Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

Sleeping at home, all bedding is familiar and used.

Exhausted, it should have been a dark night without dreams until dawn.

However, Rong Youtang tossed and turned: from the left side of the pillow to the right side, from top to bottom, from the head of the bed to the end of the bed.

During the suppression of the bandits, he slept soundly, but this night, he had many bizarre dreams: Is it because he was too nervous because he was going out for the first time?

Listening to the wind and rain at night, the iron horse glares into a dream.

Rong Youtang dreamed for a moment that the goose feathers were snowing heavily and the north wind was howling. He rode hard on his horse and tried his best to catch up, but the army in front ran so fast that he disappeared in a blink of an eye!The wind and snow blinded his eyes, and he was extremely anxious, shouting: "Wait! Wait for me!" But the sound of the rumbling horse's hooves gradually faded away, and there was nothing but white space in front of him.In a daze, I also heard a soldier say: "Those who fall behind should be thrown into the wild to feed the wolves!"

Rong Youtang's heart skipped a beat, he gritted his teeth and tried his best to catch up, and after rushing through several pine forests and piling up snow, there was a man and a horse standing suddenly at the corner: Prince Qing was in full uniform, with bright tiger eyes, waiting quietly, and said majesticly: " What are you panicking about? The sky is falling?"

In a flash in his mind, Rong Youtang suddenly arrived at the city wall of Shun County again, and a large group of bandits rushed forward with their swords held high, shouting to kill, but Rong Youtang held his own short dagger and screamed anxiously : "Why is this? Where is my knife?"

Behind is the city wall, there is no way to retreat.Rong Youtang went all out and thought: It seems that death is inevitable today!Father, my son is not filial and cannot be cared for until the end of life. Take care of yourself. I hope that in the next life we ​​will be biological father and son and have an ordinary and warm home. May all misfortunes be completely over in this life!

Rong Youtang made up his mind, roared, clenched the dagger, and resolutely rushed towards the bandits, in a desperate posture to perish together - but his body suddenly flew into the air, and someone grabbed him by the back of the collar and flew back to the dilapidated building in an instant. In front of the county yamen, King Qing's voice came from next to his ears: "Rong Youtang listens to the order! Your mission is: to guard the county yamen."

Hey, hey——

By the way, only a person who can run ten kilometers in half an hour wearing fifty catties of armor is eligible to go up the city wall in wartime. I don't have that physique, so I can only guard the county government.

Just as Rong Youtang curled up his mouth and smiled in his sleep, he was suddenly shaken gently, and heard a familiar kind call: "Tang'er? Tang'er? It's high in the sun, wake up and eat before going to sleep. My child, what did you dream about? Laughing so happily."

Rong Youtang was woken up, and opened his eyes in a daze: "Father." He realized that he was lying on his stomach, his head was hanging on the edge of the bed, and his chest was hurting. jade pendant.After falling asleep, I was crushed under the body.

"What is this? It looks weird and funny." Rong Kaiji asked with a chuckle, completely satisfied with everything, he hung up the bed net, bed curtain, curtain, and inner cotton curtain in turn.

Rong Youtang stuffed it back into the bottom of the pillow, thought about it, and said truthfully: "The red seal issued by Prince Qing's mansion during the Chinese New Year is for suppressing evil spirits and warding off evil spirits."

"Well, their mansion is really generous." Rong Kaiji told the situation: "Qian Wei's son brought back your annual gift, saying that there are servants in the palace. But I don't want to see you. But he was in a hurry, put down his things and ran away."

Rong Youtang apologized softly: "Father, it's all because of my son's unfilial piety, which made the family have a bad year."

"As long as you are safe." Rong Kaiji said with emotion: "What can I do? After all, the son raised by father, a man always wants to make achievements and seek a good future. If it is a daughter, father will be even more worried, after all, you have no brothers to help , then we can only recruit a son-in-law."

Rong Youtang neatly put on his clothes and boots and got off the bed, and straightened the bedding with his hands back. He was overjoyed and said, "A son-in-law? Hahaha, it's a good thing I'm not a woman, otherwise you will have to worry even more."

"It's difficult for a young daughter-in-law in the back house. Most of the family members are elders, and they have to work hard to take care of them, and it's often thankless." Rong Kaiji shook his head and said pitifully.

