It's already autumn now, but the weather doesn't seem to be cool at all.Several heavy rains in succession have been spinning down and stopping.When it’s sunny, it’s still a hot day, and the ground is rolled up by the sun. The floating soil on the big post road is like noodles that have just been fried in a hot pot. When you step on it, white smoke rises, scorching hot, burning people’s hearts. Get tight.The Dezhou government office is located on the bank of the canal in the north of the city. The wharf is just a stone’s throw away from the government office. Very few pedestrians.In the old shop of Shen’s family on the east side of the pier, the shop owner and three or four guys sat in front of the shop topless, drinking tea and playing fans:

"Hey, have you heard?" A clerk waved a fan with one hand, rubbed his bony and scaly chest with the other, pinched the black and greasy sweat ash in his hand, and said in his mouth: "Old Dexiang The store distributes the soup, and the three brothers had a fight yesterday. The second and third joined hands and beat up Ma Boss, hee hee... When I went to see it, the excitement was already over. The three brothers were naked and covered in blood like a gourd. , the three wives each supported their own masters and scolded each other, and a pot of old soup was poured into the courtyard. Oh, you didn’t see, the pair of big white tits of the second daughter-in-law, and the trousers of the third wife were pulled to the thighs..." As he spoke, he swallowed like a glutton.

Boss Shen, who had been half lying on the bamboo chair, closed his eyes and shook his fan, laughed and said, "Xiao Luzi, you should go up to the show, so just put your nose to your thigh and smell the fragrance..." Xiao Lu Zi joked: "Come on, I don't dare to mess with you. I'm so skinny that the price of chicken essence can hold her tossing around? But Boss Shen pressed him up, and the meat piled on top of the meat mountain, and the taste was suppressed! Or else it's our second brother Hao. , a body full of slenderness, full of strength, I can guarantee that the three women will be happy and comfortable!"

Brother Hao, who was sitting at the door to cool off, patted Xiao Luzi on the forehead with a fan and smiled, "Your mother came to see you last time, and I think she looks good. How about it, recognize a father?" Everyone roared with laughter.Boss Shen laughed so hard that his whole body trembled, and he sat up after a while, stroked his thick belly with his hands, and sighed: "That is a pot of Zhengde old soup, which has been passed down for more than a hundred years. It was cleaned up. Our Dezhou grilled chicken, the old Dexiang Ma's is one of the best authentic - the house caught fire and fled with the old soup, which is the old rule of the grilled chicken. You smashed the old soup pot for the division, you are really a prodigal .Look, they still have a lawsuit, so there's something to watch!"

Several people were silent after hearing this.Dezhou braised chicken is famous all over the world. Not only in Shandong, but also in Baoding and Henan, dignitaries and dignitaries treat guests to banquets. It has been handed down for more than ten generations, and the chicken refills are never stopped.If you are a chicken family, you don't value floating money, but the pot of stewed soup.Now the old Dexiang's family smashed the soup pot because of the uneven distribution of soup, and even the owner of the hotel, Shen, couldn't help but frown regretfully.He took a heavy breath and said: "The soup pot has been overturned, and there is still a fart lawsuit! In terms of their old Ma's family, they are prosperous enough, and they only rely on the money earned by their ancestors, and they will not be able to eat in this life." —— Be smart and kindly divide the floating property and real estate, and each of them will set up the soup pot again in Ansheng. After a few years, it will still be alive. What kind of good official is our Liu Taizun? I wish that there would be lawsuits all over the house, and the Dezhou roast would be fished out in one go The chicken is still not reconciled!" Then he ordered Xiaoluzi: "Take a watermelon that is frozen in the well in the backyard. It is very hot today, and there are no guests coming to stay at this time. It is time to eat watermelon to relieve the heat." Xiaoluzi I was so happy that I jumped up and went away.

A few people chewed the melon, licked their mouths and smacked their tongues, dripping melon water and pasting melon seeds with their mouths full.Just as he was complacent, the side door of the backyard squeaked, and a middle-aged man in his thirties came out, Yu, with a square face and small eyes, but fair skin.A big braid was thick and long, neatly combed, casually draped over the shoulders.On a hot day, he was still wearing an indigo kudzu gown with a black belt around his waist, which made him look sharp and neat without being messy.There is a black mole the size of a copper coin on the left cheek with a tuft of long hair like a bristle, which makes people feel uncomfortable no matter how they look at it.Seeing him coming out, Boss Shen got up with a smile, hiccupped, and said, "It's Master Rui! It's so cool in the room when the dog sticks out its tongue! Are you going out dressed so neatly? Come, come... eat Eat melons...the well water is frozen, cool, sandy and sweet, eat a piece before going!"

