Chapter 8 The Unforeseen Calamity

  The boss's wife of the dog meat shop is a delightful existence in this shop, although Fang Jie still doesn't know what her name is. Fang Jie has seen this seemingly gentle but actually fiery woman knock down a butchered dog with a pot lid more than once, making him involuntarily think of a certain popular domestic animation that was broadcast in his previous life.

  But the boss's wife, who was always so majestic and imposing, didn't know what had gotten into her today, and her tone of voice was surprisingly gentle, as if she had become a different person. Fang Jie took advantage of the moment when the boss's wife brought over the dog meat stew to touch her hand, and the boss's wife unexpectedly didn't scold him loudly, but instead smiled coyly and then turned around lightly and left.

  This smile made Fang's skin crawl and he immediately took a defensive stance, but before the boss's wife could throw over her abacus.

  It is said that Fang Jie has been smashed by his boss's wife more than once, although he was able to catch it easily each time.

  In the kitchen behind the Yunji restaurant, the boss's wife lifted a gap in the curtain and looked at Fang Jie eating with gusto, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she muttered to herself that he was a good kid.

  The butcher Su's hand, which was wielding a huge cleaver to chop meat, paused for a moment, shook his head and said it had nothing to do with him. Didn't he have enough idle matters to deal with in the first half of his life? Doing our own business properly is better than anything else. Although Fan Gucheng is small, remote, and cold enough to freeze urine, it's at least a safe and down-to-earth place, isn't it?

  "It's frozen because the force is insufficient."

  The boss's wife snorted coldly.

  After a moment of silence, Su Tudi hesitated and said: "Today's wine money will not be collected, it is considered that we owe him."

  The landlady cursed a sentence, but Su Tugou didn't hear clearly what she was cursing.

  He shook his head and continued chopping meat with a lowered head.

  The landlady turned around and took out a jar of pear blossom wine that had been stored for ten years from the cabinet, wiped off the dust on top with a blue apron, and turned to walk outside. Su Tuogou grabbed her arm, his face showing displeasure: "This jar of wine is not for him."

  The boss's wife looked at Su Tudi, surprisingly not shaking off his arm: "This jar of wine has been stored for ten years. You said it would be kept until he came. Even with your wine-loving nature, you could bear not to secretly drink a mouthful. I know how much this jar of wine weighs in your heart."

  She paused for a moment and asked with a somewhat melancholic tone: "Have you ever met someone who is about to die?"

  Su Tu's expression stiffened slightly, and he slowly let go of his hand: "I don't know if he'll come... Never mind, let's just keep another jar, maybe we won't see him again in ten years."

  The proprietress smiled, and her charm was suddenly born.

  She tiptoed and kissed Su Tu's face, then turned around and left the kitchen. Su Tu rubbed the place where he was kissed, smiled foolishly, and raised his cleaver high, as if he had endless strength all over his body.

  Outside, Fang Jie and the boss's wife were chatting and laughing. Su Tu Gou listened with a tilted ear and then sighed: "Indeed, he's a good kid... what a pity."

  "Ten years old"?

  The voice outside the curtain trembled slightly: "Don't think that you can just grab a pot of wine and claim it's a ten-year-old vintage, then swindle back all the money I owe you for wine in one go... Don't try this trick on me, seduction won't work either!"

  "What? Not taking money? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

  "Oh my... this wine is really good, it's so thick and syrupy that it can be pulled into strands. Is it really stored for ten years? Don't tell me it's blended with other wines, okay?"

  Right after that, Su Tugou heard a mournful cry and knew his wife Du Hongxian was definitely flying into a rage again. Thinking of the life of the two people over the past decade, Su Tugou couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  He put down the kitchen knife and squatted down to light his pipe.

  Nor did I know whether it was heartache for that pot of wine or recalling something worth reminiscing about.

  ……

  ……

  Eating dog meat stew alone is indeed a bit boring, Fang Jie is a person who likes excitement, but he also feels lucky that today he came alone, otherwise how could he have drunk this ten-year-old pear blossom wine by himself? Thinking of the faces of those guys like Fu Bao and Li Gan, he pulled the wine jar closer to him again.

