Although the Qin family and the Luo family are not aristocratic families, they are still quite a big family in the local area. The shopkeeper of the tooth shop did not dare to neglect, and first invited several military masters to sit down in the inner hall, and asked the servants to bring tea, and then
Then he bowed his body and asked: "Master Qin is looking for a housekeeper, why don't you ask the domestic helper for advice, instead of hiring a handsome face from outside?"
The housekeeper is the master's confidant, and ordinary people rarely hire servants of this level. Even if an official takes office in a different place, he is brought from his hometown or recommended by a friend without asking for a stranger. If Li Xu had not been in a special position, Qin Shubao could also do it.
Introduce him to a local person who knows everything about him. But even the prefect avoids suspicion. Qin Shubao, who is sophisticated in the world, certainly does not dare to overstep his authority.
This is the truth, but he said it tactfully. Qin Shubao smiled and replied in a low voice: "This friend of mine, Li Lang, who is famous in the court, is going to Li City on official business and needs an experienced and steady help for the time being. Ordinary people's roughness
You bastard, how can you show yourself in front of him!"
"It turned out to be Mr. Li who rode through the enemy's formation on his own that day. The little old man has clumsy eyes. He can work as a housekeeper for Zhongyong's house, and he can raise his chest by three points when walking in front of others. If the little old man hadn't been useless,
You have to close this deceptive shop and deliver yourself to your doorstep!" The shopkeeper of Yahang is a good person. When he learned that today's customer was Li Xu, he immediately started pouring out flattering words.
"Stop talking nonsense, go find someone quickly. You need to be able to read and write, be able to write and do math, have a reliable person to vouch for it, and look neat, and don't use crooked melons and bad dates to make up the numbers. If your Mr. Li doesn't use it,
It's easy, don't blame Mr. Luo for coming over and demolishing your shop!" Luo Shixin disliked him for being talkative, so he tapped his fingers heavily on the table and ordered.
"I know, I know!" the shopkeeper agreed repeatedly and ran to the outer hall to look for qualified candidates among a group of people looking for something to do.
Bandits were rampant in nearby states and counties, causing many people who were originally well-off to leave their homes and go to Licheng to escape the war. Prices in the city were high, and these people spent all their savings, so they had no choice but to put down their status and try every means to earn a living. Although the status of a housekeeper
Already equivalent to a slave, but after all, his status is higher than that of an ordinary slave. Therefore, after only half a cup of tea, the shopkeeper came in with four middle-aged men in their thirties, wearing long robes and looking upright.
.
"These are all people from Lu County near us. They are all well-educated and can settle accounts. There are also relatives in the city who can prove that their family backgrounds are innocent and their hands and feet are clean!" The shopkeeper of Yahang lined up the four people and asked Li Xu
Introduce them one by one.
The four of them came from the hometown of Confucius. Although they were down and out, they still had a scholarly atmosphere in their demeanor. Among them, the one on the left, whose surname was Zhao, turned out to be the accountant of a jewelry store in Bocheng. This spring, rogue bandits entered the city, and the owner’s goods
After being caught by thieves, his whole family jumped into the river and committed suicide. He then lost his job and had to come to Licheng to seek refuge with relatives and friends.
The second person from the left, whose surname is Zhang, is a traveling trader. His goods were robbed by bandits on the way, so he had to live in another country.
The three people from the left are surnamed Zhou. They are honest people who have farmed and studied for generations. They used to have some fields and houses at home. Unfortunately, the fields and houses were too close to the bandits' dens. The grain they harvested every year was simply not enough to pay the bandits the "peace money", so they had no choice but to
Escape outside.
The last person's surname was Kong, but he was an out-and-out descendant of a saint. Judging from his age, he was only 27 or 28 years old. He probably felt that he was ashamed of his ancestors by selling himself as a slave. After entering the door, he kept his head lowered and did not dare to look at others.
See.
Li Xu was not good at selecting people. After listening to the shopkeeper introduce the backgrounds of the four applicants, he thought about it for a long time, then walked up to the scholar named Kong and asked: "How old is this brother?"
