Chapter 22 Treasure Digging

What Hu Xueyan told was a story of excavation.Whenever there is a great turmoil, people are arrested and exiled, and the order gradually stabilizes. Often, some people suddenly make a lot of money, nineteenth, because they have discovered hidden treasures. There are no more than two kinds of people who bury gold and silver treasures. One is the rich family who fled with their whole family in the event of a sword disaster. They can only bring some gold beads that are easy to sell. In the container, find a place that is difficult to be noticed by people, dig deep and bury it, wait for the chaos to return home, and dig out the application.If the whole family is murdered, or the parents and old servants who know the secret are dead and have no chance to leave a last word, the wealth will be buried in the ground for a long time. people get.

The other is the wealth that has already been obtained, and it is only because the situation has changed greatly that it cannot be enjoyed comfortably, so it is buried for the time being, and Xu Tu will plan later.The "long hair" in the early years of Tongzhi did not know how much money he had buried. "Long Mao" is based in Dayi, the capital of Tongdu, and they each find rich families as their lairs, named "Da Mansion".All the people who have been beaten in the "mansion" come back after the chaos, and every time someone comes to the door to ask to see, saying that there is a "long hair" buried property somewhere in the "house", if the owner believes him, the next step is to divide the accounts. Or 50/50, or 40% or 60%—the host gets 60%, the person who gives advice gets 40%, or at least 30% or 70%.Of course, there are some who have dug to hide, but most of them are speculators. Anyway, if they can't dig, they won't lose anything, and they end up fooling around based on rumors.

After the restoration of Hangzhou, like other places, excavations have been made one after another.Hu Xueyan has a cousin named Zhu Baoru who is very keen on this. His wife is the "Old Lady Zhu" in Mrs. Luoshi's mouth. She is honest and scheming. There is a way, you should pay attention to it, maybe it will run on time, and you will make a fortune." "You said, where is the way?" "Rehabilitation Bureau." She said, "Xueyan is your cousin. If you ask him for an errand from the Rehabilitation Bureau, he will definitely agree. However, don't worry about it. You should hang out with the refugees, listen to their chats, and be by the side quietly. Listen, you will definitely hear something."

Zhu Baoru admired his wife very much, and now Rujiao went to see Hu Xueyan and volunteered to take care of the refugees.There are good and bad jobs in the Rehabilitation Bureau. The best ones are those who claim women, who are young and beautiful, but whose father and brother died in fighting and displacement. They are lonely. Someone pretends to be a relative to claim it. A sum of thanks, hundreds of silver; secondly, managing food and purchasing, there is also a lot of oil and water; in addition, copying and making registers are also very easy tasks, only taking care of refugees, trivial and complicated, and useless. No one was willing to do it, but Zhu Baoru actually volunteered, Hu Xueyan was very happy and immediately agreed.

Zhu Baoru was taught by his wife to patiently deal with the ragged and foul-smelling refugees, deal with all kinds of difficulties, listen carefully to all the secrets they revealed in their chats, and get on well with each other. One day, a refugee in his thirties with a Jiangxi accent whispered to Zhu Baoru, "Mr. Zhu, I have been living here for more than half a month. I see that you are a very honest person. I want to go to your house to have a talk." "Oh," Zhu Baoru remembered that this person was taciturn and never bothered him, so he didn't even know his surname, so he immediately asked, "What's your surname?"

"My surname is Cheng." "Brother Cheng, what do you have to say, there is no one here now, just say it." "No! Talk a lot, it's convenient to go to the mansion to talk." Thinking of his wife's words, Zhu Baoru's heart moved, and he took this person home. He entered the door, put down the package, and took off a belt with more than a dozen gold rings in it. "Mr. Zhu, Mrs. Zhu." The person said, "To tell you the truth, I used to be a long-haired man, but now I want to ask you two to be my godfather and godmother. I don't know if you two will accept me? "

This incident came out of nowhere, and Zhu Baoru was still hesitating. His wife saw that there were tricks in the package, and immediately agreed: "We have a son who is about the same age as you. He is not here now. It is fate to meet you. I wish you godfather. Let's not mention what the godmother said for now, you can stay here first and then talk about it." "No! The two elders are going to accept me. When I am my son, I dare to say something. Moreover, after paying homage to the two elders, I changed my surname to Zhu. Everything will be convenient in the future."

Therefore, Zhu Baoru and his wife discussed quietly for a while, and decided to accept this godson and change his surname to Zhu. Since he was born in the year of Wu, he named him Jiaju.The dozen or so gold rings became a gift for him to honor his adoptive parents. With money, everything can be done easily, so Zhu Baoru went to sell two gold rings to make Zhu Jiaju look brand new.At the same time, sell wine and buy meat, and talk about the "family relationship". Zhu Jiaju seemed to have never had such a good life, and he seemed very happy. While eating large pieces of meat and drinking in large bowls, he talked about his experience of making long hair.He is an orphan. In his hometown in Jiangxi, he was picked up by Changmao "Raff". When he arrived in Quzhou, Zhejiang, Changmao let him go home. He said he was homeless and wanted to be a little Changmao.In this way, we went from Quzhou to Hangzhou, but soon set off again.

It happened in the spring of the tenth year of Xianfeng. In order to break the siege of "Tianjing", Li Xiucheng, the loyal king of the Taiping Army, made a plan to encircle Wei and save Zhao. In early February, he attacked Zhejiang from southern Anhui. Bing Zhang Yuliang's troops were brought back to relieve the pressure.On February 27th Li Xiucheng invaded Hangzhou, and on the third day of March, when Zhang Yuliang's reinforcements arrived, Li Xiucheng was sold because of his plan, and feared that Zhang Yuliang would cut off his return, he abandoned Hangzhou and went west. It took only five days. time.

