msmithbooks Chapter 26 Gratitude
Chapter 26 Gratitude
A tung oil donkey cart was passing through the country lanes, doing farm work in the fields. The people of Shenjia Village watched the carriage pass by and guessed who it was.
"I don't know who their relatives are, it looks strange."
"Whose son-in-law? I think it's probably Sanbo's family. Isn't his second daughter married to the county seat?"
The farmers who were working in the adjacent fields chatted with each other, and there was unconcealed envy in their words.
Someone said: "Maybe he is a guest of the scholar's family."
The donkey cart soon entered the village, and an old man got off from it, stopped the passing farmers and asked, "May I ask the old man, are Shen Ge and Shen Xiucai in Shenjia Village?"
"You are—" The passing old man squinted his eyes and looked up and down with a hoe on his back.
Shopkeeper He arched his hands slightly, and said with a smile: "My surname is He, and I am the shopkeeper of He Ji Study Room. I have something to do with Shen Xiucai."
When the farmer heard that he was the shopkeeper of the study, his attitude immediately became enthusiastic, and he walked a few steps forward to lead the way for shopkeeper He, "Mr. Xiucai is in the school right now. If you are not in a hurry, why don't you go to my house and have a cup of hot tea?"
It's only half noon now, whether it's early or late, Shen Ge is still teaching children in the school, the villagers generally don't pick this time to disturb him, and take guests home.
Shopkeeper He hurriedly waved his hand and refused, "Thank you, old man, I don't drink tea, and I have to go to the county later. Please show me the way, and I will just say a few words with Shen Xiucai."
Shopkeeper He has friendship with Shen Ge, and the villagers dare not neglect him. Seeing that he insisted on going to the school, they hurriedly took him there.
Shen Ge was teaching the children to read poems in the school, when he saw Shopkeeper He, he was startled, he hurriedly suspended the teaching, let an older student help him to limping out, "Treasurer He, why are you here? I'm really sorry, but I forgot to go to the county seat to tell you."
"It's all right." Shopkeeper He waved his hands again and again, seeing his appearance, he couldn't help but asked with concern: "Why are your arms and legs hurt, is it important?"
Shen Ge smiled, "It's okay, I accidentally dropped it, and it will be fine soon."
"That's good." Shopkeeper He breathed a sigh of relief, and explained: "It was originally agreed to write a story book for Jinzhuban, but after waiting and waiting, I didn't see you coming into the county, so I came over to have a look, and I happened to bring you a book on the way. The money of the storybook."
That day Shen Ge was coerced by the dandy in the street and almost died. Thanks to Xun Feiguang's helping hand, he was able to come back intact.
After returning to Xunjiazhuang, Shen Ge was in pain and was ordered to rest by Xun Feiguang.He himself was also afraid, his mind was in a mess, he didn't know how many things he had thought about, and the matter of earning money was naturally left behind, so much so that he forgot the agreement with Shopkeeper He.
In the end, he broke his promise, Shen Ge felt guilty, "I'm ashamed, boy, please worry about it."
"It's okay, but it's just running errands." Shopkeeper He smiled openly, looking around, "I've known you for so long, and this is the first time I've come to you."
Shen Ge beckoned him to sit in the study, and asked him to wait a while, then turned around and went back to the school to let all the students leave school early, and then returned to the study.
Shen Ge's study was built together with the school, and it hasn't been used for long. The room is very spacious and bright.There is no redundant decoration in the study room, a pot of bluegrass and two paintings, other than that, there is only a table, two chairs and some books, which looks elegant and pleasing to the eye.
The two windows in the study are fully open, and there are old trees outside the window, which is very quiet.
Shopkeeper He sat on one of the chairs and sighed: "Chen Ge'er, your place looks impressive just by looking at it."
"It was packed up at will, and you can't praise it, it's just a bit wild."
Shen Ge has tea and clean cups here, which are all cleaned up by the schoolchildren before he came to the school, and now he uses them.
He poured shopkeeper He a glass of water and chatted with him while drinking tea.
After exchanging pleasantries, shopkeeper He went straight to the point, "The Golden Bamboo Troupe that you gave me earlier has been staged, and it is very popular in the county now, and I have printed the storybook. In just over ten days, the storybook "Three Inch Golden Lotus" "Sold 230 copies, plus the previous two copies, it sold as many as 310 copies during this period."
Shen Ge was taken aback, "So many?"
