Lu Ming

Chapter 643 New Year's Dinner
In the late afternoon, the courtyard of Yang Liushui's house was filled with busy figures and smoke from the kitchen, full of a strong taste of life.

The small courtyard was specially cleaned, the chicken coops in the corner were replaced with new straw, and the yellow dog who guarded the door rarely took a bath.

The yellow lacquered square table in the middle of the small courtyard belongs to the old furniture of the past years, and the paint has peeled off in several places.After the square table was carried out from the main room today, it was polished brightly.This time, the dishes are already set on the table.

The dishes are covered with blue and white bowls to prevent the dishes inside from escaping the heat.

The blue and white bowl covers the dishes, but it cannot cover the aroma of the plum sauce duck and braised pork.The son of the Yang family didn't smell so much meat all year round. Since the dish was served on the table, he kept walking around the table, drooling.

In the end, the young and old couldn't hold back the primitive desire for protein engraved in their genes, and secretly lifted the bowl, ready to steal a piece of meat to eat.

Dazizi's attempt ultimately failed.Accompanied by the loud "pa" and "ouch", Yang Liushui, who was carrying the jug, caught the young man and slapped the back of his head.

"A worthless thing, starved to death all day long and reincarnated. I have never stopped you, a debt collector, from eating and drinking, so I dare to reach out to the table for guests!"

Yang Liushui roared here, and as soon as he put the jug on the table, he bent down and skillfully took off his shoes to prepare to whip people, while the younger and younger ones followed the routine and started to escape skillfully.

Sister-in-law Yang is a small, kind woman.

Seeing the usual scene, she hastily stepped forward to stop her man: "Be careful tearing off the new year's new clothes, don't be angry."

After she was done, she pulled her son over again, found some bits and pieces of meat and bones on the stove, put them in a bowl, and watched her son chomp down on the meat to eat with heartache.

Yang Liushui, whose "violence" was stopped by the woman, went downhill.He carefully dusted off the new clothes on his body, muttered, and sat down on the long bench in front of the table, reaching out to pour wine into the jug.

At the next moment, Yang Liushui's arm holding the wine jug stopped: at some time at the door, there was a smiling young man standing sideways.This person leaned against the wooden door and kept silent. It seemed that he had already seen the whole scene of him teaching his son a lesson.

"Oh, Brother Zhou!"

Yang Liushui slapped his thigh and stood up: "If you come, you won't go in, you don't have to watch my brother's jokes!"

The young man grinned and stepped on the threshold.

When you get closer, you can tell the age.This young man is about 24 or [-] years old, with a gentle face, and looks a little simple and honest.It's just that once in a while, a glimpse of the eyeballs will reveal a well-hidden agility.

The young man is not tall.He wore a muslin robe that was probably new, a soft cloth cap, and thick-soled cloth shoes.At first glance, he was just an ordinary Ming person.

"You brother, come as soon as you come, what gift do you bring when you enter your house!"

From the moment the young man entered the door, Yang Liushui had a happy expression on his face.While complaining in his mouth, he grabbed the visitor's arm and wanted to invite him to take a seat.

The man known as Brother Zhou has been smiling ever since he entered the door.At this moment, he shirked and put down the gift in his hand, and then first bowed to pay New Year's greetings to Sister-in-law Yang: "My younger brother has met my sister-in-law, and I wish my sister-in-law an early New Year!"

Sister-in-law Yang was delighted from ear to ear.

Immediately afterwards, Brother Zhou took out another red envelope from the armhole, and stuffed it to the young man of the Yang family who was already full of excitement and anticipation.

"Hurry up and kowtow to your uncle to pay New Year's greetings!"

At this time Yang Liushui turned into a loving father, with a kind face, and lovingly patted the back of the eldest son's head again.

After some courtesies, Zhou Geer and Yang Liushui sat at the yellow lacquered table chattering.

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The brother Zhou mentioned by Yang Liushui is actually called Zhou Yi.

That day 4 years ago happened to be a small year.Yang Liushui, who was still a shopkeeper at the time, went to work in the morning and found a fainted person in front of his house.

Taking a closer look, I found that this person was ragged and stooped.But when the messy hair was pushed aside, it turned out to be a young face.

Touch the forehead again, good guy, it's burning hot.

For Yang Liushui, a peddler who works from dawn to dusk, he has seen too many sick poor people like this.It stands to reason that he doesn't care about this matter. It won't take long, at most half a day, this person with a high fever will die naturally, and then be dragged to the incineration field by the corpse collectors who are patrolling the city all the time and burned.

Besides, Yang Liushui usually can't afford it.A poor family like him, who is worried about his meal, doesn't have any resources to meddle in his own business.

But Yang Liushui's thoughts that day were a little different from those in the past.

First, this person lay down in front of his house.If he was allowed to lie down like this, it would be inconvenient for him to get in and out, and it would be inappropriate for his family to slap their buttocks and go out to do business, leaving behind their wives and children.

