Chapter 213 Zhenghong flag (3)

Sure enough, the next morning, the second elder brother Fuhai arrived with great momentum, accompanied by his eldest aunt.Where they got the news is still a question.No matter what, the eldest aunt must come.According to the rules of that year, the confinement of my aunt must be served by people from her natal family.This proves that the girl is indeed a money-losing product. Not only must her natal family send four-season clothes, gold and silver jewelry, even chests, tables and chairs, and feather dusters to her when she leaves the cabinet; The eldest aunt is small in stature and coughs very loudly.When winter comes, she suffers from shortness of breath and coughs endlessly.When the cough stopped for a while, she picked up the hookah and grunted for a while, preparing to cough again.She was still half a mile away from my house, and the second sister told her mother pleasantly: The eldest aunt is here!Auntie is here!The mother knew that her natal sister-in-law didn't have any strengths except coughing, but she still smiled.Braving the wind and cold, the eldest sister-in-law came to congratulate her for the first time, which was enough to prove that her natal family attached great importance to her, and the married daughter was not just a splash of water.Mother's lips moved.The second sister didn't hear anything, but hurried out to meet her aunt.

The second elder brother Fuhai and the second sister patiently supported the old lady and walked from the street gate to the yard for about twenty minutes.The second sister also supported her aunt with one hand and beat her back with the other.Therefore, the second sister was unable to take the hookah, the food box (brown sugar and eggs inside), and the cattail bag (the osmanthus "cup stove" and trough cake with broken edges) carried by the second brother. ① After finally taking a breath, the eldest aunt muttered a few words.The second brother handed the box and cattail bag to the second sister, and then helped my mother to visit my aunt.No matter how hard she was out of breath, my aunt could never forget who she should go to see first.But be careful and give the food to my second sister, so as not to ask my aunt to withhold it.My aunt was not short of words, but when she saw the box and cattail bag, she always felt that it was reasonable for her to accept them.Auntie's visit is purely a diplomatic courtesy, and one only needs to call "Old Sister" and cough for a while to explain it.The aunt could have just smiled at the eldest aunt, but since the second brother was by her side, she had to express her welcome.

Among relatives and friends, the second elder brother Fuhai is popular everywhere.He is short and dainty, strong and delicate, beautiful and mature, with a round fair face, double eyelids and big eyes.Before he even opened his mouth, the others were ready to hear two witty and quite reasonable words.As soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes were shining and his face was full of spring breeze. His words were indeed witty, but not hurtful; quite reasonable, but not old-fashioned.His forehead is always green above his forehead, as fresh as the green scalp of a fat baby in New Year paintings, and his big braids are not loose or tight, which is stable and elegant.He greeted you the most beautifully: he spotted the person first, then bowed his head and took two quick steps, reaching in front of the person, with his hands on his knees, his front legs were solid, and his rear legs were weak, he walked and stopped, respectful.When An arrived, she called out cordially and sincerely: "Second Aunt, hello!" Then, she calmly retracted her legs, straightened her waist and chest, her arms were vertical, her hands were slightly drawn back, and her feet were aligned "horizontally".Such an announcement made every old lady who received the salute bow her waist to return the salute, and secretly admired: How wonderful it is for my son to be able to understand the rules like this!

He asked An to look good, look good sitting, look good walking, look good riding a horse, just put a golden rooster independence for the children, or sit on a horse and squat in the crotch, it is especially beautiful.He is a well-versed banner man. He has not forgotten the training of horseback riding and archery for more than two hundred years, and he has absorbed the culture of the Han, Mongolian and Hui nationalities.When it comes to learning, he is both civil and military; when it comes to culture, he is a "full feast of Man and Han".He can ride a horse and shoot an arrow, can sing a few (only a few) single-string songs, can sing a few (just a few) lines of Wang Pai's "Wen Zhao Guan", can read some Feng Shui, and can criticize horoscopes.He knows how to keep pigeons, birds, mules and goldfish.But he kept neither doves nor birds nor mules nor goldfish.He has a lot of business to do, such as visiting the coffin for relatives and friends, or introducing a chef, etc., and has no time to raise those small things.Although the eldest brother-in-law considers himself an expert, raises pigeons, or carries a big eagle, but whenever he meets the second brother Fu Hai, he is willing to bow down and quite intentionally sells all his ingots flying all over the sky at a low price.Fuhai's second brother is also good at gambling. Pai Gow, betting, drawing lots, throwing dice, fighting ten-hu, kicking football, "beating the old and the young", he can do it.However, he does not gamble.Only when the old ladies wanted to play ten Hu but couldn't get it together, he would act on the occasion and accompany them.He neither loses much nor wins much.If he wins a few hundred dollars, he will buy some jelly beans, jujubes, etc. and distribute them to the children.

