I have known Ji Yuan for many years and have long known that he is an extraordinary person, but this is the first time Zhu Yanxu has visited him.
The older people get, the more clearly they see things. Compared to the past, Zhu Yanxu's feelings towards Ji Yuan are even more special now. Just by watching Ji Yuan slowly grinding the ink, his previous nervous and uneasy mood gradually calmed down, and his breathing became slower.
"Master Zhu, I just boiled some water. How about we use the tea leaves you brought to make some tea together?"
Ji Yuan happened to have some ink at this moment, so he looked up at Zhu Yanxu and asked.
"Of course you can. Mr. Ji, would you like to drink Youzhou Peak Tea or Jizhou's Rain Tea? I, Zhu, brought some of both. They are all good teas given by relatives and friends."
"Pre-rain tea, I haven't had it for years."
"Why!"
Zhu Yanxu bent down and rummaged through the sack he brought with him. He found a yellow bamboo jar, shook it, and twisted it open. A faint scent of tea wafted out.
With Ji Yuan's sense of smell, he naturally knew that this was top-quality tea, no worse than the one sent by the Wei family. Looking at Zhu Yanxu's appearance, his hands holding the bamboo jar were already old and wrinkled, his face was still rosy, but his hair was gray and dotted with spots, and he was only 70% like the strong Zhu County Lieutenant in his memory.
Ji Yuan took the bamboo pot from Zhu Yanxu, said "wait a moment", and walked towards the kitchen.
Zhu Yanxu watched Ji Yuan leave, and then looked around Ju'an Pavilion. The well not far away was covered with a large stone slab, and the surrounding houses looked old, with dull or peeling paint, but they all looked very clean.
The jujube tree above my head is much larger than what I see from the outside in front of the courtyard. It is like a big canopy, covering most of the courtyard of Ju'an Pavilion. But the magical thing is that the winter sun can always shine through the branches, making even the shade of the tree appear very bright and warm.
Looking back at the table, the plaque of Ju'an Pavilion was not finely mounted. It was just a piece of wood with polished edges. Fortunately, the wood should be okay, without any cracks or signs of insects. As for the words on it, they were indeed mottled and incomplete and could not be seen at all.
Since he brought a precious inkstone, Zhu Yanxu's attention naturally fell on the four treasures of the study that Ji Yuan placed outside. Of course, there was no paper now, so there were only three treasures.
The ink must be top-quality ink, and the pens on the ceramic pen holder seemed very special. Zhu Yanxu looked at it from several angles and felt that the sunlight had different luster when it fell on the pens, which was very pleasing to the eye. It was the first time he had such a feeling on a pen.
But the inkstone looked like just an ordinary old black inkstone. Zhu Yanxu felt that the inkstone he brought would be better. He thought that he would have to push it again later. Maybe Mr. Ji was just being polite.
The accountant Yuan also came out from the kitchen carrying a tray with teacups and a pot of brewed tea on it.
"Master Zhu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. You haven't been home for a long time and haven't entertained guests for a long time. I'm a little rude. You should have prepared tea when you came."
Zhu Yanxu quickly stood up to help.
"Hey, Mr. Ji, that's not the case. It was Zhu who came to visit in a hurry and disturbed you."
They poured the tea, Zhu Yanxu blew it while Ji Yuan put it aside to cool.
Zhu Yanxu actually didn't have much to ask for, but seeing Ji Yuan he just wanted to get close to him and build a relationship with him. Thinking back to when Yin Gong went to Ju'an Pavilion so frequently, he must have already determined that Mr. Ji was an extraordinary person.
Although Zhu Yanxu also understood that Yin Gong's current status was mainly due to his own talent and hard work, he couldn't help but wonder whether Mr. Ji also helped.
Originally, Zhu Yanxu was a warrior. Although he was not a dull person, he was not very talkative either. Before coming here, he had been struggling with how to talk to Ji Yuan. Now, a lot of words came to his mind.
He blew on the hot tea, smelled the fragrance but did not drink it immediately. He looked at Ji Yuan cleaning the remaining vermilion lacquer on the wooden board bit by bit, and said with a little emotion.
"Sir, you haven't been back for more than ten years, right?"
Ji Yuan scraped the wooden board carefully with a small shell and nodded.
“I guess so.”
Zhu Yanxu took a sip of tea, looked at the swaying branches of the jujube tree above his head, and then looked at Ji Yuan.
"In the blink of an eye, I have grown old, but Mr. Ji is still as charming as ever!"
Ji Yuan smiled.
"Master Zhu, you are too kind. You are still strong and vigorous at your age. I believe Master Chen Sheng is the same."
If we use Ji Yuan's words from his previous life, Chen Sheng and Zhu Yanxu are the "two heroes of Ning'an County" who have had the greatest influence on Ning'an County in the past few decades, followed by Yin Zhaoxian who made a big splash.
Without these two officials, one civil and one military, the once impoverished Ning'an County would not be what it is today. Therefore, Ji Yuan admired these two people very much. At least he believed that he might not be able to do better than them when it came to being an official.
Zhu Yanxu asked again while drinking his tea.
"I heard that after you left, the jujube tree in Ju'an Pavilion never bloomed again. Now that you are back, should the jujube tree bloom?"
