Chapter 17 The 17th round of the Red Sandalwood Castle as a sword to reward the confidant Baiyang village, let the cup save the orphan

It is said that Baoyu has lived in Red Sandalwood Castle since then, planting flowers and feeding birds in his free time, or reciting poems with Baochai, cooking tea and talking, but he is also leisurely and comfortable; So I made some needlework with Sheyue, and asked Mrs. Li to take it to the market to sell some oil and rice, but it was better than nothing.At the end of the year, seeing that the Liu family's settlement day is approaching, Jiang Yuhan suddenly led Feng Ziying to come to the door in a hurry, and without time to exchange greetings, he said with a sad face: "I heard from my father that the case of the emperor's encounter with bandits in Ping'an Prefecture last year was tried. One year, I don't know where the news came from, saying that those bandits were old with brothers Liu Xianglian and Liu, who had become monks in the past. They were all implicated, and even Liu Fang was demoted to the rank of a commoner, and all her property was confiscated into the government, I'm afraid Brother Yu's money will be for nothing."

When Baoyu heard this, he was dumbfounded and couldn't answer for a long time.After sending Ziying out, he went back to his room and told Baochai briefly, but Baochai was still calm and persuaded: "Sometimes in life, there must be some money. It can be seen that this money did not belong to our family. It was just sent by my wife before leaving." In other words, I asked you to collect half of the money and share it with sister-in-law Zhu. Now that something like this has happened, you have to send a letter to sister-in-law Zhu's house so that he won't worry about it." Baoyu said: "Since I moved to When you come here, you rarely go to the city. I remembered that my aunt's birthday is just around the corner. Why don't you prepare some birthday gifts and go to my aunt's house? You can also go back to your mother's house for a few days to relax, okay? " Baochai said with a smile, "thank you for thinking about it." Sure enough, he packed up some tea and fruit gift boxes, and ordered Lao Li to hire a car and come to the city with Baoyu.

Go talk to Aunt Li first.At this time, the two sisters Qi and Wen were married, only Aunt Li and Li Wan depended on each other for their lives. All the cutting and cutting of the well mortar were done by themselves, and they rented the empty house to live with others, and collected some rent to supplement the family. They lived in poverty.When Baochai came in, Li Wan was washing by the well. When he saw the two of them, he thought he was here to give the money, and he was very happy.When I heard about the Liu family, I was very disappointed, and sighed for a long time: "This is the leak in the house and it rains all night. God really doesn't give people a way to live." Baochai tried her best to comfort her, said something again, and got up to leave.Li Wanxu stayed for a while, and because Baochai said that he would go back to her natal family to visit her mother, she sent the two of them out.

Baochai came to visit him a few times after that, but Li Wan was cautious by nature and a sparse person. He was already a little autumnal when Ningrong Mansion was proud, but now the small family courtyard is not as cold as before.Baochai occasionally came to sit down for a while, and saw that he had a gloomy expression, and it was difficult for him to open his mouth. He thought that the widow's family was more melancholy and sentimental than others.Later, when Fang sat down, he heard Li Wan complain about the tenant's late payment of rent for no reason, making life difficult. He also talked about the fact that relatives in the clan often came to borrow money, saying: "When everyone hears that the wife sells the garden, they only think of how much money they have. Can be divided, you come to ask, I also come to ask, no matter how far or near, close or distant, we will borrow money if we get a little bit involved. Sister-in-law Huang who lives in the East Alley in front of us has never walked around with us. Now I live in Front and Back Streets, and Qian'er suddenly came to the door relying on the friendship between his nephews Jin Rong and Lan'er who had studied together for a few days, and said that he wanted to donate a supervisor to his nephew, and asked to borrow one thousand taels. He said no, he just didn't believe it, and said, "Lang Ge'er doesn't need to take the exam, and he doesn't have to worry about money. Rong'er has no money, but even his future is lost. If my sister-in-law is willing to borrow this life-saving money, Rong'er will win in the future." I have to pay back twice as much. "It's like if Jin Rong can't be successful, it's our sin. As the saying goes: "You must think about the day, don't wait for the time to envy the time." Thinking about it now I have no choice but to dream about the days when I come from the front clothes, stretch out my hands to eat, and open my mouth." Baochai guessed the meaning of the words, and knew that he was afraid of borrowing money, so he blocked some words in advance, and he didn't feel angry, and since then there has been less communication.Every day, he only lives in the red sandalwood castle, saves food and clothing, and lives in peace.

