Li Jingluo is more than 30 years old, thin body, has been fighting with people for many years, his back is a little rickety, he is from a partial house, he has no status in his hometown, and he has no money. The hometown has also built a solid tulou, which is already a well-known figure in Hefei.

Li Guolou knew where Li Jingluo's money came from, and he kept running east and west every year, and of course there was a certain percentage of the commission for the money he begged for, and it fell into his pocket justifiably. Businessmen talk about rules, there are no rules, there is no circle, and people have motivation with rules.

At this time, the social atmosphere was that the same villagers and the same party formed a group, and one person was followed by a chicken and a dog, just like five "poor students" always stayed together, as long as one of them was promoted, the others could do such errands as masters and staff. The people around every big official are this kind of people who get together, get rich together, have common ideals, have both wealth and lust when they are young, and only recognize money and not people when they are old.

After a period of greetings, Li Jingluo glared at Li Guolou and said: "Xiaolou, I sent a telegram to Shanghai, your brother was very angry, let you mix up in Beijing, how much money did you spend in the family, and in the end you got a team with no grade and no level, and said that you would die in the cold." ”

Li Guolou laughed and said, "Uncle Li, you all misunderstood, in fact, I have no interest in being an official, and now I am wearing a tiger skin, just to meet some friends, so that I can go around in Beijing." Now that I have started to do business, the Baozhi house is actually my investment, the people take food as the sky, and it is my dream to be a high-end restaurant, Uncle Li, you must help me. ”

Li Guolou began to paint a bright future, saying that Jingshi was full of gold, and he would make a pot full of gold and silver, of course, without the help of the fellow townsmen's association.

Li Jingluo sighed slightly, every family has a scripture that is difficult to read, and he also knows everything about Li Guolou's family. Li Guolou's elder brother Li Guoyun was gifted and intelligent since he was a child, but when he was a child, he fell off his horse, broke one of his legs, and became a lame. In the Qing Dynasty, people with physical disabilities could not be officials, Li Guoyun could only take a business path, the original family pinned their ideals on Li Guolou, but I didn't expect this kid, his brain is different from ordinary people, and the tricks that he turned out made people scratch their heads, and there was a "fox spirit" sitting next to him, which made people not know what to say.

Li Jing glanced at the bazi and said, "Xiaolou, as long as you don't go too far, I will help." But what is the future of a restaurant, I don't see it, since you have found someone to manage it, you should go back to Shanghai. There is a need for people who can understand foreign languages. ”

Nabazi stood up, laughed, and interjected: "Uncle Li, in fact, Xiaolou has lofty ideals, we want to do business with the palace, I am now worshipping under Gonggong An, Gonggong An accepts me as the fourteenth oldest, I brought you a painting of Su Dongpo's Chibi Fu written by Zhao Mengfu, the appraisal of Zhenbaoxuan, it is definitely a treasure." ”

Li Jingluo rose up slightly, unfolded the long text panel and watched, and five fellow villagers from Hefei also gathered to watch, and studied it word by word on the desk.

The result of some research is, of course, a treasure, and the little fat man Fan Dahui also has a calligraphy and painting of Zhao Mengfu at home, which is ancestral, and the penmanship, paper and seal are exactly the same.

A painting of Zhao Mengfu can be exchanged for a courtyard house, and now that the war in China is coming to an end, the price of antique treasures has begun to rise again.

Li Jingluo was already smiling from ear to ear, and never mentioned the matter of letting Li Guolou go back to Shanghai, and the group entered the West Flower Hall together, drinking and chatting. Having a relationship with the palace is, of course, a matter of great benefit, Li Jingluo and the five students already worship Nabazi incomparably, and Nabazi is speaking at the banquet.

Cao Kexing, Zhu Dinghe, Fan Dahui, Wei Hanyu, and Xu Lan began to sigh, telling about the difficulties of life in Beijing, and they no longer knew the taste of meat when they were accompanied by oil lamps every day. The villagers stayed together to help each other, but it was also a drop in the bucket, and it was about to be unsustainable. They all owe some money to the townspeople's association, and they don't know what year or month they can repay.

Li Guolou looked at Li Jingluo suspiciously, but saw that Li Jingluo nodded slightly, and sighed.

Li Guolou's chest was tight, it had only been more than a month, and these five "poor students" began to owe money again, and it seemed that they were determined to eat the food of their fellow villagers. Some of these scholars will not repay their debts, and some will double their paybacks. There are often shopkeepers in the yamen who complain that such scholars do not repay their debts, but the government will always help the students to speak, and if they can avoid it, they will be exempted, and if they can't be exempted, they will pay a little less to the store. As for the romantic tent, it doesn't matter, how can a young student be in a foreign land without a love life.

Li Guolou was thinking about another thing, in the future, a few Zhao Mengfu calligraphy and paintings would be hung in the living room at home, and they would be favored by others, and they could be given away at any time. This is a good idea, Li Guolou smiled and looked at several fellow villagers, and he promised to give each of them ten taels of ice and charcoal for the winter, so that these five students can also have a charcoal stove to keep warm in the winter. Friends have been friends for a long time, and the most hopeful thing in my heart is that these five "poor fellow villagers" can study hard, as long as there is a high school (not a person who spends money to buy it), he will not be empty.

