Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 424

Fang's alley, outside Dong E's house.

The foreign stewards of several shops stood at the door, followed by young men leading mules and donkeys, blocking half of the road tightly.

When Jueluo came out of Dong'e's mansion that day, he only carried a jewelry box. How many things could there be in it?Although when their grandparents first arrived here, Cao Yong had sent a housekeeper to deliver rice and food, but he felt that the Luo family had always been very strong, and he had troubled the Cao family quite a bit, so they declined if they had the face to continue taking advantage.

The old man is thinking of selling a few pieces of jewelry, just enough to cover the expenses, and keep the rest to buy the dowry for his granddaughter when the time comes.Although Dong E's family has been in decline, it is becoming more and more difficult to find a well-matched marriage, but it is not easy for the granddaughter to go out empty-handed.

Unexpectedly, within a few days after leaving the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, the old man fell ill.I invited several old doctors and prescribed a lot of medicine prescriptions, but they still didn't work, so I could only use various good medicines to resist.

It's really a blessing, and a misfortune never comes singly. When the Dragon Boat Festival comes, all the money and food shops will come here in a swarm.

Just as those people thought, even if the old lady sued her son and grandson for death, she would still belong to Dong E's family, so she would naturally have to pay back the debt.

Even if there are kind-hearted people among them, it is pitiful to know that there are no men to support the family here, only grandparents and grandchildren are left.But in the end, it is a buyer and seller, sympathy is sympathy, money is money, and no one's capital is blown by the wind.

Jue Luoshi acted upright and would not renege on his debts, so he asked Shen De to settle the bills for these shops.

Shen De is Nanny Shen's son, he is in his twenties, and now he is in charge of shopping.

Although Jue Luo gave all the money from selling the jewelry to Shen De, so that he could pay off the debts outside, but how could it be possible?

It’s okay to talk about vegetable shops, oil and salt shops, fruit shops, butcher shops, etc. From the first month to the time before the accident at Dong E’s house, in four months, some were 30 taels, and some were 80 taels. superior.Silks, jewellery, tea, and antiques are the big ones, and there is no money to fill them in for a while.

Jue Luo Shi was not in good health, and no one dared to tell her.Jinghui once went to her aunt's house, and Ergenjue Luoshi didn't want her niece to pay back the bad debts of Dong E's family. After all, Gali still has her own daughter, so there is no need for her niece to pay back the debts.What she meant was to take her niece and daughter to the Fucha mansion, so as not to suffer and suffer poverty outside, and to be wronged by her stature.

Jinghui wanted to guard her grandmother, so how could she go to her aunt by herself?Seeing that Irgen felt that Luo could not persuade her, he offered 100 taels of silver, but it was still a big hole.

Jinghui was so anxious that she had no choice but to sell her grandmother's leftover jewelry, but she didn't get her approval, and she didn't dare to make a decision easily, so she had to ask Shen De, Chang Gui and the others to negotiate an extension with the shop outside.

The stewards of those shops also saw that Dong E's family lived in this small house, and only the old ones and the small ones were left. I'm afraid they don't have much money.Fearing that their grandparents would run away, they sent people to watch here day and night, thinking that they could take back some of it.

After Cao Song found out, even though he brought all the private houses collected by Yuqin, and found two more display pawns, he collected two 300 taels of silver and brought them back, but he only paid back a fraction, and there were more than a thousand taels. account.

Today, when Cao Song arrived on horseback, he saw the mess in front of Dong E's house, and many neighbors on the road came out to point and point, and he felt very unhappy.

He reined in the horse, took two quick steps, and shouted: "Hey, what are you doing here, are there any rules?"

Those who often ask for bills, because they have seen Cao Song come twice, can be regarded as knowing him, knowing that he is the second master of the Cao family.Seeing that he was well dressed, with big bags and small bags, and looked very luxurious, the stewards smiled and flattered him.

Cao Song got off his horse, and Shen De had already stepped forward to take the reins.

In the month since the grandparents of Dong E's family moved here, Cao Song came here not only ten times, but also eight times, mostly to help with small and scattered things.Shen De is about the same age as him, so he is not considered a stranger.

The foreign debts of Dong E's family have been weighing on Cao Song's heart these days, like a mirror in his heart.He stood at the door, rolled up his sleeves, and looked at the people in front of him.