"No need." Second Master Rui smiled darkly, and said, "Our Master He is going to visit the Futai Yamen in a moment. Is there a barn room near here? I'll go find a sedan chair." Just as he was talking, there was a person at the side door Leaning forward, he shouted: "Rui Er! Mr. He is done using ink, you can buy two ingots by the way." Rui Er turned around and said loudly: "It's worth it! It's Cao Rui's, tell the master that there are cold melons in this store, and the master wants to use them." , ask them to send in one!" Boss Shen and the store clerks couldn't help but look at each other: the Futai Yamen is just a step away, and there is no need to look for a sedan chair. This customer surnamed He has two long-term followers, Rui Er and Cao Rui, and he is already staying in the store. For many months, she has always been alone.Said it was "doing business" but did not socialize with businessmen.I live in a small courtyard in the east, with a rent of two renminbi a day, and I eat vegetables and tofu every day, and Er Rui cooks the food. To put it bluntly, it is not as good as the group of poor, filial and honest people who went to Beijing to take the exam. Suddenly, he became a "lord", and he wanted to go to the Futai Yamen to "visit guests" in a grand sedan chair!Seeing everyone staring at him, Rui Er smiled subtly and said, "To tell you the truth, our master is from Jinan Grain Storage Road, and was ordered by Yue Futai Constitution to come to Dezhou to check the deficit. I will go back to the province in the next day. If you serve well, you will naturally be rewarded."

"Ouch!" Boss Shen jumped up from the reclining chair in shock. He was slightly taken aback, his eyes narrowed like a Maitreya Buddha with a smile, "I'm so sorry! Big gentleman, no wonder I dreamed that my father scolded me for being blind the other night, and my eyes actually grew to my buttocks. There is a sedan chair, and there is a bar room two or three houses away when I go out. In such a hot day, your second master doesn’t have to move around—— Hao Er, why are you so dazed, why don't you hurry up and find a sedan chair for Mr. He?" He brushed the chair with his own hands to invite Rui Er to sit, and while putting on his coat, he yelled at Xiao Luzi: "Why don't you hurry up and get two more melons? , cut another one here, and send one in for Mr. He!"

The crowd was in a hurry, some were looking for sedan chairs, some were fetching melons, and two young men were picking up the rinds of the melons they had just eaten, chasing away flies, wiping the table and sweeping the floor, Boss Shen was chatting with Rui Er without saying anything.In less than a bag of cigarettes, a bamboo sedan chair carried by four people has already landed at the door of the shop.Rui Er nodded in satisfaction, and was about to go in to report to He Daotai, when the east door rang, Cao Rui was in front, and behind him he saw He Daotai dressed in official eyes, a robe with eight pythons and five claws, a snow goose men's suit, blue nirvana The glass roof shone brightly in the sunlight, and came out slowly with four square steps.Everyone's eyes lit up, and they knelt on the ground long ago. Boss Shen murmured: "Master Daotai, forgive me, I have lived in my small shop for so many days, and I don't have a good life to serve your old man. I can't even be safe. I didn't go to invite you. Your boss has a big belly..."

"It's nothing, let's all get up." He Daotai said gently, "I didn't say, you don't know, what is there to be 'criminal'? I just don't want to say it because I'm afraid of being disturbed. Okay? Remember, Cao Rui, I will reward them with twenty taels of silver tomorrow." He spoke in a low voice, appearing to be very steady and serene, but he was a little short of breath, slightly wheezing with phlegm, and his clear melon-seeded face was tired, as he said , while casually leaving the store and sitting in the sedan chair, he coughed lightly and said, "Lift up the sedan chair, go to the government office. Rui Er will report to Liu Kang first, saying that I will pay a visit to him."

