What do you mean that the little fat man hasn't seen him for a long time? Do I recognize you? I sent people to you to offer your courtesy, but in the name of Boss Zhu, I don't know you at all! Why do you talk to me in such a familiar tone?

The always smart little fat man was a little confused, and he even forgot the anger that his cheek was pinched and hurt. But when he couldn't help but cry out in pain, he remembered that it seemed that a long time had passed, and he seemed to have been pinched by someone so much. When did that come about...... By the way, it seems that once he slipped into the yamen of the military department with short arms and legs!

As soon as this thought was born, the little fat man suddenly came back to his senses, covered his red face and stepped back three steps, and then angrily pointed at Liu Zhiyuan and shouted: "It's you!" It's you scary old man! ”

Liu Zhiyuan saw that Zhang Shou was already looking here, so he said with a smile: "Oh, am I fierce and scary, or are you a little chubby dun who secretly hid in the rattan box that sent things to your father and sneaked into the yamen of the military department, and after sneaking out, you still ran to me to wander around?" I didn't tie you up and send you to see your father, and when your father came, he hid you in a roll vat is not enough to be benevolent? ”

Seeing that Lu Sanlang was already angry in the circle, Liu Zhiyuan laughed and said: "It's not that you little fat man is hiding in the cylinder, because your father has been with me for too long, he is still asleep and snoring." When your father asked me, I had to say that it was a cat scurrying around in the tank. If I hadn't covered it up for you, would you have escaped that good fight? ”

Zhang Shou already understood as soon as he heard that this was actually the little fat man's troubles back then. Seeing Lu Sanlang's face flushed, he compared with Zhu Tingfang or Xiao Cheng's description of the old man Liu, he only felt that the old man in front of him was really too different from what he imagined. How can this look upright and unsmiling?

Which serious and upright elder pinched the little fat man and screamed the first time he came up! And then provoke the popularity to ruin the sky?

He left the old salted fish and stepped forward, and said with a smile: "Boss Liu and Lu Sanlang have already met?" ”

"Yes, just once, if you don't pick it up, this little fat man should have forgotten the past when he broke into the yamen of the military department." Liu Zhiyuan looked at Lu Sanlang, whose face had turned blood-red, and then said lightly, "At that time, at a young age, Jiujiu Song was like a stream, and he lost a page of his invalid accounts, and he could never forget it." So when I heard that he was stubborn, I couldn't believe it. ”

"I thought it was too late, and it might not be good, but I didn't expect that his so-called stubborn reputation was all because of his visionless father, and because Lu Juan used to judge people by his appearance, and he couldn't choose a good teacher for him. He is now a student of you, Dr. Zhang, and the reputation of this prodigal son turning into a genius is immediately apparent! ”

It wasn't until this moment that Lu Sanlang finally got a little relieved - as for how others counted down his father Lu Juan in front of him, hehe, what he liked the most was to listen to his father who had no vision, and how to count his father wasted his qualifications, and he even forgot that Old Man Liu had just tossed him and turned over his old accounts!

And Zhang Shou saw that Xiao Cheng had been wiped clean by that Sister Zhou's face and led over, and then he went to Liu Zhiyuan to make a gesture in front of him, and Liu Zhiyuan helped the little guy up, touched the person's head, and then walked in front of him, solemnly bowed his hand, and he hurriedly raised his hand to return the salute.

After the two saw each other, he smiled again: "After I heard about Master Liu from Brother Zhu, I have been famous for a long time, and when I saw it today, I didn't expect you to be much beyond my expectations." I thought that you were embarrassed by Brother Zhu for a while before he was willing to accept students, but Geng Jie must be stubborn and difficult to deal with, but he doesn't look like such a hearty and amiable person. ”

Lu Sanlang couldn't help but go to see Zhang Shou - although this is suppressed first and then promoted, but when the old man is stubborn? You're not afraid of people turning their faces!

However, what he didn't expect was that although Liu Zhiyuan said that he had lost his smile, his attitude was very calm: "My decapitated Liu is indeed a tough old man, especially the old wife who has been a companion for half his life but finally died, and his son also left before me. But she repeatedly told me to live for her, and I promised her after all. ”

"As for Geng Jie, whether it is stubborn or murderous, it is all about dividing people. This little fat man pretended to be Zhu Dalang to see me, and used Daming Public School to seduce me back to Beijing, but having said that, since I had a relationship with him at the beginning, I scolded him as soon as I came up with a straight face? It's better to scare and scare this kid! ”

Seeing Lu Sanlang glaring at himself as if he had seen a ghost, he smiled and said, "Why, you still don't know that you pretended to be Zhu Dalang?" Zhu Dalang's temper, even if he sent someone to invite me, he would definitely not try to please me and vote for me. He is a straight person, and the people he uses are even more upright, and I don't know my students! ”

Lu Sanlang avoided Liu Zhiyuan's gaze with a weak heart. And when he heard the next sentence, he simply flashed behind Zhang Shou.

"No one has filled the position of the secretary of the military department now, what's the matter, little fat man, do you think that the emperor belongs to me? But you didn't pinch your fingers to calculate, how old is my old man? ”

Zhang Shou saw that Lu Sanlang, who was sharp in the past, had been suppressed to the point of speechlessness, he could only cough, and had to stand up for Lu Sanlang to relieve the siege, otherwise if it continued like this, the little fat man would really doubt his life.

He immediately smiled and said: "Lu Sanlang is not a court official, he is just doing Brother Zhu a favor, where did he think of the position of the secretary of the military department, he has not even seen the emperor's face a few times!" As for his intention to promote public school, the reason is also very simple, Mr. Liu has no ambition to enter the career again, but he still has the ambition to educate the world? Otherwise, how could they teach Mengtong? ”

Without waiting for Liu Zhiyuan to say anything more, he said with a smile: "You have been all the way to Beijing, how about we go in and talk?" By the way, Lu Sanlangzai asked Xiao Cheng carefully, and then how about the restored old mansion of the Liu family? ”

"Dr. Zhang is wrong, I should say that this is the old house that I sold when I left. Now no matter what the surname of this house is, at least it will not be surnamed Liu. Liu Zhiyuan smiled indifferently, and then looked at Xiao Chengdao on the side, "I didn't come here to settle down in the past, I left too hurriedly at the beginning, and then I thought that I should take Xiao Chengcai away, so I came here first when I entered Beijing." ”

"He did suffer a lot when you left. You must know that Xiao Cheng is young, and many things are justified, and Brother Zhu was not only out on the expedition at that time, but also the limelight in the capital was very bad......"

Zhang Shou's answer was equally direct. He did not lightly describe Xiao Cheng's situation, so as to make this ill-fated and bumpy old man feel less guilty, but started from the beginning of Xiao Cheng's pretending to be a ghost and the old mansion of the Liu family changed hands several times. But while speaking, he gently but forcefully directly supported Liu Zhiyuan's arm.

So, taking advantage of the fact that Liu Zhiyuan couldn't break free from him because he had listened to Xiao Cheng's story for more than a year, he helped people to walk into the courtyard by the way.

"As for this house, I once asked Lu Sanlang to buy it and used it as a blacksmith shop and carpenter's shop, but it has been vacant for several months, since you have an old relationship with him, Master Liu, then don't live up to his wishes. If you feel that you can't go, you go to help his father Lu Juan, and you will already offset the money for renting a house. ”

Lu Sanlang, who was following behind, hated it so much that he immediately muttered: "Help my father and ask me to pay, how can there be such a cheap thing, look back and see if I don't knock the bone and suck the marrow and let the miser take the money out!" I'll just take it to supplement Jiuzhangtang! ”

Originally, when he heard Lu Sanlang's complaining words, Liu Zhiyuan was already planning to refuse, but when he heard the last few words, his brows immediately stretched, and he didn't resist Zhang Shou forcibly pulling him to see the mansion.

When he entered the courtyard gate and saw the old tree planted on the west side, the old man's face couldn't help but be stunned. He stepped forward slowly, stretched out his hand and rubbed his hand on the rough bark for a long time, and then looked at the door, and saw that the carved wooden door seemed to be new.

When he got closer, he found that it was still the door from when the previous owner had sold the house to him, but with a new coat of paint, so that the color was bright. Of course, he wouldn't know that Lu Saburo asked people to urgently put on this paint, because when the house was repurposed, many places were not lightly touched......

And Liu Zhiyuan does have a lot of feelings for this old mansion. Even with such a small courtyard, he couldn't afford it at first. And his wife has worked hard to run the family since she married him, leading people to be a female celebrity, and finally sold the 100-acre grange that was connected to the marriage, so that he finally had a place to settle down in the capital.

However, once he was forced by others, it was difficult for him to even keep the last bit of shelter.

By the time he saw the main room and the east and west wings, he had already realized that it was absolutely impossible for Xiao Cheng, who was too young, to collect all those old objects - even if some things were plausible, it could be seen that others had done their best. And it didn't happen overnight, at least over the months.

He is a person who has long faded out of officialdom, and if someone else can do this for him, what else can he say?

So, he turned his head to look at Lu Sanlang behind him, and then looked at Zhang Shou beside him, who was supporting him like an ordinary junior, and then said in a deep voice: "Whether it is Dr. Zhang, you or Lu Sanlang for helping me do this, I am very grateful." Even if this is no longer my house, I never thought of coming back, but after all, this is one of the last memories of me and my deceased wife. ”

Although Liu Zhiyuan did not burst into tears, not even his eyes were red, and his voice could hear the innate calmness, Zhang Shou, who was supporting him, could clearly perceive the trembling of the other party's body.

So, he smiled calmly: "It's not my credit, it's all arranged by Lu Saburo in detail." And the craftsmen who used to occupy this place, I have already let them move into my house, so this side of the house is empty. ”

It is a pity that the house continues to be vacant, and I ask Mr. Liu not to refuse Lu Sanlang's painstaking efforts and kindness in sorting out and restoring the layout. Because, because of the trouble he caused in the Guozi Prison, he and I just quit the house today, and moved all the things and sundries to Xiao Cheng, and we will be the tenants of the Xiao family for a while, so we can live next to you. ”

"In that case...... All right. ”

Liu Zhiyuan smiled happily and finally agreed. However, he was very curious about what Zhang Shou said about causing trouble in the Guozi Prison, and when he heard about the false accusation, he immediately became angry.

You must know that the old man in his seventies, who is still strong, has just entered Beijing, and he came here directly without eating or drinking, where can he have time to inquire about the recent events in the capital. Even if you ask about a bag like Lao Salted Fish, it's too late to play to your strengths. And when he learned the details of the Guanglu Temple fraud case, his face was even more solemn.

"This pool of stagnant water in the capital, I don't know how many dark and black things are hidden......"

"It is said that there are many kings in the shallow pool, and the temple is small and the Bodhisattva is big, not to mention the deep water in the capital?"

Lu Sanlang interrupted Liu Zhiyuan's words, and then said happily: "But this matter doesn't matter to him, the emperor said that no matter who is involved, he will be severely punished." Mr. Liu, you will never know that this is obviously an eventful time in the capital, what happened to Mr. Xiao. He actually encouraged the emperor to hold a selection competition, specifically to select those imperial chefs! ”

I have heard about this matter just now, and now I heard Lu Sanlang say that he and Zhang Shou discussed the detailed rules from the primary election, to the second election, to the final election, more than half of which are only in the name of the superintendent of the government, and handed over to the private assembly halls and old buildings to undertake, Liu Zhiyuan initially felt that this was simply a waste of money and labor, but listening to it, he felt that something was wrong.

How did he feel that this was not like choosing an imperial chef...... Rather, it's like a carnival trying to attract wide participation from the public?

Although he was only admitted to the Jinshi at a young age, became a squire in the military department in his early sixties, and then went to his position to be idle because he offended people, and finally even sold his house and returned to his hometown, Liu Zhiyuan had been dealing with nongists and businessmen for much longer.

When Zhang Shou forcibly invited him to sit down in the main house, he waved his hand and ordered everyone else, including Lao Xianyu and Xiao Cheng, to leave, and then said with blazing eyes: "If the government doesn't do this, it means that the court doesn't have to come up with much money." And those guild halls and even wine shops and restaurants that want this name will definitely try their best to promote and attract customers......"

Seeing that Liu Zhiyuan stopped when he said this, as if he was struggling with how to organize the sentence, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "That's right, and even if it is to solicit guests, it is absolutely impossible to give it away for free." And as long as there are more people watching the excitement, eating and drinking, of course, the merchant who sells things can also sell a little more because of the flow of people? ”

"And the small stall that originally only sold tea, can it also sell a little more snacks by the way?"

"And what if such a selection contest is not held in the inner city, but in the outer city, which is less prosperous? What if it's a non-downtown area outside the city? If it's even a place with a lot of wasteland around? Can you drive an area? What if this wasn't a one-off carnival, but an annual event in the future? ”