Chapter 3 third chapter

On an empty and desolate country road, a woman of unknown age was riding a little donkey.The little donkey walked very slowly, as if letting go of the rein.Behind the little donkey, followed by a little girl who couldn't help herself.The little girl was only about four or five years old, and the road was uneven, and she staggered along.But she still walked tenaciously, following the little donkey in front of her every step of the way. It was early spring, and there was still a little green on the ground, the fields were bare, and a few crows were perched on the old trees in the cemetery, as if they were waiting for a sudden disaster.The sun shone on the dark wheat fields, driving away the severe cold that had accumulated all winter.The severe cold was so severe that even the sun was tainted with a bit of chill.A little whirlwind, tiny, about the size of a pancake.But the little whirlwind was spinning very fast, flying over from a far edge of the ditch like a little rabbit, and after chasing the little girl, it slowed down and followed like a loyal puppy.

Chen Tianlun looked at this scene a little strangely, a little mysteriously, a little scary.A woman riding a donkey, a little girl faltering, a little whirlwind. This picture appeared on a field road parallel to Chen Tianlun, and he was driving a horse-drawn carriage on the country dirt road.After seeing this scene, he refused to give up. He reined in the reins, slowed down the carriage, and looked at this strange scene with interest.The woman was riding on the donkey's back alone, without any baggage, at a very low position, almost on the ass of the donkey.The donkey's body was light in the front and heavy in the back, pressing the donkey's head up and down, making the donkey's appearance even more ridiculous.Chen Tianlun thought, maybe the little donkey is very thin, with a sharp back, and when spring comes, the woman only wears thin underwear, riding on the donkey's back must be very uncomfortable, so she moved her buttocks to the donkey. Butt position.In any case, the ass of the donkey should be fatter and flatter.He suddenly remembered an allusion, the old lady riding a skinny donkey-it fits perfectly.He couldn't help laughing dumbfoundedly.This allegory is very vivid, but it is a bit obscene, and scholars should not talk about it.

Chen Tianlun watched and thought about it, and suddenly a terrible thought came to him: Pat Huazi?Is it patting Hanako? Chen Tianlun, like all the children in Gyeonggi, has heard many stories about Paihuazi since he was just sensible.It's a kind of bad guy like a wolf grandmother, who specializes in stealing children, and the means of stealing children are very insidious.They sprinkled a hallucinogenic drug made from children's eyes in front of the children's eyes, and the children were immediately hallucinated.The psychedelic child will have an illusion that there are two big rivers around him, and there are jackals or tigers chasing behind him, so he can only desperately follow the beater in front.Now, does the little girl following the woman on the donkey see the fields on both sides as a surging river, and the little whirlwind behind her as a ferocious tiger and wolf?After paihuazi stole the child, he dug out the child's eyeballs, dried the yin and yang tiles to make psychedelic medicine, and then used the psychedelic medicine to pat other children.When listening to these legends, Chen Tianlun was puzzled by the fact that the purpose of taking pictures of Huazi and children was to concoct psychedelics, and after concocting the psychedelics, he went to photograph children, and then to concoct the psychedelics, Going to shoot children again...why do they do this kind of repetitive bad thing?What can they gain from it?Is it just because they are bad?

Chen Tianlun couldn't think about it anymore, if the woman riding a donkey in front of him was really cheating, he should think of a way to save this little girl.But... no but, what is this woman riding a donkey if she is not a pat on the back?Is the little girl's mother?Absolutely impossible!What mother is riding a donkey herself, and let such a small daughter stagger and run behind?Even the stepmother would not be so cruel. Chen Tianlun decided that he had met Pai Huazi, and he had to rescue the little girl as soon as possible.The carriage he was driving was running parallel to the woman riding the donkey. When he reached the intersection ahead, he should turn to a road back to the city. At that time, he would part ways with the woman riding the donkey, farther and farther apart.He shook the horse's reins, waved the whip, and urged the carriage to move forward.The little horse driving the car swung its four hooves, and a cloud of smoke and dust immediately rose on the dirt road.

He arrived at the intersection ahead of time, stopped the carriage, and jumped off the shaft holding the whip.He strode across the field to meet the field path taken by the woman riding the donkey.The woman riding the donkey saw him, turned her donkey's head and walked in the opposite direction.This time it was revealed that the woman riding a donkey must be a flirt.Chen Tianlun spread his legs and chased after him, shouting while chasing: "Stop...you stop for me..." The woman riding the donkey no longer sat on the donkey's buttocks so leisurely, and she didn't care about the "tight fit".

The little girl followed her for a few steps and fell down.Chen Tianlun caught up and picked up the little girl. As expected, the little girl had been drugged with hallucinogens, her eyes were bewildered, and she looked at Chen Tianlun in horror. Chen Tianlun shook the little girl and asked anxiously, "What's your name? Whose family are you from?" The little girl stared at Chen Tianlun with dazed eyes, without saying a word. Chen Tianlun raised his head and looked in the direction where the woman riding the donkey was fleeing. The woman riding the donkey had disappeared without a trace.

