good season

Chapter 47 I have a date with Mr. Bai (two chapters in one)

Zhao Shiqing placed the small silver ingot of one tael of silver in front of Niu Qiu: "This is yours."

Loach was overjoyed and quickly packed up the silver.

Although gold beans are good, this tael of silver can be put into your pocket immediately.

Zhao Shiqing took out another ingot of silver of similar size and placed it on the table. "Different trades are like different mountains. Mr. Bai is a scholar. How did he become the boss of Kuixing Tower?"

Loach was stunned. He first knew that Master Bai was the eldest brother, and later he found out that Master Bai was a scholar. Later he heard that Master Bai and the chief academic officer of the Imperial College were brothers. As for the blood and tears journey from Scholar Bai to Master Bai, Loach didn't know.

He looked at the street kid: "Do you know?"

Jie Liuzi finally finished the last mouthful of wonton soup and was wiping his mouth with a snow-white handkerchief. Niu Qiu looked at him with a distressed look, thinking that it was such a waste to use such a nice handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

As for how to avoid waste, Niu Qiu didn't think about it. In short, he felt that this street urchin was abnormal and too picky.

When he heard Niu Qiu ask him, Jie Liuzi's black and white eyes glanced at the small silver ingot in front of Zhao Shiqing and shook his head: "It's a little less."

Zhao Shiqing.
She took out the two golden beans and said, "One golden bean, is it enough?"

The loach’s eyes widened as it looked at the golden beans. Gold!

Thinking about the one or two taels of silver he had just earned, Loach hugged his thin self sadly.

The street slicker raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhao Shiqing: "Just tell me, when will you give it to me?"

Zhao Shiqing: "I'll give it to you once you're done."

When you go out, all your belongings are with you.

Street Friend cleared his throat and said, "The reason why Master Bai became Master Bai is because of his godfather! Master Bai's godfather was Master Zhong Sanda, the boss of Kuixing Tower.

Do you know the name of the Kuixing worshipped in Kuixing Tower?

Zhong Kui!

It is said that Master Zhong San is the descendant of Zhong Kui! "

Zhao Shiqing's eyes lit up. This Third Master Zhong was really smart. When she retired from society, she would set up a stick in front of the God of Wealth Temple.

Do you know who is worshipped in there?
Zhao Gongming!
My last name is Zhao too!

This land is mine!

The street urchin continued, "When Master Bai was still a scholar, he would come to worship Kuixing every now and then, and he became a familiar face in front of Master Zhong San.

It is said that when Mr. Bai failed the exam for the first time, he came to worship Kuixing again. Mr. Zhong San felt sorry for him, so he invited him to have a drink. At the table, they recognized each other as godchildren, and Mr. Bai became Mr. Zhong San's godson.

Master Zhong the Third had no son and treated Master Bai as his own son. Master Bai took care of Master Zhong the Third in his old age and later took over Master Zhong the Third's territory and staff. Master Bai had two sons, both of whom had the surname Zhong, and none of them had the surname Bai.

Mr. Bai now has money and houses. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether he returns to the Bai family or not, otherwise he would not have let his two sons have the surname Zhong.

Mr. Bai just wants to show off. Doesn’t the Bai family look down on him? He wants to pass the imperial examination to show the Bai family.”

Zhao Shiqing understood that passing the imperial examination had become Mr. Bai's obsession.

Loach slapped his thigh and said, "Both of my sons have the surname Zhong. Not everyone can do that. Master Bai is grateful and righteous. He is truly a man!"

Zhao Shiqing felt that Jie Liuzi spoke very well, and most importantly, his voice was very pleasant to the ear, and his voice was different from Xiao Zhen's.

Jie Liuzi's voice is clear and melodious. If he sings, it will surely linger in the ears for three days. Xiao Zhen's voice is a little deeper, making people's ears numb and their bodies feel soft.

Zhao Shiqing flicked the golden bean, and it rolled in front of the street kid and stopped by itself. The force was just right.

The loach looked at her eagerly and said, "Boss, there is still a golden bean."

Zhao Shiqing smiled, reached into his arms, and this time he took out another golden bean.

"Whoever can take me to see Master Bai will get this golden bean."

Loach was wilted. He had no friendship with Mr. Bai and didn't know where Mr. Bai lived.

He glared at the street urchin, you got what you want again.

The street guy bared his white teeth and said, "What a coincidence, Mr. Bai and I are neighbors. Come on, I'll take you there."

The three of them left the wonton stall, Jie Liuzi walked in front, Zhao Shiqing followed, and Niqiu hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Just kidding, it's not easy to meet a rich man, of course I have to follow him, and any money that slips through my fingers will be enough for him to live a good life.

