The next day, Zhou Yizhi did not rush to Huaibei as scheduled. Having gauze wrapped around his head is easy to provoke the puppet army to interrogate him, but the idea of being curious about Gu Xinyi is even more important. Therefore, he did not rush to get up and wash after dawn, but half-lay down and compared the girl he saw yesterday with the "little meaning" in his dream. He dreamed of her again last night, and she smiled so childishly and elegantly in the dream, but when he was smashed yesterday, he clearly saw that her eyes were a little cloudy. And those poems, why did she say that he wrote them? He was sure the two hadn't actually seen each other before yesterday.

Suddenly, I heard a quick knock on the door, followed by Gu Xi'er's voice: "Adong, how is Mr. Yizhi?" I heard that I was smashed on the head by that stupid girl in my house yesterday? ”

"I don't know who smashed it, and I don't dare to ask if the young master doesn't say it. It's quite heavy, and the doctor is still soaking blood after wiping the medicine! Xu Xudong said angrily.

"How about now? I'll take a look! Gu Xi'er said and walked inside.

"Wait a minute! Don't disturb the young master's rest, he definitely didn't sleep well last night. Xu Xudong stopped her, "You just put the box on the table, and when the young master wakes up, I will remind him to use it." ”

"Oh, it's good to get some more sleep." Gu Xi'er walked into the room, put the food box on the table of the Eight Immortals in the hall, and turned her head to ask, "Where are the clothes you changed out of this trip?" Bring me and wash it for you. ”

"Isn't that? It was washed yesterday afternoon. If there's nothing to do, you might as well go back. Xu Xudong said, looking at the clothesline tied to the branch of the locust tree outside the door, and there were several pieces of long shirts and short coats.

Gu Xi'er walked to the door of the hall and looked out, and asked faintly, "What did you wear last night?" Isn't it bloody? ”

"You're still in charge! The young master said that these are all things that are within my responsibility, and I can't always trouble outsiders. Xu Xudong said.

"How's that going to work? Can you wash blood stains with thick hands and feet? Gu Xi'er said and went out to the kitchen again, "Okay, Mr. Yizhi will finish washing up later, you eat porridge, I'll take it and soak it with pancreas first." Adong, did you drink the flower tea I made for you yesterday? What do you think? ”

"Let me do this, you are a relative of President Ji, and everyone who passes through the door is a guest." Xu Xudong followed into the kitchen.

The two of them were talking while boiling water in the kitchen, and they vaguely reached Zhou Yizhi's ears, all of which were words such as "Linyi's sweet sweet potato" and "Tai'an's jujube water spirit". He didn't have the heart to think about Gu Xinyi's affairs anymore, so he put on his clothes and went out to wash.

When eating breakfast, Gu Xi'er really went to Zhou Yizhi's room to pick up the blood-stained sweatshirt from last night. He also served food and vegetables for him with concern and asked about his injuries. After eating, she cleaned up the dishes. Zhou Yizhi took out the thousands of fiat coins he had prepared yesterday and put them in front of her, saying that he didn't have to trouble her to take care of them in the future, he and Xu Xudong could do these things by themselves. She glanced at the table, lowered her head, and said weakly that it wasn't for his money, but just that he thought it was good for others, and that he was a friend of her brother-in-law. After speaking, he walked out with the food box, but he didn't forget to bring the undershirt with him. He glanced at Xu Xudong, and Xu Xudong hurriedly picked up the money and chased over. chased to the gate and stuffed the money to her, explaining that the eldest young master received her love, but in the end, he already had two wives at home, and if there was any gossip about their ears, it was not good for her to say that it was okay for her to come here.

