Love of Friends in the Red Chamber

The girl who was coldly kicked out by Xue Yan was named Tao Ye.Taoye is a native of Wuzhi, and there is an inn in her family, but the girl also has to be busy inside and out, so she is a good hand at serving people, and she looks smart, and she is from far and near. The folks say that she is handsome, and Taoye also thinks that she is very beautiful. She has seen some young grandmas and girls from official families, and feels that they are not as good as her, so she feels unwilling to be born out of thin air. As pampered as a lady from a wealthy family.

She always felt that she was worthy of a better future, so she looked down on the son-in-law her parents found for her. However, her parents only had such a daughter, so they were spoiled, so they let her want to climb up to the son-in-law in the city. Wealthy people.However, the smaller the place, the stricter the family status, and the high-ranking families in the city couldn't care less about her family, so in a short while, girls of the same age all had husband's families, and some even embraced her family. After getting on the doll, she was still in her boudoir, so she was a little anxious.

Just at this time, Jia Cong came to Wuzhi.The Hedao Governor's Mansion in Wuzhi is a rare big yamen, and the title of the governor is eighteen ranks higher than that of the county magistrate in Wuzhi County. Therefore, in the eyes of the local people, the governor is a great official.The previous governors, including Lin Jiarui, lived in eight seats and had a strict ceremonial guard. However, Jia Congjing had no airs when he was an official. He came to the place for a short time and was young. Pan You'an and his two young servants, the original governor's mansion and the master each had their own residences, so they naturally didn't live with him in the governor's mansion. There were only two cooks left by Lin Jiarui in the mansion. He was not used to the local food, so the government servants hired local people, the wages were low, and the country people were honest, and they didn't know how to steal, rape or play tricks. When they had no errands, they would go back to their homes.Therefore, on the day of rest and bathing, there are only five masters and servants living in the huge governor's mansion, not even a person who cleans the court and serves tea and water. Cai An and Pan Youan do everything by themselves.

After getting into trouble last time, Cai An was warned by Jia Cong, and became much more honest, so he dared to push Pan You'an behind his back and find a few maids for the mansion to serve him.Pan worked with peace of mind and wanted to flatter, so he really took the time to mention it to Jia Cong. Jia Cong thought about it, and said that someone would do the cooking, and the rest was just washing clothes and cleaning. There were three people in total, so many Whatever the maid came to do, it was enough to find one.When Pan Youan heard this, he searched everywhere, either because he thought her hands and feet were clumsy, or because she thought she was ugly, so she finally found Taoye, and thought that this girl was quite smart and pretty, of course she couldn't be compared with the maids in Jia's Mansion in Beijing, but here The small place was not satisfactory, so he hired him into the mansion with a monthly fee of a penny.

As soon as Tao Ye saw Jia Cong, her thoughts changed. She had never seen such a young, handsome and unassuming high-ranking official. Seeing that Jia Cong doesn't beat or scold, which is very different from those officials and grandpas, he will make a mistake and secretly have something on his mind.

Now that she saw Daiyu and others, she felt that she was lowly in the dirt, and she was inevitably ashamed of herself, and she was ridiculed by Xueyan, so she had to withdraw from the second door embarrassingly, found Pan Youan, and asked him who it was.Pan You'an said: "That's our grandma." Tao Ye asked again: "Then can I still go in and serve?" Pan You'an shook his head: "From now on, even I can only wait outside the second gate, you can go home Lord, I will reward you with two months' money. From now on, the Governor's Mansion will be strictly guarded, and there will be differences between the inside and the outside. No longer can any old man from the country use his legs to go in. Let's chat with the Governor-General about river governance." Taoye cried. , Said: "Brother Pan, my mother just brought me a letter yesterday, saying that my father is sick, and the family is waiting for me to pay a dime a month to buy medicine and rice. Please keep me, I will not Enter the second door and be a rough envoy girl, I can do everything."

