Huaxi Chronicle

The carriage moved forward slowly, and after less than a quarter of an hour, it stopped in front of a large house.The courtyard has white walls and blue tiles, and the courtyard walls are more than two feet high. All the scenery inside the courtyard is hidden behind the walls, and people outside cannot see half of it.Ivy spreads all over the wall.Occasionally, there are small flowers of various colors blooming in between.It adds a bit of interest to this majestic high wall.

The carriage came to a complete stop, Xun Feibai got out of the carriage first with Yan Yuanjin in his arms, handed over the sleeping little man in his arms to Chunlai, and turned back to help Yan Cong'an get out of the carriage.

The steward in the mountain was waiting at the door early in the morning, and hurriedly came up to bow and salute when he saw someone coming: "Third lady, young master."

Yan Cong'an nodded slightly, and said in return: "Qian is in charge." Xun Feibai nodded in return.

Guanshi Qian, formerly known as Qian Tan, is from Huaxi County.It was originally the big management cabinet of Yan's Rice Shop in Binzhou, and worked under Yan Guangxin when he was alive.A few years ago, his mother was seriously ill. Yan Guangxin and his wife sympathized with him and transferred him to the farm as the general manager.

The farm that Yan Cong'an's mother married as a dowry has [-] mu of fertile land, [-] mu of orchard, [-] mu of mulberry forest and a manor - Lanxi Villa.Among them, the fertile land and orchards are leased to farmers without land in the village for rent, and the farm provides cattle for [-]% of the land rent.

The [-]-acre mulberry forest is managed by hired farmers for the silkworm farm in the West Garden.The silkworms in the West Garden also hired many female workers, responsible for raising silkworms, reeling silk, and finally weaving it into silk and selling it in Yan's shop.

Lanxi Villa covers an area of ​​more than [-] mu. It is built along the mountain, with two gardens in the east and west. The east garden is built for the residence of the owner, and the west garden is built with guest houses, kitchens, grain sheds, stables, warehouses and silkworm houses.

The East Garden draws spring water from mountains into the garden, heaps hills and digs pools, pavilions, pavilions, pools and waterside pavilions are built along the water, and the carved verandahs meander and connect with each other.The beautiful trees in the garden are verdant, bright, quiet and quiet, and there are occasional houses located among them, which are well arranged and set off in an interesting way.

It was the autumn harvest season, and there were many affairs in the villa. Yan Cong'an had been discussing matters with Guan Qian for many days.

Xun Feibai would take Yan Yuanjin for a walk in the village every day, except for reviewing books and teaching Yan Yuanjin's homework.In the first few days, the villagers were somewhat afraid of the owner of this big manor, but after a few days of getting along, seeing Xun Feibai's kindness and amiability as a scholar's wife, they became more respectful and close, and even more enthusiastic, they would take the initiative to talk to him.

Xun Feibai lived in the county with his parents when he was young, and he didn't know much about life in the village.The busy villagers were harvesting rice, threshing rice, drying rice, and husking. Xun Feibai was amazed at the busy farming scene at first glance.

Lu Liang, the village official of Peach Blossom Village, is fifty-six this year. He was born as a scholar. He is a classmate and good friend with Lao Shanzhang of Qingshan Academy. He heard Lao Shanzhang mention Xun Feibai earlier.After seeing her in person, seeing her humility and politeness, I fell in love with her even more.Lu Liang has been the village official of Taohua Village for many years, and he sold the farm to the Lu family through his middleman, and then Lord Lu Hou gave her to Yan Cong'an's mother as a dowry.

When Yan Guangxin and his wife were alive, they had a lot of contacts with Lu Cunzheng because of the farm affairs.Yan Guangxin and his wife built dams and dug rivers and canals in Dahe Village, so that Taohua Village can be like it is today. Every field can be connected by canals, which saves the trouble of carrying water for irrigation on weekdays, and can release floods in time during floods. Preventing the farmland from being flooded is precisely why Lu Cunzheng admired Yan Guangxin and his wife, and deeply regretted their unexpected death.

Lu Village was standing by the dam with Xun Feibai, looking at the fields in the village, he said with emotion: "The dam and the ditches have been built for four years, but it is a pity that it was not completed before his husband and wife died. The two of them were delighted to see such a scene, but it's a pity." After Lu Cunzheng finished speaking, he sighed deeply.

Xun Feibai asked in surprise, "Four years?"

Lu Cun was holding his hands behind his back, nodded and said: "Yes, it took more than two years just to open the river and build the dam." He pointed to the two-foot-wide river below his feet, and then said: "This river is more than two feet wide." It used to be only one person wide, and every year during heavy rains, a lot of farmland would be submerged. We dug for more than a year to get what it is like today. At that time, the county refused to pay money, and the village collected money from house to house, and only collected less than ten guan. .”

Although Xun Feibai didn't know how much money it would cost to open the canal, it would cost at least ten guan to build an adobe house for ordinary people.However, the ten guan money is really not enough to dig the river, and it is even more impossible to build dams and wide ditches.

Lu Cun was walking down the embankment, and said in a deep voice, "In the past four years, I have spent a total of 560 to 780 nine Wen."