The banner man he is familiar with is actually half, or even a third of the banner man.This has nothing to do with bloodlines.As far as language is concerned, he only knows a little bit of Manchu, and he uses Chinese in everything he talks and writes.He doesn't know how to recite poems or compose Fu, nor has he ever learned to compose stereotyped essays or political theories, but whenever he thinks about literature and art, such as composing a diversion or writing couplets for the Spring Festival, he always thinks about it in Chinese, and never considers whether he can try Manchu. .When he saw a plaque or stele in which both Manchu and Chinese characters were used, he would always appreciate the beauty or strength of the Chinese characters on it, and only take care of the Manchu characters next to him, keeping a respectful distance.As for Beijing dialect, he speaks it so beautifully that people think he is the creator of this noble language.Even if it doesn't fit well with history, at least he should share the honor of being the creator of "Jingqiang".Yes, his predecessors not only incorporated some Manchu words into Chinese, but also created a light and quick accent; in his generation, this accent was sometimes too light and quick, so that sometimes It makes it difficult for foreigners to hear clearly.

But here's the surprise: he's a painter!My uncle is the leader of Sanpin Lianglan Dingzi, and my son has learned painting and color painting. Who can say that he is not a half-banner man?My eldest sister's marriage was my uncle's matchmaker.The eldest sister's mother-in-law is the Viscount's daughter and Zuo Ling's wife, so it stands to reason that she would never want a banner soldier's daughter as her daughter-in-law, no matter how handsome my eldest sister is and how neat her hands and feet are.Uncle's bright blue cap helped.The eldest sister's father-in-law is only a fourth rank.On the day of the eldest sister's wedding, the uncle personally went out to see off the master, and invited another one with a bright blue top, and two red tops, two blue and two red, both wearing Hualing, forming an excellent send-off team.As for the eldest sister's mother-in-law, she could have invited four red-capped people to welcome the bride, but she thought that we were absolutely incapable of organizing a strong team, so she only invited four fifth-rank officials so as not to scare us all.As a result, we have achieved an absolutely overwhelming advantage, which is very satisfying!After being hit by this, the eldest sister and mother-in-law couldn't ignore my mother as my wife, and my aunt also pursued the victory and solemnly declared: Her husband (probably Han!) also served as a second-rank official!

My eldest sister later told me not to tell her mother-in-law that my second brother Fu Hai was a painter who had been a teacher.Yes, if the eldest sister's mother-in-law knew the details of the second brother, it would be a big question whether the uncle could be a matchmaker, although his failure may not be detrimental to the eldest sister. The second brother has a vision, so he went to learn the craft.According to our Zuoling system, banner people have no freedom. They are not allowed to leave the banner and go out of Beijing at will; although they can learn crafts, they will inevitably be despised.He should go to be a soldier, ride a horse and shoot arrows, and defend the Qing Dynasty.However, the population of the banner clan is increasing, and the number of banner soldiers is fixed.As a result, the eldest and the second may make up for the vacancies and eat money and food, while the third and fourth have no choice but to be idle.In this way, if there are several white men in a family, life will inevitably become more and more difficult.This kind of system once swept the south and the north and conquered the world; this kind of system has gradually made the bannermen lose their freedom and self-confidence, and how many people are still unemployed for life.

