At dawn, the pseudo police chief Lin Pu took a few people to the backyard of Zhou's house. After checking it, he didn't find anything related to his identity, so he comforted Zhou Yizhi a few words and took the body away. Xu Hu saw that the man's right shoulder had obvious indentations, as if he was often pushed by something, and the calluses on his right index finger were more obvious than elsewhere. quietly told Xu Xudong that the person was likely to be a professional soldier.

Just as he was about to have breakfast, Ji Tang came. When he heard that his family had been robbed, he was very surprised, and he said that he would send a few guards from his house to help. Zhou Yizhi asked him to sit down and eat together, telling him that he had called people from his hometown, and after eating, he went to the factory to see the progress and start recruiting workers. Ji Tang didn't insist, and ordered Black Friday in front of everyone to run here diligently, at least come and walk around every night.

At this time, Xin Ye'er came, and when she saw that many people in the front hall first hesitated at the door, glanced at Ji Tang and then looked at Zhou Yizhi. Dozens of seconds later, he lowered his head and came to Zhou Yizhi's side, didn't speak, and weakly made a thousand blessings. He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him, then turned around and walked away briskly with his head down.

Zhou Yizhi put the paper in his pocket and continued to eat, and continued to discuss with Ji Tang and Xu Xudong about the recruitment and training of workers. When he went back to his room after eating and changing his clothes, he took it out and slowly unfolded it. A very simple line: "Seeing words is like faces." Suddenly, I heard that the house was recruiting thieves and causing deaths, and I was very thoughtful, so I only asked Jun'an. None of them. The handwriting was graceful, and he couldn't help but think of Gu Xinyi's elegant posture and innocent smile. decided to see her again after the afternoon, even if they didn't talk when they met, looking at each other and smiling was enough to express their emotions, and let her see that he was really fine.

When they returned from outside the city in the evening, Yu Banshan was already waiting at home. After meeting, he first expressed concern for Zhao Zhenhuan about his family's thief, and then said that Zhao Zhenhuan was shocked when he heard that the city was unsafe, and hoped to send someone to protect Zhou Yizhi. He naturally politely declined, and when he sent Yu Banshan to the door, he asked Xu Xudong to take two jars of hometown rice wine to Zhao Zhenhuan.

Seeing Yu Banshan walking away, Zhou Yizhi told Xu Xudong to go out for a walk and not have to wait for him to eat. Just walk along the alley to the south, turn right into the West Gujia Hutong after reaching the top, and then walk straight to the Huoshenmiao Street, and turn most of the circle to the back door of the Gu family. Coincidentally, Xiao Dan'er was walking around the South Street Junction not far to the west, still holding the "Sihe Inn" sign.

It's still ten yuan, and the little egg learns to meow through the crack in the door for a while, and when he hears the footsteps approaching, he takes the money and runs away. When he walked west at the entrance of Xigujia Hutong, he accidentally saw Xu Hu, he didn't know who Xu Hu was, so he ignored it, and went straight to Lounan Street to do his own business.

Xin Ye'er took Zhou Yizhi to the stone table and sat down, Gu Xinyi invited him to have dinner together, he sat down with a few polite words, and talked about last night's events with her while eating. He also explained that he had a busy day today, and he came to see her as soon as he came home. She laughed while listening, and while scooping rice with a small spoon, she ate elegantly and smiled more beautifully. They ate green onion cakes, two side dishes, sweet potatoes and maize grits. This is a common farmhouse meal now, but it was already abundant in those days. Especially for two men and women who are in a particularly good mood, it is tantamount to delicious food, so they whisper while eating, although it is a cold day, the atmosphere is still very pleasant.

It turned out that Gu Xinyi had asked Xin Ye'er to deliver the letter in the morning, thinking that he would come back soon, and had been in the backyard for a day. A few minutes ago, Zhu Qiaozhen asked them to go to the front hall for dinner, but she still believed that he would come soon, so she asked Xin Ye'er and Qiu Hong to help her bring the food to the backyard to eat. There was a cat barking at the door at the time of serving the meal, but she was happy but didn't open the door herself, she sat there and waited for Xin Ye'er to put down the meal before opening the door.