At that time, Zhu Jiaju was under Li Xiucheng's subordinates. He moved to various places, was defeated and separated, and was taken in by another Taiping army. His "chief" was Wu Tiande, who was from the same village as him, and he attached great importance to fellowship, so he and his Another fellow villager, Wang Peili, became Wu Tiande's personal "soldier" and was deeply trusted. Later, Wu Tiande was seriously injured in a battle. Before he died, he told Zhu Jiaju and Wang Peili: "The King Zhong attacked Hangzhou for the second time. I was stationed there for half a year. The 'mansion' was attacked at Jindong Bridge in Dongcheng. Later, I was transferred away. , King Zhong's military order is very strict, I can't take my things away, they are buried there, and I will never have the chance to go to Hangzhou again. Now that I am going to die, I have something to give to you."

As he spoke, he took out an oiled paper bag from his meat pocket. Inside was a map of hidden treasures. He took care of Zhu Jiaju and Wang Peili and tried to find an opportunity to go to Hangzhou to dig them. Back to his hometown in Jiangxi.He also called Zhu Jiaju and Wang Peili to become brothers, and swore to the Heavenly Alliance that they would not be wrong when they met, otherwise they would be punished by heaven. "Later, I discussed with my worshiping brother and divided the map into two, and each took half of it. We have been together all the time. This time Master Zuo conquered Hangzhou, and the opportunity came. Because I have been to Hangzhou, so by I pretended to be a refugee, first came to explore the way, and when I found a place, I would call Wang Peili to discuss how to do it." "Then," Zhu Baoru asked, "where is your brother Wang?" "In Shanghai. As long as I send a letter, I will come right away." "Your brother is also one of us." Zhu Baoru's wife said, "Come on! Tell him to come!" "Slowly, slowly!" Zhu Baoru shook his hand, "Let's discuss it first. Where's your picture?" "The picture is only half." Zhu Jiaju also took out an oiled paper bag from his meaty pocket, opened it, and found that half of the map was well preserved, spread it out on the table and smoothed it out, it was the upper half of a map, and the lower end was cut into a zigzag shape. Presumably it means "conformity", and the other half has a zigzag shape at the top, and the two halves fit together seamlessly, which is the original drawing that Wu Tiande handed over. "This half is the address." Zhu Jiaju said, "The second half is the detailed map of the buried treasure." This is also understandable, Zhu Jiaju lived in Hangzhou for five days, so he took this half sheet with the address first to find the original address of Wu Tiande's mansion.Zhu Baoru looked at the picture carefully and marked two starting points, one is Jindong Bridge, the other is Wan'an Bridge, and there are two small squares, one of which bets on "Guandi Temple", and draws an arrow, indicating: " About thirty steps to the south, sit east and face west." The small square without any words, it goes without saying that it is the place where the treasure is hidden. "It's not hard to find." Zhu Baoru asked, "What happens after you find it?" "Or rent, or buy." "Buy?" Zhu Baoru hesitated, "It's the house that you Changmao once built in the mansion. Of course it's not small, and I'm afraid it won't be cheap to buy." "It doesn't matter." Zhu Jiaju said, "Wang Peili will bring the money." "That's good!" Zhu Baoru happily said, "Leave this matter to me." "Jia Kui!" his wife asked, "Is there something buried inside?" "There's a lot of stuff—" It is said that the buried objects include four or five hundred taels of gold leaves and a large number of jewelry.The burial method is very particular. The jewelry is first wrapped in tissue paper, placed in a porcelain jar, sealed with putty, then put into an iron box, filled with lime to prevent moisture, and finally placed in a large wooden box , buried underground. Hearing these words, Zhu Baoru and his wife were filled with joy.They discussed secretly that night, fearing that they would suddenly accept a godson of unknown origin, and the neighbors might become suspicious, so they decided to move the next day, to live in Dongcheng, so that it would be easier to go to the Golden Cave Bridge to search for treasures. When the relocation was decided, Zhu Baoru ordered his adoptive son to write a letter to Shanghai, informing Wang Peili to go to Hangzhou, and then went to Jindong Bridge to investigate. Suspicious and inconvenient. You stay at home, and I will go alone." Zhu Jiaju readily obeyed, and Zhu Baoru went to investigate quietly by himself.Wan'an Bridge is the first large bridge in Hangzhou City. It is the place where the water boats pass. The bridge hole is extremely high. The Emperor Temple should be the one on the east side of the bridge.Next to the temple was a teahouse, Zhu Baoru brewed a pot of tea, and sat there from morning to noon, quietly listening to the chatter of tea guests, and after three days in a row, he finally heard what he wanted to hear. Of course, what he wanted to hear was about Chang Mao's capture of Hangzhou twice, and his activities in this area. From Wan'an Bridge