Episode 22 Take your mother-in-law back to Nanjing

At this time, it was the time of the winter vacation of the elementary school, and there was no sound of reading aloud the next morning, except for Shang Xiaojun, Xiang Xiaoqiang was the last to get up, although it was almost nine o'clock, but he still held on to the window railing and took a deep breath of the fresh air of the morning in the water town. Wu-style architecture is different from Hui-style architecture. The windows of the emblem-style building are basically open in the patio, and although the exterior is also whitewashed and tiled, it is very closed, like a small castle. However, the Wu-style buildings here are very open and transparent, and the field of vision is very large, and it is very convenient to overlook it by the railing.

The small building of Pinxian College is only two floors, but it is quite tall in this town. Looking out from afar, a piece of pink walls and tiles, row upon row, is embraced by several emerald green rivers, which is very beautiful. Under the window is the river, and the back door of the academy opens on the river, with several stone steps leading to the water, and a small boat tied to it. Xiang Xiaoqiang propped his elbow on the windowsill, and watched with great interest the neighbors below squatting by the river, washing rice and vegetables, washing clothes, washing toilets, and chatting loudly in languages he didn't understand......

Alas, this river is used for cooking, this river is used for laundry, and this river is used for washing toilets...... But the water surface has always been so clear, like green jade. The breeze blew, and the surface of the water was covered with a large wrinkled ripple, which became clearer and clearer. Occasionally, townspeople would pass by in a small boat, throwing a few fish, or a pickled pork leg, or a bag of rice, and laughing and greeting the neighbors by the river while rocking the oar, dragging the emerald green water behind the boat......

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked down at the boat tied to the small door. This should be Xiuxiu's family. Seeing the boat, Xiang Xiaoqiang was very excited, and went down to wash up excitedly, preparing to let Xiuxiu accompany him out to row and have a good tour.

Wu Xiaojun got up early, and he was already holding his wheelchair and making breakfast for everyone. Although breakfast is simple, in Xiaoqiang's opinion, it is also a local specialty.

With Shang Xiaojun's narration last night, when I got up today, Xiang Xiaoqiang's eyes were different, and even every pore was full of infinite love. looked at his mother-in-law Shang Xiaojun, and he also admired it a little more.

After breakfast, Xiang Xiaoqiang proposed to take a boat trip to Tongli Ancient Town. Leisure and fun, most of them have to be watched by the townspeople all the way. Xiuxiu didn't like to show her head, but seeing that Xiaoqiang's interest was so high, it was rare to come again, so she also agreed with a smile.

Xiang Xiaoqiang also wanted to take his mother-in-law with him, because he felt that it was not good for the three young people to go out to play and leave his mother-in-law at home. But Shang Xiaojun just let the young people go to play and have fun, he has lived here for more than ten years, and his legs are disabled, so he has long lost the interest in visiting. So, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu, sister and brother, took two more guards, untied the boat at the back door, and rowed out along the river.

Sure enough, as Xiuxiu expected, some townspeople on the shore soon looked at them, they were all surprised, followed by envy, and then followed in groups on the river bank, looking at Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu on the boat below.

There are constantly people in the town who greet Xiuxiu's sisters and brothers. After a little turmoil last night, the town is now fully spreading. Everyone rushed to see the commander of the People's Guard, to see the "Ryukyu Princess". Although the "princess" is the little show in her own town, she must take a look at it again.

More and more people greeted each other, and people's voices became more and more attentive. Ye Ziyu stood at the stern of the boat, rocking the oar proudly, and from time to time replied loudly to the townspeople:

"That's right, this is my brother-in-law, Commander Xiang! This is his guard! ”

The crowd on the shore let out envious sounds of "ah............ah" and "ahh

Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't cry or laugh, and he couldn't drink his brother-in-law. Xiuxiu lowered her head, her face was flushed, and she was also awkward, she quietly told her brother to keep a low profile a few times, but it was useless, the shore was already crowded with people, and Ye Ziyu "interacted" from time to time, and it seemed more natural, and there was still some feeling of riding a big horse and wearing saffron, if you didn't say a word, it would be the same as being in a cage in a zoo.

There are many bridges in Tongli, which is famous. According to later statistics, there are 49 ancient bridges in the town. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that every once in a while, he would have to drill under the belly of the small stone bridge. In particular, each of the small bridges was full of townspeople standing in advance, staring at them directly to their feet and burrowing into the belly of the bridge, and then the townspeople turned around in unison and stared down at them coming out of the other side of the bridge.

Xiang Xiaoqiang can't stand it, this is a tour, this is simply a street parade. He asked Ye Ziyu if there was anything less crowded, and Ye Ziyu said meaningfully that he could paddle to the lake. Xiang Xiaoqiang immediately ordered: turn the rudder out of the town and go to the lake.