At the same time, there are people who eat short money and food everywhere, and the young people who are waiting to fill the vacancies lose the opportunity to fill in the vacancies.Didn't my aunt, a widow, eat several rations? My third uncle had five sons, all of whom were tiger-headed and tiger-brained, but none of them made up for the vacancies.However, they live in the suburbs, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.So the five tiger generals cultivated the land, learned the craft and learned the craft, and lived a very good life.The second brother Fuhai probably got the inspiration from this, and decided to learn a craft himself.The second elder brother also saw clearly: his elder brother had filled the vacancy and received four liang of silver a month; then whether he himself could become a banner soldier was quite a problem.With his intelligence and ability, he will be a white man for the rest of his life, and he will not even be able to marry a wife. How good is it?He is indeed capable, and his riding and archery are very good.However, his ability is only enough to let him be a gunner①, to get money and food by shooting red hearts with arrows for the little hunchback of the Chong family, or the little cripple of the Ming family.That's right, that's the thing: he has his own ability, but he can't make up for the lack. If the little hunchback and the little cripple are willing to spend money on sports, they can pass the gunners and be paid as soldiers!In addition to getting a pair of blue satin boots or a few taels of silver as a reward, the second elder brother also understood: No wonder the British and French allied forces went straight into the court and broke into Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace!How could a widow, a little hunchback, a little cripple, and a leader like the eldest sister and father-in-law, and a cavalry school like the eldest brother-in-law, be able to stop the enemy soldiers with a few paychecks!He decided to learn the craft!Yes, when history develops to a certain stage, there will always be people, like the second brother, who see one or two more moves in chess.

Unfortunately, the eldest brother couldn't afford to fall ill, and the second brother Fu Hai had the opportunity to make up for the vacancy.So, he went to work when it was time to go to work, and did some painting work when he was free, without delay.Among the old relatives and old friends, some want to paint longevity materials, and some want to decorate two houses in preparation for marriage, so they all come to him.He will save labor and materials for them, and do the work meticulously. When the second elder brother was working, he seemed to forget that he was the son of the leader, a standard soldier who ate money and food.His overalls, his earnest attitude, and his affection for his brothers and sisters all made him into another person, a Han, a worker, a bannerman beyond the imagination of Shunzhi and Kangxi.

The second brother still believes in the White Lotus Sect②!He didn't mean to rebel or overthrow the dynasty, not at all.He just entered the "Limen" in order to stick to the restraint of smoking and drinking.Originally, when his friend gave up cigarettes to drink, he took out his snuff bottle, poured out some smelling medicine the color of tea powder, and rubbed it on his nostrils, that would be enough.We will not force a "reasonable" person to relapse.However, he did not say that he was "reasonable", but said: I am the White Lotus Sect!It's true that "Limen" is indeed somewhat related to the White Lotus Sect, but in the minds of ordinary people, "being reasonable" is a good thing, while the White Lotus Sect is a bit scary.Then his mother said to him: "Second brother, you don't smoke or drink, it's very good! Why bother to talk about the White Lotus Sect, it's so frightening!" The second elder brother laughed heartily after hearing this: "Old man Ma'am! My White Lotus Sect will not rebel!" Mother nodded: "Yes! That's good!"

