Zhang Mingwei thought this, and when he was about to leave, he heard Lan Tianbao's voice again: "Little brother, these buns have been paid for."
Zhang Mingwei turned around when he heard the sound, only to see Lan Tianbao asking for the large bag of buns from the somewhat dull boy, and then hugged him tightly in his arms, as if it was a great treasure and he was afraid that others would snatch it away.
Seeing that he was bruised and swollen, he still refused to give up those buns under such circumstances. It was obvious that he really needed these buns.
Seeing this, Zhang Mingwei didn't say anything, but went to Zuixian Tower with Zhu Yu'ao first.
Although he was worried about money just now, at this time, he still casually asked for an expensive private room. The money on hand should be used and spent without hesitation.
The escorting captain of the Imperial Guard and the accompanying Wang Erbiao and others would not dare to eat at the same table as Zhang Mingwei and Princess Kunxing even if they were beaten to death. Therefore, in the end, Zhang Mingwei and Zhu Yuyao shared a table, while the others had breakfast at a table by the door.
In fact, I wasted a lot of time just now, and it's almost noon. Maybe I'm hungry, or maybe it's really delicious. In short, Zhang Mingwei felt that the breakfast in this store tasted really good.
Although Princess Kunxing ate as elegantly as ever, Zhang Mingwei could notice that she was still faster than usual, and she didn't frown. It can be inferred from this that she should also be satisfied.
When they were almost finished, Li Ruolian came back with someone and reported to Zhang Mingwei: "The situation is true, these are their parents."
The two old men were supported by their sons. It could be seen that their health was not very good and they must have been hungry after every meal.
As soon as Li Ruolian finished speaking, Lan Tianbao's mother quickly knelt down and begged: "Tian'er did those things for us. Please be merciful and let my son go!"
His father also knelt down and explained: "The Caomin family came to the capital, originally thinking that the two children could find a job to make a living. But unexpectedly, there were people everywhere who came to the capital to seek a living. No employer was willing to hire the two of us. My child, it’s because we are two burdens that we decided to do this. Sir, if you want to arrest us, then arrest us!”
Lan Tianbao and Lan Dibao who were following them also knelt down behind their parents when they saw them.
Although they only briefly explained it, Zhang Mingwei could imagine that they should have come to the capital with hope, but in the end they experienced despair.
In fact, the defeat of Songshan had just been reported, and this was the time when people were most panicked. With refugees everywhere, competition is fierce.
At this time, Zhang Mingwei was a little uncomfortable with being kneeled in front of two old men. He was observing carefully just now, and he was quite satisfied, so he stretched out his hand and said: "Everyone, get up and talk!"
Unexpectedly, Lan Tianbao did not get up. Instead, he untied his clothes, exposed his inner side, and showed it to Zhang Mingwei. At the same time, he explained: "The grassroots people are really forced to cheat and steal the buns, and they feel very uneasy. Therefore, the grassroots people I have written them all down, and I hope that one day in the future, ordinary people can repay the money paid for Baozi a hundred times!"
Zhang Mingwei was a little surprised when he heard it. It seemed that there were a lot of words written on it, so he turned to gesture to Li Ruolian.
When Li Ruolian saw it, he immediately walked over, knelt down, observed it carefully, then stood up and reported to Zhang Mingwei: "There is indeed a record, it has been recorded twice, and it doesn't look like it was written temporarily by my subordinates!"
Zhang Mingwei nodded, then turned to look at Lan Tianbao.
He didn't know if Lan Tianbao really had this intention in writing it down, or was he just saying that he was preparing for being caught in the future?
But when he saw Lan Tianbao looking back at him calmly, and seeing nothing wrong in his eyes, Zhang Mingwei finally believed that it was the former.
"Sir, the villain and my brother knew that they were in bad terms. Therefore, they just grabbed the buns and ran away. If they couldn't grab it, they didn't dare to hit anyone and rob them." Seeing this, Lan Dibao added sincerely. .
As long as we go back and investigate this matter, we will know whether he is lying. Zhang Mingwei believed that they were not so stupid as to lie in this regard.
Thinking like this, Zhang Mingwei asked Lan Tianbaodao: "If you get out of here in the future, will you lose face and apologize?"
"This is the only shameless thing a commoner has done. Since he did something wrong, why can't he lose face and apologize?" Lan Tianbao answered without hesitation after hearing this.
Zhang Mingwei listened, glanced at him, and finally nodded: "Okay, I believe you, please get up and talk!"
When the old couple heard that the adult in front of them would not pursue the matter any further, they were overjoyed and quickly thanked them. Then they stood up slowly. They looked weak and must be hungry.
"Tell the guys to come to another table and let them eat and talk first." Zhang Mingwei turned to greet Wang Erbiao.
Wang Erbiao was actually a little unhappy, and he held a grudge, but he didn't dare to disobey Zhang Mingwei's orders, so he asked his men to call the table again.
