Tiger falls to Pingyang

Wanlai Inn.

Today, a group of servants and officials were welcomed in. Shopkeeper Wang had heard for a long time that Shangguan Si clings to the powerful, and by means of donations, he hooks up with the ministers who are close to the current emperor and buys an official to do it.

Although it is a virtual job, the integration of government and business is always easy to do.When thinking this way in his heart, several servants around drove away all the guests in the inn in order to curry favor with the rich and powerful Shangguan Si, and the virtue of bullying made people feel miserable.

Sooner or later, the business of this small shop will be affected!Shopkeeper Wang couldn't tell what was going on, so he had to put on a sullen smile, and bowed and bowed his head to deal with it: "Hey, my lord came to our shop, and it made the shop flourish. Your seat—" He waved his hand like a pug, I almost look down on myself.

"Treasurer Wang, you are still the same. Hehe..."

"Of course, everyone who comes here is a customer, especially if an adult wears a black gauze hat on his head. The younger ones are afraid that if the reception is not good, you will be angry. Can my shop continue?"

"Hehe... Well, we've known each other for so many years, how could this old man make things difficult for you." He patted shopkeeper Wang on the shoulder, and said boldly, "Quick! Go and serve all the best wine in your store, old man Have a good drink today!"

"Yes." Shopkeeper Wang immediately summoned his assistants and ordered, "Hurry up! Go and bring the good wine from the cellar. Our Lord Shangguan wants to reward the escorts along the way."

After hearing this, Shangguan Si laughed twice.

As expected of shopkeeper Wang, he has seen a lot of people in the market, and he has done so well.He turned around and flattered Mr. Shangguan, saying: "This time I will treat you, I wish you the best for your promotion and wealth." He lowered his head and bowed to the end.

"Hehe..." Shangguan Si smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits, this shopkeeper Wang is really good at being a man, and the flattering words make people feel happy!

"Treasurer Wang, if I become an official, it will definitely benefit you."

"Oh, what's the benefit?" Shopkeeper Wang stretched his ears.

"I'm going to talk about business in the future, I will definitely visit you here."

Shopkeeper Wang stared blankly, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "Uh... why is Mr. Shangguan so tired, our shop is at least a little distance from your mansion..."

"Because of this, the old man is trying to save your face."

Shopkeeper Wang lowered his head and smiled forcedly, "It's our shop's honor to be honored by Lord Shangguan."

"Okay, don't gossip, I'm starving."

"Yes, look at me, when I saw you, I was too happy, so I ignored it...I'll go to the kitchen and order the cook to make a few good dishes for you to taste."

"Go, go." Shangguan Si waved his hand, he was too lazy to chat with him.

Shopkeeper Wang took a few steps back with his arms folded, before he stood up and turned to the kitchen.As soon as he entered, he gave himself two slaps—slap, snap!Frowning and vomiting... Is it a bad year, who has provoked whom?If these officials come a few more times, he will have to close down!

The three chefs in charge of the kitchen; some were holding a spoon, or were cutting vegetables not far away, and the other was standing at the table and stopped plastering. The three of them asked him in unison: "Master Wang...you How do you slap yourself?"

"Can't I be happy!" He lost his temper, and he explained: "Cook a few good dishes quickly, and let the waiter serve them to the outside guests later."

"Yes." The cooks moved neatly, and they guessed half-bakedly that the troublesome officials and uncles came to make trouble again.

Shopkeeper Wang hadn't even walked out of the kitchen when he heard the laughter of officials and officials outside, flattering Shangguan Si, tsk tsk... the same breed.No wonder the ancients said: those who are close to vermilion are red, and those who are close to ink are black.

At this moment, he began to worry about the dumb man, and he didn't know what kind of punishment he would suffer.

About half an hour later, outside the stables, several officials came to the dumb man again, and one of them was holding a big bowl, pouting: "Here, this is for you to eat."

