Chapter 92 Chapter 92 Tolerance can win many

Back at the mansion, Dali Siqing, Tang Jian's disciple, and the well-known Neo-Confucianism master Woren in China are waiting in the living room. As soon as Zeng Guofan's sedan chair entered the gate, Zhou Sheng had already informed Wo Ren that he had been visiting for a long time. Zeng Guofan saw that there were indeed more green woolen sedan chairs in the courtyard, so he got off the sedan chair in a hurry, pushed the door and said, "Mr. Lao has been waiting for a long time!" Wo Ren Then hurriedly stood up, and said while paying respects: "The lower official came here uninvited, and I'll give you a meal of tofu!"

Zeng Guofan returned the salute and said: "It's an honor....Come here, get some new tea." He changed his clothes in a hurry, and let the Japanese people rise to the kang. In terms of official rank, Woren is the third rank, and Zeng Guofan is the second rank. However, because Zeng Guofan only studied the process and Zhu Confucianism from Woren, Zeng Guofan has always regarded Woren as the same as Tang Jian.Although Wo Ren was Tang Jian's disciple, Zeng Guofan still taught him. Zeng Guofan poured a cup of tea for Wo Ren himself, and said: "I haven't visited the mansion for nearly a year, and I hope my mentor will forgive me."

Woren said: "Disheng, you and I have entered the gate of Jinghai Master together. It is Gao Pan to call me a senior brother! If you call me one teacher after another, I can't bear it. Cough, Disheng! You I don’t know your personality yet? Why are you so busy with business, you don’t want to be infamous by the party!” Zeng Guofan smiled, noncommittal, but raised his head and said to the outside: "Tell the cook, add pork skin jelly and peanuts to dinner, the fried one, and buy a catty of old shochu." There was a promise from outside, it was clearly Liu Bao's voice, and the footsteps gradually faded away.

"Cough!" Woren sighed, and said, "Dasheng, I heard that your mansion is still rented?" Zeng Guofan said: "Old colleague, how can I afford a house in the capital! If I don't rent a house, let these ten servants live in the guild hall? Fortunately, in the past few years, there has always been a gap between the big and the small. I can get by. With such a big family, there is no lack of points for half a year, and I can't afford to use bearers!" Woren pondered for a while and said, "Next month, I don't know if you and I can still receive the salary. I heard from Wen Zhongtang yesterday that there were floods in Shandong and Henan for no reason."

Zeng Guofan was taken aback, and asked, "According to normal calculations, the Yellow River will not be at fault this season?" Woren said: "Who says it's not! Listening to Mu Zhongtang and Ji Zhongtang, the water seems to be very strong this time. There are more than a dozen breaches along the embankment along the river, and more than a dozen counties on both sides of the bank have been flooded without a tile. The treasury only has silver More than one million taels, what do you want the emperor to provide for disaster relief! I heard that the Hong in Guangxi has become a big trouble, occupying more than half of Guangxi, and is rushing to Guilin. Last night, the emperor scolded Mu Zhongtang for a while. It is said that Prince Gong also received a few reprimands!"

Zeng Guofan hurriedly asked: "Didn't the emperor ask Lin Zhongtang to go to Guangxi to supervise military affairs?" Wo Ren said: "Lin Zexu is recuperating in the Marquis of Fujian. Fujian has high mountains and dense forests in Guangxi. Although the local yamen has sent officers, soldiers and guards, it is difficult to guarantee smooth sailing! What's more, far away water can't quench thirst! When Lin Zexu arrives in Guangxi, the surname Hong It's still not sure what the fuss will be like!" Zeng Guofan never expected that the "bandit incident" in Guangxi was so serious!People with the surname Hong occupy more than half of Guangxi, and all the officials in the capital seem to be okay, and the lack of money in the treasury has been further confirmed.Zeng Guofan's heart was suspended in an instant.

Seeing that Zeng Guofan was speechless, Wo Ren took out the hookah he carried with him and started smoking.Zeng Guofan had already given up cigarettes, but when he saw the worren puffing, his throat started to itch. He instinctively yelled outside: "Liu Heng, go to Zhou Sheng and ask me for a ready-made cigarette." The outside agreed, and it was clearly Liu Heng. Woren smiled and handed over the water pipe, and said: "You don't dislike the bad breath of the lower official, so just take a sip. It's the authentic Fengtianfu's big golden leaf, and it's strong enough."

