The meal in the evening was very different. Bai personally cooked several dishes, and asked Tubo to come back with wine, and the courtyard that had been neglected for a long time became lively. In the past, Tubo and Xiaofu both ate at the table with the Bai family, but today Guan Zhuofan sat down at the table, so they said that they would not sit down at all, and hurriedly finished eating next to them, but they did not want to leave, and stood at the door of the hall one by one, looking at Guan Zhuofan's official uniform as if they couldn't see enough.

"Tuber," Guan Zhuofan smiled, "what's wrong with you?" ”

"Alas," said Touber, who burst into tears, "has not seen this garment in our house since the old man is gone." ”

Not...... Guan Zhuofan was dumbfounded. It seems that Alhatu is still thoughtful for himself, this seven-grade official skin, although it is a martial arts, can also be of a lot of use. Listening to Tuber's tone, his father was also an official during his lifetime, but he was not much older.

"Sister-" Xiao Yun finished eating a meal in her bowl, stared at the table, and gently pulled Bai's sleeve, "I still want to eat meat......"

"Don't make a fuss, aren't you eating?" Bai coaxed Xiao Yun, "Go out to play obediently, and tomorrow my sister will buy you hemp candy to eat." ”

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing here!" Guan Zhuofan hurriedly picked up Xiao Yun over, took the two largest pieces of meat with chopsticks, and put them in her small bowl, "Eat slowly, and the third brother will clip it for you after eating." ”

Bai's eyes turned red and turned his face sideways.

"Sister-in-law," Guan Zhuofan looked at Xiao Yun gobbling up, and his nose was a little sour, "...... at home So hard? ”

Bai Shi calmed down and said slowly: "In the past few months of fighting with foreigners, the hearts of the people in Beijing have fluctuated, everything is expensive, and forty yuan can't buy a liter of rice. My pension was originally one tael a month, but now, like other people's money and food, it is all paid in a reduced amount, and everyone scolds Lord Su, saying that he is black-hearted. ”

This scolded Su Da naturally said Su Shun. He was favored by Emperor Xianfeng and was the de facto first assistant, that is, the identity of the prime minister. When Guan Zhuofan read the history of the Qing Dynasty, he still admired Su Shun, he dared to withhold the money and food of the banner people, and used it to support the soldiers who fought in front, which in Guan Zhuofan's view, was the right thing. If the banner man does not plow or cultivate, why should he take a piece of silver for nothing every month? However, now that I put myself in my shoes, looking at the miserable situation at home, and hearing what Bai said, I couldn't help but feel a little bitter for Su Shun, and sighed in my heart: Sure enough, it is the ass that decides the head.

He thought about it for a while, and then asked Bai, "Isn't there still my share?" He knew that according to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, he counted the vest, and he should have three taels of regular silver every month. Coupled with the salary in the army, it will not be difficult for the family to become like this.

"You ......" Bai Shi looked at him strangely, silent, and suddenly smiled, "Hey, how can you say this, you finally came back and ate more." With that, he lifted the flask and filled the empty glass for him.

Guan Zhuofan knew that he had asked something wrong. It seems that most of his share of money and food, plus his monthly military salary, was squandered by himself, and not a single cent was handed over to the Bai family. I was ashamed, thought for a while, and said, "Sister-in-law, the twenty taels of silver, you put it away and change Xiao Yun's clothes to wear." In the days to come, don't worry anymore, everything is with me. ”

Bai looked at his uncle and felt that he was completely different from before, as if he had changed people. I was very comforted, but I still shook my head and said, "That's not possible, you still have to bring the silver yourself." When you are outside, it is difficult to keep useful money...... By the way, when are you leaving? ”

"I'm not leaving."

"Not leaving?" Bai Shi seemed to be in disbelief, and asked in a trembling voice, "You're not leaving?" ”

"I'm not leaving." Guan Zhuofan drank all the wine in the cup, stretched his waist, and said with a smile: "I'm here to feed this family." ”

*

*

These days, Bai's face is beaming, even with Tubo and Xiaofu, the spirit of speaking and doing things is different from the original. There is more Guan Zhuofan in the family, and he is still an official, so that the family has a spiritual support again, has hope and head-start, and is no longer just a hard life. Even the war outside the city is not so concerned.

