Peach and plum spring breeze and a glass of wine

The drama ends.

Outside the Yuelai Inn, Yang Ge and Wang Dali were busy greeting the county government officials who came to wash the floor to have tea and rest.

In the residence, a meticulous painting with paint that was not yet dry was presented to Shen Fa.

When Shen Fa first saw this picture with bright colors and neat and delicate brushwork, he turned to look at the painter beside him in surprise.

Sensing Shen Fa's gaze, the painter clasped his hands and saluted, but did not open his mouth to explain.

Shen Fa could only turn around and focus on this meticulous painting again.

He knew that the artist's paintings were all based on his intuition based on various information, words and deeds of the target person, and he himself could not control the type and brushwork of the paintings.

Past targets...

There was a bloody knife.

There is an unsheathed sword.

Another person is a chaotic ink that looks like a tiger, a wolf, and an evil ghost.

And no matter what picture the painter gives, the final result proves that he is always the right person.

Strange people and strangers cannot be judged by common sense...

But this was the first time for even Shen Fa to see the meticulous paintings made by the artist.

The scroll is divided into two parts by a river.

On one side is a distant view of a brightly colored village. Surrounding the village are men and women, houses and fields, grass growing and warblers flying, and yellow dogs, civets and cats flapping butterflies and chasing bees... The writing is so delicate that even the yellow dog grins with its big mouth. The smiles are all there.

On the other side, there is a black and white aerial view of the city. The painting is elegant and large, with large areas of white space. Only the outlines of undulating houses can be vaguely seen, as well as blurred figures... The style of the painting is a bit underworld.

A middle-aged man with a vicissitudes of life stood in front of the city overlooking the city, looking across the river at the village on the other side. He held the corners of his mouth with his hands and raised his head and laughed...but the smile was uglier than crying.

The bright colors gradually fade from the village to the city on the other side of the river, until they turn into black and white on the middle-aged man...

As Shen Fa pondered this painting, Yang Ge's weak and half-dead look flashed before his eyes from time to time, and his mood gradually became complicated.

He looked at the painter and asked seriously: Is this painting called Nostalgia?

The painter hesitated for a few breaths and replied: Returning to your lord, I think that the title of this painting Looking Homeward is more appropriate.

Looking at home, looking towards...

Shen Fa chewed on these two words, and then nodded slightly and said, It is indeed more appropriate!

He put the scroll away properly and put it in his hand, then shouted softly without looking back: Accounting room, haven't you settled the accounts yet?

A middle-aged scribe wearing a green gown responded and came forward holding an account book, bowing and saying: Your Excellency, there are no problems with the guest's money transactions in Luting County... Please take a look at it.

Shen Fa picked up the account book and flipped through it symbolically. They were all trivial accounts. The amount was the same as the salary Liu Degui paid to Yang Ge every month, and there were no expenses worthy of special attention.

He put down his account book and leaned on the imperial chair: It's straight.

Your Excellency, please investigate all of the guest's interpersonal relationships in Luting County. Except for the favor with the shopkeeper, there is no human relationship other than money... The guest seems to be instinctively rejecting all interpersonal interactions, regardless of good or bad intentions. No purpose.

Shen Fa tapped the armrest of the seat with his fingers and pondered for a moment before speaking again: Master.

An old man with a white beard dressed as a scribe stepped forward, clasped his hands and said, Your Excellency, our guest's humanistic attributes are undoubtedly of our Chinese origins, and he also has a bit of China's supremacy in his bones and his lofty ideals to look down on all directions.

Shen Fa exhaled softly after listening to the words, and said calmly: Seal up the guests' documents and leave two elites to stay here to try to contact the guests... Everything today is not allowed to be leaked. Violators will be dealt with according to the family law!

Everyone in the room clasped their hands and said yes.

…

The crowd watching outside the Yuelai Inn has completely dispersed.

The police officers who were cleaning the floor didn't even dare to ask for the tea money that shopkeeper Liu secretly gave them, so they quickly gathered up the team.

Yang Ge stood inside the gate and looked around, secretly wondering why the person Shen Fa had mentioned to contact him hadn't come yet.

Everything else is trivial, the main thing is where should he get his salary?

You can't label him as a temporary worker and not even get paid, right?