Baoyu saw that there was no hope of collecting debts and no income, so he discussed with Baochai and wanted to go back to the south to reunite with his parents.But Baochai couldn't bear to part with his mother and brothers, and couldn't bear to walk.Just at this time, King Zhongshun was also robbed by someone, and he fell into power. Jiang Yuhan took the opportunity to redeem himself and came out with Xiren to settle down in Red Sandalwood Castle, but kept Baoyu behind.Baoyu was also afraid of going back to Jinling to be controlled by his parents, but he thought about it because he didn't have enough money in his pocket. Seeing that Baochai didn't care about it, he was happy to stay and live a happy life.The two families get along day and night, and they get along very well.

That Jiang Yuhan is not a farmer, and he doesn't want to play the piano anymore, and he has the same temperament as Baoyu, so he makes an appointment to be a hermit. , In less than two years, I have lost all my savings.At first, the King of Beijing, Feng Ziying and others helped from time to time, and later the King of Beijing sent patrols, and Feng Ziying also led the expedition. The two families became increasingly difficult and embarrassed, so they had to rely on selling their ancestors to live. .At first, I just took some unnecessary antique calligraphy and paintings as pawns. Those who used to search for them by all means, now they fold some oil, rice and white flour for less than one tenth. This is commonplace, needless to say; For example, Mi Yisu, the big family thinks it is old and not always new, and the poor family thinks that the luxury is not real. Even if you can get the price at the time of purchase, it will not last long after all; A glass of water cannot pour fire.Sometimes Baoyu felt ashamed and disgusted, so he also thought about finding a job, and even entrusted several friends, some of whom were recommended as guest assistants, and some who promised to follow him, but he was not satisfied, so he politely declined.When it came to the festival, there was almost no winter clothes ready, so Jiang Yuhan had no choice but to change some cotton gauze fabrics to be cut by Xiren; I only care about the ups and downs.That Qi official was originally a celebrity in Zhongshun Mansion, others dare not do anything, now there is no shelter, there are some dissolute sons and powerful eunuchs in the locality who often come to provoke and insult, make irresponsible remarks, and the attackers often swallow their voices and cry, Baoyu and Qiguan can't be bothered.Xue Baochai regretted not coming at this time, so she wanted to imitate the story of Meng's mother's three relocations, but it happened to be cold and warm weather, she suffered from an old disease, and could not work, so she had to endure it.

It was the vernal equinox, Baoyu had lunch, she rolled up a book in kei-towel and rattan shoes, and went to the porch, ordered Sheyue to put down the bamboo deck chair, and just leaned casually beside the peach blossom tree, because there were swallows under the eaves Busily carrying the mud back and forth, feeling something in his heart, he chanted casually: "The jade man never returned to his horse, and the swallow in Liang Jian came back three times." After chanting, he sighed several times.When Baochai heard it through the window, she was puzzled at first, but when she suddenly thought that today is the twelfth day of February, she felt even more depressed.He bowed his head and thought for a while, because he ordered Musk Moon to go to the market to buy some melons and fruit incense candles and come back.Musk Moon said with a smile: "Second Grandma just said earlier: now it is not as compared to before, if you can save as much as you can, so you didn't even manage the 15th Lantern Festival; today is just a small solar term, and you want to worship the God of Flowers, isn't it upside down?" Chai said, "If you are told to go, go. Where do you get these words?"

Just when Musk Moon wanted to ask, Xiren just came in and heard it, and hurriedly said: "My son went to the street and passed the incense candle shop, and I bought it early. When grandma wants to use it, just get it." Baochai nodded and sighed: "I I forgot, today is also your birthday." Sheyue suddenly realized, and hurriedly went out with Xiren to set up an incense table, found a Hanyu cup, stored a cup of white flower wine, and burned the Boshan stove with lily incense , I picked a few budding peach blossoms in the courtyard and cut a few branches, and put them in a brim-red flower pouch on the desk.While busy, Jiang Yuhan has come back, carrying some ham, dried meat, smoked fish, vinegar duck, etc., and a jar of Huadiao wine, and said to Baoyu with a smile: "We have eaten vegetarian food for ten days, and we must drink up this one today." I can't stop getting drunk." Baoyu laughed and said, "It's only this jar of wine, I'm afraid I won't be able to get you and me drunk."

