After getting together in Huang Zhai, Cheng Fengtai met Shang Xirui several times at various gatherings. Most of them just say hello and tell a few jokes to make everyone laugh. Shang Xirui also knows how to play cards now, but he is not addicted yet, he has to be urged repeatedly before he is willing to play two games at the table, on the one hand he is afraid of losing - in front of these ladies and lords, it will take a few days for him to lose It will be for nothing. He was originally a person who didn't care about money, and his girl Xiao Lai took care of all the profits, but every time Xiang Xiao Lai took out money to pay for these gambling funds, Xiao Lai always had a bad face. Xirui inevitably has to be jealous of her. This level, Cheng Fengtai knew it at the first sign, as long as he sat at the same table playing cards with Shang Xirui, he would try his best not to let the little actor suffer, and Shang Xirui was ignorant and ignorant of it. So Shang Xirui likes to play with Cheng Fengtai very much.
Everyone's friendship with Cheng Shang was unexpected and reasonable. Although the two have Cheng Meixin's quarrel, as long as they don't take Cheng Meixin to heart, it's best for them to get along with each other with their cheerful and humorous temperament.
Cheng Meixin didn't know at all that her younger brother had become friends with Shang Xirui behind her back, she is now guarding Commander Cao and dutifully acting as a good wife, and she has three children left by Commander Cao's original wife to take care of her. The formerly so flamboyant and sociable person now has the meaning of "washing out all the lead and showing a plain appearance". The general card-playing party does not appear, and when it does appear, it is not as colorful and glittering as in the past. Others thought she had resigned herself to being a dignified wife. Only Cheng Fengtai and her younger siblings knew that she had no choice but to exploit the property, arrange servants, and buy soldiers, especially because her three children had not yet been subdued, because her foundation in the Cao family was not yet stable. Concentrate, it will take a long time to see the real chapter.
This time, Vice Chief Qian's family was the host to set up a game of cards. Cheng Meixin was late in wearing a silver-gray cheongsam and a few diamond pendants, swaying gracefully. She socialized at Mrs. Qian's place first, and when she came out, she saw Mr. Cheng Fengtai sitting with Fan Lian playing cards. When Fan Lian saw her, he was more nervous than Cheng Fengtai, he leaned over and called his sister to give up his seat. Cheng Meixin hasn't seen her younger brother for a long time, so she must play with him for a while.
Cheng Fengtai was winning a good game of cards, and shouted at Fan Lian: "Sit down! Don't move!"
A person at the same table got up and collected the chips, and said with a smile: "Come on, you relatives, please sit at the same table and play, I might as well make room for it!"
Cheng Meixin was not polite, she smiled at that person, then sat down and shuffled the cards without asking the beginning and the end, breaking up everyone's game, Cheng Fengtai turned his head and closed his eyes in hatred.
"Let me tell you, it's time for Brother Lian to go away. I see you clinging to our second master all day long, two men's families, and there is no serious business at all. What will happen if we break up for a while?"
Fan Lian said with a smile: "Sister is too wronged. You saw it just now, obviously he is clinging to me all day long."
Cheng Fengtai said: "Don't be ignorant of flattery! This is to respect you."
Fan Lianla said in a long voice: "Then I have to kneel and kowtow three times, thank you for your kindness!"
"You're welcome! Flatten yourself!"
Fan Lian glared at him.
"You two are brothers, dear." Cheng Meixin sighed, and said: "I told my younger siblings last time, I can't find the second master of the Cheng family, only the second master of the Fan family, they are always together! Know why you are bored!"
Fan Lian laughed and said: "Both sisters have misunderstood. My brother-in-law and I only get together when we are eating, drinking and having fun. But brother-in-law is always eating, drinking and having fun, so we are always together when we see it."
Fan Lian taunted Cheng Fengtai like this, Cheng Fengtai naturally wanted to return it, with a smile on his face, he said teasingly: "I'll tell you the truth, if Fan Lian was a woman, she would rely on her looks, her talents, her knowledge, her background..." Cheng Fengtai Lifting his brother-in-law's chin, "I will marry him as my concubine."
Fan Lian laughed a few times, and said pointingly: "If I were a woman, my brother-in-law would only take care of me, not marry me."
