Chapter 17 Teenage dream

Walking past a small restaurant, Hu Xueyan stopped, and Gu Yingchun also stopped. The gold-lettered signboard of that restaurant was covered with smoke and dust, and the name of the restaurant could no longer be seen clearly.Entering the stove, there is a hall with twenty or thirty tables of Eight Immortals. At this time, the market is closed, and it is deserted. There are only two tables of guests. The lights are dim and it looks more and more bleak. Gu Yingchun couldn't help saying: Uncle, go to another restaurant, or go to the concession and find a restaurant. This one is going to close."

"Ask and see." As he spoke, he walked in, and the waiter was very fawning, so Gu Yingchun was too embarrassed to interrupt his business. "Two guests, please sit down, do you want to eat or drink?" "I also want food and wine." Hu Xueyan asked, "Is your restaurant called Lao Tonghe?" "Yes. Old Tonghe." "Where's the boss?" Hu Xueyan asked, "I remember the six fingers on his left hand." "That's our old boss, who has been dead for many years." "What now? Xiaokai has become the boss?" "The old boss has no son, only a daughter, who is our boss wife now."

"Ah!" Hu Xueyan's eyes suddenly lit up, "Is your proprietress' nickname A Cai?" "It turns out that your guest is really a regular guest." The waiter said, "There are not many people who can call our lady boss by name." Then, she turned back and shouted loudly, "Lady boss, lady boss!" Seeing that there was no reply, Gu Yingchun stopped him and said, "Don't shout. If there are any good things, you can mix as many as you like and boil a catty of wine." When the waiter left, Hu Xueyan said with emotion: "It's been more than 20 years! The first time I came back to Shanghai, I ate here for the first meal."

"Young uncle seems to be very familiar! You can even call the boss's daughter by her nickname." "Not only can you scream—" Hu Xueyan shook his head and didn't continue. This kind of hesitant demeanor is related to a "female Xiaokai". It is easy to think that there must be a story in it.In such a cold night, in such a cold shop, listening to this story may help you forget your worries. In such a flash, Gu Yingchun felt much better. When the waiter brought the "local dishes" white meat, black ginseng, and a "bad pot head" hot pot, seeing the blazing green flames, his heart was even more excited. Feeling warm, he poured a glass of hot wine for Hu Xueyan, and said, "Uncle, you can appreciate everything, have a glass of wine, and talk about how you were here back then."

Hu Xueyan, who was falling into deep thought, took a sip of the wine, put a piece of white meat into his mouth, chewed for a while and said: "I don't know if the boss's craftsmanship was good back then, or my appetite has changed. The taste of white meat is great. Not as good as before." "Maybe there are two reasons." Gu Yingchun said with a smile, "Maybe there is a third reason." "The third?" "That's right! There was A Cai greeting guests back then." "She didn't care about greetings, she just sat at the cashier. At that time, I broke my job in a bank in Hangzhou and came to Shanghai to look for business. There was a bank in the city called Yuanli, and there was a good guy who was studying business with me. My senior brother, I came to Shanghai to join him, but I didn’t know that he went back to Shaoxing for my brother’s marriage. People from Yuanli said he was going back to Shanghai, so I stayed in a small inn and waited. After waiting for ten My God, people didn't wait, and the money was used up, so I had to 'incubate bean sprouts' in a small inn—"

With no money at the bottom of the bag, there was no way out, so he had no choice but to stay out of the house. The Shanghai saying is called "hatching bean sprouts".But the inn was short of money, so he had to eat. He came to Laotonghe every day for dinner. First, he had a plate of white meat, a bowl of big blood soup, and then a vegetable dish. It turned into soybean soup, and in the end I couldn't even afford soybean soup. Buying two sesame cakes and a bowl of boiled water counted as a meal. "This kind of life has been going on for seven or eight days, and I can't go on. The dizziness is still secondary, and I feel panicked, as if a catastrophe is imminent. That kind of smell is not for people. If you feel bad today, take a When Xianchun's robe is pawned, the first thing to do is to go to Laotonghe to 'kill the glutton'. It's still white meat and big blood soup. After eating a lot of money, I go back to the small inn and feel for the bag before I know it's pawned. Lost--"

"Did you fall in Laotonghe?" Gu Yingchun interrupted and asked. "I didn't know that at the time. However, it doesn't matter. If you drop it, you will drop it. If you have money, you can make a new one." Hu Xueyan stopped for a sip of wine, and drank two more ladles of soup. Strange thing, there was a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, holding a package in his hand, found the room where I lived, and said, "Guest, guest. Here is your robe." At first glance, this child is an old man. Tonghe little apprentice, I asked him: "Who asked you to send it?" He said: "Customer, don't ask. Come to our shop to eat, and don't tell me to send clothes to you." I said: "For What?' He said, 'Don't ask, and don't tell me when you go to the store. You must listen to me, or someone will beat me to death.'”

