The return of the son-in-law

Guo Zhanan returned to his office, and Hao Yun was guarding the door.Guo Zhan'an didn't go in either, he just stood at the door and told Hao Yun, "Go and invite the Dredger from this state."

Hao Yun was taken aback for a moment, and then said: "My lord, there is no dredging man in this state."

Guo Zhanan raised his eyebrows: "No?"

Hao Yun explained: "Three years ago, the last dredger in this state retired and returned home, and no one has been in the position of dredger since then."

Guo Zhanan was puzzled and asked, "Since the original dredging man retired and returned home, why didn't the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Industry send another dredging man to Xuzhou?"

The Ministry of Officials is in charge of the promotion, appointment and removal of civil servants all over the world, but because of the special position of Dredging Lang, the Ministry of Industry often provides candidates, and then the Ministry of Officials appoints them.

Hao Yun shook his head: "That's not clear. In short, Xuzhou didn't have a dredging man three years ago."

Guo Zhan'an feels helpless, he only knows a little bit about farmland water conservancy. Although he gained a lot of knowledge in Tonghua County, he still knows very little.As the saying goes, there is a specialization in art, so he is good at talking in the court, or suppressing a few political opponents, but he thinks he is not as good as Dredging Lang when it comes to farmland water conservancy.

Since there is no Dredging Lang in this state, he will inevitably have to go to the Shugong Ministry.But Guo Zhanan thought about it again, these dredgers couldn't just resign themselves to their old age and return home.According to the regulations of this dynasty, if Dredging Lang intends to quit, he must take the initiative to write to the Ministry of Industry, explaining his reasons for not continuing to serve as Dredging Lang, and then he can only leave after being reviewed by a special person from the Ministry of Industry.

That is to say, the Ministry of Industry knew that there was no dredging man in Xuzhou, but the Ministry of Officials had not sent anyone over for a long time. There were two reasons.

First, it may be that the Ministry of Industry has no candidates for the time being, but it has been three years, and in such a vast world, can't there be a few capable people who can be dredgers?

Then, there is only the second reason left, that is, the Ministry of Industry never thought of sending Dredging Lang over again.It's just that the reason for this is quite interesting.

But Guo Zhan'an didn't have the energy to explore the inside story at this time, and there was still a Xu Laowu waiting for him in his house, so there was no delay.

Therefore, Guo Zhanan asked Hao Yun to let him sort out all the dossiers on Xuzhou's farmland water conservancy in the past five years today, and hurried back to Guo's mansion by himself.

Guo Mansion, Old Fifth Xu was invited to have breakfast, Jiang Yannian couldn't hold back, and urged Jia Huan to wake Huo Yu up.

Poor Huo Yu is falling asleep, I heard that there are two guests in the mansion, Guo Zhanan has gone to the mansion, there is no one to entertain him, so he can only force himself to wash up, sit sleepily on the chair, and let Jiang Yannian "bully" him .

"Hey, hey, don't just keep talking, come, have a custard bun." When Jiang Yannian was in the capital, he also met many children who were a few years younger than him. Leaving aside the two younger brothers, he still had There are several cousins.But there has never been one like Huo Yu, who made him feel more pain when he saw it.

Huo Yu thanked him softly, took a bite out of the bun, and asked, "Where's my brother?"

Jiang Yannian looked sad: "Your brother has gone to the Yamen, why do you always remember your brother? How about I recognize you as my younger brother?"

Huo Yu stopped eating custard buns, and looked at Jiang Yannian vigilantly: "You came here to rob my brother while he was away, so will you still come here to rob my brother's money in the future?"

Jiang Yannian didn't expect Huo Yu to think so. He was taken aback for a moment, and then couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing: "You are really interesting, little brat. Where did Guo Zhanan pick you up? I'll pick one up too."

Huo Yu was so angry that he hummed: "I didn't pick it up!"

Jiang Yannian stretched out his hand to pinch Huo Yu's cheek, but Huo Yu hid it, a little displeased: "Why are you so annoying, kid, you can't even be pinched?"

Huo Yu glanced at Jiang Yannian in disgust, and sat down next to him with a bowl in his hand, "How can a guest come to the master's house to pinch his face casually?"

Jiang Yannian was not angry, but happy: "Your brother is not at home, and you are not entertaining well, isn't it embarrassing for your brother?"

Huo Yu was so angry that he wanted to beat Jiang Yannian, if not because his elder brother and Jiang Yannian were distant cousins, and the two of them had a good personal relationship, he would have wanted to beat him out of the house!

