Three Kingdoms Flying Life Works Fighting Three Kingdoms Volume 1 Shennong Sings Selling Meeting, The Little Guy with a Lollipop (Part 1)

  This winter of Jian'an 2 is particularly cold!

  In the tenth month, Xiangyang had already experienced four heavy snowfalls in a row. The snow on flat ground was three feet deep, and the ice in wells at places like Lumen, Songshan, Longzhong, etc., was as thick as a foot or more. More than half of the birds and beasts died.

  Xiangyang city west, at noon, in front of Zuo Xing's wine shop.

  A chubby youth in a fur-lined coat was frantically rubbing his pale hands together as he hastily stepped into the tavern.

  "Originally we were supposed to meet earlier, why did you ask to see me today? The snow just melted and it's really too cold."

  In the wine house, four walls are equipped with several large charcoal stoves wrapped in copper skin, and the chimney extends directly to the outside of the roof. There is no smell of carbon fire in the room, but it is steaming hot.

  The person who came forward to greet us was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a plain autumn and winter outfit, with an ordinary complexion.

  "Haha, aren't you called Young Phoenix? The phoenix is like fire and flames, what's there to fear about rain or snow?"

  Pang Tong was steamed by the indoor heat, his eyebrows and eyelashes slightly wet with sweat, and he casually wiped his face.

  "What a phoenix chick, phoenix chick! And to say that it's all just the teacher's joke, Yuan Zhixu, you should be jealous too?"

  Xu Shou snorted and laughed: "Feng Chou, that's just a chick, do I need to be jealous?"

  Pang Tong burst out laughing: "If you make such a comparison, then Zhuge Liang being called Sleeping Dragon would be just an earthworm in the soil! Haha, indeed very clever!"

  Xu Shou shook his head and said in a low voice: "Wang Fu returned from the north yesterday, and Dong Yun has also arrived. You go in first to chat with them."

  "Oh, Guo Shan is back? I'll go right away." With that, Pang Tong strode straight ahead and walked into a refined room to the left of the wine house.

  They booked the largest private room in the wine house, Luoyang Pavilion. Pang Tong had also received the notice early on.

  Xu Shou shook his head and turned around to walk towards the entrance of the wine shop. Many good friends had not yet arrived, so he had to continue waiting at the door.

  Before long, Meng Jian and Shi Tao arrived together, exchanging greetings and laughter with Xu Shu. Zhuge Liang also walked in, leading his younger brother Zhuge Jun by the hand.

  Xu Shou hastily said: "Everyone go to the Luoyang Pavilion first and sit for a while, don't all crowd at the door, Left Brother still needs to welcome the guests."

  The middle-aged man behind the counter smiled and said: "Mr. Yuan doesn't have to be polite, today's auspicious snow has stopped slightly, where will there be many guests?"

  Meng Jian and Shi Tao were both extremely outgoing and unconventional, so they naturally took advantage of this rare opportunity for a large gathering of fellow disciples to be loud and boisterous.

  Just then, a smiling face flashed in from outside the door.

  Xu Shou tilted his head, and saw a group of tall and big boys, who were no younger than himself, rushing in. Their faces looked slightly immature, and they seemed to be no more than sixteen years old. They wore cyan-gray robes, with a thin stick-like object made of grass or wood in their mouths, constantly moving back and forth.

  "Uncle Li, pour some wine."

  The boss on the left hurried out from behind the counter and smiled: "Xiao Yu, you're here so early today?"

  "Yes, Uncle Zuo. My uncle said he wanted to treat you to a drink tonight. He loves the wine from your place, so let Xiaoyu fetch a jug of it. As for the rest, we'll have ten catties of braised mutton." The tall and sturdy youth took the straw from his mouth with his left hand and handed over a large gourd from his waist with his right hand.

  The boss smiled and said: "That's all thanks to your care, Xiao Yu. Otherwise, how could we have so many customers?"

  "Uncle Li is being polite." The young man casually put the grass stalk back in his mouth and sucked on it.

  Zhuge Jian looked at the gourd, and his two bright eyes stared at the straw in the boy's mouth, seeing him sucking happily. He couldn't help but feel curious and asked: "Brother, why are you chewing on this straw so enthusiastically? Is it delicious?"

  The young man tilted his head and looked at him, pulled out a sugar cane with one hand, and smiled: "It's not that the sugar cane is delicious, it's the sugar wrapped around this stick of mine that's sweet!"

  Zhuge looked at it and indeed, at the end of the grass stick, there was a small protrusion, which was yellowish-brown in color, and a faint sweet fragrance could be detected.

  "Brother, what is this?"

  "This... is called a lollipop."

  "Brother, is that honey?" Zhuge Jun licked his lips. After walking dozens of miles on the mountain road, he felt hungry too. The name "candy stick" sounded especially delicious.