Chen Tianlun had no choice but to hold the little girl and walked to his carriage, put the little girl on the carriage and sat down, raised his whip and drove towards the city. The water transport wharf began to be lively, and the water ships from Shandong and Henan had already arrived before March 1.The opening of the canal is imminent, the governor of the warehouse, the yamen, the Dongke, the Xike, the Caoke, the Xiangke, the Yinke, the house, the fire room, the pen and post style, the Jingchengmen, the three shifts, the six service, the eight divisions, the sixty-four tours, the seventy-two lines, and The five gates, the second dam and the thirteen warehouses are all tense and busy.

Tie Lin was losing Lan'er because of Gan Rong and was so anxious that Cao Sheng came in and said that Mr. Jin and Mr. Xu were here.Tie Lin ordered him to wait in the lobby, and Nanny Sun hurriedly brought over the official uniform and changed it for him. Since they were all wearing official uniforms, according to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, Jin Jian and Xu Liangnian, the prime ministers of the grain hall, bowed down to Tie Lin.After the ceremony was over, Tie Lin ordered tea to be offered to make way for the seats, and the two sides exchanged polite greetings before sitting down as guests and hosts.

Tie Lin originally thought that Jin Jian and Xu Liangnian came because of Gan Rong's loss of Lan'er. Although he didn't inform the Zuoliang Office of this matter, the Governor's Yamen of the Cangchang has turned upside down. Tongzhou City is almost three feet deep. Hall can not know?Sitting in the food hall, you know, can you stand by and watch?Tie Lin really didn't want to sit in the grain hall to intervene, and he was thinking about how to cover up the past lightly, how to politely decline their allegiance and service.Unexpectedly, the two hall ministers did not mention this matter.They came to report to him on official matters. As soon as Jin Jian waved, a secretary who followed him put a large stack of account books and lists in front of Tie Lin.

Jin Jian said humbly: "This is the detailed bill submitted by the Cao Gang in the two provinces of Henan and Shandong. Please have a look at it." Tie Lin looked at the one-foot-thick bill, stared at Jin Jian and asked, "What kind of bills are these?" Jin Jian was a little apprehensive for a while, to be honest, he never read these accounts.Deputy Man Zheng Han, ordinarily he is the chief minister of the grain office, but he has always tried to save his worries and was afraid of trouble. He handed over all the affairs of the grain office to Xu Liangnian, the prime minister of Han.Tie Lin looked at him, he hurriedly turned his head to signal Xu Liangnian to report to the governor.

Xu Liangnian is a slow person. He knew that Jin Jian was signaling him with his eyes, but he did not rush. He drooped his eyelids and pondered, as if thinking about whether he should speak or not.After a while, he said slowly: "Report to your lord, there are 20 boats in Tongzhou, Zhili, Henan, 17 in Tianjin, and 24 in Weizuo, Dezhou, Shandong. There are 43 escort boats in Chengwei, 43 in front of Pingshan, 43 in the back of Pingshan, 29 in front of Linqing Weihenan, and 57 in the back of Linqingwei Henan. , forty-eight boats in the front of Xuzhou, Weihenan in the south of the Yangtze River, and forty-seven boats in the rear of Weihenan in Xuzhou, the south of the Yangtze River, totaling 371 water boats. Among them, the regular rice is 115,698 shi, and the consumed rice is 31,010 shi; the converted rice is 65,780 shi, of which the regular rice is 56,220 shi Two stones, 9,557 stones of rice consumption, totaling 212,489 stones in Zhengdui, 9,311 taels of light silver, and 1,500 silver in Yimi One hundred and twelve taels, totaling 10,822 taels of silver. There are also 99,864 taels of monthly grain and 33,400 taels of silver on board. , 88,560 taels of silver for road expenses, 23,630 taels of silver for warehouse entry, 6,780 taels of silver for reed mats, and 7,820 taels of silver for pine boards. Three thousand four hundred and fifty taels of silver for the corrugated wood, seven thousand eight hundred taels of spare material, four thousand five hundred taels of silver for shallow boats, a total of three hundred and fifty-one thousand eight hundred taels of silver. In addition, there are soil suitable for a total of... " Xu Liangnian talked endlessly, and Tie Lin had already grown impatient.Unexpectedly, this languid god who doesn't smoke, doesn't smoke, doesn't enter into flames, and doesn't talk too much, is so aware of it, as if he has ledgers in his stomach, and his mouth is an abacus.He was able to report such boring and complicated accounts accurately.This is only the account of Henan, and there are Shandong, Jiangnan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, all 108 gangs, 6,296 water boats, and the grain and silver contained in it. , Can he know