Author: Loeva

These two old friends of Qin Bai, one surnamed Mao and the other Pan, are both descendants of scholarly and noble families in Huzhou City. They are now in their fifties. Fortunately, they are still alive. Although they are one

One is a supervisor and the other is a judge. Neither of them has ever served as an official. They only live at home leisurely. However, they each married a wife and had children. They have many children and grandchildren and live a prosperous life. There is nothing unsatisfactory.

Qin Bai ordered someone to come to the door to deliver the greeting card, and both of them found it unbelievable. They rarely contacted the capital, and when they got older, they didn't pay much attention to the news from the capital. Therefore, they didn't know that the younger brother of Qin Song, the Marquis of Cheng'en, had returned to the court.

They had sealed the title of Marquis of Yongjia, but they still remembered Qin Bai's name. They thought that this childhood friend had passed away long ago, but they didn't expect that they would meet again one day, and they were all pleasantly surprised.

Since it was a reunion of old friends, there was no need to wait at home for Qin Bai to visit one by one. Mao and Pan met immediately, and followed the address left by the family member Qin Bai sent to deliver the greetings, and went directly to Qin Bai's door.

Come.

Old friends who had been separated for more than thirty years met again. The once green young people had become gray-haired old men. While the three of them were happy, they couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Qin Bai invited his wife Niu Shi and his granddaughter Qin Hanzhen to come out and meet them.

As an old friend, I just led the two friends to the study, sat down to have tea, and talked in detail about their experiences over the years.

Mr. Pan has a straightforward and impatient temper, which he has not changed even as he gets older. As soon as he sat down, he directly asked: "Since you are safe and sound, why did we go to Beijing to find your brother to find out about you? Your brother

Would you say that you died in the northwest? Brother Mao and I couldn't believe it. We asked again and again, but he kicked you out impatiently. We remember that he has always been at odds with you, and we were afraid that he was deliberately tricking us.

I specially went to your hometown in Jiangning to inquire about your clan members. I only found out that your whereabouts were unknown and you never returned to Beijing with your brother. However, I didn’t hear about any changes you encountered. Brother Mao and I have been thinking about you for so many years.

You, it’s just that we can never see each other again in this life, but I didn’t expect that one day we would meet again when we grow old!”

Qin Baigan smiled, but he couldn't criticize his brother Qin Song directly in front of outsiders, so he could only say vaguely: "When my brother returned to Beijing, my father-in-law died of illness. My father-in-law only had his only daughter, Zhuo Jing.

, as the son-in-law, I have not returned to Beijing with my brother since I went out to take care of the funeral. Later, due to some strange combination of circumstances, we got separated. The year before last, Quanzi went to Beijing for some reason and met family members. My brother just sent someone to the northwest.

, took our family back. I never thought that I would see my two brothers again one day. In the past, when my Qin family was in trouble, all my relatives and friends would avoid me for fear. The two brothers still remember their friendship with me.

Going to Beijing to inquire about my news, I will keep this friendship in my heart for the rest of my life."

Pan and Mao both blushed when they heard this. Mr. Mao raised his sleeves and covered his face and said, "Stop saying that, we are all going to die of shame! Your family was in trouble that day, and we were far away in Huzhou. By the time we received the letter, the dust had settled.

Although we are worried about you, we can't do anything about it. We can't do anything to help you. We waited until your family was rehabilitated before we went to the capital to look for you. It was already an afterthought. What other words of unkindness can you say?" Mr. Pan also kept saying it.

He nodded, his face full of shame.

Qin Bai smiled slightly: "Don't say such things. You are living a prosperous and comfortable life in Huzhou. If you don't really care about me, why would you go all the way to Beijing to find out about me? I also know that my late mother brought her family with her When the women and children returned to their hometown in Jiangning, you secretly sent money to help. At that time, our Qin family was in a difficult time, and relatives and friends were helpless. You just had a friendship with me, but you took the risk to help your late mother. Could it be that you just had a friendship with me? Isn’t this considered kindness?”

Pan and Mao looked at each other in surprise. To be honest, they had almost forgotten this kind of thing, but they didn't expect Qin Bai to know about it too!

Mr. Mao asked curiously: "Shu Qing (Qin Bai's cousin), how did you know about this? We didn't actually know that the mother-in-law had returned to her hometown with the women and children at the time. We just happened to be visiting relatives in Jinling and heard about it by chance, so we ran away I went to see him, but I didn't dare to let outsiders know. I just scraped together the few taels of silver I had with me, pawned it as a jade fan pendant, wrapped the money in a handkerchief, and then ordered the book boy to send it over. We even gave our names. Never stayed."

Qin Bai smiled and said, "Have you forgotten? At that time, my late mother lived in the house on Qinzhuang, which was the ancestral house of the clan. The entire Qinzhuang was owned by the Qin clan. How could no one see you when you came? In the early years, Since I became friends with you, I once took you back to the clan to play, not to mention that you later came to the village to inquire about my whereabouts. Naturally, someone will remember your appearance. Although you did not leave your names, your late mother knew that. The origin of the broken silver. If she hadn't known that you were my friends, she would never have accepted the silver with unknown origin."

After speaking, he sighed again: "Unfortunately, not many clan members knew about this incident back then. There was an elder who experienced it personally. When you went to the clan to inquire about me, you also met him face to face. But his elder's parents I was sick and had little time to see outsiders. I returned to Jiangning more than a year ago, and I only saw him briefly once, and never sat down to talk in detail. During the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the family held a big banquet, and the elder's health improved. I also came to the banquet and talked about the past with me. I accidentally mentioned it and I found out... Otherwise, I may never know what my two brothers have done for me in this life!"

