On the third day of the first lunar month, the sky cleared up.
The heavy snowfall for several consecutive days made the roofs in the town sink a bit. As soon as the sun shone, the snow began to slowly slide down, and there was snow dripping under the eaves.
Jiang Fa is not idle.
In the past few days, apart from talking to his mother and giving instructions on Jiang Xiaohe's most basic stake-setting, he spent the rest of the time locked in his room to practice.
There were fewer people coming and going during the day, so he was quiet.
Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art The second level of cultivation is making steady progress, and Mountain-Breaking Stance the third level is also improving step by step.
It wasn't until the evening of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year that Lady Chen called him to the kitchen and mysteriously took out something wrapped tightly in oil paper from the depths of the cabinet.
"Your aunt sent this to someone today and asked you to wear it when you go to Clear River Town tomorrow."
Jiang Fa took it and opened it. It was a brand new set of indigo silk robes. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with dark patterns with silver thread. It felt delicate and smooth, and it looked not cheap at first glance.
"Auntie really spent a lot of money this time."
The night passed quickly,
That day before dawn, Lady Chen got up, ironed Jiang Fa's new robe again and again, and cooked a pot of poached eggs.
Jiang Fa washed his face and put on a new robe.
Lady Chen circled around him twice, straightened his collar, and pushed back a strand of hair hanging from his forehead. His eyes suddenly turned red.
"Mom, why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying, it's just... my son looks really handsome in this outfit."
Lady Chen hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and forced out a smile.
Jiang Fa dumbfounded.
Jiang Xiaohe followed him to the entrance of the hospital, raised his face and asked, "Brother, you really don't carry a knife?"
"No one wears a knife on a blind date."
"What if someone bullies you?"
"It would be great if your brother doesn't bully others."
Jiang Fa made a face at him.
Aunt Chen Yue'e arrived just in time.
At dawn, she arrived at the door of Jiang Lineage, followed by two porters pushing a wheelbarrow with a wooden carriage that looked like a sedan.
"Why did you hire a sedan?"
Lady Chen was shocked.
"My nephew is going on a blind date, why shouldn't he be more dignified? We can't let him walk more than 20 miles of snow on two legs!"
As Chen Yue'e spoke, he pushed Jiang Fa towards the sedan chair, then turned to tell his husband, "Go faster, don't keep the people in the Tang family waiting!"
Jiang Fa Looking at the wooden sedan that was so small that half of him could fit inside it, he was really speechless.
"Auntie, I can ride a horse or a mule, so there's no need for this sedan..."
"You heard what my aunt said was right!"
Chen Yue'e couldn't help but opened the sedan curtain. "It's such a cold weather, my face is frozen from the wind while riding, how can I see anyone? Come in quickly!"
Jiang Fa had no choice but to get into the sedan.
The porter shouted, and the wheelbarrow started to move.
Jiang Fa Sitting in the car, he felt like a cart of goods being transported to the market for sale.
Chen Yue'e followed the sedan and kept talking all the way,
First, he praised the daughter of Old Master Tang's family to the extreme, and then told Jiang Fa what to say later, what face to look on, take the tea with both hands, drink less wine, listen more and talk less, and don't be rude...
Jiang Fa was sitting in the sedan chair with his eyes closed and calm, pretending that he couldn't hear anything.
Clear River Town is south of Qingshan County, about twenty miles away from Yellow Earth Town.
The wheelbarrow wasn't moving very fast, and the snow on the road was still there, so it took almost two hours to see the outline of the town.
Compared with Yellow Earth Town, Clear River Town is much richer.
The town is surrounded by blue brick walls, the streets are paved with bluestone slabs, the shops on the roadside are next to each other, teahouses and restaurants can be seen everywhere, and the clothes of passersby are also bright.
The Tang Mansion is located at Locust Tree Street at the east end of the town. In front of the door are two polished stone lions, and on the red lacquered door hangs a black-backed gold plaque with the four characters "A Family Who Grows Good Deeds".
The sedan stopped in front of the Tang Mansion.
Chen Yue'e took the first step to open the sedan curtain, and quickly straightened Jiang Fa's clothes. Then he nodded with satisfaction. "Be energetic! Let's go in with my aunt."