He would not be so naive as to think that he could escape from Shen Fa's clutches if Shen Fa didn't pay him wages.

Brother, there's nothing wrong here. If you have anything to do, go back first!

Shopkeeper Liu, who had finished cleaning up, waved to Yang Ge.

Yang Ge glanced at the empty front hall and asked with concern: Sir, how are you arranging the renovation of the inn? Is there anything I can do?

Shopkeeper Liu pulled up a stool and sat down, slapping his stiff thighs and laughing: We are not going to take care of this inn from now on...

Yang Ge: Huh?

Shopkeeper Liu pressed his hand to him, motioned him to sit down and said, We have asked someone to send a message to the unfilial son, asking him to come back and take over the inn.

Yang Ge suddenly understood, stepped forward and pulled a stool to sit opposite shopkeeper Liu, and said with a smile: How come you suddenly figured it out? Didn't you always say that you can last a few more years?

We are old and useless after all!

Shopkeeper Liu sighed: Besides, this inn will be passed to him sooner or later. Now that he comes back, we can help him keep an eye on it. If this is not effective, then we will lose...

He spoke openly, but his old face was full of sorrow.

Yang Ge smiled and comforted: Don't think too much. Don't you know about the business of our inn? In normal times, it is just a cheap job for welcoming guests. Even if the young master's family can't lose face, Aren’t there still me and Brother Xiao Wang? What we both get is this salary! You, please enjoy peace and happiness in a down-to-earth manner from now on.

His intention was to express comfort, but it was to give shopkeeper Liu a warning. He suddenly said: Brother, otherwise you will take over my job from now on and be the shopkeeper of our inn!

The shopkeeper is not the boss, but the store manager.

It's just that many small business owners don't have the money to hire a shopkeeper, or they don't want to hire others to run their business, so they run the business themselves. The shopkeeper is often equated with the boss.

So what Shopkeeper Liu meant here was not to let Yang Ge be the owner of Yuelai Inn, but to promote Yang Ge from a waiter to a store manager.

No no no...

Yang Ge waved his hands repeatedly: Don't you know me, shopkeeper? I don't want to stand out and honor my ancestors. I just hope that life can be simpler and easier. How can I be the shopkeeper?

Shopkeeper Liu looked at his frightened expression and joked with a smile: Of course we understand you. It's because you don't want to stand out and honor your ancestors, so we can rest assured to let you be the shopkeeper. It would be better to replace those people who have a heart higher than the sky and a destiny higher than the sky. He's such a thin guy, even if he gives us money, we won't even look at him sideways!

Yang Ge thought about it again and realized that this seemed to be the truth. He smiled and joked: Then you can't promote me to be the shopkeeper. Then the old saying goes that once the emperor is the king, there are ministers? You can promote me to be the shopkeeper. Isn't that right? Are you going to put some eye drops on the young master’s family? You two are grudged against each other, don’t use me as a gunman, I want to work with you for a few more years to repay your kindness!

You don't have to worry about what the unfilial son will think, he is...

Shopkeeper Liu wanted to explain to Yang Ge, but he was speechless mid-sentence. He waved his hand and said, Forget it, you will know later.

Yang Ge nodded: Anyway, the martial arts competition period will still take some time, so we don't have to rush for a while, right? Let's talk about the future matters later.

Shopkeeper Liu nodded, sighed heavily at the end, and said earnestly: Brother, you always advise us not to think too much and relax, why don't you advise yourself?

We have never asked you where you came from, and we don't know what disasters you have suffered, but we are still fathers. I see you sitting in the room motionless and staring outside for two or three hours. , we can’t help but think, if our descendants live in as much suffering as you, we’ll die without even being able to close our eyes!”

The smile on Yang Ge's face gradually disappeared, he pursed his lips hard, pulled the muscles of his cheeks hard, and forced out an ugly smile: I'm afraid, my parents won't be able to find me in a hundred years!

Shopkeeper Liu's eyes turned red when he saw him like this. He patted him on the shoulder and said, Even if they can't find you, they definitely want you to live a good and happy life, not that they want you to live like this. Looks like...just move forward and don't look back, life will get better!

Yang Ge: But where is the front?

Shopkeeper Liu: As long as you take a step forward, you can advance anywhere!