Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty People Sleeping in Courtyard Day
"Recalling the fifteenth year of the year, the heart is still a child, and it is as strong as a yellow calf walking back. In August, pears and jujubes are ripe in front of the court, and a tree can be climbed a thousand times in one day..." - Baiyou Ji Xing
The eighth day of the seventh lunar month in the first year of Jian'an.
Chang'an, Taixuezhi Drama Academy.
The scorching sun burned the soil on the ground into cracks like spider webs. There was a jujube tree as tall as an umbrella in the northeast corner of the yard. It cast a shadow in this small corner, and the cicadas hiding in the shade could not stop.
The constant noise makes this summer hot and irritable.
Not far away, there was the sound of banging copper pulleys among the clusters of cornices and pavilions - that was the sound of the timing of the beginning and end of classes in Taixue. Not long after, the sounds of reading were faintly heard, as if they were isolated from this world.
The hospital supervisor, Bao Chu, was lying on his back under the verandah on the other side doing nothing, snoring loudly on the wooden board and sleeping soundly.
The sound of cicadas, snoring, gongs, reading, the orange sunshine that is too hot to open your eyes, the green and red fruits hidden in the shade of the green trees, the blue sky that can be seen when you look up, and the slowly floating white clouds...
...it will be a memory worth cherishing many years later.
The noisy cries of summer cicadas on the branches suddenly stopped, and the surroundings rarely returned to silence, leaving only Bao Chu's monotonous snoring.
You Chu pushed open the wooden door of Zhiju A courtyard and saw Zhang Ji sitting under the verandah shaded by trees in the northeast corner, leaning against the pillar, looking up, holding a book in his hand. The sunlight above his head penetrated
The rustling leaves cast scattered golden spots on the wooden floor, bringing a bit of refreshing warmth to the monotonous and spacious courtyard. The breeze gently lifted the tips of Zhang Ji's sleeves and hair, carrying a sense of laziness.
Lazy and comfortable. Jia Kui, who was sitting opposite, was raising his hand to pour sour plum soup into their cups. Hearing the movement behind him, he turned around and waved to You Chu.
"I knew you had delicious food here!" You Chu came forward and took Zhang Ji's cup and drank it all in one gulp.
"There is one more person here to share the fruit drinks. If I had known, I would have locked the door." Zhang Ji said depressedly, but was too lazy to move.
In addition to the teapot and teacup among the group of people, there were one or two volumes of books and a wooden tray. Inside the wooden tray were twenty or thirty cleanly washed dates, some of which were light blue in color and had tight skins.
Some of them were bright red at the bottom, and many had cracks on the surface, revealing the whitish flesh inside. You Chu ignored the other party's complaints, took off his shoes and walked onto the verandah, striding toward the verandah.
Sitting on the floor, he stretched out his hand and took one of the roundest and reddest dates into his mouth. "It's delicious! You can pick up all the dates in your yard and sell them at the Xuanping School Market."
Jia Kui laughed loudly, "Zhong Yun really has Tao Zhu's talents. Why don't you partner with De Rong? He will beat jujubes, and you will yell at him."
You Chu glared at him and said seriously, "Then what are you doing?"
Jia Kui replied casually, "I'll just be there to help you with the accounting."
You Chu spit out a date core in the palm of his hand and threw it under the tree. He said dissatisfiedly, "You are really good at asking for luck." As he said this, he saw that Zhang Ji had finished the sour plum soup in his cup and was about to reach out for Jia Kui's cup.
cup.
Jia Kui had already taken precautions and snatched the cup into his hand, lowered his head and took a sip. Looking at You Chu who was arrogant and arrogant at the side, he couldn't help but feel a little funny.
Zhang Ji looked at the childish behavior of the two people, shook his head helplessly, and put the slip aside, "Who doesn't want to take advantage of others? Just say that this time the temporary recruitment of locust hunters is the same, isn't it? Taixue is like this
There has been a lot of discussion about this matter for several days."
Jia Kui was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said to You Chu, "I'll get you a clean cup."
You Chu looked up and saw Jia Kui walking into the house. He didn't understand why and said, "What's wrong? There are many disciples from high-ranking families in Taixue. Who would be willing to go to the countryside and supervise the eradication of locusts? What's more, some people regard locusts as ghosts and gods, even with words.