Second: Seeing this young man's face, Yang Liushui felt a little pity for some reason.

In this way, Yang Liushui thought over and over again, finally opened the door and called out to his mother-in-law, and the two of them worked together to carry the lying young man into the yard.

For a patient with a fever and a coma, Yang Liushui actually had nothing to do.His family is poor, he has neither medicine stone, nor can he afford a doctor or a decoction.The only thing that can be done is to ask the woman to bring warm water and feed the young man a few mouthfuls.

After that, Yang Liushui went out and called a donkey cart.

Supporting Yang Liushui's actions, there is actually another hidden important reason: Not long ago, in the south of Guangzhou, a ferry crossed the south bank of the Pearl River, and a large factory was recently opened, which was extremely lively.

Yang Liushui is a shopkeeper, he will go wherever there are crowds, so a few days ago he crossed the river and went to that big factory to do business.At that time, I heard from the idle man that the big factory was bought by the commander-in-chief who had pacified the pirates a few days ago, and was planning to build an official residence.

Yang Liushui didn't know how big an official residence would be for such a large piece of land.All he knew was that there was still a shortage of people in this large factory where there were crowds of people shouting and shouting, and it seemed that the chief soldier was very rich.

There is a basis for lack of people and money.

That day, Yang Liushui was about to go home after finishing his business, when he was stopped by a robust "servant" dressed in black and holding a knife and gun.

Yang Liushui thought it was a habit to collect land fees, so he hurriedly nodded and bowed his head, ready to spend money to buy a familiar face.

Unexpectedly, this servant was very kind, and after asking a few words, he let him go.Not only that, but the servant also had a message for him when he arrived: "Brother, after returning home, spread the word to the neighbors. If there are relatives and friends who want to work and sell their strength, they will all want this end. There is also a shortage of cooks. Men, women and children If you don’t pick and choose, you can be a beggar or a beggar.”

In the end, the servant took out more than a dozen high-quality copper coins, saying that they were "propaganda fees" and threw them into Yang Liushui's cargo box.

From that day on, Yang Liushui had a good impression of the large factory on the South Bank, and he also helped them publicize it in the neighborhood.

After seeing this young man today, Yang Liushui had an idea from the very beginning. Sending this man to the construction site is because the general soldier has gold and silver in his family, and he is short of labor.
So Yang Liushui, feeling anxious/tragic about his family's loss of business and travel expenses for half a day, hailed a donkey cart all the way, then transferred the ferry, and sent the unconscious young man to the South Bank Wharf.

After landing, as expected, the servant in black on the wharf of the construction site immediately called the doctor to see the patient.

Afterwards, an old clerk in a jacket with double breasts carefully questioned Yang Liushui, and after recording his detailed information and the whole process of the incident, he told Yang Liushui: This young man has accepted it.But since this person is a sick person, whether he can be saved or not is still a matter of debate, so even though he is a strong laborer, the construction site can only "reimburse" [-]% of the "intermediary fee" to Yang Liushui.

At the end of the day, Yang Liushui returned home dizzy with two beautiful pieces of silver in his arms.

This intermediary fee was Yang Liushui's hard work for half a month in the past.

That's how things seemed to end.After this incident, there was no news from the young man. The honest man Yang Liushui continued to run his small business, but he began to often go to the construction site.

However, after half a year passed, one day, suddenly a young man with "shaven hair" wearing a jacket and leather shoes approached Yang Liushui's house.

In the small courtyard of the Yang family, this young man who had recovered and found a "job" under Cao Zongbing reported himself as Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi is not actually a local.His hometown is in Ezhou, and he is an authentic Hubei native.

Zhou Yi was an apprentice in a book and paper shop in his early years.The reason why he was exiled to Guangzhou was because there was a flood in his hometown and the plague was rampant.In desperation, in order to survive the disaster, Zhou Yi followed his relatives to go south to Guangzhou, looking for relatives and seeking a way to survive.

It was only when I arrived at the land after all the hard work that I realized that my local relatives and friends in Guangzhou were no longer here.And my relatives were seriously ill due to the exhaustion of the journey, and died within two days.

Before long, Zhou Yi himself, who had spent all his money, also began to live on the streets.Soon he fell into a fever again due to acclimatization, and he was dying, and finally passed out in front of Yang Liushui's gate.

Knowing the cause and effect, Yang Liushui also sighed with emotion: the world is difficult, and it is not easy to live.

After that, Zhou Yi, who escaped from death, kowtowed on the spot to his savior, Yang Liushui.

Feeling happy, Yang Liushui felt that his family had done a good deed, so he and Zhou Yi called each other brothers.

In the years that followed, Zhou Yi, an out-of-town boy who was in a state of exuberance, regarded Yang Liushui and his wife as relatives, and they had frequent exchanges on weekdays.

