In the back hall of the Zheng family, apart from the occasional laughter and laughter coming from the table of women's families in the side room, the atmosphere at Liang Chuan's table was a bit awkward. Liang Chuan was happily picking at the wine table with his chopsticks, while Zheng Zuliang and Zheng Yiqian didn't eat much of the stone.
After eating for a long time, the maid came in with a jug of wine. The small wine pot was made of white jade porcelain, exquisite and small. The maid sifted a small glass of wine for everyone. Zheng Yiqian usually loves wine. After listening to Liang Chuan talking about delicious food for a long time, and also talking about Shaoxing yellow rice wine Zhuangyuanhong, his throat has been itchy for a long time. Seeing that the maid had been lingering for a long time before Shanshan arrived late, he was a little tempered and rushed. The maid shouted: "You people, do something to dawdle."
The maid saw that the master was in a good mood early in the morning, so she fell out of love. She was so aggrieved that she did not dare to disobey Zheng Yiqian. Her voice was as low as a mosquito, and she said: "I'm sorry, master. I have soaked some medicine for a while. Take it." When it came out, it was a little cold in the kiln. I was afraid that the master would get upset after drinking it, so I took it to the kitchen and asked the master to warm it up, so I was late."
Zheng Zuliang waved his hand to the maid, signaling her to retreat. He picked up the small wine glass and said to Liang Chuan: "Brother Zhang has a lot to say about food. I wonder if you have tasted this wine, can you also say something?"
Liang Chuan picked up the wine glass, brought the wine to his nose and took a few deep breaths. The wine was rich in aroma, mixed with a strong medicinal smell, and he observed the color of the wine in the glass. But seeing that the color of the wine was clear, dark brown to the bottom, without a trace of impurities, the wine entered his throat, and the medicinal smell was even more obvious, just like a bowl of old Chinese medicine, Zhang Yi choked and almost vomited it out.
Zheng Yiqian is a good drinker, and it is clear from one look that this boy does not know how to drink. This wine is not strong at all, and he will choke when he drinks it. When he saw Liang Chuan eating turtles, he seemed to have regained his composure and said, "How about this wine? Drink it. Have you passed?"
A mouthful of old wine tasted weird, and Liang Chuan choked and slapped his chest desperately, slowly regaining control. Liang Chuan waved his hand and said: "This is not wine, this is clearly medicine. The jar of tiger penis wine made by our village boss Baozheng only tastes a little bit more choking than yours."
Although Zheng Yiqian has never traveled far or visited any big places, he also knows that every household in the Song Dynasty will drink Tusu wine during the Spring Festival. The wine is not classified as good or bad, but some Chinese medicinal materials are added to the wine to strengthen the body. This guy has never even drunk Tusu wine. Those drunken shrimps, boiled shrimps and so on that I just mentioned can't be a lie.
"You've never drunk this Tusu wine? Don't your family celebrate the Chinese New Year?" Zheng Yiqian asked.
"Tusu wine? Is this Tusu wine?" Liang Chuan asked doubtfully.
Zheng Yiqian was about to ridicule Liang Chuan when Liang Chuan continued: "That's the one, but he will drink Tusu's Tusu wine without hesitation to make his poverty and sorrow grow stronger?"
Huh! Zheng Zuliang saw that Liang Chuan was not used to drinking this medicinal wine. It was obviously his first time to drink it, but he heard a poem from Liang Chuan and asked anxiously: "Brother Zhang has never drunk this wine before, but he wrote a poem at random. Not bad! We also have this Tusu wine." Drinking the wine to strengthen your body and prolong your life. According to legend, it was prepared by Hua Tuo, the miracle doctor. People in the Song Dynasty must drink this wine during the Spring Festival. Don’t you know that you can speak it well? My Carp Fairy said before that you can make it in six steps. Shi, I thought it was just a joke, but I didn’t expect you to be so talented!”
Liang Chuan pursed his lips and said, "I didn't say this poem. It was said by others. I just borrowed it."
Zheng Yiqian was also surprised. He didn't expect this mud-legged man to be able to read two lines of poetry. Zheng Zuliang didn't believe it and said: "I, Mr. Zheng, admit that I am familiar with famous sayings from hundreds of schools of thought. I can at least recognize them even if I can't recite them. If you say that it was done by predecessors, then I will never believe it! You have such a talent." He is so talented, but so humble, and does not want to go to the emperor's family. I really admire Mr. Zheng! It's just such a waste of talent, isn't it a bit of a waste?"
Liang Chuan didn't answer. Lao Cai walked in from the front hall, stood aside and said to Zheng Yiqian: "Master, shopkeeper Xu is here to say goodbye to you. Do you want to go out and see him?"
Zheng Yiqian stood up suddenly and said hurriedly: "Where is Lao Xu? Quickly, please bring Lao Xu into the house. Lao Xu has worked hard for our Zheng family all his life. Even I am under his nose." The person who grew up under my wife is now too old to work. If I don’t give him a gift, it won’t make others feel sad. Then who will be willing to work hard for our Zheng family in the future!”
Zheng Yiqian led Lao Cai and called out his wife and Ruoying who were eating vegetables in the room. Shopkeeper Lao Xu, to the Zheng family, was the hero of the family, not him alone. Zheng Ruoying was hurriedly called out and thought something had happened. After Lao Cai said it, it turned out that an old shopkeeper was retiring and returning home.
