A friend's questions serve as a joke, and a beautiful woman appears in a painting as a delicacy.
Zhou Ying still shook her head. "Now, let me tell you the answer. If you cut off a corner along the diagonal of the table, regardless of which half is considered the cut-off corner, then there will only be 3 corners left. If you cut off a corner slightly off the diagonal line, only through a vertex, then the table will still have 4 corners left. If you cut off a corner without passing through a vertex, then the table will still have 5 corners left. So, 3, 4, and 5 are all answers. Of course, if you increase the difficulty and include the cut-off part, there will be more corners! Elementary school question, isn't it worth a toast?"
"Do it, we must do it! You're awesome, Ying'er." Ke Yike was the first to express his opinion, and at the same time he was secretly happy that he didn't rush to answer just now.
"Dry!"
Everyone had just put down their glasses when they saw Xue Jiuyue still in a daze. Lin Yiyi spoke first, "I'll go first. I have a joke here, which is also a math problem."
"Good!" Qiu Nian shouted and clapped his hands, which drew a wave of contempt from everyone.
Lin Yiyi rolled her eyes at him before slowly explaining: "It is said that in ancient times, a man's daughter turned one year old, and a group of friends came to congratulate him. During the banquet, his best friend, while drunk, said to him: 'My son is two years old this year. We have such a good relationship, why don't we marry our children to each other!' Unexpectedly, this man turned against his best friend on the spot. When he got home, his wife asked him the reason. The man said angrily: 'He is too much! Our daughter is one year old, and his son is two years old. When our daughter is ten years old, his son will be twenty years old. How can we have this old son-in-law!' His wife laughed at him when she heard it: 'You calculated wrong! Although our daughter is one year old this year, by this time next year, she will be the same age as his son. Why not?'"
Qiu Nian's exaggerated laughter was the first to sound, leading everyone to laugh and cheer.
"Xiao Fei" was inspired and smiled mischievously, interrupting, "I'll also tell you a similar elementary school math problem. It also has two chances. Ten years ago, 'Xiao Pang' was two years older than me. How many years older is he than me ten years later?"
With previous experience, everyone was very cautious, but they did not find anything missing. After a moment of silence, Qian Jianjun tentatively asked, "Isn't it still two years old?"
"Xiao Fei" didn't answer immediately, but instead asked everyone, "Is this the same answer for everyone?"
Everyone hesitated again, and really couldn't think of any more answers, so they could only nod.
At this time, "Xiao Fei" shook his head and said, "We never know which will come first, tomorrow or an accident. After all, no one can predict tomorrow. What if God is jealous of talented people and Xiao Pang dies young tomorrow? Will he still be older than me ten years later? So the answer is too many possibilities, right? Haha..."
"I'm going to strangle you to death! You died young, so today I'm going to do justice for you and take you away." "Little Fatty" strangled his friend's neck with both hands, and the two of them were fighting, making everyone laugh so hard that they couldn't straighten their backs.
When it was Qiu Nian's turn, he looked at Lin Yiyi and hesitated, "I, I shouldn't..." His hand just touched the wine glass and wanted to follow Lao Zhou's example and drink a glass as a punishment, but was killed by Lin Yiyi's eyes.
"I, I...tell a joke." Qiu Nian said hesitantly.
Before Qiu Nian could finish the text, Ke Yike teased him, "Nian'er, why do you ask me to tell a joke? It's like a woman having a difficult childbirth."
Qiu Nian turned his head to look at Ke Yike, and suddenly all the pressure disappeared. His meridians were unblocked and his thoughts were clear. He suddenly had an idea and replied clearly: "No! That's different. A difficult birth is much easier!"
"That's not right. How can telling a joke be harder than giving birth?" Ke Yike was puzzled.
"You don't understand this! Although a difficult birth is difficult, there is still something in my belly. I'm just forcing it out even though there's nothing in my belly!"
The random jokes, coupled with Qiu Nian's silly and self-deprecating expression, drew laughter and cheers from the crowd. Lin Yiyi's clear, melodious voice, especially, was so strong that it was hard to conceal, encouraging Qiu Nian to burst into laughter, and her body trembled with joy.
At this table, Xue Jiuyue was the only one who had not yet started her "performance", and everyone looked at her at the same time.
The sudden silence burst the bubble that Xue Jiuyue had woven and pulled her back to reality from her trance-like puppet state.
It turns out Qian Jianjun's discussion of the Song Dynasty not only brought her pride as a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, but also a strange sense of familiarity, as if homesickness, lifting a bowl of home flavor from the depths of memory, gently called out the wanderer's childhood nickname. Furthermore, according to Liu Che's research, the town of Tianxi, on the banks of the Huan River, that he had appeared in his dream, was located in Tianxi Town, 40 miles southwest of Anyang County, Heyin County. It was indeed a place name from the Northern Song Dynasty and belonged to Anyang County. But he had never been there since he was a child. Could there really be past lives?
While she was still trying to search for the traces of her past life in her mind, "Xiao Fei"'s words "No one can predict tomorrow" brought the clues from the past to the future, making the already messy mess even worse.
At this moment, being pulled back by everyone's gaze to the kite that was about to break its string, Xue Jiuyue was completely unprepared. "I wonder, can everyone predict the future?"
A confusing sentence was blurted out. Everyone remained silent for a while, waiting for the next sentence, then began to think, and then they were confused.
Qian Jianjun broke the awkward silence, "Does everything in front of you suddenly feel familiar? Or perhaps it feels like déjà vu, like a dream and a memory, but no matter how hard you scratch your head, you can't remember when it happened?"
