Chapter 308 Chapter 308 The Guo Brothers
Qin Run was reluctant to let Xu Yunfan go. In the past, when Xu Yunfan left home, Qin Run was full of anxiety, fearing that Xu Yunfan would run away. Even though Xu Yunfan had to support his family, he would only come back after half a day when he went out every day. But this time was different. Xu Yunfan had been gone for a month. The two had never been separated for such a long time, so Qin Run was reluctant to let him go.
He secretly followed Xu Yunfan and watched him leave, just wanting to see him one more time.
Building a cement road is a matter of great importance, and Lord Qi must go there in person. Xu Yunfan can go there in person to build this road as an experiment, but the subsequent construction of other roads will be the responsibility of their Ministry of Works.
In order to hurry on their journey, everyone rode on horseback, escorted by thirty guards. Dozens of people headed towards the neighboring city.
This trip lasted for more than a month.
In late November, the temperature dropped sharply. Xu Yunfan got up from the bed shivering. When he left the city, the clothes he brought were not thick enough. Fortunately, Qin Run asked someone to send him a few sets of clothes.
"Master Xu, you are up."
As Xu Yunfan emerged from the room, Old Man Li hurried over to greet him, his voice stiff and nervous. "Master Xu, is it time for dinner?"
Even though Xu Yunfan had lived in his house for more than 20 days, while Old Man Li was warm to Xu Yunfan, the fear that ordinary people have when meeting officials remained unchanged.
It’s not that Xu Yunfan’s official power is too great, or that he has done something frightening. On the contrary, Xu Yunfan is always smiling and talking to the elderly and children in the village, giving people a sense of closeness. But what he did earlier was really impressive.
Xu Yunfan: "No hurry, uncle, have Master Qi and the others left yet?"
"Well, Lord Xu, do you have any instructions?" Old man Li looked at the young Xu Yunfan and thought to himself, although Xu Yunfan usually smiles at everyone and seems easy to talk to, once you don't speak to him nicely and disobey him, this guy will make you know what it means to regret it.
On the first day these officials arrived, they talked about the compensation with the villagers. To be honest, the compensation given by the court was not small and very appropriate, but some villagers were not satisfied. They thought this was an opportunity to make a fortune, so they immediately raised the price.
Lord Qi and his men asked the villagers why they were dissatisfied and settled accounts with them, but Lord Xu listened coldly and without saying anything, he ordered the officials to go up and subdue the people and let them go.
They said they were here to carry out orders from above and work for the court, not to discuss matters with the villagers. Lord Xu also said, "All under heaven belongs to the emperor." How dare you raise the price with them? It seems you want to go to jail and get beaten.
Old man Li could see that Lord Xu was really showing off his power and was more like an official than Lord Qi. Didn't he see that as soon as Lord Xu moved two fingers, the other officials started to attack, and Lord Qi was even stunned for a moment.
"No, I have to go to town. If you want to be busy, go ahead. There's no need to wait for me to get up."
Xu Yunfan is going to town this morning. He has used up the candles he bought a few days ago, so he wants to buy some more today. In addition, there is a wedding in the village, and Lord Qi and his family live in the village. They have come to invite them personally, so even if not everyone can go, he must send someone to represent them.
Qi and the other people from the Ministry of Works were very curious. They still had a lot of candles left, so why did Xu Yunfan use them up so quickly? It had only been two days, and he had already burned through several of them.
Xu Yunfan uses so many candles not just for fun. He is busy during the day and at night when everyone else is asleep, he is the only one who still finds time to do his own thing.
He discovered the tongtuo wood in the mountains, and when he couldn't sleep at night, he wanted to do something.
Who wouldn’t like the ever-fading tongcao flowers?
Xu Yunfan came back from the town, packed up, took the change and went out with Old Man Li.
After living in the village for more than half a month, Xu Yunfan became very familiar with the villagers. There was no one, young or old, male or female, that he didn't know.
When he came back from outside with Mr. Qi and the others, the villagers greeted him warmly. Xu Yunfan asked, "Uncle, have you eaten? Uncle, have you eaten? Grandpa is busy?"
