(I have something to do in the afternoon, so the 16:00 chapter will be posted first)
"The pavilion chief, the pavilion chief Heifu!"
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, during market hours (from 15:00 to 17:00), in the bustling streets of the evening market in Anlu County, freshly baked Shangzao Heifu strode ahead with an earthy red scarf on his head.
Behind him, the weak Chaoyang Li Gongji was chasing after him, shouting Heifu's name loudly as he walked.
But Hei Fu didn't want to stop, and he had no choice but to stop until he was blocked by a group of people passing through the alley in front of him.
Quji took the opportunity to rush in front of him, blocked the way, panting, and then he bowed deeply to Hei Fu and said: "Quji, thank you, the pavilion chief, for lending me the money to solve my urgent need, but the left half of the deed, the pavilion chief is
Forgot it with me..."
As he said that, he handed over a deed of IOU with seal characters written on it with both hands!
It turned out that just now, because Quji was unable to pay off the fines totaling 4,032 yuan from the top three, the county jailer took him to the county Sikong Office and planned to make him sign a document and do labor for the government for more than a year.
Quji was about to sign, but unexpectedly, Heifu, the head of the Huyang Pavilion who arrested him that day, suddenly arrived and said he was willing to lend money to Quji, so that he could pay the debt immediately and be exempted from labor.
Heifu also asked several minor officials to testify on the spot, and signed a debt deed with Quji. Heifu held the contract and went to Jiji to hold the right deed. However, when they left the temple, Heifu also handed over the contract.
It was stuffed into Qu Ji's hands, and then he strode away...
How could Qu Ji not know what Hei Fu meant? But he was an honest man and could not do such a thing, so he chased Hei Fu all the way. Now he finally caught up and insisted on returning the left half of the deed to Hei Fu.
Qu Ji said from the bottom of his heart: "I understand the meaning of the pavilion chief, but I am also a person with integrity. I must pay for breaking the law. It is only natural and right. How can I let the pavilion chief take the reward for catching a thief to pay for my sin? The pavilion chief."
Don’t worry, although my family is not rich, if we can save more than 4,000 yuan to repay it within three to five years, there will be no problem!”
Hei Fu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although he looked sick, he was stubborn and refused to give him the money! Anyway, it seemed that he was indeed a good man, and it was not in vain that he had helped him once.
So Heifu pushed Qu Ji's hand back and said sincerely: "Qu Ji, I want to pay the money for you because this matter happened entirely because of me. You saw the tomb robber committing the crime, but you are afraid of the officials and thieves.
It is human nature to retaliate together, and there is no shame in it. That’s why you submitted the anonymous letter, which is a helpless act. You are not at fault, but the law does not allow it, and you cannot reduce your guilt."
He said: "I am just fighting against the food officials. I can't change the jailer's sentence with my words. I can't change the terms of the law. I can only change myself. So I made my own decision and came up with money to save you from disaster. The reason why I made this statement in public
I lent you this money to avoid trouble. This four thousand money should be regarded as the reward you deserve for reporting. Don’t refuse it again!"
It's one thing for a civil servant to pay for a criminal to relieve his misfortune, but it's another thing to lend money to others. Heifu also took advantage of a loophole in the law.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Quji was even more moved. He bowed again and said, "Heifu Pavilion Chief is not only a brave man, but also an official and a righteous man! How can I take the wealth of a righteous man in vain?"
"
With that said, he was about to push the deed into Hei Fu's hand.
Hei Fu was also a little annoyed, and wanted to push him away, but he was afraid of hurting the sick man, so he suddenly took the left half of the deed and walked to the restaurant owner who was watching the excitement.
He said to the shopkeeper: "Lord, please lend me a fire!"
Then, under the surprised look of Qu Ji, the astonishment of the shop owner, and in full view of everyone in the market, Heifu picked up a piece of firewood on the stove of the restaurant and lit the wooden deed in his hand.
…
Seeing the red-yellow flames slowly crawling up the deed, and tongues of fire devouring the black writing on it, Qu Ji suddenly asked in a panic: "Heifu Pavilion Chief, what are you doing?"
This is an IOU for 4,000 yuan. Are you going to burn it if you ask for it? Does Chief Heifu not care at all?
But Heifu laughed heartily. He raised the burning deed high so that the disease could not reach it. When it was all on fire and almost burned his fingers, he threw it to the ground.
I rushed over to rescue him, but it was too late. The surface of the deed was almost turned into black charcoal, and the handwriting could not be seen clearly. It was ruined.
"Go away from illness. From now on, you and I owe nothing to each other! Farewell!"
After saying this, Heifu cupped his hands in front of Quji, walked through the crowd of spectators, and walked away!
Qu Ji could only stare blankly at Zuo Qi who was burned into coke. After a while, he bowed his head in the direction where Hei Fu was leaving!
"Heifu Pavilion is so kind, I will never forget it in this lifetime!"
At this time, not only the diners around the restaurant, but also half of the people in the market were attracted. They were giving pointers to Quji who was kneeling on the ground in front of him, and they were talking about it...
"Hunter, what happened just now?" someone asked curiously.
Qu Ji picked up Zuo Qi, who was burned beyond recognition, and carefully stuffed it into his arms. Then he stood up, dusted off the dust on his body, and said loudly to the people around him: "It's easy to teach the second and third sons to know that just now, Huyang
Tingting Chang Heifu, he has done a righteous deed!"
…
Things that happen in the market always spread quickly. At the time of the pounding time (17:00-19:00), when the evening market is over, as the people going to the market return home one after another, the righteous deeds of Huyang Pavilion Chief Heifu,
It has spread throughout half of Anlu County.
A few months ago, Hei Fu became famous in Anlu County for his ability to capture three thieves and seize a sword with his bare hands. Now, just when the people in the county have almost forgotten the deeds of that "warrior", he
But he appears in front of everyone with a new identity and a new story!
Everyone is saying that he entered the city alone and answered all 20 legal questions correctly, which shocked the government and the temple!
He went to work in his bare clothes, got a few clues from an anonymous letter, followed the clues, and discovered a major case!
He led a group of people to run at night, next to the dark and terrifying tomb, and captured all the stolen goods from a group of tomb robbers who were committing a crime!
He waited patiently, braving the cold wind, and when he came to the gate of the inner prison guarded by the thief, a giant rat came out of Anlu County.
Now, he used the reward money he got to help the man who made an anonymous report but was punished to cure his illness and pay off the fine...
"What a generous, kind and good pavilion director!"
Everyone who heard about Heifu's deeds, whether they knew him or not, all raised their thumbs up and praised him.
During the Warring States Period, righteous people and righteous deeds were most highly respected. Confucius said that benevolence and Mencius said that taking righteousness, as Mencius said, "Life is what I want; righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and you can't give up.
Those who are born with righteousness..."
Not only do Confucians highly value righteousness, but even the Qin State, which does not venerate Confucianism, is also deeply affected by this trend. The reputations of those patriots who are willing to die for righteousness can be praised for a long time. This is the fashion of the times.
Ever since, from that day on, the name of Heifu has left an everlasting impression in the minds of Anlu County people...
After nightfall, Heifu's reputation for being "generous and kind" spread to the ears of several officials in Anlu County...