26.
After Hai Lian was pulled up from the ladder by Fang Tinglan, he realized that there was something else besides a person standing on the roof. There is a bottle of wine, two poured wine glasses and a snack in this open space of no more than two steps. The wine glass looked like it was borrowed from Mrs. Golden Bell Flower. As for the snacks and wine, it was probably bought from a tavern in Dongzhou.
Hailian frowned: "What are you doing?"
"As you can see, I'm watching the moon." Fang Tinglan replied with a smile, "Would you like a drink?" The other party also invited.
As usual, Hai Lian would probably just snort and thank Bu Min and turned back to the house. Perhaps the things he encountered today made people sick, but now seeing people who are not easy to deal with on weekdays became a little pleasing to the eye, Hai Lian shook his hand. , and sat down directly without politeness: "Then have a drink."
After all, he was about to get another cup, but Fang Tinglan stopped him: "I'll go down and get you another one."
"why?"
"I'm treating you, but you're free to drink, so you have to follow my rules?" Fang Tinglan patted Hailian's shoulder with a smile, "Wait for me for a while."
Hai Lian raised her eyebrows, but it was rare that she didn't choke.
After a while, Fang Tinglan not only climbed up with a new cup, but also handed a small round box to Hailian.
"what is this?"
"Ointment." Fang Tinglan replied, "I brought it from Dongzhou. The imperial doctor Hua's secret recipe is definitely better than the medicinal oil you bought from barefoot doctors."
"How do you know—" Hailian swallowed half of the words. Do you even need to know? His hair is disheveled now, his clothes are a mess of dirty rags, his mouth is bruised, and the cracks in the knuckles of his fingers that he just held with Fang Tinglan have not had time to clean up, and the dust is all drilling into the blood vessels. Anyone who took a look would know that he had just experienced a fierce battle.
Seeing that Hailian was holding the box and not speaking, Fang Tinglan asked, "What's wrong?"
"Today you..." Hai Lian looked like he was looking at some rare animal, "You didn't ask me where I went?"
Fang Tinglan laughed: "It's obvious at a glance, there's nothing to ask," he said, "When I was young, I went out to fight with people, and my parents never asked me where to fight or who to fight with, at most they would ask me one thing."
"What's up?"
"Who, win, la."
The other party said these three words so playfully that Hailian couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
"Then, our No. 1 assassin and pirate, Hailian Your Excellency," the man winked at him, "Who will win tonight?"
"Of course it is me."
"It's a big victory, let's drink a big glass!" Fang Tinglan had already poured out the wine and handed it to Hailian.
Hai connected the wine glass: "Why are you so interested all of a sudden?"
"Today is special."
"special?"
"It seems that you really don't think of yourself as a Dongzhou person anymore," Fang Tinglan's eyebrows and eyes became more curved, and he reminded, "Today is the Valerian Festival."
Hailian froze for a moment, and then let out a soft "ah" after a while.
He did forget. Apart from the new year, the Valerian Moon Festival is the second most important festival in Dongzhou. It is not only a marriage day for young men and women to make vows under the full moon, but also a celebration day for family reunion. When the other party mentioned this, Hailian could still recall the sporadic fragments of his father and mother taking him to the Yongding Lake in the suburbs of Beijing to set off thousands of lanterns in Taiyan City, but since he came to the southern border, this thin memory has long been like a rock. The scratches painted on the wall were washed away by the waves until only a shallow mark remained.
It's no wonder that it's already midnight, and the surrounding area is still very bright, and even the orange light covered with red gauze downstairs is haloed with milky silver. Under the moonlight, Hailian didn't even notice that the two of them had switched to Dongzhou dialect: "You are alone in Tisu now, what are you doing to celebrate this festival?"
"Isn't there still you here?" Fang Tinglan made a gesture of respect, "Meeting an old man in a foreign land."
"You and I are not old friends." Hailian muttered, took a sip from the cup.
The moment the wine entered his throat, the young man's eyes immediately widened. He looked at Fang Tinglan in surprise, and the other party smiled: "Not bad, right? Mercury told me that this is the best wine you can buy outside, called Jinghua Wine, no matter how good it is, it can only be the royal wine that the nobles of Tisu go to the king's winery with the badges on their chests."
It was really good wine, and it was the best wine that Hailian had drunk in the past twenty years. Hai Lian is neither a literati nor a wine tycoon, so I can't describe how good it is, but if this is what wine should taste like, then what he drank at the Pearl Tavern and the pirate gatherings at Sand Ghost Bay should be shabu-shabu. Thinking of this, Hai Lian was gripped by an inexplicable sour emotion, he hummed twice, and took another sip: "You really know how to enjoy it."
"Life is short, and when you can be comfortable, of course you have to live comfortably."
"Then why don't you live better and stay here," Hailian looked at him, "According to your family background, you can go to Bainiao District and pretend to be a rich man."
"It's comfortable here." Fang Tinglan was also drinking. He had already finished off half a bottle of wine by himself before, and now the end of his speech was half a syllable longer than usual, "Drinking good wine is comfortable, but living in a good place is not necessarily comfortable. "
"Nonsense." Helian said.
Fang Tinglan laughed again.
