The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

It's all because we didn't organize the Mid-Autumn Festival properly this year and offended the gods in the sky, so not a drop of rain fell!

I don’t know since when such ridiculous remarks began to spread in Yangzhou city.

At first, most people in town just took it as a joke. There are so many festivals in a year, and we can't just organize them all. What does it matter if we only have one once in a while?

However, as more and more northerners fled south, Yangzhou people, no matter how naive and romantic they were, gradually became aware of the drought problem.

Danger will never disappear by itself just because you turn a blind eye.

Most of the first batch of northerners who came to Yangzhou had good family backgrounds. Although they do not have the care of the court like the wealthy families, they have many more choices than ordinary people.

Most of them had gone to the closer Shandong first. After seeing the number of victims there, I felt something was wrong, so I immediately set off south to Yangzhou, Jinling, Suzhou and other places.

For them, the drought is more like a reason to go out for fun. As long as you have money, the world is so big, there is always a place to enjoy the shade.

In Yangzhou City, Wei Yinghong severely punished several people who spread rumors, but he could not suppress the panic brewing in the dark.

The first thing to be affected was naturally the price of rice. The grain merchants who had received the notice in advance did not dare to make a move on the prefect.

Although he was determined to make money from the common people, seeing the increasing number of officers and soldiers on the street, after careful consideration, he still didn't want to be the unjust dead man who had a life to earn but no life to spend.

The first ones to come forward were the three newspaper shops in the city. Led by Jing'an Daily, Huaiyang Daily and Jiangnan Shibao simultaneously published the news that grain trucks from Suzhou Prefecture were transporting to Yangzhou. The people of Yangzhou who were in an uproar finally calmed down a little.

The eldest sister Chen Qing's hairpin ceremony came as expected amidst this panic and noise.

Chen Heng has been living at home these days. The academy has required that students like him who have families in Yangzhou must go home to eat three meals a day.

As long as you don't miss classes, it doesn't matter whether you come back or stay at night.

The Chen family is relatively calm. Thanks to Chen Heng's previous planning and preparation, the family's food reserves are enough to last them until the Chinese New Year.

According to the rules of the Yong Dynasty, relatives and friends such as the Chief of Ceremonies and the Guest of Honor should be invited for the hairpin ceremony. The female elders of the family must tie up the child's hair and wear a crown, followed by several distinguished guests, who will add ceremonial clothes to the child, and then meet the elders in turn.

If a wealthy family takes care of this matter, banquets and theater troupes will be indispensable, and the child's haircut will last until the evening.

The old Chen family did not have the capital to do this, so they could only buy Chen Qing a set of beautiful clothes and jewelry as a token. In addition, there were no relatives or friends around, so the whole family just closed the door and had fun.

Mrs. Zhou felt very happy when she looked at her granddaughter after washing herself.

Chen Qing has a very upright appearance. Although her complexion is not very good due to her frequent housework, she also has a gentle and strong temperament.

It's definitely not Chen Heng's boast. Anyone who marries his sister will definitely find a treasure.

Grandma's good granddaughter has grown up. Mrs. Zhou helped Chen Qing who was saluting her. Thinking of Chen Qing's appearance when she was just born, she suppressed the emotion in her heart and just smiled and said, Don't worry, grandma will definitely pick something for you. A wishful man.

Chen Qing blushed and nodded shyly. She knew that after today, she would be completely grown up.

Talking about marriage is naturally an inevitable topic.

In fact, what Zhou really means is: If your child has something suitable in mind, you can whisper it to her and let her take a look.

Mrs. Gu was worried that her daughter wouldn't understand, so after Chen Qing had saluted, she took her hand and warned: Grandma asked you to pay attention to the candidates yourself, but Qing'er, the elders still have to make the final decision on marriage matters. You can choose quietly. Look, you can never make a promise rudely.

My daughter saved it. Chen Qing nodded, and she came to salute her second aunt again.

Li didn't talk much. She only took out the gift she had sewn by herself and told her eldest sister that if she had something on her mind that she couldn't figure out in the future, she could discuss it with her secretly.

In this kind of situation, naturally there is no place for men to speak. Chen Gaishan and his two sons sat in their seats honestly, only nodding to accept the courtesy of juniors.

Then it was Chen Heng and his younger brothers and sisters who presented gifts of their own choice.

The elders naturally helped prepare the gifts for Chen Qingyue and Chen Yin.

