I live in Dayu Changsheng

Chapter 45, The Siege

The bright moon is bright, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the moonlight like water covers the earth.

In the wind at dusk, there were occasional sharp shouts and screams from a distance, and there were countless evils breeding in such a dark night.

In such an environment, Fang Rui came to Jiang Ping'an's house and knocked on the door.

Boom boom boom!
"Who is it?" A vigilant female voice came from inside.

"Sister Jiang, it's me!"

"Xiao Fang!"

With a creak, the door opened: "Come on, come in!"

Sister-in-law Jiang shifted her body to let Fang Rui enter the room, looked outside vigilantly, left and right, turned around and locked the door behind her back, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

When she saw what Fang Rui was carrying, she complained again: "Xiao Fang, you came here as soon as you came, what else do you bring? This year is going to be hard, don't mess with these face-saving things!"

If at the beginning, Jiang's sister-in-law was just being polite, but now, as Fang Rui's friendship with the Jiang family gradually deepened, she meant what she said sincerely.

"It's not a good thing, just a few copies of 'Scar Removing Cream', and a catty of soybeans...Moreover, this gift is really a must-have...My family just moved here, and it's the first time I've given it here. The door of my sister-in-law's house, of course I can't leave it empty-handed..."

In the past two days, Fang Rui has not been able to purchase any more medicinal materials, but he has stockpiled a batch earlier and used them to make a little 'Scar Removal Ointment' as a gift, which is still possible.

As for going to the black market to sell medicine kits?
Of course not.

One, after killing Lord Tiger, he gained a lot of money, he, Fang Rui, is now a rich man; two, the medicinal materials are precious now, making medicine kits for money is not worth it.

Another thing is: the black market supplies have already been tightened, not to mention the extremely high prices, even if you have money, it is difficult to buy too many in-demand goods.

"Moved here? This is a good thing! Our two families can take care of each other..."

Sister-in-law Jiang's face brightened, and then she took the things: "Then sister-in-law will accept it... But, Xiao Fang, don't be an example. If you still bring things over next time, sister-in-law will be angry!"

She put the soybeans aside, carefully put the 'Scar Removing Cream' into the cabinet, and said no, but she actually liked this gift very much.

'Scar Removing Cream' is really easy to use - its effects: scar removal mainly, whitening, acne removal, and freckle removal are just supplementary, but it is this supplementary effect that is the most rare, especially for women.

"Okay, then I will come here empty-handed in the future, sister-in-law, don't dislike me for eating and drinking for free...By the way, Brother Jiang?"

"Where is it inside? I'll find Lao Jiang to come out and talk to you... I've been busy all afternoon, and Lao Jiang didn't come back until it was almost dark. After eating, I went to lie down. I didn't sleep, I just squinted for a while..."

Jiang Pingan was still yawning when he was pulled out.

"There is still some wine left over from the wine that Xiaofang brought last time. I'll warm it up. It just so happens that you, Lao Jiang, don't go to patrol the streets at night. You and Xiaofang, the two of you are drinking and chatting..."

Jiang's sister-in-law said, and went away in a hurry.

"Brother Fang laughed, your sister-in-law is in a hurry...yawn..." Jiang Ping'an couldn't help but covered his mouth and yawned.

"Brother Jiang didn't sleep well last night?"

"It's not that...you know, in the afternoon, the news of 'reserve army collapsed, peace bandits are about to besiege the city' spread, the city was in chaos, naturally there were many things...and..."

While talking, Jiang's sister-in-law came over with a wooden basin, which contained hot water, a small jug of wine with the wine jug in it, and a small dish of fennel beans as a side dish.

In this season, it is already quite extravagant to entertain guests with wine and appetizers.

"You men are talking, so I won't get involved. I'm going into the house." Sister Jiang put down her things and went into the back room.

"Come on, Brother Fang, we are all acquaintances, so I won't take them for you, eat beans by yourself, don't be polite!"

Jiang Pingan twisted a fennel bean by himself, put it in his mouth and chewed it, tasting the taste, his drowsiness gradually faded away, and continued slowly: "There is another thing: In the afternoon, we old headhunters, The old yamen servant was attacked by unknown persons... The number of casualties, as far as I know, is more than ten people..."

"Oh?"

Fang Rui's expression turned serious: "I heard that in the afternoon, there were a lot of troublemakers in the city... The news of 'the reserve army is defeated and the Taiping bandits are coming' spread at an abnormally fast speed... Now, it's still time Some yamen servants were arrested and attacked... I'm afraid it's all the secret actions of Taiping bandits, trying to cause chaos and prepare for the subsequent destruction of the city..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. There are quite a few smart yamen servants who have seen this, and have been passive in their work, or simply go home and hide..."

