20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 235 New Era (·Final Chapter)

A dazzling white light made Guan Wei wake up from his daze.

A thin layer of dust settled on the elm beams, and intermittent barking of dogs came from outside the window, occasionally mixed with a few donkey brays.

Guan Wei turned his head and saw a simple breakfast on the Kang table not far away.

The porridge and steamed buns were steaming, but he had no appetite at all. He struggled to get up, but was rewarded with a heartbreaking pain.

When I opened the quilt, a strong herbal smell hit my face.

The ankles and calves were neatly wrapped with gauze and pressed tightly. In addition, there were several shocking bruises on his upper body.

Guan Wei turned over and shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one answered, so he tried to crawl under the kang, but fell to the ground as expected.

At the same time, there was the sound of the door opening and closing in the outhouse.

A cold wind blew by, and the two young maids walked into the house immediately, and without any explanation, they worked together to lift Lao Liu onto the kang.

With his waist and legs injured, Guan Wei could only let himself be manipulated: "Hey! Who are you two?"

The two maids didn't reply. After settling Master Liu in a few moments, they hurried away expressionlessly.

Guan Wei sat up again and stared at the food on the Kang table. Suddenly an evil fire burned in his heart. He suddenly raised his hand and swept the cups and dishes on the table to the ground, smashing them into pieces.

Hearing the noise, the two maids walked in again, still silently picking up and cleaning the debris on the floor.

Well trained, no complaints.

"I want to see Hu Xiaoyan."

The two maids ignored him and were busy with the work at hand.

"I want to see Hu Xiaoyan!" Guan Wei roared and overturned the kang table to the ground, "I know those people leaning against the fans are her people, I want to see Hu Xiaoyan!"

The maids were frightened and fled in haste, leaving him alone and furious.

Shao Qing, a figure flashed out of the door.

"Sixth Master, stop arguing and take a good rest."

The person who spoke was Zhao Guoyan.

Guan Wei glanced at him gloomily, his temper softened slightly, and he repeated in a daze: "I want to see Hu Xiaoyan."

"Sixth Master, you will never see Brother Dao and Sister-in-law again."

"What do you mean?"

"Literally." Zhao Guoyan stepped forward slowly and rearranged the Kang table on the ground, "Sixth Master, take good care of the injury on your leg. You may be able to stand up and live peacefully in the future. But, if you don't You can't leave this courtyard either. The people who come here to take care of you are all carefully selected by my sister-in-law. From now on, no one in Fengtian will know that you are hiding here. There is a dedicated person guarding the door, so you don't have to worry too much. "

Guan Wei said weakly: "Xiaodao told me to retreat."

"Don't you have quit now! Mr. Liu, my sister-in-law has told me that no matter what you want, just ask, Luo Ji's donkey meat dumplings, Juxianglou's fried liver tips, whatever you want. If you feel bored, , I’ll get you a gramophone tomorrow. If you want a woman, just say it, no matter what kind, I’ll get it for you. But one thing – that’s it for now, Master Six.”

After saying that, Zhao Guoyan turned and left.

Guan Wei was silent.

He knew that his legs would never recover, and he would be lucky to be able to stand on crutches in the future.

"Poisonous woman...poisonous woman!"

Zhao Guoyan suddenly stopped, turned around, and frowned: "Sixth Master, you'd better not say that."

"Did I make a mistake?" Guan Wei asked.

Zhao Guoyan muttered: "Sixth Master, if you have two minds, you will have three swords and six holes. This is what you said yourself. You broke the rules yourself, and something like this happened. What can Brother Dao and Sister-in-law do? It’s a big taboo in the world, don’t complain.”

Everyone understands the truth, but when it comes to anyone, it is difficult to accept it for a while.

"Don't blame my sister-in-law." Zhao Guoyan continued, "My sister-in-law has always remembered that you took care of her in Daxiguan, and she often begged for your mercy."

"She begged me?"

Zhao Guoyan nodded: "Not only sister-in-law, but also Sister Hong, Master Hai, and Master Qi have all asked for favors for you."

Zhao Guoyan did not say the second half of the sentence - if there were not so many crucial people interceding for Lao Liu, how could Jiang Xiaodao let it go so easily given his character?
  The crucial reason why Jiang Xiaodao agreed was that Lao Liu did not choose to betray at the most critical moment, and his behavior did not cause substantial harm.