After hearing this, the four members of Lan Tianbao's family expressed their thanks again. Zhu Ainao, who was standing next to her, had been silent. At this moment, she finally couldn't help it, so she leaned over and whispered into Zhang Mingwei's ear: "Sir, they look so pitiful. They have such filial piety and conscience. Why don't we just accept them?" Go to the mansion?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei turned to look at her, but did not express his position immediately.
At this time in the late Ming Dynasty, people's hearts were corrupt, and truly good people were extremely rare. It's really not too common for a wealthy family to drink and eat meat, and freeze to death on the road.
The people at the bottom are struggling on the line of life and death, and their human nature is often tested. Generally speaking, they cannot withstand the test.
The occurrence of things like exchanging food for food actually reflects this point. When you are unbearably hungry, you have feelings for your child and you don’t dare to eat, so you switch with someone else before eating. It's really sad that something like this happened!
Thinking of this, Zhang Mingwei felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier. He had the responsibility to change this world!
At this time, when Lan Tianbao saw his parents watching the waiters starting to serve food and placing plates of delicacies, he suddenly burst into tears. He couldn't help it anymore, turned around and bowed to Zhang Mingwei and said: "Caomin has been studying since childhood. I dare not say that I am a rich scholar, but as long as ordinary scholars can do things, ordinary people are confident that they can do it. And my brother, who is strong and hard-working, is definitely a good worker. Please take my family into your care, and I will never let you Disappointed."
While speaking, when he said, "Please take in my family, sir," he deliberately raised his voice and emphasized the three words "family."
After finishing speaking, Lan Tianbao looked back at his parents, and finally knelt down with his head on the ground, waiting for a reply.
When Lan Dibao saw this, he quickly followed his example and knelt down with his head on the ground, waiting for a reply.
When his parents heard this, they stood up wiping tears and turned to look at Zhang Mingwei. After looking down at his son, Lan Tianbao's father immediately followed him sincerely: "Sir, the little old man is the chef of the best restaurant in our county. My concubine is a kitchen helper. I originally thought that when my family came to the capital, they would not only be safe and worry-free, but also be able to support the family with their craftsmanship. But I didn’t expect... I didn’t expect... Oh! If we hadn’t seen the two of us getting hungry, Tian'er is a strong person, and he will definitely not insult the gentleness of a scholar."
After Zhang Mingwei heard this, he turned to look at Lan Tianbao, noncommittal.
But Zhu Yuluo's eyes brightened a lot, with surprise. However, seeing that Zhang Mingwei didn't speak, he became a little anxious and quickly reached out under the table to pull Zhang Mingwei's sleeve.
However, Zhang Mingwei still had a doubt in his mind, and he wanted to find out more about it. Otherwise, if the person recruited into the house is dishonest, he is not willing to do so.
At this moment, Wang Erbiao was heard saying in a slightly sinister tone: "He is so capable, why is he not even a scholar?"
He has a dignified appearance and an elegant air. He also said that he can do anything that ordinary scholars can do. He is very conceited. In the end, he is not even a scholar. He may be a well-hidden liar.
Wang Erbiao resented that he was taking advantage of others, so he raised this question and reminded Zhang Mingwei and Princess Kunxing not to be deceived.
When Lan Tianbao heard this, he raised his head and stared at Wang Erbiao first, then looked at Zhang Mingwei, and said with a bit of resentment: "Please tell me, sir, it's not that ordinary people don't have that ability, but that today's scholars are all You have to buy it with money. Common people disdain it!"
"Bold!" When Wang Erbiao heard this, he immediately grasped this point and shouted sharply, "The imperial examination is the cornerstone of the imperial court's selection of scholars. You are a madman, you have no ability but you find such a ridiculous excuse, do you know your guilt?"
As soon as his voice rose, it became a little sharper and seemed a little different from ordinary people.
Lan Tianbao was stunned when he heard this, and immediately turned to look at him, as if he wanted to confirm something?
"You are such a real person!" Zhu Yuyao was also a little unhappy. She looked at Lan Tianbao and said, "If you organize the court like this, I don't like you anymore!"
Zhang Mingwei was speechless, turned to look at her, and then turned back and said kindly: "It's okay, please tell me carefully, what is the situation?"
When Lan Tianbao heard this, he no longer bothered to look at Wang Erbiao. He looked back at Zhang Mingwei and replied with a little anger: "This villain is definitely not planning the court! In today's place, if you are not a child of an official family, you must use money. That’s it, otherwise you won’t be able to pass the county or government examinations.”
Having said this, he immediately added: "The villain specifically inquired and found out that this situation is by no means unique to the entire county, but occurs everywhere."
When Wang Erbiao heard this, he raised his eyebrows slightly. Just when he was about to get angry, he saw Zhang Mingwei waved his hand to him to stop him from talking, and then asked: "Have you heard of Fushe?"
Upon hearing this, Lan Tianbao was shocked and asked quickly: "Does your Excellency also know?"
"Sir, what does this mean?" Zhu Yuyao heard that something was wrong, and immediately frowned and asked, "Could he be telling the truth?"