Since the spring equinox, the days have become longer and longer, a round of tea drinking, the sky is still early, the round of red sun lazily hangs on the top of the mountain, never falling. The taster's mouth was gone, and he hurriedly drank the remaining few and gathered together to discuss the ranking of the conference.

Before the results were announced, the shopkeeper of the Long family came to invite him to gather in the Huan Garden in the evening to talk about this year's tea. After waiting for a day, it was finally time to uncover the medicine in the gourd of the dragon family. Ma Bin politely sent the shopkeeper away, and asked Mingxin to go to find a long way to entertain the two owners of Lu and Li who were at home to eat new tea.

After the results came out, Siming followed Ma Bin to the Huan Garden. According to the old rules, one person from each of the eight families went to the banquet, and the others were still waiting outside. Shopkeeper Xiao has always been accustomed to waiting outside, and he has taken out the chess game prepared in advance to fight with the shopkeeper of the Hou family.

Siming was new to the game, and it was inconvenient to join the long-established playmates, so he walked away on his own, walked around the garden twice, and didn't find any fun. The officials sitting around the lake told each other how wonderful the pavilion in the center of the lake was, what kind of famous actor the drama on the stage was, and half-boasted and half-lost about what this family of outsiders had done.

Siming has never been much in the accident township and the local, although his father is a native of Baidi City, but he also went to Mincheng in the northwest early to beg for a living, Siming was quite unfamiliar here before the age of ten, and then came back, after so many years to slowly become familiar with it, and it is not more like a local than others.

There are other outsiders in Baidi City, but no one has been excluded like the Liang family, in the final analysis, people will always covet those who make a fortune out of thin air. When the Liang family first came, they did not suffer a lot, and they had become a famous family, and it was natural that many people were jealous, and there was nothing to rely on, so these people did not scruple.

"Siming..."

Hearing Liang Tian's voice, Siming's ears turned red for no reason, the family has always been called by a nickname, and when he was in the tea garden, he had the nickname of the third child, but few people called his original name.

Liang Tian naturally didn't know about these things, the garden was already busy, and he happened to see Siming spinning, and he freed up his hand to call him.

"Don't you have nowhere to go?"

Siming didn't want to say that he was waiting for the owner outside and couldn't fit into the situation of the previous years, so he just pretended to be indifferent and shook in circles in the garden. was poked by Liang Tian, and shook his head and said, "No, it's just walking around the garden." ”

Liang Tian didn't understand this, took Siming's hand, walked around the corridor, walked all the way to the outside of a hut, opened the door, pushed Siming in again, and said, "You wait here." There are a lot of people today, and this place is clean, which is specially left for me by the shopkeeper, and no one else will come. Wait a minute, I'll close the door, and then ask someone to bring you some food, I see that Master Ma and they won't end for a while, do you want anything to pass the time? ”

"No, you don't." Siming was already very well taken care of, and he didn't want to burden Liang Tian any more, so in order to convince her, he added, "I'll just listen to the play, you go and get busy, I'll live by myself." ”

After a while, someone came and knocked on the door, shouted 'Wang Gongzi', and pushed the door in, it was Fang Yong, holding some pastries that even Siming had never seen before.

"This is a Western practice, the third girl asked me to bring some for my son, and the tea leaves are also hairy as usual. I'll go down here first, if the prince has any orders, pull the bell by the window, and someone will come. ”

"Hmm."

Although Siming has also gone to live elsewhere, he has never been arranged so properly, not to mention that he often runs errands for others, but it is common to arrange for others. But that's different from this, thinking of this, the corners of Siming's mouth unconsciously rose. This morning, too, this girl is really stupid, she didn't need her to go, she had to intervene, but fortunately it was fine.

Time is like the water in the garden, and it has inadvertently flowed into the great river outside the city. After the two cups of tea were finished, the voices outside finally changed, and the sleepy child could not hold on, and slept crookedly on the woman's shoulder, and in a moment, most of the people had dispersed.

Siming also went out of the house and went to the place where the eight families were discussing. After a while, someone came out, the first was Hou Erye, the anger on his face could not be hidden, and then the She family and the Gou family, with a smile on their faces, discussing some things.

Ma Bin also followed closely, a person who had always been moody, and even the whole person was gloomy at this time, only his body was still strong. The Liu family, who was passing by behind, patted Ma Bin on the shoulder and left.

Shopkeeper Xiao saw this posture and knew the seriousness of this matter, so he hurriedly went over to help, but Ma Bin put his hand away, and got into the carriage tremblingly, and Siming also followed behind to get into the carriage.

Driving, with the sound of the horn, the atmosphere in the car immediately changed, Ma Bin, who had always tolerated it, no longer restrained his movements, and slashed on the armrest of the car with one hand, which was only a lot more angry than Hou Erye just now.

"This dragon family is too deceitful! I'm used to it, and I really regard this white city as my own industry. ”

Where have Siming and Shopkeeper Xiao seen this posture, they have the heart to persuade them, the words came to their mouths, and they swallowed back, and they were stunned to say anything at this time.

Pinyuan, who was at home, also received the news, and was already sitting quietly in the hall, waiting for Ma Bin to come back, and then made a look and asked the guy to come over with tea.

··· After a period of silence, Ma Bin stepped into the courtyard, but calmed down a lot, as if it was someone else who was angry just now, which made the people accompanying him a little confused.