"That's called nobility!" Boss Shen looked at the winding sedan chair and said leisurely with his banana fan: "Look at this measure! Listen to what he said! Think about his style! Back then When I entered the store, I saw that he didn't look like a businessman, and now he really is!" Xiao Luzi curled his lips and smiled from the side, "Sixth Uncle Shen, didn't you say that he is like an old scholar in Sanjia Village, who is uneasy about teaching and came out to fight against the government? Are you rich?" Boss Shen was picked on by him, and he slapped Xiaolu on his ass, "Stop fucking your mother, when did I say such a bastard? Stop grinding your teeth around here. Hao Second, take these little monkeys to the east courtyard, and clean the inside and outside of the house for Mr. He; Xiao Luzi goes out to buy some fish, meat and vegetables, and then goes to Zhang's old shop to order two braised chickens—you have to watch them cook now. Mr. He came back, let's be a host, and the scenery is decent! It's not that I said that a Tongzhi master lived in the Longxing store on Qianjie the year before last, and they were so happy. Now we live here now. Master!" As he said, he waved his fan triumphantly and went back to his account room with his stomach full. But Boss Shen and the others spent a long time talking for nothing.He Daotai didn't come back to the store until late at night, at the time of Tianjiaozi.Accompanied by the magistrate Liu Kang, he brought a large group of masters and yamen servants, and came here on foot.At the door of the store, all the government servants stayed and waited, only Liu Kang personally sent him to the east courtyard.Boss Shen prepared two jars of Sanhe old mash and a table of sumptuous noodles, which were cheaper than waiting for Liu Kang's business trip. Xiaoluzi ate a full stomach of watermelon at noon, and took two buckets of well water to take a shower after dinner. At that time, he felt very happy. , still doesn't work.I had to run to the east toilet again and again.When He Daotai came back, he gritted his teeth and struggled to send two buckets of hot water to the east courtyard. He saw Taizun accompanying Daotai talking in the upper room, and there was Li Ruixiang from the Futai Yamen guarding the gate of the courtyard.Firstly, he didn’t dare, and secondly, he was really embarrassed to enter the east toilet again, so he had to lie down on his lower bed, endured it for half an hour, his face turned blue, and Liu Kang hadn’t left yet.In desperation, I had to get up, clutching my stomach and staggering through the room to the backyard.A long squat came in the radish patch next to the well.Xiaoluzi felt his stomach loosen a bit, lifted his pants and looked up at the sky, the sky was pitch black, it turned out that it had been cloudy since when. A gust of cool wind hit, Xiaoluzi shivered, and then he heard the sound of thunder rolling over the bridge hole.He moved his sleepy and numb legs and was about to get out of the carrot field when suddenly there was a "pop" sound from the north room in the east courtyard, as if something had been broken, and then he heard He Daotai's voice: "You I despise you more and more for being so entangled like this! Since you don't want to dismiss me, I will be lying on the couch tonight, so I can only ask you to sit and wait until I wake up, and then I will continue to fight with you!" "Does such a big man still bicker?" Xiao Luzi became curious, thinking that he was running out of stomach anyway, so he might as well just stay in the carrot garden and eat lunch.Taking advantage of the flickering lightning, he tiptoed across the radish ridge trembling in the cool wind, sneaked under the north window, and sat on the stone strip under the old mulberry tree.After staying for a while without hearing any movement in the room, I couldn't help getting up, licking the broken window paper with the tip of my tongue and looking inside. The light in the room is very dark, except for a tile soybean oil lamp on the kang table, which is not set high enough, and the bright green flame of the bean-like lamp emits a faint green light, which looks a bit eerie.Xiaoluzi squinted and stared for a long time before he could see clearly. He Daotai was lying on his back on the kang, facing the window as if he was closing his eyes and resting his mind. Cao Rui and Ruier were leaning against the window sill, standing with their hands down, unable to see clearly.Liu Kang didn't wear a big hat, stroking his forehead with one hand and gently shaking Concubine Xiang's bamboo fan with the other, pacing slowly along the edge of the Kang.Standing by the door was Li Ruiyang, Liu Kang's close follower in the yamen, also sullen and silent. "I don't want to fight your lord He Xun." After a long time, Liu Kang seemed to have made up his mind, raised his face and stared coldly at He Daotai, with a cruel smile on his lips, and said slowly: "Go your way to Jinan , I am sitting in my Texas mansion. Well water does not violate river water. It is your lord who traveled thousands of miles here to seek my bad luck. I don’t understand: deficits can be found in any mansion; stolen money is even more so for officials. Why do you insist on biting me, Mr. Liu? What are you thinking and what do you want to do?!" He Daotai didn't even open his eyes, it was probably too hot, so he slapped the fan twice before saying, "None of what you said is right. I'm a grain storage road, and all the money in the province is