder head-on. Fortunately, Mu You reacted in time and supported her, otherwise she would have fallen mercilessly on the dirty mud ground.
"Sorry, sorry!"
The person who bumped into someone also realized his mistake and apologized repeatedly, but before Xiao Lin could reply, he seemed to have something urgent to do and turned around and left without looking back, striding away.
After being hit, Xiao Lin subconsciously touched her wallet. After the last incident, she became a little more cautious.
I reached into my sleeve and felt my purse. It was still there. I counted the amount of money inside and it was just right.
Mu You was a little angry, and muttered a few words in the direction the man left: "He hit someone and just ran away like that? What kind of person is this!"
Instead, the lady at the cake stall smiled and explained softly, "That's Master Wan Mian from the Wan family. He failed the imperial examination a while ago, so now he can only wander the streets!"
Xiao Lin's eyes followed Wan Mian's footsteps as he walked further and further away, but her sixth sense told her that this person was definitely not a good person, and might be the one they were looking for.
At the same time, Wan Mian's hurried pace slowed down after turning several alleys.
Looking up, I saw the words "Wan Zhai" written in large letters on the plaque hanging at the door.
Wan Mian returned home and walked along the corridor to the pond.
Seeing that the carp in the pond were growing fatter and fatter, he bent down slowly, scooped a handful of fish food from an exquisite small porcelain jar beside the steps, and sprinkled it evenly on the water surface.
With a few splashes, the food went into the fish's stomach along with the splashes of water created by the fish's tail.
Wan Mian gently rubbed off the fish food crumbs clinging to his fingertips, stood up, and put his hands behind his back. The past came to his mind.
When the Wan family was not yet wealthy, Wan Mian was still young. Perhaps influenced by his father, he loved watching the carp in the pond with his father since he was a child.
The Wan family was in the rosewood business. Thinking that looking at wood all day would be tiring, Mr. Wan thought of building a pond in the middle of the house to relieve boredom. Unexpectedly, the pond became a place for the two of them to relax.
On this day, Wan Mian, who was only eight years old, squatted by the pond, staring at the carp swimming helplessly in the air.
Out of curiosity, he stretched out his little hand and grabbed a handful of fish food next to him. Just as he was about to throw it into the pond, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"Hey! We just fed the fish. If we feed them again, they'll be stuffed to death!"
Wan Mian was startled and jumped up.
Even though he reacted quickly, he still accidentally dropped a few pieces of fish food in his hand.
Soon, several carp came and swallowed it up immediately.
Only then did Wan Mian realize that the person talking to him was a little girl.
He was small in stature but had big eyes. He looked younger than him, but his clothes showed that he was a servant of the Wan family.
Full of curiosity, he was about to say something when he was interrupted by the steward who came over.
He stood there motionless, watching helplessly as the steward raised his hand and slapped the girl hard on the head. He then said to her viciously, "How dare you talk like that? This is the young master! How can you talk to him like that, you lowly servant girl?"
The girl mumbled a few words, touched her head which was hurt by the beating, and silently retreated behind the manager.
"What's your name?" Wan Mian asked.
"Ah, my name is Zhu..." The manager immediately changed his expression and acted hypocritically.
"I didn't ask you." Wan Mian turned around to reach the girl hiding behind the steward, "I asked her."
Unexpectedly, she was being sentimental. The steward was extremely embarrassed and stammered, "She...she, her name is Fang Jingyu, she's our new servant. She lost her parents not long ago, so the master was kind enough to take her in as a servant. He only provides her with food and lodging, but doesn't pay her wages."
"Is she usually responsible for feeding the fish?"
"Exactly, but feeding the fish is only one of her duties. She also has to help with the laundry and cooking. There's so much to do! The master can't just hire someone who does nothing but eat for free, haha."
Even though the manager was smiling the whole time, Wan Mian didn't respond. Until her smile gradually grew stiff, he wisely urged Fang Jingyu to leave as well.
This was the first meeting between the two, with a huge class gap between them.
Quietly, the moon took over the work of the sun, and the inky sky made the stars scattered like sesame seeds appear particularly obvious.
But compared to the faint light of the stars, the lights of thousands of homes in the world seem to have the momentum to illuminate the entire sky.
As the night deepened, Wan Mian, tired of reading by lamplight, twisted his neck and was about to go out for a walk.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he had an idea - he had been wandering around here all the time and wanted to change direction and take a look somewhere else.
But in the blink of an eye, he just walked along the corridor and unknowingly arrived at the servants' bedroom.
As a young boy, he always stayed in the study and never expected that opposite his study, there were other people's lives hidden.
Seeing that the lights in the servants' bedrooms had been turned off, Wan Mian realized that it was late at night. He was just about to turn around and go back to the study to review his lessons when a figure suddenly caught his attention.
Under the moonlight, Wan Mian saw Fang Jingyu, a little person as small as a bean, curled up on the steps in front of the bedroom, looking towards the end of the corridor.
Suddenly, Wan Mian's curiosity arose.
He had just taken a few steps forward, wanting to go up and talk to her, when she suddenly stood up and ran straight to the other end of the corridor.
Wan Mian was startled and found that someone appeared from the other end of the corridor at some point.
