"What's the matter, Senior Brother Chang?" The little girl holding the pipa exclaimed, and was about to open the door to enter.

"Wait!" Xiao Wenliu held her back, frowning deeply.

"If Master is inconvenient right now, we can take a stroll around and come back later." Seeing her embarrassment, Xie Yan proposed.

"No need...Master has always said that she and Boss Bai are as close as siblings, and that Boss Bai's apprentice is her apprentice, so it's okay." Xiao Wenliu responded and shook her head.

Her first reaction just now was that she was afraid that something bad happened in the yard, and Xie Yan and Li Quan saw it as a joke, but now that she thinks about it, they are all a family anyway, so there is nothing to avoid suspicion.

"Master, I brought Master Uncle Bai's apprentice here!" Xiao Wenliu knocked on the door and shouted loudly, the crying in the yard stopped suddenly, and a few seconds later, a sniffling only reached Xie Yan's waist Then the little girl opened the wooden door and invited them in.

Xie Yan looked around indiscriminately, and found that the yard was not as big as it looked from the outside. A stone wall divided the yard into two parts. Mu Xiuxiu lived in one side with his apprentices, and there were about three or four houses. In the middle is a yard of more than ten square meters paved with red bricks.

At this time, everyone in the house was gathered around the courtyard, three small girls were afraid to speak timidly, a young man about the same age as Li Quan was kneeling on the ground, and standing directly above was a handsome woman with an angry face, She looks to be in her thirties, so she should be Bai Luoqiu's senior sister, Mu Xiuxiu.

"Master, I brought the people from the Dechun Class." Xiao Wenliu looked worriedly at the boy kneeling on the ground, retracted his eyes and introduced the guests first.

Mu Xiuxiu cast her eyes over Xiao Wenliu, and her complexion finally improved.

"Good boy, who among you is Ah Qiu's apprentice?"

"I am." Xie Yan took half a step forward, "He is Li Quan, and he is also working in the Dechun class. The two of us have just arrived in Hankou, and we brought some snacks to satisfy the cravings of the juniors. Please don't be offended by the uncle."

"You children, since you call me uncle, come here as soon as you come, what else do you bring?" Mu Xiuxiu didn't take the pastry from Xie Yan's hand, but there was a bit of appreciation in her eyes, of course she wasn't greedy for these Eating food is just optimistic about children who obey the rules and will come to trouble.

"Your name is Li Quan... Are you Li Zhu's son?" Mu Xiuxiu looked at Li Quan again.

"Yes, my father mentioned you to me when I was a child." Li Quan did know Mu Xiuxiu, but he didn't know the specific address of the other party, and he didn't even know his name, so he couldn't come to Hankou to join him.

"When I first met your father, he was not as old as you are now. In a blink of an eye, my son is actually taller than me." Mu Xiuxiu was full of emotion, and said to a little girl beside him, "Go and give it to you!" The two elder brothers poured a cup of hot water, they must be exhausted after walking in the cold."

"Master." Seeing that Mu Xiuxiu was in a better mood, Xiao Wenliu quickly took the opportunity to ask, "What mistake did Brother Chang make to cause such a big fight?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiuxiu looked at the stubborn young man kneeling in the courtyard, and snorted coldly, "You should ask what good deeds this scoundrel has done today!"

Seeing this, Xiao Wenliu knew that Mu Xiuxiu was just angry and not chilled, so she hurriedly said, "Senior brother is young and ignorant, so there is still a master. The senior brother was brought up by the master's hands, just like his own son. He did something wrong. Master Education is a matter of course, and we will certainly not help."

"I treat him as my son, but he used me as his mother before he did things, but did he treat you junior sisters as his relatives?" Mu Xiuxiu sighed, "I want to help, but what he committed today, is it true? Can I handle it easily?"

Mu Xiuxiu looked at the straight young man kneeling on the ground again, she couldn't bear it, and turned her head away, "Forget it, let's go into the room and talk, there is no reason to let the guests stand in the yard."

Seeing Mu Xiuxiu turning back to the house, Xiao Wenliu hurried to help the boy who was kneeling on the ground. The boy knelt for a long time, and when he got up, he staggered. Xiao Wenliu gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head and said nothing. Refusing to say, and staggering towards the house, Xiao Wenliu realized that the boy's leg had been injured at some point, but he kept silent.

