Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 50 2.27 This can all be related to Rongguo Mansion

Volume Two

2.27 This TM can all be related to Rongguo Mansion
"Mr. Zhou, we've arrived at Hanlin Street!" Just as he was drifting off to sleep, the coachman's voice came from outside the carriage, "I wonder which house your husband is going to? Do you want a servant to take you there?"

"Well, we're here?" After rubbing his face hard and wiping the corners of his eyes, Zhou Yang managed to regain some energy, "No need, I'll just go there by myself for the rest of the journey. You go back now, remember to help me." Say hello to Brother Tadou and thank him for the hospitality."

"Don't worry, sir, I'm resigning!" Seeing Zhou Yang get out of the car, the coachman came down and untied the bloody horse from the back of the car, and hung the prepared gift bags behind the saddle, then bowed respectfully and drove off.

This time he went to Miyako Island and stayed for more than ten days. During this period, he basically became familiar with the Broken Horse Sword and the Sweat Horse. He practiced various martial arts subjects with all his strength, mixed with exchanges and conversations with Xue Xun, which was very interesting. He made several effective suggestions, such as the large-scale use of cement in dock construction, road paving and distribution, personnel management, urban construction zoning, etc., but the most important ones for him were the purification of gunpowder raw materials and the granulation of gunpowder. Technology and custom-loaded paper-cased bullets.

Of course, these cannot be completed in one day, but Zhou Yang is not in a hurry. Anyway, it will take a long time for him to truly become an official. The process of the world of "Red Mansions" is still very early, so he will continue to practice martial arts steadily until When another supply fleet arrived at the island, he and Xue Biao boarded the ship and escorted the goods to Jinmen.

After arranging all this, his original plan was to ride all the way back to the capital, but in the end he listened to Xue Biao's suggestion and took a carriage back because Jinmen was not close to the capital, not to mention the consumption of horsepower along the way. Many Jiangnan local products and seafood cannot be transported long distances by a horse, not even a sweaty BMW.

He simply sent the Li brothers back on horseback, escorted the big things away, and drove slowly by himself. When he finally returned to the capital, more than half a month had passed since he left Jinling. It was now June [-]th. The second day is considered "late summer" according to time.

"Excuse me, who is outside? There is no one at home, so I won't welcome you!" Fortunately, the Li family's old house is not far from the intersection of Bing Street. It only took a few minutes to run all the way there, but no one opened the door even after knocking for a long time. Just as he was about to prepare When he gave up, a familiar voice came from the courtyard.

"Damn girl, don't open the door yet!" Zhou Yang couldn't help laughing, and slapped the door panel a few more times, adding a few threats, "Do you want to be spanked by the young master?"

"Master!" The courtyard door was opened in an instant, and even because he was too impatient, he didn't even care about the door latch falling to the ground. After Qingwen made a crying voice, he saw a fragrant little pillow rushing into Zhou Yang's arms, followed closely Then he gave me a small punch, "You still know how to come back? I thought you were fascinated by Jiangnan and never wanted me again!"

"Fool, how could it be? Who am I going to bully if I don't have you?" Zhou Yang smiled and "comforted" the little girl, and the result was that the little fist that had just stopped continued to "provide", "Okay, okay, Qingwen, be good. The young master has brought you a lot of gifts!"

"Huh?" The little girl was actually easy to bribe, and Qingwen's eyes immediately lit up.

Qingwen was the only one left in the entire Li family's old house, so Zhou Yang had to do the work himself. He drove the BMW to the stable in the front yard and fed it, and collected the gift boxes and bags he brought back in two batches. His cooperation was still "generous". "Under the scorching summer sun, when I finally finished my work, my originally stylish appearance had been replaced by sweat, wrinkles and helplessness.

"Qingwen, why are you alone at home? Where are the others?" After a brief shower and changing into home clothes, Zhou Yang finally had time to ask about the current situation.

"Huh?" It was obvious that the target being questioned was spending all his energy on turning over gifts and ignored his questions. "Grandma Li and Sister Suyun are naturally in Rongguo Mansion. Uncle Sun was called yesterday. , saying that something happened - well, it seemed that someone in the Wang family had died, and she went to pay his respects.

No one usually comes here, I am bored at home alone, but shopkeeper Yang has come here a few times to deliver things, and also brought a lot of account books, but I can't understand them, so I give them to Su, who comes here from time to time. Sister Yun, ask her to take it to the house and give it to grandma. "

"Shopkeeper Yang?" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment before he realized it. He almost forgot that he also had a tavern in the west of the city. "Let him take care of the arrangements there. Anyway, he doesn't care about the income now."

"No, I think I heard that someone came to collect Ping An's money?" Qingwen finally remembered the matter, "Well, yes, that's it. Shopkeeper Yang mentioned that it was a few people who called themselves the Tiger Gang."

