The shopkeeper carefully opened the envelope at the head of the bed, and it read: "Someone saw you in Jinhua Mansion, so he wrote this letter and asked someone to send it." Then he looked down and said, "Your mother misses you so much that she often doesn't think about tea and dinner, so she becomes depressed and sick, and I hope you will come back to serve the old man as soon as possible!" ”

After reading the family letter, it was like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and five thunderbolts thundered. Immediately, he packed up his salute and retreated from the guest room to the direction of home. Half a month later, when the shopkeeper rushed home, what he waited for was the grave buried in the back mountain, and the shopkeeper knelt in front of the grave and cried: "Mother, my son is back, open your eyes and take a look." ”

As he spoke, he took out the pastries and hand ornaments from his arms, "These are the children who have come back to honor your old age, and the son has earned money outside...... My son is not filial, and I can't see your last old face. The shopkeeper wept and told his mother about the events of the past few months in front of the grave, and when he spoke of his sadness, he began to cry like a child. So the shopkeeper knelt in front of the grave for a whole day until night, and when he got up, the shopkeeper dug a hole in front of his mother's grave with both hands, and buried all the pastries and hand ornaments. "Mother, rest in peace. My son often comes to see you......"

Pushing open the door, looking at the familiar home in front of me, I experienced the death of my mother, but my expression and thoughts were blank, and I didn't dare to evoke the deep memories in my heart...... He sat stupidly in the room, his eyes fixed on the window. The next morning, the door was pushed open, and the sun shone on his body a little warm, but Li Zheng walked in through the door, and the shopkeeper wanted to get up to greet him, but Li Zheng waved his hand to signal that he didn't need to get up and sit down.

In the house, he moved a chair and sat down, and said, "I heard that the villagers said that you were back, so I rushed over early in the morning...... Li Zheng sighed and continued: "Your mother left peacefully, don't blame yourself too much." People can't be resurrected after death, look at the point, you have to mourn. ”

The shopkeeper said expressionlessly: "Thank you for your concern with the villagers!" "Your mother passed away and there was no decent property at home, so I and a few elders in the village took your cattle to the market and sold them for some money, and the villagers got together a little more and handled your mother's funeral." Li Zheng looked at the shopkeeper and said.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper got up and bowed deeply to the inside and said, "Thank you!" Li Zheng hurriedly got up and helped the shopkeeper to speak: "The villagers should help each other, don't be so serious!" Then he said: "The sad thing is over, you don't have to remember it all the time, people can't be resurrected after death, and the living have to live after all, you don't know what your plans are in the future?" Continue to do business or stay in the village and not leave. ”

The shopkeeper cut his messy hair and said: "Don't go out, I'm going to find something to do in the county, this time I went out to earn a little money, pay back the money of the villagers, and rearrange the rest of the house" looked at the dilapidated houses everywhere for a while.

Li Zheng said: "Well, this idea is also good, you can come back whenever you want to come back and see it when you are close to home." The shopkeeper went on to speak, and then got up and left.

In the years since, every Qingming Festival, the people in the village will see the shopkeeper come back to sweep the tomb, and the shopkeeper will also go to the house to sit down, talk about family life, and then see the shopkeeper next to a woman, the village people know that it is his wife, Li Zheng also went to the county seat on behalf of the villagers to send a congratulatory gift to the shopkeeper......

"Shopkeeper Liu, you have been standing at the door for half an hour, you are not tired from standing, I am tired when I look at it." This is Li Qingyu, the only son of Li Yuanwai, who has just had a coming-of-age ceremony this year. Li Yuanwai came to have an only son, very fond of it, the tutors are taught according to the highest standards, when he was very young, he invited the master to teach the "Three Character Classic" and learn the "Four Books and Five Classics". "This son is so young that he is also smart and cute, and Li Yuan said that his son is good and will become a great weapon in the future.

Just when Li Yuanwai came to laugh, God made a cruel joke with him. After Li Qingyu was fifteen years old, he seemed to have fallen into a demonic obstacle, and he had no mind about learning to gain fame and fame.

