At the turn of the spring and summer of the first year, the Qing Dynasty in the Far East has entered an eventful autumn, with the outbreak of the Korean "Dongxue Party" uprising, the conflict of interests between the Japanese and Qing countries in Korea has intensified, it has reached the point of misfire at any time, Jingning Mansion located in the inland is still peaceful, the sun in the afternoon is a little strong, Du Si took the little third son out of the door, came to the house of the shopkeeper He.

"Brother".

"The fourth child is here, sit down, come, and look at the Yu Hutchison reconstruction charter I wrote." After speaking, a paper manuscript in his hand was handed to Du Si

Du Si took the paper in his hand and smiled wryly and said to Shopkeeper He, "Brother knows that I don't know a few big characters, I can't understand this."

"Hey, look at my memory, I'm dizzy" Shopkeeper He patted his forehead and said, "This first one is to suggest that the old man set up a team of nurses, led by you Du Si, to protect the safety of our tea house, warehouse, and warehouse, with seven preset personnel and two levels of wages." ”

Du Si hurriedly said, "Brother, this burden is too heavy, I'm afraid that I can't do it with this temperament, and it will ruin your big thing!" ”

He shopkeeper said slightly angrily, "What are you afraid of, the old man has believed in you, and I can trust you, you are usually bold and careful, just do it boldly and boldly, this extraordinary period, do not use your own people, it is rare to use people with unknown backgrounds?." ”

Du Si got up and saluted, "Then I thank my brother for his support, and I will never embarrass my brother."

"Okay, little third son, come and let me take a look."

"Shopkeeper, what do you command?" the little third son walked over and saluted

"Well...... shopkeeper He looked at the little third son and nodded, "This is cleaned up, it is still a talent, that is, it is a little darker, a little thinner, but it doesn't matter, follow my brother, and I will guarantee that I will raise it for two months, then let's go, don't let people wait too long." ”

"Desheng, Desheng, I brought someone to you" He Fengkui shouted while knocking on the door, "Desheng, Desheng." ”

Squeak, the door opened, and a family member with about five inquiries appeared in the door, and saluted respectfully, "It turned out to be Master He." ”

"Fubo, where is your master?"

"Master He, my lord was invited by the people of the Yamen of the Futai Prefecture, and the lord had instructed him when he left, if Master He came, he would be invited to wait in the main hall."

"Oh, your lord was invited by the people of the Futai Yamen? When? Do you know what's going on? He Fengkui wondered

"I was invited at noon, what happened? This..., the little ones don't know. Master He, please inside. ”

"Okay, fourth, let's go in" As he walked inside, he said to the housekeeper, "Fu Bo, go and bring three good teas." ”

"Yes, Master He."

As soon as he entered the main hall, the third son saw that the main hall was more elegant and simple decoration, with only a few coffee tables and chairs for guests, and calligraphy and paintings hanging on the surrounding walls. I saw a calligraphy and painting written in a correct Zhao Kai font: "Standing up is the first to study, and learning is the first to study." See another one that reads, "Nourish the heart is not good at having few desires, desires cannot be indulged, desires become disasters, happiness cannot be extreme, and happiness is born and waned." I also saw a painting written in elegant Zhao style: "Those who are good for the country love it, and those who harm the country are evil." ”。

He Fengkui saw that Xiao Sanzi had been staring at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, and he didn't even care if the family Ding entered the door with tea, and asked, "Little Sanzi, do you like it?" ”

"Like"

"Where do you like it?"

"I can't say it, I just think it's well written, and I look at it quietly."

"Hehe, even if you kid has a vision, these are all calligraphy and paintings written by my brother himself, not to mention anything else, just say that my brother's hand Zhao Ti characters, in our Hunan, it is also the number one, how many rich and noble people sent people to beg, were rejected. When my brother was not yet lifted, he often wrote letters for the poor people in Jingfu for free, like paper, hey, guess what, when my brother was lifted, they sold the letters, and they made a fortune one by one. He Fengkui said with some pride

"Little third son, you are blessed, follow such a good man, forget it, stick to the literary tone, serve Master Zhang well in Beijing, don't live up to the good intentions of the shopkeeper." Du Sidao

"Yes, Fourth Uncle."

