Ning Que looked up at him and asked, "If you want to kill someone, go ahead and kill him. What are you doing at the door of my shop?"
The middle-aged man responded: "I'm waiting for the rain to stop, and I'm also waiting for a few people."
"When it stops raining, it often won't stop. When it waits for people to come, people often won't come." Ning Que advised kindly.
"There must be a reason why people don't come." The middle-aged man said with a smile: "But can you let me have a more serious conversation with you instead of trying things like those ascetics?"
"That's the right attitude. I don't like wandering around in the cloud mountains." Ning Que replied with a smile: "But I don't like squatting on the ground and talking to people standing because there is a height difference."
"You can stand up."
"Why don't you squat down."
The middle-aged man smiled and squatted down without any hesitation. The hem of his wet green shirt covered the threshold of Laobi Zhai. Then he looked at Ning Que's still green face and said seriously: "I'm really struggling right now."
Ning Que lowered his head to eat noodles and waited for the next step.
"Many big shots want me to express my stance, but my current situation is that I cannot express my stance, so I am being besieged now. My brothers and I work very cleanly, and it would be inconvenient for the government to use Tang law to punish me, so they decided to directly Kill me, take advantage of this night rain, the opponents from South City and West City have already rushed over."
"Where are those people you're waiting for?"
"One of my brothers died a few days ago. Most of the remaining brothers have errands in the government. Those big shots can easily trap them in military camps and yamen with their errands, so I have very few people tonight."
The rain at night was still going on, and it seemed to be getting worse. The middle-aged man looked like he could no longer wait, but he didn't seem to care. He just calmly and gently talked about the situation he was facing without doing anything. Covering it up, he looked at Ning Que beside him and said with a smile: "But none of this is a problem. My problem tonight is that there must be someone by my side, but I can't find that person."
Ning Que glanced at the sword at his waist, guessing that the sword inside must be very small, and asked, "What kind of person do you need by your side?"
"Quick enough, ruthless enough, brave enough, I can't blink my eyes when I kill, and I can't let anything fall on me."
"Not including rain, right?"
"Of course not."
"Then it's not too demanding."
Ning Que scratched his damp hair and said, "Why me?"
The middle-aged man's eyes fell on his right hand holding the bowl and said: "I have inquired about something. Although the woodcutter of Subi Lake is not famous in Chang'an City, I know very well what a young man who specializes in killing horse thieves can do something."
Ning Que was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why should I go with you? What are the benefits?"
The middle-aged man admired the young man's directness, stretched out his fingers to flick away the rainwater on the oil-paper umbrella, and said with a smile: "No one in the entire Chang'an City knows my trump card. If I win tonight, that trump card will be revealed. By then you will know that I am really a very thick thigh, worthy of your hug."
"Since it's so dangerous tonight, why don't you play your cards first?"
"Because the trump card is not a card, but a person. I can't order him. On the contrary, he can order me. He needs me to win this battle tonight because he wants to see if there are any cards hidden in his opponent's hand."
"Okay, I'm really tired of this style of dialogue. I just want to say that your thighs may be thick, but they really don't attract me much. Since you know the distant Subic Lake, then You must know that I once had the opportunity to hug a leg that looked thin but was actually one of the thickest in the Tang Dynasty, but I didn't hug it."
Naturally, Ning Que was talking about Li Yu, the fourth princess of the Tang Dynasty. After saying this, he fell silent again. He put his noodle bowl on the wet ground and squatted side by side with the middle-aged man to watch the rain. At this moment, he suddenly thought of something. A certain scene in the story that I liked very much reminded me of Xiao Heizi's confession in the tavern, so I made a decision. (Note)
The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and then said: "Or...are you used to making prices directly?"
Ning Que stretched out his palm to face the annoying rain and slapped the other party in the face, and said neatly: "Five hundred taels of silver."
The middle-aged man frowned and suggested: "It's too little, should we add more?"
The scene of two people bargaining next to the threshold of the bookstore on a rainy night was really strange. The employer actually felt that the money was too little.
Ning Que turned to look at him and asked, "How many people do you estimate I will kill tonight?"
The middle-aged man thought for a while and said, "At least five."
Ning Que replied: "On the grassland, if I kill five horse thieves, I might not be able to find five taels of silver, so don't worry, I will definitely fight for five hundred taels of silver."
"I don't need you to fight hard." The middle-aged man looked at him with a smile and said, "If the time comes when you need to fight hard, you can leave first."
Ning Que shook his head and said, "That's not my style of doing things. It's indeed an idiotic statement that friendship is stronger than gold, but since we are doing business, of course we must abide by basic business ethics."
The middle-aged man smiled and extended his hand: "Deal."
Ning Que stretched out his hand and shook his hand gently, then let go and said, "My surname is Ning, from An Ning. Ning Que."
"My surname is Chao, Chao from the Tang Dynasty, Chao Xiaoshu."
"What an arrogant last name and such a gentle first name."
"People in Chang'an call me Chunfengting Laochao, you can call me Brother Chao."
"Chao Xiaoshu sounds better... Xiaoshu, are you the leader of the Yulong Gang?"