When Xiren saw him, he hurriedly pulled Yuhan in and asked him, "Where did you get the money for wine? But what did you do?" Jiang Yuhan said, "Is there anything valuable in this house? The only thing left is the sword. It's worth a few taels of silver, and if it's left in vain, it will be ashes, so I took it and exchanged some wine and vegetables for your birthday, let's enjoy him for a night." Xi Xin couldn't bear it, and complained: "It's not a big birthday, why use it? Is it a sword? That is your favorite. Although it is not used for singing, it is a stubborn thing to dance a few times in your spare time. Now that you have become a sword, what can you point to to redeem it in the future?" Jiang Yuhan said: "Redeem him What are you doing? Anyway, I won’t sing in this life anymore, seeing him makes me upset, and if I’m pawned, I’ll be clear-eyed.”

Having said that, Baochai had bowed several times before the case, and then she and Sheyue went to the bright room to arrange tables and chairs, and set up cups and chopsticks.Baoyu knew that Baochai had figured out his thoughts, but he was embarrassed. He went in and poured a cup of wine, and then returned to the peach tree, thinking that Liu Mengmei had the scripture of "picking up paintings and calling paintings", and Tang Minghuang had "welcoming portraits and crying portraits". "Love, I will never be separated from my sister Lin Quantai, but I can't stop crying for a long time because of a tree of green peach blossoms and blood.So he poured a glass of wine under the tree roots, wished secretly, and came in and sat opposite Jiang Yuhan.There is another seat behind the screen, with Baochai as the first seat, Xiren as the second seat, and Musk Moon as his companion.Flying cups and buckets, guessing riddles, and in a short while the whole altar of wine has been drunk.Jiang Yuhan drank happily, knocked the white jade chopsticks on the jasper cup, suppressed the clouds, and sang "Zhonglu Farewell Love":

When Baoyu heard this, he became more and more intoxicated. He saw the peach blossoms in the courtyard reflecting the setting sun through the window, and they looked like clusters of clouds. The red and white peach blossoms get together, and I don’t know what a grand occasion it is.” Jiang Yuhan knew that he was not enjoying himself to the fullest, so he made an appointment to go to the village wine shop to continue drinking, Baochai and Xiren hurriedly dissuaded him because they saw that it was getting dark, but there was no way to persuade him Can't help but let them go.I didn't come back until late at night, and I had nothing to say all night. In a blink of an eye, Qingming passed, and it rained several times in succession, and the weather became hotter.It was the day when Baoyu was born, and there was a letter from Jinling's family, but it was Jia Zheng who urged the two of them to go to the south for a reunion. He also said that Mrs. Wang had recently contracted an illness and was gradually dying. Got to see one last time.After Baoyu dismantled and read it, he couldn't help crying loudly, and said that he and Baochai, Xiren and so on also cried.They all panicked.Helpless, Baochai was ill and was overwhelmed by the exhaustion of the boat and car, so she and Sheyue packed up their bags, pawned a lot of hairpin rings and cages that were not in use for a while, and sent Baoyu to go on the road alone, saying that they would meet again after recovering from illness.Jiang Yuhan inquired again that there was a merchant ship going to Jinling to handle goods, so he asked someone to recommend him, and asked Baoyu to go with him by boat. He also prepared a special banquet for the merchant. I bought some bacon, wind goose, dried deer, preserved rabbit and so on, and prepared to return home as a gift to relatives and friends.Baoyu bid farewell to various places. When Aunt Xue and Li Wan got the letter, they couldn't help crying bitterly, and each had gifts as gifts.Aunt Xue said again: "I should have taught Tiao'er to go with you, but it happens that the daughter-in-law is heavy and the mother-in-law counts on her life. In the past two months, the family can't be separated from anyone. Since you want to go back to the south, you might as well Teach Chaier to go back to her mother's house for a few days, and take care of each other." Baoyu said, "I said the same thing, because he has had a cough these two days and is taking medicine. I said it was better in two days, so I came to see my aunt. " Xue Pan's son, now three years old, came to kowtow to Baoyu and called him uncle.Baoyu held hands and said a few words. Seeing that he was born with a tiger head and a tiger brain, just like Xue Pan, he couldn't help sighing when he thought that Xue Pan had left behind such a posthumous son despite his tragic death.Aunt Xue stayed for dinner again and again, and Baoyu left because she said, "I still have to go to my aunt's house, it's not good to be late." Get in the car and come all the way to Uncle Xing's place.Mrs. Xing was not there. She took Jia Cong and sister Qiao to offer incense in the temple.Xing Dequanzheng and Jia Rong were drinking at a horizontal table in the yard. When they saw Baoyu, they clapped their hands and laughed and said, "It's better to come early than to come early. It's not you, and others don't