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On the southwest corner of Wufangting Street in the center of the town, there is a restaurant selling snacks and cakes. It is directly opposite the bookstore opened by the storyteller on the northeast corner, and there is a huge building in the middle. at the intersection, and the five-square pavilion in the center of the intersection. The shopkeepers of this restaurant are a couple. The man's surname is Han, and his name is Han Kui. The woman's surname is Liu, and her name is Liu Yuqing. The couple also has a son, named Han Yuanfu once played chess with the gentleman from the rural school at the Wufang Pavilion at the corner of the street. At that time, he almost got a sword from the girl in white and red cloak.

Han Kui, the owner of this pastry shop called "Han Ji Food Shop", is a simple and honest middle-aged man. No matter in winter or summer, his trousers legs are rolled up and knitted under his knees all year round, revealing a pair of strong and muscular calves. This is also the case in the countryside. The most common type of people in small towns, hard-working and uncomplaining people. Every day they look up and think about their wife and baby son. As long as they are fed and clothed, everything will be fine. The few hobbies left are leisure time. When I have nothing to do, I always like to squat by the steps in front of the food shop, take off a pair of shoes and put them neatly, then step on them with my bare feet, holding a porcelain bowl filled with sunflower seeds, cracking melon seeds while looking at the crossroads. People come and go.

If your ambitions are not high, you will always be content with what you have.

Liu Yuqing, the wife of Han Kui's family, was a well-known beauty figure in the small town. She was very handsome when she was young. Although she is a little older now, her charm and beauty are still there. You must know that when Liu Yuqing married Han Kui, she could All the men of the same age in the town were disappointed. They all said in the same sour tone, saying that Han Kui, a black and poor fool, was lucky to have been able to marry such a beautiful woman in several lifetimes.What a pity that a white swan was brought home by a toad!

However, Liu Yuqing is not only famous because of her beauty, but also because when she first married into the Han family, the family was almost too poor to open the pot. As a result, in just ten years, she not only gave birth to a child for the Han family The big fat boy with the handle continued the incense, and also directed the simple and honest Han Kui, and together with her, he managed the Han family to what it is now. It is already a small wealthy family with good fortune, even if it is not as good as the four major surnames. Their luxury is not as rich as that of the next-level rich family, the Zhao family, but they have definitely become one of the few wealthy families in the town. No matter how you calculate it, it can exceed [-]% to [-]% or even more. More people.

You must know that in earlier years, the situation of the Han family was not much better than that of the orphaned father and grandson at Zhendongkou. Liu Yuqing married into the family, and it only took about ten years for them to change their appearance and have a new way of living. So there is a saying in the small town now. Most of them are old people who will repeat it like a mantra when educating their children. The general idea is that to marry a mother-in-law, you must marry a woman like Han Liu. You Look at how many years it has only lasted?What is this called? This is called Wang Fu, this is called ability!Some people also say some folk proverbs such as "a virtuous wife makes her husband noble" or "a virtuous wife makes her husband less likely to cause trouble". Anyway, it's just to praise others!

On the day when the three immortals from Shuixiu Lake left Yanguan Town, the pastry shop at the crossroads happened to have distinguished guests. They were an old man and a young man. Their clothes were fluttering and they were full of fairy spirit. At first glance, they were not... Ordinary people, these two people are from Shijizhou, located to the east of the Middle Earth Divine Continent. They are from a mountaintop immortal sect called Yunlin Sect who came to Yanguan Town to discuss business.

The young man headed by the two is named Zhang Jinhuai. It is said that he is a direct descendant of the elder who is one of the heads of the Yunlin Sect. The elder is responsible for protecting the young man and ensuring his safety.

In all the nine continents in the world, there is a custom that is not unconventional but very common in the mountain tops of rivers and lakes. Most of the ancestral halls of mountain top immortal sects have five most important positions in total: sect leader, preceptor, law transmitter, treasurer and governor. Except for the head of a sect who is in charge of the overall situation, the people sitting on the remaining four elders basically perform their respective duties, but not in any particular order.

