late Qing Dynasty arrest

Li Guolou's elder brother Li Guoyun, sister Li Guomei and brother-in-law Tan Guoxi took a boat from Shanghai Shiliupu Wharf to Tianjin Port Nanbu Wharf and then took a carriage to the capital.Li Guolou sent Wei Xiaoqi to the Nanbu Wharf of Tianjin Port to pick up Li Guoyun and a group of six people, and then returned directly to the capital.At this time, their group of three carriages braved the wind and snow and entered Mingyangmen, the east gate. Li Guolou wrote a letter from his family and asked Wei Xiaoqi to hand it over to his eldest brother Li Guoyun. Li Guomei and her brother-in-law Tan Guoxi already knew what was going on with Li Guolou.

Li Guoyun is in his early thirties, with a long square face and two small beards. He is about 1.7 meters tall. He is limping on his left foot and habitually holds a cane in his left hand. Even when he is sitting in a carriage, he still holds the cane in his hand.

Tan Guoxi is 30 years old, with a round face and a slightly chubby figure, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed eyes. He is less than 1.7 meters tall and has two small beards.

At this time, the social ethos no longer regards beards as beautiful, but likes to grow all kinds of mustaches. Orientals all regard growing mustaches as beautiful, especially soldiers and businessmen have many people with this style of mustaches. Prestige is still dominated by three strands of beard.

Li Guomei is less than 30 years old. She wears a high bun. Her face is white and her belly is slightly protruding. She has been pregnant for more than four months. Her beautiful face looks sideways at the street outside the car window.

Li Guomei didn't turn her head, and said: "Brother, don't worry, since Xiaolou likes to eat soft food, you can let him go. It's just that I'm not reconciled to spending so much money for nothing. Then you ask him to take the Juren examination." , Men can’t let their career go to waste.”

Tan Guoxi, who was sitting next to him, said: "Xiaomei, I think it's better not to ask Xiaolou to take the exam. He is still too young and undecided. How can he sit still now? You are embarrassing him. Let him start a family first and then let him If you take the Juren examination, you will go to the south to become an official, and you will have no future if you stay in the north."

Li Guoyun, who was sitting alone in the front row, turned his body sideways, looked to the back and said: "It's already like this, let's make the family business bigger first, it doesn't matter if you want a fig leaf, anyway, Xiaolou is a fake foreign devil. I'm afraid it won't work just to go back to my hometown to hold a wedding." , When I get married, let him visit relatives in Hefei, let him hold a wedding in his hometown, and the old ancestors will jump out."

"Hey! I planned to let you two brothers get married together, but now where is the next one?" Li Guomei sighed helplessly.

Li Guoyun shook his head and sighed: "Anyway, the one who has chased here is ready to be a concubine, Xiaolou will give her a title. I really don't understand that Xiaolou doesn't look for a good little girl, but finds three widows and others." A oil bottle, and said that the names of the three wives are determined in this way, thanks to him who figured it out."

"Xiaolou, he will die early." Tan Guoxi lamented, his eyes glanced at Li Guomei next to him, and his heart blossomed with joy.At the beginning, he promised Li Guomei not to marry a concubine until he had raised a son and a half daughter, but now his wish has come true, and when he returns to Shanghai, he will start preparing to marry a singer and take care of him at home.

"Hey, the capital is still the same, it hasn't changed at all, it's better to be in Shanghai." Li Guomei looked out the window and expressed her feelings.

The carriage was as warm as spring, and it was still a little hot. The charcoal stove under Li Guomei's feet was burning vigorously, and the streets were full of poor people who were timidly walking through the wind and snow.

"Yeah, I'm used to living in a bungalow and then living in a courtyard room. I'm afraid Xiaomei won't be used to it." Tan Guoxi put one arm around Li Guomei's waist, and the two smiled at each other.

Li Guoyun sighed: "Let's see where we live. If it's a small place, we'll live in a town hall. If it's a small building where the wife's house is big enough, it's fine. Anyway, I don't need to spend any more money. I'm living a tight life this year." .”

Tan Guoxi sighed: "Now that the textile industry has plummeted, and the silk export business has been slapped by Hu Xueyan, we can only rely on shops to support us. My brother will find a way to turn around next year. The family has a big business and a lot of expenses. If we continue to support it like this, we will My fortune is going to be spent."