However, when Guan Wei heard these words, he felt even more ashamed.

"Does my elder brother also know about this?"

"I know." Zhao Guoyan replied coldly, "Brother Dao told Hai Ye."

Guan Wei was speechless and gradually calmed down.

Everything is your own fault and you cannot blame others.

Zhao Guoyan opened the door and before leaving, he couldn't help but turn around and remind him: "By the way, Master Six, be nice to those two maids. We will have a long time to get along with you in the future!"

"Guo Yan." Guan Wei called him, "Can you tell Xiaodao for me?"

Zhao Guoyan was a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Please tell me first and listen."

Guan Wei slowly lowered his eyes, as if accepting the facts before him——

"Tell Xiaodao, the rules are the rules, and Uncle Six doesn't hate him."

……

……

As the cold night falls, thousands of houses are lit with lights.

In every bright window, there is a story of its own, and the joy, anger, sorrow, love and hatred are naturally not the same.

Fengtian Commercial Port, Huayang Club.

Neon lights flash and songs sing.

The biting north wind spreads the laughter, and you can hear it from far away. Piano, violin, saxophone and other kinds of Western music are floating in the air.

Consuls from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan and other countries gathered together with their families and old and new dignitaries from Fengtian to celebrate the arrival of a new era by drinking and talking.

A weird and bizarre drinking party.

The bloody storm seems to have passed, the royalists and revolutionaries shook hands and made peace, and the executioners and prisoners of the past were working together to make money.

Looking around, there are some people with shiny slicked-back hair, some people with their "butt curtains" spread out on the back of their heads, and some people still stubbornly keeping their braids.

Jiang Xiaodao put on a black suit, tied up his hands and feet, and looked at the guests from all over the world in a daze.

As the youngest rich man in Fengtian, coupled with his relationship with Zhang Laogeda and the recommendation of Su Wenqi, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, he was also invited to participate.

Looking past the crowd of people, he saw Zhang Laoge talking quietly to an Japanese Japanese soldier, but he didn't dare to come forward and disturb him.

Occasionally, a blonde exotic girl would pass by him and say to him with a smile in her eyes: "Hello!"

Jiang Xiaodao said nothing and replied as usual: "OK! Good_morning!"

The blonde smiled and left.

Jiang Xiaodao was so beautiful that he couldn't help but puff up his chest.

"Sir, would you like a drink?"

A voice rang in his ears, and Jiang Xiaodao turned around, only to see a waiter in a white shirt standing in front of him, holding a tray filled with red wine.

"Uh, have a drink!"

Worried that his hands were missing, Jiang Xiaodao quickly picked up a tall glass, turned around and rummaged through his pockets, and asked, "How much is it?"

The attendant suppressed his laughter and whispered: "Sir, there is no charge, this is free."

"Free?" Jiang Xiaodao was surprised, "Then give me another cup! Eh? By the way, can you take this cup away?"

"what?"

The waiter in the white shirt looked surprised. It is said that all the attendees are rich or noble. The person in front of me looks like he is not cheap. He doesn't look like he just sneaked in. Why does he look so shabby?

Having said that, in the current situation, he didn't dare to act like a dog and look down on others, so he had to think about it: "Well, this - it shouldn't be possible."

Jiang Xiaodao still refused: "Then find something for me to put it in."

The attendant in the white shirt smiled awkwardly: "Sir, what on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, my wife has never drank this stuff. I'll bring it back to give her a taste."

"Sir, not far from here, there is a shop that sells foreign wine, just like this one."

"Really?" Jiang Xiaodao put down a glass of wine, "No need, thank you."

While talking, a familiar voice came from not far away.

"Brother Lian Heng!"

Jiang Xiaodao followed the sound and couldn't help but his eyes lit up. As if he had grasped a life-saving straw, he hurriedly greeted him: "Oh! Brother Su, I've found you, and I'm even sweating!"

Su Wenqi finally no longer had to wear fake pigtails, and he seemed to feel a lot more relaxed. He held the wine glass and said, "Brother Lian Heng, congratulations! You have established a business!"

"Where are we now! There's still a long way to go!" Jiang Xiaodao said as he went to clink glasses, "Here, let's do it!"

"No, no, no, no!" Su Wenqi stopped him quickly, "Don't do it, take a sip, they are not interested in this, just taste it slowly."

