When Su Xiaolou returned home from the Yamen, he saw the little broken dog he had picked up squatting at the door of his house. When he saw him coming, he ran over and waggled his tail, biting and tugging on a corner of Su Xiaolou's robe. .
The little bastard of love is here to pull the corners of my clothes!
Su Xiaolou dragged the little dog through the door and saw a tall man in his thirties standing next to Lai Qian.
"Master, you are back." Laiqian winked at the person next to him. The man next to him touched his head stupidly, nodded and said: "Young... Young Master, okay, my name is... Yu... Yusheng." "
Laiqian said quickly: "Young master, don't look at Yu Sheng's stuttering. He is strong, quick, honest, and knows everything. You can let him be our coachman, nurse, concierge, long-term laborer, etc."
It sounds very cost-effective, and stuttering is not a big deal. He doesn't expect the servants at home to socialize, and there are very few people who come to his house as guests.
Then Laiqian said: "He can do everything except cooking."
Yu Sheng was a little unconvinced and argued: "I know how to make...the sticky porridge...the wowotou...is delicious."
Laiqian shook his head and said, "Young master has never eaten these since he was a child, and he doesn't even like white rice."
"Oh!" Yu Sheng was a little disappointed. White rice was something they could only eat once during the Chinese New Year.
Su Xiaolou asked in surprise: "You didn't hire a cook? Then who will cook for us in the future?"
After receiving the money, he picked up the abacus and began to calculate the accounts with Su Xiaolou like an accountant: "I paid back eight hundred taels of silver to the Qingyu Gambling House, bought a carriage and horses, and some daily necessities. In two days, I have to repair the yard, and... It’s a sum of money. You don’t like to eat poor cooks, young masters, and the wages of good ones are too high. Master, the money you gave me two days ago has almost been spent. We still owe Qingyu Gambling House more than a thousand taels of silver. , Save if you can."
Su Xiaolou asked in surprise: "Why hasn't the house deed been redeemed?"
"The people from Qingyu Gambling House said that they want us to pay off our gambling debts first and then redeem the house deed. We can live in the house temporarily. After half a month, they will transfer the house to others if the gambling debts are not paid off."
What a cunning old fox. He must have asked for the house deed first when we got the money. The shopkeeper of the gambling house saw that we cared about the house, and because of his status as the town hall secretary Xiaoqi, he couldn't do anything hard, so he came up with this trick.
They originally planned to become a gangster when the house deed was redeemed, but they didn't dare to do anything anyway. Now it seems that they still have to pay off the gambling debt.
Su Xiaolou touched his waist and saw that the dozens of dollars he had obtained through fraud were just a drop in the bucket. He finally recognized the reality, sighed, and asked, "Okay! Then what should we eat at night?"
"Forehead……"
"???"
"Master, I forgot to buy vegetables. How about we eat Huihui vegetables at night?" Lai Qian said with an embarrassed look on his face.
"..."
…
In the small courtyard, under the locust tree, the master and servant were drinking the leftover wine from yesterday and eating grilled fish. The little dog was biting the fish head under the table, and the food was delicious.
Fortunately, Yusheng knew how to catch fish. He caught two big fat fish soon after he went out. The name "Yusheng" was not for nothing. Unexpectedly, Yusheng was so delicious and tender when grilled, and the aroma was overflowing.
At first, Yu Sheng was cautious and refused to come to the table. He didn't sit down until he saw the money coming and sat down. He was very moved and said, "This is... the first... meal... with the host's family."
Lai Qian patted Yu Sheng on the shoulder and said: "We have a small family, and the young master is also a very easy-going person. He doesn't like so many rules. He only eats together as master and servant, except for guests at home."
Su Xiaolou nodded and said, "Yes, Yu Sheng, your grilled fish is really good."
"Hey!" Yu Sheng touched the back of his head and showed his dazzling white teeth.
Su Xiaolou looked at the horse grazing in the stable with its tail wagging and asked: "Why did you buy a white horse?"
"Young master, you don't know. Horses of this color have become very popular recently. They say they keep them safe and protect them from evil spirits."
"Really?" Su Xiaolou thought to himself, feudal superstition kills people.
After dinner, Su Xiaolou changed into another piece of clothing. The wide-sleeved robe was different from his usual dressing style with narrow sleeves and closed cuffs. He took the money and went to the Qingyu Gambling House to pay off his gambling debts. Change it.
Qingyu Gambling House has a tavern in the front, a casino in the back, and private rooms in the back. The further back you go, the bigger the bets will be.
Based on the experience last time, Su Xiaolou felt that a place like the first floor was too risky, and he would lose all his money if he was not careful. He chose a medium-sized gambling house where rich people used to have fun, and maybe he would catch someone who was taken advantage of.
The shopkeeper said angrily: "Hey! It's Mr. Su! You must not be short of money now? Are you finished?"
Su Xiaolou glanced at the face of the shopkeeper, remembering that during the period of keeping his filial piety, he could not bear the loneliness and sneaked in a few times. He was only greeted with blank eyes. Now that he was mentioned openly or secretly as his son-in-law, Su Xiaolou's face was full of expressions. Displeased, he said: "Hurry up and arrange a good position for me."
Seeing that Su Xiaolou was a little angry, the shopkeeper immediately changed his face. As a businessman, who is not afraid of the Shen family? He smiled apologetically and said, "What do you want to play?"
"Fried golden flowers."
"Okay! Master, please come over here."
Su Xiaolou was in the private room upstairs in the backyard, drinking tea and waiting for a match.
Generally two to six people participate in Fried Golden Flower. It is a game of betting. Each player on the scene is dealt three cards and the bets are compared to see who wins.
The dealer deals the cards in the first round, and the winner is the dealer in the next round, and the cycle continues.
After the players on the table have gone through many rounds of following and discarding cards, the last two remaining players will compete to determine the outcome. If the cards are the same, whoever draws whose card is the first will lose.
After a while, two men came over, dressed in Nanyan brocade, with jade pendants hanging around their waists, and making jingling sounds when they walked. They were either rich or noble. Su Xiaolou couldn't wait to start, but the shopkeeper stopped him and said: "Xiaolou Please wait a moment, we have the last guest."
Su Xiaolou waited patiently for a while. With one more person, I will win more money today.
I saw that the man didn't come for a long time, and he was putting on a lot of airs.
Su Xiaolou said impatiently: "No wait, why don't the three of us drive?"
The other two people were also a little impatient with waiting and nodded in agreement.
One of the men said: "The bet in the backyard starts at fifty cents. Since we are on the last floor, why not start at one hundred cents?"
Su Xiaolou raised his eyebrows and said, "How can a hundred coins be exciting?"
"Two hundred coins?"
"..."
"Three hundred coins?"
"Do you all bet on such a small child?" Everyone was filled with anger at these provocative words. When they saw that it was a graceful woman with a veil covering her face, the anger in their hearts subsided a little. That woman She came from behind the screen and sat on a mahogany chair. She had a pair of charming peach blossom eyes, her hair was decorated with flowers, and her clothes were embroidered with gold threads with floral patterns. As soon as she entered, the whole room was filled with the fragrance of flower dew.
Doing this should be like a flower girl who has never seen spring.