Well, there are four silk shops, jewelry shops, tea shops, and antique shops. The four managers here seem to be here.

Seeing Cao Song's arrogant and arrogant appearance, these stewards were a little dazed.Although they dared to come to ask for debts, they dared not stretch out their fists, after all, the other party was a bannerman.

When Cao Song came, he had already thought of a countermeasure, turned his head to Shen De and said: "Please invite these few people to watch tea in the front hall, I have something to explain!"

Seeing him like this, Shen De hesitated for a while.

He also knows that Dong E's family has reached this point now, and relatives and friends are avoiding it. The second master of the Cao family is really a warm-hearted and good person.Therefore, he said to the stewards: "Several people, please come and watch tea in the small front hall!"

Several stewards looked at each other in blank dismay, Mo Shu handed over the supplements and medicinal materials to Chang Gui, and followed Cao Song with his wallet in hand.This is the silver just exchanged at the bank. Cao Song put away 20 taels, and the remaining 300 taels are here.

When he arrived at the front hall, Cao Song was very rude, and sat in the center boldly, pointing to the chairs on both sides, and asked the stewards to sit down.

After a while, Shen De brought tea.Cao Song picked up the teacup, drank it in two or three gulps, wandered outside for a while, bought a lot of things, and sweated a lot.

Putting down the teacup, Cao Song looked at the crowd, without the usual smile on his face, and said in an official tone: "Since the stewards are from serious businessmen, they must be aware of the "Law of the Qing Dynasty". Killing one's mother is a heinous crime, and it is also righteous. Where does this law stipulate that the aunt must pay the debt for the son of Yijue?"

The several stewards did not let go of this place because the other shops in front had to pay money and had hope.Now, after hearing what Cao Song meant, they all changed their expressions when they saw that they didn't intend to pay back the debt.

One of the stewards laughed and said, "Second Master Cao can't say that, even if the old lady doesn't have to pay her son back, isn't there still a nephew?"

I heard about Jinghui.Cao Song was restless for a while, his face was livid, he glanced at the man with a sneer, and said: "I was raised by my parents, since you have found this place, the family status of the Duke's Mansion should be well known, and there is a Kari over there." My dear daughter. This dear daughter is free and easy, but I want my niece to pay off the debt, or we will go to the Infantry Commander’s Yamen to judge the ceremony!”

Those in charge are just bullying the weak and fearing the hard. No matter how deserted the Duke's Mansion is, it's still the Duke's Mansion. How can they come to the door?There are only two women's families left here, and they dare to be so presumptuous without a man to support the family.

Now, seeing that Cao Song's words are getting tougher, the stewards don't know how to answer.

After a while of silence, one of the stewards said awkwardly: "Second Master Cao, this is a matter of Dong E's family. Since the old lady has already said that she wants to pay us back, then there is no reason for you to stop me, right?"

Cao Song snorted coldly, looked at the crowd, and said, "I know that it's not easy for you to buy and sell people. It's not easy for you to do business with capital. The old lady is so kind. Look at yourselves. You just paid back [-]% a few days ago. In the past two days, the door has been blocked again, and you must be satisfied if you want to make people get tired of crooked and don't pay it back, right?"

Seeing that his tone was relaxed, the several stewards all smiled and flattered him.

Cao Song got a headache from the quarrel, patted the table, and said, "Shut up, sir!"

The room immediately became quiet, Cao Song glanced at everyone, and said: "Master, if you want to, you can do it; if you don't want to, then I will let you go. If you dare to talk at the door again, then I will Directly ask someone to invite the patrolling battalion to come over and accuse you of a crime of disturbing the people!" At the end, there was a bit of coldness on his face.

The stewards also knew that if Mrs. Dong E didn't want to pay this account, they would have nothing to do.Seeing Cao Song coming forward, he didn't dare to annoy him, and said, "Second Lord, what do you think?"

Cao Song knocked on the table with his fingers, and said: "A few days ago, the debts of several families and four families paid off 240 taels. Now there are 960% 360 taels left. Now I will pay you [-] taels. The remaining [-]% , then [-]% for the Mid-Autumn Festival, [-]% for the New Year’s Day plus interest." Speaking of this, with a bit of impatience on his face, he said: "Okay, just write a receipt to collect the money; if not, then hurry up and get out of my father. I am still busy. I don’t have time to waste time with you.”

