After a while, an old scholar with gray hair and wearing a Confucian robe knocked on the door twice.
When Yin Zhaoxian saw someone holding a book, he bowed to him and extended his hand to invite the other person into the school.
"Master Zhou! Please come in quickly!"
"Master Yin!"
Master Zhou also bowed in return, then came in and stood next to Yin Zhaoxian, looking at the sixty or seventy students in the classroom, which was a considerable number.
"This is Master Zhou from the county. After Yin leaves, he will temporarily take over the position of the county school master in the future. Come, everyone, pay your respects to Master Zhou."
Upon hearing this, the students in the school stood up one after another, bowed to Master Zhou together, and greeted him sincerely in unison.
"Hello, Master Zhou!"
Mr. Zhou stroked his beard and nodded, having a good initial impression of these students.
When the time came for the school to end, the students were about to go home. Yin Zhaoxian stood in the school yard and personally handed the students' letters to them one by one, and also gave each of them a few careful instructions.
The friendship between teachers and students also made Mr. Zhou feel deeply moved. He had taught in a private school for many years, but how many students could he have with whom he had such deep feelings
It was almost evening when Yin Zhaoxian and his son Yin Qing returned home together. Yin Qing didn't say a word until they were walking on the path in Tianniufang and could see Ju'an Pavilion from afar. Then Yin Qing spoke a word.
"Daddy, the dates are ripe!"
Looking up, I saw that the branches in the courtyard of Ju'an Pavilion were already full of jujubes, and they were almost ripe.
"Yes, there are fruits this year and they are ripe!"
Yin Zhaoxian smiled.
"It's strange, since Mr. Ji left, this jujube tree hasn't bloomed or borne fruit for two years, but it's bearing fruit again this year."
Yin Qing chuckled.
"Maybe he knew that Daddy was going to take the exam, so he decided to release the result this year! Anyway, we're in for a treat!"
"You kid!"
The father and son walked forward, talking and laughing. They passed by the Ju'an Pavilion and looked at the tempting dates on the branches, with a faint fruity fragrance emanating from them.
Perhaps it was because Yin Qing’s words reminded Yin Zhaoxian, or perhaps both father and son became interested.
After returning home and hurriedly finishing the dinner that Yin's mother had prepared long ago, the father and son took the key to Ju'an Pavilion and prepared to go pick dates to eat.
In the evening, a red glow hung in the sky. In front of the door of the small pavilion, Yin Zhaoxian used the key to unlock the copper lock and slowly pushed open the gate.
"Squeak~~"
The sound of the door hinge turning was heard, and the father and son were stunned before they even entered the door, because there was someone in the yard!
This person was naturally not Ji Yuan, but an elderly man wearing a round-necked long gown inside and a straight-breasted coat outside. He was looking up at the jujube tree, and when he saw the courtyard gate open, he turned to look at Master Yin.
"Who is this old gentleman? Why is he in the courtyard of Ju'an Pavilion?"
Yin Zhaoxian asked with a frown, and subconsciously looked at the wall of the small pavilion. The height was not enough for an old man to climb over, so could it be a wandering knight
When the old man saw that Master Yin only thought about it for a moment, he smiled.
"I guess you are the good friend in the county that Mr. Ji mentioned? May I ask your name, Mr. Master?"
"Do you know Mr. Ji?"
Yin Qingxian asked in surprise before his father did, and Yin Zhaoxian did not dare to neglect when he heard that the other party knew Ji Yuan, and replied with a bow.
"My name is Yin Zhaoxian, and this is my son Yin Qing. I don't know your name, nor do I know where you met Mr. Ji before."
The old man looked at Yin Zhaoxian carefully for a while, then bowed to him in return.
"My last name is Ying Hong. I once ran into Mr. Ji in the rain in a neighboring county. I am also Mr. Ji's friend!"
Seeing that the old man was calm and composed, and didn't look like a thief, and that he said he was a friend of Mr. Ji, Master Yin walked into the garden with a little excitement.
"So he is Mr. Ji's friend. Unfortunately, Mr. Ji has been away for a long time, so I can't see him here."
Yin Zhaoxian explained with a smile.
"Well, I know..."
The old man continued to look at the jujube tree while laughing.
"I came here to check for the past two years, but the jujube trees didn't bear fruit. This year they finally bore fruit! Mr. Ji only gave me two jujubes at the beginning, which were really not enough for me to eat!"
"ah?"
Yin Zhaoxian was a little puzzled. Has this person been here in the past two years? He had no impression of this person. Did he sneak in like this every time and leave after seeing that there was no result
However, I can understand why the old man is craving for fresh dates. Who wouldn’t miss them after having eaten them
So Yin Zhaoxian smiled and said:
"It must be because Mr. Ji didn't bring many dates with him. Old sir, you've come at a good time. You can eat as many dates as you like in this courtyard!"
Ji Yuan had originally asked Yin Zhaoxian to distribute the dates. Now that friends have come from afar, it's no harm if they want to eat more.
The old man who was looking at the jujube tree opposite had his eyes light up when he heard this. The jujube branches in the yard actually felt a trembling sensation at this moment, as if a gust of breeze had just blown by.
"Hehehe... Master Yin, you're joking. If you're not full, it's not convenient to eat as much as you can! How about this, I'll just eat one bite. Master Yin, do you agree?"