Cheng Fengtai said decisively: "I only prostitute, not prostitution!"
An outsider who was accompanying me at the table couldn't help laughing: "You two are such a treasure!"
Cheng Meixin also died of laughter, and pushed Cheng Fengtai's shoulder: "This dirty thing! Tell me, how do we look like siblings!"
They were talking and laughing, and suddenly a person came to the door. This man was even more late, but as soon as he came, the men at the table next to him put down their playthings, surrounded him courteously, took off his cloak, patted the snow off his hair, and laughed and quarreled with him.
The man smiled and said, "Don't be busy! I'll do it myself! Don't squeeze me!"
Cheng Fengtai knew who it was when he heard the soft rustling voice, he turned around and said with a smile: "Boss Shang! Play eight laps with me today?"
Shang Xirui was about to agree with a smile, when he raised his eyes to see Cheng Meixin sitting on top, looking at him sullenly and viciously. Shang Xirui immediately put away his smile, nodded lightly with Cheng Fengtai, turned and went to the next room. But Cheng Fengtai didn't know whether he wanted to annoy his sister on purpose or what, he still shouted loudly: "Boss Shang? Boss Shang! Come on! Wait for you!"
Fan Lian kicked him under the table, thinking that you don't take your sister seriously, so why bother doing this in front of her. Cheng Meixin "slapped" a card on the table, glared at Cheng Fengtai bitterly, cursed inwardly with hatred, but did not attack face to face.
Cheng Fengtai never cared about the jealous disputes among his family members, he watched them a lot at home when he was a child. From his point of view, Cheng Meixin and Shang Xirui, that is, the wife of the first wife, are fighting for power and profit to run over the male concubine, so why are they at odds with each other, life and death. He is such a man's muddled way of thinking, but Cheng Meixin thought that he was deliberately against him, and after a few days, he went to the second grandma to complain, saying: "Siblings should also take care of younger brothers, don't let him quarrel outside Four people are playing around."
The second grandma was about to give birth, she was startled when she heard this, she stood up and frowned and asked, "Who is he messing with again?"
Cheng Meixin helped her sit up, and said with a smile: "That's not true. It's just that I saw him getting a little close to an actor recently."
Second Mistress frowned and waited for her to tell the truth, Cheng Meixin said: "Shang Xirui is the one that my brother and sister know. That man and woman is not a good product, don't let the second brother be seduced by him."
Unexpectedly, the second grandma frowned, holding her big belly, and said, "Your brother knows best, I can't control him. It's harder to get him to calm down than to kill him! Just ask him not to treat the women and bastards outside. If I bring it in, I will thank God and accept his favor!"
Second Mistress and Cheng Meixin are women from two worlds and two countries. Second Mistress is still living in the Qing Dynasty with her hair tied in a bun and her feet bound. Because Shang Xirui is a man, even if something happened between Cheng Fengtai and him, Second Mistress would not argue. Since Cheng Fengtai can't be restrained from playing all over the world, it's not the same as playing with anyone, and when he's done playing enough, he leaves and leaves. But if it was a female actress, the Second Mistress would be very nervous. If she was unprepared and gave birth to a boy and a half girl, what would she do? Cheng Meixin couldn't provoke her, so she said the usual things when she went home, and returned angrily.
Shang Xirui's Shuiyun Tower staged a box-sealing drama at the end of the year. It was hilarious, interesting, novel and brilliant, and made the whole city of Beiping chew for half a month. Cheng Fengtai had no interest in drama, even though he had a good relationship with Shang Xirui, he never thought of buying a ticket to listen to it. Fan Lian must go, after returning he was so excited that he didn't fall asleep for several days, gesturing back and forth with Cheng Fengtai, saying how wonderful Shang Xirui's reverse play is, how good Wu Sheng's acting is, and how authentic the work is. Cheng Fengtai listened in vain, smoking a cigarette in a daze, Fan Lian scolded Niu for playing the piano, it was too vulgar.
