The next morning, a large number of officers and soldiers appeared in Ju'anfang and began to register door to door, check the condition of random construction, clean up the garbage, disinfect the toilets with lime, and begin to repaint the walls.
A group of craftsmen came in one after another, re-paved the road, filled the puddles with soil, and then compacted it. Of course, laying stone slabs was impossible and the cost was too high, so the craftsmen did it smarter and made the road slightly higher on both sides.
, this can not only prevent rainwater from accumulating in pits, but also prevent sewage from flowing into the road.
The entire Ju'anfang was in full swing, and many people could not sit still and came out to help clean up stains and stagnant water.
Guo Jincheng came here at noon, half an hour earlier than usual. He was going to make a home visit today. He wanted to see if the student Qiao Shuigan was telling the truth.
Led by a student, Guo Jincheng came to a rented house and saw that Qiao Shuigan's family was poor and had only one house. They built a small shed with thatch and rotten wood in the open space at the door, which served as their kitchen.
Guo Jincheng knocked on the door. After a while, the door creaked open, and a thin and small man appeared in front of him. He looked about three or four years old. He was dressed in rags and barefoot. His eyebrows and eyes were vaguely similar to Qiao Shuigan. He should be
His younger brother.
"Who are you?" the little boy asked timidly.
"You are Qiao Erlang! I am Mr. Xuetang. Is your brother here?"
There was a "crash!" sound inside, as if something had been knocked over, and then a figure was seen hurriedly packing things in the room.
"Da Lang, who is outside!" A man's voice came from the bed in the corner of the room.
"Yes...he is my husband." Qiao Shuigan stammered.
"Since you are a gentleman, why don't you invite me in?" the man said angrily.
Helpless, Qiao Shuigan appeared at the door, lowered his head and whispered: "Sir, please come in!"
Guo Jincheng walked into the room, and a stench mixed with the smell of feces and urine hit his face. He almost vomited out. Guo Jincheng held his breath for a while before he recovered. He resisted the smell and looked around the room. The room was too small and things were very messy.
, almost no place to stand.
There is a laundry tub next to the door, with half a basin of water in it, and a quilt soaked in it. Qiao Shuigen was washing the quilt just now. There were several broken bowls on the ground next to it. There was half a bowl of batter in one of the bowls, and a few strips of batter were placed on it.
Pickles.
The room was very dark. There was a small window on the opposite side, and a ray of light came in and shone on a small table. On the table was the homework he had just written, which was exactly what he was asked to memorize yesterday but did not recite.
There was a very simple wooden bed in the corner, with a man lying on it, covered with a thick quilt. The light was dark, so his appearance could not be seen clearly.
"Are you my Dalang's husband?" the man asked hesitantly.
"I am!"
Guo Jincheng had gradually adapted to the atmosphere and darkness of the room. He replied calmly: "I have found that his situation in the school is not stable in the past two days, so I came to take a look."
"Dalang, sir, please sit down quickly."
Qiao Shuigan quickly moved his wooden stool over and said, "Sir, please sit down and I'll boil the water!"
"No, I'm going to school right away."
Guo Jincheng glanced at the broken bowl on the ground. There was a thick layer of black on it. Where could he drink water?
"It's all my fault!"
The man said painfully: "My child has to take care of me, cook and wash clothes, take care of my younger brother, and help his mother wash clothes at night to earn money. He was so tired that he fell asleep while writing. I asked him not to study.
But he refused."
"What's wrong with you?" Guo Jincheng asked.
The man sighed and said: "My name is Qiao Si. I am from Fenzhou, Hedong. I was also a member of the Jin army. I was shot by random arrows when attacking Youzhou the year before last. One leg became lame. Then I returned to my hometown to work in farming. As a result, last year
I fell from the roof while renovating the house and have lost consciousness in my lower body ever since. In order to treat my illness, we sold the land and moved the family to Chang'an and rented a house here. At the beginning, we were relatively wealthy and had military personnel.
With the money saved from my salary, pension and land sales, I just wanted to open a shop to do a small business and sell groceries with my wife, but I was deceived and all the hundreds of dollars I had saved were taken away..."
At this point, Qiao Si's voice choked up and he couldn't go on. The younger son climbed onto the bed and hugged his father tightly. Qiao Shuigan whispered: "Mom goes to the hotel to wash dishes during the day, and when she comes back at night, she has to wash clothes for others. She wants to give it to dad."
I have to treat illnesses and support my family, and my family is too poor."
Guo Jincheng's nose felt sore and he asked again: "Tell me what kind of liar he is, and I will find a way to track it down for you."
"It was a wandering doctor who said he could cure my paralysis. He applied some medicine on me. I didn't feel it at all, so he took out a few bottles of ointment and said it was his ancestral secret recipe, made from precious medicinal materials.
, one bottle costs twenty guan, and it usually takes five bottles to cure my leg. I was a little hesitant, but he said he didn’t want to sell it yet, so he left and left. My wife was angry with me. She searched for three days before she found this doctor.
