All your life is gentle

In the sixth year of Xijin Tianyou (the third year of Huarong Yongqian), just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Renshou Fang in the northeast corner of Xijing City brought several household heads and followers, and began to collect this year's Dingfu from door to door; The list of adult boys this year is ready to be reported to the superiors as a basis for conscription.

Walking to the end of Huaqiao Lane, a family built a low wall to divide the courtyard into two households.The head of the household pointed to the gate and said, "That is the house of Wang Bao, the repair official of the Jinyuan. His wife is a weaver in the Jinyuan. There are only two daughters, and they are also female apprentices in the Jinyuan." With a sour smile, "The family earns a living. The money is still not enough, and the yard is separated to earn money from foreigners."

A large number of refugees entered Shuzhou. Those with a little wealth, or those who did not want to go to remote places to open up wasteland, all poured into several big cities, and Xijing was the first choice.The real estate market has been soaring all the way. Local people who have three or two vacant houses in their homes rent them out to make money.And Jinyuan is the yamen in charge of weaving Shu brocade. Due to the preference of the palace, it is sought after by everyone, and the treatment is quite good.Although Xiuguan is only a low-level manager, his salary is more than enough to support his family.Wang Bao's family earns a share from the outside, and earns a share from the rent. The family is quite well off, so the head of the household will say this.

Pointing to the doorway of the side courtyard again: "The renters are three brothers and sisters from Yuezhou. Their surname is Li. The elder brother is a scholar. They moved here from the north of the city last spring."

Li Zheng asked, "Is there a guarantor?"

"Yes. It's the shopkeeper Xing of "Fuwentang"."

"That's good." Rizheng nodded.

Local people in Shuzhou are called "natives", and refugees from other places are called "residents".The head of the Lizheng household is a good citizen of native nationality elected by the government, and belongs to the grassroots administrative staff.For them, the "residence" residents are highly mobile and have many unstable factors, which is the difficulty and focus of management.If the people who live in the residence can find the native person as a guarantee, the stability will naturally be greatly increased, which is conducive to the construction of a harmonious society in Xijing.

The head of the household said again: "His second child is a boy, and he will be fifteen this year."

"Since the elder brother is a scholar, has the second son passed the exam?"

"Got to ask."

——Fifteen percent of men are required to perform military service according to the law.If the children who take the exam this year are admitted to the middle school, they will be exempted from military service.

Several people knocked on the door of Wang's house first.After collecting the tax, I took the tea money, preached the principles of law and order, fire prevention, and harmony in the neighborhood, and came to knock on the door of the side courtyard.

Zi Shi heard voices from outside, and he had already come out.I recognized the head of the household, so I hurried over to open the door.

"Mr. Li, this is Zheng Cui from Renshoufang."

In the past, the money collection notice was issued, but the head of the household came to the door, but today it was Li Zheng who personally led it.Zi Shi was a little surprised, he spoke hard and politely, and let the person in.

Cui Yuanwai looked him over, and thought that he had seen many scholars from the east, but this one was the most scholar-like.Remembering that it was "Fu Wen Tang" as the security guard, he didn't enter the house, but said: "Mr. Li, you are welcome, just charge a dime as usual."

Zi Shi hurriedly said: "Wait a while, I will give it to you later." Turning around, he went into the house to get the money.

After collecting the tax money, Cui Yuanwai asked again: "I heard that my younger brother has reached adulthood. I don't know if he will be able to enter school and take the exam?"

It turned out that it was Cha Zhuangding who came.Zi Shi started thinking about this as early as years ago.The two children grew up extremely fast, and when they entered the city the year before last, they were 13 years old, and the people in the Duwei Division could barely trust them.A year and a half later, Zi Zhou's height was almost as high as his own, and it was impossible to manipulate his age.Xijing has such strict control over the people under its rule, whether to serve in the military or to take the exam has become an urgent issue before our eyes.

The three brothers and sisters sat together to discuss.After listening to the elder brother's two paths, Zizhou began to have a difficult time: like me, who is both civil and military, why can't I join the army and take the exam?Should the imperial court drop talents in an eclectic manner...

