Beautiful step by step

Chapter 68

A new day has begun, and the people of Jiuquan look up at the sun.As usual every day, the sun is still coming out from the east, why do geese pass by the mansion of the uncle who plucked hair, but now they come to give money?

Uncle Wang, who lives near the mutual market, passed down his wine-making skills from his ancestors, and a sip of good wine filled the alley with a tangy aroma.When Uncle Wang was born, his mother tied a bag to his back and wandered around the wine tank.And since he could walk, the huge wine cellar has become his paradise.

The Wang family's parents were gradually aging, and the eldest son Wang Bo inherited the family's unique wine-making skills.He chooses the best grain, and the distiller's grains are made with extra care. The wine he brews is so green that it gradually spreads far and wide. People from Liangzhou and even Youzhou will come to Jiuquan County to buy the ancestral rice wine of the Wang family.

Just as he was delighted to carry forward the family business, a crisis approached quietly.A few years ago, a high-ranking official in Liangzhou prefecture fell in love with the wine he brewed, and Zhou Qianhu, a local tycoon, came to order the wine.He went to the wine cellar to select the old wine in person, and after sealing it, he specially polished the wine jar, covered it with grass to prevent the bottle from being broken along the way, and sent it to the official office in person.

Zhou Qianhu was very happy, and said that the wine would be sent over, and if the adults liked it, he would reward him a lot.Uncle Wang has also dealt with the government before, but when an official comes to buy something, he usually doesn't give money on the spot.After they have used it, if they are in a good mood, they may pay the bill as much as they want. If they are in a bad mood, they may simply treat it as a waste of money.Otherwise, if you rush forward to ask for the bill, it will always be the unarmed common people who will suffer.Already mentally prepared, although Uncle Wang felt sorry for the few jars of good wine in the wine cellar, he thought it would be a waste of money to avoid disaster.

Unexpectedly, the fortune was broken, but the disaster followed.In a few days, Zhou Qianhu came to the door and said that his house wine was mixed with other things, and the big shots in Liangzhou were very dissatisfied after drinking it.The government wants to check to see if he intends to murder.

Under the eaves, he had to bow his head. Uncle Wang opened the door of the wine cellar, allowing the Zhou family army in armor and holding a spear to empty out the old wine he had accumulated for many years.

However, this was not enough. A few days later, Zhou Qianhu came to the door again. Whoever only checked the wine could not find anything, depending on how the wine was made.

The wine-making recipe is a secret recipe handed down by their family. It has always been passed down to the eldest son who inherited the family business. The recipe has been passed down to his generation for several dynasties.Zhou Qianhu said to see how the wine is brewed, which means that he is required to demonstrate the recipe live, which is even more excessive than handing over the recipe directly.

Of course he can't agree!
The bloody man in the northwest came up, picked up the shovel for shoveling food, and he stopped the Zhou family army in front of the winery.But two fists are no match for four hands. Zhou Qianhu, the leader, smashed the shovel with a knife, and the spears of Zhou's army behind him pierced his leg.

He fell down, and the recipe of Wangjiajiu Liquor was not kept.Although the daughter-in-law called the doctor in time, the spear broke his hamstring.After being raised on and off for several years, he changed from an imposing three-foot man to a lame man.

Since then, Uncle Wang has been very resistant to the government. He limped to check the wine cellar early in the morning, and when he came out, he saw a team of officers and soldiers broke into his house.The leader was one tall and one short, and the short one was very fat, with a pair of small eyes staring at his lameness flashing shrewdly from time to time.

Uncle Wang was disgusted by nature, and asked calmly: "What are you doing here, all the officials?"

The person who came was Zhu Zi. He usually loves to gossip and knew a lot of rumors in Jiuquan City, so Yan Heng entrusted him with part of the compensation.Although it was only a part, this errand made everyone jealous.There is no other reason. Zhuzi is responsible for all the big households with thousands of taels. Even if they don't make money, those people have collected money, and just a little thank you fee is enough for him.

"Uncle Wang, the brewing tradition was passed down from generation to generation. Three years ago, the recipe for brewing wine was handed over by Zhou Qianhu, and it was obtained by the Zhao family. During the competition for the prescription, his right foot was disabled."

