The Republic of China. A Dream of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies

At the New Year's Eve dinner, Zai Kun invited Yanlin's family to have a New Year's Eve dinner together. Pu Ying and Da Gege were also there. Generally speaking, the atmosphere was harmonious.

Puying also toasted in turn, and drank two cups with Yanlin. During the dinner, the two talked and laughed happily, and the old stranger was gone, which made Zai Kun very relieved to see it.

But the next day, Yanlin was called by a regular customer to pull the car. He had originally agreed to take his two sons to the temple fair, but making money is important. Do three or four days of pay.But this job was really hard. He ran back and forth for more than ten miles non-stop, uphill and downhill. He was so tired that his whole body was soaked in the twelfth lunar month. He found a place to stop the car to rest as soon as he sent the customer to the front door. Leaning on the car seat like a dead dog and taking a nap, I don't care about the cold weather.

"Hey, my lord, don't fall asleep here, hurry up and find a warm place to rest." Liu San, who is also a cart driver, came to dissuade him kindly, but Yan Lin just waved his hands and fell asleep again.

Just at this time, Puying came from across the road. He had just paid New Year's greetings to Eniang's family, and wanted to find a place to rest and have a cup of tea. He saw a familiar foreign car. Yanlin's car was very recognizable. It was glazed in color, with an exclusive serial number written on the opponent's waistcoat, which hung on the handlebars of the car and was blown like a flag by the wind.

Pu Ying came over to say hello to him, but saw Liu San shrinking his neck and talking to the people in the car, and quickly asked: "What's wrong with him?"

"I just finished a round of work, and I'm exhausted. It's more than ten miles away. If I sleep here, I will get sick. I have to make him warm in the house quickly." Liu San was in a dilemma, because he was still waiting for the customer to come down, and he couldn't leave. open.

Puying helped the people in the car up without saying a word, and said to Liu San: "Please park his car in the backyard of the hotel opposite, and I will take him to the guest room to rest. I am his relative." , Kun Belle is my Ama." Almost everyone in Sijiu City knows his father's name, much more famous than a foreigner like him.

"Oh, so it's the big brother, leave it to me." Liu San knew that Lord Belle. He thought that when it was still in the Qing Dynasty, he would buy porridge on credit at the gate of the temple every fifteenth day. After the Republic of China, he also served as a diplomat. A special Baqi boy, he is simple and simple, and I heard that he even married an English lady, this is probably the legendary "golden-eyed shellfish", right?

"Thank you." Pu Ying helped Yan Lin into the hotel, asked for the best room, and told the clerk to make hot water for tea, and bring in a basin of clean water to wash his face.

There was a fire in the room, and it was very warm. The elder brother put his cousin on the bed and wiped Yan Lin's face with a hot towel, and then took off his clothes and helped him wipe his whole body, which made Yan Lin feel better. energy.

"...Don't be too busy." Yan Lin finally came to his senses, he resisted not drinking water because he was afraid of lung problems.

"Drink some hot tea, come." Pu Ying helped him sit up, and fed him two sips of tea.

Yanlin took a deep breath, and then said with a silly smile: "I'm afraid I can't get up now, can you let me sleep here." His legs were already numb, as if he didn't have any legs at all. Let alone walking, it is difficult to stand up.

"I just rented this room for you. Take off your clothes and go to sleep. I'll go home and tell your wife to rest steadily." After finishing speaking, Pu Ying covered him with the quilt and hurried home.

In the evening, when it was time to eat, Pu Ying returned to the hotel and brought hot buns and porridge, which were made by Lao Fujin himself.

After waking up, Yanlin wolfed down the steamed stuffed bun and washed again, but his legs were still sore. He tried to walk a few steps, and then sat back on the bed.

"Why are you working so hard? How much money can I get you for running more than ten miles? Is it worth it? You don't need to pay for living in my house, eating, drinking, and living. You should rest after the New Year. Mother, daughter-in-law, who will take care of the child?" Just now at home, he told the old lady that Yanlin was exhausted from pulling the cart and was resting at the hotel. My favorite stuffed cabbage stuffed buns.

Yanlin smiled wryly: "I'm an unfilial son, and I'm not a good husband. Father, I discredited the Eight Banners. Now it's my own fault to become a cart puller, but I will try my best to live."

"At first, I, Ama, wanted to take your family over. I objected, but he kept saying that you are kind-hearted and let me get along with you. Now I really understand who you are, stop talking nonsense, and go to bed. Let's go back together tomorrow morning." After finishing speaking, Pu Ying took off her coat and jacket and lay down next to Yan Lin, regardless of whether he liked it or not.

Hearing his words, Yan Lin felt warm in his heart, but as soon as he turned his head, he met Pu Ying's eyes, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, after all, the two of them have had that kind of thing before, and it's really difficult to get along with each other calmly!

"In this world, good people are often destroyed, and evil people live happily. I think you are too stupid to fall into this situation." Pu Ying sighed. He had heard a little about Lord Che's experience. Whoring and gambling are all available, but how many rich people are not like this?Even if it was him, hadn't he ever touched anything other than gambling and opium?