Zhang Lu is in charge of the sect's precepts and supervises his disciples not to violate the sect's precepts and the moral principles of the world. At least on the surface, they cannot violate the rules of the world that have been established long ago by Linyuan Academy and the three sects. Naturally, he is responsible for spreading the law to his disciples. Cultivation, teaching and teaching, practicing and cultivating, in a sense are related to the future height of a fairyland; the treasurer controls the financial power, deals with people and does business, gets more money when going back, spends good money when going out, and the living money is like running water. , water transport increases wealth, this is the responsibility of the treasurer elder; as for the last governor elder, he is basically the ears of each immortal sect. He is in charge of welcoming and delivering news from the immortal family residence and the world. Let these mountain gods who have been practicing in the mountains for decades or hundreds of years find that when they go out, they have been in the world for thousands of years and have great responsibilities and powers.

The Yunlin Sect has a good reputation in Shijizhou. It is ranked at the fourth rank in the nine-rank ranking system of sects in the world, and it is still the fourth rank. It is a whole higher rank than Jinchaizhou Shuixiu Lake. As long as it is the third rank, If the Immortal Sect does not make a sound, the Yunlin Sect can be regarded as the most powerful Immortal Sect in the world. In the eyes of ordinary people, this is basically the same as God. In addition, Zhang Jinhuai is the direct descendant of the Yunlin Sect's elder. Of course, nobility is not a problem. When I came to Yanguan Town this time, I chose the Han family from thousands of choices. I wanted to negotiate a business with Han Yuanfu, a young man who was still studying in a rural school. He was completely sincere.

At this time, Han Yuanfu was still studying in a rural school and had not yet returned home from school, so the only ones responsible for entertaining the two immortals were his parents.

The middle-aged man Han Kui was as honest and dull as ever. He would do whatever his mother-in-law said. He would squat at the door of the shop without saying a word. This simple country man looked at him this time, knowing that an important guest was coming. , he didn’t get out of his usual habit of squatting at the door and thinking about taking off his shoes. He just squatted there quietly with his head lowered, not knowing what he was thinking. Occasionally he raised his head to take a look at the two people sitting there. The immortal sitting on the chair waiting for guests in the shop looked back at the north-facing intersection on the side of Wufang Pavilion. In the past, his son used to come back from school.

Liu Yuqing, the proprietress of the food shop who has always been very cheerful, is very happy today, with a smile as bright as a flower. It can be said that today is the happiest day in the past few days since the beginning of the new year. After all, their pastry shop is a business for the people of the small town. Welcome to the store. After chatting with people for a while, she could always hear a lot of news on and off the stage in the small town. Ever since she occasionally heard that an immortal from other places came to the town to recruit disciples a few days ago, she began to wonder if there would be any. An immortal with a keen eye came to discuss business with her precious son. She was looking forward to it, looking left and right, looking forward to it. Finally, she was looking forward to the distinguished guest who crossed the threshold and came in. Of course she was happy. How could she not be so rich? Happy?But being happy is one thing, but this beautiful landlady, who always treats people and things well, is facing two foreign immortals with magical powers for the first time today, and she can't help but feel a little embarrassed.

After all, if she pushed forward half a month, the image of the immortal master in her impression would still be on the clay body gold in temples and Taoist temples that accepted people's incense offerings. For example, on the first day of the new year, she first sent her husband and son to Korea early. After visiting the ancestral grave, she specially carried a bamboo basket of incense and paper money to the Beiling Temple in the south of the town. She offered a few sticks of incense to the immortal master in the main hall who was said to be Zu Tianshi, and also added We paid dozens of coins for incense. There was no Buddhist temple in the town, and the only place dedicated to gods was the Beiling Temple. Based on the idea that the gods and Buddhas in the sky and our ancestors are gods, the family had to pay homage to both sides. All taken care of.