In short, Lord Qi and the others were confused by the familiar tone and asked him if he knew the person.
Xu Yunfan smiled and said, "I don't know you, but not knowing you doesn't stop me from saying hello."
Lord Qi and his companions were also very surprised. Every day they went out together to do their work, and when they occasionally had some free time, Xu Yunfan would always tell them all kinds of stories or gossips, and they listened with great interest. At first they didn't know how he knew so much, and there was nothing he didn't know about the things in the nearby villages. They clearly came here together, so how come they hadn't heard anything?
Until one night when Xu Yunfan did not come back for dinner, Lord Qi sent someone to look for him. The other party saw with their own eyes that Xu Yunfan was chatting with a group of women and was so excited that he even forgot about dinner time. Seeing this, they finally realized what was going on.
Later, when Xu Yunfan walked on the village road, people working in the fields on both sides of the road would greet him. Xu Yunfan, with his hands behind his back, would sometimes raise one hand or nod in response, just like a leader going to the countryside.
Lord Qi walked behind Xu Yunfan, and for a moment it was unclear who was the lord between the two of them.
Because Xu Yunfan gets along well with the villagers, he is the most suitable person to be assigned to attend the wedding.
The wedding banquet today was hosted by Li Laohan's cousin's family, so naturally Li Laohan gave more money than other villagers.
For this kind of banquet, the gift money is also a big deal.
Xu Yunfan stood behind the accountant and watched for a while. Old man Li gave thirty cents, and the other villagers gave ten cents and twenty cents. Xu Yunfan knew how much he should give.
Relatives are also divided into different levels. If they are very close, for example, Old Man Li, he will be given thirty cents.
For those who are a few generations away, such as the son of a distant cousin, twenty cents is considered good.
Xu Yunfan has no relatives with the Li family, but they are people of status after all. Giving too much is not good, and giving too little is not good either, so let's compromise.
The accountant hired by the Li family was a young man, no more than twenty years old. He was wearing a patched but clean long gown, slightly white and frayed. When he saw Xu Yunfan, he obviously took a second look and asked, "Who are you?"
I don’t know who is coming. How can I register?
"Huh?" Xu Yunfan tilted his head and asked shamelessly, "You don't know me?"
Villagers don't like to marry far away. Most of the villagers in the nearby villages may not know all of them, but they have heard of them a little.
Guo Qi choked for a moment, "I'm sorry, I've been in the village for so long, but I've never seen you before. Could it be that you're some kind of son-in-law or brother-in-law?"
Several nearby villagers were ashamed.
Could the girls and boys in their village control such a person?
They all saw it clearly. Although Xu Yunfan was the youngest and had the lowest official rank among the group, didn't they see that Lord Qi had to listen to him and seek his advice?
Even so, no matter how low Xu Yunfan's official position was, he was not someone they dared to covet.
"No." Old Man Li introduced: "This is Mr. Xu who was sent by the higher-ups to inspect the road conditions. Mr. Xu, this is Guo Qi, the only student in our village."
Upon hearing this, Guo Qi quickly stood up, clasped his fists, and half-bowed, performing a student's etiquette. "So it's you, Master Xu. I was blind and didn't recognize you. I'm sorry for the offense I caused earlier. I hope Master Xu will forgive me."
Xu Yunfan waved his hand, his stomach growling with hunger. "You're welcome. There's no offense involved. It's just common sense. Please sit down and register us. We came here hungry and are just waiting for our meal."
"Okay." Guo Qi hurriedly sat down and wrote down the names for Xu Yunfan. When Xu Yunfan saw Guo Qi's handwriting, he raised his eyebrows and said nothing more.
Xu Yunfan followed Old Man Li and found a seat. Once there were eight people, they could set up the table.
Rural banquets usually have eight people at each table. Xu Yunfan didn't know anyone. Except for Old Man Li, everyone else at the table was a fellow villager he had met a few times. The only difference was that the man sitting next to him had lost his right arm, whom he had never seen before.
The other party must have noticed Xu Yunfan's gaze inadvertently falling on him, and he couldn't help but become restrained. He moved his butt a little, trying to stay away from Xu Yunfan to avoid being disliked.
