The New Year is approaching, the festive color on the street, more and more intense, Deng shopkeeper's "Liufangzhai" teahouse is the opposite, travelers and migrant workers from the surrounding counties and townships, have returned to their hometowns for the New Year, every household in the city has worked hard for a year and is busy preparing for the New Year, thinking of a reunion of the Spring Festival, no one has the heart to drink tea in the teahouse.

Seeing that the business was light, the shopkeeper Deng of the teahouse also planned to accompany his wife and a few children who had not returned to Meishan for three years to rush to Meishan for the New Year, and only came back to open after the fifth day of the new year, so the shopkeeper Deng closed the door on the twenty-fifth day of the lunar month, gave a few tea doctors and men a salary red envelope, and repeatedly told the little teapot to take care of the family before leaving.

At night, the little teapot came back from eating at Ma Gong's house, and saw a man squatting outside the door of the teahouse, the little teapot approached carefully, raised the lantern and looked carefully, and immediately recognized it as a Manchu man from the costume, remembering the arrogant appearance of the Manchu people he saw in Ping, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

The Manchu man stood up, tall, as strong as a cow, and his face did not have the ordinary Manchurian expression of flying and domineering, but was very gentle, and he raised his hand slightly apologetically: "I...... I take the liberty of interrupting you, I have something to ask you. ”

"Oh! I know you, yesterday at noon, you came to the teahouse for tea and snacks. The little teapot asked suspiciously, "I'm a poor boy who doesn't pull a few thin, how can I help you?" ”

The Manchu man looked embarrassed, lowered his voice and pleaded: "I want to ask you to help me sell a thing, it is a gilded bronze Buddha of the Jin Dynasty, the two antique shops in the city do not give a good price, I can't bear to get the pawnshop, I heard that you know the foreigner......"

"Wait!" The little teapot was taken aback, and his heart couldn't help beating wildly: "Who did you listen to?" I have no way, besides, you are a Manchurian, how many people are superior in this city, who dares not to give you face? There's no need to look for me, it's useless to look for me, a little person! ”

The Manchu man smiled: "There are also three, six, nine and so on among the Manchus, I can't hide it, I belong to the down-and-out households among the Manchus, just a little better than the armored soldiers, I don't work hard every day, I still have to be hungry, not to mention that I have a mother and two younger sisters to feed, just relying on the half bag of grain issued by the General's Mansion every month, I can't live at all, so I come to ask for your help." ”

When the little teapot heard these honest words, although he was skeptical, he felt a little settled in his heart, and by the light of the lantern, he carefully observed, and sure enough, he found that the other party's clothes were old, and the trim on the placket and sleeves had been almost worn out.

"Brother, it's cold outside, can you please let me in and sit? I've been waiting for you for a long time, and you're thirsty. "The Manchu man's surname is straight, and he is not used to the small teapot way of picking at people.

After hesitating in the small teapot, he nodded, handed the lantern to the Manchu man, took out the key to open the door, and after entering, he entered the counter with a familiar car, lit a medium-sized oil lamp, took it to the table in the hall, and turned around and entered the back hall to make tea.

The Manchu man blew out the lantern and stuck it by the wall, and after sitting down, a tray was brought from the small teapot, on which was a pot of hot tea and a plate of shortbread.

At this time, the little teapot had calmed down, and he smiled politely while pouring tea: "The teahouse was closed yesterday, and there are no good things to entertain guests, so I will use some." ”

"It's already good." The Manchu man took the hot tea and nodded, not in a hurry to drink or move the shortbread, and the blazing eyes under the thick eyebrows kept staring at the small teapot.

The little teapot sat down calmly and asked in a low voice, "This big brother, listen to your accent, you are from the Northeast, right?" ”

The Manchu man nodded: "My hometown is from Liaoxi, Mongolia is in the blue flag, my ancestors have been staying in Zhejiang since they entered the customs, and they were only ordered to defend Chengdu five years ago." ”

"So, you should be an official in your family, how did you get mixed up like this?" The little teapot was puzzled.