have such a good fortune."There are no dishes, but some almonds, shredded chicken, ham, Japanese melon seeds and other fruit plate snacks, and even the plates are not complete. Ru kiln is mixed with Jun kiln, Rao porcelain is accompanied by Jian porcelain, or blue and white, or It's bean green, with a thick-bodied porcelain plate sandwiched in the middle.When Baoyu was not good, he talked about his mother's danger, so he picked up a kumquat and peeled it slowly, listening to their gossip.After listening to it for a while, I gradually understood that Jia Rong had recently conspired with Qiu Duwei. He promised that as long as he did so, he would be restored to the post of forbidden captain and receive the imperial salary.Therefore, I came here to find Xing Dequan for a loan. Uncle Xing drank a few more glasses at this time, and he was so drunk that he was confused and talking nonsense. Before Jia Rong could finish speaking, he complained about difficulties. What else do you not know? Back then, his parents had accumulated a lot of family business, and he was swept away by himself. Now Bai Tian is raiding the house, and he has turned his head around to rely on us. The eldest son does not take the daily family expenses, but also takes it with him. Brother Cong and Sister Qiao opened their mouths, and said to the outside world that the eldest sister is like a mother, and how hard it was to bring us up, and it's like living and living for free, as if we owe him a lot of favors." As he said, he continued. Just ask Jia Rong, "You can't compare with the cooks in the house in the past. It makes sense to use a little bit. To be honest, the more you live, the more you go back. Not only are the expenses of eating and drinking not as good as before, even playing a small game of cards to win a fortune is not enough. Can't get enough people. What's the fun in living?" Jia Rong ignored him, bowed her head and pondered for a while, and asked Baoyu where she lived now and what she did for a living.Knowing that he intended to borrow money, Baoyu hurriedly told the story of his father's letter, and then said, "I said goodbye to my aunt, so I went to visit Sister-in-law Zhen at the mansion. Since you are here, just say something for me." Jia Rong stayed for a while, then clapped his hands and said, "This is a beggar borrowing money from a beggar, and all the bad things in the world have come to Jia's family." Uncle Xing said to Jia Rong: "Your family used to be so rich, so prominent Relatives and friends, isn’t there a way to raise money?” Jia Rong said, “What else can I do? If I were a woman, I would have sold myself for money. I’m still worrying about it.” . Uncle Xing said with a smile: "That's not the case. If you say you are a woman, you will have ideas. Our Qiao sister was born very well, why can't she even find a husband's family? Fortunately, his uncle still has the face to borrow money every day. He said that his parents had saved a lot of money, which was held in our hands, and urged sister Qiao to ask us for it. Fortunately, the child is not stupid, and he agrees with face, and refuses to take it seriously; Ten is counting accounts with us, isn't it maddening? Think about it for nothing. That day when everyone collapsed suddenly, his father and mother, a husband and wife, dumped two prisoners, and there was never a cent left. Come down? Not to mention no, even if there are, their surname Wang will not come to our surname Xing's house." While cursing, Baoyu was made to drink. Baoyu had heard from Jia Yun that Sister Feng was leaving her alone before her departure, and she knew that Mrs. Xing not only refused to marry, but also scolded Grandma Liu, Jia Yun, and Hongyu so bloody that they dared not come to the door, saying that they There is no proof of deceit, so he used the dead man's words to make a fuss, and conspired to deceive sister Qiao into marrying, "Fucking his mother's spring and autumn dream, a girl from Jia's family marrying a bastard man who makes a hoe in the country as a wife? You are talking nonsense in the daytime! If it wasn't for being foolish and fat, he would have dared to swallow lion liver and leopard gall, and the toad would like to eat swan meat! I definitely don't believe his mother would say such a thing, and even if he really said it, he wouldn't be able to do it—he originally She is the divorced daughter-in-law of my Jia family, and my daughter's surname is Jia not Wang, and I won't die for a day, and it's not up to others to make decisions!" The scolding made everyone speechless, and they all knew that Mrs. Xing must be sister Qiao. Marrying a noble family, finding a wealthy son, is a big deal, and since then no one has come to propose marriage - the poor family of the small family is of course not able to climb high, but the famous family thinks his family is suffering. If you committed a serious crime, your parents, grandpa and uncle are all prisoners, how can you get involved?Although there are a few Bo Huan's children who are greedy for his family's prestige and reputation, Mrs. Xing thinks that the family's salary is meager and refuses to agree.Fortunately, sister Qiao is young and not in a hurry.Mrs. Xing gradually couldn't sit still, she had hoped to make an appointment with Qiao Jieer early so that her family could