Chapter 4 Four

When Shen Qing walked into the guest room outside his mother's bedroom, she saw that the velvet curtain on the door of the bedroom was closed without a gap, and heard a soft humming sound coming out of the bedroom.However, Shenqing didn't seem to have seen or heard, he opened the door curtain and rushed in rashly, only then was he stunned.Mrs. Tang was leaning on the imperial concubine's couch, with her clothes untied on her chest, and the big girl, Ah Feng, was beating her back. She rubs her breasts. "Mom! Are you sick?" Shen Qing walked to the imperial concubine's bed, stopped and said.

Mrs. Tang opened her eyes and only waved her hand at him. A large stove was burning vigorously, right behind Shenqing.Shen Qing felt that her ears were so hot that she couldn't bear it, and her head was also a little swollen.The big girl Ah Feng's face was covered with oil and sweat, and she kept stealing her hands to wipe it off. Shenqing sat in a chair next to Mrs. Tang's head, feeling relieved; his mother's illness was both coincidental and unfortunate: it happened that he was about to ask for money, and it happened that his mother was sick Come up with an excuse, so as not to collapse in front of Yue'e.Shen Qing thought wildly like this, and gradually forgot about the unbearable heat of the stove.

Mama Zhang's operation was finished in a short while, and she buttoned up Mrs. Tang's coat and went out.Mrs. Tang seemed to be much better too. She let out a long breath and said softly: "Isn't it an old problem? Stomach pain!" "Oh, oh." Shen Qing responded casually, but thought in his heart, "It will be fine in a while, and the situation is different." He decided to give it a try, so he walked up to Mrs. Tang and shouted: " Mom!" Mrs. Tang raised her eyes, which did not look like a sick person at all.Shen Qing said hesitantly: "Mother, I have a friend who—he too—his mother is sick—it's the end of the year again, and he's short of a few hundred dollars—five hundred dollars! He—borrowed from me. Just now— —I spoke to papa, and he—no. Mother!—that friend is very dear to me, and I've promised to help. Papa won't—”

"Hmph! Will he come here if he has money? He is also here to get money! Hmph, maybe he is here to avoid debts!" ​​Mrs. Tang spoke quickly, and Shen Qing only listened to half of it.But whether his father has money or not has nothing to do with him. He only hopes that his mother has money.He was anxious to get to the point, but Mrs. Tang had a lot to say.She quickly continued as if angry: "If he messes around like this, he wants to spend it himself, the little wife wants to spend, and the three younger ones want to spend again. It is said that a mansion in Shanghai costs two thousand dollars a month." , will we still have something to eat? Ah Feng! Remember what the master said this morning?"

"Oh, the master said that all the cash has been turned into machine goods for land and market houses, but the machine goods for land and market houses are mortgaged and no money comes out; the master said he was frozen." Ah Feng is like the notebook in Mrs. Tang's bosom. Mrs. Tang will hand over to her everything she can't remember. "Didn't the master say that he still has a lot to lose?" "Oh! The master said that the deficit was huge, and it was all caused by building a market and opening a silk factory." "Listen to his nonsense! Didn't he and the little wife spend too much money! In the past, the old man also bought fields to build market houses. When did he lose money? I saw it with my own eyes!"

Mrs. Tang sat up abruptly, and gestured to Ah Feng; Ah Feng went to pour a cup of ginseng tea.Taking this opportunity, Shen Qing hurriedly said: "However, Mom, I have already promised my friends, but what should I do? Does Mom have any? Not many. " "What? Oh!" Mrs. Tang took a sip of the American ginseng tea and lay down again. "Shenqing, I have to rely on my own ability to make friends. The amount is not much—oh! I borrowed it once and refused to borrow it the second time, and I still complained! Hey! Ah Feng, who is looking around at the door of the room!"

Before Ah Feng went to look at it, the door curtain over there moved, and half of her body was already stuffed in. It was the eyelid Chen Ma. "Ma'am! Master Yuantong sent Shutou here." "This person is fine, I guess she will definitely come in the next few days." Ah Feng whispered with her mouth flattened. Mrs. Tang pondered for a moment, then told Chen Ma: "Please come up." "Mom! I have already promised, and I have to socialize once." "Hey, honest boy, what are you busy with? Tomorrow I have to settle accounts with your father! It's not enough for him to spend alone, and he adds a little wife and three little ones. Are the two of us just waiting to starve to death? ?”

