I

Xu Ying brought seven people to Nanchang, namely: missionary officer Li Weisheng, slave army chief Liu Hui, slave army commander Xiao Zhizhong, General Military Department clerk Deng Yan, Wuxing Town Inn manager Huang Daliang, Wuxing Town Inn owner Chef Huang Gui and Wuxing Town Inn's assistant chef Huang Fu.

In Nanchang city, it is possible to find a place to live, but the rent is very expensive.

It is difficult to find a store, there are no vacancies in good locations.

Xu Ying struggled for half a month, traveling all over Nanchang City, and finally rented a residential house outside Jinxian Gate.

Jinxian Gate, also known as Fuzhou Gate, is located directly south of Nanchang City. There are vegetable fields and cemeteries outside the city. Vegetable sellers enter the city from here, and mourners leave the city from here. Therefore, there are sayings of "carrying buckets and selling vegetables at Fuzhou Gate" and "crying and crying into Xianmen".

Renting a house outside Jinxianmen, firstly, the rent is very cheap, secondly, it is convenient to buy groceries, and thirdly, it is easy to escape when things are revealed.

Further west is Huiminmen, which is to the southwest of Nanchang City, where there are Puxian Temple and Granary. There were many people burning incense and worshiping Buddha, and there were also many people transporting food. There were also many vegetable vendors who came to sell vegetables.

Further west is Guangrunmen, which is due west and south of Nanchang City, close to the riverside pier. There are many shops and it is very lively. This is the first choice for opening a store!

Xu Ying led people to inquire for several days. Stores in bustling areas were extremely expensive, and no one was willing to sublet or transfer them.

I had no choice but to rent a store in a less busy alley between Huiminmen and Guangrunmen. The store is not big, and apart from the kitchen, there are only a few tables.

You also have to give gifts to the stall leader here, and then report to the government. You will definitely have to pay the stall tax.

On the first day of opening, there were no serious customers, but a few gangsters showed up.

"Come in, sir, what do you want to eat?" Chief Liu Hui plays a shopkeeper. He used to be an innkeeper.

Several gangsters entered the store and slapped their sticks on the table: "You open a restaurant here. Have you visited Fourth Master Xiao?"

Xu Ying came over quickly, cupped her hands and said, "I haven't had time to pay my respects yet."

"There's no need to go, it's just as good for us to come here," the gangster leader said, patting the table, "Your store is not big. If you pay half a penny a month, I guarantee that no one will dare to come here to cause trouble."

Xu Ying immediately offered the copper coins: "You must abide by the rules. I'll give you half a coin, and I'll treat you brothers to tea with the remaining few coins."

The gangsters were very happy. Although each of them could get more than ten cents in addition to the protection fee, it was still rare for Xu Ying to be so discerning.

The gangster leader asked again: "What are you selling here?"

"We're opening today and we're not well prepared," Xu Ying shouted, "Huang Gui, here are six bowls of spicy noodles!"

These two chefs were personally trained by Zhao Han and taught them more than ten signature dishes.

"Hiss, so spicy!"

"It's so spicy."

"This side is absolutely amazing."

"..."

The six gangsters shouted spicy and cool at the same time. Jiangxi people really have the gene for eating spicy food.

Xu Ying took the opportunity to talk: "I'm new here, so I don't know the local rules. Are there any prominent people nearby who need to be treated with care?"

The gangster leader smiled and said: "This number one person is our Fourth Master Xiao. He is responsible for all the cattle and horses (gangsters) from the west to the south of the city. Mr. Zhou outside Puxian Temple is also considered the number one person. His daughter belongs to Mr. Dusi. The concubine in the sixth room. And Mr. Liu from Guangyuanmen..."

After some inquiries, a lot of information was found, but it was all about the market conditions outside the city.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, the gangsters complained that they were not full, so Xu Ying quickly asked the waiter to refill the noodles. After these guys were full, they were unwilling to give money. They just smiled and said: "Shopkeeper, the noodles you have here are delicious. Brother, I will pay you back next time. I will settle the bill today."

Hang up a ghost account and obviously not pay.

Xu Ying smiled and said: "It's easy to talk, easy to talk, brothers, please go slowly."