"There is such a strange thing!" Gu Yingchun asked with great interest, "Uncle, you have to force him to tell the truth!" "Of course." Hu Xueyan's voice was also very energetic, "I coaxed him and spoke nice words to him, but I refused to say anything, so I had no choice but to be a rascal. I said, if you don't tell me, I will kill you too , I want to treat you as a thief and send you to the county government office for spanking. You told the truth, when I eat in your restaurant, I will definitely listen to you and not say anything. You can choose between two ways."

"This way, of course the truth has been forced out?" "Of course, that little apprentice is called Ali, and he is A Cai's cousin. My jacket was sent by A Cai. It turns out—" It turned out that when Hu Xueyan took out the money to pay the bill, he dropped the pawn ticket on the ground, and when it closed at night, Ali found it by sweeping the floor and handed it to the cashier.A Cai had been paying attention to Hu Xueyan, and saw that he had changed from big blood soup to soybean soup, and then suddenly returned to his original shape, but his body had changed into a "bunt", so he knew that the robe had been sent to the pawn shop, redeemed it quietly, and told Ali to send it to the pawnshop. back.For the purpose of explaining, to keep the secret, I also hope that Hu Xueyan will not have to tell the truth, not because she is afraid that her father will find out, but because she is afraid that someone will tell it as a joke.

"According to this, Ah Cai is really my uncle's confidante." Gu Yingchun asked, "Did my uncle tell you the truth when he saw her?" "Since that day, I haven't seen her." Hu Xueyan said, "I was also very thin-skinned at the time, and I couldn't pay her back when I saw her. Is it embarrassing? I told Ali, please thank your cousin on my behalf. She I will pay back the money that was paid for me in the future.” Otherwise, this promise turned out to be a false wish.About a year later, Hu Xueyan reunited with Wang Youling and started his own business. He happened to think of it, wrote a trust letter to a colleague in Shanghai, and sent a hundred taels of silver to Lao Tonghe, but unexpectedly hit a snag.

"It was my fault that I wrote the letter incorrectly." Hu Xueyan explained the reason, "Of course it is inconvenient for me to explain the reason in the letter, and I also said that I would give it to Ali or the young girl to open a lottery. They don't know what the trick is, so naturally they refused. Received." "So, what about in the future? My uncle has been in Shanghai all the time, so why can't I come here?" "That's right! Once I remembered that I wrapped five hundred taels of silver in a red envelope and was about to go out. When I received a message, I immediately put all important matters in the back of my mind. " "What news?" Gu Yingchun guessed, "It's either bad or good." "Great!" Hu Xueyan blurted out, "Hangzhou has been restored." "That's no wonder. What about the future? Didn't you think about it in the future?" "Of course I thought about it. Unfortunately, either the time is wrong or the place is wrong." "How do you say that?" "For example, when you wake up in the middle of the night and think about it on your pillow, you can't get up immediately to do it. This is because the time is wrong; or if you think about it on a boat, you can't go back immediately and ask someone to do it. At such times, Thinking of this kind of place, I always feel that the days are still long, and my wish will definitely come true. If I think about it like this, if I think about it and forget it, it means I don’t want to. Later, as the days get longer, I think about this matter, which is also called indifference.” Gu Yingchun nodded deeply, "That's the way people are, everything depends on opportunities. Things that are sure to be done, but by accident, you can't get what you want." He was thinking in his heart that Hu Xueyan's experience today is also the accumulation of a series of mistakes. If it hadn't been for the French provocation, if Zuo Zongtang hadn't sent a military plane, if it hadn't been for Shao Youlian's arrival in Shanghai, if it hadn't been for Mi Benchang's shortfall in Fukang's money—if I kept thinking about it, I forgot where I was. "Ying Chun!" Gu Yingchun was startled, and asked calmly, "Uncle, what are you talking about?" "I think the time and place are right today. This opportunity must not be missed." "Ah, ah!" Gu Yingchun was also excited, "Uncle, how are you going to make up for this relationship?" "Wait for me to ask." He waved his hand immediately, called the guy over and asked first, "What's your name?" "My name is Sun Xiaomao." "Oh," Hu Xueyan asked Gu Yingchun, "How much foreign money do you have?" "How much?" "Ten dollars." "Yes." Gu Yingchun took out ten eagle coins