"One bite?"
Yin Zhaoxian was surprised, and at the same time, he began to wonder in his heart, could it be that Mr. Ji's friend was also an extraordinary person
"That's right, just one bite! Do you agree, Master Yin?"
The old man stroked his beard and nodded, as if he was only going to have a brief taste.
"Haha, what's there to disagree with? Yin is just taking care of the jujubes for Mr. Ji. Since you are Mr. Ji's friend, the old man can eat as many as he wants! Qing'er, let's pick the jujubes for the old man."
"Okay, let's pick the fruit!"
Yin Qing had been impatient for a long time, and now he finally heard that he could pick dates. But before he could move, the old man spoke again.
"No need, no need to bother!"
Having said that, the old man raised his head again, grinning, and imitated Yin Qing's tone.
“Hahahahaha… eat dates~~~ Ang hoo~~~~”
Wow~~~Wow~~~
Amid the inaudible roar of a dragon, a strong wind suddenly arose in the courtyard. The whole jujube tree swayed, and countless jujubes were swept off the branches by the strong wind and were swept into the old man's open mouth of heaven and earth.
Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing stood unsteadily and raised their hands to block in front of them, shocked and scared.
After only a few breaths, the brief gale stopped. The father and son were shocked to find that at least half of the fruits on the jujube tree in the yard had been lost, but the branches and leaves were not much damaged.
But the way the date tree swayed in the wind felt a little weird.
"Crunch...Crunch...Crunch..."
There were bursts of chewing sounds coming from the mouth of the old man next to him, and the fresh fragrance of the dates emanated from it.
"Not bad, not bad, it tastes very good, it tastes very good!"
Master Yin's heart is still beating wildly. Even though he has been mentally prepared, the difference between this and what he imagined is too great.
"Master Yin, I only took one bite, and I will never go back on my word. You cannot make false accusations against Mr. Ji about what happened today, hahahaha..."
Although Yin Zhaoxian's heart was twitching a little, he still tried his best to calm down and bowed to the old man.
"Yin was blind to the truth. The old gentleman kept his word and kept his promise. He only ate one bite, but it scared Yin and his son enough. If there is a next time, I hope the old gentleman will give me a warning first!"
Ying Hong had been observing Yin Zhaoxian carefully from the time they met until he swallowed the dates. He saw that he had an upright and extraordinary aura. When he heard the man's words, although he was still frightened but still free and easy, he smiled and nodded.
"As expected of you, Mr. Ji's only friend in the county. I frightened Master Yin, please don't blame me!"
"Don't dare!"
Although they were still nervous, the atmosphere became harmonious. They picked a plate of dates and sat down at the stone table to chat. They mainly talked about how to make friends.
As the Yin father and son supplemented each other's story about Ji Yuan rescuing the red fox and releasing it together with Yin Qing, the old man was also smiling.
Although the old man was obviously hiding something in his words, Yin Zhaoxian did not ask about it, nor did he casually inquire about the background of this old man who was obviously not an ordinary person. He just listened and talked.
The two of them were chatting happily. The old man named Ying Hong seemed to suddenly think of something and slapped his head and shouted.
"Almost forgot!"
As he spoke, he took out a thin-necked porcelain wine jug and two porcelain cups from behind like a magic trick and placed them on the stone table.
"I owe Mr. Ji a drink, but unfortunately Mr. Ji is a supernatural being, so I can't find him or predict his whereabouts. I came here to see if the dates are ripe and whether he has returned. Since Master Yin and I hit it off right away, I would like to ask Master to taste the wine for Mr. Ji first, how about that?"
"Why not!"
Yin Zhaoxian was also free and easy. Although he seldom drank, he thought that he could not embarrass Mr. Ji. It was just a drink!
The old man smiled without saying anything and poured a cup for both him and himself.
"Master Yin, please!"
"Mr. Ying, please!"
They each raised their glasses and drank. After drinking a glass of wine, Yin Zhaoxian only felt the sweet and mellow taste of the wine lingering, a heat flowing through his body, and a blush rising on his cheeks.
"Good...wine..."
He didn't finish his sentence and lay down on the stone table without moving.
Yin Qing, who was just eating dates on the side, panicked. He looked at the old man and then at his father. He knew that the old man would not harm his father, but he was still worried.
"Old man, this... my father, is he... is he okay?"
"Hahahaha... It's okay, it's okay. Master Yin can't handle the alcohol. He's drunk!"
The old man raised his glass and drank the wine in his glass, laughing happily!
"Go home and get a blanket to cover your father, and let him sleep in the yard tonight! Go quickly!"
Yin Qing swallowed his saliva and nodded, not daring to disobey the old gentleman's wishes, and hurried out of the yard and ran home.
After Yin Qing left, the old man's smile faded slightly. He poured another glass of wine and stood up holding the glass.
He glanced at the jujube tree in the yard.
"Haha, I'll buy you a drink too!"
After saying this, he raised his glass and poured it towards the roots of the tree. The wine soaked into the tree without even wetting the soil.
When Yin Qing hurriedly came back with a blanket and Yin's mother, who looked worried, there was no one else in the yard except Yin Zhaoxian who was sleeping on the table.