Less than thirty, right? Is there anyone else at home?"
"No, I don't dare. I'm twenty-seven this year! All my family members are dead? I have a distant cousin who helps sell boots in Licheng." The boy surnamed Kong knotted.
Answered eagerly.
"This person can't be used!" Before Li Xu could make a decision, Luo Shixin had already stood up and suggested loudly.
Hearing this, everyone was shocked. The disciple named Kong was so angry that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. Before anyone could ask why, Luo Shixin stepped forward, pointed at the disciple named Kong and cursed.
: "Grandma, you're only twenty-seven years old. You have hands and feet, and you don't have a family to support. Why not go to the army to gain fame? Isn't it a waste of my surname to work as a housekeeper for others?"
"No, you don't know how to use force? You don't have enough strength!" The boy named Kong blushed so much that he almost bled, and mumbled to defend himself.
"If you don't know martial arts, don't you know how to learn? If you don't have strength, if you eat enough and run with sandbags every day for three months, you will definitely have strength. Such people have no backbone and can find a good excuse for anything they do.
. He seems to be submissive, but he is evil-hearted and crueler than anyone else! I asked him to be my housekeeper, but he was sold out one day." Luo Shixin pointed at the boy named Kong and scolded him loudly.
In fact, the other party may not be as bad as he said, but in the eyes of Luo Shixin, a young hero who joined the army to kill thieves at the age of fourteen, of course there was nothing wrong with him. Qin Shubao saw that the boy named Kong was scolded.
He was almost crying, and he couldn't bear it. He quickly stepped forward and pushed Luo Shixin away, scolding him in a low voice: "You still expect everyone to be like you? You are born to be bold!" He raised his hand and patted the young scholar on the shoulder.
He added: "Although what Lieutenant Luo said is crude, it still makes sense. If you are brave enough, our army will be short of someone to record the military exploits of our brothers. There will be no salary, but at least they will not starve to death!"
"Thank you, thank you Master Qin. But the ancestral teachings in the family are, no, no, no." The scholar took a half step back, and after holding back for a long time, he choked out the second half of the sentence in an extremely low voice: "No, no, no with the warrior.
, the company of warriors!"
He said this part of the sentence extremely awkwardly. Even a person like Luo Shixin, who had no scheming intentions, understood that the original meaning was a nasty remark like "You must not associate with soldiers and gangsters." He was so angry that he cursed and stepped forward to retaliate with a punch.
Qin Shubao had quick hands and quick eyes. He quickly hugged him around the waist and whispered: "We are going to make a name for ourselves and bring glory to the village. Why bother with this ignorant and useless person!"
The Sui Dynasty always valued military merit, and the status of warriors was never inferior to that of literati. Although the imperial court has made many moves to suppress martial arts and promote civility in recent years, "getting fame immediately" is still the dream of many young people. If you carefully count, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, and Li Xu all belong to this group
For example, even Dugu Lin, although he is a descendant of a noble family, can be considered a descendant of a general and a member of the martial arts. The scholar surnamed Kong does not know whether he is stupid because of his reading, or he is deliberately seeking to be beaten, and he did not dare to speak out before.
He knew so well that when he heard Luo Shixin's constant scolding, he actually shrank his neck and muttered with disdain: "Does a gentleman speak with words but not with hands? I have studied for so many years, so of course I can't stoop down and pick up a knife!"
"Without us carrying knives, you would have been robbed and made into rabbits by the bandits!" Luo Shixin was so angry that his eyes were on fire. He wished he could pull out the knife from his waist and cut the coward in front of him in half with one blow.
"Gentlemen, I made a mistake. I brought a madman in. You, sir, don't be as knowledgeable as him. Don't be as knowledgeable as him!" Seeing this, the shopkeeper knew that he was in trouble. He stepped forward to apologize and got stuck.
He grabbed Kong's neck and drove him out of the door.
"Madman, who is the madman? You are the madman!" The scholar was still unwilling to accept himself and muttered in the outer hall.
