Poor Family

  Chapter 10 Brothers Consulting

Before he had time to make a request to the patriarch, Li Yanqing rushed back to the village and begged Uncle Hu to go to the county seat, and told his father that Liu Chenghong had been expelled from Li's residence, so he should not pay any more attention to the so-called 'medical expenses'. Li Yanqing was worried that his father would not know about it. , was coaxed by Liu Chenghong to take a sum of money.

  Liu Chenghong is desperate, and he will not let go of this opportunity if he can make a fortune.

  Uncle Hu didn't say a word, went to the county seat with his whistle stick in hand, and arranged the most important things, Li Yanqing, who was extremely sleepy, fell headlong into the pit and fell into a dark dreamland.

  Just as Li Yanqing let go of his worries and fell asleep peacefully, the patriarch Li Wenyou was dealing with the aftermath of the ancestral hall with his brothers in the mansion.

  Li Wenyou is not only the patriarch of the Li clan, but also a famous gentry in Tangyin County.

  The reason why he is so valued is that he has a brother who is an official in the capital, the second brother Li Wensi.

  Li Wensi was a seventh-rank official in the capital. Although the seventh-rank official is generally called the sesame official, in fact, the magistrate of Tangyin County is only the eighth-rank, and the seventh-rank Beijing official is even more important in the village.

According to the tradition of being an official in the capital and Glory Township, Li Wensi built a mansion with an area of ​​eight acres in Lushan Town for his father to live in. After his old father passed away last year, his elder brother Li Wenyou lived here instead. It became a veritable patriarch's house.

Li Wenyou suffered from a bit of wind and cold at night, drank a cup of hot tea, and felt much better. He gently stroked the Great Ancestor Spirit Tablet on the small table and said to his third brother Li Wengui: "Sir brother, don't plead for him, collect taxes and taxes." Another person can do it, not necessarily Liu Chenghong. Liu Chenghong has caused a lot of trouble, and the members of the several families have great opinions on him. In the past, his father doted on him and let his temper mess around. After his father passed away , not only did he not restrain himself, he even intensified the bullying of the tribe. This time his son burned the ancestral hall again. If he is spared again, I am afraid that I will not be the patriarch for long. This time I am determined to drive him away, not just for the sake of the ancestral hall , don't embarrass me."

One of Li Wengui's responsibilities as Du Baozheng is to collect local taxes and servitude. The court tax is heavy, the exploitation is increasing, the people are against each other, and it is difficult for the low-level township officials to collect taxes. Effective, has always been Li Wengui's right-hand man, and also serves as the top tax collector.

  Li Wengui just came back from the county. He learned that the ancestral hall was burned, and he heard that his eldest brother was going to drive Liu Chenghong away.

  Brother has already reached this point, Li Wengui could only sigh secretly, and said with a wry smile: "I heard from my elder brother that Liu Chenghong has indeed offended too many people, so it's fine if he leaves, what does elder brother think about letting Steward Sun take his place?"

  Sun Butler is also Li Wengui's right-hand man. Now that Liu Chenghong's expulsion is a foregone conclusion, Li Wengui can only make the next best thing and let Sun Butler, whom he single-handedly promoted, become the chief steward of the Li family.

   Li Wenyou sighed and said, "A big event happened tonight, and I'm very upset. Let's talk about Butler Sun in two days!"

  Li Wengui glanced at the Great Ancestor Plaque on the table, and said in a low voice, "Brother is talking about a big event, but does it refer to the Great Ancestor's manifestation?"

   "You heard that too?"

  Li Wengui nodded, "The whole house is talking about this, but I feel a little strange. This kind of thing has never happened before. How could it happen tonight?"

  Li Wenyou glared at the third brother angrily, "Because the ancestral hall has never been burned, and the Great Ancestor Spirit Card has never been caught in fire, of course the Great Ancestor will not appear, you hope this kind of thing will happen a few times!"

   Li Wengui was really embarrassed, and quickly explained: "Don't be angry, brother, that's not what I mean..."

   "I know you don't mean that!"

Perhaps because he felt that his words were a bit harsh, Li Wenyou also softened his tone and said: "Because you are not at the scene tonight, I don't know what happened at that time, I can be regarded as witnessing it with my own eyes, the other children are far away in fright, that child actually Rushing into the scene of fire, amidst the thick smoke and flames, how could he have found this spirit card without the guidance of the Great Ancestor? How could he have escaped from the scene of the fire without the guidance of the Great Ancestor?"