The mute sat with his back against the wooden pillar, without lifting his head, and turned a deaf ear.

"Hey—look here, folks, this mongrel won't wag his tail, and he won't give a shit if we give him a meal."

As if watching a joke, another said: "How can mongrel dogs eat human food, they have to chew bones."

The big bowl was full of leftover chicken bones and pork bones that they had gnawed.

Huo Di tipped the bowl, and the chicken bones and pork bones fell on the bastard's head.Several officials and uncles laughed and walked back to the inn inconsistently.

The dumb man turned a blind eye, his big palm was covering a small pouch, no one knew what he was thinking, so preoccupied...

In the ancestral hall of the Shangguan family, the contacts of each house gathered together to hold a sacrifice to appeal to the ancestors. The eldest son of the fourth generation of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Si, wore a third-rank official hat, proud of the family!

Afterwards, the family members sat down in order to discuss the future prospects of the family business Longquan Kiln Factory.

Shangguan Si said old-fashionedly: "Brother Quan, what do you think about what I told you last time, please tell me."

"Brother, you are not what you used to be. Since you are holding the imperial court's job, why are you smashing your own kiln? How many people have we raised in this industry to make a living, whether it is carrying water, digging soil, pushing stones and pestles, water pestles How many menial jobs such as crushing porcelain clay are exchanged by the people under them for food and clothing for the whole family. Brother, we must be righteous in life, so that we can go far."

"Brother Quan, how can I not understand the truth of what you said. But, there is no way, it is our honor that the imperial court has taken a fancy to our kiln." He paused, cupped his hands and bowed towards the east.Continued: "How much purple gold soil is hidden in the tiger cave in the back mountain, do you think others won't take a fancy to it? Why do I donate money and buy officials? People with a little brain just need to think about it, and they will know that I am strengthening our family business, do you understand?"

Shangguanquan yelled loudly: "Fart!"

Shangguan Si stood up and slapped the table with a "pound!", angrily scolded: "You are a deadhead, there must be a limit to being old and stubborn, don't drag the lifeline of the big family to follow you to keep the old!"

Furious, Shangguanquan also stood up and shouted: "Brother, what are you thinking in your heart, what are you thinking, don't think I don't know!"

"I only care about my family, what can I think?"

Shangguanquan exposed his wolf ambition: "You take a batch of celadon as a tribute to the imperial court, and present it to those dignitaries. What are you doing these things for, isn't it just for fame and fortune! You are greedy for profit, and if you have the ability, you can chisel it yourself. It’s a kiln, I don’t care if you want to enter the official kiln or not. But you sell our root for cheap, how shameless you are!”

"Okay...you're messing with me today, aren't you?" Shangguan Si became furious and shouted, "I've tolerated you for a long time. Our Longquan kiln is going to be famous all over the country, not just limited to nearby towns. That little bit is not enough to plug my teeth!"

The tempers of the two were incompatible, and the juniors present were silent, they could only watch the fire from a distance, but they couldn't intervene.

Shangguanquan put down his words: "If you dare to touch my kiln, just try it! I spent my whole life building that Longquan kiln. As for you, you are responsible for the distribution and operation. We said that good brothers do not distinguish between you and me, but in the end At this age, you are dizzy and mercenary, you have forgotten the principles of life, and you have completely forgotten the vows we made at the beginning! Do you respect me? Have you ever thought that I respect you as a big brother, and let you make trouble outside? Did I say anything?"

"Brother...heh!" Shangguan Si sneered, "Don't toast and not eat fine wine. Today, since I said it in front of our ancestors, I dare to say it in front of our juniors, so I respect you! You refuse to agree It's okay to join the official kiln, but I want you to spit out the secret recipe of the celadon! If you continue to insist and refuse, I can't save you. If one day our local officials are ordered to come and arrest you, I can teach you some methods Hand over the secret recipe obediently!"

"How dare you—" dizzy, he almost couldn't stand up.