everything by heart?If this is the case, he is really a genius, and he deserves to eat the rice.The great fortune of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's sage, and a wealth of talents, there are really all kinds of talents. In contrast, Jin Jian watched Xu Liangnian's wonderful performance like a fool.This aristocratic son from the Xianghuang Banner was obviously used to being pampered, his brain was full of fat, he was already fat, and he was so fat that he became a pile of shapeless meat. Coupled with his stunned big meat head, he looked more like a pile of fat. Limp mud tires.Tie Lin and other elites with great ambitions have long been aware of the shrewdness of Han officials and the degeneration of Manchu officials. The contrast between Jin Jian and Xu Liangnian is even stronger.If we compare these two people in the Golden Luan Palace, I don't know how the Holy Majesty would feel. Tie Lin waved his hand, stopped Xu Liangnian's report, and said sincerely: "I am the governor of the warehouse for the first time. I have two lives, and I am not familiar with water affairs. Please distract me, two adults. You can deal with these specific matters." Follow the rules." Hearing Tie Lin's words, Jin Jian couldn't help but grinned widely.In fact, this is exactly the set of ecstasy array they designed for Tie Lin.Xu Liangnian called for the wind and the rain, although it was not a storm, but it was covered by clouds and mist, which made Tie Lin's head swell when he heard it.Tie Lin told them to follow the rules, which was exactly what they wanted.With these words, the Water Transport Wharf can still be covered by the four hands of the two of them.Tie Lin, if you know the fun, you want to have a leisurely time, and you will get all the benefits at that time; if you don't know the fun, I'm afraid you will have to leave in a sedan chair if you don't get a foot in this pier. Xu Liangnian ignored Jin Jian's complacency, he was not as simple as Jin Jian thought, and he was not as optimistic as Jin Jian.I don't know why, but since the day he saw Tie Lin, he felt an inexplicable fear, even fear.Every word he said in front of Tie Lin, he weighed and weighed again and again, for fear of losing his words and making mistakes. Jin Jian didn't care what he said, he always looked down on Xu Liangnian for being as courageous as a mouse and as talkative as a woman.He waved to the book office standing behind him again, and the book office stepped forward and put two mulberry bags in front of Tie Lin. Tie Lin asked: "What is this?" Jin Jian said: "Didn't you tell us to follow the rules of water transportation? Before the water boats dock, they must first offer 'small packets of rice', so that the east and west yamen can try it out. It can be regarded as a personal inspection and acceptance." The east and west yamen mentioned in the Jin Jian refer to the yamen of the governor of Cangchang and the yamen of the sitting grain hall.Because the two yamen are next to each other, the governor's yamen of Cangchang is on the east, so it is called the East yamen; Tie Lin opened the mulberry bag. It was a bag of high-quality rice, weighing a pound.Tie Lin picked up the rice grains with his fingers and inspected them. The grains were plump, crystal clear and moist, and exuded a faint fragrance. Jin Jian glanced at Xu Liangnian again, with an even more smug expression on his face. Xu Liangnian ignored him, he hated Jin Jian's superficiality, this kind of superficiality would miss major events sooner or later. Tie Lin asked, "Is this military rations?" Jin Jian said: "This is picked from the army rations." Tie Lin asked Xu Liangnian again: "Xu Tingcheng, what do you think?" Xu Liangnian said slowly: "Anyone who sends 'small packets of rice' will say it is military rations, and the ghosts will believe it. It is not easy to pick out such good rice from the white rations." Jin Jian didn't expect Xu Liangnian to be so pedantic, and gave him a hard look. Xu Liangnian pretended not to see it. To the surprise of both of them, when Tie Lin finished reading the rice, he said straightforwardly: "It doesn't matter if he is a military ration, as long as it is good rice, we might as well taste it. If you are close to the water, you can eat a catty or two." Mi is probably not too much, right?" Even Xu Liangnian lost his composure, and hurriedly said: "Of course, of course, we have worked so hard on the pier, and that's what we get." Tie Lin said: "I believe it, but I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I don't see it in other light. I don't believe it. The pier is so big that even the mice are fatter than other places, let alone us warehouse gods. ?” Xu Liangnian said cautiously: "What your lord said is very true. As the saying goes, those who manage food have a full belly, and those who manage money have a round waist. We manage both food and money, and if we don't dare to have a round waist, the stomach will not