  Very petty and narrow-minded.

  The power of the ten-year-old pear blossom wine was not to be underestimated. Fang Jie, who didn't have a good capacity for liquor in the first place, had already become slightly drunk after drinking two cups. He felt his body gradually warming up and simply took off his fur coat and placed it on a chair beside him. The power of this wine wasn't apparent at first when he started drinking, but several minutes later it began to take effect in his brain.

  Gradually, his head became heavier and heavier.

  Just as he was hesitating about whether to have another drink, the clothes placed on a chair beside him were taken away. Someone sat down in that chair and quietly looked at him.

  Drunkenly, Fang Jieyun turned around and took a look, thinking it was an acquaintance who had arrived, but found that the person in front of him was someone he didn't recognize.

  In just an instant, Fang Jie suddenly sat up straight.

  He stared at the person sitting next to him with wide eyes and a face full of incredulity: "How could it be you?"

  The man wore a blue shirt, which had been washed until it was somewhat faded.

  He hadn't heard the door open, so he had no idea when the man came in. Looking at that clean but slightly weathered face, he felt as awkward as when he first met his girlfriend's parents. He subconsciously pushed his chair back and tried to stand up.

  "Would you like to buy me a drink?"

  The man in the green shirt smiled, pointing to the pear blossom wine in front of Fang Jie: "I smelled the fragrance of this wine when I passed by outside and couldn't help but come in to see what kind of person was drinking such good wine. I remember that I drank this wine ten years ago, the year is not as long as the one you are drinking now, but it's also extremely good."

  "You're a drunkard"

  Fang Jie was startled by his own words, he really didn't mean it. But also didn't know why, in front of this man he felt so flustered and nervous, so tense and afraid, so at a loss. When he was caught stealing melons, he wasn't even this panicked. Even more so, when he was caught peeking at Widow Sun bathing, he wasn't this panicked either.

  The man in the green shirt was slightly taken aback by these words, and then burst out laughing.

  "It's been many years since anyone called me a drunkard. In the past, when I was in Chang'an City, people would often scold me like that."

  He seemed to recall something, and a charming arc appeared at the corner of his mouth: "But that old guy scolded me for being a drunkard because only I and he in the whole Chang'an city competed with each other to drink. I don't know if after ten years, his good wine is still hidden behind 'Tao Te Ching' on the second row of bookshelves."

  Fang Jie didn't understand this sentence at all, not even a bit.

  "You're so petty"

  The man in the green shirt looked at the wine jug, couldn't help himself, reached out and grabbed it, didn't use a cup, but took a big gulp, drinking almost half of it.

  Just then, Su Tugou and Boss Du Hongxian rushed out of the kitchen, both their faces were excited to the extreme, and they were even trembling. The tobacco pipe in Su Tugou's hand fell to the ground with a "pa" sound, splashing up a cluster of sparks, while the rag in Du Hongxian's hand covered the sparks when it fell.

  The bearded Sute Dog wanted to move forward but didn't dare, finally squatting on the ground and wailing loudly, just like a wronged child.

  But Du Hongxian fanned Su Tuzi's back of the head while saying "don't cry, don't cry", yet she herself cried until she became a tearful person.

  The man in the green shirt smiled at them, like a spring breeze that had melted the ice and snow. Fang Jie was taken aback, he had never seen anyone's smile so bright and clean. The smile was just a smile, without any other meaning.

  "As soon as I smelled the wine, I knew it was you two, couldn't help but come in."

  He said.

  He waved his hand to stop Su and Du from saying anything, then pointed at Fang Jie and said: "I'll talk to him for a bit first. After drinking half a jug of pear blossom wine, I shouldn't let it go to waste. You two sit down and wait for me for a moment, later I have something to ask for your help."

  Su Tu and Du Hongxian nodded vigorously, immediately sat down on the chair next to them, with both hands placed on their knees, just like two students listening attentively in class.

  "But... this wine has been stored for you for ten years."