bear all his living expenses, but now seeing Qiao Jieer grow up year by year, she looks like a beautiful woman, and she is again Pingdingdui, embroidered, zippered and buckled come in all kinds of things, and she deserves to be called Qiaojieer, but she is neglected in front of the door, and no one cares about her, so she pays a lot of money every year to cut clothes and make shoes and socks with him. He was crying in his heart, regretting not coming, and often said: "It's because the relatives are constantly being cut off, and it's because of the false security. There are so many uncles and brothers in Jia's family, and none of them is willing to take care of orphans and widows. When his parents gained power in the past, who would Didn't I get any benefits? Now that I have no money, I'm all shrunken, and I don't see a single hair."——For this reason, it's not easy for Baoyu to ask Sister Qiao deeply, let alone Xing Dequan When it comes to Wang Renlai, it's hard to say much, let alone the topic of raising travel expenses.Thinking about going to the prince's place, he sat down for a while, and then took his leave.Uncle Xing didn't stay too much. It was evening when the lanterns were lighted, Baoyufang returned to the Red Sandalwood Castle, and told Baochai what he had seen and heard that day, and the two sighed for a long time. On the day of leaving, Baochai was still calm, but Xiren cried so much that she and Sheyue reminded each other thousands of times, and told Jiang Yuhan to send it to the riverside, so that it would be better to get on the boat.The car had gone far away, and the attacker was tearfully pawing at the door to mourn, but Baochai persuaded him: "He is going to visit the master and wife, and it can be regarded as going home. Besides, Jiang Xianggong entrusted a reliable friend to go along the way. Take care, you don’t have to worry too much.” She Yue said with a smile: “Grandma doesn’t know, our Xiren sister used to worry about it when she was in Yihong Courtyard, let alone the second master went to a school, it took only half a day Kung Fu, my sister is also very nagging, and she is wearing clothes, shoes and socks, and a stove and tea stove, as if she is going to go on a long journey across mountains and rivers; "It's embarrassing to say that, this party hid his tears and deliberately used needles and threads to do it. Since Baoyu went out, Baochai lived in the backyard every day behind closed doors, and did not come to the front for meals. She only let Sheyue eat in her room, and sometimes lived in her mother's house for ten and a half months.Xiren knew that he was avoiding Jiang Yuhan, so he had to let him. In addition to cooking, sweeping, and mediating oil and salt during the day, he came back to gossiping with Baochai and Sheyue, and calculated Baoyu's itinerary in his spare time. long.This day, Yin quietly complained to Musk Moon: "In the past, in Yihong Courtyard, there were many people, many things, and a lot of work. Not to mention anything else, just wipe those decorations, and a day passed. It's not like now, Slap a house as big as a palm, even sweep and wash it, just wipe off a layer of ground, and I don’t know what to do for entertainment for most of the day." She Yue smiled wryly again and again, and became more worried, and was about to speak when he heard the outside Shout: "Is Big Sister Hua at home?" When Xiren came out in a hurry, it was Mingyan and Wan'er who were carrying a food basket at the gate of the courtyard, opened their heads and said with a smile: "So it's you, a monkey. It's rare to see this. The second master travels far away. You I didn't come to see you off either." Mingyan was taken aback, and quickly asked, "Second Lord, did you go away? When did you leave? What is it for?" Xiren didn't have time to agree, so he greeted Wan'er first, and saw that he was wearing a top She wears a peach red palace silk jacket, is tied with a light green silk skirt, a few hairpins on her head, and holds a food basket in her hand. She is dressed in a modest way, although she is a three-point talent, she has a six-point beauty. With a smile all over his face, he said: "My sister used to be in Ning's mansion, and she didn't usually come to the garden. Now that she has admitted the door, she will come and go frequently in the future." Chai kowtows. Baochai sat on the edge of the kang, receiving the heads of the two of them upright, first ordered Sheyue to help Wan'er up, and said to Mingyan, "How is your mother?" Mingyan lowered her head and answered, "Yes." ", and said: "My mother talks about the second master and the second grandma every day. When she heard that I came, she also followed. I thought he was slow and tried to persuade him." Baochai nodded and said, "Thank you for thinking, Go back and take care of it for me." She Yuezao pulled Wan'er to sit down on a stool next to the kang, and brought tea.Mingyan took the tea, chatted up a few more gossips, and said, "I'm here to see Second Grandma today, one is to say hello, and the other is to have something, the little ones don't know about it, so let's talk about it. Give it to grandma. In case things come out in the future, Mingyan has no master and doesn't know how to report." He pointed to Wan'er and said, "He went to visit their grandma a few days ago and heard