to Jindong Bridge, there were five residential houses where Chang Mao attacked the mansion. In the place where the treasure map matches, the owner's surname is Yan, a Jinshi. This is easy to find.Zhu Baoru went out of the tea shop and looked in front of Guandi Temple. There were two alleys from north to south, one wide and one narrow. After entering the wide one, he walked 30 steps with normal steps, and saw a piece engraved with "Taishan Shigandang" The stone tablet with the words ", using this as a coordinate, searched carefully for houses facing east and west, and soon found that there was a plaque with black characters on a powder background hanging on the lintel of a family, and the big book "Jinshi Di" three Naturally, it is Yan Jinshi's family. Zhu Baoru didn't dare to make mistakes, so he walked back and forth twice first, observing the environment while walking: this "Jinshidi" house is not very elegant, but it seems not small, the second time passing by there, someone happened to come out, Zhu Baoru turned around. Looking from the head, from the sedan hall to the second gate, there is a very grand hall inside. For fear of attracting attention, he didn't dare to stay for much.He didn't talk about it when he got home, and he didn't discuss with his wife until he went to bed at night, how to start to inquire. "I can't rush to the door and ask them if the house is for sale. At most, I can ask them if there is any room for rent? If I answer you: No! Then I have to walk. It is inconvenient to visit the door again in the future, and the road is broken. .” His wife had a lot of tricks, so she thought for a while and said, "It's not that Mr. Hu Da is going to build a porridge factory in Dongcheng. Why don't you use this topic to strike up a conversation?" "The soup kitchen is not under my control." "What are you afraid of?" Zhu's wife said, "Public welfare matters can only be done well if everyone is enthusiastic, not to mention you are also in the aftermath." "It's reasonable." Zhu Baoru said, "Tomorrow Jiaju will bring it up, and you will say that you haven't found it yet." "I know. I'll put him off." The Zhu family's wife is really a good character, taking care of Zhu Jiaju's food and daily life in every possible way, so he doesn't feel anxious when there is no news about the treasure hunt.In fact, Zhu Baoru has already made considerable progress in this matter. Zhu Baoru is also very down-to-earth in his work. Although his wife's words are good and everyone needs to be enthusiastic about charity work, he might as well come to the door to meet up, but he always feels that Hu Xueyan's words make him more famous. In Hu Xueyan, he was also in favor of setting up one more porridge soup factory, but put forward a relative condition that Zhu Baoru should be responsible for the preparation, and after it opened, it would also be managed by Zhu Baoru.This is an unexpected opportunity, even if the treasure hunt fails, having such a porridge factory in hand is a chance to make a small fortune, so I readily agree. So excitedly went to visit Yan Jinshi's house, and received an old servant of his family named Yan Sheng. When Zhu Baoru explained his intentions, Yan Sheng said that his master and his family had taken refuge in Shanghai, and he could not be the master, and at the same time ransacked his house. The owner gave him the address in Shanghai and asked him to go to the meeting by himself. "Okay," Zhu Baoru asked, "However, there are many situations. I need you to clarify first. If your master agrees, should the house be rented or sold?" "I don't know." Yan Sheng replied, "I think since it is a good deed, my master may not want any money and lend it for nothing." "Otherwise." Zhu Baoru said, "Once the porridge factory is built, the house will be ruined by how many people come in and out every day. So I want to ask you, is your master's house willing to sell? If you are interested, how much money do you want to sell?" "I have to ask my master about it." Yan Sheng said again, "Someone asked me before, but my master was only willing to sell it, because it is an old foundation. Renovated, still easy to live in.” So Zhu Baoru asked to take a look at the house, and Yan Sheng readily agreed.This house faces east and west, with a total of three front and rear entrances, and a courtyard outside. In the south of the second hall, there are three couplets on the east and west sides of the courtyard. There are two connected corridors. The pavilion is square.In the middle of the yard, there is a stone flower bed, five feet high, and the bluestone that "blocks the soil" is extremely finely carved.According to Yan Sheng, the old man of the Yan family is good at planting peonies. Wei Ziyao and yellow are all famous species. Every spring, when the peonies are in full bloom, the old man Yan will hold a banquet in the square pavilion, drink wine and enjoy the flowers, and write poems in rhyme. There are several "poetry steles" embedded on the wall of the corridor.Of course, the famous peony has long been destroyed, and today's flower beds are only covered with weeds. Zhu Baoru looked at it and thought about it, since the old man of the Yan family has a hobby of planting