But before Tao Mo could come up with a countermeasure, the news brought by Hao Guozi had already solved this problem.
"Dark marriage?" Tao Mo was taken aback.
Hao Guozi nodded and said: "The people sent by Mr. Tong really said so. Mr. Tong said that Miss Tong has never married, and she is afraid of being lonely in the underworld. It is rare that Mr. Cai is also alone, so he is willing to pay for the two to do the funeral. Married, buried in the left and right."
Tao Mo could hear that Mr. Tong's words about never marrying and being alone were all lies. What he really wanted was to fulfill his daughter's wish during her lifetime. This is also good, if you can't share the same quilt in life, if you can share the same acupuncture point in death, it can be regarded as fulfilling your wish. "Such an ending can't be regarded as the most satisfactory. I just don't know if Miss Tong and Cai Fengyuan really know each other secretly."
Hao Guozi said: "Your life is rough, maybe you can cultivate it in the next life."
Tao Mo asked in surprise, "Do you believe in an afterlife?"
"Hey, all the monks, oh no, don't all the eminent monks say that?" Hao Guozi said, "It must be reasonable, otherwise why do so many people believe it?"
Tao Mo lowered his head and said, "It would be great if there is."
"Um?"
"My father cultivated good deeds all his life. If there is an afterlife, he will surely be able to give birth to a good family and enjoy the glory and wealth of his life. He will never meet such an unfilial son like me again."
Seeing him talking, Hao Guozi's brows were full of sorrow, and he hurriedly changed the topic: "Master, the Chinese New Year will be in a few days, how are you going to spend it?"
Tao Mo thought for a while and said, "Let Lao Tao decide."
Hao Guozi tugged at his sleeve and ran, "Let's ask now."
"Ask who?"
"Old Tao."
"Do you know where Lao Tao is?"
"I don't know, the young master knows?"
"Know."
"Where?"
"... turn around, then move forward."
Marriage in the dark is not a glorious event, and with the new year approaching, Tong's family has kept this happy event extremely secretive. Tao Mo and Gu She didn't know about this until they received the red eggs sent by Tong's mansion afterwards.
At this time, Tanyang County was completely immersed in the joy of celebrating the new year. Whether it was Miss Tong or Cai Fengyuan, they were all left behind and no one mentioned it.
The county government gradually became deserted.
The servants went home one after another, and except for two homeless ones, at the end of the day, there were only five people left in the county government office.
Lao Tao called the two remaining servants into the hall and opened another table for them. Although there are two tables, it is more lively than three people.
Tao Mo ate in silence.
Old Tao and Hao Guozi knew that he thought of Master Tao, and they tried their best to make fun of him. The servants were a bit restrained at first, but later on when the rice wine was on the table, they all became reckless regardless of whether they belonged to the master or not.
Tao Mo was laughed at by them a few times, and finally showed his face, and started drinking along with him.
After drinking a cup or two, he got up regardless of east, west, north and south.
Hao Guozi and the servant couldn't drink too much, and they sat staggeringly.
Seeing that the five of them had gone to four of them, and it was boring for one to watch the night, Lao Tao had no choice but to send them staggeringly back to their room.
There was nothing to say all night.
When the door opened again, it was New Years.
It was noon when Tao Mo got up.
He clutched his hangover head and walked to Lao Tao's door. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard Hao Guozi shouting loudly, "Young Master, Master Jin is here to celebrate the New Year!"
Tao Mo's head was buzzing from the yelling, and he said after a while, "Who is Master Jin?"
Hao Guozi turned to look at the expressionless Master Jin, and said with a smile, "It's the one invited by Young Master Sangu Thatched Cottage."
"Three visits to the thatched cottage?" Tao Mo suddenly turned his head. Although he is illiterate, he has heard the story of Liu Bei visiting the thatched cottage three times and inviting Zhuge Liang, a military strategist, to come out of the mountain. "Master Jin?"
Master Jin smiled and said: "Master, did you think of me? Just now I thought I was going to find another job."
Tao Mo ran down clutching his forehead in embarrassment, "I drank some wine last night."
Master Jin ignored him, and handed the basket in his hand to Hao Guozi, saying: "This is a dessert made by my wife, if my boss doesn't mind..."
"Never dislike it, don't dislike it..." Tao Mo hastily cut off his words.
Master Jin said: "Then, thank you, Master."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Tao Mo hurriedly said, "It's rare for you to come, why don't you stay and have a meal together?"
"It's rare for me to come?" Master Jin couldn't hold back his smile, "If I remember correctly, I come every day except yesterday."
Tao Mo knew he had made a slip of the tongue, "Yes, yes, I, I, I just want to stay with Master for a meal."
