I'm watching the gate in the jail

When the boat arrived in Xunzhou, Jin Wuxi had already sunk.

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the river, and the Huoshaoyun rendered the entire junction of the sky and the water into a splendid and grand Shu brocade.

This place is the confluence of Qianjiang River, Yujiang River and Xunjiang River. The water surface is vast and the two sides are separated. Without boats, it is impossible to pass.

With one hand behind his back and the other on the railing, Yang Xiuxian looked at the seemingly endless green mountains and green seas on the river bank.

The high mountains in the distance have different shapes and jagged rocks, and they look even more treacherous and thrilling under the illumination of the setting sun.

A year ago, he had come here with a team of scouts.

Now revisit the old place, do not have a mood.

At that time, in order to explore the way up the mountain, a brother of the Jinyiwei Yamen died in the vast mountain.

Looking at it like this now, I can only see green mountains like the sea, and the setting sun can't help but I can't tell which mountain the brother's bones are in.

Forget it, as the saying goes, "Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the green mountains, why bother to return them wrapped in horse leather".

After this battle, the rebellion was quelled, so that those loyal people who sacrificed for the country could not be disappointed.

Wanda also put his hands on the railing to look at the scenery.

But he doesn't have Yang Xiuxian's emotional ups and downs and parting sorrow.

What I think in my heart is always nothing more than: pork knuckle noodles, mung bean cake, snail soup, spicy glutinous rice. I heard that milk spring wine and Xishan tea are also excellent. I don’t know that in this era, these delicacies have been developed. No.

Hey, I only stayed in Guilin City for one day before, and left in a hurry without getting to know the local food well.This time when I came to Xunzhou, I must steal a few signature dishes and make them for my sister when I go back.

I don't know how Wan Zhen'er is doing now, is the child okay in the womb?

The saliva shed while sleeping in history class is now the tears of regret.

"The shopkeeper's..."

Qiu Zijin walked towards Wanda weeping, took two steps and looked back warily.

"what happened?"

Wanda looked at him amusedly, "Mei Qianzhang stole your candied dessert again?"

As expected, Mei Qianzhang was born as a thief, and he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't touch something in his hand for a day.When he was on the shore before, he followed them, and he could touch a pear here and steal a fruit here.

Even if Gao Hui used Jin Yiwei's strengths and "stared" at him without moving his eyes, this guy could still attack without anyone noticing.

After being caught, the fellow shamelessly said that it wasn't he who wanted to steal, but his hands were the ones who wanted to steal, and his brain couldn't control his hands.

It's fine on the shore, since they got on the merchant ship of Pan's brother, Wanda strictly prohibited him from stealing chickens and dogs on board.

Yang Xiuxian added: If you do it, chop it off.Do not believe you can give it a try.

Guaranteed to try and die.

The caravan of these Liao people is so huge that they must be very powerful in Guangxi. They are newcomers and must not be offended.

Mei Qianzhang had no choice but to pick up the soft persimmons, so she could only attack Qiu Zijin.

Qiu Zijin is a big foodie, no matter where he goes, he always brings some pastries, candied melon seeds and other snacks with him.

It is said that this is the fault of him studying hard all year round.When you are tired from reading, eat some snacks and you will be happy.

And like a little squirrel, he likes to scatter these things to ensure that no matter when and where, he can eat the fruit at any time.

But this "hobby" also caters to Mei Qianzhang's "hobby".

During this period of time, Mei Qianzhang "cracked" the snacks that Qiu Zijin hid in the "Three Caves of the Rabbit" one by one, and then enjoyed them.

Then Wanda would often see Qiu Zijin digging into his pockets with a smile, and then weeping.

"Shopkeeper, this bag of melon seeds will be placed with you first."

Qiu Zijin looked around, took out a triangle bag from his sleeve, and stuffed it into Wanda's sleeve.

"When I want to eat, I'll come to you. Don't eat it yourself!"

Qiu Zijin could see that Mei Qianzhang was nothing but a "righteous thief", he was just a bullying thief.