The man hugged Fang Jingyu who was running towards him, touched her head, and then the two of them held hands and quietly slipped into the bedroom.
Wan Mian took in the entire scene. He stood in the distance and watched quietly.
The man was also a boy, but taller and perhaps older than him, but he had no idea what the relationship between the two was.
Since Fang Jingyu had returned to her bedroom to rest, he didn't want to bother her any further.
So Wan Mian calmed down, slowly walked back to his bedroom, and went to bed with the help of the servants.
Lying on the bed, he couldn't help but recall the scene just now, and gradually became confused.
And so, the next day, Wan Mian got up in a daze again.
In the huge Wan family, he couldn't find anyone of the same age as him to talk to.
Yesterday's encounter with Fang Jingyu lingered in Wan Mian's mind for a long time and became his top priority today.
Like in the past, Wan Mian still followed his teacher at home, reciting the ancient texts word for word and copying down the classics over and over again.
Mr. Suo Xing went to the toilet, and Wan Mian was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
But Wan Mian couldn't stand the child's playful nature, so he took the opportunity to sneak out of the study.
As he was strolling, he came to the carp pond.
What is gratifying is that on the stone steps beside the pond, a thin girl is sprinkling fish food into the pond.
Wan Mian smiled and immediately ran behind Fang Jingyu and patted her on the shoulder.
Fang Jingyu was obviously startled by the sudden interruption. She shrugged, smoothed her chest, and rubbed her palms: "Hello, Master! What do you want to talk to me about?"
Wan Mian smiled, bent down, grabbed a handful of fish food and threw it into the pond: "Just feeding the fish."
Fang Jingyu pouted and turned back to her work. Just as she was about to sprinkle the next handful of fish food, a voice rang out from above her head: "A Jing!"
Wan Mian and Fang Jingyu turned their heads at the same time, and the moment their eyes met, Wan Mian suddenly realized that this person was the one who was with Fang Jingyu last night.
For some reason, his heart suddenly sank a little.
"elder brother!"
Wan Mian was just about to think about the boy when Fang Jingyu's call stopped him.
"Brother, why are you here?"
"I just glanced at the door and was on my way back when I ran into you here."
"I see. By the way, brother, let me introduce you. This is the young master."
As he spoke, Fang Jingyu turned to Wan Mian. Before Wan Mian could react, the boy opposite him saluted him.
He finally came to his senses, hurriedly helped the boy up, and asked carefully, "What's your name?"
"My name is Fang Che, Ajing's brother." Fang Che stood up and answered.
"My name is Wan Mian, and we're about the same age, so there's no need for formalities. By the way, why are you visiting my house?"
Fang Che blinked and spoke slowly, "We... our parents passed away due to illness not long ago. My sister and I had nowhere to go. We met a kind master on the roadside. He took pity on us and took us in as servants. He takes care of our food, clothing, and shelter, and even pays us wages. We are so grateful."
After Fang Che told the truth, Wan Mian thought about it for a while.
He felt that the fate of the brother and sister was unfair, but at the same time he was delighted that he could find two friends of similar age in such a huge mansion. For a moment, he could no longer suppress the joy in his heart.
"In that case, why don't the three of us become brothers so we can have some company to play with here!"
Wan Mian blurted out something in excitement. When he came to his senses, Fang Che was looking at him with dull eyes. Only then did he realize how abrupt he had been.
"OK!"
Suddenly, Fang Jingyu responded in a baby voice. Her cheeks pushed her eyes into a crescent shape, and she looked so cute with her rosy cheeks.
"No!" Fang Che hastily refused, cupping his hands. "With our status, how can we become brothers with the young master? I'm being ungrateful."
She thought she could make a friend, but was blocked by her brother. Even though Fang Jingyu felt a little unhappy, she swallowed it back.
Wan Mian was amused by her pouting and said frankly, "It's okay. I just want to make friends with you. It doesn't matter who you are, I just want to be friends with you."
Hearing Wan Mian's words, Fang Jingyu immediately stepped forward.
Perhaps because she hadn't played with her friends for too long, she cherished this hard-earned friendship today very much.
Perhaps Fang Che still had some reservations about this, but he couldn't resist his sister's enthusiasm, so he started talking to Wan Mian reluctantly.
The friendship between the three lasted for more than ten years.
During these ten years, Wan Mian studied diligently, and in his free time, he would go and chat with the Fang brothers and sisters. The three of them would also occasionally go for a stroll on the street, and he would even pour salt into Manager Zhu's tea when she wasn't paying attention, causing her to gag...
Fortunately, the Fang brothers and sisters who were not qualified to go to school could still secretly learn to read and write from Wan Mian.
After ten years of secretly learning, the two of them no longer had any problems reading ordinary documents.
Putting aside those ordinary things, the habit that the three of them have maintained in the past ten years is to feed the carp in the pond together, letting the carp swim through the holes at the bottom of the rockery while they laugh and play.
Unconsciously, the girl's thoughts gradually became apparent, and a seed was planted in Fang Jingyu's heart, a flower seed that could only be nourished when she saw Wan Mian.
But it's because of class.
As they grew up, he was always the young master, and the two of them were always just servants.
This is something that cannot be changed.
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