In the blink of an eye, half a month after the store opened, the number of diners has gradually increased, and many of them are repeat customers. Four of the six tables can be filled.

At the same time, Xu Ying herself often went to the city and wandered around in various prefectural and county schools. He claimed that his name was Huang Ying and that he was a scholar in Luling County. His parents and brothers were killed by rebels. He escaped with only a few slaves and came to Nanchang to make a living.

Xu Ying was already quite talented, and she made several friends after going back and forth.

Then……

"Brother Zhong Cong, this is your fellow countryman Xiao Juren." A friend from the government school helped introduce.

Xiao Puyun clasped his fists and said, "I, Xiao Puyun, believe in my words."

Xu Ying quickly returned the gift: "Huang Ying, courtesy name Zhongcong."

Xiao Puyun asked: "I passed the exam in the seventh year of Tianqi's reign. I wonder when will my virtuous brother enter school?"

Xu Ying replied: "I entered school in the fourth year of Chongzhen."

It has nothing to do with being a scholar or a scholar.

Moreover, the number of Jinshi in Luling County is second only to Jishui County, and the number of Juren and Scholars is even more numerous. It is normal for them not to know each other.

Xiao Puyun said: "Brother, I have organized a 'Hometown Returning Party' in Nanchang. The members are all scholars from Luling, Jishui and Anfu counties. We will gather at Puxian Temple tomorrow. You can come too. Let's We should work together to eliminate Zhao Thief!"

Xu Ying became increasingly guilty and agreed bravely.

The next day, Xu Ying came to Puxian Temple and found that there were more than thirty people present. Among them, one was a scholar, thirteen were scholars, and the rest were all children.

Xu Ying only dared to say that her home was in Tianhe Town, which belonged to Fei Yinggon. The location was so remote that she would not be able to meet her "fellow villagers."

"Tianhe Town was also occupied by Zhao Thief?"

A scholar suddenly spoke, but it was Mr. Huang's son Huang Shunli. The guy raised his hands and said, "My dear, Huang Shunli, after the Zhao thieves broke out, the first person to be killed was my father."

Xu Ying broke into a cold sweat and sighed in response: "Oh, Tianhe Town is right next to Huangjia Town. Although it is located in the mountains, how can it be spared?"

"This Zhao thief is really hateful. I only regret that I didn't bring out the money and food, otherwise I would definitely recruit troops to kill him!" Another scholar beat his chest and stamped his feet.

Xiao Puyun said: "Brother Jie, Yin's brother, has now defected to Governor Li. A few days ago, I went to Duchang County. The time for the Duchang rebels is running out. We just need to wait for the Duchang thieves to be destroyed." , Governor Li and Wang Bingbei will definitely go south to conquer the Zhao bandits!"

"How did Chen Yushi react?" a scholar asked.

Xiao Puyun said: "The Inspector has sent a memorial. He said that he will report the truth about the thief. If Your Majesty knows about this and knows that Jiangxi has fallen to several counties, he will definitely let the soldiers from Guangdong and Fujian come to encircle and suppress it!"

This is for sure. If it were only Zhao Han, it might not alarm other provinces.

However, Nangan, Nanfeng, Qianshan, and Longquan all rebelled, and rebel armies were everywhere, so they had to rely on guest soldiers from other provinces.

"Great!" Everyone was overjoyed.

Foreign soldiers from other provinces will definitely burn, kill, and loot when they come to Jiangxi, but what does this have to do with these scholars?

They are all die-hards. Their family's land, money and food have been robbed. No matter how ruthless the guest soldiers massacre the people, it doesn't matter to them.

This "Homecoming Party" is so interesting. We meet once every half month to exchange the latest news. It is simply a natural information station.

Everyone ate a vegetarian meal in Puxian Temple, recited poems and composed poems in the afternoon, and dispersed near evening.

Xu Ying was about to leave when Huang Shunli suddenly caught up with him: "Brother Zhong Cong, I am in Huangjia Town and you are in Tianhe Town. Our hometowns are very close to each other. Now we have both suffered hardships and come to Nanchang. It is such a fate that we will be close to each other in the future. .”

"That's exactly what it should be." Xu Ying followed the other person and said.

