Emperor Qianlong: the beginning of his glory

Chapter 36 Cao Xueqin, who failed in the butcher's female supervisor class, ridiculed the world (1)
Ah Gui followed He Zhi on the snow, and after walking for about a quarter of an hour, he arrived at Zhang's butcher shop, but the door was closed, and he heard Le Min reciting a book in a high and low voice: "Confucius passed by the side of Mount Tai. A woman mourns when she cries at the tomb. Listening to it in the manner of a master, Zilu asked, "My son's crying is also suspected of worrying."—"

"Wrong!" A woman's voice interrupted, "You taught me this word. It's a heavy 'heavy'. Why do you recite it as 'cong'? Do you want to coax me?" Ah Gui and He Zhi couldn't help it. They looked at each other and smiled, but heard Le Min laughing and said: "One heavy and one heavy, it's also the word 'zhong', can 'repetition' be pronounced as 'kind (sound) multiple'?" The woman smiled and spat, "It's easy to save Save it, keep memorizing it!"

So Le Min backed up again: "—and said, 'Of course. In the past, my uncle died of a tiger, my husband died again, and now my son died again'—" Then he heard the woman laughing and said: "Book, write It doesn’t make sense, and you recited it wrong! Her uncle told a tiger to eat her, her husband died of a horse, and her son also died of a horse. It’s obviously a word for horse, so why do you keep saying ‘重’ (yan)?” Le Min chuckled, Said: "Where is the word 'horse'? Look carefully! 'Uncle' is what we call my husband's father now, and the ancients called my parents-in-law 'uncle'—do you understand?"

He Zhi and Ah Gui outside were covering their mouths and laughing as they listened.Without waiting for Le Min to recite it again, He Zhi went up and knocked on the door, shouting in a rough voice, "Is Lao Zhang there? The tax collector is here!"

"Don't let your mother fart," the woman jumped off the kang, opened the door wide with a bang, and said regardless of 21: "My family does not owe taxes! I have never heard of the snowy New Year's day. At this time, the tax collector—" Seeing He Zhi and a stranger, blushed and said with a smile, "So it's Mr. He..."

"Sit a rouge tiger by your bed." He Zhi smiled and said to the dazed Le Min, "How can anyone fail in such hard work?" Ah Gui smiled and said, "I'm a cruel official, let's recite it." Now, it's time to memorize 'tyranny is fiercer than a tiger'!" He Zhi looked at Yu'er, then at Le Min, and said with a smile: "With Yu'er supervising the battle, what champion can't pass the exam? Woolen cloth!"

Yu'er listened to their jokes, although she didn't understand them very well, she guessed that the words were not good, and said in her mouth: "What's so rare about the number one scholar?" She spat, turned around and left.Zhang Mingkui's old couple and their son used to clean up the soup pot for slaughtering pigs in the inner courtyard.Hearing the arrival of guests, Zhang Mingkui came out hurriedly, made a bow to He Zhi with a smile, and said, "Mr. He hasn't come to my door for half a month. He just packed up an animal and the ready-made pork head in the pot. The door was sealed by heavy snow." , you guys are just having fun..."

"This is Agui, the magistrate of Henan Province." He Zhi introduced with a smile, "I'm going to Beijing to report on my work, and I want Brother Le to go see Xueqin together—" Le Min hurriedly said: "Exactly, I said there is something The matter is hidden in my heart, and I am in a trance when reading, but I am also thinking about Xueqin. Let's go, let's disturb him!" Yu'er said: "I have seen that person, but he looks normal, why are you all so Do you like him? The big men don’t even do a job, and they don’t do well when they have errands. Is it interesting to write that Huang Zi’s "Dream of Red Mansions"?" He said so, but walked into the inner courtyard, and suddenly He brought his younger brother out to pick up a piece of meat, and a pair of offal, complete with heart, liver, and lungs, because it was just slaughtered, and it was still steaming, and said to his younger brother: "Send it for Brother Le, and you will come back—" - The road is slippery, carefully fell!"

