The next morning, the sun rose early, and the earth shone brightly red. The straw markers were awakened by the sun, and groups crossed the road, crowded in the roadside creek, washed their faces and rinsed their mouths, and sat on the ground and looked at Mr. Li, waiting for the food to be distributed. Li Chongwen couldn't change food on his body, he had already sent Lu San to Wangzhuang in front with a material allocation letter to ask for food, but somehow he hadn't come back yet.

Suddenly, the crowd was a little restless, and someone shouted, "Lu Tou is back!" ”

Li Chongwen stood on the field and saw Lu San trotting all the way from a distance. Li Chongwen hurriedly greeted him and asked, "Is the material allocation letter delivered?" Is breakfast ready for Zhuangshang? ”

Lu San scolded and scolded: "Fuck it! The little one saw the Wangfu Guanzhuang, a fat pig surnamed Tang! The fat man is very proud, he looks at people with his nostrils, and when he sees the list, he interrogates the small one for a long time, and it is clearly the virtue of plucking the feathers of a goose! The small rivers and lakes come and go, I haven't seen anything, but I don't eat his set! The little one directly made it clear to him that this was the person who the prince personally bought in the human market, and asked Mr. Li to send it to Renshou County. There was a delay on the road and someone died, and the princess and the prince asked after them, and they were carrying their own pockets! The fat man weighed for a long time, and then agreed to cook, and said that the village was not manpowered, and no one would deliver the food when cooking, so we should go over and eat by ourselves! Fuck the pussy ......"

Li Chongwen breathed a sigh of relief, as long as there is something to eat, what does it matter where to eat? He hurriedly greeted the team, and Lu San and the bodyguards led the team towards Wangzhuang.

This Wangzhuang is not far away, less than two miles away. A low mud-brick village wall is hidden in a forest pan (Note 1), surrounded by green bamboos and yellow leaves. A shallow river, zigzag, flows silently through the bamboo forest. Li Chongwen thought about things last night, and didn't sleep well, seeing this idyllic scene, he couldn't help but feel refreshed, and the poetry was flourishing, and he was chanting half a sentence: "The forest cultivates bamboo ......", and then he heard a sweet and greasy loud call:

"Mr. Li? Where's Mr. Lee? ”

was interrupted by life, and Li Chongwen's poetry was lost. He stepped out of the crowd and saw a big fat man with oily hair and a pink face looking around. The fat man was dressed in a bright blue satin cotton robe, with a bright silk scarf of the same color on his head, and a black goatee on his oily chin, like a rich and powerful man.

Li Chongwen arched his hand at the fat man and said, "Dare to ask if this is the owner of Tang Zhuang?" Contemptible Li Chongwen. ”

Suddenly, he saw a scholar coming out of the grass mark team, with a thin body, a pale face, and a thin and old robe, and the fat man couldn't help but despise it very much. Fortunately, Lu San had already explained Li Chongwen's identity to him, so he didn't dare to put contempt on his face at all.

He twisted his big ass very enthusiastically and walked over quickly and said, "Mr. Li! It's been a long time! It's been a long time! The villain Tang Liang is in charge of the palace! How did Mr. Lee walk with these slaves? The villain is willing to offer a small sedan chair for Mr. to ride! Mr. Li, please come here! After speaking, Tang Zhuangtou grabbed Li Chongwen's arm, pulled him out of the brigade, and led him along a forest path to a chai gate by the village wall.

Tang Fatman was overly enthusiastic, and Li Chongwen was very uncomfortable. He quietly twisted his wrist, let go of the fat man's fat hand, and reluctantly squeezed out a smile and said, "Thank you Tang Zhuangtou for your kindness." When the prince left Rong, he gave him a good horse, so he didn't bother Tang Zhuangtou. ”

Tang Fatman's fleshy face immediately showed a look of surprise. He said loudly: "Oh, I can't imagine that Mr. Li is so favored by the world!" The villain is really fortunate to see Mr. Li today! ”

While talking, the two of them had already entered the chaimen. After turning a few clusters of bamboo forests, what appeared in front of Li Chongwen's eyes was a different scene.