Jiang Xiaodao followed suit and tasted it carefully - nothing came out.

But in order to adapt to the new identity, even if it is just pretending, you have to pretend.

Su Wenqi held the goblet in front of his chest and said sideways: "Brother Lian Heng, Lao Lao?"

"Nagging!" Jiang Xiaodao looked around and couldn't help complaining, "There's no seats here!"

Su Wenqi smiled and said nothing, and just led him through the crowd and quietly came to the balcony that protruded outward.

Pushing open the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the two came to the jogging platform, rested their elbows on the stone railings, and looked at the bright moon in the sky quietly. The noise behind them naturally faded away.

"How's it going?" Su Wenqi asked, looking straight ahead, "This time, you should be able to understand why I have to clean up the Su family, right?"

"I understand." Jiang Xiaodao nodded, "But can your Su family be clean?"

The Su family made their fortune by lending money and collecting debts. It doesn’t matter whether they have done anything harmful to the law or not; taking advantage of the situation and making money is inevitable.

If it weren't for the plunder and robbery back then, how could the Su family be so dignified that they even sent their young master to study abroad.

It's black from the root, what should I wash it with?

Su Wenqi did not quibble, but just sighed and said: "Bai, I will definitely never be white again. I can only hope that I will not be so black again. I am lucky to be able to survive this disaster and retreat from the world."

Jiang Xiaodao couldn't help but ask: "Are you really planning to quit?"

Su Wenqi nodded: "You often walk by the river, how can you not get your shoes wet? It's good to take advantage of the opportunity and retreat."

The Su family lost a lot of money this time, but the prerequisite for their escape was because Su Wenqi saved the life of "Owl" at a critical moment. Jiang Xiaodao repaid the favor and did not touch them.

Otherwise, the Su family will also be destroyed.

However, Su Wenqi could retreat, but Jiang Xiaodao could not.

One is a young man from a wealthy family who, over time and through three generations, has gotten rid of the trappings of the world; the other is a wolf cub from a cold kiln who started from scratch, kills and fights, and is inevitably reckless and banditry.

One is conservative and the other is starting a business. Their situations are completely different.

Therefore, Su Wenqi did not open his mouth to persuade him.

"In the end, all three families actually lost." Su Wenqi laughed at himself, "Zhou Yunfu tried his best to pass on his family business, but failed; Bai Baochen wanted to destroy the Zhou family, but ended up being exterminated; as for me - —Thinking about saving the nation, but at the critical moment, you can only save your small family and sacrifice everyone."

"Really? I don't think so." Jiang Xiaodao said, "Zhou Yunfu's family business is actually still there, it just fell into my hands. But even without me, someone else will take over. After all, Han Ce doesn't The surname is Zhou, and they are all outsiders; the Bai family has not been wiped out, and the young aunt's daughter is still there; and you - the emperor is gone, so you can't say that your work was in vain, right?"

Su Wenqi was speechless.

After all, these are two mentality.

There were sounds of children playing downstairs.

"Then what are you going to do next?" Jiang Xiaodao asked, "I heard that your family has closed several semicolons recently, and you plan to hang on to your job and hang out?"

"Of course not." Su Wenqi turned around and leaned against the stone railing, "I just wanted to tell you about this!"

"what's up?"

"I plan to open a private bank in Fengtian."

"Bank?" Jiang Xiaodao asked doubtfully, "Is that any different from a bank?"

Su Wenqi smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid I can't explain the difference in a few words."

"It's so good, why do you want to open a bank?" Jiang Xiaodao didn't understand.

Su Wenqi raised his hand and pointed to the night sky in the west, and said worriedly: "The Japs have been spying on us in the Northeast for a long time. I have been in Japan and read their newspapers. The Japs are extremely ambitious and will never be satisfied with the current situation. In fact, The invasion has begun."

"Where is it?" Jiang Xiaodao narrowed his eyes and asked in confusion, "I didn't hear there was going to be a war!"

"No, Brother Lian Heng, invasion does not necessarily involve war, but also economic aggression and cultural invasion. In many ways, Nantetsu Co., Ltd. has been busy doing this kind of thing. They want to short-sell votes and thereby control the entire Northeast. We cannot sit idly by as this is the lifeline of our economy.”

"I don't understand! Just tell me what you want me to do!"

"Opening a private bank is not as simple as just talking. It requires money, a lot of money!"

