Chapter 2 is to wade into this pool of troubled waters

It is precisely because of the "shoulder-to-shoulder" that since the death of his father, the front yard of the pot has been handed over to the eldest grandson to take care of. Before his father's death, he also handed over everything to his grandson. This old grandson, thirteen years old began to come to the front yard of the pot shop as a buddy, now they are almost fifty years old, in the pot shop is thirty years, it can be said that the Runquanyong pot is loyal, and the person is also sincere, it is said that when the shopkeeper should also be a good hand, but the old grandson has a problem, everything is more true, and it is precisely because everything is more true, the brain is not flexible enough. In other words, when the big guy is in charge of the side, he still owes some heat in his own way. When my father was alive, he handed over everything to his grandson, and he was using his grandson's serious side.

Therefore, Zhang Shuting felt more and more that the top priority was to choose a good shopkeeper for the front yard of the pot.

Coincidentally, just a few days ago, I heard that Qi Zhankui, the shopkeeper of the North Gate Waiju and Yongyao Pot, resigned and quit. This Qi Zhankui, who lives in Xiaoqizhuang in Rongcheng, is no one else, it is the youngest son of Zhang Shuting's grandfather who was the shopkeeper Qi Lao when he was alive, at the age of thirty-seven or eighteen, and he is also from a family of shopkeepers. Because it is much older than Zhang Shuting, it is not very familiar. Although he is not familiar, when Zhang Shuting was a child, Qi Zhankui still left a deep impression on him.

Qi Zhankui came to Runquanyong to burn pots as teenagers and apprenticed with his father Qi Lao, and left Runquanyong at the age of twenty-seven, and was hired as a shopkeeper by Beimen Waiju and Yongyao Pot. Zhang Shuting remembers that in the spring of the eleventh year old, he was flying a kite in the front yard of the pot when he accidentally stepped on the air and fell into the well in the front yard. This well is also one of the few deep wells in Ansu City. It is said that it is connected to the underground water vein, and the water is not only deep, but also the wellbore is thick. The kitchen in the front yard cooks, the middle yard cooks shochu, and the backyard drinks livestock. It should have happened, and the guys who took water here on weekdays were constant, but before and after Zhang Shuting was planted in the well, there was no one at the well. However, at the moment when Zhang Shuting planted his head, he still let Qi Zhankui, who had just walked out of the store, see it. is also eager to save people, Qi Zhankui didn't have time to take off his cotton robe, and people didn't have time to shout, so he stepped in a few steps to the well platform, a well more than nine feet deep, and jumped down with his legs.

That time, it was really a shame that Qi Zhankui jumped off in time. Qi Zhankui's water quality is good again, a fierce man plunged into the water, and quickly scooped him up when he was about to drink cold water. Otherwise, not to mention drowning, even if he is frozen, he can be frozen half to death. Later, they were also discovered by the men who came to fetch water, so they were rescued from the well in time.

It was also since then that the name Qi Zhankui was suddenly imprinted in his mind. Not only was the name imprinted in his mind, but he also had a better and better impression of Qi Zhankui. It is precisely because of his good impression that the young Zhang Shuting also discovered that there are still many differences between Qi Zhankui and his father Qi Lao's shopkeeper. For example, the old shopkeeper Qi loves to laugh, he laughs before he speaks, and when he speaks, if people don't laugh, he will laugh too. Qi Zhankui doesn't like to laugh, he likes to talk, and he doesn't repeat his words for the first half of the day. Not only do I love to talk, but I also like to drink, and I don't get drunk after drinking for half a day. In other words, others drank with him and got drunk early, but he was not drunk, not only was he not drunk, but his words became more and more reasonable, and he was convinced, when his father Zhang Genmao was alive, he liked him very much, and secretly told his family more than how many times: When the old shopkeeper Qi returns to his hometown in a few years, let Qi Zhankui be the shopkeeper of the current courtyard. Who knows, before the old shopkeeper Qi returned to his hometown in old age, Qi Zhankui took the initiative to go to the north gate to gather and Yongyao pot, and became the shopkeeper of the store there, and he worked for ten years.

I heard that in the past ten years, Qi Zhankui has been doing a good job in Juheyong. Zhang Lianqi, the owner of Juheyong Pot, also treated him well, not only let him be the shopkeeper as soon as he came up, but also gave him enough wages. He Qi Lao shopkeeper took four pieces of ocean in the pot in Runquanyong in January, and got another fifty catties of millet at the end of the year; His brother Qi Zhandong took three pieces of ocean in the Saijiuxian Burning Pot in January, and ten catties of millet at the end of the year; He became the shopkeeper of Juheyong Burning Pot Shop, taking five oceans in a month and 100 catties of millet at the end of the year.

But for some reason, a few days ago, Zhang Lianqi and Qi Zhankui had a very stiff quarrel with a guy surnamed Wang in Heyongdian Hall for the resignation of Heyongdian. This guy surnamed Wang is no one else, he is the younger brother of Zhang Lianqi's eldest wife, Zhang Lianqi's brother-in-law, who has been working in Juheyong longer than Qi Zhankui, and can be regarded as Juheyong's old buddy. If it weren't for Qi Zhankui to be the shopkeeper later, this shopkeeper might be his. But except for his own sister, everyone, including Zhang Lianqi, knows that this brother-in-law has a problem and likes to touch the secrets. I like to touch the secret door.,It's said it's nothing.。 But relying on the fact that her sister is Zhang Lianqi's eldest wife, Qi Zhankui has always refused to listen to her words, and Qi Zhankui is a little dissatisfied.

