Since June 12, Haicheng has ushered in a continuous rainy day.

Although the humidity in the air was much heavier, it also made the somewhat hot and dry days gradually start to cool down.

Because the road surface of the main urban area of Haicheng is either paved with bluestone slabs, pebbles, or hardened by cement, and the whole city is full of large areas of greenery, clean and tidy, so that the whole city is in a kind of rain and mist poetry.

At noon that day, in the hazy drizzle, a simple mule cart slowly came to the south gate of Haicheng.

Looking at the majestic city wall, the old coachman who was driving the car was preparing for the security check process, and at the same time smiled at the people in the carriage: "Son, we have arrived at the place." However, this sea city is different from other places, and security checks are required to enter the city. You'll have to get up and prepare. ”

"Security?"

"What is security? Is it a disguised form of soliciting bribes and receiving money? ”

In the carriage, a man in Tsing Yi, who was in his early thirties, not very handsome, but quite imposing, opened the curtain, and a pair of sword eyebrows suddenly wrinkled.

"Ouch, Childe, where are you talking about? We may have other cities in the Ming Dynasty to collect money when they enter the city, but we are the only Haicheng who have never received money. Not only do you not charge any money, but you can get some free hot water after passing the security check, whether it is a wealthy merchant or a porter who works hard for us. ”

Although the old coachman was laughing with him, there was already a little unhappiness in his tone.

Seeing that this boy is also a scholar, he should be a reasonable person, but why is he so unpleasant? Doesn't he know that Haicheng is under the rule of Uncle Zhongyi? Who is Zhongyibo? Can it be such a tasteless person?

"And this?"

Brother Gongzi's brows couldn't help frowning even tighter.

Seeing that this boy still didn't open his eyes, the old coachman didn't bother to explain to him again, "Son, you can get out of the car and prepare." It's raining these days, and there aren't many people coming and going, so we don't have to wait in line for too long. ”

As he spoke, the old coachman stepped forward and laughed with a few acquaintances who were obviously acquainted with him.

Brother Gongzi looked at the long queue in front of him, which was more than half a mile long, and his brows were about to twist into the word 'Chuan'.

What do you mean?

Is this called a queue that doesn't have to wait too long?

If it's too long, how long?

Thinking about it, Brother Gongzi suddenly sneered disdainfully: "Xu Changqing, a national thief, has not read a few books, but there are a lot of routines, and he has a good face." ”

However, remembering that the prince and the queen were still in Haicheng, and they were invited by old friends, Brother Gongzi could only suppress the unhappiness in his heart first, and waited patiently while taking out dry food and eating it slowly.

However, to Brother Gongzi's surprise, although the queue at this time was very long, the efficiency of entering the city was extremely high, and he had not finished half of the dry cake on his side, and he had already talked about them.

In the face of the tall and strong, wolf-like model army guards, even if Brother Gongzi looks down on them from the bottom of his heart, how dare he slack off on his face?

Busy is to learn from the old coachman in front of him, raise his hands high, and let the guards of the model army search him.

I thought that when I searched my body, these model army guards would definitely make small moves and would definitely ask for bribes, but the chief flag officer of the model army who searched him said with a smile: "This son, turn left when you enter the city gate, there is free hot water inside." If you don't have a cup, it doesn't matter, we provide the latest bamboo tube thermos cup produced by the craftsman's workshop, only 30 big money a piece, you now pour a cup of hot water, keep it warm when you drink it in the afternoon. ”

"Huh?"

Brother Childe is a clever man.

What do you mean?

Are these big-headed soldiers still doing business? Is it to buy and sell strongly?

But he didn't have time to think about it, and the chief flag officer of the model army had already invited him into the city with a smile.

When I came to the thick city wall, sure enough, there were many young and beautiful women here, some of them were boiling water, and some were selling the so-called 'bamboo tube thermos cups' by the stalls under the canopy.

