After stepping through two arches, the two men passed through the cloister to the dining room.

Although it was autumn wind and rain outside, the dining room was furnished as warm as spring. The doors of the eight halls open to the south, and the hollow carvings are filled with many elegant flower scrolls. There are several blue and white porcelain vases on the cabinet in the hall door, which are delicately carved and antique. The gold and jade utensils, stacked and displayed, all look rich and compelling. Directly above the hall hangs a sandalwood plaque, with four vigorous and powerful characters attached to it: "Heaven rewards diligence". The whole dining room is solemn and extravagant. Zhu Yongbi tile, covering the ninth-level high hall; Painting and carving beams is really a three-micro house.

Seven or eight cooks were carrying trays, steaming the dishes.

A long table of eight immortals was already full of the Liu family. There are 16 dishes on the long table, eight cold and eight hot, and the cups and saucers on the table are delicate and fine. Rhombic white shrimp, lotus leaf and winter bamboo shoot soup, steamed Dongpo meat, clear water kale and so on. The dishes are very distinct. The fish and shrimp meat is mixed with petals and green fruits, which is beautiful and generous, and the fragrance is overflowing.

"Yuanzhi, Ming'er, come and sit." At the head of the seat, there sat an old man, with white hair and hair, but he was clear, with his eyes half-closed, and two walnuts in his hand. This is the old lady of Liufu.

"Daddy......" Liu Yuanzhi responded, took Liu Ming to sit in the two vacant positions, and explained, "Ming'er had some cold and heat just now, and now it has faded, it's okay." ”

Liu Ming just sat down, but he felt the Liu family's unkind gaze towards him. Come to think of it, my dad was originally notorious, and after two years of mixing outside, he still didn't achieve anything. At this point in time, when I return home, there is nothing else to do but cause trouble to my family.

"Big brother......" Liu Yuanzhi looked at the person on the left and smiled respectfully: "...... Long time no see. ”

"Hmm." The man nodded quietly, in response. This person's upper body is a lake-colored familiar robe, with a horse coat sandwiched by iron thread, a round white face, and two mustaches on his lips. This person is Liu Xianda, the acting chief treasurer of the Liu family, and Liu Yuanzhi's eldest brother. Mrs. Liu has been in business all her life, and she is old, and she has long had the intention of retiring to the rivers and lakes, so Liu Xianda took charge of the business of the Liujia pharmacy on her behalf.

"Big brother...... I toast you. Liu Yuanzhi picked up his wine glass.

Liu Xianda pretended not to hear, his eyes were level with his eyes, and he said indifferently: "Dad, since we have arrived, let's eat." ”

Hearing this, Liu Yuanzhi just raised his hand and took it back in a sneer.

When he first returned to the house, Liu Ming didn't dare to make a mistake, obediently picking vegetables and eating, while observing the behavior of the people around him, from this moment on, he was already about to start turning himself into a fake Song person.

He listened attentively and found that the family members talked about it during the banquet, in addition to the medical hall pharmacy around the family, the most talked about was the Qingli New Deal.

Liu Ming already understood that the time node he was in was the fifth year of Qingli. Obviously, the fifth year of Qingli is the year after the failure of the new policy, Song Renzong could not bear the pressure of the government and the opposition, and all the reforms of the new party such as Fan Zhongyan were released and degraded.

Several names popped up in his mind - Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi......

These famous Confucians used to be required questions.

In a blink of an eye, he smiled bitterly and laughed at himself, what does it mean to know this? He is an important minister of the temple, and although he is a big family, he is just a market child.

The plan of the temple is too far away from yourself, so let's make some practical plans.

Thinking of this, Liu Ming thought about it - what can he do when he travels to the Song Dynasty?

The first thing to rule out is farming. He had never done manual labor, and besides, in ancient times, the peasants were oppressed by all classes, and they could barely make ends meet. I'm a big kid now, and I can't do that.

So, being a soldier?

The thought only flashed through him, and he immediately denied it. As the saying goes, a good man is not a soldier, and a good iron is not a nail. This dynasty has always looked down on martial artists, and becoming a military household is not conducive to sentencing and exile, even if it is promoted to an official position, it is also controlled by Wenchen. Besides, he doesn't know martial arts, so he has no interest in the battlefield for the time being.

