As soon as Du Lanshan opened his eyes, he heard congratulatory voices. A sprightly old man wearing a worn-out coat greeted him with a beaming smile.
"Wow, that old man is so handsome!"
Du Lanshan was slightly startled and turned his head to look. There was a young man in his early twenties standing next to him. His half-length hair covered his face. He clicked his tongue in surprise twice and walked towards the old man with a warm smile on his face.
Du Lanshan didn't move. He quietly observed the surroundings and also glanced at the old man who was called handsome.
This village is quite strange. In the distance, there are small bridges and flowing water, and lush green trees. Red houses with green tiles and carved beams and painted rafters can be vaguely seen among the trees. But the village itself is full of mud-brick houses with a grassy and woody feel. The road underfoot is covered with yellow dust, exuding a sense of poverty.
It seems that a stream disappearing into the forest has drawn the rich and poor to two extremes.
At least the old man who walked out of the courtyard made of adobe houses, dressed in tattered clothes out of season and with his big toe sticking out of his cloth shoes, was enough to show that this was a poor place.
The old man exchanged a few pleasantries with the young man with medium-length hair, then bowed to Du Lanshan and said, "Our young master has passed the imperial examination with flying colors. We are so grateful to have you all here to celebrate. Please come in, please come in!"
The old man had some wrinkles on his skin, gray hair, and age spots under his eyes, but it must be said that the young man was still handsome enough to be called handsome.
Despite his tattered clothes, he had an air of otherworldly elegance about him.
He had long eyebrows and a long beard, sharp eyes, and thin, rosy lips. Although he looked poor, his spirit was remarkable.
Du Lanshan took the opportunity to offer his congratulations twice. Under the old butler's beaming face, he thought to himself: Is this Death Realm ancient or modern? His clothes are similar to those of modern times, but his words and actions have the air of an ancient person.
The old butler led the two into the courtyard and introduced them, "Several guests have already arrived and are resting in the backyard. I will inform each of them before the banquet. The servants are currently tidying up the hall and courtyard. To avoid disturbing our guests, please refrain from moving around for the time being."
Upon hearing that there were other guests, the middle-aged man with medium-length hair, who was walking on the other side of the old butler, hesitated for a moment. He turned and came to Du Lanshan's side. Seeing Du Lanshan looking at him warily, he smiled awkwardly, "Brother, you look familiar. We came from the same place, didn't we?"
Du Lanshan grinned sheepishly, offering no reply. Anyone could play dumb before figuring out the other party's intentions!
The middle-aged man with medium-length hair scratched his head and lowered his voice, saying, "My name is Tai Er. Brother, we came from later, how about we stick together?"
Compared to his slick appearance, this young man was exceptionally straightforward. He continued rambling, "When I first saw the ticket description said 'Beauty Village,' I was quite happy. But it seems it should be called 'Poor Man's Village.'" He pointed out the courtyard with a smirk, "See? My family used to be from the countryside. This place has no more than twenty households at most."
Du Lanshan followed his gaze and saw that the courtyard was indeed very large, with about a dozen mud-brick houses around it. Several large trees with withered branches were planted in the courtyard, making it look even more desolate.
There were a dozen or so mud-brick houses scattered outside the courtyard, which were even worse than the houses inside the courtyard. Some of them even had broken windows, and everywhere they looked, they exuded one word: poverty.
Further back, the view extends to a hillside about a hundred meters high, seemingly made of loess. The hill is barren, with only a faint patch of green visible on it.
Tai Er muttered, "The terrain is quite similar to a village north of my hometown. The land is no good, it's full of stones, and the mountains are no good either, there are no big rocks, just small pebbles. You can't farm or mine, and the poor people can't get enough to eat, so they have to go to the city to work. But look at the other side of this river, it looks just like the south. It's really strange."
Du Lanshan also leaned closer to the second platform, "Brothers, just call me Du Da. I think what you said makes sense. Let's form a group first. Who knows how dangerous this place is!"
Tai Er remained optimistic, "Hehe, what danger is there in this little village? The biggest danger might be that we eat them out of house and home!"
As the banquet approached, Du Lanshan realized that Tai Er's optimism was not an exaggeration, but a complete jinx.
Who serves wild vegetables and two kinds of noodles at a banquet?
Does anyone serve water instead of wine at a banquet?
It's one thing that they can't eat well or get enough to eat, but there's also this pedantic young scholar who keeps composing poems and insists that they taste them.
Looking up, I see a crescent moon; looking down, I see green mountains; a line of swallows flies in the sky; and a meal is served on the ground!
How could someone pass the imperial examination and become a scholar? Aren't they afraid of incurring divine retribution?
Even if Du Lanshan dropped out of college, he would know that a cultured person shouldn't be so greasy. Is he probably too desperate to pass the imperial examination?
But he had to admit that the village was indeed full of beauties. Although the scholar was poor, he couldn't resist his fair and delicate face. Not to mention the villagers who came to help. The moment they appeared, they, the few protectors, understood the meaning of "beauty is food for the eyes".
The young wives and young men were as beautiful as flowers. Regardless of gender, they were all delicate and graceful. If it weren't for their tattered clothes, they would really have a touch of the Wei and Jin Dynasties style.
Not to mention the young people, even the older women and men are still charming and dignified.
Their arrival instantly brightened up the mud-brick house, and even the dry food became delicious.
The six defenders sat at a table, listening to the pretentious poems of a pedantic scholar. In front of them was a bowl of wild vegetable porridge, and around them were beautiful women who chatted and laughed while serving dishes and water. They exchanged glances and a tacit revolutionary feeling arose between them.
Brothers, should we eat this meal or not?
Perhaps sensing their hesitation, the old butler gave a signal, and the best-looking man and woman went around to the distinguished guests, one raising a glass and the other chopsticks, urging them with charming smiles not to be polite.
No one was polite; they simply couldn't bear to compete with the village beauty for such a small amount of food.
If the hospitality is this bad, it's no wonder they're all so thin they could be blown away by the wind. They're probably living no better than drinking air every day.
Finally, a seasoned and worldly older woman stepped forward, declining the beauties' kind offers to feed and water them, and stubbornly ignoring their concerned gazes, insisting that she was full.
The second-in-command nodded in agreement, chuckling, "A feast for the eyes! A feast for the eyes!"
Before the old butler could say anything more, Du Lanshan put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Tomorrow, we'll treat you all to dinner tomorrow!"
The old butler's face was about to fall, but Du Lanshan quickly continued, "Consider this our congratulatory gift. Young Master has passed the imperial examination with flying colors; we cannot come empty-handed."
The old butler immediately smiled and said, "You're too kind, everyone. The young master is already very happy that you could come!"
It's not that I'm happy; that young master dared to stand on the table and sing to the moon without even drinking. If he had drunk, wouldn't he have gone straight to the moon?
The banquet was still going on. The young master was in high spirits and the villagers who had come to support him were blocking the door, so he couldn't leave. It would take some mental preparation for them to actually use force against such a delicate and beautiful woman who was always smiling at them.
Moreover, no one wants to risk their life when they don't know the extent of the danger.
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