Although not many people in Ning'an County may remember it now, the special fragrance of jujube flowers once almost filled half of the county, and Zhu Yanxu still remembers it vividly.
"Whether it blooms or not is up to it, but what Lord Zhu said makes sense. If I am still here next year, it should bloom."
"Oh, so that's how it is!"
Ji Yuan didn't play around with him in these words and answered him just as he was asked. Zhu Yanxu also understood what was going on in his mind and didn't say anything else for the time being. He took a sip of tea from time to time and watched the movements of Ji Yuan's hands, but the hand holding the teacup alternately tightened and relaxed, and it was obvious that he was hesitating about something.
About a quarter of an hour later, Zhu Yanxu drank two cups of tea, and Ji Yuan finally cleaned the original vermilion lacquer on the wooden board. He shook it gently under the table, and the lacquer chips fell to the ground one after another, without a single drop of them floating up and touching the two people at the table.
When Ji Yuan put the wooden board back on the table, stroked it gently with his hand and then picked up the pen, Zhu Yanxu's attention could not help but be attracted by it.
Holding the sleeve and picking up the pen, he dipped the brush in ink and wrote dot after dot. There seemed to be a special rhythm hidden in it. Zhu Yanxu watched it so intently that he didn't notice that the sounds around him were fading away in the already very quiet Ju'an Pavilion.
"Master Zhu, writing can calm one's mind, and the same is true for watching others write. Master Zhu, please observe carefully. I will ask you to judge Ji's handwriting later."
Ji Yuan's voice was calm and powerful. He moved the wolf hair brush dipped in ink onto the wooden sign and then slowly let it fall.
The ink spread out, far larger than the area covered by the tip of the brush, but Ji Yuan didn't care. He turned his wrist and moved his arm to write slowly, his iron-like and silver-like strokes were vigorous and powerful.
Zhu Yanxu watched Ji Yuan write, and found the amazing thing was that, although the tip of the wolf-hair brush in Ji Yuan's hand was only as thick as a thumb, the handwriting was at least two and a half fingers wide, and it was just as tight where it should be and as flexible where it should be changed, without affecting the calligraphy at all.
After a long time, Ji Yuan finished writing the last horizontal stroke, put away the pen and placed it on the pen holder beside him. After carefully looking at the plaque for a while, he smiled and said to Zhu Yanxu.
"Master Zhu, please taste it!"
Zhu Yanxu was still immersed in the feeling just now, and even Ji Yuan's words did not break this rhythm. He just said "OK", stood up and walked to Ji Yuan's side, looking down at the plaque that his eyes had never left.
At a frontal glance, the four characters "Ju'an Xiaoge" are neither hard nor soft, and a feeling of freshness and pleasantness almost emerges from the surface. It is a feeling of peace of mind, tranquility, concentration and clarity of heart that makes him comfortable both physically and mentally.
Especially the word "Ju'an", which made Zhu Yanxu feel at ease and calm. Even the mental fatigue caused by lack of rest during this period was greatly relieved, and he looked very energetic.
"Good words, good words, really good words!"
Zhu Yanxu could read and write, but that was all he could do. He couldn't say anything very literary to compliment people, but these few "good"s were sincere. He had never seen such beautiful and poetic handwriting.
"In that case, Master Zhu, please watch for a while longer."
After Ji Yuan said this, he started to pick up the teacup and drink tea. It was clearly winter, but the tea in his cup that had been left for so long was at just the right temperature to drink.
The afternoon sun in winter makes people feel very warm, and the air under the jujube tree in Ju'an Pavilion is also very comfortable. Especially at this moment, Zhu Yanxu feels that every breath is very comfortable and refreshing.
Unknowingly, a long time had passed. Ji Yuan stood up and walked towards Zhu Yanxu who was still standing there in a daze.
"Master Zhu, Master Zhu! It's time to wake up!"
Zhu Yanxu suddenly perked up and woke up as if from a dream.
"Ah? Oh, oh, good handwriting!"
"Well, thank you for your compliment, but it's getting late, you should go home. I'll be worried about your wife and children."
Ji Yuan said this, pointing to the sky.
Zhu Yanxu was stunned for a moment and looked at the sky. It had actually become much darker. Although blocked by the houses and walls, he could still see a hint of sunset light in the west, indicating that the sun was not blocked by clouds at this moment, but had really set.
"How come it happened so quickly..."
Zhu Yanxu was halfway through his words when he suddenly realized something.
"Mr. Ji, is this the word?"
"Haha, Master Zhu, don't think too much. Go home. I don't have any dishes at home, so I won't keep you for dinner."
Zhu Yanxu said nothing more and just bowed.
"Well, Mr. Ji, please take a seat. I will take my leave now. This inkstone..."
"take it back."
"Uh, okay!"
Zhu Yanxu didn't dare to insist any longer, fearing that being overly polite would offend others. He picked up the inkstone box alone, left the cakes and wine, and then went down to the door with Ji Yuan following him.
"Mr. Ji, there's no need to see me off. Zhu will be home soon!"
"Okay, Master Zhu, take care."
"Why!"
Zhu Yanxu bowed again and again, subconsciously glanced above the door of the small courtyard, then turned around and walked outside. He couldn't describe how he felt today, but he vaguely knew in his heart that this experience was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
No matter what, it’s the right choice to come today!