Ping'an County.
Inside a teahouse.
The storyteller was on the stage giving instructions in a cadence.
There were many young and old men sitting in the audience, many of whom had moved here from the capital.
The reason is very simple. Living in the capital is not easy. You can’t lack everything including firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea.
It's different in Ping'an County near the capital. Here you can enjoy a lot of food, theater and other entertainment in the capital, and the cost of living is also much lower.
Therefore, many poor people who could no longer live in the capital moved to Ping'an County.
Zi Yan was sitting at a table, slowly sipping tea, while a man sitting next to her stared at her fiercely.
"Brother, I don't have flowers on my face, do I?" Zi Yan raised her eyebrows and said.
"Oh no……"
The man responded and suddenly said: "I'm sorry, friend, I saw that my brother looked very similar to a friend of mine, so I took a few more glances. I didn't mean to offend him."
"What kind of friend are you?" Zi Yan said lightly.
The man in front of him was wearing a stained gown. He looked like a scholar at first glance, but his clothes were very shabby, so he looked like he was from a poor family.
"When we were teenagers, we were studying together in a private school, and we met a friend who is really similar to you."
The man smacked his tongue and took out two peanuts from the plate and stuffed them into his mouth.
Looking at him eating peanuts, he always counts them in turn. You can imagine how bad his financial situation is.
"The world is so big and full of wonders. Naturally, there are a lot of people with similar faces."
Zi Yan paused and said: "That's a trivial matter. I think my dear friend has a lot of complaints about the storytellers on stage? But do you have other opinions?"
Zi Yan had just observed that when the storyteller on stage was talking about a play, he had a look of disdain on his face.
The drama the storyteller tells is exactly the story of "The Seventh Rank Sesame Official" compiled by Shen Biyu of Zhuang Yulou in Beijing.
There is a line in it, "If you don't make decisions for the people when you are an official, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes."
And what this person disdains the most is this line of dialogue.
"The play is just a play. Hey, where can such a good official be found?" The man shook his head and sighed, "Being an official for thousands of miles is just for money. Who is an official who would not give up his waist for five buckets of rice?"
"Your Excellency, your surname is high? You seem to be quite knowledgeable." Zi Yan took a sip of tea and said lightly.
"The name is not worth mentioning. I have something else to do, so I'll leave now." There was a look of vigilance in the man's eyes.
He stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, saluted Zi Yan, and then strode away.
Looking at the man's leaving figure, Zi Yan's lips curved into a smile.
interesting!
She casually put down a piece of broken silver on the table, and then stood up.
"Mickey, let's follow up and take a look."
Zi Yan had a hunch that she might be able to find a breakthrough in this unknown scholar.
…
Ge Hongmin quickly left the teahouse with small steps.
The wind outside was still relatively cold, and a gust of wind made him shiver and retract his neck into his collar.
"You are reckless again. If that person is a court eagle dog, you will be in big trouble."
Ge Hongmin was very upset and wanted to slap himself a few times.
Why can't you control this bad mouth?
I have suffered losses more than once before, but I still didn't pay attention and said something I shouldn't have said to a stranger.
Is the government something he can evaluate?
Ge Hongmin wrapped his hands and quickened his pace. He glanced behind him from time to time.
Even though he didn't see anyone following him now, he still felt uneasy and didn't know what would happen next.
After walking in the alley for a while, he subconsciously looked back again, but was shocked by a loud shout in front of him that made his whole body tremble, his legs trembled, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Lao Ge, are you not being authentic?"
The middle-aged man with his arms crossed and two younger brothers stared at Ge Hongmin with vicious eyes, but the words coming out of his mouth were not cruel.
"I'll grant you one day, one day after another. It's already been half a year. Everyone needs to eat, right? We're not running a charity. Our brothers will die if we don't eat."
"Today, if you give us an accurate answer, what should we do with the money? How should we pay it back? We can't drag it on endlessly, right?"
The middle-aged man with a big face stood in front of Ge Hongmin. The two younger brothers behind him were both strong men.
The three of them stood together like a city wall.
"Well, I will definitely repay this money. I will be able to get my wages in a few days. The private school said they will pay it in a few days." Ge Hongmin wiped the sweat from his forehead and secretly complained in his heart.
Who would have thought that I would be stopped by these people today.
"That won't work. Today will come tomorrow. You have to give us an explanation today. You can't just talk in vain. You have to give me some money." The strong man opened his arms and still stood in front of Ge Hongmin. He had already made up his mind. , Ge Hongmin would not let him leave until he gave an explanation.
"It's really not true. Come on, my family is still waiting for me to come back. Brother, please do not embarrass me." Ge Hongmin bowed his hands and was about to kneel on the ground.
The strong man stretched out his big futon-like hands and hurriedly supported Ge Hongmin to prevent him from kneeling.
"We also work for people. It's up to you to do your best and don't embarrass us. The one who owes money now is the uncle..."
"Look at it like this. If you pay back some of it, can we kowtow to you?"
The middle-aged man stared with copper bell-like eyes, but there was a look of helplessness in his eyes.
These days, it’s really hard to collect debt.
It's no longer easy to use force. The laws in Daqi are stricter than before. If someone sues you, it will cause big trouble.
"Don't say you have no money, brother. Yesterday, one of my brothers saw you receiving a writing fee from a large family. The money must be about ten taels of silver. Can't you spend it all?" The middle-aged man said with a smile. .
Ge Hongmin's eyes were blank, and he smiled bitterly: "Brothers, you are really powerful. To tell you the truth, I took the writing fee, but I also spent the money. Zhuo Jing is not in good health, so most of the money was spent. I've left it at the pharmacy, and I have to buy some food for the remaining ones to replenish Chou Jing's health."
"You have your difficulties, and I have mine, but repaying debts is a matter of course. Even if you have reasons, you can't let us leave empty-handed."
The strong man still stopped Ge Hongmin and refused to let him leave.
Every time he collects debts, he will always hear similar excuses. If he believed them, he would never think about doing this job again.
"How much money does he owe you?"
Suddenly, a clear voice came from the side.
A handsome young man in a white robe stepped forward, followed by a little book boy, who also had red lips and white teeth, and looked handsome.