Guo Xiaochi lowered his head and smelled it. There was clearly no smell on his body, but he still felt embarrassed next to the clean, fair and tender Xu Yunfan.
"Is it inconvenient for you to pick up the food? Do you need help?" The only plate of chicken on the table was far away. Xu Yunfan glanced at Guo Xiaochi, who was having difficulty using chopsticks. From the moment he sat down until now, the guy next to him just lowered his head and ate the cornmeal in the bowl without picking up any meat.
Because they didn't know each other, Xu Yunfan couldn't be too enthusiastic. Sometimes, being too enthusiastic would only add unnecessary psychological burden to the other party.
"Hmm?" Guo Xiaochi seemed to have not expected Xu Yunfan to talk to him, and was stunned for a moment.
Xu Yunfan stood up and got a pair of serving chopsticks and a bowl. He put some of each dish of meat into the bowl and pushed it in front of Guo Xiaochi. "I was afraid it would be inconvenient for you, so I took the initiative to get some for you. Don't be disgusted. These bowls and chopsticks are all clean."
Guo Xiaochi was stunned for a long time. "I don't mind. Thank you, Master Xu."
"Hey, what's your name, brother? I didn't expect you to know me. Are you from the village too? Why haven't I seen you before?"
"I'm from the next village, it's normal that Lord Xu hasn't seen me."
Xu Yunfan had never met Guo Xiaochi, but Guo Xiaochi had met Xu Yunfan. He often went up the mountain to collect firewood and had met Xu Yunfan several times.
"You're from the next village, so you're better than Guo Qi. Guo Qi is the guy in charge of registration, and he doesn't even know me."
"My brother just came back from private school two days ago, so he doesn't know Master Xu. Please don't be angry."
Guo Qi was originally from the next village, but in the eyes of the people in Lijia Village, he was from their Lijia Village.
"Ah? He's your brother? That's a coincidence. I heard that some of the farm tools in the village were improved by him."
Xu Yunfan has lived in the village for some time and can get along well with the villagers. Not only do he talk about things in his own village, but with a few aunts around, he knows everything about the nearby villages.
Several aunts said that there was a poor scholar in the next village. Although he didn't pass the imperial examination and was poor with only a stepbrother left, he was very smart. He liked to tinker with things that others thought could not fill their stomachs or make money, but he actually tinkered with them and came up with something useful.
Xu Yunfan had always been curious about where the wooden rice pounding tool in the village came from. After asking, he found out that it was actually made by a poor student.
This is a talented person!
Talents should naturally be sent to colleges to be trained and become pillars of the country.
However, the prerequisite is whether the other party is willing or not.
Guo Xiaochi nodded. "My brother likes to tinker with these things. He was interested in wooden objects when he was little."
"I heard that your brother is currently studying in a private school? May I ask which scholar is he studying under?"
There is still a big gap between private schools and academies. The knowledge of private school teachers is limited, and the teaching materials are far less complete than those in academies. Xu Yunfan asked about Guo Qi, but had never met him. Therefore, even if he had some ideas in his mind, he never spoke them out.
Guo Xiaochi said proudly, "I am a disciple of Master Lan."
"Master Lan?" Xu Yunfan thought for a moment, "Is this man a scholar or a juren?"
Xu Yunfan has been too busy recently and has not been to the town, so he is not familiar with Mr. Lan.
"He's a scholar." Guo Xiaochi ate while chatting with Xu Yunfan. There was no other way, he was not able to move around easily. If he didn't eat quickly, others would leave if he wasn't full, and he still had to sit at the next table.
Xu Yunfan picked up a few more dishes for Guo Xiaochi and said, "Don't worry, I eat slowly too."
Guo Qi, who was in charge of accounting, was multitasking. He felt relieved when he found that his elder brother was talking and laughing with Lord Xu.
After the wedding banquet, on the way back, Xu Yunfan asked Old Man Li, "Uncle Li, what's the situation with Brother Guo Qi from the next village? Where is Guo Xiaochi's hand?"
Speaking of the Guo family, Old Man Li sighed, "They are brothers, but not really."
Xu Yunfan: “…”
Yes is it, no is it, it’s not. It’s so ambiguous, what does it mean?
