Water Margin official

The next morning, Zhang Zhengdao got up early, and Wei Gui was already waiting in the store.

He asked Sun Erniang not to go out and make mischief, and also asked Lu Xiaoyi to stay in the store with peace of mind and take care of his father-in-law Sun Yuan.

After Zhang Zhengdao had breakfast, he took Wei Gui to the long street in front of the palace commander's residence. After a little inquiry, he found Coach Zhang's home.

The old coach had some wine at his son-in-law Lin Chong's house last night, but he still got up very early and was playing alone in the yard.

Seeing that Zhang Zhengdao was really looking for him, Coach Zhang nodded with satisfaction and said: "The old man's spear and stick skills are used to kill people in the army. Do you really want to learn it?"

Zhang Zhengdao replied: "Although I am not in the army, I am traveling all year round. I often encounter bandits in the mountains and wild grass. I have learned a gun and a stick. Just for self-defense, I asked an old instructor to teach me."

Instructor Zhang said: "Since you have this intention, the old man has nothing to do anyway. I will only teach you for one day."

Zhang Zhengdao said happily: "Young man, you will study seriously and will not disappoint the old instructor."

Instructor Zhang smiled and said: "How much you can learn depends on your talent."

At that moment, Coach Zhang handed over a short stick and taught Zhang Zhengdao his battlefield fighting skills.

One day passed by negligence. Under the careful guidance of Coach Zhang, the places where Zhang Zhengdao's marksmanship had previously been blocked were as smooth as the Yellow River entering the sea.

After a day of instruction, although he could not develop an unparalleled skill with a stick, he made great progress. Zhang Zhengdao felt that if he encountered a third-rate or fourth-rate thieves again, he would dare to fight with his gun.

When the sun went down, Zhang Zhengdao said goodbye to Coach Zhang and took Wei Gui for a walk in Bianliang City.

Wei Guidao: "The officials are very good and they are making rapid progress."

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head and said: "It's a pity that I learned the art a little late, and I don't have the guidance of a famous teacher, so it will be difficult for me to improve."

Wei Gui scratched his scalp and said: "It's better than the villain. The villain can only exert some random strength and is often beaten by the wife's stick."

Zhang Zhengdao looked at this stupid young man and found that he could be silly and cute at times. He wondered where Mrs. Wei found this living treasure.

After walking three to five hundred steps, Wei Gui suddenly shouted: "Oh no!"

Zhang Zhengdao was startled by his surprise and asked, "What's the ghost's name? It scared me."

Wei Gui said: "Madam told the officials to go to Jude Zhai today, but I forgot about it."

Wei Gui grabbed Zhang Zhengdao's sleeve and walked straight to Chunmingfang in the southwest direction of the city.

At the beginning of the night, the lights in Bianliang City are bright again, and there is entertainment everywhere, and you can only smell the fragrance of wine every step of the way.

But as he walked, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians. Zhang Zhengdao understood why Mrs. Wei's wine shop was not doing well. It turned out that the location was not good enough.

This woman doesn't look like a stupid person, how could she make such a stupid mistake?

After passing Guanyinyuan and walking forward for more than half a mile, I saw a bright wine shop with a colorful door tied in front of the door and a gardenia lantern with gold and red sand hanging on it.

Entering inside, there is a main corridor and a courtyard. The corridors are surrounded by greenery, lined with wine pavilions, hanging windows with bamboo flowers, and hanging curtains.

The lamps and candles glow brightly, illuminating each other from top to bottom.

Sure enough, it is a secluded and elegant place.

Wei Gui called the waiter and asked, "Is Madam still here?"

The waiter obviously recognized Wei Gui and pointed to a south-facing wine pavilion on the second floor and said, "Madam is having a drink in there."

Zhang Zhengdao took the opportunity to look at the furnishings in the store. There were twenty or thirty tables spread out on the first floor. A cursory glance at the wine pavilion on the second floor revealed that there were more than thirty tables. It was indeed a small wine shop.