"Oh——" Jiang Xiaodao understood, "You want to make me a shareholder?"

"It's not just you." Su Wenqi corrected, "It's not enough for us two alone. I just talked with other big merchants in Fengtian and a few foreigners."

"I don't understand what you just said. I just have one question, can this thing make money?"

"Well - it's hard to say. You may make a profit or you may lose. Brother Lian Heng, you have just started your business and you probably don't understand what is the most important thing in doing business."

"You know, the most important thing is the brain!"

"No! The most important thing is information! Those who do big business may not be much smarter than ordinary people, but they can know the direction of the wind before ordinary people. That's enough. Brother Lian Heng, you and Zhang Laogao It has something to do with it, the more and more accurate information you can get, the greater and more stable our chances of making money will be."

Jiang Xiaodao thought for a moment and said hesitantly: "Uh, Brother Su, let's talk about this! How about when do you have time to go to my house and talk to my wife?"

Su Wenqi suddenly smiled: "Okay, okay, I understand."

"Hey, don't tell anyone else about this!"

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

The two of them were quiet for a while, and the children downstairs became more and more noisy, whining and screaming.

Su Wenqi glanced down and said thoughtfully: "The Japs' intentions are too insidious. They specifically pick children to attack. Not only do they promote Japanese everywhere, but once, I even saw a Japs giving sweets to our children. Let them speak Japanese.”

Jiang Xiaodao frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"What's wrong?" Su Wenqi's eyes widened and he said in disbelief, "Brother Lian Heng, they are destroying the country and annihilating the species! If one day, all our children in the Northeast speak Oriental dialect, what's the point of talking about Yanhuang China? A hungry person will not eat the food that comes to him, so a man must have backbone!"

Jiang Xiaodao was startled and couldn't understand why Su Wenqi reacted so strongly.

After thinking for a long time, he gradually understood the gap.

"Brother Su, have you ever been hungry?"

"Um, no, no, what's wrong?"

"No wonder!" Jiang Xiaodao turned his head and looked at him, "I've been hungry! I know what it's like to be hungry. When people are hungry, they can do anything! A real hungry person can kill someone for a steamed bun. , say a few words in Oriental dialect, what's wrong? You can't survive, so what nonsense are you talking about? I've never eaten tree bark, but I ate a lot of elm money when I was a child."

"Is that edible?"

"Hey! That's good stuff, a little sweet, and the most important thing is that you can pull it out!"    "I understand what you mean."

"Hehe! Brother Su, eating the enemy's food, using the enemy's gun, and killing the enemy's people is what you call awesome!"

While he was talking, the frolicking downstairs started again, and it was louder than before.

The two people looked at each other, then stuck their heads out and looked down.

But downstairs, I saw seven or eight half-year-old children, of mixed talents, laughing and playing on the snow. They seemed to be consuls from various countries and the sons and daughters of powerful people in heaven.

The little boys picked up branches as long as their arms and used them as rifles. They chased each other and said "ta da da" with their mouths.

The little blond girl stood aside and cheered them up.

One of the boys with a high nose rushed to the front, turned around, and shot at everyone.

At this time, an Asian boy suddenly raised his hand and pointed into the distance and screamed strangely.

The boy with a high nose had a simple mind and turned his head in response. Seeing the opportunity, the Oriental boy immediately took a step forward and pushed him to the ground.

"Baga (idiot)!"

The Japanese boy cursed proudly, causing all the little girls to laugh and gather around to help him up.

The boy with a high nose immediately stood up and was about to get angry, but saw everyone laughing, so he patted the residual snow on his body, scratched his head, and started laughing too.

It can be seen that this kid is popular and has a very approachable personality, but he lacks a bit of bloodiness.

Jiang Xiaodao looked at it and curled his lips: "Why is this kid so proud of himself and so stupid? He's been fooled by others, and he's still smiling with such a shy face!"

Su Wenqi stopped him quickly and lowered his voice: "Brother Lian Heng, please keep your voice down! Do you know who he is?"

"Whoever I love has nothing to do with me!"

"Hey, maybe he really has something to do with you." Su Wenqi introduced, "His name is Zhang Xueqing, the eldest son of Mr. Zhang!"

"Is it!"

Jiang Xiaodao did not dare to be presumptuous anymore, and quickly held on to the railing and waved to the young master of the Zhang family.

