The winding ancient canal flows peacefully and slowly under the ancient city of Yangzhou and has remained unchanged for thousands of years.

When the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal goes south to Zhuyu Bay in the north of Yangzhou, it is divided into two at the head of the bay. On one side is the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, which goes straight south and flows into the Yangtze River. On the other side is the ancient canal left by the Sui Dynasty. After several bends, it flows from Yangzhou

It flows southward from the east of the city, turns to the west at Kangshan in the southeast corner of Yangzhou, then turns to the south at the Nanmen Wharf, and flows into the Yangtze River at Guazhou Town.

Wrapped by the ancient canal is the ancient city of Yangzhou. There is also a thin river in Yangzhou city that divides Yangzhou city into two. Yangzhou people have always admired the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, so they borrowed the name of the Qinhuai River in Nanjing.

It is called Little Qinhuai. To the west of Little Qinhuai is the old city of Yangzhou, built in the early Ming Dynasty. Later, due to the increasing population, the city was small, and there were pirates in the south of the Yangtze River in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the city defense was insufficient, so another one was built to the east of Little Qinhuai

New City. The old and new cities of Yangzhou are about five miles from east to west and about three miles from south to south. After Jiangning and Suzhou, Yangzhou City is the most prosperous city in Jiangsu.

It was in the middle of the Qianlong period, when Yangzhou was at its most prosperous. Yangzhou was prosperous, firstly due to water transportation, and secondly due to the salt administration. The ancient canal was zigzag and connected, connecting the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.

The sky was blocked, and the river could not be unblocked for several days. Yangzhou was also the residence of the salt transport envoys from the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River, and the two rivers and lakes spread to many provinces. Most of the salt came out of Yangzhou. Many salt merchants from the south of the Yangtze River moved here one after another for convenience.

It shows luxury. Some salt merchants even overhauled gardens for their own enjoyment. Yangzhou people are also proud of this, saying that Yangzhou gardens are the best in the world.

Yangzhou gardens are mostly located throughout the new city. This is because the old city is close to the Xiao Qinhuai area and is separated by a city wall, while the new city does not. Therefore, when looking at the old city, it often feels small and cramped. The old city is also where the government is located.

Prefecture and county yamen and school ancestral halls occupy a large area of ​​land. If we want to overhaul gardens in the old city, the price of land is secondary. The small and insufficient land makes it easier for these arty businessmen to stay away. Therefore, most of the people who settle in the old city are some

Local officials, or officials from neighboring states and counties, admired the scenery of Yangzhou and moved here.

Despite this, the old city and the new city of Yangzhou are by no means inseparable. On the contrary, it is common for Yangzhou people to marry each other between officials and businessmen. If you ask some elderly people, most of them will still remember Yongzheng.

In the early years, a daughter of the Jiang family, a large salt merchant, got married to a guard named Ruan, who was a successful candidate in the new martial arts examination. It is said that the Ruan guard was not only heroic, but also diligent and capable. Therefore, the Jiang family not only had a close relationship with Ruan

A marriage ceremony was held in the family, and the arrangements were made with great fanfare, and the ceremony of sending off the bride was flourishing for a while.

If a passerby first arrived in Yangzhou and asked about the elderly people in Xicheng, they would probably answer like this:

"That day, the people from Jiangfu left Guangchun Gate, crossed Kaiming Bridge, and then turned south to Baiwa Alley in the West City. I was at the gate of the county school at that time, and I saw the Ruan guard riding a horse to greet him personally.

Follow Miss Jiang's family to the west city. I heard that the Ruan guards have entered the alley, and some of the Jiang family's honor guards have not been able to cross the Kaiming Bridge... I have never seen such a scene many times in my life."

"I personally met Guard Ruan. He was only in his twenties at the time. He was a very heroic and humble man. I greeted him and he saluted me back. He passed the exam at such a young age.

Wu Jinshi, if you become a bodyguard, doesn't that mean you have a bright future?"

