Hidden in a private flower hall among gardens.
There is a family gathering where something is not going right.
"Brother, why don't you speak?"
Su Guo'er looked at the eldest son of the Su family named Su Fu and asked directly.
Su Fu was silent for a while and just shook his head.
Su Xian, who was sitting in the main seat, just put down the scroll in his hand, picked it up again, opened it, and looked down.
The master of the Su family couldn't put it down, and said with emotion to his wife, daughter and eldest son:
"Ouyang Lianghan's writing is smooth and easy to understand, but it is not dull. Instead, it has an undeniable awe-inspiring momentum. It is completely different from the gorgeous parallel prose that is currently popular in scholars. It stands out from the crowd."
He stroked his beard: "Every time I read it, I feel like drinking cold ice in summer or cooking rice wine in winter. It makes me feel happy and dripping, and my whole body is clear."
Su Guoer turned around and commented:
"Of course, the momentum is impressive. The whole article is logically rigorous, well-founded, and as powerful as a galloping horse. It is completed in one go. The person who wrote this article must be a person who is extremely confident in his own knowledge, otherwise he would not be able to pour out this momentum."
Su Xian pondered and nodded: "Shan, observing literature is like observing people. Although I have never seen him before, I only know the true good man today."
Wei Mei looked away from the dragon-like handwriting, nodded and said:
"That's why there is neither high nor low, neither long nor young. Where the Tao exists, the teacher exists... I like this sentence."
After a pause, she turned to Su Xian and said:
"It would be great if I could be hired as a teacher in Juxian Garden, as a guest of Da Lang, and to give advice. I am a good teacher and friend, and I happen to be someone of the same age and full of energy.
"It's better than letting Da Lang face an eighty-year-old scholar all day long, and the atmosphere is gloomy. I have mentioned this to you before, but I have delayed it until now..."
"Mom..." Su Dalang couldn't help but call out when he heard his mother commenting on the teacher who was still on the sickbed.
Wei Mei ignored him and just glanced sideways at Su Xian.
The latter sneered.
Seeing his parents and A-mei pause in their conversation, Su Fu hesitated and interrupted:
"But Lianghan said that this was a gift from a senior when he was studying in the past. He said that he just polished it a little and gave it to me..."
Su Fu paused mid-sentence, and saw Su Guo'er, Su Xian, and Wei Mei in front of him with strange eyes, casting half-smiling glances at him who seemed innocent.
"All right……"
Su Fu shut up, thinking it was Brother Lianghan's humble words. Even a fool could see this.
At this time.
Su Guoer suddenly asked:
"Brother, you don't want Ouyang Lianghan to know about our affairs, and you don't want him to be your staff?"
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Su Fu was about to speak but stopped.
Su Xian asked kindly:
"Does Dalang think Ouyang Lianghan is not suitable? Or...if you have other different opinions, you can talk to us."
Su Fu lowered his head and said:
"Brother Lianghan is a very good friend...I don't want to hurt him.
"Even if he doesn't gamble, with his ability, he still has a bright and bright future. Why should he get into our small boat that may capsize at any time, and his life and death are precarious...
"I feel very guilty for the teacher... If I let Brother Lianghan again..."
Su Fu paused and shook his head alone.
"Da Lang!" Wei Mei frowned and shouted, "Think about it carefully, are you saying such depressing words that are unworthy of our ancestors?"
Su Xian looked sad and sighed lightly without criticizing.
Su Guoer lowered her eyes and said nothing. Under the hem of her blue skirt, a foot wearing a pink embroidered shoe was arched and silently hooked the foot of the empty embroidery stool. She shook the embroidery stool gently, not knowing what she was thinking.
Su Fu mustered up his courage and said:
"Mom, sister, you guys, think about it, why is it that Miss Xie has such a close relationship with Brother Lianghan, but she didn't tell him about our family's affairs, nor did she bring Brother Lianghan in?
"I think this can already explain a lot of things... Miss Xie also thinks that doing this may not be a good thing for Brother Lianghan."
Su Xian, Wei Mei and Su Guo'er couldn't help but look at the kind and kind young man in front of them, and listened silently.
There was no expression for a while.
The atmosphere was not silent for long.
Su Guo'er nodded lightly towards Su Fu and said in a nonchalant tone:
"That's okay."
In fact, she also felt that this was just the icing on the cake and unnecessary.
At the moment, Su Guo'er's main focus is on the affairs of Donglin Temple.
In the flower hall, the plum blossom makeup girl with a rather indifferent expression on her pretty face retracted her legs, stabilized the embroidery stool, and stood up.
Before turning around and leaving, leave this sentence:
"Since Brother has made a decision, it's good to listen to Brother. Now Brother has his own opinion."
Seeing that the most important sister also expressed her stance, Su Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
Sometimes in this family, my sister speaks more effectively than my father and mother.
Su Fu thought for a while and said to Su Guoer's leaving figure:
"But I will try to invite Brother Lianghan to come to the house to attend my birthday party. It would be nice to make it more lively."
"up to you."