Seeing that Huo Yu stopped talking, Jiang Yannian just lowered his head and controlled himself from eating buns. He knew that he was joking too much this time, so he quickly flattered him: "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore, your brother doesn't know when he will be Come back, tell me about Old Fifth Xu."

Huo Yu's face looked better now, and he told Jiang Yannian what he saw yesterday and about Xu Laowu's wife being kidnapped, and finally said: "People are watching at the gates of the two cities, but until now, there is no There is no news yet, and we don't know where those people are hiding in Xuzhou."

Jiang Yannian came to the Northwest earlier than Guo Zhanan and Huo Yu, so he has a better understanding of the situation here.And he knew from Laowu Xu that one of those gangsters was wearing the clothes found by the Ministry of War. He was obviously not an ordinary gangster, and he might have something to do with the government.

He put away his carelessness, completely different from the previous appearance when he "bullied" Huo Yu, and said: "You guys guard at the city gate, I'm afraid you won't gain anything."

This is Guo Zhanan's idea. Huo Yu has always been too partial to Guo Zhanan. He was not happy when he heard Jiang Yannian say this: "The gate of the city was closed last night. We guarded the gate early this morning. We didn't see anything suspicious at all. People, this is enough to show that they are still in the city." After he finished speaking, he paused, and added: "My brother has always been extremely smart, so he must be right."

Jiang Yannian laughed when he heard the words, he dared to feel sorry for this little guy because he was upset when he heard that his opinion was different from Guo Zhanan's.

In fact, Jiang Yannian sometimes wondered that this Huo Yu was not related to him, and this was the second time he saw Huo Yu, but he just felt that the other party was familiar, as if he had known him a long time ago. He couldn't help getting closer to Huo Yu.

Jiang Yannian didn't understand the reason until he returned to the capital and Huo Yu's background was exposed.

While the two were talking, Guo Zhanan came back.As soon as Huo Yu heard the news, without saying a word, he pushed the bowl, jumped off the stool, and hurriedly ran to the front to greet him, completely forgetting that he, the little host, still had to entertain guests.

When Jiang Yannian came to the front, he saw Huo Yu almost clinging to Guo Zhanan's body, talking in a low voice.

Huo Yu is now 13 years old, and he is at the age of growing his body. In just a few months, he has grown a lot taller. The little boy who was only in Guo Zhanan's waist has reached Guo Zhanan's body in the blink of an eye. chest, and the originally intimate but ordinary behavior between elder brothers and younger brothers, now it seems that it is a bit inappropriate.

Jiang Yannian looked aside coldly for a while, remembering that when he was in the capital, boy molestation started to rise among teenagers. The smell of body fat and powder is very disgusting.As for Huo Yu, he was dumb even if he said he was dumb, but he was also smart when he should be smart. It can be seen that Guo Zhan'an took great care in cultivating him, and he really didn't look like a child prostitute he raised for fun.

As soon as this idea popped up, Jiang Yannian slapped himself hard in his heart.

What are you thinking!How can you slander your brother so much?

Back then, Li Shaojin brought a young man with dishonest features to cross them. At that time, Guo Zhan'an's disliked appearance and Jiang Yannian's appearance were still fresh in his memory. Obviously, his brothers didn't like child molestation.Jiang Yannian really felt guilty for comparing the brotherhood of other people to a buyer and a child prostitute.

But since it's not, then I should wake up a few words, lest other people who don't know Guo Zhan'an's character see it and misunderstand them.

Jiang Yannian was thinking on the sidelines, Guo Zhan'an had already heard from Huo Yu that he had a different view on this matter, so he shouted several times before bringing Jiang Yannian back from his thoughts.

Guo Zhan'an was no better than Huo Yu. He spent two years in the Imperial Academy, and served as a county magistrate in Tonghua County. He had seen a lot of unwritten rules and practices in the officialdom.Although he is not a veteran in the officialdom, he is not an ignorant child either.

"You said that it is useless for us to guard the city gate. Could it be that they have already left the city?"

Jiang Yannian nodded and said: "I'm afraid you don't know yet, but it was a group of gangsters who smashed up Mr. Xu's stall. One of the gangsters was wearing clothes issued by the Ministry of War a few years ago. All the things sent by the Ministry of War to the barracks , all must not be circulated, especially the clothes, which cannot be worn, must be destroyed uniformly, so as not to give outsiders the convenience of pretending to be soldiers of the dynasty. Since this gangster is wearing clothes issued by the Ministry of War, no matter whether he is a soldier himself or he has connections in the barracks , are enough to prove that this gangster is not an ordinary gangster. For such a gangster, he will come and smash the stalls of an ordinary people for no reason?"