Xu Xudong came back and poured a cup of tea and put it in front of Zhou Yizhi, stood next to him and whispered, "Young Master, the little one has inquired." This woman used to be Han Dacang's aunt's wife, and after a few years, Han Dacang came back after eating peanuts, relying on her father and mother to do things for the Gu family. said that it was with her brother-in-law, that is, President Ji had a leg, and he relied on a little posture to sleep with the county magistrate to get him a president——"

"Uh-a-Dong, don't follow the crowd!" Zhou Yizhi interrupted Xu Xudong's words, "No matter what people's backgrounds are or how people outside criticize them, at least they have no ill intentions towards us." Those who chew the root of their tongues will make you tea and wash your clothes? ”

"As the saying goes, if you don't have anything to do, you are either a traitor or a thief, and this is the person! Master, you are too sincere. Why doesn't she stick to roadside vendors? Why don't you try it as a big shopkeeper? It's not enough to have a president's brother-in-law, a county magistrate, and a concubine? Hum? I'm sure it's who pressed to our side! Xu Xudong continued disapprerovingly.

"Adong! A gentleman does not understand the right and wrong of others, and does not promote the evil of others! Zhou Yizhi reprimanded again.

"The big young master, the little one is not a gentleman." Xu Xudong bowed and continued, "The little one should be a villain, and you have to remind the young master that you can't have the heart to hurt people, but you can't have the heart to prevent people!" ”

"Having said that, Brother Ji Xian shouldn't calculate that I am, how can I say that we are also partners, right?" Zhou Yizhi felt that Ji Tang was a good person.

"It's hard to say. Don't talk about the small ones, so as not to be villains in vain, the small ones only know that people die for money, and birds die for food! Xu Xudong still stood respectfully behind him.

"Hehe, you Adong." Zhou Yizhi stood up with a smile and went to the door to look at the blue sky outside. He didn't reply: "Adong, how is the plan of the bookstore?" Push them and don't delay things. ”

"Yes, young master, I'll urge you again right away." Xu Xudong promised to go to the door and pick up his duck tongue brim hat and go out.

"By the way, give us an old mother. How can we have time to cook and wash clothes when we are busy? Zhou Yizhi added.

"Okay!" Xu Xudong agreed to close the courtyard door and left.

In the middle of the morning, Xu Xudong brought back a woman in her forties, her husband's family was from Tangyi, surnamed Guo, the fourth oldest, and they called her the fourth sister-in-law. She is simple, honest, hardworking, and has strong arms and legs, and she looks like a standard rural woman at first glance. Xu Xudong introduced Zhou Yizhi to her, arranged a side room for her, and told her what she usually does, as well as Zhou Yizhi's preferences. The fourth sister-in-law quickly became familiar with the situation at home, and hurried out to buy vegetables and cook.

Xu Xudong went to the study to report the matter of the bookstore, saying that the people introduced by Ji Tang had measured the area of the courtyard and each room, and were drawing paper and drawing up a detailed plan according to their requirements, which could be completed in four or five days at the earliest. Zhou Yizhi said that he would not wait, and would go to Xuzhou tomorrow after removing the gauze. The plan asked Xu Xudong to start construction almost after reading it, and discussed it with Ji Tang if he had any questions. The sales company has to be put into use earlier than the plant, and a lot of work has to be ready before it is put into production.

On the afternoon of September 14, the doctor checked and said that the wound had not yet healed and that it was best to continue to wrap it. What should I do, it doesn't matter, and after a day or two, you can remove the gauze on your own without inspection. He thought that it was not too early, and it would be almost dark after setting off to Xuzhou tomorrow morning, and he would remove it before doing things the day after tomorrow, so he didn't insist.

Back at the north exit of Donggujia Hutong, he parked the car and got out of the car and walked south. Suddenly he heard cheerful laughter coming from the courtyard next door, and his curiosity prompted him to stop and turn his head to look. Through the hollow carved fence in the middle of the courtyard wall, I saw that there was a garden inside, and several women were laughing and catching butterflies among the golden chrysanthemums and pink wood hibiscus. The situation in front of him felt a little familiar, especially Gu Xinyi, who I saw the day before yesterday, was sneering at another woman in his direction: "Xin Ye'er, you, what a stupid finch!" Autumn red, quick, intercept it! ”

Yes, it is this elegant and honest smile, which is exactly the same as "Xiaoyi". Pale cyan cardigan shirt with violet pleated skirt and hair tied back with a slender jasper hairpin. Like a butterfly, it shuttles between the flowers, laughing, and laughing like a silver bell from time to time. The other two women are in their early twenties and seventeen or eighteen years old, the older one is called Xin Ye'er, and the other is called Qiuhong with small dimples. The two of them wore foundations, purple plackets, coarse cloth shirts, saffron trousers, and oily black braids.