and placed them on the table. "Sun Xiaomao!" Hu Xueyan pointed at the foreign money and said, "Except for the benefit account, the others are yours." "Guest!" Sun Xiaomao opened his eyes wide and looked confused, "What did you say?" "These ten foreign dollars," Gu Yingchun replied on his behalf, "except for positive accounts, they are all small accounts." "Oh! There are too many, too many, too many." Sun Xiaomao still did not dare to stretch out his hand. "You are welcome!" Hu Xueyan said, "You take the foreign money first, and I have something to say to you." "That said, I thank you. What's your last name?" "My surname is Hu." "Master Hu," Sun Xiaomao changed his address, "If you need anything, just ask." "Where does your lady boss live?" "Just behind." "I'll ask you to tell me that there is a friend of the old boss who was more than 20 years ago and wants to meet her." "Master Hu, our boss is here." "Alright! Talk to your boss first." Sun Xiaomao held ten eagles in his hands and turned away. Such a rich guest came, and the boss of course rushed to greet him. When he got closer, the two of them were a little dazed, because they both thought they were kind, but they couldn't remember. Where have I seen it. "Aren't you Ali?" "You, Mr. Hu, are—" "I was the one your cousin asked you to send you the robe—" "Ah, ah!" Ali remembered, "It's been more than twenty years. Master Hu has always been good?" "It's okay, it's okay! Where's your cousin?" Hu Xueyan asked, "You are the boss, and your cousin is the boss's wife. So, you married your cousin?" "No." Ali said shyly, "It's a marriage." "Whether you marry into a family or marry back, they are always husband and wife. Congratulations, congratulations!" Hu Xueyan asked again, "How many children are there?" "A man and a woman." "A man, a woman, and a pot of flowers, great, great!" Hu Xueyan turned to Gu Yingchun and said, "I have encountered such a coincidence in the last few months. It's interesting to think about it." Seeing the smile on his face, Gu Yingchun also felt sad, and suddenly thought of two lines of poems, and didn't have time to think about whether the situation was similar, so he read them out: "'The mountain is poor and the river is full of doubts, there is no way out, and the willows are dark and the flowers are bright, and there is another village.' " At this time, Sun Xiaomao shouted from a distance: "Boss, boss, please come here." "What's the matter? I'm talking with a guest." "Important matter, please come here, I have a word with you." Ali had no choice but to say: "I'm sorry, I'll come as soon as I go." When he went to the account desk, Sun Xiaomao said curiously and excitedly: "Boss, do you know who this Mr. Hu is? He is the God of Wealth Hu." "Hu Xueyan?" "yes." "Which one said that?" Ali didn't believe it. "How majestic Hu Caishen is, he will come out and follow a large group of people, and he will come to my old Tonghe to eat white meat?" "It was said by a guest who just left. I was thinking that it was because of Lao Tonghe that he came in." Sun Xiaomao said again, "Think about it, the positive account is only two handfuls of silver, and the small account is worth a lot of money. Two. If you are not the God of Wealth, how can there be such a rich guest?" "Ah! Ah! I want to hear this." Ali turned and left, returned to the original place, and said with an apologetic smile, "Master Hu, I don't know Taishan with my eyes, so you are the God of Wealth Hu." "That was before, now it's the 'Barefoot God of Wealth'." "The God of Wealth is always the God of Wealth." Ali said very happily, "Today is the winter solstice, and the God of Wealth is coming. It seems that next year the house will be renovated, and the old Tong and old stores will be newly opened. I will turn around." He added, "Our old man Man's words will be fulfilled." "Uh!" Hu Xueyan asked casually, "What did your father-in-law say?" "My father-in-law knows how to read faces. He said that I will meet noble people, and I will get rich after I am forty. I will be forty next year." Hu Xueyan did some calculations. He first met Ali twenty-seven years ago. According to this calculation, Ali was only thirteen years old at that time, and A Cai was at least sixteen or seventeen years old. I remember that she was not ugly. Why? Will marry a thirteen-year-old little cousin?Out of curiosity, he immediately asked, "How old is your cousin older than you?" "Four years older." Ali seemed to have guessed Hu Xueyan's thoughts, "A Cai's vision is high, and she can't be high or low, until she is twenty-seven years old. The old girl has a strange temper. Everyone is afraid of her, only—" He smiled embarrassedly and refused to go on. "Only you are not afraid?" "It's not that I'm not afraid. I've been used to letting her shout and drink since I was a child. It doesn't