From what it sounds like, Guard Ruan and his wife can be described as a couple of gods. But when it comes to what happened to the guard surnamed Ruan, the old people are a little confused.

"Guard Ruan was an official in the capital. He returned to the capital a few days after getting married. Later... he seemed to have become a general. I don't know for sure."

"I remember that during the years when the Holy Father came to the throne, when people in the West City talked about Baiwa Alley, they always mentioned General Ruan's. But then one day, for some unknown reason, General Ruan came back and stopped serving as an official. I don't know why.

"

"There must be a traitor in the court who dislikes General Ruan and makes General Ruan angry."

"I haven't been to Xicheng for several years. About four or five years ago, I once passed by Xicheng, which seems to be the alley south of the county school. I heard someone crying, and there were quite a few people... They said there was an official.

He is dead, and the coffin just came back from Lingnan the day before yesterday. Could it be the General Ruan you mentioned? It has been many years, but I have not heard of any promising person named Ruan in Yangzhou. I cannot remember it."

When asked about the story of Guard Ruan, that's all the old man could tell. If asked about Guard Ruan's family and whether he had any heirs, even the old man would be vague and would have few words to listen to.

"I heard that Guard Ruan has a son who is not an official. He must be a prodigal. Otherwise, we wouldn't recognize him at all?"

"Are you talking about Xicheng? I heard that in the alley over there, there is a family who likes to raise horses, but it is not a big family. If you want to talk about a big family in Yangzhou City, who don't I know?"

"The Jiang family has been prospering in recent years. I haven't heard of the Ruan family."

"It is said that wealth cannot last more than three generations. Thirty years have passed since that wedding...almost forty years. I think it has fallen into decline." An old man looked at the silent white-tiled alley and couldn't help but sigh that times have changed. Seeing the scene at the alley,

There seems to be a house somewhere, but no one cares about it.

It seems that to the old people, it is no longer important what the descendants of Ruan Guard are, or even whether there is a family named Ruan in Yangzhou.

But for the people in that house, the Ruan family on Baiwa Lane is everything to them.

The nineteenth day of the first month of the twenty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign was a very ordinary day.

For Yangzhou people, they live today just as they did yesterday, and there is no need to change anything. But the white-tiled alley that the old people talked about remained the same during the day, without any abnormalities.

A tall middle-aged man walked out of the alley and returned to the alley not long after. The path he took was exactly the same as what the old people said was the route used by Jiang Mansion to send off relatives.

This middle-aged man is Ruan Chengxin, the owner of the Ruan family in Baiwa Lane. For him, this is just an ordinary day. The only difference is that his wife Lin is almost ten months pregnant, and she is particularly tired these days.

Ruan Cheng believed in his wife and had no intention of taking a walk that day. After walking for a while, he returned home and saw that his wife was fine. After comforting her for a few words, he picked a volume of "Zuo Zhuan" and went to the study to read.

Come.

Studying to get by is Ruan Chengxin's daily life. His father, Ruan Yutang, was promoted to Wei Hui, Qinzhou guerrilla, and was a third-grade military attaché. Ruan Chengxin was blessed by his father, Yinyou, and received the title of son of the country, but he did not want to

Going to Beijing to study is just a matter of studying at home, which is no different from ordinary people.

Ruan Chengxin had loved to read "Zuo Zhuan" since he was a child. There was nothing important that afternoon, so he read the story of Qi Huan and Jin Wen again. He saw that during the seventeenth and eighteenth years of Duke Xi's reign, Duke Huan of Qi had improper storage, which led to chaos in Qi.

, finally led to the rise of the Chu Kingdom. I couldn't help but sigh a few more words. Seeing that the sun was already dusk and the shadows of the books were getting dark, thinking of my wife's discomfort, I had no intention of eating. I only had some snacks and went to the courtyard to take a walk.