Zeng Guofan took it, took a breath, and immediately coughed violently.He returned the water pipe, coughed and said, "This is not a big golden leaf, it is clearly a big golden gun! It's alright, I've had enough." Liu Heng walked in at this moment, and said empty-handedly: "My lord, Zhou Sheng said that he also quit smoking. My lord, can you buy some?" Zeng Guofan waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's quit. Liu Heng, ask the cook, how is the food?" Liu Heng replied: "Responding to my lord's words, the food has been ready for a long time, and I just wait for my lord to order it; should I put it in the living room or in the study?"

Zeng Guofan said: "Master Wo is not an outsider, so it is placed in the study, so it is convenient for us to talk." After the kang table was set up, two small plates of Hunan dishes marinated by Mrs. Ouyang before she left were served: a plate of fragrant bamboo shoots, and a plate of moldy tofu. Zeng Guofan pointed to the plate and said: "These are two of the best pickles in Jiannei. They have been marinated in two large jars. After the meal, I asked Tang Xuan to seal the two jars for my wife to taste." Woren said: "I heard from Master Jinghai that Disheng asked his family to bring homemade pickles every year in recent years. Is it true or not?"

Zeng Guofan said: "It makes adults laugh when I say it. This is the homework I set for the girls in my family. Every girl in my family not only pickles a jar of pickles for me, but also sews a pair of cloth shoes. I can collect them every year. There are more than a dozen jars of pickled vegetables, and five or six pairs of cloth shoes. Occasionally, one or two jars of pickled vegetables are given away, but the cloth shoes are all worn by the servants." Woren Nianxu smiled and said: "I really deserve to be a descendant of Yasheng. Good! Good! It's really my first-class family in Qing Dynasty."

