Chapter 99: Storytelling is all about picking out dirt
Song Jin's storytelling plan was scheduled for a few days later.
We bought some drinks in the shop and put tables and chairs in place, leaving most of the space for placing things. Fried peanuts and spiced broad beans were placed near the door, with a burnt aroma filling the air. Two waiters were already at the door shouting to welcome customers.
Song Jin's storytelling stage was also very simple. She did not sit, but stood. In front of her was a small table with tea on it. The oil lamp was not lit, so the light was dim. She stood there, holding a fan in her hand, so that people could not see her face clearly.
It was Song Jin's habit to tell stories while standing. It was like giving a speech on stage. Without a status to support her, she would feel that she would lack momentum if she sat there and spoke. After all, she was new to this industry and had to adapt slowly.
Song Jin was sitting on such a simple stage, holding the fan given by Ji Shubai in his hand, and he began to speak as soon as he fanned himself.
Ji Shubai knew that Song Jin was going to start telling stories the next day when she delivered snacks to the government office. He was in a good mood and changed into his casual clothes as soon as it got dark. He took Qingshan with him and had a sedan chair carried him to Guhuai Lane. Under Qingshan's guidance, they found the Lu's restaurant.
The shop is not big, but it is clean and tidy. The tables, chairs and benches are neatly arranged, but they are not new.
Song Jin selected second-hand furniture and asked his men to look for those that had not been redeemed in the pawnshop. They just had to be sturdy and usable.
He chose a corner, and Qingshan wiped the seat for him before he sat down.
He had a plate of peanuts, a plate of spiced broad beans, and the golden corn cake that Song Jin had specially prepared for him, along with a bowl of Nanxun wine. He neither ate nor drank, but just sat there, fanning himself, and listened quietly to Song Jin's lecture.
However, not long after listening, his brows began to frown, and gradually he stopped fanning himself and his face turned pale.
Looking at Song Jin behind the table, he was dancing with great interest, opening and closing his mouth, and couldn't stop at all.
"Speaking of Song Jiang, I think he is not as good as all of you present here."
"In terms of appearance, he has a dark face and a short stature, so he got a nickname, people call him Black Song Jiang."
"In terms of wisdom, you are only half-baked."
"This person is best at pretending to be loyal, pretending to be in Cao's camp but his heart is with Han."
"As a bailiff, he hooked up with Chao Gai, who robbed the birthday gift. When he went to Liangshan and became a bandit, he wanted to serve the court and accepted the imperial amnesty. In the end, he caused the death and injury of his former brothers who had fought together through thick and thin. It was a pity."
"People say he is good at writing and is well versed in officialdom, but if you look closely, it's all just paper talk. They also say he loves to play with guns and sticks and has learned all kinds of martial arts, but when he really uses them, he makes a fool of himself."
"Speaking of the three times Song Jiang attacked Zhujiazhuang, if it weren't for the Leopard Head Lin Chong holding Hu Sanniang hostage, I'm afraid our Song Gongming would have been thrown off his horse by a woman, and he would have shouted 'Boys, save us!'"
Everyone sitting below burst into laughter, except Ji Shubai, who looked extremely pale.
Is this really about Water Margin?
What about loyalty?
Isn’t this an insult?
Song Jin seemed to be reading a book, but what was it reading? What was it about?
Ji Shubai didn't want to listen any further, so he put away his fan, lowered his head, and walked out with unsteady steps.
Song Jin had seen him the moment he entered the room, but seeing that he was in casual clothes and without a messenger, she knew that he did not want to attract attention, so she did not say anything. But she had just started talking when the man walked out the door.
Song Jin was overwhelmed for a moment, and halfway through the book, he smiled at the guests and ran out.
"Master Ji—Master Ji—" Song Jin trotted over, smiling brightly, "Master Ji is really here today, our little shop is really blessed with happiness, hehe—"
Ji Shubai stopped and asked her with a straight face, "What did you say about Water Margin today?"
