Jijiexian

The Bai family.

When Fujimine rode a gray pony through a white stone arch bridge, he discovered that the neat and majestic Baijia Castle from a distance was all an illusion.Everything here is in disarray, the ground is full of broken stones and broken boxes, servants and slaves are walking around inside, and on a tower, several craftsmen are using ropes to unload the big clock above.

It seems that the Bai family is ready to take away everything they can: metal, wood, decorations and so on.

The only complete building now is the barn. According to Yu Chang, it is part of the agreement with the Yu family. Not only this barn, but also all the grain in it, will be sent out after the autumn harvest.

The cellar of the Bai family is still full of wine barrels that are too late to deal with. So much wine cannot be taken to the west, so it can only be sold on the spot. During this period of time, the family members can drink without limit. Happy, cheered immediately.

Father Bai met them in Fengcheng, and he had already finished handling the ship and the cargo.Tengfeng noticed that both he and Bai Li were a little nervous, and it wasn't until the servants who received them led them to the auditorium that Tengfeng knew the reason for their nervousness - the patriarch of the Bai family.

The previous owner of the Bai family died because of the war between Song and Peng, leaving behind his wife and two brothers.

These two people are Bai Li and the current head of the Bai family.

Not everyone in the Bai family agreed to go to Xirong. Nearly half of the clan members would choose to stay, some of them would go to Song State, and the rest would serve Peng State, including the sons of the current patriarch. This is regarded by most people as a family strategy, never putting all eggs in one basket.

It may also be because of the example of the patriarch, among the younger generation of the Bai family, not many went to Xirong, and several cousins ​​of Baili stayed. Therefore, there are rumors in the family that if the Bai family can revive in Xirong in the future, Bai Li will most likely become the heir of the family.

After settling his luggage, Tengfeng saw Bai Li's eldest brother. From the outline of his face, it could be seen that he and Bai Li were related by blood. They both had broad foreheads, high nose bridges, and straight Hair and piercing eyes, but Big Brother Bai looks a whole circle older than Bai Li, and there are already many gaps on his face.

When Patriarch Bai began to look at them, Fujimine felt a little nervous.

"You just brought these few people back?" Patriarch Bai said to Father Bai and Bai Li.

Except for Tengfeng, almost all the people present were brought back from Fengcheng by Papa Bai. In the end, I regretted it, and when I went to look for him again, I couldn't find anyone.

Together with Tengfeng, these people are standing here, being inspected by the head of the Bai family.

"Yes, Patriarch, just these people." Father Bai replied respectfully, "When they heard that we were going to Xirong, many people were scared away."

"Then what about these people?" The patriarch asked again.

"The shepherd let a horse run away and was driven out by the master's family. The bronzesmith made a mistake in repairing the armor of a nobleman and made the armor stick together. The carpenter committed adultery with a neighbor's woman. After being discovered, he ran out overnight wearing only a jacket; the mine where the two miners were located collapsed, and they ran out, but when they came out, the mine owner had disappeared; the workshop where the apprentice boy was located caught fire in the middle of the night , Burned a few houses around, his master pushed him to take the blame, and he came to follow us.

The head of the Bai family curled his lips: "They are all talents."

Father Bai showed a wry smile: "As long as anyone in the city is willing to go with us, I will bring them."

"What about this kid?" He pointed at Tengfeng with his finger, and glanced at Baili after speaking.

"I found him on the river when I came back. He was hugging a board and almost drowned. He is willing to go to the west with us."

"Take these people away, someone will lead you to where you live." Patriarch Bai said to the rest.

Papa Bai led the people back out one after another, and Tengfeng suddenly felt the atmosphere cool down.

"He..." Bai Li was just about to speak.

Patriarch Bai interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "I know, you haven't had time to name this little guy, but I want to tell you, his surname must not be Bai, I don't care if you rescued him from the river or from It was taken by a woman, are you sure there is your blood on him?"

"Brother, I really rescued him from the river, not my child. If you don't believe me, you can ask..." Bai Li wanted to ask the fellow boatmen, but now even the boat has been sold, Where are the boatmen left, they have probably sailed with new masters.

"You understand, very good!" Patriarch Bai nodded, and said again: "There is still a shortage of manpower in the stable. The one who drowned while taking a bath in the river not long ago, let this kid go."

"Brother!" Bai Li said in surprise, "This kid was wearing fine knitting clothes and could write. Look at his hands, they are as soft as cashmere. He is probably from a wealthy family, and he is very smart. Go It's such a pity to be a stable boy!"

"Is he really not your son?"

"real."

"Then let him go to the stable. If there is nothing else, you can go down and resettle him first. I also have other things to deal with."

Patriarch Bai finished handling everything here, turned around and left.Bai Li can only come here first to persuade Tengfeng to stay at ease, and then talk about other things later.

After finishing speaking, he also left, and he still had to prepare for the evening banquet. The Yu family entertained Bai Li in Xiayi, and the Bai family had to make a statement.

An older servant took Fujimine away.

The old servant asked Fujimine to take off his robe, and gave him a set of rough linen coat, a pair of trousers with a hole in the knee, and a frayed whip, which he said was left by that kid before. These are his.He also gave Fujimine a wooden bowl and a slingshot.

After dealing with these, the old servant took Tengfeng to the stable, and before entering the door, a smell of horses came out of his nostrils.In the innermost corner of the stable, there was a piece of flannelette that looked moldy and dirty, with some sundries around it.

"Before you leave, you sleep here."

"Where is my bed?" Fujimine asked.

The old servant immediately laughed, pointed to the piece of cloth and said, "This is your bed, a very good bed! Straw is laid in spring, you don't sleep here, some people come to grab it, I want to be able to sleep when I was young." It’s good to have this job.”

"Then you can sleep here, I want to live with Bai Li, I don't want to stay here." Tengfeng roared.

The horse in the stable shook its head and cleared its nostrils, not paying any attention to what Tengfeng called.

"Master Baili is the master, who are you? You still want to live with him, ha ha." The old servant seemed to have heard some joke, the wrinkles on his face were almost squeezed together, "The trough is almost empty, Remember to fill up the trough later, remember, just sprinkle a handful of millet every night. I will come to check later, if a horse is hungry, you don’t have dinner, such a simple job, you have to do it well ah."

After finishing speaking, the old servant ignored Tengfeng and disappeared after walking through the stables.

The afternoon sun was just right, and everywhere it shone was warm, but Fujimine, who was in the stable, felt the surroundings were chilly.