The back house of the Qin family is a courtyard pattern.

The five rooms in the north are the main houses, which are Qin Yutian's residences. The central hall is flanked by a study and a bedroom. Passing through the corner door on the west side of the main house, the fragrance of flowers suddenly fills my nose. It's a small garden, but it's very chic. The garden is planted with a variety of flowers. A swing, swaying in the wind.

On the east and west sides of the garden, there are two cross-courtyards each. The east courtyard is inhabited by the Liu family, and the west courtyard is inhabited by the Hou family. The youngest fourth lady of the Qin family lived with the Hou family; The second lady, Qin Muyao, has a courtyard, which is next to the Hou's west courtyard. There is also a courtyard adjacent to the east courtyard, which has been vacant and uninhabited.

Qin Yutian doesn't know a few words, and prefers vassal elegance. Specially invited people to inscribe the names of each courtyard. The name of Liu's east courtyard is Mingli Garden; Hou's west courtyard was named Jiayuexuan; The courtyard of the second lady is called Caiwei Pavilion. As for the main house where he lived, the bedroom, the study, and the practice room were all inscribed.

Qin Xiao and Qin Chong have both grown up, and they live in the front yard east and west, one is called Mingzhang and the other is Shuyu.

Such a large three-entry mansion, in Tokyo City, to say the least, costs 5,000 taels of silver. With Qin Yutian's grade, he can't afford to live in it. However, this is the northwest, and it is the Shayuan Prison. With his official position, it was normal to spend very little money to buy this mansion. Naturally, no one rapped him for overstepping.

Under the flower trees in the east courtyard, Aunt Liu changed into a thin lilac gauze skirt, reclining on the brocade couch, lazy as a cat. A few young maidservants gently shook their fans to drive away the noon heat.

Aunt Liu was born as a singer, her appearance and figure are good, and she is almost forty years old, and she is still as good as twenty. The skin under the gauze skirt is moist and shiny, which has the charm of a mature woman.

"Ugh." Aunt Liu sighed lightly and asked, "Has Da Lang ever come back?" ”

"If you go back to the lady, the eldest young master has not come back yet."

"What an uneasy one." Aunt Liu was annoyed, but she was helpless.

Suddenly, a little maid ran in in a hurry, shouting as she ran. "It's not good, it's not good, it's not good, it's not good." Before the words fell, she tripped and fell to the ground with a plop, and she screamed in pain.

"Panic what?" Aunt Liu reprimanded angrily.

The little maid got up, but she didn't dare to speak, and sobbed quietly with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Beside Aunt Liu, an elderly maid asked.

"Oh." The little maid forgot in pain, and there was a big event to report, and she hurriedly said, "The people in front of the gate are gone." ”

"Gone?" Aunt Liu straightened her waist and looked impossible.

"Really, they're all gone." The little maid nodded heavily.

"Tell me clearly, why did you leave, what happened?"

"It's the third young master." The little maid talked for a moment and secretly glanced at Aunt Liu. "Just now, he asked Fu Bao to post a pair outside the door, and let those scholars pair pairs."

"As a result, no one could do it, so they all left."

The little maid stumbled and said, Aunt Liu frowned and listened a little, and after a long time, she finally figured out what was happening outside the door. Aunt Liu was silent, but her heart was turbulent. She couldn't believe that Qin Zhong had such insight. She couldn't think of the means to deal with readers.

A big turmoil, just like that, it subsided lightly?

It would be nice if it were my snack. The loss in Aunt Liu's heart is not only that Qin Chong did not die, but also that he turned the rain around, but Qin Xiao. What kind of training does his own son need to be like Qin Chong, who is famous in Shayuan at a young age and shines.

Thinking of Qin Xiao, Aunt Liu let out a long sigh, full of confusion about the future.

Qin Xiao was born prematurely, frail and sickly since childhood, and was a medicine jar that could not be separated from decoction, and when he was more than ten years old, he was still thin as a chicken, so he naturally couldn't practice martial arts. Later, he was sent to study, but he couldn't read, Qin Xiao, who read four books and five classics, had a headache, and always pretended to be sick to avoid going to school.

The martial arts and the literature were not successful, which made Qin Yutian extremely disappointed, and gradually ignored it and let it go.

Actually, Qin Yutian and Aunt Liu didn't know that Qin Xiao was extremely interested in settling accounts. When he was very young, he showed a talent for accounting, and he was faster than the account room in and out of the house.

