Zhou Ruhai looked like he was lost. He supported his old family members and walked back to his home with his head lowered. He was exhausted both physically and mentally. He had already lost confidence in finding his son. For a moment, he even thought that his son was no longer there. this world.
Zhou Ruhai, who was immersed in sadness, had blurred vision, and suddenly saw a man kneeling by the roadside, kowtowing to him, and saying something. He was puzzled for a while, thinking that he had met a beggar, but he was also confused about what happened to this beggar. The clothes were quite clean, but a little tattered.
"What does this person want to do when he kneels here?" Zhou Ruhai turned his head and asked his family in a low voice.
The old family member was also in a very bad mood at this time. He had been working as a long-term worker in the Zhou family since he was a teenager. It could be said that he had served the Zhou family for generations. He also watched Yi Ming grow up. Although this child was frail and sick since childhood, But he has always worked hard, has a very good mind, and is a good student in reading.
Moreover, the child Zhou Yiming has changed a lot recently. Since he was injured, he can hardly practice martial arts anymore. However, since he got married, he suddenly showed extremely high martial arts cultivation. This not only shocked the entire Zhou family, but also Even this old family member is sincerely happy for Zhou Ming. After all, if he can bring glory to the Zhou family, even an old servant like him will have a bright face.
But things went against expectations. Zhou Yiming, who was already on the right path, suddenly solved a major case after going to work as a yamen official. He originally had a promising future, but he suddenly disappeared yesterday. He and his master searched all night, but found nothing. .
The old man was older than Zhou Ruhai and had been deaf for a long time. He didn't understand Zhou Ruhai's question at the first time, so he asked: "Master, what did you say?"
Zhou Ruhai was originally in a bad mood because of his son's affairs. Seeing that his old family members were so deaf and did not hear what he said clearly, he felt even more angry. But fortunately, Zhou Ruhai was a scholar and at least had some self-cultivation. Besides, after all, his family members Having been in the Zhou family for decades, it can be said that he is already half of the Zhou family. No matter how angry he was, Zhou Ruhai did not get angry.
"Is that man, kneeling here and kowtowing, asking for money?" Zhou Ruhai raised his voice and said, "If so, give him a few taels of silver and send him away.
And after returning home, you must not mention the young master's affairs in front of your wife. She is a woman, and if she cannot accept this cruel reality, the consequences will be unmanageable. "
The old man nodded, finally understanding what Zhou Ruhai said this time. Although his master did not get angry or show any impatience, the old man knew in his heart that he was doing this because he had stayed in the Zhou family for so many years. Give yourself face.
He let go of Zhou Ruhai's hand and ran to Yi Ming in a hurry. He was very angry, thinking that such a big thing happened in our family. This stinky beggar didn't have any eyesight at all. He actually dared to stop the master and ask for money. What a shame. This means that my husband has a kindhearted heart. Otherwise, if it had been someone else, he would have been beaten for money or money.
The old man took out a few coins from his body and threw them on the ground in front of Yi Ming. Then he said in a cold tone: "Take these coins to have a full meal and leave here quickly. My master is in a bad mood. You must Don't mess with him, or you won't be able to eat and walk around."
After Zhou Yiming kowtowed and admitted his mistake, he never raised his head. He was waiting for his old father to teach him a lesson, but what he didn't expect was that after waiting and waiting, he didn't wait for his old father to speak. Instead, the old family member didn't know what he meant by abandoning him. After a few coins, I wanted to drive myself away.
Zhou Yiming slowly raised his head with a puzzled look on his face, looked at the old family member, and couldn't help but ask: "What do you mean? Because you are my old man, I usually respect you very much, even if you are doing errands There is a mistake. I have never been on the same page as you.
I didn’t expect that our whole family’s respect for you would be exchanged for you not taking the master seriously. You are so bold! "
The old man is very experienced in driving away beggars like Zhou Ming. He knows that even if these people get some silver, they will not leave easily. They will not be satisfied unless you give them some food.
Although the old family members had the intention to do this, at this moment, the Zhou family was still hungry, and there was nowhere for the beggar to eat. So after giving him a few coins, he did not leave immediately. He kept observing Zhou Ming's every move. , if Yi Ming takes the money and refuses to leave, he will use coercive means to drive Yi Ming away.
But what he didn't expect was that instead of leaving, the beggar in front of him raised his head and lectured him menacingly.
This old man was considered a respectable person in the Zhou family. When had he ever been treated like this? He rolled up his arms and sleeves, planning to keep making trouble with Zhou Ming.
As a result, he recognized Zhou Ming's identity before he even spoke.
