Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 53 A Visit to Urge the Manuscript
Old Feng's eyelids trembled from his son-in-law's wailing, and his withered, bark-like face turned crimson.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared.

For a moment, Lu Beigu felt that although his family was a bit poor, his family members were all quite normal.
He felt it was inappropriate for him, an outsider, to stay any longer, and was about to say goodbye when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the courtyard. Then, the door was kicked open with a loud bang, making it shake violently.

But then a thin, small figure burst in.

"My mother sent me here to borrow some money, and you're here wailing like a coward?"

The woman angrily grabbed a lively fish from the jar by the door, flicked her wrist, and threw it out. The butcher ducked, and the fish flew over his head and landed in the fish basket in the corner.

Lu Beigu clearly saw the fish roll its eyes when it was put into the basket. He didn't know if it was from the fall or from being frightened.

"Still crying? I'll teach you the ways of Shu Road!"

The butcher couldn't cry anymore. He jumped up like a chicken with snot bubbles hanging from its nose, yelling, "Wife, let me explain!"

"Explain yourself!"

The woman darted forward, stood on tiptoe, grabbed her husband's ear, and twisted it into a pretzel.

She suddenly noticed the mutton sauce on the table, and her almond-shaped eyes widened: "Oh, you've even learned to eat mutton sauce now?"

Old Feng quickly smoothed things over: "Don't be angry, young lady. This was a gift from Young Master Lu."

"got it!"

The woman turned to look at Lu Beigu, then suddenly let go of her husband, put her hands on her hips, and sneered: "Who do we have here? It's just that landlubber my dad pulled out of the river the other day!"

She poked her husband's forehead with her nails, which were painted with balsam juice: "See? This is what it means to know how to repay kindness!"

Lu Beigu was holding a teacup when he suddenly saw this Sichuan hotpot come up to him.

The woman was probably around thirty years old. Being a commoner, she wasn't wearing a veil. The sunlight slanted in through the window, revealing a few light brown freckles on the tip of her nose. Her lips moved with a cheerful tone as she spoke: "Hey, young scholar, can you write?"

"meeting."

"That's just right!"

She magically pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and slammed it on the table: "Help me write an IOU. This money isn't lent to them for nothing. Once the butcher shop makes money, I'll definitely pay it back!"

The butcher squatted in the corner, muttering, "The shop is a bit small now, but it's not like we necessarily have to move."

"you shut up!"

The woman yelled, then turned to Lu Beigu and instantly put on a smile, her expression changing faster than flipping through a book: "Young master, please do me a favor."

"No need to write it for her!"

“Feng Jinhua.” Old Man Feng straightened his back. “Unless you sell your current shop first, the family will not lend you any money.”

"Where am I supposed to find someone to buy this shop right now?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Beigu's mind stirred.

If you want to buy a plot of land for relocation and open a restaurant for your sister-in-law, the location of the butcher's shop is quite good. Although the place is not particularly big, it is a proper shop after all, and it can hold so many pigs and sheep. It looks like it has more than a third of an acre of land.

However, he doesn't have that much money on hand right now, so he can only write this information down for the time being.

"I don't care," Old Feng said angrily.

The family parted on bad terms.

Having expressed his gratitude and chatted with Lao Feng for a bit, Lu Beigu got up to take his leave.

Old Feng felt that Lu Beigu had given him too many things and felt a little guilty.

So Old Feng insisted on seeing him to the door, all the while muttering, "Young man, if you ever want to eat fish in the future, just come to this old man, and I'll make sure to pick the freshest one for you!"

After leaving the fisherman's house, Lu Beigu walked along the bluestone path towards the county school.

It was nearly dusk in the afternoon, and the street vendors were busy packing up. A man selling steamed buns pushed his wheelbarrow past him, the wheels creaking.

Not far away, several children were chasing and playing at the alley entrance, clutching the sugar cakes they had just bought, their laughter ringing out.

Sunlight spills onto the roof tiles, and wisps of smoke rise from the kitchen chimneys as dinner is served, bathing the entire town in a warm glow.

When Lu Beigu arrived at the entrance of the county school, he found an unexpected person waiting for him.

"Master Lu."

