After offering sacrifices to the stove, it was just a few days before the Chinese New Year. The next day, Li Jinzhu and his brothers, with Sister Mei, Awu and Yuting, a large cart and two horses, rushed back to Lijiaji.
The house next to the ancestral hall of the Li family siblings has been cleaned up. Ai Ye and Cui Ye are waiting outside the town to pick up Li Jinzhu and others and follow them back to the house.
Cuiye was really busy making arrangements. Aiye took Li Xiaonan and chatted, laughed and gestured about various gossips about the Li family.
Sister Mei was bumped into twice by the two of them, so she simply pushed them to the corner of the corridor to sit and talk, so as not to get in the way.
Li Jinzhu raised two large piles of yellow form papers in front of the two of them and ordered them to fold ingots.
Don’t keep your hands idle when gossiping.
Mrs. Li Li Shikuan came over for a visit. Every family in the clan came in in an endless stream, bringing all kinds of New Year's goods.
It’s already the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the only important thing left to celebrate the New Year is to prepare for ancestor worship tomorrow.
It was not Ai Ye's turn to prepare for ancestor worship. Ai Ye and Li Xiaonan made an appointment to go to the county town the next day and take advantage of the last episode to buy some fresh silk flowers and beads.
The next morning, Li Xiaonan had just changed her clothes when she heard a loud voice from the rain pavilion outside, "Why are you here?"
Li Xiaonan hurriedly stuck her head out of the room. It was Wan Qing.
"Why are you here?" Li Xiaonan hurriedly greeted her. "What's the matter?"
Wan Qing greeted Li Xiaonan along the way, approached Li Xiaonan, and said in a low voice: "What's the matter with me? It's the New Year, and our prince is so careless."
"Didn't you say he was going to celebrate the New Year in Hangzhou? He's back?" Li Xiaonan also suppressed her voice.
"Who knows! Anyway, I'm here now!" Wan Qing looked troubled.
"Is something wrong? If nothing happens, just say you didn't find me. I made an appointment with Ai Ye to go to the county town for fun." Li Xiaonan and Wan Qing whispered.
"Looking at your words, do I know if our prince is okay? You'd better go there. Our prince doesn't seem to be in a good mood. He's the only one celebrating the New Year." Wan Qing felt a little sympathetic.
The eldest son of her family.
"Aren't you also a person? Shi Gun is also a person. Those who are with your prince will celebrate the New Year alone this year, right?" Li Xiaonan rolled her eyes at Wan Qing.
"We can't be counted as one person, we are a group of people. Many of us have already agreed to have New Year's Eve dinner together. If we want to have a lively New Year's Eve dinner, our prince will have to eat New Year's Eve dinner alone." Wan Qing laughed.
.
"That's true, okay, where is your prince? Is it far away?" Li Xiaonan stood on tiptoe and looked outside.
"It's not too far, just two or three quarters of an hour. Are you leaving now?"
"Let's go." Li Xiaonan asked Yu Ting to run for her, told Ai Ye, and followed Wan Qing out and got into the cart.
The car trotted towards Linhai Town and stopped in a deserted land facing a river in front and a hill behind.
Not far from the river, a blue-black tent was pitched. The blue-black barrier extended from the tent to the river, blocking the cold wind. Gu Yan sat in front of the tent, pulled up the fishing rod, and threw it out.
.
"Are there many fish in the river? How many have been caught?" Li Xiaonan stretched her head and looked into the river.
Since moving, Li Xiaonan has fished all by herself, and her fishing skills and interest have been greatly improved.
"It's not for fishing. I'm bored of waiting." Gu Yan raised his hand to signal, and Shi Gun hurriedly stepped forward to take away the fishing rod.
"I heard that you are very good at fishing?" Gu Yan pointed to the chair next to him and motioned for Li Xiaonan to sit down.
"Who told you?"
Li Xiaonan sat down and watched as two young men brought over a brightly colored square low table, placed a charcoal warm seat with intricate flowers on the table, placed a red copper pot of the same style on the seat, and then held up a
A slender pot studded with gems came over, and two red copper cups also studded with gems were placed.
This exotic tea set was extremely luxurious and beautiful. Li Xiaonan simply stood up and looked around the table.
The style of this tea set obviously comes from the grassland or plateau.
"Try the milk tea, the caramel flavor is good." Gu Yan turned his head and looked at Li Xiaonan, who had a curious look on his face, leaned forward slightly, and poured two cups of milk tea from the gem pot.
Li Xiaonan sat down, picked up the cup, took a few sips carefully, and turned around to look at the cup, "Are these real gems?"
Gu Yan glanced at Li Xiaonan and ignored her.
Li Xiaonan took a few more sips of milk tea.
This milk tea is delicious, partly because the milk tea is really good, and partly because this cup and pot are so expensive and beautiful!
Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan who was looking at the cup and then the pot, and explained with a smile: "This was the beloved thing of a great khan at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China. General Qiao rode on the golden tent and sent the great khan to the capital as a prisoner.
This set of utensils was sent to the bieye in Hangzhou to honor the masters, and has been piled in the bieye warehouse."
"This is a trophy!" Li Xiaonan praised, poured herself another half cup of milk tea, held the cup and sighed again, "No wonder it's so luxurious. What about now? Who is strong and who is weak? Can a horse trample the Great Khan?
Golden account?"
"Of course!" Gu Yan's voice was slightly high and full of arrogance.
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways at him.
"From the day the Customs and Excise Department was established, Emperor Taizong set an iron rule that the Customs and Excise Department's tax money should be used to finance the northern military expenditure, and no misappropriation was allowed. The northern military expenditure could only be taken from the Customs and Excise Department. Although the Customs and Excise Department was growing year by year,
It will rot in a year, but it is not so rotten that it cannot support military expenditures." Gu Yan explained.
"But compared with the founding of the People's Republic of China, it's still far behind?" Li Xiaonan sipped her milk tea.
"Yeah." Gu Yan's face darkened.
The north needs a strangulation like the one in the founding years of the People's Republic of China.
Li Xiaonan glanced at Gu Yan and said with a smile: "I received a letter from Mrs. Shi a few days ago. It went into such a long paragraph and said that the eldest son of the Pang family fell off a horse and was run over by a big car. Both of his calves were broken.
, saying that only gods can heal those two legs, and also said a lot about how the Pang family is doing, how Pang Xiang is doing, and so on."
"What, what, what?" Gu Yan tilted his head at Li Xiaonan.
"I think Mrs. Shi means that, do these two legs of Mr. Pang have anything to do with you?" Li Xiaonan asked directly.
"You were in danger, Mr. Pang Pang was the mastermind behind it." Gu Yan answered simply and directly.
"It's you they want to kill? Did they find the wrong person? Are you too blind?" Li Xiaonan responded quickly.
"I just want to kill you. Thanks to you, Jiangnan Weaving Mill has stopped working and restarted. Master Pang is a smart man."
Li Xiaonan trailed off and said, "No wonder I broke both legs."
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows, "You used my warning cannon. To outsiders, it means I was attacked."
"You are worth two legs if you are attacked?" Li Xiaonan was even more surprised.
Gu Yan was stunned for a moment, then leaned forward and looked at Li Xiaonan carefully, "Look at your character, you only have two legs! Shouldn't you lament that you were too cruel? You broke two of her legs forcibly?" "He wanted my life! No, he wanted your life. He didn't succeed because he was not capable enough. It was not because he was too compassionate to bear to put away the knife at the last moment. If he had the ability, he would kill me with one knife, not you.
"Kill him?" Li Xiaonan responded unceremoniously.
Gu Yan stared at Li Xiaonan, and for a moment, he laughed.
"Why are you laughing!"
"Let me tell you why I only broke two of his legs."
Gu Yan pulled the chair and moved it towards Li Xiaonan, then leaned forward. Li Xiaonan pressed her back against the back of the chair and looked at Gu Yan with a wary face.
"Prime Minister Pang is only fifty-eight years old this year, and Young Master Pang Pang is thirty-six years old. They are both in their prime years. Young Master Pang Pang only has a broken leg and is unable to walk, so he cannot serve as an official. He can also serve as counselor for Prime Minister Pang.
, educate the children of the family, give guidance and guidance when his sons, nephews, or even the children of the family become officials, and even serve as counselors. As long as Prime Minister Pang can keep this position, in less than ten years, the Pang family will be able to produce another great son.
, after Prime Minister Pang, support the Pang family.
"Now, Prime Minister Pang has withdrawn and returned to defense. Only national affairs are the most important thing. For at least ten years, Prime Minister Pang's best strategy is to calm down and be a pure minister dedicated to the country.
"But what if we kill Mr. Pangda?" Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan and asked with a smile.
"It must be for the emperor." Li Xiaonan muttered.
"The emperor is the state body." Gu Yan snorted and raised his hand to hit Li Xiaonan on the head.
"I didn't tell you about Mr. Pang Pang's legs because I thought you wouldn't be able to bear it after hearing about it and would blame yourself again. I didn't expect you to be such a heartless person."
"What's wrong with such a heart? Someone raised a knife to kill me, but when I escaped, I felt guilty: I'm sorry, I have worked so hard to chase you, and I have exhausted you."
Gu Yan laughed loudly, "I don't dare to do anything. I mean, such a kind-hearted person, I also have such a kind-hearted person."
Li Xiaonan hummed the word with an upward sound at the end, leaned over, picked up the milk tea pot, and poured some milk tea for herself. When she was about to put it back, she pulled back and asked Gu Yan, "Do you want it?"
Gu Yan hurriedly handed over the cup.
She didn't have much time to refill his tea.