At that time, the blind old Taoist priest in Beiling Temple was standing at the door of the not-so-luxurious Guanzhong Hall. With a smile on his face, he bowed his head to this small-town pilgrim who always came to burn incense. He said a few auspicious words, such as welcoming the spring, bringing prosperity, flowers blooming, making money, and getting promoted step by step. These were all great blessings. She was very happy when she heard it!
But she never thought that only half a month later, a real god came through the door of her house. It was the first time in history. How could she not be nervous?

Yunlin Zongzhang Jinhuai was sitting in the pastry shop at this time. There were no chairs in the open space before they entered. It was after they came to explain their intention that the beautiful proprietress specially directed the boss and waiters. The swarthy man moved over a complete set of coffee table seats, and even went to the door to hang a closing sign to entertain these two visitors from the fairyland. He was eager, frightened, and full of respect!

The boy from the Xian family sat on the chair with his legs crossed. He looked with interest at the dark man who squatted at the door and leaned against the door panel when he had nothing to do. He then looked at the beautiful woman who was obviously in a hurry. She was plump and plump. She was charming and graceful, but in fact she wasn't very interested in the tea, cakes and the like that she brought to the coffee table. After seeing the couple finishing their work, they were standing at the door of the shop, squatting next to each other and staring at the door. He felt that these country people were barely getting by, but their behavior in dealing with others was not good enough, so he turned around and looked at the elder who came with him to protect the Taoism who was sitting on the other side of the coffee table. , after the two looked at each other, they each nodded slightly without any trace, and then the young and wealthy young man continued to speak.

"You two, it stands to reason that when you visit people's homes and discuss business, you should prepare some meeting gifts, but we came in a bit of a hurry this time, and we didn't bring anything good. I only have two pieces of warm jade that are not very valuable, so I might as well Just give them to the two of you as a token of respect. They are not a good thing for immortal monks, but they have some effect on extending life for ordinary people. It should be barely enough to ensure that one and two of you are free from illness and disaster, even if it is a person It’s polite, and I hope you two won’t find it objectionable.”

As the richly dressed Immortal boy spoke, he took out two small, crystal-clear jade slips from his long sleeves. The length and width were about the size of a palm, and they were exquisitely made. They looked like very valuable items.This is probably a skill that this wealthy young man has developed since he was a child. When talking to people, harsh words are not as good as gentleness and drizzle. When you open your mouth to make a request, it is better to give him some warmth first. A good beginning can half the success of something. This It is actually based on his experience of practicing for many years.

This move surprised Han Kui, a dark-skinned man who has always been honest and simple. Liu Yuqing, who was standing next to him, was even more flattered. He thought about it while saying thank you. He probably guessed what the other party meant and thought about it if he didn't accept it. If he did, it might be detrimental to his son's business negotiations, so he took it after thanking him profusely. The couple took one piece and wore it on their bodies in front of the two immortals. They only felt refreshed and cool. It feels pretty good, the things from the Immortal Family are indeed extraordinary.

Zhang Jinhuai just smiled and said nothing to the two people's words of thanks. Seeing that this was a good start, as he expected, the couple opposite was indeed smiling and in a good mood, so he brought the topic back on track, "Two Position, according to the rules of the world, it is not easy for an ordinary person to enter the Immortal Sect. Although the world is wide, the opportunities are limited. We came here this time because the talent of the young master of your house is acceptable, so we came here in order to recruit disciples. Come, but since Mr. Han is not at home for the time being, why not let me talk to you two about the peripheral matters of this deal?"

The dark-skinned man squatted on the ground and did not speak. He just glanced sideways at his mother-in-law. Liu Yuqing was a little confused when she received the look. She didn't know how to talk to the two immortal masters next, but unexpectedly they started talking first. He got down to business, that was what he meant, so he calmed down and nodded in response with a smile.

