The changes before and after Gu Xinyi entered the door caught him off guard, so Zhou Yizhi stood at the door of the study in a daze for more than half an hour, not understanding what was happening. Although he remembered that the first time he saw her, she called him Junsheng, but he thought that he was the wrong person. She has been so cheerful and lively in these few meetings, how could she suddenly change? Listening to Gu Xi'er's tone, this is making her sick, is the reason why she is sick is a key? What does Junsheng have to do with the key? The "little meaning" in my dream is Gu Xinyi, and the "Junsheng" in the dream should be the Junsheng she keeps calling? Obviously, she is Junsheng when I am, but who is Junsheng in reality?

Xu Xudong, who was standing next to him, was even more confused. It didn't take more than ten minutes from the time the three women entered the door to the time they left, and they didn't have time to figure out who was who. When they were gone, he figured out something. It was the brocade box that the woman mentioned in her mouth was very important to her. Whether she is sick or not, it is enough to prove that there is a box related to the key, which coincides with Yu Banshan's words. And the thief who came that night searched his room for a while, not for money, but probably for the key, and only a few people knew that he had the key. He was determined to figure this matter out, the woman might be a breakthrough, and more importantly, keep the key first.

After the first half of the day, Zhou Yizhi went to visit Gu Xinyi after lunch. After turning around the back door for a while, I didn't see anyone coming out of it, and I didn't meet anyone who was suitable for learning how to meow, and finally decided to go through the front door. The second tiger guarding the door knew him, so he didn't hesitate to stop him at the door, so that he wouldn't let him in. Qiuhong, who passed by the door of the hall, saw that Zhou Yizhi didn't dare to make decisions without permission, so he ran over to report the news across the hospital. There wasn't much time for Gu Xi'er to come out, so she trained Erhu directly, and led Zhou Yizhi to the main room of the East Cross Courtyard, that is, directly behind the small garden of the Moon Gate.

Gu Xinyi calmly sat on the couch in the hall on her knees, holding a bronze square box in her arms. Even Zhou Yizhi walked to his side without noticing, and muttered in his mouth: "'Dongchang Lakeside sighed continuously, full of words-'It's not this!' 'The wind blows the willows with begonias. Looking forward to the West Building? 'Neither!' 'Since Xinhai, the old system has died ......'"

He looked at Xinye next to him, and Xinye shook his head. Looking at Gu Xi'er again, Gu Xi'er lowered her head and sighed. He approached Gu Xinyi and whispered "Miss Gu" twice, but she continued to talk to herself as if she hadn't heard it. He hesitated for a moment, then recited the poem aloud: "The remnant sun sprinkles Xicheng, and the red tide is overflowing in my heart." Full of ambition, lonely to the sky. If you want to move with the wind and clouds, you can fight a series of swords. He set the flag towards the banner and then looked at the rivers and mountains. ”

Gu Xinyi turned her face when she heard the poem, and asked indifferently, "Who are you?" How did you come up with this poem? ”

"I'm Zhou Yizhi! Have you forgotten again? I am Zhou Yizhi with a white flower on his head! He quickly explained.

"I don't know. Go away and don't delay me thinking about things. Gu Xinyi looked down at the box in her hand again, "You must have overheard me reciting poetry." I have to start all over again, what is it? 'The wind blows the willows with begonias. Looking up at the West Building. Only the beauty is endless; Tonight...... 'I still murmur in my mouth, sometimes it is complete, sometimes I read one sentence and change it to another, and there are more than ten songs over and over again.

He stood for a while and saw that she was still reading poetry to herself, so he had no choice but to go home first, and his mood was a little heavier than when he came.

On the morning of the twenty-third day, just after seven o'clock, Xinye'er came and knocked on the door. Recklessly, he said to the fourth sister-in-law who opened the door: "Ask Mr. Zhou, who has a white flower on his head, to come to the back door of my house!" With that, he turned around and ran.

Although the fourth sister-in-law heard this sentence clearly, she didn't understand it at all. Fortunately, he understood who Mr. Zhou was, so he hurriedly went to the backyard and knocked on the door to tell Zhou Yizhi, but he couldn't tell who said it, and he didn't know whose back door it was. Zhou Yizhi completely understood when he heard "a white flower on his head", and hurriedly went back to the house to put on a coat and walked out.