This made the bookkeeper very curious, so he taught some simple multiplication and division shortcuts, and Qin Xiao quickly learned it. The difficulty of the account room increased, first the daily algorithm, then the multiplication and division of the field and the mu, and finally, the nine chapters of arithmetic were moved. Qin Xiao seemed to have discovered a new world, and he forgot to sleep and eat and immersed himself in it.

Then, the bookkeeper was gone. At that time, Qin Xiao was only fifteen years old.

But this matter is hidden from Aunt Liu. In this era, everything is inferior, only reading is high. Aunt Liu, who is strong everywhere and has a heart higher than the sky, has great expectations for her son, counting on the grievances of her mother who will be a concubine for half her life in the future. Therefore, for Qin Xiao, studying and taking the Jinshi exam is the only way.

Every day, Qin Xiao went to the school decently, but instead of studying the Four Books and Five Classics, he searched for arithmetic books everywhere and secretly studied them. When you encounter a problem, you go to the account office for advice. However, the account room had limited learning, so he recommended a familiar scribe and Qin Xiao's second gentleman, Liang Zheng.

This Liang Zheng is not an ordinary person, although he is just a Hucao scribe, but it is very different. The Liang family is an old household in Dali County, and in each generation, someone has entered the county yahu Cao as a scribe. After several lifetimes of operation, the position of Hu Cao's book office is like growing up in their Liang family, and no one can take it away.

This is the ability of the Liang family, the study of accounting, and the origin of family learning. The measurement of acres of land and the collection of taxes, all relevant calculations and accounts are attributed to the households. In those days, paper was expensive, and printing was even more expensive. Therefore, there are very few books, and even fewer arithmetic books. The skills and knowledge of calculation cannot be learned without guidance.

The people who really have studied a knowledge or a skill are the people who have relied on it for generations. The Tao in this discipline is not something that can be mastered by reading a few books and learning a few skills, and the joints, depths, and even experience, experience, and vision are not a day's work if you want to master them.

It is enough to become a family, or a family inheritance, and is regarded as a secret that is not passed on.

In the blink of an eye, it was the spring of the second year of Baoyuan, and Qin Xiao had spent his nineteenth birthday.

In the past two years, Qin Xiao secretly followed Liang Zheng to learn arithmetic, thinking that she was hiding it seamlessly, but in the end, she was still discovered by Aunt Liu. For Aunt Liu, who is looking forward to her son's title on the gold list, this is simply a bolt from the blue. At that moment, Aunt Liu only felt that the sky had fallen, and she was completely furious.

She has deep expectations for Qin Xiao, counting on the future that her mother will be more expensive than her son. Who would have thought that Qin Xiao would be willing to fall and learn some arithmetic. Can arithmetic be advanced to the first? Can being an accountant glorify our ancestors? Do you want to be a subordinate for the rest of your life? This kind of Qin Xiao is definitely not what Aunt Liu wants.

Aunt Liu was ruthless, beat Qin Xiao well, and burned books about arithmetic. Even the bookkeeper in the house made Aunt Liu hate it so much that she found a reason to get out of the house.

Qin Xiao was frightened, he had never seen his mother get so angry. It took a month for Qin Xiao to recover from his injuries and get out of bed, and his whole person became skinny and skinny. However, the biggest change was that his spirit seemed to be wrong, his eyes were stiff and lifeless, and he sat all day without saying a word.

Aunt Liu looked distressed and persuaded Qin Xiao to go out for a walk. The result of distraction is to get drunk. Qin Xiao was drunk like mud every day, and was carried back by the little girl late at night, and the next day it was the same. There were months like this, and even when Aunt Liu lost her heart and was ready to compromise, Qin Xiao was normal.

Until this day, Qin Xiao no longer drank heavily, and went to the academy on time every day to study.

Aunt Liu was very puzzled, so she called the little maid to ask questions, and finally figured out the reason.

It turned out that Qin Xiao went to the Qinglou and got acquainted with an Oiran. As soon as the two fell in love at first sight, they persuaded Qin Xiao not to live up to the good years, and a good man should do something to live up to the world. Although her son's visit to the Qinglou made Aunt Liu unhappy, she was able to cheer up and study, and she also recognized it.

However, as things are, this is not the case.

Qin Xiao has been soaking in the Qinglou, yes, but he didn't have the opportunity to be on the Oiran side. Even in Dali County, the price of the Oiran is also very expensive, and it costs ten taels of silver just to play tea. Unless the talent of the world and the poetry move people's hearts, don't say ten taels of silver, post a hundred taels upside down, and the city of Oiran will flock to it.

On that day, Qin Xiao drank too much wine and had a conflict with others.

