The shock in Sun Fu's voice was clear. If this wooden plaque hadn't been hanging up all the time, he wouldn't have been able to think of Ji Yuan all of a sudden. After all, the appearance of this once-wonderful man from Ning'an County had long been blurred in his memory.
Hearing that Sun Fu could actually call him right, Ji Yuan smiled at him, swallowed the noodles in his mouth and said.
"Yes, it's Ji. Brother Sun still remembers me!"
Sun Fu wiped his hands with the rag on the cupboard and wiped it on his clothes again. He quickly walked out from behind the cupboard and looked at Ji Yuan with surprise and confusion.
"Mr. Ji, is it really you? I, can I add some braised pork and offal for you?"
He took a closer look at what Ji Yuan was about to go back to the cupboard and cart, but Ji Yuan quickly stopped him.
"No, no, that's enough, that's enough. You go about your business first. If you're really not busy, just sit down and let's chat."
Ji Yuan pointed to the empty seat at the table with his chopsticks.
At this time, there were also other diners who asked curiously because they were familiar with Sun Fu.
"Uncle Sun, who is this gentleman?"
Sun Fu looked at the young man who was speaking, and then replied with memories on his face.
"Mr. Ji, this is what your uncle Sun often talked about before. You also said it several times when you came to our house!"
"Huh? I don't remember this..."
"How old were you then? Apart from eating and playing, what else can you remember?"
Sun Fu said a few words to the man, grabbed the rag in his hand, and sat down on the edge of Ji Yuan with a little restraint.
Ji Yuan looked at him and continued to eat noodles slowly. He took some offal from another bowl into the noodle bowl, mixed it with the braised pork and noodles, put it on the chopsticks and put it into his mouth, eating with gusto.
"Sir, why haven't you come back to see me after being away for so many years?"
Ji Yuan held his chopsticks and held them in his hands apologetically.
"There are a lot of things to be busy with, and there are many things you can't do when you are outside. Thank you for thinking about me."
"Oh, yes, you can't come back as soon as you want to be outside. When my father was still here, he always talked about you. Sometimes he would ask me, 'Mr. Ji,' how long has it been since he came to the stall to eat noodles? I almost always He said he had never been here before, and occasionally lied to him and said he had just come here to eat. Well, sir, you won’t blame me, right?”
Ji Yuan nodded towards him.
"How could it be? This statement was born out of filial piety, which is a great kindness. But Lao Suntou always remembers Ji, which makes me very touched!"
Sun Fu smiled.
"That's right, my dad has always said at home that you are not an ordinary person and you must be treated well."
"Haha, this old Suntou... did he have any unfulfilled wishes when he passed away?"
Ji Yuan smiled and asked.
"Hey, my father's wish is that my eldest brother's son and I can be good at writing and writing, and be able to become high-ranking officials. But we ordinary people don't have this kind of material. The two boys did go to school, but Then I still couldn’t read, so I just did whatever I had to do. That was fine, I have my granddaughter in my arms now.”
Ji Yuan smiled knowingly when he heard this, but continued eating noodles without saying anything. When the noodles were gone, he ate offal.
"Mr. Ji, I've heard people say before that you might not come back... It's great to see you!"
Ji Yuan heard the overtone of Sun Fu's words. It was probably that someone had told him that someone might have died in a foreign country. This kind of thing was not uncommon, and it was not surprising to think so.
“It’s also good to have Sun Kee’s noodles and offal.”
As he spoke, Ji Yuan put the last bite of offal into his mouth and chewed it carefully for a while before swallowing it. Then he turned to look at Sun Fu. Seeing that he was full of energy and not worried, it was obvious that he was doing well, but he still asked.
"Are there any difficulties at home? You can talk to Ji."
Sun Fu waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, no, no, Mr. Ji, don't look at me still setting up a stall here to sell noodles, but this is because I don't want our old Sun family's craftsmanship to be lost. In fact, our family is living a good life, and we don't lack anything!"
After all, he was still an outsider. Sun Fu didn't reveal the identity of the gold nugget, but he also showed that his family was wealthy enough.
Ji Yuan understood at a glance. As the saying goes, poor and humble families are in decline. This is true but there is some truth in it. After all, money cannot solve everything, but it can indeed solve most things. It is also effective in Ning'an County.
"It's okay, only by being content can you always be happy."
Ji Yuan put the chopsticks away at night, fluffed the sleeves that had been folded up because he was afraid of being stained with soup, and just sat at the table chatting with Sun Fu. He also waved to the little girl, but the little girl But he was shy and hid behind the cupboard and didn't come over.
"This kid, even though he seems to be afraid of strangers, is actually very strong-tempered, just like a little boy. I'm planning to send him to a private school too!"
"Oh? Girls can go to private schools now?"
Ji Yuan was a little surprised. You must know that in the past, although Dazhen did not explicitly stipulate that girls could not go to school, it was almost an unwritten rule. Women's social status was still lower, at least in school. No woman in sight.
Even the ladies of some wealthy families would have their masters teach them literacy in private schools at home.
