Ding ding ding~~
The old donkey rang its bell and slowly squeezed through the door with Gao Tianqiu and others into the yard. It stuck out its tongue, rolled up the weeds growing out of the cracks in the ground, pulled them close to its mouth and rubbed them, then walked behind its owner, swinging its bald tail.
The cicadas were chirping noisily from the locust trees. The breeze blew on the layers of branches, casting spots of light that fell on the shabby doors and windows and swayed gently. Lu Liangsheng pushed aside a few drooping locust branches, stepped on the fallen leaves on the ground, rustled his way to the eaves, touched the eaves pillars with faded red paint, looked around, and was quite satisfied with the place.
The Taoist priest didn't see it that way. He looked at the locust tree near the courtyard wall and spit, "Planting locust trees in the yard is really like thinking your home isn't falling apart fast enough. You don't even understand why you shouldn't plant locust trees and willow trees in front of your house. No wonder it's so dilapidated now."
"Rustle, rustle, rustle~~"
The locust tree in the yard had branches swaying in the wind, and its shade occasionally blocked people's sight. In everyone's eyes, the yard always seemed gloomy.
Hearing what the Taoist master Sun said, Gao Tianqiu frowned. He did not believe in ghosts and gods. Of course, he regarded the two of them as great figures of the god level. In the eyes of scholars, everything had a basis. It was just that he was the one who found the courtyard, so if there was anything wrong, it would be his fault.
Even though he heard Lu Liangsheng's admiration from the other side, he couldn't help but ask again.
"Mr. Lu, Taoist Sun, are you satisfied with this courtyard?"
"I think that's fine."
Lu Liangsheng smiled and went to see the kitchen with two connected wings. The layout was similar to the fenced courtyard in Lujia Village back then. When he opened the door of the kitchen, he saw a big hole in the roof, and the sunlight was falling on the stove. The white tiles on the stove had been uninhabited for many years and were covered with a thick layer of dust. The scholar blew out a breath lightly, and dust particles filled the sunlight, dancing and swirling.
"… In those days, Old Sun and I traveled all over the country, especially when we were preparing for the imperial examinations, we often stayed overnight in those dilapidated temples or borrowed a place to stay in the mountains. Back then, it was even worse than this, but after cleaning and repairing it, it could be considered a quiet and unique courtyard."
Lu Liangsheng waved his sleeves to clear away the dust, then walked through the bedrooms and living room connected to the kitchen. The room was dark, and the few broken furniture that had not been moved away were damp, moldy and rotting on the ground. If such a house was placed in the homes of ordinary people in the wilderness of the Sui and Tang dynasties, it would be considered a good courtyard.
Squeak~~
Pulling aside the curtains, Lu Liangsheng pushed open the window with only half of the glass left, picked up the broken glass that had fallen on the windowsill, tossed it in his hand, walked out of the room, and smiled at everyone, "Look, the previous family left a lot of colored glass for me, a latecomer."
Of course, he was joking. When he came to this place, he understood a lot of things in Lu Jun's house. The glass embedded in the window frame was the first thing he understood. It looked crystal clear, but it was not very valuable here.
In fact, what Lu Liangsheng was most optimistic about was the nearby school. Gao Tianqiu told him that there were books there. Instead of letting others nag at him about the things here, it would be better to sit quietly in a corner with the book he wanted to read and read it carefully, so as to better accept the history and knowledge of this era.
After walking around, Lu Liangsheng was quite satisfied with the yard. He just cleaned it up according to his own ideas. He rubbed the dust on his fingertips and dropped it to the ground. Over there, Gao Tianqiu came up quickly.
"Mr. Lu, if you don't like it, we can change it. What Taoist Sun said just now is not unreasonable. I will find an agent later."
"No need, let's just stay here. I don't want to take advantage of your government office."
Lu Liangsheng snapped his fingers, and the old donkey who was strolling around the yard trotted over with a bookshelf in his hand. He took out a jade pendant, which was round and hollow, with green jade and patterns of clouds, dragons and rain on both sides. He handed it to the other party.
"I wore this item when I was the Imperial Master of the Great Sui Dynasty. It is no longer useful to me now. It should be an antique now and worth a lot of money here."