Having said that, how could the stewards refuse to comply?Earlier, they all thought that collecting three or four would be a great achievement, and the rest could only be bad debts, but now it is too much better.Besides, Cao Song has already explained that they are not allowed to come to the house to make trouble again, so they are somewhat afraid.

Seeing that everyone nodded, Cao Song felt a little proud, and called out that Shen De had brought the pen and paper, counted [-]% of the money from each shop, asked several people to print receipts, and divided the bag of money.

The few in charge got something, nodded and walked away.

Cao Song took out the remaining 20 taels of silver from his sleeve and handed it to Shen De, saying: "You collect the money first and treat it as food money. Since the old lady is sick, don't save on food." , not short of that few money."

Shen De didn't dare to accept it, and said, "Second Master, how can this be done? Our girl knows about it, so I want to talk about it."

Cao Songgan wanted to speak, but someone said at the door: "Since the second cousin sent it, you can keep it first."

When Cao Song heard this voice, his heart trembled, and he looked up, who was it not Jinghui?

Jing Hui was not fat at first, but now she is serving the sick in front of Jue Luo's bed, and she has lost more and more weight. Her chin is pointed, and she looks very cute.

Cao Song stood up, glanced at it, and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look any further, only feeling his heart "thumping" and "thumping" about to jump out of his throat.

Jinghui glanced at Cao Song, suppressed the pain in her heart, squatted down, and said, "Thank you, second cousin!"

Cao Song blushed slightly, a little at a loss, and said, "You're welcome, cousin, please get up, it's just a little effort."

Jinghui stood up in response, glanced at Cao Song, and then looked away abruptly.

Although she had some hopes in her heart at the beginning, but as time passed and the situation changed, she knew the truth of being in the right family, so she stopped thinking.

Seeing Jinghui entered the hall, Cao Song realized that it was impolite for him to sit on the main seat, so he quickly stood sideways, but he didn't know what to say.

Seeing that he was only standing without making a sound, Jinghui said, "Second cousin, please sit down!"

Hearing the words "Second Cousin", Cao Song felt that his body was about to go limp, so he answered in a daze, and searched for a chair randomly to make it.

Jinghui didn't sit down right away, she took a palm-sized brocade box in her hand, thought for a while, and said, "Second cousin Gao Yi, Jinghui is very grateful. It's just that I have troubled my second cousin a lot, so it's really hard to let her go." Second Cousin spends money, here..." As he spoke, he took two steps forward, handed over the brocade box in his hand, and said: "Here are two pieces of jewelry, which are left by Er Niang, Jinghui..."

Inside the brocade box is a Maitreya pendant made of Hetian white jade, and a pair of white jade bracelets inlaid with gold and jade.

These two pieces of jewelry are not only the relics of Jing Hui's mother, but also the pendant that she has never left since she was a child.Jing Hui really didn't want to pawn or sell it off, but she didn't want to spend Cao Song's money for nothing, so she pretended it and took it out.

Cao Song had stood up, looked at the jewelry in the brocade box in a daze, and heard Jinghui say: "...Jinghui has nothing to thank the second cousin, these two jewelry will be given to the second cousin, and will be given to the cousin after she enters the door. Sister-in-law, add makeup!"

Hearing what she said, Cao Song felt panicked and breathless.

He raised his head in a panic, seeing Jinghui's indifferent expression, her body exuding coldness and loneliness, he just felt very distressed.

Unknowingly, he stretched out his hand, pulled her wrist, and murmured: "Ugly girl!"

This was the nickname Cao Song got when he was mischievous and bullying Jinghui when everyone was in Yizhou the year before last.

As if being stabbed by a needle, Jinghui took two steps back, retracted her hand from Cao Song, bit her lip, and said nothing...

*
Xicheng, Cao Mansion, Huaiyuan, Shangfang.

Mrs. Zhao Jia sat in the hall, looked at the jade dragon kneeling on the ground, and said: "Tell me, where did the second master go? Don't tell me you don't know, you servant girl. I have heard of it. Since the jade spider is so charming After you die, the second master has always loved you..."

(End of this chapter)