Chapter 108

Repairing a house takes time. In the past few months, Xu Yi hired master craftsmen to fill in leaks and rotten areas.

If the floor had bricks, the mason in charge would replace them with new ones. Xu Yi selected each brick and tile himself, and then asked A Xu to help take care of it. The yard is spacious, and the flower beds that were built before have been renovated.

During this period, Xu Yi rarely came to the new residence because he was too busy to leave.

Now that the day of moving into a new home is approaching, at this critical moment, I still have to come over and supervise in person.

No, he came out of Agent Li's house with three rough ladies and two strong men, and was about to head towards East Street.

As luck would have it, when Xu Yi was about to step out of the gate of the dental shop, he met Agent Huang who was coming towards him.

Manager Huang is the Yaren who previously bought agarwood for Xu Yi.

After such a long time, he could no longer remember Xu Yi's appearance, but these days, Mr. Xing asked him to find customers who wanted to trade the best agarwood.

Manager Huang once again thought of the young boy with a clean face and straight features.

When he entered the door, he saw the familiar Lang Jun leading a group of servants working. He couldn't help but take a few more glances. As he looked at him, he felt more and more familiar with this person.

"Who are you?"

Xu Yi quickly lowered his head, saluted, and passed by him.

As a result, Agent Huang reached out to hold him impartially and shouted excitedly: "It's you!"

Xu Yi sighed secretly, being recognized.

"What a coincidence, it turns out to be Agent Huang." He raised his head and smiled.

Manager Huang lamented that he was just dozing off and brought a pillow. He asked enthusiastically: "It is indeed you, little brother. Why do you have time to come to Yahang today to hire someone? Could it be that your husband has some plans?"

Xu Yi blinked and said, "I still have some important things to do. I'll catch up with you next time when I'm free." Manager Huang was

reluctant to let him go and said with a smile, "I'd rather meet up with you the next day." I just need help from my little brother."

Xu Yi wanted to pull back his sleeves, but he pulled them tightly. It seemed that he really wanted to keep him.

"Agent Huang, I really have something to do." Xu Yi sighed.

Manager Huang had an apologetic smile on his face and said: "It won't hinder you for a long time, little brother. Let's just take a step to talk and won't delay the business."

Xu Yi hesitated, but before he could refuse, a man came from behind, Manager Li. He ran behind and shouted: "Xu Xiaoguan, wait, wait."

Xu Yi: "..."

He turned around with a headache. Manager Li lifted his robe and trotted over. He saw Manager Huang who was talking to Xu Yi. "Huh" said.

"Agent Huang, are you looking for Mr. Xu?"

Manager Huang was a little confused when he heard this. He looked at Xu Yi again and found that this young man was not dressed as a servant. He was holding the person back. Didn't even notice.

"Aren't you a follower of your husband? How did you become a follower of Xu Xiaoguan?"

Manager Li said "Oh" and rolled his eyes at him: "Brother Huang, you are confused. How can this Xu Xiaoguan be a follower of someone else's family?" "Have you forgotten what happened a year ago? The person in front of you is Xu Xiaoguan ."