peonies, this flower bed is also specially designed for planting peonies, not only the cost is expensive, but also the conservation of water and soil is also very particular, so unless there is a substitute in the family, it is decided Hate to sell the house.If the number of years is not long, it can be discussed. Almost none of the Hangzhou gentry who fled in Shanghai has never been seen by Hu Xueyan, and there are many friends. As long as Hu Xueyan is invited to write a letter, everything should be done reason. Who knew that when he told his wife, he was immediately refuted, "Don't disturb Mr. Hu Da." She said, "Jinshi Yan and Mr. Hu Da must have friendship, send a letter, say good deeds, everyone has something to do." The house is set there, and you can use it. At that time, it will not be your turn to be the master, but you can be the master, and you can’t close the door and do our own business! What do you think?” Zhu Baoru woke up like a dream, "Not bad, not bad!" He asked, "So, in your opinion, how should we proceed?" "Don't rush this matter! Take one step, think three steps, as long as you are steady and steady, the gold, silver and jewels are buried there, and they won't fly away—" Mrs. Zhu's wife wrung her fingers, and on the first and second days, she said clearly: First, Hu Xueyan must be stable, and the matter of setting up porridge in Dongcheng cannot fall into the hands of others. Second, when Wang Peili comes, see how much money he has in his hands. Is it cash or gold beads? If it is gold beads, how to sell them?It is always necessary to raise enough money for the pawn before talking about the third step. The third step is for Zhu Baoru to go to Shanghai in person and ask someone to introduce Yan Jinshi to negotiate the Dianwu.As for how to say words, it depends on the situation. "In a word, this matter must be kept secret. Mr. Hu Da's chess move, don't use it lightly, because this chess move is too powerful, if you can let it go or not, things will go bad." Zhu Baoru kept making noises.When Hu Xueyan asked about the porridge factory, he always replied that he was looking for a suitable house. This matter was originally Zhu Baoru's suggestion, and he was not very enthusiastic, so Hu Xueyan stopped asking. In a few days, Wang Peili got a reply, stating the date of boarding the ship. Zhu Baoru took his adoptive son to pick it up, and brought him home. Zhu Jiaju introduced his adoptive mother to him.Zhu Baoru and his wife avoided them deliberately so that they could talk in secret. Zhu Jiaju talked about how he got to know Zhu Baoru in detail, and praised his adoptive mother for being considerate. Wang Peili's vision was stronger than Zhu Jiaju's, "You godfather, you are not a bad person." Great character." "Smart is smart. You say it's great, but I can't see it." "When you meet someone, you only talk for three minutes, but you can't put your whole heart away." Wang Peili asked, "Have you found the place?" "I heard from my godfather that there is a very similar place. I am inquiring about it, and it will probably come out in a few days." "Why did you hear about it? Could it be that you haven't looked for it yourself?" "It's inconvenient for me to come forward." Zhu Jiaju asked, "How much money did you bring?" "Ten thousand silver." "Where?" "Here!" Wang Peili patted his pocket, "Tickets from Fukang Bank." "Where are the pictures?" "Of course I brought it too." Wang Peili said, "Don't tell your godfather and godmother that I brought the picture, and wait until you find a place to talk about it." "This—" Zhu Jiaju was taken aback, "What should I say if they want to ask?" "They said they didn't bring them in Shanghai." "Isn't this dishonesty?" Zhu Jiaju said, "We are relying on others now, and we are dishonest. How can we expect others to treat me with sincerity?" Wang Peili thought for a moment and said, "I have a solution." What can be done?He kept silent, Zhu Jiaju couldn't help asking: "What is the solution? You can talk it out and discuss it." "Being defensive is essential. We are unfamiliar people, and it is easy for him to bully us, so we must find a way to protect ourselves." Wang Peili said, "I want to live in an inn, which is easier to do." "What hand are you moving?" "Don't worry about it. You just need to make up some reason so that I can live in the inn." "It's easy." Zhu Jiaju invited his adoptive parents out, saying that Wang Peili had two friends who would come to see him from Shanghai, and it was not convenient to be at home, so he wanted to stay in the inn for a few days, and then move back to live after meeting with friends. Zhu Baoru and his wife would never have thought that the strangers who had just arrived had become suspicious of them, so they agreed, and found a small inn named "Maoxing" for Wang Peili on the East Street, settled down, and stayed at Zhu's that night. Eating Jiefeng wine and talking about life experience is not as good as others. After dinner at the second watch, the Zhu family took out a half-new, old, and very clean bedding, "Jiaju," she said, "the bedding in the inn is not clean, so you took this bedding and gave it to your friend. go." "Look," the loyal and honest Zhu Jiaju said to Wang Peili