The noble lady thought for a moment and said, "Just tell us that our eighteen-seat boat will be built, and I will make sure they will look at you with admiration."
"Mom, it's not uncommon for every household to build private boats now! Besides, the eighteen-seat boats are out of date now, and even the twenty-four boats are unavailable. Now they are all double-decker thirty-two-seat boats."
The noble lady was stunned for a long time and said, "More than a thousand guan was spent on just eighteen villas, and more than 30 double-decker villas. That's not even thousands or tens of thousands of guan!"
"Mom! Our family's lack of money does not mean that other people's families have no money. Nowadays, all the powerful people are competing for houses and private boats. Food and drink expenses cost dozens of guan a day. Our family is too outdated and will be looked down upon.
.”
The young man complained and only got a dozen taels of silver, so he had to turn around and walk away unhappy.
Several more noble ladies sat across from them and began to brag and compare with each other. Chen Qing couldn't stand it anymore, so he got up and left.
As soon as he walked out of the shed, he heard someone calling him. When he turned around, it was Hu Yanzhengyan, Hu Yantong's third uncle.
Chen Qing was a little embarrassed to see him. He originally invested in a restaurant with him, but in the end he took the money away. Chen Qing had no choice but to step forward and say hello, "Uncle Huyan, long time no see."
"Hey! Last time I invited you to sit in my house, but you refused, which made me very disappointed."
"Third uncle, you also know that martial arts can't be achieved, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"I won't accept your excuse. I'll ask you next time, even if you ask for leave."
“I’ll definitely go there next time.”
At this time, someone was calling Yan Zhengyan, and Hu Yanzhengyan pulled Chen Qing and said: "There happened to be a few friends gathered over there, and I will take you to get to know them. There are also many young people who you can socialize with."
Chen Qing was also bored, so he went with him.
There were more than thirty people gathered in a rather large living room. Basically, they were all from the same family. The hostess gathered together to chat. Seven or eight middle-aged men were sitting in the upper seats drinking tea, and there were a dozen young men and women beside them.
Winning prizes by throwing arrows.
"Huyan, where have you gone?" Several men waved to Huyan Zhengyan.
Hu Yanzhengyan pulled Chen Qing forward and said with a smile: "I met a little friend. Let me introduce you to you. This is Chen Qing, the commander of the Western Army. He is the double champion of the new recruits and generals competition and a rising star of the Song Dynasty military."
Chen Qing quickly saluted, "See you, seniors!"
One of the fat, dark, middle-aged men's eyes lit up and he asked quickly: "Commander Chen, did the government reward you with a house?"
"That's what happened."
"Not bad! Not bad! I heard that the house is in Sanqiao, and the location is good!"
Nowadays, what officials are most concerned about is the housing problem. There is a serious shortage of official residences and land prices are soaring. Many officials rent houses. When they heard that Chen Qing was rewarded with a house, everyone looked envious.
The house had been sold to Zheng Ping's father by Chen Qing. He didn't want to get entangled with the house, so he got up and went to the young man's side. He had just walked a few steps when he heard someone laughing in a low voice, "I heard that Li Qingzhao is here too.
If Ru Zhou is interested in her, you must seize the opportunity!"
Chen Qing's heart was moved and he looked back. The two people talking were both middle-aged men. The fat black man named Ru Zhou was the one who just asked about his house.
If he guessed correctly, this Ruzhou should be Zhang Ruzhou, the evil man that Li Qingzhao would soon marry by mistake.
At this time, Chen Qing suddenly became very interested. Li Qingzhao also came. I wonder where she is?
As soon as he thought about this, Chen Qing quickly waved to Huyan Zhengyan, who walked forward with a smile and said, "Is there something wrong, nephew?"
Chen Qing whispered: "Third uncle, I admire Li Qingzhao's poetry very much. I heard that she is also here. Can you recommend her to me?"
Huyan Zhengyan chuckled, "This is easy, let me find out where she is? You go and have fun first, and I will come find you later."
.........
Lu Yihao's birthday banquet also has another function, that is, it is a blind date. The guests attending the birthday banquet are all relatively well-matched. Coupled with the alliance between official circles and wealthy families, marriage is the most important means.
The women were sitting together talking about clothes and their children's marriages. I don't know who was meddling. The news that Chen Qing was rewarded with an official residence spread to the ears of the women, and several officials' wives paid attention to Chen Qing.
Having a three-acre house is one of the biggest assets in the Lin'an marriage market.
A group of ladies looked at Chen Qing from a distance and whispered, "He looks pretty good and has a lot of talent, but it's a pity that he is a military commander. It would be great if he was a civil servant."
"It doesn't matter if you are a military general. He has thousands of people under his command, and there is plenty of money. The key is to have a house. My old Han will be an official all his life, so he probably won't be able to afford a house in Lin'an."
Three ladies were tempted and got up one after another to discuss it with their husbands.
