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An outsider also came to All Water County. The boat was bumpy and rocking for days. The person was dizzy until he stood firmly on two feet. He quickly stopped someone and asked where he could go to rest.
“Go to Qingfeng Teahouse over there and take a sip of tea to rest.”
This was the first time Wei Lekang came here. He couldn’t stand it anymore after staying on the boat for over two days. He was clamoring to get off as soon as it docked. As soon as the boat stopped at All Water County, he had to get off and go outside. “Oh, where is the teahouse?”
He spoke to a young man in blue. The young man held out his hand to show the direction. Just as he pointed in the direction, another person came over to talk to them.
“Brother, are you talking about the storytelling building?” “I heard from my buddies that it’s really interesting there. I’ve heard they’ve been doing shows these days…I want to go join the fun too!”
When the man in blue heard the newcomer’s question, he smiled brightly and enthusiastically pointed out the place for him: “It’s over there. Go that way then turn and go straight on the road, then you’ll see a sign with three letters on it!”
“Thank you, brother.” The man quickly walked away when he got the answer. He hurried in the direction that was pointed out.
After answering his question, the man in blue looked at Wei Lekang apologetically as he continued telling him the way.
“Qingfeng Teahouse is over there… If you go along this road and turn the corner, you’ll see a stone tablet. From the stone tablet…”
Since the person walked away, Wei Lekang had no interest in knowing where Qingfeng Teahouse was. He was attracted to another place now, so he quickly interrupted the other person’s words and asked him, “The storytelling building you were talking about…what kind of place is it?”
“It’s a place where you can listen to stories.”
“…Didn’t that man just say there were shows?”
“The show is them telling stories on stage…”
“Brother, is that place fun?” “Is it interesting?”
“Of course it is. I often go there to listen to the storyteller’s stories!”
“…Then why didn’t you introduce me to that place first…”
“I thought you wanted to find a place to rest since you just got off a ship…”
“I don’t want to rest. I want to have fun…”
“Then you should hurry and follow the man from earlier… If you don’t remember the way, I’ll tell you again.” The young man scratched his head and spoke politely.
“Thank you, brother. I know how to get there.” Wei Lekang thanked the young man and followed the directions from earlier. He looked for the place accordingly.
In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Wei Lekang found the storytelling building they were talking about. The two-story building had three big characters hanging above the front door.
These three characters were strong, majestic, and full of aura. The words were good, and who knew which famous person wrote it. Wei Lekang was even more curious about this store now.
From the outside, he could see that it was already full inside. From time to time, people went inside too. The one in front of him should be an old customer. He was familiar with the person guarding the door. They greeted each other before he entered.
“Xiao Liu, you’re here again…Didn’t you say yesterday that you wouldn’t have time…”
“I didn’t have time, but I had to squeeze out time. I really want to know what happens next. I won’t be as great if I had to hear it from others. I have to hear it directly from Mr. Cui…”
“True. Mr. Cui’s voice is very powerful…”
“Uncle Jiang, I really envy you. You can listen to them everyday from the door. You don’t even have to pay…”
“Hehehe. If you’re able to, you can work here too.”
“Once I’m older, I’ll come guard the door with you…”
“How many decades will that be…”
Wei Lekang saw the man hand the old man five wen. He was surprised. He had to pay at the door? How unusual.
He also took out five copper plates from his pocket and walked over to them as if he was taking a leisurely walk. He handed it to the old man guarding the door.
The old man lifted his eyes and smiled at him. Wei Lekang smiled back.
Wei Lekang crossed the threshold that was more than a foot high. After entering the storytelling building, his entire field of vision was heads of black hair. Everyone was concentrating on the stage in front of him. No one even noticed him entering.
He found a vacant seat to sit down on. His field of vision changed again. Sitting here, he was surrounded by people. Lets and feet brushed up against each other. He felt constrained by others. It was really uncomfortable.
Wei Lekang started to regret it a bit. He got off the boat to rest, so why did he let himself suffer? He couldn’t even sit comfortably! He glanced back and forth at the people around him. He thought in his heart: “To attract this many people, there must be someone famous here. I have to wait.”