Looking at the white bed curtain, Yan Lin said in a low voice: "Actually, I lost to a woman, and all my wealth was lost for her."

"What kind of woman is so valuable?" Pu Ying was very shocked, did not expect that the prince of Che is still a passionate seed?

"When our emperor announced his abdication, my Ama died of illness. I was in a very bad mood. I often went to Qingyin Class to drink and met a singer named Cuilan. She was sold to the old bustard since she was a child. , I have no home, and I want to find a good master, and I hit it off with her, and we get along well." He told a story that everyone is familiar with, and the man next to the end of the story guessed that it was almost the same.

Pu Ying covered her face and sighed: "You are so fucking stupid... Later you spent a lot of money to redeem her, right?" There was a lot of uproar, which made the royal family lose face. This is also the main reason why the iron hat king was reduced to a coachman.

"You were not in Beijing at the time, so you didn't know about this... At that time, there was another person who wanted to redeem her. He was a Shanxi merchant, but the other person was already 70 or [-] years old, and half of them were buried in the ground, but the price was very high. The old bustard saw I betrothed her to the old man as soon as the money was ready, I was so angry that I ran to the old man to argue, when I was young and vigorous, I shot and injured several people, including the old man and his son." The prince was melancholy after speaking Turned over and rushed inside to sleep, the past was unbearable.

"How much did you lose in the end?" Big Brother asked.

"Sold half of the land. The matter is too big. They want to sue us. They are very powerful and have connections with people from the Beiyang government. I don't know how many people hate us old and young from the former Qing Dynasty. Can't you just make trouble? Of course, the matter is not over yet. After Cuilan got married to that family, her life was not good. The old man was bedridden for half a year because of my injury. , stay in my house." He sighed softly after speaking, the lesson that time was too harsh, made him realize the reality.

"In the end, did the woman run away?" Pu Ying asked, how could the women who came out of that kind of place know how to share weal and woe, and they would have run away long ago if they couldn't survive the hard times.

Yanlin replied slowly: "Not exactly like this. Shanxi merchants came to ask for someone later, but she refused to go back after saying nothing, so I paid a large sum of money to settle the matter. Four years ago, she Suddenly said that she didn’t want to live with me. Of course, I can’t blame her entirely, because my mother-in-law said she was a bastard, and she couldn’t bear children. She often scolded her to vent her anger. I thought, can a woman live without some money? I gave her enough for resettlement, but after more than a month, someone saw her and a young foreigner in the rented area of ​​Tianjin. They said that I was cheated and that she had no If you want to live with me in a down-to-earth way, you just use me as a stepping stone."

"Anyone would think this way. You are ruthless, and actors are not righteous. Don't be stupid in the future. I think you have to think about your future livelihood. You can't be a cart for the rest of your life, right?" He saw that Yan Lin was so tired that he was like a dog Dead dog, with compassion, maybe he can help this person find a job in Er Niang's foreign firm?

"What can I do? I can't do anything except brute force." Self-confidence has long since left him. The self-esteem of the nobles of the Qing Dynasty was shattered, and he could only lie on the ground like an ant and struggle forward, unable to hold his head high.

"After all, you have studied in a private school, so you can read. What can you do better than pulling a cart?" He really couldn't figure out why Yanlin likes pulling a cart. There should be many choices.

"You don't know what kind of life ordinary banner people live. Many places are not willing to hire banner people. Although pulling carts is hard work, most of the bosses of the car dealers don't look down on people. We rely on our strength to eat, although I am often ridiculed by others, but I don’t feel ashamed, because I didn’t steal or rob, and made money openly.” No matter how unfilial he was, he never dug up the graves of his ancestors, and when he passed away, he still had the face to see his ancestors Zong's.

"Do you think pulling a cart is very dignified?" Pu Ying asked back.

Yanlin turned around, faced him and replied naively: "At least no one will come to plot against me anymore. In the past few years, the things stolen and cheated by the people below are too numerous to count. After all, we are big The Qing royal family can’t do things that are too disrespectful, those things are gone, even if they are gone, it’s not easy to get them back.” But he hasn’t sold everything, and in the box book, There are a few treasures, which are Ama's favorite calligraphy during his lifetime, and he has never been willing to sell them.

"At this time, you really want to lose face. If you want me, you must get back what they took away!" Pu Ying didn't understand that not only the nobles of the Qing Dynasty, but even the Long Live Lord also encountered the same embarrassment later. I don't know how many things from the palace were stolen and sold to the people, but because of face, many people just put up with it!

Yanlin pretended to be relaxed and said: "I have talked so much nonsense with you, I made you laugh... I feel better when I say it, and I will be a good guy tomorrow morning!"

Pu Ying couldn't help being happy, and suddenly felt that this face was a little cute, so she said softly: "How about I help you find an errand?"

"No, I'm ashamed to trouble you again." He shook his head hastily.

"You sleep with me, and I'll give you money, how about it?" The elder brother was originally joking, but seeing the surprised expression on the other side, he wanted to tease this person further.

Yan Lin's face turned pale, and he didn't know how to respond.