The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and Nanxun Water Town is more like a big steamer. A few days after Zhou Yizhi's marriage, he took Lu Jiayu to visit relatives and visit nearby industry seniors and squires and celebrities. Most of the people in the town had seen the beautiful face of the aunt. Those who have never seen her have also heard that she is a yellow-haired international student, the daughter of a wealthy businessman in the French Concession in Shanghai, talented and with a family background. Later, he took her to Taihu Lake to watch the fishermen cast their nets and taste the fishermen's meal. The two also went to the beautiful Tonglu for summer vacation and sightseeing. Listen to the pine waves in the mountains at night, and watch the scenery on the river during the day. It's been a few days, "Jiang Wan is sad, and the mountains are deep and smell partridges." (1) "A comfortable day."

As the saying goes, "There is no impermeable wall, only an uncontrollable mouth", as long as something happens sooner or later, it will be discovered. One day, when Lu Jiayu followed Ah Gui to the vegetable market, he overheard a woman saying that the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family "has nine strands of yarn on her eyebrows (2)". thought that people were talking about her, so she asked Ah Gui to pull the woman to the ground. After a while, the woman was coaxed and frightened, and the woman weakly said that the eldest young grandmother had an affair with the young master Kuan; Affirming that everyone in the town is spreading it, she also listened to the subordinates of the Xing family, and even the address of their small mansion (3) in Shanghai can be said.

Coincidentally, on this day, Zhou Yizhi met Liu Qimin, the third son of Liu, who was the same age as Zhuo Zhi, and was a classmate since childhood, and the two were admitted to Zhejiang University at the same time. He said that three years ago, around the beginning of autumn, someone reported that Zhuo Zhi smoked tobacco, and the school leaders said that they would deal with it seriously. I just heard that Zhuo Zhi was taken away by the Zhou family, and he has never seen him again. Zhou Yizhi naturally understood the consequences of the Zhou family being stained with tobacco, and hurried back to find his uncle Zhou Maoping. Zhou Maoping is five years older than Zhou Yizhi, and he had a very good relationship when he was a child, but he gradually became estranged after Zhou Yizhi took over the family business. Seeing Zhou Yizhi's bitter questioning, Zhou Maoping cried and told him about it with tears in his eyes. It was the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival three years ago, and it was already late when he was invited to the ancestral hall by Wu Liu, and there were twenty-seven brothers from the family, as well as two respected elders. He didn't know what was going on, and he wasn't qualified to speak, so he stood in the threshold and listened. It is only said that the children in which courtyard have smoked a lot, and they are already addicted, and according to the family law, the top door bar must be discounted, because it is the Republic of China, everyone has to raise their hands to vote whether to fight or not. As a result, both sides raised their hands the same, and Zhou Shengping made up his mind that the family law must be implemented, and the time for implementation was set at noon the next day. But as soon as it was dawn, the guards on shift ran home and said that Zhuo Zhi was gone, and the family on duty was knocked unconscious. It was related to the reputation of the Zhou family, and they didn't dare to look around with great fanfare, so they had to give up after looking for two days without news. Only then did he know that it was his nephew who was going to vote last night.

Zhou Yizhi always thought that the younger brother was the most wise in the family, but he didn't expect to end up with no one alive and no one dead. He discussed with Lu Jiayu that he must find a way to take back control of the business and recover the private property of Huang Zhenkun and Xing Hongying. She thinks that for the time being, she can't tear her face off, in case they return an empty shell or even a loss-making industry. In the end, it was decided that he would invest in the family business first and establish his own power. The first target was Liaocheng, and they thought that Ji Tang, who had written to him, was worth seeing. At least that person's attitude in the letter was very pertinent, and the patriotic theory was obvious, and the most important thing was that he had nothing to do with the Zhou family, and he was eager to meet him. She stayed in the Zhou family, ostensibly as a hostage under their control, but in fact she secretly wanted to inquire about their incriminating evidence.