The old man opened his mouth wide and couldn't say a word for a long time.
Without the support of his family, Zhou Ruhai walked a little shaky. He walked behind his family with difficulty and said impatiently: "You are just a beggar, why haven't you been sent away yet?"
After hearing these words, the old man finally came to his senses. He turned around, hugged Zhou Ruhai, and said loudly and emotionally: "Master, young master... it's the young master! The young master is back!"
Zhou Ruhai was shocked. He quickly pushed his family aside and walked quickly to Yi Ming. He squinted his eyes and looked carefully from top to bottom. After confirming that the person in front of him was really his son, he His emotions broke out completely, and he burst into tears. He hugged Zhou Ming and cried bitterly.
"You unfilial son! Where have you been this night? You have made finding my father so difficult!"
Only then did Yi Ming realize that the old family member just now did not recognize his identity at the first time, and this was the reason for the misunderstanding.
Seeing his old father crying so miserably, Zhou Yiming was infected unknowingly. While he supported his old father and wiped his tears, he couldn't stop crying himself.
The old family members saw the reunion of father and son. While they were happy for the two of them, they couldn't help wiping away their tears. Thinking of the scene where he and the old man were running around looking for the young master last night, they couldn't help but feel sad and sad. angry.
It turned out that last night, Lin Ajiao and Chun Nier were the first people to go out to look for Yi Ming. After the two people left, Zhou Ruhai felt that the two women had very little hope of finding Yi Ming in the middle of the night. So he summoned all the servants at home and asked them to put down their work and go out to look for Zhou Ming. Only Huan'er and this old family member were left with him. Huan'er was responsible for serving Mrs. Zhou, and the old family member was responsible for serving him.
After all the servants from these families were sent out, Zhou Ruhai and Mrs. Zhou waited around, but could not wait for any news. In desperation, Zhou Ruhai ignored his age and insisted on taking his family to find Zhou Ming. Although Mrs. Zhou tried to stop him several times, she was unable to defeat him in the end and had no choice but to send him out, telling him to be careful. At the same time, she warned his family to serve the master carefully.
After Zhou Ruhai went out, he was not like Lin Ajiao and others who were looking aimlessly, because he had been in the officialdom for most of his life, and although he had never made a name for himself, he still had a few friends in the officialdom.
Zhou Ruhai has always considered himself a gentleman, and has always believed that the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, so he does not usually have much contact with these friends. At this time, he is eager to find his son. In order to find his son as soon as possible, he does not care about this old face.
He took his old family members to personally visit several friends who were successful in officialdom, hoping that they would come forward and use their own strength to help him find his son.
As the saying goes, the world is hot and cold, and people are cold and warm. Most of these friends feel that Zhou Ruhai has reached his twilight years and will never be able to regain his glory in the officialdom and make a comeback. They are too lazy to pay attention to such a useless person.
After some prevarication, these people politely invited Zhou Ruhai out of the house. Some of them didn't even go out to see off the guests.
Zhou Ruhai is usually the most honorable person. After being so humiliated, for the sake of his son, he was not discouraged. Instead, he continued to visit his acquaintances one by one, hoping to meet a kind person who could help him find his son. A little force.
His hard work paid off, and he actually found a few warm-hearted people, who happened to be well-informed in their official positions.
However, according to their feedback, there was no disturbance in Huijing City, and the past few days had been peaceful, with no vicious incidents occurring.
Such news finally made Zhou Ruhai feel a little calmer. He shamelessly asked one of his close friends to send someone to help him find his son.
This friend felt pitiful when he saw Zhou Ruhai's appearance, so he took a certain risk and sent someone to notify his subordinates to secretly look for Zhou Ruhai.
Seeing his friend helping him like this, Zhou Ruhai felt happy and at the same time felt that finding his son was just around the corner. After all, it was better for the people in the government to go out to look for someone than to look for him blindly, like his family members.
Zhou Ruhai's friend, after sending someone out on errands, went back to the back hall to rest.
But Zhou Ruhai did not leave. Instead, he shamelessly stayed in the living room until dawn.
The reason for this is simple, because he wants to know the results of the search as soon as possible. If he returns home halfway, even if the friend sends someone to notify him immediately after receiving the search results, a lot of time will be wasted.
Zhou Ruhai was already scared of waiting last night. He didn't want to go through that terrible waiting process again, so even though he felt embarrassed, he didn't leave his friend's house for even half a step.
The old family always stayed with Zhou Ruhai, praying for their master in their hearts, hoping that he could find the young master as soon as possible and reunite the family.