"Yes, it's Water Margin."
"Why do you say that?"
"What did I say?" Song Jin said frankly.
Ji Shubai turned around and faced Song Jin, saying seriously, "Song Gongming has eyes like red phoenixes, eyebrows like sleeping silkworms, and he has the elegance of heaven and earth and the spirits of mountains. How can you say that he has a dark face and a short stature?"
Song Jin argued: "That's right, 'He has a dark face and a short stature, so people call him Black Song Jiang', where did I say that wrong?"
Ji Shubai took a breath. It was indeed true, but these two characteristics existed at the same time, but Song Jin only mentioned one.
She only criticizes people because they are ugly.
He guessed that Song Jin hated Song Jiang.
"You don't like Song Jiang, do you?"
"Why should I like him? He is ugly, stupid, and immoral. He is worse than a woman in a fight, and he even kills his wife. Why should I like such a man?"
Song Jin listed several of Song Jiang's crimes in one breath, which almost made Ji Shubai laugh.
"How can you judge a person by his appearance? You say he is immoral, but how can he make friends with heroes? How can anyone come to him? The book clearly says that he 'helps the poor, helps the needy, and helps the poor,' and says that he is like timely rain, which is why he has this nickname. How can you say he is immoral? How can his brothers invite him to sit on the top seat on Liangshan Mountain if he is immoral?"
Song Jin was not convinced: "He is righteous? I think Qin Ming is spineless. If it were me, I would pretend to be brothers and find an opportunity to kill this guy to avenge my family and the people!"
Song Jin's words were so righteous that Ji Shubai thought she was a chivalrous person.
"That's not the way to say it. After all, each party has its own position and plans."
"That Qin Ming is a wimp! All the men here are terrible. I think Song Jiang must be a traitor." Song Jin was angrily snorting and didn't buy Ji Shubai's words at all.
"You're talking nonsense again!"
Ji Shubai was very angry. How distorted was this?
"What nonsense am I talking about? He clearly married her, but he said he was not interested in women and only cared about playing with guns and sticks. He married a woman, enjoyed her for a few days and then left her there. How could the woman not be upset?" In Song Jin's opinion, isn't this gay marriage?
"He likes to play with guns and clubs, but I think that's fake. Look at Jiu Wenlong, he likes it, he is so capable, he learned 18 kinds of martial arts in half a year. Look at Song Jiang, he and Wang Aihu were the most embarrassing in the three attacks on Zhujiazhuang. If it weren't for a group of brothers helping him and protecting him, he would have been captured by Hu Sanniang long ago, and he would have had no chance to abuse Hu Sanniang."
Ji Shubai took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you saying he abused Hu Sanniang? You just said he wasn't interested in women."
"It's a waste to pair him with Wang Aihu." Song Jin said impassionedly.
"They were already engaged. Zhu Biao was from a wealthy family, skilled in martial arts, and the two families had a close relationship and looked after each other. When Song Jiang came to attack Zhujiazhuang, Hu Sanniang brought people to help Zhu Biao and captured Wang Aihu. They were truly in love. What was Wang Aihu? He was from the Che family, but he robbed guests and was naturally lustful. How could he compare to Zhu Biao?"
"I never realized before that you are so righteous." Ji Shu's words were full of sarcasm, which made Song Jin blush.
"When you beat and scolded me without permission, I didn't see you being merciful at all. How can you say bad things about me? What's the difference between you and me?"
Ji Shubai was stunned by her words and couldn't think of a rebuttal for a long time.
Song Jin only said bad things about Song Jiang, so Ji Shubai felt that Song Jin was prejudiced against him. Now he also only said bad things about Song Jin. There was really no difference between the two of them, and they were both prejudiced.
"Okay, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that." For some reason, Ji Shubai felt guilty and his voice became much lower.