"Master." After a group of people sat down in the room, the dark-skinned boy suddenly stepped forward and knelt down with a plop, with a hoarse voice, "My parents, Kong Chang, died early, and I survived thanks to you. All these years of eating and drinking from you, I didn’t give you anything in return, and put you and my juniors in danger. I’m not a thing. I do things by myself, and now I’m willing to go out to accept the crime, so as not to affect everyone. Your kindness will be my next life. Report again."

Yubi knocked his head three times and was about to get up and leave.

"Come back to me!" Mu Xiuxiu yelled angrily when she saw this, if she could really watch Kong Chang die cruelly, wouldn't she be angry in the yard!

"Uncle, what did Senior Brother Chang do to make you so worried?" Xie Yan, as an outsider who just arrived, shouldn't have asked this question, but he saw that this young man was full of pride, so he definitely wouldn't do anything that hurt the world. asked.

"He..." Mu Xiuxiu sighed, looked at Kong Chang who was standing stiffly at the door, and finally turned his head, "It's actually not a bad thing..."

It turned out that Mu Xiuxiu had a total of six apprentices in Hankou, among which Kong Chang was the big brother, Xiao Wenliu was the second, the little girl Pipa was the third, and there were three others who didn't know anything about it.The whole family has to pay the rent and eat, so Mu Xiuxiu alone is not enough, so the first three apprentices who have achieved a small degree in art have to go out to make money every day, and the younger three have to do some sewing besides learning art Clothes work, to maintain a livelihood.

This is not Mu Xiuxiu oppressing her apprentices. If she had a choice, she would also like to have a good life for her children who have been raised since childhood. But in this world, refugees freeze to death on the roadside every day. It is lucky for them to eat and wear , what else can I ask for.

"I shouldn't have collected so much, but I either picked up these children from the side of the road, or my family couldn't survive and brought a few dollars to sell them. If I didn't keep them, I would die and I could only bite them The teeth are gone."

Mu Xiuxiu looked at the young apprentices with different expressions in the circle room, and told what happened today.

These three apprentices who go out to make money each have their own jobs. The little pipa girl walks around the streets and sings, Xiao Wenliu sings in a teahouse at noon, and sings with the little pipa girl in the afternoon, while Kong Chang has no art. Relying on a little arithmetic and writing taught by Mu Xiuxiu, he found a job as a front office in a restaurant.

The restaurant was on the edge of the concession, and the people who came and went were from a small background, and the consumption was extremely high. Kong Chang worked diligently, and was assigned to entertain the distinguished guests in the boxes on the second floor.

At noon today, Kong Chang was busy on the second floor, when he suddenly heard a short cry for help from a box, which disappeared quickly. He remembered that a young girl who was unfamiliar with performing arts had just entered this box a quarter of an hour ago, and was startled. When I opened the door, I saw several guests pinching the little girl's neck and covering her mouth with their hands, trying to force her to do something wrong.

"Get out!" The leading guest gave him a vicious look, without stopping the movements of his hands.

Kong Chang saw the little girl who was pressed on the table look at him beggingly, his brain became hot, he lifted the solid wooden chair with both hands, and swung it over.

"Run!"

The little girl was sobbing, she pulled up her clothes and rushed out of the house. Kong Chang blocked the door to prevent the guests from chasing them out. After being hit hard on the leg several times, he managed to run back to the yard.

However, the monk could not run away from the temple, and the little girl who escaped could hide and wait for the limelight to pass before she came out. Kong Chang was a solid restaurant clerk, and if you asked about his background, you would know that those guests would come to him sooner or later.

"I entrusted my relationship to inquire. Those guests are big bosses from Shanghai who do business with the ship king. You..." Mu Xiuxiu pointed at Kong Chang, her fingers trembling. If anyone dared to force a little singing girl in a restaurant during the day, he dared to take their entire school.

Xiao Wenliu is already a big girl, and Yangrui, who plays the pipa, has recently become quite beautiful. Mu Xiuxiu is afraid that she will not be able to protect them when she has nothing to do. When the time comes, the group of people will come to the door and take a fancy to these two girls , what should she do!

"Doing business with the ship king?" Xie Yan frowned deeply upon hearing this.

In Hankou, who doesn't know the name of Ship King Wen Jiulou?Not only does he master the water transportation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, but he also has hundreds of staff members who are rich and powerful, and they are friends with the Huguang patrol; In addition, the tiger father has no dogs, and his eldest son is also good. He has experienced in the army under his command, and has made several military exploits in a year...

It can be said that the Wen family is definitely one of the most difficult existences in Hankou. No wonder Mu Xiuxiu was so pessimistic when he heard that those guests were related to the Wen family.

