Chapter 52 Spring Breeze Pavilion, Laochao Xiaoshu
Ning Que looked up at him and asked, "If you want to kill someone, go ahead and kill him. What are you doing at the door of my shop?"
The middle-aged man responded: "I'm waiting for the rain to stop, and I'm also waiting for a few people."
"When it stops raining, it often won't stop. When it waits for people to come, people often won't come." Ning Que advised kindly.
"There must be a reason why people don't come." The middle-aged man said with a smile: "But can you let me have a more serious conversation with you instead of trying things like those ascetics?"
"That's the right attitude. I don't like wandering around in the cloud mountains." Ning Que replied with a smile: "But I don't like squatting on the ground and talking to people standing because there is a height difference."
"You can stand up."
"Why don't you squat down."
The middle-aged man smiled and squatted down without any hesitation, the hem of his wet green shirt covering the threshold of the old pen studio. Then he looked at Ning Que's still green face and said seriously: "I'm very strenuous now.
"
Ning Que lowered his head to eat the noodles and waited for the next step.
"Many big shots want me to express my stance, but my current situation is that I cannot express my stance, so I am being besieged now. My brothers and I work very cleanly, and it would be inconvenient for the government to use Tang law to punish me, so they decided to directly
Kill me. Taking advantage of this night rain, opponents from the south and west cities have already rushed over."
"Where are those people you were waiting for?"
"One of my brothers died a few days ago. Most of the remaining brothers have errands in the government. Those big shots can easily trap them in military camps and government offices with their errands, so I have very few people tonight."
The rain at night continued, and seemed to be getting worse. The middle-aged man looked like he could no longer wait, but he didn't seem to care. He just calmly and gently talked about the situation he was facing without doing anything.
Covering it up, he looked at Ning Que beside him, smiled and said, "But none of this is a problem. My problem tonight is that there must be someone by my side, but I can't find that person."
Ning Que glanced at the sword at his waist, guessing that the sword inside must be very small, and asked, "What kind of person do you need by your side?"
"Quick enough, ruthless enough, brave enough, but I can't blink my eyes when I kill, and I can't let anything fall on me."
“Not including rainwater, right?”
"Of course not."
"Then it's not too demanding."
Ning Que scratched his damp hair and said, "Why me?"
The middle-aged man's eyes fell on his right hand holding the bowl and said: "I have inquired about something. Although the woodcutter of Subi Lake is not famous in Chang'an City, I know very well what a young man who specializes in killing horse thieves can do
Something."
Ning Que was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why should I go with you? What are the benefits?"
The middle-aged man admired the young man's directness, stretched out his fingers to flick off the rainwater on the oil-paper umbrella, and said with a smile: "No one in the entire Chang'an City knows my trump card. If I win tonight, that trump card will be revealed.
By then you will know that I really have a very thick thigh and I am worthy of your hug."
"Since it's so dangerous tonight, why don't you play your trump card first?"
"Because the trump card is not a card, but a person. I can't order him, but he can order me. He needs me to win the battle tonight because he wants to see if there are any cards hidden in his opponent's hand."
"Okay, I'm really tired of this style of dialogue. I just want to say that your thighs may be thick, but they really don't attract me much. Since you know the distant Subic Lake, then
You must know that I once had the opportunity to hug a leg that seemed very thin, but was actually one of the thickest in the Tang Dynasty, but I didn't hug it."
Ning Que was naturally talking about Li Yu, the fourth princess of the Tang Dynasty. After saying this, he fell silent again, put his noodle bowl on the wet ground, and squatted side by side with the middle-aged man to watch the rain. At this moment, he suddenly thought of a certain
I thought of a certain scene in the story that I liked very much, and thought of Xiao Heizi's confession in the tavern, so I made a decision. (Note)
The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and then said: "Or...are you used to making prices directly?"
Ning Que faced the annoying rain and slapped him with his palm, and said neatly: "Five hundred taels of silver."
The middle-aged man frowned and suggested: "It's too little, should we add more?"
The scene of two people bargaining next to the threshold of the bookstore on a rainy night was a bit strange. The employer actually felt that the money was too little.
Ning Que turned to look at him and asked, "How many people do you estimate I will kill tonight?"
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "At least five."
Ning Que replied: "On the grassland, if I kill five horse thieves, I might not be able to find five taels of silver, so don't worry, I will definitely fight for five hundred taels of silver."
"I don't need you to work hard." The middle-aged man looked at him with a smile and said, "If the time comes when you need to work hard, you can leave first."
Ning Que shook his head and said, "That's not the way I do things. It's really an idiotic statement that friendship is stronger than gold, but since we are doing business, of course we must abide by basic business ethics."
The middle-aged man smiled and extended his hand: "Deal."
Ning Que stretched out his hand and shook his hand gently, then let go and said, "My surname is Ning, I am Ning Ning. Ning Que."
"My surname is Chao, Chao from the Tang Dynasty, Chao Xiaoshu."
"What an arrogant surname, what a gentle name."
"People in Chang'an call me Chunfengting Lao Chao, you can call me Brother Chao."
"Chao Xiaoshu sounds better... Xiaoshu, are you the leader of the Yulong Gang?"
