During the day, the Guan family came to guests one after another.
There are also guards for the old man, who came down from the mountain.
Lao Yuan is one of them.
According to He Guanshi, this Lao Yuan is not an ordinary servant. The old man had the shadow of Lao Yuan by his side before his death. He was not only a follower, but also a bodyguard and a confidant. It is said that the old man treated Lao Yuan more than himself. The son still has to trust him. He will not avoid him in anything. Even when he opens the warehouse after his death, Lao Yuan will stare at him as a witness. Every box in the warehouse is locked. Except Lao Yuan, no one can No keys.
Only then did Yue Dingtang know that his cousins waited eagerly for Lao Yuan to come back, not because of brotherly love and abiding by his promise to his father, but because of the key in Lao Yuan's hand.
In addition to Lao Yuan, there were also several foreign guests whom he had not seen before.
As soon as Ivanov entered the door, he was greeted with attention by the closed family.
Although there are many foreigners in Fengtian City, there are more of them are Orientals with black hair and black eyes, and there are not only foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes. No one has ever seen such a handsome young man like Ivanov.
His hair is golden brown, almost golden in the sun, his skin is fair, and his eyes are light blue. The Guan family has never heard of foreign fairy tales, and they don't know that Ivanov is tailor-made for the word handsome prince. Zao, they just felt that this foreign devil was not the same as those fat and rosy noses in the past, and the female family members couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Not only did Ivanov have no eyes above the top, but he was also polite and brought two bottles of wine as gifts.
To this respectable guest, the fourth master felt that his face was bright, and he would introduce Ivanov to do business in China for many years.
"Fourth brother, you have lived in Fengtian all your life, do you know what is noble or not? Russia has long since perished, and it has changed its dynasty just like the Qing Dynasty! Their last emperor's whole family was hanged and poisoned. Where are there any nobles? Just outlaws!"
As soon as Lao Wu entered the door, he heard the fourth master's theory of noble birth, and immediately sneered and refuted it.
The fourth master sneered: "Old fifth, don't go out and drink two sips of foreign ink, and think that you can get rid of the relationship with your family. If you really talk about it, our family is also a noble family, leaving old and young. How many great people have your ancestors, do you think? When you are a docile citizen in the new era, you have to see if they give you this chance!"
Fifth: "Fourth brother, you don't have to worry about it. You, it's enough to take care of yourself. Don't quarrel with your elder brother every day. Our father knows everything and can rest his eyes!"
The eldest man has been listening to the movement here with his ears pricked up. Hearing this, he jumped up immediately, bristling with rage, like a fried cock.
"You are an unfilial son. When Dad died, I didn't see you coming back to do filial piety. When Dad kicked his legs, you came back to fight for the family property. My conscience is still warm, will it hurt!"
The fifth: "Big brother, don't take advantage of the fourth brother, come and pick me as a soft persimmon! At that time, I was still on the ship, how did I get back? Did my soul fly back from the body? Then why don't you do it? Practice, don't you play those gods and gods all day long, saying how devout you are, when you need to show off your supernatural powers, you can't do it?"
"Shut up for me!"
The second master shouted, and finally suppressed the voices of both of them.
"Normally, it's enough to be noisy. There are guests today, and it's a big day to open the warehouse. Can you calm down, wait for the warehouse to split up, and make as much noise as you want! Lao Yuan, Lao Yuan is here. No?"
Guanshi He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Second Master, Lao Yuan has gone to invite Third Master. With him, the Third Master will definitely come!"
The second master snorted coldly: "If the third child dares not come today, I will break his leg!"
He turned to Yue Dingtang: "Dingtang, don't go up the mountain for now. When the things in the warehouse are sorted out, go and kowtow to the old man before you leave. The same is true. Otherwise, the warehouse will not be open for a day, and it will be closed. The family is unsure, and the old man knows it under the spring, and it is difficult to rest his eyes."
Yue Ding Tang nodded.
Guan Shizhi said coolly: "Second brother is so powerful, is this the style of the head of the family?"
The second master said earnestly: "Elder fifth, I know that no one of you will obey anyone, including me, I am the second child, I should not be the first in this matter, and I am not the head of the family, just to let everyone sit down and calmly say a few words. That's all. The old man kept saying that we should be brothers and sisters and be of one mind. Now that he has not gone far, he is watching us from the sky. In order to not be able to write two words in one stroke, can we slow down our tempers? Do you need to do something urgent?"
These words are reasonable and reasonable, and there is no fault, and the fifth master finally stopped talking.
When a few people were talking, Yue Ding Tang watched from the wall and saw the Guan family brothers, each with different thoughts and different opinions.