When he has free time at work, Zhou Yi will use his salary to buy some daily necessities to visit his brother.Yang Liushui and his wife also liked this godbrother, but they would send a message to Zhou Yi whenever the family planned to cook something delicious, or bought the soles of their shoes again.

During the constant contact, Yang Liushui also gradually learned about the Yamen where Zhou Yi worked in the General Military Mansion: the General Intelligence Bureau.

On Zhou Yi's side, he is very cautious about his errands on weekdays, and usually doesn't explain much.Even if it is said, it is in accordance with internal regulations and has its own set of rhetoric.

As for Yang Liushui, an uneducated low-level aborigine in the Ming Dynasty, he didn't even know what departments were in the prefectural and county yamen, and he didn't even have the slightest idea of ​​the new term General Intelligence Bureau.

However, with the passage of time, and Zhou Yi's intentional or unintentional revelations and guidance, Yang Liushui finally got a general idea: his godbrother was working in a private yamen under the general surnamed Cao, and it was about the same as "theft detection". "Arrest" is usually done in private, so it's not easy to say it clearly.

Time flies, and 4 years have passed in a blink of an eye.From the point of view of Yang Liushui, who often deals with Zhou Yi, his godbrother has changed a lot.However, if he was asked to tell what had changed, he, an illiterate, couldn't describe it.

Although it can't be described, the benefits that Yang Liushui has obtained from Zhou Yi one after another are real.

In the beginning it was informational.For example, where there is a gathering, where is there a fast-handed business that can grow. Last year, Zhou Yi got a large iron bucket and a bunch of things from somewhere, and taught Yang Liushui a whole set of retail skills.

As a result, Yang Liushui, a salesman, transformed into a mobile barbecue stall owner.

The bakery business is very good.Yang Liushui has been here for more than a year. Although he doesn't look like much on the outside, he can be regarded as a wealthy family in the slums.

And Zhou Yi, who brought all this, has become more and more "precious" in the eyes of Yang Liushui, and he has been promoted to become a grassroots "hit nobleman" of Yang Liushui.No matter what Yang Liushui thinks now, he will discuss it with Zhou Yi first.

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"Come on, buddy, have another drink!"

While talking, the sky has already turned dark.The New Year's Eve dinner in Yang's courtyard, the dishes on the table were wiped out in sevens and eighties, and it has come to an end.

At this moment, Yang Liushui's face was flushed, and he was holding a wine glass, planning to have another drink with Zhou Yi.

"It's too much, it's really too much today!"

Zhou Yi's complexion was also a little flushed, but he was obviously clear-headed, probably because he drank a lot of alcohol before.

"Ha, brother knows that your yamen has strict rules. Come on, I'll do it, brother, you can do whatever you want."

While talking, Yang Liushui, who was in a particularly happy mood today, raised his head and downed another glass of fine Fujian rice wine.

Zhou Yi saw that Yang Liushui was almost done, so he hurriedly called the woman from the Zhou family to clean up the situation, while he helped Yang Liushui into the main house.

According to the usual practice, there was no one in the main house at this meeting, and it was left for the two brothers to talk.On this special day, a bright kerosene lamp was lit in the main house.

The lamp was a gift from Zhou Yi during the Chinese New Year last year.It is impossible for Yang Liushui's family to use this kind of luxury at ordinary times, that is, today is the holiday, and Zhou Yi himself is coming, so they ordered kerosene.

After Yang Liushui was helped into the main house, he picked up the tea bowl that the woman had prepared long ago, and took a big gulp of warm tea to sober up.

He took a long breath and felt his mind cleared up a lot.Immediately, Yang Liushui picked up the machine-made cigarettes from the table that he was reluctant to smoke in the past, tore off the wrapping paper, and handed the cigarettes to Zhou Yi with emotion: "It's been four years since we talked!"

Zhou Yi showed a rare vivid expression, nodded and sighed: "Yes, it's been 4 years."

Yang Liushui walked out of the memory after silently feeling the effort of half a cigarette.

Thinking about his high days in the past 4 years, Yang Liushui said to Zhou Yi gratefully: "Brother, we two brothers didn't have a good drink this year. I really can't come back in the new year? I still plan to Let's drink two pots with you on New Year's Eve!"

Zhou Yi shook his head and smiled wryly when he heard this, and touched his bun unconsciously: "The Yamen has already set a schedule, and I have to go to the north to do business in the future, and I really squeezed the time to come here today."

When Yang Liushui heard that Zhou Yi was going to the north on a business trip, and watched him touch his bun, he was suddenly blessed, and was very smart for once.He slapped his thigh, and asked in surprise: "Someday in this year, you grow your hair and wear robes. Is it for this business?"

Speaking of the last sentence, Yang Liushui seemed to realize something, and quickly lowered his voice.

(End of this chapter)