Zhu Nao

Suburbs.

Lu Qiuyu and Wang Fengshou came to a village not far outside the city and looked around.

"Is it here?" Lu Qiuyu took out a piece of paper from his pocket and compared the words written on the archway at the entrance of the village. The words on both sides were the same.

"It should be right here." Wang Fengshou confirmed.

The two looked at each other, Lu Qiuyu put away the paper and walked into the village.

"Passing the archway and crossing the small bridge, the third family in the north..." Lu Qiuyu whispered as he walked, stopped, pointed to a yard in front, "That's the one."

Wang Fengshou took a closer look and found that the Spring Festival couplets pasted on both sides of the door matched what Zhu Nao had told them.In this way, it should be this family, there is nothing wrong with it.

"go!"

Wang Fengshou pulled Lu Qiuyu up and walked towards the family.

The two walked into the courtyard and were about to knock on the door, but they saw that the door was ajar.Seeing this, Wang Fengshou pushed open the wooden door and walked in swaggeringly.

Lu Qiuyu followed behind him.

There was a young woman and an old woman in the room. The young woman was still holding a child in her arms, and they were playing with the child at the moment.They were startled by the sudden intrusion of two strange men, and immediately hugged the child warily.

"Who are you?" The young woman asked warily.

The two petty officials didn't answer, they walked to the table and sat down, looking at the furnishings in the house and the three generations of people, young and old.

The room was a bit dim, and the two of them saw the golden locks hanging around the child's neck at a glance, as well as the gold bracelets worn by the young woman and the old woman.Looks like a lot of money.

The young woman became more and more nervous when they watched her, and she raised her voice, "Who are you? Why did you trespass? I'm going to call someone!"

Lu Qiuyu was a little guilty, but Wang Fengshou naturally raised his legs and said, "Sister-in-law Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, don't be nervous. Our brother came out of the mountain to do errands, passed by here, and happened to be tired from walking, so we came here to ask for a bowl of hot tea."

Lu Qiuyu was not as good at talking as Wang Fengshou, so he just nodded beside him.

Sister-in-law Zhou and Aunt Zhou were taken aback when they heard the words, they looked at each other in blank dismay, and looked suspiciously at the two officials.

Wang Fengshou and Lu Qiuyu were also a little nervous, one was shaking his legs, the other was staring at the corner of the wall, and just kept silent.

The atmosphere in the room fell into a stalemate for a moment.

The head of this household is Zhou Tianxun, an official on duty in the state capital.After investigation, Dou Ziyi found that Zhou Tianxun and Liu Heishan, the owner of the Heishan village, were from the same village, and the two had some contacts when they were young.Moreover, just two months ago, Zhou Tianxun suddenly bought several pieces of land, and it was unusual for him to suddenly come up with such a sum of money with his salary.Therefore, Dou Ziyi suspects that Zhou Tianxun and Heishanzhai secretly colluded to accept the bandit's benefits.

Wang Fengshou and Lu Qiuyu came here today, following Zhu Nao's order, to test things out.

The child in the young woman's arms suddenly burst into tears, breaking the awkward atmosphere in the room.

Wang Fengshou switched legs and asked loudly again: "Sister-in-law, is there any hot tea?"

The young woman hurriedly handed over the crying child to the old man, and then winked at the old man. The old woman immediately got up and hid the child in the back hall.

The young woman then turned to look at Lu Qiuyu and Wang Fengshou, looked at them cautiously, lowered her voice, and asked cautiously, "Are the two little brothers from Montenegro?"

Wang Fengshou and Lu Qiuyu were shocked: Zhou's family actually had contacts with Heishanzhai this week!

However, Wang Fengshou remained calm and asked, "Otherwise?"

Sister-in-law Zhou smiled flatteringly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, the two little brothers came suddenly, and I wasn't prepared for it, so I neglected you. You sit down first, and I'll go get some tea and snacks right away."

Wang Fengshou said: "Please hurry up, sister-in-law, we are still in a hurry."

Sister-in-law Zhou said yes again and again, and went to the back kitchen to get busy.

As soon as Mrs. Zhou left, Lu Qiuyu and Wang Fengshou put away their rickety shelves and sat up straight.

Lu Qiuyu patted his chest in shock, and asked, "Fengshou, did I pretend to look like that just now? It won't be exposed, right?"

Wang Fengshou said: "It's okay, it's okay, you are still sitting too straight, and you will raise your feet higher later."

Lu Qiuyu blushed for a while: "I've been a bandit for so many years, even bandits can't do well..."

Wang Fengshou also broke into a cold sweat: "Quickly think about what Boss Zhang was like back then, and you must learn from him."

The two of them stayed in Changming Village for a long time, standing and sitting with Yu Changming, and almost forgot what an orthodox bandit should be like.

Lu Qiuyu put his legs on the chair. Wang Fengshou thought his airs were not unreasonable enough, so he grabbed his feet and put them on the table; He picked up his arm and put it on the back of the chair.

The two played with each other's arms and legs like this, trying to put on the rudest and most unreasonable appearance.

