But he said that everyone in the Rongguo Mansion went back to their hometown of Jinling to bury Jia's mother and then left, leaving Jia Baoyu to stay a little longer. Because he was worried about the Zhen family, he went to Jiming Temple to have a look at her. He saw this girl wearing Zi clothes doing rough work.
, hurriedly donated some incense money to the host. When he came back a few days later, Mrs. Zhen no longer did the menial work.
Jia Baoyu felt relieved and went sightseeing around Jinling. A few days later, someone suddenly came to look for him and said he was a descendant of the Zhen family. Baoyu was a little surprised when he saw his appearance: he was wearing an old robe with many patches on it.
The appearance is 70% similar to his own. The man smiled bitterly and said: "If you have no choice, you can't come here to ask for your brother." This man turned out to be Zhen Baoyu from the Zhen family. Because his family was in a difficult situation, he came to look for Jia Baoyu to beat the autumn wind. Jia Baoyu felt pity.
He was given fifty taels of silver as a gift on the spot.
I really didn't expect that this was the beginning. The Zhen family came to ask for money every now and then. The whole family, men, women, old and young, took turns coming, crying more and more miserably every time. Zhen Yingjia even kissed him once and asked him what he would do after he fulfilled his filial piety.
Jia Baoyu refused to take Miss Zhen Si as his concubine. Although Jia Zheng and others left a lot of money for him when they left, after all, he still had a lot of places to go, and he couldn't just open the floodgates and let out water.
Helping the Zhen family gave them a headache. Mingyan, the book boy next to him, knew that their second master could not resist these people, so he came up with an idea to go to Jia's Horse Racing House in Jinling to withdraw money. At the worst, he could return it to them in Beijing.
Baoyu had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.
When they arrived at the horse shop, Mingyan raised her neck and said, "This is Mr. Bao from Rongguo Mansion, here to get some money."
The shopkeeper cupped his hands and said, "May I ask Second Master Bao, what is the password?"
Mingyan was stunned and turned to look at their second master. Baoyu asked: "What's the password?"
The shopkeeper said: "We don't recognize Mr. Bao. The boss needs a password to withdraw money."
Mingyan was anxious: "Can this be false? Who in the capital doesn't know..."
Baoyu shouted in a low voice: "Stop talking!" It's not easy to get money from the public account of Rongguo Mansion. How could Baoyu not know? He shook his head, turned around and went out. The shopkeeper didn't give it away either, just because he didn't come.
Mingyan ran out and said, "Second Master! After giving so much money to the Zhen family, we still have to eat. Is it possible that we are drinking the northwest wind?"
Baoyu gritted his teeth and said, "Pack your things quietly and leave early tomorrow morning."
Mingyan thought for a while and sighed: "That's right. If you can't afford to offend, you can always hide."
Baoyu sent him back to pack his things first, and he quietly led the two bodyguards to Jiming Temple to see Mrs. Zhen again. When he arrived at the nunnery, he saw Mrs. Zhen sweeping the floor with a big broom again, which made her eyes wide open!
When Mrs. Zhen saw Baoyu hurriedly waving her hands, she whispered: "Second Master, please leave quickly. Don't come back again, and don't give me any more money. This is a bottomless pit that can't be filled up. Besides, Second Master can't stay in the nunnery all the time."
Staring." Then he stopped looking at him and just concentrated on sweeping the floor.
When Baoyu saw her struggling, tears rolled down her face. After a while, she said, "Cong'er's idea will probably work. In the future, you can relax a little and give the daughters of some military generals and merchants as female teachers."
That's fine." Mrs. Zhen nodded, and Baoyu wiped away her tears.
After leaving the nunnery, an escort said: "Second master, don't worry, these things are normal. That master has just never done it before, and he will get used to it after a few days."
Baoyu sighed: "Of course I know. I just feel sorry for her."