that sister Qiao was sold into a brothel. " When Baochai, Xiren and others heard this, they were all startled and changed their colors, and they hurriedly asked, "Is this true?" Mingyan said with a bitter face, "Aren't you afraid of a thunderstorm if you dare to lie about such a big matter?" Fifty ten, told with gestures and strokes.It turned out that Wan'er was grateful because You Shi had always treated him kindly when he was serving him in the East Mansion. Although now he is married and no longer a slave, he often visits You Shi at Jia Qiang's mansion during the holidays.When I went there that day, I saw Youshi crying on the bed, crying so pinkly and palely, with fluffy temples, he described it as pitiful.Wan'er is familiar with his master's temper, knowing that there may not be an answer to the question, he accompanied Xinxin with gentle words and talked a lot of gossip, but in private he asked Yindie to ask, only then did he know it was because of Sister Qiao. It turns out that although Wang Ren is Wang Xifeng's brother, he has always held a grudge against Sister Feng for being indifferent to him in Japan. Now that Sister Feng is dead, he tries to earn money from Sister Qiao. Coincidentally, my sister went home to stay for a while, but in fact she entrusted someone to look after her and sold him to a brothel in Yangzhou to be a prostitute.When Mrs. Xing saw that Sister Qiao didn't come back, and sent someone to pick her up, Wang Ren refused to know, saying that Sister Qiao returned home half a month ago, or was kidnapped by a kidnapper.Mrs. Xing knew something was wrong and ordered Xing Dequan to investigate. Uncle Xing knew about these things and entrusted Jia Rong.Jia Rong guessed eighty-nine after a little thought, and he had always been familiar with the three teachings and nine streams. He didn't understand it in a month's visit, and he didn't make it public. Sell? If you don’t tell the truth, we’ll go see the officials.” He beat Wang Ren hard, and when he came back, he only said that he didn’t see him.Mrs. Xing knew that this must not be the case, but she was a woman, and she couldn't make a scene in public. When she made a scene, one side was her own uncle, and the other was an elder brother of the same clan.I had to suffer this dumb loss.But You Shisu and Sister Feng are good friends. After hearing about it, she couldn't bear it, so she asked Jia Rong for a few words.Jia Rong is not his own son. When his father was around, he used to call him Ma'am. Now that Jia Zhen has gone, he doesn't pay attention to You Shi.So Youshi was sad there.After hearing the whole story, Wan'er didn't have time to say more, and hurried home to tell Mingyan, and the two hired a car to go to Red Sandalwood Castle to tell Baoyu. Baochai and Xiren were stunned for a long time after hearing this, and sighed, "Brother Rong's heart is so dark?" Musk Moon also said, "Miss Qiao's life is really hard, and her parents are like that. , Uncle and big brother are like this again. It is said that the Second Mistress Lian was not mean to Uncle Xiaorong in the past, but now that the Second Mistress Lian is gone, the elder brother should take care of the weak girl, so why is he so cruel to squeeze money from him? ?" Thinking of Sister Feng's past benefits, she cried again.Ming Yan hurriedly said: "Grandma, girls, don't just cry, what's the matter now?" Xi Ren said: "What can I do? When something like this happens, one needs money, and the other needs people. Now two Grandpa went back to the south, and it’s not easy for our guy to go into this business. He just scraped the walls and searched for a few taels of scattered silver. Going to ask, now only his family is still rich. If you have money, you can do things better." Mingyan clapped her hands and said, "Should I still use my sister to say that? As soon as the matter came out, we went to the grandma the first day Home. He didn't even open the door, and asked through the window what was the matter. I answered the conversation for a long time in the outside room, but he was silent. After waiting for a long time, he said: "I am There’s nothing you can do, let’s go to the Red Sandalwood Castle and go back to your second grandma to see.’——The shelf is very upside down, only when you are still in charge of the Grand View Garden, you can push it whenever you have to.” When Baochai heard this, she had no choice but to order Sheyue to take out all the little silver that Baoyu had left before her departure, only a little over thirty taels, which was not even enough for the travel expenses to Yangzhou, let alone redeem her.Xiren still thought of an idea, and said to Mingyan: "I heard from Second Master Yun that Second Grandma Lian had promised Sister Qiao to Grandma Liu's grandson as her daughter-in-law before she left. It was delayed. Now it's better to find grandma Liu, or there is another way, but I don't know where he lives." Ming Yan patted his head and said: "This is the right person to ask. What kind of Ming did the second master want to find that year? Miss Yu’s temple originally taught me to go to my grandma’s Zhuangzi, I ran for a whole day, and walked around half of a Baiyang village, and now I still roughly remember the place, so I will look for it.” Xiren and Sheyue didn't know about it, so they hurriedly asked when it