Mr. Zhang looked up at Jiang Xiaodao, suddenly raised the branch in his hand, and shouted with a smile: "Da da da... da da da..."

Su Wenqi laughed loudly, patted Jiang Xiaodao on the shoulder, and said, "Did you see that a tiger father has no dogs?"

Jiang Xiaodao frowned and disagreed: "Why do I feel that this kid is so cool?"

"You also said! Be careful of offending your backer!"

"Ding Ding Ding!"

In the room behind him, there was suddenly a sound of knocking on a glass, and it was unknown which conspicuous package was responsible for that high-profile incident——

"Come, come! Colleagues, fellow countrymen, and guests from friendly countries, let us all raise a toast together to celebrate President Fang's accession to the throne. It is also a celebration for our ancient Chinese country to usher in a new chapter in history! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

ding ding ding ding...

Su Wenqi turned around and said, "Brother Lian Heng, let's go back! I'll introduce you to a few more friends."

"Well, good!"

Jiang Xiaodao bravely returned to the noisy reception.

He still cannot fully adapt to his new role, identity and status.

Whenever he was walking among the crowd, making fake smiles, or talking loudly, he felt a strong discomfort and felt that he was showing off.

Until I saw those who had ousted the Communist Party, forgotten the blood of their comrades not long ago, and chatted and laughed with the executioners of the past;

Until I saw that Zhang Laogeda, who was born as a barbarian, has now transformed into the military and political leader of Fengtian Province;

Until I saw foreigners talking and laughing, a turbulent upheaval ended;

Only then did Jiang Xiaodao finally understand that the whole house was full of people who were acting in obedient ways; the whole house was full of evil intentions; the whole house was full of beasts dressed like beasts, and everyone was unclean. It was just a matter of different methods.

And all of this is just a business.

Thinking of this, he blended in with peace of mind and celebrated...

……

……

Before the reception was completely over, snowflakes started to fall outside the window again.

Jiang Xiaodao left early and went to a shop selling foreign wine not far away. He brought two bottles of red wine to his wife, and then walked slowly towards the old house.

The identity is different, so naturally there is a younger brother escorting him along the way.

Jiang Xiaodao drank a lot. The foreign wine had a lot of stamina, and he was feeling hot all over. In order to cool down, he did not take the carriage and had to go home on foot, so his younger brother had no choice but to hold the carriage and follow him.

When approaching the north branch of Guangyuan Bank, I suddenly saw a shadowy figure walking not far away. In the slight wind and snow, he shrank his neck and spoke dejectedly. His steps were staggering. It seemed that he had just come from the Su Family Bank. .

The man heard the sound of horse hooves behind him, and his body swayed, as if being blown by the wind, he got out of the way and took a few steps towards the roadside.

Jiang Xiaodao frowned, always feeling that the figure in front of him seemed familiar. When he passed by, he couldn't help but slow down and look sideways.

I saw that the man's clothes were very thin, and his shoulders, hat, and eyebrows were all covered with snowflakes.

Feeling the gaze of the person behind him, he raised his head and looked at Jiang Xiaodao curiously. Then his eyes suddenly lit up and he quickly cupped his fists and bowed.

"Brother Lian Heng, it's you!"

Jiang Xiaodao burped, but did not recognize the person: "Who are you?"

The man shook the snow off his body in response, took a step forward, walked to a well-lit place, and said, "Brother Lian Heng, noble man, you have forgotten things so much, it's me!"

"Hiss! Liu Yansheng?" Jiang Xiaodao was a little surprised, "You are still alive? Where is your master?"

Liu Yansheng looked gloomy and said, "My master's father died of illness. We met at the train station before. I told you, do you still remember?"

Jiang Xiaodao couldn't help feeling a little emotional when he recalled it.

In any case, Tan Renjun was also the gentleman who gave him a cousin name.

Although Jiang Xiaodao provided Zhang Laogeda with a list of party members, in the final analysis, the exchange was purely an exchange of interests and did not involve personal grudges.

Liu Yansheng was always polite. Jiang Xiaodao had met him a few times and had always had a good impression. He immediately asked: "Now that it's settled, what are you doing here?"

"Hey! Brother Lian Heng, with my accent, it was difficult for me to run away before! I can run away now, but all my money was used to treat my master dad. The mountains are high and the roads are far away. Now I rely on others to support me. Where's the day? I just came back from Master Su, but it's a pity that he's not here. Brother Lian Heng, I heard that you have been in trouble recently. Look, it's inconvenient for you..."