with gold flying across his face, "my godmother would be so thoughtful." In fact, this sentence just aggravated Wang Peili's vigilance. When he arrived at the Demaoxing Inn, he said to Zhu Jiaju: "You sit down and go back. Your godmother is very scheming, don't make her suspicious." "No." Zhu Jiaju said, "My godmother will also be a matchmaker for me, she is her natal niece." Wang Peili smiled faintly, "We'll talk about it when we get rich." He still had one thing he didn't say: Don't fall into the trap of beauty. "Now let's talk about the business." Zhu Jiaju asked, "What do you mean by 'do it'?" Wang Peili pondered for a while.He is also a little worried about Zhu Jiaju, so he has to consider his secret plan, whether he should simply hide it from him. "How is it?" Zhu Jiaju urged, "Why don't you speak?" "It's not that I don't speak up." Wang Peili said, "We are small fellow villagers, and we have shared adversity together. It can be said that we are brothers who are inseparable from life and death. But now, in my opinion, you treat your godfather, godfather Mom, you are closer than me." "You are wrong." Zhu Jiaju replied, "My godfather and godmother are also yours. If you want to make a fortune, everyone should make it together. Don't be suspicious." Wang Peili couldn't refute his words for a while, but one thing was clear, if he continued to persuade Zhu Jiaju, he might feel that he was trying to provoke the relationship between their adoptive parents and adoptive son.The big thing has not yet started, and there is a rift in the relationship. If Zhu Jiaju simply leans on his adoptive parents, he will be alone and in a strange place, and he will definitely suffer. So he put on a face of comprehension and said: "You are right. Your godfather and godmother are mine. I will talk to your godfather tomorrow. Have you brought half a picture?" "No. Since you have a home for such an important thing, you will naturally put it at home." Zhu Jiaju asked again, "Do you want to see the half of the picture now?" "No, no." Wang Peili said, "My original plan was to make another fake picture. In the zigzag area below, you must cover half of your picture on it and cut it out carefully so that it will fit perfectly. No. Show a little bit of flaws. Now there is no need." "Your method is really good." Zhu Jiaju thought that Wang Peili had listened to his enlightenment and regained confidence in Zhu Baoru and his wife, and said happily, "You will know after staying here. My godfather and godmother are really good." "I know." "I'm leaving." Zhu Jiaju got up and said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning for lunch." "Okay! See you tomorrow." Wang Peili held him back and said, "I did have a little misunderstanding with the old couple of the Zhu family, but it is gone now. You must not tell them what the two of us said just now, or I will not It’s a shame to stay here.” "I understand, I understand." Zhu Jiaju nodded repeatedly, "I'm not a three-year-old child, I don't know the importance." As soon as Zhu Jiaju left, Wang Peili went to the locker room, borrowed a pair of pens and inkstones from the accountant, and closed the door to "do it". First, he took out a copy of "Jin Gentry Record" from the box, took out a piece of paper sandwiched between the pages of the book, and spread it out on the table. This piece of paper was half of the map.Wang Peili lit up the oil lamp and looked at it carefully at his desk. There were three long squares in the shape of "Chuan" drawn on the picture, and there was another horizontal square on it, which was slightly closer to a square. In the middle of this square, a small square the size of a dice was drawn. , the round point in the middle is where the treasure is hidden. After looking at it for a long time, I began to rub the ink, soak it with the brush, and tried the shade of the ink on the waste paper. I tried to match the original ink, and then I started to write. I randomly added four dice-sized squares on the map. Also add dots in the middle. After the painting is finished, look at it, the ink color is slightly new and old, and if you distinguish it carefully, it will give you away.Wang Peili pondered for a while, put the map on the ground, took another domino stool, pressed it upside down on the ground, and then closed the door to sleep.When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was to look at the half of the map. It was already covered with dust, and I carefully blown it. Although the dust was gone, the traces of old and new ink were covered so that it was impossible to distinguish them. Wang Peili was very proud of himself, so that even Zhu Jiaju could hide the suspicion, so he might as well make it public.So I put away the pictures, and when Zhu Jiaju came, we went to a nearby teahouse to wash our faces and eat some snacks. "Let's discuss it." Zhu Jiaju said, "After going back last night, my godfather asked me, do you have any money to bring? I said yes. He said, he saw a place that looked very similar. No You don’t need to ask for money, you can go to the joint when you have money. Whether it’s pawning or buying, if the price can be negotiated, the deal can be done immediately.” "Oh," Wang Peili