On August 3, that is, twenty-three days after their marriage, Zhou Yizhi left Nanxun again. When Xing Hongying heard that he was leaving, she was very reluctant at first, and insisted on handing over the account books of the chief treasurer. Seeing that he insisted, he said that he supported him and asked him to call home wherever he went. He said that the main purpose of going out this time was to find a famous doctor's remedies, and that treatment was a major event. When encountering the right opportunity, we will also make appropriate investments, on the one hand, we can increase the profit channels for the family, and on the other hand, we will disperse the capital operation. Huang Zhenkun initially said that Zhou Yizhi should be in charge of Nanxun and be in charge of the overall market, and he could take young people to do the things he worked hard; After seeing Xing Hongying's relief, she asked her to let the car out, and arranged for her right-hand man Xu Xudong to take care of him. She agreed and told Xu Xudong to take good care of him. immediately asked someone to spend 300,000 legal dollars from the account room, and personally packed his suitcase, underwear, coat, sunhat, and umbrella were prepared. Zhou Yizhi knew their intention to let Xu Xudong follow, and happily thanked them for their thoughtful arrangement.

The first stop for the two was Nanjing, where they found a small hotel in the middle of nowhere. During the day, I walked around the major pharmacies and pharmacies, let the doctor take the pulse, and then ask the east and the west to take a look, and did not buy anything. At night, take a boat to watch the night view of the Qinhuai River and listen to small songs, which is also only far away from browsing. When the two of them are in the same house when they sleep, Zhou Yizhi still reads a book in the first half of the night, and cross-legged pranayama in bed in the second half of the night. Xu Xudong looked more humble in front of him, he walked behind when he went out, he had to wait for him to move his chopsticks first when eating, and he slept on the floor with a bed.

Two days later, I left Nanjing for Huainan, and stayed for two days before arriving in Xuzhou, as if walking aimlessly. In fact, Zhou Yizhi knew that every time he settled down in a place, Xu Xudong would always wipe him away for a while by fetching hot water, and he would inevitably report to someone. These days, his physical condition is getting better and better, and the doctor in the medical hall can hardly judge anything unusual when he takes the pulse, and listening to his description is even more complicated. What's even stranger is that his dreams are getting more and more, although they are still as intermittent as before, but they feel very real, and they wake him up several times.

On the afternoon of August 11, they came to Guam, south of Liaocheng. The puppet army defending the city saw the "special pass (4)" on the front windshield of their car and was successfully released. The car drove slowly along Lou South Street, Zhou Yizhi paid attention to the customs here, and thought about what to say after seeing the doctor Kong Di, and what reason to find to meet Ji Tang and make Xu Xudong not suspicious.

Suddenly, a familiar figure broke into his sight, and seven or eight meters to the right of the car window, there was a woman wearing black bucket pants and a navy blue placket with a patch jacket, muttering something along the road. Look closely at her gray, dusty hair, and her wrinkled face covered with gray mud. I can be sure that I don't know each other, but I don't know why there is a sense of intimacy, and he can't help but turn his head to look through the back window as the car walks. As the car approached Wenyue Tower, Xu Xudong asked him to make sure that he was turning right in the direction of Dongguan, and slowly turned to Loudong Street. He said "um" and sat down, and when he turned his head, he saw the woman fall to the ground. He hurriedly told Xu Xudong to stop, opened the door and got out of the car and ran over to look. By then, the woman had already stood up, grabbed him and asked, "Do you know my little student?" Would you like to let him go home? ”

"Huh? No, no, no, I'm sorry, I don't know Xiaosheng? He was grabbed by the woman's dirty hands and jumped down. hurriedly explained, "This sister-in-law, I don't know who Xiaosheng is, I just watched you fall and came to take a look." You weren't dropped, were you? ”

The woman probably understood that he didn't know "Xiaosheng", and let go of her hand and walked to the others, still muttering and pleading: "Who saw my Xiaosheng?" My little grandmother lost it at the meeting, who saw him hurry home! ”

He exhaled lightly, making sure that the woman was looking for someone named "Xiaosheng", and that she had been looking for something for a while. Just when she and his eyes were at each other, she noticed that her gaze was a little glazed, presumably caused by too much concern for her son or grandson after his disappearance. Looking at the dog days again, she was wearing a jacket and her brain was not good, not only a little sympathy. He took out a few thousand yuan fiat currency from his pocket, hurried up and handed it to her. She asked him again if he had seen her "little student", and saw him shake his head and stagger away. The people on the street seemed to have become accustomed to her, and no one looked at her at all. He had no choice but to go over and shove the money into her pocket, sigh and leave.