After eating, they sat there again and told stories for a long time. It was what Zhou Yizhi saw and heard when he was studying abroad, and the customs and habits of the British side were collected and told to her, and she still listened carefully with a smile. It wasn't until she heard her mother's voice on the eaves of the porch of the second courtyard that she got up and went back to her room. Xin Ye'er sent Zhou Yizhi out the back door and latched on the door, and trotted back to the front. He still didn't want to go home, and walked for more than ten minutes at a distance of less than 200 meters. I like the feeling of being with her too much, it is a pure relationship without impurities, and her smile and look make him linger. He already has two wives in his family, Xing Hongying, who worked hard for him and gave birth to three children, and Lu Jiayu, who traveled overseas with him to live and die together, how could he fall in love with a third woman and make them feel cold? But to let him stay away from Gu Xinyi, a girl who is clear and elegant to the extreme, is also a very difficult parting. In a short distance, his mind went through joy, reluctance, hesitation, and then anxiety. When he entered the house, he was already sweating, and he was a little afraid to face the reality.

The recruitment process greatly surprised Zhou Yizhi and their expectations. The factory planned to recruit 180 workers, and more than 1,200 people came the day after the recruitment notice was posted. Zhou Yizhi and Ji Tang couldn't believe their eyes when they watched at the scene, many young and strong people were in a hurry to find something to do, and some would rather take a salary cut of three or four percent and rush in. Ji Tang suggested using those with good figure and low wages, Zhou Yizhi still insisted on the order, as long as he met the conditions, he would be hired with full salary, and he would be full in less than half the afternoon. What Zhou Yizhi didn't expect was that on the third day, there were still people to intercede, and the owners of the county party compound and several neighboring commercial houses, as well as the chief of Chen Village, all brought relatives and friends. I hope to arrange a job, and it doesn't matter if the dirty work is tiring and the salary is low. Zhou Yizhi was embarrassed, Ji Tang pulled him to a place where no one was there and told him that it was best to take care of the face of these people, he hesitated and agreed, and added more than 30 people.

A few days later, the equipment arrived, and they were busy installing and commissioning it, and then proceeded with the test run. There is no problem in producing rice noodles, first send some to the heads of several forces in the district and county, and then start preparing for the opening ceremony.

On December 1st, with everyone's careful preparation, Yiju Grain Company was grandly opened. Zhou Yizhi asked Zhang Gen to invite the newly contacted cooperative business house shopkeepers from all over the country to observe and inspect the goods by the way. Ji Tang invited the leaders of all walks of life in Liaocheng, and the heads of the gendarmerie, the special office, the puppet army, the county party department, the security corps, and the national army gathered together again. The already lively Loudong Street presents a prosperous and harmonious scene.

Xing Hongying also came from Nanjing, only brought a personal little maid, and stayed for three days. This time she lived in Zhou Yizhi's house, and the two lived together like a normal husband and wife for a few days in a normal and unexpected married life. You must know that they are both wolf-like ages, and they have only had physical contact for the first time in eight years, and they both feel each other's coping attitudes and physical changes. She was with him eight years ago, but her body was never satisfied, and now she is empathetic and gone, and she obviously feels that his body is much stronger than before. Therefore, for a few days, I am always in the complex emotions of superficial resistance and physical desire. He didn't think too much about it, and simply thought that even though she turned her back on him, she was a husband and wife after all, and it was normal to have physical contact. Although he felt her awkwardness, he was not surprised, because his mind was full of Gu Xinyi.