I saw a stream of living water introduced into the courtyard, meandering under the small bridge. Outside the bridge, there are dozens of plum blossoms, plum branches are coiled around snakes, the stamens are slightly waiting to be vomited, and bursts of plum fragrance are sent in the cold air. In the midst of the plum forest, there are a few grass huts hidden, and there seem to be slaves and maids walking through them. Li Chongwen couldn't help but praise: "I can't imagine that the owner of Tang Zhuang is also an elegant person, and he has created such a quiet and elegant scene!" In ancient times, Tao Yuanming, a Jin person, made a record of the Peach Blossom Spring...... No, today's situation should be changed to Plum Garden! ”

Tang Fat Man smiled proudly: "Where! Where! I'm a vulgar villager, how can I get into the eyes of Mr.! It's a pity that the prince doesn't go out much in recent years, and the little ones don't have the opportunity to stay around. The prince of the world also glanced at it from afar in front of the palace a few years ago! Saying that, Tang Fat Man sighed and shook his head, "If the master can come here to live for two days, the little one will definitely have a good ......."

Saying that, the two of them had crossed the bridge and followed the gravel path into the plum forest, and there were already a few little girls who looked like maidservants outside the grass house to meet them carefully.

The grass house has a wooden pillar and stone foundation, and the grass top mud wall is soaked in ten parts of the simplicity and one hundred parts of the wild interest. A few steps into the cottage, the scenery inside is very different from the appearance: the door enters, first is a small exquisite foyer, the corner of the hall is lit with two gilt calyx silver palace lamps. Passing through the Ruyi Gate, turning a corner, there is a corridor in front of you, and the scenery suddenly opens up. It turns out that there is a green pond surrounded by a grass house! Looking through the lattice window, the strange stones and trees on the shore are scattered; In and out of the pond, the mountain rocks are bent, and the flowing water is finely bent; At the turn of the waterfront, it is the plum pavilion near the pond, and the flowers and branches are swaying!

Li Chongwen never thought that a village farm could see such a scene, and couldn't help but admire: "What a fairy garden in a house!" ”

"Mr. Li praised it falsely! Praise it! It's just a small pond. It's a country place, it's cheesy! Cheesy! Where can you get the fairy energy! Tang Fatzi smiled proudly: "Mr. Li, please go to the flower hall for tea and rest for a while." ”

The guest was the host, and Li Chongwen sat down in the flower hall. A little maid had already served tea, Li Chongwen was just thirsty, and he was busy picking up the tea cup, lifting the tea lid, and a jasmine fragrance overflowed his heart.

"What kind of tea is this, so fragrant?" Li Chongwen asked in surprise after taking a sip of the cow.

Tang Fatzi had the intention to show off: "This is the Ming Dynasty picked from Mount Emei!" Tea has to be beaten by the frost and snow on the mountain, with the girl's tongue and teeth, each tea bud and leaf is the best! Then the green leaves of the tea and the jasmine buds are kneaded together, and the floral fragrance seeps into the tea fragrance! The water of this tea is more exquisite: the well water is hard, the river water is soft, it is best to leave the frost and snow in the sky, the ice cellar of storage, the beginning and end of the year, there will be good water to drink! ”

Li Chongwen was shocked again: "So exquisite, how much silver does this tea cost?" ”

Tang Fatzi thought that Li Chongwen was cold, and he was even more disdainful in his heart, but there was still affection on his face: "It's not worth silver!" It's not worth the money! In the countryside, it is inevitable that there will be more people and less things. Since it is the slack time of farming, they are not allowed to do something, and they are lazy and give birth to maggots! Mr. Li, in the future, you will be in charge of several Wangzhuang in Renshou County, and you will inevitably have tens of thousands of subordinates. Give those Zhuang slaves a good face, and they will go up to the house and climb the wall, and specialize in bullying the master's house! Fortunately, here in Shuangliu territory, close to the provincial capital, surrounded by Wangzhuang, everyone is in the same breath and branches, taking care of each other. The county lord is also afraid of the power of our palace, and he always takes care of many things, and a few unruly slaves can't make trouble! ”

Tang Fat Man was very proud, and it was inevitable that he would show a little tone in his words. Li Chongwen was immediately alert and asked, "Could it be that there is trouble in the village?" ”

Tang Fatzi was especially unconscious, and hurriedly said, "What's wrong?" These days are not good, and there are many village slaves who owe rent every year. These slaves, not to mention the rent arrears, often instigated other village slaves to resist the rent together. Two months ago, the thieves in Renshou County were rampant, and a few slaves on our side thought that the world was going to change, so they went in tandem with each other privately, planning to throw themselves into the thieves! OK! They were reported, arrested halfway, and taken to the county to be cut down! ”

Saying that, Tang Fat Man sighed, shook his head again, and said: "The world thinks that we are so good, so good, but in fact, we know that we are warm and cold!" Mr. Li, you see, no matter what the time of day, the rent set by the government every year cannot be less! Since beating the princess and the housekeeper, I was afraid that I would wait for the banker to lose the money, so I simply set the rules and asked us to do everything in the village! If there is a bad harvest in any year, we who are in charge of the village will have to pay compensation!