The Manchu man was embarrassed, blushing for a long time before replying: "My father and my brother are not big, four years ago they died together in the rebellion of the archery furnace, the pension of the imperial court was deducted layer by layer, and there is not much left in our hands, a year later, our house was taken back by the general's mansion and replaced with a small house, there is nothing valuable left in the house, I am young, after the emperor implemented the new army, I was not allowed to be a soldier at the age of sixteen, so I have been looking forward to it, I will be sixteen years old this autumn, but this autumn cavalry, What kind of adjustment does the infantry team make, and there is no conscription, so I can only look forward to the spring conscription, and then I will be able to receive a monthly salary of ten silver dollars, and I will not be so tight. ”

The small teapot stared at the sturdy man who was about one meter eight and five, and opened his mouth wide in surprise: "You...... You're so big, you're only sixteen this year? ”

"Autumn will be sixteen, can't you see it? The men in our family are like this, since I was a child, riding horses and archery and playing with knives, when I was a child, my father was beautiful, and the family ate well, so I was also stronger, and I found that I had a beard a few days ago, my mother said...... It's a man, hehe! The Manchu man realized that he had slipped his mouth, smiled embarrassedly, and touched his chin.

The little teapot looked at him and sighed: "I really envy your body...... By the way, who did you hear that I know foreigners? ”

The Manchu man hesitated slightly, but finally told the truth: "I heard my neighbor's eldest brother say, his name is Wentehe, and he was hired to work as a nurse for a foreign firm...... Diagonally across the street is our city, and many people come to your place for tea and gatherings, so Winterhel knows you. He still admires you very much, saying that you can speak foreign, you are neither humble nor arrogant in front of foreigners, and you are better than our generals, right? ”

"Where do I know foreign languages?" The little teapot was speechless, stunned for a long time, and finally said helplessly: "Drink tea, moisten your throat...... By the way, what's your last name? What is it called? ”

"My real name is Taulette, my Han surname is Tang Wulin, the Lin of Qilin, what about you?" Tang Wulin is a sincere man, and his bright eyes are full of simple sincerity.

"My surname is Xiao, Xiao with a cursive prefix, no name, an orphan, my parents don't understand anyone, others call me a little teapot, and I'm used to it." The teapot replied in a low voice.

Tang Wulin didn't speak again, gently pushed the plate containing a few shortbreads to the small teapot, and picked up the teacup and drank the tea slowly.

Tang Wulin's natural polite behavior quickly won the favor of the little teapot, and after the little teapot pondered, he raised his head: "Brother Tang, since you can afford me, I will reluctantly give it a try, I can say it first, it may not be possible, I can only say try my best, okay?" ”

"Thank you! Otherwise, I'll go back and bring the Buddha statue to you right away," Tang Wulin was overjoyed, put down the tea bowl and stood up to leave.

The little teapot hurriedly shouted to him: "It's not in a hurry, it doesn't matter if you look at it or not, wait until I find the foreigner and ask clearly, then you have to go with me, I don't dare to make my own decisions." ”

Tang Wulin scratched his head embarrassedly: "It's because I'm in a hurry, I'm sorry, brother, or ...... It's okay, I'll go back first, how about I come back tomorrow night to hear the news? ”

The little teapot thought for a moment, nodded, went to the counter and brought a piece of paper, wrapped a few pieces of shortbread and handed it to him: "I'll do this tomorrow, let's talk about it first, whether it will be successful or not, I'm not sure." ”

Tang Wulin was quite moved, looked at the paper bag in his hand, didn't say anything, turned around and left.

The teapot was sent out, and he didn't close the door until he was far away, leaning against the back of the door and thinking bitterly.

After a while, there was a knock on the door, and the little teapot in contemplation was startled, and woke up and hurriedly opened the door, who knew that as soon as the door opened, he saw Sister Yi's angry face, and then was dragged in by Sister Yi's ears, and the little teapot screamed in pain, and kept begging for mercy.