"The Six Arts of the Sage, all that is left in this man's hands are books, and he has read them all into his intestines!" Dugu Lin was so angry that he shook his head and complained.
"This kind of person is born a cheap person. Don't pay any attention to him!" The shopkeeper came in, bowed and begged for mercy. "Qin Duwei, Luo Duwei, General Li, Dugu Duwei, don't take it to heart. Today's incident
I don't dare to ask for the middleman's fee. If General Li wants to hire anyone from now on, come to me, and the middleman's fee will be half price!"
"No need, it's not your fault. He's just stupid in studying!" Li Xu waved his hand generously to comfort him. After being disturbed by Kong, he felt blocked, so he casually pointed at Zhou.
The farmer was ready to hire this person. Unexpectedly, the farmer surnamed Zhou no longer wanted to be a housekeeper. He bowed his hands to everyone and asked: "Several military masters just said that they need an accountant among the county soldiers, don't you?"
Do you know if the body and bones of this villain are worthy of use? Now I am able to feed myself and the whole family is not hungry. If the military master is willing to take him in, I am willing to serve An Qian and Ma Hou!"
"You man, you agreed to be a housekeeper, why did you join the army?" The shopkeeper of Yahang secretly hated himself for being short of incense in front of Marshal Zhao Gong last month, so he rushed forward and asked loudly.
"Didn't the military master say that you can only get your honors on your horse?" The farmer surnamed Zhou answered confidently.
Li Xu is currently short of personal soldiers. Seeing this man's clean and tidy behavior, he also wants to recruit him. He looked at Qin Shubao and asked in a low voice: "Brother Shubao, can I accept this person as a personal soldier?"
"Zhongjian fell in love with him. It was his fate, so there's nothing wrong with him!" Qin Shubao replied with a smile.
The man surnamed Zhou was very clever. After hearing what the two military masters Qin and Li said, he immediately stepped forward and bowed to salute, "Young man Zhou Xing, please see General Li and Lieutenant Qin!"
"That's all, you go and settle down first, then report to the military camp early tomorrow morning!" Qin Shubao waved his hand and ordered.
Originally they were hiring a housekeeper, but unexpectedly the housekeeper didn't see them, so they hired a private soldier first. The four of them all found this interesting, laughed and chatted a few words, and re-examined the remaining two applicants. The businessman named Zhang
The qualifications were more suitable, but when Li Xu saw the other party's appearance, he thought of his cousin Zhang Xiu. So he rewarded the other party with a few copper coins and sent him away.
As a result, the former accountant named Zhao became the only candidate. Li Xu looked at the other person again and asked politely: "How much salary do you need per month as a housekeeper?"
"How dare you ask for wages when the war is in turmoil? How can I be grateful if you can take care of the food and support the family with two buckets of rice every month?" Seeing that he had hope of being hired, the middle-aged man named Zhao couldn't wait to answer.
"Is there anyone else at home?" Qin Shubao asked after hearing the other party mention his family.
"There is also a mother-in-law and a daughter. There used to be a boy who got lost while fleeing, and now I don't know whether he is alive or dead!" The middle-aged man surnamed Zhao rubbed his eyes and replied in a low voice. Probably feeling bitter in his heart,
My back was bent unconsciously, as if it were an old tree without fruit.
Xuzi suddenly remembered what his father was like before he joined the army, and he felt compassion. He sighed and said, "Take them both into my house. I will give you one hundred cents a month, and the three of you will take care of them."
Room and board!”
"Zhong, Zhong, thank you, sir. The young woman is very dexterous. She can cook and do some washing and washing." Upon hearing Li Xu's words, the middle-aged man named Zhao quickly knelt down and gave him a hand.
The new master kowtowed. Xuzi did not dare to accept his courtesy, so he turned sideways and bowed in return. This disrespectful behavior immediately frightened the middle-aged man surnamed Zhao. He lay on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Zhezhe"
Kill me, kill me. Master, you can't do this, Zhao, no, this villain can't bear it!" (To be continued)
