The sacrificial oration of the magistrate of Huazhi wrote more than ten thousand words. Gu Jiaoyu and Huang Xundao stood below with their eyes slightly closed, shaking their heads and tails as they listened. But Ye Xiaotian didn't even listen to half a sentence, he just thought in his heart: "The old lady's foot wrap is smelly and long!"
After finally waiting for Huazhi County to finish reading the sacrificial oration, a series of sacrificial ceremonies were held, and he walked off the stage amidst warm applause. Ye Xiaocai was refreshed, stepped up to the stage, and announced loudly: "Now, All my colleagues go to Taibai residence, gather together with the gentry of the county, have fun with the officials and the people, and welcome the winter festival together!"
One sentence immediately greeted thunderous applause, especially the military officers of the Inspection Department, who slapped their hands very loudly, and then all the officials dispersed in a crowd, those who rode horses, those who sat in sedan chairs, and those who rode in cars. In the car, there was also the little official walking in front of the car, throwing his legs away, and went straight to Taibaiju restaurant in a mess.
Taibaiju is the largest restaurant in Hu County. It is just opposite the county government office. There are dozens of private seats in the restaurant. There is also a banquet hall on the first floor that can accommodate hundreds of people. The entire restaurant is in the shape of a Chinese character. A huge patio, with potted bamboo and wood, flowers and strange rocks in the courtyard, looks like a small garden.
Today, the Taibaiju restaurant is occupied by the government, and the banquets are set in this exquisite garden-like courtyard. The banquets are scattered among the flowers and trees, and the small streams and springs are gurgling among them, which is extremely elegant. In the distance, there are musicians playing the pipa, with beautiful tunes and more unique shapes.
All the officials and gentry gathered together, the little gentry complimented the big gentry, the big gentry complimented the officials, the small officials complimented the big officials, exchanged cups and cups, and it was very lively. There are also wonderful games for throwing arrow pots, drinking cups, drinking orders, etc.
Ye Xiaotian became the focus of everyone's greetings. When many people walked in front of Huazhi County, they just offered a courtesy toast, but when they got to Ye Xiaotian, they wished they could stay a little longer and say a few more words. After chatting a few more words, when he left, his face was flushed, looking proud.
Hua Qingfeng saw this scene in his eyes, and felt very uncomfortable, but he couldn't show it yet, so he had to force his demeanor, but the smile on his face gradually became a little stiff.
Since Ye Xiaotian sat down, the wine has never been broken. Although other people toast, he only needs to take a sip of his meaning, but the other party wants to drink a glass of wine, but he can't stand the crowd, and he feels drunk after a while A little drunk.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Ye Xiaotian hurriedly performed a urination escape, pretending to go for convenience, once he left the hall, he breathed a sigh of relief, walked around to the back hall, trying to find a quiet place to sober up.
The clerks in the hotel were all standing around, waiting for the officials to call someone to wait on them. When they saw Ye Xiancheng coming out, the two clerks hurried forward. This is the most powerful person in the county, who works as a clerk in Taibaiju. How can I not recognize this old man.
Seeing that the two guys were about to walk to Ye Xiaotian's side, just as they bent down, with a courteous smile on their faces, they felt wind in their ears, and a cyan light flashed, and they jumped past them. Startled, he took a closer look and found that it was their proprietor Sheng Long.
Sheng Long's brain was full of fat, and when he ran, his round belly bounced up and down, and his body weighed more than three hundred catties, but he looked as light as a swallow. palm, flatteringly said: "My lord, this way please!"
Ye Xiaotian nodded, and went upstairs behind Shopkeeper Sheng, turned a corner, there was an elegant room, the window was open, from above you could see the people having a feast in the courtyard, but because of the emerald green curtains, It is difficult for the people below to see the people in the private room upstairs.
The furnishings in the room are simple and elegant. Ye Xiaotian came to the room and saw that Mr. Wang was sitting there with his eyes slightly closed. The melodious music beats the beat.
Hearing the movement, Master Wang slightly opened his eyes. Seeing that it was Ye Xiaotian, he couldn't help sitting up straight, and said with a smile, "Hehe, I'm getting old and can't stand the excitement. Why did you, Master Ye, also become a deserter?"
