In a blink of an eye, the last days of winter are coming to an end, and it is almost the New Year. According to tradition, every New Year period, all officials and servants in the department have a holiday, and the time is still very long. During the holiday, only a few important positions are left.

People take turns to be on duty, and everyone else is

I will go home and have a good reunion with my family. Because I work in a government office, I can only live in the office on weekdays. Unless there are special circumstances, I usually don’t go home until holidays or holidays. So people just hate that the holidays are short, which

Someone is willing to keep watch in the official office.

The day before the holiday, Shu Yan received an order from Qiu Guoxiang: Ask all the officials, big and small, in the department to find out which days someone is on duty and which days they are off. Give me the list of people on duty. Request: Mediate the people on duty.

Well, if someone has to take leave for something and needs to switch with his colleagues, he must ensure that there are a certain number of people in the department on duty.

After receiving the order, Shu Yan immediately walked around Cao's subordinates one by one, quickly drew up a list and gave it to Qiu Guoxiang.

Qiu Guoxiang took a look at it and saw that Shu Yan's name appeared on most of the dozens of days of holiday duty lists. He couldn't help but shook his head and said with a smile: "Shu Wenxu, what's the matter? During such a long holiday, you will be on duty in the department for more than half of the time. You

What kind of holiday is this!"

Shu Yan also shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There is no way. Everyone said that they have something to do. Those who have to spend time with their parents, those who have to spend time with their wives, and those who live in other places and it is inconvenient to be on duty, they all ask me to replace them on the day they are on duty.

them."

Qiu Guoxiang touched his beard and asked with a smile: "On this New Year's Day, it is so busy outside. How can you, at such a young age, endure loneliness and be willing to give up your vacation?"

Shu Yan sighed: "Hey, what can I do? Everyone has a father, a mother, a wife and children, but I have nothing and am alone."

Qiu Guoxiang nodded. As soon as Shu Yan retreated to the door, Qiu Guoxiang stopped him again, "Shu Wenxu, please take this list."

Shu Yan was puzzled: "Prime Minister, why do you let me hold it? All my colleagues who are on duty or asking for leave will come to you according to this list to draw their bows."

Qiu Guoxiang pretended to be angry and said: "Hmph, do I have no father, no mother, no wife and no children? I have been looking forward to this day for a long time! Do you think you can do it for anyone, but you alone can't give me face?"

Shu Yan hurriedly explained: "The Prime Minister has misunderstood. What I mean is that the Prime Minister should ask the internal historian or the captain to take charge of the affairs of the county. How can I, a small assistant, take this important position for you?"

Woolen cloth?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter. The world is peaceful now. There are no wars, thieves, or floods. What can happen?"

"But……"

"But what? My carriage is ready and I'll be leaving soon!"

…

On New Year's Eve, Shu Yan came to the front office and looked through the roster. It was Tang Hui who was on duty today. Tang Hui had already agreed to replace him with Shu Yan. As early as the first day of the holiday, Shu Yan

He found that the huge government office, including the front office and the back office, was already empty with few people in it. Shu Yan secretly thought: This group of people usually go to work lazily, but during holidays they run faster than rabbits.

For the government office, the New Year's Day period is indeed the best time. There are no annoying official documents coming down from above, and the people below are also looking for good luck. No one wants to come to the government office to look for trouble during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, although Shu Yan is on duty, it's good

A few days passed, but nothing happened. Shu Yan was bored and sat in Tang Hui's

Before the case, there was a row of cabinets next to the case. He opened one of them and saw that it was full of old account books. He flipped through a few books at random, and then took another look and found a "Laojun" book in the corner below.

"Book". "'Labor Book'? Could it be that in the sixth year of Xianning, after the imperial court defeated Wu, a large army passed by

The labor force in Ruyin?" Shu Yan took it over and looked at it. It said, "In April of the first year of Taikang". Shu Yan thought to himself: "The imperial court will change the reign name every time it encounters a major event. After Wu was defeated, the reign name was changed from

It was that time when the sixth year of Xianning was changed to the first year of Taikang." He opened the account book and saw that all the words written on it were the labor force of that day.

Shu Yan found his name on various expenditures, and it read: Shu Yan Two loads of firewood Four hundred dollars. Shu Yan recalled that day when he went to the county office to collect the money, he was obviously only given 30%, but I only took it.