Rong Youtang tied up her hair a few times, ran outside to wash up, and agreed: "Father is absolutely right. When I passed by Xing family yesterday, his old lady sat on the threshold and scolded his daughter-in-law again. The words are nothing more than 'the water is hot and the water is cold, the vegetables are salty and the rice is dry', she complains and complains to everyone she meets, even I will not let it go, and sister-in-law Xing hides behind the door and cries, alas."

"Xingda became addicted to alcohol and gambling as an adult, no matter how virtuous everyone in Xingda is, they can't persuade alcoholics and gamblers, life is hard." Rong Kaiji shook his head sympathetically, then changed his voice, and said firmly: "Our family is different! From now on, as soon as your daughter-in-law enters the house, she will be the head of the family. If she is capable, the shop can be handed over to her! You can study at ease and take the exam, and strive to become an official. The status of a servant is still a burden—"

"Father, you're here again!" Rong Youtang couldn't stop crying or laughing, "We are destined to be father and son, and our family has always been good. I didn't care about those things at all. In the world, people with both ability and political integrity are often generous and kind, Only villains are short-sighted, so don't worry about it."

Rong Kaiji smiled gratifiedly, stretched out his hand to help his son straighten his collar, and said full of longing: "In the future, when you get married, you can have more children, regardless of grandchildren and grandchildren, to make the family lively. Dad was thinking, you looking for a wife?" The family status must not be high, lest she take advantage of the situation to bully her, but it must not be too low, the right family is the best—"

The Rong family has no mistress, and the father and father have no relatives.Rong Kaiji had to be both a father and a mother, raising his son with all his heart.

"Father, didn't you tell me to concentrate on studying first?" Rong Youtang begged for mercy and reminded.

The elders like to nag these things every day.Rong Youtang listened a lot, he could continue the next sentence after listening to the previous sentence, and occasionally joked narrowly - but today he felt a little, a little...

"This is natural!" Rong Kaiji hurriedly ordered solemnly: "You are still young, you should devote yourself to studying the books of sages and sages, and you must not indulge in the love of your children early, it will destroy your spirit." After a pause, Rong's father He also confided: "This is also the reason why Dad declined the matchmaker several times—"

"Matchmaker, matchmaker?" Rong Youtang was about to open the door and go out to find something to eat, when he turned around in surprise.

Father Rong couldn't hide his pride: "Since you became a scholar, several matchmakers have come to inquire. Father didn't want you to be distracted, so he quietly declined, and he didn't find any suitable ones. Marriage should not be rushed, it must be done slowly and carefully. Looking for an interview. In short, a good family is a must, and I also hope that the girl can be gentle and dignified, with a little literacy, so that she can get along with you. In all fairness, Uncle Shi's family is the most suitable, but it's a pity that Miss Yan married ten years ago—"

"Father, let's talk about my concentration on studying now!" Rong Youtang opened the door and ran away, suddenly very glad that he didn't have to worry about getting married.

What's the rush?I... am still young, I want to study in the Imperial College, work hard to become an official, and strive to be a good official!

Rong Youtang thought solemnly.

After breakfast, he tidied up his instruments and prepared to go out.

"Actually, it's the same if you go again tomorrow after you have recovered enough energy." Father Rong reminded: "Father just went there two days ago. Uncle Shi is very busy recently. Important classics."

Rong Youtang smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if you don't see anyone, I'll deliver the things, sit down for a while, drink a cup of tea and leave. I didn't go to New Year's greetings for some reason, it's very rude."

"Don't worry, Dad explained it for you."

Wearing a homely Xueqing robe, Rong Youtang grabbed the cloak and gift box, and said brightly: "It's okay, I'm free, I just want to visit my uncle's house."

"That's fine, I'm just afraid you didn't rest well."

"I slept for six or seven hours yesterday, and I was so sleepy." Rong Youtang quickly got on the horse and went out to practice for half a month. His expression and movements were different, and he was heroic.He said to Father Rong: "I'm leaving, you go back to the house."

"Be careful on the road." Rong Kaiji slightly waved his hand, watched his son ride the horse more and more skillfully and ran away, proud and emotional, said to the housekeeper: "Look, look."