Xu Yi: "..." "You, you... then go ahead! " The reason why I dress like this is..." He took a breath, not daring to say it directly in front of others. But how could Xu Yi not know what he wanted to say? What else could he do? When Manager Li revealed his identity, he had no choice but to hide it. Xu Yi smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Huang knows me. I have a reason for what happened last time. If Manager Huang wants to know, it's better to talk about it another day." Manager Huang came to his senses in a daze: "Okay, okay, listen to Xu Xiaoguan. " After he finished speaking, he set a time with Xu Yi to talk again and left without looking back. When they had gone away, Xu Yi looked back and looked at the person next to him: "Agent Li, I wonder what's the matter with asking you to stay here?" Manager Li smiled and said: "It's not a big deal, it's just that after you hire people, how many people do you have? I forgot to tell Xu Yi about something I should pay attention to." Xu Yi glanced at him, and then asked with a smile: "What is it?" Manager Li was not ambiguous, and he just came to tell Xu Yi that he was hired. If a strong woman does something bad in the master's house, Yaxing will not be able to control it. Ask Xu Yi to keep an eye on these people when they are working. Then, he lowered his voice and said: "You said you wanted to reward those people, but I don't think it's right. Xu Xiaoguan, if you are too nice to them, these people will neglect the matter." Xu Yi didn't expect the other party to come. , just to tell him this, he was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile: "Thank you, Manager Li, for telling me." What else can I say, the other party is also kind-hearted. He just accidentally took off the vest he was covering... Manager Li knew nothing about it. He smiled and said: "Xu Xiaoguan, you are so polite. If you have anything in the future, you can ask me to handle it. I'm at the dental shop. There are still some connections here." "That's natural." Xu Yi bowed his hand as a way of thanking him for his kindness. ... At 6 o'clock, Xu Yi led a few people to the new house and entered the door. A Xu and A Jin were already waiting in the yard. The two of them came over in advance in Uncle Liu's car, and Yu Qiulin was also there to help. Not only that, Uncle Liu's eldest son and younger son also came to help. The two of them were originally looking for temporary workers in the city. When Xu Yi found out, he hired them to clean the new house. With these manpower, Xu Yi doesn't have to do the work himself. Ah Jin patted his chest and shouted: "Don't worry, Mr. Lang, I will keep an eye on them as they work." Xu Yi couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud. Xu Xu pointed at her and asked: "You will be the boss?" Supervisor?" "Yes." Ah Jin didn't think anything was wrong. "Of course, Lang Jun doesn't have to deal with it himself. My brother and I are fine. But my brother said he was watching from the front yard and I couldn't go to the backyard. Let them get paid and not work." Xu Yi smiled lightly and said, "It makes sense, then it's your brother and sister's fault." A Jin shouted happily: "It's not hard!" After shouting, she took the rag and Jumping to the backyard.

Although she was responsible for the temporary supervision, she also wanted to share the work with Xu Yi and do more work, so that she could save more money for hiring workers for a day.

Xu Yi didn't know that she still had such a plan. If he knew, he would definitely take her to apprentice with Tao Qinghao. This kid... has a business mind.

When we entered the courtyard, the house was several hundred square meters. Several people worked together and divided the work, so the space allocated was not too much. However, the house had not been occupied for several years and was quite abandoned.

Thick mud accumulated in the yard, in the corners, and even in the well outside the kitchen.

If the well mud is not removed, the well will be considered useless and cannot be used.

The two strong men hired by Xu Yi came to dig out the mud from the well. They first tied a rope around their waists, one end pulled the rope on top, and one of them went down into the well.

After a while, the first bucket of well mud was brought up.

The strong man poured the sticky well mud onto a wooden cart parked nearby. Once the cart was full, he was about to take it outside to dump it.

Clearing mud is hard work. The weather in early spring is cold and cold, and the strong men on top are already sweating.

He wiped the beads of sweat that fell on his cheeks, shouted, picked up the bucket full of sludge, and poured it into the cart. Then, he wiped his hands with a towel and pulled the cart to dump the mud on it.

Outside the door, there is a silt collector, and a cart costs five cents.

Xu Yi naturally had to pay for this.

Xu Yi drank tea and waited. When he saw the strong man looking for him, he handed him five cents.

Half of the silt in the well was cleared, and water gurgled out from the bottom of the well.

The strong man cleaning the mud inside shouted upwards, and then the people above him pulled him up little by little.

At this time, Xu Yi also came over curiously to see the situation.

"How's it going?" he asked.

The strong man gasped and replied: "Xu Xiaoguan, the water here is still turbid. The mud must be thoroughly cleaned and then lime sprinkled before the well water can be used."

They are veterans in this business, more so than Xu Yi . Know how to clean well mud.

When Xu Yi heard this, he said, "Thank you, you two."

"Hehe, it's not hard." One of them smiled, "We also received the wages you gave us as a junior official, so naturally we have to handle this matter well."