The place where Mr. Bai lives is across the street from Kuixing Tower. It is an ordinary-looking house with peeling paint on the front door and broken tiles stuck on the wall. It really doesn't look like the home of a local tyrant.

The street kid knocked on the door, and the door opened a crack from the inside. A child of eight or nine years old poked his head out and said, "Brother, why did you make it so dirty again? Be careful that the master will scold you."

The street kid touched his little head and asked, "Is Mr. Bai home?"

The child nodded: "In the piano room."

The street slicker turned and looked at Zhao Shiqing: "What's your name?"

Zhao Shiqing: "Xiao Si."

The street kid said to the kid, "Let them go in and wait. I'll go talk to Mr. Bai."

The three men entered the yard, and Jie Liuzi walked away.

Zhao Shiqing looked around the yard. It looked shabby from the outside, but it was a different world inside. There were at least three courtyards.

Opposite the sitting room there was a stone table with four stone drums around it. The child pointed and said, "Wait here."

Zhao Shiqing was startled. She hadn't paid attention to it just now, but now that she listened carefully, she found that the child's voice was equally melodious and pleasant.

What's going on? She has met all the people with nice voices in the capital?
However, the sound of loach is not pleasant, just like Xiao Su's, sometimes rough and sometimes thin, which is very unpleasant. My second brother was like this for a while.

The two waited for a while, but the kid never showed up, and the kid came back.

"Come here." The child said to Zhao Shiqing.

Zhao Shiqing stood up, and Niu Qiu quickly stood up and followed. The child frowned and said, "I didn't tell you to go in, but you're waiting here. Do you really think anyone can come in?"

If it were somewhere else, Loach would have argued for a few words, but he didn't dare to do so here. He was a thief, and what thieves feared most was not the government, but a boss like Mr. Bai.

If you are caught by the government, at most you will spend a few days in jail. You won't be sentenced to a heavy punishment for petty theft, and you can even stay fat and healthy in jail.

But if he offends the boss, he will never live a peaceful life. He will either die or become disabled.

The loach sat back on the stone drum obediently, hunched over, and wished he could crawl into the cracks in the ground. Zhao Shiqing followed the child and walked into the second courtyard with his head held high.

As soon as he came in, Zhao Shiqing could not help but nodded. The second courtyard had carved beams and painted pillars, and a row of bulbuls were hung on the corridor. The most interesting thing was that the beams of other people's corridors were painted with the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars or the Twelve Flower Orders, while the corridors of Mr. Bai's house were painted with plays, one play for each beam.

A thought flashed through Zhao Shiqing's mind: this Mr. Bai might be a drama fan.

She thought again of the street kid and the kid's good voice.
The two stopped in front of a house, and the child said to the inside of the house: "Uncle, the person is here."

"Come in." The voice was clear and cold, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Zhao Shiqing was actually a little disappointed.

The child pushed open the door, Zhao Shiqing took off his hat, dusted off the dust on his body, and walked in.

The room is not big. There is a huqin placed by the window, and moon guitar, pipa, string instrument, flute and suona are placed on the shelves around it.

It seems that this is the piano room that the child just mentioned.

A middle-aged man, about forty years old, was leaning against the bed. He was dressed like a scholar, but he had a rough face, sweeping eyebrows, a beard, and eyes like copper bells.

It’s true, although this person’s surname is not Zhong, he really looks a bit like the legendary Zhong Kui.

Zhao Shiqing clasped his fists and saluted like a man, saying, "Little Four greets Master Bai. Hello, Master Bai."

Mr. Bai hummed, not even glancing at her: "You want to see me? What's going on?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled: "Xiao Si wants to make a deal with Master Bai."

Master Bai then raised his eyelids and looked at her straight in the eye: "She's pretty, but too young. I don't like her."

Zhao Shiqing: "You don't think I'm here to offer myself to you, do you? You're really bold at your age."

Master Bai was stunned. Ever since he became Master Bai from Scholar Bai, more than ten years have passed, and no one except the Bai family members dared to speak to him in this tone. This little girl is so bold.

Mr. Bai became interested, sat up straight, and said, "Little girl, your accent doesn't sound like you're from Beijing."

Zhao Shiqing: "Can you tell? This is Mandarin. I am the best at speaking Mandarin in our area."

Mr. Bai laughed loudly and pointed at the small stool beside him: "Since you are not here to offer your love, then tell me your deal."

Zhao Shiqing was curious: "So the legendary Mr. Bai is so easy to talk to?"

Master Bai: "I have to give some respect to the people Xiao Yueyue brought with her."

Xiao Yueyue?
Is that street kid called Xiao Yueyue?
Haha, this name sounds girly.

"Mr. Bai likes to listen to operas, so I would like to invite Mr. Bai to perform a play with me. I wonder if Mr. Bai is interested?"