Qian Jianjun's description truly revealed some of Xue Jiuyue's feelings. She nodded slowly, but then wanted to shake her head. However, after receiving confirmation, Qian Jianjun continued, "Some psychologists have pointed out that this experience of 'déjà vu,' also known as 'déjà vu,' may occur because people sometimes don't need real memories at all; the brain can naturally create a sense of familiarity. After all, all our memories and cognitions are provided by the brain, so if the brain deceives us, we cannot tell. It is precisely because of this that the question of Zhuangzi's dream of the butterfly arose, and it has also triggered so many philosophical reflections to prove one's existence, such as the famous 'I think, therefore I am.' Of course, even today, with advanced technology, such paradoxes still exist. How can we prove that we are not just a brain placed in a bathtub filled with nutrient solution, using various instruments to perceive the world?"
Qian Jianjun's words spanned the fields of philosophy and science, demonstrating the richness of his knowledge structure and earning him envious glances from many.
But he smiled and changed the subject, "But I think the most insightful explanation is Xiaoyue's, 'I think, therefore Descartes is not; I feel, therefore I am.' As long as we can feel the beauty of the present moment, it proves that we are here. Why bother with those troubles? To Xiaoyue's insightful opinion, to this wonderful gathering of fine wine and delicious food, cheers!"
"cheers!"
Qian Jianjun's words initially resonated with Xue Jiuyue's feelings, but then they strayed off topic. Xue Jiuyue herself hadn't figured it out yet, so she felt grateful to Qian Jianjun for covering for her, and so she joined everyone else in immersing herself in the intoxicating moonlight and lantern lights...
Perhaps it was because I was tired, or perhaps it was because I felt so relaxed and unfettered, but the night after my shower was exceptionally peaceful, beautifully soothing my restless nerves and tired body. Another deep breath, and another bright new day begins.
Sitting in "Inch by Inch of Time" and looking at the surprise in front of him, Xue Jiuyue finally understood why Ke Yike had worked so hard some time ago and why so many loaves of bread were given away for free.
What lay before him was a loaf of bread, or more accurately, a work of art. The round, burnt-brown bread dough formed a canvas upon which Ke Yike poured all his energy. Similar to a print, the three-dimensional layers, through the varying shades of burnt bread, created a vivid portrait. Even a stranger could instantly recognize the painting as Xue Jiuyue. Not only was the necklace she always wore visible, but even the expression in her eyes and eyebrows was so vividly portrayed.
"Thank you!" Xue Jiuyue expressed her gratitude sincerely.
It would be very difficult to depict such a portrait even with a pen, let alone doing it all on bread.
"Ahem..." Ke Yike cleared his throat twice to suppress his uncontrollable excitement, then said, "Why are you being polite? Try it."
"How can I bear to eat this? This is a work of art!"
Xue Jiuyue's effusive praise instantly soothed Ke Yike's physical and mental fatigue. The supreme happiness brought by "being rewarded" and "being recognized" made the joy like the gentle spring rain flow from his heart to his throat. Even his voice trembled like a tender bud covered with water droplets. "I made a lot, and I baked two in this batch alone."
As he spoke, Ke Yike served another identical loaf of bread as if by magic.
"Well, that's good now! There's something to eat and something to see, perfect!" Xue Jiuyue picked up the bread, broke off a corner, closed her eyes, and savored the flavor carefully. The rich aroma of milk and wheat, with a hint of wine, made the sweetness rich and full, and embodied the happiness and satisfaction between her lips and teeth, easily accessible and yet endlessly savorable.
"I never thought there would be such a delicious work of art! Well done! You get half of the profits from this bread from now on!"
"Ahem..." Ke Yike was really choked by the unexpected surprise this time, "No need, Sister Yue, you've been very kind to me! Besides, making this bread is too time-consuming, I'm afraid it will be difficult to mass-produce."
"Hmm, it does seem to take a lot of effort!" Xue Jiuyue pondered, and suddenly her eyes lit up again, "We can deal with the mass production issue later. For now, we can wait for the opportunity to make high-end customized models! Don't worry, if I say I'll give you half, I must deliver!"
"Really not..."
Xue Jiuyue interrupted Ke Yike and asked, "How did you draw it so similarly?"
"I loved drawing when I was a kid. I learned sketching and comics, so I'm good at using the simplest strokes to depict the characteristics of characters."
"You should be very talented and skilled, so why did you become a chef?"
"Ahem, ahem..." The sudden question brought out a dark hue that burned Ke Yike's bright eyes, causing them to twitch slightly. He finally calmed down with a cough and a burst of rapid breathing. "Later, I felt that art was too lofty. Only food is down-to-earth and close to life."
"That's right, just like this bread, it can also be art! But while elegant art can make a child go without meat for three months, it can never make Confucius go without food for three months!"
"You eat first, I'm going to get busy! This bread and coffee will be the icing on the cake." Xue Jiuyue's playful praise made Ke Yike's face light up again, and he also said goodbye. But what made him even icing on the cake was Xue Jiuyue's voice coming from behind him, which was not very real.
"Luckily I changed my career, otherwise where would I find such a good chef!"
Amidst the sweet aftertaste, Xue Jiuyue continued to admire the work before her. Her heartbeat, quickened by the surprise, still powerfully vibrated the world before her, even shattering time and space, triggering a resonance lingering at the end of time, transforming the scene before her into a subtle rapport with the acquaintance deep within her memory...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