Just as he was about to get into the car, someone rushed over from behind, tilted his head and asked in pure Shandong dialect: "This master is from out of town?" Staying at the hotel, right? My shop is clean, do you want to take a look? It's right next to the back of the Champion Mansion. ”

One of Zhou Yizhi's feet was already on the pedal of the car, and he turned his head to see that it was a big boy wearing a coarse cloth sweatshirt and a small felt hat, holding a piece of cardboard with red paint written "Sihe Inn" in his arms. He smiled and said, "Little brother, I'm sorry, we have to find a place to do things before arranging a place to live." ”

"That's all the same, you can open a room and wash your face first. Or just take a shower and do things comfortably? The older boy was even happier to hear that he wanted to stay at the hotel, and enthusiastically approached the door of the car, where he was about to close.

"No, no, thank you for your kindness, I'm used to determining what I want to do first, and I can live near the office." Zhou Yizhi said and twisted his body to get into the car.

"Uncle, can you go to my store and take a look first? It's clean and cheap. Look, it's just a few steps ahead. The big boy saw that he was leaving, stretched out his little dark hand to grab his cuff, and pointed the sign in his right hand to the east, with a pleading expression on his face.

Xu Xudong, who was in the driver's position, turned his head and glared at the boy and said, "Little ghost, get out of the way!" ”

"Why don't you go and have a look?" The big boy still turned his face up, still pulling Zhou Yizhi's sleeve, as if he recognized him as easy to speak, "Uncle, please!" ”

"Okay, I'll go do errands first, and I'll come back to your house later, okay?" Zhou Yizhi felt that the child might be a child laborer in the hotel, so he felt pity.

"Now? Just a few steps away, don't delay your errands. "The older boy felt that there was hope and refused to let go.

"Hey! You little! Don't dwell on it, get away! Xu Xudong shouted with a tiger face. thinks that these children are taught by adults, and the more they give a good face, the more they climb the pole.

"Go? Anyway, you guys—" The big boy shrank his neck in fright, and pulled Zhou Yizhi's cuffs with a "whoa". hurriedly took two or three steps back and nodded, "Uncle, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" ”

Over there, Xu Xudong immediately became anxious when he saw it, got out of the car and went around from the front to catch the big boy. He was so frightened that he hurriedly squatted on the ground, holding his head in his hands. Zhou Yizhi waved his hand at Xu Xudong and said, "Hey, Adong, forget it, let's go." ”

The big boy saw that Xu Xudong didn't hit him and went back to the car, stood up and ran, and hit a person directly. I saw the man choke the big boy's neck and teach him a lesson: "Little Dan'er, you pickled (5) child, who are you stealing?" "It's also full of local dialect.

"Oops! Hurt! Hurt! The big boy shouted and threw away the card and pulled the man's hand with both hands, but he didn't pull it, wiping his tears and shouting, "The old man is going to let go, I haven't stolen anything for a long time!" ”

"Believe you? Dogs can't change eating! The man said and pushed forward, and the big boy staggered a few steps with a "boom", and happened to touch the car door that Zhou Yizhi was about to close. He immediately sat down on the ground and began to cry.

The man came over and raised his hand to beat him again, but was stopped by Zhou Yizhi, explaining to the man that this little egg did not steal anything, but only pulled the sleeve of his clothes when he was soliciting business for the hotel. At this time, Xiao Dan'er's face was full of tears, and his forehead was already swollen with a bloodshot pimple. The man smiled awkwardly and explained that he was not targeting Xiao Dan'er, who had indeed used to steal things from passers-by around Wenyue Tower. Zhou Yizhi thought that more things were better than less, so he took out a thousand fiat coins from his pocket and bent down and stuffed them into Xiao Dan'er's hand, asking him to see a doctor. The man reached out and grabbed it and returned it to Zhou Yizhi, took out a hundred fiat coins from his pocket and gave it to him, insisting that Zhou Yizhi go to his house to sew up his sleeves.