Xun Feibai was a little surprised, not only because of the huge sum of money, but also because Lu Cun could remember it so clearly: "How do you remember it so clearly?"

Lu Cun was turning around to look in the direction of Lanxi Villa, and pointed to the fields there: "Those good fields that are higher up are the fields of their husband and wife. , do you know why the two of them still want to build this embankment and canal?"

Xun Feibai shook his head. Hearing what Lu Cunzheng said, Yan Guangxin and his wife built the canal not for their own fields, but to help the villagers of Taohua Village?

Lu Village seemed to be lost in memory. After thinking for a while, he said in a heavy voice: "In previous years, during the rainy season, the rainwater from the mountains and the upstream river would gather here. It will affect the harvest, but it is not too serious."

"One year, the rain was particularly abundant, and it rained for half a month. Not to mention the farmland, many farmhouses were washed away by the rain, and more than a dozen villagers died, but as the village official, I was helpless."

The destroyed fields, the collapsed houses, and the crying villagers are still fresh in Lu Village's memory and cannot be forgotten.

Lu Cunzheng paused for a moment, and his deep voice became hoarse: "Yan Sanlang and his wife saw such a tragic scene, moved their hearts of compassion, and generously donated money to build dams and canals in the village. In exchange, the villagers are now safe and sound. Life. With such kindness, I will remember every penny they spent, and I will write down every penny they spend every day, and the account book is on the bookshelf at home."

Xun Feibai naturally understood Lu Cunzheng's approach. She had liquidated the accounts of Yan's rice shop, and her annual income was only more than 200 yuan after deducting expenses.The [-] guan is the income of the rice shop for more than ten years. Although Yan Cong'an's mother owns a lot of shops, most of them are directly leased to others, and the annual rent is less than [-] guan.

The [-] guan is not a small sum for his husband and wife, but the two of them donated money for the villagers of this Taohua village, it is indeed worth remembering this old village who is over half a hundred years old.

The two got down from the embankment and walked along the river to the village, only to see a woman jumping out of the field ridge.The woman was dressed in old and rough wooden clothes, her hair was in a mess, and there were a lot of weeds in her hair. She threw herself at Lu Cunzheng's feet and began to cry: "Help me find a little, a good person, a good person, I Xiaoxiao is lost, Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, where are you?"

Lu Cunzheng was startled by the woman who ran out suddenly, and when he saw who was coming, he was about to bend down to help her up, when the woman let go of Lu Cunzheng's legs and ran to the side of the field. Shouting to the ridge: "Little, little..."

Xun Feibai saw that the woman seemed to be insane, looked at Lu Cunzheng beside him, and asked in confusion, "Why does this person look like this? Listen to what she said just now, but the child in the family is missing?"

Lu Cun was looking back, sighed heavily, and said, "This person is Qin Siniang, the widow in the village. Her husband died of illness seven years ago, and she has never remarried, and has always been dependent on her daughter Xiaoxiao. But who knows At the beginning of spring, Xiaoxiao somehow got lost."

"Some children saw that Xiaoxiao entered the back mountain, but we sent people up the mountain to search for it for several days but couldn't find it. There was a big cat deep in the back mountain forest, so we guessed that maybe the big cat was taken away. The child has never been found. Qin Siniang couldn't think about it for a while, and Qin Siniang went crazy, and she looked like this now. The little child is not only smart, but also looks good. Dejun, what a pity."

After listening to Xun Feibai, he was also a little bit sorry for what Lu Cunzheng said.Looking sideways at the woman, I saw that the man was holding a bunch of weeds in his arms, patted gently as if he was a child, he couldn't bear it, and didn't look at that side again.

The next day.

Lu Cunzheng and Xun Feibai were discussing knowledge in the house. Lu Xu, the little grandson of Lu Cunzheng, hurried into the house and said to Xun Feibai, "Mrs. Xun, Mrs. Xun, go and have a look outside. The black girl bullied and cried."

Xun Feibai heard the words and Lu Cunzheng slightly hand in hand, and walked towards the outside.When she came here just now, she saw several young children playing together at the door of Village Zheng's house, so she put Yan Yuanjin down to play with those children, and because Chunlai was looking after her, she was not too worried.

As soon as Xun Feibai walked out of the courtyard, he heard the cry of the villain, which was very similar to the day when the writing brush was broken.Following the prestige, I saw a little girl about eighteen or nine years old standing beside Yan Yuanjin. She was dark-skinned, slender, dressed in coarse clothes, holding a rake in her hand.

At this time, Yan Yuanjin was holding the little girl's thigh and crying loudly, and Chun Lai squatted beside the villain anxiously persuading him, but the villain didn't waver at all, and still burst into tears.

Xun Feibai originally thought that the villain was being bullied by other children, but now that she saw this scene, she lost her panic and slowed down.

The little girl who was hugged by Yan Yuanjin's thigh was a little at a loss. She fixedly looked at Yan Yuanjin who was crying with pear blossoms and rain, let go of her hand and put down the rake in her hand, then slowly stretched out her hand and bent down to hug her rise.Then he patted Yan Yuanjin's back lightly, and opened his mouth to speak as if to comfort the weeping villain.