suffer. The so-called two-sleeve breeze , have a stomach full of alcohol. There is a dinner here, I don’t know if your lord will appreciate it.” Hearing Xu Liangnian's words, Jin Jian hurriedly took out a red invitation card, and raised both hands in front of Tie Lin: "Master Tie, you must give me a face, everyone knows that you are upright and honest, and we didn't even dare to join the banquet when you came." Put it on. Now we borrow flowers to offer Buddha, which is also our filial piety." Tie Lin accepted the red invitation card without saying anything. The hearts of Jin Jian and Xu Liangnian opened up again. Tie Lin also thought about the two people in front of him, why didn't they ask about the loss of Lan'er?Are they really out of touch, or are they pretending to be confused? Chen Tianlun is the twenty-four-year-old son of Chen Rixiu, an army ration broker at the Water Transport Wharf.This is a young man who is pretentious, ambitious, and full of economics.He passed the state examination at the age of thirteen, the government examination at the age of fourteen, and the college examination at the age of sixteen.At the age of eighteen, due to his excellent performance in the annual examination, he was selected as a tribute student and sent to Beijing Guozijian to study.After studying to become an official, he is determined to go on his official career step by step, to win a title on the gold list, and to serve the country.Two years ago, he took part in the Qiuwei Township Examination, but failed to rank.This did not shake his belief, he studied harder, and next year will be the year of the Grand Competition, he is very sure that he will win Zhong Xiaolian.In this way, after another year, he can take the Chunwei Examination with pride.Even if you fail in the first try, you can still suffer for another three years.In any case, you must enter the Hanlin Academy before "erli".Entering the Hanlin Academy is his great ideal and the goal he strives for.In order to reach this level of field, he is willing to endure no matter how much hardship and suffering. Chen Tianlun's grand plans and wishes are not only for himself, but also for his ancestors.It is not to glorify the ancestors, but to seek justice for the ancestors. The Chen family was originally from under the big locust tree in Hongdong, Shanxi. King Yan moved north to Tongzhou, and Chen Tianlun has been there for nineteen generations.The ancestors of the Chen family ate rice transported by water for generations. Some ancestors carried big men and sold coolies, some worked as car households and flower households, some worked as heads of dendrobium on the two dams, and some worked as inspectors in the sitting grain hall. Society... For hundreds of years, the Chen family has never produced a single scholar.If you don't study, you can't be an official, and if you don't become an official, you will always be a pariah.By the time of Chen Tianlun's great-grandfather, the family already had some savings.The great-grandfather was determined to let the grandfather study and take scientific examinations, so as to completely change the fate of the Chen family. My grandfather was a man of great intelligence and great ambition. He passed the hospital examination when he was less than twenty years old.At the age of twenty-two, he was preparing to participate in the Qiuwei Grand Competition.But in that year, a huge change occurred in the family.A sudden fire burned down the entire Chen family, and the great-grandfather died of exhaustion from spitting out blood.In order to revive the family business, the grandfather made a deal with a rich boy.After entering the examination room, the two exchanged names, and if the grandfather could win the exam for the rich boy, he would give him two thousand taels of silver.Sure enough, the heavens lived up to my grandfather, after the big competition, my grandfather let the rich boy win Xiaolian.With the two thousand taels of silver, my grandfather bought a military ration broker instead of building a house or land.Grandfather reorganized the family business, and it was hard to get back, and there were many difficulties.He originally pinned his hopes on his father, hoping that his father could realize the official career dream of the Chen family through reading.Unexpectedly, when it was my father's turn to prepare for the competition, my grandfather went to Huangquan due to overwork.He passed the secret talisman fan from the general grain broker to his father, and his father had no choice but to abandon his writings and start grain, and eat the water transport food that Chen family ancestors had depended on for generations. When it was the turn of Chen Tianlun's generation, his father reiterated the long-cherished wish of the Chen family, and pinned all his hopes on Chen Tianlun.Chen Tianlun believes in inheritance through generations. He inherited his grandfather's intelligence and wisdom, as well as his grandfather's