Neighbor

71-80 VOLUME 3

Chapter 71 Meeting in the Capital

In early autumn, Li Erkun carried a large amount of benzoin and fled from Dengliumei (today's Kra Isthmus) back to Citong Port. After nine years away from home, he finally returned home. The suffering and bitterness involved cannot be explained in a few words.

After the shipwreck, Li Erkun and five sailors drifted for two days holding on to wooden planks before arriving at Dengliumei. The six people worked together to cut down trees and build houses, waiting for the arrival of sea ships. Not wanting to wait for the Chinese ships, he was captured by a local chief and sent to the mountains to cut the wood for balsam. The rainforest was extremely hot and miasmatic, and the overseers were brutal and cruel. In just three years, more than half of them were killed or injured.

Li Erkun couldn't bear the hardship at first and was homesick for his family. He ran away several times. However, he couldn't understand the language and didn't know the way. His escape attempt failed and the whip was in vain. After five or six years, Li Erkun worked hard and finally learned the local language. Because he knew how to plan, he was highly appreciated by the Fan chieftain. However, Chief Fan was afraid that he would run away, so he still put shackles on his feet.

Dengliumei has been in war for many years, pirates have emerged, and merchants from other countries dare not dock. The benzoin collected over the years has accumulated like a hill and cannot be sold outside.

In the seventh year, the local chieftain was killed by Fan Mu, and the Fan people and supervisors fled in all directions. Li Erkun and his two companions saw off their shackles, ran into the incense warehouse, hurriedly packed benzoin in cloth bags, and fled by boat.

The benzoin from Dengliumei is the best and superior to other places. The three of them knew that if they could return home alive, they would be rich. Unfortunately, as soon as they left Hong Kong, they were attacked by pirates, seriously injuring two people, and one of them died of illness in the violent storm.

At this point, only Li Erkun and a Mingzhou companion were left, and they drove a ship to dock in neighboring Chenla (now Cambodia). The two sold a small amount of benzoin and obtained dozens of silver ingots. Then he disguised himself as a merchant, hired several servants, and taught them to dress as soldiers to escape the pirates, and set sail for Citon Port.

Before the ship docked at Citon, the local inspection department was alerted, and soldiers from the inspection department escorted the ship all the way. As soon as they docked, they learned that they were carrying two stones of benzoin, so they quickly reported it to the officials of the Municipal Shipping Department. But I don't know which good person is responsible for the rumor that Li Erkun has returned and is already a fan king with armored soldiers. As a result, people all over the city came out to watch.

Benzoin is an extremely valuable marine product and cannot be sold privately. Officials from the Municipal Shipping Department deduct one-tenth of the tax and then purchase it for official sale.

Officials made huge sums of money from selling benzoin. Li Erkun divided it into three parts, one for himself, one for his Mingzhou companions, and one for those who died of illness on his way home, and gave them to his widow.

People who were familiar with Li Erkun thought he had fed the fishes long ago when he didn't come back for so many years. I don't want him to come back safe and sound and make a fortune. There are those who are envious, and there are those who are jealous. For Guo Niang, she never asked Li Erkun to come back rich. As long as he comes back alive, it is the best good news.

The family is reunited, needless to say, they are harmonious and beautiful.

Seven years was like a dream. When Li Erkun left, Li Guo was only eight years old and Guomei was still in Guo's mother's womb. The couple recounted the bitterness of the past few years and cried while hugging each other. Speaking of Li Dakun's difficulty and ruthlessness, Li Erkun was even more angry.

Since Li Erkun came back, he bought a large house in the east of the city, right next to Wang Jing's house. Because there are rumors that Li Erkun transported a large amount of benzoin into Hong Kong, and his deeds were bizarre and heroic, they have been reported to the court, and he will soon be named Chengwu Lang. The king whale could only gnash his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do. In fact, this was just a rumor spread by someone hired by Li Erkun. After years of suffering overseas, Li Erkun returned home with his wisdom and courage. How could a small king whale be as scary as a high-profile overseer?