Hey, it's getting harder and harder every year! The villain Wang Zhuang has been in charge for more than ten years, and it is the most difficult in the past two or three years! When Mr. Li arrives at Renshou, he will surely understand soon. ”

Tang Fatzi's life was so extravagant that he even slandered the princess, Li Chongwen suddenly felt angry in his heart. It's just that it's not good to ask someone to do things, so he had to laugh dryly: "The palace has allocated 2,000 stone of grain, and there are 1,500 stone to be transported from Tangzhuangtou." With these two thousand stone grains, you can do a meal and resist it for half a year. It's just that in the future, there will be a shortage of food, and I ask the owner of Tang Zhuang to help you and me for the sake of being an errand in the house, and lend a hand to pull the students. ”

Tang Fatzi thought there was a play, and his eyes narrowed into a line of joy: "We are all on errands in the palace, and it is natural to help each other." Besides, sooner or later, this Shu Wangfu will be the head of the prince's house, and I just ask Mr. Li to say a few small words in front of the prince, so that the prince can also know the credit and hard work of our work, and the little one will be grateful to Mr. Li for his great kindness! After Tang Fatzi finished speaking, he rolled off the chair and made a gesture to kowtow to Li Chongwen on the ground.

It turned out that Tang Fatzi wanted to climb the high branches of the prince by himself!

Li Chongwen saw Tang Fatzi's style, and he was very disgusted in his heart, and he had the intention to let him kneel until dark. But he remembered his mission, so he had to stand up and help him, saying that he couldn't afford it.

Seeing Li Chongwen stretching out his hand to help, Tang Fat Man hurriedly got up with his strength, grabbed Li Chongwen's arm with a smile on his face, and wanted to go to the Meiting on the waterfront to eat and drink together. Li Chongwen hurriedly thanked him, only saying that he had a long way to go, and it was important to hurry. If it is convenient for Tang Zhuangtou, you might as well spend fifty stone rice first, divide it into small packages, and let the straw labels carry it on the road. In addition, ten iron pots and 200 bamboo tubes were borrowed for cooking on the road.

Tang Fatzi's face was full of embarrassment: "Pots and bowls are easy to do, but it's just a matter of half an hour!" It's just that the little one has already cooked some local products for Mr. Li, and the slaves and maids will bring them to the table immediately. Mr. went like this, which embarrassed the villain! ”

Li Chongwen hurriedly bowed down and thanked him, but said that time was urgent, and he really couldn't afford to delay. The fat man saw that Li Chongwen was resolute, so he had to say: "In this way, how about the small one prepare a few food boxes, fill them with all kinds of snacks and fruits, and add a few stones of polished rice, and let Mr. enjoy them all the way?" Mr. is a scholar, and he has the blue eyes of the world, and his status is precious, how can he eat the same food as those homeless grass labels? ”

Three poles in the sun, the team has walked out of Wangzhuang ten miles.

Li Chongwen rode a horse and walked in front of the team, and Lu San accompanied him to lead the way. More than 30 bodyguards were divided into three groups, and one group in front of the team, one in the middle of the team, and one group at the end of the team escorted them to the front and back, left and right. Most of the straw labels were barefoot, with blank expressions and silent expressions, and they moved their steps with difficulty following the backs of their predecessors. Seeing that no one was staring, several children hurriedly turned out the corners of their dirty clothes, stuffed the moldy old rice secretly wrapped in it into their mouths and chewed it.

Li Chongwen saw a sparse forest on the side of the road in front of him, so he said to Lu San: "Let everyone rest in the forest in front and drink saliva." Then you gather everyone, and Benxiu has something to say to them. Your bodyguards are here to hear it. ”

Note 1: In rural villages in western Sichuan, it is customary to plant bamboo and trees around houses. From afar, it looks like a small forest dotted with farmland. This kind of village is commonly known as Linpan. Book friends who don't have an impression in their minds can see the former residence of the great man in Guang'an.