"What did Mrs. Shi write to you? What did she mean?" Gu Yan took a sip of tea and looked at Li Xiaonan and asked.
"What are you asking?" Li Xiaonan asked.
Gu Yan lowered her eyes, for a moment, and said with a smile: "If she could still talk to me like she did before we broke off the engagement, she would definitely advise me to be generous and tolerant, and to put education first."
Li Xiaonan laughed, "She said that it would be a blessing for Mr. Pang Pang to no longer have to work hard and concentrate on learning and teaching his nephew. She also said that most things in the world are like this, and a blessing in disguise is a blessing in disguise."
After a pause, Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan and said with a smile: "He also added: For example, her engagement was annulled."
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows and for a while, imitated Li Xiaonan and let out a laugh.
"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. You won't be celebrating the New Year alone in Pingjiang City, right?" Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan and asked.
"What if I'm in Pingjiang City, what if I'm not in Pingjiang City?" Gu Yan asked rhetorically.
"Let's go to Hangzhou and stay with Mrs. Fu and the others. After all, it's the New Year. If you celebrate the New Year alone in Pingjiang City, even if you think it's nothing, others will think you are too pitiful." Li Xiaonan advised.
"Who is this other person? You?" Gu Yan looked sideways at Li Xiaonan.
"There is no one like me among these people. I think you must feel that it is nice and comfortable to celebrate the New Year alone."
Gu Yan laughed out loud again and raised his cup to Li Xiaonan, "I'm going to Hangzhou soon. It's not because I'm lonely during the Chinese New Year, it's for the first day of the Lunar New Year sacrifice. Also,"
Gu Yan had a grimace on his face, "If I celebrate the New Year alone, my uncle will definitely have to spend this Spring Festival crying, alas."
Gu Yan let out a long sigh.
Li Xiaonan laughed out loud, "I will definitely write an article about pity for my nephew during the Spring Festival, maybe it will be passed down through the ages."
"On the third day of the Lunar New Year, I will host a banquet for overseas merchants in Linhai Town. Will you go?" Gu Yan asked.
"What am I going to do!" Li Xiaonan looked curious.
"Watch the fun. Don't you want to see who those overseas merchants are? Don't you like to watch the fun the most?" Gu Yan looked even more curious.
Well! This opportunity is indeed extremely rare. Li Xiaonan hesitated, "What do you think? Isn't it appropriate to follow you?"
"You follow He Chengze." Gu Yan said with a smile.
Li Xiaonan trailed off and said oh.
"Don't think too much, I'm not letting you see anything, it's just a rare opportunity to watch the fun." Gu Yan explained seriously.
Li Xiaonan sighed slowly and leaned forward, "Just in time, I also have something to ask you for help."
"Just say it." Gu Yan laughed.
"It's the Chinese New Year, are your subordinates, like Shi Luo, quite free?" Li Xiaonan asked first.
"If you have anything to say, if you don't have enough manpower, just pick more people. I've never had any cases where things were delayed due to lack of manpower." Gu Yan snorted.
"Okay then. Can you help me check which houses in our preserved egg workshop have people who want to write, or go to school, and whether the people who write or go to school are male or female, and how old they are." Li Xiaonan subconsciously lowered her voice.
sound.
"What happened?" Gu Yan immediately asked with concern.
"It can't be that something happened, right~" Li Xiaonan leaned forward, "At first, three or four ink heads disappeared. I asked my brother, and he said that the remaining ink heads he used also disappeared several times. This is strange.
Isn’t that right? My brother and I are the only ones who write at home. Even if there is a thief, they will not steal the ink heads."
Gu Yan nodded repeatedly.
"I had to find out if this was true, so I dropped a piece of ink, ground it into an ink head, and put it in my brother's basket for fishing!"
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows.
"The ink was still there when I went to bed, but it was gone when I woke up in the morning. I told Sister Mei that there were account books in the wing for her to look at. Sister Mei said that only the second sister had gone in, and the second sister had gone there early that morning.
It’s the workshop, and Awu drove him there, saying it was just from home to the workshop, not going anywhere in between.”
"Your second sister took it away? Why don't you ask your second sister?" Gu Yan was very interested.
"I asked you to check because I asked." Li Xiaonan sighed gloomily. "During dinner, I said that the ink head was gone. I don't know who took it. What's the use of the ink head? Er A
My sister lowered her head while eating without making a sound!"
"This is strange. If it was your second sister who took it and gave the ink head to others, there is nothing that can't be said. Why is it silent?" Gu Yan frowned.
"Yes! Why? Isn't it strange?" Li Xiaonan tapped her fingers on Gu Yan's knees a few times.
Gu Yan glanced down at Li Xiaonan's fingers, his eyebrows raised slightly and then fell back.
"It's easy. If you find out, I'll send someone over to tell you?" Gu Yan asked.
"No, no, no, let's talk about it on the third day of junior high school." Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
