Chapter 25 Waiting for traces day and night
The next day, the master took Zheng Qiu to set off early, first came to Zuishan Tower, then set off from Zuishan Tower, turned left to Daoxiangju.
Daoxiangju is a three-story wooden building, with stringed ears of rice hanging from the eaves of each floor. These ears of rice are roasted over a low fire, and you can smell the faint fragrance of rice as soon as you get close.
Daoxiangju is the best inn in Bihe Town, one silver coin is needed to stay for one day, and one silver coin can eat fish and meat for three days in Zuishanlou.
As soon as Zheng Qiu and his master approached the gate of Daoxiangju, the big man in charge stopped them. The big man threw a two-foot-long red-lacquered wooden stick in front of the two of them, and said with a straight face: "Aren't you here to stay in the store, you are not allowed to enter if you don't stay in the store."
The master arched his hands: "Brother, we are here to find someone, do me a favor, let us go in?"
"No!" The big man pushed the wooden stick forward and forced the master back to the street, "There are people with status in Daoxiangju, how can you poor ghosts be allowed in."
"We're really just looking for someone, we won't disturb other guests, we..."
"If you can't go in, you just can't go in!" The big man was vicious, beating the wooden stick on the ground, as if he was about to hit someone.
The master and Zheng Qiu had no choice but to retreat to the opposite side of the street and stand under the eaves to find a way.
"Master, don't let me in."
"Good apprentice, don't worry, let's wait here and see if anyone comes out from inside."
Zheng Qiu nodded, borrowed a bench from a nearby shop, sat down with the master and waited.
The sun rose higher and higher, and at noon, a young man walked out of the gate of Daoxiangju, wearing a robe and holding a paper fan, like a rich man.
After the master saw it, he quickly pulled Zheng Qiu along, and they ran over to ask together. But before he finished his question, the young man frowned, turned his face away, and walked away from the two of them.
It's okay, if the first person didn't ask, then wait for the second one.
Waiting and waiting, asking and asking, the whole afternoon, Zheng Qiu and the others waited for three more people, one came out of Daoxiangju, and the other two went in.
But these people ignored Zheng Qiu and the master, and either turned around and left, or stood back by the gate and let the big man chase them away.
It's not even okay to ask a question, why are these people like this, Zheng Qiu looked down at his clothes, he doesn't look like a beggar, is it so unpopular?
The sky was getting dark, but the master told Zheng Qiu not to go back at night, but to wait here. He went to a nearby shop to buy two cakes for dinner. Slowly, the streets became quiet, and the lights in Bihe Town also began to go out. It was late at night, and most people had already fallen asleep.
Zheng Qiu couldn't bear the drowsiness, so he leaned on his master's shoulder and snored, but the master didn't sleep, he half-closed his eyes and stared at the door of Daoxiangju. As for the big man standing at the door during the day, holding a wooden stick, he has already gone to rest in Daoxiangju, and now there are only two closed doors.
After a long time, creaking, the door was slowly opened, and a short man in coarse cloth walked out.
The man put the lantern in his hand outside the door, and then took out two large wooden barrels from the gate. Then he took out another pole and at the same time gently closed the door. Picking up two wooden barrels and hanging the lantern on the pole, the man wandered away from Daoxiangju.
"Good apprentice, wake up." The master patted Zheng Qiu on the back, "Someone has come out, let's go and ask, this time we will definitely be able to ask."
Zheng Qiu rubbed his confused eyes: "There are still people so late? Huh, there really are."
He shook his head vigorously, and twisted his right hand on his leg, trying to wake himself up quickly. Hiss, it hurts so much, Zheng Qiu jumped and followed the master to chase the man.
"This big brother, I think..."
"Ah!" As soon as the master spoke, the man yelled as if he had been bitten by a snake. He jumped up suddenly, and the wooden bucket on the pole shook violently, and the lid fell to the ground.
As soon as the lid of the bucket was taken off, the sour smell spread in the air, and Zheng Qiu immediately felt sick when he smelled it.
He retched twice, covered his nose and backed out a long way.
"In the middle of the night, what are you doing!" The man gasped in fright as he touched his chest, "Scared me to death, scared me to death!"
"Sorry, we didn't do it on purpose. Brother, please put the lid on the bucket, this smell is too, too strong." The master also covered his nose, shaking his head and coughing.
The man picked up the lid of the bucket and put it on, waving his hands to try to dispel the smell in the air: "Today there are rotten sour radishes in the garbage, and the smell is indeed stronger than usual. I said you are old and young, and you don't sleep at night, so come here do what?"
"Brother, we want to ask something."
"Are you going to ask me something late at night?"
The master cupped his hands at the man: "We are looking for someone, and the person we are looking for may live in Daoxiangju. But we can't get in Daoxiangju, and no one wants to talk to him during the day. Brother, do me a favor, it won't delay How long have you been?"
The man smiled: "You old man is quite smart, you actually know that someone will take out the garbage in the middle of the night. For the sake of waiting for me for so long, tell me, who do you want to find? As long as I know, I will tell you. "
"Good apprentice, don't hide so far away, the taste is too small." The master called Zheng Qiu over, "Talk to this big brother, the person you are looking for."
After Zheng Qiu finished describing it vividly, the man shook his head: "I have never seen those two people you mentioned before, maybe you made a mistake, they are not in Daoxiangju."
Seeing that the man picked up the wooden barrel and wanted to leave, the master hurriedly stepped forward to hold him back. "Brother, think again, these two are not ordinary people, they are both cultivators. There must be something special, think again."
"Oh, you don't need to pester me, old man. There's nothing special about it." The man shook off his master's arm, his tone a little annoyed.
After walking more than ten feet away with the bucket, the man suddenly stopped and turned back. "It just occurred to me that there are special things to say."
The master and Zheng Qiu pricked up their ears and stared at the man.
"The entire third floor of Daoxiangju was occupied by people, but I only received garbage twice on the third floor. It seems that the third floor is empty most of the time."
The master stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and asked, "Brother, do you know when the third floor was taken away?"
"Uh...it seems to be the time of the New Year's Eve, yes, he was taken away on the second day of the New Year's Eve."
Hearing that Master looked down at Zheng Qiu, both of them had joy in their eyes. The master asked: "Then do you know when the third floor is covered?"
"It seems like there are still nine days."
The master bowed and saluted: "Brother, thank you so much, I..."
The man waved his hand and moved aside: "Old man, this is too much for you to bear. That's all I know. I hope you can find someone. I still have a job. Let's go!"
After the man left, Zheng Qiu hugged the master's hand and jumped up and down. He was so happy that he almost turned over: "Master, master! I found it, I found it!"
The master raised his index finger and pressed it to his mouth: "Shh, don't yell so loudly, the neighbors are sleeping in the middle of the night. Let's go home, we will wait every day from tomorrow."