I bought Wu Guan ointment in one go, but after using it for five months, it didn’t work at all. Only then did I realize I had been deceived. My child almost hanged himself, but his two sons held him back."
"You just said that you really feel after taking the medicine?"
"No! He was inducing me. I thought I had feelings, but actually I didn't."
Guo Jincheng nodded and said: "Actually, I found out about your situation yesterday. The government provides subsidies for disabled soldiers. I helped you get it back. It's a total of one hundred taels of silver. Please accept it!"
After saying that, Guo Jincheng put a cloth bag on the table. Seeing that Qiao Si did not respond, he smiled at Qiao Shuigan and said, "If you continue to study, at least you can read and write. You can find a good job in the future. Your family's life will be better."
It will gradually get better.”
"Thank you sir, I will definitely study hard!"
"Then I'm leaving!"
Guo Jincheng cupped his hands, turned around and left the room. He took a long breath of fresh air. His father often said that the people at the bottom were difficult, and he now truly understood it.
In the room, Qiao Si was still in a daze. Qiao Shuigan put a bag of silver in front of him and asked excitedly: "Dad, is this really a gift from the government?"
"I don't know. The army already gave me 30 taels of injury allowance back then. How can I still get another one? And it's still 100 taels of silver. I really don't know?"
Qiao Si's voice was trembling, and he felt like he was dreaming.
Qiao Shuigen is much smarter than his father. He feels that there are many loopholes in his husband's words. None of his classmates know that his father was a soldier. Where can he find out about his father's disability benefits? Moreover, his father's disability benefits are not related to him.
How is it possible to get it back?
He vaguely felt that the money was given to him by his husband, and he was helping his family! Thinking of this, his eyes slowly turned red.
........
At noon, Guo Song finished his lunch and lay down on the large official chair to take a nap. In a daze, he felt someone walking to the door and stopped. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Lu Lun standing at the door hesitating.
, Guo Song asked: "What's the matter?"
"Your Highness, Heavenly Master Qinglian of Yuzhen Palace has asked to see you, saying that there is something important."
An imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of Guo Song's mouth. What did Ying Caihe want to do with him?
Very few people know that Qinglian Heavenly Master is Ying Caihe. Only the senior officials of the Inner Guards and Jinwei Mansion know about it. Even the Prime Ministers like Pan Liao and Du You don't know.
However, it is normal for the master of Yuzhen Temple to come to see him. Yuzhen Palace is an asset of the royal family and is now an official property. Each palace master is personally appointed and canonized by the emperor, and money and rice are allocated to Yuzhen every year.
The real palace supports the Taoist nuns in the palace.
Guo Song nodded, "Ask her to wait in the living room, I'll be right away."
Of course, Guo Song couldn't do anything inappropriate with Ying Caihe in the official room, and he couldn't show too much intimacy.
Ying Caihe wore a face-covering hat and stood waiting in front of the living room window. She waited for a long time before Guo Songcai arrived late.
"Ms. Qinglian Palace, I kept you waiting!" Guo Song walked into the room and said with a smile.
Ying Caihe took off his curtain hat, put his hands together and saluted, "I'm disturbing His Highness' rest."
"No problem! Palace Master, please sit down."
Guo Song politely asked her to sit down. The tea boy came in, served them two cups of tea, bowed and retired.
Seeing that Ying Caihe was a little hesitant, Guo Song smiled and said, "If you have anything to do, just tell me!"
Ying Caihe was silent for a moment and said cautiously: "Is it possible for the Queen Mother and the young emperor to live in Yuzhen Palace?"
Guo Song was startled, "Why do you make this request?"
"Yes...it was begged by the Queen Mother. She lives in the Daming Palace and is so scared that she can't sleep every night. Whenever she closes her eyes, she sees the late Emperor and her children and grandchildren, looking for her bloody. She has begged me three times."
"That's it!"
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "It doesn't really matter where she lives. The main reason is that it is inconvenient. I go to her to report on military and political affairs and ask her to draft decrees and seal them. I can't go to Yuzhen Palace every time!"
"
"She said she is willing to hand over the Queen Mother's seal to His Highness. She will attend the New Year's greetings every year on time, and she will also go back to the Daming Palace to receive them when vassal towns from other places come to Beijing for pilgrimage."
Guo Song stood up and paced back and forth with his hands behind his hands. He did not expect that the Queen Mother was such a bachelor, so he simply gave the seal to him. In fact, there were not many decrees that the Queen Mother needed to draft, mainly involving the southern vassal towns, and he became the regent of the country.
, got the title of knighthood, and there was no need to consult the Queen Mother for the title.
In fact, Guo Song also thought about a security issue. The Daming Palace was indeed a bit unsafe, and in the Yuzhen Palace, with masters like Ying Cai and others sitting in charge, no assassin could succeed.
He thought for a long time and said: "In principle, I can agree, but I need to build a small palace in Yuzhen Palace for the Queen Mother and the young emperor to live. It is best for you to practice in the palace, do you understand what I mean?"