Go back to ancient times to engage in sideline business

The document commending the county magistrate's loyalty to the country was issued directly from the governor's office, and sent to the county office in a hurry.

Lin Zhixian stood in the hall holding the official documents, fighting excitedly, and for the first time felt that his official career was boundless.

Send the special envoy with the letter to the post house, settle down, and the master secretary immediately rushes back to the county government office, turns in through the side door, and hurriedly gets close to Lin Zhixian's ear.

"My lord, what should I do with that Chen Yuanbao?"

Lin Zhixian only felt disappointed, and said impatiently: "Isn't it already locked in prison, what should I do with it?"

"Your Excellency is right, but I just heard from the special envoy that I met Master Tongzhi who came down from Yongning Mansion on the road. They will arrive soon. If they see Chen Yuanbao in prison, I'm afraid there will be more trouble."

"Forget it, then go find a secluded house outside, detain him temporarily and send someone to watch him."

"Yes, my lord is clever!" The master patted his ass without losing the opportunity, and stepped back quickly to arrange staff.

The people in the county government office were busy, and Tang Zhong was not idle either.

With regard to Chen Yuanbao, thanks to Shan Jiuye's help, Tang Zhong took five altars of good wine to the pier as a thank you gift.

It's all the peach blossom drunk, the treasure of the town store of Fuxing Restaurant.

Thinking of Mr. Qi's kindness in gifting the jade pendant, Tang Zhong made a special trip back to the restaurant, wrapped two of the nail clippers left at shopkeeper Liu, and entrusted the people on the pier to send them to Qi Anbo and Yang Yu.

That day, Qi Amber accidentally ate a large amount of morning glory because he was eager to get the nail clippers, and his life was hanging by a thread.

Now, he gave the nail clippers as a gift of thanks, and by accident, it can be regarded as fulfilling Mr. Qi's wish.

After finishing these human exchanges, there are more important things waiting for Tang Zhong two days later.

The vernal equinox is the day when the best Honghu Academy in the county enrolls students.

On this day, Tang Zhong led Uncle Tang to Qingniu Street early and joined the long queue for admission.

According to the usual practice, every spring equinox, the masters of Honghu Academy will test and teach the homework of the registered students one by one at the gate of the academy.

According to the quality of the answers, the students will be assigned to each class of A, B, C, and D respectively.

If you pass this entrance examination and enter Class A in one fell swoop, it will be no different from the children of future generations who enter the key classes of key schools in elementary school. Not only will the children be greatly affirmed, but even the parents will be honored.

Tang Zhong had little experience, and when he learned that Honghu Academy had an entrance exam, it was less than two days before the vernal equinox.

In the past two days, he insisted on going outside to collect a lot of books, and they all piled up on Uncle Tang's bedside.

But he also knew in his heart that such tossing was just cramming, and no one would know what Mr. Tian asked on the spur of the moment.

Standing in the middle of the long queue, Tang Zhong turned his head, glanced at the gate of the academy that was getting closer, and took a deep breath first.

Turning his head, he told Tang Laosan: "No matter what sir asks for a while, don't be nervous, and answer slowly after thinking clearly."

Tang Laosan nodded, but he didn't look like his elder brother as if he was facing a big enemy.

"Don't worry, brother, I'm not nervous."

As the team moved forward slowly, Tang Zhong pulled out a copy of "Li Sao" from his arms as if he remembered something.

"Come, come, read it again, pick up two simple sentences and recite them back and forth. If the husband asks you what poems you have read, just recite it to him!"

"No need, brother."

"You just listen to me. I have experience in memorizing texts! Read it before the exam, and the effect can last half an hour!"

"No need, I know how to recite it." Tang Laosan stretched out his arm and forcefully stuffed the exposed half of the book back into his brother's arms.

Tang Zhong couldn't believe it: "When did you recite it, you can't even recognize all the words on it!"

"Just after you finished reconciling the pinyin table with four tones, and annotated all the books at home in pinyin, I was free and free, so I tried to recite the books myself."

Tang Zhong was dumbfounded when he heard it, like a poor student who was meeting a bully for the first time to share his learning experience.

Some time ago, I taught Xiaomeng how to learn Pinyin, originally for the convenience of her enlightenment.

Unexpectedly, Uncle Tang, who already knew a lot of characters, was also very interested in pinyin, so Tang Zhong taught the two of them together.

In order to make it easier for the two brothers and sisters to learn and use, Tang Zhong also brought books with him when he was on duty at the East Gate, and wrote pinyin word by word on them whenever he was free.

