Chapter 15: The Quill
The weather is getting colder and colder, and the pedestrians walking on the streets of Suzhou have changed into thick winter clothes and burned charcoal pots at home. Pen "fun" pavilion www.biquge.info there are more than ten days is the New Year, every household sticks couplets, hangs lanterns, sticks New Year's paintings, the market is also more lively than usual, the river in the city is full of New Year's goods boats shuttle back and forth, the major shops are booming. People rich and poor, both rich and poor, are preparing for the New Year. The peasant man brought a new piece of cotton cloth to his mother-in-law and bought his son and daughter candy that was rarely eaten on weekdays; the farmer family sold the pigs that had been raised for one year in exchange for the next year's living money, and then bought some New Year's goods; the scholars were busy gathering with their classmates, and the restaurant was full of friends every day; the businessmen were busy during the day, and at night they picked up the lanterns and kept the accounts, and the shopkeepers who were assigned to the red were beaming; the back corner door of the official residence of the Suzhou governor ushered in the delivery, and there was an endless stream of people who came and went to pick up and drop off the New Year's gifts.
The Xu family came to Han Runiang, a guest, and the house was much more lively than before. Since the crossing, Xu Wanzhen has rarely gotten along with her peers. Except for the morning when Mama Zheng taught rules and etiquette and told the secrets of Beijing, Han Runiang soaked in Xu Wanzhen's Yingyun Pavilion every afternoon. The two learned calligraphy and painting together, and played the piano together. Because Han Runiang was there, Xu Wanzhen didn't take out the quill pen, and every time she wrote the brush words, she was miserable, and Han Runiang snickered again and again. When it was time to practice the guqin, it was time for Xu Wanzhen to show off her skills, and Han Runiang often asked Xu Wanzhen to give her guidance on her piano skills.
This time was the most comfortable and worry-free time for Han Runiang's father after his death, as if he had returned to the capital and had a happy day in the boudoir. After going through hardships, Han Runiang still clearly remembers the flowers and grasses in Yingyun Pavilion, Xu Wanzhen smiled, and every note that the two played together.
In the afternoon of this day, the two were painting together, and Ge Ma came in to give a salute and reported: "Miss, the old lady has sent Yulu to invite you over." ”
Xu Wanzhen put down her pen and said apologetically: "Sister Ru Niang, I want to go out first." ”
Han Runiang replied softly: "You go, I'll finish this painting." ”
When she arrived at Mrs. Xu's main room, Mrs. Xu motioned to Biluo to tell Xu Wanzhen about the matter.
It turned out that in the afternoon, as soon as Mrs. Xu got up from her lunch break, she heard Yulu report that Mrs. Wang asked to see her, and she had been waiting for almost an hour. Calculating the time, Mrs. Xu came as soon as she fell asleep. Lunch is not a good time to be a guest, the host has to take a lunch break after lunch, and people will deliberately avoid this time when they come to visit directly. In large households, it is more common to hand over the name card a day in advance, and wait for the owner to reply before visiting the door. This surprised Mrs. Xu, the two families have been fighting for decades, even when Mrs. Xu was alive, Wang Zhihua never came to the door. To negotiate business cooperation, they are all about in the city restaurant. Now that the Wang family is in front, the Xu family is ruthless in the back, and they still choose to visit at this time, what is he doing here? In fact, Wang Zhihua has no rules, where can he pay special attention to the time of visit.
didn't expect Wang Zhihua to come in, and fell to the ground without saying a word. Old Madam Xu was taken aback, and hurriedly asked Biluo to pick him up, seeing that his face seemed to be ten years old, although he was thin in the past, he had never been so unkempt and haggard as he is today.
After Wang Zhihua got up, he stubbornly didn't sit down, stood up and arched his hand to Mrs. Xu and said, "Wang Zhihua has the cheekiness to beg the old lady to take action and save my son's life." Wang Zhihua is willing to be a cow and a horse to repay. Wang Zhihua thought hard for two days, the bell must be tied to the bell, after all, Mrs. Xu is a young lady from the country's priest wine, and the means are superb, this time he lost is convinced, maybe she can have some way. If Mrs. Xu is willing to help say something, the matter may be reversed.
Hearing this, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but laugh and said, "What do I want you to do as a cow and a horse?
Wang Zhihua told the ins and outs of the future, and Mrs. Xu was silent. Qian Feng is moody, ruthless, and acts according to his preferences. Let's talk about the Wang family, because of Wang Zhihua's thoughts, although the Qian family did not buy the Xu family's store in the three prefecture cities as they wished, the Wang family compensated 5,000 taels of silver, and handed over the Wang family's store in the three prefecture cities to the Qian family. No matter how you look at it, the Qian family has also taken advantage of it, but they still don't give up.
Wang Zhihua knew that he had rashly made this request, the two were still rivals before, and it was reasonable for Mrs. Xu not to agree, he just rushed to the doctor. Seeing that Old Madam Xu was silent, she knew that she needed time to consider the trade-offs, and said, "I don't blame the old lady for caring about this matter." Blame me for being too greedy, and I'll listen to it tomorrow. ”
After Biluo finished speaking, Xu Wan was really shocked, this is how big it is to put people to death, does this dynasty still have a royal law? After thinking for a while, she said: "My granddaughter thinks that the Wang family is acting hateful and falling into the well. Although the means are despicable, they stop there. It never got to the point where you had to pay for it with your life. ”
Old Madam Xu nodded slightly: "Then do you really think, do we help, or don't we help?"