  "No, it's sucrose."

  "Brother, what is sucrose? Is it very sweet?"

  That young man looked about seven or eight years old, with a clear and elegant appearance, speaking politely, and gave a very good impression. He put the grass stalk in his mouth, and from his pocket he pulled out three or four similar short sticks. The difference was that one end of these thin sticks was rounded and bulging, wrapped tightly in bright lotus leaves.

  "Go on, try it yourself and you'll know."

  Zhuge didn't expect him to be so generous, and he rushed over, took it with both hands, and exclaimed: "Thank you brother, thank you brother!" He hastily took one out, peeled off the lotus leaf under the boy's guidance, and stuffed it into his mouth.

  The young man smiled and asked: "Is it sweet?"

  "Mmm... sweet, so sweet!" Zhuge Jun's mouth was stuffed full, and his heart was also filled with happiness. He and the young man were face to face, each sucking on a lollipop, slurping away in delight.

  "This brother..." Zhuge Liang saw his younger brother's appearance, feeling both angry and amused. He cupped his hands together, just about to exchange names and greetings with the young man, when suddenly a fierce quarrel erupted from the left side of the room. The next moment, an enraged Pang Tong dragged out a tall and thin youth from the elegant chamber, while another round-faced youngster intervened in between, repeatedly mediating.

  Xu Shou hastily asked: "Shi Yuan, Guo Shan, Xiu Zhao, why have you all come out?"

  "Yuan Zhiguang, Kongming, you two come quickly to persuade Shi Yuan and Guo Shan." The round-faced youth was none other than Dong Yuzhao, who shouted from a distance, "They're going to fight!"

  Zhuge Liang shook his head: "Shi Yuan, why are you so impatient? First release Guo Shan, what kind of appearance is this?"

  Pang Tong let go of his hand and shouted: "Guo Jia said that Cao Cao might attack Nanyang, so he was scared to hide in the poor mountain valley of Xichuan. Isn't this a case of worrying about something that won't happen?"

  The tall and thin Wang Fu was already red-faced and ear-red, listening to his unbridled and reckless remarks, he became even more furious: "How dare you, Shi Yuan! My Western Sichuan is a heavenly kingdom, how can it be a poor and remote mountain?"

  Zhuge Liang, Shi Tao and Meng Jian were all shocked. Xu Shu asked: "Gongshan, Cao Mengde is going to attack Nanyang again, is this true?"

  Wang Fu Si looked down and saw that there were no customers in the wine shop, so he said directly: "I was in Nanyang, and I heard many people say this."

  Everyone's complexion changed. Cao Cao, since he welcomed the Emperor into Xuchang last year, has been diligent in governing and training his troops, and this year he launched a southern campaign against Wan City. Zhang Yi, an ally from Xiangyang, first surrendered and then rebelled, but was driven back to Xuchang. Although Cao Cao suffered heavy losses in this battle, with his eldest son Cao Ang and nephew Cao Anmin both dying unexpectedly, he still has considerable strength and it is not impossible for him to make a comeback.

  Zhuge Liang took a look and said to Old Man Zuo, "Mr. Zuo, I think it's warmer outside today than in the private room. Since there are many of us, why don't we just book a big table in the main hall? We'll still pay for the private room fee. What do you think?"

  The old master smiled and said, "Alright, alright. Today is a good day as there are no guests. You young gentlemen can sit back and relax. Later on, let my wife play two small tunes for you to liven things up."

  Zhuge Liang was overjoyed: "I've troubled Mr. Zuo so much." The ancient zither of the daughter of the Zuo family was a treasured item in the Zuo family's wine shop, rarely shown to anyone easily.

  Zhuge Liang turned his head and bowed to the tall youth who was gnawing on a stick of sugar cane: "This brother, my younger brother is ignorant and has caused much disturbance. Since we have met, it must be fate, may I invite you to sit together and return some hospitality?"

  He spoke in a gentle and refined manner, that tall and majestic young man glanced at the self-absorbed and low-voiced arguing Pang Tong and Wang Fu, and couldn't help but slightly furrow his brow. Before he could speak, Zhuge had already pulled on his sleeve, muttering indistinctly: "Little Jue brother... hungry yet? Come eat a meal."

  Zhuge Liang thought to himself, "This young fellow actually knew his name before I did."

  The tall young man was stirred up by Zhuge Jun and found it inconvenient to leave, so he had to say: "I appreciate your kindness. I won't disturb you anymore!"

  Zhuge Liang was overjoyed and hastily summoned everyone to come and pay their respects.

  They exchanged a glance, and the young man's face changed slightly, his cheek muscles twitching a few times, but he calmly said: "I'm Qin Yu, nice to meet you all."