At the entrance of the village, there were a few fengshui trees covered with withered vines. A few dirty yellow dogs saw this strange traveler and began to bark incessantly. The village was not large, with only forty to fifty households, so it was immediately known that a guest had come to the village. However, the dozen or so strong riders at Tuma Pass had come and gone in a hurry, so many of the timid villagers did not dare to go out. Later, when they saw Xu Ziniang and You Songniang return in a hurry, some of the diligent women who had gotten up early to cook hurriedly went to wake up the men who had been lazing in bed. Although the men on the kang were not very promising, they were more knowledgeable than the women. The sleepy man stood on his tiptoes and looked behind the yellow mud wall for a long time, but in the end, he could not say anything.
In the past, when Xu Ziniang was bullied by Beiliang, the elders in the village could not stand it anymore and dared to bring the strong men in the village to help. However, when faced with a group of Beiliang soldiers, how could they dare to be brave men? At this time, hearing the dogs at home barking loudly, they were afraid of causing trouble. Some of the more impatient men did not put down their bowls and ran out to kick them a few times. The dogs whimpered and hid in the corner, looking very innocent. Through the crack of the door, they saw a young master carrying a saber. He was walking slowly on the winding bluestone path. He was very handsome. A few beautiful village women would have gone out to flirt with him if they didn't know the severity of the situation. It was the first time they had seen such a handsome man. The villagers didn't have too many scruples. If their wives gave birth to children, they would even dare to open their chests when breastfeeding in the cool summer weather. They just wanted to cool off. It wasn't like they would lose a piece of meat if they were stared at a few times. The village women who saw the young master felt that if they were stared at by his beautiful red phoenix eyes, they might even take advantage of him.
Hsu Fengnian passed by house after house. At the door, there were Spring Festival couplets written by the scholar This Old Man. He admired them one by one. He stopped at the door of a house at the end of the village and knocked. Without waiting for the owner to respond, he pushed open the door and entered. Unexpectedly, he saw the young miss. Hsu Fengnian avoided arousing suspicion and stopped in his tracks. He smiled gently and said, "Why haven't you left?"
Unsettled, Lil 'Miss turned his head slightly and didn't meet the gaze of this Lingzhou scholar. He said softly, "Without relatives or friends, where can he go?"
Xu Fengnian leaned against the cold courtyard door that was damp with morning dew. He smiled and said, "I came here to try my luck, thinking that you shouldn't leave too quickly so that you can tell sister-in-law that today's matter has really been resolved. The general that came later is from Lingzhou. Although we can't be considered family friends, he still has to give face to the Buddha. He and my father's generation have seen each other all the time, so he didn't want to go too far. I spent some money to have him distribute it to those military men to drink a jar of aged wine and eat dog meat. This way, the big matter was reduced to a small matter. This way, everyone's face is not that bad. How should I put it? It's just like the old saying, 'the King of Hell is easy to see, but the little devils are hard to deal with.' If you still don't trust me, the government will spit out all the money that they've embezzled to compensate you. Then, you'll know that I'm not lying to you. "
Lil 'Miss' eyes instantly turned red, and he lowered his head even more. His slender and beautiful fingers that were not as smooth as those of rich girls twisted the corners of his clothes tightly.
Hsu Fengnian hesitated and said, "Tell You Song to study well with This Old Man. There is a house of gold in the books. When he reaches the age to take the imperial examinations, our Beiliang will be different from the present world. To say nothing of other things, a scholar will have a greater chance of success."
Hsu Fengnian finished speaking and turned around. Hearing the young child run out the door and call out, "Big Brother," His Royal Highness still did not stop. Lil 'Miss Xu Qing sighed softly and said, "Young Master, you're not even willing to walk through the door? You think it's dirty? There are many disputes in front of a widow's door. I understand this principle. "
Hsu Fengnian was shocked. He turned around and said with a bitter smile, "Sister-in-law, you know I don't mean that."
Lil 'Miss glared at him and said, "Who's your sister-in-law!"