……

As soon as Mrs. Zhou entered the back kitchen, her face collapsed.

The old woman came forward with the child in her arms: "A bandit?"

Sister-in-law Zhou nodded angrily: "The bandits have been brought home again! When he comes back, I really want to talk to him! Now the bandits come here to beg for tea when they are tired from passing by. Is this place our home or Teahouse? We are the only women and children at home, how does he ask us to deal with it!"

The old woman hurriedly gestured for her to speak softly, so as not to be heard by the bandits in the living room, and so as not to scare the child who had just been coaxed into silence.

The old woman persuaded: "Forget it, just bear it, and don't complain to him later. Isn't it because of you two that he dealt with bandits? If you still don't understand him, what do you ask him to do?" ?”

Sister-in-law Zhou frowned and muttered a few words, but finally swallowed a sigh of relief, and went to fiddle with the refreshments helplessly.

Not long after, she was going to come to the hall with tea and snacks.

The two little thieves—now they are the little officials—sit up and down, their feet almost up to the sky, and that look is not to mention very comfortable.

——Actually, it just looked comfortable. They persisted in this posture for too long, and the two of them were already so tired that their backs ached.

Wang Fengshou complained sincerely: "Sister-in-law Zhou, why are you so slow?"

Sister-in-law Zhou thought that a bandit is a bandit, so I'd be ashamed to be picky if I make you tea and snacks.However, she still had a gracious smile on her face, and brought tea and snacks in front of them: "I'm sorry, my little brothers. I don't have time to prepare. I only have some rough tea and bad food. You can just use it."

Now that Lu Qiuyu and Wang Fengshou have found out that the Zhou family has close contacts with Heishan Village, the task has been completed.The rest is just a full set of acting.

Wang Fengshou grabbed a piece of dim sum, acted rudely, and ate the dim sum everywhere.Sister-in-law Zhou resisted the urge to frown, and just sat aside docilely.

After eating and drinking enough, Wang Fengshou clapped his hands, rubbed his stomach, sighed in satisfaction, and then said very unconscionably disgusted: "This cake is too hard after steaming."

"Yes." Lu Qiuyu sipped his teeth and agreed, "The tea is also a little weak."

Sister-in-law Zhou's eyes almost turned to the sky, and she kept apologizing: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Time is tight, and I will treat you well when you two come back next time."

After drinking tea and eating snacks, it was time for the two of them to go back.

"Okay," Wang Fengshou said casually, "Sister-in-law is worrying. Remember to tell Brother Zhou when you turn around, and keep an eye on the movement in the state capital. If there is any change, let us know in time. Let's leave first if we have nothing else to do. "

"Should be, should be. My Tian Xun will definitely take care of the brother's matter." Sister-in-law Zhou hurriedly got up to send the two of them out.

With her words of assurance, Wang and Lu became more and more sure of the relationship between Zhou Tianxun and Heishanzhai.

The two walked out the door swaggeringly, and Mrs. Zhou followed behind, shaking her head repeatedly as she watched the two of them walk.Look at the people walking this way, for fear that others will not know that they are bandits!

In the yard is a simple tripod made of bamboo, which was originally used to dry things.Lu Qiuyu passed by the shelf, his hand moved a little too much, and accidentally touched the leg of the shelf, and the bamboo pole suddenly scattered on the ground.

Everyone was taken aback by the crackling sound, and Mrs. Zhou rushed forward to help the bamboo pole up. Lu Qiuyu moved faster and bent over to pick it up. He subconsciously apologized as he picked it up: "I'm sorry, sorry, I didn't do it on purpose. !"

Mrs. Zhou was taken aback.

Lu Qiuyu's apology was sincere and natural, completely different from his arrogant and rude appearance just now.

A woman's sixth sense is extremely strong, and Zhou's sister-in-law instantly smelled an unusual aura, and suspicion welled up in her heart.

Something is wrong, something is wrong with these two!Their gestures just now, when you think about it carefully, are a bit exaggerated and artificial, as if they were done on purpose.them……

Before Mrs. Zhou could figure it out, Lu Qiuyu let out a scream and fell to the ground.

Wang Fengshou retracted his kick, and said viciously: "You bastard with no eyes! He will do bad things all day long!"

Lu Qiuyu didn't get up after falling to the ground, but hugged his head and curled up into a ball, wailing, "Brother, I didn't hit you on purpose, don't hit me, please forgive me!"

Sister-in-law Zhou: "..." So I wasn't apologizing to her just now...

Wang Fengshou didn't spare Lu Qiuyu so easily, so he picked up a bamboo pole and whipped him.Lu begged Yulang to beg for mercy.

"Forgive me, stop hitting!"

Sister-in-law Zhou was terrified when she heard that, she didn't dare to look carefully, turned her face away and persuaded: "Little brother, forget it, forget it, there are old people and children at home..."

Only then did Wang Fengshou throw away the bamboo pole, and picked up the poor Lu Qiuyu: "For my sister-in-law's sake, I will spare your life today."

Lu Qiuyu hurriedly howled: "Thank you brother, thank you sister-in-law!"

