The Young Master of the Coal Miner

In the 2th year of the Republic of China, early summer.

The sea breeze is wrapped in a little fishy smell, blowing away the dry heat that has just entered the summer.

On the pier, workers wearing sackcloth waistcoats carried boxes of goods from merchant ships coming from the ocean. Sweat ran down their sinews, which had been damaged by the sun and sea wind, and the men silently wiped the sweat from their foreheads. , and move on to the next batch of goods.

A passenger ship is about to arrive at the pier.Looking at the national flag hoisted on the bow, it is known that it is sailing from the distant continent of Europe.

The supervisor in charge of the dock looked at the big ship from a long distance and knew that there was a good business coming. He straightened his mandarin jacket and picked a dozen or so young men who looked energetic to go up to take the business.

This kind of ocean-going passenger ship does not have much cargo, just some clothes and luggage.This group of foreigners is quite generous, lucky to meet a respectable customer, and the workers can get a tip.

When the merchant ship was docked firmly on the shore, a horizontal plank for easy passage was stretched out from the deck, and the chief mate got off the ship nimbly.

This is a bearded middle-aged man, wearing a pair of sloppy suspenders, and the shirt on his upper body has not been fully tucked in. Obviously, the month-long sea trip has caused him to lose the minimum dignity of an Englishman, but As an old sailor, he was used to this.

The steward stepped forward to try to make a conversation, and he handed a homemade cigarette to the first officer, and asked in broken English if he needed help.He had learned a few words of foreign language in a church school set up by missionaries before he got this leisurely job.

The first mate took the cheap earthen cigarette wrapped in paper, though he didn't disdain to throw it away.No matter how sloppy his appearance was, he couldn't hide his arrogance. He ordered a few words to the steward, and then didn't bother to talk to him again.

The steward has long been accustomed to the style of this group of foreigners, he smiled embarrassingly, and beckoned the master to get on the boat and carry the luggage.

-

When the ship arrives at the port, the passengers on the passenger ship have already packed their luggage.

On the deck where people come and go, a handsome young man in a suit is holding a carry-on suitcase, overlooking Jinning's wharf.

Five years later, Jinning Wharf is indeed much more lively.But compared to the prosperous Port of London in England, here are all poor people who are struggling to make ends meet.

The young man looked at his familiar yet unfamiliar hometown, with a little melancholy and confusion in his eyes. After five years of studying medicine abroad, the motherland changed its dynasty, and he didn't know what he could do for this country once he returned.

He rubbed the short hair on his head that hadn't been washed for some days and was limp. He thought that his family had already sent his family members to wait on the shore.

The boy carried a small suitcase and descended the stairs exclusively for guests, followed by tall workers who helped carry the large luggage.

After getting off the passenger ship, I saw the second steward of the He Mansion waiting on the shore with his servants.

The second housekeeper has two beautiful moustaches. He is only about forty and has a big belly. He is three points fatter than Mr. He who often socializes. Don't look at him smiling at people all day long, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes He looks like a man, but he manages things neatly.

The second butler recognized the eldest young master who had been away for five years at a glance, took off the melon skin hat on his head, waved his sleeves and called out: "Master, here, here."

The worker followed the young man to load the luggage into He's carriage, the second housekeeper rushed to pay the fee before the young master, seeing that the worker was still half a child, he gave some extra tips.

The carriage drove towards He's house.Passing the bustling Dongmen Old Street, the coachman drove the horse slowly, and the horse's hooves stepped on the green brick road with a crisp sound of "slapping" and pedestrians along the street consciously avoided it.

The boy lifted the curtain of the car hanging on the side, and through the small car window, he glimpsed the street in his memory.

The two-story building is equipped with a high fire-sealing wall, white walls and blue tiles.There are shops on both sides of the street, and wooden signboards can be seen everywhere.

The young man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The aroma of salted duck and squirrel fish had already wafted out of the restaurant, and there was also the faint scent of tea from the nearby teahouse.

When I opened my eyes, the cries of peddlers and shop assistants mixed with the sound of storytelling from teahouses became clearer again.

Seeing the young master's appearance, Housekeeper He Er also introduced: "The merchants on this street have generally remained the same, except that there are a few more foreign shops, and a new theater opened at the end of the street, which shows some Western movies. Movies. If the young master is interested, you can go and watch some other day."

As soon as the carriage turned around, a western restaurant appeared at the corner of the street. The gorgeous doors and windows inlaid with colored glass looked different and out of place among the low-key and restrained shops.

"It's a restaurant run by foreigners." The second butler's eyes followed the eyes of the young master to the conspicuous western restaurant, "The last time the master and madam went to this western restaurant to try something new, I didn't expect the food inside to be expensive and difficult. Eat. The madam went back to the house with a dark face that day, and since then, the madam has been worrying all day, because she is afraid that you will not be able to eat outside, young master, and starve yourself."

The second butler's words reminded the young man that when he was in Europa, his mother often sent him telegrams to persuade him to return to China early, but he always shied away with the excuse of busy studies.

Last month, my grandfather sent him a letter while he was overseas, but what came with the letter was an angelica plant.

Angelica, Angelica, should return.

He learned Chinese medicine from his grandfather since he was a child. How could he not understand his grandfather's intentions, so he packed his luggage immediately, bid farewell to his friends and returned to China.

The boy's thoughts drifted away with the memories, and a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the car.