"Why don't I dare?" Shangguan Si glanced at him, "I'm not as ignorant as you are. It's a matter of brothers and sisters. I only want the secret recipe, and I will leave the rest to you. You can do whatever you like." Tao, burn pottery, I have no second words."

"You...sold our foundation!" Shangguanquan pointed at him with trembling fingers, heartbroken: "Don't think I don't know, once the kiln becomes an official kiln, what else can I do, just pretend to be a marriage, you take me for real It's so deceiving..."

"Hehe... so what?" He was confident, he was drawing the secret recipe of celadon, once he got it... the entire family business fell into his own hands, relying on his status as an official and businessman, can he not call the wind and rain outside?

"You... so bold..." Shangguanquan was so angry that he fell back and fainted.

"Father!" Shangguan Xiu rushed forward, held up his head, pressed his thumb against the middle, and when he woke up leisurely, he asked in repeated voices: "Are you okay? Is there anything wrong with Dad...Dad... "

"I...I..." He almost couldn't get it out of his breath.

"Father, don't talk yet." He caressed his father's chest with worry on his face, calmly.

"You...uncle...too much..." Suddenly, Master Shangguan vomited a mouthful of blood, his old illness relapsed, he coughed out of breath, and passed out again.

Shangguan Xiu sat on the ground and hugged his father tightly, shouting repeatedly: "Father...wake up...quickly wake up..." Suddenly, he looked up at the crowd and shouted: "Hurry up and ask the doctor to save my father!"

"Hmph, your father won't die." Shangguan Si gave his son a wink, signaling to invite the doctor back soon.

After an hour and a half, the doctor came in a hurry to give first aid, and finally rescued the person, and ordered everyone to take him home to recuperate.

Seeing that half of the goal was achieved, Shangguan Si waited for the next move——

Master Shangguan couldn't afford to be ill.This lying down lasted for two months.

Mrs. Shangguan had a sad face all day long, she stood by and took care of him personally, always hoping for the speedy recovery of the master.

During this period of time, Shangguanxiu shouldered the responsibility, went to the kiln factory every day, and took over the work that his father usually did.

Looking at this huge kiln factory with fascination, thousands of manpower are performing their duties, isn't it just for three meals and enough food and clothing.

The uncle wanted to be an official with all his heart, but he was blinded by the benefits, and forgot the time when he and his father were struggling.Now that the commotion is splitting up, the family is gloomy... For the first time in his life, he tasted fear.

His eyes were filled with worry, Shangguan Xiu couldn't swallow, and sat in a depression, accompanied by his servant A'Ding.

"Young master...you can't stop eating. The master has not recovered yet, and the wife is a woman who doesn't know much. You are the only one left in this family. If you also fall..." He shut up immediately, cursing the words But dare not say any more.

"Ah Ding, I really can't eat it." Shangguan Xiu sighed, "Uncle took away all the shares, I calculated, the silver taels on hand can't eat those shares at all."

A Ding was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "If the young master transfers money to the shop under his banner as an emergency, can you buy it back..."

He shook his head, "I transferred it once last month." Now that the day of salary payment is approaching, digging the east wall and repairing the west wall is not an option at all.At that time, I am afraid that even the shops in other places will not be able to pay salaries, how can they be worthy of those loyal people under the banner.

"A-Ding, do you know that my uncle embezzled a lot of my father's silver, and several shops under my father's name have already been transferred... No wonder that day when we had a quarrel, my father would say that my uncle was making trouble outside..."

He held his head in his hands, thinking hard...

A-Ding frowned, and he was also worried. "Master...what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take this house to the bank as a mortgage, in exchange for silver taels to get through the difficulties first." In this kiln factory, money is burned every day. The labor costs and materials are all added up, and the expenses are staggering.He is not afraid of the money he lost in front of him, just in case... Uncle still won't let it go, he dare not imagine the consequences...