"Since it's a business, there should be a process of bargaining. To be honest, I didn't want to come all the way from Shijizhou with its vast mountains and rivers. Now I'm squatting outside the gate of my Yunlin Sect, begging to be worshiped. There are still a lot of people, and the number may far exceed the number of people in this rural town like yours. In fact, it is one thing to ask for talent, but there are countless people born in this world, and there are not a few people who are talented. "Whether those who stand outside the mountain gate can enter the mountain gate depends on their talent, luck, and personal efforts. Do you think this is right?"

Zhang Jinhuai smiled brightly when he spoke, his tone was gentle, and he looked very sincere, but he raised the price again and again in just a few words, without leaving any trace, and he was very sophisticated.

When Liu Yuqing heard this, she thought to herself that this immortal was a fairy, but her skills in doing business were not inferior to her, the proprietress of a food shop who had been running a shop for more than ten years. She was not old, but her skills were not bad.

I thought so in my heart, but naturally I didn't dare to show any disrespect on my face. I could only smile quietly and wait for the real words of the rich and powerful young master of the Xian family.

Zhang Jinhuai looked at the woman's smiling face, the charm was still there, and there was a hint of hidden shrewdness in his eyes, so he smiled with her. He knew that she understood. The smartest response is to act like you are not hiding your shrewdness. This is a good thing. It is better to talk to and do business with truly smart people than to play the piano with a fool who is obviously stupid but pretends to be smart.

"As I said before, Mr. Han's talent is quite good, but he is not actually outstanding enough to be outstanding in this town. Of course, my Yunlin Sect is not among the best among the foreigners who come here. , so both of us can be considered similar in terms of our respective grades, which should be considered good news." Zhang Jinhuai didn't care what he thought in his heart, but he was familiar with the principle of giving a stick first and then giving a sweet date when negotiating a business.

When Liu Yuqing heard this, she wanted to nod her head happily, but she suddenly stopped speaking when the words reached her lips. After thinking about what she wanted to blurt out, she changed her words in her heart. She smiled softly and said: "Young Master Xian's words are so humble. A little bit, in the eyes of country people like us, gods are gods. Where is the distinction between high and low? Today, a distinguished guest comes to our door, and we can also have the honor to discuss business with that brat of my family. That is our honor. It is very high, so This young master must never humble himself again, or he will hurt us, won't he?"

What he said, tsk tsk, Zhang Jinhuai couldn't help but admired in his heart, without comment on his face, he just smiled and said, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Zhang Jinhuai, I am a disciple of the Yunlin Sect, and I am responsible for negotiating this business. The whole process, what I want to say is that since it is a business, both parties will naturally want a good price, and it is best if both you and I can win-win, then that is the best, right?"

Being obedient requires a good ear. When Liu Yuqing, who has been in business for more than ten years, heard this, he naturally understood that the next words were the highlight of the transaction, so he gave the young master of the Immortal family an understanding word: "Then I don't know what to say. Young Master, what should I do to achieve the win-win situation that Young Master mentioned?"——

After tea and dinner, a slovenly middle-aged watchman and a young man in shabby clothes sat side by side under the old locust tree with a copper bell hanging at the east entrance of the town, facing the southwest. , facing the direction where the afternoon sun sets, basking in the sun to keep warm, feeling groggy.One person looked up and stared at the few new green shoots on the treetops in a daze, while the other person lowered his head and looked at a few smooth and round stones scattered on the ground, nodding his chin from time to time.

A gust of breeze blew by, and the copper bell hanging on the other side of the tree above the head swayed slightly. Occasionally, a few wisps of breeze penetrated into the bell from the open bottom of the bell, and some whimpering sounds were heard from the bell. The mouth felt hurt by the wind or the clock.