Su Guo'er waved her hands with a somewhat indifferent tone, and disappeared at the door of the flower hall.
…
The next day, in the evening.
The heavy rain that fell all day seemed to have come to an end, and there was only a gentle drizzle in the night.
Ouyang Rong put down his oil-paper umbrella outside the yard, pointed it at the wall, shook it left and right, leaned the umbrella against the wall, and stepped through the door.
He carried some more fruit and came to "visit" Mr. Yuan, but he still did not enter the back room and stopped in the front hall.
"Brother Lianghan, you are here!"
After taking the medicine, Su Fu hurried to the front hall to greet him and wiped his hands on the hem of his clothes.
"Here."
Ouyang Rong sat at the table, staring at Xiaoyu outside the door, chewing something with his cheeks puffed out, and handed the basket to Su Fu, who took it and looked at it:
"This is……"
Ouyang Rong spit out the grape skin, caught it with his scooping hand, and nodded slightly:
"Wei Lai and I have harvested all the fruits grown in Merlu Garden. There are only some grapes left. They are gone now. They are all in the basket. You can get some for your teacher, and I will send the rest to my junior sister later. Go, she also likes eating grapes..."
Ouyang Rong muttered as if chatting about family matters.
Su Dalang took the basket and couldn't help but take another look at Ouyang Rong's side face, who was looking at the rainy scene outside the door.
He pursed his lips and said:
"Teacher is actually almost fine now, but...Brother Lianghan, you really don't want to go in and take a look? You come here every day."
Ouyang Rong shook his head:
"No, I'm afraid he'll faint from anger again. I went back and thought about it recently. In fact, there was nothing to argue about last time..." After a pause, he couldn't help but murmured: "Maybe it's the old attitude that started, and it's all because of the previous quarrel. Typing too much on the keyboard..."
When it came to the last few words of the next sentence, Ouyang Rong's voice became smaller and smaller, and Su Fu couldn't hear clearly for a while:
"Ah, what did Brother Lianghan say? What did you knock too much?"
"It's okay." Ouyang Rong propped his left elbow on the table, took the grape skin with his right hand, turned his head and smiled.
In the back room, an old man lying on the couch with his eyes closed but his ears pricked up heard the vague words coming from the front. He couldn't help but blush, and his nose seemed to make a light "hum".
In the front hall, Su Dalang sat down with Ouyang Rong, turned around and asked:
"What is Brother Lianghan busy with recently? Are you still keeping an eye on the Liu family?"
When Ouyang Rong heard this, his face became a little more serious, he shook his head and said:
"Junior sister is keeping an eye on the case left by Liu Ziwen, and so is the Liu family. I have been tracking the water level in Yunmengze upstream these past few days, and what I have recorded is somewhat ominous."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
Ouyang Rong rubbed his face, pointed to the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek, and said in a slightly tired tone:
“The last wave of water in the plum rainy season was larger and more serious than expected. The water levels of the Shui Ze Monuments built along the way from Dickong Gate reached near the danger line.
"Except for the sunny day last time, the rain hasn't stopped, with heavy rain and small rain... This is not a good sign."
Ouyang Rong sighed.
"I have to go to Dee Gong Gate again tomorrow to take a look."
He couldn't help rubbing his face and muttering:
"This is the last hurdle. It won't give me a big 'surprise'. If so, it would be too bloody."
Su Fu looked at the young magistrate in front of him who was mumbling something he couldn't understand, and smiled a little.
The elder of the Su family encouraged:
"It's okay, Brother Lianghan, you have tried your best. Everything depends on people. If I were God, seeing Brother Lianghan working so hard to control the water and the people of Longcheng being so united under the leadership of Brother Lianghan, I would never have the heart to do it again. Destroyed.”
Ouyang Rong nodded and glanced at Su Fu, who was very good at comforting people.
However, he still looked back at the sparse rain curtain outside and muttered:
"The water is rising... the water is rising... is it still rising... In addition to the two water conservancy projects of Dickong Lock and Zheyi Canal, we really need to recruit some extra large ships. If it doesn't work, go to Jiangzhou City to borrow them. .
"By the way, we need to notify the people of the county to give an early warning. The suggestion Ashan mentioned before is good. We need to find a place with high terrain to build a shelter in advance. If the terrain is high, for example, the Donglin Temple in Dagushan Mountain would be good..."
Seeing that Ouyang Rong was in a daze and murmuring something he couldn't understand, Su Fu did not interrupt or ask further questions.
Not long after, Su Fu seemed to see his friend next to him take a long breath, and he must have come to his senses.
He smiled and said:
"By the way, there's something I forgot to tell Brother Lianghan. It's my sister's birthday in a few days. Brother Lianghan, if you have time, come to the house for a meal so that we can all get together and have some fun?"
"Uh..." Ouyang Rong pursed his lips slightly, glanced at Su Fu, and then outside the door.
"What's wrong with Lianghan? Is there anything wrong?" Su Fu asked, looking at Ouyang Rong's strange expression.
"fine."