Mrs. Zhou smiled awkwardly.No wonder this little bandit has been timid, it turned out to be because of his low status.Speaking of bandits, it's really scary. People in a cottage bully each other so badly...

Wang Fengshou said: "Let's go!" Carrying Lu Qiuyu out, Lu Qiuyu stumbled to keep up.

Sister-in-law Zhou watched the two of them out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief.She recalled her thoughts just now, showing a puzzled look.

Who is free to pretend to be a bandit to scare people?If he took some things away, he might be a liar. Just cheating with two cups of tea and a pot of snacks is too shabby.Maybe she thinks too much...

She shook her head, quickly closed the door and entered the house.

……

Lu Qiuyu and Wang Feng broke out in a cold sweat when they left the village.

Lu Qiuyu patted his chest and said, "I was scared to death..."

Wang Fengshou said: "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Lu Qiuyu shook his head again and again: "No, no, you were pumped on the floor, it sounded loud, and it didn't hurt at all."

Wang Fengshou smiled.When they were still under Zhang Boss, Boss Zhang treated people fiercely and often made the young men under him punish each other.The two of them may not be good at acting in other ways, but they are very good at acting in this scene of being beaten and crying.

Lu Qiuyu said: "Let's go quickly, let's go back to the state capital and tell the village master and Zhuzhuang master to go."

Wang Fengshou nodded, and the two petty officials quickened their pace and rushed towards the state capital.

=====

Two days later.

Yu Changming came out of the State Shepherd's official office, with a serious expression on his face, and strode out along the avenue of the state capital, walking in a hurry.

As he was walking, he met a young civil official with a mustache.

The civil servant took the initiative to meet him, and greeted him with a smile: "Commander Yu."

Yu Changming stopped in his tracks: "Brother Zhou."

The literary official was Zhou Tianxun.Zhou Tianxun was very warm and hospitable. After Yu Changming was recruited, Zhou Tianxun would take the initiative to strike up a chat with him every time he saw him. The more times, the two became a little familiar.

Zhou Tian patrolled: "Brother Yu is going to take someone to repair the city gate again today? It's hard work."

Yu Changming shook his head: "Not going!"

"Ah?" Zhou Tianxun was taken aback, "Didn't you say two days ago that you were going to build the city gate after you finished building the road? Why didn't you go?"

Yu Changming was very impatient today, and said in a bad tone: "What gates are you building? I have to hurry up and train."

"Training?" Zhou Tianxun was taken aback, "Why do you want to train?"

Before Yu Changming could answer, he had already reacted, his expression was both surprised and happy, and he said in a low voice: "Brother Yu, is Zhou Mu planning to let you suppress the bandits?"

Yu Changming opened his mouth. He was about to say something, but suddenly he frowned, and asked suspiciously, "What are you so concerned about?"

Zhou Tianxun immediately said: "Of course I care! People in the whole prefecture and Langzhou are concerned! My village has also been robbed by bandits several times. I have been looking forward to when Zhuzhou Mu will be able to suppress the bandits."

Yu Changming sneered hesitantly: "Looking forward to suppressing the bandits? Hehe, it's not you civil servants who dare to suppress the bandits!"

Zhou Tianxun was slightly taken aback.He immediately sensed Yu Changming's dissatisfaction.It's easy to understand, everyone is looking forward to solving the bandit disaster, because once the bandit disaster is put down, everyone can live a peaceful life.But only the Xiang soldiers didn't think so, because the suppression of the bandits required the Xiang soldiers to risk their lives to suppress the bandits.No matter how deeply Yu Changming understands righteousness, the Xiang soldiers are all under his command. Of course, he is not happy to use his own men to work for his life.

Yu Changming had already thrown off Zhou Tianxun and strode out.

Zhou Tianxun opened his pupils.No wonder Yu Changming is in such a bad mood today, it seems that Zhou Mu has really decided to suppress the bandits!

He turned his mind quickly and quickly chased after him.

"Brother Yu, Brother Yu, Commander Yu!"

Yu Changming ignored him at first and continued to go his own way.He was tall and long-legged, so Zhou Tianxun could only trot after him.After shouting several times, Yu Changming finally slowed down angrily.

"What else?"

Panting, Zhou Tianxun caught up with Yu Changming, with a concerned look on his face, and lowered his voice, "Brother Yu, don't tell anyone else what you just said to me. You were a bandit after all... Of course I know what you are like, but others may not. If people misunderstand that you have two hearts for Zhou Mu, I'm afraid it will be bad for you!"

Yu Changming stared, as if he wanted to express his dissatisfaction.Zhou Tianxun hurriedly said: "I know, I know, you must be wronged in your heart. Brother Yu, I will invite you to drink tonight. If you have something on your mind, just let go and tell your brother! But you should be careful with others. That's good, after all, there are a lot of people with ulterior motives in this world."

Yu Changming was still full of displeasure, but it seemed that he had listened to Zhou Tianxun's words.

Zhou Tianxun smiled, and patted him on the shoulder: "Go and do your work, I'll come to see you again at night. Let's get drunk and get drunk!"