Daming Yinghua

Chapter 99 The Burning Float
Liu Daqiang suddenly looked behind Zheng Haizhu, and called "Mom".

It was Liu Butou's wife who came to wash clothes by the river with a gloomy and sad expression on her face.

Zheng Haizhu wanted to catch her and ask her.

Liu's wife put down the wooden basin, hugged the youngest daughter, and Qi Ran explained the whole story.

Liu Tutou has a younger brother who was awarded a Jinshi the year before last and spent a year in Beijing as a 'Guardian'. He was appreciated by the court, and last year he was sent to Shaanxi as a promotion official.

There is a kind of gang in Beijing that targets poor low-level officials sent abroad, and offers to borrow their travel expenses through the introduction of so-called colleagues.

After arriving at the place of employment, officials often find that the written documents have been tampered with, for example, the word "month" for monthly interest is more like "day", and what they actually owe is usury.At this time, the people of the usury gang will make various demands that violate the law, and let the officials use their power to repay the debts.

If you don't obey, you will be harassed and humiliated in various ways, and even framed for false accusations.Liu Butou, the younger brother of the Zhima official, has recently been involved in false accusations.

After hearing this, Zheng Haizhu asked in surprise: "Your uncle, on the whole, like Mr. Huang in this house, he is a serious eighth-rank civil servant. How dare the local hooligans be so arrogant?"

Mrs. Liu said: "Miss Zheng, Mr. Huang is from a noble family. Mr. Huang's disciples are all over the south of the Yangtze River, and many of them are officials in Beijing. Who dares to bully Mr. Huang? But if we go out from a poor family like us, we are like ants in the officialdom." Those loan lenders are not ordinary ruffians. The masters behind them are all very powerful, and they can all make friends with the princes or county masters in the north, crush ants to death, trample waste, a piece of cake."

Zheng Haizhu was worried when he heard it, squatted down, took out a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on Liu Xiaomei's face, and said to Liu's wife: "Are you trying to raise money to establish a relationship, so you exchange my little sister for some money?"

Her tone didn't mean to question at all, but Liu's wife covered her mouth and sobbed: "Miss Zheng, which mother is willing to hand over such a young child? But the elder brother is like a father, and Lao Liu is in a hurry. It's so difficult." For the way to Shaanxi, Mao estimated that he would need to prepare at least 50 taels. His own monthly salary has not been paid in the past few years, and the family really can’t make up the number. The family who came to see the younger sister is willing to give 30 taels. Bian is also richer than us in Songjiang, so it may not be hard to be a child bride."

Liu's wife's last sentence sounded like comforting the angry elder son and the frightened younger daughter, but it was actually deceiving himself, so as to teach himself to believe that his own flesh and blood would have a bright future.

30 taels of silver, Yangzhou... Zheng Haizhu was stunned.

When she traveled long distances with her nephew, the most dangerous time was when she ran into the Renyazi gang and was almost robbed. Fortunately, she was vigilant and lucky, and was rescued by asking for help from several bodyguards.Although the bodyguards were honest and upright, they spoke carelessly and told her that at her age, she could only be sold as a concubine to fill a house or give birth to a son. Girls who are sold to Yangzhou as skinny horses can be doubled.

Nowadays, in the three counties of Songjiang, the betrothal gift for a wealthy tenant farmer to marry a daughter-in-law will not exceed 20 taels of silver.

The family who asked the younger sister to be a child bride-in-law is willing to pay 30 taels of silver?

Are you going to sell it to a brothel to raise a skinny horse?

Zheng Haizhu quickly calculated the remaining money at hand.

Although Yan Siqi has a full [-] taels of dividends plus new capital to handle goods for her in Jiangnan, but this adventure has disrupted the rhythm of everything, and the money order has not yet reached Tang Bo in Nanhui.

Mao Wenlong's son also sent 800 taels, but Zheng Haizhu was handed over to Zheng Zhilong for emergency treatment. They were exchanged for supplies and sent to Daishan, where they were handed over to many of Yan Siqi's subordinates and the family of salt workers.

In the school's account, the Shaoxing Zhang brothers' capital injection was on their hands, but Zheng Haizhu was not willing to borrow money from the public account for this matter.

Damn, as expected, cash flow is king, and the saying that a penny kills a hero is a good one.

To brag, she was considered a moderately successful time-traveling heroine, but when things came to an end, the WeChat wallet, ah no, there was only a few taels of silver in the money box in the house, which was still the monthly salary of the Han family.

Fortunately, there are a few pieces of gold jewelry in the money box, which can be exchanged for 20 taels if they are pawned.Then ask my nephew Shou Kuan even how many months and two months the money will come, and I can get it all together.

Zheng Haizhu's plan had been made, so he said to Liu's wife solemnly: "I'm going to invite Empress Cang, to make a long story short, 30 taels of silver, I will pay, and I will definitely send the money tomorrow, don't send my younger sister to be a child bride-in-law. Otherwise, I will ask Master Huang to drive away your old Liu."

When Liu's wife heard the words, of course she recognized that Zheng Haizhu was not a threat but a great help, but she couldn't believe it for a while, she just opened her mouth and was speechless.