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
In fact, the junior sister also mentioned this matter to him two days ago. In the past few days, he often came to Su Mansion to visit, so he could naturally see the maids of Su Mansion who were putting up lanterns and decorations.
But when the junior sister invited him before, Ouyang Rong didn't express much. After all, it was just the birthday of the junior junior sister's best friend, and she was a little far away from him. There was no need to go over and join in the fun. He saw it without knowing it, and misunderstood what he was thinking. He ran over.
But now, it was Su Dalang who invited him personally. Since he was the elder brother, the weight was naturally different.
Seeing Ouyang Rong's face showing hesitation.
Su Fu waved his hand and shook his head carelessly:
"It's okay. Forget it if I don't have time. I'm just asking. The official business of the county government is more important. Brother Lianghan doesn't need to blame himself if he can't go."
"Not entirely..." Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked in a low voice: "Well, can I ask, is your sister's birthday party crowded?"
Su Fu thought for a while and nodded: "By then... there may be quite a few."
Ouyang Rong nodded, his expression unsurprised.
After all, he had heard from his junior sister that this young girl from the Su family had an unusual status in the Su family, and it was normal for Mr. Su to pamper his daughter in a grand manner.
Ouyang Rong suddenly lost interest in joining in the fun.
First, Ouyang Rong doesn't like eating at this kind of banquet. If he goes there and the children can't sit at the table, wouldn't he have to change glasses and drink wine all the time?
Secondly, the last time I took the plum forest path and ended up accidentally entering the downstairs of the Su family's little sister's boudoir, it seems a little embarrassing now that I think about it.
Thirdly, he is a county official after all. Apart from personal relationships, he has to treat all the people of Longcheng equally. Even if it is because of the relationship between the elder man and the younger junior sister, the Su family must avoid suspicion, no matter how good their friendship or affection is.
Ouyang Rong shook his head.
In addition, there is actually a small factor.
After delivering fruits and saying goodbye to Su Dalang yesterday, he vaguely noticed something was wrong with this Su Mansion. The origin seemed not simple...
He is a man who wants to return home, so it would be wise to interfere less.
This is also the reason why Ouyang Rong leaves early and returns late these days, and lives a regular life at Meiluyuan, county government, and Digongzha.
Now he is afraid that if something unexpected happens and he is forced to get involved in other things, his bond with this world will deepen again.
In this regard, Ouyang Rong even restrained his impulse to take the opportunity to re-divide the land and rectify the land equalization system in Longcheng County after "killing local tyrants" and dismembering the Liu family a few days ago, and did not meddle in other people's business.
At the moment, Ouyang Rong's eyes are only focused on water control, and he just wants to deal with possible floods.
He had already collected all the 10,000 merit points that could be exchanged for the great blessings of the Pure Land Palace, and there was even some leftover.
So now he only has the obsession with disaster relief and flood control that he had when he came down from the mountain to serve as county magistrate.
As for the fetters, the existing fetters can be dealt with a little bit.
As for new bonds, it’s better not to come.
Su Fu turned around and asked, "So, Lianghan still doesn't want to come?"
Like a sage's time, Ouyang Rong, who had been drained of all his energy, hesitated slightly:
"No one doesn't want to come..."
In fact, I just don’t want to come.
He suggested tactfully:
"Let's see. It depends on the situation. If I have time, I will definitely go to the banquet. But if the county government has heavy official duties or other emergencies and I really can't get away, then please forgive me, sir, and your sister. How about that? ?”
After Su Fu listened to Ouyang Rong's long series of sincere words, and looked at the sincere expression of his friend in front of him, he was a little speechless for a moment.
Su Dalang actually wanted to say that Brother Lianghan didn't have to be so gentle and roundabout. Even if Lianghan couldn't come, Amei wouldn't care.
A-mei has many thoughts all day long, and sometimes even her family members cannot guess what she is thinking. It is estimated that even the birthday banquet, which is considered a very important guest in the eyes of outsiders, is as light as a feather in her eyes.
But naturally it is not convenient to tell these truths to friends.
Regarding Ouyang Rong's proposal, Su Fu took it easy and nodded directly: "No problem."
Immediately, the two chatted for a while, and the young magistrate picked up the grapes and stood up to say goodbye.
Before stepping out of the door, Ouyang Rong suddenly stopped, put down the hand holding the umbrella, and looked back with a smile:
"Even if I can't come, I can't be less thoughtful, but you know me, Da Lang. The only poor person in the house is a white-haired maid, who is also very good at eating... Let's do this. We have nothing in the family, but only a poem. how?"
Su Fu was startled, and then joked: "Brother Wei, let me guess... Well, this gift was also given to you by a senior when you were studying? Is it just a passing gift?"
"Da Lang will be quick to answer..."
Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly, "A long time ago, I occasionally heard people mention some of your sister's hobbies. Your sister may like this poem..."
Su Fu didn't pay much attention, smiled and nodded:
"Okay, I'll take it on behalf of my sister-in-law. Please excuse me, Brother Lianghan."
(End of chapter)
