The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

In early spring and February, although the wind is still bitterly cold, the ice and snow have not disappeared.But the willows that have withered for a season have already sprouted new green shoots.The February spring breeze blew like scissors and made people's faces hurt, but the construction of Zhuangzi, ten miles outside Jinling City, started in full swing.There is an endless stream of short-term laborers wearing coarse cloth jackets, and high-quality buildings, buildings, bricks and tiles are transported and moved continuously.From morning till night, the sound of knocking and trumpeting made people feel restless for a moment.Dig ditches today, bulldoze the next day, causing dust and dust everywhere, but no one around dares to speak out.No one else, because this Zhuangzi was purchased and repaired by the Xue family in Jinling, who would dare to say a word!

"The Xue family in Jinling is so majestic!" One day, a caravan passing by from other places came to the outside of Jinling City and looked at the exquisite houses that stretched for ten miles. The pavilions and pavilions are even comparable to the grandeur of the palace.After stopping for a while, one of the sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers in royal blue gowns sighed softly.

"This Xue family is the descendant of Ziwei Sheren Xue Gong, who is now leading the money banker of the inner government to purchase miscellaneous materials. It is said to have millions of dollars, and the family background is strong!" Another young man who is about to lose his crown echoes in a young voice: "There is a lot of snow in a good year. Pearls are like earth and gold is like iron. They are talking about their family."

"A millionaire?" The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy said playfully when he heard the words.Then he sneered and said, "I'm afraid it's more than that?"

Just talking about the scale of the ten-mile house, if it is really built, it may be more than a million.

"Nowadays the imperial court is waiting to be prosperous, and the palace is still in a situation of being frugal and frugal again and again. Did you ever think that it is just a Xue family, and the money for repairing a Zhuangzi is comparable to the tax of the imperial court and a state. Didn't know it was They are too capable, and there are still too many vegetarian meals in the corpses of officials in the court." The boy sneered again and again.The young man with a weak crown was so silent that he didn't even dare to answer.

The young man was depressed for a while, before he sighed: "Forget it, I have nothing to do with you, why did I lose my temper with you again?"

Walking forward, but only one or two miles away, I met a group of four people coming leisurely.Four people rode four tall horses, and the front one was carved with powder and jade, which was described as slightly fat.About eight or nine years old.He wears a purple gold crown with hair inlaid on his head, his eyebrows are tied with two dragons grabbing gold and his forehead is wiped with gold, and he wears a brand-new big red coat sprinkled with flowers. From time to time, a section of forearm as white as a lotus root is exposed when he moves.The face is exquisite, with a little baby fat, and the unconcealed arrogance between the brows, which looks more and more cute because of frowning hard.Just like a kitten who vents its anger everywhere because of some dissatisfaction, it is spoiled and ruthless at first sight.For some reason, he suddenly jumped off the horse, pouted with dissatisfaction, and lost his temper——

"I don't ride a horse, I don't ride a horse anymore, I'm going to walk!"

"My young master, my ancestor!" The three young men in green clothes followed behind bitterly, and immediately got off their horses.One of the [-] or [-]-year-old handsome boy hurriedly stepped forward and picked up the rich doll in front of him: "It's such a long journey, you'll get blisters at night after you've walked it, it hurts me to death!"

"My thighs were worn out by the saddle, wouldn't it hurt even more!" The little man glared at him and said angrily, "I just said I won't come, you have to let me come. It's so cold Why is Tian'er torturing me? You don't listen to me, and when Dad comes back from Yangzhou, let him hit the board one by one!"

The young man knew that the master was just being angry for a while, but in fact he was the most considerate of his servants in private and didn't take it to heart.He quickly hugged him in his arms and coaxed him: "My lord! It's not that I asked you to come here, but the affairs of this village can't go on without your guidance. Didn't you say that you want to catch up with the hot weather?" The Zhuangzi was completely repaired before! Now is a good time to start the work. The craftsmen on the Zhuangzi have already arrived, and they all pointed to the master to guide them! What about the drainage canal, which automatically goes up and down the water? They didn’t study it for a long time Got it!"

Speaking of this, the boy couldn't help but slander for a while. He also said that he was the most famous architect in Jinling City, even a little Zhuangzi couldn't figure it out.

That little man is usually the most extravagant and lustful, with a simple temperament.Now listening to the servant's blatant flattery, he bent the corners of his mouth uncomfortably, coughed twice, and said, "Master, my blueprints are naturally extremely exquisite, and there are many organs, so they should not understand. How about it, recruit Cai, put me down, I'll walk slowly by myself, it's only a mile or two, and we'll be there."

"My uncle!" Zhaocai immediately lowered his eyebrows and said pitifully, "If you let me know that you have walked so much on foot, you will have to beat me to death. Otherwise, how about carrying you?"

"No need!" The little man curled his lips in disgust. "I'm an adult, so I don't want others to hug me. Let me down quickly."

"But—" Zhaocai frowned even more when he heard the words.He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was worried that his master's body would be delicate and fleshy, his flesh would hurt after walking for two miles, and he would be punished by the woman when he returned home.So he hesitated and refused to let go.

"Put it down!" Seeing this, the little man reprimanded with a gloomy expression, even vaguely showing the majesty of a superior.Zhaocai was startled and couldn't help but put him down.

