After getting Wu Shigong's approval, the whole inner house immediately became lively. According to Wu Shigong's original idea, his birthday was a family banquet, with at most a few prominent people around him, just for everyone to get together.
Let's get together, make it more lively and that's it.
However, both the ladies in the inner house and Chang Meng, who arranged the birthday banquet, all planned Wu Shigong's birthday banquet to be held in Dali. Seeing that he could not stop it, and did not want to hurt the good intentions of the people around him, Wu Shigong could only do whatever he wanted.
.
Tang Mei looked at the honest-faced man in front of her, feeling a little uneasy and helpless in her heart. She had no choice but to think that she was a miserable woman whose life was like a gift, being sent here and there.
At this time, Tang Mei could only take pleasure in her suffering, thinking in her heart: "Looking at the face of the man in front of her, he is still very honest. Maybe he will love her."
Tang Mei didn't know that although Xue Zhinong in front of her showed a standard honest and honest look, Xue Zhinong's heart was going over and over again.
Xue Zhinong did not think that Wu Shigong gave him a woman, but it was just a reward for himself. He thought that Wu Shigong's move might have a deep meaning.
But no matter what, since he couldn't guess Wu Shigong's thoughts, Xue Zhinong would definitely not bring the woman in front of him into his room. But how should he arrange the woman in front of him now? Xue Zhinong thought about it again and again, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he asked Tang Meidao
: "Are you literate?"
Tang Mei was a little confused by Xue Zhinong's question. She just nodded subconsciously and said, "Yes!" Then, Tang Mei saw a mysterious smile on the honest face of the man in front of her.
Wu Shigong's birthday is in September, so it will take more than a month to prepare for the birthday party. Of course, Wu Shigong does not need to worry about the specific arrangements for the birthday party. Wu Shigong is busy hosting various parties these days.
The guests came to congratulate me on my birthday.
After learning that Wu Shigong was going to hold a birthday party, the gentry in Runing Mansion and Guide Mansion who had good relations with Wu Shigong, especially those who were salt sellers, all brought gifts and came to Runing Fucheng to pay homage to Wu Shigong.
Of course, Wu Shigong had to receive these gentry one by one. After all, these people were the foundation of Wu Shigong's management of the place. Besides, the gifts given to Wu Shigong by those gentry added up to a large sum, and Wu Shigong really made a fortune.
Small fortune.
The most exaggerated thing is Lu Yunhuan. In addition to giving gifts, he once again proposed to give Wu Shigong a daughter as Wu Shigong's concubine. Wu Shigong was dumbfounded by Lu Yunhuan's increasing number of gifts to women in the family. Of course, he also offered it again and again.
Lu Yunhuan declined politely.
Wu Shigong thought to himself: "Look at you, Lu Yunhuan, you look like a yo-yo. How can the daughter you give birth to be pretty? If she is prettier, maybe I can give you some face."
!”
Just when Wu Shigong was receiving guests from all over the world with a smile on his face that seemed to be tied with a plaster, he suddenly received good news: Xue Qiang, who was recuperating in the capital, was back.
Wu Shigong immediately abandoned all the guests and welcomed Xue Qiang in.
After Xue Qiang saw Wu Shigong, he was also very excited. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Uncle, the little one is back!"
Wu Shigong quickly helped Xue Qiang up, looked at Xue Qiang's legs carefully, and asked with concern: "Are your legs so neat?"
Xue Qiang shook his injured leg and said with a smile: "Uncle, it's nothing serious anymore."
However, Wu Shigong observed that Xue Qiang was already lame when walking. So Wu Shigong immediately said: "It's okay. I'm short of manpower. I'll arrange your errands after you rest for a few days."
Wu Shigong's words made Xue Qiang feel relieved. Although Xue Qiang had recovered from his leg injury, he became a cripple after all. It turned out that Xue Lian had arranged for Xue Qiang to be placed in Yangwuhou Mansion, and he would be paid a monthly salary.
He had an easy job to support himself in old age. However, Xue Qiang was not very old and did not want to wait for death, so he returned to Wu Shigong this time.
However, Xue Qiang was also a little worried. After all, he was already disabled, and he was afraid that Wu Shigong would still arrange a job for him to eat and die. But now that he knew that Wu Shigong still wanted to reuse him, Xue Qiang had finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish.
And Wu Shigong is currently short of such a manpower. Wu Shigong wants to establish a similar modern police force to manage the order of salt goods in the two governments and some criminal cases and civil disputes among his own serfs.
Wu Shigong planned to mobilize 1,500 people from his village protection team and militia members among the gentry to station them in various places. This army would also maintain local security. In this way, Wu Shigong's army would
It can be completely freed and all the troops can be deployed in external operations.