There were melon seeds and refreshments on the table. Of course, it belonged to someone else. Wei Lekang saw these porcelain plates. On it were fruit cakes that had carved lotus leaves on top of it. He didn’t recognize what it was. What was the cup of the person beside him? It wasn’t tea, but it smelled like a sweet and sour fruit…
At this moment, someone stood and asked him what he wanted. The voice of the person leaned into his ear and whispered, for fear of disturbing the surrounding guests. Wei Lekang looked up and saw a young man with a white scarf on his shoulder. He guessed that the other party should be a servant to entertain the customers here.
“This guest, do you need any refreshments?”
“Well, I’ll have what they have.”
The other party spoke in a low voice. Wei Lekang also spoke in a low voice. After hearing his words, the little servant immediately turned around and walked to the inner room. After a while, he brought the things that were asked for.
There were square and round pastry dumplings. Just looking at it, one could know it was soft and glutinous. Wei Lekang tasted one. It had cold skin and soft, glutinous filling. It was soft but not greasy. It was delicious.
The melon seeds that were brought over had a burst of tea fragrance. Wei Lekang initially thought he was smelling things. How could the melon seeds smell like tea? After having a few, not long passed, and he’d already had a handful of melon seeds. It should have been fried with tea. Eating the melon seeds that tasted like tea, there was a sweet aftertaste. It was so delicious that people got addicted.
Wei Lekang felt like he’d obtained a treasure. He loved melon seeds. He didn’t expect melon seeds fried with tea to be so crispy and pleasant. It tasted different. He ate the seeds while shaking. His lips and tongue moved slightly. At this time, the joy he felt on his tongue was amazing, like he’d gone to a place he’d never been before and saw a scenery he’d never seen before.
After eating too many melon seeds, it was inevitable that his mouth would be dry. Wei Lekang poured a new cup of “tea” for himself. After pouring the liquid, there was no fragrance of tea. There was a faintly fruity aroma instead. Was it fruit juice?
There were black fruits floating in the pale yellow liquid. Wei Lekang tasted it, and it was sweet and sour, fragrant and delicious. There was sweetness from the juice, but it tasted like tea. It was wonderful!
After satisfying his curiosity and appetite, Wei Lekang finally focused his entire attention to the stage.
On the stage sat a middle-aged man with a red hat. He had a ponytail behind him and a mustache above his nose that shook every time he spoke.
His voice was loud and majestic, which showed that he practiced a lot. At this moment, he said, “At this time, there was a person hiding in the…”
The bridge of the story was about the confirmation between two enemies. The atmosphere was like a strung bow, ready to go, and the tension was as stiff as the string.
Wei Lekang listened for a while. He was sucked into the dangerous plot by the infectious vice.
He listened attentively. The melon seeds in his hands were held in a daze. He couldn’t care about eating anymore.
After the middle-aged man with a red hat bowed and took a curtain call, Wei Lekang gradually returned to his senses. The people around him were still clamoring: “Why is it over already?”
“I’ll have to wait till tomorrow again…”
“Why did an hour pass so quickly?”
“Did the old gentleman play a trick and turn an hour into half an hour?”
“What’s next on the schedule?”
“There should be an excerpt later…It’s called Garden of Nightmares.”
“I like to listen to stories, so I won’t watch this play. Let’s head out first.”
“Don’t be in a hurry to leave. This play sounds interesting…”
Wei Lekang drank tea and ate melon seeds as he waited for the next show to start. He felt that these five wen spent were worth it! The story he heard just now was enough. He didn’t expect there to be a show as well.
It would be nice if there was a place like this in his hometown. Those who were idle and had nothing to do would finally have a place to go.
The drums on stage played. The actors had already appeared on stage. The person there was wearing a brocade costume with jade scales sang, “It turns out the purple and red are all over the place. They seemed to be buried in the broken wells and decaying…”
The figure was graceful, their steps elegant. A turn and a raise of the eyes contained thousands of meanings. A discerning person would know it was a beautiful Shuang’er at first glance.
They sang and danced. It was no wonder it was called a show. Wei Lekang held his chin with his hand. He was curious about how many new things were contained in this storytelling building.
