Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 58: Carry a breeze to replace you
Yuan Hongyu didn't know that Wang Daoqiu looked at him as if he were looking at a creature that had been declared extinct for hundreds of years.He was still there criticizing Wang Daoqiu non-stop, saying that since he was a scholar with a good reputation, he should abide by the laws of the country and set an example for the common people. How could he know the law and break it!

Wang Daoqiu was not bothered by Yuan Hongyu's sermons.After all, Lao Yuan agrees with what he says, instead of insisting on principles to others and flexibility to himself, taking it for granted that he has the final right to interpret the law.

Listening to Lao Yuan preaching there, after Lao Yuan had finished speaking, there was nothing more to say.Wang Daoqiu said angrily: "Brother, I was indeed assisting the government in doing some official business yesterday. At least hundreds of officials can testify for this. So brother, what happened last night was not brought to the higher-ups. Brother It can be considered as an escape. Otherwise, my brother’s reputation as a leader may be lost.”

"What, you were really helping the government on errands last night?"

"Brother, who are you and me? You are a dignified Jieyuan! How can you be so self-deprecating and lie about such a trivial matter!"

yes!It's just a crime of night, and the worst thing for a small commoner to be caught is to be whipped.And a person with an identity like Jie Yuan was caught because of such a trivial matter as committing a night crime, that is, taking out the Juren certificate, saying a few soft words, admitting a mistake, there is no need to lie at all.

After listening to Wang Daoqiu's explanation, thinking about what happened last night, Wang Daoqiu must have been helping the official to run an errand, and Yuan Hongyu no longer bothered about Wang Daoqiu's crime last night.

However, Yuan Hongyu was still not angry when he thought that the Wucheng Army and Horse Division had blackmailed his fellow villagers because of this incident.He pulled a face and said angrily: "Brother, what happened last night was because of my brother Meng Lang. But the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division was too shameful. As a law enforcement agency, they openly asked for bribes. No, Brother, I will go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to report these scoundrels. Dear brother, how about you go and be a witness for Yuan?"

Witness!Regarding this matter, Yuan Hongyu still wanted to have a fight with the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division!From this point, we can see why although later historians all recognized Yuan Hongyu as "Qingfeng Gaidai", no one thought that Yuan Hongyu was a capable minister.Yuan Hongyu's depth of understanding of the problem is really not enough!
Lamenting the IQ of this "qingfenggedai", Wang Daoqiu faced Yuan Hongyu's expectant face and said leisurely: "Brother Yuan, this matter has been reported to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It is certainly guilty of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division to accept bribes. But you Those fellow villagers, will they be innocent of bribery?"

"This………."

"Brother, your fellow villagers have spared no expense in gold and silver for your future, and they are kind and loyal to you. If you file this matter with the Metropolitan Procuratorate, then they will all be guilty of bribery. They and their descendants will be punished for three generations. , all futures are ruined!"

"This, this..., hey! That's all, let those villains go for a while!"

As soon as Wang Daoqiu explained the consequences of the complaint, Yuan Hongyu had no choice but to admit defeat.

Seeing Yuan Hongyu crestfallen, Wang Daoqiu couldn't bear it. He patted Yuan Hongyu on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Last night was also my fault. I just thought it was a trivial matter. I drove away at that time without explaining it clearly to my brother, which caused my brother to suffer." It was a misunderstanding that led to such a disaster."

"Don't blame the virtuous brother, don't blame the virtuous brother, it's all because of the brother who is too Menglang. If the brother was able to calm down at that time and not have a temper like a fire, he should not have ended up like this, and he will suffer for himself!"

"Brother said this, and I was so ashamed! Let's see, brother, you and I are the candidates for this year's rural examinations in Zhejiang and Nanzhili. And with the opportunity last night, it can be regarded as God asking you and me to become friends. Since you and I are friends, we should spend time together day and night, enjoying poetry together."