great ambitions.He believes that he will be like his grandfather, capable of climbing the sky and displaying his talents.It's a pity that my grandfather had bad luck, and the family suffered such a catastrophe, so he had to bury himself.What made him anxious was that, just as the canals were about to be harvested to collect grain, his father fell while crossing the river on ice, and his ankle bone was shattered, and he was lying on the kang and could not move. After being injured for a hundred days, it seemed that my father could no longer go to the dam to collect grain.In desperation, his father had no choice but to pass on the secret talisman fan of the military ration broker to him.He became a military ration broker at such a young age, and he can also show off his power at the water transport terminal.It's just that if he became a military ration broker, it would delay his study, and then delay his Qiu Wei competition.Could it be that his official career dream will be shattered because of this?Had he inherited his grandfather's ingenuity and ambition while also inheriting his unlucky fate? Thinking of this, Chen Tianlun shuddered. It was Mr. Wei Da from Majuqiao Town, a well-known orthopedic surgeon, who showed his father the bone injury.Chen Tianlun drove a carriage to pick him up every day, he changed his father's medicine and put a splint on him before sending him back.On this day, he happened to send Mr. Wei Da back to Maju Bridge, and on the way back to the city, he ran into a hooker.The little girl was probably frightened, but Chen Tianlun carried her into the car without saying a word.After a while, she fell asleep in the car.Chen Tianlun made a bed under her body, then took off his coat and covered her body. Now, the poor little girl was rescued from Pai Huazi, and I don't know whether it brought him a blessing or a curse. Gan Rong had been walking around Tongzhou Street all night and day, and the night before she ran out of the back house of the governor's yamen in Cangchang, no one could persuade her to go back.She ran and howled aimlessly like a she-wolf who had lost her cub.She knew it might be futile, but that was all she could do.She was killing time, worry and remorse in running and calling.Tie Lin knows his daughter's temper, if he makes people drag her back, she will really go crazy.In desperation, he had no choice but to send two yamen servants to quietly follow behind his daughter, secretly following her and protecting her. Gan Rong staggered around in this way, and when he saw someone, he asked, "Did you see a child...a girl...four years old...I lost it yesterday..." At the beginning, she searched shop by shop and asked from house to house.Later, after almost all the shops and residents were asked, she asked the pedestrians who came and went. She walked and asked like this for a whole night and a day.She hadn't had any food or water for more than a day, and her physical strength was almost exhausted.Her steps became more and more irregular, and her voice became more and more hoarse.Grandma Sun sent someone to bring her ginseng soup and begged her to drink a few sips, but she ignored it.She is just looking for it now, she really gave up her mind, and she will keep looking like this until she finds Lan'er.If Lan'er could not be found, she lost herself in the search, or died. Many well-meaning people tried to comfort her, but it was useless. She wouldn't listen to anyone unless you could tell her where Lan'er was. Walking around, she came to the small courtyard in Shazhu Lane.It was the small double-sided door that my father knocked on when he came to look for Huang Huai'an, the secretary of the grain hall, not long ago.What came out was not an old servant with a slightly deaf ear, but a maid in her fifties.This maid is white and clean, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, and a gentle attitude.Gan Rong has been running all night and day, and it is rare to see such a trustworthy person.She didn't simply ask if she saw a little girl like she did to others, but talked to her like she saw a relative. Seeing that Gan Rong was so anxious, the maid said distressedly, "Girl, come in, come in and talk, come in and sit down and talk slowly, maybe I can help you." It's strange to say that Gan Rong trusted this strange woman so much, and followed her into that private courtyard. The maid led Gan Rong into the kitchen and pulled a stool for her to sit on. Gan Rong sat down obediently and looked at the woman with wide tired and pleading eyes. The maid is cooking, rice is cooking in the pot, and vegetables are being cut on the chopping board.The maid took out a bowl of rice soup from the boiling pot and handed it to Gan Rong: "Girl, drink some rice soup to moisten your throat." Gan Rong gratefully took the rice soup, blew on the hot air, and sucked it with his chapped lips. The maid said: "Girl, don't worry, it's no use worrying at this point. My meal is almost