"You can call me Lao Chao... In addition, I have never admitted that I am the leader of the Yulong Gang. I just gathered a group of brothers to do things that are inconvenient for the court."
Ning Que finally confirmed his identity, smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "The leader of the largest gang in Chang'an is still so humble. Xiaoshu, you seem too hypocritical."
He pulled out the ordinary knife from the firewood pile, found the boxwood bow and quiver from the box, picked up the big black umbrella from the crude celadon jar, wrapped it in layers of old cloth, and tied it all on his back.
, then he groped at the bottom of the box for a long time and found a black mask that had not been washed for an unknown period of time.
He carefully put on the close-fitting soft armor, and put on an old short-sleeved arrow robe from the bottom of the suitcase. He spread his hair and tied it into a common style among Yuelun people. He covered most of his face with a black mask. Ning Que faced Tong Tong.
Jing carefully looked at it for a long time to confirm that there were no loopholes. He walked outside the small kitchen and looked inside and said, "I'm leaving."
Sang Sang was cleaning up the kitchen stove, washing pots and bowls, and washing pens and inkstones. There was no expression on her little face, and there was a vague childish irritability in her slender eyes. I don’t know why, but the little maid put down the bowls and rinsed pens in a very strange way today.
It was big, and it made banging and muffled sounds from time to time. When the rag was wiped hard on the bottom of the pot, it seemed to be wiping through the dark bottom of the pot.
Ning Que was slightly startled, then understood a little, and explained gently: "It's always good to earn some money, and I think that guy should have a good background. If you give him a favor, I will be able to use it in the future."
With a bang, Sangsang threw the rag onto the edge of the stove, and carried the heavy iron pot to pour the dirty water. The little girl twisted her waist, pretending not to see him or hear his explanation.
Ning Que rubbed the frown between his eyebrows and said after a moment of silence: "That idiot Xiao Heizi just threw a few words and burped. Even if I want to shirk, I can't go to the underworld to find him, so tonight I can take care of him."
Pay off the debt."
After saying this, he ignored little Sangsang's mood and walked directly out of the back house and into the shop in front.
Chunfengting Laochao, as the leader of the Yulong Gang, the largest gang in Chang'an, has been wandering in the rivers and lakes for many years and has seen many strange people. He knows that the young boss of Laobi Zhai must be one of the strange people, and he has been mentally prepared for it.
But seeing Ning Que's attire at this moment, he still couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He looked at the mysterious thing behind Ning Que that was wrapped in rags and looked like a thick stick. He smiled slightly and said: "You don't look like you are dressed like this.
You are going to kill people, but you are like a poor man who has a gambling debt and is planning to run away from home overnight. Are you planning to carry all your belongings on your back?"
"I only carry a knife on my back, so be satisfied."
Ning Que walked up to him, took a look at the wind and rain in Linsixian Alley, and noticed that there were no people at either end of the long alley. He couldn't help but frown and said: "I hope there are no traitors among your brothers, and I hope your brothers can take care of them."
This alley is promising, I don’t want the scene of following you Feng Xiaoxiao to kill people to become a Suotu in Chang’an Mansion tomorrow.”
Chunfengting Laochao lowered his head and glanced at the black mask that covered most of the young man's face, and said with a smile: "Actually, there is no need to be so cautious. If you and I are still alive after tonight, then as long as you don't violate Tang law and do no evil,
No one in this Chang'an City or even in the entire Tang Empire will dare to trouble you again."
Listening to these words, Ning Que thought to himself who said that Chang'an's largest gang had no background, but he had no intention of taking off his mask to kill people openly, and his childish voice came out through the black mask: "I am used to keeping a low profile.
"
Chunfengting Lao Chao smiled and stopped persuading him.
The tranquility of the spring night had long been disturbed by the patter of rain. At this time, there were more footsteps. Ning Que walked out of the threshold and opened a tattered oil-paper umbrella towards the small tree. The two of them walked towards the night and rain at the same time.
go.
Sangsang rushed out. She stood at the threshold, holding the heavy iron pot with both hands, looking at the bowl of noodles on the table with a lot of noodles left, looking at the back in the windy alley, and shouted anxiously: "Young Master
, you haven’t finished eating the noodles yet!”
Ning Que turned back to look at her with a smile and said, "Let's leave it there for now. Come back and continue eating."
Sang Sang hugged the big iron pot and leaned her thin shoulders against the rain-wet shop door, shouting: "It doesn't taste good when it's cold!"
Ning Que waved his hand vigorously, smiled and replied loudly: "Then you cook another pot and eat it when I come back."
Sang Sang pursed her lips tightly, watching him turn around and leave, and finally shouted: "I'll put more green onions, Master, please remember to come back to eat!"
Ning Que stopped answering, and the smile in his eyes outside the black mask grew stronger and stronger. He looked at the increasingly dark alley and the increasingly rapid rain, and suddenly asked: "Little tree, ah
, where are we going now?”
"Spring Breeze Pavilion."
Lao Chao calmly replied: "My home is there... my enemies are also there. Besides, I still suggest you call me Lao Chao, because you are just a little tree."
The wind and rain are still blowing in the alley, and I wonder how it is at the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
(Note: Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei first met Su Mengzhen in Wen Ruian's "Who is the Hero?")