On the twenty-sixth day, the weather was still gloomy, although there was no more snow, but the north wind was bitter, and even the Bianhe River was frozen, and people and horses could walk directly on it.

The people from Yongzhou have returned one after another, but Han Zong stayed behind and will be appointed to relieve Yongzhou of the general judge. He was promoted to the same position in the sugar cane business, and his qualifications were sufficient, so he didn't need to go back to Lingnan to endure hardships. This is the advantage of being born into a family, holding the most suitable position at the most appropriate time, as long as you do not get involved in political turmoil, your career will be smooth.

The relatives and friends who should have visited have finished worshipping, and the subordinates of the year have gone away, Xu Ping was bored, and after getting up early in the morning to worship his parents, he stood alone in the yard to watch the snow.

The north wind blew, and the snow on the surface had become Xiaoice particles, which hurt people's faces.

Liu Xiaoyi, who was watching the restaurant outside the city gate, hurriedly came in from the outside, saw Xu Ping in the courtyard, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Xu Ping asked him: "Why did you come to the city today, is there nothing going on in the restaurant?" ”

Liu Xiaoyi said: "The old Chaofeng is going to meet guests today and wants me to accompany him." Another Kaifeng Mansion sold charcoal on the side of the Bianhe River, and each weighed only 300 Wen, and people all over the city went to grab it. There are not many people in our house, so I brought two small servants in the restaurant and went to buy a car to transport back to the house. ”

Xu Ping listened and said, "You just go with Daddy to meet guests, don't buy charcoal." That was the palace that took the charcoal out to sell it to help the poor, how can people like us rob it? Plain gossip! ”

Liu Xiaoyi thought about it and understood that the Xu family was a nouveau riche family, and going to grab cheap charcoal with poor people would cause gossip somehow. hurriedly agreed, and went to the house to find Xu Zheng.

Now that Xu Ping has been crowned the marquis, Xu Zheng has also been promoted to two ranks, but he has no specific ministry, and the Xu family is not inferior to that little bit of money, and the official rank is no longer meaningful. Now the subordinates in the family all call Xu Zheng the old court, this title comes from the current Wensan official, because the courtroom doctor who is in the fifth grade will enter the noble official, and the rich and noble people are called so.

In fact, Xu Ping's own loose officials are just a doctor from the five grades, or they are specially promoted, and Xu Zheng's court is just a pan-American name.

Moreover, at this time, in order to settle the lowly and complicated public officials and the hearts of low-level candidates, they often add empty heads and meaningless honors to them. The officials call it "with a title", and the selection of people is called "Rank Scarlet" and "Rank Purple", that false name is even more terrifying, and the loose officials of a state official may be higher than the prime minister, which is completely meaningless, and this kind of title is even more indiscriminate.

It is not simple for Xu Zheng to go to the house of the guest today, it is the house of Zhao Yuanyan, the eighth king, and the first noble room of the dynasty.

The so-called things gather by like, people by groups, although Xu Zheng has not been in charge of anything, but he has been an official for a few years, as long as he is in the capital, he will go to the court rain or shine, and he has met a few people.

The only one of the Manchu Dynasty's non-box officials in the outer hall has Xu Zheng's perseverance, and that is Zhao Yunchu, the youngest son of Zhao Yuanyan, the eighth king. He is more magical than Xu Zheng, Xu is just bad every summer and winter often go to Zhongmu Manor, so he broke off the court, Zhao Yunchu's family is in the capital, no matter the wind and rain all year round, every morning will arrive. This kid is so serious in the last dynasty, and he usually has no concept of money and things, he just recites scriptures or something when he has nothing to do, and he has no other hobbies, and people in the capital think he is a little naïve.

Long before Xu Ping returned to Beijing, Xu Zheng and Zhao Yunchu had a sympathy for each other, although they had no contact in private, they often chatted when they were fine in the Wende Palace. Now that Xu Pingjue is a marquis, he is naturally incomparable with the prince, but his family rank is not low. Anyway, Zhao Yunchu is the light of his father, and Xu is the light of his son, and the two of them think it is very good, so they specially invite Xu Zheng to the house as a guest.

Not long after, Xu Zheng came out of the main house, wearing a brand-new vermilion official robe, and his face was full of red light.

This red official robe was given by the emperor because of his son's light, and this is the first time he has worn it since the ceremony. When you go to Uncle Huang's house as a guest, you naturally have to dress decently. Even the post was specially redesigned, so that Xu Ping entrusted the eighth year of Tiansheng Jinshi, and now Cai Xiang, who is now serving as a pavilion proofreader in Beijing, wrote it, a real master's handwriting.

Xu Ping came to the front to greet him, Xu Zheng pulled the sleeves of his robe, looked left and right, was very satisfied with himself, and said to Xu Ping: "I'm going to meet guests, I may come back late today, so I don't have to wait at home." ”

Xu Ping responded, and Xu Zheng said again: "There is one more thing, my hand stove, I have been going to play with it for the past few days, and I haven't seen her hold it, I don't know where I was thrown by this girl." It's okay to ask her and see if you can get it back. I came to the palace as a guest, and I didn't even have a decent hand stove in my hand, which was a lot of embarrassment. ”

Xu Ping hurriedly agreed, but felt a little strange in his heart. If it weren't for his father mentioning it, he wouldn't have known that Panpan had asked for his hand stove, and Pan Pan had been dangling in front of him for the past two days, and he hadn't seen her hold the hand stove in his hand.

Xu Zheng looked at the east and said to Liu Xiaoyi: "It's not early, let's go on the road now." ”

After speaking, he took Liu Xiaoyi and the two little guys out of the house.

