C25

Chapter 25 - Sewing snow by a furnace

In other words, three years would pass for Tongzhi in the year 1864 of the Western Calendar. Ever since he had entered the Western Moon, the Beijing had been immersed in an extremely rich annual flavor. The reasoning behind this was simple. After thirteen whole years of messing around, the long-hair disaster had finally ended. Following a huge fire in Nanjing City, it had completely ignited the prelude to Tongzhi's rise to prominence.

The streets were filled with running children. The grocery store and the rice noodle shop were packed with people who wanted to buy food from the imperial city. Hundreds of years ago, this was the moment when the shouting was the loudest. The boys were shouting like they were competing in a competition. They knew that wanting to bring home a few extra coins at the end of the year would depend on today.

In fact, the life of Beijing was still as painful as ever. The economy that had been ravaged by war had not recovered at all, and the price of the rice noodle soup was still at the same price. Since the Great Qing Dynasty had completely destroyed Long-hair, wouldn't his future days be a lot easier?

In this kind of illusory hope, the people's numb faces unexpectedly revealed a hint of a smile. Everyday, they would go to the temple to pray that the eternal fire of the Emperor, which had lasted for tens of thousands of years, would also burn brighter.

It was already the 26th of the Moon. As the saying went, twenty-six meat cuttings, twenty-seven chicken butchers, and two hundred and eighty-nine noodles were distributed. This was practically the last big wave of purchases made in the previous year. It was today that the belated pay was finally paid, and it was a rare seven discounts, not the five or four discounts from the worst.

This time, the cheers of the city's standard-bearers were deafening. Everyone was shouting "Long live the Emperor!" The empress dowager was resplendent. On that day, the turnover of all the shops in Beijing rose by 50%.

For example, when English and French entered Beijing four years ago, even the flag men had to go to the streets to beg for food, not to mention pay the bill, even drinking a mouthful of mixed grain noodle soup was an extravagant hope. After that, the emperor had no intention to make up for it either. In the next few years, the situation was slightly better, but the monthly allowance was also reduced by 40% or 50%.

These few years, the leaders had been much thinner than before. Just a few days ago, the city's envoys were complaining about the delay in the release of the flag. They didn't expect the emperor and empress dowager to be so pleasantly surprised. Now they could have a good year.

In the midst of the joy of the city, a group of travel-worn men arrived at the capital. They did not have the time to appreciate the beauty of the imperial city a hundred years ago.

The Flower Lane in the western part of Beijing had been a gathering place for Manchu nobles since ancient times. In a dark courtyard deep within the alley, a few simple and unadorned trees peeked out from the courtyard. One could tell that this house had a long history. All of the horses and stones at the front gate had been worn out. One could imagine just how glorious this house had been all those years ago.

This was Fu Qing's home, the Qing San Ye had inherited this house from his ancestors. Although this was only the mansion that Fu Kang An had set up, but with the flourishing of the dryad, this house was already exceptionally luxurious.

"Aiya, you really are a pig brain. I told you that we're going to buy beef and lamb meat from the Gathering Treasure Street. You really don't remember …" A Manchu grandaunt was at the entrance of the courtyard, ordering the seeds of a melon.

"Where's Butler Wang? If he was asked to buy firecrackers, why wasn't he seen for the better part of the day? Did you go to the teahouse to listen to the show again? "See if I break his legs when I come back …"

"Aiya, my Fan family girl, why did you come out to work? You are a customer, how can I let you take action? Accompany your sister and watch from here, at noon when we are roasting lamb, we of Manchu do not have many rules, women can also come and sit on the table … "

The Fan family girl that ran out from the courtyard was Fan Lian's daughter, Hu Niu. After going through the Yi County, their relationship with Fu Qing became deeper, and the two families would move around from time to time. And that Manchuria mistress, was actually Fu Qing's blood sister, Fu Hui. He was around twenty-nine years old this year, and after turning over the year, he would be running for thirty years.