Zhou Yizhi was originally going to go to the Huairentang Pharmacy on Dongguan Street, but when he saw that the person was so enthusiastic, he felt that it was difficult to be gracious, so he humbly let him get in the car. Only then did I notice that this man was dressed in a light gray robe and soft cloth shoes with suede bottoms; The narrow face has a high nose bridge and a pointed nose, thick sweeping eyebrows, triangular eyes, and two yellow mustaches at the corners of the mouth. This person told Xu Xudong in front to turn around and turn right to the north, and turn left at the intersection of West Street of the Provincial Department. Then he arched his hand at Zhou Yizhi and said, "I don't know where Mr. is from?" Looking for someone in Liaocheng? Or is it a business trip? "When I caught the child just now, I spoke Shandong dialect, but now I have changed it to standard official dialect.

"I'm coming from Nanxun and planning to go to the Huairentang Pharmacy on Dongguan Street." Zhou Yizhi also clenched his fist at the man.

"Nanxun?" The man said and looked at Zhou Yizhi, "There is a Zhou Yizhi boss in Nanxun, I don't know if Mr. can know?" ”

"The eldest young master of my family is Zhou Yizhi." Xu Xudong, who was driving in front, answered.

"Oops! Look up for a long time, look up for a long time! The man smiled excitedly immediately after being surprised, "Brother Yi, my little brother seems to have seen you in his dreams!" ”

"How dare you dare, what to call your superiors and subordinates without asking you?" Zhou Yizhi also felt very surprised, in Liaocheng, he didn't know anyone except Kong Di and a few guys from Huairentang.

"Please forgive the little brother for his abrupt crime, the little surname is Ji, and there is one word." The man looked at Zhou Yizhi happily, and his small triangular eyes shone with excitement.

"It turned out to be Mr. Ji, I'm glad to be there." Zhou Yi's heart was secretly happy, this trip was from Benjitang. In front of Xu Xudong, he still tried his best to speak plainly, as if he didn't know him at all.

"If Brother Yi doesn't dislike his little brother's recklessness, it's better to stay in the house. One is to let the younger brother do his best as a landlord, and then by the way, he asks the virtuous brother for advice on how to do business. I don't know what Brother Xian thinks? Ji Tang said enthusiastically.

"Is this going to be a nuisance?" Zhou Yizhi felt that it was just what he wanted, and he still had a flat smile on his face.

The two chatted and soon came to Ji's house on West Street of the Provincial Department. When Ji Tang entered the house, he immediately ordered someone to clean up the two side rooms, brought a new blue cloth robe for Zhou Yizhi to change out of his body, and asked the old mother to take it and sew it and wash it. Zhou Yizhi changed his clothes and washed his face, and told Xu Xudong to go to the hospital in the morning. As he was talking, Ji Tang came, and he had already asked people to prepare a table of wine and food, and Zhou Yizhi politely followed him to the front hall.

Ji Tang and Zhou Yizhi chatted while eating, and enthusiastically persuaded him to drink. He just drank in moderation by taking advantage of his poor health, and mostly asked Ji Tang about the customs and resources of Liaocheng. Ji Tang was originally able to speak well, from the ancient Dongyi to the Dawenkou culture, and then to the Longshan culture, and then to the Yi Yin of the Shang Tang, the Liao Regency of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Yan Ying Sun Bin of the Warring States Period. History and culture, authentic folk customs, all the way to the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China Caoyun Wharf. Xu Xudong was accompanied by Black Friday to drink beside him, and from time to time he came over to add wine and renew tea for Zhou Yizhi and them. From about three o'clock in the afternoon to the dark, eating some noodle soup, the two went to the study to talk at night, really like friends who have not seen each other for many years.