"The young master is really improving." The housekeeper also said with emotion: "Sooner or later, he will lead the Rong family to move out of this Dongsi Hutong. You, from now on, you will enjoy the blessings and be a comfortable grandpa!"

Rong Kaiji laughed from ear to ear, but said cautiously: "Don't talk too much, don't let people hear you make fun of it."

-

Rong Youtang rode a horse through the streets and alleys to the Yan Mansion, but Yan Yongxin was indeed not at home.He respectfully presented the soil ceremonies of other provinces, and sincerely apologized for his previous rudeness. He was warmly received by the mistress, and asked to stay for dinner. Rong Youtang finally politely left. After all, the Yan family and his son had gone out, and only The remaining female relatives should avoid suspicion to some extent.

Yuanjing Street is as usual, very lively.

Rong Youtang dismounted and walked.

Your Highness entered the palace yesterday, what is the situation?commendation?reprimand?To balance the merits and demerits?

Just as Rong Youtang thought about it, he found that his docile horse was walking in the direction of Prince Qing's mansion by itself!

——An old horse knows the way.It has been going to Prince Qing's Mansion every day for more than two months. A while ago, because Father Rong was worried about his "missing" son, sometimes when he heard some news, he would rush to the Prince's Mansion day and night to inquire.The horse is already quite familiar.

"Okay, then listen to you!"

Rong Youtang patted the horse's neck vigorously and praised.

But when he arrived at the palace, the steward told King Qing that he was still in the palace. He was thoughtful and thoughtful. Although he had a kind attitude, he would not reveal some things even if he was killed.

Rong Youtang returned disappointed, so he had to check his own shop as originally planned.

The South Street and West Street in the capital are the most prosperous, with restaurants, wineries and teahouses everywhere, and opera gardens, brothels, and music gardens.The East Street is a gathering place for cloth, wood, miscellaneous grains, porcelain and other industries.

"Manager Jiang, is everything going well recently?" Rong Youtang looked through the account book carefully, and told clearly: "Tell the truth. Remember to keep it from my father, don't let him worry about it."

"Hey, hey!" Jiang Bai, the steward, was a middle-aged man with a wispy beard and shrewd eyeballs in his single eyelids.

They sat by the window on the second floor of the cloth house.Jiang Bai courteously refills the tea, pulls the chair closer, leans forward, feels suffocated, slaps his thigh hard, and says angrily: "It was originally run well! Those palaces and palaces that you spent a lot of time looking for in the early years The maids who come out, although their work is slow, but they are exquisite in workmanship and have a rich charm, which happens to be supplied to those little rich families who have just entered Beijing. But after the new year, a new cloth shop opened on the street. They are so shameless that they Imitate us everywhere!"

Rong Youtang helped pour the tea, and said with a smile: "It's the 'Neonshang Pavilion', I saw it when I came over."

"That's it!" Jiang Bai said without resentment: "It's obviously a cloth shop, what is it called a 'Ge' or a 'Guan', it's so sour! Let me tell you, they have started to rob our embroidery workers these days." Yes, what An Niang said in person when she came to hand in the job yesterday, it is said that the other party promised to pay [-]% more wages, she has received your kindness, and she will not leave. But several young daughters-in-law have turned their faces and left!"

"It's normal to be tempted. Who doesn't want to have more money." Rong Youtang said calmly.

"But they clearly promised to only supply us, they broke their promises and backtracked on their promises!"

Rong Youtang smiled wryly: "They didn't sign the paperwork, and they weren't embroiderers hired by the cloth village. They made a verbal agreement, and they don't have to pay a penalty if they go back on their word."

"Oh, how well we treat them usually, the wages are generous, and the festivals are considerate. Considering that they have to take care of the family, there is never a fixed deadline for handover, and it is no longer possible for other cloth houses." Jiang Bai was both injured and unwilling .

Rong Youtang said in relief: "The Nishang Pavilion suddenly appeared, with such a high-profile publicity, it will definitely lose money in the early stage and make a lot of noise. It's not a matter of whether it can get back the money. Rong's cloth shop has a relatively fixed source of customers. All the cloth shops on this street Zhuangdu is mainly engaged in regular customer business. The industry rule is that it can be won in the early stage, but whoever can do it for two seasons will default to the customer. There are so many people coming and going in and out of the capital all the time. "Basic food, housing and transportation", most of them will buy clothes as soon as possible after entering Beijing. Spring is about to start, and many candidates who will take part in the autumn exam this year will go to Beijing in advance to prepare for the exam and make connections, and they have a lot to do."