"How do you say that?"
"Guo Xiaochi's surname wasn't Guo originally. He got it after he and his mother remarried and moved to Guojia Village. When he came, he was still a normal child. At that time, he was only seven years old, and Guo Qi was four years old. Later, for Guo Qi, one of Guo Xiaochi's hands was caught in a wild boar trap. The doctor said that in order to save his life, the hand had to be amputated. Otherwise, when the trap was taken out, the child would be in so much pain, so he might as well give it a try... That's how Guo Xiaochi lost his right hand. Two years ago, the Guo couple passed away unexpectedly, leaving them and their brothers to depend on each other. The Guo family had a lot of opinions about Guo Xiaochi. After all, he didn't have his right hand, and he couldn't work well. He wasn't of the Guo family's bloodline. It would be difficult for a brother with a broken hand to find a husband. Even if he did, he would have to find men who couldn't find wives and husbands, and the betrothal gifts they offered wouldn't be too high. There was no other way. In order to keep his brother, Guo Qi had no choice but to marry him."
Guo Qi refused to marry Guo Xiaochi, and Guo Xiaochi was not registered in the Guo family household registration. This alone was enough for the elders of the Guo family to drive him away. Once Guo Xiaochi left Guojia Village, it was obvious what would happen to him, a boy with a broken arm and a handsome face.
Xu Yunfan listened for a while before asking, "By doing this, isn't Guo Qi going against the Guo family? Their elders can still support his education?"
"That's definitely not possible. Guo Qi is a hot-tempered kid. The Guo family wanted to drive Guo Xiaochi away, but Guo Qi refused and argued with them countless times. The Guo family took advantage of Guo Qi going to private school to drive Guo Xiaochi out. Guo Xiaochi begged in the town for half a month before he was found by Guo Qi who returned home and learned about this. Lord Xu, you don't know that Guo Qi was almost crazy at that time and almost hacked the Guo family members to pieces. Just because of this, his relationship with the Guo family members became strained and they became enemies."
Old Man Li recalled the helpless and collapsed look on Guo Qi's face when he came to their Lijia Village to ask for help. Thinking about it now, he still felt distressed. "Guo Qi's maternal family is in our village. If the Guo family doesn't help him, then of course we will. Guo Xiaochi has a broken hand and is a burden, but he has become like this all because of Guo Qi. They don't think about it. If Guo Qi had followed their wishes and kicked his stepbrother and savior out of the house and left him alone, would he still be a human being?"
"Indeed, since I can't be a slave to your kindness in saving my life, I can only repay you with my body. In this way, Guo Qi is a man who values friendship and loyalty."
"Who says he isn't? This child is very smart. It's a pity that his family is poor. I don't know how long he can study." Old man Li said regretfully.
…
QQ.
When there was a knock on the door, Guo Xiaochi in the yard was startled and subconsciously put away the half-finished embroidery.
Ever since he lost his right hand, Guo's father sought help from people everywhere, and finally found a way out for Guo Xiaochi. He studied for more than ten years, overcame countless hardships, shed countless tears, and doubted himself many times. Finally, he learned something and could barely make a living with this craft. If this embroidery was destroyed, he would not know where his rice would come from next month.
"Who? Who's outside?"
"Mr. Guo, I'm Xu Yunfan, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy. I'm currently in Lijia Village investigating the road conditions. We met at the Lijia Village banquet a few days ago."
"Master Xu?"
Xu Yunfan responded, "It's me, and Grandma Li is here too."
He is a man, and he rashly went to Guo Qi's house to be alone with a man when Guo Qi was not at home. Considering Guo Xiaochi's situation, as a single man with a single wife, it would be bad if it got out.
"Xiao Chi, I'm your Grandma Li, please open the door."
When Grandma Li called out, Guo Xiaochi hurriedly opened the gate. "Master Xu, Grandma Li, why are you here?"
"It was Master Xu who wanted to see you. Considering that you might be the only one at home, Master Xu specially asked me to accompany him."
Hearing this, Guo Xiaochi looked at Xu Yunfan, "Master Xu, is there anything I can help you with?"
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