One hundred and thirty dollars, and why is there four hundred dollars in this account book? Could it be that

Is it a mistake? Or is this account book falsified? He looked down again and saw the name of Eunuch Tang, Tang Bi, Zhu Ling, and six hundred coins. He also looked at the names of other people, such as Liu Tufu, Baimi Zhang, etc.

Wait, the amount of money these people received is completely inconsistent with the actual amount of money they received. Don’t

He wasn't sure how much the difference in money was, but he remembered Tang Eunuch's money clearly, because he received Tang Eunuch's money on his behalf, which was only two hundred dollars, because he pitied Tang Eunuch for his old age and would still have money.

I added the four hundred dollars I had with me to the old man, and lied that the office gave him the original amount...

Oh, thinking about it this way, there is no doubt that the account book is falsified, and the money must have been embezzled. Who could it be? Tang Hui must be one of them, who else? He looked at it for a while, and then took the account

Put the book in, close the cabinet, and open the cabinet closest to the bookcase, and find that there is something on the top.

This account book had the words "Jianxiu School Book" written on it. Shu Yan had doubts again: "Hey, our Ruyin Jianxiang School was built with funds. The office didn't pay a penny, so what else do we need to establish?"

Account book?" He opened the account book and looked at its general heading, which read "Appropriations from the imperial court. Below are the expenditures of Ruyin City and Xiangxue in various counties..."

He was holding the account book and was about to look at it in detail when someone suddenly opened the door and snatched the account book from his hand. Shu Yan saw that this person was Tang Hui. Tang Hui had obviously run all the way. It was cold outside.

When I entered the door, I was still breathing white air.

Shu Yan asked: "Tangcang Cao, aren't you busy today? Why are you back?"

Tang Hui did not answer, but asked: "Shu Wenxue, as a small literary agent, what right do you have to read the account books at will?"

Shu Yan asked back: "Tangcang Cao, you asked me to be on duty for you, and your room is warmer than mine, so I came to your room. Is there anything wrong with this? Besides, you keep the account books.

The cabinet is not locked, and no one said not to look at it!"

Tang Hui had neglected this matter. When he was asked the question, he had nothing to answer. He hesitated and said: "Shu Wenxue, no matter who you are on duty for, please go to your own room. Don't go if it is not your duty."

Tube!"

After saying that, he pushed Shu Yan out and locked the cupboard and the door. Shu Yan begged for a while, thinking that Tang Hui had undoubtedly embezzled the money.

On New Year's Eve, the city of Ruyin was brightly lit, with Spring Festival couplets posted on every house, colored lanterns hanging on every household, firecrackers and noises one after another, making it very lively. Shu Yan watched for a while on the street and thought: every family is enjoying peace and prosperity.

Family happiness, alone

I am alone, which only adds to the sadness. Who else is as lonely as me in Ruyin City? Hey, Eunuch Tang! Although he has a son, I have never seen him return home. Presumably Eunuch Tang is also alone.

Why don't I go find him and have a drink,

Relieve boredom! Thinking of this, Shu Yan bought some wine, meat, and fruits, and went to Eunuch Tang's house. When he walked in, he saw that Eunuch Tang was the only one sitting there, guarding a small heater. It was deserted, with no Spring Festival couplets posted, and no lanterns.

Hang up, the firecrackers are not set off,

It didn’t look like celebrating the New Year at all. Seeing Shu Yan coming, the old man was very happy, heated up the wine, and took the dishes to the kitchen. Even though they were both men, they both had been cooking for themselves for a long time, and they were very familiar with making wine and food.

, it was brought up in a moment.

The two of them were sitting in front of a dining table, and there was another burst of firecrackers outside. After a full drink, Tang Bi sighed and said: "On this New Year's Eve, everyone else is having fun with their families, but I am the only one who is deserted at such an old age... Fortunately...

Come and see me if you want."

Shu Yan also sighed and said: "How could I not be so lonely? I thought that you must be alone when you grow up, so I came to you for a drink to relieve the pain of being lonely and cold during this festival."

Because Shu Yan was angry with Tang Hui in the morning, and in such a festive season, he was lonely and thought of Zhi Xin, which made him feel a lot more depressed. He picked up the cup and drank three more cups in a row.

