After a while, a gray-haired old scholar wearing a scholar’s robe knocked twice at the door.
Yin Zhao first saw someone holding a book and handed it to him, and extended his hand to invite him into the school.
“Master Zhou! Come in quickly!”
“Master Yin!”
Master Zhou returned the favor, then came in and stood next to Yin Zhaoxian, looking at the sixty or seventy students in the classroom, which was a considerable number.
“This is Master Zhou in the county. After Yin leaves, he will temporarily take over the post of Master Zhou in the county in the future. Come, everyone salutes Master Zhou.”
After hearing this, the students in the school stood up one after another, bowed to Master Zhou together, and said sincere greetings in unison.
“Hello Master Zhou!”
Old Master Zhou stroked his beard and nodded, having a good initial impression of these students.
When the time came and the school was over, the students were going back one after another. Yin Zhaoxian stood in the courtyard of the school and personally handed the letters belonging to the students into their hands one by one, and also gave some personal instructions.
The kind of friendship between teachers and students made Old Master Zhou sigh with emotion. He had taught in a private school for many years, and how many students he had deep feelings for.
It was nearly evening, and Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing went home together. Yin Qing did not speak until he was walking on the path of Tianniufang and could see Ju’an Pavilion in the distance.
“Dad, the jujube fruit is ripe!”
Looking up, in the courtyard of Ju’an Xiaoge, the branches are already covered with dates, almost all ripe.
“Yes, there are fruits this year and they are ripe!”
Yin Zhao smiled first.
“Strange to say, since Mr. Ji left, the jujube tree has not bloomed or produced fruit for two years, but it has produced fruit again this year.”
Yin Qing chuckled.
“Perhaps because I know that dad is preparing to take the exam, I want to get the results this year! Anyway, we are in luck again!”
“You kid!”
Father and son walked forward talking and laughing, passing by Ju’an Pavilion, looking at the attractive dates on the branches, and there was a faint fruity fragrance flowing out.
Maybe it was because Yin Qing’s words reminded Yin Zhaoxian, or maybe the father and son became interested.
After returning home and hurriedly eating the dinner that Yin’s mother had prepared, the father and son took the key to Ju’an Pavilion and prepared to pick dates.
In the evening, red clouds hung on the horizon. In front of the small pavilion door, Yin Zhaoxian used the key to open the copper lock and slowly opened the courtyard door.
“Squeak~~”
The sound of the door pivoting was heard, and the two father and son were stunned before they entered the door, because there was someone in the courtyard!
Of course, this person was not trying to figure out fate, but an older man wearing a round-neck gown and a straight blouse. He was looking up at the jujube tree. When he saw the courtyard door open, he turned to look at Mr. Yin’s wife.
“Who is the old gentleman? Why is he in the courtyard of Ju’an Xiaoge?”
Yin Zhaoxian frowned and asked, subconsciously looking at the wall of the small pavilion. This height is not something that an old man can climb in, right? Is he a charlatan?
The old man saw that Mrs. Yin just thought about it briefly and then smiled.
“You must be the good friend from the county mentioned by Mr. Ji, right? Dare you ask Mr. Fuzi’s name?”
“Do you know Mr. Ji?”
Yin Qingxian’s father asked in surprise, and Yin Zhaoxian heard that the other party knew Ji Yuan, so he didn’t dare to neglect him and answered with a bow.
“Your Excellency, Yin Zhaoxian, this is my son Yin Qing. I don’t know the old gentleman’s name, nor where did he meet Mr. Ji?”
The old man looked at Yin Zhaoxian carefully for a while, and then returned his hand to him.
“My surname is Ying Hong. I once met Mr. Ji by chance in the rain in a neighboring county, and I am also Mr. Ji’s friend!”
Seeing that the old man behaved calmly and did not look like a thief. In addition, the old man said that he was Mr. Ji’s friend. The Yin family’s wife walked into the garden slightly excited.
“It turned out to be Mr. Ji’s friend. Unfortunately, Mr. Ji has been away for a long time, so I can’t see him here.”
Yin Zhaoxian explained with a smile.
“Well, I know…”
The old man continued to look at the jujube tree while laughing.
“I have been here for the past two years, but the jujube trees have not produced any fruit, but this year they are bearing fruit! At first, Mr. Ji only gave me two jujubes, which was really not enough to eat!”
“Huh?”
Yin Zhaoxian was slightly puzzled, has this person been here in the past two years? I have no impression at all. Do you always sneak in like this and leave after seeing no results?
However, I understood very well when I heard that the old man was greedy for fresh jujubes. Anyone who has eaten these jujubes will never forget them.
So Yin Zhaoxian smiled and said:
“It must be because Mr. Ji didn’t bring many dates with him when he went out. Mr. Ji came at a good time this time. You can eat as much as you like in this courtyard!”
Yin Zhaoxian was originally asked to divide the jujube fruits. If a friend comes from afar, it’s okay to eat more.
The old man who was looking at the jujube tree across the way lit up when he heard this. The jujube branches in the courtyard felt like they were trembling at this moment, as if a gentle breeze happened to blow.
“Hehehehe… Mr. Yin is joking. It is not convenient for those who are not full to eat! Let me just take one bite. I wonder if Mr. Yin agrees?”
“One bite?”
