Xiaotan Town, Linjiang Prefecture, Jiangxi is the only way to Nanchang, there is an inn in the town that has been opened for more than 20 years, the shopkeeper is surnamed Dong, a native of Linjiang.
In the past, the inn business was not bad, but after the Qing army occupied Jiang Qian, the inn business was not as good as a year.
After the Taiping army came, this business did not improve, and at the end of the year, it was barely able to make ends meet.
The reason for this is that there are fewer people.
Since ancient times, doing business is people, and some people will prosper, develop, and lively, and there will be no one, so they will naturally be cold.
The shopkeeper of Dong in other places didn't know, but he knew the situation in Xiaotan Town best.
In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, there were more than 20,000 people in the town, and now there are only more than 1,000 left.
This Xiaotan Town is still a major transportation artery, and it is one of the few big towns in Linjiang Prefecture, but the population has decreased so much that other places don't want to know it.
Although Jiang Qian, who has entered the winter moon, is not as cold as the north, it has been more than 30 years, and this day is also very cold.
The shopkeeper Dong remembered that when he was a child, it was rare to see snow, but when he hit Chongzhen, every year in winter, Jiang Qian would snow, sometimes the snow was very heavy, and it was white in all directions, and the town could not see a passing pedestrian for ten days and a half months, as if it was a paradise isolated from the world.
On this day, this popularity, if it weren't for the ancestors who have lived here for generations, Shopkeeper Dong really wanted to move his family to Guangdong in the south.
Anyway, it's always warmer to go south.
But this person, the older he gets, the more he misses his hometown, and the more he can't leave the place where he grows.
There was no snow today, but it was cold and the wind was howling.
Shopkeeper Dong felt that it was impossible for anyone to come to the hotel, so he went to the door early in the morning, let the only guy go to rest, go to his own room to scald a pot of wine, and drink a few sips of his wife's scrambled eggs, which felt really beautiful. was drinking, but I heard the door panel being knocked "bang", and there was a faint shout of people.
"Who knocked on the door so late?"
The shopkeeper of Dong reluctantly poked his head out of his room in a padded jacket and shouted at the guy: "Pillar, go and see, who it is." ” "Hey" The guy who called the pillar hurriedly answered, ran quickly to the yard, pulled the bolt and opened the door, as soon as the door opened, the cold wind blew in, and the pillar couldn't help but shrink his neck.
With the sound of the wind, five or six people entered the store.
The pillar looked out, and there were two men leading a few horses in the cold wind.
"Is the guest officer going to stay in a hotel or eat?"
The pillar asked, looking at the men, and found that they all wore hats on their heads, but there were no braids at the back of their heads, which must have been wrenched a long time ago.
"I live in a hotel and eat at the same time."
It was a young man who spoke, very handsome, dressed in a brocade jacket, and looked very rich.
There was a very graceful woman standing beside him, and after just one glance at the pillar, he felt that this woman was really a fairy in the sky, and she was very beautiful.
Shopkeeper Dong also got dressed and came over at this time, and was a little surprised when he saw so many people in the store.
When he saw the young man and woman, he knew at a glance that these two must be husband and wife, and they could not be the young husband and wife of the official eunuch family.
In addition to the young couple, there are also three men in strong suits and a middle-aged man.
The three men in strong suits were burly and looked quite vicious.
But Dong's shopkeeper and pillar are not strange, and the people who have been walking outside these years are either official eunuchs or businessmen.
Most of them are wealthy, if there are no bodyguards, they will be robbed on the road.
The middle-aged man was dressed as a scribe, extremely tall, half a head taller than a pillar, and his eyebrows were very handsome, and he looked very eye-catching.
The middle-aged scribe said a few words to the pillar, who hurried out and led the two men outside and their mounts to the backyard, and later led the two back with them.
The middle-aged scribe glanced at the young man, and after the other man nodded, he threw a silver ingot to the pillar, and ordered, "This silver is yours, you go and get some food at once, and move quickly."