Zi Shi patted him on the head, and proposed two alternatives.

Plan [-]: Pack up your things and bribe the city guards to leave Xijing and hide in a place out of the government's control.

Boys and girls shook their heads together.

——It's not that I don't understand the big brother's thinking, but it's really hard to accept.Moral differences aside, I was finally settling down and couldn't imagine returning to a life of nomadism.Moreover, the most important thing is that the winter of the year before last, because he had never experienced the cold and damp weather in central Sichuan, my eldest brother was sick until the beginning of spring.If it weren't for "Fu Wentang" Boss Yin's great help, the twins would have panicked.Shuzhou is an inaccessible place, and the climate is even more unpredictable. Seeing that my elder brother is getting better every day, how dare he move anywhere?

The fourth proposal proposed by Zi Shi is: bribe the head of the household, Li Zheng, keep it secret and not report it, and wait until this year.This is also the plan that he has made it clear that he insists on implementing it.After discussing for a long time, the three brothers and sisters finally reached an agreement through debate, voting, finger-guessing and betting on all kinds of serious and unscrupulous fighting methods: allow Zishi to try plan [-] once, and if he fails, Zizhou chooses to take the scientific examination.The younger brother's decision was also expected by Zi Shi - "the one who counts in the temple wins"?

So as soon as Li was mentioning his younger brother, Zi Shi immediately took out a silk bag from his sleeve implicitly, and handed it over with the opportunity of bowing his hands and saluting: "I intend to let him go to school to take the exam. It's just that my younger brother is stupid and clumsy. The academic progress is slow, I'm afraid..."

Cui Yuanwai understood: this scholar Li does not want his younger brother to serve in the military, and he is afraid that he will not pass the exam this year, so he wants to delay it.Pick up a corner of the silk sac, and there are seven or eight pure gold sacs, small in size and heavy in weight.

Jiuqu went around and around before he made up his mind to hand it back: "Oh... Mr. Li loves his brother, this kind of heart is touching. It's just that you probably don't know that Fenglanguan has fought several battles years ago. The adults of the Ministry of War We have not rested in the first month. The official documents are urgently pressed, whoever dares to hide and conceal the report... let alone this imperial mission is gone, I am afraid that my wealth and life will have to be involved."

From what this meant, it turned out that the situation ahead was tense, and there was no room for accommodation.After a few more probes, I found out that the Xirong army had arrived at Fenglan Pass three months ago, and they had fought several times with Hou Jingrui, and they had lost each other.Because of the cold and rainy weather, the troops were temporarily withdrawn, but they kept surrounding them.There was a panic in the palace, and there were one after another conscription orders, and all newcomers who were younger than fifteen had to report to the Ministry of War on time.

Cui Yuanwai turned his eyes on the money bag lingeringly: "I think it's better for Brother Ling to try his luck this spring. If he wins, he won't have this trouble in the future..."

"Thank you, Yuanwai, for your advice. That's it. Please ask the head of the household to list Li Zizhou in the spring examination roster." Zi Shi bowed, but did not accept the silk bag, and smiled: "The Chinese New Year is not over yet, Yuanwai and all the uncles and elder brothers It is really admirable to work hard for the court."

Several tax collectors bid farewell to Mr. Li cordially, and left with smiles on their faces.

The twins just came out.The two had heard the conversation outside, and worriedly said: "Brother, the imperial court recruits troops so urgently, is Fenglanguan going to be unable to defend?"

"That's not necessarily true. The soldiers from Xibing have been besieging Fenglan Pass for several months, but there has been no progress. We have traveled that road before, and we have seen General Hou before—unless all the guards are asleep, we must break through. It's really not easy to come in. I think that our Emperor might be a little frightened, and the wind is raging, and the grass and trees are all soldiers."