The son Liu Daqiang clapped his hands with joy, and pulled his sister over to kneel down to kowtow to Zheng Haizhu.

Zheng Haizhu patted his head and taught him a lesson: "You are also a half-child. When you encounter problems in the future, don't just burn ants to vent your anger, open your mouth to find your teacher! Take your sister to school, I don't care about you kowtow For those who recite the Buddha, I only hope that you will study hard."

After saying that, she turned and trot, and got into the sedan chair.

Seeing the sedan chair bouncing away, Mrs. Liu seemed to wake up, looked at her son and said, "Miss Zheng, that's amazing. A long-term employee of a big family has become so rich."

The son gave his mother a slightly cold look.

"Mom, Miss Zheng is not rich, she just has a heroic spirit."

After he finished speaking, he was about to drag his younger sister to the direction of the school, but saw a young man in a long coat coming towards him.

It was Lu Xiangsheng.

After Lu Xiangsheng saw that they were the brothers and sisters of the Liu family, he bowed his hands to his wife, announced his family name, and said to his two students in a friendly manner: "Are you going to the school? You don't need to go, the two gentlemen who teach essays and geometry , I’m not feeling well. Mr. Yao is on leave today. I haven’t done my boat crash yet, so I can’t teach.”

Mrs. Liu had long heard from the two children that there was a young scholar from Yixing in the school. Qiang and Xiaomei will accompany you around the Moon River, today there is still a float to welcome the Cang Empress, the last time we locals saw it was five or six years ago."

Nine-year-old Liu Xiaomei knew that Miss Zheng had helped her out of bad luck, her anxiety and fear had dissipated, and she had regained her childlike nature. She also looked forward to seeing Miss Zheng dressed differently from usual, so she also raised her face and looked at Lu Xiangsheng. He said earnestly, "Sir, come with us? Ms. Zheng is the main guide this year."

Lu Xiangsheng originally came out to visit the bookstore.

A man who loves firearms and weapons is really not interested in fancy and folk temple fairs where women gather together.

Unexpectedly, when he heard that Zheng Haizhu would actually be the protagonist, he couldn't help but change his mind.

Come here, go and see.

……

An hour later, on the north bank of the Moon River.

Amidst the sound of firecrackers exploding from time to time, a team of dozens of people meandered along.

After the first performance of beating gongs and drums, there were groups of two dancing silkworm lanterns with bamboo sticks, five or six young girls holding fresh mulberry leaves dipped in buckets of well water and swaying them, and some martial arts students who were obviously theatrical troupe turning Somersaulting to warm up the field, there are also many female family members of Canhu, who distribute candy and rice cakes to onlookers along the way.

In the middle of the team was an ox cart. Among the gorgeous and vulgar fake flowers, a white horse made of gauze and silk stood upright. The woman stands on it.

"Miss Zheng! Brother, Mr. Lu, look, that is Miss Zheng."

Liu Xiaomei, who got to the front row, got back and reported excitedly to her teacher and brother.

Lu Xiangsheng is much taller than ordinary villagers. He can easily see the horses and people on the floats by looking over the black heads.

When the float approached, Lu Xiangsheng saw Zheng Haizhu's situation clearly, and couldn't help but sympathize with her very much.

Miss Zheng was wearing a thick cloak that was either white or yellow, and she was holding a tray in her hand. Sometimes she staggered because of the bumps of the ox cart.

Now at noon in the summer weather, wearing such a cloak under the scorching sun, Zheng Haizhu's face was flushed with heat, and her temple hair was stuck to her cheeks with sweat.

The cloak wrapped around Zheng Haizhu like a cocoon.

And the white horse made of gauze is more like a weird silkworm, surrounded by a cocoon.

No matter how the villagers around applauded and applauded, Lu Xiangsheng could only read Zheng Haizhu's dumbfounding, which he tried to hide.

Miss Zheng, who is simple and unpretentious, capable and smart, is dressed up in such a funny look today, it is really hard to describe.

Lu Xiangsheng turned his head, and was about to ask others how long the float would last, when he suddenly heard exclamations from the front row.

"Fire, fire! The white horse is on fire!"

People instantly changed from ducks stretching their necks to fleeing rats holding their heads in their arms. Even Wu Sheng, who was somersaulting heroically just a moment ago, stumbled away with horror on his face.

At last, there were still a few fellow villagers who still had conscience and brains in the critical moment. They tore down the door curtains, tarpaulins and other things from the shops on the side of the road, and tried to go up to put out the fire, shouting, "Girl, jump down."

Of course Zheng Haizhu was about to jump off the car immediately, but the flames shot up high in a few breaths, and just as she pulled her robe up over her head, the cow pulling the cart ran wildly because of its tail being burned rise up, and cast her down in the flames.

"Daqiang, drive the cow to the river with me!"

I saw Lu Xiangsheng shouted, picked up the silkworm lamp bamboo stick that fell on the ground, tapped the ground with the stick, and jumped in front of the bull a few times, blocking the beast's path.

On the other side, the young Liu Daqiang also reacted very quickly, picked up a wooden barrel, and waved it to intercept the retreating route of the bull.

The bull was pinched back and forth, its buttocks were on fire, without any hesitation, it rushed straight down the Moon River like a chariot of fire.

(End of this chapter)