After breakfast the next day, Ji Tang accompanied them to the Huairentang Pharmacy on Dongguan Street. Naturally, they didn't see Kong Di, and it was Kong Di's nephew Yue who sat in the hall. After taking the pulse, Zhou Yizhi's heart problem could not be diagnosed, and he only said that the spleen was deficient, damp and hot, and the liver fire was a bit big. He gradually understood that Zhang Mingyuan used qigong to cure his illness, and the dampness and heat in summer were not considered diseases. Ji Tang didn't know at all, and thought that Dr. Yue didn't hit the cause of the disease, so he hurriedly comforted him and said that he would take him to see the famous doctors around him another day. After going out, he said that it was not easy for him to come to Liaocheng once, so he took him around first. He didn't plan to leave Liaocheng in a hurry, and after a few polite words, a few people got in the car together and went to worship Emperor Guan's temple first.

Half a month has passed in a blink of an eye, and Ji Tang took Zhou Yizhi around Liaocheng, and he has seen most of the twenty-four counties in Donglindao and Wuding Dao. The point is to let Zhou Yizhi know how many rice and noodle shops he has, and in order to show his strength, he even counts the Gu family department store, because he really wants to cooperate with Zhou Yizhi. During this period, he also tried several times, intentionally or unintentionally, and asked Zhou Yizhi to give him a little guidance on whether he was interested in investing in Liaocheng. Zhou Yizhi just smiled lightly and diverted the topic, his smile was a little unnatural, his spirit was not as full as when he first came, and the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were a little tired. Of course, there was an idea, and he was originally looking for a project. However, after this period of contact, I found that Ji Tang was a scheming person, and he also had frequent contacts with the Japanese. He had to think carefully again, so as not to waste the money he had siphoned off, and it would be even more difficult to ask Xing Hongying for money in the future. Seeing that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, I plan to weigh it after the festival. In fact, he had long seen the canal wharf that was smooth from north to south in Liaocheng, and the grain output and reserves were much larger than those in Huzhou.

Xu Xudong knew why Zhou Yizhi was not in good spirits, because he was always paying attention, and he even paid attention to sleeping. He found that Zhou Yizhi did not sleep well, although he read books late every night and meditated cross-legged. But as soon as he fell asleep, he would dream, talk in his dreams, and sometimes wake up and write something with a pen that he couldn't understand. He reported the situation to Huang Zhenkun in Shanghai, and Huang Zhenkun also felt inexplicable.

Ji Tang also noticed that Zhou Yizhi didn't talk as much as when he first came, and guessed that he was not satisfied with his status as president. On the eve of Zhou Yizhi's departure, he visited the guest room, he lowered his head and sighed and said: "Brother Xian has been coming to Liaocheng for more than half a year, and he has to go back before he is happy, and the younger brother is really embarrassed as a landlord." Shame on you! ”

"Brother Xian is polite! This trip to Liaocheng is very good! Zhou Yizhi hurriedly returned the salute, "Brother Yu also wants to spend a few more days with Brother Xian, I want to come to the August Festival is approaching, Brother Yu used to be tired of running around and getting together with his family less and leaving more, and he should also take this festival to share his family with his father and wife." ”

"What Brother Xian said is extremely true, Brother An dares to mislead the story of the family? It's just that I have a lot of fun with my brother, and I look forward to building a great career with my brother. Ji Tang said with a somewhat despicable expression on his face, "However, my brother knows that his qualifications are shallow and clumsy, and it is difficult to enter the eyes of the virtuous brother, so it is a pity to go." ”

"Brother Ji Xian doesn't have to be too humble, Brother Ling's business is already admired by Brother Yu, and cooperation will take a long time." Zhou Yizhi could hear that he still wanted to cooperate, so he had to politely bring it over.

