Guo Chuzi's body was temporarily placed in the house, covered with white curtains. Once the coffin was built, it was ready for burial. Wenzhong and Guo Xiangren were in another room. Xiangren straightened his filial piety clothes and turned back to talk to Wenzhong.
"Brother Wen, the obituary has been published in many places. Who else do you think we need to invite?" asked the Hunanese.
"Of course Chen Tongzhi is coming," Wen Zhong knocked on the table with his hand, "Also, all the big and small stewards in the dyeing shop have to be invited."
The Xiang people twitched their fingers: "There are... about ten or twenty people, I'm afraid we won't be able to send them."
Wen Zhong said: "Why are you so honest? In the name of your brother, I temporarily stopped the dyeing shop for one day and ordered them all to attend the funeral. Then..." At this point, he deliberately lowered his voice and said a few words, The Xiang people nodded.
During these days of mourning, the Hunan people showed great brotherhood. They ate porridge and vegetables every day, and despite their haggard appearance, they also found time to help with household affairs. They treated their family members with courtesy and treated their servants in a stern manner. All major matters are dealt with, and the dignity of the house is established.
Wen Zhongshang wanted to take charge of the operation of the gambling house, so he sent Master Guan Qi to help him. The Xiang people asked their servants to pick him up from outside the door, made him a cup of good tea, and said, "When my brother is gone, why bother to make you all uneasy? Master Qi is Brother Wen's brother, and I should call him brother as well." , if there is anything wrong with you, just mention it.”
Guan Qi gave in several times, but could not resist the kindness of the Hunan people, so he had to hold the tea in his hand and said: "You are so polite. I am a wise businessman from Jiangdu. We feel extremely sorry for him and feel deeply sad, so we came here voluntarily. I should share your worries for you."
The people from Hunan talked with him for a while before going out for business. Master Guan Qi looked at his back, sighed a few times, and said to the slave beside him: "Your master is very honest, kind and humble in his treatment of others, and so capable in his work. He is really a young gentleman. But... I would like to advise you. Your master, don’t be too weak outside.”
The Xiang people walked into the study and summoned the steward. His expression immediately changed and he asked sternly: "Why haven't the coffins been delivered yet?"
"This morning, the store said it was ready. When I was about to go, I asked some questions and needed to be delayed for a while. Then a little servant came over and said that my wife had fainted and had to go to the store to get medicine. I I approved a few taels of silver and went out. After a lot of fussing, my mind was so busy that I accidentally forgot about it. I suddenly remembered it and was about to go. "
Xiangren lowered his eyebrows: "I'll spare you this time, but don't neglect me in the future."
"The villain understands."
"That Guan Qi," Xiangren took out a pen from the side, "I heard that he went to Yizheng and participated in the Lu Jishou case at that time. He can spy on the inside story in Yizheng, so he will naturally take a few glances at us. Don't be careful. You can just take him to the outer courtyard to rest, and he will be served by some low-level servants who don't know the inside story. We have placed all the family members in the inner courtyard. If you have anything to discuss, please don't wander around."
"Young man, go make arrangements immediately." The steward stood up and said.
The Xiang man said again: "Wait a minute. Guan Qi, you have to persuade him with kind words and send him out of the inner courtyard. Don't be vindictive because of your haste. These people in the gambling house are doing favoritism and bending the law. They are all like sitting in a government office." I can’t mess with my master.”
After hearing this, the steward muttered a few times: "Shopkeeper Wen is actually pretty good to us..."
"What?"
The Xiangren rolled his eyes, and suddenly felt an unprecedented rage in his heart. His veins popped out. He broke the pen holder in his hand and shouted: "What? This dyeing shop belongs to Wenzhong, and the palace is also his territory? My brother said that , Jiangdu’s property must belong to the family and cannot fall into the hands of outsiders! Don’t you even want to listen to his words?!”
The steward kowtowed in fear: "That's not what I meant, that's not what I meant..."
The Xiang man threw down his broken pen and gritted his teeth and said, "Brother, before he dies, he always looks up to other people's faces. I can't sit back and wait for death again." After that, he strode out from the steward's side.
When Chen Tongpao heard that the coffin had been delivered to the palace, he changed his clothes and went from the official office to the door of the palace. He took the obituary notice and said that he was his colleague Chen Tongpao. The servants hurriedly invited him into the palace.
There were about a hundred people who came to the funeral, all dressed in plain clothes, walking on the corridor like a white cloud. In their ears, they could only hear the monks chanting sutras, the sound of wooden fish kept ringing, and sometimes they were mixed with the sobs of the guests. Slowly walked towards the mourning hall.
Chen Tongpao walked lightly into the hall, handed Chu Zi a stick of incense, turned around and left, and sat down in the hall with his head sullenly. The monk didn't know how many times he knocked the wooden fish, but suddenly he put down the mallet and it stopped ringing.
The colleague slowly raised his head. It turned out that Tong Wenzhong, who was from Hunan Province, came out of the inner room. Their faces were expressionless.
"Dear guests," the Xiang people said first, "my dear brother has worked hard for Jiangdu and the dyeing house all his life, which is really respectable. As a younger brother, I am extremely grateful that so many friends can come to express their condolences." In tears, choked with sobs.
Wen Zhong supported him on the chair and comforted him for a long time. The guest also shed tears and felt sad.
"Sixing is too sad and doesn't want to say too much, so I will read Yuan Wai's suicide note..." Wen Zhong took out a piece of white paper from his sleeve and showed it to everyone, "This is what Yuan Wai wrote a few days ago." OK."
"My illness is gradually getting better, so I wrote a letter to tell everyone: I am a citizen of Nanjing, living in Jiangdu, and fortunately I have established a career. Thanks to the help of everyone, I can achieve great things. I have been heroic in life, how can I be sad in death? Gentlemen, please don’t worry about it. If you make others uneasy, how can my crime be taken lightly?”
After reading this, there was a sudden burst of crying in the hall, and the eyes of Xiang people turned red unconsciously. Tongpao Chen also shed a few tears and wiped them away with his sleeves.
"Also..." Wen Zhong continued to look down, "If the business of dyeing is done, it is impossible for others to steal it. I have had a rough life. I have not given birth to a son in my life, and I still feel guilty to my ancestors. In everything, everyone can recommend a good brother. The people of Hunan should take over the dyeing workshop so that they will not have any regrets."
Wen Zhong put down his suicide note and asked, "Are all the shopkeepers from the dye house here?"
More than a dozen shopkeepers looked at each other in disbelief, then knelt down and bowed to them: "I don't know...I wonder what shopkeeper Wen's orders are?"
Wen Zhong turned around, looked at the Xiang people, and then went to hold his hand: "Since Yuan Wai said something before his death, we can't let him hold a grudge. Please also ask the Xiang people to take over your brother's dyeing workshop."
The shopkeepers winked at each other and shouted: "We are willing to follow the orders of this great shopkeeper!"
The Guoxiang man stood up slowly and said in front of everyone: "You all have worked hard. I will do my best to run this dyeing shop."
Once Guo Xiangren learned about this, he took over Guo Chuzi's dyeing workshop smoothly without any hindrance. After Chen Tongpao witnessed this change with his own eyes, he hurriedly prepared his carriage and horses and prepared to go to Nanjing to meet with the Nanjing prefect, Ye Yongjia.