"To be honest, brother, I am temporarily renting a house in Beijing from a fellow countryman of mine. My fellow countryman also won the national examination with me this year and came to Beijing to take the test together. Also living with us is your Huizhou, South Zhili Yin Zhengmao, the eldest son of the government, and Zhang Juzheng, a young genius from Huguang, are all in love with each other. Now we still have an empty wing there. I wonder if my brother is interested in moving here to live with me? "

Wang Daoqiu sent out the invitation, and Yuan Hongyu began to make plans in his mind.He arrived in Beijing three days ago, and at that time he paid the hotel room fee until March next year.

Including the heating fee for an ordinary guest room in the inn in winter, it costs five or six taels of silver per month. Food is also included in the cost, so when including food and accommodation this month, it costs at least seven taels of silver.

And if you rent a house and prepare some food in the room, you can save a lot. Moreover, private courtyards are much quieter than hotels, which is also conducive to warming up.

After thinking about this, Yuan Hongyu weakly asked Wang Daoqiu: "Brother, how much does it cost to rent in your courtyard for a month?"

"Well, brother, we now have rent and three meals a day, and we have hired an older sister next door to come over to clean, do laundry and cook. If we divide it evenly, each of us now earns three taels of silver per month. But this day's eyes It looks like winter is about to come. We have bought the stove and chimney this morning and are asking the craftsmen to install it. To buy coal for the winter, each person should have to pay another seven or eight yuan per month! Anyway, it will last for January. Food, food, accommodation, plus heating in winter, no more than four taels of silver.”

No more than four taels of silver per month, but staying in an inn would cost more than seven taels of silver!In this way, after excluding the room fee for these ten days, I can get at least 28 taels of silver back for the 26 taels I paid at the inn ten days ago.With these 26 taels of silver, I can live and eat in a small courtyard for half a year and never have to set up a stall again.

Thinking of this, Yuan Hongyu was also happy. He hurriedly said to Wang Daoqiu: "Brother Xian, please wait here for a moment. When I go to return the tables and chairs to the store, I will bring back the paper, inkstone, pen and ink. Brother, please Let’s go with you to see the small courtyard where you live.”

After speaking, Yuan Hongyu ran towards his shabby stall without waiting for Wang Daoqiu to reply.

After a while, Yuan Hongyu came back carrying a bag of his own pen, ink, paper and inkstones.As soon as he saw Wang Daoqiu, he smiled and said, "Brother Xian, come on, you have done me a big favor."

"Hey, brother, don't say that. If I had been more responsible last night and stayed to explain the matter to my brother, then my brother would not have suffered such a sudden disaster."

"Hey, dear brother..."

......... In this way Wang Daoqiu and Yuan Hongyu chatted all the way and walked towards the inner palace prison alley.

As we were chatting and walking, we unknowingly arrived at the Coal Mining Co., Ltd. on Di'anmen West Street.At this time, there were a lot fewer people and carriages here, and Wang Daoqiu couldn't help but have the idea of ​​trying his luck.

So Wang Daoqiu said to Yuan Hongyu: "Brother, I have installed a stove and chimney at home, but I haven't bought briquettes yet. When I came to buy it this morning, there was a lot of traffic here, and I didn't squeeze in. There are a lot less people now. I want to go. See if you can buy it."

"Let's go together, let's go together. Brother Wei has seen that novel briquette in the inn. It's really useful. Come on, dear brother, let's go buy some together."

"good"

Just like that, Wang Daoqiu and Yuan Hongyu entered this coal company together. As soon as they entered, they saw a fat old man who looked like a manager, making calculations on the abacus against the account books.

Yuan Hongyu is more than ten years older than Wang Daoqiu. He is in his early thirties this year.So in this kind of external situation, he is naturally the one taking the lead.So Yuan Hongyu walked up to the shopkeeper and asked loudly: "Shopkeeper, do you still have briquettes for sale in your shop?"

"No, no, all the ones in the morning are sold out, and the ones in the afternoon haven't arrived yet, and they are all ordered. If you want to buy briquettes, please come early tomorrow!"

Yuan Hongyu asked like this without even giving his identity!According to the shopkeeper, he was just a common man with a flat head, so when faced with Yuan Hongyu's questions, the shopkeeper didn't even raise his head. He just lowered his head and looked at the abacus while dismissing Yuan Hongyu impatiently.

