Great Imperial Merchant

On the first day of opening, Yang Zhongyuan, in line with the principle of losing money and making money, was busy until the first hour of Xushi, before sending away the last satisfied diner.

Looking back and counting the remaining flour, Yang Zhongyuan was shocked to realize that one hundred bowls of noodles were sent out that day. The cost of the noodles alone was 700 renminbi, labor and firewood were not counted, and the smooth noodles and soup were more than [-] renminbi. If you go up, you will get a tael of silver.

A tael of silver is enough for a month's rations in ordinary people's homes, but Yang Zhongyuan doesn't feel distressed. He can see that as long as the diners who come here for free eat the noodles he made, their expressions will immediately change. .

He has confidence in his craft and is full of expectations for the future, so even though the sky is getting dark now, he still happily squats by the well to wash the dishes, as if he really doesn't feel tired.

Standing behind him, Cheng Weizhe watched him wipe the sweat from his brow while earnestly cleaning the dishes with a loofah.

When it comes to food, Yang Zhongyuan is always very particular. The dishes and bowls must be clean, and the ingredients must be fresh and tidy. Even a bowl of noodle soup must be presented in the best appearance.

This is the ultimate pursuit of food.

For some reason, seeing him like this, Cheng Weizhe felt that the future seemed like a wide avenue. Although Yang Zhongyuan was faltering and exhausted, his gaze was firm, and his steps were moving forward steadily, never shrinking back .

Since he was a child, he has known Yang Zhongyuan for 24 years, but he also discovered for the first time that this childhood playmate is a person who will never compromise. Study hard by yourself.

Today, although I don't know how he got here all these years, his top cooking skills have become the biggest reliance for him to take root.Cheng Weizhe has been observing the expressions of the diners today, and he knows that even if Yang Zhongyuan's shop only sells this dish of chicken soup and silver noodles, the business in the future will definitely not be worse than that of Qian Ji next door.

Yang Zhongyuan was cleaning the bowl seriously, as if he had noticed something, he turned his head and saw Cheng Weizhe staring at him with his head down.

He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, so he hurriedly stopped and scolded Cheng Weizhe: "You don't want to go home so late? I'm going to trouble you today. Just tell me what you want to eat in the future, and I can make anything as long as I know how to do it."

Cheng Weizhe suddenly smiled, his low and deep laughter echoed with Xia Rizhi's cry, forming a heart-pounding piece of music.

"Okay, I'll depend on you to make whatever I want to eat in the future." Cheng Weizhe responded.

Yang Zhongyuan didn't look back, and the sky darkened, he just said: "I'm done too, you go back and rest early, there won't be so many guests in the future, my father and I can handle it."

Regarding what he said, Cheng Weizhe didn't agree or refute, he just said: "You've been tired all day, you should go to bed early, I'll go first."

It stands to reason that Yang Zhongyuan should go out to deliver the delivery, but for some reason, he felt his knees were soft, as if he couldn't stand up: "You, you go back first, my hands are dirty, so I won't give it away."

"Okay." Cheng Weizhe answered him with a smile, then turned and left the shop.

Yang Zhongyuan was left squatting alone in the yard, washing repeatedly with a bowl in his hand, he couldn't even hear the annoying cicada, only Cheng Weizhe's word "good" could be heard.

The common people go home early at night, the tea shop does not serve dinner, and there are usually no customers at Shenshi. Cheng Weizhe went out of the shop, and when he passed by his tea shop, he took a casual look, and sure enough, it was closed.

He was in a very good mood, humming the canoe tune all the way, and walked towards Zixin Lane.

He hasn't returned home for many days, if he doesn't go back today, those people at home don't know what to say.But those messy things couldn't interrupt Cheng Weizhe's good mood, he walked briskly into Zixin Lane, and walked straight to the gate of Cheng's mansion.

It was getting late at this moment, and the sun in the west was hanging lightly on one side of the sky. It was covered by thick clouds, and there was not much light coming out.

Instead, the dim light and shadow of the moon, as round as a silver plate, illuminated Cheng Weizhe's way home.

Cheng Weizhe stood outside the gate, waiting for the porter to open the door for him with a yawn, while looking up at the moon.

Fifteen months are round, and the whole family is reunited.On this day when the whole family was supposed to be reunited, he wandered outside alone for many days, and he didn't see his father sending someone to find him to go home.

Thinking of this, Cheng Weizhe couldn't help but sneer.His father, for many years, has read false Taoism and talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality, but in the end he did things that are not as good as pigs and dogs.

Cheng Weizhe murmured about his father in his heart, but his face showed nothing, the porter opened the door, and called out perfunctorily: "Young Master, I have been waiting for a long time." He leaned against the door and half closed his eyes, as if he was extremely sleepy. .

Cheng Weizhe was very used to being so unreasonable by his servants, he was too lazy to argue with these people, so he didn't respond, and walked straight into the house.

The Cheng family was about the same size as the Yang family, and it also had the style of a front hall with a garden in the back and a house in the back. Cheng Weizhe walked through the quiet middle garden all the way, walked to the arched door of the back house and knocked on the door.