After nightfall, Shangguanxiu returned to the old house. The atmosphere was so different from the past that it was almost breathless.

The servant girl heated up the food, came to the study with a tray, and called softly: "Master, you are so busy that you are only coming back now, Madam asked me to warm up the food for you, and I want you to eat as much as you want."

"You put it aside, I'm going to see my father." After saying that, he walked out of the study and found his father's room. He saw his mother wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes sharply, and turned her face away to prevent him from seeing the paleness. sad look.

Suppressing his sadness, he forced a smile and said, "Mom, don't worry, Dad will be fine."

Mrs. Shangguan took a handkerchief and blew her nose, and said in a choked tone, "Your father can't bear it, once the old disease breaks out, it will take several months to recuperate."

She was very distressed. The master had been overworked since he was young, and he was rolling around in the kiln all day long. Before this scale, the kiln mouth collapsed once, and the person was buried in the fire and smoked. He was finally rescued. The root of the disease It got infected. "Xiu'er, you have to listen to your father, no matter how hard we are, I will not allow you to let your uncle know the secret recipe."

"Mother, the child knows."

She continued to admonish, as if explaining the funeral: "You must not forget why your father got sick. I want you to keep the secret and keep your hands. No matter how your uncle suppresses you in the future, I will not allow you to do so." You disobeyed."

"My child knows." He knelt down on both knees and swore in front of his mother: "My child dare not disobey it. If I disobey it, I will be struck by lightning from the sky, and I will die without a place to die!"

Mrs. Shangguan stepped forward to support her only son, "It's enough for mother to have you. It's not in vain that your father has loved and protected you since childhood."

Master Shangguan heard what the two of them said, and he struggled to get up, which caused his lungs to feel uncomfortable, and he coughed so hard that he was out of breath.

"Father!" Shangguanxiu rushed forward, wasted no time to please him, and patted his back lightly. Upon closer inspection, he found that his father had aged a lot.Tears were rolling in his eyes, he was so scared... afraid that his father would never be able to recover from his illness, and he was also afraid that he would never be able to support this family again.

"Xiuer..." Master Shangguan said in a hoarse voice, weakly, "You...uncle's fox tail is exposed...you have to listen to my father...even if there is no kiln factory, you are not allowed to hand over the secret recipe... ...Otherwise, father will not forgive you even if he is a ghost..."

"Father, stop talking! Wait, I'm going to get the secret recipe right now, and I will listen to you..." He hurried out of the room, and when he came back, he held a paper in his hand, "Father, the secret recipe is all Here it is, I will burn it for you to see."

He brought a low stool and put a lamp on the ground, and just tore off the paper one by one, burning them to ashes one by one. "Father, now all the secret recipes are in the child's mind, even if the uncle wants to cut off the child's head, the child will not reveal a word."

"Hehehe..." Master Shangguan caressed his chest with a smile on his face. "Father's greatest achievement is not the kiln factory...haha...cough——" He coughed for a while, and then continued: "Brother must not have expected, what is the kiln factory, my son is the treasure... "

As soon as he lifts his breath, his heart and lungs hurt, but the intermittent smile on his face looks weird, and he has already kept a hand, hiding the secret from outsiders. "Ahem...Xiu'er, come here..."

Shangguan Xiu sat on the side of the bed as he said, letting his father lean on him.

As if exerting all his strength, the callused hands tightly held his, exhorting him like a treasure: "These hands...don't hurt them...you are the lifeblood of Longquan Kiln... It's dad's only pride..." He whispered in his ear: "...Father wants you to follow this method, don't take care of the kiln anymore...We can't let others down..."

"Yes, baby understands."

"Xiu'er is the most obedient..." As if flashing back to the past, the consciousness is gradually immersed in the past. The little baby is playing with soil, digging mud pits, pushing stones and pestles, kneading pottery, and glazing... He is His only pride, his only...

