Xie Ming

Chapter 525: The Poverty of the Yan Family
Yan Yingyuan was quite capable in governing the people. He provided porridge to the disaster victims to maintain stability. Then he caught a glimpse of Xiao Lang's group not far from the alley entrance, and became suspicious, so he went to ask them.

Xiao Jingchuan then responded in a friendly manner, asking for a cup of tea, and using his father Yan Bo's friendship as an excuse to bring the two closer.

"Uh, hehehe!"

"Of course, General Xiao, what are you talking about!"

"You are a true hero who fought against the invaders in the Northern Expedition. Now that I have the honor to meet you, Ying Yuan will certainly treat you with courtesy!"

"Well, it's just that right now, Changzhou is suffering from a serious disaster. In order to help the people, my county government office has been mostly vacated to accommodate the disaster victims. It's really difficult to entertain guests."

"I'm sorry to make General Xiao laugh!"

"Ah, how about this!"

"If the general doesn't give up, why not move on and take the team to have a chat with Ying Yuan's family!"

"I have nothing and am used to living in poverty!"

"Good wine and good food, I'm afraid it's hard to entertain you right now!"

"But, if I go home and serve a few cups of tea to quench the soldiers' thirst, it's still possible!"

Yan Yingyuan has a straightforward personality, and what he said is exactly what Xiao Lang wants.

"Hahahaha!"

"Okay, that's good!"

"Hey, from what you just said, his father Yan Bo should be at home too, right?!"

"It's been a while since I last saw the old man!"

"It's just right for me to go and pay a visit!"

"I'm sorry to bother you so much, Brother Yingyuan, please don't blame me, ah, don't blame me!" Xiao Ci said politely.

Hearing that the man was willing to do so, Yan Yingyuan did not shirk his responsibility and quickly turned sideways, waved his hand and led him to the side.

"Haha, sorry for the slowness, sorry for the slowness!"

"General please!"

After saying this, the two held hands, followed by a group of horsemen, and headed straight to Yan Yingyuan's private residence in Changzhou.

It is now 4:45 am (10:00 am)!
creak-

Located in the east of the city, in front of a small courtyard in Gouwei Lane, Yan Yingyuan took out the key from under his tattered robe, unlocked the door, and invited people to come in.

"Uh"

"General Xiao, since the door is locked, my father must have gone out to the river to fish during the day!"

"Slow down!"

"Come in! Come in."

Yan Yingyuan brought Xiao home, but his old father was not at home, and it might be difficult to reconcile the old relationship.

For this reason, Ying Yuan felt ashamed and embarrassed, and hurriedly extended his hand to lead Xiao Jingchuan to go into the house first and then continue the conversation.

Hearing this, Xiao Zebai showed an expression of regret, and ordered Qin Jing and others to wait outside, and brought in Chang Ting, Yue Xiu and Ma Weimin. He was happy to follow the host's wishes and walked into the courtyard without any hesitation!
"Hehehe"

"Yan Boxi was fishing by the Yellow River. He brought his young grandson with him. We bumped into each other near the bank!"

"Hey! Is your youngest son still being taken care of by Yan Bo?!"

Xiao Jingchuan wanted to talk about some family matters first.

"Oh! Yes! I'll definitely go to the river with you!"

"Haha, General, you don't know that my mother died a long time ago."

"I was raised by my father since I was young."

"A few years ago, I arranged a matchmaking in my hometown and got married."

"But... oh!"

"The fortune teller said that I was born with a very strong fate. On the day my wife gave birth, she had a difficult labor and died!"

"My grandparents and I are the only three males left in the family!"

While Yan Yingyuan was answering, Xiao Lang entered the courtyard and looked around.

This house is in a common location and is not very big. It has a narrow entrance and a narrow courtyard, so it can be considered a single-family house.

Looking around, the yard was full of clutter and looked a bit dirty.

There were some rotten wood and dead grass piled at the foot of the wall. Most of them were picked up from various places that no one wanted and were taken home to burn.

The whole bundle of firewood seemed to be gone.