Master Wan, Master Yang, including Gao Hui, he didn't dare to provoke, he just bullied himself, a powerless scholar.

It's not that he hasn't resisted before, and he doesn't know how many times he has scolded him.But this guy just picked out his ears with a smile every time, and then continued to look for opportunities to attack after a while.

Wanda didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she put away the melon seeds, and turned her head to look at the huge boat building a few miles ahead. It is said that the so-called "master" of the Pan family brothers was on board that boat.

The ship set off half a day earlier than them, and its destination was also Xunzhou.

Although looking from a distance, one can still see that the building and boat are decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and the colors are gorgeous. I don't know how luxurious and extravagant it is, and what kind of person is its owner.

"Shopkeeper, can you ask Mei Qianzhang not to follow me, if he steals my little family property, I'm afraid it will be gone before I get ashore."

Qiu Zijin was crying.

"Xiaoqiu. If he doesn't steal from you, he will steal from others... You should be 'sacrificing for the country'."

Wanda patted Qiu Zijin on the shoulder, wondering how Mei Qianzhang could get along with Qiu Zijin.To say that he is still his savior...

Yang Xiuxian turned his head to look at Qiu Zijin's expression of wanting to cry, and at Mei Qianzhang who was happily walking towards them from the other side of the deck, showing a thoughtful expression.

Although I felt that the river bank was close at hand, when the boat really came ashore, it was already the dawn of the next morning.

Wanda and the others packed up and saluted, and bid farewell to the Pan family brothers on the deck.

"It was delayed for too long before, and the family didn't know what was going on. As a last resort, we have to go first."

While on the boat, Wanda briefly mentioned to the Pan family brothers that this time they were going south to inherit their uncle's family business and a restaurant in Xunzhou City.

The brothers of the Pan family immediately stated that their master has a deep foundation in Xunzhou City, and he knows all the big and small industries in the city, as long as they are worthy of a name.At that time, maybe I can go to help one or two.

But after Wanda named "Si Jin Restaurant", the other party's confident expression suddenly became confused.

"It's true... I've never heard of it."

As soon as he boasted that he was out of Haikou, he was slapped in the face. Pan Guang couldn't hold back his face, so he had to make amends for himself, "In short, you are my friend of Pan Guang, and the friend of our Yao people. If you bully you, or if you have any difficulties, just report my name. As long as you are a Liao, no matter what race you are in, you will be taken to find me."

Boss Pan patted his chest.

Wanda nodded vigorously.

In his heart, he began to wonder: In what corner of the hotel did this "uncle" of Jin Yiwei open.After so many years, I have never even heard of a local snake like Pan Guang.

From a confidentiality point of view, it is indeed in place.

But how did such an unknown hotel get information?

As we all know, there are three major intelligence distribution centers in Jianghu: hotels, brothels, and teahouses.

These are places with a huge flow of people, and it is precisely because different people come and go that we can inquire about news from them.

This "uncle" is really amazing for being able to run the restaurant quietly.

After getting off the boat, Wanda and the others hired a local porter and asked him to help transport the things on the boat to the "Sijin Restaurant".

Hearing the name of the hotel, the boatman also showed a dazed expression.

After Wanda took out the note with the address on it and asked Mei Qianzhang, who could speak the local dialect, to read the name of the lane on it, he suddenly realized and nodded.

"Is that place a restaurant? I've passed by so many times... I don't even know."

Hearing what he said, Wanda's uneasiness deepened.

The crowd followed the wheelbarrow, first walked through a main street, and then turned into two alleys.After crossing a small bridge, along a path with twists and turns, we came to the deepest part of the alley.

Beside the stinking ditch, a dilapidated three-storey building appeared in their line of sight so dilapidated that it was doubtful whether it was a dangerous building.

Leaving aside the dilapidated wooden doors that obviously can neither shelter the wind nor the rain, and the broken windows full of holes, what is the meaning of this whiteness?

"Master Biao! You are finally here!"

Just as everyone was stunned at the door, a middle-aged man in white linen clothes and a mourning belt rushed out.

