"Little third brother?" Shang Cheng looked at Gao Xiaosan, who was accompanied by the housekeeper, in surprise. How did this guy get here? "How ...... you?" he asked. He originally wanted to ask Gao Xiaosan why he came home quietly, but when the words came out of his mouth, he felt that it was not good to say this, so he quickly changed his words, "You came to see me?" ”

Gao Xiaosan obviously didn't expect to bump into Shang Cheng here, he was so cramped that he almost ran out of places to put his hands and feet, and opened his mouth several times before he barely squeezed out a smile and said, "Yes...... I, I'm passing by here, stopping by to see you. ”

Shang Cheng's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. He first glanced at the stone path that Gao Xiaosan and the housekeeper walked over, and the direction of the road was the backyards where Yue'er and Pan'er lived, and then looked back at the backyard door looming between the bare branches, and couldn't help muttering: This is to see me?

Gao Xiaosan also realized that there was a flaw in his words. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I originally wanted to give you a festival, but I was afraid that you would be busy with official business, so I ......" He lowered his head.

Shang Cheng smacked his lips and didn't speak. He could understand the meaning of Gao Xiaosan's words. The current identity gap between the two people is too big, and it is basically impossible to eat, drink and talk with a pot of wine and two plates of pickles like when they were in Huojiabao. Not only Gao Xiaosan, but also the Baokan and Shishi, who were born and died with him, also maintained due respect and distance in front of him, and they didn't usually talk to him much about many words and things. Just now, Nakayama insisted on being reluctant to stay for dinner, probably for this reason.

There was nothing he could do to change the situation; One can only think about the bright side of things: maybe they don't want to add to his troubles.

Seriously, he misses the days when he didn't pretend to be a governor, and everyone got together and chatted freely, which was better than anything else. Like now, the winter solstice is a lonely holiday, accompanied only by never-ending official documents and cold inkstones. Sometimes he really wants to put everything at hand and find someone to talk to. Don't talk about political affairs or official business, it's just pure chatting, talking nonsense in the south and the north of the world, talking about where it is, when it comes to being elated, he will go out to eat a meal, and finally go home drunk and fall on the kang and snore, and sleep until dawn......

But at best, such thoughts can only stay in his mind. He couldn't. He did not have the ability to separate his heavy official duties from his easy private life. To tell the truth, deep down, he is still very envious of Lu Ji and Di Xu sometimes, stepping on the drum in the morning to enter the yamen, stepping on the drum in the afternoon Shen to go down to the yamen, drinking happily in the song shop, singing and singing in the workshop, there are people to greet outside, and there are people to ask for warmth when they return home, and they can share the joy of family with their wives and children...... But what about him? In addition to the Governor's Mansion is the study, or he runs back and forth in various states and counties, even if he finally has a little free time, he can't even find a person who can say a few words in his heart, so he can only practice a few strokes of calligraphy on the desk. No way, he can't disturb other people's lives. Who made him the Admiral of Yanshan; Although he is only an agent, he is an admiral after all.

He sighed wistfully and asked Gao Xiaosan, "Brother and sister are coming to Yanzhou?" ”

"Huh?" Gao Xiaosan, who didn't know how to speak, paused for a moment. He immediately reacted, because he came from the back house, so Shang Cheng had a misunderstanding. He snorted two or three times before he said, "She, she...... She came too. Miss Yue'er and Miss Pan'er left her down to talk. "It's the best excuse he can find. That would explain why he came out of the back house.

"Is she feeling better?"

"Much better." Gao Xiaosan said.

mentioned his wife, Gao Xiaosan's pale face finally had a little blood. He said gratefully, "Thanks to the few flavors of medicine you sent, she hasn't fainted this winter after taking it." The doctor said that after two or three years of recuperation, he would probably be able to cure the root of the disease. ”

"It's good to see the improvement." Shang Cheng said happily, "In the past, you were always running outside, and she was always worried and afraid of you when she was a woman at home, and she couldn't help but take care of her body." It's good now! She came to the state city, and you happened to take care of her nearby. Yanzhou is a big place, there are many good doctors, and the medicinal materials are also complete and easy to purchase, and her little problems are easy to treat. Anyway, you remember, if you encounter any difficulties, come to me; If I'm not there, I can find Yue'er and them. However," he paused, looked up at Gao Xiaosan, and teased him with a smile, "I heard that you are now the big shopkeeper of Liu Ji's store, and you are a figure who can call the wind and rain in Kyoto, and you probably use me to help." ”

Gao Xiaosan lowered his head and said humbly: "Brother Monk said he was laughing. "But what Shang Cheng said is the truth after all; Moreover, at his age, he became Liu Ji's big shopkeeper, and his subordinates were in charge of all Liu Ji's business from Yanshan to Shangjing to Jiangnan and Quanzhou, as well as more than a dozen semicolons and six or seven hundred manpower from all over the country, which was a very glorious thing to say. As soon as he was happy, he couldn't help but say a few more words, "What kind of big shopkeeper is not a shopkeeper, it's not all months...... It's all the owner's fault. ”

Shang Chenghu looked at him suspiciously. What's going on, could it be said that Gao Xiaosan is the big shopkeeper of Liu Ji, and Yue'er has something to do with it? But this was just a fleeting thought, and he didn't think about it carefully, so he asked Gao Xiaosan, "Are you leaving?" ”

"There's a lot of ...... going on in the warehouse"

Shang Chengyi laughed and said, "Today is the Winter Solstice Festival, which shop on the street is still open?" Seeing that Gao Xiaosan wanted to explain, he stopped him and said, "I don't care if you have more or less things." It's rare for us to see each other once, and since we're here, there's no reason to leave without eating.," he turned his face and instructed the butler, who had been keeping his face open, "You go to the stove room to say hello, and let them prepare dinner now, and good wine and good food are indispensable." Let another lamb be roasted, and I will entertain my good brother. ”

"Brother monk, don't keep them busy. I really can't delay it......"