During this period of time, the books that the family specially bought for several children were filled with pinyin by Tang Zhong.

Originally, I thought that with Pinyin, it would help them read by themselves, so that they could read a few more words at home when they had nothing to do, so that he would not have to worry about going outside to play.

Unexpectedly, Tang Laosan actually memorized the entire "Li Sao" by relying on pinyin!

You know, when he was studying, he only memorized excerpts, and he felt that it was too much!

Tang Zhong couldn't help but look at his younger brother again, with an unhurried attitude, a self-motivated disposition, and a more precocious mind than his peers.

Look at this clever little brain, there must be something promising in the future!

Thinking of this, Tang Zhong's eyes almost burst into tears of relief like an old mother.

"Next person……"

The handyman at the gate of the academy yelled at the top of his voice, and Tang Zhong hurried forward with Tang Laosan.

Finally it was their turn.

I saw behind the desk at the door, a gentleman in white robe with long beard and beard standing sideways, with his head raised, looking like a pedant.

Xu Shi has already taught too many children, and now he is tired. When Tang Laosan came over, he didn't even lift his eyelids, and he closed his eyes and muttered to himself: "Xiang Jiuling, who can warm the seats. Be filial to your relatives. Do what you should."

Tang Laosan bowed his hands politely, and followed his master's words: "Rong is four years old, and he can make pears. My younger brother, Yu Chang, should be a prophet."

These are the contents of the "Three Character Classic".

The gentleman glanced over: "Have you read "A Thousand Family Essays?"

"Mr. Hui, I've seen it."

"What else have you seen before?"

"Mr. Hui, I also read "A Thousand Poems", "The Classic of Filial Piety", "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" at home."

The gentleman turned around, with a look of surprise on his face, and asked, "Then what is a university from what you see?"

"Mr. Hui, the way of university is to be virtuous, to be close to the people, and to be good." Uncle Tang pursed his lips. "But students don't quite understand what it means."

"Not bad, not bad!" The gentleman stroked his long beard and smiled very pleased.

"At a young age, I have already started to take the initiative to dabble in universities, which shows my self-motivated heart. Come on, write down your name."

After a whole morning of learning, I finally met someone who loves to read, unlike the urchins in front of me who don't know what to ask.

Uncle Tang looked at the four grids A, B, C, and D on the rice paper in front of him, and holding up a brush, he didn't know where to fill in his name.

"Let's go to Class A! I will study and practice calligraphy with the old man in the future, would you like to?"

Standing aside, Tang Zhong suddenly felt his face radiant, and hurriedly urged Mr. Tang Lao Sanchao to bow and salute.

Class A!

The third child of his family, Tang, can enter Class A when he enters school!

Tang Zhong really wished that, like the parents of later generations, he would show off his children to everyone when he returned home!

"Look at him! You can read all kinds of books, and you can answer all your questions! Let's look at you!"

In the corner in front of the gate of Honghu Academy, a woman watched Tang Laosan's answer the whole time, and felt anxious, and was angrily criticizing her son.

The little chubby muttered against the corner of the wall, but he didn't make any mistakes.

"If I hadn't slept well in the past few days, how could I not be able to answer! I have read those books a long time ago!"

"Stupid!"

The woman was so angry that she twisted the child's arm: "I can't control you now, can I! Seeing that you are about to enter the academy, you always say that you can't sleep well, and you feel sleepy when you pick up a book during the day, which is obviously lazy and not working hard." ! As long as you can make progress, you won’t be assigned to Class D!”

"It's just that I can't sleep well, it's just that I can't sleep well!" Little Pang Dun cried out in pain.

"Don't ask anything, just beat me! You don't know, every day in the yard next door, there is always a man talking from time to time, shouting about Jiuye and the boat. Every night, he wakes me up several times , can't sleep well at all!"

"The yard next door has long been deserted, so don't scare me! If someone really shouted, why didn't I hear it!"

"He didn't keep shouting. Besides, you and daddy are sleeping in the east room, so far away, so of course you can't hear me!"

"You still talk back, don't you! You obviously don't work hard, and you still make up lies and nonsense. See if I don't take care of you today!"

The woman was so angry that she touched her feet, raised her hand holding the shoe, and was about to hit the chubby pier with her head, when she suddenly felt her arms tighten and someone grabbed her.

"I'll teach my son a lesson, mind your own business!"

The complacency on Tang Zhong's face had long since dissipated, replaced by a strong sense of urgency.

"Excuse me, sister-in-law, which alley does your family live in?"