asked, "did he ask how much money I brought?" "No." Wang Peili nodded, paused for a moment, and said, "We can't save a small amount of money. I want to give him two hundred taels of silver as a gift. Look, it's about the same amount, right?" "almost." "Where is the Fukang Bank?" Wang Peili said, "The silver bills I brought are all one thousand taels, and I have to go to Fukang to exchange them for small bills." "Okay! Wait for me to ask." Find Dr. Tea, ask Ming Fukang Bank in Qinghefang Street, the two benefited from tea funds, and walked in a car to find it.It was a long way from East Street to Qinghefang Street, and I found it very hard. I exchanged the big ticket for a small ticket, bought a four-color water gift by the way, and hired a sedan chair to go back to the inn. "Wouldn't it be easy to go directly to my godfather's house?" "Didn't you say that your godfather would ask for a map?" Wang Peili said, "Why don't I take it with me, and we'll see what happens then." "Yes! That's good." So, back to the inn first, Wang Peili brought the "Jin Gentleman's Record" with him, and went to Zhu's house together. It was the time of "firing the noon cannon", and the wife of Zhu's family had already stewed a fat chicken, waiting for them to eat . "Uncle Zhu, Aunt Zhu," Wang Peili put the four-color water gift on the table, reached into his arms, took out a red envelope from Fukang, and offered it with both hands, "I came back in a hurry and didn't bring anything. Honoring the two of you, I have no choice but to do it." "There is no such reason." Zhu Baoru pushed his hands outward, "You bought these four foods, and you bought them. If you don't talk about them, you don't need to do it. You don't get paid for nothing." "No! No! I will bother you more in the future, please don't be polite." Wang Peili said again, "Jia Kui's godfather and godmother are also my elders. If you are a junior, you will not accept it. I'm rather uneasy." So Zhu Jiaju also helped to persuade, Zhu Baoru finally accepted it, took a moment to open it, and saw that it was a banknote of two hundred taels of silver. , I can always find a way to dig out a few more articles from him. While eating, they talked about business: "I found a place that looks very similar. After dinner, I'll take you to have a look." Zhu Baoru asked, "Did you bring that half map?" "Brought it." Wang Peili asked, "Do you want to see Uncle Zhu?" "Not busy, not busy!" Zhu Baoru said, "I'll watch it after dinner." When they were drunk and full of food, Zhu's wife brought a pot of very strong Dragon Well tea to relieve their hunger and digestion.While drinking tea, while talking about business, Wang Peili told Zhu Jiaju to take out half of the map he kept, and then took out half of his map from "Jin Gentleman Records", and spread them on the square table, with the two ends of the canine teeth intersecting. Slowly put them together, but you can see that the seams fit perfectly, and the ink color is not bad at all, it is indeed two halves divided into two. This is Wang Peili's deliberate pretentiousness. This way of concealing the truth is not only to deceive Zhu Baoru, but also to test Zhu Jiaju's memory, because when the picture was divided at the beginning, it was in a hurry, and Zhu Jiaju did not. He didn't look at it carefully, but even if he only glanced at it, there was only one small square the size of a dice on the picture. He might still remember that there were a few more small squares on the picture, and he must have thought that he had tampered with it, and the purpose was to deal with Zhu Baoru. , Of course it is in my heart, I will not speak out, talk about it after the fact, and then make a reason.If you don't even remember, it's easier to deal with. Therefore, when looking at the pictures together, he paid great attention to Zhu Jiaju's expression, and to his slight surprise, although Zhu Jiaju was confused, he had the same expression as his adoptive father: inexplicable. "The place where the small squares are drawn, of course, refers to the place where the treasure is hidden!" Zhu Baoru asked, "How come there are so many places? Could it be that there are too many things and they need to be buried separately?" "That may not be the case." Wang Peili replied. "No." Zhu Jiaju interjected, "I know there is only one big wooden box." As soon as this remark came out, Wang Peili's heart jumped, because he was about to show his feet, but he is also a very powerful character, and he adapts to the situation calmly and calmly. "In that case, there's only one place that's real," he said, "and the rest is a deliberate sham." "That's right, that's right!" Zhu Baoru completely agreed with his explanation, "I said in 'Listening to the Great Book' earlier that Cao Cao had seventy-three suspected tombs, probably at the beginning because he was afraid that the map would be lost, so he specially imitated the method of the suspicious tombs and set up a cover-up. " Wang Peili nodded, and took a quick glance at Zhu Jiaju, seeing that he was still confused and seemed to be thinking about something, he couldn't help but muttered in his heart, he was afraid that it would be self-defeating, and he was also deeply dissatisfied with Zhu