Since the Li family moved to the east of the city, Li Guo would occasionally spend the night at Jing's residence and take care of the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

The father and son of the Li family have somewhat similar facial features, but Li Erkun's appearance is tougher, not angry but powerful, while Li Guo is more feminine than tough. Due to years of separation, father and son are strangers to each other and are still somewhat estranged. Guomei is different, she is around her knees all the time, and Li Erkun loves her like a pearl in his palm.

One day, when the family was having a meal, Li Erkun asked Li Guo what his plans were for the future. He said that he was still young and now the family had no worries about food. He had also suffered for many years, so he might as well go to school.

"Dad, when the pirate is caught and I recover my hundred taels of gold, I want to go to the capital."

Li Guo has his own plan, but because if he catches the pirate and interrogates, he will need to go to court, so he can't leave Citong yet . .

"That's fine. I heard from Chen Yuanwai that his son also went to the capital for a study tour. If you go there, you can be with him."

Li Erkun has become a celebrity in Citong since he returned home. He has a legendary experience, not to mention he is very rich. It is said that ordinary people want to make friends with him, even wealthy businessmen and officials, when they see him, they have to stand on tiptoe and take a second look.

"That hundred taels of gold may not be recovered. The bandits' money will be spent casually. As for the matter of arresting the pirates, my father just had a drink with Yan Inspector the day before yesterday, and he already has something to do with it."

Li Erkun obviously felt that spending a hundred gold It's worth buying Guomei, as long as everyone is safe and sound.

"Akun, if that child from the Wang family is really the mastermind, can you arrest him and confront him?"

Guo Niang is kind-hearted, but she can't stand the King Whale's repeated harm to her child, so she must settle the score.

"Of course we can. As long as we catch the bandit leader, I'm afraid he won't recruit him."

The merchants and officials at the port hated the pirates deeply, and everyone shouted for them to be killed. How could the pirates protect King Whale and help him take the blame? .

In late autumn, the pirates were indeed caught, part of the gold was recovered, and King Whale was taken to court for questioning. King Whale was convicted of colluding with the pirates and was detained in prison. Li Guo saw him kneeling on the ground, like a chicken that had lost its feathers in a fight, without the arrogance and arrogance of before. Thinking about it, he is bullying the weak and afraid of the strong, and needs to be dealt with.

In late autumn, Li Guo set out to leave, accompanied by a fifteen-year-old boy named Ah Xiao.

Li Erkun hoped that Li Guo could pursue an official career, study, and gain fame, but Li Guo knew that this was not his interest. I worked hard to learn literacy when I was young in order to change my destiny in the future and become a clerk who can read and keep accounts. Although he envied scholars, he preferred to be a businessman.

Li Guo took the water route and first went south to Guangzhou. He made an appointment with someone in Guangzhou to rescue her from the quagmire. Then we set out from Guangzhou, sailed north to Mingzhou, and then traveled by land to the capital.

By the time Li Guo arrived in the capital, it was already winter and snowflakes were flying.

As a southerner, Li Guo had never seen snow.

Standing on the high-rise building of Banxian Zhengdian, Li Guo had a bird's-eye view of the magnificent capital, and was unaware of the snowflakes falling on his head and shoulders.

"Come outside, the snow is getting heavier and heavier. Please put on your wind robe."

Ah Xiao handed over a wind robe. Li Guo treated him kindly, and he treated Li Guo with all his heart and soul.

Li Guo put on her wind robe and covered her hands in her robe. She was shivering from the cold, but she was reluctant to enter the house.

Every thing and every scene here must be very familiar to one person. Has he ever stood here, in the finest restaurant in the capital, warming wine and watching the snow with his friends, laughing and chatting?

Finally, they arrived at the place where Zhao Qimo lived and arrived in the capital. As a stranger, Li Guo didn't know how to find Qimo. I'm not familiar with the place, but I can understand the language.

Let me first ask where the Zhou Jiazhu shop on Zhenglou Street is?

Zhenglou Street is close to the Taimiao Temple. Among the bustling shops, there is a luxurious Zhoujia Pearl Shop. When Li Guo went in, the shopkeeper thought he was going to buy beads. Hearing Li Guo's accent, he was from the South. Seeing that he was dressed luxuriously, he was treated well by the waiter.

"I'm not here to buy beads, but to find a friend, Zhou Zhengmin."