Jiang Baiyan shook his head hesitantly: "I'm about to tell you this: Although it hasn't been long, I probably figured it out through insinuations. The Nishang Pavilion is powerful and rich. It is said that it is backed by high-ranking officials, and its surname is—"

"Zhou." Rong Youtang said firmly.

"How do you know?"

"The other shopkeeper told me when I came here." Rong Youtang replied casually.In fact, it was because he happened to see Zhou Minghong at the door, and he was urging Zhou Xiaotong to get into the carriage.

——Zhou Xiaotong has reached her early age, and the shop is probably used for her to practice housekeeping.

Sure enough, Jiang Bai went on to say: "I heard that the Zhou family married to the tigress in Pingnanhou's mansion, and Mr. Zhou Renlin who currently works in the household department is a high-ranking official!"

"Tigress?" Rong Youtang couldn't help laughing.

"That's right." When talking about the romantic anecdote, Jiang Bai showed an enthusiastic smile, and lowered his voice, "It happened a few years ago, I dare not tell you unless you ask, the master told me not to talk about it in front of you. That Mr. Zhou has a lot of good luck, he let it go outside, and brought Xichuan Huakui back to the capital! I heard that it was the outer room of Jinwu Zangjiao, but his wife found out, and immediately ran to tear it up. , the oiran was almost beaten to death on the spot, but these are just rumors. But then, for some reason, the oiran was forced to go to the gate of the Zhou mansion to cry and beg, which attracted a lot of people to see, and they all said that Mr. Zhou had a tigress, which was very powerful. Got it! He tried to stab the oiran to death with a hairpin in the street, and returned, returned the clothes, so angry that he wanted to kill someone. Ouch~" Jiang Bai's last sigh was lingering, with longing in his face.

It's not that Yang Ruofang is "so angry that she wants to kill someone", she really dares to kill someone, otherwise my mother and I won't be separated from each other in this life!Rong Youtang sneered in his heart.

Jiang Bai saw that the young shopkeeper was concentrating on reading the account books without even lifting his eyelids, and he was not curious about the beauty and oiran, so he said with emotion: "Young master is so determined, self-disciplined and upright, you will definitely be able to go to high school in the future, and you will be a high-ranking official in the future!"

"I hope it's as you said." Rong Youtang closed the account book with a smile, and said: "There are a lot of cloth shops on this street, and everyone has something to do with it. Nishang Pavilion is too eager to eat, and has an ugly face. Sooner or later it will be unlucky .Let's wait and see!"

Jiang Bai also said: "The spring shirts for entertainment are the focus of competition, but the two young masters of the Zhou family are both studying in the Imperial College, and their relationship is stronger than anyone else's. They can attract many guests just by relying on face."

"I know. But it doesn't matter. There are so many candidates in the world, it is impossible to squeeze into the Nishang Pavilion. You still maintain a good relationship with the Beijing Medium Inn as in previous years. In a few days, the guys should be sent out to lobby. You can count as much as you pull back." Rong Youtang instructed.When he got up, his eyes were shining brightly—he was flustered with idleness, and wanted to find something to do, so your Zhou family came to his door as a punching bag!

Rong Youtang left in a hurry, and made an appointment with a few familiar shopkeepers of the cloth shop.

In the evening, the food and wine are ready, string songs are melodious, and a table of old foxes is mixed with a young fox.

"Yo? I haven't seen Xiaorong for a long time, but he went to Hejian to suppress bandits?"

Rong Youtang hurriedly waved his hands: "If I have no strength to restrain a chicken, how can I suppress the bandits? I'm just doing odd jobs along with me."

There must be a reason for the host to invite colleagues to a banquet, and you must be prepared to talk about it, otherwise no one will join you next time. After all, everyone's entertainment is not for eating and drinking.

"Look at what you said, those of us can't even enter the gate of the palace, let alone follow the bandits."

"The future is terrifying!"