Jiaju, thinking that he was too stupid to follow him. Like wood, they don't know how to call cooperation. "I'm in Shanghai. It's very strange to take out pictures sometimes. I regret that I didn't ask about it at the time. However, as long as the location is good, it doesn't matter whether it's only real in one place or separate to hide treasures, it's a big deal. If you spend a little more time, things will never escape." Hearing this, Zhu Jiaju seemed relieved, "Godfather," he said, "let's go and see the house." "Okay! Let's go!" After collecting the pictures and getting up to leave, Zhu's wife appeared in the main room, "It's windy today," she said to her husband, "Come in, add a piece of clothing before leaving." "It's okay! No need." Zhu Baoru obviously didn't understand his wife's intentions. "Add a mandarin jacket. I've already taken it out." It was the second time that Zhu Baoru realized that he had something to say to him, so he replied "That's fine" and followed. In the bedroom, Zhu's wife lowered her head to help her husband button the mandarin jacket, and said in a low voice, "What the two of them said is not quite right. Doesn't the one surnamed Wang know that there is only one box buried in the ground?" With a word that awakened the dreamer, Zhu Baoru suddenly realized the mystery of the picture, so he changed his mind, went to the alley where Yan Jinshi lived, pointed to the house next to him, and said: " Well, that family, Changmao has been in the mansion, I'm afraid it is." "I don't know what your last name is?" "I heard the surname is Wang." Zhu Baoru said nonsense. "Oh!" Wang Peili remained silent, turned back to Guandi Temple, winked at Zhu Jiaju, and walked slowly over with normal steps, of course measuring the distance. "Let's talk about it when we get back!" Zhu Baoru said softly, "Someone is already paying attention to us." Hearing this, Wang Peili and Zhu Jiaju didn't even dare to raise their heads, and followed Zhu Baoru home. It turned out that after the imperial court recovered Jinling and quelled the chaos, although the long-haired man was treated leniently by "don't ask if he is threatened", the situation of this generation is really no different from "rats crossing the street, everyone shouts and beats them".At the same time, "investigate traitors", the local team training where the responsibility belongs, often finds trouble with them, and if there is a disagreement, they can be taken to the "public office" to deal with it, so Zhu Jiaju and Wang Peili will be nervous when they hear that someone is paying attention. After dinner at home, Zhu Jiaju sent Wang Peili back to the inn. Zhu Baoru said to his wife, "Thank you for reminding me, I didn't show them Yan Jinshi's house, lest they have to deal with each other in private." "This man surnamed Wang is dishonest. I really want to defend him," Zhu's wife asked. "I haven't seen that picture. How is it painted on it?" "Here!" Zhu Baoru gesticulated on the table with his fingers, "There are three long squares in a row, and there is a horizontal long square on top of it, there is nothing wrong with Yan Jinshi's family." "Is it written clearly?" "Where! It's written clearly, why bother to find it?" "Then how did you decide?" "I went to see Yan's house!" Zhu Baoru said, "There are three entrances in his house, which are three rectangular blocks. The one on top is the place where Mrs. Yan grows peonies." "Ah, ah, that's right. It sounds like you said it." Zhu's wife asked again, "I heard that you are talking, there seems to be more than one place where the treasure is hidden, why did Jia Kui say that all he saw was a wooden box? " "That's what you said, the one surnamed Wang is dishonest." Zhu Baoru said, "There is only one place where the treasure is hidden, and I already know it." "Where?" "It's the flower bed where the peonies are planted. Why?" Zhu Baoru asked himself and answered, "The squares drawn elsewhere, according to the picture, are all in the house. The most important thing is the floor, and digging up these places to hide the treasure, not to mention the trouble, and the traces must be exposed, is simply unreasonable. If you think about it this way, there is only the flower bed under the open air." "Then why are there several places?" "Blindfolding." "Blindfolding?" Zhu's wife asked, "Who did it?" "Maybe it's Wang Peili." Zhu's wife thought for a while and said, "In this case, don't make any noise, wait until I come to ask Jia Kui." "Ask him?" Zhu Baoru said, "He won't tell Wang Peili? Then things will get worse." "Of course I understand." Zhu's wife said, "Don't worry about it, I have my own reasons." At this time, Zhu Jiaju and Wang Peili were also talking about the treasure map in the inn.In Zhu Jiaju's impression, the lower half of the picture seemed to be clean and there were not so many small squares the size of dice. Wang Peili admitted that he had tampered with it, and complained that Zhu Jiaju was not alert enough. "I've already told you that we must be defensive. You should have imagined it at the time. If there is something wrong, just keep it in your stomach and talk about it slowly. Why did you open your mouth at that time? It seems that the two of us There is a bit of a mismatch between individuals!" Zhu Jiaju himself also felt that he was a little thoughtless in his actions and words, so he silently accepted his blame, but he had to ask the truth, "So," he asked, "which one is true?" From the experience of working together this time, Wang Peili found that Zhu Jiaju was too honest. He also believed in the saying that "honesty is an alias for uselessness", so he decided to hold back. He pointed to a small square on the top of the first long square and said: " Here, here." "Here!" Zhu Jiaju frowned and asked, "What is this place?" “你问我，我去问哪个？”