I

Fei Yinghuan entered Jiangxi by land from Jiangshan County in Zhejiang.

The officials were alarmed along the way, and officials from prefectures and counties were dispatched one after another.

The prefect of Guangxin got the news early and prepared a boat to wait in Yushan County. The magistrate of Yushan County was welcomed to the county boundary, the magistrate of Shangrao County was seamlessly connected, and the magistrate of Qianshan County was already waiting in the east of Ehu Town.

At the beginning of the founding of the new dynasty, this kind of behavior was prohibited, and local officials were not allowed to mobilize troops to meet the dignitaries.

Thirty years have passed, and the bad habits of the officialdom have been revived, and it has become commonplace to follow others.

Shangrao Water Station.

Fei Yinghuan was over eighty years old, and after arriving at the station, he did not disembark from the boat to play.

The magistrate Hou Chang didn't dare to disturb, he just waited beside the boat. Near the evening, the county magistrate came by boat and said, "Mister Yifang, Mr. Yifang is here."

"Please!" Hou Chang said hastily.

Fei Yinghuan's old acquaintances in his hometown have all died of illness one after another, and now only this "Mr. Yifang" remains.

The king's name is Wang Yan, his style name is Menghou, and his name is Yifang.

In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Fei Yinghuan, Hu Mengtai, Wang Yong and other fellow villagers once went to Beijing to take the exam together. Both Fei Yinghuan and Hu Mengtai failed the rankings, but Wang Yong was admitted as a Jinshi. When the Ming Dynasty fell, he had already served as a councilor in Shandong Province.

At that time, Shandong was corrupt, and Wang Yong, a councilor, had no real power, so he simply hung his seal and returned home. But the Ming Dynasty had not yet perished, and Wang Yong couldn't bear the shame to join the "rebel Zhao Han", so he set up a private school in the countryside to teach. After two years of teaching, the children in the countryside who wished to study all entered official primary schools, so Wang Yong could only spend his days at home farming and studying.

Until the opening of the mind in the new dynasty, the wind of lecturing flourished. Wang Yong, who had devoted himself to studying for many years, finally founded a sect in Shangrao County.

"My lord, Mr. Yifang is here to pay my respects."

"Wang Menghou? Hurry up!"

Fei Yinghuan, who was over eighty years old, was actually quite agile. He was supported by a healthy servant and walked out of the cabin to greet him personally with a stick in his hand.

Wang Yong was a few years younger than Fei Yinghuan, dressed in commoner clothes, standing still on the bow of the boat.

As the two boats approached, Wang Yong cupped his hands and said loudly, "Lingong, long time no see!"

"My dear brother, please come on board and drink!" Fei Yinghuan said happily.

When Fei Yinghuan was in his sixties, he built a villa in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, calling himself "Lingyuan Jushi" and "Lingsou". He did not establish a school in academics, specializing in history, literature, calligraphy and painting, and also participated in the compilation of "The Complete Book of the Beginning of the People's Republic of China". He is also well-known in the academic circles of the Datong New Dynasty.

Wang Yong was immediately invited to board the boat, and the magistrate Hou Chang also gave a ride, while the rest of the disciples and officials waited on the boat next to him.

"Please sit down, and the prefect Hou also invites you." Fei Yinghuan was in a happy mood.

"Thank you, old man!" Hou Chang sat down carefully, with half of his butt hanging in the air.

Mrs. Lou was also helped by the maid, and Wang Yan and Hou Chang hurriedly got up and said, "Old sister-in-law (old lady) is well!"

"Let's all sit down." Lou smiled and poured tea for them herself.

Fei Yinghuan asked: "How is my brother?"

Wang Yan replied: "It's not bad, there are no serious illnesses, but there are many minor illnesses."

Fei Yinghuan was a little melancholy: "Oh, the Shangrao scholars who rushed for the exam back then, now there are only you and me left. I remember that we went to Beijing to take the exam together three times, and Lao Hu (Hu Mengtai) and I took the exam five times together. "

Wang Yong laughed and said: "It should have been done four times. In the first year of Chongzhen, I fell ill before leaving."

