Within a moment, we arrived in front of the Water Pavilion Hotel.
In front of the pavilion, red lotus flowers shine on the water, behind the pavilion are shaded by green willows. On the water pavilion, three literati and elegant scholars sing in harmony.
Although Chao Yong also likes these ancient poems, he hasn't done much research on them. Besides, the three heroes of the Ruan family are all straightforward men. When they are drunk, they will say some disrespectful words without any hesitation. In a place where there are many people talking, they may cause trouble.
What happened? As a time traveler, this little mistake shouldn't be made.
Chao Yong pointed to a water pavilion extending from the shore to the lake and said, "The pavilion over there is nice. It's surrounded by water and it's quiet. It's perfect for us to talk."
Ruan Xiaoer is also a straightforward person. Although the price of the water pavilion over there is higher, he still said without hesitation: "Okay, brother Du Yiyong."
Ruan Xiaoer pushed the boat into the lotus pond and moored the boat.
The three of them went up to the water pavilion. Ruan Xiaoer said, "Brother Yong is an honored guest. Please take a seat."
Chao Yong hurriedly raised his hands and said: "The second brother is older, so the second brother should take the seat."
The two of them showed humility to each other, but Chao San saw that Chao Yong didn't seem to be willing to take the host seat, so he came to the rescue and said: "My young master of the village is a guest from afar, why don't you take the seat of honor as second brother, and my young master of the village sit as the guest?"
Ruan Xiaoer saw that Chao Yong was determined not to sit down, so he had no choice but to do so.
The three of them sat down, and the sharp-eyed bartender had already come over to greet them.
"If you have any fresh fruits and preserves, please serve four plates each. Then serve four of your best dishes. In addition, we will cut up four kilograms of fine mutton. Four kilograms of Jimo old wine will come first."
This Shuige Restaurant is located on Shijie Lake. The waiter Sanxiong of the Ruan family in Shijie Village naturally recognizes it. However, in the past, he mostly came here to sell fish and shrimps caught in the lake. Occasionally, he was a guest officer, which was only in the lobby of the restaurant.
The waiter originally thought it was Chao Yong, who was dressed in bright clothes, treating him, so he rushed to wait on him. Seeing that it was Ruan Xiaoer who was the host, why did he say: "Second brother, I'm afraid I won't pay more than three guan for this meal."
Ruan Xiaoer had never ordered food like this before. He originally thought that the money would be enough, but he didn't expect it would cost so much. He touched the last money he had just taken from home and was speechless.
Chao Yong slipped out an ingot of five taels of silver from his sleeve pocket, threw it to the waiter, and said with a smile: "This meal is for me to treat the three heroes of the Ruan family. The money will be deposited with you first, and you will pay it back to me after the final settlement."
Ruan Xiaoer said hurriedly: "I can't help it. Brother Yong is a guest from far away. How can I let Brother Yong spend money? Xiaoer, please pay back the money quickly. I'll give you the money here first. If it's not enough, I'll give it to Xiao Wu and Xiao Er."
Just bring it in seven."
The waiter squeezed the money in his hand hard and didn't believe Ruan Xiaoer's words at all. Who didn't know that Ruan Xiaowu and Ruan Xiaoqi would gamble as soon as they had money, and come to the restaurant to eat and drink when they won some money?
money.
Although it was a pity that this business could not be done, he did not dare to turn a deaf ear to Ruan Xiaoer's words, so he had to come over reluctantly.
Chao Yong said hurriedly: "This is my first time to visit the house, but I haven't had time to bring any gifts. How can I let my second brother spend money again? If my father finds out, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape punishment, so my second brother should stop arguing."
Ruan Xiaoer was also worried about where to find two pieces of money. When he heard that Chao Yong was moving out of Chao Gai, he just went downhill.
When the waiter saw that the two of them had agreed, he ran away as fast as he could.
As soon as the two sat down, they saw two small boats approaching like arrows from the lake.
Before the people arrived, one of them had already asked loudly: "Who did my brother bring to invite us to drink?"
When Chao Yong heard the reputation, he saw that the speaker was wearing a black hat and a chess piece cloth vest. He had a lean figure and looked like the waiter and Xiao Wu, but with a little extra on his face.
Naughty, it should be Ruan Xiaoqi.
Chao Yong stood up, hugged his fists, and said loudly: "Chao Yong from Dongxi Village, I have met two brothers."
While they were talking, the two boats were no more than ten feet away from the water pavilion.
Just as he was about to hit the water pavilion, Ruan Xiaoqi jumped up onto the water pavilion. With a hard kick of his feet, the speed of the boat dropped sharply and it slowly stopped at the side of the water pavilion.
Ruan Xiaoqi raised his hand to Chao Yong as a greeting and asked at the same time: "Are you from the same village as Chao Tianwang?"
Ruan Xiaoer smiled and said: "Brother Yong is the only son of King Chao Tian."
"I wonder why my brother is so extravagant today and comes to this water pavilion to entertain guests."
While he was talking, the waiter came over with a food box in one hand and a jar of wine in the other.