Jiang Pingan said with a wry smile: "I'm not a very courageous person, and I'm still young. Looking at the situation, I'm not going to patrol the streets tonight. I'm going to wait and see..."

"You should be more careful. Brother Jiang is right to be cautious."

Changing places, Fang Rui would probably do the same. At this moment, seeing that the wine was almost warm, he picked up the jug and poured it.

Whoa!
Under the dim light of the fire, the freshly warmed amber wine was clear and translucent. It gurgled out from the mouth of the pot and splashed into the bowl. The rich aroma also escaped, filling the room with fragrance.

"Good wine!"

Jiang Pingan sniffed the aroma of the wine, sighed in admiration, picked up the bowl, and took a big mouthful, letting the taste of the old rice wine dance on his taste buds.

Shaoqing, he just swallowed it with a thud, sighed in satisfaction, twirled another fennel bean, chewed it slowly in his mouth, and said with emotion: "Now, the city is in chaos!"

"Yes!"

Fang Rui agreed, picked up the wine bowl, sipped slowly, and talked about his own affairs: "Tonight, a local ruffian came to my house, a man with dysentery, who called himself 'Poor Lord', and took the official approval... ..."

"...It is precisely because of this that I hurriedly took my family and came here to take refuge..."

He didn't hide the fact that he killed Diarrhea Liu—Jiang Ping'an is not someone who can't rub the sand in his eyes. Moreover, the other party is a government servant, and he has seen such things a lot, and his ability to accept is better than ordinary people much.

"It's a small matter, the man with dysentery will die as soon as he dies, he's just a local ruffian, no one will care..."

Sure enough, Jiang Ping'an and Fang Rui had the same opinion: "However, Brother Fang's worries are justified. If he stays in Liushu Alley, the follow-up military service may still be a little troublesome..."

"Of course, since we've moved here, I'll take care of everything."

"Thank you Brother Jiang!" Fang Rui picked up the bowl.

boom!
Jiang Ping'an and Fang Rui touched bowls: "It's good to move here! We brothers take care of each other..."

He had a sense of propriety in mind, and he didn't ask Fang Rui where the yard he moved from - did he get along with friends, and it wasn't about raising pets. He wanted to control everything about the other party, so he should leave room for himself and the other party.

"Brother Jiang, tell me, in today's world, local ruffians can become the government's 'poor master', which is also interesting!"

Fang Rui laughed and said, "I guess: this has something to do with the attack by the peace bandits in the afternoon?"

"Yes, Brother Fang, you guessed right."

Jiang Pingan talked about this matter: "... two waves of troops in the county were defeated, the masters of the army perished, and the high-level government's military force dropped sharply... and this afternoon, the yamen servants were attacked... the real officials seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Passive sabotage, isn’t it the only way to hire hooligans?”

"No, it can't be called employment. In fact, to be more precise, those local hooligans found connections, paid some money, and contracted the power to collect military service this time... To put it nicely, it's a contract, but to put it bluntly , is to sell the official title..."

He also can't see this kind of thing, but... he dare not control it, and he can't control it!

"It turned out to be so."

Fang Rui frowned: "With this kind of operation, those with some strength in the county can basically avoid it. Most of the people who are actually pulled away are ordinary people... There is no time for training, and even if they are sent to the city, they will be a group of mobs..."

"Moreover, most of them are mixed with the secret work of peace thieves..."

"Aren't those gentlemen above afraid of playing off?"

You know: if the city is broken and the peace thieves come in, those big families will be the first to bear the brunt—for no other reason, the people at the bottom have been squeezed too hard, there is basically nothing to grab, their pockets are cleaner than their faces, and they don’t take money from big families Use your brain, where does the oil come from?

"Brother Fang doesn't know something, there is no other way."

Jiang Pingan sighed: "The gentlemen above naturally know: the best way is of course to ask the big families to help defend the city, but these big families are not stupid, they are worried about losing too much strength, and they don't want to send too many people."

From the point of view of those big households: it’s true that the city is broken, they will have a hard time, but there may not be anything wrong, but if they lose too much strength in defending the city and lose their strength, then they are fish on the chopping board.

"...So, we can only recruit strong men and let people from rich families stare at us...Knowing that there are hidden dangers in this way, we must do it. A solution is better than no solution, right?"

"This is really..."

Fang Rui shook his head: "If the group of big households work together, there will be someone who can help them, with the help of the city wall, there is still hope to defend the county... But now, they are afraid of the city being destroyed, and they don't want to lose their strength. "

For example, the Donglin Party at the end of the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to change the dynasty and lose power in its hands, nor did it want to stop and cut flesh from itself...

"That's right! I think Changshan City is probably..."