passed through my hands. If you want to get money, you can't find it." You, Liu Kang. The treasury of the Dezhou government was not in short supply. You have been in office for less than three years, and there is a shortfall of 121,000 taels. You said it was a waste of fire, but I think it was a waste of people, so I want to join you— —As for the fact that there are no officials in the world who are not corrupt, you can tell Lord Yongzheng this. I am just a kitten in the court, and I can catch a mouse if I catch a mouse. I can do it if I take the money from the court and eat my belly without catching mice. ?” "One hundred thousand snowflake silver from the magistrate of Qing Dynasty in three years." Liu Kang said with a sinister smile, "I'm considered an upright official! Just tell me, how much do you want?" "I do not want." "Thirty thousand." "..." "fifty thousand." "..." "Sixty thousand! No more!" He Daotai, who was lying on the kang, said "hee": "I raise six thousand taels of silver a year, which is enough. You take the sixty thousand silver into the coffin!" This sentence is like a gate. The topic got stuck, and there was a sudden silence in the room. Xiao Luzi forgot his stomach ache when he saw it. Suddenly, a bright light flashed across the sky, and the cool rain sizzled down.Xiaoluzi couldn't help laughing inwardly: I didn't expect that going to the latrine tonight would be such an eye-opener, and I felt a little suffocated. I was about to leave, but I saw Li Ruixiang on the other side winking at the window. He thought he saw him eavesdropping on Bigen. shock.Just as he was surprised, he saw Rui Er, who was leaning against the window sill, stuff a small paper bag into Cao Rui's hand from behind.Cao Rui remained calm, took the teacup on the Kang table and poured the residual tea, carefully unfolded the paper bag, shook something in the bag into the teacup with trembling fingers, then the tin pot on the table was filled with water, and shook again Huang, said softly: "Master He, please have some tea." "Poison!" Xiao Luzi was so frightened that his eyes were straightened, his mouth was open and his body was dripping with cold sweat, and he stood frozen outside the window like a stone man, unable to speak!Na He Daotai lazily got up and picked up his teacup. "I brought tea to see off the guests, but the cup broke, and you refused to leave. At this moment, I have no choice but to serve tea to quench my thirst." He Daotai said in a cold tone, he toasted his glass and drank it down, his eyes sparkled, and he rushed Looking at Liu Kang, he said: "I was taught by myself, I read the books of sages and sages, and I followed the Tao of Confucius and Mencius. I was born as a child at thirteen, entered school at fifteen, was filial at the age of twenty, and was in the hands of the late emperor at the age of twenty-one. Zhong Jinshi. I have been an official for thirteen years in the hands of Lord Yongzheng, and I have a lot of experience in the officialdom. I have never seen you so brazen! Only then did I really understand that the reason why Xiao "is a villain" is because he is shameless. Yu Du is a villain.You are a corrupt official yourself, and you still want to drag me in!Good life listen to my advice, go back and write a self-impeachment article, quit the stolen money, accept the small punishment, I can still deal with Li Zhitai for you-ouch! " He Daotai suddenly let out a cry of pain, and tightly covered his stomach with his hands. Huo Di turned his face away, stared at Cao Rui angrily, and couldn't say a word.Suddenly there was a flash of light, and Xiao Luzi really saw that He Daotai's face was as pale as a sheet of white paper, with cold sweat dripping down his forehead and cheeks, and one pair of eyes was blood red, staring at his two. The servant took a long time to say a few words with difficulty: "I have been murdered by evil slaves..." "By the way, He Luying!" Cao Rui sneered sneeringly: "We have waited for you to the end, next year today is your anniversary!" Said waved his hands, Ruier and him rushed onto the kang like hungry tigers, and the two wiped The tablecloth tightly covered He Luying's mouth, and pressed it firmly.Rui Er grinned grinningly and said: "When people go out with officials, who doesn't expect to get rich? If you want to be an upright official, my family will drink the northwest wind—" As he spoke, he rubbed He Luying's shoulder blades vigorously: "My name is You Qing! I call you Qing! Go to hell to 'Qing'!" The heavens seemed to be enraged by the human tragedy that happened in this small shop. A flash flashed through the thick black clouds, illuminating the vegetable garden, and almost at the same time, a deafening thunder exploded, shaking the old house. After falling down Xiaoluzi's neck, he immediately fell into a boundless darkness.The torrential rain poured down without thinking, the branches of the old mulberry tree danced wildly in the howling wind, and the wet leaves made a heart-stopping rustling sound... "Undo his belt." Xiaoluzi looked at him like a wooden man: Liu Kang and Li Ruixiang had already gathered in front of the lamp, Li Ruixiang half-kneeled on the kang in a hurry, untied He Luying's belt, stood on the kang and put the cover on the beam.Liu Kang was sweating profusely, rinsed the poisoned cup with residual tea, and said hastily with a pale face: "Don't wait for him to die, then hang him up. If you don't stick out your tongue, there will be trouble in the autopsy