The steward of the Tang Mansion had already been waiting in the concierge. He was a thin old man in his fifties, wearing a half-worn navy blue cotton robe, with a capable look on his face.
Seeing Chen Yue'e leading Jiang Fa to the door, he hurriedly welcomed him out, smiling so hard that he couldn't even see his eyebrows, "Aunt Chen is here! Is this Mr. Jiang? He is indeed a talented person! The master is waiting in the living room, please hurry up!"
Jiang Fa followed the steward through the front yard.
Tang Family's house has a typical Jiangnan garden layout. There are two rows of wintersweet planted in the front yard, which are in full bloom and have a subtle fragrance.
After passing the Weeping Flower Gate, there is a courtyard paved with bluestones. In the corner of the courtyard is an old locust tree as thick as an arm, with gnarled branches and a thin layer of residual snow.
There were seven or eight red silk lanterns hanging in the corridor, which were already lit before nightfall, illuminating the entire corridor warmly.
There was a stove burning in the living room, and a wave of heat hit my face.
Old Master Tang is sitting on the main seat. He is over fifty years old, with a broad face and thick ears, and a rich body. He is wearing a maroon floral silk robe, and on his hand is a jade ring with excellent water quality.
Sitting next to him is a woman in her forties, with exquisite makeup. She is Lady Zhou, the second wife of Old Master Tang.
"Master Tang, this is my nephew Jiang Fa."
Chen Yue'e smiled and blessed Chen Yue'e with a smile, and then quietly poked Jiang Fa.
Jiang Fa bowed slightly, cupped his fists and said, "Junior Jiang Fa, I have met Old Master Tang, Mrs. Tang."
Old Master Tang was sizing up Jiang Fa from the moment he walked in.
"Sit, sit."
Old Master Tang looked away, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, with a faint smile on his face, "Is it cold on the road? It's been snowing for several days in this weather, isn't it difficult to walk on the road?"
"Thanks to Old Master Tang for your concern, it's okay."
Jiang Fa sat down in the guest seat,
Lady Zhou smiled and served hot tea and snacks, and then asked Chen Yue'e to talk a few common words, but his eyes glanced at Jiang Fa from time to time.
"Where is Young Master Jiang employed now?" Old Master Tang asked, taking a sip of tea.
"Junior is practicing martial arts at the Zhao Clan Martial Hall." Jiang Fa answered truthfully.
"Oh? Zhao Clan Martial Hall?"
Old Master Tang smoothed his short beard under his chin and nodded. "Zhao Zhong I have been famous for the name of Master Zhao for a long time. If you can join his sect, you must be very skilled."
He paused, then asked casually, "How many years has Mr. Jiang been in the martial arts school now?"
"One year."
"One year?"
Old Master Tang's hand paused slightly,
He turned his head and looked at each other with Lady Zhou. The two of them frowned imperceptibly, and the expectation in their eyes was mostly gone.
Since the news of the married daughter was released, no fewer than seven or eight people have come to seek marriage, and Old Master Tang has never been satisfied.
These people are either greedy for wealth, or they are superficial, or they have high ambitions and low abilities. None of them can catch the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Old Master Tang.
If it weren't for Chen Yue'e's caretakers coming to her door every day, asking for help, and wasting so much time talking, Old Master Tang would never have let go of this opportunity to see each other.
The old man has been struggling for half his life, and he is most disgusted with all people who are vain and utilitarian.
Hearing that Jiang Fa was a martial arts practitioner, and that he followed a real path of physical fitness and martial arts training, and did not play any vain schemes, he reluctantly nodded and was willing to meet him.
But no one expected that Jiang Fa joined Zhao Clan Martial Hall only for a year.
There is a huge difference between practicing martial arts for one year and those martial artists who have been practicing martial arts for three to five years or even since childhood.
Although the old man is not a martial arts practitioner, he also knows that in martial arts, the most important thing is to get the foundation and practice hard for a year. How much real skill can you get?
The smile on Lady Zhou's face also faded a bit. He picked up the tea cup and sipped it gently, looking at Jiang Fa calmly.
The young man looks like Zhou Zheng, with a tall and straight posture and a calm demeanor. He looks much more pleasing to the eye than those slick dudes, but his qualifications are too low.