Song of Time – Dusk Awakening Verse

Mysterious Book House (Part 1)

After coming out of the student union tower, Jie Hai hurried back to the dormitory building, carefully packed the edict, and ran to the cafeteria on the ground floor for lunch.

Because there are not many students living in the college, the dormitory canteen is not too big, with celadon floor tiles, white powder walls, and small brown round tables and chairs. The decoration is simple and clean. Jiehai walked outside the kitchen inside the canteen, and looked at the stacked food racks for a while, which was filled with all kinds of exquisite dim sum dishes and bowls of soup and rice. Lin Lin always feared that there would be no fewer than a hundred kinds.

He stretched out his hand and took out his small wallet from his trouser pocket, opened it and glanced at it. Only a few silver and brown coins lay alone at the bottom of the bag. "Oh... you have to hurry up to find a job!" The young man sighed, took out a ten-yuan coin to buy a chowder, and ran out of the school after eating in two bites after wiping his mouth.

Immediately to the west of the Royal Academy is a prosperous pedestrian shopping street. The tall brown wood arch at the intersection is engraved with the three big characters "Fengming Road" in gold. Both sides of the street are full of restaurants, tea gardens, restaurants, shops, and many of them. All kinds of exotic houses. Today is a rest day, and there is a constant flow of people on the road. From time to time, there are bursts of shouts and chants from various shops, which are very lively.

The hot sun made people unable to lift their spirits. Boundary Sea passed through the archway and walked straight along the umbrellas propped up by various shops along the road. Not far away, he reached a small restaurant with southern flavor. This tens of square-meter double-storey brick building is decorated with a South Island atmosphere. A yellow wooden signboard in the shape of a ship is hung at the entrance of the store. The words "boat mooring hut" are written on it in black paint. A tree is planted next to it. The curved coconut trees have wide leaves swaying slightly in the afternoon sun.

He stood in front of the door and looked at the sign, with a drum in his heart. This shop is where he has been working since last semester. The owner is also from Austronesian, so he is considered to be taken care of by his fellow villagers. . It was originally promised that he would continue to be hired after he returned to school, but now he has been late for several days, and I don’t know if anything will happen...

He stood there again for a long time in panic, finally made up his mind, took a deep breath, muttered "Goddess Bless", opened the door and walked in.

The restaurant is deserted and the busy time for lunch has passed, and only a few guests in the lobby are leisurely drinking cold wheat beer. The shop owner, Tino, leaned behind the counter while humming a little tune, while slowly wiping the glass of the wine glass. He looked about 40 years old, short and fat, slightly bald, dark face, and a raised mustache under his big nose. Appears extra shrewd.

Hearing the crisp wind chimes from the door, he turned around and greeted softly with a professional smile, "Welcome... it's you."

Tino’s boss recognized the familiar boy in front of the door at a glance. He was taken aback for a while, and he continued to wipe the glass intently, glanced at him with a little light, and rebuked, "What are you doing? Yes? I haven't come for so many days since school, even if I don't want to do it, should I give me a clear message?"

"I'm really sorry, Uncle Tino, I..." Jie Hai hurriedly wanted to explain a few words, but was interrupted by the boss waved.

"I don't want to hear your reason..." Tino raised the volume a little, turned his head to look at the boy, his eyes filled with a lot of anger, "We businessman, only pay attention to the word "integrity", since you have agreed. , You should act according to the agreement, how can you be so many days late!? No matter what you have, the rules are the rules, and my shop will not invite those who do not follow the rules..."

Hearing his reprimand, Jie Hai was speechless for a while. He was indeed late. Although there was an irresistible factor, it must have caused a lot of trouble to the store owner because he did not inform in advance. After all, the first season is always the busiest time of this commercial street. He looked at the boss's charcoal-like iron face, knowing that nothing else would help him, he could only say a few apologies, and walked out the door dejectedly.

The sun outside the room was harsh and dazzling, but his heart was like a basin of cold water poured on it, showing a cold bleakness. He looked at the tourists coming and going in the street, and for a moment he didn't know where to go. He sat at the bottom of the coconut tree and sighed for a while before he cheered up and continued along the road to find a job that could accept him.

However, he was already a small person and a foreigner. Although there were many shops in the pedestrian street, no one was willing to provide him with a job opportunity. He ran back and forth on the street, panting with exhaustion, his whole body wet and dry with sweat, his clothes sticking to his skin, itchy and uncomfortable like a layer of glue. In the end, he couldn't move his feet anymore, and sat down on the side of the entrance arch, wiped the sweat on his face casually, and felt helpless in his heart.

At this time, the sun is slowly slanting to the west, but the tourists on both sides of the road are gathering more and more, waiting to participate in the more lively night market, laughter everywhere. But Jiehai was not in a good mood. He lowered his head and stared at the smooth blue bricks, thinking about where to try his luck, when he heard a surprised question from the side of the road: "You are sitting here. What are you doing here?"