"Hehe, is my brother-in-law here? Brother-in-law", as soon as the words fell, Zhang Juren's hearty laughter came from outside the house. The three people in the room all stood up, and the little third son was even more at a loss, not knowing where to stand.

Zhang Juren entered the house and hurriedly handed over to He Juren, "I heard Fu Bo say, my brother-in-law came for a while, and I made you wait for a long time," and then said to Du Si, "This is the Du Fourth Brother, right?" Then he praised, "Sure enough, a loyal face, no wonder he will save Yu Xiaogongzi."

These words made Du Si's heart feel happy, and then he bent down and saluted, "Don't dare to praise Master Zhang, this is killing Du Si." ”

Zhang Desheng immediately raised his hand and said, "Hehe, sit, don't stand, sit ......, this is the little third son." Well, it's really a talented young man, I heard my brother-in-law say that you went to a private school, come to the third son, and I'll test you. As he spoke, he pointed to the calligraphy and painting on the wall, and said, "Do you know all these words?" ”

"Back to the master, I only know some"

"Oh?" Zhang Desheng was interested: "Tell me that I know those." ”

The third son walked to a piece of writing and said, "This one, standing up is based on learning, and learning is based on reading."

"Do you know who this is?"

"Master, I don't know," the third son said with some shame

"Hehe, let me tell you, this is one of the eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, Ouyang Wenzhong's words, you can remember it now."

"Remember, sir."

"Okay, okay, but do you know anything else?"

"And this one," the little third son walked to the bottom of another calligraphy and painting, and pointed out, "Those who are good for the country love it, and those who harm the country are evil." ”

"Not bad, not bad", Zhang Desheng nodded with some relief, and pointed to a piece of writing in the corner of the wall that read, "The gentleman's burial vessel is on his body, and he will move when the time comes" Dao "Can you recognize this?" ”

The third son walked in and took a look, thought for a while and replied, "Master, I only know a gentleman, and sometimes a few words." ”

"Haha, Confucianism can be taught, and children can be taught" Zhang Desheng smiled heartily, looking back and saying to He Fengkui, "I have only studied in a private school for a few years, and I can recognize these words, which is not bad, and I have lived up to Mr. Teaching." The key is to be loyal, honest, and a good seedling. ”

He Fengkui immediately said, "So, Desheng accepted the third son?" ”

"Yes, I can trust my brother-in-law as a guarantor, and a loyal man like Fourth Brother Du as my uncle."

Du Si immediately stood up and said hurriedly to the little third son, "San'er, don't you hurry up, thank you, Master Zhang, shopkeeper He." ”

Xiao Sanzi was also a little excited after hearing this, and immediately knelt down and bowed, "Little Sanzi, thank you, Master Zhang, Master He." After speaking, he knocked his head three times to the two of them.

"Okay, get up, get up, you go back and pack up first, and come to the house tomorrow to arrange, and we will enter Beijing in ten days."

"Yes, sir."

"Brother-in-law, stay for a while, I have something to tell you." 、

Du Si led the little third son and said, "That master, the shopkeeper, I will take the little third son back to clean up"

Zhang Desheng said "Okay," and then said to the family standing outside the door, "Fu Bo, send two for me." ”

After Du Si and the two left, He Fengkui asked, "Desheng, ...... are you?" ”

Zhang Desheng frowned and said, "Brother-in-law, most of the west of the city burned last night, what's going on?" ”

"I don't know yet, the yamen only said that someone was found to have set fire, and it is not clear who it is? Could it be that Lord Futai is looking for you for this? ”