The back door of the Gu family was not closed tightly this time, and he was let in by Xinye as soon as he arrived. Gu Xinyi was standing inside the door, wearing a red cotton shirt and cotton pants, a snow-blue fur collar robe, dark red wool edge nest head cotton shoes, and no hat. When he saw him come in, he smiled brightly, took a step closer and said, "Xi'er said that you fainted while doing things, how are you doing now?" Is there anything else that is uncomfortable? Did you see a doctor? Did you get a needle? ”

"I, I, you see, am I not in good presence with you? Thank you for remembering, it's been okay for a long time. He knew in an instant that she must have forgotten yesterday's events, just as she had forgotten the first time they met. As if he didn't know anything, he spun around in front of her, and then noticed that he was wearing only a pair of velvet pants on his lower body, and smiled awkwardly at her.

"It's okay, it's okay." There was obviously a little worry in her bright big eyes, "Finally let me see you, and tell someone to inform me as soon as I have something next time, huh?" The slender and slightly curved eyelashes blinked more than ten centimeters in front of his eyes.

"Yes, yes, definitely! Definitely! He suddenly felt a kind of happiness in his heart, this kind of deep feeling was different from Lu Jiayu's diligent care, and it was also different from his mother's intimacy when he was sick when he was a child.

"Go back and rest, you're going to be cold in this. By the way, when you're fine, come and tell me a story, and I'll ask Aunt Qiao Zhen to make you begonia crisp (1). She said, gesturing to the back door, and glancing at the stone table and bench not far away.

"Probably not today, there will be guests later." When he said this, he clearly felt a deep reluctance in his heart.

"Silly! I don't have to say today! Hurry back and get sick from the cold! She smiled again and waved at him.

He waved his hand and turned to leave. The process of returning home this time felt very brisk, and although it was only a few minutes to see her, the mood was extremely happy.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, a group of six people rode a tall horse to Donggujia Hutong. The leader is a middle-aged man in his forties, with no hair on his bald head, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a red nose, and a big-brimmed hat bulging in the middle on his head, which looks a little funny. The nearly one-meter-eight tall man wears a wide puppet army uniform and carries a gun box cross-body. He is Zhao Zhenhuan, the self-proclaimed head of the security regiment. The small man next to him, with small eyes, yellow eyebrows, and a few strands of yellow beard, looks like a little old man in his forties, and is the master Yu Banshan. He was followed by four soldiers in their twenties, wearing large and small uniforms, and carrying rifles of different ages on their shoulders.

At the door of Zhou Yizhi's house, a soldier stepped forward and knocked on the door, and several other people were still sitting firmly on the horse. Xu Xudong promised loudly and ran over to open the door, and when he saw them smiling and letting them go into the yard, they dismounted and led the horse in. One of them took the seven-pack gift box from the horse and handed it to Xu Xudong, who thanked them.

Zhou Yizhi stood under the eaves of the front hall, smiling at them and arching his hand, claiming "Head Zhao" and "Master Yu". A few people exchanged a few words at the door before entering the house one after another, and the guests and hosts were seated, and the four soldiers stood outside the hall. Xu Xudong poured tea for them, and then stood beside Zhou Yizhi with his hands down. Zhao Zhenhuan chatted with Zhou Yizhi enthusiastically without pretense, what Shandong boundary air is dry and cold, the people are honest, what rough people are negligent and neglect guests, are you used to coming here, are there any difficulties, it is just nonsense on the scene. Zhou Yizhi naturally had to be polite, full of mouths that should have come to visit the door a long time ago, and hated to see each other late.

Yu Banshan sat down for a few minutes and said that he was in a hurry, and Xu Xudong accompanied him to the thatched house. When he came out of the thatched house, he said that the yard was neatly tied, the house layout and the courtyard greening were very appropriate, and he wanted to walk around and visit at will. Xu Xudong couldn't refuse, so he could only smile and walk slowly with him. The hall in the backyard is the master room and study, and the west house is the flower hall, the living room, and the storage room, and the four rooms facing north and south. The front yard is the living room, the idle wing room at the head gate, the warehouse, the kitchen, and the side room where they live, which is where Xu Xudong and Luo San can live, and which is where the fourth sister-in-law lives. This tour is almost like visiting a museum, and you can't miss the corners and the promenade on the south side. Most of the places are just a few glances around the door, and I am quite interested in Zhou Yizhi's residence and study. It is said to see what furnishings are worth learning from, and to appreciate the main collection. In fact, those little loach eyes are specifically touching bottles, jars, boxes, or horns. When he saw the silver-yellow key randomly placed on Zhou Yizhi's desk, he unconsciously glanced at it several times.