matter if I have a good temper or a bad temper." Ali paused and said, "Later, my father-in-law told me that I put Ah If Cai marries you, you are my son-in-law and my son. Do you think Ah Cai is too old?" "Your father-in-law is very open-minded and considerate." Hu Xueyan asked, "How do you answer him?" "I said, as long as Ah Cai doesn't think I'm young." Both Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun laughed, "Miao, Miao!" Hu Xueyan said, "Boil the pot of wine again." "Master Hu, I think, if you don't feel wronged, please come and sit with me with this old man. Today is the winter solstice, A Cai made a few dishes by himself, you should try it." Before Hu Xueyan could express anything, Gu Yingchun had stopped in front, "Thank you, thank you!" He said, "It's getting late, we still have something to do, so let's talk here for a while." These words are contradictory. Since there is something to do, why can we talk more about it?Ali couldn't hear the loopholes in the words, but Hu Xueyan understood, because they were used to cooperating with foreigners in business negotiations and negotiations, and they often used this kind of secret words to convey information face to face.Although Hu Xueyan didn't know what his original intention was, but he hinted that he must decline, but he was very clear, so he followed his tone and said: "Yes, we still have important matters, let's talk about it tomorrow!" "Then, I must invite you over tomorrow." Ali said again, "I went back and told A Cai that she must also want to see Master Hu." "Okay, okay!" Hu Xueyan changed the subject, "Is your house going to be renovated?" "Yes. The road is going to be built. The front of the house has to be cut in half. However, if the land price is subsidized, it will not be a big disadvantage if the neighbors join together and renovate the bungalows." "Is there still a cost to renovate the building?" "Yeah! It's just this point that we need to think of a way." "How much does it cost to remake?" "It depends on the situation. If you buy a piece of land in the back, it will be square and square, and it will always cost 1,500 silver." "After you renovate it, what will you use it for? Open the old store and expand its business?" "If you think about it this way, it depends on whether there is a joint venture." Ali said, "The old store is newly opened, and the stove is restarted. Everything that generates money must be newly purchased. This is not a small capital." "How much?" "Always need fifteen hundred silver." "So, have you found your shareholders?" "There are two or three people who are talking, but they can't reach an agreement." "Why?" "When you do business in partnership, you have to get along well." Ali paused and said, "Ah Cai doesn't want to. She said that it doesn't matter if the shop is small. Be your own boss and make your own ideas. Do more when you are happy, and do less when you are unhappy. Bitter, people are free. Once we form a team, everyone disagrees, and in the end we don’t even have to be friends.” "That's right!" Hu Xueyan nodded deeply, "You have to listen to A Cai's words." "Yeah, there is no way, I have to listen to her." "The only way to do it is to listen to her." Gu Yingchun interjected, raised his glass and put it down again, put his hand in from the lapel, took out the gold watch from the watch pocket of the jacket, opened the watch cover and looked at it, saying, "Uncle, the time has come." In the action of looking at the watch, Hu Xueyan had already received a hint, and at this moment he followed his tone and said to Ali: "We still have something to do tonight, the time has come, come back tomorrow." "Come for lunch tomorrow." Gu Yingchun made an appointment later, "Please reserve a table." "Yes, yes!" Ali agreed repeatedly, "Master Hu, Mr. Gu, if you want to eat something, I will prepare it." "I want to eat a bowl of 'noodles'." Hu Xueyan said happily, "Choose thin, peel, light noodles, rewash, cover bottom, wide soup, free green." The so-called "noodles with noodles" are big meat noodles, and diners have a lot to pay attention to, which is a set of "cutting" such as "choosing thin". Hu Xueyan didn't really want to eat such a bowl of noodles, but recalled the pleasures of the time when he was poor and humble, he said it naturally, and he felt an indescribable joy because he still remembered this set of "cutting". They bought four taels of good tea on the way, and Gu Yingchun stayed with Hu Xueyan in a small inn for a long night of conversation. They all agreed that this is the best way to relieve Hu Xueyan's frustration and boredom at this time and place. "Ying Chun, why don't you want to eat at A Cai's place?" Gu Yingchun originally thought that he could tacitly understand his deep meaning, but he still asked it out, so he had to remind him. "Uncle, why is A Cai 