The gentleness on Master Bai's face disappeared, and he smiled coldly: "You disguised yourself and came to me again. Have you forgotten that this is the capital, under the feet of the emperor?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled, "I am indeed in disguise, but this drama is just a piece of cake for Master Bai. Although this is the emperor's territory, Master Bai will not be involved in anything after the matter is completed. By the way, Master Bai, do you want to hear the conditions I offer? If Master Bai is satisfied, we can talk about business later."

"Tell me, what are the conditions?" asked Mr. Bai.

"I heard that the person in charge of setting the questions for the Beijing City and Rural Examination this year is Mr. Fang Er?" Zhao Shiqing asked back.

Mr. Bai was stunned. He didn't expect that this little girl would directly hit him in the sore spot. His sore spot was the provincial examination.

"There is such a rumor, but it can't be true." Although Mr. Bai said this, he believed it in his heart.

Mr. Fang Er’s elder brother is Fang Ying. Fang Ying was the one who set the questions and was the chief examiner for the first two imperial examinations. It is likely that Fang Ying will be the examiner for next year’s imperial examination as well.

Although Mr. Fang Er is not as famous as Fang Ying, he compiled a collection of poems for the retired emperor last year, who was so pleased that he gave him three elixirs.

The elixir was made by the retired emperor himself, and just like his collection of poems, it is priceless.

Not only that, the emperor also summoned Mr. Fang Er, who is now in the Hanlin Academy and is compiling a book for the current emperor.

Zhao Shiqing paid attention to the expression on Mr. Bai's face and also saw the two little flames burning in his eyes.

Mr. Bai is almost going crazy because of the fame and honor of that scholar.

Zhao Shiqing pretended not to see anything and continued, "Everything has its reasons. Since there is such a rumor, it must not be groundless."

Mr. Bai said in a deep voice: "So what if it is, so what if it isn't?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled slightly: "What a coincidence, I happen to have two books at home, one is read by Mr. Fang Daxue, and the other is read by Mr. Fang Er."

Mr. Bai stood up suddenly, without even wearing shoes, standing on the floor in his socks.

"What book do you mean by their annotations?"

Zhao Shiqing chuckled: "It seems to be called something like Xia Dong."

Mr. Bai: Bullshit summer and winter, it’s spring and autumn, it’s spring and autumn!

He spent a lot of money to get a piece of information from a guest of the Fang family. It was said that the two brothers had been compiling a book at home for eight years. The book had been completed for two years and had a total of thirty volumes. In the book, the Fang brothers made an in-depth analysis of the Spring and Autumn Annals and put forward many unprecedented insights. However, for some reason, these thirty volumes had been compiled long ago but had never been made public.

Now hearing what Zhao Shiqing said, Mr. Bai suddenly became enlightened. Why didn’t he think of it?
There was only one reason why the Fang brothers hid these thirty volumes for two years, and that was because they were worried about missing some questions!
This year's provincial examination and next year's metropolitan examination will definitely test the Spring and Autumn Period!
Mr. Bai's voice was trembling with excitement. He was wearing socks and walked around Zhao Shiqing several times, his eyes full of green.

"Little girl, is there anyone in your family who is an official?"

Zhao Shiqing sneered, "Of course someone in my family is an official, and a high-ranking one at that. The two books I'm talking about belonged to my second brother, but now they belong to me, so I can decide who to give them to."

Mr. Bai suddenly bent down and faced Zhao Shiqing face to face: "Little girl, are you bragging?"

Zhao Shiqing shook her feet: "Just tell me what the conditions are?"

Mr. Bai calmed down. Since this little girl dared to make such a condition, then
"No, what if you don't admit it after it's done?"

Zhao Shiqing wanted to laugh. He didn't even ask what he was asked to do. He was only thinking about the two books.

Zhao Shiqing said, "Tomorrow, I will give you a deposit first. Of course, it won't be real money. You don't need money. Tomorrow I will give you the deposit, and you can decide whether what I say is credible."

Mr. Bai looked at her deeply, and after a while he said, "Okay, come here at this time tomorrow."

Zhao Shiqing smiled and said, "Master Bai believes in me, and I believe in Master Bai too. I believe that Master Bai will not set a trap to ambush a poor little girl like me."

白爷
You have all the good and bad words to say alone.

Zhao Shiqing walked out of the piano room and greeted the bird cage hanging in the corridor: "Auntie Huamei, your hair is almost falling out."

The thrush was furious.

Zhao Shiqing greeted people as she walked along, and the corridor became bustling with activity. When Mr. Bai heard the birds chirping and came out, he was startled. He saw all the birds in the cages shouting and screaming, just like a shrew scolding in the street.

　No more updates today, I will update tomorrow, wait for me
　　(End of this chapter)