Immediately after that, in the first month, Minister Jin of the Ministry of Finance came to Peiping on business, and specially put on a show in the chamber of commerce hall. Minister Jin personally posted a post and invited Shang Xirui to sing the finale. Shang Xirui had already given Shuiyun Tower a holiday, the actors went back to their hometowns for reunion, the concubines lived away, there were a few children and martial arts students left, none of them could play the finale, even Uncle Li, who played the huqin, was sick. I had no choice but to pack two packs of gouache and color ink, and came here alone with Xiao Lai.
Naturally, the garden was full of wealth and honor that day, and it was very lively, with all the top merchants in Beiping present. If the business needs to reach a certain scale, the people who run it will also be old. In the whole audience, only upstart Cheng Fengtai and Fan Lian, who inherited his ancestral business, were the youngest. They were so young that they didn't look like business masters, and their demeanor was also frivolous. They just chatted in low voices about last night's movie, how about the food and drinks, as if they came to a temple fair.
Minister Jin loves to support young people, and he is old friends with Cheng Fengtai's father and Fan Lian's father. When Cheng Fengtai and Fan Lian saw him, they couldn't help but address him as uncle, making them seem closer than others. Minister Jin limped and exchanged greetings with the guests for half a day, his feet were numb and his legs were sore, he couldn't hold it anymore, he took Cheng Fengtai and Fan Lian's hands, and limped to him to sit on the left and right sides of him, and said something to them business and housework. This is already a huge face, and even the president of the chamber of commerce can't get it. Cheng Fengtai and Fan Lian didn't take it seriously, and found it very annoying, Cheng Fengtai smiled falsely, Fan Lian smiled perfunctorily, the two were fooling around.
Minister Jin knew that Fan Lian had come to the south to avoid the war, so he grabbed a clue and said to Fan Lian: "It's better for Fan Jiabao to go back and guard in person. For one thing, when the guys see that the boss is not here, they will inevitably neglect their family resources and conceal the report." Annual production. Second, now that the enemy bandits are on the lookout, if the younger soldiers are careless and lose the land to the Japanese bandits, wouldn’t they be ashamed of their country and ancestors.”
Back then when the Japanese invaded, the regular army ran away without firing a single shot. Today, this official still has the face to ask the unarmed ordinary people to defend their homes and fill the barrels of the Japanese with live ammunition. Fan Lian smiled coldly in his heart, wanting to say that my ancestors blamed me for losing Fanjiabao, and my sister scolded me badly. You who have lost your country are the ones who are disloyal and unfilial, spurned by all people, and deserve death! But he has always been honest to the outside world, and he only communicated with Cheng Fengtai privately about these hurtful and truthful words, and said with a smile on his face: "Minister Jin is right, how can we defend the country if we don't protect our family. When my sister gets married next year, I can do it Take it easy and go home.”
Cheng Fengtai was listening, secretly telling lies and lies, there is no shadow of Fan Jinling's marriage, I don't know if it will have to wait until the year of the monkey. Or if Jin Ling never gets married, he will never go home
Minister Jin didn't know if he could see that Fan Lian was fooling him, he nodded in relief, watched the play for a while, then turned to Cheng Fengtai and said leisurely: "I remember, brother once was most in favor of 'saving the country by industry'. Why is nephew now?" But only in the business of hoarding goods and selling them short? With the talents of my nephew, if I can inherit my father's will, what kind of factory can't I build? At that time, I will make a lot of money every day, and I won't have to deal with the gangsters on the road. Let our elders rest assured."
Cheng Fengtai's father just suffered from running a business, the factory was rotten in his hands and he couldn't sell it, and his family was ruined and he had to die. Cheng Fengtai remembered it, and he would never repeat the same mistakes, and now that the current situation is in turmoil, a war is about to be fought, and he has not had time to sell some of the original shops, and if there is a real fight later, he guards the factory to find Who will cry? It cannot be dismantled and cannot be sold, a bomb is blown to pieces. Besides, when his family was in trouble, he had never seen this number of elders lend a helping hand, so why should he come out to claim his seniority now.
Fan Lian also quietly listened to Minister Jin's words, and at this moment met Cheng Fengtai's eyes, which were full of disdain and sneer. Both of them thought: Jin Laowu is lame and heartbroken. He himself has land and money, so why don't you see him guarding with a gun, or starting some kind of business, just knowing how to push others forward. When someone revived the economy, he would just sit there and sign a document counting the oceans. Listen to him, only listen to him at two hundred and five!
