In the Han River, two boats went down the river.
A passenger ship, smaller in size.
A cargo ship is much larger.
The Bai family's servants had been waiting on the shore for a long time, and as soon as the boat docked, they immediately gathered around it.
Fat pigs were being driven off the ship one after another. There were also people carrying burdens full of various ingredients.
There are still more than twenty days before the old lady's ninetieth birthday, and the Bai family is already preparing for a birthday banquet. They will also have a large flowing banquet. There are not enough fat pigs in the surrounding villages, so they go directly to the county to purchase them.
There are many sheep in the village, so the animals can just eat grass.
There are not many pig farmers. After all, pigs need to eat food. How can the villagers have enough leftovers to feed the pigs?
If sweet potatoes are promoted, more and more farmers will raise pigs.
The person in charge of purchasing matters is Bai Chongwen, the eldest son of the Bai family, who is over forty years old.
He was very busy on the shore, but his third brother Bai Chongyan was relaxing on the bow of the boat.
After working for a while, Bai Chongwen looked back at his third brother with a sinister look on his face.
I am busy all day long, but my third brother is happy and free. However, my father obeys my third brother in everything, but he is always bossing me around. Who can bear this? I am mentally unbalanced.
Bai Chongyan, the third son of the Bai family, was about twenty-five or six years old. He was wearing a Dongpo scarf and holding a white folding fan. He was pointing to the distant mountains on the other side and said: "This mountain is like a tiger roosting, and the mountain behind my family is like a dragon. There are two mountains separated by it."
The towering river looks like a tiger perched on a dragon's plate. Our ancestors valued this feng shui and settled down to build houses and open up wasteland and start businesses."
"It's really a beautiful scenery." The scholar next to him nodded in approval.
This scholar's name is Li Hanzhang, the son of Li Rui, the general magistrate of Yangzhou. He has lived in Yangzhou with his father for more than half a year.
When I first heard about the position of prefecture magistrate, it seemed that it was the deputy of the magistrate. In fact, it was not the case. It was designed to contain the magistrate. At first, it was almost on an equal footing with the magistrate.
The bureaucracy of the Song Dynasty was complicated. Not only did civilian officials restrain military officers, but the civil servants also restrained each other within themselves.
Tong San, controls the financial power!
"Brother Ke Zhen, please get off the boat." Bai Chongyan invited.
Li Hanzhang said: "Brother Juncai invites you first."
The two of them humbly gave way to each other and got off the boat, admiring the pastoral scenery along the way.
They don't see the poverty of the people, they only know that the scenery in the countryside is pleasant. The old farmers working hard to hoe the crops and the shepherd boys covered in mud are all the scenery in this landscape painting.
After walking a short distance, I met two boys on the road.
A boy held a bamboo stick and shouted with all his strength: "Old Jade Emperor, take a stick from my grandson!"
Another boy quit: "You have been Sun Wukong three times. This time it is my turn. I am Sun Wukong."
"I'll do it again."
"No, no, if you try to be Sun Wukong again, I won't play anymore!"
"Then you will be Sun Wukong, and I won't be the Jade Emperor. I will be the Erlang God Yang Jian. The Jade Emperor is too old to be beaten."
"..."
Ever since, Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen started fighting on the roadside, and the sticks were fighting each other happily.
From time to time, he would also cast spells and transform into an eagle, a temple, etc.
What the hell?
Li Hanzhang asked curiously: "Brother Juncai, the children's play in Guixiang seems to be very unique. I wonder which poetry and drama script it comes from?"
"I don't know either." Bai Chongyan was a little confused.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, "The Poems of Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty" had been published, and the prototype of Sun Wukong had been born long ago. But instead of being called Sun Wukong, he still had a common name like "Monkey Walker".
As for Zhu Bajie, there is none for the time being, only the "Shensha God", the prototype of Monk Sha.
A hundred years ago, Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty officially canonized the Jade Emperor, and the Jade Emperor was also named Zhao. Since then, the Jade Emperor has become the Lord of the Immortals and quickly became a household name across the country.
Bai Chongyan called the boy and asked, "Why do you disrespect the Jade Emperor? Then who is Sun Wukong?"
The boy replied: "Sun Wukong is the Monkey King, and the Monkey King is Sun Wukong."
"Who is the Monkey King?" Bai Chongyan asked.
The boy said: "The Monkey King jumped out of the stone."
What is this all about?
Bai Chongyan became more and more confused the more he asked, "Who did you listen to?"
The boy said: "Zhu Xiucai told it. Zhu Xiucai can tell stories."
"Who is Zhu Xiucai?" Bai Chongyan asked.
"Zhu Xiucai is Zhu Xiucai." the boy replied.
How old was the kid? I couldn't figure it out, so Bai Chongyan waved the kid away.
There happened to be a servant of the Bai family passing by carrying ingredients for the birthday banquet.
Bai Chongyan called him and asked, "Is there a Zhu Xiucai in the village?"
The scandal about Shen Yourong not only spread in the village, but also reached the Bai family mansion.
Of course this servant knew about this, but since Bai Chongyan and Mrs. Shen’s deceased husband were classmates, and there was also Mr. Li present at this time, the servant did not dare to answer directly, and could only vaguely say: "There is Mr. Zhu Da, and Mr.
There is a young Zhu Xiucai, a father and son from a foreign country, who are staying at Mrs. Shen’s house these days. They also said that Mr. Zhu Da... once traveled abroad with him to study."
Two grown men living in Mrs. Shen’s house?
Bai Chongyan was immediately angry, thinking that the widow of his classmate's friend was unruly. Even if she wanted to find a man, she should remarry seriously. What's the point of keeping a wild man at home?