Zheng Ruoying didn't have a deep impression of this old shopkeeper, but she knew that he was very senior. The greater the age difference, the wider the gap between the two generations. But although the gap is huge, both his father and herself are very satisfied with Shopkeeper Xu's reputation. When Zheng Ruoying heard that the old shopkeeper who had worked for their family all his life was going home to retire, his reluctance was palpable.
Zheng Zuliang pulled Liang Chuan and said, "Let's take a look together."
In the hall, a little boy with a tall tree stump supported a trembling old man with a goatee and slowly walked in. Because he is old and frail, his steps are not as big as those of a little boy. On the contrary, Zheng Yiqian strode to the old shopkeeper in a few steps, took the old shopkeeper's hand, wrapped it tightly, and said reluctantly: "Old Xu, please work for another two years, our Zheng family cannot live without you. ah."
Shopkeeper Xu's hair and beard are all gray, and his face has a lot of wrinkles. His eyes are not dull and his ears are not deaf, but he has almost lost all his teeth. Seeing that his boss thinks so highly of him, he is reluctant to give up on himself, and uses his little skills to He said in a hoarse voice: "Master... I'm old... I really can't stand anymore. I know... You keep me... This useless peasant guy wants to provide for me in my old age, but I also have the backbone of an old man." Yeah, I’m getting old. It’s time to give way. I can’t hold my employer back anymore.”
Shopkeeper Xu spoke lightly, as if talking and laughing, with a smile on his face, but Zheng Yiqian felt heartbroken when he heard it. Seeing these old guys who had fought together in the country grow old one by one and withdraw from the stage, his eyes There were tears in his eyes, and he said excitedly: "Lao Xu, don't say that, even if you die on that three-foot counter, our Zheng family will help you die!"
"No way... Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year... I shouldn't have ruined my boss's enthusiasm... But I have worked hard for my grandfather and the Zheng family all my life. From the time of Taizu Kaibao to the present... I can't even remember how many years it has been. I'm... I'm tired... I should go while my bones can still move... Otherwise, I'll make people uncomfortable... Haha... My boss's benevolence... Old man, I can't work hard for my boss anymore... That shop. Let's find another boss... and let the younger generation manage it." After saying this, Xu Xu's stooped waist bent down and bowed to Zheng Yiqian for the last time.
Zheng Yiqian's wife and daughter supported the old man together. They didn't dare to take it anymore. Lao Xu smiled and said that he had earned this exemption from bowing all his life, and he would never have the chance to bow again. With a smile on his face, shopkeeper Xu asked his grandson to salute his old employer shakily, and the two of them walked out slowly.
When fallen leaves return to their roots, there is no feast that lasts forever. The decades of friendship between men, between master and servant, moved everyone present at this moment. Zheng Yiqian called Cai Gang to arrange a carriage, personally helped shopkeeper Xu onto the carriage, and chased him a few steps away. He watched the backs of his loyal servants for decades becoming increasingly blurry, and could only sigh as the years could not go back.
Zheng Zuliang and Liang Chuan stood side by side, standing behind the crowd, and witnessed this moving scene from beginning to end. Zheng Zuliang looked forward, but he spoke to Liang Chuan: "I, my uncle, have guarded this one-third of an acre in Fengshan all my life and have never moved. Although it is not earth-shattering, his people have made a living." I don’t know how many people opened their mouths. These old people in his family have been doing their best to help them run the business for decades, and they have no second thoughts. I am also curious about what my elder brother-in-law has the ability to tie them tightly together, which is very valuable. I think I am a little better at running a business than my uncle, but in the art of managing people, my uncle is much better than me."
Liang Chuan originally didn't like Zheng Ruoying's father from the bottom of his heart, but when he saw this scene, he suddenly felt a touch in his heart. He just didn't like his own style. There were still many shining points in him.
"I wonder what kind of store this shopkeeper Xu originally ran?"
"Ming Yi Shop."
ha?
"That shroud shop is at the intersection of Fengshan's market leading to the north. It's also the first shop you see when entering Fengshan."
"Why open a shroud shop in such a good place? It's a pity."
"What a pity? People from Fengshan, people from Xinghua, people going north and people going south. In the troubled times a few decades ago, they all went out alive and came back lying down. How many times can they be considered complete and honorable? All of them left with the bodies of their loved ones. When I go to my hometown, I can't afford a new set of clothes, but I have to bite the bullet and buy a set of "old clothes". After all, it is the last dignity. No one knows what will happen in the next life. Don't underestimate this small shop. Paper work for worshiping ancestors in the ceremony, paper bridges, horses, oxen, boxes and cabinets for connecting three uses, warehouses for sleeping, road-blazing ghosts for funerals, umbrellas burned for fifty-seven, Dharma boats burned for sixty-year-olds, gold mountains and silver Mountain, boys and girls, with a papered ceiling, they are the only family in Fengshan. In the early years, countless people died, and every household had to ask them to take care of their funeral affairs. Do you think this shop is still small?"
Liang Chuan did not expect these joints. Zheng Zuliang continued: "In troubled times and prosperous times, this shop has failed in recent years. There is no way. In the peaceful and prosperous times, death is rare. Except for the joys and funerals of a few families a year, business There is a big difference. Shopkeeper Xu has a good craft, but the younger generations think this craft is unfavorable, and gradually there is no one to pass on the mantle. According to me, my uncle plans to close this shop as soon as the old shopkeeper leaves. Shop."