Yin Zhaoxian was surprised, and at the same time he was muttering doubts in his heart. Could it be that this friend of Mr. Ji is also an extraordinary person?
“Yes, just one bite! Master Yin, do you agree?”
The old man stroked his beard and nodded, as if I could only taste it.
“Haha, if you don’t agree, Yin is just taking care of the jujube fruits for Mr. Ji. Since he is Mr. Ji’s friend, Mr. Ji can eat as much as he wants! Qing’er, let’s pick the fruits for Mr. Ji.”
“Okay, let’s pick the fruit!”
Yin Qing couldn’t bear it for a long time. Now he finally heard that he could pick dates, but before he could move, the old gentleman spoke again.
“No need, no need to bother!”
Speaking of this, the old man raised his head again, grinned at the corner of his mouth, and imitated Yin Qing’s tone.
“Hahahahaha…eat some dates~~~anghou~~~~”
Huh~~~huh~~~
Amidst the inaudible roar of the dragon, a strong wind suddenly rose in the courtyard, and the entire jujube tree swayed. Countless dates were swept off the branches by the strong wind, and were swept into the old man’s open mouth along with the strong wind.
Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing stood unsteadily and raised their hands to block in front of them, feeling shocked and scared.
After just a few breaths, the brief strong wind stopped. The two father and son were shocked to find that at least half of the fruits on the jujube tree in the courtyard had been lost, but the branches and leaves were not much damaged.
It’s just that the way the jujube trees sway in the wind feels a bit weird.
“Creak…Creak, creak…”
There were chewing sounds from the mouth of the old man next to him, and the delicious fragrance of jujube also overflowed.
“Not bad, not bad, tastes very good, tastes very good!”
Master Yin’s heart is still beating violently now. Even if he has been mentally prepared, the difference between this and his imagination is too big.
“Master Yin, I only took one bite and will never break my promise. I can’t just make false accusations to Mr. Ji about what happened today, hahahaha…”
Although Yin Zhaoxian’s heart was twitching, he still tried his best to calm down and handed over to the old man.
“Yin is so blind that he cannot recognize the real person. The old man is true to his word. He really only took one bite, but it scared both Yin and his son to death. If there is another time, I hope the old man will do it first. A word of caution! ”
Ying Hong had been observing Yin Zhaoxian carefully from the time they first met until he swallowed the dates, and his aura was upright and upright. Now when he heard his words that were frightened but still free and easy, he nodded with a smile.
“As expected, Mr. Ji is the only friend in the county. It was the old man who scared Mrs. Yin, so don’t be surprised!”
“Don’t dare!”
After coming back and forth, although there were lingering fears, the atmosphere became harmonious. We picked a plate of dates and sat down in front of the stone table to chat. The main thing they talked about was how to build a relationship and how to become friends.
As the Yin family father and son complemented each other and talked about the story of Ji Yuan rescuing the red fox and releasing it with Yin Qing, the old man was also smiling.
Although the old man obviously concealed something in his words, Yin Zhaoxian did not ask questions, let alone casually ask the old man, who was obviously not a mortal, just to listen and talk.
The two were chatting happily. The old man named Ying Hong seemed to suddenly think of something, slapped his head and shouted.
“Almost forgot!”
As he spoke, he magically took out a thin-necked porcelain wine bottle and two porcelain cups from his back, and placed them on the stone table.
“I owe Mr. Ji a drink. Unfortunately, Mr. Ji is magical and cannot be found. I came here not only to see if the dates are ripe, but also to see if he has come back. Since I am with Yin As soon as the Master saw him, he asked the Master to taste the wine for Mr. Ji. How about it? ”
“Why not!”
Yin Zhaoxian is also free and easy. Although he rarely drinks alcohol, he thinks he can’t embarrass Mr. Ji, so why not just drink?
The old man smiled and said nothing, and personally poured a glass for him and himself.
“Master Yin, please!”
“Ask the old gentleman!”
The two of them each raised their glasses and drank. After a glass of wine, Yin Zhaoxian only felt the sweet, fragrant and long-lasting taste of the wine. A heat flowed through his body, and a blush rose on his cheeks.
“Good…wine…”
Before he finished his sentence, he lay on the stone table and became silent.
Yin Qing, who was just eating dates on the side, panicked. He looked at the old man and then at his father. Although he knew that the old man would not hurt him to pay off, Yin Qing was still worried.
“Old sir, this…my dad…is he okay?”
“Hahahaha… It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, Mr. Yin is too drunk and is drunk!”
The old man raised his glass and drank the wine in his glass, laughing happily!
“Go home quickly and get a blanket to cover your father. Let him sleep in the courtyard tonight! Go quickly!”
Yin Qing swallowed and nodded, not daring to disobey the old gentleman’s wishes, and hurried out of the yard and ran home.
After Yin Qing left, the old man’s smile faded slightly, he poured another glass of wine and stood up with the glass in hand.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the jujube tree in the courtyard.
“Haha, I’ll buy you a drink too!”
After speaking, he raised his glass and poured it towards the root of the tree. The wine was submerged in it, but even the soil was not wet.
When Yin Qing hurriedly took a blanket and returned with a worried mother, there was no one else in the courtyard except Yin Zhaoxian, who was sleeping on the table.