The Plow

During the day, guests from the Guan family came one after another.

There are also those who come down from the mountain to keep watch for the old man.

Lao Yuan is one of them.

According to what Guanshi He said, this old man is not an ordinary servant. The old man was surrounded by old man's shadow before he was alive. The son still needs to trust him, and he will not avoid him in anything. Even when he opens the warehouse after his death, Lao Yuan will be watching as a witness. Every box in the warehouse is locked. No key.

It was only then that Yue Dingtang knew that his cousins ​​were eagerly waiting for Lao Yuan to come back, not because of brotherhood and keeping their promise to his father, but because of the key in Lao Yuan's hand.

Apart from Lao Yuan, there were also several outsiders who had never met before.

As soon as Ivanov entered the door, he was all stared at by the Guan family.

Although there are many foreigners in Fengtian City, there are more orientals with the same black hair and black eyes. There are not no foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes. Everyone has never seen a handsome and outstanding young man like Ivanov.

His hair is golden brown, almost golden in the sun, fair skin, light blue eyes, the Guan family has never heard of foreign fairy tales, and they don't know that Ivanov is tailor-made for the word handsome prince. They just felt that this foreign devil was different from those fat, wine-grooved ones in the past, and the female family members couldn't help but look at him more and more.

Not only did Ivanov have no eyes above the top, but he was also polite, and brought two bottles of wine as a gift.

For this respectable guest, the fourth master felt that he had a good face, and introduced Ivanov to everyone who had been doing business in China for many years. He was an old friend of his, with excellent character and noble family background.

"Fourth brother, you have lived in Fengtian all your life. Do you know what is noble or not? Russia has perished long ago, and the dynasty has changed like the previous Qing Dynasty! The whole family of the last emperor was hanged and poisoned to death. Where are there any nobles? Desperadoes!"

As soon as Lao Wu entered the door, he heard the fourth master's theory of noble birth, and immediately sneered and refuted.

The fourth master sneered: "Old man, don't go out and drink two sips of foreign ink, thinking that you can break away from the family. To be honest, our family is also a noble family in the Qing Dynasty, old and young. How many great people have been born in our ancestors? Do you think so?" To be a obedient citizen in the new era depends on whether others will give you this opportunity!"

Fifth brother: "Fourth brother, I don't need you to worry about it. You, just take care of yourself. Don't quarrel with your eldest brother every day. Our father knows it, so we can rest in peace!"

The elder has been listening to the movement with his ears pricked up. Hearing this, he immediately jumped up, furious, like a fried chicken.

"Old man, you are an unfilial son. When my father passed away, I didn't see you coming back to fulfill my filial piety. As soon as my father kicked his legs, you immediately came back to fight for the family property. You have read books for so many years, and you have read them in the dog's stomach. Touch me If my conscience is still warm, will it hurt!"

Fifth brother: "Brother, don't you take advantage of the fourth brother and pick me as a soft persimmon! At that time, I was still on the ship, how did I get back? Did the soul fly back? Then why don't you do it?" How to do it, don't you talk about those gods and gods all day long, saying how pious you are, and when you need to show your supernatural powers, you can't do it?"

"Shut up for me!"

The second master shouted loudly, and finally suppressed the voices of both of them.

"Normally, it's fine to be noisy, but today there are guests here, and it's a big day to open the warehouse. Can you calm down a bit, and when the warehouse is opened and the family is separated, you can make as much noise as you want! Where's Lao Yuan, Lao Yuan is here No?"

Guanshi He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Second Master, Lao Yuan is going to invite the Third Master, and if he comes out, the Third Master will definitely come!"

The second master snorted coldly: "If the third child dares not come here today, I will break his leg!"

He turned to Yue Dingtang: "Dingtang, don't go up the mountain today, wait for the things in the warehouse to be distributed, and then kowtow to the old man before you leave, it's the same. Otherwise, the warehouse will not be opened for a day, and it will be closed." The family members are uncertain, and the old man knows it, but it is difficult to rest in peace."

Yue Dingtang nodded.

Guan Shizhi said coolly: "Second brother is so majestic, is this the style of the head of the family?"

The second master said earnestly: "Fifth, I know that none of you will obey anyone, including me. I am the second child. I shouldn't be in charge of this matter, and I am not the head of the family. It is just to let everyone sit down and say something calmly." That's all. The old man kept saying before he was alive that we should be brothers and sisters and be of one heart and one mind. Now that the old man has not gone far, he is watching us from the sky. In order to not be able to write two key words in one stroke, can we slow down our temper? Do the urgent things first?"

These words were reasonable and there was nothing wrong with them, the fifth master finally stopped talking.