Gradually, the sound of the clock started to sound, and it was already the first watch. Ruan Chengxin felt that the day had passed, and was about to go back to his room to rest. Suddenly he heard his wife's screams. After several times, it became louder and louder, and it was difficult to stop. Ruan Chengxin

I know that my wife also comes from a scholarly family and has been proficient in poetry and etiquette since childhood. How could it be like this if the pain was not unbearable? I hurried back to the room and looked at my wife's condition. It seemed that the child was about to be born.

Ruan Chengxin was both happy and worried. What he was happy about was that he was finally going to be a father at the age of 30. What he was worried about was that it was already dark and where would he find someone to deliver the baby? But judging from his wife’s condition, it was no longer possible to delay the delivery, so he called out hurriedly.

The most trusted servant in the family asked him to go to the neighborhood and the hospital to ask, and he must find the midwife and other helpers who would deliver the baby.

The servant's name was Yang Lugao. He was an orphan. When Ruan Chengxin's father, Ruan Yutang, was serving as an official abroad, he had done something wrong to his family, so he adopted him until he became an adult. Yang Lugao was also a man who knew how to repay his kindness.

After Yutang's death, the family became increasingly poor and many servants were dismissed, but he insisted on staying and did not ask for more money. He just took care of the housework for the Ruan family without any complaints.

There was going to be a happy event in the Ruan family, and Ruan Chengxin was naturally prepared for it. He had already contacted several stable women. However, it was already the first watch of the day, and several stable women were too tired to come. Yang Lugao ran to several houses before he came.

Only one person was willing to come. I also found a few familiar neighbors to help boil water and deliver groceries. Although everyone was a neighbor, it was late at night, and Ruan Chengxin was embarrassed, so he had to spend more money.

Although there were not many people who came to the Ruan family to help, but with the original servants of the Ruan family, there were enough people, and everything was ready for the delivery quickly. Ruan Chengxin hurriedly thanked her, and heard the sound of his wife's labor pains.

Gradually, knowing that there was no great danger, he started walking in the front hall, his hands still sweating.

In the blink of an eye, the first watch has passed, and at the end of the day, my wife is gradually crying out in pain again. Ruan Chengxin has heard that the pain when a child is born is the most painful in the world, and he can't help but feel sorry for his wife. He is trying to calm down, but he is at a loss.

At this moment, suddenly Yang Lugao walked in and said, "Zhongzhong, Zhenhuai Gate member Li is here. He is outside. Do you want to meet him?"

Wu Jian, he calls him by his name, he is not an ordinary master and servant.

When Ruan Chengxin heard this, he couldn't help but hesitate. Mr. Li was doing business abroad, and his family was relatively well-off. After his father died, the family had no other income except the ancestral property, and the prices in Yangzhou were increasing day by day. It was inevitable to borrow money from outsiders to help the family. But he himself

I was born in a country and my family was mediocre. I was afraid that the big businessmen would look down on me, so I had to find someone whose family was slightly better than my own. Mr. Li was one of the few people who was willing to borrow money. After a few years, if I think about it carefully, I have accumulated a lot of debt.

A lot. But then I thought about it, how could I have the nerve to turn people away just because I owe money? I said to Yang Lugao: "It doesn't matter, let him in."

Before he finished speaking, a person hurriedly walked into the main hall. It was Li Yuanwai whom Yang Lugao mentioned. Ruan Chengxin took a closer look and was surprised. Li Yuanwai has been in business for more than ten years and is usually calm and peaceful.

Today, when I saw it, he looked frightened and helpless. Ruan Chengxin was about to ask what happened, but member Li hurriedly walked up and prostrated himself on the ground: "Brother Ruan Xian, please save Brother Yu!"

Ruan Chengxin hurriedly asked why he came to Ruan's house late at night, and Li Yuanwai hurriedly told what happened. It turned out that Li Yuanwai only did business in Liangjiang. Years ago, seeing that there were many businessmen in Huguang, he borrowed some capital and bought some goods.

I went to Huguang to make a fortune. Unexpectedly, when the cargo ship was returning, it encountered a strong wind on the Nanjing River. The boat rented by Mr. Li was not reliable and it capsized into the river. The entire cargo was lost in the water. Mr. Li was originally a middle-class man.