"You can call me Lao Chao... In addition, I have never admitted that I am the leader of the Yulong Gang. I just gathered a group of brothers to do things that are inconvenient for the court."
Ning Que finally confirmed his identity, smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "The leader of the largest gang in Chang'an is so humble. Xiaoshu, you seem too hypocritical."
…
…
He pulled out the ordinary knife from the firewood pile, found the boxwood bow and quiver from the box, picked up the big black umbrella from the crude celadon jar, wrapped it in layers of old cloth, and tied it all on his back. , then he groped at the bottom of the box for a long time and pulled out a black mask that had not been washed for an unknown period of time.
He carefully put on the close-fitting soft armor, and put on an old short-sleeved arrow robe from the bottom of the suitcase. He spread his hair and tied it into a common style among the Yuelun people. He covered most of his face with a black mask. Ning Que faced the copper Jing looked at it carefully for a long time and made sure there were no loopholes. He walked outside the small kitchen and looked inside and said, "I'm leaving."
Sang Sang was cleaning up the kitchen stove, washing pots and bowls, and washing pens and inkstones. There was no expression on her little face, and there was a vague childish irritability in her slender eyes. I don't know why, but the little maid put down the bowls and rinsed pens in a very strange way today. It was big, and it made banging and muffled sounds from time to time. The rag was wiped hard on the bottom of the pot, as if it was trying to penetrate the dark bottom of the pot.
Ning Que was slightly startled, then understood a little, and explained gently: "It's always good to earn some money, and I think that guy should have a good background. If you give him a favor, I will be able to use it in the future."
With a bang, Sangsang threw the rag onto the edge of the stove, and carried the heavy iron pot to pour the dirty water. The little girl twisted her waist, pretending not to see him or hear his explanation.
Ning Que rubbed the frown between his brows and said after a moment of silence: "That idiot Xiao Heizi just threw a few words and burped. Even if I want to shirk, I can't go to the underworld to find him, so tonight I can take care of him." Pay off the debt."
After saying this, he ignored little Sangsang's mood and walked directly out of the back house and into the shop in front.
Chunfengting Laochao, as the leader of the Yulong Gang, the largest gang in Chang'an, has been wandering in the rivers and lakes for many years and has seen many strange people. He knows that the young boss of Laobi Zhai must be one of the strange people, and he has been mentally prepared for it. But when I saw Ning Que dressed like this, I still couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He looked at the mysterious thing behind Ning Que that was wrapped in rags and looked like a thick stick, and said with a wry smile: "Looking at you, you don't look like you are going to kill someone, but you look like you are someone who has a gambling debt and is planning to run away from home overnight. Are you planning to carry all your belongings on your back?"
"I only carry a knife, so you can be content."
Ning Que walked up to him and took a look at the wind and rain in Linsifie Alley. He noticed that there were no people at both ends of the long alley. He couldn't help but frown and said, "I hope there are no traitors among your brothers. I hope your brothers can take care of them." This alley is promising, I don't want the scene of following you Feng Xiaoxiao to kill someone to become a Suo Tu in Chang'an Mansion tomorrow."
Chunfengting Laochao lowered his head and glanced at the black mask that covered most of the young man's face, and said with a smile: "Actually, there is no need to be so cautious. If you and I are still alive after tonight, then as long as you don't violate Tang law and do no evil, No one in Chang'an City or even the entire Tang Empire will dare to trouble you again."
Listening to these words, Ning Que thought to himself who said there was no background behind Chang'an's largest gang, but he had no intention of taking off his mask to kill people openly, and his childish voice came out through the black mask: "I am used to keeping a low profile. "
Chunfeng Ting Lao Chao smiled and stopped persuading him.
The tranquility of the spring night had long been disturbed by the patter of rain. At this time, there were more footsteps. Ning Que walked out of the threshold and opened a tattered oil-paper umbrella towards the small tree. The two of them walked towards the night and rain at the same time. go.
Sangsang rushed out. She stood on the threshold, holding the heavy iron pot with both hands, looking at the bowl of noodles on the table with a lot of noodles left, looking at the back of the windy alley, and shouted anxiously: "Master, you haven't eaten the noodles yet. over!"
Ning Que turned around and looked at her with a smile, and said, "Leave it there for now. Come back and continue eating."
Sang Sang hugged the big iron pot and leaned her thin shoulders against the rain-soaked shop door, shouting: "It doesn't taste good when it's cold!"
Ning Que waved his hands vigorously, smiled and replied loudly: "Then you cook another pot and eat it when I come back."
Sang Sang pursed her lips tightly and watched him turn away in a daze. Finally, she shouted: "I'll put in more green onions. Master, please remember to come back to eat!"
Ning Que stopped answering, but the smile in his eyes outside the black mask grew stronger and stronger. He looked at the increasingly dark alley and the increasingly rapid rain, and suddenly asked: "Little tree, ah , where shall we go now?"
"Spring Breeze Pavilion."
Lao Chao calmly replied: "My home is there...and my enemies are there. Also, I suggest you call me Lao Chao, because you are just a little tree."
The wind and rain in the alley are still there, and I wonder how it is at the Spring Breeze Pavilion.