'not high enough, low low'? You think about the robe she redeemed for you, don't you understand?" Hu Xueyan was taken aback for a moment, recalling the scene at that time, he suddenly realized, and after a long time of lingering, he said: "It seems that 'the falling flowers are intentional, the flowing water is ruthless'." Gu Yingchun seldom heard Hu Xueyan speak in such a "literary" language, so he couldn't help laughing, "Uncle," he deliberately joked, "If you married A Cai at that time, you would be the boss of Lao Tonghe now, I don’t know if there will be a career later.” "Then I don't know. But," Hu Xueyan said emphatically, "If I were the boss of Lao Tonghe, I would definitely make it the first big restaurant on the beach." "I believe that." Hu Xueyan had been bored for many days, and at this moment, he suddenly had a heart move, thinking of doing a little trick to help Ali come to "newly open an old store", so as to make a sensation and express a little bit of the block in his heart.But as soon as the thought came to Fukang, Wo Xue felt like boiling soup, and felt that it was a ridiculous idea. Seeing the flicker in his eyes, hot and cold on his face, Gu Yingchun can roughly guess that in his heart, at this moment and here, his mind must not be distracted, so he decided to remind him. "Uncle, I didn't finish what I just said. In fact, going to A Cai's place for a meal seems like nothing. As for you, when you are unhappy, you are most likely to be nostalgic, even if there are no jokes, it will inevitably divide your heart. Isn't it?" "Yes." Hu Xueyan nodded deeply. "Also, it seems that Ah Cai married Ah Li because she was unhappy at the beginning. She always saw something that Ali was not happy with. After many years, the old couple also forgot. , as soon as you appear, little grandpa, Ali's shortcomings can be clearly seen from Ah Cai's face—" "Ah, ah!" Hu Xueyan said uncomfortably, "Thank you for thinking that if I cause their husband and wife to quarrel, I will do a big crime." He paused and asked, "Ying Chun, you said I am now What should I do?" Gu Yingchun thought for a while and said: "I understand what you mean, I want to give Ali three thousand silver. I will take care of it for you. But, uncle, you have to move tomorrow, so don't worry about it." "Where do you move to?" "It's better to move to live with me, everything is convenient." "Okay!" Hu Xueyan readily agreed. So Gu Yingchun went back to make arrangements and agreed to pick him up the next morning.Hu Xueyan calmed down and thought about it, it was a very happy thing to settle a debt of favor with three thousand taels of silver, so it was rare to be able to sleep peacefully that night.When he woke up and finished washing, Gu Yingchun had already arrived. "You are too early." "I want to accompany my uncle to have a bowl of tea." Gu Yingchun asked, "Did you sleep well last night?" "Close the relationship well, and sleep until dawn." "Probably because of the hard work on the road." "It's not just this point." Hu Xueyan said, "Actually, you reminded me that this debt of favor can be settled, and it is clean, without any messy troubles. I feel very happy and naturally sleep well. gone." "I brought the bank note." Gu Yingchun said again, "I came so early, half of it was for this matter. Please, let's have tea." To drink tea in the city, it is common sense to go to the Temple of the City God, but Hu Xueyan was afraid of meeting acquaintances, and Gu Yingchun also had the same idea, so he went to the street and found a relatively clean teahouse, and went in without looking at the signboard. table and sat down. Unexpectedly, "the road to the enemy is narrow", just as I sat down, I saw Ali enter the door.Those who eat their profession have the sharpest eyes, and they come forward to say hello with a smile on their face: "Master Hu, Old Master!" "What a coincidence!" Gu Yingchun said, "Please sit down, please sit down, I was going to see you." "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it! What orders does the old master have?" Gu Yingchun looked at Hu Xueyan and asked, "Uncle, shall we talk now?" "Wait a moment." A Li naturally didn't know what they were talking about, so he told Hu Xueyan very excitedly: After A Cai learned about what happened last night, she said that she "didn't even think about it in her dreams".More than 20 years ago, the guest who took off his robe and came to eat white meat turned out to be the "Hu God of Wealth" known to everyone in the world.It's incredible. "Master Hu," Ali said again, "Ah Cai is in the store today, and she came here to wait for you. She said she wanted to see how different Master Hu is from more than twenty years ago." "What's the difference?" Hu Xueyan smiled, "The hair is gray, the skin is wrinkled, and the belly is bulging." Ali suddenly laughed, very