Liaocheng's wax moon is really cold, splashing some washing water on the street can freeze in a few minutes, going out in the morning to slip around the eyebrows and beards are also hung with a layer of frost, and the car engine can't catch fire at all without pouring hot water. According to the current statement, it is at least -156 degrees below zero. The factory of Yiju Grain Company is in the east of the city, and there is no shelter from the wind, so it is colder in the factory. Zhou Yizhi will arrive before the workers go to work every day, one will work with the supervisors of each link to keep the equipment running normally, drink a cup of hot soy milk at the door of the canteen before the roll call like the workers, and maybe chat with a few gossips with which worker. The second is to receive every foreign customer who comes to the factory to purchase or visit, although Zhang Gen is responsible for this matter, he thinks that people can come here in this environment, as the chief shopkeeper simply chatted with people in person, shook hands, and also seemed to pay attention to others. From top to bottom in the factory, including Ji Tang, every day I see his kind and enthusiastic appearance, I feel full of energy.

In fact, Zhou Yizhi also wants to keep himself busy, so as not to always want to run next door. He understands that he has a family and a room, and he is afraid that he will not be able to give Gu Xinyi a future she wants. Although I haven't asked her what she wants, according to the current thinking of these thoughtful and cultured girls, I'm afraid that no one wants to be the third aunt. Besides, her eyes are so clear, her thoughts are so simple, her life should not be clouded by him.

On the ninth day of the lunar month, the sky was overcast, and there was a northwest wind of about five levels. As usual, Zhou Yizhi got up early in the morning and took a foreign car to the factory to meet Chang Boren, a shopkeeper of Wulian Commercial Bank from Beiping. The two sides talked very well, and after signing the contract, they went to the Fengzhuo Hotel for a meal, and then asked Xu Xudong to send the guests to the dock.

He walked back to Donggujia Hutong from Louxi Street, and didn't go far to meet the woman who was looking for her child along the street. On a cold day, he wore a dirty navy blue placket jacket and a black and gray tipped pants with patches on top of him. Strands of gray hair were scattered in front of his face, and there were frostbittens on his black and blue skin. What puzzled him the most was that he couldn't help but feel sympathy again, and a strong sense of intimacy, as familiar as having lived together. He used to take out some money to her, but she didn't take it, but shouted indifferently: "Have you seen my little student?" Xiaosheng hasn't been home for a long time. ”

Someone on the side of the road knew him and told him not to worry about that fool, she had been crazy for many years, and she wouldn't spend the money given to her. He asked the man who she was and why her family had allowed her to wander like this. The man said that she was the widow of Fan of the Great Temple of Wei, Xiguan, and that she had been widowed for many years and had no other relatives with her only son Fan Junsheng. About eight or nine years ago, Fan Junsheng, who was less than 20 years old, suddenly disappeared, and I don't know if he went to another place or had some accident, in short, he didn't see anyone alive or dead. Since then, Widow Fan has been looking for her in the streets every day, and no one knows when she became delirious now, just like her son's traces.

Hearing the man mention Fan Junsheng, he thought that the name in the dream was also "Junsheng", would Fan Junsheng's disappearance have anything to do with Gu Xinyi, who was mentally unstable? At the same time, he also thought that he had dreamed of this widow Fan, and eight or nine years ago he was still busy with the business of foreign goods stores, going back and forth to Nanxun, Nanjing, Shanghai and other places, and he didn't know these people at all, why did they appear in his dream? He was puzzled. In fact, at this time, he did feel that she was kind and wanted to help her, but he didn't know how to help. I happened to see a woman selling "Wind and Snow" (1) on the other side of the road, so I went over. took out a few thousand fiat coins and asked the woman if she could give Widow Fan a few clothes and take time to take care of her. The woman readily agreed, and immediately handed over the work in her hand to the old man, and coaxed Widow Fan into the house in the back alley, changed her cotton clothes and shoes, and combed her hair. He gave the woman another 2,000 yuan and planned to go home, so that the woman could guarantee that Widow Fan would have food and clothing in the future and would not suffer from the cold. The woman agreed, saying that she would take her home after cooking a bowl of noodle soup and take care of her every day.