"Zhengmin?"

The shopkeeper was suspicious, but seeing that Li Guo didn't seem to be joking, he called the waiter: "Go to the warehouse and call Ah Si."

The waiter said . Leave in a hurry.

The shopkeeper motioned for Li Guo to take a seat and asked Li Guo how he met Ah Si from the Zhou family.

After a while, Zhou Zhengmin ran over with sweat on his back, put his hand on the door frame, and said out of breath: "Guo...Nanju, why are you here!"

Li Guo left Zhupu with him and walked along Zhenglou Street. Listening to Zhou Zhengmin's conversation, Li Guo realized that Zhengmin was not appreciated in Zhupu. Although he can read, write and calculate, his family is poor and he has no status in the family. It was my mother who asked my uncle to enter the pearl shop.

"Nan Ju, when I see you dressed like this, you must have gotten rich. What are your plans for coming to the capital?"

Zhou Zhengmin put his hands in his sleeves, looking relaxed and content.

"I want to open a bead shop, but my financial resources are limited and I want to grow from a small one to a big one."

Li Guo said with a smile. All the money he spent came from himself, and he never used his father's money. Suddenly getting rich makes people feel as happy as drinking fine wine. However, Li Guo understands that the Wan Guan family fortune will one day be exhausted, so it is better to earn something on her own.

"Oh, this is to bring the business to the capital. Are you still missing a partner? I will go home and sell the nanmu ancestral bed in the house, and I will mess with you!"

Zhou Zhengmin's eyes flashed, and he even dreamed that he had one Home bead shop.

"Of course I want to find you as a partner."

Li Guo looked up at the sky, and saw snow falling all over again.

He was a floater and had not yet taken root in the capital. It was not easy to start a business. However, Zhou Zhengmin was different. He was from the capital. What's more, Li Guo has always been grateful to Zheng Min for his help when he was in Lianzhou, and he also admires him as a person.

After that, Zhou Zhengmin and Li Guo walked around the streets and alleys when they had time, looking for a shop in a good location and with a reasonable price.

One day, the two of them came to Zhuquemen Street and walked from the front to the back of the street. It was dusk, and several students with servants appeared on the street. Li Guo just asked casually: "There should be a school here." Zhou Zhengmin said: "Yes, Taixue is in it, not to mention Taixue, Imperial College, and Gongyuan are also in it."

Taixue, two characters . , which made Li Guo tremble.

When Zhao Qimo left Guangzhou, he told Li Guo that he was about to enter Taixue University. That was a year ago. Is he still here?

Li Guo lowered his head and thought about his thoughts, and suddenly heard a familiar voice in front of him: "Erlang is walking first. Why are you still standing there? Follow him quickly!"

Li Guo quickly looked up to find the source of the sound, and saw a smart man in front of him. The young man was holding a pencil case in his hand, chasing something in a hurry. There were two servants dressed in coarse cloth beside him, who looked like grooms. The smart young man was chasing a scholar in crimson robes on the bridge. The scholar was riding a handsome white horse, and he was riding the reins freely. The figure of the man and horse was quickly blocked by the crowd on the bridge.

"Follow up quickly."

The young man turned around and urged the groom behind him. He was dressed like a book boy.

"Ah."

Li Guo was shocked. He recognized that this person was Ah Li. Li Guo hurriedly looked for the crimson-robed scholar in the crowd, but there was no trace of him.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Zhengmin was confused.

"He seems to be an old friend."

"Then why don't we go up and get to know each other?"

"He may not want to see me."

Li Guo smiled bitterly, and he gently patted the snowflakes on his shoulders. The snowflakes stuck to the warm palms, and then melted into water.

Even to this day, at this moment, the evil thoughts in Li Guo's heart have not been eradicated, but instead become more intense. He came to the capital just for Zhao Qimo, even though he still had an excuse to study abroad and do business.

"Then why don't you give it a try and walk by him to see if he recognizes you?"

Zhou Zhengmin didn't have any bad friends, but he once had a woman he liked and lingered outside the women's house.

That's okay, Li Guo thought, it's a good idea. If Zhao Qimo still ignores him, then he should die. It's better to do a test.