I traveled through time and space and found a mute boy: That’s enough, I feel sorry for him

Mu Jinghua understood the girl's malicious intention almost instantly - Shen Lin'er liked Xu Shu.

Mu Jinghua even had time to think, who wouldn't like Xu Shu, so gentle, so considerate, so tall, and so reliable.

He looked at his hands which were stepped on and broken. They were covered with dirt and blood, and looked gray and ugly.

How could Xu Shu possibly like him like this? Mu Jinghua smiled helplessly. Shen Lin'er was so stupid that she couldn't even see this.

The village chief was the only one at home. When he heard the noise and rushed out, he saw Shen Lin'er and Mu Jinghua both sitting on the ground. He was stunned.

After all, she was his beloved daughter. The village chief stepped forward to help Shen Lin'er up, and Shen Lin'er hugged his hand again. The village chief, who was going to help Mu Jinghua, felt a little embarrassed, but Mu Jinghua stood up by herself as if nothing had happened.

Shen Lin'er's eyes were red, and she pointed at Mu Jinghua and complained, "Dad, he bullied me."

The village chief was stunned: "Ah?"

Mu Jinghua listened to Shen Lin'er's nonsense, opened his mouth to refute, but immediately lowered his head. He was just a mute, what could he do?

But when Mu Jinghua heard Shen Lin'er say that he had stolen the hairpin, he still felt uneasy.

He waved his hands to say no, but as soon as he moved, the hairpin suddenly fell out of his wide sleeves, hit the ground with a thud, and broke the delicate wooden patterns on it.

Seeing the hairpin broken on the ground, Mu Jinghua's first thought was Xu Shu. Would Xu Shu be disappointed in him? Would he hate him? Would he look at him with disgust? The more Mu Jinghua thought about it, the more disappointed he became.

The village chief was also very embarrassed. As a grown man, he could not imagine the girl's roundabout way, but he was not the type to scold a young man. When he saw this scene, he subconsciously called his wife.

Aunt Shen had just come back from washing clothes outside. When she heard the village chief calling out, she hurried over to see what was happening. After listening to Shen Lin'er tearfully telling the whole story, she felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

The whole family knew Xu Shu's character, and it was precisely because of this that they got along so well with each other that they agreed without hesitation to let Xu Shu help look after Mu Jinghua.

Although everyone felt that there was no need to look after such a grown-up boy.

However, since Xu Shu was worried, they would naturally try their best to help and be nice to Mu Ge'er.

But this child is still sneaky and slippery...

Aunt Shen's first thought was how to explain this to Xu Shu. She was unsure of Xu Shu's attitude towards the child. Although Xu Shu said he was her younger brother, if she recognized a brother as her younger brother, there was no guarantee that she would get married. But now...

Aunt Shen smiled awkwardly and said to Lin'er, "Lin'er, don't make a fuss. There might be some misunderstanding. We can't understand Mu'er's sign language. Let's wait until your brother Xu comes back."

Shen Lin'er pouted: "Brother Xu likes him, so he must protect him. Does that mean Lin'er deserves to be bullied by him? This hairpin is my favorite."

Aunt Shen was in a dilemma for a moment, and looked at Shen Lin'er helplessly: "Then what do you want to do?"

"Let him apologize to me." Shen Lin'er snorted, "It's ok that he stole my things, but he broke them and didn't even say a word. I don't know why Brother Xu likes him."

Mu Jinghua's face turned pale. He couldn't speak, but he wasn't stupid. If he really apologized as Shen Lin'er said, he would be letting the dirty water splash on him. It would be too late to wait for Xu Shu to come back, even if Xu Shu didn't care...

How could I not care?

Xu Shu would hate him.

This thought was more unbearable than all the injuries he had suffered before. Mu Jinghua looked at Shen Lin'er who was still talking incessantly, pushed her hard, and ran out sideways.

If he was destined to be hated by Xu Shu, he would rather die.

"Hey, Brother Mu."

The village chief saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly stood up to chase him, but Shen Lin'er quickly grabbed him and said, "Dad! Don't worry about him!"

The village chief sighed helplessly and looked at his daughter. "Even if Mu Ge'er is wrong, I promised Xu Shu to help him look after the child. How can this child listen to Xu Shu? Lin'er, be good. Dad will go out to find him."

Shen Lin'er stomped her feet with gritted teeth, then threw herself into Aunt Shen's arms and started crying.

The village chief looked at her helplessly, but finally gritted his teeth and chased after her.

……

When Wu Yongcai came back after buying the ingredients, he saw the plan written by Xu Shu. Regardless of the content, the flowing handwriting alone was enough to make people praise it.

What's more, the content is full of truth and novelty. The creativity of the eight-person table and eight main dishes alone is enough for those scholars to praise.

Not to mention the Eight Immortals Song that comes later. Although Wu Yong couldn't understand it, he seemed to have seen the scene on the birthday banquet when the county magistrate laughed so hard that his beard was crooked.

He was now full of admiration for Xu Shu, and he accepted everything Xu Shu said. When he heard Xu Shu urging him to show the plan to the county magistrate for review first, he did not care that he had just come back from buying ingredients, and immediately asked the waiter to prepare the carriage and went to the county magistrate's mansion.