childishly, "Master Hu," he said, "you are not talking about yourself, you are talking about A Cai, her hair is gray, not much, her skin is wrinkled, a little bit, her belly is bulging, That's much bigger than Master Hu." "Why?" Hu Xueyan said, "Is she happy?" "It's been seven months." Ali smiled shyly, and his complacency was evident in his words. "Congratulations, congratulations! Ali, you will have a baby next year and get rich again. Do it well." Hu Xueyan stood up and said, "I'll go shopping on the street and come back later." Knowing his intentions, Gu Yingchun pulled Ali who stood up to see Hu Xueyan out of politeness, "Sit down!" He said, "I have something to say to you." "yes!" "Ali, it's your luck to meet the 'God of Wealth'! Unfortunately, it's a little late. If you met Mr. Hu at this time last year, your luck would be even better." As he spoke, he took out his wallet from his body and took out a flower The green paper stretched out, "Ali, you pinch it, Master Hu will give you three thousand silver coins." Ali froze!First of all, he didn't believe that someone would be so generous as to meet by chance, so he would give away a huge sum of money. However, the reputation of "Hu God of Wealth", coupled with the reward of eight or nine taels of silver for a small account last night, could change his original thinking. But here comes the question again, is this "God of Wealth" real or fake?Is it Hu Xueyan?Could there be some evil conspiracy involved? This last idea can only be thought of by people in Shanghai, because since the west wind spread to the east, there have been many tricks that have never been seen in Shanghai, such as insurance and arson, life insurance also has unexpected plots, and often Make up your mind on the poor.Some people adopted a beggar as their father, welcomed him back to him, took out huge life insurance, and then devised a method of slow murder, causing him to die, and defrauded him for compensation.This kind of "news" is not uncommon, so it is natural for Ali to have this doubt. However, if you think about it more, you won't be able to, because you have nothing to covet.But the last kind of suspicion is still difficult to explain. What is this colorful paper head?How can it be worth three thousand taels of silver? It turned out that what Gu Yingchun brought was a check from HSBC Bank, except for the bank name in Chinese characters, the rest were written in Chinese characters.Ali knew the money bank's banknote, but he had never seen a check from a foreign bank, so he was naturally very confused. Of course Gu Yingchun could understand why he was dumbstruck, and the facts are the best explanation, "Ali!" He said, "We will go to the Bund now, you took the ticket at HSBC and asked them to open the bank ticket for Nanshi Here you are." Nanshi is the county seat of Shanghai, which is different from the name of the concession in the north. It turned out that it was a check from a foreign bank. Ali was ashamed and excited, but he also understood the ways of the world, and it is the principle of life to say a few polite words. After thinking about it, he replied: "Master, such a large sum , I really dare not accept it, please ask the old master to accompany Master Hu to have lunch, and wait until Ah Cai sees Master Hu." "Thank you. Master Hu has something to do today, so I'm afraid I can't come to your place for dinner. You can collect the check first, instead of picking it up yourself, you can ask a bank to collect it for you." Gu Yingchun asked, "Which bank do you deal with? of?" "Shen Fu." "Oh, Shenfu, the boss's surname is Zhu, and I know him too. You can transfer this ticket to Shenfu." At this moment, I see that the facts are true and there is no doubt about it, but Lao Tonghe's dealings with Shen Fu are only two or three hundred taels of silver at most, and suddenly a check of three thousand taels is inserted, and the incident is sudden. If Shen Fu asks, what is this? How did the ticket come about, and how should I answer it? "What?" Gu Yingchun was a little unhappy seeing his eccentric expression, "Ali, do you think I'm joking with you?" "No, no! Old Master, you misunderstood. To be honest, I was afraid that people would ask." This suddenly reminded Gu Yingchun.It turned out that he dealt with foreigners for Hu Xueyan, bought arms, and he himself had business dealings with foreign merchants and paid for goods. He always wrote checks from foreign banks, and he had a great reputation in the bank.His English name is William, and his nickname is Billy. Those "foreign kid" who like to "have fun", even his last name, gave him a homonymous nickname "Butt".If Shenfu Bank asked about the origin of this check, Ali answered truthfully. It was rumored that Hu Xueyan's bank dumped other people's savings, and he was still squandering it.This