The boat quickly rocked out of the ancient town and into Tongli Lake. There were many children and teenagers in the town, and they also followed out with small boats, giggling and watching from behind. But it's much better than "walking the streets" around town.

That's where they got into town last night. I can't see how big the lake is at night, but Xiang Xiaoqiang now sees that this Tongli Lake is too small, and the appearance of one square kilometer, that is, a large pond, can be seen clearly on the shore on all sides. He felt a little suffocated and asked Xiuxiu if there was any bigger water nearby. Xiuxiu was afraid that he would go crazy, so he hesitated and didn't answer, and Ye Ziyu grabbed the avenue behind:

"Yes, brother-in-law, just a few miles to the east, there is a Muzhuang Lake, which is Chenghu, that lake is bigger, there are more than ten times this! Brother-in-law, let's go over? There are a lot of fishermen there, and there is a small restaurant on the boat by the lake, so we won't go back at noon, buy a few fish from the fishermen, and take them to the tavern on the boat to burn and eat! ”

The brother-in-law's words immediately had a huge attraction, and Xiang Xiaoqiang's interest was aroused, and he immediately agreed. Xiuxiu knew that Xiang Xiaoqiang and his younger brother were going crazy again, so she smiled helplessly. She stood up and beckoned, called a small boat, and asked the children on the boat to go back and tell Teacher Shang that they would go to Chenghu Lake to play and not go back at noon. These children are all studying at Shang Xiaojun Academy, and they are very familiar with Xiuxiu, so they all agreed immediately.

Ye Ziyu is worthy of being a young man who grew up in a water town, with superb boat skills, holding a small boat into the small river on the east side of the lake, drilling left and right along the river, first drilling into a smaller Muzhuang Lake, and then entering the river, and soon, a large lake with a blue expanse is displayed in front of him.

This is Chenghu Lake, one of several large lakes between Taihu Lake and the Yangtze River.

Xiang Xiaoqiang has never been to such a large body of water. This is much wider than the water surface of the Yangtze River. He felt extremely refreshed, staggered to his feet, and let out a long roar into the distance like in martial arts. Ye Ziyu also shouted with him. Xiuxiu sat on the boat and laughed, and Hu Jiong and another guard also snickered. When he arrived at the lake, Hu Jiong was much more relaxed. It's a vast area, and there are no other ships within a few hundred or thousands of miles, and security requirements are kept to a minimum.

Several people swam on the lake all morning, and Ye Ziyu should also ask Xiaoqiang to prop up the boat to the fishermen's boats and watch them use ospreys to fish. The fishermen stood in small boats, and two rows of black and ugly "ospreys", that is, herons, stood in a boat. As soon as the fishermen rushed with their long poles, the herons threw themselves out of the boat and plunged into the water, and after a while, the egrets continued to fly onto the boat with bulging throats. The fishermen caught the heron, lifted its wings upside down, squeezed the small fish out of its throat with their hands, and then threw it back into the water. The herons kept flying on the boat, and they were thrown down, and in a short time the basket was full.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was fascinated by it, if you see this thing in a tourist attraction in the future, you will have to charge money. Now the original let him see it full. They bought some small fish from the fishermen, and then they went to the far middle of the lake to watch people catch fish with their nets.

But this is obviously not as interesting as heron fishing, and it is extremely patient. Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't look at it after seeing a net, and bought two big fish from others, each of which was more than a foot long, put them on a small boat, and let them flutter. At this time, it was already noon, Ye Ziyu held the boat to a place on the shore of the lake, and several slightly larger boats gathered among the reeds, carrying wine guises, this is the legendary restaurant on the boat.

They picked one of the largest boats, asked them to cook fish, fried a few dishes, scalded a pot of wine, and a few people ate it with a lot of shouting. This kind of fish made by a small restaurant on the lake, although it is not as good as the "one fish and four eats" in the fish restaurant in later generations, but what you want is this atmosphere, in the reeds, on the fishing boat, drinking warm rice wine, eating braised fish, or rowing your own boat, buying it with the fishermen...... How it tastes is secondary.

After this morning of playing on the same boat, Xiang Xiaoqiang and his brother-in-law are naturally familiar with a lot, that is, the guard platoon leader Hu Jiong and another squad leader, as attendants, are not so restrained. Although Hu Jiong was Xiang Xiaoqiang's guard platoon commander in the headquarters, he rarely had the opportunity to have face-to-face contact with the commander. This trip to Tongli, following the commander and his wife all the way before and after the saddle, although it was hard, it was a beautiful difference that so many officers of the People's Guard could not want.

During this journey, Hu Jiong thought that he was still in place, with a flexible mind and eyes, and he also acted as a translator for the commander, and heard a lot of things about the commander's wife's house. After going back, I don't dare to say that I will be promoted immediately, at least I will be treated as a confidant by the commander.