My family usually saves more than commercial goods, but after this incident, I can't even pay back the money.

"If you don't have much savings on weekdays, it's okay. My useless brother uses money to gamble every day. I...I can't pay back the money for this shipment. Brother Ruan Xian, you are a generous person. In this city of Yangzhou

, the person I trust the most is you. Dear brother, please help Brother Yu this time. Brother Yu will definitely come to the door to say thank you next time...next time." Mr. Li said in a hurry, only thinking about "coming to the door to say thank you" next time, but he didn't know that this time

I have already "came to ask for help".

After hearing his complaint and looking at his appearance, Ruan Chengxin didn't seem to be lying, so he said, "Brother Li, you know that my family is not well off, and I have borrowed money from you several times. How could I..."

"That's it!" Li Yuanwai listened to Ruan Chengxin's words, but there was a glimmer of light in his eyes: "Brother Xian, you have owed me money several times. If you can pay it back early, I can make up for it here. I want

I don’t think it’s enough to sell off some of the family property.”

It turned out that Yuan Li came to visit late at night to collect debts! Ruan Chengxin couldn't help but feel a little angry, but because of his status, he had not yet exploded. Yang Lugao had already spoken: "Brother Li should have seen it, my wife is in labor today, and she has passed one

It's time, and it would be too much for Brother Li to come to the master to pay back the money at this time..." After all, Yuan Li is an outsider, and his relationship with the Ruan family is mostly debt. Yang Lugao could not be too close to Ruan Chengxin, so he changed his tune.

"If I still had a choice, I wouldn't have come here late at night." Li Yuanwai said, and couldn't help but lament: "The Hu family, to whom I owe money, is famous for charging high interest rates in this area.

I also thought that I could pay it back as soon as it arrived. I had only borrowed it for three months and it was due the day before yesterday. In the afternoon today, the Hu family came over and told me that if they didn’t give me a reply tomorrow, they would report it to the official... I am now

In this way, even selling the house is not enough!" At this point, Li Yuanwai started to cry. Ruan Chengxin is usually cautious and never borrows money at usury, and he doesn't know anyone from the Hu family, but he usually pays attention to his words and looks.

Mr. Li's expression was worried, which was definitely not a lie, and he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

"I know about Brother Li, but in the past few days, I don't have any money to pay back. Brother Li is usually busy and doesn't think about my little brother. But if I have extra money, how can I not pay it back?" Ruan Chengxin

It's such a shirk, but then again, it's true.

"My dear brother, I usually treat you well. The year before last, you said that the family had no money to pay the servants. My wife had her nails cut off and she had to wash her own clothes. At that time, I borrowed money from you and paid off the family's wages.

But I didn't even ask you to pay it back." When Mr. Li heard Yang Lugao mention that Lin was expecting a baby, he didn't care about the big day, so he directly told the old story.

"Why don't I want to pay back the money, but now I'm not well off, and Brother Li can't let me make some money out of thin air, right?" Ruan Chengxin replied helplessly.

"If the wise brother insists on refusing to save me, the foolish brother may not survive tomorrow!" Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, Mr. Li had no choice but to give it a try; "Then the Hu family will report to the government tomorrow, and my family will have no money to pay back.

, I'm afraid that Jiangdu County will confiscate all the property!" This sounded like a complaint, but Ruan Chengxin couldn't help but feel shocked when he heard it.

"He said that once the money is not paid, the family property will be confiscated and the debt will be confiscated. This is probably true. But I owe him money. If he is really forced to make a living, he will ignore it and confiscate my property.

What should I do?" Ruan Chengxin couldn't help but think that if the Ruan family really had such a day, then he would become an unworthy descendant of a dignified third-grade military general. He also thought: "It would be fine if we just confiscated the house, but the many books in the house...

Many of them are from the Song Dynasty, so how do ordinary officials know their value? If one day they are sold as scrap paper, the Ruan family will be completely finished..."
To be continued...