Master Shangguan stayed next to his only son until midnight, coughing and hurting for a while, his breath gradually weakened, and finally died.

With tears streaming down his face, Shangguan Xiu quietly accompanied his father until his hands became cold and stiff, and he couldn't help but knelt on the edge of the bed and wept loudly.

Mrs. Shangguan already knew that the old man would not be able to survive this catastrophe, because a few days ago, the doctor asked her to prepare for the funeral, and she also made plans.She walked out of the room like a wandering spirit, and fell headlong into the well. When people noticed and rescued her, she was unable to recover.

Shangguan Xiudun lost two of his dearest relatives, he howled like he was going crazy, and seeing this, the servants were all in a mess with fright.

After the funeral was settled, Shangguanxiu was devastated, looking haggardly at the two memorial tablets on the hall, the drizzle outside the house filled the room with desolation.

Suddenly, his knees gave way, and he knelt on the ground and kowtowed violently, thump, thump, thump, so that his forehead and the ground were stained with blood.

"Master! Don't do this!" A-Ding hurried forward, pulling and pulling, begging the young master not to ruin himself...

"Go away—" he roared angrily and pushed A Ding away, "Leave me alone!"

Boom!

He continued to kowtow and muttered: "It's all my fault...I shouldn't be making pottery and celadon...It's my fault...Uncle wants the secret recipe...He thought it was Dad's, but it was actually me Yes, those three-foot celadon were all fired by me... I burned out the troubles, people's lives, and this house...I burned down my father's achievements..."

"Nonsense...young master——" A-Ding raised his hand and slapped him hard, "Slap!" He shouted angrily, "Be sober! Can you talk nonsense, maybe you forgot the master's explanation before his death!"

Shangguan Xiu stared at him blankly, and A Ding's angry and heartbroken expression was reflected in his wandering eyes. The emotions that had been pent up for several days couldn't hold back anymore. He hugged A Ding, crying so hard that he couldn't help himself.

Forced by the environment to grow overnight, Shangguan Xiu no longer had the worry-free expression of the past, walked out of the ticket office, and successfully mortgaged the house.A few stout kiln workers followed behind, carrying large boxes of silver to the kiln factory, and the kiln workers waiting to be paid had already lined up in a queue.

Shangguanxiu settled wages from morning to night, and it took several days to complete the process. At the same time, he also dismissed [-]% of the kiln workers.

Today, the scenery of the kiln factory is no longer, and the population is dying.

It was already midnight when Shangguan Xiu returned to the old house, the house was deserted and deserted, the family was in decline, the maids, servants, long-term workers and others all disappeared, and he only left Ading to help with daily life.

One day, his cousin came to the door, and when he was close to Mao, he said in a loud voice: "Cousin, why do you eat with radishes? Are you full?" Look, the hall is empty, only the magic table is left. The altar table and a few benches, "Hehe, everything that can be sold or pawned in this house has been sold. Cousin, you are too good at prodigal!"

He had a gloating look on his face, looking at the joke deliberately.

A'Ding was so angry that he trembled all over, he resisted not smashing the chopsticks in his hand to Shangguan Qi's face. "What our young master eats is none of your business!"

"Hey, it doesn't matter." He provoked the pair of master and servant viciously. "My father said that he will leave a way out for you. As long as you are willing to hand over the secret recipe of making celadon, he can help you."

"I don't have a secret recipe." Shangguan Xiu said coldly, "My parents are both dead, and the secret recipe was buried with them. You can go back and tell your father to stop thinking about it. After my father passed away, only the kiln factory and five shops were left behind. That's all." He lowered his head and continued to eat, he was not good at arguing with others, and he had made sure that he could not follow in his father's footsteps, and was pissed to death by his uncle.

"Hey, if you say there is no secret recipe, who are you lying to?" Shangguan Qi snorted coldly, he couldn't believe that his uncle didn't pass the secret recipe to his only son when he was still alive.However, the old man tried all kinds of methods, threatened, intimidated or bribed the craftsmen in the kiln factory, but he couldn't get any news.