When several people were talking, Yue Dingtang watched from the sidelines and saw that the Guan family brothers had different thoughts and different opinions.

As soon as the second master finished speaking, the boss immediately showed an expression of dissatisfaction, as if the second master stole the lines that should have been spoken by him, and let the other party take the limelight, instead reducing himself to a buffoon.

The fourth master had a gloating expression on his face.

As for the guests brought by the masters.

Yue Dingtang's eyes fell on the young man beside the fifth master Guan Shizhi.

This person is about a few years older than Guan Shizhi, wearing a three-piece suit and holding a civilized crutch in white gloves. Such a dress is not unfamiliar.

The other party noticed Yue Dingtang's gaze, stepped forward generously, and stretched out his hand towards him.

"Hi, my surname is Yingzuo, my humble name is Zhaokang, and I'm Shizhi's classmate."

Fluent Mandarin, almost no different from Chinese.

Yue Dingtang shook hands with him: "Mr. Yingzuo looks older than my fifth cousin, and he can speak Chinese very well."

"Yes, I was playful when I was young and refused to go to school. I didn't know how to make progress until I was a teenager. My father hired Chinese and English teachers for me. After I studied for a few years, I went to England to study and met Shizhi. This time I met him. Returning to China together, I heard that his father was seriously ill, so I specially followed him back to China to see if there is anything that can help. Unexpectedly, "

Ying Zuo sighed, showing regret undoubtedly.

"I didn't expect the old man to leave anyway. Shizhi didn't get to see his father for the last time, and he has been very sad for the past few days. I can only accompany and comfort him."

Yue Dingtang: "Mr. Ying Zuo has a heart."

Yingzuo smiled slightly, but it didn't look deliberate, the smile was compassionate but not bitter, it made one's heart ache, and he felt close and confiding.

With these few people present, Ling Shu's presence would not seem obtrusive.

"The third master is here!"

I don't know who said it first, and the servants of the Guan family who surrounded the door hurriedly separated from the left and right to make way for the passage.

The two stepped into the yard one after the other.

One has white beard and hair, and his face is full of vicissitudes. At first glance, he looks like he is six or seventy years old.

A face is like an axe, with long crow's feet dragging away from the corners of the eyes, as if they are going to swim to the sideburns, but there is a large burn scar down the right corner of the mouth, which completely ruined the whole face, and this person has fierce eyes Light, wherever his eyes went, everyone avoided him one after another, and no one dared to look directly at him.

However, it is also limited to the people of the Guan family.

At least the guests brought by the second master and the fourth master, as well as Yue Ding, Tang Lingshu and others, not only did not feel embarrassed, but also sized him up carefully.

As they watched the person, the person was also looking at the outsiders in the yard.

Yue Dingtang found that the other party's gaze stayed on Ling Shu for a second or two longer than the others.

And Ling Shu——

Ling Shu seemed to be taken aback for a moment, then nodded and smiled at the other party.

This person looked away blankly, as if he had never known Ling Shu.

"This is the third master of our Guan family, and this is Lao Yuan, the old man's entourage during his lifetime."

Manager He introduced.

The third master Guan is actually older than the second master, the first master. With such a description, it is estimated that some people will believe him if he is said to be Mr. Guan.

The second master seemed to notice everyone's surprise, so he said something more.

"The third child is not in good health and doesn't like to see the light. He spends all the year thinking about his hobbies in the yard. He rarely came out to see guests before. The third child, let me introduce you, this is Dingtang..."

The third master waved his hand and interrupted him with a hoarse voice.

"No need, let's do the business that the old man told you first, I still have a carpentry job to finish."

Guan San didn't say hello to anyone, and when he came in, he put on the posture of not being close to strangers. The second master was a little embarrassed, and no one smoothed things over for him, so he had to step down the steps by himself.

"Let's go, let's go into the back room and talk."

The inner room is the room where Lingshu and the others lived for the whole night last night. The reclining chairs and bedding have been taken away, and some tables and chairs are placed inside for the host and guests to sit. The second master did his part to take the first seat. .The second master took the lead and spoke in front of everyone.

"Old Yuan, come here and sit on the right side of me. Today we have a quick battle. The eldest brother lost his key. Now there are not enough keys to open the warehouse. After discussing last night, we decided to open it with an axe. What do you think, old Yuan? "

Old Yuan looked at the Elder Master: "How can the key be lost?"

The old man was angry: "I was pushed twice by the fourth child during the day, but at night I found out that the key was correct. I carry that key with me every day. How could I lose it? You should ask the fourth child!"

The fourth master stood up abruptly!