Sister Yi snorted viciously, went to close the door, returned to the small teapot, took out a small cloth bag from behind her waist and threw it on the table, crossed her waist and asked sternly: "Turtle son, tell me honestly, where did you steal the money to buy a box of pearl powder for three yuan?" Say! ”

The little teapot covered her ears and was annoyed: "Sister, can you be reasonable?" I gave you a gift, and I was beaten and scolded, there is no heavenly reason? ”

"Smack-"

Sister Yi slapped the head of the small teapot: "If you don't make it clear to me today, I will have to beat you to death!" ”

Seeing that Sister Yi's anger was a little strange, the little teapot hurriedly stepped forward to make amends, and after begging Sister Yi to sit down, she immediately avoided the important and explained half-truthfully: "...... By the way, the hemp rod gave me ten silver dollars, I bought new shoes made in England with rubber soles for more than two dollars, bought American pens and ink for three dollars, and bought a set of "Twenty-four History" from a thrift stall for three dollars and five, I wanted to be if my sister didn't hurt me, I wouldn't live today, so I bought another box of pearl powder and brought it to you in the morning, when you were still sleeping, I had to put it on your dresser. ”

Sister Yi slammed the table, stood up and scolded viciously: "You still dare to lie to me? The news that you made a fortune in a foreigner's shop has spread all over the city, and you dare to lie to me? The wings are stiff, aren't they? Good...... The old lady doesn't care about you, if the old lady cares about you in the future, the old lady will be raised by you! ”

"Sister-"

The little teapot hurriedly rushed over, hugged Sister Yi, who turned around and left, and never let go: "Sister, sister, you listen to my explanation, it's not what you said, it's really not!" Hey...... Would you believe me once? ”

"Let go!" Sister Yi was tightly hugged by the small teapot, her temples were chaotic, and her thin face suddenly turned red.

The little teapot didn't agree at all: "If it's not loose, it's not loose!" As soon as I let go, what should you do if you lose your temper and run away? I won't listen to you today, uncle! ”

Sister Yi was already weak, her hands and feet were weak, and she struggled in pain: "You strangled me, let go...... I'm out of breath......"

The little teapot took a closer look before letting go, but he still hugged Sister Yi and sat down slowly: "Sister, your temper really has to change, I'm seventeen years old, and I'm a gentleman, you can't still be like before, you can fight if you want, pinch if you want?" If an outsider sees it, where do you put my old face? ”

Sister Yi laughed out loud angrily, and after laughing, she felt something strange under her buttocks, and immediately realized that the little guy had really grown up, and she even made her heart tremble a few times.

Sister Yi pushed away the little teapot's hand in a little panic, stood up and sat on the chair next to her, with a straight face, asking the little teapot to tell the truth.

The little teapot had to explain truthfully, and said that the dozen or so children in the land temple were particularly miserable, and then contacted their own experiences, and sighed with emotion, which caused Sister Yi to wipe her tears frequently, and then she told her about renting a house and driving a rickshaw dealership in the end.

"So that's it...... It seems that my sister blamed you, thinking that you were stolen jade pendants......"

Sister Yi's eyes were full of relief, she reached out and touched the face of the little teapot, and praised it rarely: "It's grown up and responsible!" This is what a man should do, my sister is willing to help you, but you know that my sister's status is low, I'm afraid you have to ask your godfather to come forward and say something, his old man was also born in Pixian County when he was young, and he has been in Chengdu for more than 20 years, he has a lot of face, and he can talk to the official, and he will give you a guarantee, so that you can do the household registration, and then you can do other things. ”

Xiao Teapot knew that the godfather that Sister Yi said was the boss of "Baicui Building", and she was a little unhappy: "You mean, I have to ask you Boss Xiong for this matter?" He never liked me, he didn't have a good face when he saw me, will he help me? ”