Pan and Mao waved their hands in shame: "Don't say that, it's just a small effort. We could have done more, but we never dared to reach out. In fact, we are just timid people. How can we deserve your gratitude? If you want If you say things like this again, we will have no choice but to retreat in shame."

Qin Bai smiled and didn't mention it again, but in his heart, he was really grateful to these two old friends. He didn't think they were timid. When the Qin family was in trouble, their relatives and friends stood by to persuade them. Many people in the clan also avoid the six-bedroom house, adding insult to injury, such as the Ma family, the Xue family, etc., and there are many people there! Pan and Mao are not close friends with him, but they are still willing to help the poor Ye family. Mrs. Yinzi was already a rare friendship for him. When the Qin family was in trouble, these two friends never abandoned him. After the Qin family was rehabilitated, they only cared about his own safety and did not take the opportunity to seek benefits by clinging to him. These are the kind of friends truly worth keeping.

Qin Bai and Pan Mao reminisced about their past, talked about their experiences after parting, and talked about some trivial matters about their children and grandchildren. Although they have been separated for many years, they are still living a comfortable and prosperous life without encountering any major difficulties. What a blessing.

Pan and Mao knew that Qin Bai was now the uncle of the country. He had been granted a title of marquis and was knowledgeable. He had taught several Jinshi and promoted people. They also had children and grandchildren studying in their own families who wanted to make a career, and they also had many questions about their studies.

I wanted to find a master for advice, but they only talked about the experience of the two people's friendship for thirty years, talking about which famous calligraphy and painting master in Huzhou they usually have friends with, or which antique calligraphy and painting company is good.

They had no intention of asking Qin Bai to teach their children and grandchildren about their homework. Obviously Qin Bai asked his wife and granddaughter to come to see them as a gift. This was because they wanted to be a good friend of the whole family, but they did not mention that they asked his wife and children to come to see Qin.

Bai, maybe they are avoiding suspicion? They are very happy that their childhood friends are safe and enjoying wealth and prosperity, but they do not intend to take advantage of it. If their children and grandchildren want a future, they will earn it. The older generation has

Friendship is not a reason for them to be lazy.

Pan and Mao left after having a good meal and wine. Niu said to Qin Bai: "Master, these two friends look like real good friends. Did they have a good relationship with you in the past? I haven't heard of you over the years.

You mentioned it."

Qin Bai sighed: "I have cut off contact with the Qin family since they were in trouble. How did I know about these things? At that time, I saw too many relatives and friends doing nothing, and my in-laws abandoned me. I didn't care about the friends I met in Jiangnan at all.

What hope? If I had known they were such sincere gentlemen, I should have come back as soon as possible to say thank you to them!"

Qin Hanzhen laughed and said: "It's not too late now. Although my grandfather will go back to the capital next spring, friends don't have to get together often to be considered friends. You can write letters to them.

?When the children and grandchildren of their two families go to Beijing to take part in the examination, our family can also take care of their daily life. In the past, we saw a lot of villains who were obsessed with profit. Today it is rare to see a gentleman, so how can we not get closer and closer to them?

By making friends like this, even your family, children and grandchildren will benefit!”

Qin Bai smiled and nodded: "That's true."

The next day, he solemnly visited Pan Mao and his two old friends again, and gave them generous gifts. When local officials and gentry from Huzhou came to visit him, they even mentioned the past kindness between Pan Mao and Pan Mao.

Thanks to his actions, these two old friends were originally from well-known families in Huzhou, and they will be more and more respected in the future. With Uncle Guo's friendship, who in Huzhou dares to look down on these two families?

Qin Hanzhen's family and his aunt Huang's family stayed in Huzhou for a few days. They visited several places of interest such as Taihu Lake, and bought a lot of fine paper and pens, as well as Huzhou's specialties of silk, bamboo fans, tea, and lilies.

Ginkgo and other items, and also tasted the seasonal snow lotus root, chestnuts, eel silk produced in Taihu Lake, etc. Qin Bai also met several famous poets, calligraphers and painters in Huzhou, which enriched his collection. Zhao Mo also gave

The family's tea business found two new sources of supply. The Qin and Huang families were finally satisfied and set off again before the weather changed. They left Huzhou in a carriage and headed towards Jinling.

On the day they returned to Jiangning, it snowed heavily, covering the roads with a thick layer of white, and the fields were almost invisible.

Huang Jincheng got the letter early and rode with his soldiers to meet him at the official intersection. When he saw his long-separated wife and sister, he immediately smiled. When he got closer, he found that his sister looked much better than before.

He was much more rosy when he was there, his eyes were bright, and there was a smile on his face, which made him even happier. It can be seen that the effect of going out to relax this time was very good. His sister finally no longer felt sad and troubled about that bastard of the Zhang family.

Already.

Huang Jincheng stepped forward to meet Qin Bai, and solemnly thanked him for taking care of his wife and sister. By the way, he also told him good news: "Wu Jinshi will be coming to Jinling soon to take charge of the government, right? This official position is slightly lower.

A little. However, the promotion officer may be vacant next year. As long as Wu Jinshi performs well, the promotion officer position will be his. Only a seventh-grade promotion officer is worthy of the status of a second-class Jinshi, right?

"
Chapter completed!