The concierge of the back house is a middle-aged man in his 40s. When he opened the door, he hurriedly welcomed him in: "Master, why did you come back at this time? The master is very worried and has been waiting for a long time."

"Uncle Lian, please get up and open the door for me. It's already late. Go to bed." He has never changed for him. If there are still a few people in this family that Cheng Weizhe cares about, then he must be one of them.

Cheng Weizhe chatted a few words casually with Uncle Lian, and then walked all the way along the path to the northwest corner of the back house. Along the way, he could see several exquisite small buildings, especially the one near the door of the house was the most magnificent, with a full It was three stories high, and it was where the Cheng family's main house was.

However, as the eldest son and grandson of the Cheng family, Cheng Weizhe did not live here.He only glanced up at the copper bell hanging under the eaves of the main house, and then walked towards the northwest corner without looking back.

But the farther you go, the more dilapidated the building looks, and there are courtyards where servants live in several places along the way. When Cheng Weizhe reached the end of the path, he saw a courtyard with blue tiles and white walls.

In all fairness, the entire courtyard looks very clean and tidy. Although it is not as grand as the main house, it is also very unique, so that people can tell at a glance that it is the residence of scholars.

There are a lot of moso bamboos planted in the yard, and under the blowing of the evening wind, there are rustling sounds, as if something is whispering in the ear, and it seems to be telling an unspeakable secret.

In this Zixin Lane, who dares to say that there is no secret?The Yang family next door has them, and the Wu family across the street also has them. However, Cheng Weizhe always feels that their family's secret is the dirtiest. As long as he stays here, he will feel uncomfortable all over his body and cannot sleep peacefully at night.

But after all, he can't stay away from home all day long. Those members of the Cheng family can bring the dead to life with just one mouth, and his father's filial piety has not yet passed. It only takes five months, and the last five months are over, then... …

Just when Cheng Weizhe was staring at the bamboo in the courtyard in a daze, a hoarse voice unique to a boy sounded: "Master, you are back!"

Cheng Weizhe looked down and saw that it was his little boy Ermao. Cheng Weizhe winked at him and told him to keep quiet, but it was too late.

"Weizhe, it's so late, how did you know to come back? What do you look like at such an age?! Look at Wei Shu, no matter how busy the business outside is, he will come back to accompany your uncle and uncle for dinner, how about you? You are too unfilial!" Cheng He scolded his son loudly.

Cheng Weizhe glanced up at him, and saw that he was looking at him impatiently as always, with only two words written in his eyes, which was disgust.

Yes, Cheng Weizhe, as Cheng He's only son, was hated by his father since childhood.

When he was young, he would be wronged, dissatisfied, and complain, but as time went by, he understood many things.The kinship of flesh and blood has long since been weakened by the abuse and neglect of the elders for years, and what remains is only the shackles called kinship.

He looked at his father's handsome and pale face even though he was nearly fifty years old, and suddenly felt out of breath.

This home made him uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable, and he wished to burn this place down, so that his "father" could deeply experience the anger he had borne in his heart since he was a child.

"Father, it's so late, haven't you slept yet?" At the end, Cheng Weizhe just lowered his head and responded lightly.

Now is not the time, there are still five months, only five months left...

Seeing his son bowed his head after being reprimanded by him, Cheng He couldn't help feeling happy and comfortable. He proudly looked at his son who was in his twenties and was scolded by him like a child, and said, "Your uncle remembered a poem and forgot Which book is it in? I'll help him find it.

Hearing this, Cheng Weizhe couldn't help flashing a hint of sarcasm in his usual smiling eyes: "Yes, uncle's affairs are always the most important thing. It's really a blessing for my little uncle to have such a companion."

He was telling the truth, but Cheng He was very upset when he heard it. He lowered his face and said, "Your uncle is good. How do you know that he comes from a scholarly family and is proficient in all kinds of poetry and songs? It’s a pity that such a person came to our house.”

Cheng He couldn't help but sighed.

Cheng Weizhe raised his eyebrows, is it a pity?He didn't think it was a pity at all.

The younger uncle, who was originally the second in line of succession, lived in the main house, while their family, who took the name of the eldest son and grandson, huddled in this remote small courtyard to watch people's faces and live.He really didn't know why his father lived so happily all these years.

He also obtained fame all the way, and became a master of Juren. Although he didn't take part in the palace examination, he had read sage books for more than ten years, and later worked as a teacher for a while. It can be said that most of his life was lived by books.

But he didn't understand what kind of person his father was.

He was curious when he was young, and then he gradually let go of his obsession. His father is no longer something ordinary people can understand.He always felt that he might have gone crazy long ago.

Watching a broken bamboo garden and a room full of books all day long, writing a book with a beautiful face in it, and a dream of a golden house in it, and then claiming to be a high-ranking scholar, giving pointers to other people's lives, and always looking down on relying on oneself People who work hard.

Like his father, like him.

Why is he?If the Cheng family kicked him out, he wouldn't even be able to be a teacher, and he would starve to death on the street in a few days!

Cheng Weizhe didn't speak, he just looked down at the thick thread on the toe of the shoe that had worn off long ago, and when Cheng He finished his long speech, he suddenly asked him: "Weizhe, you are twenty-five now, right? Is it time to find a partner?"