Fei Yinghuan also laughed: "That time, I also fell ill in Beijing. But I never thought that I would meet His Majesty on the way back halfway through the delay due to illness. How could I have expected it at that time? The little baby who came back can do such a big event of changing the dynasty."

"This is destiny!" Wang Yan flattered, "It is also the blessing of the old man, and it is also the blessing left by the sages of the Fei family."

Fei Yinghuan stroked his beard triumphantly, nodded and said: "Back then, I wanted to get an official job. In the end, I really had no choice but to spend money to buy a county magistrate. But it's not for nothing that I failed the exam several times. Experience the sufferings of the people along the way, and you are no longer an ignorant scholar who studies hard behind closed doors. As the saying goes, it is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. Nowadays, it is even more popular to travel far with swords, and young students have caught up with the good times."

Wang Yan echoed: "Yes, the young people now have really caught up with the good times. The world is stable, there are no grass bandits raging; the people are rich, the price of food is also very stable, and it is much easier to go out than before. I heard recently that, With the steamboats on the Ganjiang River, they can travel thousands of miles a day by burning coal."

"Traveling thousands of miles a day is just a lie, but two or three hundred miles is possible," Fei Yinghuan said with a smile, "As long as the boatman adds coal to the boiler, the steamship can run without wind. I heard that it is still improving, maybe it will go away in the future." The speed of the latter ship is faster. In addition, coal stations have to be built along the way, and there is no way to run without coal.”

The prefect Hou Chang interrupted suddenly: "Guangxin Prefecture is already planning to build a coal station, and steamships will be available within two or three years."

Fei Yinghuan nodded and said, "That's very good."

Suddenly, Fei Yinghuan asked again: "Are any of the descendants of the virtuous disciples now serving as officials?"

Wang Yan shook his head and said with emotion: "My sons who are incompetent are not good at studying, so they can only go to the official examination to do some chores. But there is a good grandson who was selected as a Jinshi in the last few years. That boy can endure hardships. He took the initiative to ask Ezo County to deal with the natives on the island, and now he has become the magistrate of Ezo Prefecture."

Fei Yinghuan asked: "I've heard of Ezo County, which is the big island in the north of Japan?"

"Of course," Wang Yan explained in detail, "the island is divided into three forces, one is the Ezo savages, the other is the Japanese immigrants, and the third is the Han immigrants. My good grandson wrote a letter, he introduced rice in Ezo County, the island The people of all ethnic groups in the city obeyed. There used to be no rice there, but now there is rice to eat, and the taste is good, and the rice grown is of good quality.”

Fei Yinghuan praised and said: "This is a great achievement, my brother has raised a good grandson."

After chatting for a while, Wang Yong said: "Lingweng, it's getting late, how about moving to a humble house for a few days? I have a big pond, where I raise many carp and grass carp. Drinking tea and fishing is indescribably pleasant."

Fei Yinghuan declined, "I'm going back to live in Qianshan this time, and I have plenty of time to wander around. Ehu Town is next to Shangrao, so I'll go there after I settle down."

"Then let's make an appointment," Wang Yan said with a smile. "At that time, we will invite the elders and celebrities around us to recite poems and compose Fu while fishing and drinking tea."

Fei Yinghuan smiled and said, "This is also a beautiful thing."

Everyone moved to the deck, and Fei Yinghuan looked far into the distance. On the dark surface of the river, fishing fires could be faintly seen.

The prefect Hou Chang took the opportunity to talk about his political achievements: "My old man, Rong Bing, now Guangxin Mansion can be said to be rich in wealth and prosperity. The population has quadrupled compared to the Chongzhen period. Although the population is large, the common people can get enough food and clothing. There is not enough land in the family. , have entered the tea factory and paper factory. Especially the paper factory, the paper produced by the counties of Guangxin Prefecture is also one of the best in the country. In addition, business is booming now, and Guangxin Prefecture is the thoroughfare of the four provinces. can feed countless people.”

