Chapter 76 House full of treasures

"What? How dare that brat Mao Pijiang be so rude!" After hearing Su Wenqing's reply, Ruan Dacheng slapped the table and stood up abruptly.He didn't watch out for too much action, his big beard moved the wine glass and chopsticks in front of him, and they suddenly tilted and fell down, making a chaotic sound of ping-pong-pong.But Ruan Dacheng, who was furious, didn't care about it. He slammed back with his two thick thighs and pushed the chair away. "Oh, I'm so pissed off, I'm so pissed off!" he yelled again, waving his fleshy fist with many long black hairs.Against the backdrop of the densely intertwined dead branches of plum trees around the pavilion, his fat body moving back and forth rapidly, coupled with a pair of fierce eyes, looked like a bird eager to break out of the cage and choose someone. The tiger that devours.

"Hey, Master Ruan, that Mao Pijiang is just a crazy student. Although he did too much today, but your boss has a lot, why should you be angry with him!" Gu Xi, who was sitting by the table, persuaded softly, While making a charming smile.This Qinhuai courtesan clearly knew that in such an occasion where all the guests were too scared to make a sound, it was the time for their women to show their talents. "Yes, Mr. Ruan is very rich right now, but you have to take care of yourself! Is it worth it to take the risk of opening up the frontier and get angry!" Another famous prostitute, Magu, was not far behind, turning a pair of looking and affectionate eyes. Eyes, followed softly.

I probably saw the women speak, and Ruan Dacheng showed no signs of venting his anger on them, and several guests who accompanied the table also spoke to persuade: "Old Yuan, it's rare for you to come up with this extremely strange and new idea today, inviting students to come here to enjoy the snow and enjoy the withered plums. Don't let that kind of thing ruin Lao Yuan's eternity!" "Yes, 'I don't hate the ancients, I don't see them, I hate the ancients, I don't see them!' Or drink our wine!" "Hey, according to my younger brother, all the nerds in Fushe are all lunatics! If you care about lunatics, wouldn't it lower our status?" Another high-pitched voice said.

"Yes, yes, lunatic, lunatic! Hahahaha!" The passengers laughed, half for fun, half for worry. "No!" Ruan Dacheng stopped suddenly, and said through gritted teeth, "I have to argue with them! These years, they have tried their best to squeeze me, scold me, and spoil me. They have become ashes! Now that their little lives are in my hands, they dare to be so arrogant and disrespectful, and punish them without pain, and they still treat me as Lao Ruan, which is easy to bully!" After a pause, he looked around at the people present again, and said darkly: "Hey, just wait and see, right now there is a deal that is so wonderful that they can't afford it, so let's go around!"

After finishing speaking, he waved his hand: "I don't drink this wine anymore. Let's go back to the city!" After half a day, Ruan Dacheng and his party had already returned to the city.He sent away a few guests and two courtesans, and then went straight to Ma Shiying's new residence at Xihuamen in a sedan chair.When he was led by his servants to the back hall where the glowing charcoal fire in the big copper brazier made the room full of spring, he found that Ma Shiying was with his son, Ma Xi, who has now become the admiral of the imperial army, and His confidant Wang Zhong admired the newly acquired decorations there.The old man was wearing Yangming clothes today, a mink fur vest, and a net scarf on his head, looking relaxed and leisurely.Seeing Ruan Dacheng walk in, he just cupped his hands perfunctorily, then still bent down, leaned in front of those antique utensils, continued pointing and discussing with relish.These days, although Ruan Dacheng became more and more arrogant, and did not pay much attention to the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, he did not dare to be too presumptuous in front of Ma Shiying.When he realized that it was impossible to start talking about business right away, he held back his full stomach for a while, walked forward, and looked at the few furnishings displayed in the center of the main room.As an expert in this way, Ruan Dacheng could tell at a glance that although those few items were not all ancient relics, they were all extraordinary.For example, the agate screen is six feet high and eight feet wide. It is divided into three sections, and the screen surface of each section is woven with gold and silver threads.That's all, what's surprising is that the materials used for the flower patterns above are not pearls, but gems.There are at least a hundred of those pearls, some as big as a cat's eye, and as small as a cherry pit.As for the gemstones, it is even more amazing. There are all kinds of emeralds, chicken blood red, baby's breath, an ingot of gold, and agate yellow.The value of this screen alone is hard to estimate.There is also a dust whisk with a three-foot beard and a pure purple color. The handle of the whisk is carved from a whole section of crystal, and a red jade ring is attached to the end of the handle.Although it was just sitting there quietly, it already appeared dazzling and of extraordinary character.Ruan Dacheng's heart skipped a beat, he couldn't help picking it up, looked at it carefully, and then shook it a few times, the light suddenly flickered, and there was a sound of peeling.He was wondering when he suddenly heard someone whisper behind him:

"Old Yuan, be careful, don't shake it too loudly. You must know that the sound of this thing is very different. When chickens, dogs, cattle and horses hear it, they will all startle. Woolen cloth!" Ruan Dacheng turned his head and saw that it was Ma Shiying's white-faced and red-lipped confidant Wang Zhong.He then asked: "Could it be that this is the dragon's beard and purple brush that is recorded in ancient books and can make mosquitoes avoid it?" Wang nodded emphatically: "It is the dragon beard purple brush. This object was originally the treasure of the Taoist priests in Dongting. It was found in the palace in the Tang Dynasty, and then lost its place. Unexpectedly, it reappeared in the world after a thousand years. It was recently found by a foreign official. Well, it was specially dedicated to Elder Yao, so that our generation can see this rare treasure, which is considered a very lucky fate!"

