(4)
The carriage moved slowly along the uneven gravel ground. Along the way, we passed several residential shops, all of which were no more than two stories high. They were dwarfed by the majestic mountains in front of us. Trying to compete with it under the natural danger of thousands of feet high, everything should become extremely small.
Most of the buildings in Qunma Town are simple and plain, mostly made of blue bricks and old tiles. The merchants who come and go usually lead their horses, carrying luggage and carrying goods on horseback, and come and go in a hurry. Those who stopped from time to time were just going in and out of shops and restaurants to buy and sell some necessities needed for the journey.
It seems that for more people, Gunma Town is just a place they are passing through temporarily.
Zhao Kuo and the two women beside him sat in front of a carriage pulled by two maroon horses, crossing the market at a speed only slightly faster than ordinary people walking.
As they walked around, they discovered that every corner of Qunma Town was covered with a layer of yellow dust. Most of the pedestrians on the road are men, including Han Chinese and foreigners. The only similarity between them is their rough and dark skin, which is the result of years of exposure to wind and sun. Obviously, none of them have a prominent family background or outstanding skills. Their journey has no end, and they have been running around and wandering for life until they die.
Therefore, the two pretty girls on the carriage attracted special attention. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell from their delicate and fair skin with just one glance - whose young lady or aunt is out to play.
In fact, this is indeed the case, and the two of them have no taboos at all. Just walking to the busiest part of the market, Zhao Xiaomei and Ajuan couldn't help but jump out of the carriage and meet to taste Xiaomei's favorite delicacies.
Although Zhao Kuo couldn't stop shouting, he was careful and didn't let his sister take away a penny. He immediately wanted to sit back and watch Zhao Xiaomei's embarrassment when she couldn't bring out the silver.
I saw Zhao Xiaomei and Ajuan walking blankly to the old Xianbei man who was waiting on the roadside with his horse, and then pointed to a skin bag on the horse and asked for two bowls of cold "sour cheese".
The old Xianbei man licked his half-white beard on his lips, then smiled and stretched out his hand to ask for money. The younger sister searched her body and found that she was penniless. Then she walked up to her brother aggrievedly and asked, "Brother, how much silver do you still have on you?"
"It's barely enough for us to go home. What did you buy again?"
"That's it! I haven't eaten it for two months..." The little girl looked at the bowl of white yogurt in her hand and couldn't help but take another spoonful and put it in her mouth, feeling the familiarity the taste of.
"I can't come up with spare money, so I'd better ask your sister Ajuan to help." After saying that, Zhao Kuo raised his right arm and rested his head on the carriage to take a nap, acting as if it had nothing to do with him and was superior. , I was so angry that my little sister couldn't tell her pain, so she had to give up.
In the end, Ajuan, as if she was angry with Zhao Kuo, bought the whole skin of the old Xianbei man, and even put on a pair of silver earrings for it.
When Zhao Kuo saw the two girls who were complaining about him holding a leather bag several times bigger than his face, he sneered after they got in the car: "You have to finish it quickly, this sour cheese is far away." If it is refrigerated with ice, it will go rancid and smelly in less than two days."
This shrewd young man from a wealthy family would not fail to know that girls from the Miao family like Ajuan never carry broken silver. According to the original law of barter, two small bowls of yogurt were not worth the value of a fine silver jewelry, so in the end she and her younger sister had no choice but to buy back the entire bag of yogurt.
"Don't worry about it, our little sister doesn't have a brother like you!" Ajuan replied and quickly shared what he had in his bag with others.
Even though Bai Feng and Murong Yan, who had tasted sour cheese for the first time, were full of praise, they did not eat as much as Ajuan and Xiaomei.
As a result, the two girls, who had been angry all the time, were eating the bag of yogurt while walking to Lou's house. Soon, their bodies began to feel unwell.
Just after the little sister and Ajuan both clutched their stomachs and moaned in agony for a while, the carriage suddenly stopped. It turned out that they had arrived in front of the Lou Mansion.
Just looking at this door, one can feel that the Lou family's family property is huge, and they must have many servants. Unexpectedly, after Zhao Kuo knocked on the door curtain, the only person who answered the door was an old woman over fifty years old with blurred hearing and vision.
"I have met this old man, could you recommend him to me? My father, Zhao Kuo, is an old acquaintance of Uncle Lou."
"Ah? What are you talking about... I can't hear you." The old woman's clothes were quite neat. Although she couldn't say they were very luxurious, she still couldn't lose her dignity. It's just that her hearing loss has caused her to completely lose her appearance advantage when communicating with others.