Rong Youtang is both a junior and a junior, so he is very enthusiastic about serving wine and persuading food.After picking some anecdotes about bandit suppression that can be said to stir up the atmosphere, as usual, there is a lot of talk, you compliment me, I agree with you, in short, everyone is happy.

After several decades of drinking, Rong Youtang took advantage of the opportunity and sighed distressedly: "Business is indeed difficult, especially this year! I only left Beijing for a while, and when I came back, I saw that East Street had changed! My housekeeper hugged me. Crying over the account books, saying that there is no way to manage it.”

The shopkeepers all know: eat and drink enough, talk and jokes are over, it's time to talk about business.

But the old foxes are very calm. They are all over half a hundred years old, and they all smile when they look at the little foxes, but they don't make a statement.

Rong Youtang rambled and went around, never mentioning the Nishang Pavilion, and the last thing he mentioned was "February Festival and March [-]rd are coming, it's uncommon to wear new clothes when visiting relatives and friends, and spring silk is in short supply. I am not good at management, and have a backlog of imitation silks made of pine flowers and pea greens, and I am so worried that I don’t know what to do, alas~”

"Pine flower and bean green were the fashionable colors last year, and they are imitation silk... This year it is impossible to make outer shirts. We all like a new style here, and people with a little money pay attention to it. Xiaorong, you are cruel, do it Let’s make shirts, whether it’s shirts, underpants, etc. Hurry up and sell them for another two months. When the rain comes, the fabrics will be moldy. My house also has a lot of piles, and I’m selling them together.”

Rong Youtang hurried over to pour the wine, nodded in agreement, and said gratefully: "Thank you, Uncle Gu, for your guidance. It's just that I bought that imitation silk at a huge price last year, so I really can't bear it."

"Hahaha, you young people are just stupid!" Another thin shopkeeper in fox fur said: "No one in business only makes money and doesn't lose money. They all have to suffer, and keep losing money. As long as you can get back your capital, you can sell if you can. Right. Wasn’t leather jackets fashionable for a while last winter? I rushed to the outside of the customs and worked so hard to bring back a pile of good leather materials. What happened? When I shouted and sold them, they didn’t like them anymore, they thought they were too expensive Grandma, it’s a big loss, I’m so angry that I haven’t had a good time for years!”

Everyone couldn't help but say good words to comfort them, and poured out bitter water one after another, making their own family even more miserable.All of a sudden, the wine table was clattered and the cups and plates vibrated.

Rong Youtang scolded this and that, and then brought the topic back to the backlog of imitation silk: "Last year there was an evil wind, I guess the seniors also accumulated a lot of imitation silk in their warehouses, the tie-in sale was too slow, and the sale was too cheap. Distressed—you have to figure out a way to clean it up.”

Shopkeeper Gu was born in a scholarly family. When he was young, he didn't like imperial examinations and insisted on doing business. He was gentle and refined, with a good background, so he was very popular among his peers.At this time, he smiled and asked: "Then what do you think we should do? Fashion and fashion change every year, and we can't do anything about it."

Rong Youtang put the jug on the table in a serious manner, and Chong Yin emphasized: "But imitation silk is still in fashion this year! The price of imitation silk is reasonable, and the fabric is bright and smooth. There are always people selling and people buying it. Today, I went shopping on Dongda Street At that time, I saw imitation silk fabrics hanging on half the wall in a cloth shop, and I heard that from the shopkeeper to the staff, they used to deal in spices, and they preferred imitation silk."

The "Youjiabuzhuang" is of course Nishang Pavilion. They are newcomers and newcomers. They opened the store in a hurry and rushed the goods.

Of course, it's not just Rong's Cloth Village that I can't get used to.There are rules in the industry, and newcomers who rush forward and do not obey the rules are street rats everywhere.

"Oh?" Shopkeeper Gu understood after a little thought, and asked amusedly, "The shopkeeper also prefers imitation silk?"

"That's right." Rong Youtang added in a serious manner: "That store is very wealthy, and they have squeezed out the time-honored brand next door within less than a month of opening. They are rich, powerful, and have a lot of face. It is normal for them to lead the fashion of imitation silk. of."

"Hmph!" The shopkeeper in fox fur curled his lips in disdain.