Another escort said: "Pity? What's so pitiful? Didn't she almost end up in a brothel? Once you've gone into that place, don't even think about coming out." Baoyu sighed again.
When I went back that day, someone from the Zhen family came again. It was a grandmother from the Zhen family. Jia Baoyu looked at her and finally gave her twenty taels of silver without saying a word. The next morning, she went to the city
As soon as the door opened, Jia Baoyu led his servants and bodyguards and ran out as if they were fleeing.
Wei Ruoheng laughed loudly when he heard about it, and told Zhen Yinglian this way when he went back. "Cong'er asked me to find a way to leak it to the Zhen family about the fact that the second master Bao of the Jia family lives alone in Jinling." He said,
"That kid had long expected that he would act rogue and ask for money when he arrived at the Zhen family, so he dug a hole himself to see how long his stupid brother could last."
Zhen Yinglian shook her head and said: "With such a temper... I know it's not a bad idea to run away."
"It's not too shabby to know that bribing Jiming Temple is not too shabby." Wei Ruoheng said, "I didn't expect him to run away. Before I had time to tell him something, someone had already lurked and chased him."
Zhen Yinglian asked casually: "What's the matter?"
"That's what Jia Cong asked me to say. He said to tell him when Jia Baoyu can no longer hold on any longer." Wei Ruoheng raised the corner of his mouth, "The Zhen family once sent an assassin to assassinate Lin Hai, the former Minister of Household Affairs, and the person in charge was Zhen Yingjia.
I'm so lucky to get it. If it weren't for chance, Lin Hai would have died many years ago. Jia Baoyu deeply respects Lin Hai. It's a pity that he can't see him when he heard about this."
"Assassinating important members of the imperial court, no wonder their family fell. They have the same surname as mine."
Wei Ruoheng said hurriedly: "There are so many people with the same surname in the world, what does it matter to you?" Zhen Yinglian smiled and shook her husband's hand.
Not long after, the soldier who went out of the city to chase Baoyu and talk about it came back and told Wei Ruoheng: "That Jia Baoyu's intestines were broken into pieces because of regrets! He just said that he fed the wolf out of kindness. Look at what he looked like. He couldn't eat for two days."
It’s determined.”
Wei Ruoheng laughed loudly: "His brother said that he wanted him to experience the malice of this world for himself."
On the way, Jia Cong got the information that the Zhen family had defrauded Baoyu of his money, and he secretly waited for him to be in a hurry. He didn't expect that Jia Baoyu would not be short of money when he arrived in Yangzhou. The wealthy people in Yangzhou heard that he was the world-famous Shenying waiter.
When Jia Baoyu came, he was invited to a banquet one after another, and some asked him to buy calligraphy and poems. Jia Baoyu was actually willing to sell! Not to mention the price, he only let the buyers watch. The rich families competed, and one bid was made.
He was taller than the other and rushed to give him money. The money lost in the hands of the Zhen family was earned back in a few days.
Baoyu looked at the bulging money bag and breathed a sigh of relief. Mingyan smiled from ear to ear: "Second Master is very capable! This time we don't have to worry!"
Baoyu sighed: "This is the only thing I can do."
One of the escorts said: "The second master Hui Dang Bao is a proud man. He is willing to sell his articles even if he doesn't want to."
Baoyu said: "I have been selling literature for many years, what does this mean? I was stupid in Jinling a few days ago and let people coax so much money away. Now I won't starve you." Everyone laughed.
At this time, the troops returning from the south of the Rongguo Mansion had arrived in Fuzhou. Jia Cong changed his clothes and followed Jia Lian to visit Huang Wengang, the governor of Fujian. Huang Wengang was so busy when he thought of them that he had to see them, so he sent someone to invite Dai Xian first, and waited for another half a day.
.