Hearing what the eldest brother said, the two also felt that it made sense.The boy thought of the spring test, and he got his wish. He smiled and said, "Brother, you are so generous. You bribed Zigui and my new year's money without even frowning." Going to Yin's mansion to pay New Year's greetings, Boss Yin gave Zizhou and Zigui red envelopes.

"If it wasn't for your elder brother and I helped him "Fuwentang" to produce so many ancient and rare books, how could his big boss send you such a generous red envelope? Do you know that every penny is my hard-earned money?!" Zi Shi stare.

Zigui came over and dragged him: "I know. Please take care of yourself, Mr. Li, and don't catch the cold in the yard, so that you can earn more hard-earned money for your younger siblings to squander..." He laughed and pushed the eldest brother into the door.

Zi Shi laughed: "The ones who come here are all local snakes, so it won't hurt you to fawn on them."

"So what about the local snake? We don't need to be afraid of him." Zi Zhou replied.

"It has nothing to do with whether you are afraid or not. You spend money to pave the way to the back, so don't make trouble for yourself..." Zi Shi educated his younger brother.

Suddenly there was a sound of crying and cursing from a distance.The three stopped and listened for a while.It turned out that the tax collectors were frustrated in the front alley and were exercising the power of compulsory law enforcement.

The poll tax has doubled this year.Rich people don't think so, but those without money have to mortgage and pawn to pay for official errands.Most of the people living in this area are middle-class households, and there are already families who cannot pay taxes.When we arrived in the slums in the north and west, I don't know what kind of miserable situation it was.

The government's behavior, no matter what, there is no way to rush out to fight against injustice.What's more, it's just shouting and shouting, even if people search and arrest people on the spot, as a good citizen, they can only stand at a distance.The twins were very depressed.In the past year or so, I have encountered many similar depressing scenes, and in the helplessness, I have matured a lot.

The voice gradually disappeared, and the three stopped talking and laughing, and entered the room silently.Zigui closed the door and added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier.This high-quality smokeless white charcoal was sent by the Yin family's servants on the eve of the winter solstice, enough to burn until the first lunar month.

Zi Shi sat down on the leisure chair, caught the kapok pillow thrown by Zigui and stuffed it behind his waist, resting his legs on the steps in front of the brazier, looking at the glowing red charcoal fire without a trace of black smoke, his temples throbbed slightly : Sigh...Although what you earn is hard-earned money, what you owe is a debt of favor...

On the 24th of the first lunar month, the twins turned 15 years old.

Turning fifteen to sixteen is a big day in life.From now on, boys will tie their hair up to mark their age; girls will wear their hair up to the hairpin, and they are ready to marry.

Early in the morning, Zi Shi took his younger sister to visit Aunt Wang next door.It has been agreed in advance that Mrs. Wang will be asked to return to Wanji for her son.Zigui is lively by nature, and once fled thousands of miles with his brothers in men's clothing, learning literature and martial arts, which made him even more generous and straightforward.At this moment, he also became shy, letting his elder brother drag him to Aunt Wang.The two sisters of the Wang family half-hid themselves behind the curtain, deliberately making noises to laugh at themselves.But Zigui knew that they were actually trying to get the eldest brother's attention.

Zi Shi held in both hands the hair ornament box he personally ordered in the jewelry store, and bowed solemnly to Aunt Wang: "My brother and sister's parents are dead, and there is no parent here, and there is no one to preside over the gift of my sister and Ji. As the saying goes, close neighbors are worse than distant relatives. Every day, under the care of the aunt, she is like an elder in the family. I have to ask the aunt to make a bun for my younger sister, and talk about boudoir etiquette."

Zigui's eyes turned red, and several other female audience members almost shed tears.

Before Zi Shi discussed with Zi Gui, the girl sneered when her elder brother said that she wanted to learn the daily boudoir etiquette herself.The request for pardon was not granted, and he lowered his head and said sullenly: "I didn't forget what my mother taught me before, so I can pick it up again..."