Xu Wanzhen said: "Whether to help or not depends on whether our Xu family can forgive the Wang family." The granddaughter believes that forgiveness is not about making the other person grateful, but about seeking peace of mind. This is a human life, if you don't know it, if you know it, you can't ignore it anyway. ”
Old Madam Xu agreed: "Yes, Zhen'er has your grandfather's legacy. It's just that Qian Feng is not easy to deal with. ”
Xu Wanzhen lowered her head and thought for a moment and said: "Our Xu family is only left with old and weak women and children, listening to the description of Old Lady Wang, although Master Qian is acting in an extreme way, he is still in order, and the most hated thing is that someone is playing tricks behind his back." We talked to him openly and honestly, and even if he had a plan, he couldn't find an excuse. If we can save Master Wang, it would be the best, if we can't save it, we will do our best, ask for peace of mind. ”
Mrs. Xu said, "Okay, then I'll do what Zhen'er said." Immediately instructed Biluo: "Since we have decided, there is no need to wait for tomorrow, let him suffer more in his heart." You asked Xu Dayou to go to Wang's house, and said that I agreed. However, it is inconvenient for me to go out with women and children, so the meeting place can only be set at Xu's house, so let him figure it out by himself. ”
Wang Zhihua was overjoyed when he received the letter. Although he begged with a glimmer of hope, he didn't expect that Old Madam Wang would be able to agree to him so simply regardless of his previous suspicions. Hurriedly sent someone to inquire about the whereabouts of Shopkeeper Liu, personally told Shopkeeper Liu about the matter, and begged him to tell Master Qian.
The largest gold cave in Suzhou City leans on the Red Mansion, full of laughter, singing and dancing. In a private room on the second floor, Shopkeeper Liu was respectfully reporting Wang Zhihua's request to Qian Feng.
Qian Feng held the top famous prostitute Hongxue, his hand casually brushed over her soft waist, and when he heard the shopkeeper Liu finish speaking, a smile appeared on his lips, "Interesting, Wang Zhihua was able to ask the Xu family to help him say something." ”
After a while, he said to the shopkeeper Liu: "Let them stop their actions and listen to my next order." ”
Shopkeeper Liu was surprised, since he followed Qian Feng, it was the first time he saw the owner change the order. But it was not revealed on his face, and he responded respectfully.
"Tell Wang Zhihua that I agree to meet at Xu's house. ”
Wang Zhihua is running for his son's life, and the mother and son of the black dog are also spending the last Spring Festival together before leaving. Family affection is the deepest bond in the world, and when every little life falls to the ground, his parents are ready to give everything for it. And in order to repay the kindness, the black dog is about to leave A-Niang, who is dependent on each other, and he is extremely uncomfortable. But in order not to worry about A-Niang, he was not good at expressing himself, so he had to express it with actions.
Before winter came, the black dog, with his superb hunter's skills, took advantage of the fact that all the animals in the mountains came out to forage for winter food, ventured to set a trap deep in the mountains, and obtained a blind bear. It took another two days to get the blind bear out of the mountains. His mother stood at the entrance of the village and waited anxiously for a few days, and finally saw him walking out with a bear on his shoulder, covered in injuries, and couldn't help but shed tears and scolded: "You brainless black dog, is the bear blind so easy to deal with?"
The black dog just smiled innocently, Ah Niang didn't want him to take risks, but he also wanted Ah Niang's life to be easier in the future. Yunwu Village all rely on hunting for a living, and there is very little arable land, only a few acres of thin fields. It's okay to grow some vegetables and eat them at home, but it will be quite hard to make a living from this, and he can't bear to live like this. Although he took some risks this time, he was still sure that even if he didn't gain anything, he wouldn't hurt his life. Fortunately, God willing, I hunted a blind bear, and the fur was intact, so I could exchange it for some silver.
After not resting well for several days, the black dog slept hard. The next day he went into the city and sold the blind bear for a good price, and got five hundred taels of silver. I inquired about the news of the Xu family again, and knew that the Xu family's property had been successfully sold to the He family who came from HN, and I was happy and sad. I am happy that everything is going well for the Xu family, and I am sad that the day of separation from A-Niang is getting closer and closer. I bought a lot of New Year's goods and went back to the village to go with my mother's cat.
The Chinese New Year in the mountains is different from that in the city, every household buys enough food snacks in advance, reserves firewood, and does not go out for nearly a month during the lunar month and the first lunar month. Especially in Cloud Village, they are all hunters, and they can't hunt any prey in winter. The north wind is howling and the sky is snowing heavily, and going out during this period is not happy for yourself. As a result, this month became a rare time of the year to rest, and people snuggled up in their warm homes, eating, drinking, sleeping and sleeping.
This year, Black Gouzi and A-Niang have a tacit understanding not to mention the upcoming parting, and they are rich in material preparations. Although the village is not as lively as the city, it is extremely comfortable.
The Chinese New Year in the city is even more lively, children put on new clothes, laugh and laugh all over the streets, and when they see acquaintances, they come forward to ask for some candy. He Qingsong also inspected all the shops in Jiangnan Province and returned to Suzhou to celebrate the New Year with Han Runiang and the Xu family. Although he also has an industry in Suzhou City, it is better to feel at home in the Xu family.