is very unfavorable to Hu Xueyan, so he must consider it carefully. The situation was a bit embarrassing, Gu Yingchun thought in his heart: people can't be unlucky, if they are unlucky, even if they have money, they can't use it.For the current plan, the only way is to get Ali away first, and then make sense. So he said: "Ali, you take this check first. I'll see if Mr. Hu can come later. If you can come, come together, if you can't, I will come alone. Whether the check goes to Shenfu or to HSBC Go to withdraw cash, wait until I come." "Grandpa," Ali replied, "I dare not accept the check. Master Hu must be invited, otherwise I will go back and want to 'eat the head'." Because people already know that he is afraid of his wife, so he may suffer. Cai's scolding, there is no need to hide it. "Good! Good! I'll do my best. You have to ask in advance!" After Ali Yinyin said goodbye, Hu Xueyan also came back. Gu Yingchun mentioned the situation just now, and said that he would send Hu Xueyan home first, and he would change to a Zhuang ticket, and then go to Ali's place alone. about. "There's no need to make another trip. I brought a dozen tickets there, and I'll give them to him first. Let's go back to the inn first." When he arrived at the inn, Hu Xueyan opened his leather bag and took out a stack of banknotes. Two pieces of one thousand and two pieces of five hundred made up three thousand. When they were handed over to Gu Yingchun, his heart ached and he almost shed tears—opening a bank by himself Well, "Fukang", a well-known gold-lettered signboard, is worthless now, and it is really a dead end to use the silver notes of Shanxi bank to give others. Gu Yingchun didn't notice his face, picked up four banknotes, and hurried away. At the door of the inn, he stepped on a "Dongyang car" that had just come from Japan, and said "Old Tonghe", and the rickshaw's hard The rubber wheels rolled rumblingly across the stone road.Halfway through, I heard someone shouting: "Old Master, Old Master!" Hearing the voice, Gu Yingchun thought, fortunately, he came to pay back the favor for someone else, if he owed someone's debt, the enemy's road is narrow, and he met twice in one morning, what a coincidence. "Stop, stop!" When Toyo Che stopped on the side of the road, Ali came up to him. "Come and get the fare at Laotonghe." Ali knew the driver, and after paying attention to this, he turned to Gu Yingchun and said, "Old Master, my house is in the alley in front, please go and have a seat. Where is Master Hu?" " "He has something to do and won't come." Gu Yingchun asked, "Where's your wife?" "I'm still at home now, I'll go to the store later." Gu Yingchun thought to himself, talking about this matter in his shop will inevitably attract attention, it is better to go to his house, so he nodded repeatedly: "Okay! Okay! I will go to your house to talk." So Ali led the way not far, and arrived.His house is a semi-new alley house, and there is a patio when entering the Shikumen. Ali raised his face and shouted: "The guest is here!" As soon as the words were finished, a middle-aged woman looked out from the window, she must be A Cai.Gu Yingchun didn't have time to take a closer look, as Ali stepped into the main room, there was already a sound on the stairs. "A Cai, hurry up and make tea!" "Is it your wife?" "Call her Ah Cai." A Cai went downstairs, and came out with a big belly from a door behind the main room. She was neatly dressed, with a thin layer of makeup on her face, and asked with a smile: "I think this is the old man?" "Don't dare to be." "Where's Master Hu?" "I have something to do." It was Allidai who answered. The look of disappointment on A Cai's face was like asking the children to go to the Town God's Temple, watch magic tricks, eat Nanxiang steamed buns and wine glutinous rice balls, and change into new clothes, but suddenly announced that they couldn't go because of something. It was so horrible that Gu Yingchun had to avert his eyes. However, A Cai was still able to act as if nothing had happened, and did her best as a housewife, personally brought a fine porcelain gaiwan tea, and even opened a can of British "garlic" cigarettes that were rarely seen in ordinary people even though they had spread to Shanghai. Yes, she carefully arranged to receive Hu Xueyan. But if she was said to be the "God of Wealth", Gu Yingchun felt unapologetic, put his hand into his bosom, held a handful of bank notes in his hand, and asked, "Boss Ali, what's your name?" "My surname is Zhu." "Oh," Gu Yingchun called out, "Mrs. Zhu, Master Hu is very happy to hear that your house is going to be renovated and expanded. He asked me to bring you three thousand taels of silver—" In fact, A Cai is not a poor mother, but between "Qianjin" and "Han Xin", and the latter is more important.The night before, after