The middle-aged scribe threw the silver ingot to the pillar is more than one or two, this is a bold enough shot, the pillar is tired and tired in this month, and it is only half a penny, when have you seen so much silver, it is a generous guest on weekdays, and it is only a few copper plates to reward, in exchange for this will be a thousand thanks.
Now that he had obtained so much money out of thin air, the pillar was not crazy with joy, his mouth was wide open, and he looked at the silver in his hand in disbelief, and he almost took his teeth to bite whether the silver ingot was real.
The shopkeeper Dong also looked red, but he had no intention of turning back to buckle the silver of the pillar.
He smiled and knocked on the head of the pillar, and the pillar reacted from the surprise, and in a panic, he carried the ingot of silver in his arms, and went to the kitchen to cook for the guests.
Those people seemed to have seen a lot of reactions to the silver of a poor person like Zhuzi, and they glanced at each other, and the corners of their mouths were slightly upturned.
The woman seemed unwilling to stay any longer, and after a few words with her husband, the young man hurriedly motioned for the shopkeeper to take them to the room.
Shopkeeper Dong nodded hurriedly and led them up to the second floor.
When going upstairs, the shopkeeper Dong noticed that the middle-aged scribe and several guards had never surpassed the young couple, and they had always maintained a posture of half a step behind, and their appearance was also very respectful, and the young couple seemed to be accustomed to their pace, and there was no discomfort in walking calmly in front of them.
Small place with limited conditions.
Shopkeeper Dong had already taken the young couple to the best room in his inn, but the woman seemed to be still dissatisfied, and her face was a little reluctant, but the young man persuaded him a few words, and then he stopped talking.
The middle-aged scribe and a few guards were very casual, obviously used to being outside, and didn't pay attention to anything.
On the other side of the pillar, the mother-in-law of the shopkeeper Dong was busy stir-frying in the kitchen.
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After the meal was ready, the shopkeeper invited the guests to come down for dinner.
The young woman was reluctant to come down, so the young man had to ask the shopkeeper Dong to make a copy and send it upstairs, and he went to the lobby to eat with the middle-aged scribe and others.
The shopkeeper Dong deliberately let the pillar light a stove, and the hot meal was served, and everyone felt warm.
During the meal, several people did not speak, and the shopkeeper Dong was also interested, knowing that it must be from a large family, and he didn't like people to talk too much, so he dialed the abacus beads on the counter.
While eating, there was a knock on the door outside, and someone was shouting for the shopkeeper to open the door.
The shopkeeper Dong and the pillar were all shocked, and then they were happy: what a good day today, there are still guests "Pillars, go open the door" Shopkeeper Dong waved his hand to let the pillar hurry up to open the door, but after the door opened, the pillar screamed "ah" as if he had seen a ghost, and he was so frightened that he retreated straight back.
When the shopkeeper Dong and the group of people who were eating saw it, their faces changed drastically, and it turned out that a large group of soldiers rushed in.
Seeing that the shopkeeper, the guys, and the guests in the store were all frightened by their own soldiers, the leading officer hurriedly laughed and said to the guests who were eating: "Don't be afraid, we are the Taiping Army, don't disturb the people, you will eat yours." ” After speaking, he gave a few orders to his subordinates outside, and soon, a woman in palace clothes walked into the house with the support of a maid.
When the woman in the palace dress saw the people in the house, she smiled slightly, not disgusted at all, but asked in a gentle voice, "Where is the shopkeeper?"
"The little ones are in, the small ones are in" The shopkeeper Dong knew that a big man was coming, and he was smiling all over his face, and he was careful.
When the woman in the palace costume saw him like this, she knew that he was afraid of herself, and was about to say something, but the person behind her suddenly pointed to a few guests who were eating and shouted: "Fu Honglie" oshow7 t1706231537: