The guild hall was originally intended to provide accommodation for the Chongqing government officials who entered Beijing to take the examination and the Chongqing government officials who went to Beijing to fill the vacancies, and to provide a place for Chongqing government officials in Beijing to communicate with each other, hold group worship, and relieve the crisis.

If the guild hall can raise money, it is also the silver money of Chongqing Shilin, and if anyone dares to blatantly greed for this money, it will be disallowed by Chongqing Shilin!

Han Xiufeng didn't want to have a home and couldn't go back, and he didn't want his relatives in his hometown in Ba County to be poked in the backbone by the gentry such as Master Gu, he wouldn't and didn't dare to be blatantly greedy, he just wanted to take this opportunity to mix up the living expenses in the capital, so he neither agreed to Qian Junchen's request to borrow money, nor did he refuse, but used the excuse of group worship to raise money. Qian Junchen saw hope, and ran out to inquire without even taking care of eating for supper.

As soon as he left with his front foot, Second Master Fei pulled Han Xiufeng to the West House, closed the door and said, "Zhixing, I can help you talk about it over there, but you can't just go!" ”

"Second master, what do you want to say?" Han Xiufeng sat down and asked.

"Master Ji's annual income and Lu rice add up to more than 100 taels, and small families can live with 20 or 30 taels a year, but for Master Ji, more than 100 taels is beyond his means. The food, clothing, housing and transportation of the whole family, the human relations on the scene, the reward of the slaves, and the whole eyes are counting on that little money. ”

Second Master Fei sighed lightly, and continued: "Especially with the personal contacts with colleagues, not to mention weddings, funerals, and red and white ceremonies, he was overwhelmed by the wine meetings held every once in a while by his elegant colleagues. Flower Dynasty Festival, Shangsi Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Su Shi's birthday, Ouyang Xiu's birthday, irregular summer summer gatherings, winter chilling parties, as well as farewell ancestral feasts and pavilions, occasional outings, every party has to indulge in wine and poems, behind this wine is a heavy expense! ”

Han Xiufeng subconsciously asked, "Second Master, do you always say that Master Ji is short of money?" ”

"What's more, in order to survive, he can only rely on pawns and loans, and he borrowed more money than Qian Junchen." While cleaning up the books on the old desk, Second Master Fei said with a wry smile: "Every year is the time to repay old debts and borrow new debts. He often writes poems to express his feelings, saying: All the money in his hand is gone, and he will buy new coupons for next year. He also said: Returning the pen is like deleting old debts, and next year's book coupons will be renewed. ”

Han Xiufeng muttered: "I knew that he was living a hard life, but I didn't expect him to be so embarrassed." ”

"He borrows money every year, and he is already in debt!" Second Master Fei sighed and said helplessly: "From the selection of Hanlin in the pavilion to now, he has moved twice. He used to live in the official vegetable garden, but later the rent of the official vegetable garden increased, and he could not afford it, so he could only move to the northern half of the alley. ”

"Second master, I know what you mean, you can always tell Master Ji that if you can raise money for this group meeting, ask him to write a "Raising and Building Chongqing Guild Hall Introduction", and set up a stone monument to thank Master Gu and other seniors." Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "Don't worry, this money will naturally not be less." ”

Second Master Fei smiled: "With your words, I can talk to him." ”

"I'm tired of you getting old, I have to let you run for a long time on such a cold day."

"Yes, I'm ashamed to say that I have been taking care of the guild hall for all these years." Second Master Fei picked up Master Gu's letter and sighed: "Zhixing, what Master Gu said is true, you are really upright and bright, and you really value hometown friendship!" ”

"Don't say that, if it weren't for Master Gu's support, I wouldn't be Han Zhixing today, and in the future, I will need your old man and Master Ji and other seniors to support me."

"Okay, well, it's all a family, and the family doesn't speak two words."

……

After eating supper, Fei Erye went to find Master Ji with a lantern.

There was a light snow outside, and Han Xiufeng was not at ease at his age, so he asked the big head to accompany him.

Du Sanguan is not very big, he washed his feet and went to bed after supper, Pan Er and Han Xiufeng packed up the dishes and chopsticks together, and returned to the hall to light candles and settle accounts.

"Fourth brother, the things in this capital are not more expensive than our Ba County, it costs 26 wen to buy a liter of brown rice, and 20 wen for a pound of noodles, a person has to eat 20 catties of grain a month, and a person who eats grain alone costs 600 wen a month!"

Pan Er recorded today's expenses in the account book, and looked up again and said: "Soybean oil costs eighty wen a catty, and peanut oil is even more expensive." Fish is 48 wen a catty, pork is 55 wen a catty, eggs are two wen a catty, and a catty is 30 wen. It seems that the cheap ones are only cabbage, and Shiwen can buy a bunch of ......"

"It's not easy to live in the capital!" Han Xiufeng sighed lightly.

Pan Er looked back behind him, closed the account book and asked, "Fourth brother, you told the second master and Master Qian in the afternoon that we will also hold a banquet for the New Year, how many people will be invited, how much will it cost, and can the money spent be earned?" ”

Han Xiufeng thought to himself that he was worried about this, no wonder he wanted to stop talking while eating supper, and couldn't help but smile and asked: "Brother Pan, your family is a pawnshop, if there are several officials and masters who invite your father to eat and drink, including Master Hanlin, will your father go?" ”

Pan Er said without hesitation: "If there is a master Hanlin to invite him to eat and drink, my father doesn't know how happy he will be, and he will definitely go." ”

"That's it, this time we will not only invite Master Ji and Master Wang, but also invite the fellow villagers who do business in the capital. They usually can't get the same face as you want to be, but I personally come to the door to deliver the invitation, and they will definitely feel like your father and will definitely come. ”

Han Xiufeng smiled, and continued: "But this wine is not eaten for nothing, if you want to talk to Master Ji and them, the family will get at least one hundred taels." It's not impossible to ask the official to write a letter, but you have to add money. Master Ji is Hanlin, how can a word get a hundred taels, and a word of Lord Wang and Master Qian also costs fifty taels. ”

"What about the words of the master?" Pan Er couldn't help but laugh.

"Fei Erye's words are twenty-five taels, and the provincial pavilion is in charge of printing and guaranteeing, and we can't take care of this hall in vain, and take advantage of the Chinese New Year to help our masters in Chongqing Mansion sell a few words and help them earn some money."

"This money is not earned to be given to them!"

"The words written in the guild hall will belong to the guild hall, and the money earned will also belong to the guild hall, this is the rule, the old man is embarrassed to ask for it, but we can't not give it at all."

"How to give, how much?" Pan Er asked eagerly.

Han Xiufeng muttered: "If you can really raise a few hundred taels, you can lend some to Master Qian, and Master Ji and Master Wang will give some money to moisten the pen, and they will leave half of it to repair the hall anyway." ”

Pan Er is so shrewd, how can he not know what Han Xiufeng is doing, and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, it's time to repair the guild hall if it's so broken." The roof must be repaired, the walls must be painted, tables, chairs and benches must be added, and everything must be repaired inside and out! ”