"Yes, such a major event happened in Jingning Mansion, there has never been a big event since the opening of the mansion, most of the west of the city was burned, more than 20 people died, or the Yu family's property was burned, the mansion was furious, and the squires were summoned to discuss the regulations for the resettlement of the victims, this is about to enter the summer, if one is not handled well, there will be a plague, all the gentry have to contribute money and efforts, and the Yu family also promised to compensate with all their might, but I can't find out who did it, and the proprietors of the families are also panicked, I am afraid that from then on, Jingning Mansion will also begin to enter an eventful autumn!" Zhang Desheng said with heavy regret

"Desheng, didn't Lord Futai say when the case would be closed? This, in case of another attempt...... I'm afraid ......"

"Lord Futai went to the Yamen of Zhentai with a moving text, and asked Xie Busheng Xie to come down to investigate the case, and Yu Dongjia also invited him with a private letter, so I don't think there is any problem?"

"Oh, but the four famous catches in the world, the second one, Xie Busheng Xie catcher?"

"Exactly"

"With the prestige of Xie Zhutou, if you want to solve the case, it is better than relying on our old criminals in Jingning Mansion to have two or three hopes." Shopkeeper He said with some relief

"In addition, I thought about it, it's a long way to the capital, and the journey is not smooth, so I still have to give the third son some wages, so that he has no worries, just give him one or two or five dollars of silver for food."

"Oh, this is an unexpected joy, I have to thank you for the third son, you are a great favor to his whole family"

"Brother-in-law, Emperor Zhaolie of the Shu Han Dynasty said, don't take the good as small, don't take the evil as small, this two or five dollars of silver is a gesture for me, but for him it is a charcoal in the snow, with my own heart, push myself and others, I just did what I could, so that he could have less worries on the way to Beijing."

"I have to go and tell Du Si the news so that he can be happy too." After speaking, he got up and arched his hand and said, "Desheng, then I'll go first." ”

He Fengkui walked three streets to Du Si's house, and saw Du Si's uncle and nephew buying rice and oil in a grain and oil shop, and hurriedly shouted, "Fourth, fourth." ”

"Brother, why are you here?"|

"Fourth, what are you doing here? Buy so much rice, oily? ”

"Huang San, Li Fu just left, the family is afraid of doing white things, as soon as this man leaves, it is not easy for only orphans and widows to be left, send them some"

"That's my share." He took out the silver and said to the shopkeeper

"Brother, are you here to find me?"

"Yes, come and tell the little third son a good news, little third son, just now Master Zhang said, your family has suffered a disaster, life is not easy, and you are promised one or two or five dollars of silver every month for work and food."

At this time, in the late Qing Dynasty, the domestic and foreign difficulties, the people's life was poor, the ordinary adults in the interior, the annual income was about 10 taels of silver, and the big restaurant in Beijing ran the hall of the second child, and could earn 20-30 taels of silver a year.

"This is a great thing, San'er, you jumped from the chaff can to the rice pot at this time, your father, your mother is not hungry this year"

The little third son cried with joy, "Thank you shopkeeper, thank you, thank you, thank you, I, I'll kowtow to you", and he was going to bow down after speaking.

"Eh, you kid, why do you kowtow at every turn, on the street, what kowtow, if you want to thank you, thank you Master Zhang, it is not easy for him to remember your family, and he also said, with your own heart, push yourself and others, is to let you enter Beijing with peace of mind, you don't live up to Master Zhang's expectations."

"The shopkeeper can rest assured, as long as my little third son is here, I will give up my life to protect the master." The little third son patted his thin chest and said

"Shopkeeper, can I ask you for something?" The third son was a little shy

"What's the matter, you say."

"Can you tell the master, the salary will not be paid to me, after I leave, the fourth uncle will come to receive the salary every month, so that when the fourth uncle returns to his hometown, he can bring it to my father."

He Fengkui exclaimed, "Sure enough, it's a filial child, okay, this matter is simple, I can inform Fu Bo." ”