Sister Yi was about to get angry, but after thinking about it, she couldn't help but scratch the nose of the small teapot: "Hehe, have you eaten dry vinegar?" Don't worry, my sister and the bear shopkeeper are not as dirty as you think, he accepted his sister as his goddaughter, because his sister can help him control that group of little girls, and his sister also needs him as a backer, don't you believe it, look at the big scald scar on my sister's face, who will think crookedly about my sister? Alas, if it weren't for that, with my sister's piano skills, where would our sister and brother have such a humble life? ”

Little Teapot's face turned red instantly, but his heart was a little sour. He forced the pain, and smiled: "Sister, I didn't mean that, in fact, I didn't think about anything, no matter what, you are my sister, when I get rich, I will take you out, live in a big house, live in a western-style building, live comfortably, and no longer have to look at people's faces." ”

Sister Yi was moved, and her tears couldn't help but flow.

The little teapot has never said such heart-warming words to her, and she has never been so sensible today, she suddenly felt that it was worth it to work hard to raise the big and small teapots, and seemed to see hope, and saw the good life promised by the little teapot.

The little teapot tore off the handkerchief from Sister Yi's placket and gently wiped away the tears on her face: "Sister, don't be like this, now that you are like this, you will live in a big house in the future, and you will not faint with happiness?" ”

When Sister Yi heard this, she burst into tears and laughed, and slapped the small teapot in disgust: "When did you learn to be so flamboyant?" will pick a good one to say, and say that my sister is warm-hearted, you little villain! By the way, let's talk about a serious matter, you have to be careful in the future, this world is not peaceful, it is difficult to ensure that no wicked person will be jealous of you, don't get carried away, the ancient precept that wealth is not exposed, you must keep it in mind.

"Also, last time you saved a noble person sent a hundred taels of Xie Yi, my sister has been keeping it for you, I wanted to wait for you to use it when you ask for a daughter-in-law, since you want to drive now, it is estimated that you will have to use a lot of money, you can take it another day, the one hundred taels of silver are all official silver in full color, and one hundred taels can be exchanged for two hundred and ten silver dollars."

"Sister, I don't need that money, you keep it, buy whatever you like." The little teapot had a confident smile on her face.

Sister Yi immediately sank her face: "Nonsense! If you really want to be good for your sister, so that your sister will live a good life in the future, you should do the car dealership in a down-to-earth manner, I think this is a serious thing to make money, don't steal or rob, rely on your strength to eat, live a frank and honest life, and be a down-to-earth person, what could be better than this?

"Although you are still young, you must not be half-hearted in doing things, and you have no head and no tail! If the car dealership is really open, everything is indispensable, and you need to have some money to turn over. ”

The little teapot smiled and said: "Sister, you can rest assured, I know this matter in my heart, and the one hundred taels of silver can't help much, and the car dealership is not my business alone, as well as Ma Gong, Wu San and the fourth, as long as you are willing to use your brains and be willing to exert your strength, there will always be a way to slowly make the hundred taels of silver you keep first, if you are really short of money one day, I will ask you again, okay?" ”

"Okay!"

Sister Yi listened to the little teapot reasonably, nodded and no longer bothered, raised her hand to open the cloth bag on the table, took out the beautiful pearl powder in the packaging box, carefully opened it to the end of her nose and smelled it, and patted the little teapot's face with satisfaction: "Even if you have a conscience, remember that there is a sister." ”

The little teapot hurriedly sold obediently: "Sister, if you want, when I make money in the future, I will buy you what is expensive, what French perfume, what Swiss watches, etc., as long as you like it, you don't have to open your mouth, I will buy it back for you, if you don't stop me and continue to buy it madly, I will never stop!" ”

Sister Yi was amused and giggled, and her smile was extremely happy and bright.

The little teapot suddenly found that although her sister had a big scar on her face, her smile was not ugly at all, but so sincere and moving, so charming.

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