Guan Zhuofan always locked himself in the house, and only came out when he had three meals. Every time Xiao Yun wanted to play with him, he was pulled back by the Bai family.

"Don't bother your third brother!" She always warned her little sister like this, "He's making a fuss." ”

said that he was making a fuss, that was to promote Guan Zhuofan. In fact, Kwan Zhuofan is doing something very close to writing an article -- he is learning to write.

During this time, he knocked on the side and figured out some more things at home. Dad is a "five-grade Jingtang", who worked in Guanglu Temple and died four years ago. The eldest brother's name is Guan Zhuoying, and with the grace of the imperial court, he has the identity of a prisoner, but his health has been poor, and he has contracted a bad habit: smoking opium, and he died more than two years ago. Bai was widowed less than three months after marriage, and it didn't take long for all the people in her mother's family to die at the hands of the Taiping army, and only one young sister was taken by a neighbor to escape.

As for Guan Zhuofan's "self", he likes to dance knives and guns since he was a child, and he once read a book for a while, but he didn't read anything famous, and then he relied on the "melon man" who climbed with Mrs. Shengbao a few years ago, and recognized Shengbao as the "fourth uncle", so he added a name in the Xiaoqi camp. His "family business" was a half-truth joke between his father and a friend and a man surnamed Ran in the Metropolitan Procuratorate when he was a child.

What Guan Zhuofan needs to do now is to pick up the cultural knowledge he has learned "himself", especially writing, which is very relevant to his future.

As a graduate student in the Department of History, he is no stranger to ancient Chinese and traditional Chinese characters, and he has no problems reading and breaking sentences, and can even compose a few poems of Five Uniques and Seven Rules. But when he picked up the brush, the problem came. The action of writing belongs to "body memory", which is very proficient and has no hindrance, but the traditional characters written often lack short strokes and are plausible. This is the result of the training of the simplified Chinese character reform, and he has no choice but to work hard and must pass this.

The days passed. On August 26, Guan Zhuofan counted the days and called everyone in the family to the main hall early in the morning.

"In three days, the foreign soldiers will enter the city." He looked at everyone, "There are a few things that I want to explain." ”

This thunderbolt on a sunny day, Tuber and Xiaofu were stunned, but Bai was still calmer, she knew that since Guan Zhuofan said so, he must have a plan, so he just nodded and waited quietly for him to explain things. Surprisingly, no one asked him how he could be so sure, as if everyone thought that it was natural for the third young master to know about this.

Guan Zhuofan was a little depressed, he was originally going to haode a set of words like "pinch your fingers and count", but he didn't use it. He looked at Bai's family, and he admired her still demure appearance, and thought: My sister-in-law, who is like a flower and jade, is really a bit of a Taoist. I cleared my throat and explained one by one.

"The family should have a month's worth of rice, noodles and vegetables." This is the first piece.

"After three days, I am not allowed to go out again, I really have something to go out, and I am only allowed to go alone." This is the second piece. He looked at Xiaofu and added: "If you dare to go out to see the freshness, beware of the foreign devils arresting you to be the lady of the village." ”

Xiaofu looked like he was about to cry.

"Toeber will get me some pieces of wood," he said, gesturing with his hand, "and buy some white paulownia paint." "This is the third piece.

"Also, what I say today, no one is allowed to say. Otherwise......" he admonished solemnly, slapping his palm in the air, "this is a crime of killing the head!" ”

When both Tuber and Xiaofu had gone, he turned to Bai to say something special.

"Uh...... Sister-in-law," he said, considering his words, "when the time comes, your clothes...... Change, and your face......" he made a gesture to wipe his face.

Bai Shi looked puzzled, looked down at his clothes suspiciously, and touched his face again.

Guan Zhuofan was anxious, and blurted out the truth: "You are too good-looking, beware of foreign devils taking you as a wife of the village on the spot!" ”

Bai's face turned red with shame, he lowered his head, and his hands clutched his clothes, without saying a word.

Guan Zhuofan knew that she understood, and looked at her appearance, and laughed in his heart: What are you doing with your clothes so tight, and it's not that I want to use you as a wife of the village......

Not...... Mrs. Crushed?

He looked at his beautiful sister-in-law in front of him, and suddenly felt a burst of heat in his heart.