Fei Yinghuan nodded and said: "It's really not easy. I still remember when I was young, there would be a famine every ten years. There was also a cabbage stele in Qianshan County, and the county magistrate took the people to eat cabbage together. Persuading wealthy households to donate food has saved countless hungry people.”

Wang Yan said with a smile: "Thanks to your majesty's pioneering work, there are many grain production areas overseas. Countless grains are shipped back every year, and the coastal provinces have no worries about food, and grain prices are gradually stabilizing. Unlike the past Ming Dynasty My son, water transportation costs a lot every year, and the price of food in the southern provinces has risen accordingly."

"The world is peaceful, the people are happy, the frontiers are opened for thousands of miles, and the four seas are subjugated. This is a prosperous age that has never been seen since ancient times." Hou Chang, the prefect, continued to flatter the emperor.

Wang Yong laughed and said, "If I hadn't been old, why would I have to go to Beihai, Congling, and Dawan? Especially Beihai's subordinate country city, I read the newspaper said that the Suwu Temple was built last year, so anyone who knows about Su's country spring can do it Rest in peace."

That night, Wang Yong rested on the boat, and went home the next morning.

Fei Yinghuan and Lou continued to sail westward by boat and arrived at Ehu Town at noon that day. The news spread quickly in all directions.

The disciples of Fei's various clans mobilized together, bringing the old and the young to welcome him, and the nearby people also came to pay their respects to the grandpa's demeanor.

"Master, do you still remember me?" An old man stepped forward supported by his grandchildren.

Fei Yinghuan had some presbyopia, put on his glasses and looked at it carefully, and then happily said: "You are... Jian Dan?"

Jian Dan smiled and said, "It's me!"

Fei Yinghuan asked, "Are Qin Xin and Jiu Po ​​still there?"

Jian Dan said sadly: "It's all gone."

"Yeah, you're not too young." Fei Yinghuan sighed.

The descendants of Qin Xin and Jiu Po ​​came forward to pay their respects one after another. Fei Yinghuan and Lou Shi felt very cordial no matter how they looked at them, as if they were seeing their own children and grandchildren.

Fei Wenwei suddenly yelled outside the crowd: "Old man, old man... let me go!"

After a lot of trouble, this guy was finally allowed to visit, but his uncles didn't have a good face. Of course, the family ugliness should not be publicized, and it is impossible for the descendants of Jiupo to file a lawsuit to divide the family property in front of Fei Yinghuan.

Lou glanced at them, pointed at the group of Bengali people and asked, "Is this the concubine Ji, the servant you bought?"

Fei Wenwei answered rightly: "Returning to the old lady, I couldn't stay idle, so I went to Bangladesh to make a living. Already in Bangladesh, I started from scratch and earned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. These are all brought back by the junior from Bangladesh. Next year, I will have more money." Bring some fellow countrymen to Bangladesh to make a fortune."

Fei Yinghuan praised: "With ambition and loyalty, the grandchildren are so promising, and the spirit of wine can smile nine springs."

As soon as this remark came out, the neighbors who knew Fei Wenwei's details all covered their mouths and laughed, and at the same time they were extremely envious of him.

Fei Yinghuan had four brothers back then, and the fourth brother lived in Hunan as a marquis, and he hardly ever came back.

The other two brothers have died of illness, leaving behind a group of useless children and grandchildren who are now living in Fei's old house in Ehu. Not to mention the rich and the rich, the life is still considered rich, and one of the dudes was exiled to the snow area for beating someone to death-if it wasn't for the sake of the Fei family, he would have been executed long ago.

Fei Yinghuan and Lou's couple went home surrounded by their nephews and grandnephews.

Asking about the situation all the way, of course, reporting good news but not bad news, only saying that the fourth child of the Changfang family is studying well, studying at Nanchang University at public expense, and will probably be admitted to Jinshi in the next few years. The two brothers left more than a dozen descendants, and this one is the only one who can be regarded as the face of the future.