Zhou Yizhi forgot about his legs, and stared straight at the three butterfly-like women standing there, laughing or running or jumping.

When Xin Ye'er turned around, she found that someone was watching outside the wall, so she pulled Gu Xinyi up and hid behind the tall Mu Hibiscus. Gu Xinyi instead smiled and broke away from Xin Ye'er's hand, and walked to the wall quietly, Qiu Hong quickly came to her to protect her, and asked Zhou Yizhi why he peeked at them. However, as if he hadn't heard it, he still looked at Gu Xinyi blankly, still thinking about why such an innocent girl would recite such melancholy poems that day.

"Ah, fool! Why do you have a white cloth wrapped around your head? Do you have a white affair in your house? Gu Xinyi saw that the person outside was standing stupidly, and couldn't help but point and ask him.

"Hehe, my name is Zhou Yizhi, comfortable Yi, and so is it." He waved at her and pointed to the moon gate in the courtyard. "Are you embarrassed to say my head? Forgot about it so quickly? The evening before yesterday, at the entrance of the Moon Gate. ”

"Oh, it's Zhou Yizhi who has (1) a white flower on his head. Have you been to my house? That- you're not a fool! It's a thief! Gu Xinyi's smiling face seemed to be deliberately taut, but there was still an elegant smile hidden in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

"If only I were a thief, steal some of your happiness first, and take it out to tease when you're depressed." Suddenly he said something like this, and he jumped himself. This kind of provocative accosting is completely inconsistent with his reserved and elegant character, and it is not in line with the identity of the Zhou family, who is already the husband of two women and the father of three children.

"I don't believe it! Happiness comes from the heart, you can't grasp it, you can't take it away. ”

"Really? How did I not know? ”

"Everyone has a little seed of happiness in their heart, as long as you take out sincerity to nourish it, it will take root, sprout, and grow. It gives you warmth when it's cold, and coolness when it's hot. Gu Xinyi looked at him seriously.

"Oh, I lost the seed by accident, can the girl lend me one?" After he said this, he began to regret it again, and secretly scolded himself for how he became so frivolous.

Gu Xinyi smiled elegantly, approached the fence and said, "Come here, stretch out your slap." ”

He hesitated, then slowly approached him, reaching into the fence and retracting it. Tentatively asked, "Girl, you won't beat me, will you?" ”

"You don't believe I dare to borrow it?" Gu Xinyi didn't answer the rhetorical question, and smiled again after speaking.

"Okay." He reached out again, and his eyes touched her deep, deep eyes, clear and gentle.

I saw Gu Xinyi first hold his palm with his left hand, stretched out his right index finger and gently wrote on his palm: "Gu", "heart" and "Yi". He said quietly: "When you are unhappy, think about it, the seed should sprout, right?" It's about to take root, right? Remember, depression and irritability don't nourish it! Try to smile and make sure it grows faster, you'll try it hard, right? ”

What kind of truth is this? Does that make sense? This is a simple little girl giving reason, telling a fantasy that she herself believes in. What is it? Is it innocence? Is it faith? If you believe it, if you don't believe it, you don't have it? He immediately understood why she was so happy, so innocent. Simple, the more complex your idea is, the less sure you are of who should dominate, figure out what you want the most, and then go straight to the goal.

"Good name! Xinyi, an ordinary heart, a life of extreme beauty! He wanted to slap himself in the mouth, for this was the first time that such a compliment had come out of his mouth.

"Hmph, I'm too lazy to listen to your poor mouth." Gu Xinyi said and turned around and left, without a trace of hesitation. immediately put into the original cheerfulness, "Qiuhong, hurry up, hurry up!" If you can't catch it, I'll tickle you! Giggle......"