The sloppy watchman, who was drowsy with his head down, woke up first. He raised his head and glanced at the dazed young man with his head tilted to his side. He bumped him with his shoulder and said in a narrow tone: "Yo yo yo, you are so young. Have you started to have sexual feelings? Come on, tell me which young girl are you thinking about? If you ask me, the girl named Li who helps you fight is good. She has great talent and is a first-class fighter. In terms of appearance, the most important thing is to be good-looking. She is even prettier than the eldest daughter of the Liu family who is recognized as the prettiest in Yanguan Town. Among these people from other places, she is the only one with the scarlet sword tassel on her back. You can barely compete with her, and more importantly, you two still have the friendship of fighting against the same enemy, which is called being close to the water!"

The down-and-out young man with his head raised remained silent until the slovenly man finished pouring out the wheels. Then he rolled his eyes, turned his head to look at the man and asked, "If I make a deal, you can tell me." That friendship, then you went to Yunhaijian and bought two bowls of braised pork, why didn’t you marry into the old shopkeeper’s house and become a live-in son-in-law?”

Hou Junchen was choked to death by these sudden words. After being stunned for a moment, he raised his hand and slapped the young man on the back of the head without hesitation. Then he turned around and faced the direction of Zhenxi, holding his hands and fists, muttering in his mouth. There are words in his mouth, "The speaker has no intention, the listener has no intention, the child's words are uninhibited, the child's words are uninhibited..."

Seeing this old bachelor acting like this, how could the poor boy not know that he had made a mistake? He stuck out his tongue and felt a little embarrassed. He looked apologetically in the direction of the sea of ​​clouds in the west of Zhenxi, although the three-story building could not be seen from here. Wooden building, but the older generation has something to say, sincerity will lead to success!
Hou Junchen clasped his fists and nodded. After a long while, he didn't see any movement over there. Then he calmed down, turned his head and glared at the boy next to him fiercely, and cursed in a low voice: "You bastard bastard, you want to die." Take me with you! If the hole under your nose is missing a door handle, I wouldn’t mind sewing it up for you!”

The young man was surprised by the man's fierce reaction, and asked a little strangely: "Is it...that serious?"

This time it was the watchman's turn to roll his eyes, glanced furtively in Zhenxi's direction, and whispered: "You idiot, you don't know that Shopkeeper Fan really has an unmarried daughter at home!"

The poor young man twitched his lips and asked doubtfully: "But how come I have never seen her before when I am so old? Let alone my daughter, why have I never seen the old shopkeeper have a... daughter-in-law?"

Chu Yuanxiao lacked vocabulary, and felt that using the word "mother-in-law" seemed to show disrespect for the round-faced and kind old man, so he stuttered before saying the word "daughter-in-law."

Hou Junchen was a little helpless, and looked in the direction of Zhenxi again, and saw that there was still no movement. Then he seemed a little bolder, and said in a low voice: "That's because the wife and daughter of Shopkeeper Fan's family never came. It’s not that he hasn’t been here before! And let me tell you, there is a rumor in the world that shopkeeper Fan’s wife was a famous beauty in the world many years ago. She can be the first rouge scholar, better than your sweetheart. The girl is much prettier!"

The ignorant and down-and-out young man felt that he had learned a lot, and his eyes couldn't help but widen a little. He was amazed and slightly stunned, and said angrily with a tiger face: "What sweetheart girl?! Are you an old monkey?" wanna die?"

Hou Junchen looked at the young man's embarrassed expression and laughed strangely, "Isn't it human nature for a toad to want to eat swan meat? If I were your age, I would also like good girls who are beautiful and have good character. What is there to be embarrassed about? of?"

The young man was silent, and simply gave up his struggle and no longer protested. He just shut up and raised his head, continuing to stare at the treetops in a daze.