Everyone has a hard time memorizing words, and online friends are very particular about asking for help. Tuanchun asked, and he recognized the door, which proved that he was also a wanderer, and asking for help was not a problem.

Jiang Xiaodao was always generous with his actions, so he turned around and asked Zhao Guoyan for some money, handed it over and said, "Go back early!"

Liu Yansheng did not accept the money, but said: "Brother Lian Heng misunderstood! I mean, if it is convenient for you, can you keep me under your disciples and find a job for me?"

"It's already the Republic of China, and Zhang Laoge doesn't kill members of the Communist Party anymore. Why are you staying here?"

"Brother Lian Heng doesn't know. There are too many rules in our sect. It's not easy for a young person like me to apply them. Since I'm in the world, I'm at home all over the world. Now I just want to stay and find some errands."

There is some truth to this.

The rivers and lakes outside the pass do not value seniority and seniority so much. They are far less hierarchical than the old Hongmen, Paogehui, and Jiangxiang sect. For young people, they have some merits.

But Jiang Xiaodao was not gullible. He narrowed his eyes, stared at Liu Yansheng with interest, and suddenly asked: "Honestly, why don't you go back?"

Liu Yansheng hesitated for a while, until he couldn't hide it anymore, and then confessed the truth.

"Brother Lian Heng, to be honest, I was also arrested by the patrol camp a few days ago. In order to survive, I - wow! I helped identify several party leaders."

"Ah?" Jiang Xiaodao was very surprised, "Qingqing, is your kid also rebelling against the revolution?"

"Uh...Brother Lian Heng, don't, don't say that." Liu Yansheng looked embarrassed, "Actually, this is all business. Originally, if the Qing Party outside the customs was successful, my master dad could still get an official position. It was a half-time job, but now that it has failed, there is nothing left to fight for.”

Jiang Xiaodao has long been used to strange things, and he can't help but shake his head and sigh: "Just give it a try! Let's see how much better you can be than the imperial court!"

While he was talking, a harsh sound suddenly came from the night sky.

"Whoosh-"

Everyone looked up to the sky, only to see a bright yellow point of light dragging a stream of fire straight into the night sky.

"Boom—crack!"

Golden fireworks bloomed in the sky, and in an instant, they shone a little light - this was to celebrate the arrival of the Republic of China.

"Whoosh-thump-thump!"

Then, another one, two, three...

Soon, countless red and green fireworks lit up in the night sky of Fengtian City.

The various alleys in the old city gradually became commotion. Many adults led their children into the courtyard and on the street, they raised their heads and pointed to the sky, noisily watching together.

Every time the fireworks bloom, you can clearly hear the cheers of the children...

"Young mistress, look, look at that!"

In the old house in the north of the city, Xiaohua pushed Hu Xiaoyan into the yard, raised her hand and pointed to the fireworks on the horizon, looking extremely excited.

Si Fengkou and other backyards also came out of the wing one after another, pointing at the night sky, talking and laughing.

“Sister-in-law, it’s time to celebrate the New Year!”

"Sister-in-law, do you have any red envelopes for the Chinese New Year?"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded quickly with a smile in her eyes: "Yes, all, especially you four!"

Everyone shouted excitedly.

Hu Xiaoyan was wearing a dark green cotton-padded jacket with fluff turned up at the collar. Her hands were still tucked into the rabbit velvet sleeves Xiaodao bought for her. She was sitting in a wheelchair, raising her head, her face flushed red by the halo of light in the night sky, her eyes There are fireworks blooming in the eyes.

"Wow! Young Madam, this is big! This must be big!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a firework rising into the sky.

"Whoosh-bang-boom!"

Scarlet fireworks exploded in the night sky.

Everyone clapped and applauded.

Xiaohua was right, this was indeed the biggest firework. When it bloomed, even the window lattice in the yard buzzed.

The fireworks stayed in the night sky for a while before slowly disappearing into the darkness.

Hu Xiaoyan was excited at first, but suddenly she frowned for no apparent reason.

Although the fireworks were beautiful, she smelled the smoke!
  Sure enough, as the fireworks celebration ended, the cold night sky returned to darkness.