No wonder Shen Ge was surprised. Although Kunjiu County is a large county, it is far less prosperous than a metropolis like Daoning Prefecture. It is unimaginable to sell more than 300 scripts in just over ten days.
Shopkeeper He laughed, "It's all thanks to the Golden Bamboo Troupe. Shen Ge'er, you don't know if you're not in the county. Now that "Three Inch Golden Lotus" is famous for its performance, I don't know how many towns want to invite the Golden Bamboo Troupe to perform. I heard that Guang Fu Those who pay the deposit can wait until next year, which is half the credit of your storybook."
Shen Ge's words are mostly vernacular, the words are not very beautiful, but the story is very catchy, if you read half of it, you won't be allowed to read it, it makes you sleepy.Many people who watched the play would inquire about coming to Heji Study to buy a script, so this script sold out very quickly.
Shopkeeper He originally printed other people's scripts, but now he basically doesn't print them.He mainly sells the scripts of Shen Ge alone, and at most sells a few other scripts from his peers together, but no one's scripts sell as well as Shen Ge's.
Regardless of how many generations of shopkeeper He's He Ji Study has been passed down, in fact, selling books alone does not make much money, and it is only enough for the family to spend, no more.Unexpectedly, since he cooperated with Shen Ge to sell the story books, in just a few months, shopkeeper He has earned more money than in the past year, and it is no wonder that he is now extraordinarily considerate.
Shen Ge didn't ask for credit, and sighed: "If it wasn't for the good performance of the Jinzhu Troupe, it wouldn't be as grand as it is today. In terms of credit, I have to thank them."
"Chen Ge'er, don't be modest, this is a matter of mutual benefit. I am here this time also entrusted by the head of the Golden Bamboo Squad. Last time you promised to help him write a play, and you asked me to ask you about it. Take a look." Shopkeeper He took out a piece of paper full of words from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Shen Ge, "The play doesn't need to be long, after I talked to the leader of the Jinzhu class, he promised to pay you 12 taels of silver, and a deposit of six taels first. "
Shopkeeper He wanted to make friends with Shen Ge, and he handled the matter very well. He not only asked for the request, but also brought the deposit.
Shen Ge glanced at the heavy money bag on the table, there was more than six taels of silver in it.
Shopkeeper He saw what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "In addition to the six taels of silver, there is also a distribution account for the scripts. During these days, 310 taels of scripts were sold, for a total of [-] copper coins. For five cents, you should get three thousand nine hundred copper coins, plus the odds that were not counted last time, the total cost is forty twenty or thirty Wen."
The brothers settled the accounts clearly, and shopkeeper He, as a businessman, always calculated the accounts very clearly.
Shen Ge quickly flipped through the scriptures brought by shopkeeper He. He was admitted to the university through the college entrance examination, and his mental arithmetic ability was not bad, so he quickly calculated the number.
"good."
Shopkeeper He smiled, "Don't worry, Shen Geer, the accounts of my He family have always been clear, and this is well-known in the county."
"This kid knows. Your book is the best and the price is the most reasonable. Most of my classmates go to your house to buy books."
Speaking of this, shopkeeper He was a little proud, "That is, a family heirloom shop, don't make those fake ones."
Shopkeeper He still had a shop to look at, he was worried about his son, and after clarifying with Shen Ge, he planned to go back to the county.Before leaving, he asked Chen Ge, "Chen Ge'er, if you want new words, just send them. Now that there is a wise new county magistrate, no one dares to do anything bad, and the atmosphere in the county has changed. It's good for us to open a shop." Doing business, taking advantage of this shareholder wind, can also earn a few more money."
"New magistrate? When did it happen?"
"Hey, just a few days ago. The former county magistrate committed a crime, and the officials sent him and his family to the capital for trial. I heard that he and his son did a lot of bad things, and they couldn't escape the guillotine after they arrived in the capital." fate."
Shopkeeper He said that he was quite embarrassed, "The original county magistrate was transferred not long ago, and somehow the original crime was exposed. He was originally a seventh-rank county magistrate, but he was reduced to a prisoner within a day. What happened in life? , it’s really hard to say.”
Shen Ge absently said goodbye to him, until shopkeeper He left, he still sat in the study for a long time.
Shen Ge knew the next day that the dandy who kidnapped him was the county magistrate's son, but he was not really humiliated, and he was powerless, so he really couldn't go head-to-head with the county magistrate.