It is said that just a few days ago, Qi Zhankui sent him to Yizhou to deliver wine. Yizhou is in the Taihang Mountains, ninety miles away from Ansu, and one can't come back in a day, so you have to stay in Yizhou at night. But at this time, the brother-in-law had just met a new secret man who had recently died of her husband, a little widow who was not yet twenty years old. Not only is he young, but he is also said to be beautiful, not only beautiful, but also very pleasing to men in bed. The brother-in-law was in his heart and didn't want to go, so he asked a young man to go. The young man was fine when he went, but on the way back he was met by bandits, and not only was the carriage and the wine and silver brought back by the young man robbed, but the young man was also killed on the side of the road.

The little guy didn't have an accident and came back safely, Qi Zhankui didn't say anything, and when the little guy had an accident, Qi Zhankui knew what was going on, he couldn't help but be annoyed, and said that he wouldn't do anything, he had to quit this brother-in-law. But the brother-in-law is none other than the younger brother of Zhang Lianqi's wife. First of all, Zhang Lianqi's wife disagreed, and then Zhang Lianqi disagreed.

Zhang Lianqi disagreed, or the brother-in-law not only likes to touch the secret door, but also the eyes and ears he placed in the front yard store. Qi Zhankui's every move is under his control through his brother-in-law. is not only his eyes and ears, in fact, Zhang Lianqi is not a good person, he is also a womanizer, what a good woman, and his brother-in-law also secretly introduced him to Zhang Lianqi. Therefore, one insisted on resigning, and the other disagreed. In the end, it made trouble to the point that Qi Zhankui had to roll up and leave.

After figuring out the ins and outs of the matter, Zhang Shuting didn't want to wade into this pool of muddy water at this juncture, but as the saying goes, the opportunity cannot be lost, and it will not come again. He is optimistic about Qi Zhankui. In other words, if it weren't for Qi Zhankui being the shopkeeper in Juheyong and replacing it with any other pot, Zhang Shuting would also find a way to dig people over. But now, he had brought a letter to him the first day and agreed to meet with Qi Zhankui this morning to discuss the appointment of him as the shopkeeper of the Runquanyong pot, but it was delayed because he greeted the new governor outside the south gate in the morning.

From Ansu County to Rongcheng Xiaoqizhuang, it is also fifteen miles away. Zhang Shuting beat the horse like flying, and the kung fu arrived in the blink of an eye. When he came to Qi Zhankui's house, he found that the door was locked. The backyard of Qi Zhankui's house is his eldest brother Qi Zhandong's house, and further back, there are Qi Lao shopkeeper and his wife. Zhang Shuting saw that the door of the house was locked, turned around, and wanted to go to the backyard to visit the shopkeeper Qi, but considering that he was still in the year of filial piety, it was inconvenient to move around, so he couldn't help but stand, but at this moment, he heard a "snap" sound in the house. Zhang Shuting thought it was the noise made by the cats and dogs in the house, but when he turned around, he saw a boy's doll head poking out of the open window. If you look closely, the boy is only eleven or twelve years old, no need to ask, it must be Qi Zhankui's youngest son.

"Are you the big proprietor of the pot in the south of Ansu City?" The child asked through the window.

Runquanyong pot is located in the south gate of Ansu City, and people are used to calling it the south pot.

Zhang Shuting nodded.

"My father said that if the big proprietor of the South Burning Pot is looking for him, he will go to the Tavern in the east of the village to find him. He went there early in the morning. The child said again.

Zhang Shuting's heart couldn't help but feel hot, knowing that this Qi Zhankui still cared about his invitation.

Xiaoqizhuang Village is not big, Zhang Shuting rode a horse, and he arrived in the blink of an eye. I saw that there was only one tavern in the east of the village, which was not big, only the size of two houses. When Zhang Shuting dismounted, he lifted the curtain and entered the house, and saw that the inside of the house was much darker than the outside. Because of the darkness, everything in the house could not be seen clearly for a while. After trying to take a few steps forward, my eyes slowly adjusted to the light in the room, and then I saw that there were two square tables on the east side of the door, each with three or four benches. Looking at the square table in the innermost, there are two wine jars crooked, and next to the wine jar, there is a man lying on his stomach, not moving.

On the west side of the door, there was a counter made of dirt, and a fat old white man wearing a melon skin hat was standing at the counter, with a short black beard, looking at him with a smile. Zhang Shuting was shocked, thinking that it was the old shopkeeper Qi, but when he took a closer look, he was not.

"What do you want to eat?" The white fat old man asked with a smile.

At this time, it was already past noon, and the fat old man didn't ask, he kept wanting to see Qi Zhankui as soon as possible, but he didn't think about being hungry. was asked by the fat old man, Zhang Shuting really felt hungry. The key is not whether he is hungry or not, the key is that as soon as he enters the door, Zhang Shuting recognizes it at a glance, and the man lying on the table inside is no one else, it is Qi Zhankui who he is looking for. Looking motionless, he was obviously drunk, and he might not wake up for a while. For a while, Zhang Shuting also sat down in front of Qi Zhankui's square table, asked the old man for two side dishes, and in addition, asked for a jar of two catties of wine. Ready to drink while waiting for Qi Zhankui to wake up from his drunken state.