"My name is Zhao Kuo. My father, Zhao Wei, is an old acquaintance of Uncle Lou. I need to see you in an urgent matter!" Zhao Kuo yelled out deliberately, for fear that the other party still wouldn't hear.
"Yes...it's the Zhao family! The Zhao family is here. I'll go ask Miss Lou to come out..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man staggeredly closed the door and walked away with eager steps.
However, after a while, the old woman closed the door and walked out with a young woman.
I saw this woman with waist-length hair, which was jet black and beautiful; the light blue valerian skirt was set on her flawless white skin like the blue sky against the white clouds, making her look charming. She gently held a yellow gauze fan in her hand, which was embroidered with colorful flowers and birds. She seemed to like it very much.
At first, when she saw Zhao Kuo, there was a moment of surprise in her eyes, but this slight emotion quickly disappeared and turned into an extremely serious attitude towards guests.
"Mr. Zhao, I haven't seen you for many years. How are you doing lately..."
"Jinghua, I didn't expect you to recognize me! In total, it's been almost three years since I last saw you."
"Why are you dressed like this? No wonder my nanny can't recognize you."
"Let's go in first and talk later. Look at the two girls behind me. They ate the wrong thing on the way and now they need to take a rest for a while."
After hearing this, Lou Jinghua quietly poked her head out with a smile, and saw that in addition to the Zhao Xiaomei she knew, there was also a woman from the Miao family, and two mysterious figures wearing hats, and asked curiously: "They are all your people?"
"Yes, will you let them follow?"
After Zhao Kuo spoke for a long time, he suddenly asked someone to grab the corner of his clothes from behind. He only heard the visitor crying: "Sister Jinghua, please let me in, sister, it hurts me to death..."
After a while, several people followed Lou Jinghua into the gate of Lou Mansion.
Before this, no one would have thought that this huge mansion would be silent and deserted. Lou Jinghua arranged for the wet nurse to take Ajuan and Zhao Xiaomei to calm down and recuperate. Then she took the rest of the people to sit in the main hall and asked, "Mr. Zhao, did you bring some silver?"
"Ah?" Zhao Kuo thought at first that he was as deaf as the old woman. After he realized what he was doing, he replied doubtfully: "I don't have much silver on me, but why is this Lou Mansion so deserted? Where is Uncle Lou?" "
"What did you say?" The lady opened her weak eyes, stared at Zhao Kuo fiercely, and scolded: "You don't have any silver? Then what are you doing here?"
"Jinghua, if you have something to say, please talk to me. We haven't seen each other for a few years. Shouldn't we catch up on old times first?"
"Reminiscing about the past? Who is in the mood to reminisce about the past with you?" Lou Jinghua grabbed the yellow gauze fan with both hands, and was so angry that she almost scratched the fan, and said: "Both you father and son are not good people! It's a waste of money for our Lou family. Before your Zhao family got rich, you sacrificed your life to help us. Now it is our Lou family's turn to be in trouble, but your Zhao family has turned a blind eye and made us wait for a month! Now the building is empty, and only my father and nanny are left to suffer. Stay in this mansion and sit back and eat nothing..."
After Zhao Kuo listened, he felt that the story was not simple, so he changed the topic and said: "Jinghua, you must have misunderstood. I did not come from Yuyi on this trip, but just came out of Cangzhou, and I planned to come here to borrow some money." We need some troops to reach Yuyi safely."
"So, you don't know anything about our Lou family's affairs?"
"Yes, I wonder where your father is now?"
"Dad, he is now depressed and ill. Because he listened to Uncle Zhao, he lent half of his troops to him to go on business trips. As a result, you encountered bandits on the way and we lost everything. Just the funeral expenses for the deceased were lost. A lot of our property has been mortgaged. Now, even the racecourse has been mortgaged.”
As Lou Jinghua spoke, she walked tremblingly to the threshold, looked up at the sky above her head, and sighed: "Now there is nothing left in this huge house except the facade."
"My father knows about this, so he will definitely not stand idly by. There must be something fishy in this matter!" Zhao Kuo argued so, and then said: "Why don't you let me see Uncle Lou first, and I, Zhao Kuo, can come forward? Please beg for mercy, and your Lou family’s matter will be resolved!”
As soon as the words fell, Lou Jinghua took Zhao Kuo out of the main hall, completely forgetting to do his best to serve the two mysterious figures wearing hats and veils.