As soon as the two entered the door and went out, they inadvertently bumped into each other. The man was arrogant and opened his mouth to curse.

"Okay, you turtle grandson, blind dog's eyes."

"What the fuck are you swearing?" Qin Xiao's drunkenness was surging, and he was also unforgiving.

"Hey, who am I talking about?" That person was from Shayuan Prison, and after recognizing Qin Xiao, he immediately pouted. "I heard that the third child of the Qin family, when he was twelve years old, lifted a stone lion of 300 catties, turned around and did not change his face, that is the famous man. Look at your cowardice, a concubine, and also learn to visit the kiln? ”

"Whack you." Qin Xiaodeng's eyes were anxious. Although Qin Zhong is his younger brother, he is indescribably envious and hateful to this younger brother. The difference between the concubines and the concubines is a thorn in Qin Xiao's heart.

Qin Xiao shouted, pounced and tore up with someone. But with a thin body and no power to restrain the chicken, how can he be an opponent? After eating a few punches, he was knocked to the ground.

At this moment, Hulala broke into several strong men and surrounded Qin Xiao. Behind the strong men, at this time, a person slowly stood out, dressed in gorgeous brocade clothes, hand-cranked folding fans, dressed as a rich son. But this person has a short figure, a dark face, and especially a mouthful of buck teeth, which ruins his image.

This person is in Dali County, which can be described as a famous person, and no one knows it, Qiu Min, the second son of the salt merchant Qiu Shide.

"These people, throw them out." If there is no one next to Qiu Min, he will be commanding.

Regardless of the servants going to pick up people, Qiu Min walked up to Qin Xiao with a smile, looked up and down, and sighed. Qin Xiao, who was looking straight at it, was furious, thinking that he had offended this demon king of the mixed world.

At this moment, there was chaos in the building. The strong men were arrogant, causing a lot of scolding. Soon, the screaming and scolding were thrown out of the door with screams, and the entire hall fell silent in an instant.

"Second Master Qiu, Second Master Qiu." The old bustard was dressed in red and had a hairpin ring. At this moment, I ran out of nowhere, three points were shocked, but seven points were joy. "Please be merciful."

"The old bustard came just in time." Qiu Min took his eyes off Qin Xiao, put his hand behind his back, and went straight to the second floor, saying as he walked, "Master will have a banquet for Qin Dalang today, and everyone else will get out of here." ”

"Master, so many guests have been driven away, isn't it?" The old bustard said that it was pitiful.

Qiu Min didn't look back, touched it in his arms, raised his hand and threw it back. Seeing the golden light dazzling, the old bustard hurriedly pounced forward, caught it with both hands, and then looked closely, it was a golden leaf.

The old bustard's face sank, and he shouted, "Clear the field." ”

Qin Xiao was injured in the leg and was helped up to the second floor. Until this moment, he was shocked and suspicious, and he couldn't guess why Qiu Min wanted to entertain him. He had carefully recalled it several times and confirmed that he had nothing to do with Qiu Min. It's normal for him to know Qiu Min, but it's so strange that Qiu Min actually knows him.

The matter of the Qiu family is not a secret in Dali County, and Qin Xiao has heard about it.

Originally, the Qiu family was also an ordinary family, but a few years ago, the Qiu family suddenly made a fortune, and salt shops opened one after another. It's like a bamboo shoot popping up in the ground, and it's getting taller and taller. Later, someone inquired and said that it was a daughter of the Qiu family, who married Tongzhou as a concubine and gave birth to a son, who was very favored.

Through this relationship, the Qiu family obtained the right to sell salt in the same state. Salt was a monopoly of the imperial court in the Song Dynasty, and not everyone could do it. If you don't have a fairly hard backstage support, you won't even be able to get salt leads. However, salt is a necessity for the people's life, and they can't miss a meal, and they are sure to make a profit.

In just a few years, the Qiu family made a fortune. Even with the Qiu family's sons and nephews, the eyes of each other looking at their daughter-in-law are also high above their heads. Ordinary people do not enter the eyes of the Qiu family, but they are a mind, always thinking about marrying the official eunuchs. However, how can the eunuchs take a fancy to the merchants? Not to mention the nouveau riche.

Therefore, the Qiu family is not high or low, and everyone in Dali County knows it.

This is one of them. There is another saying, but since the Qiu family has made a fortune, the evil in human nature has also jumped out like a devil. Don't talk about anything else, just talk about this Qiu Min. Liba, who was originally only able to weave baskets, seemed to have become arrogant overnight, and his favorite thing to do was to smash people with money.