"Girl! I'm going out of town tomorrow, and I'll be here to see you in a few days. He leaned his head close to the fence and shouted. I really don't understand why he is losing his temper so often today, what he can clearly understand is that he wants to see her innocent appearance from the bottom of his heart.

"Well, goodbye! Zhou Yizhi with a white flower on his head! Gu Xinyi shouted briskly, without the slightest delay in catching butterflies with his companions.

He came home happily, but sat in his study and looked out the window until dark. Sometimes think about things seriously, as focused as when you meditate; From time to time, there are a few light smiles, which are extremely difficult to find.

After arriving in Xuzhou, Zhou Yizhi first found a fighter named Luo Sanneng who broke through the Five Elements (2) and inquired about the local market. The next morning, I found a nickname called bargaining, and the two of them did not have much difference from their understanding of the distribution of food in the surrounding area. After a day and a half of inquiry, it was finally decided to reach a long-term supply agreement with a grain seller surnamed Liu and pay part of the deposit. Rushed to Hefei that night, and asked Luo Sanneng and bargaining to talk to different grain dealers after dawn, and after comparison, Zhou Yizhi made the final choice and successfully signed a long-term supply agreement. Next is Chuzhou, Huainan, Taizhou, Gaoyou and other places, and a large amount of rice and a small part of wheat are booked in a few days.

After a few days of observation, Zhou Yizhi found that Luo Sanneng was relatively kind, so he hired him as an assistant and took him with him. I drove to Longjiang and Mangou Street in the northeast to purchase wheat. On the return trip, he made a detour to Beiping and Tianjin, and then transferred to Handan and Xinyang. Contacted a large local grain store to open up sales channels in the north. It was already October 18 when I returned to Liaocheng, and it was the beginning of winter.

Before entering the city, Zhou Yizhi first inspected the processing plant. Ji Tang was at the scene, his cotton hat and clothes were covered with dust, and his face was tanned a lot. Zhou Yizhi introduced Luo Sanneng to Ji Tang, and the three of them walked around the construction site together. Zhou Yizhi expressed satisfaction with the progress of the site, praised Ji Tang's effective supervision, and then asked him to supervise again, and if he completed it early, he would be able to suffer less from freezing one day, and the greater his grasp of occupying the spring grain market. When he came out of the construction site, the sun was already red, and Ji Tang proposed to go back and drink two glasses together. Zhou Yizhi also felt that everyone had worked hard during this time, so he asked him to get in the car and go back to the city, and then look at the situation of the sales company on Loudong Street, and called Xu Xudong and Black Friday to have a few drinks and chat.

The decoration progress of the store has been basically ready, and the black and gold signboard of "Yiju Grain Company" has also been hung outside. Inside, there are counters, measuring tools, furnishings, and office supplies. When a few people entered the courtyard, they found a large room with a locked door, just like before. Zhou Yizhi asked Xu Xudong what the situation was, and he said hesitantly that there were old books and old furniture from the bookstore piled up inside. Zhou Yizhi's face sank, and he said lightly: "What's the use of keeping the old home?" Every inch of the sales company should play a role in helping sales. Xu Xudong hurriedly agreed, and he will start vacating tomorrow. Ji Tang also explained that he had already called Black Friday to come over to help, and proposed to change it to the office of the Ministry of Procurement and Supply. Zhou Yizhi agreed, and let Wednesday be the director of the procurement and supply department on the spot.

The car was parked at the north exit of Donggujia Hutong as usual, and after Ji Tang got out of the car, he asked the four of them to go back, and he went to Nanjiekou to buy a pair of braised pigs and go into the water. Just after walking a few steps, Zhou Yizhi saw through the wall of the Gu family's courtyard on the west side that the flowers inside were defeated, the wood hibiscus was left with dry branches, and the withered yellow and black chrysanthemum stems were drooping. Looking at the cangran in the garden, he unconsciously wanted to see the smiling Gu Xinyi, so he asked Xu Xudong and them to go home first and prepare, and he would arrive later. After speaking, he continued to walk south, and went to Gu's house from the gate.