He Zhi hurriedly said: "This time I am treating guests, you are not rich, and it is not a common practice to do so." He took out half a tael and put it on the table.Agui saw that Zhang Mingkui was honest and that the butcher's shop was very run-down. He touched his sleeve and found a 50 tael bank note and a five tael Beijing ingot, so he took out the Jing ingot and put it on the table.Zhang Mingkui hurriedly said: "How can this be tolerated? How can this be tolerated? You are friends of Le Xianggong, don't you feel sorry for me? Don't—" Before they finished speaking, the four of them had already walked out.Yu'er chased to the door and shouted loudly: "Hey - don't be brave if you don't have that amount!"

"It's about you!" Agui smiled and said to Le Min: "Miss Yu has a fierce face, but she is kind in her heart!" "That's right." He Zhiye sighed, "Although the Zhang family's work is indecent, they are really kind people According to me, you don’t even have a family, and you’ll be fine if things are done early—Brother Agui, you don’t know, the last time Zhuang Yougong came, he even had a good dinner with Yu’er!” Then he told Zhuang Yougong that the number one scholar in the middle school was so happy that he lost his temper and went crazy, and Yu'er sarcasm. The version of "The Scholars" - Yu'er's tongue is really powerful!" While talking and laughing, Maomao pointed to the front and said: "Cao Xianggong's house is here!"

Ah Gui returned to Cao Xueqin's house for the first time. Far away, a small stream ran along the wall, and beside the stream was an old pagoda tree with crooked neck, about the thickness of an arm's length, with a huge crown and branches covered with crystal icicles. A stone bench under the tree is leaning on a large steamed-tou-shaped stone, covered with a thick layer of snow, surrounded by a small courtyard wall, and a pomegranate tree in front of the three thatched houses is also covered with icicles.The bright red berries hang half hidden and half visible among the branches, dotted in this white silver world, which is eye-catching.Everyone was about to knock on the door, when a person trotted up behind him on a tall horse, and got off his horse in front of the door, when several people looked intently, it was Qian Du, they couldn't help but smile.He Zhidao: "What's the matter today? Did Xueqin invite you through the post?"

"It's Mr. Ah who has won the victory and returned to the imperial court!" Qian Du came over with a smile, and said to Le Min and He Zhi: "You visit elegant scholars on snow, after all, I am inferior to you!" Then he went to knock on the door.

After a while, the chai gate squeaked, and Cao Xueqin leaned out. Seeing them, she couldn't help smiling, and said, "I never thought it would be you! Please come in—when did Lord Ah return to Beijing? How many of them are there?" It's quite common..." Then he let everyone enter the room.

The three earthen huts were very small, and once a few people entered, it seemed very cramped.Ah Gui looked carefully, and found that the main house and the west house were connected, and there was not even a ceiling above.On the east side is the kitchen, separated by a green cloth curtain, on the west side is a large kang table, with the kang table leaning against the south window, and there are messy piles of tiles, inkstones, paper and pens on it.There is a square table under the kang, but there are paper, scissors, and paste on it.There is also a bundle of cut bamboo strips leaning against the northeast corner.A few newly tied kites were randomly placed on the north side of the kang, and Fang Qing was tidying up. Seeing this group of people coming in, she came over generously and blessed everyone, and said to Xueqin: "My lord will sit with the guests. Go to boil the water—it’s just that there is no wine, and the dishes are all pickled vegetables, how can I do it?” Xueqin seemed a little helpless, and said with a smile: “Then——we have to replace wine with tea. It is said, "If there is no wine in light friendship, you must take pity on my poverty; if you speak deeply but only tea, I will also know that you are discouraged"!"