During a meal, everyone was more open, eating vegetables, drinking wine, and chatting about some interesting things while the wine was sober. Ye Ziyu chatted about the anecdotes in the town, Xiuxiu also chatted about the anecdotes in the Naval University, and Hu Jiong and another guard also chatted with everyone about their hometown...... chatted for a while, only Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't talk about his hometown, just pretended to be stupid, and laughed and coaxed others blindly.

Xiang Xiaoqiang deliberately chatted more with the two guards, to find out what they usually thought, what the soldiers in the People's Guard, and in their former troops. He found that in some grass-roots armies, the soldiers and middle- and lower-ranking officers were very angry with the aggressiveness of the Northern Qing Dynasty, and they were very addicted to the total annihilation of the two Eight Banner Divisions in the defense of Nanjing, the bombing of the Qingyu airport, and especially the Pukou counterattack.

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled when he heard it, but he was very cautious in his mind, he knew that it was probably Hu Jiong and another guy who deliberately said this in order to please him. But after pouring two more cups of them, the more the two talked about it, Hu Jiong was okay, the squad leader obviously complained, probably meaning that he had to fight like this for the Qing captives, he should have beaten like this a long time ago, we couldn't just wait for them to fight south, we had to be able to fight across the Yangtze River.

Most of these middle- and lower-level officers were born in poverty, and they were all like Xiuxiu at the beginning, studying hard and achieving excellent grades, but because their families were poor, they could only go to military schools. When these middle- and lower-ranking officers entered the army, they hoped to change their fate through their own efforts, get rid of the poverty of their families, and become superior people. They are highly motivated and eager to get ahead. However, in peacetime, officers can only survive for years if they want to be promoted, and junior officers like them can not necessarily be promoted to lieutenant colonel, and it is already very remarkable to be promoted to colonel. As for the generals, that is the luxury of a very few.

But this time the war between the Ming and Qing dynasties, although the time was very short, it created a large number of rocket-like promoted officers, the first was Xiang Xiaoqiang, who was promoted from colonel to lieutenant general, not only breaking through the threshold of colonel and general, but also promoted two levels in a row. Although the officers of the People's Guard, although they were pressed by Xiang Xiaoqiang and could not be promoted conveniently, many of them were also awarded medals in battle. They know that now that Xiang Xiaoqiang has been promoted, it is time for them to be promoted according to the military merit medal.

As for other units other than the People's Guard, countless middle- and lower-ranking officers have been promoted as a result.

However, just when the vast number of middle- and lower-ranking officers were just seeing great hope, the door of opportunity was closed again. The two sides of the Ming and Qing dynasties tacitly ceasefired, and according to the experience of the previous Ming and Qing wars, this ceasefire may be many years, and he may not be able to catch up with it again when he is young.

Xiang Xiaoqiang talked to them about this aspect very much, and he was very happy in his heart. With such a group of grassroots officers who are eager to stand out and have opportunities, his "wild dream" of unifying the whole country will become an ideal.

……

A few people played on the lake for a day, and then shook back to Tongli Town until it was dark.

On Tongli Lake, one or two hundred meters closer to the entrance of the town, they were surprised to find that on the bridge at the mouth of the river into the town, there was a man in a suit and a top hat squatting, and there were several children watching him next to him.

Ye Ziyu stopped the boat and floated on the lake, and several people looked at the person from a distance. Hu Jiong grabbed the cloth bag in the boat, grabbed the submachine gun in his hand, asked Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu to squat down, and let Ye Ziyu squat down. Several men with guns grabbed box guns in their hands.

It's dark, and I can't quite observe what the man is doing. The worst could be the killer. If it was from the Northern Qing Dynasty, it would be impossible to be so bold, and it would not be disguised, just standing like this in a suit and leather shoes. It may be an enemy from within the Ming Dynasty and Xiang Xiaoqiang.

Jung Kyong-in? Xiang Xiaoqiang shook his head, he wouldn't be so bold. Shen Rongxuan? …… It's possible. Since he received the empress's edict, he has been very silent, and he has not been as active as Zheng Gongyin in the slightest, as if there is no such thing. In fact, as the first minister, he should be the first to object. And he has the East Factory in his hand, so it's very convenient to get rid of himself.

However, it seems that someone as scheming as him would not use such a stupid method, right?

Suddenly, the man on the bridge spotted the boat, craned his neck to look at it for a while, and suddenly picked up something from under the railing. Several people on the boat screamed and fell down together.

A bright light flashed across the bridge, and a puff of white smoke rose.

It turned out to be a journalist......

And he was lucky enough to photograph Xiang Xiaoqiang and the "Ryukyu Princess" panicking and almost getting to the bottom of the boat.