The banquet in the side hall was ready, and the fourth sister-in-law came over to greet them to the table. Only then did Zhou Yizhi notice that Yu Banshan and Xu Xudong were still in the backyard, so he asked the fourth sister-in-law to call over, and then asked Zhao Zhenhua to go to the side hall first. There were only Zhao Zhenhuan, Yu Banshan, and Zhou Yizhi at the banquet, and Xu Xudong was always warming and pouring wine next to him. Several soldiers were greeted by the fourth sister-in-law to the outside of the kitchen, hastily ate some stir-fried vegetable steamed buns, and returned to the door of the hall to continue standing.

Drinking and persuading Zhou Yizhi to drink is boring socializing, but fortunately, his personality is calm and good at adapting. Zhao Zhenhuan is a rough person, obviously he has nothing to say, and he pretends to be close. A few glasses of wine are even more foul language, when I was a child, I stole chickens and dogs, grew up in widows' houses, and said what I thought of, without discipline and moderation. Yu Banshan can live in vain, but he is still inquiring about Zhou Yizhi's family background, and a considerable part of them are disrupted by Zhao Zhenhuan's words. Therefore, from the time the banquet was held at more than 11 o'clock at noon, until the sun sank in the west, Zhou Yizhi was basically saying polite words, and he hadn't even had a chance to answer his actual age.

parting, Zhou Yizhi sent them to the mouth of the alley. When Yu Banshan was about to get on the horse, he suddenly turned around and asked, "Boss Zhou, is there anyone named Cao Ying among the people in the house?" ”

"Nope! There are only Xia and Adong in the family, Luo Sanneng in the store, and the fourth sister-in-law who cooks rice. There's no one around. Zhou Yizhi said with a smile.

"Oh. Then there is no surname Wan? Yu Banshan asked again.

"No, it's just the four of us!" Zhou Yizhi looked at him lightly, "Master Yu is looking for someone?" Why don't I inquire for you? ”

"You don't have to, just ask. Hehehe, fate will naturally meet! Yu Banshan said and got on the horse and handed over, "Boss Zhou, Brother Adong, I have said goodbye, and I have to go to Tangyi for tea!" ”

Zhao Zhenhuan also opened his eyes and clenched his fists and said, "Brother, there will be a period later!" ”

"Good go, everybody!" Zhou Yizhi also smiled and bowed his hand.

Six people, six horses, went west along the Fire Temple Street, and turned into Lou Nan Street.

The master and servant turned and went back to the house. Zhou Yizhi sat down and thought about the processing machines in the factory, and he would go over tomorrow to see how far the ground and courtyard walls were going, and he should also start recruiting a large number of workers for training. Xu Xudong lowered his head and was silent, he had already guessed the real purpose of Yu Banshan's coming, and eighty percent had something to do with the box he said. and he mentioned Cao Ying and surnamed Wan before leaving, which shows that the box has a big origin and is naturally worth a lot of money.

As soon as it was dark, five more people came to Zhou Yizhi's house, all of them strong young men. They are the nursing home sent by Nanxun's hometown to protect Zhou Yizhi's safety. Xu Xudong arranged for them to live in two rooms near the door of the west wing of the front yard, Xu Xudong's fellow villager Xu Hu was Zhou Yizhi's driver and personal bodyguard, and Ah Cheng, Ah Lai, Ali, and Jin San patrolled the front and back yards in two shifts every night.

Just after the third watch that night, a person climbed up on the wall of Dongkou South Street. I didn't move for a long time on the wall, looking east and west, and threw a pebble into the yard. waited until there was no reaction, then slowly slid down and tiptoed towards the study. The man took out a thin-bladed dagger from his back and thrust it into the crack in the door of the study, making sure that the door was not latched. Gently push open the gap more than a foot wide, and enter the study sideways. Take out a flashlight that you have prepared in advance and rummage through it carefully.