Then he "thumped"...kneeling in front of Yang Xiuxian.

"That... I am your 'cousin master'."

Wanda pointed at herself awkwardly.

Fortunately, there are no crowds around now, and the porters have already been sent away after taking the money, otherwise they would have just come here and passed through.

Walking into the lobby of the restaurant, I saw a black coffin parked in the center.

A tall shed was erected, and white and yellow curtains swung without wind.A pair of plain white candles are lit in front of the coffin, along with four plates of fruit offerings and an oil lamp to invoke souls.

Looking at the two sides, there are six soul-calling banners flicking up, two white, two red, and two yellow.Standing next to the soul-calling banners are paper-made boys and girls, their pale faces are painted with two balls of red rouge, and their eyes are dark like small beans, which makes people feel creepy.

A brazier under the sacrificial table was burning, and a young man was kneeling and burning paper.

Seeing Wanda and the others enter the door, he lit three incense sticks in a serious manner, and asked "Master Biao" to offer incense to the old shopkeeper.

Is this really a funeral?

The "Old Shopkeeper" actually died?

This horizontal plot confused everyone.

"Master Biao Let's talk in the back."

Inserting three sticks of fresh incense into the incense burner, the middle-aged man who seemed to be in charge took a look outside.

Sure enough, a few neighbors who lived around came to the door, and they were looking inside curiously when they saw the stranger.

A few people entered the back hall, which is not much better than the front, only a table and a few benches, very poor.

"Xiaoqi Wanglang pays his respects to Wan Zhenfu and Yang Qianhu. His subordinates lost their eyesight just now, and my lord makes atonement."

Wang Lang immediately knelt down to salute them.

"Wang Xiaoqi, what's going on outside? Didn't you agree that when I arrive, let 'uncle' entrust the hotel to me. Then you will return to the capital together in the name of returning to your hometown to recuperate?"

Wanda pointed to the coffin outside and swallowed, "The original 'old shopkeeper'...he won't really die, right?"

"'Old shopkeeper' is fine. It's just that your lord arrived nearly ten days later than the original scheduled time, and something happened here."

Wang Xiaoqi said in embarrassment.

"People from Nanzhen Fusi have already arrived. The superior issued a ticket. Before the third day of this month, the 'old shopkeeper' must be taken back to Nanzhen Fusi for trial. At that time, he will be sentenced to military law. But wait and see , and no adults came. There is no other way but to use this 'death escape' method to take people away first."

Jinyiwei has the North Town Fusi, and naturally there is also the South Town Fusi.

Compared with the "notoriety" of "specializing in the prison", the Fusi of Beizhen is different.Nanzhen Fusi is in charge of the legal and military discipline within Jinyiwei, and is responsible for the internal discipline and punishment of Jinyiwei.

As I said before, this "uncle" is not doing well, and I'm afraid he will be punished after returning to Beijing.According to common sense, Nanzhen Fusi should indeed come forward.

They were delayed in that small port for too long and missed the originally agreed time.The Fusi people in Nanzhen couldn't wait, so they took him away first.If you miss the ticket date, you will also be punished by military law.

The person in charge, and the kid outside, both stayed here on purpose to wait for their arrival.

At the same time, it is also a play for the neighbors to see.

Otherwise, the neighbors who have lived for seven or eight years will disappear as soon as they say they don't see each other, which will arouse suspicion.

These people are also really quick at work. All the keys, ledgers and some daily receipts for goods in and out of the hotel have been sorted out long ago.

After it was handed over to Wanda, these people carried flags and set out on the road miserably, carrying a coffin filled with half a dead pig in the name of "helping the spirits return to their hometowns".

If there is no mistake, these two people will also go back to Nanzhen Fusi for trial.The filial piety and the paper money all over the floor are also very suitable for their mood at the moment.

After sending off the funeral team, they burned and threw all the messy paper figurines and paper banners in the house, and then everyone took a good look at the three-story hut.

"Genius... who would open a hotel by a stinking ditch in a dead end? What does this 'old shopkeeper' think?"

