farmhouse ditty

Chapter 209
Although Shuangyang Town is on the edge of the official road, there are many cars and horses passing by, and there are also many people who rest and stay, but there are not many decent inns in the town.

The merchants who passed by didn’t live for a long time, basically they just slept for one night, and they didn’t ask for much comfort, just a place to lie down, so they all went to the horse house, A large kang bed, a few big men can make do with one night, it is convenient and cheap.

Except for those who have status and know how to enjoy themselves, they will go out and stay in the inn. Take the steward from the palace, he lives in the town, the largest inn at the back alley, the place is remote, but quiet Very miles.

Qiangzi came from the back street, hurried to the backyard of the inn, asked for a pot of hot water for the stove, went up to the second floor, entered the house and saw that there was no movement in the inner room, felt a little relieved, and stood in front of the house. Steep the tea.

He poured the remaining hot water into the copper basin, mixed it with a little cold water, tried the water and it was still hot, and put the sackcloth in. At about the same time, a voice came out from this inner room, "Qiangzi? ?”

Qiangzi heard the sound, brought in the water from the basin, put it on the table in front of the bed, and said to the person sitting on the bed, "Boss Huang, are you up?"

Guanshi Huang is a middle-aged man in his forties. Because he suffered a lot in the palace in the early years, he took the position of steward after a few years of hard work. He looks older, but he is human. It's true, seeing some poor children in the palace, it's quite nice to take care of them, but it's just to enjoy the blessings. According to him, the reason he suffered so much in the early years is to make life easier for the future.

He glanced at Qiangzi, and as soon as he raised his hand, Qiangzi wrung out the linen cloth and handed him over, asking him to wipe his face, so he was sober.

Huang Guan rubbed his face with his hands first, then took the sackcloth, opened it to cover his face, let the heat from the cloth coax him, and then threw it to Qiangzi to wash it in hot water again.

Qiangzi changed the linen cloth several times, and waited for Guanshi Huang to wash his face before taking over the linen cloth, but he was not in a hurry to take out the copper basin, but went outside to bring in the tea first.

Guanshi Huang glanced at him, and asked what kind of tea Qiangzi made. Qiangzi said that it was tea brought from the palace, so he nodded, got up and sat down at the table and drank it.

Qiangzi stood in front of him and waited, watching Guanshi Huang contentedly drinking the freshly brewed tea, wondering what to say.

Manager Huang asked while drinking tea, "Qiang Zi, you went back to the village early this morning, how is your family doing, your mother is still in good health?"

Qiangzi smiled, "It's okay, Manager Huang, my mother is in good health, and I've been chatting with her for an hour or two today."

Manager Huang nodded, and put the teacup on the table, "Well, that's right, a baby with a mother is better than anything else, you should respect your mother well..."

Qiangzi repeatedly said yes, he knew that Guan Huang's old lady had gone away two years ago, and he couldn't go back to take a look when he was working in the palace, and he couldn't regret it in his mouth, so his subordinates, as long as they said Those who went home to visit relatives, he would let them go without saying a word, but Manager Huang would also ask carefully, and if it was true, he would let them go according to the situation in the palace.

He glanced at Guanshi Huang, took the conversation to the horse house, and said, "Guard Huang, it's not hot today, would you like to visit the horse house this afternoon so I can call a cab."

Guanshi Huang waved his hand and said, "I won't go, I can't see anything here."

Qiangzi looked to say something, but Manager Huang pointed at him and said, "Oh, later, you can ask those boys who are in charge of the account to bring me the reserve price that you asked in the back street, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Go to the racecourse again, double-check the accounts, and find out those who sell at high prices, and I won’t let them make a profit.”

Hearing what Guanshi Huang said, Qiangzi had no choice but to respond first, but after thinking about it, he said, "Hey, that's right, is there any deputy in the horse house watching, Guanshi Huang, you should hurry up and rest in the room. It's cold and dry outside..."

As soon as Guanshi Huang heard the words Deputy Guan He, he became angry, "What is that kid named He? If I really let him do it, then it's okay."

Qiangzi went on to say, "Boss Huang, don't be angry, this vice-manager, no matter how he is, he is also Guanshi Qing's apprentice, he can't be wrong."

Guanshi Huang sneered, "What apprentice, the kid named He is the son-in-law of Guanshi Qing. If it weren't for the fact that Guanshi Qing went to Eunuch Ye to intercede, I wouldn't take him out to do business. That kid doesn't look like a man at first glance." Good stubble, full of gaudy intestines."

Qiangzi knew that Steward Huang secretly looked down on the deputy steward, because he had worked hard for many years to become the steward, but the man named He was the deputy steward only after passing through the back door of the steward. In terms of position, of course Guanshi Huang couldn't tolerate him.

He looked at Guanshi Huang, pretending to be casual, and said again, "Hey, Guanshi Huang, I heard that this time, the palace will make a new batch, a batch of washboards, it seems that Deputy Guan He is going to do it. "

Guanshi Huang nodded, "No, this is a good way to make money. This washboard is a new thing, and no one knows how much it costs. If he is in a board, it costs a little three or four cents, and that year Come down, it's terrible."

