Poor Family

  Chapter 61 Buying Books in the County

  When Li Yanqing returned home in the afternoon, Uncle Zhong greeted him with a smile and said, "Young official, the procedures for the magpie have been completed."

   "Is the money paid?"

   "Yes, but I didn't give it to Zhang Ping. I gave it to his wife directly."

  Li Yanqing shook his head, it was useless, if Lady Magpie could control her husband, their family would not sell both daughters, Li Yanqing didn't bother to ask, so he walked quickly to his room.

  Uncle Zhong said from behind: "But the magpie cried all morning."

   "Why?" Li Yanqing stopped and asked in puzzlement.

   "I don't know why, Ju Niang and my wife tried to persuade her, but it was useless, but I stopped crying at noon."

  Li Yanqing felt pity in his heart. This little lady must be very sad when she thought that she was sold by her father. This sale lasted ten years, without the love of her parents, no matter what! In the future, I will give her a holiday and go home during the holidays.

Tomorrow, Li Yanqing and a few friends are going to the county, and asked Master for a day off. Master readily agreed, but the conditions were not vague. They must complete the homework that was delayed by the leave, and he will have to stay up late tonight. .

  Li Yanqing just took out the pen and paper, but saw the magpie put a plate of ready-made ink in front of him. This little girl is also well-behaved, knowing how to save time for herself, Li Yanqing immediately liked it.

   "I heard from Uncle Zhong that you cried all morning, why?"

   "It's nothing, it's my fault."

   Magpie said in a low voice: "I didn't serve the little official well, and I feel sad."

   Li Yanqing was stunned, "Aren't you sad because your father sold you?"

   "No?"

  Perhaps because she felt Li Yanqing's concern for her, Uncle Zhong and Aunt Ju were very kind to her, Magpie gradually lost the timidity of yesterday, and occasionally showed the unique innocence of little girls.

  She pouted her mouth and said to Li Yanqing angrily, "Daddy beats me and mother every time he gets drunk, and my brother always grabs my food and makes me starve. I want to leave home a long time ago."

   "It turned out that I was thinking too much, so why are you crying?"

   Magpie immediately remembered his dereliction of duty this morning, what if the master sent him home? She was about to be beaten to death by her father. She was frightened and anxious, her eyes were red again, and she said with a choked voice: "I didn't know that the little official left in the morning. I... I didn't serve you well on the first day." Little official, I feel sad."

  Li Yanqing couldn't help but laugh, tapped her little head and said with a smile: "It's not your fault! I have to get up at five o'clock every morning for a run. In fact, there is nothing wrong with it. I don't need your help, so you can just sleep a little longer."

   "This is not acceptable!"

The magpie shook its head like a rattle, "Sister told me that the most important thing is to get up early to serve the master, otherwise the maid will be useless, yes... I am too lazy, little official, I will definitely correct it tomorrow .”

  Li Yanqing is a little helpless, this little girl is too timid, it's useless to talk too much, let's get used to it slowly! Li Yanqing had no choice but to let her go.

  Li Yanqing began to concentrate on writing. He had no problems with the county school exam five years ago, and now he is going all out to prepare for the Fajie exam at the end of the year.

  Master has told them more than once that the Fajie test is not difficult, but the amount is large and complicated, it needs years of accumulation, and the calligraphy requirements are very high. His accumulation is no longer a problem, just do more questions.

  The key is to be good at calligraphy. His running script is very beautiful, but his regular script is a bit lacking, and most of the exams require regular script, so he plans to practice regular script in the past few months to make up for his weakness.

  In the middle of the night, there was a sudden sound of ‘Boom! ’ A sound woke Li Yanqing up immediately, he got up and put on a coat, and walked quickly to the door, only to see a figure packing something in a panic in the room.

   "Who is it?" Li Yanqing asked.

   "Small official, is it me?" The magpie responded timidly in the darkness.

Li Yanqing wondered what he was doing in the living room when he was not sleeping. He turned around and lit the oil lamp, and walked out of the room with the oil lamp, only to see a chair overturned on the ground, knocking down a basket of radishes by the door, and the radishes rolled all over the floor. Yes, magpies are picking up all over the room.

  Li Yanqing saw that her clothes were neatly dressed, no different from last night, so he asked in surprise, "You've been here all this time?"

  The magpie blushed and whispered, "I was afraid I would oversleep again today, so I just sat here and took a nap, and accidentally fell over."

  Li Yanqing was angry and funny, and didn't know what to say about her, so Li Yanqing could only comfort her: "Don't be so anxious, you will get used to it slowly."

  The magpie bowed his head and did not speak. Li Yanqing was speechless for a while, so he could only scratch his head and ask, "What time is it?"

   "It's been a long time since the fourth watch, and it's probably almost the fifth watch."