Li Guoyun gritted his teeth and said: "Little Japan is too bad, harming others and benefiting oneself. They just want to use this trick to drag down our textile industry in the Qing Dynasty and make more of our factories close down. I don't believe in this evil, and bet against Little Japan to the end Guoxi. The silk business has no future. People say that if you don’t wear silk clothes, you won’t wear them, but the cloth business has a bright future. The European powers are developing heavy industries and their workers are too expensive. We orientals compete in this kind of industry with cheap workers. The advantage is obvious. Little Japan is at the same level as us. If we are timid and dare not gamble with Little Japan, the industry will develop in the future, and we will not even be able to get in. Anyway, I will risk my life. If others shrink back, I will follow up , Wait until the small Japanese server finds us to negotiate, and the price war will eventually end. If you withdraw the shares, I will turn against you, and you can weigh it yourself."

Tan Guoxi lamented: "Brother, I also made my fortune by hanging under Li's family, so don't be so desperate, there is something to discuss."

"During the Chinese New Year, you are not allowed to mention unhappy things." Li Guomei hurriedly persuaded them, and if they continued to argue, it was guaranteed to quarrel again.

There was silence in the carriage for a while, Li Guoyun looked at the street outside, a golden nanmu signboard was shining brightly, and the newly opened "Hu Qingyu Hall" came into view.

"Hu Xueyan opened Hu Qingyu Hall to the capital. What a sight! Even the empress dowager knows about this kind man's benevolent deeds. He earns money and also gets a good reputation. As Qing people, we should also share our worries for the country. If you want to keep a little bit of your family property, business is no match for Japan, and if you lose your competitive industry, what industry can we have to gain a foothold in the world." Li Guoyun elevates business competition to the dignity of the country, and he is a demagogue. , Li Guolou learned his manners from his elder brother.

"Okay, okay, I can't say no to you. If you don't talk about the textile factory in the future, don't show me the account books. If you don't see it, you will show me your credit. Our conversation is based on the fact that we make money. The Golden Phoenix and Silver Buildings are the main ones, and the export business is also out of the question, and Hu Xueyan will die in our hands one day." Tan Guoxi has patriotism and deep-seated hatred in his heart.

Li Guoyun smiled brightly and said: "That's right, if it doesn't work, we will bet the Jinfengyinlou to Citibank, you have to believe my vision."

"I didn't hear anything!" Tan Guoxi covered his ears, refusing to listen to what Li Guoyun said.

"Don't talk about it, let's talk about my younger brother. If this kid refuses to be admitted to Jinshi, I think it's better to let him move back to Shanghai and stop being played like a monkey. Our family can't afford to lose this person." Li Guomei's proposition Still unchanged, she is a woman with her own opinions. Her husband's business investment is based on her advice, and profit comes first. She spent tens of thousands of taels of silver for her younger brother Li Guolou, but in exchange for a big official hat with no quality, no wonder she is full of enthusiasm resentment.

"Listen to what Xiaolou has to say first, you don't have to worry." The elder brother Li Guoyun remained calm, maintaining the usual style of a big businessman.

Li Guomei took out the letter written by Li Guolou and read it carefully, trying to find some clues from it. Li Guolou also had that kind of demeanor. The whole family is a master of intrigue.

"The three widows look good, and they look pretty clean in the photos. I really don't know whether their names will be included in the family tree when we compile the family tree in the future." Li Guomei looked at Li Guolou and the three lovers. In the group photo, his face was radiant, and he had to have capital to eat soft food. His younger brother Li Guolou did not lose face to his ancestors.

Li Guoyun sighed: "The foreign girl is exempted. The widow with the oil bottle always wants her to go to bed. If the age of the oil bottle is changed a few years younger, it will be considered Xiaolou. The second child should give her a surname." Li Xie is worthy of her." After speaking, he took the photo and looked at it. It was a photo of the child Zheng Lingling, which made Li Guoyun feel better. Zheng Lingling, who was wearing two shofar braids, stared wide-eyed, she was very innocent and cute .

