"Oops, I almost forgot, Ama also asked me to go to Tongzhou to find Mr. Liu from the Grain Hall." As the horse moved forward, Fukang'an pulled the reins fiercely, patted his forehead and said, "How about,

You go to Tongzhou with me first, and then come back with me? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you for dinner!”

Did your kid do this on purpose?

Shanbao cursed in his heart, thinking that he would not be able to see Fu Kang'an's mother right away. He felt quite regretful, but he also thought that Fu Kang'an would never guess that he was thinking about his mother. He couldn't help but feel slightly proud, thinking, "Look at you."

For my sake, I might as well take a walk with you - Tongzhou is said to be the wharf of the Grand Canal, but I don’t know what the situation is now.

"I'll go with you. I'll add ten taels of silver, or I'll dismount!" Although he was willing in his heart, Shanbao didn't say anything. He sat on the back of the horse to bargain with Fukang'an. His body was still weak, and he pretended to dismount.

appearance.

"You, you, you...are you obsessed with money?" Fukangan had never seen such a shameless person before, and couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Add ten taels, it's just ten taels, what the hell are you going to do?"

Method."

Ten taels of silver can buy a lot of charcoal. Shanbao counted on his fingers. He didn't pay attention to Fukangan's foul language. He was thinking secretly in his heart. He thought that it seemed that he was right to treat Fukangan like this.

Appetite, I have to squeeze more benefits from him in the future - it is an honor to be able to rip off the future handsome man and tell him!

Fukang'an had no idea that Shanbao actually dared to plot against him. He was secretly happy for his own idea. He secretly shrank his body into Shanbao's arms, turned his horse around and walked out of Chaoyang Gate.

Go straight to Tongzhou.

Tongzhou is located in the southeast of the capital. It is the northernmost end of the Grand Canal and is the Royal Wharf. In the middle of the Qianlong period, it was at its peak.

The water transport wharf where boats gather together tells the world of its prosperity.

Shiba Wharf is located on the west bank of the intersection of the canal and Tonghui River. It is a special wharf for the imperial court to transport grain. Nearby are the famous Tongji Bridge and Daguang Tower. Officials from the Grain Department inspected grain here, so it is also called the Grain Inspection Building.

.

Shanbao and Fukangan got off their horses when they got here. Fukangan asked Shanbao to wait here, and he went straight into the city to find Mr. Liu who was sitting in the grain hall - Fu Heng had indeed ordered him to come.

I'm looking for Mr. Liu, but I'm not in such a hurry. Now that I'm here, I still have to get down to business first.

This place is close to the dock, but it is the middle of winter and the river is covered with thick ice, so thousands of boats have stopped ashore. The dock, which should be extremely busy, seems much deserted.

Of course, there are tens of thousands of people pointing to the pier for dinner. Although the work is much less than usual now, some tasks such as repairing ships, fixing leaks, loading, unloading and cleaning have actually increased. With the support of these people,

Not depressed at all.

Shanbao naturally did not want to go into the city with Fukang'an to meet the official Laoshizi, but wandered around casually, comparing the scene in front of him with the impressions of later generations, and he was enjoying himself.

He didn't eat at noon. After walking for a while, Shanbao felt his stomach growling. He saw a small restaurant in the distance and walked over.

The restaurant was opened to Kuhaha who worked on the dock. It was naturally simple and simple, with no delicacies or private rooms. There were only a dozen tables in the lobby. It was already past dinner time, and there were only a few people sitting in the corner.

A few individual travelers.

As the enthusiastic waiter came in, Shanbao ordered two donkey meats to be grilled, and ordered a bowl of tofu soup. He found a seat in a corner, and started to chew regardless of his somewhat unusual image in this restaurant.

After eating a sesame seed cake, Shanbao suddenly heard a noise coming from the door. He couldn't help but look up and saw two women in rags walking in. There were two women, one large and one small, the older one about thirty, and the younger one.

At the same age, they look like a mother and daughter. They are unkempt, but their movements are very elegant. They don't look like beggars, but more like a woman from an official family.

Shanbao was curious, so he took a second look and found that the two people seemed to know the fat shopkeeper. He knelt down to salute, then whispered something, and then silently found a corner to stand quietly.

Coincidentally, the corner the two girls were looking for was in the direction where Shanbao was sitting. Shanbao was hesitant, so he stopped eating and looked at the other person silently. He found that although the other person's face was covered with dust and his appearance could not be seen clearly, he only wore a collar.

The covered areas are occasionally exposed, but they are as white as snow. In addition, the figure is slim and beautiful, so the appearance must not be much different.

This should be the person who came out of everyone, right? How could he be in such a miserable state?

Shanbao was surprised and wanted to help the other party. Thinking that he still had some scattered silver in his pocket that Mrs. Wu had given him to prepare a birthday gift for him early in the morning, he called the waiter: "Waiter, waiter!" Then a waiter came over and nodded and asked.

He said: "This master called me? I don't know what his instructions are?"

Shanbao pursed his lips at the two girls, "It's so pitiful that they are so thinly dressed in the cold weather. Let's clear a table for them, serve them another portion as I asked, and add a pot of wine to warm them up."

.”

The two girls trembled, probably not expecting Shanbao's sudden kindness. The younger daughter visibly swallowed her mouth and glanced at Shanbao gratefully, but said nothing. Instead, she turned her head and looked at the woman expectantly.

She timidly called out: "Mom..."

However, the woman glanced at Shanbao warily, knelt down and said slowly: "Thank you, young master. We, the two of you, appreciate your kindness. It's just that we don't get reward for nothing, so forgive us for not daring to accept it!"

Will the honest man not be punished? Shanbao hit a soft nail, but he was not annoyed or forced. He nodded to the two girls, "In that case, please forgive me for being rude!" After saying that, he turned around and never looked back.

The two women were stunned at the same time, looked at each other, and then lowered their heads silently.

The waiter sighed, and when Shanbao didn't give any more orders, he retreated silently. After a while, he held a bowl of cabbage and cooked vermicelli, and handed four snow-white steamed buns to the second girl. Then he sighed again and retreated.

There were not many people around, and they all looked at the two girls with sympathetic eyes. However, the two girls were not moved by their gazes. They ate quietly in small bites and walked towards the door. When they passed by the shopkeeper, they squatted down and said Wanfu again.

Leave.

"Oh, it looks like he comes from a wealthy family. I don't know what kind of sin he suffered to end up like this!"

"Zhao Laosan, do you have some ideas? Looking at the figures of these girls, I think they are good-looking. Why don't you take them in?"

"Bah, why don't you go? These two girls have been here at the pier for two days, and you don't even dare to say a word. You have no future!"

…

Shanbao listened to the discussions around him and deduced in his mind what had happened to the mother and daughter, guessing their identities. He remained calm at the moment. It was not until he was about to go out that he pulled the waiter aside: "Xiaoer, I

Judging from the acquaintance between the mother and daughter and your shopkeeper just now, they seem to be the master of the family. How did they end up like this?" As he spoke, he took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and threw it to the other party.

The waiter happily took the money, looked at Shanbao carefully, put the money into his arms and said: "Looking at me, I am not a bad person. He is from the city, right? He must not be able to talk to you. I will tell you the truth."

"Tell me," he said after a pause, "this mother and daughter are distant relatives of my shopkeeper. They came to Beijing this time to report to the imperial court!"

"Complain?" Shanbao was startled and thought to himself that no matter whether he was guilty or not guilty of beating the drum, he would need thirty imperial staffs first. With a body like a woman's, why would he not die? How much injustice did he suffer?
Chapter completed!