Being accustomed to the snobbery of businessmen, Yuan Hongyu didn't care about the rudeness of the shopkeeper. He turned to Wang Daoqiu and said, "Brother, unfortunately, there is no briquettes in the shop today."

"not necessarily!"

After saying two words "not necessarily" to Yuan Hongyu, Wang Daoqiu took out the note written by Yang Jinshui from his sleeve cage, and patted it on the account book that the shopkeeper was looking at.

The shopkeeper took the note. When he saw Yang Jinshui's private seal and the words on it, the shopkeeper immediately gave up the account.He raised his head and said to Wang Daoqiu with a smile on his face: "It turns out that the young master is related to Eunuch Yang! I'm sorry for my clumsy eyes, but I have neglected you so much."

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm just asking you if you have briquettes for sale in your store right now."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, young master, the briquettes are gone today. If you don't believe me, look at it!"

As he spoke, he handed the account book in his hand to Wang Daoqiu, pointed to the accounts in the account book, and said to Wang Daoqiu: "Young Master, look, the shop's daily quota of briquettes is 1 pieces, each in the morning and afternoon. Fifteen thousand briquettes will be transported from the coal yard. But this morning, five adults placed an order for 1 briquettes for the shop. Among them, Xia Cifu's family ordered [-] briquettes. I sent [-] pieces and promised to send them another [-] pieces in the afternoon. Together with the other four adults, the store will be out of briquettes today and tomorrow. Otherwise, sir, I will wait for you until the day after tomorrow. How about it? You can leave the address of your house and I will send two cars to you the day after tomorrow. Young Master, what do you think of this?"

"Not so good! As for Xia Yan's family, you already gave him 1 this morning. This should be enough to keep his family burning for a while! Why do you want to give him another 1? Well, he Xia Yan's family has a lot of briquettes piled up there to look at, but I have to wait eagerly for the briquettes to burn! Shopkeeper, do you think this is appropriate? "

"Young master, that's the reason, but can't we not offend Mr. Cifu? His temper is so hot, he can stop children crying at night in Beijing. Young master, this small shop really can't offend that Xia Ci Assistant, I beg you to be merciful, I am heartbroken and sad for you, I am here to bow to you, I thank you!"

After saying this, the shopkeeper had a begging look on his face, and he bowed to Wang Daoqiu and paid homage.

Faced with the shopkeeper's embarrassment, Wang Daoqiu also understood, but he could not accept that his family's briquettes were piled up like mountains, while his own was pitiful.

So he took out his election certificate again, slapped it on the counter, and motioned to the shopkeeper to look at it.

Understanding the meaning in Wang Daoqiu's eyes, the shopkeeper tremblingly picked up Wang Daoqiu's certificate.It didn't matter. The shopkeeper's bitter face suddenly turned into a cheerful face. He smiled and said to please: "It turns out that the young master is the Zhejiang Wang Jieyuan! That's no problem, that's no problem. Wait until the afternoon. As soon as the batch of briquettes arrives, I will allow three thousand to be sent to you. If the Xia Mansion asks, I will say that I will give them to you, and if they have the courage, they can go to your place themselves."

"Okay, just tell them this! I just don't get used to their problems, and they take everything for granted. By the way, shopkeeper, I came to your store more than an hour ago, and at that time I just heard Say, Xia Mansion placed a huge order at your store today, is this the case?"

"Yes, yes, I won't tell others. But if you ask Jie Yuanlang, I don't dare to hide it from you! Today, the Xia Mansion ordered fifty sets of briquette stoves and chimneys at the shop, and also gave instructions to the shop in the future Send them [-] briquettes, [-] jins of lump coal, and [-] jins of charcoal every month.”

"What, shopkeeper, are you sure you're right? Then Xia Mansion uses so much coal and charcoal in one month?"

After hearing the figures reported by the shopkeeper, Yuan Hongyu couldn't decide. He couldn't figure out why Xia Mansion used so much coal and charcoal every month.

(End of this chapter)