Li Jinglue was in his thirties, with a thin build. He had been fighting with people for many years, and his back was a bit rickety. He was born in a side house, had little status in his hometown, and had little money. He came to the capital with the help of family ties.
He came here to make a living, and he lived a prosperous life under the big tree of the hometown association. A solid earth building was built in his hometown, and he was already a famous figure in Hefei.
Li Guolou knew where Li Jinglue's money came from. He kept running around every year. Of course, the money he obtained would have a certain percentage of commission, and it would justifiably fall into his pocket. Businessmen talk about rules, and there is no such thing.
Rules don't make a perfect rule. If you have rules, people will be motivated.
The social atmosphere at this time was for fellow villagers to form a group, and one person would be followed by chickens and dogs, just like five "poor students" always staying together. As long as one of them wins, the others may do the same.
Master, aide is such an errand. The people around every high official gather together to get rich together. They have the same ideals. When they are young, they have both wealth and sex. When they are old, they only care about money and not people.
After a while of greetings, Li Jinglue glared at Li Guolou and said: "Xiaolou, I called to report to Shanghai. Your brother is very angry. He asked you to make a fool of yourself in the capital. He spent so much money on the family and ended up with nothing."
A top-notch team leader, if you say it, you will be miserable."
Li Guolou laughed and said: "Uncle Li, you have all misunderstood. In fact, I am no longer interested in being an official. Now I am wearing a tiger skin just to make some friends. Fortunately, I can get around the capital. Now I have started
When it comes to business, I actually invested in that Baozhi House. People depend on food and it is my dream to run a high-end restaurant. Uncle Li, you must help me."
Li Guolou began to describe a bright future, saying that the capital was full of gold, and that he would make a pot full of gold and silver. Of course, he could not do without the help of the hometown association.
Li Jing sighed slightly. Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite, and he also knew everything about Li Guolou's family. Li Guolou's brother Li Guoyun was talented since he was a child, but he fell off a horse when he was a child and broke one of his legs.
He broke his body and became a cripple. In the Qing Dynasty, there were people with physical disabilities.
Li Guoyun could not be an official, and Li Guoyun could only pursue business. Originally, the family pinned their ideals on Li Guolou, but they did not expect that this boy's brain was different from ordinary people.
There was a "vixen" sitting next to him, making people wonder what to say.
Li Jinglue glanced at the guy and said: "Xiaolou, as long as you don't go too far, I will help. But I don't see the future of a restaurant. Since you have found someone to manage it, you should go back to Shanghai. There.
We need people who understand foreign languages.”
Na Bazi stood up, laughed, and interjected: "Uncle Li, actually Xiaolou has lofty ideals. We want to do business with the palace. Now I have worshiped Gong An, and Gong An has accepted me as the fourth son."
, I brought you a piece of Su Dongpo's Chibi Fu written by Zhao Mengfu, which Zhenbaoxuan has identified as definitely a treasure."
Li Jinglue stood up and unfolded the long scroll to read. Five fellow villagers from Hefei also gathered to watch it and studied it word by word on the desk.
After some research, it turned out that it was of course a treasure. Little Fatty Fan Dahui also had a calligraphy and painting by Zhao Mengfu in his home. It was passed down from his ancestors. The brushwork, paper and seal were exactly the same.
A Zhao Mengfu calligraphy and painting can be exchanged for a courtyard house. Now that the domestic war is about to end, the price of antiques and treasures has begun to rise again.
Li Jinglue was already smiling from ear to ear and never mentioned the matter of letting Li Guolou return to Shanghai. The group entered the West Flower Hall together, drank and chatted. Of course, establishing a relationship with the palace was a hugely profitable thing. Li Jinglue and the five
The students already admired Nabazi extremely, and Nabazi was the one who spoke during the banquet.
Cao Kexing, Zhu Dinghe, Fan Dahui, Wei Hanyu, and Xu Lan began to sigh and told how difficult it was to live in the capital. They were accompanied by oil lamps every day and no longer knew the taste of meat. Fellow villagers stayed together to help each other, but it was only a drop in the bucket and they were about to be unable to survive.
Yes. They all owe some money to the hometown association, and I don’t know when they can repay it in what month or year.
Li Guolou looked at Li Jinglue suspiciously, but saw Li Jing slightly nodded and sighed.
Li Guolou has chest tightness. It has only been more than a month, and these five "poor students" have begun to owe money again. It seems that they are determined to eat from their fellow villagers. Some of these scholars will refuse to pay back the debt, and some will double the payment. Yamen
There are often shops in
If a scholar like this complains about not paying back his debt, the government will always help the student to speak up. If he can avoid it, he will pay less to the shop. As for the romantic debt, he will not care about it. Young students are in a foreign land, how can they not have feelings?
Life.
Li Guolou was thinking about another thing. In the future, he would hang a few paintings and calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu in the living room of his home. If someone likes them, they can give them away at any time. This is a good idea. Li Guolou looked at several fellow villagers with a smile.
Promise to give each person ten taels of winter's worth of ice charcoal so that these five
Students can have a charcoal stove to keep warm in the winter. Friendships will last forever. What I hope most in my heart is that these five "poor fellow students" can study hard. As long as there is a high school (not a high school bought with money),
He won't draw water from a bamboo basket and get nothing.