The eldest brother-in-law may have a different opinion.In many ways, he admired his second brother.However, he felt that his second brother's job as a painter and claiming to be a follower of the White Lotus were not enough.The eldest brother-in-law is more than an inch taller than the second brother.If the second brother is short but not obviously short, the eldest brother-in-law is not too tall but obviously wobbly.No matter what he did, he was flustered and reckless.With a long face, a high nose, and big eyes, he looked very handsome when he was seated.However, he can't sit still, like a big kid who doesn't know how to play.After a while, he wanted to read a book, so he quickly picked up a copy of "Five Tigers in Pingxi"—there was only one set of "Five Tigers in Pingxi" in his library, a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", four or five small albums, and his bookstore. A book "Six Characters Miscellaneous Characters" that I read when I was young.As soon as he picked up "Five Tigers Pingxi", he remembered that he should release pigeons, so he put "Five Tigers Pingxi" on the window sill and let the pigeons go.When the pigeons were released, he looked for "Five Tigers Pingxi" everywhere, shouting and stomping his feet anxiously.When he saw that it was on the window sill, he ignored it and walked out, whimpering, to the street to see the funeral. He cherishes this "freedom" to do whatever he wants.He thought that this kind of freedom was bestowed by the ancestors, and should be passed on forever, "children and grandchildren will use it forever"!Therefore, he felt that Fu Hai's second brother became a craftsman because he lost his self-esteem as a banner man, and he felt that he was sympathetic and rebellious by calling himself the White Lotus Sect.A few years ago, he couldn't remember which year it was. Didn't the White Lotus Sect rebel? In the months before my birth, my uncle, my eldest sister's father-in-law and husband were really anxious.They all strongly opposed the reform.Uncle's reason is simple and the most convincing: the law set by the ancestors must not be changed!The eldest sister and father-in-law couldn't say a better reason, so they had to add: If you want to change, you can't do it!In fact, neither of these two officials knew much about which laws were to be changed, but only heard that once the laws were changed, the bannermen would have to rely on themselves, and the court would no longer distribute money and food. My uncle is over fifty years old, and his body is not much stronger than my aunt's. The little braid has to be extended with a lot of fake hair to barely make up the size, and because the right shoulder has been protruding forward for a long time, the little braid is almost always on the shoulder. Carrying it, it looks rather heroic.Since he heard about the reform, his right shoulder has become more prominent, and he almost walks sideways, like a kite with a broken string. The eldest sister's father-in-law is very tough, with a straight back and a flushed face.Every morning he went to walk the birds, at least five or six miles away.He is used to it, and if he does not walk so much, his body will become stiff, and the birds will not sing.Although he is so tough and has a big heart, it is quite moving to hear the iron crops shake a little bit, and the musicality of his cough has been reduced a lot.He asked my uncle to go. Before the cage was put down, he first asked if there was a cat.Although the reform is a major event, if the cat hurts the blue indigo's chin, it is not a trivial matter. "Old Yun!" He heard that there are no cats here, so he put the cage away and said eagerly, "Old Yun!" My uncle's name is Yunting.In those years, the more the banner people hoped to be the banner people forever, and their descendants would last for generations, but the more they liked to imitate the Han people.At first, he was a high-level intellectual. In addition to his name, he also had a nickname with the word Yayinmei.Gradually, even the ginseng and assistant leaders became famous and elegant.When I was born, even the banner soldiers or Bai Ding, who were originally called the second brother Hai and the fourth master En, were all ministers or officials.Yes, Ting, Chen, Zhi, and Fu are the four most popular characters.The uncle's name is Yunting, the eldest sister's father-in-law is Zhengchen, and the eldest brother-in-law calls himself Dofu, and when he laughs at himself, he calls himself Tofu.Whether it is Dofu or tofu, it is much better than no number.If people hand in hand and ask: Are you famous?But if you can’t answer, isn’t it worse than tofu? The uncle heard the urgent tone of the guest, so it was inconvenient to ask questions immediately.He is a level above the guests, so he must show a calm and unhurried demeanor that he has been an official for many years, rich in experience.So he went to see the birds first, and praised him quite expertly.It wasn't until the eldest sister and father-in-law called Yun Weng twice again that he began to speak seriously: "Zheng Weng! I am also a little uneasy! If I really rely on myself, you see, you see, I am in my fifties, and I have lost more than half of my hair. It's getting more and more crooked, but what do you want me to do? This is not a reform, it's killing me!" "Hey! Yes!" Zheng Weng coughed twice, almost without musicality at all. "Yes! Those who come up with such an idea should be pissed! Zhengweng, look at me, I keep my own place. I don't know how to want the stars and the moon since I was a child! But, I have to be neatly dressed and clean, right? I have to Stir-fry some kidneys, and have sweet-scented sweet-scented osmanthus meat for dinner? I can’t help but buy some tender mutton every day, and feed my indigo chin? Don’t these things shouldn’t? Should! Should!” "We buddies haven't done a thing too much!" "That's right! If you don't give out any more money and food, tell me to go