Ruan Xiaoqi grabbed the wine jar and said with a smile: "It's actually Jimo old wine. I only drank it once last year when I won a big game. Waiter, put down the bowl quickly. I'll have a bowl with Brother Yong first."
As soon as the waiter put down the bowl, Ruan Xiaoqi couldn't wait to open the mud seal and poured it into the bowl.
A stream of brown-red wine shot into the wine bowl. The wine was clear and transparent, and a fragrant aroma suddenly floated from the water pavilion.
However, in the blink of an eye, Ruan Xiaoqi had filled the four wine bowls on the table without a drop of wine spilling on the table.
"Jimo old wine is brewed with high-quality yellow rice and millet as the main raw materials. By this dynasty, the brewing method has been widely spread among the people. However, our Jimo old wine is not brewed by ourselves. It is shipped from Jimo and still uses Laoshan mineral water.
, guaranteed to have the original taste.”
Chao Yong also became a little greedy for this ancient famous wine with all its color, aroma and flavor. He picked up a bowl of wine and said: "Xiao Qi is so refreshing. I will do it first as a courtesy."
After drinking it all, I felt that the taste was mellow and sweet, with a slight bitterness, and the content was only the same as modern beer.
Ruan Xiaoqi saw Chao Yong finish the meal in one gulp, said "good drink" and finished it in one gulp.
At this time, Ruan Xiaowu also docked the boat at the water pavilion on the shore.
Chao Yong picked up a bowl of wine and handed it to Ruan Xiaowu: "Fifth brother, come here, I'll give you a bowl too."
Xiao Wu was not polite, took the bowl and drank it down with Chao Yong.
Ruan Xiaoqi saw Chao Yong eating two bowls in a row without changing his expression, and praised: "Tiger father has no dog son, Yong brother is so bold."
When Ruan Xiaoer saw Chao Yong eating two bowls in a row, he hurriedly greeted him: "Okay, don't be so outgoing, sit down and have a drink."
A few people sat down, so as not to say something that they had admired for a long time.
After a while of polite greetings, we got acquainted with each other, and then we started talking about things in the world.
After three rounds of drinking, Chao Yong saw that the three of them were half drunk and said: "A few days ago, the imperial court designated the 800-mile radius of this Liang Mountain water lake as public land. I heard that the people went into the lake to fish and pick lotus roots.
When harvesting cattails, a heavy tax will be levied according to the size of the boat. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished as a thief. Have you heard about it, three brothers? "
Ruan Xiaoqi slapped the table and said angrily: "Brother, please don't mention this matter. Xiaoqi's lungs will be blown away. Grandpa grew up by the water. He didn't go to the government to ask for money for traveling, but the imperial court came here to tease grandpa."
Ruan Xiaoer also sighed and said: "A notice has been posted in the village. In a few days, the county will send people to collect taxes. First, the strong people in Liangshan refused to let us go fishing in the Liangshan River, which caused us to lose a lot of income. Now
The court has raised taxes again, and these days are becoming more and more difficult. The court is not clear about it now, and it is just defrauding the people. A donation today will be a tax tomorrow. The world will not be peaceful for a long time."
Ruan Xiaowu said: "Brother, what you said is wrong. The world is no longer peaceful. There are no heroes gathering anywhere in the world. Even the strong men in Liangshan and Shuibo have been gathering together for several years, haven't they?"
"Pooh."
Ruan Xiaoqi spat and said: "They can be considered strong men. The white-robed scholar Wang Lun is just a sour scholar. He touches Du Qian in the sky, King Kong in the clouds and Song Wan, and Hu Lu Zhu Gui in the dry land. His martial arts are also mediocre. Those earlier
How dare they not let our brothers go fishing in the Liangshan waterfront before Lin Chong, the leopard head, went up the mountain. It's a pity that Lin Chong, the leopard head, is so good at martial arts, but he has to suffer from Wang Lun's anger. If Liangshan changes its master,
Let's just go and join the gang. In a few days, we will be weighing gold and silver, wearing the same silk and satin, drinking from big bowls, and eating large chunks of meat. Won't it be a happy day? We brothers have nothing to do, but we have to suffer from those corrupt officials.
Officials oppressed.”
After Ruan Xiaoqi finished speaking, he took another sip of wine.
It turned out that the imperial court had imposed excessive and heavy taxes in recent years, and the Ruan brothers had long wanted to join the gang. However, they heard that Wang Lun was narrow-minded and intolerant of others, so they did not join the gang.
Ruan Xiaoer turned around and saw that there was no one who was an eyesore, and then he scolded: "You are a very heroic man. King Chao Tian is so patient. How can we go against the imperial court?"
Ruan Xiaoqi's eyes lit up when he heard this. He put his arm on Chao Yong's shoulder and asked, "Brother Yong, I heard that all the land in your Dongxi Village has been confiscated, so your father didn't say anything?"
Chao Yong shook his head and said: "The imperial court is so powerful that dad can only endure it."
When Ruan Xiaoqi heard this, he suddenly lost his energy. He picked up the bowl and shouted: "Done it. The world is unclear, so I still have a good time eating wine."