Yoshida Mii

Chapter 74 Persuasion
"Xiuyu, you...you..." Li Hongqin struggled for a long time, gritted her teeth and asked directly: "Xiuyu, have you taken a fancy to that kid Dashi?"

Zhang Xiuyu is more than two years older than Dongbao, and has reached the age of engagement. This is a matter that weighs heavily on Li Hongqin's heart. The son is studying and is not in a hurry to find a wife, but the daughter is different. Missing the good time, Just become an old girl.What's more, Xiuyu lost her father, and her family depended on their livelihoods. It's fine to be an ordinary family, but it may be difficult to be a good one.Zhang Xiuyu has a good appearance, a quiet and gentle personality, and is also neat in her work. Li Hongqin doesn't want to wrong her daughter in the marriage.

Zhang Xiuyu blushed, pulled up the quilt to cover her face, and remained silent.

Li Hongqin was in a hurry, pulled off Zhang Xiuyu's quilt, and said in a low voice: "I'm asking you, hurry up!"

"Brother Dashi..." Zhang Xiuyu thought of Lin Shi's handsome and gentle face, a young girl's heart was pounding like a deer, almost jumping out of her chest, "He's a nice guy."

Li Hongqin sighed, stood up and reached out to stroke Zhang Xiuyu's hair.

"Mother, what's the matter?" Zhang Xiuyu was a sensitive person, and seeing Li Hongqin's reaction, she felt a chill in her heart. "You don't like Brother Dashi?"

"Xiuyu, that kid Dashi is kind-hearted and honest, why wouldn't mother like him?" Li Hongqin sighed, "I fell in love with him the day your old aunt separated, why did Qiuxia give birth?" Such a good son! I asked you Aunt Qiuxia privately, saying that she was not engaged yet, and I didn’t plan to make an appointment with Lin Shi so early. At that time, I didn’t think too much about it. I must have come to propose marriage. Your Aunt Qiuxia didn’t like it. , just an excuse for saying that. In the past two days, I can see that he has already planned."

Zhang Xiuyu's mind was a little numb, a little sad, and a little bit lost, and after a while she asked softly, "Brother Dashi and the others... what are their plans?"

Li Hongqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Silly girl, look at how many times he has been to your aunt's house these days, and he didn't know about it from his relatives, so why is he so concerned about your aunt's house? Bao, he stopped at the front and wished he could beat up Song Laoer..."

"Dong Bao is still young!" Zhang Xiuyu said dully, four years younger than Lin Shi!
"Four years younger is nothing! Your old uncle was 22 when he married your old aunt, and your old aunt was less than sixteen! This man is old enough to wait, but women can't afford to wait! Xiuyu , Don’t think about Lin Shi, there is no such fate! On the day he came to send the pup, he knew that you stayed at home to guard the door, and he stood at the door waiting for us to come back. If he meant that, he didn’t knock on the door and let you open the door and say Talk?" Li Hongqin said.

It was the first time in Zhang Xiuyu's life that she had a crush. The girl Huaichun was strangled before it sprouted, and her heart was empty, as if she had been hollowed out. She felt aggrieved and helpless. She thought Dongbao was fine, and she didn't have her. She is not as smart as she is good-looking. It is not surprising that Brother Da Shi likes Dong Bao.

"Xiuyu, mother, I will pay attention to you in the future. There must be better boys than Dashi." Li Hongqin patted Zhang Xiuyu's shoulder and said earnestly, "No matter what Dashi thinks in his heart, you can't complain. Make people know how to look down on you! Mother usually taught you, remember? Although we are farmers, we have to know right from wrong, and we have to be reasonable.

"Mother!" Zhang Xiuyu was upset, turned over and hugged Li Hongqin's arm, and softly reprimanded, "Am I that kind of person!" She likes Dongbao girl very much, if Lin Shi is looking for other girls, she might She would be unconvinced in her heart, but the person Lin Shi fell in love with was Dong Bao, and she felt happy for the two of them instead.

Li Hongqin laughed out loud, and she knew that the daughter she had single-handedly raised was a good one.

In another room, Li Shi and Dong Bao's mother and daughter did not fall asleep immediately.Mrs. Li was worried when she thought of Mrs. Huang's unreasonable entanglements during the day. She thought she would be relieved after the separation of the family, but she still had troubles.

"Mother, you have to learn from Auntie." Dongbao said seriously, "Look at my grandma, she is like a cat when she sees Auntie, she dares not provoke anyone but you!"

Mrs. Li was stunned for a moment, and asked, "How did you learn? I can't imitate your aunt...I'm stupid, I don't know how to swear, and I don't know what to say if I can't say a few words to people."

Dong Bao laughed, "You don't need to learn how to swear, next time my grandma and my second uncle come over, you just rush over with a kitchen knife, pretending to fight them desperately, keep one to scare the other away, and scare the other two." Run a pair!"

Mrs. Li also laughed, and waved her hands again and again, "That's impossible, your aunt can do this, but I can't, your grandma is my mother-in-law! Don't think about bad ideas!"

Dong Bao snorted a few times, she made an idea out of good intentions, and it would be a bad idea to go to Li Shi's side, Huang Shi is a bully and fears hard things, she only treats her politely as you are afraid of her, and lists you as a person who can be oppressed , if you are tough on her, she will immediately give in.