Shen Qing still wanted to ask, but the unique laughter of Mrs. Yuantong had already come from the outer room. Looking at the "Ten Thousand Years Clock" in the room, it was only 4:15; Shenqing thought for a while, then went to the back of the treasure cabinet by the window, sat down on a sofa at random, held her head in her hands, Close your eyes. He tried his best to "use his brain" to find a way out of his embarrassing position: "How can I get four or five hundred yuan? If I can't get it, how can I step down in front of Yue'e?" He is now "collapsed." The problem of love is better than the relationship with Yue'e.However, it was as if a big bottle of glue had been spilled on his brain, but his ears were extremely flexible. He could hear Master Yuantong's laughter like a duck quacking, and he could hear a series of "Amitabha,...sin," Tang Tang heard. The wife spoke very quickly: "...That's right, I still have a stomachache,...it doesn't matter if we talk."

He plugged his ears with his fingers, but there was an unbearable bang in his ears. He let go of his hand, and suddenly heard a delicate voice outside the window calling: "Hello! Brother! Go to Shanghai! Brother!" He was startled.Stand up quickly and look out the window, there is no one.But he heard "Hello" again, just above his head.It turned out that there was a birdcage hanging on the eaves outside the window, and a green parrot was looking at him with its head tilted and sensible. "Huh! You flat-haired bastard, you're joking with me too!" Shen Qing said to herself, and was about to sit down again, but she was spotted by Master Yuantong over there.

"Ah, is it Master Shen? Amitabha! Mrs. Tang! Look at me, I'm really blind! Hahaha!" Shen Qing felt that Mrs. Yuantong's strange laughter was more annoying than usual, but he had no choice but to go over and say hello. At this time Mrs. Tang was shouting: "Feng! Bring me my box!" Box!These two words pierced into Shen Qing's ears particularly resoundingly.He knew what his mother's box meant.He looked anxiously at Ah Feng's back, but in his ears he could only hear Master Yuantong yelling "Master Shen" and "Amitabha Buddha" upside down, accompanied by duck-like laughter.