Only Chen Xian looked at Chen Qing with tears in her eyes. She suddenly realized that when she got haircut, she would get married.

She was one year younger than Chen Qing, and she thought that one day the eldest sister who accompanied her day and night would leave home, and she would also take this step.

Chen Xian's tears couldn't stop flowing.

Zhou and the others were laughing and watching the fun, wondering if they would think of their childhood scenes.

When Chen Qing started to open the gifts, everyone quickly noticed the gift from Chen Heng.

Sister, why is your necklace so beautiful? Chen Qingyue exclaimed on the spot.

Although the golden necklace was not embellished with precious pearls and jade, it was still inlaid with various gemstones. Chen Qing said with some distress: Brother, this necklace must cost a lot of money.

Chen Heng chuckled and said, My sister likes you, that's the most important thing.

The money he originally had was spent on buying a house and a shop for his family, and he had almost spent it on bits and pieces.

If it hadn't been for the newspaper shop that paid him forty taels of manuscript fees last month, Chen Heng wouldn't have been able to afford such an expensive thing.

Although the newspaper has begun to make money, compared with the continued investment of Xue, Wang, and Hu, it is still far from profitable.

If you want to get the dividends from the newspaper store, you have to wait at least about a year.

Chen Heng's family has a small financial background, so naturally he will not follow them to spend money. Even the Hu family began to feel a bit overwhelmed and had to sell the first floor of their own house to the Xue and Wang families.

But this kind of thing is not Chen Heng's turn. He is the founder of the newspaper shop and the pillar of the newspaper.

How could the other three families bother him with such trivial matters. Everyone has a tacit understanding to bypass Chen Heng, just waiting for him to make profits in the future and give him bonuses in installments.

Take it, it's your brother's wish. Mrs. Gu came out to make the decision and put the necklace on for Chen Qing. She looked at her daughter and couldn't help but praise: When you get married in the future, it will be enough to take it out with you. ”

Seeing this, Chen Qing smiled shyly at Chen Heng and said, Thank you, brother.

Chen Heng waved his hand and joked about his family, Sister, don't listen to mother's urging, and brother doesn't want you to get married in a hurry. If sister is willing, she will stay with her brother for two more years. When he makes more money, I will definitely buy something for you. Better jewelry.”

Chen Qi on the side couldn't help but nod his head. He only had this precious daughter, and he really wanted her to get married. How could he be willing to let her get married?

After hearing what her son said, Mrs. Gu just smiled and said nothing. She and Zhou just wanted Chen Qing to realize that he had to start thinking about this issue.

Chen Qing is really not in a hurry when to get married. Even if he chooses someone, he still has to inquire about his family's situation.

It doesn't matter whether the man's family is poor or not, character and family tradition are the most important things.

At this time, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The family had some surprises and wanted to avoid publicity and affecting the neighbors. They deliberately moved the time to night, so why would there still be visitors?

Chen Huaijin was the most curious and had already taken the initiative to run out before Chen Gaishan could say anything. As soon as the second uncle left, Chen Qingyue had already caught up with Chen Huaijin.

After the two people went out for a while, they came back with strange expressions and said to Chen Heng, Heng'er, I'm your guest.

Big brother, they are two good-looking sisters.

elder sister? Chen Heng was a little surprised. Sister Lin didn't say she would come to see him tonight?

He got up and walked into the courtyard, where he saw two maids he had seen before standing in the dimly lit area.

Master.

Master Chen.

The ones who shouted were Daiyu's maid Xueyan and Baoqin's maid Chunyan. When Chen Heng saw it was them, he couldn't help but asked curiously: Why are you here?

The young lady ordered me to give gifts to the eldest sister. Xue Yan said innocently, but his eyes fell on the Xue family maid, seemingly curious about why she came.

Master Chen, this servant has been entrusted by the young master and the young lady to come here to give a congratulatory gift to the elder sister of the Chen family.

Although Chen Heng was surprised that Sister Lin would prepare gifts, he was not surprised either. But the two brothers Xue Biao and Bao Qin were really beyond his expectation.

Chen Heng patted his forehead in distress, he finally remembered.

When he was worried about gifts before, he asked Xue Biao for his advice, but he didn't expect that the other party would keep it in mind and come up with it tonight.

Now that the other party is here, there is no intention of driving them out. Chen Heng had no choice but to invite them in and hand the gift to Chen Qing in person.

