Compared to the nobles, this family was naturally a commoner, but after all, this place was close to the imperial city, and even the seemingly unrespectable house deep in the alley was valuable, so they actually lived a fairly comfortable life.
The back door is located in the kitchen. Ji Yuan followed the couple into the house. The covered pot on the stove was making a puffing sound. A faint aroma of rice porridge wafted out, mixed with the smoke from the stove that could not be completely discharged into the chimney, making it seem full of the flavor of life.
"Haha, sir, you must be quite cold now. Why don't you sit in front of the stove and warm yourself with the charcoal fire?"
After the man made this suggestion, Ji Yuan naturally nodded in agreement and said "Thank you!" Then he walked to the stove and sat on a small wooden stool. His face was also reddened by the remaining charcoal fire in the stove.
"Sir, please sit down first. Let's clean up. Mother, let A-bao get up."
"Why."
Watching his wife enter the front hall, the man tidied the small table in the kitchen, put the bench and small stool in place, and scooped out some pickled vegetables from a jar on the side. When the jar was opened and he smelled the sour fragrance that was also full of the flavor of life, Ji Yuan couldn't help but salivate.
When the hostess of the household appeared with a sleepy child, the host had just opened the lid of the pot on the stove. A large puff of steam rose up, bringing with it a burst of heat. Ji Yuan sat in front of the stove and took a look. There was white porridge of moderate consistency inside.
"father."
"Well, are you up? Wash your face and prepare to eat porridge. This gentleman is a guest in our home, so please say hello."
When the child saw Ji Yuan's attire, he immediately sobered up a little and bowed with a little bit of stiffness.
"Hello, sir!"
"Um."
When Ji Yuan responded, several large bowls of porridge had already been placed in front of the table. The host warmly invited Ji Yuan to come over and eat the porridge. Ji Yuan was very polite and did not hesitate when it was time to eat. He ate it with pickled vegetables with great relish, slurping it up in a way that made everyone who saw him feel very hungry.
The children found it very interesting to watch Ji Yuan eating porridge, and they ate with great enthusiasm as well. The hostess looked at her husband and they made eye contact. It seemed that this scholar had a different way of eating. It seemed that he was very hungry and ate quickly, but his eating manners were still not ugly.
This pot of porridge was originally made according to the quantity for a family of three. Although it would certainly be cooked a little more, it would not be too much more. The child must be fed well. Due to the extra ingredient, the host and hostess could only eat less. The host usually had three bowls of porridge, but today he only ate one bowl and added a little more.
Of course Ji Yuan knew how much was in the pot, but he didn't say anything and quickly ate a bowl of porridge. When it came to the second bowl, there was more chatting at the table.
The main topic of this family is still their own children. Facing Ji Yuan, a scholar, they talk about their children's intelligence and their external expectations for them. They have the usual mentality of parents who want their children to be successful. They also provide the best conditions they can, such as sending their children to school and considering their children's careers.
After chatting about this topic for a while, they inevitably mentioned Yin Zhaoxian, the incarnation of the Star of Literature, and Ji Yuan couldn't help but talk about it.
"I heard that Lord Yin was not feeling well, so I came all the way to Beijing to visit him. But I wonder how Lord Yin is doing?"
Ji Yuan's question was not a direct question, but more like a sigh from a scholar who admired Yin Zhaoxian after dinner.
These words obviously resonated with the couple.
"Alas, Lord Yin has been worrying about the people of the world for many years, and his condition has not improved for a long time. None of us ordinary people want anything to happen to Lord Yin, but we are not doctors, so we can only pray to God not to take Lord Yin away."
"My teacher said that Lord Yin must have been harmed by treacherous officials in the court. Those old officials hate to see Lord Yin get better."
The child who was eating porridge with hot breath also interrupted, Ji Yuan smiled, reached out and wiped a piece of dust from the child's forehead, then spoke.
"Well, but if you don't want your teacher to get into trouble, you, as a child, shouldn't say such things."
The child scratched his head in confusion, but his parents kept saying "yes" and warned the child not to talk nonsense.
After briefly chatting with the family for a while, Ji Yuan had a clearer assessment of Yin Zhaoxian's status in the hearts of ordinary people. The child's teacher could say this directly, so either the teacher himself was a little stupid, or he was really furious.
After that, Ji Yuan didn't talk more about the Yin family. Instead, he chatted with them about family matters. After the meal, he was ready to say goodbye and leave. He didn't go to the front door on purpose, but planned to go out from the back door.
Although it was only a brief contact, the family felt that Mr. Ji was knowledgeable and eloquent, and was definitely not an ordinary person. He might be the hermit figure as rumored. Therefore, they received him more warmly and even used honorifics to address him.
The rain was still pouring down outside. When Ji Yuan walked to the back door, the hostess specially found an umbrella.
"Sir, it's raining outside. If you don't plan to sit for a while, take this umbrella with you!"
"Yes, Mr. Ji, take an umbrella."
The man took the umbrella and handed it to Ji Yuan, but the latter declined and turned to look at the rain outside the eaves of the back door.