Wanda went out to look around, and after being showered with curious eyes from a group of neighbors, she turned and came back.

Because he was still in "mourning", a white cloth was tied around his waist at this moment.Calculating the time, it can only be removed after the "[-]" of the shopkeeper is over.

"It seems to you that this ledger... has been losing money year after year, and there are no guests registered for accommodation at all."

Qiu Zijin leaned on the counter and briefly glanced at the journal.

"This shop is still rented... It can't even earn back the rent every month. If it wasn't for the silent allocation of funds from the Jinyiwei Yamen, I'm afraid it would have been impossible to open."

"There are two floors upstairs, and only the second floor is still inhabitable. The roof of the third floor is all leaking, and the floor is moldy. I guess no one lives there..."

Yang Xiuxian came down from the upstairs, and it was rare for Mr. Yang to show a embarrassed expression.

"If you ask me to steal this place, I won't even come."

Mei Qianzhang, who was ordered by Wanda to clean the kitchen, poked out half of her head, rolled her eyes and said arrogantly.

No wonder it's been seven or eight years, and this information point is as if it has been abandoned, and it hasn't played the slightest role.

What does this "uncle" eat!

Wanda wanted to hit the wall angrily.

There is no way, as long as it comes, it will be safe.

Everyone decided to settle down first, then go to a dental bank to find a new shop to rent, and then make plans.

Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny.

The next day, Wanda and the others took Mei Qianzhang, who was considered a half-local, to run around the city. There were so many vacant shops, but they didn't talk about any of them.

"Why don't you want to rent a shop to me? I seem to be short of money?"

After running for a whole morning with no results, everyone had to find a tea shop to sit down and discuss.

"Those dentists were still smiling when they saw Mei Qianzhang going to ask questions. But when they heard that the person looking for the shop was from the north, they immediately changed their faces."

Qiu Zijin held the teacup and frowned.

"why?"

It stands to reason that as long as the price is right, it should be easy to rent a good shop like theirs.

"So it makes sense for the old shopkeeper to open his shop in such a corner."

Yang Xiuxian lowered his head and took a sip of tea, "It's not that he doesn't want to find a good place... maybe he can't rent it at all. So he can only rent that kind of crappy place."

Xunzhou is not like Guilin Mansion, the number of Liao people here is much more than that of Guilin.

Just sitting in this tea shop and looking out, the people coming and going are all foreigners in various costumes.

Some have silver horns on their heads, their hair is tied up high with cloth, and a red tuft is exposed on the front, while others are barefoot with thick tiger skin around their waists.

Wanda was dazzled by watching, thinking that she had entered the minority sports meeting by mistake.

Even though many people wearing Han Chinese clothes passed by, they also showed vigilant expressions when they saw their obvious "outsider" appearance.

It seems that this Xunzhou is not particularly welcoming to foreign visitors because of years of war and chaos. It is difficult to integrate into it...

Everyone drank tea and continued to walk towards the county government.

It stands to reason that the vicinity of the county government and the Town God's Temple should be the busiest place in the city.

Sure enough, when we arrived near the Town God's Temple, the flow of people gradually increased.

Today was just in time for the temple fair, and the entrance of the Chenghuang Temple and the entrance of the Guandi Temple not far away were crowded with people.

Those who play tricks, sell snacks, sell sundries, sell strong pills, dog skin plasters, and the entire Taoist temple is full of people.

There are also some vendors who obviously belong to the local characteristics.

Wanda stared dumbfounded at a topless man who was urging to sell a giant python on him.Some birds and beasts that have never been seen before are kept in cages, waiting to be sold.

Everyone couldn't take their eyes off it, that is, Mei Qianzhang, because she had been here before, she could still tell her some tricks.

He led them, and kept shuttling between these colorful and dazzling stalls.

"This? This is the yellow sand soft-shelled soft-shelled turtle. The whole body is golden yellow, the meat is thick and delicious, and it is said that it is a soft-shelled turtle unique to Guangxi."