"Alas! The virtuous brother disdains to carry the younger brother, presumably because he thinks that the younger brother wags his tail and begs for mercy from the Orientals. Ji Tang knew that he had guessed right as soon as he saw Zhou Yizhi's indifferent expression, "Brother Xian probably doesn't know something." The younger brother has made friends with the evil forces in Liaocheng, there are gendarmes and puppet troops in the city, there are national troops in the north city, revolutionary parties in the east city, and horse bandits in the west city. The younger brother also felt that groveling humiliated his ancestors, but most of the Central Plains were under the control of the Yi people. If you die for a moment, what are you afraid of? However, the thin reputation left by the ancestors is also difficult to protect, and it is not trivial for the three relatives and six relatives to suffer. Only pity the people in this city, who will maintain the towers and stele pavilions? Therefore, the younger brother would rather give up his body and thin name, stay for a long time, and seek out tigers and wolves, all of whom are exhausted by the plight of tens of thousands of villagers. Several times I wanted to work with the virtuous brother, although the matter was still under the evil forces, I could get a few stable meals for the poor people. The virtuous brother still thinks that what the younger brother has done is only betraying the country to seek glory? ”

These words greatly surprised Zhou Yizhi's expectations, and he suddenly felt that he had misunderstood Ji Tang for several days. According to Jitang, the people who interacted with the Japanese were not all traitors and lackeys, and if everyone was martyred for righteousness, the wicked would do whatever they wanted in this land. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Ji Xian's words embarrassed the foolish brother, and the foolish brother blamed the virtuous brother by mistake." Since Brother Xian wants to join forces with Brother Fool, please wait a few days, after the August Festival, Brother Brother Fool will definitely come again. ”

When Ji Tang heard this, he immediately held Zhou Yizhi's hand excitedly, thanked Zhou Yizhi for believing in him with tears, and asked Zhou Yizhi what specific plans he had. Zhou Yizhi did not hide it, and told him that he planned to set up a grain processing factory in the suburbs of Liaocheng, buy rice from Jianghuai and wheat in the Central Plains, and use it for processing and storage. With the convenient transportation of the Grand Canal, rice noodles can be sent to Beijing and Tianjin in the north and Huguang in the south. After listening to it, he excitedly expressed his full support, and said a lot about what kind of work dogs and horses do.

On the morning of the next day, Ji Tang specially set up a table of send-off wine at the Fengzhu (6th) floor restaurant on Lou Nan Street. said that it was to see Zhou Yizhi off, but in fact, it was to introduce him to several local forces to facilitate future dealings. Also present were Liu Tonghai, commissioner of the Donglin Provincial Special Administration, Kimura Hongchuan, commander of the military police squadron, Dong Hua, puppet county magistrate, Zhao Zhenhuan, head of the Chengxi Tangyi Security Regiment, and Yu Banshan, the head of the Luxi Zhengpai Regiment, and Sun Zhixiang, commander of the Luxi Zhengpai Regiment. These people often harass each other on weekdays, and they sit at a table but are polite like relatives and friends. Ji Tang seemed to have a good relationship with them, everyone politely expressed their welcome to Zhou Yizhi, and chatted warmly until the sun was in the west. Zhou Yizhi didn't like to socialize with people in the military and political circles, but just greeted each other politely. What he didn't understand was that there was a lady on this occasion, and it wasn't anyone's wife who was there. It's Ji Tang's wife's sister named Gu Xi'er, although she can also speak and be quite beautiful, but in his opinion, it is a little awkward. It's just that no one else brought it up, and he wasn't embarrassed to say anything. When he left the hotel, he told Ji Tang that he would come back soon after the festival, and depending on the situation, he would live in Liaocheng for a long time and let him help find a house. Ji Tang was just about to speak, but Gu Xi'er hurriedly responded. Ji Tang smiled awkwardly and said "the same" in a row, reassuring him.

Note: (1) The poems in the Song Dynasty Xin Qi Ji Bodhisattva Man Shu Jiangxi Stoma Wall. (2) The terms in ancient physiognomy are very few credible, and most of them are mixed with superstitious concepts. (3) Refers to a house for a young wife, or a house for cheating. (4) Issued by the Wang puppet regime, it can only be used in specific areas. (5) ā za, a local colloquial language, meaning unclean, dirty. (6) zhù, the original meaning of the bird flying, by extension, means that the bird flies upward