down the street to sell..." Zhengweng put his hands on his ears, imitating the hawker's yelling, with tears in his eyes, and his voice was sad: "Sai Likou, Lai Lai!" Change! I, I..." He couldn't continue. "Zhengweng, your body and bones are much stronger than mine. I can't bear to sell half-empty and give more!" "Yun Weng! Yun Weng! Listen to me! It is to give each of us a hundred acres of land to cultivate ourselves. Is there anything we can do?" "Let me tell you, no! Don't say I can't hold a hoe, but if I can, it would be strange if I hoeed off my big toe!" The two brothers discussed for a long time, but there was no way.So we went to Tiantaixuan together, ordered half a catty of Liuquanju's homemade rice wine, and a few small roasts (sau zigai and fried deer tail, etc.), and we were quite satisfied with the food and drink.After eating, no one brought any money, so they all tried to put it on their own accounts, and gave up for more than half an hour. However, when I was born, the proposal for the reform had been completely abandoned, and several people who advocated the reform were killed.Only then did Yun Weng and Zheng Weng feel at ease again, and they often met in Tiantaixuan.Whenever they heard the call of "Sai Likou, come for spicy" from the radish seller, or the "Half-empty, give more" from the half-empty peanut seller, they were a little embarrassed; after so many years as officials, I still can't hold my breath! Brother-in-law Duofu admired Fu Hai's second brother when the tide of political reform was coming, and he didn't go out much, just honestly studying "Six Characters Miscellaneous Characters" at home.He discussed with his eldest sister very seriously: "Second brother Fu Hai really has the foresight! I think we have to think of a way too!" "Let's deal with it! There is nothing hard to get through!" The elder sister always used this famous saying whenever she encountered a problem that was difficult to solve. "This time, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it!" "If you have an idea, just talk about it! Dofu!" The eldest sister called him like this, thinking it was very fashionable and beautiful. "Duofu? I'm Tofu!" The eldest brother-in-law laughed miserably. "Nowadays, there are people from our banner who are bricklayers, carpenters, cooks, paper makers and so on." "Are you going to..." the eldest sister asked with a smile, saying that marry a chicken as a chicken, and marry a dog as a dog. What craft is he going to learn? , she has no objection. "Apprentice, it's too late! Who will accept me as an apprentice? Look, I'm going to be a pigeon dealer, yes! Pigeons are free wills, if you don't love them, you don't want them for free; Willing to spend. Not too much, I only do one or two small sales every month, enough to feed the two of us for dozens of days!" "That's so good!" The eldest sister encouraged with little confidence. The elder brother-in-law had to choose for two days before he cruelly picked out a pair of purple aconites for the No. 1 business.He didn't want to part with this pair, but the imperial court was about to change, so how could he not be stronger?When he arrived at the pigeon market, the dealers who knew him sold him two pairs of pigeon bells and a pair of crested doves instead.When I got home, I found that the crested head was glued together.He didn't dare to discuss with his eldest sister again, so he secretly revoked the decision to sell pigeons. The tide of reform has passed, and he combed his big pine braids into tight braids, imitating Kubing, and walked all over the street with high eyebrows, as if he had wiped out those reformers with his own hands.At the same time, he no longer expressed his admiration for Fu Hai's second brother.On the contrary, he felt that the second brother was on two boats, he would be a soldier if he had money and food, and a painter if he had no money and food. Back to the main story of the book: After visiting my aunt, the eldest aunt came to see us with the second brother.The eldest aunt asked questions, and the mother answered feebly, and the elder sisters shed a little tears.Putting away the tears, my aunt gave me a good compliment: how decent!What a high nose, big eyes, and how thick the ears are! Fu Hai's second brother laughed: "Old lady, this little brother is as disrespectful as I was when I was a child! The newborn baby can't even tell what it looks like! You old lady..." He didn't continue, but laughed again for a while. Mother didn't express her opinion, but just called out: "Fuhai!" "Yes!" The second brother hurriedly agreed, he knew what his mother was going to say. "Don't worry, I'll leave it all to me! Tomorrow there will be three baths, the seven grandmas and the eight aunts will have ten or eight aunts here, the second sister here will pipe cigarettes and serve tea, and Xiao Liu'er and I (who is Xiao Liu'er, I haven’t figured it out yet) as a cook, two glasses of water and wine, a plate of fried broad beans, and then hot noodle soup with mutton and sauerkraut. Mother nodded. "There are those who like to play small cards, four times a pot of money. Don't bother with a little snack, it's all about me! When it's over, you listen to me and I will never embarrass you!" After that, the second brother Turning to the eldest aunt: "I have something to do in Nancheng, the sun is westward, and I will pick you up." The eldest aunt said that she refused to leave, and wanted to accompany the mother here. The second brother laughed again: "Grandma, forget it! With your coughing all over the book, who can stand it!" This sentence is touching the mother's heart.She needs more rest and sleep, and she doesn't want to listen to her aunt's cough.After the second brother left, the eldest aunt kept nagging: This second devil!This second devil! But the "Second Devils" did have some skills, which made my sanitation economical and did not completely violate the principle of "Old Mother Theory".