In the middle of the private room is a large round table with new melons and fruits. Qiu Min took the golden knife and sat on the main seat as a matter of course, stretched out his hand, and invited Qin Xiao to sit beside him. Here, Qin Xiao's buttocks were still stained with a chair, and with a hula, a group of warblers and swallows flew in from outside the door, and the fragrant breeze was blowing in her face.

"Master Qiu, you haven't been here for a long time."

"Second master, the slave family wants to kill you."

........

This kind of battle, let alone Qin Xiao, even if it is a wanderer, I am afraid that I can't withstand it. Five or six girls were green, fat, red and thin, each with its own charm, and at this time, she smiled and surrounded her, instantly drowning Qiu Min and the others. Where did Qin Xiao ever have such a glamorous blessing, only to feel a dry mouth and a burst of dizziness.

"Smack." Qiu Min slapped his palm on the table, and everyone in the room was startled, and suddenly quieted down. A room full of girls, including Qin Xiao, looked at Qiu Min in surprise.

Qiu Min calmed his face and shouted, "What about the old bustard? Do you look down on me? ”

"Huh? Look at what the master said. Outside the door, the old bustard was stunned when he heard this, is this still not satisfied? Immediately ran into the house, smiling all over his face. "Our Miaoxianglou, how dare you not give face to Second Master Qiu."

"Really?" Qiu Min leaned back and leaned back on the chair with his arms outstretched. "Where's Miss Yuzhen?"

When Qin Xiao heard this, the corners of his eyes couldn't help jumping. Miss Yuzhen is not only the top brand of Miaoxianglou, but also the first of the top ten Oiran in Dali County. It is rumored that the Yuzhen girl is fragrant and beautiful, but she is an ice beauty. Whether she is willing to appear to accompany the wine depends entirely on her mood. It is said that once the county magistrate of the county came in person, and Yuzhen did not hesitate.

"Huh, this?" The old bustard's face was a little stiff, but he pouted in his heart. Qiu Min's kind of goods, how can he get into the eyes of Yuzhen? A nouveau riche, relying on a few dollars to shout five and drink six, the old bustard has seen a lot.

"Second master, I really didn't mean to snub the two. It's just a coincidence that Yuzhen has been infected with a cold in the past few days, so it is not easy to come out and wait. Please also forgive the second master. The old bustard thought to himself, after hearing this, it should be interesting, right? Dyeing the wind and cold is a pretext, to put it bluntly, I just can't look down on you, you have to measure yourself.

Qiu Min's face was expressionless, he reached out and took out a handful of silver tickets, there were seven or eight of them.

With a snap, the silver ticket slapped on the table. "Is that enough?"

Silver tickets are rare, are big businessmen for easy to carry, specially deposited silver money to the bank, by the bank issued by the bank printed with exclusive bills, generally large amounts. However, at this time, not only will the silver ticket not pay interest, but will charge a storage fee, and the usual practice is to take three out of a thousand.

The old bustard smiled, grabbed the silver ticket and took a cursory look, it was three thousand taels, and he was overjoyed.

"The second master will sit down for a while, let's go and summon Yuzhen to come."

didn't work hard, but the old bustard went and returned, but he had a sad face. Obviously, Yuzhen was not invited. At this time, Qiu Min was angry, and without saying a word, he took out another silver ticket, with a face value of one thousand taels. The old bustard's heart was pounding, he took the silver ticket, and said incoherently, "Wait a minute, the slave family will go again, go again." ”

This time, the waiting time was longer, and after a cup of tea, the bustard came back a little embarrassed. When he saw Qiu Min's face, he immediately howled. "Master Qiu, the slave family is really good to say."

"Smack." With a dull sound, Qiu Min took out another silver ticket, which was still a thousand taels. At this time, Qiu Min seemed to have no anger, but the look in his eyes was like a beast that chose people to devour. Qiu Min said "hehe" twice with a smile and waved at the bustard. "Go again, go again."

The old bustard took a long breath before slowly picking up the silver ticket. She has been through the dust for a long time, who hasn't seen it? What scene haven't you seen? Five thousand taels is indeed a huge amount of money, but it can't surprise her. However, in Qiu Min's eyes, there was no arrogance at the moment, which made her feel scared.

Qinglou is open to do business, and he is never afraid of offending people. However, there are some exceptions.

The old bustard forced a smile and went out with a heavy heart. This time, soon. Before anyone entered the door, they heard the old bustard's laughter, "Second Master Qiu, Second Master Qiu, Miss Yuzhen has arrived." ”

The door was gently pushed open, and a water-green figure slowly appeared in Qin Xiao's eyes.