"Stop, stop."

The groom immediately reined in the reins, and the horse's hoof stepped on the spot and stopped.

"what happened?"

Butler He Er immediately lifted the curtain of the car and looked out, only to find that it was Hong Ling, the daughter of Madam's dowry mother, who was originally the young master's maid.

"Hongling, why is it you? You are not at home serving Madam, why did you come out to the street?" The second housekeeper looked at the girl with anxious face, sweating profusely, fearing that there was something urgent.

Hong Ling probed into the carriage and glanced: "Did the second housekeeper pick up the young master?"

"Naturally, we are about to rush to the mansion," the second butler took off the melon skin hat on his head, and fanned himself. It was a hot and dry day, so he had to send the young master back to the mansion quickly.

"Master, don't go back home. Hurry up and go to the teahouse for a while."

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" There is no one who will not let the master go back to his home.

The second housekeeper frowned, and looked at Hongling suspiciously, why is this girl so out of tune today.

"Xue Yanluo asked the young master of our family to ask for his kiss. The old lady of the Xue family is probably at the residence right now." Hong Ling was anxious for a while, and couldn't explain clearly in a few words.

Butler He Er's brains turned around, he stroked his mustache, immediately pulled Hongling, and asked the groom to turn around and go to the teahouse.

The boy in the carriage didn't listen carefully to the movements of the housekeeper and the girl, but only vaguely heard Yan Luo, the young master and the mansion, and without saying a few words, the housekeeper ordered the groom to turn around.

"Where is this going?" He remembered that his home was not in this direction?

The second butler wiped the sweat from his brow, and said, "Young master, let's go to the teahouse to escape for a while. This Xue Yanluo came to our house."

The young man knew that the world was in chaos now, but he didn't expect that there was something aimed at their family.

"My parents are still at home, what should I do?" The boy was anxious, and was about to rush out to ask the groom to stop, but the second housekeeper grabbed his arm.

"Don't worry, young master, Yama is here for you."

For him?He just got off the passenger ship, how could there be enemies coming towards him.

The young man bowed his head in thought, but he still couldn't remember that there was a person named "Xue Yanluo" in Jinning City in his memory.

After a while, the carriage arrived at a nearby teahouse.

Hong Ling was the first to jump out of the carriage, and hurried to help the young master in the carriage.

After everyone got out of the car, Xiaoer from the teahouse at the door greeted them.

Before this person entered the teahouse, he could hear the voice of the storyteller inside, and he could hear the accent with a bit of relish.

Xiaoer saw that the young master in western clothes was interested, so he added something casually: "This Mr. Storyteller, he was specially dug out from the Beijing-Tianjin area by our shopkeeper, and he can make a good cross talk."

The boy nodded, and asked Xiaoer to find a table in the lobby.

Seeing that the young master wanted to listen to cross talk, Xiao Er found him a lively table surrounded by audience members who joined him in cheering him on.

The boy stroked his slightly greasy short hair and sat quietly among the crowd.

The second steward ordered Xiaoer to serve the pot of Tieguanyin, and poured it for the young master himself.

The stand-up comedy on the stage spoke vigorously, sometimes shaking the burden, which made the audience burst into laughter, and sometimes sang a section of willow work, which made the audience applaud and applaud.

The whole venue was extremely lively, and during the period, a half-sized man held a small gong and begged for a few pennies from the audience as a reward.

After the cross talk ended, the storyteller thanked everyone and left the stage, and the whole teahouse became quiet for a while, and the guests started talking in twos and threes.

The young man was just fascinated by it, the tea in the cup was already cold, he raised the cup and took a sip, the tea still had the fragrance of Tieguanyin.

But I heard the guests at the next table gossiping: "If you want me to say, this brother Wang of Chengnan Bookstore is really unlucky."

"What's the matter?" Another customer continued.

"Didn't he have a daughter who just turned [-] and hasn't been accepted yet, and Xue Yanluo's family is actually targeting her?"

"Then Boss Wang agrees?"

"Of course I didn't agree." The customer who spoke took a sip of water, and he said with interest: "Just as the front foot of the Xue family asked the Wang family to marry, the Wang family made an engagement with a distant relative from another province, and even the daughter was sent away early. Jinning City."

The listener made a "tsk tsk" sound and said, "Boss Wang's move is really amazing."

"Hey! It's not because I'm afraid that Xue Yanluo's bandit will come up and snatch the marriage." He smiled strangely and said: "I don't know whose child will be so unlucky in the future to marry this bandit-born coal mine master merchant."

"It's strange to say that our Jinning is flat, with many plains and hills. Our ancestors have lived on this land for generations, but we didn't find a big coal mine here. In the end, we were taken advantage of by those outsiders." Thinking of the coal mine The huge profits of the business, this man couldn't help but be speechless.

The young man pricked up his ears to listen to a few gossips, but he also figured out the identity of "Xue Yanluo".

No wonder he didn't know the big coal mine businessman who was a bandit.

It's just that Xue Yanluo has no grievances or enmities with him, so how could he come after him?

The author says:

Teahouse guest: I don’t know whose child will be so unlucky in the future to marry the coal boss who was born as a bandit.

The unlucky young master of the He family: Thank you for the invitation. After returning from overseas, he just got off the ship and is about to be forced into marriage.

[Because of the subject matter, Gong's identity needs to be changed]