   "But... this is too coincidental!"

  If this kind of thing is not seen with his own eyes, it is really hard to believe. Besides, Li Wengui has always been very shrewd, so it is normal for him to have doubts in his heart.

   But Li Wenyou saw it with his own eyes and believed it. He waved his hand and interrupted Li Wengui, "I know what you are doubting, but he is just a six-year-old country kid. Do you think he will set fire to the ancestral hall?"

  Li Wengui also felt that he was too suspicious. He actually suspected a six-year-old child. He quickly apologized: "Brother is right, younger brother really shouldn't be suspicious."

Li Wenyou tapped the table lightly with his stubby fingers, with an unconcealable excitement shining in his eyes, and said in a low voice, "Third brother, you still don't understand. And the Li family in the south knows that our Xiangzhou Li family has straightened up from now on."

   After all, Li Wenyou is just a local rich man with low vision. He thinks and thinks about his own one-acre three-point land, but he doesn't want to think about it. If the court or the emperor find out about Li Jing's appearance, what will be the consequences?

   "The little brother understands, what is the next step for the big brother?"

  Li Wenyou thought for a while and said: "Go to the ancestral hall early tomorrow morning and consider the reconstruction plan. I will go to Li Wencun personally."

  . ． ． ． ． ． ．

In his sleep, Li Yanqing was catching fish in the creek at the entrance of the ancestral hall. The water suddenly became deeper and submerged him. Woke up, out of breath.

  Opening his eyes, there is a small round face with a mischievous smile in front of him, and his nose is pinched by two little fingers, no wonder he dreamed of drowning.

   "Second brother woke up!"

  Xiao Qing'er slapped his hands happily, Li Yanqing's breathing became clear all of a sudden, he sat up quickly, and Dahei beside him slipped away at some point, and it was already bright outside.

   "Why is Xiao Qing'er here?" Li Yanqing patted her little head and asked with a smile.

   "Grandmother asked me to bring some food to my second brother."

Xiao Qing'er put a small basket in front of him, which contained several rough-faced buns. Li Yanqing was really hungry, so he grabbed one and gnawed it, and said with a vague smile: "Don't call me stupid. Second brother?"

"Um!"

  Xiao Qing'er nodded heavily, imitating her father's tone and said solemnly: "Xiao Qing'er, your second brother is a smart kid, don't call him a stupid second brother from now on."

  Li Yanqing laughed loudly, he suddenly thought of something, he touched it out from the corner, and said with a smile: "Close your eyes, Second Brother will give you something good to eat."

  Xiao Qing'er covered her eyes with both hands, but secretly left a gap between her fingers, "What's delicious?"

  Li Yanqing broke off a small piece of white jade cake and stuffed it into her mouth. This was a piece he specially reserved for Xiao Qing'er.

   "It's so sweet! Second brother, what is it?" She asked with wide-open black eyes.

  Li Yanqing stuffed the pancake into her hands, and said with a smile, "Let's eat together, you eat pancakes, and I eat steamed buns!"

  Xiao Qing'er held the white jade cake and gnawed it in small bites, watching the jade cake shrinking little by little.

"Is it tasty?"

   "Hmm! It's delicious, second brother, what kind of cake is this?"

   "This is called... Desheng cake, I bought it in a small town." Li Yanqing did not dare to tell her that it was called white jade cake.

  At this time, Aunt Hu's voice came from outside, "Little Qing'er!"

  Xiao Qing'er quickly stuffed the last bite of cake into Li Yanqing's mouth, and ran away with an empty basket, "Second brother, I'll come and play with you later!"

After a good night's sleep and eating three steamed buns, Li Yanqing felt refreshed. He put on his clothes and went to the yard, fetched a bucket of water from the well to wash his face and brush his teeth, but he heard Mrs. Hu outside the gate Said: "Daqi is not at home, there is only one child at home."

   "Hehe! We are here to find Qing'er."

  Li Yanqing heard the voice of fourth uncle Li Daguang, he hurriedly washed his face and tidied his clothes. At this moment, the courtyard door opened with a creak, and several people walked in.

  (end of this chapter)