tomorrow..." He Luying, who had no strength to struggle, put a buckle around his neck, put his head on the beam, and the four of them pulled together, He Luying only had time to spurt a mouthful of blood, and was already hung up leisurely. A gust of cool wind rolled down the old mulberry branches, whipped Xiaoluzi's shoulder like a whip, and he shivered, only to realize that the horrible scene just now was not a dream.He suddenly came to his senses, and his first thought was to leave the place of right and wrong.He looked through the window paper again, only to see Cao Rui was wearing He Luying's official uniform, and while putting on his hat, he said to Liu Kang, "I promised us 30,000 and still owed 15,000. This is a beheading. My lord." If you renege on your debts, the villains will go all out..." Rui Er said: "We will just send you to the second gate, and under the lamp, you will be able to see the Xiang surnamed He." Xiao Luzi didn't dare to stay any longer, and moved cautiously With two numb and cold legs, he leaned against the wall and slowly left the north window, and he heard Liu Kang's calm voice: "Remember, I will sit in the hall tomorrow, no matter how much I yell and threaten, I insist that he committed suicide...Write him down." Burn all the stuff, and be quick with your hands and feet..." Xiao Luzi turned slightly to the north room before letting out a breath, his heart was beating wildly, his eardrums were beating strangely, he subconsciously rubbed his stomach, the pain was no longer there, he just felt empty in his heart.Dizzy and dizzy, his legs trembled as if he was about to faint, and he heard Rui Er sing loudly from the wall: "Master He is seeing off the guests!" Xiao Luzi managed to support himself and went back to the front door, and saw Rui Er holding a lamp of oiled paper at the side door The watermelon lantern led the magistrate Liu Kang in front, and Li Ruixiang waited beside him to put on Liu Kang's oil coat.When the false He Luying sent Liu Kang to the side door, Xiao Luzi's heart was about to jump out of his chest. When he stared at him with dazed eyes, he only heard Liu Kang say: "My lord, please go back. I'm looking at you in a daze, so I can rest in peace for the night. I will be waiting at the Yamen tomorrow." The fake He Luying mumbled something, then returned to the courtyard.Xiao Luzi huddled in the ear room, watched Liu Kang and Li Ruixiang approach slowly through the curtain, and only looked at the pair of murderers with frightened eyes.Boss Shen in the outer room flattered and asked for peace, but the sound of everyone leaving in a chaotic footsteps was not heard clearly.He couldn't figure it out, Liu Kang, who had done such a horrible thing just now, was so peaceful and unrestrained! Everyone left, and the three frontages facing the street were messed up. Hao Er took a few boys to swear and clean up the chicken bones and fish bones all over the floor. Boss Shen went into the ear room and saw Xiao Luzi lying on the bed with bright eyes and lost his mind. He just cursed with a smile: " Where did you go drilling sand? Are you urinating in the Yellow River in the backyard?" Seeing that Xiaoluzi's expression was not right, he gasped again, leaned down and asked in concern: "What's wrong with you, your face is sallow—don't Did you bump into some kind of demon?" "Sixth Uncle, I'm fine." Xiaoluzi sat up, staring at the candlelight in a trance, and said in a trembling voice for a long time: "I just have a headache, maybe the wind is blowing from behind..." Boss Shen examined The color of Xiaoluzi became more and more wrong the more I looked at it, and said, "I have been in the store for so many years, what disease have I never seen? It seems that I have lost my soul, or I was frightened—" Hao Er came in and said "Boss, I think of something. The room where Mr. He lives in the east courtyard has a few leaks. Mr. He is a good-natured person, so he doesn't say anything, but it doesn't look good on us when we go in tomorrow. Look at this." The rain never stops..." Boss Shen slapped his thigh and said: "Thank you for waking up! Liu Dazun just left, maybe Master He hasn't slept soundly yet. Go over and report. Be sure to ask Master to show you his favor and move to the main room here. It is also convenient for guests to come and go "Hao Er promised to turn around and leave, Xiaoluzi's face had already turned green and white like a ghost, and he yelled in a strange voice: "Slow down!" Hao Er was startled by him, stopped and turned to look at Xiaoluzi , laughed and said, "Did you see a ghost? You scared me!" Boss Shen said, "I'm talking about this too! You go to He Ye's place and put the "Jade Box Story" on the top of He Ye's cabinet. "Take it out and have a look, it might be something evil, and burn a piece of paper to give it to Xiaoluzi. It's poor, it was fine in the morning, and after a few trips to the hut, it looks like this. If you want something good, go back to the village. How do you explain to my old widow and sister-in-law?" After speaking, he let out a sigh. "Come back to me!" Seeing that Hao Er was about to leave again, Xiao Luzi jumped off the kang barefooted in a hurry. He didn't know where he could find the strength to pull Hao Erniu's tall and burly body, and pulled him alive. He dragged him into the room, looked at Boss Shen and Hao Er who were in a daze, with wildfire in his eyes, and said through his teeth: "Uncle Six, we have suffered a catastrophe, prepare to file a lawsuit!"