There is a large water tank in front of the door and a large kettle for boiling water next to the stove. It looks simple and poor.

After he finished speaking, perhaps Yan Yingyuan also noticed that Xiao was looking around.

He felt embarrassed because his family was in such a poor state, so he hurried to make arrangements, fearing that he would be negligent again.

"Uh"

"Oh! Hi!"

"Look at my brain!"

"Come on, come on!"

"Everyone, sit down! Sit down!" "Please sit down for a moment. I'll boil some water to make tea for the generals!"

Yan Rangke was talking, and he was very busy.

Obviously, this family didn't have guests often. He looked around the place for a few times before finding four rattan stools in every nook and cranny, dusted off the loose dirt, and placed them at the feet of the guests.

It is indeed shabby, but at least a little more enthusiasm can show mutual understanding and sincerity!

"hehe!"

"I'm used to living in poverty!"

"I don't entertain guests often. I'm sorry to see you all laughing at me!"

"Hurry! Sit down!"

Yan Yingyuan smiled awkwardly and spoke with clumsy hands and feet. He picked up some dead grass and branches from the wall, built a simple fire in front of the stove in the yard, and boiled water in a kettle to make tea for the guests.

"Hahaha!"

"As the proverb goes, nine out of ten officials are corrupt, and nine out of ten plums are sour!"

"Three years as a clean official, he got 100,000 silver coins!"

"Brother Ying Yuan, you are also an official, but right now I am looking at everyone in the yard!"

"I didn't expect you to be so poor!"

"Haha, it's really rare, really rare!"

"If it were our Great Ming, with the two capitals and thirteen provinces, there would be a hundred officials like you, Brother Ying Yuan, in each state, province, prefecture and county!"

"Then, maybe our Great Ming Dynasty can be saved!"

"Hey, Changting, don't just stand there, go and help light the fire."

Xiao Jingchuan lowered his head to look at the bamboo stool in front of him, then he lowered the stool and sat down on it, feeling very happy.

While speaking, he glanced at Chang Ting, as if he wanted him to help Yan Yingyuan make a fire so that he could talk to him directly.

"Oh, no, no, that won't do! I'll do it, I'll do it!"

However, Ying Yuan was in the host country, so he felt embarrassed to attend this long court and therefore declined.

After a lot of clumsy work and tinkering with it, he finally got the cigarette to smoke.

However, the dry grass branches were probably not dried enough and were too damp to use. Even if they were lit on fire, the smoke was too heavy.

After a few whooshes, Yan Yingyuan approached and his entire body seemed to be swallowed up by it.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough"

After a coughing fit, Yan Yingyuan had no choice but to run out from the fire to get some fresh air.

"hehe!"

"County Magistrate Yan, I see you don't often light a fire at home!"

"Let me do it! I have experience in these tasks!"

Gu Changting was trying to hold back his laughter, which was quite considerate of him.

Seeing that Yan Yingyuan was clumsy, he followed Xiao Zhi's instructions and stepped forward to take over Yingyuan.

"Cough, cough, cough."

"oops!"

"Ashamed, ashamed!"

"Well, thank you very much!"

"I'm so sorry!" Yan Yingyuan bowed awkwardly to the court.

"Hi!"

"It's okay!"

"You guys just go and chat!" Chang Ting took over the task promptly and spoke straightforwardly.

After hearing this, Yan Yingyuan decided not to be stubborn and arrogant any longer and left.

After finishing the work, he turned around and sat opposite Xiao and Ma.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"General Xiao just came down and joked!"

"He is just a useless person. Let alone one hundred, there are 110,000 Yan Yingyuans!"

"As for the court, humph, I'm afraid it will be of no help!"

"Uh, that's right!"

"I still don't know until now!"

"General Xiao, what exactly do you want to do by leading your team to Changzhou this time?!"

"I, Yan, may be of low rank and only hold the office of a county magistrate!"

"However, my father and I respect General Xiao as a person."

"If Sui Dan needs anything, I, Yan, can help. General, there's no need to beat around the bush. Just speak directly!"

(End of this chapter)