Tan Guoxi said: "I like girls quite a lot. Xiaomei's first childbirth is also very good. I will let my sister do the childcare in the future."

The three of them circulated a stack of photos on the carriage, with approving expressions on their faces. Among them, Lu Bu was a red rabbit, and Li Guolou had a good eye. Write a new legend.

It was almost noon when Li Guolou stepped into Baozhi's room, the lobby inside was already full of people, and those who were supposed to come did not charge their deposit.Li Guolou hurried forward to say hello to the people he knew, his heart trembled, his admirer was sitting in the lobby.

"Brother Xiaolou!" The female actress Ziyue Jiexian ran to Li Guolou's side in front of the crowd. Regardless of Yelia's presence, Chen Xiangfang stood at the door of the kitchen and resolutely hooked Li Guolou's arm.

Everyone was stunned, something unreasonable happened, this is the Qing Empire, men and women are not allowed to cuddle in public, even the foreign woman Yelia dare not hook a man's arm casually.

Li Guolou was so anxious that he wanted to break free, he didn't want to be held by Yue Jiexian with one hand, as if holding hands, so that everyone could see clearly the relationship between the two of them.

"Brother Xiaolou, introduce your girlfriend to me." The female actress Yue Jiexian spoke loudly in the lobby, as if the relationship between the two had developed to the point where they would meet their parents-in-law for the last time.

You can't lose face here, Li Guolou winked and asked Chen Xiangfang and Yelia to talk with him in the backyard.

The shameless Yue Jiexian refused to let go of Li Guolou's hand, blew like blue, and whispered in his ear: "Brother Xiaolou, you can't escape this time, you came to my place to seduce me, you You can't rely on it."

In the corridor of the open space in the backyard, snow on one side fell onto the four of them, Li Guolou said: "Yue Jiexian, what do you mean by doing this, I haven't even looked at you." He said: "Xiaofang, Yelia, you have all seen that I am not messing with women outside. This woman is the best at acting. If you have nothing to do, come to me. I have already told her that it is impossible. She will do this today. I But third brother, he is a famous person in Jianghu."

Before Chen Xiangfang could speak, Yue Jiexian made a blessing, and said respectfully: "Grandma, third grandma, Yue Jiexian pays her respects to you, and I will serve you both in the future. My life was almost ruined by the opium ghost, but it was Brother Xiaolou who saved me." If you leave me, I can only repay your kindness, grandma, grandma, I am a magician who can perform magic tricks, not a dubious actor, now I am the top card in Tianqiao, I invite you to go to the theater during the Spring Festival."

Chen Xiangfang said with a straight face: "Yue Jiexian, Xiaolou told me about you, are you a nympho, staring at this place, how shameless are you?"

Yue Jiexian began to cry bitterly, wiping her tears and crying loudly in the backyard, as if she had endless grievances.

Yelia learned about the ins and outs of the matter from Li Guolou, and said, "I don't care, you solve it yourself. I'll accompany the Pravda reporter first, and you can tell me the solution later."

Chen Xiangfang looked at Li Guolou's expression, knew the answer in her heart, and sighed: "Xiaolou, you can solve it yourself. Anyway, we came from a wrong path. The retribution for you is that you don't want to be a high-ranking official. Your reputation is rotten." gone."

Seeing that there was no one around, Li Guolou took out a handkerchief and handed it to Yue Jiexian, and said, "Okay, don't pretend to be an aunt, Yue Jiexian, you look good, if you really like me, just wait for me for a year, you Don't tell me that you guard your body like a jade for me, I won't believe it. As long as you dump your old lover and stop being in the same troupe with him, I won't mind your past and try to cheat me out of money to remarry Don't let the idea of ​​him elope, you have seen how Xian Chengli of Yipintang died."

"You, you, why are you like this? I really like you. If you dump it, I won't lie to you for money." Yue Jiexian threw herself into Li Guolou's arms excitedly, shedding tears and snot. Wipe it on Li Guolou's handkerchief.

Li Guolou lamented in his heart, why should he be soft-hearted?This kind of female opera singer also wants to marry into the family. The family is unfortunate, and the Li family's family style is going to be ruined.Li Guolou was willing to be tricked by the female actress as her hot lips pressed on her.