Zhu Zi straightened his body and tried his best to speak dignifiedly.

Uncle Wang didn't lift his eyelids after listening to it: "Oh, the official came here today to investigate Wang's faults?"

This is completely ironic. The ancestral prescription was robbed and disabled, and the victim will be held accountable. It doesn't make sense to talk about it.

Of course Zhuzi heard it, suppressing the anxious stake, he explained in a good temper: "Uncle Wang, we are here today to avenge your grievances."

"Revenge?"

Uncle Wang was a little moved, but this move quickly turned into unbelievable sarcasm: "You officials and lords, will you offend other officials and lords for the sake of us common people?"

Zhu Zi was a little unjust: "Uncle Wang, what you said is wrong. There are good and bad things between relatives. Officials are guarded by officials, but not all of them vent their anger from one nose. We, Mr. Zhen Fu, Not long ago, Zhou Qianhu was arrested, and Zhou’s family member who was acting out of control was dealt with, this is something that everyone in Jiuquan knows.”

It seemed that the newly appointed Zhenfu was really different. Uncle Wang's mind was active, but he still didn't let go: "Who knows what kind of medicine you sell in your gourd, I'm not mentally good, and I can't play with you."

Being squeezed like this one after another, no matter how good-tempered a person is, he has to be angry.Zhu Zi could still bear it, Zhu Zi, who had a bad temper, had already started to roll up his sleeves.

Just when he was about to quarrel with Uncle Wang, a girl's crisp voice came from outside the courtyard wall: "Uncle Wang, I'm here to deliver tofu to you and your aunt."

Hearing a familiar voice, the two looked behind and saw that Tofu Xi Shi was standing outside the door.Her facial features are actually average, except for her fair skin, which looks like soft tofu from face to neck.One white covering one hundred ugliness, this appearance is mixed with the girl in Jiuquan County who has been exposed to the wind and sun and has rough skin all year round, she is really outstanding.

Tofu Xi Shi held a bamboo basket in her hand, and the bamboo basket was covered with a layer of cage cloth. Seeing them, her eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on the corner of her lips.

"Pillars, piles, I look familiar from all the way, but I didn't expect it to be you. By the way, I heard that Yan Heng has become a high-ranking official? It seems that he brought a woman back from the capital?"

Tofu Xi Shi's eyes were full of temptation, seeing the two people looked at each other, they both sighed.

The No. 30 brothers in their barracks, the most outstanding one is Yan Heng.And tofu Xishi is the dream lover in the hearts of many soldiers.With the monthly salary of an ordinary soldier, it is true that he is not worthy of him, but Yan Heng is very skilled, and the two of them look quite right when they stand together, so they often make jokes about the two of them.

But now with Yan Heng's daughter-in-law as a comparison, tofu Xishi is really hard to sell anywhere.

Zhuzi said bluntly: "Well, he married a wife in the capital and was promoted to an official. Our sister-in-law is a girl from a wealthy family in the capital, and Ayun followed her, and was sent by her sister-in-law's natal family to study in Daru."

A look of disappointment flashed in Tofu Xishi's eyes. She had already seen Yan Heng's potential, and had thought about marrying him.But after inquiring about the situation of Yan Heng's family, she hesitated.The mother-in-law's surname is Zhou, and she is still a stepmother. Yan Heng is still old enough to be his son's brother. She married her and let others talk about her, and she has to educate her brother-in-law. It's not worthwhile to marry him a wife. .

Who would have thought that Yan Heng only went to the capital once, and became a high-ranking official who could manipulate Zhou Qianhu at will.Holding the basket of tofu, Xi Shi sighed inwardly, she was still one step too late after all.

Qiang smiled, and she asked Zhuzi, "Why did you come to Uncle Wang's house so early in the morning?"

Seeing her consciously changing the subject, Zhu Zi didn't continue talking: "It's still Yan Heng, he wants to openly try Zhou's thousand households the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and by the way, redress the grievances of the people in Jiuquan. Our situation in Jiuquan is a bit special, the adults call us Do some preparations first."

Uncle Chen took the basket and smelled the strong fragrance of tofu before he lifted the cage cloth, and the corners of his lips softened.