The boat rocked back to Pinxian Academy, and as usual, it was watched all the way again, and this time there were two reporters, holding cameras and taking pictures.

These two reporters should have received the news and rushed from Suzhou to the nearest place. Since there are two reporters here today, there will be more reporters tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Xiang Xiaoqiang originally planned to invite his mother-in-law back at night, invite everyone to set up a table in the restaurant in the town, and then hold the boat to watch the social drama at night, but now that the reporter is here, he must not be at ease. Looks like I'm going to go back as soon as possible.

After discussing with Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu, he decided to ask his mother-in-law to go back to Nanjing together, and he was raised in Nanjing. Ziyu also went to Nanjing together, and Xiang Xiaoqiang could easily find him a position to do, which was better than helping teach in a small town.

When they were having dinner at home in the evening, Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu did not directly ask their mother to go back to Nanjing with us to care for the elderly, but only said that they invited her to Nanjing to attend their daughter's wedding. Shang Xiaojun hesitated for a moment.

Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that she was afraid that when she arrived in Nanjing, she might see King Shang, or the wife of the first minister. But Xiang Xiaoqiang assured her that because the "Xiang Fraud Case" had just passed, even if the wedding would be relatively simple, and many people would not be invited, implying that she could rest assured that those two people would definitely not come back then.

Shang Xiaojun thought about it for a long time, and really wanted to see his daughter get married, so he nodded and agreed.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiuxiu looked at each other and smiled. The academy will open until the end of February, and my mother-in-law will definitely not be able to leave after the wedding, at least for a while in Nanjing. Shang Xiaojun has lived a poor life for half of her life, during which she let her enjoy the glory and wealth, enjoy the life of her daughter and son-in-law by her side, and then tell her slowly that eighty percent can be successful.

The next day, a large number of reporters came to Tongli Town.

"Going to the Countryside to the Commander", "Meeting the Mother-in-law to the Commander", "Fighting the Vixen to the Mother-in-law", "Visiting the Lake with the Beauty to the Commander", these are all things that have a lot to write. For a time, the only inn in the town was full, and many reporters paid money to live in the homes of the townspeople. The opposite side of Pinxian Academy, the houses on the left and right are the hottest, and there are a lot of reporters living there, everyone is crowded by the window, each with a camera, aiming at the window of Shang Xiaojun's house, and taking pictures whenever someone appears......

Shang Xiaojun was very angry. She hid in this place for half her life, but she didn't expect to be blocked in the house by a family camera today, and she couldn't even open the window. It was the first time she had seen the power of the paparazzi. It's good to be in winter, so you can keep the windows closed. If it's summer, the house has to be turned into a steamer.

Xiang Xiaoqiang originally planned to have fun, and he would play in Tongli for two or three days. It's fun now, but it's not fun now. I can't stay here any longer.

The family prepared all morning, ate lunch, and locked the door to travel. Surrounded by reporters and townspeople, and under the continuous illumination of flashing lights, Xiang Xiaoqiang pushed his mother-in-law, Shang Xiaojun, and answered reporters' questions with a smile, while leading the group straight to the entrance of the town to hire a big boat. Xiang Xiaoqiang asked the guards to sandwich Xiuxiu in the middle, and the flashing lights and questions that the reporter reached for Xiuxiu were blocked by him. He also forbade talking to the reporter's brother-in-law. He figured out that his brother-in-law sometimes speaks without going through his brain.

The family finally boarded a large awning boat, sailed into Tongli Lake, and headed north along the river from which they came. Immediately, all the ships in the town were hired by the reporters, formed a "fleet", and followed Xiang Xiaoqiang's "ship" in a mighty manner, heading towards Suzhou.

The same is true when they get on the train in Suzhou, the left and right sides of their box are covered by reporters, and the corridor is also full of reporters. As soon as you come out, even if you go to the toilet, you will immediately be interviewed. Some reporters even carefully recorded the frequency and time of Xiang Xiaoqiang and his family every time they came out to go to the toilet......

There were a large number of paparazzi who followed the interview throughout the whole process, and the family was very uncomfortable. Xiang Xiaoqiang is better, Shang Xiaojun is not used to it, and he almost caught fire twice.

Of course, Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that on his own, there may not be so many paparazzi. Most of them came for Xiuxiu, the "Ryukyu Princess".

Alas, there is a princess in your hand, which is cool, but it will also cause a lot of inconvenience!

The next day, that is, on the morning of February 12, the train entered Nanjing Station, and Xiang Xiaoqiang, Xiang Xiaoqiang's wife, Xiang Xiaoqiang's mother-in-law, Xiang Xiaoqiang's brother-in-law, and Xiang Xiaoqiang's six guards all returned to Nanjing.