As soon as she saw Brother Gongzi coming, a young woman with big eyes and early twenties hurriedly laughed and said, "This childe, do you need a thermos cup?" We can provide you with some Mengshan fragrant tea for free, which is the new tea of this year. ”

Brother Gongzi didn't want to pay attention to it, but when he saw the young woman's sweet smile and expectant eyes, especially when he had just eaten dry cakes at this time, his throat was dry and uncomfortable, so he nodded, and said angrily: "Cheng." Get me one. ”

"Okay. This son, do you need to add ingredients to your tea? We offer three flavors: sweet, sour, and savory. Hehe, rest assured, it's all free. ”

"This ......"

Looking at the young woman's still sweet smile, Brother Gongzi was really a little blindsided.

What the hell is this?

There are so many ways to drink tea.

But he didn't have time to think about it for a while, so he said casually: "Let's come to the sour one." ”

"Okay. You wait. ”

Soon, Brother Gongzi saw that the young woman skillfully made him a cup of tea, and added a small piece of orange peel to it.

Suddenly, the tea leaves in the bamboo tube thermos cup spread, the green tea leaves and yellow orange peel make people's eyes feel a lot more comfortable at once, and the fragrance is coming.

Mechanically took the teacup, felt the heat in it, smelled the aroma of the new tea, and the fatigue of Brother Gongzi dissipated a lot along the way.

Busy looking to the side again, several young women went to greet the other guests again.

Not far away, there are stalls selling all kinds of refreshments and lunch.

Brother Gongzi thought about it for a while, and hurriedly greeted the old coachman, "Old man, has this Haicheng always been so lively?" ”

The old coachman smiled proudly: "Son, this is still not the time to be lively." The main reason is that there is rain in the past few days, and the roads are muddy and not easy to walk. ”

Looking at the old coachman's eyebrows, Brother Gongzi became more and more unhappy, and teased: "Old man, this son remembers that you are from Qingzhou, why are you so close to Haicheng?" People say that it is difficult to leave your homeland, is it possible, do you still plan to settle down in this sea city? ”

"Ahem. Childe, look at what you said. Although my old man is not from Haicheng, my eldest daughter and second daughter have found their in-laws in Haicheng, and I have to come here several times a month. If it weren't for the two rooms in my hometown, my old man would have come to Haicheng to settle down a long time ago. ”

“……”

Brother Childe was speechless for a while.

Well, in vain.

This old man was obviously brainwashed by Xu Changqing's national thief.

After passing through the thick city walls one after another, and finally came to the wide Haicheng City, Brother Gongzi's brows furrowed again.

In the hazy rain and fog, he soon noticed the difference of Haicheng.

The first impression is clean.

In the surrounding clearing, there were stone faces, pebbles, but more of it, something he couldn't name, but it was clearly not dirt.

Moreover, the surrounding free space is full of flowers and plants, and under the moisture of the drizzle, there is vigorous vitality everywhere, which makes people feel better.

Although it is not as familiar to him as the rain alley in the south, the majestic atmosphere revealed in this spaciousness does not make him hate......

Brother Gongzi really wanted to ask the coachman what kind of things were paved in this land, especially this road.

remembered that the old man looked down on him a little, but he still held back.

He is a great talent who is a dignified scholar and a first, does he want to be looked down upon by an old man who can't read a single word?

Anyway, his friend came to pick him up right away.

Just as he was thinking about it, a familiar figure suddenly held an oil-paper umbrella not far away, and hurriedly greeted him: "Brother Meicun, but Brother Meicun's carriage?" ”

Brother Gongzi hurriedly widened the curtain and said with a smile: "Brother Bijiang, I'm here." ”

"Haha, Brother Umemura, I've finally waited for you. I waited outside the city gate for a long time, but I didn't wait for you, and when I inquired, I realized that you had entered the city. ”

After a while, the carriage stopped, and Mao Bijiang carefully put away the umbrella and got into the car with a smile.

The old coachman didn't say anything, and continued to drive into the city.