This is also a point that Guo Zhan'an has been unable to understand.He asked the doctor and the patrolling soldiers, and everyone had similar views on Xu Lao Wu: his only son was killed unjustly, it was very pitiful; he had been a clerk for more than ten years, and he spent most of his time in the military barracks, so he didn’t have many relatives in Xuzhou. Acquaintances; the food sold in the shop is good, and they are willing to give people credit, so they are very nice; I have never heard of borrowing money from others, and because the money is small, credit loans are usually repaid within a day or two, so There are no disputes with other people about money.

To put it simply, Xu Lao Wu is a good citizen who lives his life conscientiously. Even if he has quarrels with the puppet, he will not kidnap his wife and refuse to show up for a long time.

After Jiang Yannian mentioned it, Guo Zhan'an felt that he should investigate in a different direction.

It's just that he is not familiar with those people in the government office. He doesn't know which ones are Shi Guogan's eyes and ears and which ones are not.Therefore, Jiang Yannian could only find someone to handle this matter, and he had to do it secretly, so no one else could know about it.

"Find some reliable people and ask them to find out who those gangsters are, where they live, and who they usually come in contact with. By the way, you can go to Xu Laowu's shop to ask first, and smash the shop in broad daylight. Someone saw it."

Jiang Yannian responded, and asked again: "Xu Laowu, do you want to tell him about his wife?"

Guo Zhanan nodded and said: "I must tell you, I'll go, I just have some questions to ask him."

Jiang Yannian was noncommittal, just glanced at Huo Yu, and said, "I have something to tell you."

Guo Zhan'an understood, turned his head and said to Huo Yu, "It's getting dark under your eyes, you must not have slept enough. Go back to sleep for a while, and call you again at noon."

Huo Yu resisted his drowsiness and said, "My brother is short of manpower, I will stay and help my brother."

Guo Zhan'an only felt that the pressure on his body was relieved a lot. He pinched Huo Yu's cheek and said with a smile, "You're so sleepy, what can you do for me, eh? Help me after you've had enough sleep, good boy."

Only then did Huo Yu agree, and he didn't forget to say, "Then brother must remember to wake me up at noon."

Huo Yu left after receiving Guo Zhan'an's assurance.

After Huo Yu left, Jiang Yannian said with a bit of embarrassment but with a dignified expression: "Guo Zhan'an, you and I are also cousins ​​after all, I will say a few words as a cousin today, you must take it to heart. "

It was rare for Guo Zhan'an to see Jiang Yannian talking to himself so seriously, he wondered, "What do you want to say?"

"Hey, although Huo Yu is your younger brother, he will grow up sooner or later. Do you think we are so close? He is still young and has not yet been identified. You must not accidentally fall into it. When the time comes, you will harm others and yourself, ruining Huo Yu's life."

Before Guo Zhan'an could react, he asked, "What are you talking about? Huo Yu bid farewell to his only relative, and followed me to Xuzhou. He was already easily disturbed, so what if I hurt him more?"

Jiang Yannian was so anxious that he almost jumped, and he didn't care about anything else, so he said it bluntly: "What are you talking about, are you hurting my brother? The two brothers in my family have never been so intimate. It’s almost pasting together! Isn’t this, this, this is what Li Shaojin said about pasting sesame seed cakes at the beginning!”

Only then did Guo Zhanan realize it, and his face turned black immediately: "Keep your mouth clean! What about pasting sesame seeds, I don't want to hear it again!"

Jiang Yannian really hates iron and steel: "You know what's on your mind, but others don't. Whose teenage child is so clinging to his elder brother? What's more, he's just your foster brother. In the eyes of others, can you make it clear?"

Knowing that Jiang Yannian was caring about him, Guo Zhan'an's expression became a little better, and he said, "Don't worry, I have my own measure."

Jiang Yannian finished his words here, and stopped persuading him: "It's good that you know, well, this Huo Yu looks a little familiar to me, probably because of fate, I really can't bear him to be troubled by gossip in the future. What about you, too? Just pay more attention, it's a state-wide judgment anyway, don't fall into the shoes of others because of this kind of thing."

Guo Zhan'an noticed an unexplainable emotion pouring out of his heart, but now there is still a Xu Lao Wu in the mansion who needs to deal with it himself, so he can only put it aside for the time being and don't explore it.