Xun Feiguang took action later, and the county magistrate personally came to the door with money and gifts in a low voice to make amends.Shen Ge lived in Xunjiazhuang, and before Shen Ge got the news, Xun Feiguang came forward to help him refuse.
Shen Ge knew that with Xun Feiguang's actions, the county magistrate's family would be in trouble, but they were unexpectedly severely punished.
Thinking of Xun Feiguang, Shen Ge's heart warmed. It seemed that Brother Xun had protected him a lot behind his back.
Shen Ge's heart was in a mess, and when he returned to Xunjiazhuang, he still couldn't recover.
Xun Feiguang saw that he was still distracted while writing the article in the afternoon, so he knocked on his desk sternly, "Be more serious."
Shen Ge hurriedly turned his mind back to his schoolwork, but after a while, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Xun Feiguang simply stopped talking, stopped and asked him, "Do you have something on your mind?"
Shen Ge hesitated for a moment, and said truthfully: "The shopkeeper He came to see me today. I heard from him that we have a new county magistrate in Kunjiu County. The original magistrate committed a crime and has now been escorted to Beijing for trial."
"Ok?"
"Brother Xun, did you intervene in this matter?"
Xun Feiguang didn't answer directly, "Yan You did a lot of evil, so he was forced to leave because of the incident, and I didn't do anything."
Most officials in the world are not so innocent, so many people have not been arrested, only one Yan You was taken into custody, and the incident happened after his accident. If Xun Feiguang did not act for him, Shen Ge would not believe it.
He stopped writing and said with emotion: "Brother Xun, you are so kind to me."
"Where is it?"
"Everywhere is good." Shen Ge counted with his fingers, "You first saved my life, and then gave me money, ginseng, and food. After my accident, you were the first to come to save me from fire and water, and you even vented your anger for me afterwards. .Now you are teaching me homework again...Speaking of it, Brother Xun, I am afraid that you will be able to repay your kindness by being a cow or a horse in the next life."
"You also sent me a lot of food, and you also accompany me to relieve boredom?"
"How can this be compared?" Shen Ge waved his hands hastily, "At most, mine is the icing on the cake, whether you have it or not. Brother Xun, you are a gift in the snow to me. If I hadn't met you, I don't know what it would be now. kind of look."
Shen Ge stared at Xun Feiguang with a pair of eyes, and said sincerely: "I don't want to thank you for your kindness. If Brother Xun needs you one day, I will definitely go through fire and water."
Xun Feiguang's expression was unclear, he knocked on his head, and said, "Will I be in dire straits and need you to go through fire and water?"
Shen Ge laughed, "It's my younger brother who said something wrong. I should say that I will definitely tie a knot in the future to repay your kindness."
"Mo Poon, write quickly. If you can't finish writing during the application period, you can save dinner for a long memory."
Xun Feiguang always did what he said, but Shen Ge didn't dare to say any more, and hurriedly put his mind back into his studies.
He is now mainly training on the quality of his essays, and his previous essays were quite novel, but they were a bit raw and not very pleasing in the examination room.Nowadays, Shen Ge writes articles mainly to practice in the "steady" place, so that no matter which examiner he meets, the evaluation will not be too bad.
The injuries on Chen Ge's arms and legs were not serious injuries. With the good doctor Mr. Xu present, Shen Ge could walk after more than half a month. As long as he didn't use force, the wounds would not hurt.
During this period of time, Shen Ge finally completed the playbook required by Jinzhuban.He was inconvenient to move, so he specially asked someone to take the book to the county town to the shopkeeper He.
Later, shopkeeper He came to Shenjia Village again, and sent him the share of the book sales, and also helped bring the final payment of Jinzhuban.Shopkeeper He said that the leader of the Jinzhu class was very satisfied, and wanted to ask Shen Ge to write a play.
Shen Ge has earned more than 30 taels of silver in the past six months, and with the granary silver, he really made a small fortune, and he was so happy that he frowned all day long.
After all, Shen Ge didn't have the temperament to see money. He wanted to teach the school children who wanted to study, and he brought Man Zi, an older student, and he had to prepare for the scientific examination. .
Shopkeeper He felt very regretful, but writing a storybook is not a proper job after all, he can't lead Shen Ge to a wrong path, so he can only give up temporarily.
As Shen Ge's injury gradually healed, the weather became colder and colder. Every morning when Chen Ge woke up, he could see a thick layer of frost on the grass, and the lotus pond in Xunjiazhuang was also frozen.