Shang Cheng stared at Gao Xiaosan. Seeing that Gao Xiaosan didn't seem to be pretending, after thinking about it, he said, "If you really have something, then I won't keep you." When I have time, I often come and sit; Your mother-in-law often comes to the house to play when she has nothing to do. She and Yue'er are about the same age, and they can talk together, and they don't feel bored when they stay in the city; And going around more is good for her body. ”

Gao Xiaosan pursed his lips and didn't speak. Shang Cheng's words made his heart warm, and he almost wanted to tell Shang Cheng the truth: his mother-in-law was still in Huojiabao; He didn't come today to pay respects, but to talk to the big owner of the warehouse about an important matter...... But in the end he didn't say anything.

Shang Cheng sent him out of the backyard door again.

At the gate of the courtyard, Gao Xiaosan finally mustered up the courage and asked, "Brother Monk, do you know that the sixth uncle of the Huo family came to Yanzhou?" ”

"Yes. Uncle Six was at my house last night. ”

"The Sixth Uncle family has made a high-quality wine, have you heard?"

Shang Cheng laughed. He finally understood why Gao Xiaosan came, and one by one it must be for high-strength liquor! A person like Gao Xiaosan, who has a natural sense of business, probably knows that it is a very profitable business as soon as he smells it. However, Liu Ji Warehouse has only just come out of the predicament, the capital turnover is not enough, and it cannot be compared with the Yongshengchang of the Yuan family, and the conditions proposed may not be able to teach Huo Lun to be satisfied, so he can only rely on the feelings of the villagers to see if he can say something good for Huo Lun to come forward and say something good for them.

He smiled and asked, "Yue'er didn't promise to help you?" ”

Speaking of liquor, Liu Ji's young shopkeeper had a sad face: "It's not." …… I won't hide it from you, at the moment, Liu Ji is just in the Yongsheng Chang of the Yuan family in Beijing to fight for the sale of liquor. The Yuan family has a thick foundation, and they promised to give Liubo a piece of land to make wine in Shangjingbai, and promised to raise food for him, and how much grain he wanted. We Liu Ji couldn't do these two things, so Liubo was reluctant to hand over the liquor business to us. He looked at Huo Shiqi's mansion not far away and sighed.

"Don't you have a few pack teams, you can buy liquor and sell it to the Central Plains." Shang Cheng gave him an idea.

Gao Xiaosan said with a wry smile: "Yanshan is too far away from the Central Plains, and the road is not convenient. If the wine is shipped out from Yanshan, the tofu will have to be turned into the price of meat, and even if you don't count the depreciation on the way, just one price can scare the buyers away. ”

Shang Cheng didn't make a sound, just listened quietly.

Gao Xiaosan hesitated and said, "I think, you, can you ......"

Without waiting for Gao Xiaosan to finish speaking, Shang Chengcheng shook his head. For him, it was just a matter of one sentence whether Huo Lun's liquor business should be done by Liu Ji or by Yongshengchang, but he had always been anti-sensory business, so he didn't plan to meddle at all.

Sending off Gao Xiaosan, he returned to his small courtyard, and before he entered the hall, he heard someone shouting: "Master! Master! ”

He looked back. It was the maid Rouge next to Pan'er, the only person he could call by name among a large group of maids of similar age in the backyard.

He asked the little girl, who looked very good, "What is the matter?" ”

"Miss and Miss asked you, did you have dinner together today?"

Shang Cheng then remembered that the Winter Solstice Festival also has rules for the whole family to eat reunion dinners. No wonder Sun Zhongshan refused to stay, it turned out that people knew more reason than himself, and remembered that today was the Winter Solstice Festival. But...... Why did Gao Xiaosan leave his mother-in-law here and go back alone first? Could it be that the senior has forgotten that today is the Winter Solstice Festival?

He pondered for a while, and then asked about the dinner, "Aren't the young lady and the eldest lady having guests?" ”

Rouge, who had been keeping his head down, looked up at him strangely and said, "No." The young lady and the eldest lady said that you have worked hard for most of the year, and you must let you rest for a good time today, so after noon, they have been busy in the stove room, cooking you a hearty dinner. ”

"The Gao family's ...... She's gone? ”

Rouge was even more surprised. She was in the stove room all afternoon to the two young ladies, and she didn't see any wives from the Gao family and the Li family coming to the house, except for Liu Ji's tall shopkeeper. However, the shopkeeper Gao had come to discuss something with the young ladies, and she was busy preparing dishes for dinner in the stove room at that time, so she did not go with her. Speaking of cooking dinner, she also got the permission of the eldest lady to carefully make a hometown dish of braised chicken with bamboo shoots, and she must ask the general to taste her craftsmanship later. She looked at Shang Cheng with big watery eyes, and said crisply: "I peeled the bamboo shoots with my own hands, and I also tore the shredded chicken with my own hands, and even the garlic velvet was pounded by my own hands, and the general must eat two more bites." ”

Shang Cheng casually agreed and stepped up the steps, leaving only one sentence to the little girl with two red clouds floating on her cheeks: "I'm not busy with dinner." Go and call them both over, I have something to ask them!" ”

He wanted to ask Yue'er and Pan'er, the shopkeeper Gao discussed with the two of them, what was the matter of discussing!