The two of them left the temple together, and Huang Shunli asked, "Brother Xian is also named Huang, so we shouldn't have the same clan, right?"

Xu Ying replied: "My ancestors moved from Fucheng, and I didn't bring out the genealogy. It's really hard to say."

"Where does Xiandi live?" Huang Shunli asked again.

Xu Ying replied: "It's outside Jinxian Gate, half a mile away from the city gate."

Huang Shunli said: "It's quite remote over there. Two or three miles south, there are cemeteries everywhere."

"I didn't bring much money with me, so I had to live in a poor place." Xu Ying said.

"Oh, it's not like that for me," Huang Shunli sighed. "When my brother fled the city, I took my slave with me. As soon as I got to the dock, the slave colluded with my concubine and eloped, feeding unfamiliar white-eyed wolves. . I have only had one heir in these years, and he died of illness before I arrived in Nanchang. Now only my wife has stayed with me."

Xu Ying consoled her: "My condolences, brother."

Huang Shunli wiped away tears and said: "To be honest, I have been running out of rice these days, and money is really tight. I don't know... I don't know my dear brother..."

Xu Ying immediately laughed and said: "That's easy to say, just come home with me and get the money."

Huang Shunli was originally poor. In Ji'an, because he didn't have enough money to visit the brothels, he was once detained by the old bustard to force him to redeem his debts. Now that there is no support from the family, all the concubines, maids, and servants around him have disappeared, leaving only one main wife who is still suffering.

After this guy came to Nanchang, he could only find people to borrow money from everywhere. All the members of the "Returning Home Society" had been borrowed, and now everyone is avoiding him.

Seeing Huang Shunli chasing Xu Ying away, the other scholars would smile heartily, gloating that someone was going to be taken advantage of.

When we returned to the small courtyard where we rented, it was already dark.

Huang Shunli followed happily and bumped into Huang Daliang who had already returned from the store.

"Three...third young master!" Huang Daliang said in shock.

Huang Shunli had no impression of Huang Daliang and said confusedly: "You are..."

Xu Ying felt that her secret was about to be revealed, so she immediately made a gesture, and Xiao Zhizhong slashed Huang Shunli to death with a knife from behind.

Xu Ying ordered: "Tear off all the valuable things on his body and throw the body into the streets in the middle of the night."

Back in the room, Xu Ying's heart was pounding. After changing his mood for a while, he took out the code book and wrote a letter. The content was: "The patrol press reported that the emperor knows about it, or the provinces are united in encirclement and suppression. The Duchang rebel army does not have much time."

The next morning, not far from Xu Ying's door, she saw many people surrounding Huang Shunli's body.

Some officials even came and were asking about the situation.

Xu Ying rushed forward and cried loudly: "Brother, you died so miserably. I shouldn't have lent you money and let you be targeted by bad guys!"

"Do you know him?" the officer asked.

Xu Ying wiped her tears and said: "I want Mr. Chai to know that my brother and I are both scholars in Luling County. We checked the genealogy yesterday and we are actually brothers from the same clan. The hateful Luling Zhao thief killed my brother's and my family members." , we can only escape to Nanchang for refuge. Unexpectedly... Unexpectedly, my brother was short of money, so I lent him five taels of silver. He was very happy when he went out, but unexpectedly he met with an unexpected accident... Wuwuwu Wuwu...brother, you died unjustly!"

Members of the Returning Home Association also received news one after another, and they had no sympathy for Huang Shunli.

It's true that this guy is borrowing money everywhere and has already made people feel like a dog. If he dies, he will be a little cleaner.

In order to show her benevolence and righteousness, Xu Ying also took Huang Shunli's wife to take care of her.

This woman's surname is Liu, she is only twenty-one years old, and she is beautiful and dignified. She was married from a neighboring village and lived in Huangjia Town for only a few days before moving to Fucheng with her husband.

Even Huang Daliang and others have only seen him twice from a distance, so they are not afraid of being recognized.

When they learned that Xu Ying had taken Huang Shunli's widow into care, some scholars felt that Xu Ying valued affection and righteousness, while others secretly ridiculed and envied her - the little widow was very beautiful.

No matter what, Xu Ying became famous in the "Homecoming Club", and he was inevitably invited to various gatherings.