She turned around and said in a small but determined voice, "I heard You Song say that you gave away two steamed buns this morning. I'll make some food for you. Eat before you leave. A small family doesn't have anything good, but they can't be unreasonable. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled slightly and walked into the room. There was a square table that took up half of the space. It could be seen how small the room was. The left side of the room was the sleeping side room. Lil 'Miss went to the right side, which should be the kitchen. Although the room was small, it was facing south and did not appear gloomy. You Song brought over the only chair for Hsu Fengnian and sat on the small stool. He raised his head to look at the great hero in his heart and stared at him with wide eyes. Lil 'Miss was skilled at cooking and quickly made a bowl of white rice porridge that could hold five or six bowls for Hsu Fengnian, a pair of bowls and chopsticks, and a dish of vinegar cabbage to go with the porridge. Hsu Fengnian did not exchange pleasantries. He sat at the table and used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of sweet and crispy vinegar cabbage. It was tender and tender and went well with the porridge. He chewed and swallowed it slowly. It was the most refreshing meal he had in the past few days.
Lil 'Miss and You Song sat shoulder to shoulder on a long stool whose red paint had mostly peeled off. The child leaned against his mother, his face full of innocent smiles. Lil' Miss seemed to be infected by the child's emotions and had a smile at the corner of his mouth. He probably felt that this young master was interesting to be able to eat this white rice porridge and vinegar cabbage with relish.
Hsu Fengnian did not drink the porridge quickly and slowly ate three bowls. He put down the bowl and chopsticks and said contentedly, "Delicious."
Lil 'Miss smiled warmly and said, "If you eat this every day, it won't taste good anymore."
Hsu Fengnian nodded and then shook his head, saying, "It's better than eating delicacies. At least it can nourish the stomach. Also, the taste of the world is bland. Normal people can't reach this realm. I only learned this after traveling abroad."
Lil 'Miss pulled back her delicate brows and patted You Song's head. The child was sensible and immediately went to take the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen. She then carefully asked, "How much silver did Gongzi give out? Just treat it as Xu Qing owes you. In the future, when you have spare money, you can pay it back bit by bit. Is that alright?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled but did not speak.
Lil 'Miss' skin was really thin and she blushed from his stare.
Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "A small family like yours in Beiliang, with more ways to make a living, can only save ten or twenty taels of silver in a year. Even if you know how to embroider and can embroider some beautiful sachets to sell to well-off young ladies, Tuma Pass is only so big. How many sachets can you sell in a year? If you spend a large amount of money to buy fine satin from a silk shop, but you can't sell the sachets and keep them in your hands, even if there's only one, you won't lose a lot of money. Even if business is good, you have to work on the crops during the day. This delicate embroidery work can only be left to the night. You can light an oil lamp and slowly work on it. When you're tired, you can accidentally fall asleep. When you wake up and find that the oil lamp is wasted, won't your heart ache? Won't you use the embroidery needle to stab yourself a few times? Even if you take ten thousand steps back and add on the compensation, you can only pay me thirty or so taels of silver a year. How many years will you have to pay? Logically speaking, an official higher than Vice Captain Zhe Chong at Tuma Pass, one or two hundred taels of silver wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. How can he enter the eyes of this kind of official? So, this topic, you shouldn't have brought it up at all. In any case, I don't lack this bit of money. Just treat it as me doing a good deed for once. Isn't that good? "
Lil 'Miss raised his head. Biting his lips, his eyes clear, he said, "You have to pay it back!"
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "You have to pay it back? Alright, five hundred taels of silver as a base. Also, in this official circle, people aren't willing to accept just because you give them money. Compared to the favor you got from that general, how do you calculate it? Is it worth one thousand taels? If I give you one thousand and five hundred taels, you can slowly pay it back in fifty years? "
Lil 'Miss said calmly, "In the future, I'll have You Song pay it back."
Hsu Fengnian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Had Xu Ziniang's stubbornness been brought from her mother's womb?
Lil 'Miss suddenly said in a light voice, "I actually know that Young Master isn't rich. I can't let Young Master be a sucker for this. I won't feel good."
Hsu Fengnian said in surprise, "What do you mean?"
Lil 'Miss' face was red as he said weakly, "When Young Master took the bowl and chopsticks, Xu Qing saw that Young Master's palms and fingers were full of calluses."
Hsu Fengnian stilled, his smile strange.
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