learning of this unexpected opportunity, she felt an indescribable excitement. Xu Xu kept telling Ali how she thought Hu Xueyan would have a future, but she also admitted that she never dreamed that he would Creating such a great cause, and this great cause will collapse overnight, so there is a kind of pity for seeing the end of the hero.These complex emotions mixed with sadness and joy mixed together, causing her to have a restless night in her dreams. Until this morning, after hearing Ali talk about how he met Hu Xueyan and Gu Yingchun unexpectedly in the teahouse, and his confusion about the HSBC check, A Cai blamed him for mishandling it.According to her opinion, this huge sum of money is not acceptable, but as Gu Yingchun suggested, first go to HSBC to take a photo, and when it is confirmed that it is correct, there is no need to withdraw it, and invite Gu Yingchun to Lao Tonghe or his home Come on, as long as Gu Yingchun is entangled, Hu Xueyan will be pulled naturally. Her judgment was right, Gu Yingchun would definitely come, but whether Hu Xueyan could see it was hard to say, so she was restless worrying about gain or loss.Up to this moment, she still refused to give up, and there was something in her heart that she couldn't say out loud: "I won't accept your three thousand taels of silver unless Master Hu personally gives it to me." Because of this kind of thought, she didn't express her firm resignation, and pushed each other back and forth. Gu Yingchun gradually discovered her original intention, but in front of Ali, it was inconvenient for him to speak too explicitly, so he had to give a hint . "Mrs. Zhu," he said, "Master Hu is a good friend of mine. I know his state of mind very well. If he had come earlier, he would have been very happy to talk to you about his down-and-out situation. I really don't have such a mood now. There is no time. You took the money and let him take care of one thing, that is, to be considerate of him and to help him. When his troubles are over and your old Tong and the old store are newly opened, I will definitely bring him in. Congratulations, have a good meal." "Yes, yes." Ah Cai agreed, but her eyes kept blinking, obviously she just agreed casually, she had other thoughts in her mind, when Gu Yingchun finished speaking, she looked at her husband and said, "Go to the store Let’s go, ask the Chief Siwu to bring the dishes, and invite the old man to eat at home.” "No, no!" Gu Yingchun waved his hands again and again, "I have something to do. Thank you, thank you!" "Go!" A Cai ignored his words and urged A Li by herself. Ali was naturally ordered to be cautious, and said: "You are welcome, old man." He turned around and left. This is A Cai deliberately sending her husband away, and she has something in her heart to confide, "Old Master," she said with a deep expression, "I really never thought that in this life, I would meet an old guest from more than 20 years ago, let alone ，当年当了夹袍子来吃饭的客人，就是名气这样子大的胡财神。古老爷，不瞒你说，我昨天晚上一夜没有睡着，因为这桩事情，想起来想不完。”说着，将一双眼睛低了下去，眼角微显晶莹，似乎有一泡泪水要流出来。 古应春当然能体会得她的心情，故意不答，他觉得既不能问，更不能劝慰，只要有这样一句话，她的眼泪就会忍不住，唯有保持沉默，才能让她静静地自我克制。 果然，停了一会，阿彩复又抬眼，平静地说道：“古老爷，请你告诉胡老爷，我决不能收他这笔钱，第一，他现在正是为难的时候，我收了他的这笔钱，于心不安；第二，我收了他的这笔钱，变成我亏欠他了，也没有啥好想的了。” 古应春觉得事态严重了，比他所想象的还要严重，这三千两银子，可能会引起他们夫妇之间的裂痕。转念到此，颇为不安，也深悔自己多事。 细细想去，要割断她这一缕从云外飘来的情丝，还是得用“泉刀”这样利器，于是他说：“朱太太，我说一句不怕你见气的话，如果说，胡老爷现在三千两银子都花不起，你未免太小看他了。” “朱太太，”古应春将声音压得低低的，同时两眼逼视着她，“我有两句肺腑之言，不晓得你要不要听？” “当然要听。” “只怕我说得太直。” “不要紧，没有旁人在这里。” 这表示连阿利不能听的话都能说，古应春便不作任何顾忌了，“朱太太，”他说，“三千两银子，不是一个小数目，而况是号称财神的胡老爷送你的，更何况人家是为了还当年的一笔人情债，送的人光明正大，受的人正大光明。朱老板如果问一句：你为啥不收？请问你怎么同他说？” 阿彩根本没有想到阿利，如今古应春提出来一问，才发现自己确有难以交代之处。 见她语塞，古应春知道“攻心”已经生效，便穷追猛打地又钉一句：“莫非你说，我心里的那段情，万金不换，三千两算得了什么？” “我当然有我的说法。” 这是遁词，古应春觉得不必再追，可以从正面来劝她了。 “不管你怎么说，朱老板嘴里不敢同你争，心里不会相信的。这样子，夫妇之间，就有一道裂痕了。二十几年的夫妻，你肚皮里还有个老来子，有这三千两银子，拿老同和老店新开，扩充门面，兴兴旺旺做人家，连你们死掉的老老板——在阴世里都会高兴。这种好日子不过，要自寻烦恼，害得一家人家可能会拆散，何苦？再说，胡老爷现在的处境，几千银子还不在乎，精神上经不起打击，他因为能先还笔人情债，心里很高兴，昨天晚上睡了个把月以来从没有睡过的好觉。倘或晓得你有这种想法，他心里一定不安，他现在经不起再加什么烦恼了。总而言之，你收了这笔银子，让他了掉一桩心事，就是帮他的忙，不然，说得不客气一点，等于存心害他！朱太太，你不是十七八岁的姑娘了，而且有儿有女，闹出笑话来，不好听。” 这长篇大套一番话，将想得到的道理都说尽了，阿彩听得惊心动魄，终于如梦方醒似的说了一句：“我收！请古老爷替我谢谢胡老爷。” “对啊！”古应春大为欣慰，少不得乘机恭维她几句，“我就晓得你是有见识、讲道理、顾大局的人。朱太太，照你的面相，真所谓'地角方圆'，是难得的福相，走到一步帮夫运，着实有一番后福好享。” 说着，他将捏在手里的一把银票摊开来，三张“蔚丰厚”，一张“百川通”，这两家票号在山西帮中居领袖地位，联号遍布南北，商场中无人不知的。 “朱太太，你收好。” “古老爷，其实你给我阜康的票子好了。” 阿彩也知道阜康已经在清理，票款能收到几成，尚不可知，所以如此说法，亦依旧是由于一种不愿接受赠款的心理。古应春明白这一点，却正好借此道出胡雪岩的心境。 “朱太太，这四张银票，是胡老爷身上摸出来的。不过一个多月以前，阜康的名气比蔚丰厚、百川通响亮得多，而现在，只好用人家的票子了。你倒想，换了你是他，还有啥心思来回想当初当了夹袍子来吃白肉的情形？” 阿彩爽然若失，慢条斯理地一面理银票，一面说道：“胡老爷自然不在乎这三千银子，不过在我来说，总是无功受禄。” “不是，不是！我想你在城隍庙听说书，总听过韩信的故事，一饭之恩，千金以报，没有哪个说漂母不应该收。” “那，我就算漂母好了。人家问起来——” “喔，喔，”古应春被提醒了，急急打断她的话说，“朱太太，有件事，请你同朱老板一定要当心，千万不好说，胡财神送了你们三千银子。那一来，人家会说闲话。这一点关系重大，切切不可说出去。千万、千万！” 见他如此郑重叮嘱，阿彩自然连连点头，表示充分领会。 “古老爷，”阿彩说道，“我晓得你事情忙，不留你吃饭了。不过，古老爷，你要把府上的地址告诉我，改天我要给古太太去请安。” “请安不敢当。内人病在床上，几时你来陪她谈谈，我们很欢迎。” 古应春留下了地址，告辞出门，回想经过，自觉做了一件很潇洒的事，胸怀为之一宽。