Yan Yuanjin hugged the little girl's neck, and gradually stopped crying as the little girl patted her.Seeing her stop crying, Chunlai stretched out his arms to hug her back, but Yan Yuanjin just hugged the little girl and refused to let go.

Xun Feibai walked up to the three of them, and Chunlai bowed to salute: "Miss Xun."

Hearing Chunlai's words, Yan Yuanjin struggled to get down from the little girl's arms, and then reached out for Xun Feibai's hug.Xun Feibai leaned over and picked her up, took out a silk handkerchief to wipe off the tears on the little man's face, and asked softly, "Why are you crying like this little cat?"

Yan Yuanjin nestled in her arms, buried her face in Xun Feibai's arms, and said nothing.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Xun Fei turned around and looked at Chunlai: "Do you know what happened?"

Chun came to look at Yan Yuanjin in Xun Feibai's arms, and said with some doubts: "When I saw this, the little lady was holding the doll and crying. I asked the little lady, but she didn't answer, and I don't know why."

Xun Feibai looked at the little girl at the side again, and asked softly, "Then can you tell me why Xiaojin is crying?"

Seeing Xun Feibai looking at her, the little girl was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head slightly, and said softly: "I, I don't know, she wants me to play with her, but, but I still have to dry the rice, and I don't have time to share with her." She was playing, then, then ignored her, she, she cried."

Xun Feibai heard the words, frowned, put down Yan Yuanjin in his arms, let her stand aside, squatted down and asked her: "Is what this little lady said true?"

Yan Yuanjin also realized that there was something wrong with what he had done just now, and lowered his head, not daring to look at Xun Feibai, and responded in a low voice: "Yes."

When Xun Feibai heard the words, he was a little puzzled, but after thinking about it for a while, he became a little clearer.Yan Yuanjin was not a child who loved to cry, she cried in front of her for a total of two sessions, and was comforted and sympathized each time.It is estimated that the villain knows that crying can make people love and get what he wants, so today he wants to use this method to let the little girl beside him play with her.

She was a little displeased, if Yan Yuanjin did this often in the future, she would only become arrogant in the future.It can be seen that she lowered her head and refused to speak. Xun Feibai couldn't bear to reprimand her.

She sighed, and although her tone was harsh, she said softly: "Crying and shedding may be lovable, but if you want to achieve what you want by crying, it is not pleasing. Xiaojin knows that if someone wants to Willing to cry willfully, other friends won't like to play with her?"

Yan Yuanjin turned pale when he heard the words, raised his head in a panic, pulled Xun Feibai's clothes, and whispered: "Xiao Jin is wrong, Xiao Jin should not be a wayward child."

Hearing her admitting her mistake, Xun Feibai didn't reprimand her again, and said calmly, "Since you know your mistake, you should apologize to this little lady. Next time, don't be so capricious. People don't like people who are unreasonable."

Yan Yuanjin nodded lightly, glanced at the little girl beside him, then found a small paper bag in his bosom, took out a jelly bean from the paper bag, handed it to the little girl, and said: "Sister, I was wrong. Can you forgive me for giving you this jelly bean?"

The little girl didn't seem to expect that Yan Yuanjin would apologize to her, so she waved her hands shyly and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing."

Seeing that she refused to accept the jelly beans, Yan Yuanjin stood on tiptoe, fed the jelly beans to the little girl's mouth, and said with a smile, "Sister eats candy."

Seeing how persistent she was, the little girl opened her mouth and ate the jelly beans.The jelly beans are sweet and fragrant, with a taste of milk. The little girl felt that the jelly beans in her mouth instantly melted on the tip of her tongue. It was a hundred times more delicious than the jelly beans she had eaten in the past.

She looked down at the villain who knew her waist, and the villain looked at her with crooked eyebrows, his eyes seemed to be filled with stars, which were extraordinarily dazzling.The little girl lowered her eyebrows and stared at the patches on her shoes, a little shy and at a loss.

Seeing this, Xun Feibai was very satisfied.Yan Cong'an sent the boy from the villa to look for him, and she carried Yan Yuanjin back to the villa.

When passing by the West Garden, she saw a man in a brocade robe.This man is one of the three people who belonged to Wu Niang, the diabolical king, and Xun Feibai could see clearly what happened in the courtyard that day, this man should be the leader of the other two big men.

Xun Feibai turned around and asked the boy beside him, "Who is that?"

The boy glanced at the man in the distance, turned to Xun Feibai and said, "That's Gou Erlang, the nephew of Guanshi Qian."

Xun Feibai was a little surprised when he heard the words, thought for a while, and asked suspiciously: "Is he also working in the village?"

The boy shook his head: "Gou Erlang is not working in the village, he is working in the gambling house in Huaxi County."

When Xun Feibai entered the gate of the courtyard, he took another look at the side of the West Garden, and saw that Gou Erlang led a few female workers from the West Garden into a carriage on the road, and the carriage drove slowly towards the entrance of the village.

Xun Feibai looked away, and followed the boy to the study to find Yan Cong'an.