Master Jin looked at him suspiciously. Does he have something to say at the dinner table? Thinking of this, Master Jin was stopped.
Originally a table for three became a table for four, but it was a little more lively.
It's just that Lao Tao and Hao Guozi both noticed that when Master Jin was eating, his eyes were not in the rice bowl, but stuck to Tao Mo's body, with an inquiring look on his face.
Lao Tao and Hao Guozi secretly exchanged glances.
Hao Guozi gave Master Jin some vegetables, "Master, eat more, you are too thin."
Master Jin stopped chewing, threw back the soybean sprouts he had picked up, and said indifferently: "Eat too many bean sprouts, and you will naturally lose weight."
Hao Guozi winked at Lao Tao.
Old Tao smiled slightly at Master Jin, and said, "There are some herbs in this chicken soup, which are very nourishing. Master may wish to try it."
Master Jin looked at him inexplicably, "I've already drank three bowls."
Tao Mo saw that Hao Guozi and Lao Tao both took the initiative to greet them, so he couldn't sit still and say nothing, so he said, "This meat is delicious, Master, try it."
Could it be that what he wants to hint is hidden in this braised pork? Master Jin looked at the plate of braised pork that was farthest away from him, picked up a chopstick suspiciously, put it in his mouth, and tasted it slowly.
Both Hao Guozi and Lao Tao looked depressed.
Tao Mo asked, "How does it taste?"
Master Jin shook his head and said, "I haven't tasted it yet."
Hao Guozi quickly put the braised pork in front of him, "Master, taste it slowly."
Master Jin ate one piece at a time, he felt that the meat was fat but not greasy, and the taste was moderate, but he couldn't think of anything else, just thinking about it, suddenly saw a person coming in from outside, it was Cui Jiong.
"Cui Dianshi."
Everyone stand up and greet.
Cui Jiong quickly returned the gift. He also came to pay New Year's greetings. He originally thought that he would come back after lunch, and he would be able to leave after sitting for a while, but unexpectedly bumped into the embarrassing moment of their meal. So without waiting for Hao Guozi to serve the tea, he casually found an excuse to leave.
Although he came and went in a hurry, Master Jin had a flash of inspiration. Could it be that Tao Mo was implying that the yamen is filthy? !
It is important to know that the jurisdiction of the county magistrate is not only criminal and prison cases, but also includes duties such as tax collection, food payment, disaster relief, education, and school establishment. Among them, the people of Tanyang County are rich and abundant, so there is no need for disaster relief, and there are rampant lawsuits, so there is no need to worry about education and education. Only in this taxation and payment of food, there is a lot of oil and water. But the person who made the money was not the former county magistrate, and those county magistrates may have connections, but the mastermind was Cui Jiong, who had been in Tanyang County for more than ten years without wind or rain. He is very skillful at fishing for oil and water, and he never takes the account. Although some litigators know it, there are no fish when the water is clear. Cui Jiong is usually considered a sensible person, so they turned a blind eye to him and let him go. But in recent days, that is, not long after Tao Mo took office, Cui Jiong received a large amount of filial money from merchants. Although Master Jin didn't know what Cui Jiong promised, but from his point of view, it was over. Not to mention how deep and unfathomable Tao Mo was in his heart, just because the new official had just taken office, and he didn't know his temperament, so Cui Jiong rashly splashed himself with fishy fish, which was a bit impetuous.
He thought to himself. This Cui Jiong came by coincidence, could it be that Tao Mo deliberately gave him a hint? If it was as he thought, then Tao Mo definitely didn't want to touch Cui Jiong at this moment, and he probably just wanted to use his own words to make Cui Jiong restrain himself a little, just like the braised pork, although it is oily, it is not greasy.
Thinking of this, Master Jin thought he had understood Tao Mo's true intentions, so he stopped his chopsticks and said with a smile: "This braised pork is really well cooked, oily but not greasy, it melts in the mouth without leaving any traces."
Lao Tao heard that he meant something, but he didn't know what it meant, so he had to ask Tao Mo with his eyes.
How did Tao Mo know that a dish of braised pork made Master Jin's thoughts fly thousands of miles, he just thought he really liked it, and said with a smile: "If Master likes it, you might as well eat more."
"No, no, no. Everything should be done in moderation." Master Jin raised his eyebrows to show that he had understood.
Tao Mo looked at the pity, took a bite out of his mouth, and said, "What a pity it's left."
Only now did Mr. Jin fully "understand" it. It turned out that the new county magistrate also wanted a piece of the action!
"Of course." He has been a teacher for a long time, and he has long looked down on these things. He will neither respect the magistrate because he is noble, nor despise him because he is greedy. As far as he is concerned, no matter whether he is noble or greedy, they are all his masters. What he has to do is just "duty".