Old Yuan raised his hand: "Fourth Master, please be safe and don't be impatient. Now wait for the investigation. Since the key is lost, just do as the Second Master said, use an ax to split open the warehouse!"

The second master slapped his thigh: "Success, what I'm waiting for is your words! Come on, get the axe!"

Two strong servants quickly came over with two axes, and slashed at the door of the warehouse.

However, the wooden door was too familiar, the two young men split it for a long time, but they only split the door with a crack three fingers thick.

Both of them were out of breath.

Ying Zuo drank three pots of tea, went to the clean room, and couldn't help but said, "It's better to blow it up with explosives."

"Absolutely not!" said the second master, "For fear of hurting the valuables in the warehouse."

If it is a famous porcelain painting of Jingui, if the power of the explosive is not well controlled, it will be completely destroyed.

Ying Zuo thinks about it too, and keeps quiet.

The whole morning was passed by the servants of the Guan family taking turns to work hard. In order to let them do their best, the second master even gave some rewards out of his own pocket. He also knew that if he asked a few brothers to ask for money, it would be endless nonsense. , and think about the good things that the old man may have left for everyone, if you bite your teeth, you will be bleeding.

Ling Shu also found it interesting to see the wonderful expression on the second master's face, and watched intently.

Yue Dingtang couldn't help poking his waist, his movements were very subtle.

Ling Shu turned his head.

Yue Dingtang lowered his voice: "Put away your expression of watching a play."

Ling Shu also lowered his voice: "If you don't watch a play, what are you watching?"

Yue Dingtang was speechless for a moment, took out a bag of Garlic Green Beans from his pocket, and stuffed it into his hand.

"Low your head and eat yours."

Ling Shu was happy: "Old Yue, you are too considerate, well, I don't look at the second master, I look at Ivanov. He is really handsome, not at all like the one I know Foreign devil, that skin is like white porcelain. Tell me, how can a foreign devil believe in the idea that the fourth master invites God to get on his body? He is also a frequent visitor, did he know the family background of the Guan family long ago, so he deliberately got close to the fourth master? ?”

Yue Dingtang said: "I don't know if he really believes in the Four Masters, but I know he believes in the Orthodox Church."

Ling Shu: "How do you see that?"

Yue Dingtang: "Just now he glanced at the ring on his hand. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the five-color badge representing the Orthodox Church."

Ling Shu: "Believe in the Orthodox Church, in fact, it doesn't prevent him from wanting to know more about making friends after seeing the fourth master's supernatural power."

Yue Dingtang: "You should have noticed his expression and behavior."

Ling Shu: "Very arrogant."

Yue Dingtang: "To be precise, it should be the innate sense of superiority of nobles."

Ling Shu: "But Tsarist Russia no longer has nobles, and even if there were, they were just poor nobles."

Yue Dingtang: "His whole outfit may be worth more than my five cousins."

This metaphor is very interesting, Ling Shu couldn't help but put a few green beans in his mouth to hide his smile.

"That may be the only outfit he can take out. I heard that some Tsarist Russian nobles still wanted to maintain their previous style after they were exiled in other places, but they had to be forced to bow their heads by the increasingly embarrassing life, and finally sold them one by one. There are poor people, and there is no guarantee that Ivanov is not one of them."

Yue Dingtang: "Do you know how much my fourth cousin asks for once?"

Ling Shu: "It is said that I will give it according to the fate?"

Yue Dingtang: "It is said to be resigned, but the more you give, the more you will be favored by the fourth master. This Mr. Ivanov, I heard from the servants of the Guan family that the fee for asking the fourth master is added. There should be hundreds of oceans."

Ling Shu heard that Qingdou forgot to chew: "Sure enough, the money is generous, and the ordinary wandering nobles are indeed not as rich as him."

"Open!"

While the two were talking, cheers came from the warehouse.

Ling Shu saw that almost everyone had gathered at the door of the warehouse.

As soon as the bright sun shines outside, dust is flying inside, and it seems that there are mice darting to avoid the light.

The warehouse is empty.

It can't be said that it is very empty, there are still a few boxes.

It's just that the boxes are very small, about the size that one person can hold in his arms, which doesn't meet everyone's previous expectations.

Disappointment was evident on many faces.

How could such a small box hold calligraphy, painting, porcelain, antique treasures?

Lao Yuan walked up to the steps and faced the crowd.

"Masters, here are seven boxes in total, each with a name and surname. The old man had a life, and one piece was used as a public expense. If several lords insist on separating the family, they will divide the contents of this box."

"These five are for five masters, from the first master to the fifth master. The boxes are labeled, so there will be no confusion."

He pointed to the smallest of the boxes.

"This one is reserved for the young master of the Yue family."