in spring

Chapter 314

Lu's mother came over with tea in her hands, and asked her husband in a puzzled way, "What's the matter? That man is just talking nonsense. If you ask someone to hear you, you'll hear it. It doesn't matter."

Lu Yougui shook his head and said: "Although we have left the Marquis Mansion and the Dong Mansion, and become citizens again, we are the sons of the Li family after all, and we will never get rid of this name in this life. Now the lords and wives of the Dong Mansion Think highly of me, willing to ask me to make some money, we live a better life, we should be grateful for the kindness of the masters of the East Mansion. If you tell that bastard to spread such words, people in the Hou Mansion or the East Mansion will hear it, and I will be ashamed It's still a trivial matter, I'm afraid that if the two governments pursue it, our family will not be able to afford it!"

Chun Ying was a little disapproving: "What's the matter? When we left the Hou's Mansion, everyone in the back street saw what it was like. Who would think that we left with a lot of money? After going to the East Mansion, Dad After a few months at Zhuangtou, and now he has done a few errands for Dongfu, it is not surprising that he has some money in his hand. Shop, others don’t know how much you are worth. I’m only worried about that person’s rambunctiousness. If it really spreads, it will be difficult for Dad to get another intermediary business in the future. After all, with this reputation, even if you No matter how honest you are, people will think that you have deducted a lot, and if you keep lowering the price, won't you suffer a loss?"
Lu Yougui thought for a moment, it was indeed so, he gritted his teeth and said: "That man is a famous shabby householder, but because his sister became the aunt of the master's young master, she gained face and became the shopkeeper of the silk shop under the master's name. He didn't understand He also likes to put on an all-knowing appearance, and when others tell him he is wrong, he will scold them back, so his colleagues in Beijing disdain to make friends with him. His shop is just in the On a street, I used to quarrel with me a lot. I thought I was watching a monkey show, and I never looked at him at all. I didn't expect to be bitten by him now. You are right, although he is famous Breaking your mouth, it’s hard to keep people who don’t know the truth, and it’s hard to deal with me as a greedy person.” After thinking about it, he sighed: “If I had known this, I should have avoided him as soon as I saw him. , What else do you say hello to him?!"

Chun Ying comforted: "Father doesn't have to worry too much. At first I thought he had some background, so I was worried that he would bring trouble to Dad. Now it sounds like he is a jerk known to everyone, so don't worry about it." No matter what he said, just treat him as a fart. The masters and wives of Dongfu know about us. Last time Mr. Xu heard the price quoted by his father, didn’t he still say that you are kind? They trust you and will never listen to others. Gossiping makes people suspicious. As for the Hou's Mansion, our family has already left, so what are the people in charge of that mansion saying!"

Lu Yougui felt a little more at ease in his heart, but he always felt that things would not go so smoothly, but after a while, he couldn't think of any negligence, so he had to put this matter aside temporarily, saying: "Forget it, it's always troublesome That is. We have been released with the grace of the master's family. After all, we still have the reputation of being a family member, but we have to worry about alarming the master's family for any trivial matter. People who live in this place will not have to worry about their lives, but both the Hou Mansion and the Dong Mansion have power, so naturally they should please what they can please."

Lu's mother nodded in agreement, and then pushed her daughter: "Go back to the house to say hello, the second old lady loves you, you should say good things, no matter what happens, people will not embarrass your father." Chunying frowned , knowing that some ideas are not so easy to change, so I had to smile copiously, and changed the topic: "Father went to inquire today, do you have any definite news?"

Lu Yougui said: "Sure enough, there are shop servants who are going to sell, but there are few officials who have been convicted, only a few, and none of them are the people on the cards, so there are not many decent ones in their hands. I invited Catcher Xing to have a drink and inquired about it. There is only one good shop in Xisi Pailou, and the shop is quite big, but the price is not cheap. The head said, if I really want to buy one or two places, I will wait patiently for a while, and there will be better ones later. Of course, the inner treasury of Kewang's Mansion has been taken back, but the Liang family and other ten big families, under the name The shop occupies almost half of Beijing city, and when the time comes to sell them together, the price may not be half of what it is today."

Chunying smiled and said: "Let's take it easy, we're not in a hurry. Rare things are more expensive. When there are more shops sold by officials, the prices will come down. Let's just wait for the cheap ones." Yougui nodded, but Lu's mother asked, "Is there a slave for sale? What price?"