Later, when he thought that such a big family business must be inherited, after careful consideration, he cultivated Qingyu's awareness of doing business and preparing to let him take over the family's business, Li Qingyu was not interested in this Daoyi and said to Li Yuanwai: "Daddy, you don't have to waste your thoughts, I am only interested in how to eat and drink well, and my mind can't fall into the roots of serious things." ”

As soon as these words came out, Li Yuanwai was half angry, and he lay on the bed for three days before he came to his senses, and Li Yuanwai shouted angrily to the sky: "God, what kind of sin have I created!" Then he fainted again, and when he woke up five days later. When he woke up this time, Li Yuanwai watched it, and didn't have any requirements for his son, so after that, he was allowed to travel in the mountains and rivers and indulge in the pine forest, and Li Qingyu's fun footprints were all over the large and small neighborhoods, teahouses and restaurants in Songlin County.

Shopkeeper Liu saw that it was Li Qingyu, so he wiped his eyes with the corner of his clothes and said, "Young master, when did you come in." Li Qingyu shook his fan and said: "I came in from the first time you turned around to get the cloth, and I sat in the corner, and I didn't call you when I saw that you were busy." Then he said, "In addition to being this bookkeeper, you used to be a teacher?" Your sentence 'The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop, and the son wants to raise but the parent is not there.' I was really surprised! ’”

Thanks to Shopkeeper Liu, who has been a businessman for so many years, he pretended to be okay and said: "It's to make the young master smile, I learned from the guests." Seeing that little brother was filial, he told him, and he couldn't take it seriously. "By the way, I see that you sent the guest officer away and stood at the door for so long, but then your eyes were still red, are you reluctant to let that guest officer go, or I will chase you back to be the right lover?" Li Qingyu said jokingly and found a place to sit down.

Shopkeeper Liu also found a place to sit down and said: "The young master is really good at joking with the old slave, just as I said just now, the guest officer Zhixiao recalled some of his past events, and he couldn't let go of it for a while, so that the young master saw a joke!" Li Qingyu asked suspiciously, "Oh?" I don't know what the past of Shopkeeper Liu is, but let's hear about it? Left and right are fine. ”

Shopkeeper Liu was opened by Li Qingyu and told his past, hey...... At the time of the meal, Li Qingyu sighed and said: "I didn't expect that the shopkeeper Liu, who is usually full of spring breeze, also has such a bitter past. ”

Li Qingyu was thirsty when he heard this, and he arrived with a full bowl of water to drink. "Poof, phew, bah, bah, good you don't cultivate, just now you were like a poor person, but in the blink of an eye, you played tricks on me, and you were bad" said and put the tea bowl heavily on the table.

Shopkeeper Liu said in astonishment: "The young master doesn't know that salt can be put in water to relieve the heat and relieve fatigue" This is what the old man told me, saying that it was said by the old-timers in the capital. Li Qingyu thought thoughtfully that there seemed to be such a thing, but he said angrily: "My father's old words, only you are serious!" He got up and walked to the door, and took the two pieces of cloth that were about five feet old on the counter.

"Hey, young master, what's the use of those cloths?" The shopkeeper stood in the doorway and asked.

"Take a seat." Li Qingyu replied casually to the shopkeeper with his back.

After going down the steps, Li Qingyu threw the cloth to his subordinates, turned over his horse, and rushed towards the city gate, and his subordinates also drove the carriage to follow Li Qingyu.

At the gate of Songlin County, a man on horseback looked into the city from time to time, as if he was waiting for someone, but a carriage was also followed behind. The man on the horse is the son of the county order named Zhou Jin, but the person waiting for him is Li Qingyu, who doesn't know that the two of them have nothing to do all day long, playing in the mountains and rivers.

"It's been half an hour, why haven't you come yet, even if he is a king and crawled, Li Qingyu, you can't fool me, if you really ask your father to seal your pharmacy." Zhou Jin said viciously, obviously Zhou Jin was complaining, he waited here for a while, and there was nowhere to vent his anger, so he started to threaten Li Qingyu.

Zhou Jin looked into the city gate again, but this time he saw Li Qingyu riding a horse towards the city gate, and after a while, he arrived in front of Zhou Jin. looked at Li Qingyu's black face, but he didn't say anything ruthlessly. Zhou Jin asked: "Why did you arrive, it's been half an hour!" Li Qingyu didn't explain and said, "Okay, this is not coming" and whipped towards the horse's buttocks, and Zhou Jin and the two carriages followed closely behind.