As soon as the second master said these words, the boss immediately showed a dissatisfied expression, as if the second master stole the lines that should have been said by him, and the limelight made the other party out of the limelight, but instead he reduced himself to a clown.
The fourth master was gloating on his face.
As for the guests brought by the masters.
Yue Dingtang's eyes fell on the young man beside the fifth master Guan Shizhi.
This person is about a few years older than Guan Shizhi. He wears a three-piece suit, and holds a civilized cane in his white gloves. He is polite and smiling. He is a gentleman who has been influenced by modern civilization. Dressing like this is not unfamiliar.
The other party noticed Yue Dingtang's gaze, so he stepped forward generously and stretched out his hand towards him.
"Hello, my surname is Yingzuo, and my name is Zhaokang. I'm Shizhi's classmate."
A fluent Mandarin, almost no different from the Chinese.
Yue Dingtang shook hands with him: "Mr. Ying Zuo looks older than my fifth cousin, and speaks Chinese very well."
"Yes, when I was young, I was playful and refused to go to school. I didn't know how to forge ahead until I was a teenager. My father hired Chinese and English teachers for me. After I studied for a few years, I went to study in the UK and met Shizhi. This time with him We went back to China together. I heard that his father was seriously ill, so I went back to China with him to see if there was anything I could help. I didn’t expect,”
Ying Zuo sighed, and his regret was undoubtedly revealed.
"I didn't expect the old man to leave. Shizhi didn't get to see his father for the last time, and he was very sad for the past few days. I can only accompany him and offer some comfort."
Yue Dingtang: "Mr. Yingzuo has a heart."
Ying Zuo smiled slightly, but it didn't seem deliberate. The smile was sympathetic but not sad, which made one's heart feel sour, and suddenly felt a sense of closeness and talk.
With these people present, Ling Shu's presence would not be abrupt.
"The third master is here!"
I don't know who said it first, and the servants of the Guan family who were surrounding the door quickly separated to the left and right to make way for the passage.
The two entered the courtyard one after the other.
One has white hair and beard, and his face is full of vicissitudes. At first glance, he looks like he is in his sixties or seventies.
A face like an axe and a knife, the long crow's feet are dragged away from the corner of the eye, as if to swim to the temple, but there is a large burn scar down the right corner of the mouth, ruining the whole face, plus this person has a fierce look. Light, wherever his eyes went, everyone avoided him, and no one dared to look directly at him.
However, it is also limited to those who are close to the family.
At least the guests brought by the second master and the fourth master, as well as Yue Ding, Tang Lingshu and others, not only did not get sick, but they also looked at him carefully.
While they were watching this person, this person was also watching outsiders in the yard.
Yue Dingtang found that the other party's gaze stayed on Ling Shu for a second or two longer than others.
And Ling Shu-
Ling Shu seemed to be stunned for a moment, then nodded and smiled at the other party.
The man looked away with a blank expression, as if he had never known Ling Shu.
"This is the third master of our Guan family. This is Lao Yuan, the old man's entourage during his lifetime."
Director He introduced.
The third master Guan is actually older than the eldest master and the second master. If you describe it as such, it is estimated that some people believe it.
The second master seemed to notice the surprise of everyone, so he said one more sentence.
"The third child is not in good health and does not like to see the light. He spends years in the yard pondering about his hobbies. He rarely came out to see guests before. The third child, let me introduce to you, this is Dingtang..."
The third master waved his hand and interrupted him with a hoarse voice.
"No need, let's do the business as explained by the old man first. I still have a carpentry job that I haven't finished yet."
Guan San didn't say hello to anyone, and when he came in, he put on a posture of ignoring strangers and not approaching. The second master was a little embarrassed, and no one helped him, so he had to go down the steps by himself.
"Come on, let's go into the inner room and talk."
The back room is the room where Ling Shu and the others will spend the night last night. The reclining chairs and bedding have been taken away, and there are some tables and chairs for the host and guests to sit down. . The second master took the lead and spoke in front of everyone.
"Lao Yuan, come here, you sit on my right. Today we have a quick fight, the eldest brother's key is lost, and now there are not enough keys to open the warehouse, after we discussed last night, we decided to open it with an axe, what do you think, Lao Yuan? "
Lao Yuan looked at the eldest master: "How could the key be lost?"
The eldest man was not angry: "I was pushed by the fourth brother twice during the day, and at night I found out that the key was correct. I carry the key with me every day, how can I lose it? You should ask the fourth child!"
The four masters got up in a hurry!