"San'er, tell me again, what movements have the Zhou family had before, whether it is definite or uncertain." After a long time, Ma Bin suddenly spoke, not for the Long family, but for the Zhou family.

Siming knew the meaning of Uncle Ma's words, and he had guessed before that the Zhou family was going to take advantage of the situation this time, but he didn't expect the participation of the Long family in it, so in this game, the disadvantages of the Ma family can be imagined.

"The price fight in the shop in the eastern suburbs is a one-man show of the Zhou family, and there is also the position of the tea this time, deliberately placing the Long family behind the Ma family, and proximity the Zhou family to several other families, I am afraid that it is also a plot."

After Siming finished speaking, he paused, and continued, "Pinyuan said before that there are people in the Lu Dong family who are afraid that someone is making ghosts, and I asked people to follow him yesterday, but he threw him away, which is very strange." Lu Dongjia is a foreigner, and he has only come to this Baidi City five or six times, and it is not difficult to find someone to follow, and if he may get rid of the person who follows, someone must point him out, and Xiao Qiang saw that Lu Dongjia had been to Huanhua Garden before. ”

Ma Bin frowned and said, "The Liang family? ”

Siming hurriedly shook his head and said, "It's still the Zhou family, Zhou Yuancheng, the current head of the Zhou family, is Liang Huai'an's uncle, and he has important people and important things, and he likes to make an appointment in Huanyuan Garden." On the contrary, the Liang family is often in the lilac garden or the garden in the northwest, and this time there should be no participation of the Liang family. ”

"Is there any other evidence? This Lu Dongjia was invited by us all the way, and the Zhou family shouldn't have been able to get it so quickly. ”

"Uncle Ma is right, the Zhou family has used some means, and what means can be roughly guessed. I talked to Lu Dongjia a few times, and found that he was far less positive than before, and it was not so much that he wanted to keep the price down, but that there was new business to talk about. And repeatedly saying that the Ma family's workshop is not as good as other ones is a point. If this sounds like a mere desire to lower prices, and I heard that the Zhou family has changed its workshop this year, it is difficult to say that I have not seen the upward momentum over there. ”

"They're really secretly Chencang! Dad, let's go to Lu Dong's house to reason. When Pin Yuan heard this, he took it as true, stood up and said.

"Sit down! What can you become! What about after you go to the confrontation? Everyone else knows that the tea merchant invited by your Ma family was robbed halfway. ”

"Dad, I'm just angry, this week's family has gone too far, doing this kind of thing that doesn't let people live. What should the Lu Dongjia do if they really don't buy our tea? Pinyuan also knew that he was reckless and quarreled with the tea merchants, but what he lost was the reputation that he had managed to manage.

"Is there anything else in the Zhou family?" Ma Bin didn't care about the distance, but continued to ask Siming.

Siming thought for a moment and said, "Before the renovation of Huan Garden, I met with the shopkeeper of the Long family once, and at that time, I am afraid that the matter of the tea party was arranged, and this time the Zhou family won the third, and it should have been arranged." ”

Ma Bin suddenly lost his patience, deliberately suppressed his voice and said, "The Long family has a relationship with the Zhou family, does it have anything to do with the three of you?" ”

It seemed to be a thunderclap, he finally said this, Siming didn't plan to hide it, this matter would have to be broken sooner or later, "There may be, but I don't know yet, what the Zhou family has done for the Long family, my uncle has tried his best not to involve the Ma family." ”

There was another silence, and after a cup of tea, Ma Bin said slowly, "I don't blame you, Wende is my old friend, and I have heard a little about the early years." Even if it's not for the Ma family, you can persuade him to order, then the Long family will follow them if they have any requirements. By the way, when will he leave this year, tomorrow Shopkeeper Xiao will go to the counter to get some plates and entangle them for him. ”

Siming had to thank Uncle Ma, and it didn't take long for a few people to disperse, and in the end, Ma Bin didn't say what the Long family said at the meeting.

When Siming came out of the courtyard of the Ma family, the stars were at their peak in the sky, and he walked a few steps to the side of his carriage, woke up Ah Wu, who was sleeping, and said, "Let's go." ”

After a neigh, the horse walked forward lazily, and Awu's voice came from outside, "Dongjia, what's wrong with Master Ma, something is wrong today." ”

"It has nothing to do with you, you better take care of your marriage first, is the money enough?" After a busy day, Siming was still tired and spoke weakly.

Ah Wu was different, he had just rested for a while, and it was the time of his spirit, while driving his horse, he said, "Dongjia, you have asked me three times about this matter, I will find you to pay if there is no money, and the annual money will be stored with you first, and when I have saved enough money for a thatched hut, I will come to collect it." ”

"You're going to think about it, where are you going to buy it?"

"Hehe, I haven't seen it yet. Owner, this busy season has passed, will the money in the first half of the year be counted together? ”

"Didn't you say that you saved it first, I am worried about it again, go back and let the shopkeeper Xue calculate it for you first, you have run so many roads this year, after the Ma family gives me money, I will also divide you twenty taels, which will be counted as a congratulatory gift for the two of you."

Twenty taels! After Ah Wu heard this, he was happy in his heart, just taking this money is enough to buy a house on the edge of the eastern suburbs, but it is a little off, plus the money he has saved, this can be more choice.

Ah Wu whipped the horse's buttocks, and the horse was in pain and ran faster.