Xu Yi nodded and then asked: "How long will it take for the cleaning to be completed? How much lime do I need to prepare?"

He has lime at home, but he doesn't know how much it will be.

The strong man said: "In half a day, the well will be cleaned. You don't need too much lime. Just one bucket is enough."

Xu Yi said: "Okay, I will arrange it."

The two strong men rested for a while, and then changed Send someone down to clean up the mud at the bottom of the well.

Seeing the two people working so hard, Xu Yi couldn't help but sigh. No matter what era, it is difficult for the grassroots people to make money.

For the wages of tens of cents, half of the body was soaked in the cold well water.

Xu Yi thought for a moment, then turned around and went to the kitchen.

A Xu was in charge of the kitchen. He came to clean up the kitchen in the past two days and cleared out the stove. Now, the stove in the kitchen can be used.

As soon as Xu Yi stepped into the kitchen door, A Xu saw him with sharp eyes and trotted over.

"Lang Jun, what are you busy with?" A Xu asked.

Xu Yi shook his head: "It's okay, I can just do it by myself."

He took out his armband and hung it around his neck, rolled up his sleeves, squatted down, and scrubbed the muddy ginger.

Xu Yi sometimes found that he could do nothing but cook some cold ginger soup for them as much as possible.

When the ginger soup was ready, the sky outside gradually darkened.

He came out and lowered his gaze to the sky.

The rain in early spring this year has not fallen yet, and I think it will only come in the next few days.

The spring rain is approaching, and farmers outside the city are looking forward to it. After the spring rain passes, spring sowing will begin.

*

Pangzhai, a small pavilion in the corridor, and a pottery pot on the charcoal stove making a gurgling sound.

Uncle Pang carried a clay pot and made tea for Pang Boyi and Pan Wenji, who were playing chess against each other.

Pang Boyi put down the chess pieces, took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "Did you know that Xu Yi will move into a new house in the next few days?"

Pan Wenji rolled his eyes, thinking I should know? He said, "Why, this Xu Yi caught your eye, I have to keep an eye on him all the time?"

Pang Boyi saw through it and said directly, "What gift did you prepare?"

"What other gift are you giving to the juniors?" Just a few things." Pan Wenji was startled after saying that, and immediately realized that he had been tricked by Pang Boyi.

He was not angry, and smiled and said, "Did this guy send you a post?"

Pang Boyi laughed when he heard this.

At this time, Uncle Pang next to him spoke: "Pan Langjun doesn't know something. In the past few months, Dalang and Dr. Xu have become close, and they have sent many medicinal wines over."

Pan Wenji frowned: "You are so stupid Can you still drink?"

"..." Pang Boyi stared at him, "Why can't I drink? The doctor sent me that wine."

However, he also knew that his friend cared about him.

The two quarreled with each other, and Pang Boyi first stopped talking and said to Uncle Pang: "Get a few bottles later and ask Wenji to take them away."

Uncle Pang naturally agreed.

Pan Wenji said, "I still have the medicinal wine brewed by that boy, I don't need yours."

Pang Boyi smiled proudly and said, "You have never drunk my wine."

Pan Wenji was a little confused: "How can you tell me?" Pang Boyi said with a

proud smile: He waved his sleeves, looked at his friend, and said, "This wine is mine alone. It was only brewed for me. I drank it well, so I thought I would bring you a portion too."

Pan Wenji was drinking tea. Hearing this, he almost spit out the tea, and he shouted angrily: "He brewed it specially for you? What, you are telling me something, you are telling me specifically."

This kid actually brewed wine for Pang Boyi , but did not send him a copy.

As I thought about it, I became a little angry.

Pang Boyi said calmly: "You never like to get close to him. If you have anything to say, you always tell me through me. Naturally, he is not close enough to you. Besides, you are an official and he is a citizen. There are differences between officials and civilians. How can you get close?"

As soon as these words came out, Pan Wenji calmed down and understood that what his friend said was the truth.

