() The wine transport team drove out for dozens of miles overnight, and the torches were extinguished only when the east turned white.
Not far from the road ahead, some rooftops can be seen vaguely in the woods, which seems to be a village.
The roosters jumped up to a high place and started their morning work. The team quietly entered the village amidst the sounds of "ooh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh".
Ximen Qing had been on horseback for nearly a night, only stopping to rest twice, but he was still in good spirits.
Ever since I traveled across time, I have been surrounded by people who are waiting for me. I have never experienced this feeling of riding a horse all night long.
Wu Song and Sun Erniang were even more energetic. They must have worked together so that they were not tired.
The only exception was when there were fleas on the drum, and with the rooster crowing, he lost his energy and half leaned against the cart, as if he could fall asleep at any time.
Ximen Qing originally thought of finding a post station to rest, but what Ximen Qing didn't expect was that the porters said that the nearest post station was actually twenty miles away.
This made Ximen Qing regret the little inn he passed by at midnight.
However, the village in front of them brought some surprises. After bypassing a small forest, Wu Song and Sun Erniang, who were the first to go, discovered that the village was quite small.
Seeing the smoke gradually rising in the village, Ximen Qing decided to let the team rest in this village. It would be best to take a nap before getting up in the afternoon and go to a post station twenty miles away to spend the night.
This is already the ground of Huaizhou. Even if Mengzhou sends troops and horses to pursue, it will be a step too late.
Although Wu Song and others passed by this village when they were traveling in the world, no one passed by this village, so when Ximen Qing asked about it, everyone shook their heads.
"There seem to be so many nameless villages like this, so let's just stop and talk."
Shi Qian yawned, obviously not interested in the village at all, he was just thinking about meeting Duke Zhou.
Over there, Sun Erniang stretched out her hand and pointed: "Sir, look at the stone tablet over there. Could it be the name of the village on it?"
Ximen Qing jumped off his horse to look at it with great interest. He said that the stone tablet was just a round stone, and someone had somehow cut it into a flat surface. There was a big word deeply carved on it. Maybe it was because of the age, and there were gaps.
They were all filled with plaster, and no one cared about them.
Qin!
The word "Qin" immediately aroused Ximen Qing's curiosity. He thought about the time when Qin destroyed the six kingdoms and unified the world. One branch of the Qin family was also a descendant of Qin. The village named after Qin must be mostly Qin, so it can be called a Qin family village.
Although it is still early, people in the village always get up early. As soon as the rooster crows, the men get up dressed in their clothes, not to mention the women who get up earlier and are busy around the stove in an orderly manner.
The team transporting wine attracted attention as soon as they entered the village.
Enthusiastic villagers came forward to say hello and helped pull the cart to a courtyard. Before Ximen Qing and others had recovered, the tables were set and the fragrant rice porridge was served for several large plates.
pot.
Coupled with various pickles and freshly baked pancakes, although it is far inferior to Ximen Qing's usual food, it can still be regarded as a standard Chinese breakfast.
Especially for those who are hungry after traveling all night, rice porridge is simply the best food.
The folk customs are simple and honest!
Ximen Qing secretly lamented that he was treated like this just because he was a passing merchant. The villagers never mentioned whether it was money or not. They would only ask: "Is it enough? How about another pancake?"
While Ximen Qing and others were eating and drinking in peace, an old man appeared tremblingly on crutches.
It looks like it's not even eighty, but rather seventy-five.
"This is the oldest old man in our village. I heard that a distinguished guest is coming, so I came here specially to accompany him."
After listening to the villagers' explanation, Ximen Qing hurriedly stood up and offered his seat to the old man, but the old man shook his head and sat on the left side.
Only then did Ximen Qing realize that no one had sat down at that seat just now. Could it be that they were waiting for this old man?
"Sure enough, he is a distinguished guest." The old man could hardly open his eyes. He picked up the bowl and took a sip of rice porridge and said, "Don't these juniors treat your distinguished guests with disrespect?"
"No, no, you're so enthusiastic." Ximen Qing watched the old man put down the bowl slowly: "What do you call the old man?"
The old man pushed the bowl and said with a smile: "How can you call me a commoner? Most of the people in this village are named Qin. The old man has lived longer than others and has no ability at all. If your distinguished guest is willing,
Just call Xiaomin Lao Qintou."
"Then I'll call you old man." Ximen Qing smiled slightly: "We will leave when we have rested enough. I hope we won't disturb you. This place is called Qinjia Village. I see there is a stone monument at the entrance of the village."
"That's just a piece of rotten stone, which I used to carve for fun when I was young." Old Qintou chuckled, as if Ximen Qing had brought back memories: "The distinguished guest must be well-educated, you can tell from a piece of rotten stone.
Here comes the village name."
Ximen Qing was speechless for a moment, and Old Qintou asked again: "The common people are a little confused. It seems that our distinguished guests have traveled all night. This is not like ordinary merchants."