If you don't dare to offend anyone, how can you go to work as a locust hunter? This time the imperial court recruits imperial students, there is a lot of talk, but there are very few people who respond. In the end, the ones who come to pay homage are probably those who are dedicated to doing things like me.
some."
"What you said makes sense." Jia Kui walked out of the house at this time, holding a cup in his hand. "But some people just go there with the intention of trying to please."
He sat down calmly, filled a new cup with sour plum soup, handed it to You Chu, and nuzzled his lips into the central hall.
You Chu glanced at the main room where the students were sleeping, and immediately understood. His playful smile suddenly turned serious. He then looked at the warden Bao Chu who was still sleeping soundly in the verandah on the other side, and then whispered, "So,
Is the news I heard when I came here true? Fu Yun also wants to be a locust hunter?"
Fu Yun was the son of Fu Rui, You Fufeng. He was born into a high-ranking Fu family in the north. He was pampered since childhood and had an arrogant nature. In Imperial College, he only interacted with those students from the same high-ranking family. For Zhang Ji and Jia Kui, he was
Even if they are in the same room, their relationship is average. You Chu dislikes this kind of pretentious person. Sometimes when he meets Fu Yun when he comes to visit, he always has to have a few words with him. Although Fu Yun is smart, he is often not as good as You Chu.
Opponents often turn red with anger.
So once it was confirmed that Fu Yun really wanted to go to the countryside with them to brave the scorching sun and lead a group of common people throughout the countryside to hunt for locusts, he would also condescend to preach to the people the principle that insects lay eggs and break the superstition of the locust god.
Chu couldn't believe that Fu Yun, who prided himself on being noble, could do such a thing. He took the cup and was so shocked that he forgot to drink it. "Locust hunting is hard and tiring. He has to travel around the countryside for several months, which delays his studies."
Not to mention, in the end, Taixue only rewarded each person with seven to eight hundred coins and nothing else. What is he trying to do?"
"I heard that the elders in his family ordered him to go. Fu Yun didn't want to go, but he couldn't go against the elders' wishes. He was sulking in the room right now, and Yan Xiang was still trying to persuade him." Zhang Ji couldn't help but
Glancing inside the room, I saw that because they had signed up for the job of the Locust Catchers, Taixue had given them a day off to rest, so none of them, the 'Locust Catchers', had classes as usual today.
"Yan Xiang is knowledgeable and courageous. He is also considered a leader among our generation. Why does he need to hang out with Fu Yun all day long?" You Chu couldn't help but muttered, feeling pity for Yan Xiang.
"It is said that the two have known each other since childhood and have a close relationship. Even if Fu Yun moved to a separate hospital, he would often come over to study the scriptures. Today I felt unhappy and simply came back to talk to Yan Xiang." Zhang Ji said lightly.
, then lowered his voice and said, "Fu Yun's father is an official in Fufeng, and his brother is a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He is in the middle and knows more secrets than us. I think the prospect of catching locusts this time is exciting, and
It's not as hard and futile as others expected, so Mr. Fu also paid attention."
The small courtyard fell silent for a moment.
You Chu held the cup in his left hand, rested his knee with his right elbow, touched his smooth chin with his hand, slanted his shoulders and thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "So that's it, no matter what, the locust catcher is still serving the country, and he will rarely leave his name afterward."
Before - this is perhaps the biggest benefit. But many people can't see it clearly and don't want to go to the countryside to suffer, so they mostly wait and see. Now that Fu Yun is taking the lead, those people are clamoring to go again. Isn't Master Su Wen here?
Is this the case?"
"Master Su Wen was well-known in the countryside for his talents when he was young. Although he is from the Su family in Fufeng, he has an easy-going temperament and is not comparable to Fu Yun and others." Jia Kui interjected, picked up a green date and put it to his mouth and took a small bite.
, after chewing and swallowing the small mouthful of jujube slowly, he continued, "Long before Fu Yun paid a visit, he signed up for the application. I heard that Geng Jixing, who was close to him, did not want to go and had a disagreement with him.
The two of them almost broke up."
"It is unusual for Geng Jixing to be a member of his old clan and look down upon his modest achievements. However, Master Su Wen, who comes from a rich family but has no squeamishness, is not afraid of hardships and goes to a remote place in person. This is really admirable." Zhang Ji said slowly.