A knife in love

Chapter 84

A soldier said: "Laoshou has earned a lot of money these years. He only drinks and gambles. If he is not good at his craft, he would have died on the street."

Another soldier said: "There are always hundreds of people who rely on the imperial tomb to eat. Lao Shou is the master who can spend the most money. He also plays the most tricks. Judging by his style, I am afraid that he was also a rich family back then. My son, I don’t know why I ended up here, what a pity.”

Several people talked about it, and they were all sighing.Li Qiufeng paid attention to it, and winked at Murong Danyan, signaling her not to move, stood up with his teacup, walked to the bearded table, and said with a smile: "This military lord, Can I take a step to speak?"

The bearded man looked up at Li Qiufeng, saw that his clothes were neat, he didn't look like a local, and he spoke politely, but he didn't dare to underestimate him, and said, "Do we know you?"

Li Qiufeng laughed, and said: "Isn't it just that I know it now?" Turning to the owner of the tea stall, he said: "These military lords are accountable to me, and each of them will offer a pot of high-quality pineapple. Tea, and pick another snack."

These soldiers are just small soldiers in the barracks, and they have lived a life of careful planning. Even this tea money is not a small amount for them.Seeing Li Qiufeng's generous hand at this time, he immediately looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing why this person paid for him for no reason.

The bearded man stood up and said with a smile: "This brother is too polite." While talking, he walked to an empty table next to him and sat down, and said to Li Qiufeng: "This brother is not from the local area, is he?"

Li Qiufeng looked around and said in a low voice: "I'll tell you the truth, my brother is from the capital."

The bearded man nodded and said: "It can be seen that brother's demeanor and dress are not like those local turtles in this town."

Li Qiufeng said: "To tell you the truth, my brother is from Sibao Zhai outside Zuo'an Gate in the capital city, and he came here to collect the debts in the past few days. Do the military masters recognize the old man surnamed Shou just now?"

The bearded man was taken aback, and said, "Laoshou went to the capital to borrow money?"

Li Qiufeng said: "He didn't borrow money directly from Sibaozhai." Speaking of this, Li Qiufeng pointed to the tavern and said: "He owes the money to the tavern, but the owner of the tavern owed the money to Sibaozhai. I borrowed it. The younger brother came here a few days ago to press for the money owed to Sibaozhai by the tavern. The boss said that the turnover is not open recently, and it will be delayed for a few days. The younger brother pressed hard, so he said that the old man surnamed Shou owed him More than a dozen liang of silver, if you are in a hurry, you can ask Shou Lao for it. Just now, my younger brother was going to talk to this Shou Lao about repaying the debt, and I just heard a few military masters mention this person, so I want to inquire..."

The bearded man didn't wait for Li Qiufeng to finish, and said with a smile: "Brother, you are asking the right person. Don't worry about Laoshou's debt. Although this person is not doing a proper job, he has a good character. He has I will pay back your debt after paying the money. It's just..."

Speaking of this, the bearded man pondered for a while and said: "Just a dozen taels of silver is not a small amount, and Laoshou's salary for one year is only 20 taels. It will be difficult to pay back the money in a short while."

Li Qiufeng deliberately showed an anxious expression and said: "What should I do? Our boss said that if we don't collect all the debts this time, we will deduct my brother's wages."

The bearded man smiled and said: "You can discuss it with Lao Shou as much as you can. He is addicted to drinking and gambling, but he has nothing to say about his character. The owner of this gambling shop wants you to ask Lao Shou for the debt, he must know Lao Shou Shou is not willing to delay in arrears for too long."

Li Qiufeng said: "So, Lord Jun is quite familiar with this old man?"

The bearded man smiled triumphantly and said, "Brother, you are asking the right person. To be honest, we are all garrisons in this imperial mausoleum. Lao Shou was originally a gardener and has worked in the imperial mausoleum for many years. He also has a skill with handwriting, which is quite remarkable."

Having said that, the bearded man looked around for a while, put his head in front of Li Qiufeng, and said in a low voice: "Laoshou did a great thing back then and made a lot of money."

Seeing that he spoke solemnly, Li Qiufeng also whispered, "I would like to hear the details."

The bearded man said: "That was more than ten years ago, when the late emperor passed away. I heard that a cabinet scholar came from the capital to prepare for the burial of the late emperor's coffin in this imperial tomb. He dared to be negligent, but luckily he kept a secret in mind, fearing that something might not be handled properly, so before the arrival of the grand scholar, the minister in charge of the mausoleum first went to the late emperor's Kangling to inspect it.