At this time, four dishes and one soup were placed on the table: a plate of fried shredded pork with bean sprouts, a plate of fried tofu, a plate of pork skin jelly that can be seen everywhere on the street, a plate of fried peanuts, and a bowl of emerald white jade soup. .The so-called emerald and white jade soup is actually cabbage soup, which can be regarded as a piece of cake. After a while, Li Bao brought over a pot of boiling hot shochu and a bowl of white rice. Zeng Guofan held up his chopsticks to invite: "Old colleague, my servant is shabby, and the food is also shabby, so let's make do with it." Wo Ren knew that Zeng Guofan didn't drink and was not humble, so he poured himself a glass of wine, licked it with the tip of his tongue, and said, "Dasheng, let Li Bao go to my place to get a jar of daughter red after dinner. The retail wine in this shop is mixed with more water than wine, how can you treat customers? You are now a second-rank servant from my Qing dynasty! You can make use of the sedan chair, but you can’t make use of the meal! Spread the word, let me know I can't hold back my brother's face!" Zeng Guofan smiled, picked up the bowl and began to eat, and said while eating, "Silang Wulang is not as capable as Liulang, let's fill our stomachs and talk about it." Knowing that Zeng Guofan was using the story of Song Yang's general to make fun of him, Wo Ren put down his glass and said, "Disheng, it's not that my brother said you, you can save the Qing Dynasty if you suffer yourself so much? Alternate officials have to visit. Handing red envelopes, disciples and disciples are indispensable! Do you really want to be a servant for the rest of your life? It’s okay not to take concubines, but you can’t be full of rouge all over the house! I’ll recommend a few girls over tomorrow, It’s also cleaner to make tea and rice.” Zeng Guofan put down the bowl with a smile and said: "Wen Zhongtang came to my place to buy me one for Mrs. Ru, and what girl do you want to recommend me. Cough, I can't even afford duck heads, but I can still use them." How about a girl? Let me live a few days of peace of mind. By the way, let me ask you, what did you say just now that you are not a meat servant? How come I have never heard of it? You can't go round and round and scold me!" Woren drank two glasses of wine and said with a smile: "You, when you leave the mansion, you are the yamen, and when you leave the yamen, you are the mansion. Don't you know what the people in the capital say all day long? Go and listen tomorrow." After two scenes and half a day of drinking tea in a teahouse, you will know how the common people think of us officials." Zeng Guofan was puzzled: "The theory of the market is not reliable. What's more, the Xiyuanzi teahouse is a place for idlers. If you let me go to the teahouse for a long time, who will take care of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. You can leave Dali Temple behind." Don't care about your business, go to the garden to watch a play? Cough! Li Bao, add more rice!" Zeng Guofan had already finished his bowl of white rice. Li Bao entered in response, took Zeng Guofan's bowl and walked out. Zeng Guofan then asked Woren: "What do the common people say?" Woren smiled and said: "The common people say that there is a tenth-rank prime minister in the Qing Dynasty, a cannibal prince, and a non-meat servant. The tenth-rank prime minister is talking about Mu Zhongtang, and every meal must have ten meat and ten vegetables." Eating; the non-meat waiter is talking about you, saying that you are a vegetarian and not meat-eating, and later it is said that you are an honest official, not a stupid official; the cannibal prince refers to our monk Gelinqin, who always cooks human flesh several times a year Eat, if you don’t eat human flesh for a long time, you will get sick. Isn’t it appropriate?” Zeng Guofan laughed and said: "These idlers can really flatter me. I am a vegetarian and don't eat meat? I don't know the taste of meat? I have no money! In fact, if I can guarantee to be a vegetarian all year round, I will be really satisfied! I am a vegetarian sometimes. I can’t eat it, I can only eat my own pickled vegetables. Cough! To be honest, I really want to quit this servant and go to Yuelu Academy to work with Mr. Jinghai for a few years to study leisurely and teach a few disciples. It’s really a life that gods don’t change!” Li Bao brought the food in at this time, and when Wu Ren saw it, he pushed the wine glass and said: "Give me the meal too, let's save this wine to entertain others." Li Bao soon brought in a bowl of rice for Wo Ren. Wuren took the bowl in his hand and looked at it first, "Disheng, why don't you buy polished white rice?" After finishing speaking, he put down the bowl, picked up the chopsticks and picked up the unmilled rice in the rice. Picked out a small pile of rice.Look at the net, and then eat it. But Zeng Guofan only cared about eating, and didn't see a single grain of rice picked out. After the meal, he drank some tea again before he left and returned home.Zeng Guofan asked Tang Xuan to pack a jar of pickles and put it in Woren's sedan chair, and Woren accepted it with a smile. After sending Wo Ren away, Tang Xuan made a pot of tea again, and Zeng Guofan and Tang Xuan talked while drinking. "My lord, I've always wanted to sit down with you and chat with you, but I never have time. I want to take a few days off." "Have you been here for a year? You haven't been out here since you called!" Zeng Guofan sipped his tea, "It's time to go back and have a look." Tang Xuan said: "Ten days ago, a message came from my hometown. My mother and neighbors got angry and fell ill. I was about to ask for leave, but you always made the emperor angry again, so I suppressed this matter." Zeng Guofan said: "How much silver do we have?" Tang Xuandao: "There are still five hundred taels of silver in the account, but we still owe the bank seven hundred taels! You have been living in the Ministry of Punishments for a few days, and the money bank's staff can't wait to ransack the house!" Zeng Guofan thought about it for a while and said: "You go on the road early tomorrow morning, and first take three hundred taels to Lingtang to see a doctor. If it is not enough, let someone send a letter, and I will raise money for you." Tang Xuan shook his head and said: "My lord, I have accepted your old favor. I have some left over from the wages to take back home, and I think fifty taels of silver is enough. I will check the account with the master, and our family will Now there are two thousand five hundred taels of silver in deposit, and the two thousand taels cannot be moved, and there are details of the accounts owed by the foreigner. My lord, please take a look." He said, pushing the account over. Zeng Guofan pushed the account away, didn't look at it, but looked at Tang Xuan and said: "Xiangxiang can send a sum of money recently, which is more than enough to pay back the money to the bank. The Ministry of Rites this year is 3,600 taels of money to support honesty, and the Ministry of War can still give Four hundred taels. The four thousand taels of silver will be given soon, and our big family will not be hungry right now." Tang Xuan said: "Why do you forget again, the bearers haven't paid wages for half a year. The new clothes each of our family made a few days ago have not yet settled with the tailor shop!" Tang Xuan has been in the capital for a long time, and he speaks occasionally I also like to bring the word "we". Zeng Guofan said: "After the money from Xiangxiang arrives, first clear up the old accounts in Beijing. You make a list and let Li Bao or Zhou Sheng handle these. You take three hundred taels first. You can grit your teeth at ordinary times, old man I can't stand up when I'm sick. I can stand up to anything, except filial piety. If you don't take the three hundred taels, I won't give up the housekeeper! You can figure it out." After finishing speaking, he drank tea by himself and didn't say anything else. Tang Xuan stood up, bowed deeply to Zeng Guofan and said, "Tang Xuan thanked you sir on behalf of my mother!" Tears flashed in his eyes. Only then did Zeng Guofan say: "Okay, let's rest earlier. Heal the old man's illness and come back quickly." Tang Xuan nodded, and walked out silently holding the account book. After packing his luggage, Tang Xuan stepped back The road to the township, and the account books were handed over to Zhou Sheng. Afterwards, the servants began to make fun of Zhou Sheng again, saying that Zhou Shengsheng appointed a housekeeper.Zhou Sheng was not annoyed, and joked, "It's a vacancy."