Lao Yuan raised his hand: "Fourth Master, don't be impatient. Now let's take it slow. Since the key is lost, just as the Second Master said, split open the warehouse with an axe!"
The second master slapped his thigh: "Sure, that's what you're waiting for! Come on, hit the axe!"
Two able-bodied servants came quickly with two axes, and they slashed hard at the door of the warehouse.
However, the wooden door was too acquainted, and the two young men split for a long time, only to split the door with a three-finger-thick crack.
The two were exhausted and out of breath.
Ying Zuo drank three pots of tea, went to the clean room, and couldn't help but said, "It's better to blast it with explosives."
"Absolutely not!" said the second master, "I am afraid of hurting the valuables in the warehouse."
If Jin Gui's famous porcelain paintings, if the power of the explosives is not well controlled, it will be completely destroyed.
Yingzuo thought about it too, and stopped talking.
In the morning, the Guan family’s servants took turns to work hard. In order to make them do their best, the second master also paid some rewards out of his own pocket. He also knew that if he asked a few brothers to ask for money, it would be endless wrangling again. , and then think about the good things that the old man may have left for everyone, and gnashing his teeth is like cutting flesh and bleeding.
Ling Shu looked at the splendid face of the second master and found it interesting, and he could not take his eyes off.
Yue Dingtang couldn't help poking his waist, his movements were very subtle.
Ling Shu turned his head.
Yue Dingtang lowered his voice: "Put away the expression on your face watching the show."
Ling Shu also lowered his voice: "If you don't watch the show, what are you watching?"
Yue Dingtang was speechless for a moment, then took out a packet of garlic-flavored green beans from his pocket and stuffed it into his hand.
"Bow your head and eat yours."
Ling Shu Yile: "Old Yue, you are too considerate, yes, I don't look at the second master, I look at Ivanov. He looks so delicate, he doesn't look like I know it at all. Foreign devils, the skin is like white porcelain. You say, how can a foreign devil believe that the fourth master asks God to go to the upper body? It is also a regular customer. Did he know the family background of the Guan family for a long time, so he deliberately got close to the fourth master ?"
Yue Dingtang said: "I don't know if he really believes in the four masters, but I know he believes in the Orthodox Church."
Ling Shu: "How can you see it?"
Yue Dingtang: "Just now, he glanced at the ring on his hand. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a five-color badge representing the Orthodox Church."
Ling Shu: "Believing in the Orthodox Church doesn't actually prevent him from wanting to learn more about making friends after seeing the magical powers of the Fourth Master."
Yue Dingtang: "You should have noticed that, his demeanor."
Ling Shu: "Very arrogant."
Yue Dingtang: "To be precise, it should be the innate sense of superiority of the nobles."
Ling Shu: "But there are no nobles in Tsarist Russia, and even if there are, they are just poor nobles."
Yue Dingtang: "His whole body is probably more valuable than my five cousins."
This metaphor is very interesting, Ling Shu couldn't help but threw a few green beans into his mouth to hide his smile.
"That may be the only outfit he can come up with. I heard that some Russian nobles still want to maintain their previous style after living in a foreign country, but they have to be forced to bow their heads by the increasingly embarrassing life, and finally sell them one by one. For the pauper, Ivanov is not one of them."
Yue Dingtang: "Do you know the cost of my fourth cousin's question?"
Ling Shu: "It is said that it was given to you by fate?"
Yue Dingtang: "It is said to follow the fate, but the more you give, the more favored you will be with the fourth master. This Mr. Ivanov, according to the servants of the Guan family, the cost of asking the fourth master will be added. There should be hundreds of oceans."
Ling Shu heard that Aomadou forgot to chew: "Sure enough, the average wandering noble is not as rich as him."
"Open!"
While the two were talking, cheers came from the warehouse.
Ling Shu looked at it and saw that almost everyone was already at the door of the warehouse.
The sun shines brightly outside, dust flutters inside, and it seems that there are mice darting to avoid the light.
The warehouse is empty.
It can't be said that it is very empty, there are still a few boxes.
It's just that the box is very small, probably the size that one person can hold in his arms, which is not in line with everyone's previous expectations.
Disappointment was evident on many faces.
How could such a small box hold calligraphy, painting, porcelain, antiques and treasures
Lao Yuan walked up the steps and faced the crowd.
"My lords, there are seven boxes in total, and each one has a name and a surname. The old man had his own life, and one of them was used for public expenses. If several masters insist on splitting up the family, they will divide the contents of this box."
"These five are for the five masters, from the eldest master to the fifth master, the boxes are labeled, and there will be no confusion."
He pointed to the smallest of the boxes.
"This mouth is reserved for the young master of the Yue family."