"That's 'Dendrobium nobile', and the locals call it 'Saving Immortal Grass'. It's a kind of herbal medicine."

"Do you know 'Luoxiu rice noodles'? This is a tribute to the royal family every year. It is one of the four treasures of Xunzhou.

Wanda nodded repeatedly, and Qiu Zijin followed behind them, buying snacks like a boy who spreads money.

Betel nut tender ginger radish sticks, water chestnut glutinous rice cake and mung bean cake, as long as they look delicious, take them all.

Qiu Zijin ate while walking, and he didn't even notice that the corners of his mouth were covered with sugar stains.

Suddenly, he felt his clothes being pulled by someone.

Looking down, I saw a little child holding the corner of his clothes with one hand and stuffing his mouth with the other, looking greedily at the candied lotus root in Qiu Zijin's hand.

"Where did this kid come from?"

Wanda and Yang Xiuxian walked ahead, and when they looked back, they saw Qiu Zijin standing by the side of the road with a perplexed expression on his face.

They had no choice but to turn back, only to find that this guy was being hugged by a little boy's thigh, and he didn't dare to move.

Seeing Wanda and the others, Qiu Zijin was relieved, pointing to the child who was not as tall as his waist, and said, "Big... shopkeeper, what should I do, I picked up a child."

Wanda bent down and stared at this beautiful child.

I saw this child carved in pink and jade, like a boy walking up and down the New Year painting, white and tender, pink, white and fat.

The pair of eyes are round and big, even rounder than Wanda's famous "big eyes" since he was a child.

This child may be a Liao, wearing strangely cut satin clothes, with a collar made of twisted red thread hanging around his neck.

However, the place where the longevity lock should be hung at the bottom is empty.

On the child's head is a hat embroidered with multicolored silk thread into double dragons spitting out beads, which is small and cute.It's just that Wanda always felt that something was missing after reading it...

Ah, it should be that the pearl on the top of the hat is missing.The two dragons' mouths are now empty, and there is no "bead" to spit out.

It looks like someone's young master who got lost at the temple fair!

Fortunately, the gangster only took away the valuables on his body, and did not "shoot" him away.But for such a small child walking around on the street alone, it may only be a matter of time before something happens.

"What's your name? Where's your family? Where's your mother?"

Wanda squatted down and asked the child.

The little boy smiled at him, showing two rows of white teeth, looking extremely pleasing, but he didn't answer.

"What should I do, he can't understand Chinese, can he?"

Wanda pulled Lamei Qian Zhang and asked him to squat down and translate together.

Mei Qianzhang took a piece of candied fruit from Qiu Zijin's hand, put it in the child's mouth, and murmured something to him.

The child obediently opened his mouth, ate the orange-red candied fruit in small bites, and replied to Mei Qianzhang with a few words.

Then he turned around and stretched out his hands, motioning for Wanda to hug him.

Wanda had no choice but to pick up the child and asked Mei Qianzhang what race the child was and what happened.

"He said his name is Azhi...or Azhi, anyway, it's the Yao people's name, and I don't know which word it is."

Mei Qianzhang scratched her hair in embarrassment, "He went out with his family to watch the temple fair. But the servant disappeared. A man told him that he was going to take him to buy candied fruit, so he followed him... Later he saw this My brother has candied fruit..."

Mei Qianzhang pointed to Qiu Zijin, "He just hugged this brother's thigh. When he turned around, that person disappeared."

This little greedy cat has been kidnapped...

If he hadn't met Qiu Zijin, the same big greedy cat, the child might not just lose his belongings today, it would have been a disaster.

The child also seemed to know that they were not bad people, so he was very relieved of them, and did not cry or make trouble.

In particular, he seemed to like Wanda very much. It was Mei Qianzhang who gave him candied fruit, but he just kept getting tired of Wanda.

Wanda said several times that his hands were sore and he couldn't hold her anymore, but he refused to change someone else to hold her.

"His family should be looking for him nearby, let's look for him too."

Wanda had no choice but to hold the child and tell everyone.

