Our Time: Unswerving until Death

Chapter 51
In a flash of time, it entered October of the lunar calendar. When late autumn and early winter alternated, the endless field was covered with frosty snow. On the dark land, there were dots of yellow dotted with black, and a little bit of white. The black is earth, the yellow is dry grass, and the white is frost. If you look up, in the cold and quiet north wind, there are a few flowers blooming that are not afraid of the early winter. up.

Early in the morning, in front of Yongding Gate.

Huang Lao Er's wonton stall was open as usual every day, with steam rising from the cauldron, and the waiter San'er was wrapped in a coat, breathing heavily and rubbing his hands to invite customers.

The end of the year is approaching, there are more people returning to Peiping, and more people leaving Peiping. There are more people on the street visible to the naked eye. The old main customer who came here, the small stall with only a few tables is almost full.

When there are too many people, there will be a lot of chatter, and it is necessary to discuss some things that everyone likes to talk about. If you want to rank these "things that you like to talk about", then the "church case" that has just passed is definitely ranked. First.

"From the time I beat the old lady to today, how many years have passed by counting on my fingers, we have been suffering from anger, we have paid for this and that, this time we finally vented our anger, it is very satisfying. !"

An old man in a long robe and mandarin jacket, with braids hanging and beard stroking, raised his head and said, "75 years."

"Master Zhao, it's good to count your kung fu, or you have read the book, we mud legs don't have this kung fu, and we can't count this number with our fingers."

The old man squinted and said: "This old man was born in that year, don't you know?"

"As the old saying goes, one life, two riches, three Kang Ning, according to the old rules, Mr. Zhao's 80th birthday is coming soon, the young ones should respect it first."

Master Zhao waved his hand and spat: "Those who think they are destined to live longer will live longer. I'm afraid Lord Yan won't know, and I still want to live a few more years."

"Hahaha"

This caused a burst of laughter.

"Yo! Mr. He is here, please come inside." San'er, the clerk, shouted enthusiastically.

Yesterday, Qian Xuan and He Qi said that he found a good place to open a chess hall, which is just outside Xuanwu Gate. Today, he took a look at the place early in the morning and made a deposit if it was suitable. The two made an appointment to come here early in the morning. Unexpectedly, when he was about to reach the place, Qian Xuan hurried back again. It turned out that he came out in a hurry and didn't bring any money.

He Qi saw that they were all outside Xuanwu Gate, and not far from Yongding Gate. He happened to have not eaten breakfast yet, so he made an appointment with Qian Xuan to meet at Huang Lao Er's wonton stand, and then went after breakfast.

He Qi is very familiar with Huang Laoer's wonton stall. The first time he ate wontons, he was abducted by Zhang Maoer, and he came here several times after that. He disappeared. Unexpectedly, because of the church case, he was planted in the hands of Juchang by accident. He was shot in public at Caishikou a few days ago.

After going back and forth, He Qi became acquainted with the old owner of the wonton stall who often came to the wonton stall. If there was nothing to do, the big guys liked to chat with He Qi, seeing that He Qi was approachable and not so particular.

There were a lot of people in the booth today, He Qi came late, there was no place to sit for a while, someone immediately stepped aside and said: "Mr. He, come and sit here."

The wonton in front of the man's table was only half eaten, He Qi was embarrassed, and politely declined, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bench hidden under the tarpaulin, went and moved it out, ready to sit and wait for someone to leave.

"Sir, you can't sit on this bench." Huang Laoer shouted anxiously, then put down the rolling pin in his hand, patted the flour on his hands, and was about to come and take the bench away.

"Huh?" He Qi was stunned.

"It's unlucky!" Huang Laoer was mysterious. He opened his hand and pulled a rag to wrap the bench, threw it on the original tarpaulin, and said to San'er: "It will be empty later, tear it down. It, set fire to it."

"Oh!" San'er said.

Not only did He Qi not understand why a well-endowed bench had to be dismantled for fire, but many diners who were eating wontons were also puzzled. At this time, someone said: "The bench that the short-lived ghost sits on, what Huang Lao Er said is right, it is unlucky. "

"What's the situation?"

"What short-lived ghost?"

"Oh, that fellow Zhang Maoer."

"The one who was beheaded just a few days ago."

Having said that, He Qi understood, what else should it be?He brought the bench again, sat on it with one buttocks, crossed his legs, and joked: "That guy Zhang Maoer abducted me. I am fine now, but he was killed instead, which means that I beat him. This bench All right, it’s a pity to dismantle it, I’ll be fine after a while.”

Mr. Zhao spared no time, and said: "You are silent, you are so strange, Mr. He doesn't dislike it, and brought a bench to the old man's place to take a seat."

"Alas!" He Qi replied, and took a bench and sat next to Master Zhao.

San'er put a bowl of steaming wontons on the table, and there were a few slices of green onion floating in the soup. He Qi poured some chili into it, and stirred it with bamboo chopsticks, and everything was done.

While He Qi was eating wontons, someone asked, "Mr. He, did you get it done?"