王培利答说，“今天我们去看的那家人家，大致不错，因为我用脚步测量过。那里坐西朝东，能够进去看一看，自然就会明白。现在要请你干爹多做的一件事，就是想法子让我进去查看，看对了再谈第二步。” “好！我回去跟我干爹说。” 到得第二天，朱宝如一早就出门了，朱家驹尚无机会谈及此事，他的干妈却跟他谈起来了，“家驹，”她说，“我昨天听你们在谈地图，好像有的地方，不大合情理。” “是。”朱家驹很谨慎地答说，“干妈是觉得哪里不大合情理？” “人家既然把这样一件大事托付了你们两个，当然要把话说清楚，藏宝的地方应该指点得明明白白。现在好像有了图同没有图一样。你说是不是呢？” “那，”朱家驹说，“那是因为太匆促的缘故。” “还有，”朱家老婆突然顿住，然后摇摇头说，“不谈了。” “干妈，”朱家驹有些不安，“有什么话，请你尽管说。” “我说了，害你为难，不如不说。” “什么事我会为难？干妈，我实在想不出来。” “你真的想不出来？” "real." “好！我同你说。你如果觉得为难，就不必回话。” “不会的。干妈有话问我，我一定照实回话。” “你老实，我晓得的。” 意在言外，王培利欠老实。朱家驹听懂了这句话，装作不懂。好在这不是发问，所以他可以不做声。 “家驹，”朱家老婆问，“当初埋在地下的，是不是一口箱子？” "yes." “一口箱子，怎么能埋好几处地方？” 这一问，朱家驹立即就感觉为难了，但他知道，决不能迟疑，否则即便说了实话，依然不能获得信任。 因此，他很快地答说：“当然不能。昨天晚上我同王培利谈了好半天，我认为藏宝的地方，只有一处，至于是哪一处，要进去查看过再说。培利现在要请干爹想法子的，就是让我们进去看一看。” “这恐怕不容易，除非先把房子买下来。” “买下来不知道要多少钱？” “这要去打听。”朱家老婆说，“我想总要两三千银子。” “两三千银子是有的。”朱家驹说，“我跟培利来说，要他先把这笔款子拨出来，交给干爹。” “那倒不必。”朱家老婆忽然问道，“家驹，你到底想不想成家？” “当然想要成家。”朱家驹说，“这件事，要请干妈成全。” “包在我身上。”朱家老婆问说，“只要你不嫌爱珠。” 爱珠是她娘家的侄女儿，今年二十五岁，二十岁出嫁，婚后第二年，丈夫一病身亡，就此居孀。她所说的“不嫌”，意思便是莫嫌再醮之妇。 朱家驹却没有听懂她的话，立即答说：“像爱珠小姐这样的人品，如说我还要嫌她，那真正是有眼无珠了。” 原来爱珠生得中上之姿，朱家驹第一次与她见面，便不住地偷觑，事后谈起来赞不绝口。朱家老婆拿她来作为笼络的工具，是十拿九稳的事，不过，寡妇的身份，必须说明。她记得曾告诉过朱家驹，但因为轻描淡写之故，他没有听清楚，此刻必须再作一次说明。 “我不是说你嫌她的相貌，我是说，她是嫁过人的。” “我知道，我知道。干娘跟我说过。这一层，请干娘放心，我不在乎。不过，”朱家驹问，“不知道她有没有儿女？” “这一层，你也放心好了，决不会带拖油瓶过来的。她没有生过。” “那就更好了。”朱家驹说，“干妈，你还有没有适当的人，给培利也做个媒？” “喔，他也还没有娶亲？” “娶是娶过的，是童养媳，感情不好，所以他不肯回江西。” “既然他在家乡有了老婆，我怎么好替他做媒？这种伤阴骘的事情，我是不做的。” 一句话就轻轻巧巧地推脱了，但朱家驹还不死心，“干妈，”他说，“如果他花几个钱，把他的童养媳老婆休回娘家呢？” “那，到了那时候再说。”朱家老婆说，“你要成家，就好买房子了。你干爹今天会托人同姓王的房主去接头，如果肯卖，不晓得你钱预备了没有？” “预备了。”朱家驹说，“我同王培利有一笔钱，当初约好不动用，归他保管，现在要买房子，就用那笔钱。” “那么，是你们两个人合买，还是你一个人买？” “当然两个人合买。” “这怕不大好。”朱家老婆提醒他说，“你买来是要自己住的，莫非他同你一起住？” 朱家驹想了一下说：“或者我另外买一处，藏宝的房子一定要两个人合买，不然，好像说不过去。” “这话也不错。”朱家老婆沉吟了一会说，“不过，你们各买房子以外，你又单独要买一处，他会不会起疑心呢？” “干妈，你说他会起什么疑心？” “疑心你单独买的房子，才真的是藏宝的地方。” “只要我的房子不买在金洞桥、万安桥一带，两处隔远了自然就不会起疑心。” 听得这话，朱家老婆才发觉自己财迷心窍，差点露马脚。原来她的盘算是，最好合买的是朱宝如指鹿为马的所谓“王”家的房子，而朱家驹或买或典，搬入严进士家，那一来两处密迩，藏宝之地，一真一伪，才不会引起怀疑。幸而朱家驹根本没有想到，她心目中已有一个严进士家，才不致于识破机关，然而也够险的了。 言多必失，她不再跟朱家驹谈这件事了。到晚来，夫妇俩在枕上细语，秘密商议了大半夜，定下一条连环计，第一套无中生有，第二套借刀杀人，第三套过河拆桥，加紧布置，次第施行。 第二天下午，朱宝如回家，恰好王培利来吃夜饭，他高高兴兴地说：“路子找到了，房主不姓王，姓刘，我有个'瓦摇头'的朋友，是刘家的远房亲戚，我托他去问了。” 杭州人管买卖房屋的掮客，叫做“瓦摇头”，此人姓孙行四，能言善道，十分和气，朱宝如居间让他们见了面，谈得颇为投机。提到买刘家房子的事，孙四大为摇头，连声：“不好！不好！” “怎么不好？”朱家驹问说。 “我同老朱是老朋友，不作兴害人的。刘家的房子不干净。” “不干净？有狐仙？” “狐仙倒不要紧，初二、十六，弄四个白灼鸡蛋，二两烧酒供一供就没事了。”孙四放低了声音说，“长毛打公馆的时候，死了好些人在里头，常常会闹鬼。” 听这一说，王培利的信心越发坚定，“孙四爷，”他说，“我平生就是不相信有鬼。” “何必呢？现在好房子多得很。刘家的房子看着没人要，你去请教他，他又奇货可居了，房价还不便宜，实在犯不着。” 话有点说不下去了，王培利只好以眼色向朱宝如求援。 “是这样的，”朱宝如从容说道，“我这个干儿子同他的好朋友，想在杭州落户，为了离我家近，所以想合买刘家的房子。他们是外路人，不知道这里的情形，我是晓得的，刘家的房子不干净，我也同他们提过，他们说拆了翻造，就不要紧了。啊，”他突然看着王培利、朱家驹说，“将来翻造的时候，你们到龙虎山请一道张天师的镇宅神符下来，就更加保险了。” “是，是！”朱家驹说，“我认识龙虎山上清宫的一个'法官'，将来请他来作法。” “孙四哥，你听见了，还是请你去进行。” “既然有张天师保险，就不要紧了。好的，我三天以后来回话。” 到了第三天，回音来了，情况相当复杂：刘家的房子，由三家人家分租，租约未满，请人让屋要贴搬家费，所以屋主提出两个条件，任凭选择。 “房价是四千两，如果肯贴搬家费每家二百两，一共是四千六百两，马上可以成契交屋；倘或不肯贴搬家费，交屋要在三个月之后，因为那时租约到期，房子就可以收回。” 朱宝如又说：“当然，房价也不能一次交付，先付定洋，其余的款子，存在阜康钱庄，交产以后兑现，你们看怎么样？” “干爹，你看呢？”朱家驹问，“房价是不是能够减一点？” “这当然是可以谈的。我们先把付款的办法决定下来。照我看第二个办法比较好，三个月的工夫，省下六百两，不是个小数。” “到了那时候，租户不肯搬，怎么办？”王培利问。 “我也这样子问孙老四，他说一定会搬，因为房主打算让他们白住三个月，等于就是贴的搬家费。”朱宝如又说，“而且，我们可以把罚则订在契约里头，如果延迟交屋，退回定洋，再罚多少，这样就万无一失了。” “既然如此，我们就先付定洋，等他交产，余款付清。”王培利问，“何必要我们把余款存在钱庄里？” “其中有个道理——” 据说姓刘的房主从事米业，目前正有扩充营业的打算，预备向阜康钱庄借款，以房子作抵，但如出卖了，即无法抵押。但如阜康钱庄知道他有还款的来源，情况就不同了。 “我们存了这笔款子在阜康，就等于替他作了担保，放款不会吃账，阜康当然就肯借了。”朱宝如又说，“我在想，款子存在阜康，利息是你们的，并不吃亏，而且这一来，我们要杀他的价，作中的孙老四，也比较好开口了。这件事，你们既然托了我，我当然要前前后后，都替你们盘算到，不能让你们吃一点亏。” “是，是。”王培利觉得他的话不错，转脸问朱家驹，“就这样办吧？” “就这样办。”朱家驹说，“请干爹再替我们去讲讲价钱。” “好，我现在就同孙老四去谈。晚上我约他来吃饭，你们当面再谈。” 朱宝如随即出门，他老婆为了晚上款客，挽个菜篮子上了小菜场，留着朱家驹看家，正好让他把存在心里已经好几天的话，说了出来。 首先是谈他预备成家，同时也把他请他干妈为王培利作媒的话，据实相告，“我们是共患难的兄弟，我一直想同你在一起。”朱家驹说，“我们做过长毛，回家乡也没有面子，杭州是好地方，在这里发财落户，再好都没有。你另外娶老婆的事，包在我身上，一定替你办好。” 这番话说得很动听，而且由于朱家老婆这些日子以来嘘寒问暖的殷勤，王培利的观感已多少有所改变，因而也就起劲地跟朱家驹认真地谈论落户杭州的计划。 “刘家的房子，死了那么多人，又闹鬼，是一处凶宅，绝不能住人。等我们掘到了宝藏，反正也不在乎了，贱价卖掉也无所谓了。你说是不是？” “一点不错。”王培利说，“与其翻造，还不如另外买房子来住。” “就是这话啰！”朱家驹急转直下地说，“培利，我成家在先，要我成了家，才能帮你成家。所以我现在就想买房子，或者典一处，你看怎么样？” “这是好事，我没有不赞成之理。” “好！”朱家驹非常高兴地说，“这才是患难弟兄。” 王培利点点头，沉吟了一会说：“你买房子要多少钱？” “目前当然只好将就，够两个人住就可以了。培利，我想这样办，我们先提出一笔款子，专门为办'正经事'之用，另外的钱，分开来各自存在钱庄里，归自己用。当然，我不够向你借，你不够向我借，还是好商量的。” 王培利考虑了一下，同意了。带来一万银子，还剩下九千五，提出四千五作为“公款”，开户用图章。剩下五千，各分两千五，自行处置。 这一谈妥当了，彼此都有以逸待劳之感，所以当天晚上跟孙四杯酒言欢时，王培利从容还价，而孙四是中间人的地位，只很客气地表示，尽力跟房主去交涉，能把房价压得越低越好。在这样的气氛之下，当然谈得十分投机，尽欢而散。 等孙四告辞，王培利回了客栈，朱家驹将他与王培利的协议，向干爹干妈和盘托出。 朱宝如有了这个底子，便私下去进行他的事，托辞公事派遣到苏州，实际上是到上海走了一趟，打着胡雪岩招牌，见到了严进士，谈到了典房的事，严进士一口应承，写了一封信，让他回杭州跟他的一个侄子来谈细节。 一去一回，花了半个月的工夫，朱家驹与王培利买刘家房子的事，亦已谈妥，三千四百两银子，先付零数，作为定洋，余下三千，在阜康钱庄立个折子，户名叫“朱培记”，现刻一颗图章，由王培利收执，存折交朱家驹保管。草约亦已拟好，三个月之内交屋，逾期一天，罚银子十两，如果超过一个月，合约取消，另加倍退还定洋。 “干爹，”朱家驹说，“只等你回来立契约。对方催得很急，是不是明天就办好了它？” “不忙，不忙！契约要好好看，立契也要挑好日子。” 事实上，是三套连环计要第二套了，朱宝如刚刚回来，需要好好布置一番。 这样拖延了四天，终于在一个宜于立契置产的黄道吉日，订了契约，王培利亦已决定搬至朱家来住。哪知就在将要移居的第一天，王培利为团练局的巡防队所捕，抓到队上一问，王培利供出朱家驹与朱宝如，结果这义父子二人亦双双被捕。