If you want to get ahead, it is best to naturally study and take advice, make suggestions and suggestions for the Son of Heaven, and be a proud scholar doctor is indeed good. Everything is inferior, only reading is high.

Learning is excellent, and being able to sell your knowledge to the emperor's family is naturally the most cost-effective deal.

However, there must be a premise for this - the family can agree to go to the college by themselves and bear the expenses.

All in all, you have to settle down in the house first.

However, thinking of what kind of debt his father said made Liu Ming worry for a while......

The wine has passed three rounds, and the dishes have passed five flavors. Old lady Liu leaned back in the chair and said, "Yuanzhi, what are your plans to go back to the house this time?" ”

"Daddy......" Liu Yuanzhi swallowed his saliva and smiled: "I want to do some serious business." ”

Liu Xianda sneered on the side: "Second brother, are you going to open a casino with that Wang Gui stick?" ”

Mrs. Liu talked about gambling and frowned: "Yuanzhi, when you go back to the house this time, you don't have any debts, right?" ”

As soon as he said this, Liu Ming's heart tightened. He looked at his father.

"Daddy...... Look at what you said......" Liu Yuanzhi shouted: "If I am in debt, can I have the face to come back?" ”

Liu Ming thought to himself, you really have the face to come back.

The old lady looked at her second son and looked worried: "Yuanzhi, among your three brothers, only Xianda can save my worries." What are the three changes...... It also broke my heart. Do you have any news of him? ”

At this time, hearing the old lady's question about the third brother Liu Yong, Liu Yuanzhi's face suddenly changed, a sad light flashed in his eyes, and then he sneered: "Dad, the third brother has a free and easy personality, and he has been traveling all over the world, but I don't have any news of him." I guess where I went to drink with the scholar again. ”

"Alas......" Mrs. Liu sighed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes bloomed like daisies, "We have been in business for generations, and we are just reading material for three times." I wanted to count on him to get ahead for our Liu family and come up with a gold list title, but I didn't want to, the times were unpredictable, and he didn't rank first in the imperial examination three times......"

Liu Yuanzhi started the round and said: "Dad, anyway, these two Jinshi are not something that ordinary people can take. Tens of thousands of people are rushing to take the exam, and only a few are used, so don't put too much pressure on the three changes. ”

"I'm not a strong man...... Old Lady Liu said sadly, staring at the wine cup in her hand, "Since you are not ranked in the imperial examination, you can also come back to the merchant market." Our pharmacy and medical hall will give him a place to take care of, this child is smart and smart, and he can do well. ”

When the eldest son, Liu Xianda, heard this, his face couldn't help but sink.

"But...... What about him......" Old Lady Liu looked like he hated iron and steel, "I don't study, I don't come back to do business, I look like an idle cloud and a wild crane all day long, swaying outside, hangover in Qinglou, laughing with those dusty women, what kind of system is it?" ”

This banquet became heavy because of the mention of Yoo Yong's problem again.

"Now that everyone has eaten almost, let's disperse." After the meal, Mrs. Liu was on crutches and was about to get up.

"Daddy...... There is one more thing" Liu Yuanzhi said with a smile, "That's what I just said, I really have some brilliant ideas for doing business when I go home this time......"

Before he could finish speaking, the old lady shook her head gloomily and nodded her crutches: "Yuanzhi!" You're still at ease, I'm too old to stand your toss. The Liu family does not raise idlers, and you have to support yourself. During this time, you'll be helping out in the kitchen. The rest of the matters will be discussed later. ”

"I ......" Liu Yuanzhi opened his mouth, saw the cold expression of the eldest brother Liu Xianda next to him, and swallowed the words again.

Liu Ming sighed on the side, the prodigal son turned back, I'm afraid it's not so easy.

finally stayed up until the end of the family banquet, everyone went back to their rooms for a lunch break, and Liu Yuanzhi took Liu Ming to the backyard warehouse.

"Dad, what are you going to do with the gambling debts?" Liu Ming saw that there was no one around, and asked quietly.