However, it is not easy to find a leader for this unit. None of Wu Shigong's military attachés are willing to retreat from the army to this local semi-military unit. But the leader of this unit needs someone who can handle the situation.
Wu Shigong is a very loyal candidate. But Xue Qiang's return this time just solves this problem.
And this time, along with Xue Qiang, in addition to those who had recovered from their injuries, the seriously injured Wu Shigong sent to the capital to recuperate, there was also the maid Mei Yun sent by Wu Shigong's wife Xue Yufei.
After Wu Shigong's Prince Qin met with Xue Yufei, Xue Yufei returned to the capital and arranged for her remaining three maids to live in their own homes according to Wu Shigong's arrangement.
But the other two maids were betrothed, but Mei Yun refused to marry. And because Xue Yufei, after receiving Zhu Yun's complaint letter, wanted to send her own direct lineage to tie Wu Shigong's heart, so this time Mei Yun refused to marry.
Yun was also sent to Wu Shigong.
Mei Yun was already in her early twenties at this time, and at that time, she had already become an old girl. So when she saw Wu Shigong, she looked at Wu Shigong with wide eyes and seemed a little nervous.
But how could Wu Shigong not know Xue Yufei's little idea? He smiled helplessly at Mei Yun and said: "You just go to the inner house and settle down first. After my birthday, I will find a good day to do things with you."
Bar."
When she heard that Wu Shigong had accepted her, Mei Yun was both happy and ashamed. She immediately ran into the inner house like a deer and went to talk to Zhu Yun.
What surprised Wu Shigong even more was that when Xue Qiang came this time, he also brought Wu Shigong a letter from Qin Liangyu to Wu Shigong, as well as some gifts from Qin Liangyu to Wu Shigong.
When Wu Shigong looked at a fur coat, more than twenty East beads given to him by Qin Liangyu, as well as a coat and two pairs of shoes that Qin Liangyu made for himself, Wu Shigong felt very warm in his heart.
To be honest, after Wu Shigong learned from the newspaper that Dalinghe City was besieged by the Tatar army, he was really worried about Qin Liangyu. Because after Qin Liangyu and Wu Shigong broke up, they went to Liaodong with white soldiers to fight the Tatars.
of.
However, Wu Shigong learned from Qin Liangyu's letter to him that after Qin Liangyu arrived in Liaodong, he was very marginalized by the generals in Liaodong. In desperation, Sun Chengzong, the governor of Liaodong, could only keep Qin Liangyu and her white-pole soldiers free.
In Shanhaiguan, she was not allowed to fight in Liaodong, for fear that something bad would happen to Qin Liangyu and her white-armed soldiers after they took the credit from the Liaodong general.
So in anger, Qin Liangyu reported to the court and returned to Sichuan with her white-pole soldiers. On the way back to Sichuan, when Qin Liangyu passed by the capital, she sent someone to deliver the letter and the gifts to Yangwuhou Mansion.
Wu Shigong's father-in-law, Xue Lian, later brought these gifts to Wu Shigong.
However, Qin Liangyu was very indignant towards the Liaodong generals in his letter, and criticized them for their behavior of not caring about the overall situation and only focusing on taking credit for themselves.
After Wu Shigong read the letter, he was secretly amused in his heart: "This old woman is still so angry, wouldn't it be better if she could not fight?"
After putting down the letter, Wu Shigong was also grateful that Qin Liangyu was not in Dalinghe City and could escape this disaster.
But on the eve of Wu Shigong's birthday, one, no, I should say two unexpected guests came. Li Lu and Li Shoubei from Nanyang Mansion, together with a member of Nanyang Mansion named Wan Wendong, also came to Wu Shigong.
World congratulations on your birthday are here.
When Wu Shigong saw Li Lu, he was greatly surprised. He thought something unexpected had happened in Li Lu's Nanyang Mansion. But when Wu Shigong saw that Li Lu's expression was normal, Wu Shigong felt relieved.
However, just like Wu Shigong, Li Lu, as a guard of Nanyang Mansion, could not leave his station at will. Therefore, Wu Shigong knew that Li Lu's birthday wishes for him were fake, and he must have something to do with him.
However, it was not easy for Wu Shigong to ask for details in front of everyone, so Wu Shigong welcomed Li Lu and Wan Wendong into the hall alone.
After the two parties sat down and exchanged greetings, Wu Shigong asked Li Lu about his purpose of coming: "Li Shoubei, you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, why do you come to my younger brother's Runing Mansion?"
After listening to Wu Shigong's words, Li Lu hesitated for a while, then smiled and said to Wu Shigong: "Brother-in-law, as my brother, I have a fortune that I want to make with you!"