"I'm thoughtful, but it's a pity that this guy abandoned literature and medicine, so he is different from us." Pan Wenji narrowed his eyes and asked him, "Didn't you say you wanted to accept him as your apprentice last time?"

Pang Boyi said melancholy: "I saw him So, I don't know how to say anything."

He didn't have any apprentices. After he became an official, he had already accepted several students, and some of these students had already obtained the title of official.

Accepting a disciple is about fate. He had this idea when he met Xu Yi for the second time.

It's a pity that after a few months, he has finished examining his character and character, but he also knows that this son is destined to have no master-disciple relationship with him.

"You just think too much. If you really want to, just ask him directly if he is willing." Pan Wenji came up with an idea, "If he rejects you, then that's all."

Pang Boyi didn't reply to him. Cast your gaze outside the corridor.

A bird landed on a branch in the courtyard, chirped twice, and then flew away again.

...

In the evening, the glow falls.

In the front yard of the Xu family's new house, a few rough ladies and a few strong men were lined up in two teams.

They went up the steps one by one and reported their names to A Jin. After A Jin registered their names, they went to A Xu to collect their wages.

After receiving their wages, they were in no hurry to leave.

Xu Yi said before that he would give another reward. Today they don't dare to neglect their work at all. Naturally, there are also reminders of what Manager Li said before leaving.

Although he spoke in a low voice, these people were waiting behind him and could not hear him.

What's more, Manager Li just wanted to tell them.

Xu Yi did not break his promise, and each person received ten more coins.

It's not much, but compared to some wealthy families who are reluctant to part with two sons, the ten cents Xu Yi rewarded is already a lot. Enough for them to have a meaty meal out.

Several people thanked Xu Yi and went back happily with their money.

Uncle Liu's two sons still stayed behind.

Xu Yi said: "It's getting late, you two can stay here tonight." After saying that, he asked Ah Xu next to him, "Is dinner ready?"

"Back to Langjun, everything is ready." Ah Xu Xu stood up and answered.

Xu Yi clapped his hands, looked around the newly renovated house, and said in a good mood: "Okay, let's have dinner here tonight before going back."

Uncle Liu's eldest son stepped forward and shouted: "Xu Yi Doctor, we won't stay here. This is your new house. You, the master of the house, haven't moved in yet, so why are you letting us live in it first?"

"Yes, if my father finds out, he won't fight. Kill us two brothers." Uncle Liu's youngest son echoed.

This house is so grand. They have never entered such a nice house in their lives.

Let alone living in a house like this, I can't even think about it. If they can return to their hometown and build a brick house with the money they earn from small jobs in this life, they should offer incense and worship Buddha.

Xu Yi had no such taboos. He said, "The room you are staying in is a guest room, so it's okay."

Previously, he had asked Master Ji to build beds for four rooms.

In addition to the beds in his room, A Xu and A Jin's beds were also installed. With the extra bed, Xu Yi asked Uncle Liu's sons to move to the guest room.

The two of them couldn't resist Xu Yi, and they didn't dare to refuse forcefully. They could only eat dinner and follow A Xu to the south room of the reverse seat room.

This house is not far from the door of the house. The room is not big. There is a bed that can sleep two people, two chests and two stools.

A bamboo curtain is used to separate a space next to it, which is used to place toilets, wooden basins for washing and face towels.

Naturally, these things were not prepared for them, but Master Ji carefully arranged these things when setting up the artwork for Xu Yi.

He listed all the furniture that he didn't need to make and gave it to Xu Yi, asking Xu Yi to go to the grocery store and buy it in stock.

This was not the first time for the two of them to come to this room, but since they were going to sleep in this room, they were still overjoyed to reach out and touch here and there.

They opened the window of the room again, and a cool spring breeze blew in, blowing away the heat on their faces. This was all true, they were going to live in such a good room tonight.

A Xu took out the bedding from the cabinet and put it on the bed. He turned around and reminded: "Brothers, go to bed early. There is still a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Uncle Liu's sons said yes politely and said, "Thank you very much." Brother Xu, you should go back and rest soon."