Speaking of Fu Hui, she was a famous person among the Manchu's grannies. Marrying a Blue Flag commander at the age of 17, not even three years had passed before she passed away from sickness. The Manchuria girls did not talk about the Chinese. At the age of 22, they had married a cow record with a blue flag. It was a pity that within two years of marriage, the cow record had died on the Southern Wars Battlefield.

The strong Fu Hui had started his third marriage, and as a result, four years ago, when she was twenty-five years old, he had actually married a Chinese Officer. Of course, two of Duke's husbands' women had died, and the people pitied her, closing their eyes at the same time, not bothering to pay any attention to the unbridled prohibition of marriage in Manchu.

Fu Hui's life was truly too bitter. Just when they were about to get married, the British and French combined forces broke into Beijing, and on the way to escape, that Chinese Officer disappeared without a trace and in the end, they could not even find a corpse. Only the heavens knew how he disappeared.

From that point onwards, no one dared to propose marriage to Fu Hui anymore. That Chinese Officer was also not a Prominent Class and did not have much property in the capital. Fu Hui had no choice but to return to her parents' home to accompany her little brother.

Although Fu Hui's life was not good, but she was a very straightforward person. She was good at handling household chores and contacting relatives and friends in the Eight Banners, whoever had a big grudge would be able to handle it if Fu Hui made a move. Gradually, she gained the nickname of "Female Zhuge" in the Beijing. Even the empress dowagers was lamenting over her background.

To be honest, when Fu Qing wanted to channel his energy and go back to the capital, he had to rely on his elder sister. He would not be able to bring down his pride when he relied on an idealist like Fu Qing to do whatever he wanted with power.

"Aiyo, why is my hands so cold? Men! Hurry up and pour me a bowl of ginger candy. All of you don't have eyes for the price, I'll deduct your wages later …" "Hahaha, don't take offense, little sister. These servants of big sister's house just won't serve you. It'll only give you an itch if you don't scold her for a day …"

Just as Hu Niu was about to bring the hot ginger water, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the long street. Very quickly, a familiar figure appeared in front of him, causing the little girl's eyes to be covered by water vapor, her hand falling down to the ground.

"What's wrong? "Is it hot …" Hu Niu didn't care what Big Sister Fu Hui said at all. She stood up and stared fixedly at the figure in the distance.

Now that he had Xiao Letian, this bad guy, no one would dare to bully him anymore, even his uncle wouldn't be able to.

"Sister, what are you looking at?" Who was this group of people, to be so ostentatious … Aiyo, the one in the lead is a singer, right? "Why is his face so handsome …" Fu Hui's heart thumped once, as if he knocked over a bottle of Wu Wei.

"Hahaha, Hu Niu, you made it easier for me to look for you, I will go to the south of the city first. Your family's butler told me that you and old shopkeeper are here, I thought that Fu Qing was no longer an outsider, so I decided to treat him as a bad guest." Xiao Letian dismounted from his horse. His figure was as handsome as it could get.

The current Xiao Letian did not have the slightest bit of the sorry state he was in when he had fallen into the deep mountains. In just two short months, Xiao Letian had already revealed the temperament of someone in a superior position from inside to outside, and his eyes were filled with an overbearing light.

Xiao Letian turned to look at Fu Hui, and was shocked in her heart. Oh god, isn't that the real Wang Xifeng? This mature woman's unique temperament was simply unforgettable. However, he didn't have the time to appreciate her beauty right now, so she merely nodded to her in a friendly manner, then grabbed Hu Niu's hand and charged in.

"Fu Qing... Qing San Ye … "Heretic, you have to take care of food …" As he spoke, he rushed in as if it were his own home. The entire gatekeeper's servants were dumbfounded. They had never seen such a guest before, without a greeting card or an appointment, rushing in just by shouting the master's name. At least Qing San Ye still had a fourth stage noble title on him, he didn't even have a door bag to enter.

"Aiyo, why don't you take a look, Aunt. What are you saying …" The steward slapped his thigh and wanted to chase after them, but at this moment, they heard the Qing San Ye's hearty laughter from the backyard.