"Huh?" Ximen Qing heard something wrong in this sentence, and then he saw the villagers around him secretly winking at each other and gradually surrounding him.
Many people even put their hands into their arms, not knowing what to touch!
Is this still simple folk customs? It’s like entering a den of robbers!
The old and almost blind old Qin Tou suddenly raised his eyelids and stared at Ximen Qing with two sharp eyes: "Where do these distinguished guests come from and what do they do for a living?"
The porters were still in the dark, but Wu Song and Sun Erniang had already jumped up and looked at the villagers around them with vigilance.
Wu Song put one hand on the knife handle behind his back, while Sun Erniang simply took out a sharp knife from her sleeve and gestured back and forth.
The divine fortune teller Jiang Jing swallowed. His boss had just fished him out of the dark prison, so why did he get into a pit of fire again? Are these people villagers or mountain kings?
The only person present who was not nervous was Shi Qian, who had just quickly finished two bowls of rice porridge, added three pancakes, and was now lying on the table, soundly asleep.
"Wait a minute." Ximen Qing didn't stand up and shouted: "We don't mean any harm, but if we make a move, I'm afraid you won't get any benefits either!"
Lao Qintou suddenly coughed violently, as if there was a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat. Immediately, a villager came up and slapped his back. But while the villager was doing this, he looked at Ximen Qing and others with great vigilance.
"Oh, I'm old, useless." Lao Qin took a long time to catch his breath, and said in a hoarse voice: "You are only five people, and one of you is sleeping, and we have..."
As he spoke, Lao Qin glanced at him: "There are fifty-eight people, do you think you can get away with it?"
Wu Song sneered: "Then you might as well give it a try."
Sun Erniang also held the handle of the knife tightly, wondering whether to jump on the table directly and control the old Qintou.
"Young man, I don't know who you are yet, but I know exactly who this person is next to you."
Old Qintou supported the villager who had just beaten his back and tried to stand up: "Cross Slope is not far from our place. Of course I have heard of the name of the hag."
Sun Erniang's face turned pale. The other party seemed to know her details clearly, but this Qin Village, including the old Qin head, had never heard of it.
Lao Qin raised his head and looked at Sun Erniang and said: "I have known your father since he was still doing robberies for a living. Your little bit of ancestral boxing and kicking skills can at most be equal to the five people here.
.”
Sun Erniang's face became even more ugly. Who is this old Qintou? He even knows his own father?
Ximen Qing suddenly laughed: "It seems that the old man likes to do arithmetic, so let's do arithmetic."
"After excluding five of fifty-eight, there are still fifty-three." Ximen Qing seemed to be interested, and pointed at Wu Song and said: "Do you know who this strong man is?"
Old Qintou looked at Wu Song and said: "It seems that the posture is that of a martial artist. Just tell me your name. The old man has not been walking in the world for many years, but this way of holding the sword..."
"Is your teacher's surname Zhou?"
Even Wu Song changed his face this time. An unknown old man in the village could actually tell his master's inheritance from the way he held the knife?
"Is it really the legendary Zhou Tong?"
Ximen Qing also murmured in his heart, and introduced Lao Qintou with a smile: "Let me tell you, this is my second brother, whose surname is Wu Mingsong."
When Wu Song's name was mentioned, it was still resounding. Old Qintou might not know the answer, but immediately some villagers were surprised and asked: "Could it be the Wu Song who killed the tiger with his bare hands on Jingyanggang?"
Almost all the villagers looked at Wu Song with surprised eyes.
Old Qintou also looked Wu Song up and down again: "If your teacher's surname is really Zhou, it wouldn't be surprising to kill a tiger with your bare hands. That's good, you can stand up to twenty people here."
"No." Old Qintou suddenly changed his tone: "You see, I am so confused that I almost misjudged my sight. I am afraid those swords are not just ordinary soldiers but twenty more."
Hearing what Lao Qintou said, the surrounding villagers looked at Wu Song with even more shock than before.
"The ancestors of the Forty People have never given such high praise."
"Can two swords defeat twenty people? I'm not convinced!"
Lao Qintou coughed, immediately interrupting the murmurs of the surrounding villagers.
"Excluding forty from fifty-three, there are still thirteen."
The magic fortune teller Jiang Jing laughed and interrupted the old Qin Tou: "My boss, don't worry, my injury is not healed. I can deal with three or five of them."
"Okay!" Lao Qin shouted: "Even if you can defeat five of them, I don't think your leader has the strength to restrain a chicken. How can he defeat the remaining eight people?"
Lao Qin turned his head and looked at Ximen Qing again, as if he wanted to get the answer from his face.
"For an old man's age, he is really good at arithmetic." Ximen Qing smiled shyly: "My vision is even better. I have never caught a chicken before, and I have only learned some tricks and embroidery."
"But there are some things that you have missed, old man."