happened. Mingyan talked about it for a long time, but Baochai remembered it first, and knew that it was that day when Grandma Liu was talking about the ancient records in front of Jiamu's seat. An allusion to this story, I think of how many flames used to light up, but now they are all turned into lamps and smoke, and I feel emotional. Mingyan didn't dare to delay, so she went to Baiyang village again the next day, looking for Grandma Liu, and told the whole story in a straight line.Grandma was taken aback, her eye circles turned red, she patted her chest and legs and cried, "My grandma, who has done good deeds and accumulated virtue, has been strong all her life, but she ended up so bad at the end of the day, leaving only my sister like this." The single seedling grows like a spring onion, and I even taught it to be a pig." Then he sold the fields and sold the land, and took the Chengyao cup that Miaoyu gave him that year, and brought Baochai and Xiuyan to him. With dozens of taels of silver, I searched for Yangzhou by land and water. Following Mingyan's guidance, I searched for half a month before I found the brothel where Sister Qiao sold herself. I saw the gourd waist of the bustard, the belly of the grasshopper, a pair of papaya breasts, and two bream feet. He was wearing a lake silk coat trimmed with red embroidered flowers, bird shells and ink, and the pearls and hairpins on his head were like banners. Generally speaking, there are eight or nine rings on ten fingers, inlaid with precious stones and emerald greens, which made Grandma Liu's eyes dazzled and her mouth dull.The bustard smoked a bag of shisha, and laughed suddenly: "I can't see that you are an old lady from the country, but you have such ambitions, and you ran to Yangzhou City to redeem the girl. You didn't even inquire about it." What kind of land, without asking the rules of the market, dare to say the redemption price. Do you know that this girl only has a buying price, and has no reason to sell it, whether it is one thousand or eight hundred, Didn't you ask about your worth when you came?" It turns out that the old custom in Yangzhou is to buy some eight or nine-year-old girls, teach them singing, dancing and pipa skills, and they will not come out to receive guests until they are twelve or thirteen years old.That sister Qiao was born beautiful and charming, and could write and draw, so the madam took a fancy to it at first sight, and bought it from the capital without hesitation, and specially asked a teacher to teach her, so she could build a cash cow with peace of mind.Now that Grandma Liu is here to redeem her, the bustard is naturally unwilling, so the grandma has to beg bitterly, telling about sister Qiao's life experience with snot and tears, and then said: "How prominent his family was in the past, the real mountains are high and the soil is thick, and there is a lot of money. I have to fill up the warehouse and fill the sea. Although it is down now, it is a famous family after all, and most of them are relatives. I can't ask him to go back today, and there will be others in the future. When I meet a bloody man, I may not be willing to be with him again. It's not good to hurt the peace of my mother's soft-spoken words. Besides, my mother bought him for business, so why fight against money? He is still young, so he looks better than others, and there is no guarantee that he will become a dragon in the future Cheng Feng, either has a bad temper, or has no good luck, and is not in the eyes of the guests. Wouldn't he have failed his mother's heart at that time, and paid for many years in vain? Anyway, the mother bought him for a short time, so she spent a lot of money. My hard work is limited, since my mother said that I can't redeem people at the price I bought, now please tell me the amount, and I will never bargain." The bustard's heart was moved, and she said with a smile: "Your grandma can talk, even I can't stand it. Since I have been in this business of beheading, I don't expect to become a Buddha and a ancestor, and do good deeds. If I say it, I'm afraid. His family members come to harass him, that’s even more rare. I’ve been in this industry for decades, and I don’t see anything, don’t know anything, not to mention his family, how many rich and rich businesses are several times stronger than his family, and they all blink Wives and children are scattered, water is exhausted and geese are flying. There are many famous prostitutes and officials and ladies in ancient times. What is true? What is long-term? People's gone? If you have money to redeem him, you won't sell it. It's really rare to see someone as knowledgeable and righteous as your grandma. It's just that the rules in our business are based on money, and he is rare here. It is said that he stayed there for half a year, he had enough food and clothing, and he still had to hire many gentlemen to teach him, play lyrics, sing songs, backgammon, everything was money. Look, he has gold on his head Silver ones, satin ones with veils on the body, pearl agate soup every day, fat chickens and big ducks, how many taels of silver will they cost? Now it’s easy to redeem him, you give me five hundred taels of silver, and take him away, if there is one less Son, don't talk about it." The grandma was taken aback, and