Chen Qing knew nothing about it. He held three small copper arrows, two feet away from the narrow-necked copper pot, and threw them backwards with his back. The small copper arrows flew out in a parabola, and there was a sound of 'Boom!', and they hit the target accurately.
pot.
A group of young men and women suddenly burst out in exclamation. They might not be able to throw in even if they were five feet away. It was simply unbelievable that they were two feet away and still had their bodies on their backs.
Chen Qing threw three arrows in a row, and all three arrows hit the pot accurately. There was a burst of warm applause. Several girls looked at him lovingly, and their eyes became extraordinarily bright.
Chen Qing smiled and waved his hand, "It's just a bit of luck, everyone, continue!"
The level difference was too big, and he was a little embarrassed to throw pot again.
At this time, a steward stepped forward and handed a few ingots of silver to Chen Qing, "This is a bonus of ten taels of silver. The leader of the pot arrow must be the general."
Chen Qing's eyes lit up. Can he still make money by throwing pot arrows?
He happily took the money, and the steward whispered to him: "General, if you have such good skills, you can try your luck at Fengle Tower. The bets there are for hundreds of taels. If you are lucky, the general can make a lot of money."
One stroke."
Chen Qing was a little tempted. Although he gave all his wealth to Zheng Ping to take away, it did not mean that he did not need the money. In fact, he had a drink with his classmates almost every night. Chen Qing was generous and basically
He paid all the bills. For this birthday gift, he borrowed 50 yuan from Hu Yantong, and he didn't know how to pay it back!
At this time, Hu Yanzhengyan patted Chen Qing on the shoulder and said, "Come with me!"
Hu Yanzhengyan was a little unhappy. Just now, three officials were asking him to help him match up their daughter to Chen Qing. Chen Qing was the grandson-in-law that the old man liked. Unfortunately, Gongsun Wuniang refused to agree. She liked someone who could write poems and lyrics.
The literati made the old man very angry.
"Do you have any thoughts about that little lady in the purple dress just now?"
Chen Qing had an impression of a very lively girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, who was very enthusiastic about him. She gave him the bronze arrow he used to throw the pot.
However, she was average-looking and slightly dark-skinned. Chen Qing had no idea about her. He didn't like girls with dark skin very much. He didn't like Huyan Wu Niang last time for the same reason.
"What's wrong?"
"Her father Wu Zhan is a powerful official in the Department of Household Affairs. Wu Zhan and his wife are attracted to you and want to betroth their daughter to you."
"You're kidding!"
"No joke, you have to get a house. How many people do you know who want to marry their daughters to you?"
Chen Qing shook his head, "I have sold the house."
Huyan Zhengyan was surprised, "Why?"
"My men were killed in battle and did not receive a single penny in compensation. I am fully responsible."
Huyan Zhengyan frowned, "This matter should be brought to the court, how can you pay for it yourself?"
Chen Qing smiled bitterly and said: "The imperial court has already allocated the pension money, but there are too many people and too little food. The money has been misappropriated elsewhere. It is impossible for the imperial court to allocate the money a second time. I can only find a way on my own."
"Is this the reason why I invested the three thousand taels of silver in the restaurant last time?"
Chen Qing nodded.
Huyan Zhengyan sighed, "The old man also likes you very much and hopes that you can become his grandson-in-law."
Chen Qing said apologetically: "Wu Niang is a good girl, but I have no luck with her. I told Hu Yantong as well."
Huyan Zhengyan was speechless. Huyan Wu Niang didn't like Chen Qing, and Chen Qing didn't like her either. The two of them really had no fate. Wu Niang came with him today, but he didn't know where she went?
"I understand. Now that the house is sold, I guess they are no longer interested in you."
Speaking of this, Huyan Zhengyan pointed to a small pavilion in front and said: "There is a lady reading in that pavilion. She is the Li Qingzhao you are looking for. She is very aloof and ignores anyone. You must be mentally prepared."
"Thank you, uncle!"
After Huyan Zhengyan left, Chen Qing quickly came to the pavilion. There were five or six guests sitting in the pavilion. A group of people were sitting together chatting. In the other corner of the pavilion, there was a middle-aged woman in a white dress sitting with a hand in her hand.
Holding a book.
When Chen Qing entered the pavilion, he did not dare to make any mistakes. He sat aside and looked at the middle-aged woman quietly. She was also wearing a fine linen and snow-white dress. She was probably the only woman among all the guests not wearing silk.
Her hair was styled in a ponytail with a copper hairpin inserted at an angle. There were a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her face was still delicate and elegant, with an outstanding elegance. She was really reading, not pretending to be noble.
Chen Qing sighed in his heart, this is the famous Li Qingzhao. From her clothes and jewelry, it can be seen that she must be very unhappy now.
But how to strike up a conversation with her?
Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then slowly chanted: "I was born as a hero, and died as a ghost hero. I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the Yangtze River."
The middle-aged woman turned back suddenly and looked at Chen Qing in surprise.