The sloppy man was enjoying himself for a long time. Seeing that the young man was not willing to pick up any more fights, he stopped winking and continued talking. Every young man will have a handsome peach blossom in his heart. Some people are so blessed that a peach blossom blooms. It has a rich and fragrant fragrance that is refreshing. Some people are not very lucky and are just a flower that has not yet bloomed. They secretly keep it in their hearts. Occasionally, they will take it out and take a look when they have some free time. Be cautious, cherish and value it. Not letting others smell it, but hoping that the flowers will bloom and the moon will be full, and the fragrance will fill the world.

Regardless of whether the flowers bloom or not, this should be a young man's luck and should be treasured.

Hou Junchen leaned on the tree trunk and looked in the direction of Zhenxi for a while. Then he suddenly changed his serious expression and said in a low voice: "Boy, I saw that you were always unavailable before, so I didn't ask in detail, but now you have Time, so let me ask, did you jump over Xuannv Lake and saw something...that you shouldn't have seen?"

The young man, whose ears were still a little red but was pretending to be calm, suddenly turned his head when he heard this and looked at the man next to him in astonishment. His eyes were solemn and his tone was solemn, "Can you tell this?"

Hou Junchen nodded and said helplessly: "Boy, sometimes I feel that you are really God's biological child. When your luck gets better, even ghosts and gods can't stop you, such as when you escape from death three or four times. , but sometimes I feel like you are like a stepmother, this bad luck is chasing you to your death, tell me yourself, what is your destiny?"

This didn't sound like a good thing at this moment. Chu Yuanxiao was a little nervous. Staring at the sloppy man's helpless expression, he asked, "So what does this mean?"

"It means that you just gave away a piece of gold inlaid with jade, and then you brought back a piece of gold nugget!" Hou Junchen reached out to rub his forehead with some irritability. In a blink of an eye, he saw the young man's face was confused, so he explained angrily: "It means That is to say, although your knife had an extraordinary origin and was an extremely valuable treasure, in the final analysis it was just a foreign object. Although it was extremely valuable to some people, it might just be a handy tool for someone else. It's just a weapon, but look at the rich and real water charm on your body now. If this thing were placed in the world outside, without even using the word "I'm afraid," it is certain that you would not even have a corpse! You have to know, Jianghushan In the meantime, some people have done countless things like ransacking homes and exterminating families just for a piece of water as big as a palm. But when I look at you again, you look like a water baby, wandering around. I admire those people. I could hold it back and didn’t come right up and chop off your little bastard’s head!”

Chu Yuanxiao was a little hesitant, but after thinking about it, he said, "Aren't there rules set by Mr. Cui and the others?"

Hou Junchen glanced at the young man, then nodded in affirmation and said: "So your head is still on your neck now, so you have to thank those people for calming down the situation. Not everyone dares to be as lawless as Shuixiu Lake." , but the question is how can you guarantee that after a long time, no one will take risks?"

Heaven and earth are determined, and human life is sometimes poor.In the world of immortals, they practice enlightenment and preach a thousand ways and ten thousand. All they do is to continuously raise the upper limit of manpower and try their best to extend the life span of people. This is a business of grabbing food from the hands of God. A human body When you are obsessed with certain things to a certain extent, you will inevitably become like a biting rabbit or a dog that can jump over walls!
Today, up and down the mountains and rivers and lakes of the Immortal Family, the most common ones are this kind of mad dogs who are desperate for their lives!

The sloppy man pointed at the two pairs of bowls and chopsticks stacked on the ground not far from the two of them, and gave the boy an analogy, "If you are starving to death now, and you know clearly that if you don't have enough food, If you are full of food, you have to bury it under this tree as fertilizer! At this time, I put a bowl of braised pork in front of you, and then I tell you not to eat it, do you really not know how to eat it? "

The young man thought for a while, looked at the man and nodded.

Hou Junchen was speechless for a moment. He raised his hand to wipe his face and cursed "silly dog" in a low voice. Then he changed his words and said: "What if I change someone else and replace you with that Ke Yuzhi? What do you think? Will he eat or not?"

……