Ye Xiaotian shook his head and said with a smile: "I thought I was the only one who slipped away, but I didn't want you, Mr. Wang, to take the first step. No way, I'm really too drunk, so I had to take a walk."
As Ye Xiaotian said, he sat down on a chair beside him, a young man had already brought a pot of fragrant tea, and also put out a platter of four melons and candied fruit. Mr. Sheng bowed his head and said: "The two adults are resting, if you need anything, just say hello."
Shopkeeper Sheng left after finishing speaking, Ye Xiaotian chatted and laughed with Master Wang for a while, Master Wang peeped downstairs, shook his head and said: "Looking at the situation, I'm afraid this banquet will not be over until it's time to hold the lamps, Both you and I escaped, but it’s hard for the county magistrate, and now everyone is toasting to him."
Ye Xiaotian joked: "Otherwise, Mr. Wang, how about you go down and rescue our county magistrate?"
Master Wang glanced at him, and Nian Xu smiled and said: "For this kind of thing, young talents like you should rush to the front. There is no reason for an old man like me to come forward. Shopkeeper, shopkeeper..."
Shopkeeper Sheng appeared at the door with a whoosh. Since the county's second and third in command came to this private room, this shopkeeper has been guarding the door and never left. Master Wang originally wanted to change his buddy, but he didn't want such a fat man to appear. Master Wang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "Shopkeeper, go and fetch the side chess."
"Okay, okay, two adults, wait a moment, the villain will come as soon as he goes!" Shopkeeper Sheng bent over and laughed twice, and disappeared at the door as soon as he turned around. It's really impressive that his fat body has such vigorous skills. Amazing.
After a while, a good chessboard was delivered, and shopkeeper Sheng stepped back with a smile on his face.
Ye Xiaotian smiled and said: "Master Wang is very skilled at chess, and Ye is no opponent when playing chess with you."
Master Wang said with a smile while fiddling: "Hey! It's just a discussion, it's just a discussion. Don't be too polite, Mr. Ye. The old man is only a little dabbled in chess, and it is not advanced. You and I can play a game at will. Just killing time."
Ye Xiaotian rolled up his sleeves, leaned over, and said with a smile: "It's better to be respectful than to obey, then, let's cut the majesty at will. Lord Wang, please first!"
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Chen Muyan's coffin was moved into the temple after the funeral, and if he wanted to return home today after the funeral, he had to go to the temple to retrieve his coffin. The Chen family got busy early in the morning. The lady of the Chen family packed up all the things that needed to be brought back to her hometown, put them in the car, locked the courtyard door, and handed over the key to a brother of the same family, who would stay to deal with the aftermath later.
The neighbors all came to hear the news and stood on the side of the road to watch. No matter how they got along with the Chen family, they would still be a little sad to say goodbye at this moment, and they would never see each other again in a lifetime. The mother and daughter greeted each other.
"Sister-in-law, let's go."
The brothers of the Chen family packed and tied up their luggage, and rushed over to tell the lady of the Chen family. The lady of the Chen family nodded, and the group boarded the car and went straight to the small temple on the outskirts of the city.
The small temple is not big, and the coffin is parked in the pine forest behind the temple. The cost of stopping the coffin is not high. At the beginning, the wife of the Chen family paid three months in advance, so at this time, the coffin was carried out happily.
The Chen family brothers had already prepared a long-distance carriage, and the coffin was helped onto the carriage by the crowd, fixed and locked, and walked along the official road to the post road. Along the way, the lady of the Chen family held her husband's spiritual tablet and called out his name to summon the soul from time to time. There were people from the Chen family in front of him blowing the coffin and beating the banners, throwing paper money to open the way for the souls of the dead.
"Chen's lady, Chen's lady..."
Su Xuntian hurried to arrive, he went to Chen's house first, but only General Tie was at the door, he asked his neighbors, then he ran to the small temple, and asked the old monk in the temple, then he caught up.
Because the road was far away, the lady of the Chen family did not walk, but sat in the car wearing filial piety clothes and holding a spirit tablet. When Su Xuntian called, the convoy stopped, and the lady of the Chen family glanced at him coldly. say. Su Xuntian wiped the sweat from his brow, and said to the lady of the Chen family: "Madam, help the coffin back home today, is there any service from the county?"