"It turned out that it was okay not to inspect, but this inspection resulted in a major accident. The south wall of the Feng'an Hall, which was temporarily placed in the Xiandi's Zi Palace before being sent to the underground palace, suddenly fell off. It's nothing if a single wall falls off, as long as the craftsmen have to rebuild it." Just paint it on. The terrible thing is that when the first emperor came here in the past, a picture of "narcissus playing in water" painted on the wall by the painter in the palace was destroyed because the wall fell off. The queen mother also admired this picture. The Cabinet Grand Scholars and other officials have also seen it with their own eyes. If the Grand Scholars arrive and find that the picture is missing, it will be a felony for Minister Guan Ling and below.

"The big guys are like ants on a hot pot. They are so anxious that they don't know what to do. At this time, the team leader in charge of repairs secretly told Minister Guan Ling that there is a gardener who is good at painting with fine brushwork. He has repaired the imperial mausoleum before." There are quite a few murals, which are beautifully written, and no one has ever seen any flaws. You might as well invite this gardener to paint a picture on the wall, which may be able to cover up the past. The Minister Guanling was helpless, so he had no choice but to die. As a living horse doctor, he called the gardener and asked him to redraw a picture of "narcissus playing in water" on the wall. After the gardener arrived, Minister Guan Ling originally asked everyone to describe the picture to him. Unexpectedly, the gardener said: "I walk this Feng'an Hall every day, and I am familiar with the murals. Needless to say, I will paint them again."

"At the beginning, everyone thought the gardener was bragging. Unexpectedly, in only three hours, he actually re-painted a picture of 'Narcissus Playing Water' on the wall. Even the handyman who cleaned Feng'an Hall every day saw it I can't figure out how it is different from the original picture. Minister Guan Ling was ecstatic, and he praised him again and again, and even rewarded him with 80 taels of silver.

"This gardener is Laoshou. Since then, he is no longer just a gardener in the imperial tomb. Some writing and painting are also entrusted to him. Ordinary handymen are no more than five taels a year. The wages of silver can only be distributed to rice and grain to top up. Lao Shou received a real 20 taels of silver, and he never defaulted. Over the years, there have been three or four ministers in charge of Guanling. It's very good, I'm afraid of a negligence, this old guy resigns from his job, and if something happens in the future, he will inevitably lose his life. If it weren't for the fact that he could live for the whole family with a skill, it would be like our big soldiers, who died exhausted, only relying on a little Military pay and life?"

Having said this, the bearded man complained about Qiu Ba's difficulty again, and then said: "Laoshou is a lonely old man. If one person is full, the whole family will not be hungry, and with this skill, he will not worry about food and clothing. It's just that he The older he gets, the more he likes to play, and the more he plays, the more tricks he plays. In the imperial tomb, he often drinks and gambles with everyone. He is more proficient in fighting crickets and throwing money. It is not enjoyable to play with acquaintances in the imperial tomb. I often secretly come to the gambling house in this market to gamble."

The bearded man turned his head to look at the tavern, and said to Li Qiufeng in a low voice: "Laoshou gambles in the imperial tomb, everyone is acquainted, although there are some people playing tricks, but it is just a small trick, Laoshou still wins more and loses less The owner of this gambling shop is a black-hearted person. All the tables in his place are equipped with traps. How can Lao Shou win money? I am afraid that the money that Lao Shou has thrown in this gambling shop these years is more than 100 taels. Alas, It's a pity that Lao Shou is dead. Otherwise, betting on this thing must never be contaminated..."

The two talked about it for a while, and finally Li Qiufeng said: "Duocheng Junye's news, my brother has a bottom line in his heart. This old man will not be able to come up with more than a dozen taels of silver in a while, and the money still needs to be settled." To the owner of the casino."

The bearded man said: "Brother is indeed a sensible person. If you ask Laoshou for money, he will never default on it. He will definitely find a way to borrow money to pay you back. It's just that he has been in the imperial tomb for the past few years. The lieutenant general has borrowed all the money from his acquaintances. Although there are borrows and repayments, this face is always a bit embarrassing. We heard that he actually borrowed usurious loans in the past few years. Alas, Amitabha, this is a dead end. Brother, I think you still It’s better to ask the casino owner for this account.”

After Li Qiufeng thanked him, he took out dozens of Jiajing Tongbao and gave them to the bearded man before returning to the table.

Murong Danyan saw him discussing with the bearded man privately for a long time, he was curious and asked in a low voice: "Brother Li, what are you talking about with this Qiu Ba?"

(End of this chapter)