"Say, what's the matter?" He Qi looked at the man while chewing on wontons. He was thin, wearing a worn felt hat askew, a yellowed towel on his shoulders, and a thin sheet on his upper body. There is a thick layer of calluses on the tiger's mouth, the trouser legs underneath are tightly closed, and a pair of torn sandals are worn on the feet. He opens his mouth and smiles, revealing a mouthful of smoked teeth. He can tell at a glance that he is pulling a cart.

"I just pulled a cart and passed by the door, and I saw a lot of people surrounding it. There was a notice from the police department on it, saying that the police department offered a reward for catching traffickers. Is this true?"

Having said that, after a brief silence at the wonton stall, it suddenly seemed like dumplings that had been cooked, and everyone immediately started talking.

"When did it happen?"

"Just now."

"How much is the reward?"

"10 yuan per person."

"."

Two oceans a month is enough for an ordinary family, and ten oceans can cover five households' monthly expenses. It is really attractive. Everyone's eyes can't help but focus on He Qi, nothing less than He Qi's reputation now. Big, unlike ordinary people, he knows something inside that ordinary people don't.

"I really don't know about this." He Qi said truthfully.

"Mr. He, I also have a question here." Master Zhao said suddenly.

"Please tell me." He Qi said.

"In the church case, twelve Fa people and 23 Chinese children died. The Dongyi people paid a total of 150 million oceans. The newspaper only said so. Does Mr. He know how much we have paid?" Master Zhao asked.

"I do know about this, we paid 50w in compensation, but I don't know whether to pay or not." He Qi said.

"50w is not a lot!"

"I can't figure out how much a family can divide."

"That's it, do you really want to get compensation? Go ahead and dream about it, we ordinary people don't even think about being able to deduct money from them."

"The rats will lose two taels of meat if they hit them. If you want to take money from them, it will be in your next life."

"Cough cough~" Master Zhao coughed lightly, looked at He Qi and said, "You have a good relationship, go back and ask someone to ask, if the 50 indemnity is paid, then the reward mentioned in the notice of the police department is probably the same. Really. Human traffickers are really hateful, they should be caught, they should be caught, but this is not the way to catch them. Officials have to save face and send back kindness, but everyone below is looking forward to it. If they really get the bounty, they will live a good life It can also be more comfortable, you should ask for them."

"Okay, I'll ask when I turn around." He Qi suddenly understood the key point, and agreed immediately. Just as she was about to eat wontons, she saw that everyone was watching, knowing that everyone was thinking about it, so she had no choice but to say: " I'll be back tomorrow morning."

In this way, everyone was willing to take their eyes off He Qi, which showed that they were all interested.

After eating two mouthfuls of wontons, He Qi felt that Mr. Zhao was not like an ordinary person, so she couldn't help but glanced at Mr. Zhao from the corner of her eyes, and met Mr. Zhao's gaze.

Mr. Zhao said: "Mr. He, what do you want to ask me?"

He Qi smiled awkwardly and said: "I am absolutely worried that I will not be called Mr., just now I heard what the old man said, and I was enlightened. I think the old man is very knowledgeable, so I took a second look, and it is presumptuous."

Mr. Zhao said: "The old man just lived a long time and saw a lot."

Someone reminded: "Mr. He, you don't know now, Mr. Zhao is on the gold list. He has been an official in Huguang for many years. How can you hide the secrets from Mr. Zhao?"

Fan Jinzhong was so happy that he went crazy. Master Jinshi is much more difficult than Juren. Only a few years after the Qing Dynasty, the status of Master Jinshi is still looked up to by ordinary people. No wonder Master Zhao is respected by everyone.

Master Zhao wandered and said: "Old man, the list is no more than a fellow Jinshi, and the official is no more than a county. It is nothing. I live alone for a long time."

He Qi asked for advice: "Mr., just now you always said that the Police Department offers rewards to arrest human traffickers. This is not the way to catch them. Can you explain it more clearly?"

Mr. Zhao said with a smile, "Mr. He, I really don't understand?"

He Qi shook her head and said, "I really don't understand."

Seeing that He Qi didn't seem to be lying, Master Zhao pointed to a vegetable stand on the street, in front of which stood a few women carrying baskets picking vegetables, and said: "These are servants of rich families, come here early Picking vegetables, there are errands, and there are also prostitutes. In the four or nine cities, there has never been a shortage of places for buyers and sellers, and it has become a business. If you don’t stop this business from the root, just arresting a few human traffickers is just a prevarication It's just a long mouth."

Master Zhao's words made He Qi fall into deep thought.

It just so happened that Qian Xuan came back after taking the money, plunged into the wonton stall, walked towards He Qi, his eyes lit up suddenly, and he said loudly: "Master Zhao, I just went to your house, but no one found you , I didn’t expect that you would chat with brother Qi first.”

He Qi looked at Qian Xuan puzzled.

Qian Xuan came forward, bowed to Master Zhao, poked He Qi's shoulder with his elbow, and said with a smile: "The place we are going to later is Master Zhao's property, don't you know?"

He Qi shook his head.

Mr. Zhao got up slowly, nodded to Qian Xuan, walked out with a cane, looked back at He Qi and said, "Mr. He, talk while walking."

He Qi pulled a few mouthfuls of wontons into her mouth, and quickly got up to follow.

(End of this chapter)