Since Ruan Dacheng's comeback, although he has received quite a few gifts from his fawners, none of them can compare with Ma Shiying's.So, he put down the whisk without saying a word, and went straight to the master.At this time, a pair of maids with drooping hair were standing on both sides, and carefully opened a piece of colorful 氍毹 in front of Ma Shiying.As usual, Ruan Dacheng leaned over and took a look.He found that this 氍毹 is undoubtedly noble in temperament and elegant in color, and every square inch is embroidered with patterns of mountains and rivers from various countries and Kabuki music.However, other than that, there is nothing special about it. "Well, it looks like a tribute from a foreign barbarian. It's just that there are so many such things now, so it's not unusual!" Thinking of this, Ruan Dacheng planned to straighten his waist.Suddenly, the two maids didn't know whether they didn't hold it steady or did it on purpose, and lightly shook the 氍毹 in their hands.Suddenly, a miracle happened: I saw countless bees, butterflies and chaffinches flickering in front of my eyes, each with its own posture, lifelike, jumping and dancing on the bamboo pole.Ruan Dacheng was taken aback, and quickly moved closer to take a closer look.At this moment, the scorpion has returned to stillness, and those bees, butterflies and chaffinches also disappeared.They didn't reappear until the two maids shook the 氍毹 again.

"Hey, Mr. Xiang," Ruan Dacheng, who was fascinated by the spectacle in front of him, straightened up unsatisfactorily until the maid was ordered to put away the bamboo pole, and said in admiration, "I came here today and saw such a rare treasure. It was an eye-opener!" Ma Shiying did not answer immediately.He let Ma Xi support him first, then went back to sit on the tiger-skin-covered chair in the middle, and then made a gesture. After Ruan Dacheng and Wang Zhong were seated, he stroked his beard and said lightly: "It's disgusting to say the least. These things were brought in by them when the students were away. The younger generations couldn't push them away, so I had to let them put them away. I have been too lazy to look at them, and I don't know what they are. Today I moved it out to have a look when I was free, but it turned out that there were all unnecessary things, how ridiculous!"

Ruan Dacheng blinked.Of course he was well aware of the old man's temper.Although it has never been heard that he refused any gift, whenever he talked about this matter, he always seemed very unhappy, as if he had been wronged by the sky.So he smiled and said: "It's all because of the teacher's great virtue and reputation, and the world admires them. They are grateful and cannot express their gratitude, so they just express their respect and love because of the meaning of things!" Ma Shiying snorted: "What kind of respect and love! It's nothing more than that they wear black gauze on their heads, but they always think it's too small, and they expect me to support them. Hmph, some people are never satisfied. I want to be promoted! Don’t ask myself if I can do it well! If they can’t take care of it for a while, or if they are promoted slowly, they will blame others, think that the joints are not enough, and find some messy things to stuff them in. Come on. If you don’t accept it, you will say that you don’t give face; if you accept it, even if you owe him a favor, you will have to find a way to pay him back in the future. They don’t even think about it. Jiangnan is such a big place, and there are so many high-ranking people inside and outside. Nearly In order to raise salaries in half a year, I had to open a donation case, and the number of redundant staff and dismissals increased by more than several times. From Liudu to all counties, which government office is not full and full, what is there to do? Let them down! If things go on like this, I'm afraid they won't be able to feel at ease unless even I, the chief assistant, is vacated!"

The more Ma Shiying spoke, the higher the voice was, and the goatee was twitching on his chin, looking very angry. Ruan Dacheng knew very well that the old man was always headstrong.After becoming the first assistant, this kind of temper became stronger day by day, as long as he scolded vigorously, he would not stop for a long time.So, while nodding his head in agreement, he winked at Ma Xi who was sitting at the bottom. Ma Xi understood.When Lao Tzu's scolding stopped for a while, he immediately jumped in and said: "Father, as far as my child knows, these few things are not all sent by those people! For example, this piece of 氍毹 presented by Silla was from Anyuanhou when my father "beat the general" on the Little Snow Festival last month. I won. Did father forget?"