"Whether you want to say it or not, a person who knows the current affairs is a hero. Your father is just too stubborn, otherwise you would not be where you are today."

Shangguan Xiu pretended he didn't hear it, so he just ate his meal and said: "A Ding, see off the guests!"

A Ding suddenly called by name and surname: "Shangguan Qi, my young master doesn't welcome you, please go."

Shangguan Qi sneered, "Drive me away? Sigh, you have no right!"

"Whoever said we are not qualified, if you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude to you..." He walked around for a while, then quickly picked up the broom placed in the corner, ready to sweep people out!

Shangguan Qi put his hands on his hips and said confidently: "This house is already under my name!"

"What did you say—" A-Din yelled, unable to close his mouth.

Shangguan Qi stared at him closely, and said clearly in a cruel way: "My cousin's prodigal son took the house to the ticket dealer as a mortgage. This story has been spread all over the neighborhood. My father can't stand it. Can you not hold it?" Silver go and redeem the house!"

"You two are cheating!" Ading yelled.

"So what? Hehe... My father redeemed the house, but he didn't pay the ticket dealer any interest. Do you know what it means?"

He turned pale and looked back at the young master.

Shangguan Xiu froze in place, his mind went blank.

Shangguan Qi was complacent, and was waiting for Shangguan Xiu to have nothing. Once he was on a dead end, he had to hand over the secret recipe!

"Tomorrow, I will come to take over the house. As for you two, quickly pack your bags and get out!" He snatched the broom in A Ding's hand, folded it, and threw away the broken garbage.

It was like a warning, asking them to know each other. "I'm leaving. Hmph!"

In the huge house, only the master and the servant were left looking at each other with gloomy faces for a long time, starting tomorrow, they will be homeless...

Shangguanxiu didn't have much to collect, and his valuables had already been pawned. He was in a difficult situation. Although the kiln factory had been reduced in number of people, it was still in operation.Even if there are five shops on hand, the monthly surplus is enough to cover the expenses, but it cannot afford the huge interest.

Gradually being forced into a dead end, he was stretched to the limit, and the irreparable money pit forced him to go to a dead end.

But, thinking of his father's last words, he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

After packing up their bags, the master and servant met in the hall.

"A Ding..." Shangguan Xiu wanted to drive him away in person, and stop following him in the future.However, when the words came to his lips, he really couldn't say them.

"Young master..." A-Ding wanted to tell the young master to run away, the kiln factory was gone, and the five shops were also left alone, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

The master and servant were silent for a long while, and Shangguan Xiu was the first to recover his voice: "A Ding, go to my room and help me find something."

"Okay... what do you want me to find, Master?"

"A piece of paper..." He said helplessly, "I can't change my habit, so I copied the secret recipe again."

"You again..." As soon as A-Ding heard this, he immediately jumped up, turned around and ran to the young master's room in a hurry, rummaging through the boxes, and suddenly—he was startled, and grabbed the assignment letter on the table. Only then did he suddenly understand that the young master wanted him to go to Longquan time-honored brand...

"Young master——" He turned his head, and ran out of the room with his luggage in his hands. When he came to the hall, he really didn't see the young master.

His expression flustered, he was so frightened that he lost his mind, and shouted angrily and frightened: "Master—how could you leave me——"

Chasing all the way out of the house, he searched blindly, terrified that the young master would be overwhelmed, and that the young master would be bullied... He was afraid of everything, really afraid of death...

He searched the surroundings without thinking, and ran a few streets away. He was sure that he could not find the young master again. He knelt down on the bluestone road as if he was exhausted, beat the ground in anger and fear, and chanted: "Young master!" ...You are really cruel to abandon me... You know, the master told me before he was alive, no matter what, he must follow you..."

He choked up and fell to the ground crying in anger.