"Hey, I wouldn't have dared to think about it a few years ago, but what kind of place is Ning'an County? It's a great place with outstanding people. There is such a high-ranking official as Yin Wenqu. One of the decrees he has implemented in recent years has included women. Readable."
"Oh, I'm afraid the resistance will be quite great."
Sun Fu put away the bowls and chopsticks in front of Ji Yuan and said.
"That's not clear, but Yin Wenqu's words are still very effective in our Ning'an County. At least if I reveal his identity, no one will oppose me."
Ji Yuan smiled and extended his thumb.
"Not bad, insightful."
After saying that, he patted his trouser legs and stood up, taking out a few copper coins from his sleeves.
"The price hasn't changed?"
"Oh, Mr. Ji, you have been away for so many years and you just came back to the county. This is just my treat for you. How can I ask for your money? Put it away quickly!"
Sun Fu's attitude was very firm, and it was not a pretense of politeness.
Ji Yuan looked at him and actually collected the money, nodded.
"Okay, Ji will appreciate my kindness and go home first. If you need anything, come to Ju'an Xiaoge to see me. Well, anything is fine."
After saying this, Ji Yuan left his seat, strode into the gate of Tianniu Fang, and headed towards Ju'an Pavilion.
After they left, the conversation among the other diners at the noodle stall who had deliberately not left after finishing their meal started to become heated again.
"Uncle Sun, who is Mr. Ji? You always said that Mr. Ji is Mr. Ji. He is very famous?"
"Yes, Boss Sun, I think this man is not too old. Why does it feel like..."
The speaker couldn't describe the feeling, as if Sun Fu, who was already a grandfather, was talking to his father.
Sun Fu watched Ji Yuan's back disappear from sight, then approached the tables and whispered.
"You guys, what do you know? This is Mr. Jiyuanji. He was famous in our county more than ten or twenty years ago. Go back and ask your parents, or even your grandparents, and you will be able to remember it!"
"Ten or twenty years?"
"Is this man so old!?"
Sun Fu pressed his hands to silence several people before continuing.
"This man was rumored to be a strange person back then. The previous magistrate and county captain all respected him. By the way, you all know Yin Wenqu, right?"
"I know!" "Look at what you said about Uncle Sun, how could we not know about Yin Wenqu?"
"Well, Yin Wenqu's hometown was in Tianniufang back then, and he and Mr. Ji were his best neighbors. When he was still a tutor at the county school, he would go to Ju'an Pavilion almost every day. He and Mr. Ji had a very deep friendship!"
"Oh!" "That's it!" "That's it!"
The diners on the side were amazed, and their expressions made Sun Fu very satisfied. The little girl on the other side also started laughing when she saw the exaggerated expressions on their faces.
Ji Yuan returned to Ju'an Pavilion where he had been away for a long time. Few people he met along the way recognized him. When he arrived at the door of the pavilion, he found the key, unlocked the door and pushed in.
With a "squeak~" sound, a layer of dust fell on the door frame, but all the dust passed around Ji Yuan, and even if it fell on his shoulders, it would immediately slide off.
"Woo... Wu..."
There was a breeze blowing in the courtyard, and the leaves of the jujube branches swayed, making bursts of light sounds.
"Swish, swish, swish... swish, swish..."
After sniffing, maybe because of the jujube tree, the smell in my home is very fresh.
"Thanks a lot!"
Ji Yuan knew that he could not live permanently in Ning'an County now, at least he might not stay long when he came back this time. The jujube trees at home were all watching over him. Even though there wasn't much to steal here, it was home after all.
He opened all the doors to let some air out. This time, Ji Yuan didn't skimp on his spells. He waved his hand to bring up a gust of wind, sweeping away all the dust in the house and making the house clean and tidy.
When he returned to the kitchen and took a look, Ji Yuan couldn't help but slap his forehead.
"Oh, it's all wasted!"
The small jar of honey in the kitchen was no longer the same after ten years, but when Ji Yuan opened the jar and took a closer look, he found a layer of crystals condensed at the bottom. He slightly scraped off the layer of wax on the surface, and could smell a refreshing smell. The sweetness.
"It seems like you can still eat it?"
At this time, the paper crane squeezed out of the kit, flew out of Ji Yuan's arms, and circled around the jujube tree. The jujube tree in the courtyard shook its branches and leaves, as if it was also saying hello to the paper crane.
Ji Yuan came out of the kitchen. In addition to going to fetch water, he also thought about it and took out the "Sword Intention Tie" and put it in the courtyard.
The next moment, the scroll opened automatically, and a chirping sound suddenly emerged from it.
"Oh! Ju'an Xiaoge!" "Yes, yes, I'm back to Ning'an County!"
"Ah, jujube tree!" "Hahaha... finally I'm in Ning'an County!"
"The jujube tree can't talk yet?" "Idiot, the jujube tree is a tree that gathers elves!"
"Shh... There are mortals around here, let's keep our voices down!"
"Yes, yes, keep your voice down..."
A group of small characters spoke in a low voice, and after some chattering, they jumped out of the "Sword Intention Notes" one by one.
The branches and leaves of the jujube tree in the courtyard were all silent, obviously shocked by these small characters.