When Ah Feng lazily came out from behind the big bed, she was holding a small black iron box with golden flowers painted on it in her hand.She opened the hidden lock on the box.Ding ding ding!Both Shenqing and Mrs. Yuantong's eyes were attracted by the crisp metallic sound.Ah Feng was holding the box and standing in front of Mrs. Tang, still with such a lazy face. Mrs. Tang took out a roll of banknotes from the box.At this time, the whole room seemed to have only the sound of breathing.Shen Qing reckoned that this volume would be comparable to the amount he needed, and couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.However, Mrs. Tang only counted four, and said with a slight smile, "Master, Xiaoyi." The shape of the banknote is not big, and it is brand new.The banknotes Mrs. Yuantong usually receives from Mrs. Tang are not in such a small shape; moreover, the festoons on them are also different.The two wattles around Mrs. Yuantong's mouth couldn't help but pull down, but when she received it, she looked at it and smiled again.She knows the word "Wu" on the banknote! "Amitabha! Mrs. Tang! No need, no need! Bodhisattva bless you!" Mrs. Tang smiled, but Shen Qing sighed inwardly. Mrs. Tang had already returned the roll of banknotes into the box, but took it out again.Shen Qing's heart jumped again, and the fire of hope was rekindled.But this time Mrs. Tang only counted two, and still handed it to Mrs. Yuantong, saying: "On this point, you will make an offering for me in front of the Goddess Guanyin during the New Year." This time, Mrs. Yuantong answered very quickly, and said, "Ah! My wife still has to spend money! Amitabha! Every good fortune is worth every penny! My wife! Really! Accumulate blessings and longevity!" There were a few more ding dings, and Ah Feng walked briskly towards the back of the big bed with the box in her hands.Knowing that hope was over, Shen Qing glanced at his mother, and sat listlessly in a nearby chair. Mrs. Tang didn't seem to feel anything, and didn't look at her son, she just answered Mrs. Yuantong: "I'm old, and I've enjoyed the blessings, so don't accumulate them; I just hope that my young master will rely on the blessing of the Bodhisattva—" "Ah! Amitabha Buddha! The Bodhisattva has thousands of hands and eyes, and can greet everything! Madam, to tell you the truth, every morning and evening class, I don't ask the Bodhisattva to bless the master, wife and young master of the house! Mmm! Master Tang is Fifty or so? I came in just now, and Mr. Tang just went out. When I saw him face to face, my old eyes didn’t recognize me! Mr. Tang became more and more healthy, and he looked at most forty years old! That’s not a bodhisattva. ! Amitabha! Wife also—" "Well, the branch is dead at fifty and a half. I don't feel any pain at all, but there are too many things and I am too busy. Well, the young master has grown up; if I have another good relationship, I will thank Goddess Guanyin for taking care of me in this life. " Mrs. Tang's tone suddenly slowed down, and she looked at her son quietly, but the son was lost in thought. "Ah! Has Master Shen not engaged yet? Madame! Sooner or later, the Bodhisattva will count the marriage. The Bodhisattva has not yet chosen a first-class wife who will live together for a hundred years! Oh, oh, oh! —— Madam, I can't think of it; Xicheng Miss Nine of Mr. Xu’s family is nineteen years old this year and has not been settled yet. Ma’am! This is the first-rank lady that the Bodhisattva reserved for Master Shen!” "Oh! Is it Xu's mansion in the west city? Is there another young lady in his family who has not been settled? Well, Mrs. Xu's mansion is a salt merchant and also opened a bank. We are not easy to get high." "Amitabha! I'm guilty, I'm guilty! What's your wife talking about!" Master Yuantong said in a serious manner, with the two pendulous parts of his mouth hanging down.She leaned towards Mrs. Tang, stretched her head and said in a low voice: "The Xu family is not as good as it used to be in recent years!" "Oh—" Mrs. Tang also responded softly, and couldn't help turning her eyes to her son again. So Mrs. Yuantong cheered up even more, and quietly reported the situation of Xu's Mansion in Xicheng.She said that the Xu Mansion shut down three big shops last year, two of which were bankrupt, and closed down a few more money houses during the Dragon Boat Festival this year. It was rumored last month that the bank was unstable; They can't be changed into money; now there are only a dozen "introduction tickets" that are considered live goods, but I heard that such a cornucopia of "introduction tickets" are almost worthless.why?who knows!In the end, Master Yuantong suddenly raised his tone, and was more serious than her chanting,—— "Tell my wife, their outfield is not so good, and the inside is from the old family. The ninth lady was raised by the fourth wife, and the fourth wife has 200,000 to say the least! The fourth wife gave birth to this ninth lady. Isn't the future all given to this lady!" Even Shen Qing, who was staying there, heard these few words.But what does the future two hundred thousand have to do with him?He only needs five hundred now!And now the five hundred is everything to him.He just smiled bitterly alone. Mrs. Tang also smiled lightly, but her light smile was because she suddenly thought of why many rich families "frozen" like her husband. Ah Feng brought another cup of ginseng tea.Mrs. Tang supported her chin with one hand, and took the teacup with the other, but she didn't drink it, she just muttered to herself.Mrs. Yuantong thought that Mrs. Tang was interested in this relationship, so she simply pulled the stool, lay down beside the imperial concubine's bed like an old hen, and started talking again. Shen Qing looked at his watch, no good!It's four forty!The 4:40 was like a magic spell, forcing sparks to burst out of his eyes.He hated the talkative old nun.Suddenly he saw Ah Feng walking to the outer room with his wife's ginseng teapot in his hands, his heart skipped a beat, he followed him to the outer room without hesitation, and hastily called out in a low voice: "Feng! Feng!" But when he got in front of Ah Feng, he felt a little regretful, thinking that it would be too shameful for him to rely on Ah Feng's power. Ah Feng's long and narrow face was still as rigid, but her black eyes with long eyelashes fixed Shen Qing's gaze, as if to "Hey! Why don't you say it?"—to urge him like this. Shenqing was so embarrassed, he decided to say to her, "It's okay, you can go"; however, somehow, he said something else——and he couldn't help but say it in surprise when he heard it: "I was interrupted by the old nun, and my wife forgot about it. I can't wait. You take my wife's box—to the back room, and let me take it myself. I'll tell my wife later. " Ah Feng didn't seem to understand, the black eyes under the long eyelashes kept rolling.Shen Qing suddenly thought of Ah Feng's black eyes under the long eyelashes to another pair of almost identical eyes, and he was a little at a loss.When he woke up again, he heard Ah Feng laughing and saying: "Then, I'll get the box and give it to my wife, just remind her!" With that said, she turned around and walked towards the wife's bedroom.Shenqing's urgency was not light; he hurriedly stopped Ah Feng, and said in a low voice, "No! No! I do not want it! " The black eyeballs under the long eyelashes rolled again, as if to say, "I know what you are doing!" Ah Feng actually smiled again, holding the teapot and went to look after herself. Shen Qing stared at Ah Feng's back and stayed for a while; then he stamped his feet as if he had come to his senses, and scolded himself in his heart: "It's really useless! Another missed opportunity! Let her talk about what's important. Say Maybe my wife really gave it to me!" He hurried downstairs, thinking vaguely that he would find Ah Feng again and ask her to remind his wife. But once downstairs, he changed his mind.He decided to go out to find Zhao Waizui or something for a chance to borrow money from "waiting for my father's birthday".