Cheng Fengtai said with a smile: "My nephew is used to being extravagant. He looks good on the surface, but in fact he still owes Erye Fan a huge debt. He planned to hide his annual output, and he pressed me for the debt when he had no money to spend. Wait for Erye Fan My sister got out of the cabinet, and he went back to Fanjiabao. No one forced me to pay back the money, so I went to Dongjiaomin Lane to open a bank, just to fight against Citigroup, to show off our country!"
Fan Lian turned his head and tried his best to hold back a smile. What kind of guy concealed his annual output, and the girl was going to get married? That was all nonsense and playing tricks. He followed the words and said the truth, treating Minister Jin as a fool and praising our country, Fan Lianle Dafa, laughing so that his shoulders trembled.
Minister Jin turned his head and said in surprise, "Hey! Why is Brother Lian so happy?"
Cheng Fengtai couldn't say that he was kidding me, but Shang Xirui came on stage and said: "Fan Erye is Boss Shang's fancier, every time he sees Boss Shang's play, it's like eating bee poo .”
Minister Jin suddenly realized, nodded and smiled.
Now everyone says that Shang Xirui and Ning Jiulang have their own strengths, they are on par, and they even seem to be carrying on the past and building on the future. Minister Jin didn't quite believe it, and suspected that after Ning Jiulang retired from the show, Shang Xirui was the king without tigers and monkeys in the mountains, and he was not as good as the rumors said. Today I intend to test the school Shang Xirui's ability, and order him to perform "Fanjiang Pass" of his own profession. And because Ning Jiulang is an all-rounder who knows everything about literature and martial arts, Minister Jin doesn't believe that Shang Xirui is equally accomplished, so he ordered an old man's "Empty City Strategies", and the play list was passed on, but Shang Xirui did not come to refute it, so he Actually can really sing old students.
Shang Xirui took the stage, and made a very energetic appearance, which won the house first. After all, Cheng Fengtai is from Shanghai, he doesn't know how to do it, he doesn't even know how to watch the excitement, if there is an elegant singing of Tsing Yi Hua Dan on the stage, he might still be able to listen to it. "Fan Jiangguan" had only a few words in the libretto, but Cheng Fengtai didn't notice the dazzling martial arts with sticks. But those rich old men who usually have a lot of airs stood up and applauded him, Minister Jin also smiled and nodded, very approving, presumably the performance was very good.
Shang Xirui finished singing Xue Jinlian, Minister Jin called him off the stage fondly, his eyes changed, he poured him a glass of wine with his own hands, and said: "I know you singers don't drink alcohol, but it's okay, yes Made from grape juice, it won't hurt your throat."
Shang Xirui thanked him, drank slowly. When she put down the cup, her eyes glanced at Fengtai and Fan Lian with a smile. Cheng Fengtai glanced at Minister Jin, and made a sad face at him, as if to say: Look, I'm here to play bureaucracy with a stinky old man, I'm bored to death!
Minister Jin said with a smile: "Boss Shang's skills are really beautiful, and he worked hard."
Shang Xirui said: "I started as a martial arts student, and then changed my career."
"Then I made a wrong calculation. The "Empty City Strategies" later will not be difficult for Boss Shang."
Shang Xirui didn't answer, smiled very modestly, and went backstage to change clothes, although he got a few compliments, his face showed no complacency at all. He felt that his playing was okay today, but his singing was not good. He blamed the fluctuating strings of the huqin, which did not follow his voice. When putting on makeup, I asked people, "Who is the one playing the piano today?"
The man smiled and said, "Boss Shang also thinks that? That's the big disciple of He Shaoqing, the 'master of the literary field', so be proud!" As he spoke, he pouted at the jug and wine glass on the table, "Still here before going on stage. Come and have a drink or two, chatting with a little Dan. After drinking, people are very poetic. As for him, he is very stringy, and he uses us as a foil to show his ability! The dog's stomach can't hold four Two oils..."
Shang Xirui nodded, secretly thought it was his old man's apprentice, he didn't complain about anything else, he put on his beard and was ready to play.