Just happened to Zhu Qiaozhen came out of it and stopped Zhou Yizhi. recognized him as the man who was beaten on the head by Gu Xinyi that evening, and also knew that he was the one who bought the house of the sixth uncle's family. But she still insisted on not letting him in to harass Gu Xinyi, in her opinion, no matter whether the eldest lady has a good brain or not, she is the daughter-in-law of the Ji family. Once there is any gossip, the most embarrassing thing is Gu Qingyuan's old couple, and she must maintain this. He didn't see Gu Xinyi reluctant to leave, but there was no reason to break in, so he went out and walked a few steps to the side and stopped, wanting to wait for Gu Xinyi to come out and take a look before going back. She also saw that he was a little unwilling, so she told Erhu, who was guarding the door, not to let idle people enter the door, and then she was busy with other things.

The sun went down, and the not-so-round moon climbed up to the roof. Gu Xinyi was fine after eating, and was accompanied by Xin Ye'er to the door. Zhou Yizhi, who was standing not far to the east at a glance, stood on the steps of the door and muttered quietly. When Zhou Yizhi saw them, he walked over to greet her with a smile: "Good evening, two girls!" ”

Xin Ye'er went down the steps and tilted her head and asked, "My young lady asked you what you were doing, did you want to steal something by hiding here at night?" ”

"I'm Zhou Yizhi from the east courtyard of the alley, and I just came back from out of town today to see her." Zhou Yizhi hurriedly explained, his eyes looking at Gu Xinyi on the steps.

"Oh, Zhou Yizhi with a white flower on his head? Where did you go a while ago? Gu Xinyi walked down the steps.

He smiled lightly and said, "There are many places to go, Xuzhou, Chuzhou, and Taizhou in the south, and Longjiang and Mangou in the northeast." ”

"What do you do for a living? A merchant walking the streets? Or a hawker who buys goods from the north and south? Gu Xinyi still had an elegant smile on her face.

"Almost, I poured the grain and came back to process it into rice and white flour." Zhou Yizhi felt very easy to talk to her.

"The miller?" Gu Xinyi looked at him lightly.

"Yes! The store is next door to the Zhuangyuan Mansion not far from the north, and the market is about to open. "Zhou Yizhi is not good at chatting, and he didn't have time to chat before.

Gu Xinyi first giggled when she heard this, then looked at the door and said, "I don't have to worry about this, Uncle Chong and Aunt Qiao Zhen will handle the affairs of the family." ”

"So? After a while, the store will open, and you can come and walk around if you have nothing to do. Zhou Yizhi felt that it was almost time to go back.

"No, I can't go out, my father won't let me go far." Gu Xinyi crossed her shoulders, "If you want to be bored, you can go to the door of my backyard, and I will come over if you learn to call the cat." Together, we can sing poems and tell stories. ”

"That's good, but I can't learn how to meow." Zhou Yizhi really didn't think about this kind of thing.

"Then I'll teach you, you have to tell me a story first." After Gu Xinyi finished speaking, she giggled again, as if telling a story was a very fun thing.

"Okay, that's fine." Zhou Yizhi saw that it was completely dark, and glanced at her reluctantly, "I should go back, there are friends at home waiting for me to eat." ”

"Goodbye, Zhou Yizhi with a white flower on his head." Gu Xinyi waved her hand, still with a smile on her face.

"Goodbye!" After Zhou Yizhi finished speaking, he walked quickly to the East Hutong.

Zhou Yizhi went home to change his clothes and wash his face, Ji Tang came back with a bag of meat, and asked Hei Wu to go to the kitchen to get a plate. Xu Xudong came out and let Ji Tang into the front hall to sit down, and the wine and food were already ready. Ji Tang chatted a few words of homely things, and several people waited for Zhou Yizhi to pass before they sat down one after another and began to eat. While eating, I counted the time when the factory was completed, when the machine would arrive, what day it was appropriate to open, and the banquet was dispersed very late.

Note: (1) zhōu, dialect, lifting heavy objects from one side or one end (2) Also known as a hanghu, it refers to a broker who made a living as an intermediary between buyers and sellers in the early bazaars.