With both feet on the ground, the little man straightened his clothes carefully and stood with his hands behind his back.He reprimanded him in a dignified way: "I will tell you what to do later, please be happy, and don't let me say it a second time."

The face is solemn and the manner is dignified.It's just that with the wobbly fat figure and the waxy and soft child's voice, it makes people feel more and more naive.

The boy standing aside couldn't help but hook his lips.

The little man was keenly aware of the boy's sneer, and turned his head to give him a vicious stare.Clearing his throat, he said, "Let's go!"

"Wait!" The blue-shirted boy interrupted abruptly, took two steps forward, and asked with a smile at the little man, "Young master, are you going to Xue's Manor ahead?"

"What are you doing?" The little man didn't answer, frowned, looked up and down at the blue-shirted boy, and asked loudly.

"Are you from the Xue family?" Unexpectedly, instead of answering, the young man asked another question.

"Inexplicable." The little man rolled his eyes impatiently, walked around the boy and continued on.

The boy didn't speak when he saw this, but the other men in the caravan suddenly stepped forward and surrounded the four of them.The little man's heart trembled when he saw it, his face sank, and he asked in a cold voice: "What is this for? I would like to advise you, don't think that you are rude because you are a foreigner. This is outside Jinling City. Although there is no People, but you can't condone bandits to commit crimes. As long as one of the four of us escapes, you will never even think about breaking Jinling."

While speaking, with a gesture, the two teenagers dressed as servants immediately got on their horses and looked at everyone very alertly.The other named Zhaocai took two steps forward, side by side with the child, and pulled out a dagger from his calf.And the kid didn't know when he took out a torch.

The boy in the blue shirt thought that the child was innocent, and was spoiled by his family so that he didn't know the world, so he must be an unreasonable milk baby, but who knew that he showed a calmness that didn't match his age, so he couldn't help but become more interested.He chuckled and asked, "How do you know we're not from Jinling?"

The child felt a bit of disgust towards the boy, so he didn't want to answer.However, looking at the nearly ten big men surrounding him, he still curled his lips and replied: "First of all, your outfit looks like a caravan from other places. Second, your authentic Beijing movies must be from the capital. Third, come on." ..."

When the child said this, a flash of confidence suddenly flashed across his face. "I'm not boasting. As long as there are businessmen in Jinling, there are only those I haven't seen, and there is no one I don't know. However, I don't remember that Jinling has never had such a famous person as you. I think you must be from other places."

"Oh?" The young man heard it interesting, raised his eyebrows with interest, and said, "You are very confident."

"Hmph!" The child curled the corners of his mouth proudly, and immediately remembered his current situation, and immediately asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm indeed a businessman from another place, but I'm just interested in the Zhuangzi in front of me. Is it convenient for the young master to take me in for a stroll?" the blue-shirted boy said slowly.

"I thought I was unreasonable enough, but I didn't expect you to be more arrogant than me. Our family's Zhuangzi, why did you have to take you in?" The child wrinkled his nose angrily, and retorted.

"I don't look at you for nothing." Seeing this, the boy became more and more interested, and winked at the young man with a weak crown beside him.The young man bowed, turned and got into the only carriage in the convoy.After a while, he walked over holding a one-foot-long sandalwood box.Respectfully handed both hands to the blue-shirted boy.

The boy in the blue shirt picked up the box with one hand and handed it to the child, saying: "This is my idle money for visiting your village, as long as you take us around. How about it, you won't suffer, right?"

Seeing this, the child stretched out his hand to take the box, the heavy weight made the child's arm droop with difficulty.Opening the wooden box, seeing a palm-sized jade pendant neatly placed inside, the whole body is green and transparent, and it looks extraordinary at first glance. The child couldn't help raising his eyebrows and asked, "Just to visit Zhuangzi?" ,does it worth?"

"If you are lucky enough to recognize the young master, it will be worth it." The blue-shirted boy said with a smile.

The child snorted and laughed out loud.But my heart felt a little relieved.In his previous life, he was a playboy who didn't do anything to produce, and it had become a habit to be flattered.But it is rare to see such a tactful compliment.What's more, although he is idle, people like them actually need to know how to read words and demeanor, know what kind of people can be bullied and bullied, and what kind of people must not be provoked, so naturally their eyesight is sharp.Taking a closer look now, it can be seen that although the young man is dressed in ordinary clothes, he is full of domineering manner, and he probably does not come from an ordinary family.

Although there is no need to take the initiative to please, it is also good to get acquainted.Thinking of this, the child immediately buckled the sandalwood box and returned it to the blue-shirted boy, but promised: "It's just a visit to Zhuangzi. It's just built and can't be opened. Naturally, it doesn't need any hot money. You The things are too expensive, and I dare not accept them.”

The boy in the blue shirt shook his head with a smile, but did not take it.Wen Yan smiled and said: "It's just a jade pendant for playing with. No matter how expensive it is, how expensive it can be. What's more, I don't have any reason to take things back when I give them away. Just accept them."

After hearing this, the child didn't care, and slipped the box into Zhaocai's hand.Pointing forward with one arm stretched out, he said, "Please, my lord!"

The boy also laughed and said, "Please, young master!"

After finishing speaking, the two looked at each other with a smile and walked forward.The casual caravan of the blue-shirted boy also immediately turned around to keep up.Only Zhaocai and the others were left behind and looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing why the two groups suddenly crossed from swords to arms.