The black curtain was pulled across the night, trying to block the light.
The sun showed its head contemptuously, and the black curtain was torn apart, turning into a cloud of fish scales that covered the sky.
The streets of Hui'an County are finally full of people, and the sound of hawkers can be heard. The lively scene seems to be a different place from the deserted place last night.
Gu Zhengchen got up, packed everything, paid the rent with Xiao Cheng, and appeared on the street.
stall.
Gu Zhengchen and Xiao Cheng sat down.
The woman wearing an apron came over and asked, "Sir, do you use tofu puffs or soup cakes?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said, "I just want a bowl of soup cakes, but why is it that you, a woman, are the only one running this stall?"
When the woman saw Xiao Cheng ordering tofu puffs, she wrote it down and said, "The man in the family is not good enough and can't do the work, so he has to work harder."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and didn't ask any more questions.
In this era where men are at home and men are at home, and women do not appear in public, the fact that women come out to work speaks volumes.
"Mother Xu, have a bowl of soup cake and hurry up."
Two government servants in soap uniforms came over and shouted. Seeing that no one was in the other seats, they sat directly at Gu Zhengchen's table. They looked at Gu Zhengchen and Xiao Cheng.
Huang Yong opened his mouth, revealing his yellow teeth: "You guys are very handsome, are you from out of town?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly.
Lin Daosi, the government official with a pockmarked face on the left, asked: "What are you doing in Hui'an County for a living?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said: "To be honest with you two officials, we came to Hui'an County to find some skilled stone carvers to customize some stone carvings. My master likes strange and strange stones the most, and they are exquisitely carved."
Huang Yong and Lin Daosi did not raise any suspicion.
Hui'an County is most famous for its stone carvings, including civil servants, warriors, tigers, horses, sheep and other garden sculptures and lotus reliefs, etc. There is no stone that Hui'an masons cannot do well, from stones as small as the size of your thumb to stone bridges several miles in size. When businessmen come to Hui'an, they often come for the stone sculptures.
Xu Niang served a bowl of soup cake first.
It was originally for Gu Zhengchen. Huang Yong took it over, raised his legs and stepped on the stool to urge: "Mother Xu, hurry up with that bowl. You'll be punished if you're late."
Xu Niang glanced at Gu Zhengchen apologetically. Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly and didn't mind. He just asked: "Why, the Hui'an County government officials live in such a miserable life that they are always beaten?"
Huang Yong picked up two noodles with his chopsticks and blew on the hot air: "What do you, a foreigner, know? Something big happened last night. Tang Tongpan of Quanzhou Prefecture is coming today, and the county government is not allowed to greet him. Who dares not to Come, come late, how can we miss a meal?"
"Tang Tongpan?"
Gu Zhengchen squinted his eyes and remembered that in the documents and information of Quanzhou Prefecture given by Lao Zhu, Quanzhou Prefecture had two co-presidents, three general judges, and one official. Among the general judges, there was a person named Tang and a first-name official. For Tang Xian.
"We stayed in Hui'an last night. We were really shocked. How could the pirates attack the city? We thought we were doomed, so we trembled and hid under the quilt."
Gu Zhengchen showed lingering fear.
Xiao Cheng looked at Gu Zhengchen in surprise.
Are you surprised?
Are you shivering?
Are you hiding under the quilt?
Why didn't I see all this? You greeted the pirates directly, but you were calm and composed as if nothing was wrong. But you fell asleep in bed and didn't wake up until dawn...
Lin Daosi's face looked a little ugly, and he lowered his head and said nothing.
Huang Yong glanced with disdain: "What happened to the pirates is nothing. It's Mr. Tang who was plotted against. This is a big deal. I heard that even his lifeblood can no longer be used. When Tang Tongjian comes, he will probably be furious. This Hui'an City is going to change..."
Lin Daosi spat: "Can't you stop your mouth after eating soup cakes? Why are you telling an outsider this? Is Xu Niang still feeling well?"
"I'm coming."
Xu Niang quickly brought over two bowls of soup cakes and a bowl of tofu curd.
Gu Zhengchen frowned, glared at Xiao Cheng, picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Huang Yong and Lin Daosi devoured the food, quickly finished it, dropped two coins and left. Gu Zhengchen glanced at Xiao Cheng: "I remember it was a leg!"
Xiao Cheng nodded: "Yes, it is a leg, but it is longer in the middle and a little shorter."
Gu Zhengchen's face was gloomy.
He is an official, not a ranger, not a bandit. In order to rescue the woman when it was inconvenient to be exposed, he arranged for someone to break Tang Hu's leg and break his bones. He was given three months to recover. When it came to Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu estimated that He also laughs it off and won’t blame it.
But you just beat a man into a eunuch. You didn't give him anesthesia or arrange an operating table for him during the whole process. I guess the knife was useless. Such an inhumane method still left irreparable injuries. If Lao Zhu knows this, he will probably threaten him with frightening words such as "You are dishonest, I will break your legs" in the future.
"Tang Tongpan must be Tang Hu's father, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed here from Jinjiang in such a hurry."
Xiao Cheng asked as he tasted the tofu noodle.
Seeing that the matter had come to this, Gu Zhengchen couldn't say anything else: "I guess so. It's just puzzling why he didn't leave Tang Hu in Jinjiang, but settled him in Hui'an."