Immediately afterwards, debris and dust fell from the sky, and everyone smelled the smell of gunpowder!
  "Bah, bah, bah!" Dust floated into Xiaohua's mouth, she quickly lowered her head and spat, wiping her mouth with her arm.

Little Xifeng was confused, while Little Beifeng kept fluttering the reddish-brown debris on his head, and the others also showed disgusted expressions.

"Young mistress, it's too embarrassing, let's go back to the house!" Xiaohua suggested.

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, everyone hid in their rooms, and the whole street slowly became quiet again...

……

……

"Crackling... crackling..."

The fifth day of the first lunar month is the time of poverty.

At the same time, it’s time to renovate the old house and renovate it.

After a series of firecrackers, looking around, the snow was covered with bright red scraps of paper.

There was a lot of noise in the old house in the north of the city, and suddenly many people came to the yard. The east and west rooms and the two-wing rooms were all crowded.

The strong men who had to work hard to carry the bags came out early to work. They tied large and small suitcases, cabinets, tables and chairs to their backs one by one with hemp ropes as thick as their fingers, and carried them to the yard with a slumping belly.

Others were busy measuring the area of ​​the yard.

The Western architect had a thick beard and held a design drawing in his hand. He stood at the entrance of the courtyard, making gestures with Jiang Xiaodao, sometimes pointing to the courtyard wall, sometimes pointing to the house next door.

Judging from the swing of his arms, it seemed like a pretty big undertaking.

Jiang Xiaodao stood with his hands behind his back, a cigarette between his fingertips, and tilted his head to listen to the interpreter's explanation. He nodded occasionally, pointed at two places on the design drawing, and put forward his own requirements and ideas.

Xiaohua and Si Fengkou were wearing new clothes bought by their sister-in-law. They happily followed the busy schedule and stared at the old furniture in the east and west rooms. From time to time, they reminded the strong man carrying the bag: "Slow down, slow down." Come on! Stop knocking!"

"Brother Dao said, these old things are just thoughts, and I have to set aside a special room to store them in the future!" Xiao Beifeng said with his hands on his hips.

"Stop talking nonsense like that!" Xiao Nanfeng pushed him angrily, "Come on, come on, give in, give in!"

Xiao Dongfeng held the closet and shouted: "Xiao Xifeng, come here and help me!"

"Come on, come on, one, two, three - let's go!" Xiao Xifeng shouted at the door, "Hey! Someone come and hold the door!"

"Xiaohua, take those books on the bookshelf. Brother Dao named them to keep!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go over right away. Who can get me a baggage?" Xiaohua looked around.

"Where can I find a baggage for you? There are just a few books, so won't it be enough to pick them up twice?"

Xiaohua responded, then quickly turned sideways, getting out of the way of the strong man carrying the bag, walked to the bookshelf, and randomly pulled out a few books, "Water Margin", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties"... until she felt a little bit Unable to hold it steady, he just turned around, hugged the book and walked out.

"Hey! Xiaohua, my sister-in-law asked me if I still want that cabinet in the west wing? It's so damn bad, it pokes a hole in it!"

Xiaohua straightened her arms, leaned back, and asked in a loud voice: "Which cabinet is it?"

"Which one else can I choose? That's the one! Come and take a look!"

"Wait a moment! I'll move the books over first!"

Xiaohua rolled her eyes and walked quickly towards the door.

Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew outside the door, lifting the pages of the book with a "swish" sound, and a small piece of paper, taking advantage of everyone's busy time, sneakily floated to the corner of the window sill.

The warm sun in winter shines on the glass windows, casting a mottled light through the thick frost.

It was a palm-sized photo, in black and white. Even the figures were a little blurry, but several clear fingerprints could be clearly seen on it.

In the picture, Jiang Chenghai and Xu Ruqing are sitting in the middle, Jiang Xiaodao and Hu Xiaoyan are sitting on the left and right, and six uncles are standing in a row behind them.

Everyone's expressions were stiff and unnatural, and they looked like they were facing a formidable enemy when facing the camera.

Everyone's expressions were tense, but they were indeed clinging to each other tightly.

At least, at that moment...

——Volume [-]·End——

***
  ----

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  　Thanks to Mumu for your reward support! The boss is awesome!

　　It’s a [-]-word chapter, so I’ve made up for what I owed last time! Not too much!
  　　The summary and the next volume will be written tomorrow, but the main text may take a leave of absence, or it may not, it’s a new volume! Think carefully.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)