ready, wait until you have something to eat, and then go find it." Gan Rong hurriedly put the bowl of rice soup on the chopping board, and stood up awkwardly: "You are not in a hurry, I am in a hurry, I am almost dying of anxiety. I don't eat, and I don't drink this rice soup. Didn't you say you can help me? Hurry up." Tell me where Lan'er is, I'm leaving." Seeing Gan Rong's stubbornness, the maid no longer insisted, she said with concern: "Why don't you go find Aunt Tang?" Gan Rong asked, "Who is Aunt Tang?" The maid said: "Aunt Tang is a half-celestial being, she often predicts things like a god, and many people go to her when encountering difficulties." Gan Rong asked, "Where is Aunt Tang?" The maid shook her head: "It's hard to say, she is like a wandering spirit, wandering around the pier all day. It may be difficult to find her; if you don't want to find her, you may run into her back and forth. However, you Ask people in Tongzhou City, and they will definitely find her whereabouts." After hearing this, Gan Rong hurriedly thanked the maid, left the private courtyard, and walked towards Tongzhou Street. This time, when she saw someone, she no longer asked if she saw a little girl, but asked where Aunt Tang was. The idea that the maid gave her was undoubtedly kind, but good intentions may not lead to good things.It was because Gan Rong inquired about Aunt Tang instead of the little girl, and she missed the only chance God gave her to find Lan'er. Chen Tianlun's family has no brothers and sisters, no younger brothers and sisters, just a seedling in a thousand hectares of land.This is also predestined, the Chen family ancestors are thriving for generations, a single line of succession.Although the aspirations are lofty and the family is well-off, but the population is not prosperous, so that the ancestors of the Chen family have been facing the abyss for generations, walking on thin ice, and passing the years cautiously. His father was ill, and Chen Tianlun was called back from the Imperial College to take care of his father, and to take over as his father's military ration manager.Chen Tianlun has to pick up the doctor once a day, and after the doctor prescribes the medicine, he has to go to the pharmacy to get the medicine.There are also many things about the military ration brokerage, and he also has a half-knowledge of the rules on the dock.He has to communicate with other military ration brokers, especially at the "Ying" brand military ration broker's house to pay homage to the threshold; The superintendent, porter, transporter, etc. Fortunately, these fathers have all prepared, and it will be enough to coordinate with them when the time comes. The difficult thing is the secret talisman fan. It takes practice and hard work to draw the secret talismans you use well. When my father fell ill, my mother was burdened with housework inside and out.My mother is also in poor health, suffering from asthma, and dare not go out all winter.Although spring is here now, icicles are still floating on the Grand Canal, and the wind is still stabbing people like knives.In order to take care of my father, my mother couldn't care less.There were enough troubles and troubles at home, but Chen Tianlun unexpectedly picked up another child.The mother had to take care of the father and the child at the same time, and she was so tired that her asthma relapsed. This girl hasn't said a word since she was rescued by Chen Tianlun.At the beginning, Chen Tianlun thought she was a deaf-mute.Later, she found out that she could hear and understand you when you spoke.But she just doesn't speak. Whatever you say to her, she will stare at you with two big, bewildered eyes, as if she doesn't trust anyone and is a hundred times wary of everyone.What was even more disturbing was that there seemed to be a kind of light in the girl's big, bewildered eyes, a kind of faint green and vicious light, which made people think of wolves or other ferocious animals.Chen Tianlun's mother was afraid of looking at this child, and always avoided her bewildered eyes.She told her husband about this discovery, and Chen Rixiu didn't believe it at first, saying that his wife was insane.Later, when he was alone in the house with the girl, he also felt that there seemed to be something daunting in the child.This thing makes people feel dangerous, but also makes people feel noble.In short, it is uncomfortable to be around this child. Chen's mother said: "This child seems to be bewitched by an evil spirit. Do you want to ask Aunt Tang to exorcise her?" Chen Rixiu never believed in these evil ways, but he believed in ghosts and gods, and in the destiny.He felt that this was an extraordinary girl, this girl should not stay in his small family home, he had to find a way to send her away.But send it away, where to send it?The best thing is to find her family members, and if she can't find her family members, she should report to the government and ask the