When winter came, Shen Ge became lazy, and had to be reminded by green branches every day when he got up, and shivered several times when he got out of bed, his hands and feet hurt from the cold.
Shen Ge was raised in Xunjiazhuang, and even though he was wearing thick cotton clothes, all the students in the school were so cold that their noses were running, their fingers were red, and it was difficult to grasp a pen.
Shen Ge feels sorry for the schoolchildren. Now that he has money, he bought a few carts of charcoal out of his own pocket, and ordered several pots of charcoal in front of the school every day.
There were many people in the school, and when charcoal was lit, Shen Ge didn't dare to close the window, and the warmth was limited.
A group of children are not afraid of the cold, even if their cheeks are red from the cold, they still like to run around in the cold wind, playing and playing.
In winter, the things in the field are basically harvested.Some villagers dug mud ponds, and they released water to catch fish one after another, and brought some big fat fish to Shen Ge with their children.
In addition to catching fish, the villagers also began to kill pigs and ducks, some were frozen, and some were made into bacon and duck for eating next year.
This year is a good year, almost every family has saved food, and the village is rich, so it is naturally very lively.
Shen Ge followed the elders of the second and third masters to eat a round of pig-killing dishes in the village. Although the taste was average, the atmosphere was very festive and full of New Year flavor.
It was too cold, and the pen and ink were all frozen, and schoolchildren were prone to get chilblains when they exposed their hands to write, and Shen Ge himself couldn't bear the weather.After the first heavy snow fell, Shen Ge disbanded the school and asked the students to go back to school next spring.
Naturally, the villagers had no objection, and the schoolchildren were very happy to get a vacation after studying for more than half a year.
After the school closed, Shen Ge didn't go down the mountain very often.He still lives in Xunjiazhuang, not only studying with Xun Feiguang, but also accompanying him to relieve boredom.
Shen Ge liked Xunjiazhuang very much. After recovering from his injury, he stayed behind under Xun Feiguang's persuasion. He planned to wait until the Chinese New Year to talk about it.
Shen Ge originally liked to stay in bed, so he didn't need to go to school, and his ability to stay in bed improved even more.
Xun Feiguang wanted to correct his laziness, and he dealt with it several times. Every time, Shen Ge's whole body was entangled in the quilt, wrapped into a big roll, and he refused to come out even if he died.
Every time Xun Feiguang tried to forcefully take off his quilt, he was defeated by his pitiful eyes.In addition, it was too cold, Xun Feiguang was worried that stripping him out would make him cold, so he had to give up.
With Xun Feiguang's acquiescence, Shen Ge stayed in bed even more confidently, and often had to wait for Xun Feiguang to practice martial arts for a round before he would slowly get up for breakfast.
That day, Shen Ge slept until three poles above the sun as usual. After breakfast, he read a few books, and then went to find Xun Feiguang, but he didn't expect that Xun Feiguang was not there.
Shen Ge waited and waited, seeing that it was time for lunch, but still couldn't find anyone.He couldn't help asking Luzhi, "Luzhi, where is Brother Xun? Have you gone out to visit friends?"
The cook brought the lunch over, and Lu Zhi smiled while setting the table for him: "Master Shao Xin and the others went hunting in the mountains, and they won't come back for lunch."
Shen Ge was stunned, "When did they go out? Why didn't I know?"
"Let's go out at about Mao, and they set off while you were still asleep."
"So early?" Shen Ge regretted, "Hey, I didn't know."
"So what if you know?" Luzhi pursed her lips and smiled, "Even if I take you there, you won't be able to get up."
"Maybe I can get up?" Shen Ge felt very sad.
Shen Ge often sees Xun Feiguang and the others go hunting, but he himself has never been there, and he has never even entered the deep mountains, only wandering around.He had wanted to see the hunting scene for a long time, but he was either injured or not free, and now was a good opportunity, but unfortunately he fell asleep and didn't know it at all.
Xun Feiguang came back in the afternoon, when Shen Ge heard the news, he hurried out to have a look.
The hunting team harvested a lot, not only killed a few wild boars, but also a deer, and countless other hares and wild birds.
Shen Ge was very envious and asked Xun Feiguang, "Brother Xun, when is your next hunting?"
"I will go again tomorrow, what, want to go?"
Shen Ge obsequiously went over and rubbed his shoulders, "Brother Xun, just take me with you, I promise to keep up and not hold you back."