"I haven't been home for two years......," Liu Yuanzhi sighed at the door of the warehouse, "Fortunately, I saved some private money at the beginning, and I should be able to repay my debts. ”

He took out a bronze key from his pocket, blew at the dusty lock hole in the storeroom, inserted the key into the hole, twisted it slightly to the right, and removed the copper lock with a "click".

He pushed the door in, fumbled inside, and then pulled out a black wooden box.

"Go, go, go, go back to the room." Liu Yuanzhi's face showed joy, "This wooden box is still there." ”

The two returned to the room and closed the door, Liu Yuanzhi sighed while opening the box: "As long as this gambling debt is repaid, everything will be fine." The old lady is angry again, after all, it is also a family whose blood is thicker than water. Let's behave well for a few days, and take advantage of the old lady's good mood to discuss the future. ”

Liu Ming sat aside, smiling and nodding. If you can repay your gambling debts and behave well, your family will definitely change their attitude after a long time.

Thinking about it, he had some expectations for the future. The life of the children of a big family, he has seen a lot in TV dramas, sleeping until noon every day, changing clothes and living in maids' clothes, walking birds every day, shopping, like a high-ranking office.

There are only two words - comfortable.

After thinking for a moment, I only heard Liu Yuanzhi scream: "My mother, why is it like this?" ”

Liu Ming stepped forward, looked at the neatly stacked silver in the wooden box, stacked up in two stacks, and it looked like there were a lot of them, and asked, "Isn't so much enough?" ”

Liu Yuanzhi snorted and exclaimed, "How is this one hundred taels enough, your father and I owe a thousand taels of gambling debts." ”

One thousand taels?

Liu Ming was dizzy for a while, thinking that his father was really having a big time. He looked worried and said, "It's not even close." Dad, what are you going to do? ”

Liu Yuanzhi tugged at the chicken's nest-like hair and said worriedly: "Your dad just came home, and his ass hasn't been hot yet, so I don't know what to do now?" ”

"How about borrowing some from the house?" Liu Mingti suggested.

Liu Yuanzhi immediately shook his head and denied: "No, no!" Didn't you see the attitude of the family at the dinner just now? This matter must not be known to the old lady. At the beginning, I was kicked out of my family because I had too many gambling debts. If the government knew that I still owed a lot of debt, they would definitely sweep me out of the house! ”

Liu Ming sighed: "But if you don't pay the debt, the casino will definitely send someone to collect it." Sooner or later, this house will know. If you can't pay the money, you can only go away and fly away. ”

"Fly away?" Liu Yuanzhi's face was bitter, "I want to do it too...... However, since then, the three changes have lost their lives......"

"What?" Liu Ming raised his eyebrows and took two steps back.

Liu Yuanzhi hung his head in frustration, sat on the ground with his buttocks, snorted and said regretfully: "I won't hide it from you now, Ming'er." Your uncle has changed three times, and now he is being held hostage by the casino and forced to pay me back...... I only have three days left. ”

Yes?

Liu Ming's heart sank, and he understood why he talked about Liu Yong during the meal just now, and his father was worried. It turned out that Liu Yong, the uncle who loved him, was still detained in the casino.

Dad gambled, and Uncle was deducted.

I really met a pair of living treasures.

"Three changes...... I'm sorry for you......" Liu Yuanzhi was so anxious that tears and snot flowed together, and he cried to the sky, "The casino said that within three days, you must pay it back, and if you don't pay it back, you will have to use your organs as collateral." ”

Liu Ming was also anxious when he heard it, in the high school of his previous life, he had learned Liu Yong's words in the textbook, and the sentence "Affectionate parting since ancient times, even more so Kan, snubbing the Qingqiu Festival" moistened his young years.

Now, Liu Yong, who is famous all over the world and has been passed on to future generations, has not seen it himself, he will lack an ear or an arm, and a generation of romantic talents will be disabled, which is definitely a tragedy.

This Liu Yong is his own uncle, and his blood is thicker than water. It is reasonable to say that he must come to the rescue. Otherwise, if Liu Yong is injured due to the repayment of gambling debts, his father Yuanzhi will inevitably be kicked out of the house, and his dream of a large family that he has just settled down will be shattered again.

…… This is absolutely not a no-go!