The so-called "fighting the general" refers to the finals of the annual cricket tournament.It was one of the entertainments that prevailed in high society.From autumn every year, those princes, nobles, high-ranking officials, and wealthy merchants buy a large number of crickets from all over the country, ranging from more than a hundred pots to hundreds of pots.As soon as the Bailu Festival comes, set up a game to start a fight.Invitations must be issued in advance, a date must be set, and referees must be selected at that time.As usual, these fights are of a gambling nature, so someone has to specialize in weighing the participating crickets and recording the accounts. The scene is very grand and lively.After that, for more than two months, those cricket raising families went all out, like crazy, and there was not a day when they did not set up a situation to fight each other.Until the Snow Festival, most of the crickets have been defeated, and there are a few winners left, and the "fighting generals" will be held.At that time, the ceremony will be even more solemn, not only to tidy up the house, but also to install the tablet of the king of insects.The owner of the participating crickets burns incense and salutes first, and then the official release of the crickets begins.The final winner will be awarded the title of Great King, enshrined in the gods, and accepted people's offerings.Its owner threw a big banquet, drank with all the contestants, and broke up happily.Ma Shiying's biggest hobby in his life is cricket fighting.Whenever there is an important game, no matter how busy his business is, he would rather put it on hold than miss it.This year, his luck is particularly good.The "Sai Chi Rabbit", which was obtained from Shandong, defeated all the heroes in the battle, and defeated the "Black Landmine" of Anyuanhou Liu Zuochang in the "Fighting General" in one fell swoop, and was crowned the throne of "King".For this, the old man was extremely proud.For the next two weeks, whenever he talked about this incident, his face, which was always tense, could not help showing a smug smile.So, now being reminded by his son, he said "um", stopped accusing, nodded and said: "That's right, the 氍毹 is indeed an exception. Ordinarily, Marquis Anyuan's horse 'Black Landmine' has won seven battles in a row, and even Eunuch Lu's so-called invincible 'Little Wu Hook' was defeated by it. Lao Liu also boasted that this year's throne must belong to him. It's a pity that my luck was a bit bad, and my horse 'Sai Chi Rabbit' happened to be his nemesis, so I had to return home with a feather!" "Hey, old Yao," Wang Zhong, with red lips and white teeth, picked it up, "I heard that Marquis Anyuan's crickets were given medicine, so they are extraordinarily fierce and persistent when they are about to fight." Ma Shiying smiled contemptuously: "The method of feeding medicine has existed in ancient times, so it's not surprising. It's just that it is very sophisticated. Feeding it unreasonably will damage the cricket's internal energy. For example, this time 'beating the general', I saw him release that 'Black Landmine', although its momentum was fierce and vicious, but its color was bright without awn, and he was eager to fight, so I knew it was poisoned and it would not last long. Sure enough, after thirty rounds, it was already Showing fatigue, he barely survived until the fifty-two rounds, when my 'Sai Chi Rabbit' split its forehead and disemboweled it, and died on the spot!" In his spare time, Ruan Dacheng was obsessed with Duqu rehearsals, but he was not very interested in cricket fighting. Now he listened to Ma Shiying's relish, so he casually said: "It turns out that the matter of fighting crickets is so ingenious. There are many books on this way in the market, but such a profound theory as the teacher's is unheard of, and I have never seen it before!" "Hey, Mr. Yuan doesn't know something," Wang Zhong interjected triumphantly, "Mr. Yao is just lamenting that most of the cricket-fighting books in the market are half-understood theories, which are not enough to convey the truth of this skill, let alone Not to mention the wonder of this way! It is because Yao Lao has recently memorized the thousands of battles he has experienced in his life, one by one, to understand the truth, and imitated the style of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and summarized it as "Cricket Theory" Thirteen chapters, so that they can be passed on to future generations!" "Oh?" Ruan Dacheng immediately pretended to be very interested, "It turns out that the teacher is still interested in writing when he is in the country. Such a rare book, I don't know if I can have a sneak peek at it?" Ma Shiying waved his hand: "What a wonderful book, it's just a game article, just to express feelings!" Then he turned around and told Ma Xi: "In that case, go to my study and take the manuscript on the table Come on, let Mr. Yuan point out the mistakes!" Ma Xi promised and walked out.After a while, he really came back to the back hall with a stack of bound manuscripts in his hands.Ruan Dacheng immediately stood up, took it with both hands, then sat on the chair and browsed page by page.He found that it was nothing more than talking about how to select, raise, choose pots, train crickets, how to prepare, arrange, and use tactics when fighting.He looked at it randomly, and cursed secretly in his heart: "This old guy, as the chief assistant, has so many important things not to deal with quickly, but he has the heart to write such a boring thing!" He couldn't stop praising "good, good!" "Wonderful, wonderful!", and deliberately picked out one or two places to give full play to, saying that all things in the world, although they are different in shape and size, actually belong to the same principle.Therefore, although Ma Shiying's book is about cricket fighting, its meaning is broad and profound, so that people can realize the principles of "sincerity, righteousness, self-cultivation, family harmony, state governance, and peace of the world". Once it comes out, it will be of great benefit Ma Shiying listened to the morals of the world and people's hearts, stroking his goatee again and again, and showing a proud smile.