In the afternoon of spring, the sun is warm and warm, and many people open their doors and windows wide to freshen the air in the house.

Only in a courtyard at the end of Hongwa Lane, although there are people living there, the doors and windows are still locked.

In the pitch-black room, Chen Yuanbao was thrown on the bed with his hands and feet tightly bound, with a rag stuffed in his mouth.

He squirmed and moved to the side of the bed, shaking his body with difficulty, probing for a long time, finally rubbing his head against the red thread tied at the foot of the bed.

The red thread trembled, and several bells rang outside the door immediately.

The door opened, and a long shadow of a plainclothes officer came in, and said impatiently: "Didn't you just have a pee half an hour ago? I would like to advise you, if you dare to torment me, you will have nothing to eat!"

Chen Yuanbao arched his body with loose hair, his mouth was gagged, and he could only hum through his nose.

The officer came over and pulled the rag from his mouth: "Say something quickly, and fart quickly!"

"Please let me go!" Chen Yuanbao begged sadly, his voice already hoarse.

"As long as you let me out, you can choose any benefits! All my property is yours!"

"Family property? You are penniless now, and if you sell all your property, what benefits can you give? Don't be foolish!"

"Yes! There are still ten donkey boats! I will immediately write down a written statement and hand over all the donkey boats to you! As long as you can let me out!"

The plainclothes officer just thought it was funny: "Let me tell you the truth! Those boats of yours have long been donated by Linzhi County to transport military rations, and they have nothing to do with you! You should accept your fate early!"

"How is it possible! How is it possible! It's all my boat! It's a boat built by me with all my wealth!"

Chen Yuanbao's voice was hoarse, and his shrill voice echoed in the empty room.

The plainclothes officer lost his patience, grabbed the rag at hand, and was about to stuff it back into Chen Yuanbao's mouth, when he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head, his eyes went dark, and he passed out on the ground.

Behind the official, stood two masked men, only two eyes were exposed, and they could not tell their identities at all.

Chen Yuanbao came out of desperation, and quickly stretched his neck to ask: "Jiuye! Are you sent by Jiuye to save me?"

The man in front of him quickly swung his knife, cut the ropes on his hands and feet, untied the sackcloth he was carrying and threw it in front of him, and said coldly: "Don't you want to get the donkey back and move the boat? Going to the governor's office to seek justice is the only thing you have to do." Here is the opportunity. Here are the clothes and silver, hurry out of the city now!"

Chen Yuanbao lowered his eyes and clenched his fists angrily.

……

At the second quarter of the unitary hour, a rush of horseshoes sounded on Baima East Street.

Bu Tou Qi hurried to the east gate with two police officers, and threw the arrest warrant in Hu Tou'er's hand.

"Put the arrest warrant on the top of the city quickly, and strictly investigate everyone who goes out of the city. Once this person appears, immediately gag and tie him up, and escort him to the county government!"

Hu Tou'er was squinting his eyes at the moment, enjoying the last sunset photo, and he didn't recall it for a long time.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Don't inquire! Hurry up and do as I say!"

After finishing speaking, Qi Butou immediately turned his horse's head and drove towards the west gate with two fast horses.

"Bah! How dare you talk to me like that! Let me loose your skin someday!"

After yelling at Yang Chen of the horseshoe, Hu Tou'er unfolded the arrest warrant in his hand and took a closer look at it.

hiss!So familiar!

Especially the two long catfish whiskers on the mouth, where have you seen them?

"Old Zhang, go to the city tower and mix some paste down."

Hu Touer had just given Lao Zhang some errands on this side, and on the other side he saw Tang Zhong carrying an oiled paper bag, walking through the People's Square towards the gate of the city.

"What delicious food did you bring me again?"

Hu Touer greeted him happily, and sniffed ahead of time: "Smoked duck! It's still the smoked duck from Fuxing Restaurant!"

"Exactly! Anyway, I'm taking a rest today, so I stopped by Fuxing Restaurant and brought one over."

As Tang Zhong said, he quickly handed the oiled paper bag to Hu Tou'er.

"Good brother, Xiu Mu will never forget to think about me!" Hu Tou'er touched the paper bag and said pleasantly, "It's still hot! Then you have to eat it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold!"

Tang Zhong looked at the back of Hu Tou'er running up the stairs in a hurry, he calmed down a little, and went downstairs again, encouraging Zhao Li, who was on duty, to also go upstairs to eat meat.

"This...isn't that good! When I leave the city gate, there will be no one left!"

"What's the matter, I'll help you keep watch for a while. The duck was just taken out of the stove, and it's still dripping with oil!"