Hearing what Zhuzi said, he couldn't help but sighed to Tofu Xishi: "Shooting the top bird with a gun, my leg is a lesson. Officials, I was a little angry before. But I have lived to this age. I have never seen such a big storm. , I just want to live in peace for a few days."

Zhu Zi was silent, he understood Uncle Wang's concerns, which were also the concerns of most people in Jiuquan.

Yan Heng is not the king of heaven, who knows whether he is good or bad.If he really punished Zhou Qianhu, at most they would feel more at ease after the officials were sacked, but in reality they would not get any benefits, and they would live as they should.But in case he just played tricks, those who dare to report will face serious consequences.

It is human instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and it is not their fault.

"Uncle Wang, Lord Zhenfu really wants to seek justice for everyone. He pays out of his own pocket to compensate everyone for some losses. In the entire Jiuquan County, Uncle Wang has suffered a lot. Your lord decided to subsidize you before the public trial. 1000 taels."

1000 two!

Mrs. Zhou is right in saying that there is no one who does not love money.

For ordinary people, it may be difficult to sleep and eat with ill-gotten gains, but they are absolutely happy to see this kind of reasonable compensation. 1000 taels is a huge amount, enough for ordinary people to live frugally for a lifetime.

Anyway, now, Uncle Wang was shocked by this number.

"What... what do you want me to do?"

Dealing with smart people is easy, Zhu Zi directly explained his purpose: "During the public trial on August 1000th, I hope that Uncle Wang will go to the Jiuquan government office to explain the truth. Just talk about the situation at that time, and it is of course best to have evidence. By the way, my lord He also said that the [-] taels is not the final compensation. After all, Uncle Wang’s brewing recipe was taken away by the Zhou family, and he has suffered heavy losses over the years. After the case is over, he will subsidize some of it for you.”

More than 1000 taels...

The balance in Uncle Wang's heart tilted sharply. Under these years of depression, he has a unique experience in wine making.With these 1000 taels, he can buy grain without any scruples and build a new brewery.Not only that, but when he regains the wine-making recipe, he can really carry forward the Wang family's craft.

It's just that such a big pie will really fall on his head?

While hesitating violently, Xi Shi, who took back the basket, said, "Don't worry, Uncle Wang. You have seen Yan Zhenfu before, and you may not be able to match the number for a while. The person who used to be on duty in the exchange market and often helped us move the shelves is he."

Uncle Wang was startled: "It's that mutton woman who is nagging, saying that he has a good face and is a young man who is appointed by a high official?"

The sister-in-law who sells mutton really said this, and Tofu Xishi smiled bitterly: "It's him."

It turned out to be him. Uncle Wang thought he had lived most of his life, so he still had good eyesight.When Yan Zhenfu was a soldier, he was on duty at the exchange market, and he often helped the elderly and physically weak push carts and clean up stalls.Moreover, he speaks Oirat very well, and occasionally encountered communication problems between local people and Oirat merchants, and he followed up diligently.

Such a young man has absolutely no character.

"You two officials, I will do this certificate, but I don't want the money. Your Lord Yan is also from a poor family. If he can give this money, he must have used the dowry of his wife. We men have no other skills, but we have to raise money. If you can afford a daughter-in-law, how can you just spend the money your daughter-in-law brought from her natal family?"

Zhuzi was helpless. Others may not know how the money came from, but who is he, the gossip king in Jiuquan City.He already knew about Mrs. Zhou's visit to Yan's house yesterday, and he could vaguely guess where the banknote came from.

Yan Heng is also generous to others, he just said "Master Zhenfu pays in advance", that is, he ran the train casually, and by the way set up a tall image of Master Zhenfu who loves the people like a son and sacrifices himself for others.

"Master Zhenfu said that no one can lose to us Jiuquan people. You must accept this banknote, Uncle Wang."

Seeing that the official took out a large amount of 1000 taels of banknotes, Uncle Wang was completely moved, and he was even more moved that he didn't want such a good official to suffer.

So early in the morning, such a strange scene appeared in Uncle Wang's courtyard.

On weekdays, the official errand, who has always been an uncle, desperately stuffed money into the hands of ordinary people.And the party that took the money for nothing tried to push the banknotes out.In the hands of the two groups of people, the priceless bank notes have become a plague that should be avoided.