Li Guolou didn't drink with his fellow villagers because he had to run an errand in the afternoon. Several fellow villagers also did not say words of gratitude to Li Guolou, as if it was a matter of course to take a few small coins, and the villagers were used to help each other. Staying in the hometown hall is the advantage of having the opportunity to meet rich fellow villagers at any time.

Li Guolou couldn't hold back and said: "Everyone, don't go to the Chu Pavilion of Qinlou, study honestly, it's the last winter, don't make any more trouble." ”

Fan Dahui was dissatisfied: "Fake foreign devil, which eye did you see that we have been to that kind of place, why did you run into the yamen, looking at people is like looking at prisoners, we stay awake all night and study hard." After saying that, he took an oil-walking hoof in his hand and began to fight with the food.

Cao Kexing said: "Fake foreign devils, the woman is next to you." Why are you so unkind, you saw me once, and you said until now, then you have to ask, what are you doing in that kind of place? ”

Li Guolou was furious and shouted: "Okay, you Cao Kexing, you were detained, I broke into the tiger's den in Longtan alone and rescued you, how can you beat you up." ”

Cao Kexing didn't cut it and said: "Fake foreign devils, Ming people don't do dark things, how can that old bustard know you." Say! ”

Li Guolou bowed his head in shame, and no longer dared to talk about this topic with the five "poor students", everyone had an ulterior past.

Li Guolou's thigh was viciously twisted by Chen Xiangfang, but he was unmoved, and the expression on his face returned to the same as before. I also pinched Chen Xiangfang's jade hand and took advantage of it.

Zhu Dinghe hurriedly played a round, laughed, and said: "Come on, let's drink, don't talk about this kind of thing that is not on the stage, fake foreign devils, you still have to help us, at the last moment of spring, you have to do your best, understand?" ”

Li Guolou couldn't understand, ten taels of silver per person was enough for them to live a stable life, and they were not buyers, this was impossible, these five people did not have such great strength, so they could only take the single-plank bridge and take the Jinshi exam with their real skills.

Li Guolou asked: "After the spring test, just wait for the list to be released, what else do you want me to help with?" ”

Zhu Dinghe coughed and said: "Fake foreign devils, we have already summed it up, with the ability of a few of us, there will always be someone who will go to high school, of course, if you don't win, there will be a next time." I'm telling you now that if one of us gets lifted, then you have to help. ”

Li Guolou said: "If any of you are in high school, I will give a big gift, so do you need to say it?" ”

Zhu Dinghe sneered and said: "Fake foreign devils, there will be a sea of gift-givers at that time, but it's just money, it's not enough to stuff your teeth." At that time, you will have to worship the teacher, and the teacher in the room who chooses you will worship under the teacher. The money for the teacher, you take it first, I have heard it, the examiner must pay at least 1,000 taels of silver, and the worst teacher will also have 400 taels of silver. ”

Li Guolou was a little reluctant and said: "Isn't this money available in the money bank?" Why are you looking for me? ”

Zhu Dinghe shouted: "Fake foreign devil, this is to look up to you, we will be a family in the future." There is no interest on the money borrowed from the bank. ”

Li Guolou pointed at Zhu Dinghe's nose and said angrily: "Old Zhu, you are too picky, you can't get a thousand taels of silver as an official, and you have to save interest." ”

Zhu Dinghe sighed and said: "Fake foreign devils, now the world has changed, those who have military merits, don't occupy the seat, the fat shortage is less than half of the past, when can you live a good life, it is not necessarily." Therefore, if you can save it, you will save it, and it will take some time to tighten your belt. ”

Nabazi nodded and said, "Yes! Fake foreign devils now know that officialdom is not easy to mix. I didn't lie to you. You are not short of money, and you should help your fellow villagers. ”

Li Guolou's flesh hurt, gritted his teeth and said, "One thousand taels of silver, where can I find it." ”

The five "poor students" laughed together, they were not afraid that Li Guolou would be tired of playing cats, they had already been put on this boat, and no matter how much money they had, Li Guolou would have to cushion it first. Of course, the return is not the principal and interest, but their future prospects.

Because Li Guolou still had something to do, the banquet ended without a good time. When Baozhifang opened, Li Guolou wanted to invite people from the Anhui Fellow Villagers Association to dinner, and the people invited were all bigwig-level people, but the five "poor fellow villagers" would not forget. Poverty and lowliness stay together, rich and noble are in the same boat, and hometown people are forever tied together, this is the requirement of this era, and it is by no means that one of them is kind and does not forget his roots. After saying a few words of encouragement to each other, Li Guolou said goodbye to his fellow villagers and left the Anhui Fellow Townsmen Hall.

Chen Xiangfang heard that Li Guolou was going out of the city, so she had to follow Li Guolou back to Hongchang Hutong and pack some bags for him. This made Li Guolou a little worried, afraid that Chen Xiangfang was still looking for him to interrogate him for what happened just now. In fact, it's not a big deal, inviting people to drink flower wine in a place like Qinlou Chu Pavilion, men are indispensable for acting on the spot.

Li Guolou cheered himself up, there was only one woman in his eyes, Chen Xiangfang, who was reluctant to let go of her hand in the carriage, as if she was parting with life and death, and she would never see her again.