Zi Shi sighed softly: "Brother doesn't mean that. You used to be young, and many girls didn't know the rules. Now that you've grown up, the rules are different. Usually at home, you can do whatever you like. But when you socialize with others , these rules, but you have to understand, otherwise—"

"I got it, otherwise—" Zigui raised his head, took the elder brother's words, "Trouble yourself!" She pursed her lips in a very ladylike smile.In the end, I still couldn't help sticking out my tongue and making a grimace.

The younger sister stayed at Mrs. Wang's house for a while, and when Zi Shi came back, he called the younger brother to kneel down before him, and tied his hair.Breaking up the boy bun, gathered it into a handful and held it in his hand, inserted the wooden hairpin, took out the sky-blue hairband, and smiled while twisting it: "Girls really cost money, a set of combs, hairpins and hairpins, how can boys save trouble?" .”

But Zizhou said seriously: "Brother, Zigui never pays attention to these things, and we usually don't think of buying them for her—we should give her more pocket money in the future."

"The money is in her hand." Zi Shi replied, but thought in his heart: "This boy will definitely be a model husband in the future." The two children followed him, and under his subtle influence, many common concepts and secular etiquette gradually ignored. .But as the eldest brother, I have to think about their future, how to make them live a little easier than others on the premise of adapting to the general environment and obeying the unspoken rules.

The hair is tied up in a bun, and a section of the headband is left to hang behind the ears.Zi Shi walked around in front of Zi Zhou, looked up and down, clapped his hands and praised, "What a handsome young man!"

Zizhou was being embarrassed by his elder brother's laugh, the door opened and Zigui came back.When the two brothers turned their heads, they couldn't help being stunned.The girl standing at the door smiled cleverly with bright eyes, she was extremely charming and charming.The double-ringed bun on the head, the mahogany hairpin and the silver hairpin complement each other; the upper body is a moon-white short jacket, and the lower part is a silver-red high-waisted long skirt.

Seeing his eldest brother and Zi Zhou staring at him blankly, Zi Gui blushed, "I said don't draw eyebrows, Sister Yu Fu insists that she looks good..."

Zi Shi smiled: "It's beautiful." After looking at it for a while, he nodded, "It's very beautiful."

The girl blushed even more.

"Zigui, I remember that you weren't dressed like this before." Take a closer look, the moon white short and silver red long skirt are actually two of the best designs and colors of "Moonlight Rain" and "Winter plum lantern" in Shu brocade, exquisite Gorgeous and radiant, the person who wears it looks like a concubine or fairy.

"Aunt Wang said that the embroidery patterns I taught Yufu and Yurong were adopted by Jinyuan. This is not only a birthday gift, but also a thank you gift to me. I want me to teach more later."

It turned out to be like this.Zi Shi looked at his younger sister and then at his younger brother.Not addictive, just pull the two together and stand side by side, sit down and watch slowly.

——What a sense of accomplishment.Is it because I am pulling it up?Twins grow less and less alike.Standing together like this, one has thick eyebrows and big eyes, straight and handsome; the other has cloudy temples and crescent eyebrows, pretty and bright.However, the same distinctive facial features, the same pair of clear eyes, the same straight nose... Well, after all, they came out of the same stomach.

Seeing the gratified expression on the eldest brother's face, Zizhou and Zigui looked at the two of them without speaking, and felt warm and sour in their hearts.Looking at each other, each of them understands what the other means: we can't always make big brother worry about it in the future.

Then I heard Zi Shi say: "Zi Gui's clothes are too eye-catching, I'm afraid I can't wear them out." He rubbed his chin and smiled, "There is a very beautiful younger sister at home, which is a headache for the elder brother! Try not to go out alone in the future. ——" Waving his hand to stop his younger sister from interjecting, "I know you are very good at fighting. Just fight Zi Zhou at home. The boudoir ceremony that Aunt Wang told you has been forgotten so quickly? Huh?! Want to go out and play with Zi Zhou? You, or seek relief from the two sisters of the Wang family..."

Then he said to Zi Zhou: "As for you, start tomorrow and prepare for the spring exam. Although you are familiar with the classics and have a good understanding of the classics, the essays are far behind. If you don't practice, he will write about a hundred or eighty articles. , I panicked when I went to the stage, and I couldn't pour anything..."