This is the life she is familiar with. Tofu Xishi pursed her lips and smiled. She is an informal person, so it didn't take long for her to figure it out.She likes to set up a tofu stall in Jiuquan, support her family with a handicraft, and live a leisurely life every day.She doesn't know anything about those intrigues in the officialdom, a businesswoman, and she can't adapt to all kinds of officials who eat and drink all day long. If she really wants to marry Yan Heng, it will be a disaster for the two of them.

As for Yan Heng, let him go.

"Uncle Wang, I think you should accept it. Officials also have difficulties. If you don't accept them, you won't feel at ease."

Zhu Zi nodded again and again, put the banknotes into Uncle Wang's hands like throwing rubbish, pulled up the pile and almost fled in despair.He didn't forget to stretch his neck when he crossed the threshold of being discharged from the hospital.

"Uncle Wang, don't forget."

There are still many people like Uncle Wang. Two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiuquan City was extremely lively.The officers and soldiers were completely busy, and under the incredulous eyes of everyone, they scattered money everywhere on behalf of Lord Zhenfu.

How could the Zhou family not hear the news of such a big event, Mrs. Zhou poked the dragon's head with a crutch, and Mrs. Zhou Qianhu fainted without being able to lift it up.

"Bitch, she...how dare she."

Mrs. Zhou went to Yan's house in person, but when she came, Yan Heng and Wei Wei had already gone to the countryside.After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family will go to Liangzhou. Taking advantage of the free time in these few days, we just took the Wei family over and went with them.

Returning home full of disappointment, Mrs. Zhou wanted to spread rumors about Yan Zhenfu accepting bribes again, but the people who heard it would not, as usual, believe that Master Yan and Zhou Qianhu were in collusion, this time Zhou Qianhu would definitely be safe and sound , They sued and asked for trouble.

The people who received the money realized it, oh, no wonder Yan Zhenfu was able to take out such a large sum of money at such a young age and spread money everywhere.It turned out that he was not greedy, but sent by Zhou Qianhu's house.In the past, we searched for our money, and now it will finally be returned, which is really happy.

The officials were busy, and soon it was August [-]th, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Yan Heng escorted Wei's car into the city early in the morning.After sending it to the gate of the house, he changed his clothes and rushed to the Jiuquan government office.

When Zhou Qianhu was pushed out, he was full of hope. His mother had told him that it didn't matter that Zhou's family and Wu's family weren't here. The family had already spent a lot of money to bribe Yan Zhenfu.Looking at the Jiuquan people watching around, he straightened his neck, noticing who had bad eyes.When he is acquitted in a while, he must first attack that person and vent his anger.

There was a sinister smile on the corner of his lips, and he was caught off guard by rotten vegetable leaves.I don't know who took the lead and has been oppressed for many years. The angry Jiuquan people threw things at him and spit at him if they didn't.

Seeing that the situation was out of control, Yan Heng took the man to the Yamen to try the case.Zhou Qianhu knelt in the hall, and the No. [-] witness, Uncle Wang, came up first.He limped and explained in detail the grievances of the year.The scribe sitting by the side was flying like a pen, and it took a whole cup of tea time to write down the grievance.

Then came the people of Yanjia Village, and then some girls were robbed as slaves and concubines, some family heirlooms were taken away, and some people's businesses were destroyed.One by one they took turns to go to court, from morning to dusk, for a whole day, the clerk wrote a thick volume.

Zhou Qianhu struggled from the beginning to the final depression.He knew that this time, he was really finished.Even if the Zhao family can come back after a while, no one will protect him with this confession.

"Yan Heng..."

He raised his dirty head, and the meaning in his eyes was very clear: Why didn't I kill you back then.

Unmoved, Yan Heng stood up and pronounced the sentence directly: Zhou Qianhu has committed many crimes, according to the law of Da Yue, he himself will be divided into capital punishment, all his family property will be confiscated, and he has embezzled other people's private property in the past, and he will be compensated one by one after counting.

After the verdict came out, Zhou Qianhu collapsed to the ground. Outside the Jiuquan government office, the people who heard the news cheered loudly.

(End of this chapter)