Xun Feiguang is tall and strong, with extremely strong muscles. Shen Ge rubbed his hands sorely, so he asked slowly: "Can you get up?"
"I can afford it, even if I wake up in the middle of the night."
After hearing Shen Ge's promise, Xun Feiguang smiled, "You can talk about it when you wake up tomorrow morning."
When he said this, Shen Ge knew that he had agreed, and couldn't help showing a big smile.After thinking for a while, Shen Ge said again: "Brother Xun, can you call me when you wake up tomorrow? In case I don't wake up, I said in case, you have to remind me."
"Can you scream?"
"Guaranteed to get up, it's hard to chase after a big man once said!"
Shen Ge almost swears on his chest, but the next morning, he still didn't wake up on time.
Xun Feiguang put on his clothes and called, Shen Ge looked sleepily at the still dark sky outside, and asked cautiously, "Let's go now?"
"We had already set off at this time yesterday. If you don't want to go, you can go to bed later."
"Think about it." Shen Ge hurriedly agreed, afraid that he would be slow in agreeing and Xun Feiguang would not wait for him to leave first.
It was extremely cold outside the quilt, Shen Ge couldn't help shivering, pulled his clothes and put them on several times but couldn't find the sleeves.Xun Feiguang couldn't see it, so he came over to help him get dressed and brought him cotton socks.
Shen Ge's feet were fair and delicate, smaller than the average man's feet, and when his rough fingers touched him, he couldn't help but itch and shiver.Feeling embarrassed, he hurriedly snatched the socks from Xun Feiguang's hand, "Brother Xun, I'll do it myself."
Xun Feiguang saw that his toes were curled up in the cold, a little red, pitiful and cute, so he stretched out his hands to hold down his feet to prevent him from moving, took another sock and put it on for him, and said, "Move faster!" .”
Shen Ge didn't dare to dawdle, quickly finished washing, went to the toilet again, and followed Xun Feiguang energetically.
Shao Xin and the others were already ready, seeing Shen Ge coming out, Shao Xin said with a smile: "It's okay, it's not like Shen Ge'er can't get up at all."
Shen Ge breathed hot air at his fingers, took some breakfast, and said, "Brother Shao, don't laugh at me, I agreed to go hunting with you, let alone now, even in the middle of the night I can get up."
It was not yet dawn, but there was snow on the ground, and against the light of the snow, the surroundings were very clear.
Shen Ge counted silently in his heart, including him, there were fifteen hunters in total.
All of them carried bows and arrows and held knives in their hands. They were all tall and strong. They stood up straight and looked very brave and handsome.Among this group of people, Shu Chenge was the thinnest and weakest, he couldn't help but look around enviously.
Shao Xin's subordinates lead the way, and Shen Ge walks in the middle. Among them, Shao Xin walks in front of Shen Ge, and Xun Feiguang follows behind.
The snow on the ground reached ankles, Shen Ge was not familiar with the road, and slipped two or three times after walking for a short distance.Xun Feiguang watched from behind, but did not let him go back, but took a few steps forward to protect him by his side.
Shen Ge raised his face and smiled at him, and said in a low voice: "I just walked these roads, I'm not used to it, just walk a little longer."
"It's okay, just walk slowly."
Shen Ge nodded.
As he walked, he warmed up, and his feet no longer hurt from the cold, and Chen Ge gradually felt better.
Villagers often move around in the mountains near Shenjia Village. This place is very popular, and there are not many prey that nest here. Xun Feiguang and his party did not stay here, but walked deep into the mountains.
Shen Ge was not used to walking on mountain roads, and he was out of breath when he reached the second mountain.
Xun Feiguang ordered his men to rest on the spot and move around to hunt prey nearby.
Surrounded by snow, Shen Ge found a dry tree that had fallen by the roadside, patted it, let Xun Feiguang sit first, and then sat aside to rest.
Shen Ge is not good at martial arts, not strong enough, and it is difficult to draw the bow. He looked at the Xun family's subordinates who had burrowed into the mountain one after another, and asked, "Brother Xun, besides live prey, do we have anything else to hunt?"
Xun Feiguang glanced at him leisurely, "Of course there are wild fruits, medicinal materials, and bird eggs. Although it is hunting, it is also a harvest to find these. You can't hunt anything, so the next step is to concentrate on finding these."
Shen Ge's spirit was shaken, and he smiled at Xun Feiguang: "Okay, let me see if I can find anything, don't come here for nothing."