After the curtain was closed, Mao Bijiang smiled bitterly: "Brother Meicun, let you see the smile, Mao has been a little tight these days, but I have already arranged a banquet in the city, let's go over and have a good meal first, and let Brother Meicun catch the wind and wash the dust." ”

This Meicun brother is none other than the author of 'Chong Guan and Angry for the Red Face', Wu Weiye, Wu Jungong, and the first Wuzhong genius of Chongzhen's four-year jinshi, Wu Jungong, and Meicun.

Wu Meicun knew the background of Mao Bijiang, and even knew that it was not easy for him during this time, so he smiled and said: "Brother Bijiang, you are still so polite." Yes. We haven't seen each other in days, so we must have a drink. ”

But having said that, he made up his mind in his heart that when he was full of food and drink, he must settle the account in advance.

The reason why Mao Bijiang didn't prepare to get off the carriage and come over must be to spend all the money on this feast.

Li Taibai once had a poem: "The difficulty of Shu Road is difficult to go to the blue sky!" ”

And life is in too many times, it is much more difficult than Shu Dao.

At this time, Wu Meicun went ashore at a young age, and he became friends with many world-famous Oiran, and his emotional intelligence was not low.

Although the conditions at this time were a little simple, the two of them were looking at the comfortable scenery of Haicheng in the car, and at the same time recalling the past when they were young, it was also very happy.

It's just that Wu Meicun still has his arrogance, and he never asked about the situation in Haicheng, let alone rashly asked about the recent situation of the frontier.

After more than half an hour, the carriage finally arrived in the inner city of Haicheng.

The construction here is much better than that of the outer city.

As soon as you enter the inner city, you will be bustling, comfortable and comfortable.

Wu Meicun also had to sigh for a while, even though Haicheng was still very young at this time and lacked heritage, that kind of vitality, whether it was Nanjing City or Suzhou and Hangzhou, could not be compared.

Everyone here seems to be full of infinite energy.

Soon, the carriage arrived at a slightly unclassy, but extremely clean roadside fish restaurant.

Mao Bijiang was a little embarrassed, but he was quickly relieved, and explained with a smile: "Brother Meicun, let you see the smile, Mao has really ...... recently. However, Mao Mou did not snub Brother Meicun's thoughts, Brother Meicun, don't look at the conditions of this fish restaurant are a little simple, but the craftsmanship of the proprietress is really good, and many powerful people in Haicheng often come here to eat. Even, the prince often asks people to pack it here. ”

Wu Meicun frowned a little, but quickly relieved, and laughed: "Brother Mao, your words are redundant. You and I are colleagues, the world is big, and the drinking is the biggest. Come on, come on, let's not get drunk today! ”

The literati of ancient China were like this, the conditions could be simple, but the integrity could not be lost.

It's like the saying of later generations: "It doesn't matter what you eat, it doesn't matter what environment you have, what matters is who eats with you." ”

The two came to the small private room separated by the bamboo board, because Mao Bijiang ordered the dishes very early, and after a while, a steamed big fish and a few delicate side dishes were served by a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl Yingying.

Mao Bijiang had already drunk a few glasses of wine with Wu Meicun at this time, and said with a smile: "Come, Brother Meicun, try it first." These are the freshest sea fish, and it is not the same as our Wuzhong. ”

This fish looks really good, the key is that the aroma is pleasant, Wu Meicun also came to the appetite at this time, carefully tasted it, for a moment, his eyes couldn't help but brighten, and praised: "Good means." Fresh but not fishy, sweet but not greasy, tender and refreshing. Slippery, moreover, there are many, many of them that I have never tasted, but they are extremely delicious. This cook is a good hand. Not much worse than West Lake vinegar fish. ”

Hearing that Wu Meicun gave such a high comment, Mao Bijiang only felt that his face was bright, and he used a small amount of money to do big things, so he pretended to smile mysteriously: "It's delicious, Brother Meicun, you must eat more." By the way, Brother Umemura, do you know that the good hand at cooking this fish is a woman? ”