"Yes." Mr. A Xu nodded, closed the door, and went back to find Xu Yi.

...

By the next day, when Xu Yi brought A Xu and others over, Uncle Liu's sons were already busy working.

When they saw Xu Yi, they all stopped what they were doing, stood up and greeted him.

Xu Yi told them not to be so formal and said to them sincerely: "You are hired by me to work, and you are not my servants. By the way, how did you sleep last night?"

Uncle Liu's sons were a little worried. Excited, he quickly said: "Great, that bed is so comfortable to sleep on, and the quilts are all fragrant."

The youngest son asked curiously: "Doctor Xu, has this quilt been scented with any fragrance?"

Xu Yi said with a smile. : "There is no incense. I just used mugwort and some other spices and herbs to make an insect-repelling powder and smoked it for a while."

"It's really good stuff. We brothers fell asleep smelling it. It's delicious."

Seeing that they liked it so much, Xu Yi asked if he wanted to take some back. He made a lot of medicinal powder and planned to give some to Xing Yuesen and the others.

It’s natural to give some to others, and it’s not expensive and can be done at any time.

But Uncle Liu's sons didn't dare to take it. If they did, his father would probably beat them with a stick.

Xu Yi was startled. He didn't expect that they would not dare to take it. Thinking about what he had done before, his relatives and friends were all rushing to get it, and there was nothing left.

He entered the main room and found that Yu Qiulin was also here, waiting for him inside, so he blamed himself and said, "If I had known you were coming, I would have come earlier."

"I also stopped by, so I didn't tell you. "Yu Qiulin explained, "My mother asked me to buy some chickens and bring them to you and A Xu."

After he finished speaking, he thought of something and asked Xu Yi: "By the way, did you meet the Pang family's housekeeper when you came here?"

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows: "Uncle Pang?"

"It was him, when I went to buy chickens. I met him and chatted with him for a few words. He said he would come over to give gifts." Yu Qiulin told Xu Yi what he knew.

Xu Yi stood up from his chair immediately. He didn't see Uncle Pang on the way here.

"You guys eat first, I'll go take a look."

Yu Qiulin stuffed the chicken in his mouth and said without thinking: "Brother Yi, I'll go with you."

Xu Yi: "No, you watch here, A Xu is still young. If there's anything you can't do, just help me."

After hearing what he said, Yu Qiulin had to sit back again.

Coming out of Taiping Alley, there are only two intersections, one in front of the other and one in the back, leading to the bustling market outside East Street.

Xu Yi searched for a while at the two intersections, but couldn't see Uncle Pang. He wondered in his mind whether he had gone elsewhere temporarily.

The people around will come, Xu Yi thought, and turned back.

However, before walking a few steps, there was a sound of wheels coming from the alley behind him.

Xu Yi turned around and watched the donkey cart leisurely stop in front of him. First, a strange young man came out, and then Uncle Pang with a white beard came out.

Xu Yi asked worriedly, "Uncle Pang, what happened?"

Uncle Pang leaned down and came over and said, "Doctor Xu, please feel at ease. It's not a bad thing. It's just that I met an acquaintance on the road, so I chatted a little more. "

That's it." Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that since Uncle Pang was fine, he would invite him to sit in the new house.

Uncle Pang nodded with a smile, and then said: "Come, Doctor Xu, let me introduce you to this person. This is the entourage of Magistrate Han of Yinping County. He came to Yanting County this time to find a doctor. "

Xu Yi glanced at the young man with some surprise. He was about twenty years old. Although he was a follower, he had a lot of aura. Just looking at his clothes and demeanor, he didn't look like a servant.

He thought for a while and said, "Since Uncle Pang has old friends to get together with, I won't disturb Uncle Pang for now."

Uncle Pang said with a smile, "Doctor Xu, don't worry, I'm here to give you a gift for Da Lang. "

Xu Yi paused in his heart, thinking of the post he sent to Pang Boyi a few days ago inviting him to attend the housewarming party. A person like him would not come in person. At most, he would send Uncle Pang to deliver a gift.