Sure enough, after about half a stick of incense, a group of people hurried over.

They came so fiercely that the stalls of several vendors along the street were knocked to the ground by them.Those street vendors were about to get up to ask for an explanation, but when they saw who was coming, they all quieted down and swallowed back their stomachs full of swear words.

"You, stop! Hanako, don't run!"

Wanda was looking around with the child in his arms, when suddenly he heard an angry reprimand, and then a whip shadow flew towards the back of his head.

Seeing this, Yang Xiuxian casually grabbed an oxhorn wooden comb on the stall beside him, stretched out his hand, and wrapped the end of the whip around his right arm.

He pulled hard, but the person who was swinging the whip at him didn't notice for a moment, and the whole whip fell into Yang Xiuxian's hand.

Seeing this, the surrounding vendors all scattered like birds and beasts.

For a moment, an open space formed around them.

"You, scoundrels! The kidnappers among the Han people. Return the young master to me quickly."

The person who was whipped was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl of a foreign race. She clutched her right hand that had been stripped of skin, and shouted angrily at Yang Xiuxian and Wanda.

This girl has honey-colored skin, and small silver bells that jingle all over her hair.Maybe the eyes of Yao people are dark and big, and this little girl is no exception.The anger in her eyes made her look like an angry little leopard.

It seems that this person is the family of this beautiful child.But she seems to have regarded them as abductees, and came to Xingshi to accuse them.

The girl was accompanied by seven or eight men who were also dressed in foreign races. Seeing that Wanda and the others were very skilled, they all took out the machetes at their waists.

Gao Hui snorted coldly and raised his fist the size of a sandbag.

The two sides formed a rivalry.

"A lot!"

The child who was staying in Wanda's arms cried out happily when he saw the person coming, and patted Wanda on the shoulder, motioning to put him down.

As soon as it landed on the ground, the child opened his arms and plunged into the arms of the girl named "Duo Duo".

When that "Duo Duo" picked him up, he still looked at Wanda warily.But when the child put his head close to her ear and whispered a long paragraph to her, the fierce look on the girl's face gradually receded, and she smiled awkwardly at Wanda and the others.

Well, it seems the misunderstanding has been cleared up.

Wanda saw that it was getting late, and motioned for everyone to come back.

It seems that finding a store is not a matter of a day or two, but a long-term plan.

"You guys, don't leave!"

Seeing that Wanda and the others were going to leave without saying a word, the girl stomped her feet anxiously, and then said a bunch of Yao dialects that they didn't understand.

It seems that the girl's Chinese level is average, and her mastery is limited to everyday expressions and swear words.

"She said she was wrong just now, and she apologized to us."

Mei Qianzhang once again served as the translator.

"And we must go home with her and accept their master's thanks."

"It's not necessary, it's easy to do."

Wanda asked Mei Qianzhang to translate, then turned around and left.

"elder brother!"

At this moment, the child who didn't know whether it was A Zhi or A Zhi jumped out of Miss Duoduo's arms.

He hugged Wanda's thigh from behind, and unexpectedly popped out a Chinese word in his desperation.

"Everyone, please go back with us, or my master will punish me."

Girl Duoduo blushed, covered her chest with one hand, and bowed deeply to them very respectfully.

The child also shook Wanda's leg.

"That's fine... You can see that the people around her are so afraid of her, which means that her master is very powerful here. Why don't we go and find out. Isn't this more interesting than looking for a shop?"

Yang Xiuxian whispered to Wanda.

Wanda looked up and looked up, eyes wide open, looking at his little child expectantly.

"Okay." He picked up the child.

"What's your master's name?"

Following Girl Duoduo, everyone walked towards the north road.

Wherever he passed, the surrounding bureaucrats showed respectful expressions to Duoduo and the others.It seems that Yang Xiuxian's guess is right, this family has a lot of background here.

"My master's surname is 'Wang'."

Knowing that they are not bad people, Girl Duoduo's attitude towards them is obviously much better.

"He is the biggest wealthy businessman in Xunzhou City. He is the pride of our Yao people."