"Mr. Lu, do you know all this?"
Gao Tianqiu was a little surprised, but then he realized that ancient scholars also liked things from celebrities in previous dynasties. Wouldn't it be just antiques now? Looking at the jade pendant in his hand, he felt it was a little heavy.
"Mr. Lu... I'm afraid this is inappropriate. The country has regulations that we cannot accept..."
Before he could finish, the Taoist priest who was looking at the locust tree cast his eyes over and said, "Just take it if I tell you to. It contains magical powers. Don't you like to study it? Take it and study it and see what you can find out. Just think of it as a tip from Master Lu to you younger generations."
Hearing the word "magic power", Gao Tianqiu quickly retracted his hands that had been extended, took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped the jade pendant, then put it in his arms. His face was flushed and he had a few more wrinkles from smiling.
"Since Mr. Lu and Taoist Sun are satisfied, I will go and get the house right away. I will also apply for ID cards for the two of you. But how do I fill in the Xianxiang form?"
"ID card?"
Lu Liangsheng pondered over these three words and immediately smiled and said, "But the talisman and the pass? That is necessary. As for the address, just write Lujia Village, Qixia Mountain. This is where my hometown is and it cannot be changed."
After all this, Gao Tianqiu frowned and led his people away. If this kind of ID card was issued, the clerk would probably think he was joking with them.
After all, the date of birth would be written on it: September 6, 571... When he thought of this, he seemed to see the murderous eyes of the clerk.
After leaving the alley, before applying for my identity card, I went to the real estate agency first. The first thing I asked was how the previous family moved out.
When the agent saw several people in suits and sunglasses standing in front of him, he shrank his neck and stammered out the truth.
"Nine years ago, someone died there. The woman from that family hanged herself under the locust tree... Later, some people moved in, but without exception, they either fell ill or had a sudden disaster in their family, so they all moved away."
Gao Tianqiu snatched the information of the small courtyard from the agent, without any comments on it, and threw it back in the other party's face. Just as he was about to ask angrily, he suddenly put his raised hand down and glared at the man fiercely, "We want this house."
After saying that, he turned and walked out, followed by his subordinates.
"Team leader, haunted house..."
"Who are Mr. Lu and Taoist Sun? If there really are any ghosts, it would be a disaster for ordinary people, but wouldn't it be a bit of fun for the two of them?"
The people behind him thought about it carefully and realized that Taoist Sun noticed something was wrong with the locust tree when he entered the courtyard. He had been walking back and forth under the tree and looking up. Could it be that he had seen the woman hanging on the tree
When they thought of this, they felt a chill on the back of their necks. They also thought that Mr. Lu was gentle and polite, so it was no wonder that he wanted to buy this house. Most likely, he wanted to prevent others from buying it and causing trouble.
'This is what a great man is, serving the people!'
Several people looked at each other, and most of them thought of this sentence. They all raised their thumbs and followed the team leader in admiration to get into the car and go to another place to apply for their ID cards.
The sun sets in the west, turning into a shade of orange that covers the locust trees swaying in the wind.
The sky gradually darkened, and the night wind blew over the dilapidated eaves, revealing a room with a bed and a desk. Candlelight shone through the window lattice, and a cut-out figure leaned over and held a pen. The tip of the pen fell on the paper and drew lines smoothly. It was the outline of the courtyard. Lu Liangsheng first drew a picture to see how to transform this place.
Rustle…
The old tree in the yard outside the house swayed gently, and there was a faint groaning sound of "creaking... creaking..." from the shaking branches. The scholar did not stop working, and was too lazy to look out the window. Sun Yingxian, who was fiddling with a radio and listening with the Toad Taoist, shook her ears, laughed, jumped off the bed, lifted the hem of her robe and strode out.
'Crack... creak...'
Rustle…
The candlelight shining through the window lattice was dim and merged with the black. The locust tree standing against the courtyard wall swayed gently. Between the layers of branches and leaves, a pair of feet slowly descended from the tree cage, hanging in the air and swaying gently.
'Rustle... rustle...'
Except for the rustling of the locust trees, the courtyard was dead silent.