These two maids were also interesting. Once their errands were done, they didn't dare to stay any longer and wanted to get their wings and run out together. There were two young boys outside the door, waiting for them to get on the carriage and return home.

Chen Heng didn't do much to persuade him to stay. The two families only sent their personal maids, so as not to disturb the Chen family.

After the outsiders left, the family started to enjoy the feast in a lively manner. Today, Zhou and Gu cooked together and made many more dishes.

Everyone was very happy to eat, except Uncle Chen Heng, he was so courageous! He even wanted to pour wine for Chen Qing in front of Chen Qi.

If Chen Gaishan and Zhou weren't sitting nearby, Chen Qi would probably have to teach his younger brother a lesson.

…………

…………

While the Chen family was enjoying their meal, a group of people sneaked to the door of the salt merchant's house in the north of the city.

The person in the lead also had a relationship with the Chen family.

It was Xu Mazi who had competed with their family for the tea shop, but today he had a group of new faces around him.

Brothers, it's me, Xu Mazi! I made an appointment with Manager Wang to discuss something today.

Xu Rui showed a flattering smile and handed some small coins to several concierges.

The concierge shook the broken silver and looked at each other. He asked a companion to enter the house to report, but he didn't even say a word to the guest.

Damn it, when you are kicked out one day, don’t let me meet you on the streets of Yangzhou. Xu Rui cursed in his heart and had no choice but to lead a group of brothers and wait where they were.

After a while, the person who had just left came back proudly, raised his hand and said to them: Go in.

Thank you, thank you. Xu Rui thanked him with a smile and hurriedly led his brothers into the mansion.

Although there was no one to guide him, he came here more than once or twice, and he walked towards Manager Wang's house in a familiar way.

After the gang left, several concierges spat at their backs and cursed, Bah, shameless human traffickers.

It really stains your eyes. Why did you meet these dirty people who gave birth to a son without an asshole again today?

Okay, okay, talk less and do more.

Xu Rui couldn't hear the movement behind him, but in his line of work, he wouldn't care even if he heard it.

How can you be a human trafficker if you are not evil and have a dirty heart?

Knocking on Manager Wang's room with excitement on his face, Xu Rui heard a reply from inside, then signaled his brother to wait outside the door, and quickly pushed the door open and entered.

Manager Wang...

I heard you have good stuff again this time?

As soon as Xu Ruigang met, he was interested in establishing friendship. Manager Wang interrupted him impatiently.

This steward king is nearly fifty years old and is very well dressed, except for his appearance, which is a bit monkey-like.

It just so happened that his zodiac sign was monkey, and some of his servants were dissatisfied with him and often called him Mu Monkey in private.

Seeing that Manager Wang was in a bad mood today, Xu Rui nodded quickly and said with an apologetic smile: Yes, Manager Wang, I promise you. This girl is born with a natural beauty and is definitely a first-class beauty.

With your little knowledge, do you know what the beauty of the country is? Manager Wang snorted, mocking the toad in his heart for not having seen the world.

There are several benches for entertaining guests in his house, with candles standing around and dotted with porcelain calligraphy and paintings carefully arranged by the owner.

Manager Wang sat at the top, shaking his legs slightly, and had no intention of asking Xu Rui to sit down and talk.

He just tilted his head and played with the Buddhist string in his hand. This was a treasure obtained from the Daming Temple. The master of the temple had personally blessed it. Manager Wang was very rare about it.

Manager Wang, I didn't tell you any lies. The old lady in Manchunyuan only took one look at this girl, and she clamored to train her with her own hands. If I hadn't kept stopping her, she would have used five thousand taels. Buy it directly from me.

Xu Rui moved his hands excitedly, and the light stretched his shadow onto the white wall. It looked like he was wielding a knife or a gun, which was very strange.

Five thousand taels? ! You are pretending to be a leprosy-headed monk, and you come to my place to make alms from me. Manager Wang sneered, knowing that this boy wanted to talk to the lion today, so he asked the other party to explain the girl's origin clearly.

I abducted her from Suzhou when she was three or four years old. Xu Rui rubbed his hands excitedly, and even the pockmarks on his red face became very conspicuous because he recalled the proud things, I saw at that time I thought she looked good, so I asked my mother to take a look at her.

Manchunyuan is a brothel in Diaoyu Lane. The old ladies inside are very good at reading people. Many of the girls in their building were selected and bought one by one from traffickers like Xu Rui with their sharp eyes.