"Isn't it right?" Zhou Yang always felt that something was wrong. "Didn't Shopkeeper Yang tell him that Wuying Tavern is owned by Wu Xiucai? Where did these gangsters get the courage to collect money from a prestigious store? Besides, your guy My cousin has also returned to Rongguofu. Your uncle should come to the store often, right? He didn’t say a word? "

"I don't know about this slave. I just heard from shopkeeper Yang that my uncle said that my cousin was warned by someone in the house and told him not to talk too much." Qingwen shook her head blankly, "Since the young master left, my slave I have stayed here all the time, and I don’t dare to run around on weekdays. Except for Sister Suyun and Shopkeeper Yang, I only saw Grandma Li once.” “I’m sorry for you!” He gave his maid a slap on the head in distress, Zhou Yang knew that Qingwen was not an honest person. She was able to stay at home so steadily. On the one hand, it was his order, but on the other hand, there was no other way - Suyun would not have time to take her out, and she could not trust other people. .

As for the few gangsters who came to collect protection money, he really didn't take it seriously. He just went back and beat them away. His reputation as a scholar was enough to guarantee that he would refuse to accept an official position, and his social status was simply not comparable to them. These few The gangsters are either poor and crazy wild ways, or they have support behind them, but no matter which one is actually not too troublesome.

"Hmph, since the young master said that the slave is not allowed to go out, how can the slave dare to say anything." Of course, it is one thing to be honest and obedient, but it is another thing to be angry. Qingwen, who was originally tumbling over the gift, immediately felt that the thing in her hand It was no longer fragrant, and he turned around with his mouth pursed, leaving a small back view of Zhou Yang.

"Qingwen is good." Zhou Yang smiled and hugged her gently. He took out a tortoiseshell comb from his bag and stuffed it into the maid's hand, making her calm down instantly. "Do you have a way to contact the palace chief and Su Yun? Just in time. I have something to ask them."

"No way." Even though she was playing with the tortoiseshell comb excitedly, Qingwen still shook her head, but then added, "But when Sister Suyun left last time, she said that grandma would take advantage of this funeral to arrange If she goes out to buy some things, she can come back and stay for a while, probably tonight."

"Oh?" This time it was Zhou Yang's turn to light up.

That night, the bedroom in the inner courtyard.

"No, no more!", "Do you want to trample this slave to death? Since this slave came back, I haven't even had a bite of food——"

"Uh" he rubbed his nose awkwardly. Zhou had been going back and forth to Jiangnan for more than two months this time, guarding two inedible carrot heads and a flower that he dared not eat. It was really hard to hold back, plus his strength. Huge improvement,
"Huh!" Su Yun breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes helplessly, "Grandma has been busy with things in the house these days. I'm afraid she won't have time to come out for a while. The slave will also go back tomorrow, so she will bring these with her. Grandma is in a hurry to get something, and if anything happens to the young master, my servant can help and talk to him."

"It's nothing." Zhou Yang shook his head. What Li Wan can do to help now is really limited. "However, I brought a lot of things when I came back this time. It just so happens that you can take them back with you when you go back."

He basically has no social circle in the capital. He was originally admitted as a martial arts scholar, so naturally there should be a few in the same year. The problem is that he himself "returned from overseas" and was born in Yeluzi. She was completely incompatible with her, so naturally she couldn't open a circle; not to mention others, she didn't even have any relatives. The closest ones besides Qingwen were really Li Wan, his master and his servant.

"Really?" Su Yun's eyes lit up, and then his expression turned resentful, "Huh, I brought a gift for this slave, but I didn't even remember it until now, and I even made this slave miserable - ugh!"

"Hey, haven't we seen each other for a long time." Zhou Yang quickly changed the subject after a while, "I helped the Jiangnan Xue family a lot this time, but I got a lot of good things back. There are a lot of sea goods alone. Piles, such as tortoiseshell combs, pearl hairpins, coral pendants, etc., I will give you two pairs when the time comes."

"Well!" Suyun was completely relieved now. As a maid, she had never received such good things before, so her speech became much softer. "Is there really nothing wrong with the young master?"

"Yes, yes, but I'm afraid the palace judge can't help." Zhou Yang told the Wuying Tavern's "protection fee" issue. He originally thought he was just looking for someone to talk to, but found that Su Yun's expression was getting weirder and weirder. "What, you really know?"

"My servant has heard some rumors." Su Yun thought for a while, and it was probably the organizational language, "Qingwen's uncle opened a tavern next to Chengxi Road. The older servants in the house knew about it, and later sold it. The money he got was used to help the Lai family, and then he sent cousin Qingwen into the house.

If you calculate it this way, Uncle Qingwen's house is considered to be on the Lai family's side. This makes Butler Zhou very dissatisfied. Things in the house are not easy to change, but the tavern outside the city does not matter. I heard that he We hired people from the Tiger Gang to make the tavern look good.”

"Damn it, can this have anything to do with Rongguo Mansion?" Zhou Yang couldn't help but cursed on the spot!

(End of this chapter)