Although the men in the main house of the Jia family have different temperaments, one trait is hereditary: thick-skinned. Both brothers Jia Lian and Jia Cong acted as if nothing had happened. They exchanged greetings with Huang Wengang affectionately, as if friends were reunited, and smiled like the spring breeze blowing on their faces. Huang Wengang
After coughing a few times, he asked them what they were doing. Jia Lian said, "Master Huang is out of touch! I just came back from Jinling and passed through Fuzhou to visit Master Huang." The more he said this, the more Huang Wengang didn't believe it, and he became frightened.
Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief when Dai Xian arrived.
Dai Xian knew that they had just come from the state of Wu, so he inquired about everything in the state of Wu. Jia Lian said: "Before we got up, the King of Wu had ordered that the salt class be exempted."
Dai Xiannai said: "I have something unclear, my official. According to what Mr. Jia said in Chengtian Mansion that day, it will be a matter of time before all the countries in the world are exempted from salt lessons. How come Mr. Wang Ziteng is not exempted from it?"
Jia Cong said: "It was exempted eight hundred years ago, but it was never made public to the world. The trade between Guangdong and Guangxi is prosperous, and various factories are gradually opening up. The commercial tax is enough, and the salt tax king doesn't pay attention to that idea."
Dai Xian and Huang Wengang looked at each other. Then they talked about various things about the Wu Kingdom and said: "The Wu Kingdom in Japan is extremely short of population. The King of Wu is going to copy the methods on our island. There will be no need for roads, land will be opened up, and taxes will be paid."
Very few. The Japanese genus Yan and Liu are similar."
Dai Xian glanced at Huang Wengang and said, "Wouldn't it be better to send prisoners to open up wasteland?"
Jia Cong said: "The creativity of free people cannot be matched by prisoners. In terms of business, marriage, children's education, adults' entertainment, prisoners can't win the hearts of the people. As for the money of the princes, taxes are better than anything else. And the sons of free people are better than anything else."
It is easy to produce talents. The kings of Yan and Wu are all talented people, so how can they do things that are not beneficial to themselves?"
Dai Xian thought for a while, nodded and said: "As far as the prince is concerned, it is actually better to be a free citizen."
Jia Cong said: "Wu is connected to Qi in the north and Chu in the west. Neither of them is easy to mess with. Most of Jiangxi is ruled by Green Forest people. I'm afraid that a lot of the population of Wu in Japan will come from Fujian."
Huang Wengang smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Jia, maybe you can give me some advice?"
Jia Cong said: "Be kind to the people, cut taxes and give profits. If being in Fujian is no worse than being in Japan, who would be willing to leave their hometown?"
Huang Wengang said: "Every land in Fujian has its own owner."
Jia Cong said: "Since the land of Japan was conquered by various princes, the theory should be their private property." Huang Wengang frowned worriedly.
But at this moment, a woman shouted outside, and Huang Wengang shouted: "Who?"
I saw a daughter-in-law walking in timidly, kowtowing and saying, "My wife sent my servant to ask if I can have guests for dinner."
"What are you shouting?"
The wife lowered her head and said, "I almost tripped." Huang Wengang waved his hand and said, "Trash! Get out of here!" The wife didn't even ask what the wife wanted, and left.
Huang Wengang had no intention of inviting these robbers to dinner, but Mrs. Huang had sent them, so she had to pretend to keep their food. Unexpectedly, Jia Lian immediately said: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful." Huang Wengang became more and more depressed.
At one moment, Jia Cong went out to relieve himself and met Huang Wengang's master named Zhang. Master Zhang bowed his hand to him and said, "I dare to ask Mr. Jia why he lied to the escaped slaves of the Huang Mansion."
Jia Cong was startled: "Ah?"
Master Zhang said: "Mr. Jia, did you recognize the wife just now?"
"Who?" Jia Cong said blankly, "Which daughter-in-law?"
Master Zhang said: "Mr. Jia has met the person whom my wife just sent to ask if I would like to prepare a banquet."
