After host and guest had taken their seats and the servants had served tea, Yao Xun was truly curious and finally could not help asking, "Brother Jian, when did you and I ever know each other? I only feel as though I have seen you before, but I have forgotten exactly when."
"Seven years ago, you and I had a chance meeting aboard a boat on the Ji River. I even sought your guidance on calligraphy. There were quite a few people seeking instruction from Young Master Yao at the time, so it is only natural that you do not remember."
At the mention of that chance meeting on the Ji River seven years ago, Yao Xun immediately recalled it.
That was right. Though he claimed not to enjoy officialdom, the truth was that his progress had been slow. Still, as the youngest son of the family, his old father had given him three hundred mu of land in one breath, along with quite a few storefronts in the Capital City, bringing in three hundred taels of silver a year. Thus, he was allowed to live as he pleased. After earning the Provincial Graduate degree, he no longer devoted his mind to the Imperial Examinations, instead giving himself over to mountains and rivers. Seven years ago, he had been in his twenties. He had indeed traveled along the Ji River by boat, and he had indeed met some people. Since he had already gained some fame by then, people had sought his instruction.
It was not strange for this man before him, much older than himself, to have known him back then.
But seven years had passed long ago. This visitor could not possibly have come merely to reminisce. Yao Xun smiled and said, "Now that you mention it, Brother