Chunying and her father looked at each other, and then asked: "Why did you ask me this? Didn't you say that you don't want to buy people? If you really need people, it's the same to hire two people outside. My sister's family also hires people. Buy people and come back , we will have to pay extra population tax, it’s not cost-effective, besides, we have been slaves to others, so we naturally know the hardships, why bother to make such a statement?”

Lu's mother was a little upset: "Where did I show off? Your sister bought a little girl in the same way, and our family is not poor, but it costs a few dollars, why can't I use it?! There are only you and me in such a big house. I'm taking care of it, how can I take care of it? I have to clean the three main houses, plus your brother's house, and prepare three meals for the whole family, as well as your father's and your brother's clothes. I am so busy every day. Zhandi, although you help me, you have to spend a lot of time just preparing the dowry, how much can you help? Am I still young when you are your mother?!"

Hearing what she said, Chunying couldn't help feeling a little ashamed. Thinking about it, she seemed to be negligent, forgetting that at her mother's age, taking care of such a big house is indeed a bit difficult, so she said: "In that case, let's hire two people. Don’t they live in a few families, all of them are from poor families? I heard that the female relatives of several of them are planning to come out to find work. We hired them, so we know the basics. You can ask my sister, which family’s women are better? Be quick."

Mother Lu curled her lips: "What do you hire them for? You haven't said a few words, who knows if they are reliable? Our family has a lot of valuable things. Why don't you spend a few taels of silver to buy someone back, sign a death contract, and later Just take care of her food and clothing, at most two or three hundred dollars a month. We don’t beat and scold people, so maybe we’ve done a good deed. If we buy an older one who can do needlework, the family Some people also helped me with the sewing. I have spent most of my life, and it is good to enjoy a few years of happiness when I am old."

Chunying opened her mouth, but still closed it. Thinking about it carefully, her mother's request was not too much.She is a person of this era, and naturally she still has the thoughts of this era in her mind: If you have money and a big house, why don't you buy more servants to work?
Lu Yougui pondered for a moment, then said helplessly: "If you want to buy it, buy it, just don't spend too much money, you have to buy something that can work. But there is one thing, if you want to buy it, go to the market and don't go to the official seller. It’s not like you haven’t heard of people who sell like that, we are from the East Mansion, don’t let people take it as an enemy to vent your anger. The people who bought it will live together all day, so there’s no way to guard against it!”

After hearing this, Mother Lu just rejoiced: "It's alright, alright, I know about this kind of thing!"

Chunying sighed, and seeing her mother happily running to her sister to discuss the matter of buying someone, she took the opportunity to say to her father: "Father, I want to go to the Qingrun store, but I'm afraid I won't be able to go back to the capital that day, I don't know Has the yard in Lijiazhuang been sold?"

Lu Yougui was stunned: "What did you go there for? That house has been sold long ago. Even if it hadn't been sold, it would be inconvenient for a girl like you to live there." After a pause, he thought of Hu Fei's house. In the Qingrun store, she smiled slightly: "No one is here, what's the use of looking at the house? It's better to stay at home. After you pass the door, you can look at it as many times as you want."

Chunying blushed: "I... I just went there to have a look... I didn't go alone, I was planning to ask the coachman Tao to pick me up. If I can't come back by then, I'll stay in a hotel."

"That won't work either!" Lu Yougui hurriedly said, "Young girls live alone in a hotel, even if they have a coachman with them, their reputation is not good. Chun'er, you are engaged, stay at home , embroider your dowry, don’t embarrass your family. Let people know in the future, Brother Hu is not good-looking. He is different from us, and he must have stricter rules on these rules.”

Chunying pursed her lips: "What's the matter? I usually go back to Dongfu by car alone, and I often walk around Chongwenmen Street alone. Dad never stopped me once. This time I just went to If it's farther away, why can't it work?"

"What's the matter? You're going out of town this time! If you're riding a horse, you can make it back and forth in the same day, but it's difficult to take a car, unless you just take a look at the place and then you can make it in time."

She still wanted to inquire about the matter with the people in Hu Fei's house, but naturally it was too late, so she could only reluctantly say: "I know." Turning around, she started to think of a way, what excuse could she have to successfully persuade her father to let her go out?