Then he began to doubt again, thinking whether he had really met a scholar named Zhu when he was studying abroad.
After hearing the question and answer between the master and the servant, which woman seemed to be involved, Li Hanzhang pretended not to hear and turned to look at the scenery of the distant mountains.
This matter is not urgent for the time being, and I will go and see what the situation is when I have some free time.
Bai Chongyan pretended that nothing had happened, and said to Li Hanzhang with a smile: "Brother Ke Zhen has been tired of traveling and traveling all the way, so he went to the humble house to rest for a night, and then he will go up the mountain to watch the grand spectacle of tea picking in the morning. I accidentally found a spring in the mountain and named it."
Lingquan', the spring water is sweet and refreshing, which is the best for making tea."
"Then I will definitely try it." Li Hanzhang said with a smile.
The two of them walked together to the Bai family's mansion and walked into the house through the front door.
After passing through the hall and rooms, they arrived at an inner courtyard, where the maid led them into the room.
"My grandson pays homage to his grandmother!" Bai Chongyan knelt down and kowtowed.
The old lady of the Bai family was about to turn ninety years old. Her eyesight was not blurred, her ears were not deafened, and her body was quite strong. She held a string of rosary beads in her hand and said with a cheerful smile: "Stand up quickly and let me see if you have lost weight."
Bai Chongyan stood up and stepped forward and introduced: "Grandma, this is my grandson's friend who he met in Yangzhou. Brother Li Kezhen, the son of Prime Minister Li Xianggong of Yangzhou."
When he heard that he was the son of the state magistrate, the old lady was in awe and stood up to speak.
Li Hanzhang said quickly: "Madam, please sit down quickly."
After exchanging pleasantries, the two of them retired, and the old lady personally escorted them out of the house.
Immediately afterwards, I went to visit Bai Chongwen's parents.
Mr. Bai is over 70 years old and his health condition is worrying. After a stroke, one of his legs cannot walk normally.
After receiving Li Hanzhang warmly and exchanging pleasantries, Mrs. Bai asked her servants to tidy up the guest's bedroom.
After bidding farewell to his parents, Bai Chongyan took his friends to meet his wife.
When Li Hanzhang went to the guest room to rest, a servant suddenly came over and said to Bai Chongyan: "Master Sanlang, I have called you over if I have something to do."
"Wait a minute, I'll go right away."
Bai Chongyan changed into home clothes and followed the slave to his father's room again.
Member Lao Bai asked outside: "When you were studying abroad, did you ever have a friend named Zhu?"
Bai Chongyan knew what his father wanted to ask and replied: "My child seems to have made friends with people named Zhu, but the friendship is not deep. Father, do the father and son named Zhu really live in Mrs. Shen's home?"
"It's almost ten days," Old Bai said.
Bai Chongyan said: "This matter is quite inappropriate. It will damage the reputation of our old friend and our Bai family. Is there any other disrespectful behavior towards the father and son named Zhu?"
Although Lao Bai stayed at home, he was very clear about the affairs in the village: "These two strangers kept a horse, which was a branded official horse. During the day, they helped with the work and taught the posthumous son (
Bai Qi) studied and told stories when it got dark at night. There were hundreds of villagers listening to his stories every day. Apart from that, he did nothing else."
"This is strange. Could it be that he is a storyteller living here?" Bai Chongyan muttered.
Old Bai said: "The servants at home are also talking nonsense. I asked people to ask questions, and finally asked two servants. One is a servant who serves the woodshed. He went out to chop wood and heard about this
Just come back and tell everyone you meet. One of them is the maid next to your mother, but someone secretly instigated her!"
"Who?" Bai Chongyan asked.
The old member of the Bai family sneered: "Who else could it be? Bai Fude from the east end of the village. There are five brothers in this family, and they have been on the run in recent years. If it weren't for the sake of being from the same clan, they would have been driven out of the village long ago."
Bai Chongyan said angrily: "This guy occupied a ridge of Mrs. Shen's land last year. No boundary trees were planted on that land, and the boundary stone was moved by him. It's hard to explain why he was so messy. I warned him at that time not to attack Shen again.
It’s my wife’s idea, but I didn’t expect him to still be evil!”
Mr. Bai said: "Ms. Shen's dead husband was your classmate and friend. Mrs. Shen's father also had some friendship with me. I will ignore this matter for the time being and will only wait for you to come back and handle it personally. What about the Zhu family and his son?"
, you go and find out the details, and if you should be beaten, you will be beaten, and if you are sent to an official, you will be sent to an official."
"My child understands." Bai Chongyan said.
Old Bai said: "Although the sister of the five Baiford brothers has become a concubine for the nobleman, I have found out clearly. She gave birth to two daughters in succession, and the nobleman has a new love, so she has long been out of favor and disliked. In this case,
You can clean it up however you want, no need to worry about anything. This year, let them take turns."
The fatal mistake made by the five Byford brothers was not jumping up and down, bullying men and women, but often not listening to the greetings of the old white man.
For example, he had been warned not to touch Mrs. Shen's family, but Bai Fu was still making evil plans, and even tried to use the old white man to kill people with borrowed knives.
In recent years, there have been more than one or two similar incidents.
It is possible for powerful men to kill people without bloodshed. Just let them serve as servants, and they are guaranteed to destroy their families.
"Yes!" Bai Chongyan bowed and said.
Bai Chongyan was about to leave when he suddenly heard his father say: "The story told by the Zhu family is good, and it is related to Tang Sanzang's Buddhist scriptures. Your grandmother believed in Buddhism and compiled the story into poetry. She chose a eloquent slave to tell it to her sooner or later. Your grandmother can also have some fun."
This chapter has been completed!