The dinner fell silent, and everyone lowered their heads to drink.

Rong Youtang changed his voice, but said regretfully: "But that's other people's business. I'm a small family, and I don't have the ability to turn chicken ribs into fat. In the past few days, I plan to sell the backlog of imitation silk to the North at a discount. Merchant, Beidi doesn’t pay much attention to fashion, so it will sell well.”

However, none of the old foxes believed this nonsense. They smiled knowingly and raised their glasses to change the topic.

The banquet dispersed, and the host and guest enjoyed themselves.

The next day, Rong Youtang ordered the imitation silks in the rush to be taken out, hung up in a conspicuous place, and sold at three times the price, and asked the embroiderers to rush to make a set of new clothes for men and women overnight, for customers' reference.At the same time, the shopkeepers were asked to spread the word, declaring that they would purchase a large amount of imitation silk. As a result, there was a second cloth shop on East Street that "prefers" imitation silk.

A few days later, there was a third one. Then, one after another, more than a dozen cloth houses showed their "preference" for imitation silk, and launched new models one after another, attracting countless customers to "compete" for customization. It was very lively for a while.

Seeing this, Nishang Pavilion was afraid of being left behind, so it hurriedly bought a large number of imitation silks, hired a large number of embroidery workers to make them day and night, and imitated all the eye-catching clothes on Dongdajie.

However, only ten days later, the people of Nishang Pavilion opened the door early in the morning and were shocked: the imitation silk from other cloth shops had all disappeared overnight!Put on light and breathable cotton silk!

Later, Rong Youtang was invited to have dinner, and there were still those people during the dinner.Eating, drinking, chatting and laughing, when the wine was hot, a drunk-eyed shopkeeper said gleefully, "I raised [-]% of the price and gave [-]% to Lao Lu."

"Finally, I didn't lose money, but made a small profit."

"Old Lu has just made a lot of money. We worked hard to set up a stage and sing, and he collects money while sitting!"

"Let that store hoard imitation silk and sell it slowly, I'm going to sell cotton silk, hahaha~"

"..."

But when they left the banquet together, they smiled kindly and said goodbye to each other as if they had collectively lost their memory.

But that's another story.

At the beginning, after Rong Youtang set up the stage and shouted for the opening, he felt relieved and waited for the good show.Because he is sure that everyone in the same industry will definitely teach Nishangge a lesson, and because he is "young and energetic", he just gave advice to his seniors in due course.More than a dozen shopkeepers tacitly agreed with each other, and they joined forces to ruin the Nishang Pavilion, directly knocking it out of business for rectification.

Simply delightful!

At the same time, King Qing stayed in the palace and did not find any bad news.

Early in the morning of February Festival, Rong Youtang accompanied his adoptive father to Hongfa Temple to offer incense.

"...The dog got the help of noble people. On the sixth day of junior high school, he entered the Guozijian to study, and prayed to the Buddha to bless him in everything. He will get a famous teacher, make good friends, and achieve success in his studies." Rong Kaiji held incense and bowed solemnly for several times.

"Tang'er, Dad wants to learn Buddhism from Master Huikong, you go and have some fast food first."

Rong Youtang supported his adoptive father: "But I also want to meet the master."

"Too many people may disturb Master talking about sex, so it's the same if I tell you later." Rong Kaiji obviously didn't want his son to listen.

"...Okay." Rong Youtang could only nod.

But he was not at ease, and after a little turning around, he quietly went to the back hall to look for someone.

The meditation room has deep trees and winding paths lead to secluded places.Although Hongfa Temple is not an imperial temple, it is magnificent and solemn, and the incense is flourishing.

Rong Youtang thought as he walked: What is father hiding?Can't you tell me?

Just as he was contemplating, a woman in red suddenly ran out from behind the rockery that forked the road. She ran so fast that she slammed into Rong Youtang's side!

The two of them let out an "ouch" at the same time.

Rong Youtang was almost thrown down, and he stepped back a few steps before standing still. He hurriedly looked up, his eyes widened in disbelief: "Princess?"

Zhao Yilin Mi Fen's face was pale, her hands were clutching at her neckline, and she was extremely panicked.But she still remembered Rong Youtang, after recognizing the person, without saying a word, she raised her hand and was about to slap him.