Xie Yan looked at Kong Chang whose mouth was tightly pressed into a slit, not knowing what to say.Was Kong Chang wrong?of course not.How can it be wrong to act bravely?How could it be wrong to save a little girl in prison?But in today's world, many things are not measured by right or wrong.

Xie Yan suddenly thought of Wen Heng, the young man who was the second young master of the Wen family.He had never seen anyone in the Wen family make a bad comment, but what would he do when he saw a foreigner verbally insulting a Chinese and would immediately choke back?

He will definitely not stand idly by, Xie Yan thought silently in his heart.For some reason, he had such high evaluation and expectations for the young man who had only seen two sides briefly.

"Uncle, I heard that the ship king is a man of righteousness, and Mrs. Wen is a hero among women. They may not help others..."

……

While Xie Yan was trying to comfort Mu Xiuxiu, in the Western-style study on the second floor of the Wen family compound a few miles away, Wen Jiulou was also talking with his second son, whom Xie Yan spoke highly of.

"Father, our people have already made arrangements. When the news of the patrol comes, we can take care of the Japanese." Wen Heng stood in front of the desk with several telegrams in his hand.

The Wen family said that the second son of the Wen family was obsessed with scientific research and ignored family affairs, but that was just an excuse to deceive people. How could he stay out of it completely when he was born in the ship king's family, but he and his elder brother were on the bright side and the other on the dark side, just as a double insurance.

"Okay, let me keep an eye on you and don't run away." Wen Jiulou's expression was not good. This group of grandsons dared to collude with the Japanese to trap him with a problematic old boat in an attempt to shake the foundation of the Wen family. Don't blame him for reporting to the inspector. Big ticket.

The Wen family's shipping business in Hankou is the only one among Chinese people, but there are seven or eight foreign shipping companies competing.

If you want to do a good job in the shipping business, you must first have enough ships. The Wen family currently owns eleven steamships and mainly operates two routes: Hankou-Shanghai and Hankou-Yichang, with stable business.

In the past two years, Wen Jiulou found that the economy in the hinterland of China was developing very rapidly, and he had the idea of ​​adding new routes.However, from Hankou to his ideal port of Chongqing, he needs to go through the danger of the Three Gorges, which cannot be crossed by ordinary steamers, so he can only buy the latest steamers from foreign companies.

Unexpectedly, he didn't buy the steamer, and he was secretly cheated on the way. After Wen Jiulou received the news, he simply decided not to do anything, but to catch the turtle in the urn.

"Where's Chen Gongsong's grandson? Didn't he say he's coming to 'visit' me today? I've sharpened my knife and I'm waiting for him to try it." Wen Jiulou gritted his teeth and smiled very kindly.

"Boss Chen probably won't be able to come."

"what happened?"

"He and his men were eating at Zhiweilou at noon today. They wanted to force a young girl who was a performer, but they were beaten to death by the staff of Zhiweilou, and she was disfigured. I guess I would be ashamed to see people."

"This..." Wen Jiulou was stunned for a few seconds, and then laughed. Is there anything more gratifying than hearing embarrassing things about people you don't want to see?After laughing, he said again, "The guy who hit people is also a man, Chen Gongsong probably won't let it go, let people watch and don't get into trouble."

"That guy lives in Wicker Lane, and his master is an old entertainer in Wicker Lane. Boss Chen doesn't have enough manpower to come and play tricks. He came to us just now to ask for someone, and said he wanted to kill that guy's whole family."

Liutiao Lane is a well-known residential area for entertainers in Hankou. The entertainers living there are very united. When something goes wrong, it is better for everyone to fight together than to fight alone.

Chen Gongsong came to the Wen family for help because he was afraid that he would not be able to make good deals in Wicker Lane. He hadn't fallen out with the Wen family at this time, and if he didn't want to startle the snake, he couldn't ignore it.

Wen Jiulou thought for a while and said, "Heng'er, take someone with you to go with Chen Gongsong yourself, don't let him notice that something is wrong, and don't hurt people's lives, just play it by ear."

"I see." Wen Heng turned and left after hearing the words, and suddenly turned around before leaving the door, "By the way, father, mother said that she showed a few young ladies to elder brother, please go and have a look together when you have time."

"Okay, but Heng'er, you—"

"I don't want to get married, so I'll leave first."

"..."

The door of the study room slammed shut, Wen Jiulou watched the back of his second son leaving quickly, the expression on his face changed a few times, and finally he cursed to himself, "I don't know who is following this bastard?"

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