At sunset, Wei Lekang woke up like he was in a dream. He stretched his body, then crossed the threshold to leave. As soon as he came he bumped into Yu Mingcheng, a fellow shipmate who was anxiously looking for him.
The two got acquainted on the boat. Their destination was the capital. They got along quite well. Wei Lekang said that he was getting off the boat to get some air, but while he said he was going to take a break and rest, he hadn’t returned in over three hours. Yu Mingcheng, who’d stayed on the boat, was anxious since the boat was about to leave. “You didn’t return, and the boat was about to leave!”
Wei Lekang was infected by the other party’s anxious emotions and hurriedly urged the other party to hurry up so they didn’t miss the boat. “Let’s quickly return to the boat.”
After Yu Mingcheng found Wei Lekang, he breathed a sigh of relief. He took the other party’s hand, raised his foot, and was about to rush back. But he saw the other party was motionless. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you moving?”
“Ah’Cheng, you should return to the boat…I’m not leaving. I’m going to stay for a few days…”
Yu Mingcheng’s expression at this time was very complicated. Everything he was thinking was written on his face. He glared at Wei Lekang.
“What stupid thing are you saying? We said we’re going to the capital together. Why are you leaving me halfway?!”
Yu Mingcheng really wanted to open his brain to see what’s inside. After getting off the boat, what did he become fascinated with? Why did he suddenly decide to stay?
“Let me tell you, this county town is very fun. I spent the afternoon in a place called the storytelling building…”
“Then you’ve already played for an entire afternoon…Come back to the boat with me now!”
“No, no, no. Ah’Cheng, you can head to the capital alone. I won’t go.”
“You evil little…” Yu Mingcheng pulled Wei Lekang’s hand fiercely. He pulled him back to the dock. Even if Wei Lekang had grabbed the other party’s wrist, he was unmoving. He fell backwards. The two of them pulled back and forth for a while, but neither moved in the slightest.
The passing people watched the two for a while with eyes stating they were fools. There was a young man who’d just exited the storytelling building and watched these two as he munched on melon seeds.
The whispers of passersby reached the ears of these two.
“What’s going on with these two?” “Why are they pulling each other on the street…It’s crazy…”
“One of them might be a Shuang’er.”
“There must be something wrong with your eyes.” “Do you see a red mole between the eyebrows on either of them?”
“Hey, you might not see it, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the mole of a Shuang’er…”
“Wasn’t there a story a few days ago about a Shuang’er gouging their mole off from the middle of his eyebrows? He did it to join the army instead of his father. Didn’t he become a Shuang’er general?”
“…”
There was something wrong with the people in this county town!!! ！ ！
When they saw two men pulling each other on the streets, they even suspected one of them to be a Shuang’er! ！
And…even a Shuang’er who served in the army instead of his father! ！
Yu Mingcheng released Wei Lekang’s hand indignantly. “Forget about you. Stay as long as you want.”
After speaking, he threw his sleeve and turned around and left. At this time, Wei Lekang, who was released, was unwilling. He hurriedly shouted, “Ah’Cheng, don’t be angry!”
Wei Lekang trotted up to walk beside his friend. He pulled the other party’s wrist and turned him around so that they were face to face.
Yu Mingcheng was a bit shorter than him. Wei Lekang looked closely at the other party only to realize that his Ah’Cheng was really good-looking. He had delicate eyebrows and ruddy lips. He could be comparable to the Shuang’er they were just talking about. His hand unconsciously reached out to touch the other party’s eyebrows. Wei Lekang smiled stupidly. “Hey, Ah’Cheng. I just realized you have a scar in between your eyebrows!”
Wei Lekang was shocked and screamed as if he’d discovered a new continent. But Yu Mingcheng acted like he was a cat who had his tail stepped on. He slapped Wei Lekang mercilessly on his handsome face and harshly beat the other party.
After slapping Yu Mingcheng, he turned around and continued to walk forward.
Wei Lekang, who was beaten, stood in place with red marks on his handsome face. It showed the other party had used great force. He covered his injured face and wanted to speak, but before his voice sounded, he covered his face with his palm.
He just made a harmless joke, so why was the other person so angry?
Who is this foolish guy?? Lol
Thank you for the chapter!!!!!!
😆