The twins immediately fell down.I just felt that the two of us had grown up, why did we go back in the blink of an eye?It's the same as before...

After Zi Shixun finished speaking, he showed his face and smiled: "Go to the street in a while, pick up your favorite food and buy them back, and let's have a tooth festival at night!"

In the afternoon, the three brothers and sisters went shopping on the street.Passing by a fried goods store, Zi Shiguai went in and bought two catties of shelled peanuts, and weighed half a catty of fried peanuts of various colors fried with salt, pepper, and icing.

Zi Zhou said to Zi Gui from behind: "I remember that my elder brother didn't like to eat this food in the past - I bought more in the past year than in the past ten years."

"Didn't the doctor say that this food strengthens the body, invigorates the deficiency, invigorates the spleen and stomach, and nourishes and regulates qi. You should let the elder brother eat more."

"No, the doctor said stewed peanuts. It's not these..."

"It's rare that elder brother is willing to eat. Anyway, I don't eat much, and there is no harm."

"Yes." Zi Zhou nodded.Big brother eats peanuts, purely for fun.Put it on a plate, put it on the table, pick one up and chew it in your mouth when you think of it.If it wasn't for the help of myself and Zigui, I don't know how long I would have eaten two catties of peanuts.

Zigui watched his elder brother strolling in front of him, but he couldn't say a word: This thing also has a name called "Longevity Fruit".

Brother Changsheng has been away for more than a year and a half. At the beginning, the twins often thought about it and mentioned it, but gradually talked less.It's not that I really forgot about this person, but...In the troubled times, being as powerful as him, and having not heard from him for so long, makes one unable to help but speculate on the worst possibility...Brother Changsheng always speaks and does things one way and one way , there are two is two.He said come, and he will come.If you don't come, you must not come.So what kind of situation can make the capable brother Changsheng not come?

The twins gradually stopped mentioning Gu Changsheng.Only when two people are practicing, will they express their silent thoughts with hard work and sweat.

Big Brother never mentioned it.But he actually bought back all kinds of peanut snacks that he hardly ate before, and tasted them one by one.

If... Brother Changsheng really never came back... Zigui didn't dare to think about it.

After dinner, after eating longevity noodles, the three brothers and sisters set up tea and talked.Someone knocked on the door outside, Zizhou went out, and after a while he shouted in the courtyard: "Brother, Boss Yin is here."

It was the first time for Yin Fuwen to visit the door in person.Zi Shi was surprised, but when his food and clothing parents came, no matter why they came, they had to be courteous.Opening the curtain, he greeted him with a smile and said, "Big Boss is here, it really shines."

Yin Fuwen took the mother-of-pearl sandalwood box from the boy's hand and sent him to pick him up in two hours.Turning around and looking at the person coming out of the door, I feel that it is more elegant than the Jade Butterfly Blossoms blooming in the yard.He also said with a smile, "Zi Shi, when will you stop seeing outsiders like this?"

"Boss Yin is giving me a problem. It would be rude to talk about friendship with an elder, and you are in the prime of life; it would be rude to talk about friendship with a peer, and Zi Shi would never dare to make a mistake..."

"I've known you for so long, calling me "Brother Boyu", is it really so embarrassing?" Boyu is Yin Fuwen's word.

Zi Shi stretched out his hands: "Being respectful is worse than obeying orders. Brother Bo Yu, please."

Yin Fuwen was taken aback.Unexpectedly, this "Brother Boyu" is not as comfortable as "Big Boss". There is a little free and easy intimacy in the three-point teasing, and there is a wonderful taste that no one else can call out.Haha: "Forget it, there are a lot of people who call me "Brother Boyu", but there are not many who call me "Big Boss". Our nephew lights the lanterns—as usual."

Entering the room while talking, Zigui has already brought tea.