   "Alright then! Can you tie your hair?"

   "I will, I will help Daddy tie his hair every day."

Li Yanqing's hair has grown thick and dense, and it is his biggest worry to tie his hair every day. He always tie a knot indiscriminately, but the knot is not secure. It saves him a big worry.

  Li Yanqing sat down, and the magpie held the comb and hairpin and stood behind Li Yanqing to brush and twist his hair skillfully.

It is not difficult to tie the hair. Twist the hair into a strip at the top of the head or even the back of the head. When tightened, it will naturally twist, and then take advantage of the trend to coil up in a circle, hide the hair tip, and press the hairpin up and down into the bun. Finally put on the hijab and it's done.

  However, although tying hair is simple, it is not easy to do it well. Li Yanqing felt the warmth of Magpie's little hands, and asked her with a smile: "Magpie, how old is your brother, what are you doing at home?"

   "My brother is the same age as a small official. Originally, my grandfather asked him to study, but he didn't want to study after a few days. He played at home all day and planned to go to the capital to help his uncle in two years' time."

   "What about you, do you want to study?"

   Magpie sighed lowly, "The little official is telling a joke, how can the little lady go to school?"

  Li Yanqing said with a smile: "I didn't say that I would go to school. In the future, you will study ink for me, and I will teach you a few words by the way. You will always need it in the future."

  Magpie was very pleasantly surprised, reading and literacy was something she never dared to dream about, but she also thought of what Uncle Zhong said in the morning, the petty official was about to take the imperial examination, so would teaching herself delay the imperial examination?

  She said a little worriedly: "Why don't you wait for the petty officials to finish their imperial examinations."

  Li Yanqing laughed, "Teaching you how to recognize a few characters won't delay me, let's talk about it later! I'm leaving."

   Magpie hurriedly put on the headscarf for the master, Li Yanqing stroked his hair, it was very well tied, he went to the well to wash his face and brush his teeth satisfied.

  Going to the county seat is such a beautiful thing, how could there be two guys, Wang Gui and Tang Huai, after running, the four of them rode donkeys to the county seat.

   Talking and laughing all the way, they arrived at Tangyin County at noon.

   "I'm hungry, let's go eat something first!" Wang Gui suggested, rubbing his stomach.

  Wang Gui's suggestion was unanimously approved by everyone, Li Yanqing said with a smile: "Go to Shunfeng Building, I will invite everyone to eat mutton buns!"

The steamed buns in Shunfenglou are unique in Tangyin County. They are thin-skinned and filled with plenty of juice. The mutton steamed buns are especially delicious. A bowl of Hu spicy soup made with thirteen kinds of ingredients is the biggest in this chilly spring season. Enjoyed, the four people's appetites were whetted, and they urged the donkey to run into the city.

  The county town is extremely lively today, with children laughing and laughing everywhere, the sound of drums faintly heard in the distance, and the number of itinerant vendors on the streets and alleys has quietly increased. People are walking in a hurry, greeting each other with smiles on their faces.

  All these signs indicate that an important festival is coming.

   "Have you all forgotten?"

  Wang Gui suddenly shouted excitedly, "How many days will it be!"

  The three of them looked at each other, and shouted together excitedly, "Chunshe!"

  Chunshe is She Day, February 2, the Father’s Day, is the oldest and happiest traditional festival in China.

  Thinking of the upcoming Spring Club, the four of them even forgot about the county exam on the fifth day of February.

   "Sheri is going to give Master a gift, so we can just buy something back!"

  Li Yanqing proposed to everyone, but this time it was Yue Fei who responded first. He raised his hand and said with a smile: "I bought a book for Master. He also said the day before yesterday that the collection of Tang poems had been torn and he needed to buy a new one."

   "Of course you know what Master needs most, so what should we do?"

  Wang Gui muttered, thought for a while and said, "Master likes mutton buns the most. I'll buy 30 for Master."

   "What about you, Lao Tang?" Li Yanqing asked Tang Huai again with a smile.

  Tang Huai shook his fan gracefully, "Master's shirt is old, I'll buy him a good blue cloth."

   "Yeah! Why didn't I think of that?"

  Wang Gui salivated, stepped forward and draped Tang Huai's shoulders with a smile, "Old Tang, why don't we change, you buy buns and I buy cloth!"

"go!"

  Tang Huai pushed him away, "Anyone who has no taste like you and likes to eat steamed stuffed buns should buy them for Master. If you think it's not good, then buy a few books too!"

   "Old Li, what are you buying?" Wang Gui turned back to find Li Yanqing.

   "I've wanted to buy a set of the Four Treasures of the Study for Master for a long time, and it just happened to be a social day."

   "Then what should I buy? Give me some advice!" Wang Gui was a little anxious.