Ji Yun sprang up from the corner, still wearing loose clothes, with a green gourd tied around his waist. Ji Yun was much younger than Lu Beigu, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, which would be equivalent to a junior high school student in modern times. He was not only short but also looked like a child, not yet at the stage of physical development.

When it bounces like that, it's like a lively little monkey.

"I've come to your door to urge you to finish your manuscript."

Lu Beigu's expression froze.

To be honest, the remaining eleven chapters of "Jiangzuo Fusheng" haven't even reached the "creating a new folder" stage yet.

If he's being urged to submit a manuscript at this point, where would he get the manuscript to give to Ji Yun?
So Lu Beigu quickly changed the subject, saying, "What brings you here?"

"The state school is now on holiday."

Ji Yun said with a smile, "The Buddha Bathing Festival at Fawang Temple in Hejiang is the grandest in Luzhou, so I came here with two friends to watch it. I just remembered that Young Master Lu is studying at Hejiang County School, so I came to find you. Young Master Lu, you haven't written your manuscript yet, have you?"

"of course not!"

Lu Beigu remained calm and composed: "I'm already working on it; writing one or two pieces will only take a short while."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Ji Yun was only passing by and hadn't come specifically to urge the manuscript, so he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he asked, "Did you just return to the county school?"

"Yes, I went to Chengdu with my superior because of some business."

Lu Beigu said, "May I put the things back first?"

Ji Yun has no problem with it.

Soon, Lu Beigu put his things back in his school dormitory at the county school, locked the door, and went out to find Ji Yun.

"Where?"

"Two friends are resting at a teahouse. Let's go together. I'll introduce you to them."

Lu Beigu nodded and followed Ji Yun.

He wasn't actually familiar with Hejiang County. His predecessor was rather introverted and didn't like to wander around. No friends ever asked him to go out, so apart from the area around the county school, he hadn't been to many other places.

After walking two streets south, Ji Yun led him to a teahouse on the street.

Lu Beigu lifted the bamboo curtain, and a wave of hot air mixed with the aroma of tea rushed towards him.

The teahouse had only four or five elm wood tables, and a rough earthenware pot was simmering on a charcoal stove in the corner, bubbling out white steam.

At one of the tables, a man and a woman sat facing each other. When they saw that Ji Yun had brought someone they didn't recognize, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes.

Ji Yun stomped the mud off his boots on the old felt mat by the door and glimpsed an old man wearing a blue cloth headscarf standing behind the counter, adding tea leaves to a ceramic jar with a bamboo spoon.

"Would you two gentlemen like something to drink?"

"The shop offers a variety of loose teas made before the rain, as well as this year's newly made perilla drink."

Ji Yun leaned forward curiously to look: "Perilla drink? Is it similar to plum juice?"

"Young master, you have good knowledge!" The old man grinned, revealing his missing teeth. "It's made by boiling perilla leaves, mulberry bark, green tangerine peel, schisandra berries, apricot kernels, and dried tangerine peel. It's usually mixed with some plum juice, and it tastes sweet and sour, refreshing and not greasy."

"Then give me a bowl, I don't like tea."

Ji Yun turned his head and asked, "Young Master Lu, what would you like to drink?"

I drink loose-leaf tea.

The old man nodded, opened the earthenware jar, scooped out several spoonfuls of amber-colored juice into a large bowl, and the sweet and sour aroma wafted out. He then went to the cellar in the backyard and took out two small blocks of ice that he had stored there.

There were two main methods for storing ice in the Song Dynasty. One method was to cut ice into pieces on the river in winter and let them float on the water to continue freezing. When the ice reached a thickness of three feet, it was transported to a pre-dug cellar with insulation measures and sawdust or similar materials were placed between each piece of ice. This way, it could be stored for use in the summer. The other method, discovered in the early Tang Dynasty, involved directly placing saltpeter in water, which would then freeze.

However, places like teahouses usually use the first method.

Because this place is right next to the Yangtze River and the Anle River, the water surface on both sides of the Anle River freezes during the coldest period of winter.

Compared to saltpeter, which requires money to buy, this ice can be obtained directly without cost; it only takes a little effort to chisel the ice.

Moreover, the customers who come to drink don't really like ice made with saltpeter, thinking it will have a bad effect on their health, but it's really nothing serious.

(End of this chapter)