So because of this, he sent people to the back street to inquire about the price, just to guard against the surname He, but he is not stupid, he didn't just let those palace people ask the price of the washboard, but put the All the shops have asked again. In this case, no one can say that he is targeting Deputy Manager He.

Qiangzi naturally didn't know about this, but he saw Guanshi Huang's impatient face when he mentioned Deputy Guan He, and he had a solid foundation in his heart. It seemed that he only needed to bring the problem to Deputy Guan He , this manager Huang will not ignore him.

He chattered casually, picked up the copper basin from the table, and walked out the door, "Guard Huang, what you said is right. Compared with you, Deputy Guan He is still far behind. As I said, if you took care of the racecourse area, maybe this thing wouldn't happen this morning..."

Manager Huang heard what Qiangzi said, and looked outside the room, "Hey, Qiangzi, don't go, come back and speak clearly."

Qiangzi opened the curtain and came in, "Hey, Manager Huang, why are you calling me?"

Manager Huang asked, "Qiangzi, what did you just say? What happened to the racecourse this morning?"

Qiangzi said, "Oh, when I come back today, I should pass by the horse house in time. If I want to get to our place from the entrance of the town, I have to go through the horse house..."

Guanshi Huang clicked his tongue, "I know that, go ahead and talk about what happened!"

Qiangzi pretended to think about it, "Hey, it's really nothing, it's just in the horse house, there are couples, bickering there, you blame me and I blame you, and they even scolded us when it's over."

Manager Huang frowned, "Call us? What are they scolding?"

Qiangzi waved his hand and said, "Speaking of it, it's not scolding, it's just complaining, they just said, the threshold here is high, you have to pay some money to step in, the little aunt said she was a man He said that her man is stingy and won't do anything, so her man blamed his mother-in-law and said that she..."

Manager Huang let Qiangzi be told, "Okay, okay, you don't have to tell me about the bickering between these two, but they, did you ask why they said that? The second time was the first time I came to the compradors in Shuangyang Town, why did they say that my threshold is too high!"

Qiangzi said excitedly, "Why don't I go to this matter, Manager Huang, who doesn't know what you are like in our area, I just don't want to see these little women talking nonsense, I will pass as soon as I hear it, I will Just ask them what they are doing for business, why do they say that, isn’t the reason why we set up a show at the racecourse to let the big guys understand, we have never had a second in command.”

After hearing this, Guanshi Huang praised Qiangzi, "Well, what you said is not bad, you deserve to stay by my side for so many years." Qiangzi laughed twice, and Guanshi Huang said, "You can ask What happened?"

Qiangzi told the story of what Xiuniang and Chu Gezi encountered in the horse house in the morning, and it was unavoidable to add fuel and vinegar to it, saying that Deputy Manager He couldn't handle things well, and the bowl of water was uneven, and it was biased towards Yuanmuhang. side.

"Guard Huang, the young couple are just annoyed that Deputy Manager He didn't take a good look at their boards. In fact, to put it bluntly, the young couple are just like Yuanmu, they are both buying and selling washboards in the town. They look at the garden Vice-Guan He fell in love with the board of the wood shop, and he was not convinced, so he made a fuss, hey, according to me, it's nothing...

Steward Huang became more and more annoyed when he heard what Qiangzi said, he slapped the table, "Who said it's no big deal!"

Qiangzi paused, seeing that Guanshi Huang was angry. Although he said he deliberately provoked him, he was still a little scared, "This, this Huang Guanshi, don't be angry, I have no other intention..."

Manager Huang looked at Qiangzi with a sullen face, and interrupted him, "Qiangzi, you know that this year is the first time I have been out of the palace to do groceries, and I don't want people to gossip about me behind my back!"

Qiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth, "Yes, yes, what Guanshi Huang said is..."

Guanshi Huang thought about it for a while, then walked to the side of the wooden cabinet and took out a coat, "Qiangzi, call me a car, I want to go to the racecourse to have a look."

After Qiangzi looked at Guanshi Huang and listened, he just said that he would go to the racecourse to have a look. He couldn't help being a little disappointed, so he responded, "Oh, I see, Guanshi Huang."

Manager Huang put on his gown, and suddenly said, "Qiang Zi, do you still know which shop the young couple belonged to this morning?"

"Oh, I know, it's the Chu family's wooden workshop in the back street."

"Well...Qiangzi, don't go to the racecourse with me for a while, you go to the back street and ask the young couple to bring the board over tomorrow, and I want to see it myself."

"Oh, it's nice to be brave, Manager Huang, if the young couple know that you are going to look for their models in person, then they might be very happy."

After hearing what Qiangzi said, Guanshi Huang snorted coldly, "Hmph, if I were them, I'd better not be happy. If I read their board tomorrow, if it's really good, I'll take this list. Let them do business, but if their boards are really ugly, then I will punish them for their nonsense!"

(End of this chapter)