Song Jin had tears in his eyes and his head dropped, still muttering: "They are clearly a bunch of bandits, but you insist on saying they are heroes. This is the first time I've heard of a hero who killed his wife. According to this, Pan Jinlian should also be the leader of Liangshanpo."
"This is unreasonable." Ji Shubai was like a child who was in the wrong, but he felt that he was not completely in the wrong. He wanted to argue, but he didn't dare to speak loudly. He even imitated Song Jin, lowered his head and muttered softly.
"He came to the Zhu Family Manor and beat them up. He even killed their fiancé. That would have been fine, but he then promised their daughter to Wang Aihu. Poor Hu Sanniang even wanted to be loyal to him. Is he still a human being?"
Song Jin honestly felt that Song Jiang was a good-for-nothing and had not behaved like a human being at all. When she thought of Hu Sanniang's situation, she suddenly clenched her fists, shrank her body slightly, gathered her strength, stomped her feet heavily, and snorted in extreme dissatisfaction.
"What are you humming?"
"Let me ask you, do you dislike Miss Pei and don't want to marry her?"
Song Jin questioned Ji Shubai, but surprisingly, Ji Shubai did not feel offended, but answered her honestly: "So what?"
"Then let me ask you, what if someone forces you to marry her now?"
"I won't marry her." Ji Shubai seemed to have guessed what Song Jin was going to say. He lowered his head to one side, his cheeks puffed up a little.
"What if someone forces you?" Song Jin kept chasing.
Ji Shubai's face was extremely ugly, and he gritted his teeth and said, "No!"
"Look, look," Song Jin said like a general who had just won a victory, with a clear mind and a strong temper, "You don't want to marry someone you don't want to marry. Tell me, is Hu Sanniang in love with Wang Aihu? It's fine that her fiancé was captured and killed. But Song Jiang kidnapped a woman to the mountains, and then married her to Wang Aihu, forcing her to marry a lustful man. What kind of thing is this? Only a stud pig should be married like this."
Song Jin's words were really harsh, implying that Song Jiang was not a good person. Ji Shubai couldn't help but say, "Who said they were randomly matched? Didn't the two of them develop feelings for each other later? When Wang Ying died, Hu Sanniang rushed into the enemy camp and fought bravely."
"Humph! When the day comes when you can no longer resist and marry Miss Pei, I will definitely come up to you and tell you about your deep love when you two are together. I'll see if you'll be mad or not."
"Why do you always involve me?" Ji Shubai was a little annoyed.
"You are just letting others talk nonsense when you are in the middle of it. When you find yourself in the middle of it, it will be too late for you to cry."
Ji Shubai was speechless after hearing what she said. He turned away angrily, and the two of them stood on the street, both very angry.
After a while, Ji Shubai changed the subject: "Song Jiang is not completely useless. He also made great contributions in the later battle against Fang La. This is related to the people of one area and is a matter of righteousness for the country."
"Humph, you men love to use the righteousness of your country and family to bluff others. You are righteous, but the woman has lost her home."
"You——" Ji Shubai couldn't argue with her, and didn't know where to start. Before he could think it through, Song Jin suddenly came over and lowered his voice and said, "Fang La was a peasant uprising army. To be honest... is he like our founding emperor?"
"Don't talk nonsense--"
Ji Shubai told her that and looked around in panic, luckily no one was around.
"If you dare to talk nonsense again, you'll get into trouble."
After hearing this, Song Jin pursed his lips tightly as if he had locked them, and shook his head like a rattle, with a look on his face that said: I won’t say anymore, I won’t say anymore, not again.
Ji Shubai was originally a little angry, fearing that she would speak without thinking and spread rumors everywhere, and he was afraid that he would not be able to protect her then.
Who knew that as soon as he shouted in a low voice, she immediately acted as if trying to save her life, which made him want to laugh.
"Forget it. I don't think you are suitable for storytelling."
Song Jin was unhappy: "How am I inappropriate? I clearly said something good, I just picked and chose."
Ji Shubai closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. She was just picking out flaws to talk about.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