How old is she now? Manager Wang didn't like to hear such long speeches and asked directly to the key points.

I don't know the specifics. He should be fourteen or five years old.

After Xu Rui finished answering, Manager Wang was very surprised and said: You are raising a thin horse.

Most of Yangzhou's thin horses are selected from a young age, raised until they are old, and finally sold to a deep house.

But in this industry, there is also its own way, which is definitely not as easy as most people think.

As long as the eyes are off, it will be an absolutely loss-making transaction.

Manager Wang really didn't expect that Xu Mazi would have the patience to raise the abducted girl to such a big age.

He couldn't help but become curious about the girl's appearance.

Hehehe. Xu Rui smiled and nodded, Over the years, I have been entertaining her with good food and drinks, and I just waited for her to grow up and sell it.

Manager Wang nodded and said without comment: Bring it in and let me take a look.

okay.

Xu Mazi hurriedly ran out the door, and soon he pushed a girl into the house. Manager Wang took one look at the girl's graceful figure and couldn't help nodding in praise.

Raise your head. Xu Mazi said.

This girl didn't know how many sins she had committed. After hearing these words, she just raised her head blankly.

Under the flickering light, at first glance, I felt that the girl had not put on any makeup and looked a bit ordinary.

But when Manager Wang took a closer look, he suddenly stood up from his position and trembled: Good... good... beautiful.

He saw the girl in front of him. She was not many years old, but she was extremely beautiful. There is a certain purity in her appearance with bright eyes and white teeth, and the slightly raised corners of her eyes add a bit of charm, coupled with the rouge mole between her beautiful eyebrows, the naturally pouty lip line, and her slender and upright figure. Really, I feel pity when I see him, and he is charming in all kinds of ways.

One can't help but sigh, how could there be such a good-looking person.

What a pity, what a pity, why is such a beauty delayed by a pair of dull eyes.

Manager Wang swallowed his saliva and said urgently: Did you beat her?

Of course not! Xu Rui immediately denied it and explained in a panic, That's what Manager Wang said. I still expect to make money from her, so how can I be willing to beat her.

Manager Wang nodded and saw that the girl had lowered her eyes, hiding her coquettish charm.

He also sat back down, and after finally calming down the hot and anxious mood in his heart, he said, You have been to our house so many times, you should know our master's rules.

Xu Rui nodded quickly. Who in Yangzhou City doesn't know that the ruthless Huang Wendong likes the perfect body, Don't worry, Manager Wang, my brothers and I have never touched her with a single finger in these years.

Tell me, how many taels of silver do you want?

Finally getting to the point, the thick-faced Xu Mazi said directly: Ten thousand taels.

Manager Wang's eyes narrowed slightly. He wanted to scold Xu Mazi, but he also felt that this girl was worth the price.

I just feel a pity secretly in my heart, it seems that I am not blessed to enjoy it.

His dazed mind cleared up slightly. Manager Wang thought about it and replied: Six thousand taels.

It's too little, Manager Wang, please add more. How could Xu Rui agree? He still expected to rely on this money to go to Jinling to be cool.

Xu Mazi began to talk about his bitter experience, Over the years, I have spent a lot of money just to feed and clothe her.

Six thousand taels. Manager Wang didn't listen to his nonsense. How much money can a little girl spend on food and drink? Do you think you are raising a rich lady?

Manager Wang always spoke his mind, with a tone that said he could not refuse, so he just tried to persuade her: You might as well think about how much benefit our master will bring to you if he sees this girl.

What a good thing, no one in Yangzhou city is talking about the drought anymore. Xu Rui couldn't help complaining in his heart, he was not going to stay here and wait to die.

The two talked about each other for a long time, but Xu Rui refused to let go when he saw the other party. He simply said: Then the king is in charge, I will take people back first. Can we discuss it with the brothers?

Xu Mazi had long been prepared to shop around. If it really didn't work out, he would go to Jinling and sell it to those princes' children.

The reason why he didn't go there immediately was because he was afraid that the prince's children would use force on him and directly snatch the girl away.

You still want to play with me and raise prices for things that can’t be put on the countertop? Manager Wang snorted lightly and stood up to see off the guests without saying anything else.

After Xu Mazi left with the girl, Manager Wang turned around and walked towards the master's room.

It’s close to 5,000 words, brothers, I didn’t keep you waiting in vain.

If you are as smart as you, you should have guessed who she is.