He heard the sound and saw that not far away on the asphalt road in the setting sun, the prince in black was looking at him in surprise, standing behind him in a dark green guard uniform, frowning thoughtfully. .

"A Shun, Brother Jinyuan..." Jie Hai quickly got up and patted his pants, and greeted the two in embarrassment, "What a coincidence, where are you going?"

Seeing his embarrassed appearance, Shun couldn't help but raised his brows, and he was puzzled: It was okay at noon. What happened? Could someone bully him? The prince knew that Jiehai was working in a restaurant in Fengmingdao during the semester, and he thought about his delay in returning to school. But this is the privacy of the other party after all, and he is not good to just intervene in it. He doesn't want to answer when he is dull. He looked at the flushed cheeks of the young man, and winked as far as he could.

The security guard immediately took out a small light green bamboo pot from his waist bag, handed it over and said softly, "Drink saliva first." He saw that the boy was sweating again, and took it out of his pocket. A cotton pad wiped his face to the left and right, and opened his brows with satisfaction.

Jiehai didn't dare to move, his face flushed with embarrassment. He waited for him to take away his hand and uttered his gratitude. He took a sip from the bamboo pot, and felt that the tea in the pot was not hot or cold, and it was sweet with A light fragrance, refreshing and refreshing. He couldn't help but drank a few more sips, drank the small kettle clean, scratched his head embarrassedly and handed the kettle back as far as he could. The other party didn't care, only a soothing smile, and then buttoned the kettle again. it is good.

Shun was silent all the time. Seeing that he had come over a little bit, he asked in a low voice, "Didn't find a suitable place?"

"No..." Jie Hai sighed and couldn't help feeling aggrieved to his friend, "Just because I was late for several days, all the jobs I could get to work regularly have been robbed of all... A few temporarily asked people to send out flyers to move things..."

He can accept this kind of temporary job, but he doesn’t have much time left for part-time work except for his studies. If he has to ask questions every time, it is not a long-term solution after all, he still has to sign in for a fixed one. The contract works.

Hearing this, the prince frowned, and his heart frowned: He wanted to help Jie Hai arrange a job in his own industry, but the stubborn boy refused to agree, saying that he did not want to provoke criticism. After resigning several times, he could only give up.

Even so, Shun really appreciates the other party's persistence. Seeing him sighing now, he is thinking whether he wants someone to find a relationship, so that the other party "coincidentally" find a job, and the person beside him suddenly moves forward softly. Proposing: "Yunuo mentioned to me not long ago that he wanted to hire someone to help look at the store. Why..."

"He would actually think of asking someone to help?" The prince turned his head in surprise, staring at the uniformed guard, and asked abnormally. He is not very familiar with Yunuo, the little store manager Xiang Ziqi never likes others to touch his one-third of the land. I really don't know what the reason is that will make him give up his long-standing stubbornness.

Laughing as far as he could without answering, he glanced at Jie Hai up and down again, and continued to recommend: "I think he is quite suitable. It is better to go there than here."

Jie Hai just heard the word work, his ears cocked, and he stared at the two friends eagerly. As soon as his voice fell off, he slapped his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I can do any job, absolutely no problem."

Shun couldn’t help but laugh when he saw his nervousness for fear that he would refuse. This silly boy agreed without asking. He was really not afraid of others selling him... But since he had this opportunity, he would naturally not treat himself badly. Man, immediately nodded and replied: "Well, let you try it."

"Great!" Seeing his promise, Jie Hai jumped up excitedly, turned his head and touched his head again, inquiring about the information, "But...what is the job, and where is the location?"

"I can't tell it for a while, so let's go, it's getting late, you go to have a meal with us, and we'll talk about it afterwards." Shun hooked the boy's thin neck without any explanation, and walked forward with him. Jie Hai had to stagger a few times to keep up with him, and followed him as far as he could. The three of them followed the street all the way, and before long they arrived at the famous gate Huayuan: Bailu Pavilion in the middle of the pedestrian street.

This seven-story old brick-wood tower looks quite old, and the jade glass covered on the slightly tilted eaves of the tower has a little mottled color. Although young people often work in this pedestrian street, this high-end clubhouse exclusively for nobles and celebrities has never been in the future. He looked up at the colorful paintings of divine birds and animals carved on the tower, and suddenly felt a primitive recklessness. Huang's mysterious air rushed toward his face, and the heart of awe rose.

He followed Shun to the gate of the tower, staring at the black wooden gilt plaque and blinked, the white-clothed servant who was attending the door came forward with a smile on his face, and bowed to the prince and said: "Your Highness It's here, the feast is ready, please come with the little one."