Pan Youan thought for a while, and felt that Taoye was pitiful, not to mention that she was the one who found her, and now that there is no shortage of people, she would be driven away, and she was a little heartless, so she said: "Okay, then I will ask for you tomorrow. But no If you dare to ask Grandpa, Grandpa will definitely send you away." Taoye said: "Yes, you can ask grandma." Pan You'an said: "I have a few heads to talk to grandma. When I see grandma, I dare not show my air , My family has the most rules, if you dare to raise your eyes to see, you have to peel the skin and gouge out the eyes, I will ask sister Zijuan who is serving by my grandma, she is the best to talk, just wait." Taoye went down nervously room live.

But Dai Yu didn't even look at Tao Ye, and went in with Jia Cong, and then Jia Cong and Lin Jiaquan greeted each other, the hall suddenly laughed and laughed, and a banquet was set up in the hall that night to welcome Lin Jiaquan.Lin Jiaquan said with a smile: "I have heard for a long time that the governor of the river is as clear as water and as bright as a mirror. Now I see him. He is a dignified second-rank official, but his ostentation in the yamen is not as good as that of a county magistrate." Jia Cong smiled: "I have neither Master, please, put on a show for those country folks in this place where rabbits don’t shit? It’s better to save yourself trouble and be at ease.”

Lin Jiaquan looked at Daiyu and said, "Although so, now that my sister is here, my brother-in-law has to stand up." Jia Cong smiled and said, "Of course, this time, that time." With a smile, he couldn't help but feel elated.After the banquet, Lin Jiaquan and Jia Cong went to the study to talk. Daiyu knew that they had some confidential matters to discuss, so she went back to the room to freshen up.When Xueyan saw that no one else was around, she said to Daiyu: "Grandma, don't bother with that village girl today. I have already inquired about it. It was that Pan You'an who brought her here to do odd jobs. I don't talk to her at all." Son." Daiyu asked curiously, "Which village girl?" It turned out that Daiyu didn't notice Taoye at all, maybe she didn't care if she did, maybe this is called "seeing without dust".

It just happened that Zijuan came in with a washbasin, Xueyan stuck out her tongue and went out. When she returned to the servant's room at night, Xueyan told Zijuan about it, and Zijuan said with a smile: "No wonder Pan took me to Zuoqiu again today." Please, I want to leave some girl Taoye doing odd jobs outside. I said there are so many people here, how can outsiders be needed? He then said how her family relied on her to earn money for life... "Qingzhi had the most idea, listened to it, and said: "I saw that Taoye today, but she is just a silly girl with a higher heart than the sky, even if she has any foolish thoughts, she will take that peach leaf when she sees grandma. I want to throw my head to Java. That being said, if she is kicked out, she will seek death and life, and it will not ruin our family's reputation-just stay and see if she dares to do it!"

Lin Jiaquan only stayed in Wuzhi for a few days, and then continued to go west. Before leaving, he was worried that there were too few strong men in the government office, so he sent six strong men from his guards, and Jia Cong did not refuse. I also informed the county magistrate of Wuzhi County, and called a few well-informed villagers from the township regiment to be guards. Daiyu naturally didn't care about these mundane things. Interesting.

It was the busy summer harvest time, and Jia Cong’s river workers had nothing to do. All the river workers went home to harvest wheat, and Jia Cong was able to accompany Daiyu all day long, traveling around.Although Wuzhi is a small county, it has a long history. It was set up in the Spring and Autumn Period. Jia Cong showed Daiyu the county annals, which read: "Wuzhi County, the teacher of Zhou Wuwang Muye, Xingzi Tu, hence the name."

On this day, it was raining and the weather was relatively cool. Jia Cong invited Daiyu to visit the Jiaying Temple outside the city. Daiyu was afraid of the heat and refused, so she asked, "What kind of temple is built by stupid people? It's just ignorant villagers." Which gods are you enshrining? I'm afraid they are blaspheming the gods, so they may not be willing to accept the incense." Jia Cong laughed and said, "It's the Dragon King Temple, don't even mention it, I even went to worship." No, Isn't the Dragon King Temple dedicated to the river god?Daiyu laughed and said, "Could it be that you are going to pray for rain?" Jia Cong didn't deny it, and said, "Anyway, if it is going to rain sooner or later in the next few days, I will kneel down for three or five days, write a sacrificial oration, and coax those The villagers, but they really believed it, and when it really rained, more people came to work on the river.”