"Bao'er, have you recorded all the money we sold these two days?" Li Shi asked, "We... didn't pay it, did we?"

"Mom, do you have a plan in your mind? Guess how much we earn?" Dong Bao asked back.

Mrs. Li said with a smile: "If you tell me to work, you can't do it if you tell me to settle accounts. My brain is a mess! You have a good brain, tell mother, and make mother happy!"

Dong Bao grinned and snapped his fingers and said, "One catty of beans costs three renminbi, and can produce three catties of tofu, and four catties of more bean curd. We sell a catty of tofu for two renminbi, and a catty of bean curd can sell for four bowls, which is eight renminbi. Today We used [-] catties of dried beans, [-] catties of bean curd, and [-] catties of tofu. Mother, do the math, how much is our gross profit?"

Mrs. Li widened her eyes and said with a smile: "Is it really up to your mother?"

"Forget it, mother, you will have to be a big landlady in the future, what can you do if you don't know how to settle accounts?" Dong Bao urged.

"Okay, okay!" Mrs. Li laughed, worked hard for a long time, and muttered, "Our capital is sixty yuan, and the bean curd is sold... 480 yuan, and the tofu is ten yuan..."

Counting and counting, Li's voice trembled, not because he didn't know, but when he counted, he was taken aback. The small business looks inconspicuous, but it is very objective when it accumulates.

"Actually, we can't earn so much." Dong Bao closed his eyes and said softly, "Our bean curds are really good for people. The bowls are so high that they can't hold four bowls per catty. The sesame oil marinade is even willing to put it. The firewood and so on will sell more bean curd and tofu in the future, and the firewood will have to be bought with additional money, all of which have to be included in the cost."

Mrs. Li nodded, but even if all these were included in the cost, she still earned three or four hundred cash a day, which she never dared to imagine before!And she had a premonition that the tofu curds would sell better tomorrow.In this way, within a few months, she and Dong Bao will be able to pay off their debts.

Dong Bao was already sleepy, and said to Li in a daze: "Tomorrow, I have to buy an account book, buy pens and inks, write down all the expenses and income, and learn to write from Brother Dashi..." Doing business requires a mind account, otherwise it will become a muddled business.

She has seen the characters of this era in the bulletin posted at the town gate, which are similar to traditional characters. She only knows a few characters, and the rest are completely unknown. A well-educated young woman becomes illiterate when she comes here, called Dong Bao Depressed for a while.Fortunately, Lin Shi had studied in a private school for a year, so he could be his own teacher, so he had to hurry up and learn to write, so that he could get rid of the illiterate hat as soon as possible.

Mrs. Li patted Dong Bao who was already asleep, and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. Although Song Yang was a scholar, he had never taught Dong Bao how to write. Didn't he look down on Dong Bao as a girl?

Dongbao used the remaining [-] catties of beans, [-] catties to make bean curd, and the remaining [-] catties to make tofu.When the sky was bright, Li Shi and Li Hongqin started to carry the burden on the road. The two of them walked along the way, and the burden changed shoulders several times.Li Hongqin said with a smile: "On the first day, I just ordered tofu curds, and I didn't feel tired at all. Now that there are more and more things, it's really a bit difficult!"

Mrs. Li also nodded, she didn't feel tired grinding ten catties of beans, but today she woke up and ground thirty catties of beans in one go, and then filtered the bean dregs. "This is hard work too! Sis, after finishing today, you can take Xiuyu home, you will be exhausted in the past two days."

Li Hongqin put on a straight face, "What do you mean? Do you think I'm your own sister? Can you finish all these beans by yourself?"

"Auntie won't be allowed to leave!" Dong Bao walked aside and said with a smile, "I'll give Auntie the starting salary, including room and board for you and Sister Xiuyu!"

"What wages and no wages!" Li Hongqin laughed heartily, "Don't see Auntie, I can't help you with money, can I help you with work?"

Dong Bao listened with a smile, she didn't intend to let Li Hongqin and Zhang Xiuyu go, there were too few people she could rely on in this world, Li Hongqin and Zhang Xiuyu were one of the partners she planned to cooperate with for a long time, and she also planned to pay them wages.Dongbao has calculated that the tofu curds may not be sold much more. It is estimated that twenty catties of beans a day are enough. Although Yuanshui Town is a big town, there are only so many people who come to the market every day, like Ta People in Gouji only go to the fair once every ten days and half a month, and are busy at home most of the time.

After the accumulation of the previous two days, today's business is better than yesterday, and Li Shi and Li Hongqin are so busy that they don't even have time to wipe off their sweat.

Quanzi and Shuanzi also came to the fair to watch the excitement, and the two greedy little boys had the idea of ​​mixing bean curd with them, and Dongbao filled a large bowl for each of them.When the two of them ate upside down and burped their stomachs, Dong Bao smiled and said to the two, "Is the bean curd delicious? How many bowls of bean curd have you eaten? Have you ever calculated how much it is?"

Looking at Dong Bao's eyes almost smiling into two golden ingots, Quan Zi and Shuan Zi instinctively felt the cool wind blowing behind them.

(End of this chapter)