Today is the first day of duty after arriving in Liaocheng, and several people are in good spirits. So after the shift just changed, Ah Cheng and Ah Lai were resting on the bed but did not take off their clothes, and Ah Li and Jin San were one with a flashlight and the other with a stick. In order not to disturb the rest of others, they all wore thickened cotton shoes with Nabangnadi, and walked quietly. The two of them carefully circled around the front yard and then went to the back yard, looking around without speaking.

The two were walking along the corridor, and Jin San suddenly noticed that the study was a little bright, so he pointed it out to Ali. They remembered that Alai had said that the eldest young master had rested and asked them to walk lightly. It's not like you can't sleep and come to the study to read again, right? What if it's a thief? The two of them whispered, and simply squatted next to the pomegranate tree three or four meters away from the study door. Wait for the people inside to come out, if the eldest young master is still silent, wait for him to return to the room and then continue to inspect other places. If you are really a thief, you must go over the wall or go to the front yard to walk through the gate. They gave him a stuffy stick unexpectedly, tied him up in the front yard after being caught, and handed it over to the eldest young master for interrogation after dawn.

For about twenty minutes, the study door opened more than a foot. Poke your head out and look around, then slowly come out and close the door again. The two of them looked at their figures and walking posture and immediately determined that it was not the eldest young master, and they were just about to move to see the man walking towards the master room. I didn't know what to take out from my bosom and pierce the door fence paper, then stood at the door and waited for five or six minutes, then took out a dagger from the back and stuck it in the crack of the door, and picked it up from the bottom up.

Jin San was afraid that the thief would wake up the eldest young master and hurt him again after entering the house, so he waved his hand to Ali and approached gently. The moment the man opened the latch and pushed the door, Ali struck him on the shoulder from top to bottom. I saw that the man's body twisted, avoided the stick and ran out of the eaves, and then showed his dagger to open the posture, obviously a practitioner.

The two of them looked at it in the bleak moonlight in the second half of the night, and the man was of medium stature, small and flat-headed, wearing a short jacket and trousers of gray coarse cloth, and his face was dark. Ali saw that this situation could not be solved in three or two clicks, and he was also worried that the fight would wake up the eldest young master, so he pointed to the small open space in front of the flower hall with a stick. The man turned around and rushed over, and Jin San and Ali also passed one after the other, still blocking the man's retreat from the east and west. The man laughed and suddenly made a move, and quickly stabbed Jin San in the east, Jin San hurriedly blocked with a flashlight, and at this time Ali's stick also arrived, the man twisted to avoid the stick and stabbed the dagger at Ali, and at the same time kicked the golden crown backwards to Jin San.

In this way, the three of you fought back and forth for more than ten minutes, and they were evenly matched.

Suddenly, a figure sprang out of the hallway of the flower hall, and kicked on the man's hip bone, and the man fell diagonally next to the low holly in the north. As soon as he landed on the ground, he jumped up and pounced on the newcomer, and the dagger was taken away from his face, and then he was kicked in the lower stomach and lay flat on the ground. I only heard the cold drink of the man who had just arrived: "Tie it up, pull the front yard first." Don't make any noise about the eldest young master. ”

Jin San was just about to bend down, but the man suddenly reached out to restrain Jin San's neck, laughed dryly twice and retreated to the east courtyard wall, blocking Jin San in front of him

I don't know when there was an extra person on the northernmost wall of the courtyard wall, holding a box gun in his hand and aiming inside, but he didn't shoot for a while.

The man retreated to the wall and pushed Jin San to the ground suddenly, just blocking Ali's way, turned around and jumped to grab the wall with both hands, and one foot was going up. It was too late, but the man who came later had already jumped into the air on the flower bed, reached out and grabbed the collar of the man's jacket and threw it back. The man fell on all fours with a "bang", but he jumped up again, and just stood up straight, he was held by Ah with a stick around his neck. Jin San came over and gave the man a mouth hammer, and then ripped off his belt and tied it.

