Mr. Ding is a difficult man to serve. He is unreasonable and unreasonable. In other words, he is taking advantage of his seniority.
"Boy, since you are here, come and have a few drinks with me." Father Ding pushed open the door. There was a small table in front of the counter in front of him, and on it was an oil lamp. The flame was very small and swaying from side to side.
In the dim light, Zhang Shixun glanced at the table. There were two plates on it, one of which contained boiled soybeans, and the other contained something that looked like pig's head.
Father Ding picked up the wine pot and muttered, "Both women are not at home, and there is no one to warm the wine. It's really hard to have cold wine and cold dishes!"
"Uncle Ding, eating cold dishes in this weather is not good for your stomach. You should take care of your health." Zhang Shixun said with concern.
"Mind your own business and you'll get nothing for nothing." Father Ding blurted out a swear word.
Zhang Shixun smiled bitterly and thought to himself that it was impossible to communicate with this person. I'd better go find Ding Dusai.
"Where is Madam Ding? Tell me, I need to talk to her about something."
Before Mr. Ding could answer, the door opened and a middle-aged woman came in carrying a basket. She was startled to see someone else in the room.
Zhang Shixun looked at her and thought to himself: Could this be Ding Dusai's mother?
"This distinguished gentleman looks unfamiliar to me...Boss, why don't you introduce him to me?" the woman reproached.
"Xiao Cui, you're back." Father Ding stood up with a smile on his face. He was about to go to meet her, but he stumbled and was supported by Zhang Shixun.
"You are my aunt, right? My name is Zhang Shixun." Zhang Shixun introduced himself.
"So it's Brother Zhang! I've heard Saisai talk about you a long time ago." Mother Ding came over and took Father Ding's other arm, saying apologetically, "You're here for the first time, and there's not even any hot tea. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I went to the Lotus Shed today and saw that there was no one inside, so I came here to take a look. I hope you don't blame me for not saying hello in advance." Zhang Shixun was a little restrained because this was his future mother-in-law.
"The roof of the Lotus Pavilion is in such a state of disrepair. It hasn't been repaired in years. Since it's snowing and there aren't many visitors, I decided to have someone fix it. It's freezing cold, and we can't have it leaking everywhere... Come on! Help me get him to bed."
Zhang Shixun agreed and helped Ding's father walk into the inner room.
As soon as Father Ding lay down on the bed, he immediately began snoring. Mother Ding pulled a blanket over him and said, "People who are used to being busy can't rest. Once they do, they don't know what to do. He's usually so busy in the Lotus Pavilion that he doesn't have time to drink. But these past two days, with nothing to do, he's been drinking every day, and he drinks a lot."
"Haha! It's harmless to drink occasionally." Zhang Shixun said.
"Let's talk outside." said Ding's mother.
The two of them went to the outer room. Mother Ding lit the wick a little wider and looked at Zhang Shixun with a smile. "Saisai and the others often praised you in front of me, saying you were a rare talent. Seeing you today, it's true."
"It's my first time meeting you, aunt. I'm honored to meet you." Zhang Shixun bowed and saluted. He had been unable to free his hands just now because he was supporting Ding's father. Now that he had the chance, of course he had to pay his respects formally.
Mother Ding smiled and accepted his greeting, saying, "You came in a hurry. I haven't prepared anything here. Wait, I'll make you some tea."
"Don't worry, Auntie. I'll be leaving soon and will come back another day."
"Alright! I'll invite you to dinner someday when you're free." Mother Ding glanced at the messy table and said, "Saisai and her cousin and his wife went to Shishi's place. I'm afraid they won't be back for a while."
"I also live in Jinqian Lane, not far from Madam Li's house." Zhang Shixun said casually.
Mother Ding smiled and nodded, pointing to the several packages of snacks on the table and asked, "Did you bring this?"
"I came in a hurry, so I just bought a few bags of cakes. I hope you don't mind me, Auntie."
"You're spending too much."
Zhang Shixun bowed and said, "Aunt, I'll take my leave now."
"Okay, come to our house more often in the future." Mother Ding kept looking at him and liked him more and more.
This is in line with the old saying of later generations: the more the mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the happier she is.
Zhang Shixun walked out of Ding's house. The black horse tied to the willow tree at the door saw him coming out and raised its head and neighed.
Zhang Shixun led the horse and turned to Ding's mother who had sent him there and said, "Aunt, please go back. It's snowing outside and it's cold."
Mother Ding nodded, watched him leave, then turned around and closed the door.
Zhang Shixun rode his horse straight to Jinqian Lane and only took a glance at his home when he passed by it.
At the gate of Li Shishi's house, a tall and strong man was standing at the gate with his hands behind his back. Hearing the sound of horse hooves, he squinted his eyes and looked over.
Zhang Shixun dismounted and looked at the man in the light of the lantern hanging on the gatehouse. Thinking he was someone's servant, he didn't pay much attention and went forward to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" a voice asked from inside the door.
"My name is Zhang Shixun. Please inform Madam Li." Zhang Shixun shouted inside through the door.
"Wait." said from inside.
"Are you Zhang Shixun?" The tall man under the gate grabbed Zhang Shixun's shoulder with great strength.
Zhang Shixun felt the weight of the grab and subconsciously stretched out his left hand to grab the hand on his shoulder. He turned around and twisted his waist, throwing the man off his shoulder.
This was the aftereffect left to him by Hei Wuchang during his training in the shuttle.
The man was caught off guard and was thrown far away by Zhang Shixun, lying on his back in the snow.
Unexpectedly, the man lay in the snow and burst into laughter.
His smile stunned Zhang Shixun.
"Who are you?" Zhang Shixun asked.
"Haha! He's a real hero, just as his reputation says." The man got up from the ground, patted the snow off his butt, and said in a gruff voice, "I'm Han Shizhong... Han Wu! Saisai's uncle."
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