  At this time, Yue Fei stammered: "Actually, I have a suggestion, you can listen to it."

   "What suggestion?" Wang Gui turned his head quickly.

"Isn't that big green donkey in your family about to give birth? After giving birth to a little donkey, I gave it to Master. Master's old donkey has been riding for twenty years, and it is almost dead. Master is old, and it is difficult for him to walk. .”

  Wang Gui slapped himself on the head hard, "I'm an idiot, I actually forgot about this, okay! I'll give the donkey away."

  Wang Gui’s family opened the largest livestock store in Tangyin County. More than half of the donkeys in the county are sold by their family. The four donkeys that were awarded by the Children’s Association that year were sponsored by Wang’s family.

   "Eat the buns first, then buy gifts!"

  Li Yanqing waved his arms, and the four responded enthusiastically, urging the donkeys to scramble towards the Shunfeng Building

  The four of them spent almost half a day wandering around the county. Not only did they treat themselves well, but they also bought gifts for their master. Li Yanqing bought a set of the Four Treasures of the Study from Jiuzhitang in the capital.

Yue Fei bought a hardcover book of selected Tang poems. Although it only cost two hundred Wen, it exhausted all his savings. Tang Huai bought a bolt of high-quality blue cotton cloth from an old store in Fuzhou, and Wang Gui bought it from an old store in Fuzhou. Wang Ji Livestock took a two-year-old big green donkey. His family's big green donkey is still two months away, but he can't wait any longer.

  However, there is another important matter for Li Yanqing today. He is going to Shilin Yuan Bookstore to hand in the last manuscript, thus completing the five-year contract between him and Shilin Yuan.

  The shopkeeper of Shilinyuan has changed. The original shopkeeper Luo was promoted to Daming Mansion. The current shopkeeper is named Zhao, from Anyang County.

   Shopkeeper Zhao and Li Yanqing have dealt with each other several times. Compared with Shopkeeper Luo, his enthusiasm is obviously lower, but his etiquette is still very considerate.

  He arranged for his staff to greet Yue Fei and the others, and invited Li Yanqing to the second floor.

   "This is the last one!"

  Li Yanqing handed the last manuscript to shopkeeper Zhao and said with a smile: "It's finally finished."

   "The little official has worked hard these past few years."

   Shopkeeper Zhao flipped through the manuscript, put it in the box, and planned to send someone to Daming Mansion in a few days.

   "How was the lawsuit in Shanzhou last time?" Li Yanqing asked.

   Shopkeeper Zhao shook his head, sighed and said: "Like other places, although the lawsuit was won, but there was no rigidity found, it was finally settled."

In the past few years, although The Great Sage's Monster Hunting has been very popular in various parts of the Song Dynasty, the piracy is too serious, the bookstore can't make any money, and it has seriously affected Li Yanqing's income, so Li Yanqing signed an agreement with Shi Linyuan, Once the last manuscript was handed in, their contracts were all over.

  Li Yanqing saw that the atmosphere was a bit dignified, so he changed the subject and said with a smile: "I heard that Shilinyuan has opened a fourth bookstore in the capital. Congratulations!"

Shopkeeper Zhao showed a slight smile on his face, "Thanks to the book by Xiaoguanren, my shop can slowly gain a reputation. Last month, in the selection of bookstores in Beijing, my shop ranked seventh, which is an improvement from last year. The proprietor also If you have the opportunity, you must thank the little official face to face."

   "Your boss is too polite."

   Shopkeeper Zhao took out fifty taels of silver from the cabinet and handed it to Li Yanqing, "This is the manuscript fee for the last part, please accept it, my little official."

Li Yanqing was not too polite, and accepted it happily. As if a big stone had fallen from his heart, he got up and left. At this time, Yue Fei and the others had already bought a large bundle of exam books and were about to pay the bill. Shopkeeper Zhao hurriedly said: "These books are not needed. After paying, it is considered a little kindness of the shop."

  Everyone thanked them repeatedly, and left with the books. When they left the city, Wang Gui said triumphantly, "I made a lot of money today. It's actually free to buy so many books. I'll come back in a few days."

Tang Huai shook his folding fan and said sarcastically: "Come on! Your face is worthless, but Lao Li's is. If you don't believe me, go try it out. If Lao Li is not here, you won't pay for another book? I don't treat you like a kid. It would be strange if the thieves hit it with sticks!"

  Wang Gui raised his head and snorted. At this moment, Li Yanqing noticed that something was missing, and hurriedly asked Wang Gui, "Old Gui, where did you put the mutton buns you bought for Master?"

  As soon as Wang Gui touched the donkey bag, he immediately yelled, turned the donkey's head and ran away into the city, and heard him shouting from a distance: "I forgot at the bookstore!"

  【The four-thousand-character chapter asks for support! 】

  (end of this chapter)