Fei Yinghuan used to go home every year to worship his ancestors, but he didn't move around after the age of 65. Now that more than ten years have passed, when I return to the old house in my hometown, I am full of emotions and emotions.

It's a pity that most of them are unfamiliar faces, and the younger generation doesn't know any of them.

Occasionally, an old man came forward to say hello on the road. Although Fei Yinghuan and Lou couldn't remember exactly, they were both very happy and asked their attendants to hand over some copper coins as a greeting.

After lunch at Fei's old house, Fei Yinghuan took his wife, Lou, and couldn't wait to go for a walk in the countryside.

There are tea mountains all around the house, and there are paper mills farther away.

Fei Yinghuan pointed to a mountain where no tea was grown and said, "Isn't that where my family used to be?"

Fei Yinghuan's elder brother's second son said: "Uncle, it was indeed the Fei family's land in the past, but it was distributed to the tenants at the beginning of the Kingdom."

"It's fine if we split up." Fei Yinghuan said with a smile.

He walked forward with a cane, but saw an old farmer in the field, who was cutting potato vines and packing them into bamboo baskets.

Fei Yinghuan shouted from afar, "Where are you collecting sweet potatoes?"

Hearing this, the old farmer turned around and stood up. After seeing the situation clearly, he hurried over to see him: "Young...Master, the sweet potatoes can grow again. I will cut some potato vines and feed them to the pigs."

"You want to call me young master?" Fei Yinghuan asked.

The old farmer said: "Master, I used to be a servant in Fei's family and lived in the courtyard for several years. Before the master returned to E Lake, I also took my family to the town to meet him. I was very happy to see the master."

Fei Yinghuan happily said: "It's also an old friend, what's your name? How old are you?"

The old farmer said, "My name is Fei Cong, and I am 62 this year."

Fei Yinghuan asked again: "How are you doing at home?"

The old farmer opened the chatter box and said: "In the early days, we didn't have to worry about food and clothing by farming the land. Later, we had more children and grandchildren, and there was not enough planing food in the land. My eldest was a boatman in Hekou Town. Went to Hekou Town. The second child was not up to the mark, so he had to farm with me. The third child was unlucky, with good academic performance, and drowned in the river during the summer vacation. There were also two daughters, one married and went to Hengtang , one married and went to Chengguan. My eldest grandson also took his wages and worked as an apprentice in a paper factory for several years. The second grandson joined the tea factory and is about to leave his teacher. The third grandson..."

"Blessed are many children, you are so blessed." Fei Yinghuan laughed.

The old farmer said: "The children and grandchildren have their own blessings, let them earn it by themselves."

A few sharp-eyed attendants helped the old farmer cut the potato vines, and then helped the old farmer pick them home.

Fei Yinghuan chatted with the old farmer all the way, followed by a large group of people.

The old farmer's house is a four-and-a-half-room earthen house, and the half of it belongs to the pig house, where two big fat pigs are being raised.

"Wow woof woof..."

The big yellow dog tied in front of the pigsty saw the crowd barking viciously, and stopped after being scolded twice by the old farmer.

The old farmer's family came out one after another, offering benches for Fei's family to sit on, and made several bowls of crushed tea in clay bowls, which is very cheap in the tea producing areas.

Fei Yinghuan walked into the main room and found several pieces of bacon hanging on the beams of the room.

Fei Yinghuan smiled and said, "This is the joy of peace."

The old farmer said: "For those of us who farm, we can enjoy happiness only if we have a good emperor."

Fei Yinghuan took a bowl of broken tea and took a sip, the taste was not good. He came to the courtyard and heard the sound of arching in the pigsty, and suddenly there was a cock crowing in the distance, and the big yellow dog in front of the pigsty also barked nervously.

Looking at the tea mountains and farmland in the distance, Fei Yinghuan asked his wife: "Madam, I can live comfortably here, and I can grow old."

Lou said with a smile: "The traffic on the rice paddies, the chickens and dogs hear each other, it is indeed a good place for the elderly."