"Brother Xiao, you finally came today! The two of us won't leave until we're drunk! The ones from Manager Fan are here as well …" Hearing that, the butler shrank back. Oh my god, he is Xiao Letian? The Mr. Xiao that San Ye recited eight hundred times a day?

Fu Hui's eyes suddenly lit up, she thought to herself, as expected of a character, no wonder my brotherly brother who has high expectations for him would never forget him, let alone a talent, just her looks are like that of a top-notch rich man. At this moment, she saw a few burly men standing at the entrance. She quickly smiled and asked the butler to arrange food and wine for them.

It was unknown when the sky had darkened, but at noon, when the big copper hotpot had fully bloomed, snow suddenly fell from the sky. Not long after, the entire yard had turned white.

"How carefree, truly carefree, watching the snowy scenery around the furnace, and there's even the Mr. Xiao's strange art of drinking, how fortunate! "I'm very lucky!" Before he even drank three cups, Qing San Ye was already drunk. He and Fan Lian fought over the script that Xiao Letian had brought with him to see what kind of good wine Xiao Letian had brought with him.

The three men and two women huddled together, drinking and eating porridge. This feeling made Xiao Letian feel extremely warm, especially being able to drink and chat with the two beautiful girls from time to time, and also having two more mouthfuls of meat that he absolutely could not eat. The happiness he felt a hundred years ago immediately surrounded him.

Xiao Letian looked at Fu Qing in disdain. This fellow really had no experience, wasn't it just the story of the Spanish Armada? His blood boiled as he gulped down three cups of wine. And there was also the Manager Fan. He was clearly an old money grubber, and his eyes immediately lit up when he saw countless ships sunk in the Atlantic Ocean filled with treasure. If he was given a treasure ship, that old man would definitely be the first to rush in.

Don't mention how virtuous Hu Niu was today, after drinking two cups of wine, her face had already turned red, and she no longer spoke anymore to play tricks. A pair of chopsticks specifically served Xiao Letian, and in a short period of time, she had figured out what kind of meat Xiao Letian liked to eat the most, and even putting more leek flowers in the sauce was something she had carefully discovered. Now, Xiao Letian was served so well.

She was sighing with emotion. When Xiao Letian was growing up, how could there be such a virtuous girl like her? She would care about his beloved man if she didn't eat one, her eyes filled with the light of attachment.

"What a good essay. It's really a good essay!" Just as Xiao Letian was enjoying it, Manager Fan slapped the table and said, "You can't stop, you can't stop reading this book! Tonight, I will arrange for people to come.

"But, Mr. Xiao, you haven't finished writing this book. How did Britain, France and the Netherlands come about? "If you're not finished, just print it, is that okay …"

After Xiao Letian heard this, he laughed, "Hahaha, Manager Fan, you don't understand anymore. This is called serial, which is the latest book form, and these 150,000 words are just enough to print one volume. The stories here are enough for a scholar to read in detail for an entire night... "

"With these words at the bottom, those scholars have become addicted to it. After that, I stopped printing them. Every time I wrote a chapter, I posted it all over the street for people to read for free. I want to make these scholars who are waiting for me to die from anxiety. "Hahaha …"

Fu Qing was so angry that his eyes rolled upwards: "Shameless, shameless, as a scholar, how can you be so shameless, you are too dishonest, if it is like this, the scholars in this world will scold you to death."

"Shameless? San Ye found out my good points so quickly! Thank you, thank you... "You are truly wise …" With that said, Xiao Letian who was half drunk rushed forward to shake hands with Fu Qing.

At that time, he covered his mouth and laughed out loud. When had he ever seen such an interesting young man in this Great Qing Dynasty, with a kind of evil that seeped out from the depths of his bones?

"Smile like a flower!" However, that was the only word that flashed across Xiao Letian's mind. At that moment, the more he looked at Fu Hui, the more he felt that she was the 84th edition Wang Xifeng from his dream of going to the Red Chamber. The half-drunk Xiao Letian felt as if he had swallowed a large mouthful of saliva.