In a blink of an eye, we arrived at the destination - Qilinjiang Riverside. Li Qingyu turned over and dismounted, hurriedly took off his shoes and socks and sat by the river, his feet stretched out in the river, and so did Zhou Jin, who arrived later. The subordinates arranged it neatly, and when it was properly arranged, Li Qingyu took out his feet from the river and sat on the Taishi chair, yes, it was the Taishi chair, the two of them thought that fishing was a physical work, so they moved the Taishi chair out, and the subordinates took out a sackcloth, one to wipe the feet, and the other to put on the ground to pad the feet.

"I said Qingyu, let's make some bets as usual." Zhou Jin proposed, Li Qingyu said lazily: "Okay, I will accompany you to the end as much silver as you like!" Zhou Jin said: "Every time I bet on silver two, it is very boring, let's change some other bets." ”

Li Qingyu, who straightened down, asked with interest: "Say, what are you betting on?" Zhou Jinthief said with a smile: "If I win, you can let Song Huizong's "Ruihe Tu" out, and if I lose, let my father exempt your silk shop from taxes this year!" ”

Li Qingyu laughed and said: "What's so difficult about this, I can still afford to lose just one "Ruihe Picture"! Then he asked, "This tax is the foundation of the country, taken from the people and used by the people." Why can your father be exempted without the documents of the court? ”

Zhou Jin said: "You are not wrong about this, not to mention that your family is a prosperous household in Songlin County, and you are keeping an eye on it, but it is not okay to lose a sum of money out of thin air." Then he pointed to the river and said to Li Qingyu: "Have you seen it, the endless stream of merchant ships on the river has to draw profits every day, not to mention 100,000 a year, these merchant ships are not fixed to come to Songlin County, less and more every day but can not be supervised, the people sent down from above have Nali City every year, but we have the final say on how much tax is paid." ”

Taking a bite of the pastry, Zhou Jin continued: "As for your family's taxes and the taxes I just mentioned, they are very small, and your taxes are fixed every year, as long as you make a book and take out some of the taxes on the dock, you can pay your family's taxes, and the people above will not carefully check as long as they have taxes!" ”

Li Qingyu stroked his hair blown up by the wind and said: "I originally thought that my family's business was the most complicated, but I didn't expect that the road to officialdom would be simpler. Zhou Jin said: "I said that those are just the most basic, I heard my father say that officialdom does not lose the battlefield at all, and it is also bloody and bloody, and if you are careless, you will be imprisoned and will never recover, and it is extremely dangerous." ”

"Well, it's better to travel thousands of miles than to read 10,000 books, so I put down my books and played around. It's better to listen to Brother Zhou's words than to travel thousands of miles, so I came to listen to Brother Zhou's lecture. Li Qingyu said his crooked reasoning to himself.

"Ha, ha, ha" Zhou Jin laughed and said: "I didn't think that I Zhou Jin could also be your husband, the son can be taught, come over and hurry up to salute the gentleman." Li Qingyu grabbed a plate of pastries and smashed them at the other party.

Zhou Jin begged for mercy: "Okay, don't make fun of you, just hurry up and fish, I can't wait to get Song Huizong's "Ruihe Picture." As he spoke, he threw a small box to Li Qingyu and said, "Inside are hooks and fishing lines from the Persian Dynasty." Li Qingyu opened the box and put a hook and a roll of fishing line inside, the fishing line was straightened and shining golden under the sun, and when he took out the hook, he saw that it was made of silver, which was very small and sharp. Li Qingyu said with emotion: "That radish shredded place skilled craftsman is not inferior to my Ming Dynasty at all!" ”

"It's called Persia, these things are used by their princes and nobles, but they are sold in the capital, this hook is smaller and sharper than our copper, and there will be very few fish that slip through the net, and you must also know that the fat fish are in the depths, and the golden thread is better to sink to the bottom of the river." Zhou Jin explained.

The subordinates hung the bait of the river shrimp with their heads on the hook, and Li Qingyu and Zhou Jin invariably threw the fish hook into the river, and then Li Qingyu instructed his subordinates: "You go and lead me and Zhou Gongzi's horse away, don't startle the fish." ”

"Yes, young master," the man turned, leading the horse a little farther away.