"How did it get to that point?" Le Min laughed, "I have pork liver! Ask my sister-in-law to cook, and I'll ask Maomao to get wine." Maomao hurriedly put his heart and lungs in a pot in the corner , Fangqing brought it to rectify.Seeing her slow movement, He Zhi said to Xueqin with a smile, "Fang Qing is already in shape. Whether it's playing tricks or making tiles, I'm sure I can eat soup, cakes and wine." While talking and laughing, Maomao suddenly said, "That's not it. Uncle Liuliu is here, carrying the wine!" When Le Min turned his head to look, it was indeed Liuliu walking in the snow carrying a wine load, with a weight of four or five catties hanging on the top of the load. The big carp unloaded at the door of Xueqin, wiped his face and shouted: "Mr. Le, are Master Cao in the house? Miss Yu asked me to bring wine!"

Everyone in the room was beaming with joy. Le Min rushed out and helped Liuliu carry the wine barrel into the house. He laughed and said, "You are my Wang Lun? ——It's the drunk thirsty man. Don't go, let's have a good meal today!"

"Master Cao, I'm not the one on the stage." Liuliu smiled, "Second Master Dun and Third Master Cheng came back, forced to drink and got drunk, and went back to the owner's house so annoyed that the cover collapsed, I carried them out. The names of the two masters, the old guy was too scared to say anything..." Picking up the empty bucket, he said, "Yu'er said, this is the wine bought with the money of Lord Agui, and this fish. It's called Maomaohe When I went back, I told other men to drink to their heart's content, so Lord Le should drink less!" Everyone in the room looked at Le Min and laughed.After Liuliu walked a few steps, he turned back to Cao Xueqin and said, "Master Cao, if you have anything to do, don't be polite. Grandma Fang has something to do, but you can ask my mother-in-law to help, and I live not far away—the couplet in our house, if you are free , write it out, and I'll pick it up when I have time." After finishing speaking, he went out humming a little tune.

With the wine, the people in the room immediately cheered up.Cao Xueqin poured a pot and put it on the fire to warm it.In the east room, Fang Qing was cooking, and the smell of meat diffused through the curtain, making everyone salivate.Ah Gui has heard of Cao Xueqin's name for a long time. Before trying it, she had a few literary exchanges, and read a lot of Cao Xueqin's poems from Fu Heng. , The family situation is so embarrassing.While everyone was talking, Ah Gui walked into the kitchen and saw Fang Qing packing up the fish, put the 50 taels of silver note under the salt jar, came out and sighed: "Unexpectedly, Brother Cao is so poor."

"Cao Zi is definitely not a person who has been poor for a long time." Qian Du laughed, "Don't you hear that 'I am born with talents that will be useful'! Now the emperor's grace is mighty, and the government is lenient. What a hero Mr. Lianting was, he is the current Lord I also respect it very much! Brother Cao, please hold back a little bit and give in to Wei Mo, and you will surely succeed!" Seeing that Cao Xueqin smiled and said nothing, Le Min also said: "Confucius was in Chen Shou'er, and he couldn't keep his stew; Zengzi Buju was born in Wei; the Marquis of Huaiyin begged for food from Piaomu, and Wu Xiang played the flute to beg in Wushi. Mr. Cao is trapped today, how can you know that it is not a sign of a great appointment from heaven?"

Seeing Agui, Cao Xueqin also hesitated to speak, and said with a smile: "I'm afraid your hearts are not good? Le Min is more like a sage, and I never dare to be a sage. God punished me to be born in the world to endure hardship. I can't be an official. I don’t even bother to do it. If God has pity on me, I can write a wonderful book, and my wish is enough!” He Zhidao: “I’m determined to follow Xueqin. He wrote a chapter, I read a chapter, and copied a chapter , Approve a chapter. If this "Dream of Red Mansions" cannot be passed down from generation to generation, I ask you brothers to choose my eyes! Enke failed the ranking last year. I had a strange dream. I went to a place where there was a list. Someone told me Me, the ones on the list are all chasing fame, I looked at it, and the list is divided into three parts, which are 'beasts', 'birds', and 'worms'!" Qian Du chuckled and said, "I'm afraid you, Mr. He, are jealous. I hate it so much, it must have been fabricated!"

(End of this chapter)