government to help find her.He was embarrassed when he thought of reporting to the official.Who is the officer?The current magistrate is Xia Yuxuan, who has not officially assumed office yet.Even after taking office, there are still many difficult government affairs to deal with. Can you throw a four or five-year-old child at him?What do you want him to do?Who is so careful and responsible for keeping them in the government? That evening, Chen Tianlun drove the carriage to send Mr. Wei Da back. As soon as he entered the door, his mother hurriedly called out: "Oh, Tianlun, you are back, come and have a look." Chen Tianlun was startled and hurriedly asked, "What happened?" Chen's mother said: "Look at that child quickly, he has a fever, and his whole body is as hot as coals." Chen Tianlun hurried into the room, and his father was covering the child's forehead with a wet towel.The girl closed her eyes tightly, panting heavily, her little face was flushed with heat, and her tender lips were all dry and cracked. Chen Rixiu said to his son, "Hurry up and get the kid Zhang from Beijie Street here." Little Zhang is Doctor Zhang, who is famous for his pediatrics, so everyone on the pier calls him Little Zhang. Chen Tianlun said: "The car has already been unloaded, and it will take time to see the doctor after inviting the child Zhang. I'd better go directly to the child Zhang's house with her on my back." When Chen's mother heard it, she immediately agreed with her son's idea, and urged, "Yes, yes, please go with her behind your back, don't delay." As she said that, the mother hurriedly wrapped the girl up, hugged her and placed it on Chen Tianlun's shoulder. Chen Tianlun left the house with the girl on his back, and strode toward Beidajie in stride. It was evening when Chen Tianlun entered, and it was completely dark after such a toss.There was no moon, and the street lamps were scattered. Chen Tianlun walked forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow.I was in a hurry, and after a while, my head was sweating. Walking across from Chen Tianlun was Gan Rong.Both of them walked in a hurry, and almost no one paid attention to the other.Just as they passed each other, Gan Rong suddenly asked, "Brother, where is Aunt Tang?" Chen Tianlun was taken aback, and said casually, "Ah... I didn't see it." Gan Rong didn't hesitate, since people didn't know about her, he continued to walk forward. Gan Rong's words awakened the sleeping Lan'er. She shook her head vigorously, shook off the clothes wrapped around her head, and shouted at Gan Rong: "Sister Gan Rong...Sister Gan Rong ..." The voice was too weak, Gan Rong had already gone far away. Hearing the girl's call, Chen Tianlun became even more nervous.This was the first time he heard a voice from a girl's mouth. He turned his head and asked eagerly, "Little sister, what are you talking about?" Lan'er was still calling hoarsely: "Sister Gan Rong, sister Gan Rong..." Chen Tianlun knew that the girl had a severe fever, so he was already talking nonsense.He quickened his pace and walked in the direction of North Street. While Gan Rong was running around looking for Lan Er in despair on Tongzhou Street, Tie Lin came to Tongzhou Yamen again. In just over a day, Tie Lin was tortured until he lost his shape.His face was yellow, his braids were messed up, the corners of his mouth were cracked, and his eyes were bloodshot. Xia Yuxuan ordered his servants to prepare some dishes in the flower hall, opened a jar of Huadiao wine, and poured a full glass for Tie Lin. Tie Lin was afraid that Xia Yuxuan would misunderstand that he was here to urge to find Lan'er, and it seemed that Xia Yuxuan didn't try his best.So as soon as I sat down at the wine table, I said first: "I have to ask you to help me make up my mind about something." Xia Yuxuan hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" So Tie Lin told about Jin Jian and Xu Liangnian's visit to him, and took out the red invitation card.He said: "I accepted the 'little bag of rice'. I knew they were testing me, and I couldn't let them think that I wasn't good enough, right? That would scare them away, and they would block me even more. strict." Xia Yuxuan said: "Master Shengming, they are indeed using this 'small package of rice' to throw stones and ask for directions. It doesn't matter, no matter how good the rice is, it is not worth a penny. The law of the Qing Dynasty did not count a catty of rice as corruption and bribery, so this As for the rice, you can just eat it." Tie Lin asked: "What about the dinner?" Xia Yuxuan said: "You must not go to the dinner." Tie Lin asked: "Why? Didn't the laws of the Qing Dynasty regard eating a meal as corruption and bribery?" Xia Yuxuan said: "The name of the dinner is too great, I will tell you slowly in the future. To tell you the truth, I also received this invitation." Tie Lin said: "So, you won't go either." Xia Yuxuan said, "No, I'm going." Tie Lin said: "You said