As soon as he walked to the corner of the alley, before he reached the door of the house, Xin Ye'er ran over from the mouth of the south alley. The thin lips were purple from the cold, but I wanted to stand at the mouth of the alley for a long time. She hurriedly made a blessing, did not speak, stuffed a note for him, turned and ran. He watched her back disappear around the corner of the alley before he opened it to look. is still the euphemistic handwriting: "Seeing words is like face." I haven't heard from you for many days, and I'm looking forward to seeing you. If there is no accident, it will not be three moments, backyard. ”

It's not even three moments, and it's not the end of the hour! He had long wanted to go over to see her, but he was worried that his feelings would be too difficult to extricate himself, and he would not be able to give her a satisfactory home. Because he understands that even if Xing Hongying may acquiesce, Lu Jiayu is a fierce man, and he can't be forced to insist on it. He hesitated, stood outside the door for two moments, but didn't call the door. It wasn't until Xu Hu came back from shopping with his fourth sister-in-law that they went in together. At this time, the sky was full of snowflakes, and he thought that it was already two o'clock in the morning, and she should also sit in front of the warm stove in the boudoir. Now in the past, she will suffer from the wind and snow, so it is better to go again tomorrow. Just go back to the room and cross your legs, there is no trace of cold in the body in the past week, and the blood and qi are comfortable.

At dawn the next day, it was already snowy outside, and the cold wind was wrapped in snowflakes everywhere, and there was no intention of stopping. Xu Hu and a few people were cleaning the snow in the yard, and Zhou Yizhi saw that the snow on the wall was more than three inches thick, and a sparrow was looking around in fear in the gap of the dwarf holly. Xu Hu came over to say hello, said that Xu Xudong had gone to the factory, greeted him, and left a message for him to rest at home today. He nodded slightly, thinking in his mind that he should still go and see Gu Xinyi, just to apologize for missing the appointment yesterday, although he knew that she would not blame him. Alley entered the room with cleansing water, interrupting his thoughts. He turned around and went back to his room to wash up, and wrote down last night's dream before going to the front hall.

When I went out, the snow was still falling. He walked to the corner of the alley and saw an old man leaving with a carriage (2), and as he walked past him, the small window in the middle of the carriage was raised, and a pair of hateful eyes glared at him fiercely. He recognized that it was Gu Xinyi's woman who called Aunt Qiao Zhen, and she was the one who blocked him out of the door that time, thinking that he didn't have to worry about being stopped by her this time. The car turned the corner for a while, and he was sure that he would not turn back before he walked up the steps, smiled at the second tiger who was guarding the door, and said softly: "Hello, brother! I am a friend of your young lady. ”

"Hmph, I know, pick up flowers! But you still can't get in! Erhu also smiled at him, but quickly regained his serious expression.

"My name is Zhou Yizhi, and I live in the East Courtyard of the Corner." Zhou Yizhi said with a smile again.

"What's that? Still can't get in! Erhu said it very directly.

"Your young lady asked me to come to her, or don't believe you to ask Xin Ye'er."

"It's ridiculous! Miss went out to see if she was sick! Xinye'er is a night (3) black eating family method, and I can't get out of bed in three or two days! Let's go, don't be unhappy! ”

"I'm serious, Xin Ye'er went over to pass the word yesterday afternoon-" Zhou Yizhi said as he walked inside, his eyes looking around, hoping that Xin Ye'er or Xi'er, even if it was Qiu Hong, could enter the inner house to spread the word.

"Stop! What are you doing? When my second tiger is paper-tied? Get out of here! With your little body, both fingers can poke you in the head! Erhu took a few steps over to block Zhou Yizhi, and stretched out his right index finger to point at his forehead.

"Get rid of your dirty hands! Don't touch my young master! Outside the door, a figure rushed in, and the big hand hung on the wrist of the second tiger like a vice, it was Xu Hu.

Not only was Erhu jumped by this instantaneous change, but Zhou Yizhi also felt very sudden, and hurriedly waved his hand to stop it, letting Xu Hu step aside.

"Who's yelling at the door?" Someone said that he came out of the front hall, looking at Zhou Yizhi and Xu Hu as he walked by. Erhu saw the man come over and straighten his body, and when he approached, he let go of his hand and bent down and called "Master".