Maybe it's because the wine is too good, the snacks are sweet, and the moonlight is gentle. The atmosphere between the two of them is also peaceful like never before. A pair of old friends.
"Are thousands of lanterns still on during the Valerian Moon Festival in Dongzhou?" Hai Lian asked.
"It's released, but because the capital was moved to Chijin, the habit is slightly different. Instead of putting lanterns and boat lanterns," Fang Tinglan compared the size with his hand, "It's so big. Of course, the boat lanterns and civilians put up by the aristocratic families The people are different, I have seen a ship with lights as tall as half a person, full of flowers and jewels, and a note hangs on the mast proudly."
"What did you write?"
"Regard XX, it is only right and proper to repay the debt."
Hailian laughed.
Fang Tinglan looked at Hailian's smiling face, and raised the corners of his mouth: "The Valerian Moon Festival is not as fun as it used to be in Taiyan. The market is small, and there is a curfew. More importantly, there is no Suyuefang." Cakes are always lacking in taste."
Suyuefang was the most famous pastry shop in Taiyan City back then. When the Valerian Moon Festival is approaching, it will specially launch the seasonal sweet-scented osmanthus candy and red bean cheese. Sweet taste: "Did you also like to eat it when you were a child?"
"Is there anything I don't like? My mother is afraid of my tooth decay, and lied to me that their pastries are smeared with drugs, and if they eat too much, they will be smelled by Pai Huazi, and they will be abducted to Xilu to do coolies," Fang said. Ting Lan tilted her head slightly and smiled, "What does that matter, I hide and eat, and neither let her see nor let the flower lover smell it?"
Not only did Fang Tinglan have a good-looking appearance, but his voice was also calm and soft. After being brewed by the wine at the moment, it became even more mellow and charming. When he was talking about these old things to Hailian, his eyes were a little blurred, and his pupils were out of focus. He seemed to want to see the other side of the sea through Hailian's face and the layers of exotic buildings behind him.
Hai Lian also stared at Fang Tinglan.
The man must be drunk, he thought.
The man in front of him was still calm and cunning, but for some reason, Hai Lian always felt that Fang Tinglan was a little different tonight. He couldn't tell what was different, so he simply boiled it down to—drunkness up.
Because only drunk people would inadvertently show such an undefended expression.
The wine in her glass was almost empty, Hailian drank it all in one gulp, and started another topic: "It's a pity that Dongzhou's festival is not held here, if only you came to Tisu a few months earlier."
"Ok?"
"It can catch up with the Sea God Festival." Hai Lian said.
It is said that on the fifth new moon of each year, there will be a sea god on the sea for three days. Anyone who sees it will be very fierce, and there is a fear of death. Therefore, since ancient times, fishermen have made a rule to sail back to Hong Kong on these three days. They are the most vicious pirates, and they will always find an island to escape. Gradually, the three days of avoiding the gods became the three days of worshiping the gods, and the Sea God Festival became the grandest festival in the southern countries.
Hailian is not like Fang Tinglan, who can tell a trivial matter vividly, he bit the rim of the empty cup, suddenly a little discouraged: "... In fact, it's almost the same, everyone is just looking for an excuse to have fun, drink, sing, watch fireworks , dancing, it's the same everywhere."
"The more you say that, the more I want to see you. This year is late, and next year isn't it." Fang Tinglan said with a smile, "This is the first time you have introduced Tisu to me."
These words made Hai Lian think of his behavior of throwing this person to O'Brien before, and he couldn't help but choke: "You don't need me as a guide at all."
"It's different, didn't I say it before, you are the only one I can trust in Jiumeng, of course I am more willing to listen to what you say. We are companions," Fang Tinglan leaned forward when he said this, he Leaning close to the other party's ear and whispering, "Hai Lian."
The last two words were bitten dumb and soft, and the crispy heat passed by Hailian's ears. It's not a fucking accent at all, it's more like... The little pirate shuddered, and immediately backed away like a frightened cat, which made the man opposite him feel good.
Hailian finally realized when he saw the other party showing that conspiracy-successful smile again, and the frightened cat turned into a furious cat: "Fang Tinglan, don't pretend to be crazy by drinking!"
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore," Fang Tinglan accepted it as soon as he saw it, and he shook the bottle towards the sea, "There is still some left, do you want it?"
"No more." Hai Lian put down his glass and stood up. He took a step back, but finally added, "Anyway, thank you for today's wine and ointment."
Fang Tinglan looked up at him, and said in a low voice, "I should thank you."
He said this thank you very sincerely, it was completely different from the frivolous teasing before, Hai Lian didn't know how to answer the words, so he simply didn't answer. He went to the cabinet and opened the door. When the key turned around in the lock, he turned around and took a look.
Fang Tinglan sat there with his back facing him. Looking under the melting moonlight, the Dongzhou man's back was a little inexplicably lonely and desolate. Hailian looked at the other's back, he moved his lips slightly, and finally looked back without saying anything.
After Hailian entered the room, he cleaned the wound first, applied medicine, and then fell on the wooden bed. Under the influence of alcohol and fatigue, he fell asleep very quickly. When he was about to fall into a deep sleep, a question suddenly popped into his mind .
Who is that glass of wine that he is not allowed to touch
he thought dazedly. This is also the first time for him, the other party has become curious.