"It's been raining for late at night, maybe..."
Before he could finish his words, the raindrops outside were becoming less and less frequent, and the puddles on the cobblestone road in the alley gradually disappeared.
"Haha, look, the rain has stopped. Thank you for your hospitality. I'm leaving now!"
Ji Yuan smiled, turned around and bowed, then took a step forward and walked into the alley. The couple was stunned for a moment, but after coming to their senses, they returned the bow and watched Ji Yuan leave.
"Oh! Mr. Ji's clothes are still wet. I should have dried them just now!"
"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that!"
The host and hostess said with regret that it was a rare opportunity to meet such a seemingly true scholar, and they should make friends with him. Who knows, maybe their children can rely on him when they study in the future.
After hearing what his parents said, the child leaning against the door frame became confused.
"Are Mr. Ji's clothes wet?"
The child was also very interested in Ji Yuan just now. He clearly remembered that the gentleman's clothes were not wet at all. However, his parents did not pay attention to what the child said. They just sighed and went back to the house.
When the sound of a door closing was heard from behind, Ji Yuan, who was far away in the alley, stopped again, looked back at the family, smiled and shook his head before continuing to leave.
Human nature is complex and simple at the same time. Ji Yuan is actually quite interesting. As a person who is almost recognized as a master of Taoism within a certain range, he would feel better because of such a trivial and mundane thing. Perhaps this is because life is worth it.
About a quarter of an hour after Ji Yuan left, the child of that family dressed up again and prepared to go to school. The hostess squatted down to tidy up her son's clothes and warned him to be careful on the way there and back. As she spoke, she suddenly felt something was wrong, and then focused her eyes on the child's forehead, and finally found out what was wrong.
"Boss, boss, come and see!"
"Ah? What's going on?"
The man walked from inside to the front door, looking at the mother and son in confusion, and saw that his wife's face was obviously shocked.
"Oh, come and have a look at our son's forehead. Look, the black birthmark is gone!"
"What?"
The man was surprised and squatted down to take a look. He reached out to push back his son's bangs a little more and saw that the ugly black birthmark of a large area on his forehead that was originally covered by the bangs was gone.
"It's really gone! It's really gone! This..."
"Shall we take Po to see a doctor?"
"Of course, of course! I still need to read your fortune. After all, your face has changed. But the birthmark is gone, so that should be a good thing, right?"
Although the couple looked puzzled, they could hardly hide their joy. This society has always valued appearance. It is not only important on a daily basis, but if you want to move up in the career, appearance becomes even more important, especially when studying to become an official.
…
Rong'an Street looked very fresh after the rain in the early morning, and the gate of Yin Mansion was opened early. In addition to the busy servants of Yin Mansion, in one of the courtyards, Yin Zhongzheng, dressed in training clothes, was practicing boxing alone.
Each of Yin Zhong's moves was well-organized, but his punches and kicks were extremely powerful. Whenever he casually threw a circle, he would create a gust of wind from his sleeves and emit bursts of muffled sounds, which actually caused the air in the courtyard to flow. The servants dared only stand close to the corridor, knowing that the Second Young Master would not hurt anyone, they did not dare to get too close as breathing became stressful.
Yin Qing was walking along the corridor holding an old bamboo scroll in his hand. A gust of wind blew over him, blowing up his hair. He stopped and looked up. Seeing his brother's fists and feet, he couldn't help but say something.
"Tiger, although I don't know martial arts, I know that martial arts masters emphasize the ability to control their movements. If you use all your strength in punching and kicking like this, won't you have no power to change?"
Yin Zhong kept punching, not caring if talking at this moment would discourage him, and answered loudly.
"Brother, my punch is 10 points strong, but at least 20 points of force remains in my body. Don't be fooled by my fierce moves, because they are actually tough but also gentle."
Yin Qing hadn't cared about Yin Zhong's martial arts for a long time, but seeing Yin Zhong's attitude, he believed that his brother could handle the situation well. However, he didn't speak directly. Instead, he took a few stones nearby and threw them at him at the critical moment when Yin Zhong was about to punch or kick.
It was obvious that he didn't know martial arts, but Yin Qing's stones were not only accurate, but also very "deadly" in their landings. When Yin Zhong used all his strength to punch, he twisted his body, his waist was like a dragon, and his hands and feet were like waving claws and tails.
"Bang", "Bang", "Bang"
Several stones were smashed to pieces. When Yin Zhongzhen was about to talk to his brother with a smile, there was another sound of breaking air. After he narrowly avoided it, a stone flew past his forehead, but Yin Qing obviously did not move at this time.
The next moment, Yin Zhong stomped heavily on the ground, shaking up a few stones, and then kicked with a sweeping leg.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…”
Three stones were shot obliquely to one side and at the same time Yin Zhong shouted loudly.
"who?"
The other servants didn't react, only the two Yin brothers looked in the direction where the stone was flying. There was a flash of white swaying left and right and landed on the eaves next to them. It was a white paper bird holding a stone, with its two small wings raised high, as if it was about to drop the stone, but it froze because of Yin Zhong's reaction and the brothers' gaze.