"Really?" Zhao Li swallowed, and handed the tasseled gun to him without hesitation: "I'll go back as soon as I go!"

Tang Zhong nodded again and again, walked out of the city gate, looked around at the people all over the square who were exercising, and simply leaned his tasseled gun against the wall, and went to the side to step on the walker.

Not long after, a man dressed as a woodcutter, wrapped tightly in a coir raincoat, was walking quickly through the city gate.

He was wearing a bamboo hat on his head, so he couldn't see what he looked like, only two long beards floating slowly outside the bamboo hat...

The spring breeze brought warmth, and several wild peach trees outside the city gate bloomed in these few days.

Standing on the city wall, Tang Zhong was in a daze for a while looking at the Qingjiang River outside the city.

Before he knew it, it had been half a year since he came to this world that did not belong to him.

From the mentality of half playing and half watching a play at the beginning, to stepping into it step by step now, he didn't know when he had such a deep bond with the people and things around him.

Maybe it was the day Fuxing Restaurant was wronged and closed, maybe it was the New Year's Eve at Aunt Gu's house, or maybe he cared about them earlier than he imagined...

"Have you heard? The battle at the seaside is tense, and even the troops stationed near Yongning Mansion have been dispatched to support."

Hu Touer came over, his words were rather melancholy, if there was a cigarette on his finger, it would be even more vicissitudes of life.

"I don't know how long the war will last, damn Japanese pirates, damn it! Why don't we follow up and ask for orders, and go to support the front line!"

Tang Zhong is not as concerned about the country and the people as he is. It is not enough for him to focus on taking care of the people around him, and he will not cast his eyes outside of Qingjiang County.

"Hutou Gaoyi, but I still have three children in my family! These days, I have spent a lot of energy just looking for the old mother who takes care of the two younger sisters. If I leave Qingjiang County again, the three children in the family will only I'm afraid I'm going to make a fuss!"

"That's right!" Hu Tou'er laughed out loud at himself.

"They are all people with families, how can they just leave!"

"Hey! Enjoy the scenery on the city wall!"

While speaking, a familiar voice sounded from behind, and Hu Tou'er knew without looking that it was Qi Tutou who had arrived.

He was about to turn around to run a few words, but he saw that it was not only Catcher Qi who walked up the city wall, but also a team of police officers behind him.

The arresters had ropes and chains tied around their waists, so it was obvious that they were not visiting, but were here to detain people.

Hu Tou'er clenched his fists: "What tricks are you doing!"

Qi Tutou's face was as heavy as water, and he looked completely businesslike.

"Following the order of Mr. Lin, the prefect, I am here to escort Tang Zhong, the gatekeeper of the east city, back for questioning!"

Beard!

Tang Zhong!

"Ask his mother's head! Tang Zhong is still on duty at the city gate today, so he can't go to the county government office! If you have any questions, let Lin Zhixian come and ask!"

Catcher Qi didn't have the heart to argue with him: "Tang Zhong, the gatekeeper of Dongcheng, colluded with businessmen in private to make a profit. Now that the Dongchuang incident has happened, he will arrest me and go back without letting go!"

As if being hit in the head with a stick, Tang Zhong's mind went blank, and he didn't know how to defend himself.

Or rather, he had no excuse at all.

The cold touch of the iron chain fell on his wrist, making Tang Zhong's fingertips tremble slightly.

Even though he was unwilling in every way in his heart, he could not escape the disaster of prison after all.

Seeing Tang Zhong wearing shackles and being escorted down the stairs by two police officers, Hu Tou'er was filled with anger and stepped forward quickly with his fists clenched.

"I advise you not to be impulsive!" Qi Tutou waited until the crowd had gone far, then stopped in front of Hu Tou'er and warned: "The witness is at the county government office at this time, and he can't be wrongly caught if he speaks convincingly!"

"Witness? Who the hell is a witness!"

Catcher Qi glanced behind vigilantly, and lowered his voice: "Look at your east gate, who is missing today!"

Who is missing?

Shaking off Qi Tuntou's arm lying in front of him, Hu Bingyi quickly walked down the stairs, his eyes just fell on Zhao Li who looked surprised.

It's Lao Zhang!

Lao Zhang is not on duty today!

The author has something to say:

Ah, I misunderstood the meaning of county school before, and thought it was a school in the county.

I just learned today that the county school is a place where children can advance after being admitted in the children's examination, and those who pass the entrance examination are called scholars.

So all the county schools that appeared before have been changed into academies!