Zi Shi gave up the main seat, and Yin Fuwen was not polite, and sat down directly.He put the wooden box in his hand on the table, opened the lid, and pushed it in front of the twins: "Hair bundles and hairpins are different from ordinary birthdays. Yin Mou entrusted her to act as an elder for once. The elder gave me a gift, and I can't refuse it. Accept it."

Unexpectedly, the big boss came to give a birthday gift in person, and the three brothers and sisters were very surprised.

"How dare you do that..." Zi Shi hastily pulled his younger siblings to return the salute respectfully.

There are two mutton hosta in the box, which are pure in texture and exquisite in workmanship.The men's model is carved with a bright moon and cloud head pattern, which symbolizes steady progress; the female model is carved with lotus water ripples, which symbolizes good luck.The value is second, what is rare is this affection and thought.Of course the three of them would not tell him the birthdays of the twins, but the head of the household, the Zhengdu Wei Division, had detailed back-ups everywhere, and based on his wealth and status, he could just send someone to ask. ——It’s still the same sentence, it doesn’t matter how much effort you put in, what is rare is this thought.

Zi Shi had a terrible headache.

This person is really a veteran in the field of love.Don't say anything, just unceasingly unfold that curvy and straight tenderness offensive, waiting for you to throw yourself into the trap.If he doesn't understand coming, he can't understand going.His son is literate, and there are a lot of wives and concubines in the family. If he doesn't speak up, can he use Qiao as a gesture to tell him not to do this?He hinted several times, but he just pretended not to understand.And I can't really cut off contact—is it easy to find a talkative parent now... It's not boring to deal with this kind of person, it's just that I'm not in the mood... I'm really not in the mood...

The other party has chosen such a special moment to give such a special gift, it means that he can't refuse it.Can't refuse, what else?Take it all!

He simply raised his eyebrows: "The big boss paid such a capital—that's all, I will proofread all the revised content of the final draft of "Yangzhengzhai" and "Shilihuiyao" for you, and I can account for it."

Yin Fuwen wanted to explain that he didn't mean that.But it doesn't mean that, so what does it mean?Looking at Li Zishi, I remembered the first time I saw him, his appearance and temperament, his knowledge and cultivation, both were amazing.It has been more than a year, and every time we meet each other, I am as dazzled as the first time, without any reduction.To the extent that he didn't dare to meet with him often, he had to run around with his subordinates, let alone make any further moves.

Rolling around in the gentle village for many years, Boss Yin felt this way for the first time when he was facing a person: The other person seemed to be a mercury pill kept in a crystal cup, round and bright, but it might break into pieces when touched; The Weiyang flowers stuck outside the glazed window are crystal clear, but they may disappear without a trace if touched.Turning around by his side for more than a year, I just dare not reach out.

Haha laughed: "Zi Shi, this is because you forced me to be a villain - it just so happened that the Ministry of Rites asked me to donate another batch of books a few days ago, just thinking that the ten volumes of "Shi Li Hui Yao" used the first draft, which is a bit strange. If you can’t do it—it’s best if you agree to it.”

It turned out that the emperor fled south that day, and the books in "Jixian Pavilion" were not brought out.After entering Shu, places such as the Imperial Academy of the Imperial Palace in the palace lacked even the classics that were consulted daily, so they had to collect from the people.The imperial court issued several book collection orders, and big bibliophiles and booksellers like Yin Fuwen naturally seized the opportunity to build relationships with the government.

The twins resigned and let the elder brother and Boss Yin talk about business.The two seriously discussed the matter of school books until late at night, when Yin's servants came to pick them up, and Zi Shi sent Yin Fuwen out of the gate.

Back in the house, the siblings had already fallen asleep.There is no sound in the quiet night, the solitary lamp is like a bean, and Zi Shi has no sleepiness.Sitting at the table, he removed the sandalwood box containing the mutton fat hosta and brought over a plate of peanuts.He took the small copper pot on the brazier and made himself a cup of tea.

Peeled two peanuts and held them in the palm of my hand to watch.After watching it for a while, I sent it to my mouth and chewed slowly.