Jiang Ping'an's attitude was equally pessimistic, and he waved his hands: "Forget it, let's not talk about this, Brother Fang, drink! Let's drink!"

While pushing cups and changing cups, the atmosphere gradually reached a climax.

Fang Rui accompanied Jiang Ping'an and drank a lot, but his eyes were clear: "That's Jiang Ping'an. Another person might not know the news, and even if he knew, he might not be willing to say it..."

Instead of muddling along in a muddle like most people, he wants to be a sensible person.

When the wine was hot, Jiang Ping'an took Fang Rui's wrist and said earnestly, "I was thinking about it. I can hide like this for a while, but I can't hide forever... unless I don't want this official skin..."

"No way, in two days I will go to patrol the streets, and even go to the top of the city... at home, please take care of Brother Fang..."

"Don't worry! In the past, Brother Jiang took care of my house, but now it's changed, I won't refuse..."

boom!
The wine bowls collided, and the two drank it all in one gulp.

After drinking for a while, Jiang Ping'an was half-drunk, and was helped by Jiang's sister-in-law to wash, Fang Rui bid farewell and left Jiang's house.

out the door.

Fang Rui's slightly drunken appearance disappeared in an instant, and he walked towards San Niangzi's yard on the side of Tianshuijing Hutong under the moonlight.

In this world, the safety of Fang Xueshi, Fang Ling, and the third wife and daughter are all tied to him alone. He really can't get drunk, dare not get drunk!
……

"Brother Rui, are you back?"

It was San Niangzi who opened the door, and her nose twitched: "It smells so heavy, why don't I go make some hangover soup?"

"I drank some wine, but I'm really not drunk, so don't bother."

Fang Rui asked, "Third sister, where are the two little girls?"

"They were talking about waiting for you to come back and listening to stories! But after playing for a while, they fell asleep... Maybe they are tired from all the moving today!"

The third lady paused for a moment, and said again: "There is also Auntie, who also went back to sleep."

In fact, Fang Xue wanted to wait for Fang Rui to come back, but after thinking about it, she finally came here, it is more spacious, some two people may be warm, so she went back to the room to make room for some two people .

Just now, when she heard Fang Rui's voice outside, she really settled down, drowsiness hit her, and she was about to fall asleep.

"Brother Rui, there is hot water in the pot, let's wash up!"

San Niangzi brought hot water, squatted down, and naturally wanted to take off Fang Rui's shoes and socks and wash his feet.

"No, third sister, I'll do it myself."

Fang Rui insisted on refusing, and after washing his feet, while scrubbing, the third lady took the initiative to pick up the wooden basin and went out to pour the footwashing water.

Naturally, as it should be, as if it was a matter of duty, and there was no grievance in the slightest.

'It's better to be a woman of this era! '

Fang Rui sighed secretly in his heart, and when the third lady came back, he hugged her from behind, lowered his head, put his chin on the other's shoulder, and sniffed the scent of Rulan lingering around his nose: "Third sister, have you thought about it yet?"

"Brother Rui!"

The third lady's voice was melodious, and this call was as soft as a whisper, and several turns could be heard from it, like the sound of a chime ringing around a beam, lingering in my heart.

Charming and seductive.

Fang Rui was so overwhelmed with love, he hugged the third lady tightly, making his body fit tightly to her.

"Brother Rui, don't stay here..."

"Okay. However, the third sister promised that today... on the top..."

Fang Rui picked up the third lady and strode towards the house on the far side.

……

The night was cold and the dew was heavy, patches of white frost condensed on the trees in the yard outside the window. After a stick of incense, in a sudden gust of wind, the clear dew condensed by the frost condensed like a tide.

The wind is very noisy tonight.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Breakfast: sorghum batter, sorghum steamed buns, a large bowl of fried bean sprouts, one boiled egg per person.

——After moving here, because I want to save some fine grains, the staple food has been changed from stick noodles to sorghum noodles.

The third lady was sitting in front of the window, and the golden early sun came in through the window. In the series of lights and shadows, her fair skin was reflected, as if shrouded in a hazy halo.

"Mother, you look so good today!" Nannan blinked her eyes and said.

"Looks good!" Fang Ling also nodded.

San Niangzi blushed slightly: "Maybe it's because I slept well last night..."

"Three girls are young, just sleep well, I can't do it."

Fang Xueshi had slight dark circles under her eyes, so she gave Fang Rui an annoyed look by taking advantage of the vegetables.

"Cough cough!"

Fang Rui coughed awkwardly and lowered his head.

……

Just had breakfast.

Jiang Pingan hurried to find him, and brought a shocking news: Taiping bandits besieged the city!
……

(End of this chapter)