Xu Shuze began to recall the plot of The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, and planned to wait for Wu Yong to come back and go to the town's opera troupe to take a look. Who knows, maybe this script can be sold for a fortune.

As soon as Wu Yong arrived at the county magistrate's mansion, he was greeted respectfully by the housekeeper. He was surprised and wondered why the county magistrate attached so much importance to his son's birthday? He even attached importance to him, the person in charge of planning it?

But he soon realized that this was not the case.

Because the county magistrate came to greet him personally.

Moreover, it turned out that the county magistrate actually had no beard. Wu Yong looked at the man in front of him who seemed a little too young with some regret, and saluted uncertainly, "My humble servant Wu Yong, I pay my respects to the county magistrate."

At the same time, Xiao Ran was also looking at the man in front of him. How could a man with such a big body and strong body be considered both talented and handsome? How could he write such beautiful calligraphy when he was full of business aura?

Xiao Ran felt a sudden surge of superiority in his heart, and he sent someone to serve tea to Wu Yong in a very friendly manner.

Wu Yong took the tea and drank it in a literary manner, imitating the county magistrate's scholarly manner. Then he remembered the business and handed over the three pages of paper that Xu Shu had stuffed in his hand: "This is the preliminary arrangement we have made for your son's birthday banquet. Please take a look, sir."

Xiao Ran smiled faintly, took the paper and examined it carefully. Seeing the familiar handwriting on the paper, he looked at Wu Yong in surprise. Is it true that you can't judge a person by his appearance?

He thought about it uncertainly before slowly reading what was written above. The more he read, the more surprised he became. When he saw the Eight Immortals Song at the end, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Well written."

Xiao Ran suddenly spoke, which scared Wu Yong.

Wu Yong glanced at the three pieces of paper and wondered if the county magistrate's reaction might be a bit too much, so he was pulled by the man's hand.

The first time Wu Yong was grabbed by a grown man's hand, he was so scared that he got goose bumps all over his body. But when he heard the county magistrate praising him as a rare genius in the world, he felt a little confused again.

But Xiao Ran couldn't wait to ask, "Who is the Zong Zhi mentioned in the line 'Zong Zhi is a handsome young man, he raises his cup and looks up at the sky, as bright as a jade tree in the wind'?"

"Sir." Wu Yong understood now. The county magistrate was probably impressed by his brother's literary talent. He weighed his tone and said, "This plan was not made by me, but by the accountant of the tavern. You... asked the wrong person."

Xiao Ran's expression froze for a moment: "May I ask who you are?"

Wu Yong smiled and said, "I'm the shopkeeper."

Did he recognize the wrong person? That's right, this restaurant doesn't belong to the accountant, so how could the person who came to deliver the plan be the accountant? Xiao Ran touched his nose awkwardly and said, "Where is this accountant? Take me to see him."

"Ah?" Wu Yong was stunned again. Is he so impatient?

Xu Shu waited for Wu Yong and the impatient county magistrate to arrive.

Wu Yong, who had been questioned by the county magistrate all the way, immediately put down his stall when he saw him: "This is my accountant, Mr. Xu Shu."

"Brother, this is County Magistrate Xiao Ran."

Huh? Xu Shu raised his eyebrows and looked at the young man in front of him. He bowed to Xiao Ran and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I am Xu Shu, the commoner."

Xiao Ran's mouth twitched. This Xu Shu is indeed a man of both talent and beauty. Although he is the accountant of a restaurant, he is so noble that he looks like a young man from an aristocratic family. No wonder the young master at home always talks about him.

But so what? Xiao Ran still felt that he had the upper hand, but he couldn't hide his curiosity and asked, "Mr. Xu, what kind of pen did you use to write that calligraphy? And why did you write that poem?"

Xu Shu curled his lips, realizing that a big fish had been caught, and simply gave up the idea of ​​going to the troupe, and said to Xiao Ran: "Sir, please come in, let me talk to you slowly."

As soon as he entered the room, Xu Shu first showed Xiao Ran his fountain pen, then demonstrated how to fill it with ink and wrote a short poem by Du Fu.

Xiao Ran saw that the handwriting was indeed exactly the same as what he saw on the paper. The impromptu poem also had its merits worth savoring. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Mr. Xu is very talented."

After expressing my feelings, I felt a little embarrassed. When I thought about myself, the sense of crisis in my heart became even stronger.

Xu Shu didn't know what Xiao Ran was thinking, so he just said modestly: "I just borrowed the tool, so I dare not brag."

When Xiao Ran heard this, he became even more discouraged. He was neither arrogant nor impatient, but humble and polite. He was indeed a young man from a noble family.

However, he was soon attracted by the fountain pen. It seemed strange at first glance, but if you look closely, you will find that it is as crystal clear as a gem, as smooth as a bronze mirror, and small, cute, and easy to carry.

Moreover, when Xu Shu was writing just now, he only absorbed the ink once, but the ink did not dry up even after he wrote a poem. I don't know why.