I just didn’t know it would be delivered so early.

Xu Yi took Uncle Pang to the door of the house, and the cold and unsmiling young man followed him.

Xu Yi turned around and said sincerely: "Brother, why don't we go in and have a cup of tea together."

The young man looked at Xu Yi, paused and then said, "I won't disturb Doctor Xu."

"Nothing. "Xu Yi walked through the door first and said to them, "The house is still being cleaned, but we can still see guests in the main room, so you two should not dislike it."

After that, he led people to the main room. Ben was there. Yu Qiulin, who was eating chicken in the main room, was no longer there.

But Ah Jin was still there. Ah Jin was wiping the table with a rag. When he saw Xu Yi coming back, he shouted happily, and then looked next to Xu Yi.

She immediately saluted and shouted, "Uncle Pang."

"Little Ajin." Uncle Pang looked at the little girl with a kind smile on his face, waved her over, and took out two jelly beans from his sleeves and gave them to her.

"This is for you and brother."

A Jin looked at Xu Yi and saw that he had no objection, so he took it and said with a sweet smile: "Thank you Uncle Pang for the candy."

Xu Yi also laughed and patted her. He turned his head and said to her: "Go and bring tea."

After giving the instructions, Xu Yi motioned for Uncle Pang and the others to sit down, and asked curiously: "Why did Uncle Pang come here today? I was thinking of visiting Mr. Pang again tomorrow."

"On the day of the housewarming party, Mr. Lang was afraid that he would not be able to attend, and he was also afraid that the old slave would not remember things because he was old, so he asked me to come over earlier." Uncle Pang said, taking out a long and slender box from his sleeve.

"It's not an expensive thing. Lang Jun thought that you would need a pen every day, so he gave you a pen."

This box is made of ordinary wood, and there is nothing special about it on the outside.

Xu Yi did not open it in front of Uncle Pang and the others. He took the box, stood up and thanked him before sitting back down.

Uncle Pang said again: "Before I come, I first went to Pan's house."

After hearing this, Xu Yi's face with a slight smile showed a trace of doubt.

To be honest, Xu Yi felt that the relationship between him and Pan Xianwei was just that of the reporter and the interrogator, and other than that, they didn't actually have a deep relationship with each other. But for some reason, Xu Yi always felt that Captain Pan seemed to take good care of him?

Could it be because of Pang Game?

Several times, he went to Pang's house to diagnose Ping'an pulse, and Pang Boyi would leave him to play a game of chess or talk about things outside the county.

Xu Yi is very willing to listen to things outside the county.

Therefore, when he was free, he would visit Pang Boyi's house with snacks, for no other reason than to hear if there was anything new and interesting happening at Pang Boyi's place.

During this period, he also learned some things about Pan Xianwei from Pang Boyi's mouth. For example, Pan County Lieutenant was a Jinshi. He once stayed in Bianjing and held an official position. However, for some unknown reason, he was demoted to the small Yanting County to be an eighth-grade county lieutenant.

Xu Yi calmed down and asked carefully, "Is something wrong?"

"It's a good thing." Uncle Pang smiled and said, "Pan County Lieutenant knew that you were moving and prepared a gift for you.

" Yi choked: "?!"

He quickly said: "That's the county captain, how can I accept the gift from the county captain."

Besides, he didn't even send a post to the county captain Pan.

"This is County Captain Pan's wish. He gave the order to the old slave. He said it was also to thank you for curing my little brother's illness last time."

However, their identities are different. It is not polite for a parent to give a gift to a commoner. ah.

So I asked Uncle Pang to send them all over.

When Xu Yi learned that this was the reason, he took a deep breath. He had to accept this gift.

Seeing Xu Yi accept the gift, Uncle Pang spoke again: "Doctor Xu, there is one more thing."

"Ah? What's the matter?" Xu Yi was a little numb.