It's cloudy today, there is no sun in the east, and I don't know how Xu Zheng saw the time of the day, Xu Ping just wondered.

Now that the Xu family has become the Hou Mansion, the gate has been widened, and it looks very majestic from the outside. But the whole house looks cramped, and the small courtyard with such a gate makes it feel very funny from the inside.

When Xu Zheng bought this mansion, he didn't expect that his son would be promoted to the county marquis in less than ten years, and he only felt spacious and comfortable at that time, and he never expected that this courtyard would not be worthy of his son's identity. This is a bustling house, and there is no place to expand, waiting for the surrounding neighbors to sell their houses, and I don't know how to wait until the Year of the Monkey. Thinking that the palace was going to be expanded, it had to be abandoned because it couldn't handle the surrounding demolition households, and Xu Ping, a newly sealed county marquis, was even more unthinkable.

Xu Zheng has been worrying about the house these days, asking people everywhere to see where there are larger houses in the capital to sell. The Xu family is now wealthy, and as long as someone sells it, they can afford it, but where is there a suitable person to sell a house for a while?

Not far from Xu's house is the Bianhe River, the river has been frozen, the boats that used to come and go are gone, and even the avenue by the river has no pedestrians in the cold north wind.

Not far from the Xingguosi Bridge on the Bianhe River, a small restaurant, because of the cold weather, there is no business, the small maid who greets in front of the door on weekdays hides in the door to avoid the cold, and the female prostitutes who gather here on weekdays are even more gone.

A small courtyard behind the restaurant, which is usually a place to entertain valuable guests, is endless, but today there is no elegance in the past, and there are five or six big families in the charcoal line sitting in it.

There was a large charcoal basin in the middle of several people, and the charcoal fire in it was burning brightly, and the faces of the people around them were also red. Not far from the door, a prostitute sat babbling and singing a little song, and several people behind her played the lute, some played the piano, and some played the flute and other musical instruments.

Liu Daguan, the head of the line, sat down, raised his wine glass, and said in a rough voice: "Everyone calm down, drink a full glass, so noisy that you can't even understand the song!" ”

Everyone drank, and a man with a goatee in his fifties screamed: "The big officials are still in the mood to drink?" Now the newly opened charcoal field in Kaifeng Mansion is crowded with people, and no one cares about our store, and the price is not reduced, and the big officials still hurry up to make a charter. If there is no business to do, are we people drinking? ”

Before the words fell, several people around echoed together.

Liu Daguan squinted at the goatee and said casually: "Then do you say that it will descend or not?" ”

"I think I should follow the Kaifeng Mansion to reduce the price, the same price, the official's face is ugly, the people who want to use the charcoal still come to us to buy it, don't worry about having no business to do!"

Liu Daguan sneered: "Descend? How much is that appropriate? ”

Although the goatee was seen by Liu Daguan, he still said: "Naturally, he came with the price of Kaifeng Mansion, he said that he sold 300 Wen, and we also sold 300 Wen, and there is still some interest to earn!" ”

"Hehe," Liu Daguan sneered, "You follow Kaifeng Mansion to three hundred Wen today, and tomorrow they sell one hundred and fifty Wen in the field, will we all follow or not?" ”

Goatee said, "Then it will be lowered together, isn't it always like this?" I didn't suffer anywhere! The left and right are just down to the usual charcoal price, and Kaifeng Mansion will strike, and it will be worth it for us to sell it for a few days. ”

Liu Daguan just sneered and shook his head, but he didn't speak, and several people around him couldn't help but feel weak when they saw him like this.

Sitting next to him, a white and chubby outsider accompanied him cautiously and bowed his hand to Liu Daguan: "If the big official has any ideas, just say it and let us refer to it, Song Dalang is shallow, so naturally there are many things that he can't think of." ”

Liu Daguan glanced at everyone and said coldly: "I only ask you, how much do you think this business is still done?" Won't you lose your capital? ”

Goatee whispered: "Before the snow, it was only thirty wen per weighing, but now it has risen to fifty wen, and it can barely be done." ”

"Fifty wen?" Liu Daguan looked at the goats and couldn't help laughing, "Song Da, how much charcoal do you have in your shop, all of it is sold to me for fifty yuan, how much I want!" ”

The goatee Song naturally refused to answer, and he wanted to sell it for a few days with everyone at a high price.

The white fat member asked Liu Daguan with a smile: "How do the big officials say this?" Isn't it that the price of charcoal can't fall? ”

"Naturally, you can't fall! When is it now? It's only October, and the long winter has just begun! Besides, what hasn't increased in price in the capital now? Eat, drink, play, nothing goes up! There is only rice and noodles, there is a granary in Kaifeng Mansion that is there, and it can't go up anyway, and all kinds of other goods have already risen, why don't we have a charcoal price! ”

The white fat man whispered: "But we are charcoal, and Kaifeng Mansion has opened several charcoal farms in the city——"

Liu Daguan sneered: "How much charcoal is there in Kaifeng Mansion?" I don't believe I can continue to sell like this! The charcoal cellar outside the city was delivered to Kaifeng City, and the price has risen to fifty wen per name, don't you know? Let me tell you, as long as we don't follow Kaifeng Mansion to reduce the price, this year's charcoal will be sold for 600 wen a name, and this season is enough to eat for a few years! Do you believe it or not? ”

Several connoisseurs looked at each other, carefully pondering the words of Liu Daguan, the more they chewed, the sweeter they became, and their eyes slowly lit up one by one.

(Note: At this time, the official titles also include Sanguan and Xun, because they basically have no practical significance, and they are not mentioned in the book.) (To be continued.) )