Xu Shushi explained: "This thing is called a fountain pen. It was brought back by my grandfather when he traveled abroad. It is a Western thing."

"Fountain pen?" Xiao Ran savored the name and nodded slightly. Although his eyes were full of admiration and love, he did not mean to force anyone to do something.

Xu Shu was quite satisfied with the county magistrate's attitude, but he still changed the subject: "I wonder why the county magistrate recognizes me?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Ran sighed a little: "Someone in my family really likes the brown sugar rice cakes in your store, and every time I see that you are good at calculating accounts, I always mention it to me, so I paid attention to it."

"How come I didn't know there were such classy guests?" Wu Yong laughed when he heard this. "My brother is really good at calculating."

Xiao Ran silently swallowed the fact that he was paying attention to the restaurant out of jealousy, and said, "It just so happens that it's my nephew's eighth birthday, so I entrusted this matter to you. I hope the shopkeeper won't think I'm too nosy."

Although his original intention was to see this person who was praised by his sweetheart as "having god-like calculation ability" and "both talented and beautiful" make a fool of himself.

Alas, he never thought that he would be impressed by the talent of this young man. Xiao Ran felt a sense of crisis, but at the same time he could not hide his admiration for Xu Shu. He was extremely conflicted and felt uneasy.

Xu Shu also noticed that his attitude was unnatural, but he couldn't guess the reason. After thinking for a moment, he said, "As for the Eight Immortals Song."

Song of the Eight Immortals? Hearing the key words, Xiao Ran's appreciation for Xu Shu finally surpassed him. He smiled and said, "This poem cites many names, but I have never heard of any of them."

Xu Shu smiled and said, "This poem was originally written for a play. My Lord, you have never heard of a play, so naturally you don't recognize the characters."

"Opera?" Xiao Ran had some impression. It was written on the three pages that an opera troupe would be invited to the birthday banquet. "But what about the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea?"

Without waiting for Xu Shu to nod, Xiao Ran figured it out by himself. These Eight Immortals correspond to those Eight Immortals. There are both drama and poetry; there is both an Eight Immortals Table and Eight Treasure Rice. This is a bit too... Even a royal banquet may not be so grand!

Xiao Ran couldn't help but sigh again: "Sir, you are so talented!"

Is this what you call Mr. Qi? Wu Yong felt a sense of crisis and stared at Xiao Ran in front of him cautiously, fearing that his reliable brother would be poached in the next second.

But what Xu Shu really cared about was money. He took a sip of tea slowly and sighed with regret: "It's a pity that my play is not favored by the world. I have found several opera troupes but no one paid attention to it. If I can't invite a troupe, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete it."

"What a bunch of short-sighted fools." Even before he saw the script, Xiao Ran had already anticipated what a gripping play it would be, and couldn't help but be filled with indignation. "Brother Xu, don't worry. I have a family-run opera troupe in my house, and their skills are first-rate. They will definitely show your masterpiece to the fullest."

Being so easy to talk to, even Xu Shu felt a little embarrassed to continue cheating others. He coughed lightly and said, "It's not too late for you to watch the play first before making any plans."

Xiao Ran was even more surprised when he heard this: "Sir, do you still have a play?"

Xu Shu hummed. He had nothing better to do while waiting for someone. "But there's only the first volume. I haven't had time to finish the second volume yet."

Xiao Ran said it was okay, and took the paper to examine it carefully. He thought that the story of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea would be a story of immortals, but he didn't expect it to be a story about eight ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty.

Xu's book quotes Du Fu's "Song of the Eight Immortals of Drinking", which is a "portrait poem". These eight immortals of wine were all from the Tang Dynasty and lived in Chang'an. They were similar in their love of wine, boldness and open-mindedness.

In order to make it easier for people in this world to understand the poem, Xu Shu combined the life experiences of these eight people, matched them with the historical context of the Tang Dynasty, and incorporated fictional elements to adapt it into a play called "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea."

At the end of the story, the eight people have tasted all kinds of human flavors, experienced the youthful spirit, seen the water of the Yellow River, and comprehended the rise and fall of dynasties. Then they cross the sea to gain new life and ascend to heaven.

However, Xu Shu did not have that much time, and only wrote half of it. He was stuck on the plot of the Anshi Rebellion, which made Xiao Ran very anxious.

"Xu Shu, how could a troupe not appreciate such a grand story? Could it be that you only wrote half of the play and made the troupe owner angry?"

Xu Shu could tell that this was a reference to him, but he was not annoyed and said it clearly: "The world is not good nowadays. I am busy raising a family, so I don't have the energy to write these things."

Xiao Ran was anxious. How could he not think about it? If such a great work ended like this, it would be a loss for all the scholars in the world.

No, we have to do something for the scholars all over the world.

Xiao Ran said: "If Master Xu thinks highly of a small county magistrate like me, why not entrust this thing to me? I will definitely make the fame of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" spread throughout the country."

Xu Shu raised his eyebrows. He finally waited for this sentence. He stopped beating around the bush: "Twenty-eight is trustworthy. I'll give you eight and you'll give me two."