The prince did not speak, and nodded slightly. The man immediately led the way, and the three followed him through the ancient pagoda with carved beams and painted buildings to the back garden. Behind the tower is a courtyard surrounded by blue bricks and boulders, with pavilions and pavilions full of flowers and plants, which is very elegant. Several people crossed the flowing water bridge all the way, followed the path paved with fine pebbles, and stopped in front of a four-corner pavilion with wooden beams and blue bricks.

Jie Hai could smell the scent of food floating in the pavilion from afar, and when the guide turned around and left, he looked inside. The pavilion is covered with water-patterned ice silk bamboo mats, on which there is a low wooden table. There are a few plates of fancy iced fruit, a plate of steamed silver-spotted fish, a plate of rich double cakes, a plate of crispy beef, and then served. Serving soup dumplings, pill-making, vegetarian cakes, and steamed dumplings, each dish is neatly arranged and exquisite.

When the prince saw Jiehai staring at the dish, he knew that he was hungry, and patted him on the shoulder to indicate: "Eat first, and then talk after you finish."

Several people sat on the floor one after another, throwing away their cheeks, and a gust of wind was blowing. After the meal was full, the waiter brought a pot of sweet and sour fruit tea for consumption. The three of them leaned on the wooden railing of the small pavilion while drinking tea. Talking to the sky.

"Because of a certain agreement, I can't tell you more details now..." The prince took a sip of fruit tea and began to introduce the details of the work place. "The manager is very nice and the workload is not large. As long as you pass the interview successfully, he will tell you everything he should know."

What kind of work is so mysterious...Jie Hai looked at his friend's calm and leisurely face suspiciously, blinked and then asked, "Where is the work place? Isn't it far from school?"

"Not too close, it's in the old temple in the east of the city, next to the water pavilion near the back door."

"In the temple? Will the temple also recruit workers?" Jie Hai widened his eyes in doubt.

"Haha... you'll know it after you go to see it." The prince turned his head and smiled as far away as possible. He didn't tell him when he turned his head, making him even more confused.

After the banquet was over, the three chatted for a while and got up to leave.

Jiehai felt a little sleepy after he was full, so he quickly walked to the creek outside the pavilion and took some water to wipe his face. The cold spring water refreshed him, and when he raised his head, he saw a few flying nearby. The snow-white great heron stood curled up in front of him, combing its feathers like no one else.

"There is an egret here! It's so beautiful..." The young man walked back into the pavilion cautiously, for fear of disturbing this innocent creature.

"It's called Bailuting here. How could there be no Bailuting?" Shun smiled and shook his head. This stupid boy was also so dumb that there was nothing to say.

Jiehai couldn't help making a grimace at him, and retorted sternly: "There are egrets in the Egret Pavilion. Isn't it true that there should be a phoenix, the **** bird, Phoenix?"

The prince was choked by these words, and smiled as far as he could to relieve him: "Speaking of it, the name of the Bailu Pavilion still has a story: It is said that when this high tower was first built, the top of the wooden beams was often very strange. The great egrets stopped to sing, and only after the tower was completed did they flutter their wings and fly away, hence the name Egret Pavilion. These egrets were specially raised by later generations, which is also a feature. After all, Beijing is not a habitat for egrets, just It takes a lot of time to take care of these babies in order to feed them."

"So that's the case. Brother Jinyuan knows the most." Jie Hai admired this seemingly omniscient senior, and he admired and bared his teeth as if he was demonstrating to Shun again, and the prince shook his eyes with disgust. Knife.

A few people were talking, laughing and walking all the way back, and soon they arrived outside the wooden archway at the intersection. A black magic motive car was parked on the asphalt avenue not far away. The streamlined body was slightly arched, and the front of the car was erected. The small golden phoenix emblem is the symbol of the royal family.

"Let’s go first, remember to go to the old temple for an interview tomorrow morning..." Shun Chao Jiehai exhorted him, waved his hand and just wanted to get into the car, and leaned in as far as possible to whisper to him. The prince nodded suddenly and turned around. Walked back to the boy.

"Almost forgot, this is a pass." He took out a silver-white badge from his trouser pocket and stuffed it into Jiehai's hand. "Tomorrow, go to the backyard of the temple and find a square stone tablet. There is the entrance. You must remember to bring your badge." He patted the young man on the shoulder as if encouragingly, and took him as far as he could to get into the locomotive, and flew away.

Passing voucher? Jie Hai stretched out his palms suspiciously and stared at the small silver badge. There was nothing but a pentagram engraved on it. He turned the badge over and over and looked at it several times, and compared it to the moonlight. Under the faint light, the word "Shun" could be vaguely seen in the pentagram.

"...I actually engraved my name, which always makes people feel unreliable..." Jie Hai frowned and stuffed the badge into his trouser pocket, and embarked on his return journey with that bit of anxiety.

As the night darkened, the clear moonlight shone on the flat slabstone road, bringing up the slightly swaying figure of the young man, and disappearing behind the high red wall of the college accompanied by the chant of wind passing by with a chuckle.