reasoned: "He's a little baby, why is he worth five hundred taels?" The bustard pulled a jasper from her head and scratched her head, then said with a sneer, "I don't think it's worth it, either. Then you don’t need to redeem it when you are old. Isn’t it good to save money for the elderly? It’s pity for you to travel all the way to pay you this price. If not, wait two years to comb your hair, and you will get one thousand I might not agree to two taels of silver." So grandma Liu didn't dare to argue any more, so she took out all the silver taels and the kiln cups she had brought, and begged on her knees, "It's true that there are no more. I beg my mother to take pity on you. Just treat it as a superbirth. My mother and I will write a longevity tablet and enshrine it every day, and we will never forget my mother's great kindness for the rest of my life." The bustard also knew that he would not be able to take it out again, and seeing that the silver was of good quality, he liked it , Weighed it, there were about four hundred, and seeing that the cup was as ice as jade, I tapped my finger twice, and suddenly there was a sound of golden spears. Although I didn't recognize it, I knew it was a treasure, so I took it away, ordering The man took out the deed of selling his body, and the delivery was clear, and he said: "If it weren't for your long distance, infatuation, and age, you would never do this money-losing business." Grandma is very grateful, Take sister Qiao out, and still send it to Xing's house. Mrs. Xing was so ashamed that she couldn't speak, but she also thought about sister Qiao's downfall, although she never broke her body, she has a bad reputation after all, what will she do in the future when she dies at home?Can't help being very depressed.Unexpectedly, Grandma Liu did not dislike "the knowledge gained from starvation, and the demeanor turned upside down", so she prepared four-color gifts on another day, and still asked Jia Yun and Hongyu to come to the door formally to propose marriage according to Sister Feng's agreement. , I want to take sister Qiao to her house, get married first, and then consummate the house.Mrs. Xing still has nothing to be picky at this point, so she naturally agreed with her mouth, wishing to marry sister Qiao early and relieve the burden on her shoulders, so she immediately asked Huang Li to choose a date and change the post to make a reservation.Although Grandma Liu was poor, she gave everything she had, serving tea and receiving gifts, and refused to slack off in the slightest. On the day of seeing off the relatives, Mrs. Xing searched the drawers on a budget, bought some meat, killed a chicken, and invited all the old people in Beijing.Aunt Xue brought Baochai, Xue Biao and Xiuyan to sit at the head. Although Jia Yun and Hongyu were big matchmakers, they were humble juniors, so they only sat with the next head.Li Wan excused himself as a widow and could not come, so he ordered someone to bring a piece of silk in a box and a pair of bracelets to add makeup to Qiaojieer; Shi came over and presented two sets of single cotton clothes and a pair of agate heart pendants.Sister Qiao didn't miss the old evil, and still rushed to call "auntie, sister-in-law" affectionately.When the auspicious time came, they played bamboo and played music, and sent Qiao sister out of the house. When they arrived at Grandma Liu's village, there was naturally a lot of excitement, so I don't need to elaborate. Although Sister Qiao was born in the family of the Zanying official, she hadn't enjoyed a few days of blessings. It was only when she knew that her family was in decline, and her father and mother were exiled on their heels, so they sent white letters one after another. , dying without even seeing each other.She lives alone with her grandmother, and Mrs. Xing has no sympathy for the weak and lonely. Every time her temper comes up, she will reject his parents in every possible way and curse him by thousands of prisoners; Uncle Wang Ren is even more conscientious.Truly unaccompanied, traitors everywhere.Now I go home with Grandma Liu, although he is from a poor family, everyone treats him very well. Day and night, I just sit and lie down with Qing'er. This is his child-raised daughter-in-law, who knows pain and heat very well.So happy and at ease, don't think about it. Afterwards, Jia Rong searched around for fraudulent loans, collected a lot of money, and sent it with Qiu Duwei, thinking that he would be restored to the fifth rank, and he would still be his Dragon Guard and receive the imperial rations.Unexpectedly, Captain Qiu was just boasting casually that he was really willing to help him with a confiscated duke, and besides, he was about to be pulled out, so he didn't care about such trivial matters.Seeing that Jia Rong sent the money, he took it with a big face, and only said that he would wait for the letter. After two days, he still led the flag and set off.When Jia Rong was looking for it, he saw Qiu Duwei's son come out and said, "My father was ordered by the emperor to go to Hunan and Guizhou yesterday. Teach me to thank Mr. Jia for his son's military salary. My father said, if I go to the palace this time邀天恩，旗开得胜，那请功折子上，少不了贾爷这一笔。”贾蓉听了，气个倒仰，明知仇都尉是成心吞他银子，不敢罗嗦，只得忍心拱手说了两句“愿将军一帆风顺克敌制胜”的闲话，垂头而去。 exactly: 可怜亲友惟贪利，幸有乡愚知报恩。