that there are many famous places in the dinner, if you don't let me go, you are not afraid of those famous places?" Xia Yuxuan said: "Your Excellency doesn't know, they use this 'little bag of rice' to throw stones at you to ask the way, and I will take this invitation to find out for you." Tie Lin looked at Xia Yuxuan, and nodded movedly. Xia Yuxuan raised his glass and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this today, I will accompany you for a drink or two." Tie Lin shook his head, pushed away the wine glass in front of him, and sighed.He didn't want to talk about looking for Lan'er, couldn't Xia Yuxuan see it? Xia Yuxuan said: "Brother Tie, if I tell you one thing, you promise to drink up this glass of wine." Tie Lin asked: "What's the matter?" Xia Yuxuan said mysteriously: "Lan'er found it." Tie Lin stood up vigorously: "Really? Where is it?" Xia Yuxuan waved at him and said, "Brother Tie, please sit down first, I guarantee that before we finish this glass of wine, someone will bring you Lan'er." Tie Lin said impatiently, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?" Xia Yuxuan said a little proudly: "I have a famous criminal master named Jin Rulin, who is very capable. I don't know how he found Lan'er, and now he is taking someone to pick up Lan'er." Tie Lin looked at Xia Yuxuan, suddenly picked up the wine glass in front of him, and said excitedly: "Yuxuan, I have to thank you very much, come on, let me toast you first!" The two raised their glasses at the same time and drank it down. Tie Lin's heart suddenly moved, and he remembered something: "Yuxuan, you have lived in Tongzhou for a long time, and you have seen a lot of knowledge. I want to ask you about someone." Xia Yuxuan put down his wine glass: "Brother Tie, please tell me." Tie Lin said, "Little quail." Xia Yuxuan was stunned: "This name is weird, is it a woman?" Tie Lin nodded. Xia Yuxuan asked: "This must be a nickname, what's her real name?" Tie Lin said, "I don't know." Xia Yuxuan asked again: "How old are you?" Tie Lin said, "I don't know." Xia Yuxuan asked again: "Where is the family name?" Tie Lin said, "I don't know." Xia Yuxuan said: "Brother Tie, you three don't know, do you know what you can get in exchange for me?" Tie Lin shook his head. Xia Yuxuan said, "I don't know." Tie Lin laughed out loud, this was the first time he laughed so loudly in the past few days. At this moment, Jin Rulin, the famous master of punishment, and Zhang Kuiyuan, the official historian, came to Chen's house with four fast classes.Hearing the hasty knock on the door, Chen Tianlun's mother opened the courtyard door and saw the officer with a knife and a shackle, she was so frightened that she almost collapsed on the ground. 陈日修听到动静，急忙爬起来，蹭到窗子前面，隔着窗子朝外看着。 金汝林怕快班的衙役狐假虎威，忙挥手让他们后退，自己进门对陈母说：“老人家，别害怕，我们来问您一件事，听说您这儿拣了个小女孩儿，有没有这么回事？” 陈母确实已经被吓得失了魂，一听说官府上的人来问这事，忙老老实实地承认说：“啊啊……是……是拣到一个小孩儿，小女孩儿……四五岁……是我儿子从拍花子手里把孩子救出来的。” 金汝林急着问：“小女孩儿在哪儿？” 陈母说：“小女孩儿发烧了……烧得很厉害，浑身上下热得跟火炭似的。” 金汝林不耐烦了：“我问您小女孩儿在哪儿，快说。” 见金汝林提高了嗓门，衙役们也喊叫起来：“快把孩子交出来！” 陈母见衙役们挥刀嗥叫，更加害怕了，哆哆嗦嗦的竟说不出话来。 陈日修隔着窗子见了，高声说：“各位太爷，你们是来寻那小女孩儿的吗？别急，先进来喝杯茶，我腿受了伤，不能下地伺候各位，你们进来稍候。我儿子带着她看病去了，一会儿就回来。” 大清国的习惯，一般老百姓称知州知县为老爷，称下面的吏胥为太爷。处官府职簿书者为吏，任奔走供役使者为胥。这是一种尊称。金汝林见屋内的老人出口文雅，知道是位有身份的人，便走过去说：“老人家，我们是来寻那个小女孩儿的，此事耽搁不得。快告诉我们，贵公子带着她到哪儿看病去了？” 陈日修说：“北大街有位先生姓张，专门看小孩儿病症的，人称小孩儿张，你们知道吗？” 金汝林摇了摇头。 张魁元说：“我倒是听说过，是不是住在鼓楼后面？” 陈日修说：“鼓楼后面的绥福寺胡同，到了附近一打听都知道。” 金汝林立刻吩咐，让典史带着两个快班衙役去北大街小孩儿张家去迎接，自己则带着两个衙役在这儿守候着。 张魁元带着衙役走了。 金汝林怕有闪失，没有应陈日修的邀请进屋喝茶，而是站在院子里等候着。 陈日修忙让老伴给他们搬板凳坐下，又让老伴把茶水沏好送到院子里。 小孩儿张已经不年轻了，五十多岁，长得精精瘦瘦，留着一把银须。多年给小孩儿看病，对人说话总是轻声慢语，和蔼可亲。人们背地里叫他小孩儿张，见了面总是叫他张爷爷。张爷爷这称呼也不知道叫了多少年了，开始时可能是指着孩子叫的，久而久之，人们叫顺了口，无论男女老幼，统称他为张爷爷。这是对他高明医术的尊重，也是对他亲近患者的回报。 小孩儿张给小女孩儿检查着，翻眼皮，切脉象，看舌苔，问病情。 陈天伦在一边紧张地看着，仔细回答着小孩儿张的提问，忍不住问：“张爷爷，这孩子到底是怎么了？” 小孩儿张说：“看来是由惊厥风寒所致，这孩子受过什么刺激吗？” 陈天伦见小孩儿张这么一说，更加佩服他诊断的准确，简要地说这孩子是他从拍花子手里救出来的。小孩儿张点了点头，又叹了口气。 陈天伦问：“张爷爷，不要紧吧？” 小孩儿张说：“这孩子病得不轻，我先得给她扎几针，使她镇静下来，然后还要吃几副药。” 小孩儿张给小女孩儿做着针灸，陈天伦在一边等候着。等针灸完了，陈天伦摸了摸小女孩儿的额头，果然清凉了许多。小孩儿张又给开了药方，嘱咐陈天伦回去以后立即将药煎好，抓紧时间给小女孩儿灌药。陈天伦小心记着医嘱，一一答应着。 陈天伦背着退了烧的小女孩儿出来，惦记着去抓药，便抄一条近路，从静安寺大街走过去。 天已经完全黑下来，除了大街的买卖家门口，无论胡同还是大街小巷都没有灯光。陈天伦背着小女孩儿，深一脚浅一脚地走着。 小女孩儿伏在他的肩上，喃喃地嘟囔着：“甘戎姐姐……甘戎姐姐……”这声音很细弱，像是呼唤着，又像是梦中的呓语。陈天伦只顾朝前赶路，没在意小女孩儿的嘴里发出的声音。 到了静安寺后面，那里是一个拐角，堆放着附近人家倾倒的垃圾。陈天伦将小女孩儿往背上颠了颠，举起脚步，要迈过垃圾。正在这时，他只觉得身子像被什么冲撞了一下，猛地抬起头，两个蒙面大汉冲到了他面前。还没容他喊叫，脑袋又被击了一下，他脚一滑，眼睛一黑，便摔倒了。 他觉得自己很快就清醒过来了，清醒之后的第一件事就是伸开双手朝四下摸索着，寻找着从他身上掉下来的小女孩儿。他觉得他摔倒以后，小女孩儿一定从他的背上滑落下来。可是，摸索了半天，什么也没有，小女孩儿不见了。 正在这个时候，典史张魁元带着两个快班赶到了，他们来晚了一步，小女孩儿被人家劫持走了。 通州衙门，夏雨轩和铁麟一边喝着酒，一边等候着兰儿被解救归来。突然，典史张魁元慌慌张张地跑进来，焦灼地说：“兰儿又被人劫持走了，我们把嫌疑犯抓来了。” 铁麟一听，手里的酒都洒了。夏雨轩听说抓来了嫌疑犯，下令立刻升堂审讯。 夏雨轩换上官服，坐在大堂上，两旁皂班已经列队站好。夏雨轩下令带嫌犯，衙役们虎啸狼嗥地喊着堂威。 陈天伦披着枷锁被众衙役推搡着上了大堂，呆呆地站在了夏雨轩的面前。 典史张魁元见他不懂规矩，便给一个衙役使了个眼色。那个衙役使劲从后面踢了他一脚，厉声说：“看不见老爷在大堂上？快跪下！” 陈天伦昂了昂头说：“抱歉得很，学生是国子监生员。” 张魁元一听，立刻无话可说了。大清国的规矩，秀才见了知州知县是不必下跪的，官府也不能随便对秀才用刑，一般的百姓见了秀才还要称老爷，这就跟知州知县拉了平。更何况，陈天伦是国子监的生员，那可不是一般的秀才，那是秀才中的高才生、佼佼者。 夏雨轩却愣住了，他万万想不到，被衙役们带上来的怎么会是陈天伦呢？ 夏雨轩急忙从堂上走下来，问陈天伦：“到底是怎么回事？” 陈天伦说：“我又把那孩子丢了……” 说着，陈天伦声音哽噎了，眼泪也流了下来。 夏雨轩急忙让人把陈天伦的枷锁卸下来，把他拉到后面。