The next time is to wait patiently, Li Qingyu grabbed a piece of pastry and stared at the fish float on the river while eating, the fishing rod in his hand was also held tightly, and the subordinate was gently shaking the fan for the master next to him. Looking at Zhou Jin again, he also took a pear and nibbled it in his hand, this person has a problem of eating fruit and not eating skin, so he is gnawing on pears. Both of them have the same look and movement.

After a while, Li Qingyu's fish float gently swayed on the surface of the river, and there was a violent vibration in his hand, so he pulled a big carp and was caught on the shore. Li Qingyu smiled and said: "What Brother Zhou said is true, this fat fish is really at the bottom of the river, no wonder ordinary fish are so small that they have so many tricks." Zhou Jin shook his hand at Li Qingyu and motioned him not to speak.

After a while, Zhou Jin also caught a big carp, and then he spoke: "It's late, but it's okay, Brother Li, we are the same, we have to come on." Saying that, he threw the fish hook into the river again, Li Qingyu said: "The outcome is unknown, don't be too complacent!" ”

The fishing competition between the two of them lasted until noon, when Li Qingyu stood up and threw away the fishing rod and said, "Don't fish, it's time to go back to eat, I'm the king of the stove urgently." Chao Zhou Jin came up and mentioned that he got fish and said: "Brother Zhou has so many fish, there are ten more than me, I admit defeat." As he spoke, he didn't stop moving in his hands, and put Zhou Jin's fish in his bamboo roots.

Zhou Jin didn't care, let Li Qingyu take his fish, what he cared about was whether their bets were still counted, and he was afraid that Li Qingyu would be lazy.

At this time, Li Qingyu called someone over and ordered: "You go back to these fish, choose two big ones and give them to Deyue Lou to ask him to steam one and braise the other, and put the rest in the pond at home, and fill a table with the most expensive dishes in Deyue Building, and the daughter of ten years will take three altars."

The subordinate took the fish and was about to leave, Li Qingyu seemed to remember what it meant to stop and say: "You send the painting hanging on the screen in my room to Zhou Gongzi's mansion later, Zhou Gongzi likes it very much, don't let him wait too long, he will lose his mind." After giving these orders, Li Qingyu asked his subordinates to rush back first.

Zhou Jin smiled and said, "Qingyu, I'll just say that, don't take it too seriously." Li Qingyu looked at him and said, "A gentleman's word, it is difficult to chase after the four horses." That painting is also an ornament in my place, as the so-called pink gift beauty, sword with hero, my painting with a bear is a little bent. ”

Zhou Jin knew that Qingyu was bleeding heavily this time, and he was very unhappy in his heart, so he didn't talk back.

After the subordinates cleaned up, the two rode horses and rushed towards the county seat. On the way, Li Qingyu asked, "Tell me, how long have you been planning?" Zhou Jin said ashamedly: "It's just more than a month, and I liked it when I saw that painting in your room at the beginning of the month, just like seeing a little lady, I didn't think about tea and dinner." ”

"How did you plan, tell me honestly!" Li Qingyu asked as if he was going to eat him.

Zhou Jin said like a prisoner: "I confess, confess, I will never dare to hide anything from Master Li." ”

Then he said: "Actually, it is very simple, first of all, the place where you are seated, I asked someone to tidy it up the day before yesterday, and the weeds and branches are cleared, and you will definitely go to that place when you go, and the surface of your water is calm, but the bottom is flowing, and the fish can't stop there." ”

Li Qingyu glanced at Zhou Jin and did not speak.

Zhou Jin may have "been a thief with a weak heart" and said as if offering treasures: "Also, an hour before I came, I asked someone to feed in the water of my fishing river. ”

"Blanked?" Li Qingyu asked suspiciously.

Zhou Jin said: "Just chop the pork into minced pieces and fry it with sesame oil, and dry it." ”

Li Qingyu said thoughtfully: "Are you so anxious today, are you afraid that the time will pass and your efforts will be in vain." ”

"It's smart, Brother Li, how many fish do you want to have in such a big river, and the material thrown down is almost enough for an hour, and the material is scattered after the fish eat it at this time." Zhou Jin patted his ass and said.

Li Qingyu didn't get angry with Zhou Jin, but he just wanted to know what method to use, so he acted in such a play. Usually fishing Zhou Jin has little patience, and always asks his subordinates to help him, but he lies down in the carriage and falls asleep, but today it is so abnormal, it is very weird.