Because Li Guolou had to run errands in the afternoon, he did not drink with his fellow villagers. Several of his fellow villagers did not say thank you to Li Guolou, as if taking a few small coins was a natural thing and the fellow villagers were there to help each other. Staying in the fellow villagers' hall was just a matter of course.
With this advantage, you can always have the opportunity to meet wealthy fellow villagers.
Li Guolou couldn't hold it in any longer and said, "Everyone, don't go to the Qinlou Chu Hall. Keep studying. It's the last winter. Don't cause trouble again."
Fan Dahui said dissatisfied: "You fake foreign devil, which one of your eyes saw us going to that place? Why did you run into the Yamen? You look at people like prisoners. We stayed up all night and studied hard."
Just hold the oily hoof in your hand and start fighting with the delicious food.
Cao Kexing said: "Fake foreign devil, the woman is next to you. Why are you so unscrupulous? You saw me once, and that's it now. Then I need to ask you, why are you going to a place like that?"
Li Guolou was furious and shouted: "Well, you, Cao Kexing, were detained. I was the one who broke into the dragon's den and rescued you. How could you beat me up?"
Cao Kexing said without hesitation: "You are a fake foreign devil. If you are a wise man and don't do secret things, how could that old bustard know you? Tell me!"
Li Guolou lowered his head in shame and never dared to discuss this topic with the five "poor students". Each of them had an ulterior past.
Li Guolou was severely pinched on the thigh by Chen Xiangfang, but he remained unmoved and the expression on his face returned to its original state. He even squeezed Chen Xiangfang's delicate hand to take advantage of him.
Zhu Dinghe hurriedly smoothed things over, laughed, and said: "Come on, let's have a drink. Don't talk about such frivolous things. Fake foreign devils, you still have to help us. At the last moment of spring, you have to do your best. Do you understand?"
?”
Li Guolou didn't understand. Ten taels of silver per person was enough for them to live a stable life. They were not buying a job. This was impossible. These five people did not have such great strength. They could only walk on the single-plank bridge and rely on their true abilities.
Take the Jinshi examination.
Li Guolou asked: "We've just taken the spring exam and we're just waiting for the results to be released. Is there anything else you need my help with?"
Zhu Dinghe coughed and said: "Fake foreign devils, we have already calculated it. Depending on the ability of a few of us, someone will always pass high school. Of course, if he fails, there will be another time. What I am telling you now is that if one of us
Someone has been selected for the exam, and you have to help next."
Li Guolou said: "If any of you graduate from high school, I will give you a big gift, so do you need to say anything?"
Zhu Dinghe sneered and said: "Fake foreign devils, there will be a lot of people giving gifts by then, but it's just money for happiness, not enough to stuff your teeth. By then you will have to become a teacher, which teacher in the house will be your choice?
, you have to become a disciple of a certain teacher. You should keep the money for the teacher first. I have checked it. The examiner must pay at least one thousand taels of silver, and the worst teacher must pay four hundred taels of silver."
Li Guolou was a little reluctant and said, "Can't you borrow this money from the bank? Why did you ask me to borrow it?"
Zhu Dinghe shouted: "Fake foreign devil, this is because I think highly of you. We will be a family from now on. The money borrowed from the bank does not require interest."
Li Guolou pointed at Zhu Dinghe's nose and said angrily: "Old Zhu, you are too stingy. You can't earn a thousand taels of silver as an official, and you have to save interest."
Zhu Dinghe let out a long sigh and said: "Fake foreign devils, the world has changed now. Those with military merit should not occupy positions. The fat and vacancies are half less than in the past. It is not certain when we can live a good life. So we can save
Otherwise, it will take some time to tighten the belt."
The bazi nodded and said: "Yes! Fake foreign devils now know that it is not easy to get along in the officialdom. I am not lying to you. You are not short of money, so you should help your fellow villagers."
Li Guolou felt pain in his heart and gritted his teeth and said: "A thousand taels of silver, where can I find it?"
The five "poor students" laughed together. They were not afraid of Li Guolou's tricks. They were already on this boat. No matter how much money they had, Li Guolou would have to pay first. Of course, the return was not principal and interest.
It's about their future.
Because Li Guolou still had something to do, the banquet ended without being fully enjoyable. When Baozhifang opened, Li Guolou planned to invite people from the Anhui Association to have dinner. The people invited were all big-shot people, but five "poor fellow students"
I will never forget it. The image of poverty and lowliness
Wealth and wealth are in the same boat, and people from home are forever tied together. This is the requirement of the times. It is by no means that one of them is kind and never forgets his roots. After saying a few words of encouragement to each other, Li Guolou said goodbye to his fellow villagers and left the Anhui Fellowship Hall.
When Chen Xiangfang heard that Li Guolou was leaving the city, she wanted to follow Li Guolou back to Hongchang Hutong and pack his luggage for him. This made Li Guolou a little worried, fearing that Chen Xiangfang was still interrogating him about what happened just now. In fact, it was not
It's not a big deal, just invite people to drink wine and wine at a place like Qin Lou Chu Pavilion. Men are indispensable for their fun.
Li Guolou cheered for himself. There was only one woman in his eyes, Chen Xiangfang. He couldn't bear to let go of her hand on the carriage, as if he was parting from life and death and would never see her again.