Zhou Yizhi immediately guessed that this should be the master of the Gu family, took a step forward and arched his hand and said, "Master Gu is good, Xiao Ke Zhou Yizhi lives in the east courtyard of the alley." Seeing that Zhou Yizhi was so polite, Xu Hu also stood behind him and bowed.

This person is Gu Qingyuan, he just nodded when he heard Zhou Yizhi speak, turned around the two of them with his hands behind his back with a serious face, and returned to Zhou Yizhi to stand firmly. said coldly: "You are from the Nanxun Zhou family?" ”

"Yes, yes, Master Gu knows my father?" Zhou Yizhi hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"No, I haven't." Gu Qingyuan shook his head gently, "I heard that although the Zhou family has been a businessman for generations, it is knowledgeable, I think that since you are the young master of the Zhou family, you should be a person on the scene, how can you also do some despicable things to harass the women of the good family?" ”

"Master Gu misunderstood, Xiao Ke never dared to insult the family style."

"Humph! Look at how elegant you look, how can you be dishonest? How many times have you met the little girl in the backyard yes or no? Don't dare to insult your family? Could it be that hooking up with a married woman is still a bare lintel in your Zhou family? ”

"Huh?" Zhou Yizhi really didn't expect this, and instantly turned red, "Xiao Ke, Xiao Ke doesn't know that Ling Ai has promised her husband's family." Moreover, Xiao Ke and Ling Ai are limited to talking about poetry, which Miss Xinye'er can testify. ”

"How can this be true? If you don't know, you can prevaricate the old man? Can you openly hook up with a woman from a good family? How many hours can talking about poetry make her wait in the snow? ”

"This, this, I really don't know! You can renege on it! ”

"I don't know? The great fallacy of the world! I heard that Ji Tang followed you before and after the saddle all day long, didn't he mention to you that he was the uncle of the old father? ”

"Yes, Brother Ji Xian said that this is his Taishan family, dare to ask how many young ladies in Master Gu's family?"

"Xinyi is the only daughter of an old father! I don't know how many miles there is? A friend's wife can't be bullied, you still have the face to call Ji Tang a virtuous brother! ”

Zhou Yizhi felt his brain buzz when he heard this: What the hell is going on? If Miss Xinyi is the only daughter, who is Xi'er? If she is Ji Xiandi's wife, why didn't she appear in the Ji family? Why didn't anyone mention her when I lived there for more than half a month? She is so pure and immaculate, so elegant and quiet, how can she be a married woman? Why did she never mention Brother Ji Xian? This, alas, was also my negligence anyway, why didn't I ask? He was dumbfounded, completely confused.

"Ridiculous, ridiculous! Get out of the Gu family for me right away! Also, how did you buy the sixth uncle's house? I'm out for double the price to get it back! ”

"Master Gu, please let Rong Xiaoke explain a few words, this is all a misunderstanding."

"Get out! Right away! Gu Qingyuan pointed to the door, it can be said that he yelled at Zhou Yizhi, and the more he spoke, the more angry he became, so that his emotions were out of control.

"Please don't be angry, Master Gu! The relationship between me and Ling Ai is really innocent. ”

"If you don't get out, I'll be—" Gu Qingyuan said and began to look around for something, but unfortunately there was nothing but snow. Indeed, in the morning, the family was anxious about Gu Xinyi's cold, and they didn't have time to clear the snow. Seeing that there was no weapon in front of him, and there was a strong man behind Zhou Yizhi, he became more and more annoyed, and yelled at the two tigers next to him: "Call people, call all people out and kill this well-dressed beast!" ”

Xu Hu saw that the old man was really angry, and hurriedly pulled Zhou Yizhi out. Zhou Yizhi also turned around and explained to Gu Qingyuan, but he didn't listen at all, and kept chasing out of the door and scolding.