The lady of the Chen family said coldly: "Don't worry about it, my husband's coffin will be escorted by my relatives from the Chen family!"
Su Xuntian sighed, and took out the ingot of silver from his sleeve. With Su Xuntian's personality, he would pluck out the feathers of a wild goose, and the silver would inevitably shrink after passing through his hands. But this is money for the dead, Su Xuntian also has his bottom line in life, what he holds in his hands is real five taels of silver.
Su Xuntian said: "Miss Chen, going on this way, helping the spirit to return to the hometown will inevitably cost you. This five taels of silver is a kindness from the county, please accept it."
The lady of the Chen family didn't say anything this time, she just gave him a cold look, and said to the men supporting the spirit: "Let's go!"
The convoy set off slowly, ignoring Su Xuntian. Su Xuntian reluctantly retreated to the side of the road, watched the convoy drifting away, shook his head slightly, and sighed.
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Huxian tax customs, tourists and merchants were queuing up for inspection and tax collection, suddenly there was a sound of suona blowing and beating from a distance, and after a while, I saw a white flag fluttering, suddenly someone thought of something and blurted out: "Oh! Today is the day when Ambassador Chen returns to his hometown!"
With just this one sentence, the entire tax office fell silent, and the busy tax collectors also stopped, silently watching the coffin-supporting team coming from a distance, and the travelers and businessmen consciously retreated to the side to send the coffin to the coffin. The team moved out of the way.
A caravan in front had just finished inspecting the goods and paying taxes. The caravan drove out of the pass and stopped, where it was re-bundling the goods. Suddenly, it heard the funeral music, and couldn't help but listen to it. A fifty-year-old man in a blue robe in the caravan looked around with his hand on the awning, and wondered, "What kind of funeral is this?"
A tax servant next to him sighed and said, "That's Ambassador Chen's coffin, and the Chen family is carrying the coffin back home."
The blue-robed merchant let out an "Ah", his expression became solemn, he hurriedly straightened his robes, and when the escort team arrived, he saluted solemnly. That tax man couldn't help but said, "Why, Mr. Lu, do you know our Ambassador Chen?"
Mr. Lu sighed, "Although we don't have close acquaintances, we have some contacts. No matter what the officials say, in my heart, Ambassador Chen is an excellent person."
The lady of the Chen family saw someone bowing to the coffin, how could she just sit back and ignore it as a survivor, and hurriedly got out of the car to pay back the bow. The blue-robed merchant sighed: "This is the lady of the Chen family. Old man Lu Mo has met Ambassador Chen several times. I don't want to be separated from each other for more than a month. It is really embarrassing."
The lady of the Chen family said quietly: "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for thinking of my husband..." Her eyes turned red when she said this, and she almost burst into tears. Lu Mo looked at the Fuling convoy of the Chen family, and sighed: "Go out from here to Lujiao Town, the road is deserted. You only have two cars, and most of you can only walk. It's too difficult to go out. Why don't you take our company?" Let’s take the team’s car, let’s go together and take you to Antler Town, and then we will go our separate ways.”
When the Chen brothers heard this, they were overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Master Lu, thank you, Master Lu!"
The lady of the Chen family glanced at her uncle, and then said with blessings: "Since that's the case, there is Mr. Lu Lu."
When the onlookers met, they all secretly praised the businessman surnamed Lu for his righteousness, but Master Lu waved his hands again and again, saying: "You don't need to say thank you, don't say thank you, so please wait a moment, my lady, until the old man's motorcade is ready." Alright, let's go together."
Taibai lived in the house, the sky was getting dark, a lantern was raised in the courtyard, and a lamp was also lit in the private room of Ye Xiaotian and Master Wang. The two played a game under the lights, and the game of chess gradually came to an end, and the chess situation was extremely unfavorable for Ye Xiaotian. Mr. Wang wiped the tea with the tea cover, glanced out of the window quickly, then stared at the chessboard and smiled: "Master Ye, this chess game looks like the old man... I'm sure to win!"