Looking around, there are only two or three diners, and business is a bit bleak.

"Officer, please." Wei Gui took him outside the wine pavilion, stretched out his hand to lift the curtain, and invited him in.

Zhang Zhengdao entered the wine pavilion, and through the bright lights inside, he saw Mrs. Wei with her head on her elbows, leaning on the table, staring at the Bianhe River outside the pavilion in a daze. She didn't even seem to hear him coming in.

.

"Madam, are you worried?" Zhang Zhengdao asked knowingly, but he was not polite and sat down opposite her.

Mrs. Wei came back to her senses, turned her head, saw it was Zhang Zhengdao, forced a smile and said: "The official is here."

Zhang Zhengdao looked at the untouched food on the table, stretched out his hand to take the chopsticks in front of Mrs. Wei, picked up a large piece of meat and put it into his mouth.

After practicing with the gun and stick all day long, I was already hungry and extremely hungry.

Mrs. Wei's face turned slightly red. She had just used the bamboo chopsticks.

Zhang Zhengdao didn't say anything. He just took several mouthfuls of delicious delicacies. He then took Mrs. Wei's wine glass, poured the wine into it, and drank.

After eating a lot of vegetables, drinking a lot, and half-full, Zhang Zhengdao breathed a sigh of relief and regained some of his energy.

Mrs. Wei saw that he was so informal and took all the chopsticks and wine glasses she had used, so she had no choice but to call outside: "Wei Gui, get another pair of chopsticks and wine glasses."

"Yes, madam." Wei Gui, who was guarding the door, said in a loud voice.

Zhang Zhengdao put down his chopsticks and took a look at the scenery outside the window. He saw willows and a Bianhe River flowing sparklingly under the moonlight. Occasionally, one or two flower boats passed by, and a few women's voices were heard.
Bianliang is so romantic!

He withdrew his eyes and looked at Mrs. Wei again. Today she had changed into a light blue dress. She changed from her mature and charming look that day, and she actually felt a little fresh.

Mrs. Wei saw him looking at her but saying nothing, and asked, "What do officials only care about?"

"Look at the beauty." Zhang Zhengdao joked.

Mrs. Wei was not angry when she saw that he spoke so wildly. She just said: "The officials are not afraid that the slave family will sell you to the 'Worry-free Cave'?"

At this time, Wei Gui took the tableware, placed it in front of Mrs. Wei, and then left.

Zhang Zhengdao smiled and said: "Madam, if I were willing, I wouldn't ask Wei Gui to follow me."

With bright eyes and white teeth, Mrs. Wei picked up the chopsticks and took a bite of the food.

"Madam, are you worried about the business of this wine shop?" Zhang Zhengdao asked directly when he saw the sad look on her face.

Mrs. Wei sighed and said slowly: "To be honest with the officials, the slave family has exhausted all their family resources and just bought this Jude Zhai. After they wanted to take it over, the diners were withered and they could not make ends meet."

"In this case, in a month or two, I'm afraid the slave family won't be able to survive anymore and will have to close down." When Mrs. Wei mentioned this troublesome matter, her eyes dimmed and she was filled with sadness.

"May I ask, madam, why did you decide to buy this wine shop in the first place?" Zhang Zhengdao asked again.

Mrs. Wei was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "This wine shop is the real one."

Real store?

Zhang Zhengdao understood that the so-called Zhengdian meant that he had the wine distribution rights issued by the imperial court.

At this time in the Song Dynasty, the salt, wine, and tea franchise was all in the hands of the imperial court. A winery with the right to distribute wine should have a good business, but once it was in the hands of Mrs. Wei, it would be unable to make ends meet.

?

There must be something fishy here.

"Madam, have you ever offended anyone?" Zhang Zhengdao asked.

Mrs. Wei shook her head, then frowned and thought hard.

After a while, Mrs. Wei suddenly calmed down and thought of something in her mind. It was just that more than a year had passed since that incident. The business of her Jude Zhai was not good, so it was not related to that incident.

,What’s the connection?