Zhou Yizhi was almost taken home by Xu Hu, and he was very embarrassed. When I got home, I locked myself in the study, didn't go out for a whole day, didn't see anyone, and naturally didn't eat.

At dusk, he finally made up his mind to go to see Ji Tang. Even if she was beaten by the Ji family, she had to explain the matter clearly, because although she liked Gu Xinyi very much, she never thought that she was anyone's wife from beginning to end. If you want to talk about betrayal, it is almost a fact that Xing Hongying betrayed him, but he never blamed her, and even thought that he couldn't live with her all these years. The reason why she hates her is because she and Huang Zhenkun occupy the ancestral business of the Zhou family and collude with the Japanese. Speaking of hooking up, he is very principled, and he will never have anything to do with other women, let alone other people, and he has never even touched the land of fireworks in his life. Moreover, he and Ji Tang can be said to have seen each other at first sight, and now they are working together again, so he must make it clear.

While walking towards Ji's house, his mind was still messed up. I don't know how to open this mouth to Ji Tang, in case Ji Tang doesn't listen to the explanation and turns his face directly, he insists on leaving Yiju Food Company, he will lose this powerful arm. Even if Ji Tang listened patiently, could he believe it? Will it be detached from now on? Worriedly, he came to the east courtyard of the Ji family's house, and was just about to push the door when he heard a "pop" sound from inside, and he didn't know who hit whom. He was shocked again, couldn't it be time? What should I do if Brother Ji Xian is losing his temper? Then Ji Tang scolded in Shandong's dialect: "Mom, that X, bastard king eight lambs!" Black Friday, pass the word! Which bastard dares to make trouble again (4) Brother Yizhi's rights and wrongs, give me fifty strokes first, regardless of life or death! ”

Although it is a Shanfang dialect, Zhou Yizhi can also listen to it. It's not obvious that some rumors have been heard, it's just that people don't believe it at all, and they don't allow people to spread false rumors anymore. Brother Ji Xian is really a gentleman! Ji Tang's image in Zhou Yizhi's heart instantly became much taller.

"Young Master, I know that you have deep faith in the Young Master of the Zhou family. But we can't help but keep an eye on it? As the saying goes, hearts are separated from each other - "This is the voice of Black Five."

"Less! Pickles, all pickles! Don't say that Brother Yi is not this person, even if he is really rare Gu Xinyi, as long as he responds, I Ji Er will take a sedan chair and send someone to him! Women are like clothes, can they compare to the friendship between my brothers? Ji Tang's tone was still full of righteous indignation.

"Yes, the little one has lost his mouth, what do you say, young master, what should you do with the little one." Black Friday is very loyal. After speaking, he began to persuade Ji Tang, "Young Master, you go into the house to drink saliva smoothly, and the little one will be ordered." From now on, who dares to mention that the young master of the Zhou family hooked up with the young grandmother - no, no, no, the little mouth stinks! It's time to fight! You can rest assured......"

As he spoke, his voice slowly became quieter, probably because Hei Wu persuaded Ji Tang to go back to the house. Zhou Yizhi felt bad in his heart, and felt more and more sorry for Ji Tang. The hand that was about to slap the door also stopped in the air for a long time, and he didn't decide to go in for a long time. He thinks that Ji Tang finally suppressed the anger, and he went in and continued to mention the old words, isn't that unpleasant? Since the measurement of others is so large, he should stop there, and give others some compensation in the future. Thinking of this, he turned around and left the Ji family. Although the matter has not been resolved, he doesn't dare to worry about Gu Xinyi anymore, even if he wants to see her again, he must refrain from acting, after all, what he needs to solve most at present is the problem of Huang Zhenkun and Xing Hongying.

Note: (1) A kind of pasta similar to a vegetable box, without filling, it is called quack, fried or fried, and generally contains eggs and meat filling.

(2) 骈pián, which refers to an ordinary single-wheeled two-wheeled carriage with one animal side by side. (3) The dialect of the northern region refers to yesterday. (4) Dialect, which has the meaning of fiddling, studying, and pondering. This extends to the discussion behind the scenes.