  Du Hongxian suddenly remembered and looked at Fang Jie who was already half drunk, saying: "It's him who took advantage."

  "The wine has been given to him by you, so it's his. If I'm lucky enough to drink it, then I'm taking advantage of the situation."

  The man in the green shirt smiled and said warmly: "Since we've received kindness from others, we should return a favor."

  Su Tu and Du Hongxian were both stunned, thinking to themselves: "How does this little guy have such heaven-defying luck? In the entire Great Sui, or even in the entire world, who can get a favor from him so easily?"

  "This guy is really damn lucky!"

  Du Hongxian couldn't help but laugh and scold him, looking at the somewhat bewildered young man, her eyes were filled with relief.

  "What's going on?"

  The man asked a question with a confused expression, then his body tilted and fell to the ground: "Black-hearted landlady, what the hell is this... it's clearly a sedative."

  With a thud, the young man fell to the ground and began snoring loudly.

  That is naturally not a hypnotic drug, but also not purely wine.

  With the addition of three flavors of rare medicinal herbs, the pear blossom wine was something that an ordinary person like him could hardly endure.

  The man in the green shirt bent down and helped Fang Jie up, slowly lifting his clothes to reveal his abdomen, which had six pack abs. He was silent for a moment before shaking his head slowly.

  "I don't know if saving you was right or wrong... never mind, it's just our fate."

  ……

  ……

  Fang Jie's home

  Study room

  Crouched in the quilt behind the bookshelf, the slovenly big dog suddenly flipped over and sat up, looking at the red-dressed woman who was staring blankly at the beam and asked: "Today is his 15th birthday."

  The woman in the red skirt, with a slight tremble of her shoulders that was almost imperceptible, nodded solemnly: "Yes... time really flies, and fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. When I left there, I was only twelve years old, now I'm already old and faded."

  The big dog didn't respond to her emotions, but instead picked up the sword case beside him and threw it onto the beam: "Fifteen years ago today, the master told me something in the study. I know you're curious about what the master said to me, just like I'm curious about what the master said to you. This sword case contains what the master entrusted to me, anyway, he'll be back today and I'll tell him, so I might as well show it to you first."

  Mo Xiao didn't look back, instead throwing the scabbard back again.

  She pulled her clothes apart, revealing a large area of fair and tender skin. From the inside of her bosom she took out a small pouch, held it in her hand and shook it: "This is what my master entrusted to me."

  The big dog looked at the sword case in his hand and then looked at the brocade pouch in Xiao Wei's hand.

  "It's unfair to him."

  He said.

  Mei Xiao Yao's waist suddenly stiffened, she sat up straight and stared at the large dog: "You secretly opened the sword box?"

  The big dog glared at Xiao Yao's waist with one eye: "I don't believe you didn't see that brocade pouch!"

  "Tell him and then take him back?"

  Wu Xiao Yao asked.

  "Get out of here!"

  The big dog suddenly threw the scabbard into the fireplace, and his body began to shake violently. Mu Xiaoyao could see that he was afraid. And she was also very afraid.

  "You will die"

  She said.

  "Die then!"

  The big dog trembled and said: "Fifteen years, I couldn't bear it anymore!"

  "Me too"

  Mei Xiao Yao smiled and threw the brocade pouch into the fire as well.

  "Just let him live a dull and peaceful life, what can be done if he can't cultivate? Being an ordinary person is fine."

  "In the future he will take the imperial examination and become a government official."

  The big dog said.

  "If I'm lucky, I'll stay at the martial arts school and do some odd jobs."

  Mo Xiaoyao said.

  "In three to five years, I may be transferred to the imperial court, enter the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, or perhaps another government department as an official."

  The big dog said.

  "In a few more years, with his brains he will definitely rise to a high position."

  Mo Xiaoyao said.

  "Why bother cultivating? Ten years later, he is still a superior being."

  At this time, the poor man they were talking about was lying on Du Hongyan's bed in the back room of the Cloud Pavilion Dog Meat Shop, fast asleep and completely unaware of the great danger he had just escaped.