"Um..." Jia Cong pursed his lips and said, "I didn't pay attention to what she looked like. Have I seen her? I think about it, I've only seen one of the Huang family's daughters-in-law. Isn't this sister-in-law named Qiangwei?
Or hibiscus? Anyway, it’s the name of a flower. I just don’t remember its appearance.”
Master Zhang stared at him without blinking, and after a while he smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Jia is telling the truth. She is just a servant of another family, so there is no need to remember her." He closed his eyes and said, "This wife is me.
A good match."
The corner of Jia Cong's mouth twitched: "You really have bad taste."
Master Zhang said: "She was good in the past, but the last time she went to Chengtian Mansion with the master and his wife, she became weird. I know her temperament and will not falsely accuse a stranger of a woman as a runaway slave."
Jia Cong thought for a while and said: "From her point of view, it is indeed difficult to accept. Master Zhang, if you have a friend who has been unable to compare with you since childhood, you are better than him in everything. Suddenly one day you
What would you do if you found out that he had great luck and forced a lot of money out of you?"
How could Master Zhang not know what he meant? He avoided it and said, "What does this have to do with Mr. Jia protecting the escaped slaves? I heard that Professor Yang is Mr. Jia's friend? Mr. Jia lied about the identity of the escaped slave and deceived his friends. Is this what a gentleman does?"
?”
Jia Cong shrugged and said: "First of all, I am not a gentleman. Secondly, well...someone went to the market to buy shoes. The shoe seller asked him, this gentleman, what kind of shoes do you want to buy? They are in red boxes and green boxes.
Packaged, or packaged in a white box?”
Master Zhang said inexplicably: "Since we are buying shoes, what does the color of the box have to do with it?"
"Wow!" Jia Cong clapped his hands and said, "Buying shoes has nothing to do with the color of the box. What matters first is whether they fit your feet, and then whether you like the look and style. Since you are marrying a wife, what matters is whether we can live a good life together.
Does Brother Yang like this woman? What does it have to do with her life experience? The color of the shoe box is not eye-catching. What about her identity? Even if Sister Yang really wants to get the identity of Zeng Chun's niece in Luzhou, I can't use two.
Do you believe that Yue can get it?"
Master Zhang was stunned for a while and then said: "If Professor Yang is interested in that woman, why not bother Mr. Jia to help him and Mr. Huang go there."
Jia Cong lazily said: "Is it necessary? Mr. Huang doesn't think it's troublesome, but I still think it's troublesome."
Master Zhang hurriedly said: "Taking it without complaining is considered theft. Why does Yang Jiaoxi have to bear such a bad reputation?"
Jia Cong faked a smile and said: "Master Zhang, I am the one who encourages kings to send troops overseas to rob. My friend, what does robbing a woman mean?"
Master Zhang smiled bitterly for a moment and murmured: "The rituals are ruined and the music is ruined."
Jia Cong patted his shoulder: "Uncle, the collapse of rituals and music happened two thousand years ago. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period have long since passed. The rules will also change. Don't forget the contract in seven copies. If your lover
I can't figure it out, just hold it in." He took two steps and suddenly turned around and said, "If you are jealous of Sister Yang's skills, why not work hard and surpass her."
Master Zhang said: "How can everyone have the luck that your sister-in-law Yang has?"
Jia Cong said: "Why do you only mention luck? Her embroidery is not real skill?"
Master Zhang said: "There are many girls and wives with good embroidery skills in rich families."
Jia Cong said confidently: "Who told them not to run away?" He winked and encouraged in a low voice, "Master Zhang, if you have time, it is better to advise Mr. Huang. Rather than going against the general trend of the world, it is better to follow the trend. I heard that Master Zhang
He is also a person with real talents and knowledge, but he accidentally smeared his papers during the scientific examination. Look at Mr. Dai, fifty years from now his family will probably not be comparable to other families, not even the Huang family.
It’s still early and there’s still time to catch up with this trip.” After saying that, he whistled and walked away with his arms behind his back. (..)