After discussing with his family, Lu Yougui carefully inquired about the prisoner properties that were being sold one after another, looking at its price fluctuations, store locations, surrounding environment, etc.At the same time, the children of other families who went to inquire about him, after meeting him a few times, knew that he was a man of some wealth, and his handling of affairs was sophisticated, so they started to make friends with him. In the eyes of that bastard, they were naturally unhappy .Lu Yougui didn't care about him either, but kept a low-key friendship with others.However, no matter how low-key he is, it is limited. Not long after, Chunying heard at the house of his second uncle and aunt that there was a rumor in the backstreet that Lu Yougui had made a fortune and bought people, land and shops. Where did it come from?
Chunying gritted her teeth secretly, and when she got home to talk, Lu Yougui was silent again, and after a while, she sneered and said: "Let them talk! I'm upright and I'm not afraid of people talking nonsense!" Drink by the glass.

Seeing that he drank too much, Chun Ying hurriedly persuaded him: "Father, what are you doing?! If you really don't care, why do you drink so much wine?!"

"Who drank for a few gossips?!" Lu Yougui hiccupped. "I'm sad for my size! I saw a shop today, and the deposit was paid, but someone stepped in and snatched it. I was not happy to say a few words to him, but he said, I am just a slave. It would be nice if I can eat enough and wear satin clothes. What business do I open? What kind of shop?! But the shop owner believed him and refunded my deposit , with a contemptuous look on his face. I’m just angry, how can I not compare to that person?! Is it possible to sell it to him, and the shopkeeper can charge a few more taels of silver?!”

This is a cliché, so Chunying had no choice but to comfort him: "It's okay, this shop may not be good, won't there be cheaper ones in the future? Let's wait until then."

"This is a half-price shop. It's just that the shop is old. It needs to be refurbished. Even if there are more shops selling such a big shop, it may not be as cheap as it. It's a pity to give up." Lu Yougui sighed, "Forget it, this is fate. I know a lot of people in the capital, and everyone knows my background. If I want to quarrel with someone, I don't have the confidence. Who said that the head of the family is also an official?" He silently He poured the wine for himself, with a look of loneliness in his eyes, and drank it all in one gulp.

After a while, he was drunk.Chunying and his mother worked together to move him back to the room to rest on the bed.Lu's mother fanned the wind and said, "It smells bad. Let him sleep here alone, and you can accompany me to Renshi. Your sister told me in the morning that there are a few good ones there, and I don't know if they are still there. gone."

Chunying froze for a moment, then responded sullenly: "Okay." Listlessly.Mother Lu gave her a sideways glance, then happily took off her apron and prepared to go out.

The so-called people's market is actually on Chongwenmen Street, very close to their home.Most of the servants sold here are "middle and low-level" slaves in the hands of people, and their appearance and skills are mediocre, while most of the high-end goods are sent to the mansions of big families in the middle of Beijing for people to choose, and occasionally there are a few. One is to come here on their own to sell their sons and daughters or their own, and the family members of prisoners who are sold by the government are usually sold in other places, and generally not here.

As soon as Mama Lu arrived at the market, she looked around with great interest, first at the pretty and clever little girl, then at the honest wife with a girly talent, and occasionally at a girl between the ages of eight and 12. boy.Chunying guessed that she was planning to get a companion for Xiaohu, so she couldn't help laughing.

People come and go in the market, and most of the people who come to buy are well-dressed. In huge contrast, it is the down-and-out image of the person being sold.Chunying didn't know if there were any servants here, but judging from the dirty but gorgeously patterned clothes of some of them, it can be deduced that some of them came from extraordinary backgrounds, but it's a pity that they ended up like this.

But she is not the Holy Mother, and she also knows that the Hou Mansion and Dong Mansion where she was born are mostly enemies with those criminal officials.She just followed her mother, avoiding pedestrians, and the mother and daughter walked all the way forward.

After walking for a while, Mother Lu seemed to have taken a fancy to a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old, her face was clean, but her figure was thinner, but her eyes were quite clever.The former immediately asked someone for the price.

Chunying turned her head to look around impatiently, and suddenly found a somewhat familiar figure, with a grass sign stuck in her head, kneeling on the side of the road, bowing her head in silence.There is no one around him, that is to say, he came here privately, but isn't this too strange?
She walked over and carefully asked, "Are you... are you Mo Han?"

(Today is too sleepy, I don't know if I have written a joke...)
(End of this chapter)