Xiao Cheng said bluntly: "This is not easy. Jinjiang is a place governed by the government. Being overbearing and domineering can easily lead to disaster. Hui'an is still seventy or eighty miles away from Jinjiang. It can avoid the limelight and can reach out to take care of it."
Gu Zhengchen's brows moved slightly: "To be able to say these words, you don't look like a rough person."
Xiao Cheng smiled: "Master, rough people are not fools. If I have an incompetent son, I will not let him stay in Aurous Hill."
Gu Zhengchen underestimated the rough man.
It is true that rough people, uneducated people, and warriors behave rudely, sometimes regardless of the consequences, act brutally, and often resort to force, but they are not brainless people. For example, Chang Yuchun, who cannot read or write, can be beaten. When it comes to fighting, few can match his wisdom.
"Let's go."
Gu Zhengchen left four pennies, stood up, and walked towards a shop. The sign on the shop sign was "Sibao Zhai", which was a shop selling scholar's items. However, the facade was destroyed last night.
Two guys were installing new door panels. Seeing Gu Zhengchen about to go in, they quickly stopped him: "Sir, the shopkeeper is not feeling well today. The shop is also in a mess. There is no business. Why don't you change your home and go have a look? You can't go out to the east." A hundred steps away, there is a shop..."
Gu Zhengchen turned over his hands, took out a few copper coins, and handed them to the waiter: "I want to see your shopkeeper, please lead the way."
"That's... okay, but the ugliness comes first, and the shopkeeper may not let anyone talk."
The clerk weighed it up and finally made a choice between the shopkeeper's scolding and a few copper coins.
With a waiter leading the way, Gu Zhengchen and Xiao Cheng entered the shop. There were many scattered brushes, inkstones, and papers on the ground. The counter was also pushed to the ground, the abacus was broken, and the beads were scattered.
"There was a disaster yesterday, hey, here."
The man sighed and entered the backyard through a door. It was a small patio with houses on three sides, and a long corridor connected the front of the house.
As soon as they arrived at the patio, the sound of crying came from the main room.
A man said sadly: "Jin Niang, we can't stay in Hui'an County anymore. Let's just sell the shop and go to other places to survive. If we stay here any longer, I'm afraid..."
"But this is your ancestral land. If we leave, who will burn paper money for our deceased relatives? If no one sweeps the sacrifice, we will be stabbed in the back. Where can we go if our roots are here?"
The woman cries.
The man stamped his feet: "When has this happened? Of course you have to live with the living. Jin Niang, don't forget that your golden acquaintance hanged himself. You can't just watch your daughter go to a dead end! That beast this time If he doesn't succeed, he won't give up! I'll stay here to pawn the shop, and you and your daughter will leave the city today!"
The woman was in grief.
"Your shop is located on the main street. I'm afraid it won't fetch a good price if it's on sale at this time."
Gu Zhengchen stood at the door and said.
"Who are you?"
The shopkeeper Chen Su looked at Gu Zhengchen and others warily, and then glared at the waiter. He clearly said that he would not see customers.
The guy hesitated and left.
Gu Zhengchen saw that the shopkeeper's face was still covered with bruises and the woman beside him was wiping her tears, so he stood up and looked at him.
"We are businessmen from out of town. You can call me Boss Gu. The shopkeeper wants to move away. In my opinion, there is no need to be so anxious."
Gu Zhengchen stepped in and Xiao Cheng stood outside the door.
Chen Su shook his head: "Businessmen from other places? Oh, what qualifications do you have to persuade us? You don't know our suffering at all! If you stay, your family will be ruined. It is better to be a refugee. Even if you go to sea to seek a hope and drift to Nanyang, it is worse than staying here." Waiting to die here!”
Gu Zhengchen stared.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the population dropped sharply due to melee fighting.
Some people from coastal areas such as Guangdong and Fujian went to sea to escape war and disaster, while others went to sea to escape crimes.
There are man-eating storms and murderous pirates in the sea.
But they still chose the sea, not because they wanted to be pirates to find some big treasure, all they wanted was to survive.
Gu Zhengchen believed that if the country was peaceful and the people were safe, no one would be willing to take the risk of feeding the fish and go to the depths of the sea in a small boat that could almost capsize in the wind.
Unless they are desperate.
The blackness of despair overshadowed the deep blue of the sea.
Gu Zhengchen sighed and said slowly: "You may not know yet, but the imperial court knows that there are many problems in Quanzhou Prefecture and has already appointed a new prefect. It won't be long before he arrives in Quanzhou. By then , no one can bully you."
"Hehe!"
Chen Su spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Gu Zhengchen's shoes and shouted contemptuously: "Officials protect each other, this has been the case since ancient times! It has been seven years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Who has cared about the life and death of the people here? Open your eyes and see clearly, Quanzhou Prefecture How many officials have been changed back and forth, but who cares about the life and death of the people! Not to mention a new prefect, just a new person participating in politics. Who knows about Hui'an, and who cares about the life and death of the people in Hui'an?"
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head and looked at his shoes. It was a pity. He took out his handkerchief, bent down to wipe it clean, and said in a deep voice: "I don't know whether others care about your life or death, but the new prefect will certainly care about it. You don't know, do you Jinling?" The people gave him the title of Magistrate of Dahu County. When he left Quanzhou Prefecture, I think you will call him - Magistrate of Dahu County."