With a "snap", the gun went off. Ali, Jin San, and the man who had just arrived hurriedly hid to the side. What I didn't expect was that the thief fell down in response to the sound just now. They looked around again, and there was no one, and the walls were bare, and there was no one for a long time. Later, the man said "Huh", jumped on the wall, and shouted: "You two don't care about anything, stay at the door of the eldest young master!" "Jump off the wall and chase north.

The two promised to run to the door of Zhou Yizhi's room, Zhou Yizhi had been woken up by the sound of gunshots, and asked what was going on outside while getting dressed. Jin San hurriedly explained the situation just now. Alai, Ah Cheng, Xu Xudong, and Luo Sanneng in the front yard all ran to the backyard one after another to watch. Everyone understands that the thief was recruited, and they also know that it was Xu Hu who chased him out.

As he was talking, Xu Hu came back, saying that he was chasing two streets west along the east and west roads north of the yard, and the man who fired the gun ran away on horseback. Xu Xudong walked over and shone a flashlight on the ground, and the person on the ground burst and died for a long time. As soon as a few people discussed, they asked Zhou Yizhi, Xu Xudong, and Luo Sanneng to go back to the room to rest, and the others didn't sleep, so they watched back and forth in the front and back yards, and reported to the official after dawn.

It was half past one in the morning. The sound of the gunshots in the dark and the brief chases in the streets quickly disappeared, but they woke up many of the people who were asleep. The guests living on the east corner of the second floor of the Sihe Inn were also awakened, and the lights were turned on.

I only heard a vague woman inside say, "What are you doing?" Leaving in the middle of the night? The tone was strongly unhappy.

"There was a gunshot just now, and there were people running on the street, ten out of ten things happened!" The man spoke visibly sober.

"What does love have to do with us?"

"Oh, you can't say that! I don't know if someone in the city has been killed, and if it has something to do with the little devils, it will definitely be closed in the four cities to take people. Can they stop me? If I look for it at home and I'm not there, how ugly is it? ”

"Just as you can! Be a bad guy who doesn't lose money! ”

"Come on, you sleep yours."

"Hmph, I can't sleep for a while because of your tossing in the middle of the night!" Then there was the gurgling sound of drinking water, and the woman said, "I always feel that things are not so simple, what is the stupid girl surnamed Zhou?" Maybe there are other plans! ”

"What do you see again?"

"Yes! Even if their family is not a rich country, they can be counted in Jiangnan, right? There are still two wives in the house, why do you come to this broken ground where birds don't? I just fell in love with our stupid girl! What's the picture? Besides, how did he know that the silly girl loves to read poetry? ”

"What do you think? Who hates more money? What's so strange about how many poems you can write? People have stayed in the ocean! Sleep, I'm leaving. ”

"Don't worry? People are getting down to business! Do you think it has something to do with that brocade box? That morning, the stupid girl just saw a bright key and got sick! ”

"Oh? Is there such a thing? I thought it was a legend. ”

"Humph! Less garlic! Thought I didn't know how she got crazy? Hasn't someone dropped the real box yet? To be honest, I can hear it very clearly, and Swastika said that the key has a special use, and ordinary people will not be dumbfounded even if they get two things! ”

"Don't play tricks with me! What else can I get less than yours? Find a way to get the key in your hands first, and then be able to pinch the pigtail of the God of Wealth, what do you want in Liaocheng? ”

"Needless to say? You also have to be careful, I've heard in Jinan that Lao Jiang has a Blue Coat Society (3), and in addition to excluding dissidents, it is to assassinate traitors! ”

"If that's the case, I'd better not run around in the middle of the night, because the person who shot just now hasn't gone far."

"Let's just say, hurry up and go to bed!"

The man hesitated for a moment, went over to blow out the light, and then took off his clothes, sighed, and went to bed.

Note: (1) The famous spot of the Han nationality is made of water and oil noodles with lotus paste or bean paste and other fillings, with beautiful and generous appearance, crispy on the outside and sweet on the inside, soft and moisturizing. (2) The full name is the China Renaissance Society, which is composed of some Whampoa Military Academy students who are worried about the country and the people, and the blue coat refers to the blue military uniform of the Whampoa Military Academy. The original mission was to save the party and the country and resist foreign aggression.