Bi saw that Shu Yan was in a bad mood today, so he found a topic to relieve his boredom: "Young master, there is no need to be too sentimental. Why should a man worry about not having a wife or a family?

As long as the world is peaceful, everything will be possible. How do you young people know that a few decades ago, during the war, people were exiled everywhere, where they had wives and homes, and they didn't know whether they would freeze to death tomorrow or be killed by insurgents;

There are red candles and lanterns, but they are just flames; wherever you hear the sound of firecrackers, there are people neighing and horses hooting everywhere."

When Shu Yan heard this, he realized that Eunuch Tang was an elderly man after all. Even though he didn't talk much on weekdays, when he said it he was very open-minded. He picked up his wine glass and said, "Eunuch Tang is absolutely right. Come and pay my respects again."

You have a drink." The two drank another drink, and Shu Yan said again: "Eunuch Tang, you said you have a son. I come to your place often and have never seen him. Where is he working? He is not even free for the New Year.

Come see you!”

When Tang Bi heard this, his face sank, he put the wine glass on the table, and said, "Don't mention him! I will treat him as if I don't have this son!"

Every time Eunuch Tang's son was mentioned, the old man would always change the subject, but he had never lost his temper like he did today. Seeing that the old man didn't like to mention this matter, he simply talked about his own affairs, "Eunuch Tang,

Today I was on duty at the department for our Cangcao Tanghui, and I accidentally saw our

When I was working in the army a few years ago, I found that the accounts in it were wrong. Also, when we were planning to build Xiang School, the office didn't give us any money at all, yet we even set up the account books. I was about to take a closer look when suddenly our warehouse manager came back.

They took away the account books and kicked me out. There must be something wrong here..."

"Tang Hui!" When Eunuch Tang mentioned this name, his face became darker and he lowered his eyes: "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? Of course it's the money that was deducted from the merchants, or the money from Jianxiu University that was embezzled."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"What should I do? I will never tolerate this kind of thing. When Qiu Guoxiang comes back, I will definitely ask Qiu Guoxiang for clarification."

Eunuch Tang's mouth twitched twice and said: "It should have been like this a long time ago. The common people have been looking forward to the peaceful years, but they are oppressed by these moths..."

The two drank for a while, and it was already close to the third watch. Shu Yan said: "Eunuch Tang, it's getting late. It's time to post New Year's Eve couplets in a little while. How can we not post Spring Festival couplets in the New Year? I wrote one for you.

I will post the Spring Festival couplets for you and then I will take my leave."

"Okay, okay, I'm missing this. Your Shu Wenxue handwriting is the best in our Ruyin, and the Spring Festival couplets you wrote can't be bought with money."

"Eunuch Tang, thank you." As soon as the two people got up and walked out, they heard a "crash" in the outer room. Shu Yan said: "It's the Chinese New Year, and the mice have come to join in the fun." After saying that, they went out and saw

A dark figure flashed outside the door in the dark. Shu Yan had drunk a lot today, and he was so drunk that he didn't see clearly or care about it. He pasted the couplets and went back.

Shu Yan had never drunk so much wine. He felt light-headed and staggered back to the back office. He opened the door and fell on the bed in a daze without taking off his clothes, shoes and socks. In his drunken dream,

He saw Zhixin coming again, her appearance was the same, but she was wearing beautiful clothes, and said to him: "Brother Yan, why are you like this?"

Melancholy, I am your wife, this is our agreement since we were young. Have you forgotten our oath: "At the banquet of the president, we talked and laughed."

"We will grow old together."

Shu Yan heard Zhixin's words in his dream, and his thoughts echoed in the countryside, Xishan Mountain, Ruhe Ferry, Shangsi Festival... Shu Yan only felt that Zhixin was walking in front, so he chased after Zhixin.

He was so fast and light that he couldn't catch up no matter how hard he chased her. He was so anxious that he shouted from behind: "Zhixin Zhixin, wait for me."

Suddenly, he sat up with a sudden jolt. It turned out to be a dream. The situation in the dream was very complicated. Most of the situations in the dream were very confusing. I couldn't remember most of them. I only remembered Zhixin's words, "When will you take me to your side?" Shu Yan was determined.
Chapter completed!