However, Jia Cong naturally knew that Daiyu was impatient to see the Dragon King Temple, so he told her that the nearby Xiaohong Village was the hometown of one of the seven sages of the bamboo forest in the Western Jin Dynasty, and Daiyu was really moved.

They brought only two servant girls, Zijuan and Biye, who changed into men's clothes and dressed up as scholars. When they arrived at the river, Jia Cong pointed out to Daiyu that the diversion dike he presided over in the past year had begun to bear fruit. .Daiyu saw a crescent-shaped stone beach piled up in the river amidst the turbulent waves, she couldn't help but wondered: "How did such a rapid current put so many stones into the center of the river? Didn't they just wash away?" Jia Cong became proud and said, "This is my original creation. I asked the villagers to weave a cage out of bamboo strips, put large and small stones in it, and carry it to the middle of the river in a boat, push it into the water, and then sink to the bottom of the water." , the water can’t go away. Pile up too much, and it becomes a dam, which is naturally strong. Over time, the bamboo strips rot with the water, forming a dike. If you go up the river, you can see that every turn, Wherever the water flow is fast, there are dikes like this, which reduce the erosion of the river bank and deposit sediment, and the cost is not much, and it can be achieved in one fell swoop." Daiyu laughed and said: "Such a simple and effective method can be found in the book. But there is no record, how could you figure it out?”

Jia Cong was happy, so he talked more and more excitedly, and danced and danced. It can be seen that he has a lot of experience in water control. He talked and laughed, and he didn't realize that the road was far away, and he arrived in Xiaohong Village soon.When the villagers saw Jia Cong, they were all respectful, and some elders in the village invited them to drink tea. Jia Cong worried that Daiyu would not be used to the smell of the countryside, so he only brought a bowl of local oil tea for Daiyu to taste, and Daiyu tasted it a little. It was sweet, and after drinking half a bowl, Jia Cong drank the rest in one gulp, gave the villagers a reward, and left.

They called a little shepherd boy and ordered him to lead the way to Jiaying Temple. The little shepherd boy was about ten years old, innocent and cute, and sang folk songs in dialect all the way, which was also clear and audible.Biye then teased him and asked him to sing one after another.Soon after arriving at Jiaying Temple, the incense was very strong. Jia Cong had been here several times, so he led Daiyu to a building called "Wuchen Hall".It is said that the hall is different from other places, the ceiling is covered with painted murals, there are no cobwebs, no sticky dust, no birds and insects.Daiyu asked why, and the Taoist priest in the temple said that it is said that there are dust-proof beads hidden in the temple.Daiyu didn't believe it, so Jia Cong told him quietly that it was actually because the ceiling was made of sandalwood.

Behind Jiaying Temple is Xiangxiu's former residence. Now the house is gone, but the stone tablet is still there, engraved with "Reminiscence of the Old Fu" on it, with iron hooks and silver strokes. After studying this way for a long time, it is still very interesting.However, at this time, the little shepherd boy who had been singing folk songs was getting impatient and wanted to go home, so Biye gave him a few copper coins and sent him to go back first.The little boy thanked him happily, and when he was about to leave, Jia Cong stopped him and asked, "Why haven't I seen that abode over there before?" The little boy looked at it and said, "Yes, then It was built by a wandering nun. It is said that she is the nephew of the host of Jiaying Temple. She came to put up the order, but she didn't want to live in the temple with Taoist priests, so she built a few houses by herself and brought two old nuns to live in it. There." He said and walked away.

It just so happened that Daiyu's legs were sore, and she wanted to take a break, so she smiled and said, "The Taoist priests in the temple are so talkative, and I don't want to listen to those bull-nosed bragging. Since there are nuns living there, I can take a break if I want to." Jia Cong then Help her to go, there is a clump of tall bamboos in this bamboo fence, covering the green tiles and white walls, Zijuan was about to knock on the door, but heard a creak, the door opened, and a nun with a bamboo basket came out from inside , with a handsome face, Daiyu saw that it was an old friend.