The next day, as soon as the rooster crowed for the first time, Geng Qiu and Ah Hao were already ready to go out, and the third aunt got up early to make breakfast, neither of them had time to eat, so they went out directly with cakes and hot tea, and ate while walking on the road. This time, because the things to be sold were too heavy, both mules were dispatched.

One head was carrying about 300 pounds of belongings. Two big, one small, three wild boars, five pheasants, six hares, ten big fish, half a basket of wild mountain treasures, plus ten catties of homemade persimmons. The total number of zeros and zeros added up to about 600 catties, and in order to cover up, the mule was also covered with two bundles of firewood and grass. Geng Qiu and Ah Hao were so empty that they didn't have to bear weights.

"Hey, how much silver do you think you can sell for so many things?" Geng Qiu asked, he didn't know how much these things were worth, so he had to ask Ah Hao. Although the family had already discussed it last night, looking at so many things at this time, Geng Qiu was always a little upset in his heart, hoping to exchange for more silver, after all, the family relied on this income. It is impossible to hunt in the mountains this winter, and although it has not snowed yet, the mountains have begun to freeze.

"There must be a hundred or eight taels of silver. What do you want to do so much? Ah Hao said. He didn't think much about Geng Qiu, so he felt that it was good to have something to eat, and it was good to be able to exchange it for some silver. Besides, the surplus food at home and the wild things to be sold are enough for the family to live for a few months. At that time, it was already spring, and it was completely possible to go into the mountains to hunt again.

The two arrived at the market town at the busiest time. There were people coming and going in the market town, and Geng Qiu didn't want to sell them directly and scattered, but he was going to go to the shop or restaurant to ask the price of the mountain goods, even if it was cheaper, he had to hurry up. With so many things, I am afraid that some people will not have bad intentions.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way." Suddenly, a panicked voice shouted, startling Geng Qiu to look around. But there are a lot of people here, and the sounds of bargaining, selling, and children's cries are mixed together, and no one can hear this sound.

"Oh no, you hurry up and step aside." Ah Hao shouted, and Geng Qiu found that on the slope in front of him, a carriage rushed over, obviously the horse was frightened, the carriage was rolling, only four or five hundred meters away from the crowd.

"Get out of the way." Geng Qiu shouted, pulling a few people around him to the side. Most of the people around the area realized that the carriage was already rushing into the streets. There were all sorts of screams from the crowd, people were running in all directions, it was a chaos, things were knocked over everywhere, and the crowd was scattered and screaming to make a way.

"Grandpa, grandpa." Suddenly, a small child screamed and fell in the middle of the road. Seeing the carriage rushing over, the child's life was in danger. Geng Qiu was so frightened that the whole person froze, Ah Hao beside him had already rushed over, stepped into the middle of the road in a few big steps, twisted the child with one hand, and threw it at the crowd, Geng Qiu subconsciously reached out to pick up the child, although the child was not big, but this force was not small, although he caught the child, but was rushed back again and again by this force, and the people behind him were knocked into a ball by him. Fortunately, no one fell.

But Ah Hao jumped reflexively, grabbed the horse and jumped up, and galloped away with the carriage. Everyone was stunned, and few people could see his movements clearly, and the child in Geng Qiu's arms didn't make a sound at all, probably stunned. An old man of about fifty years old rushed over with a blank face, pressed the child up and down a few times, and shouted anxiously: "Xiaobao, Xiaobao." After a while, the boy opened his eyes, saw the old man, and threw himself into his arms crying.

Geng Qiu hurriedly let go, the old man held the child and comforted him, the child was only frightened and not injured. And this is still a bold child, and he actually quieted down very quickly. When the old man saw that the child was fine, he thanked Geng Qiu again and again. The people around him also started talking about it. Geng Qiu could talk about these things, but he just looked around for Ah Hao and the carriage.

I don't know how long it took, Ah Hao and a middle-aged man in his forties came over, and the middle-aged man was followed by three strong men. "Ah Hao, it's okay." Geng Qiu grabbed him and asked repeatedly.

"I'm fine." Ah Hao smiled.

"Thanks to this little brother, the horse was stopped." The middle-aged man also said with a frightened face, and then said to the old man: "I'm really sorry, the child is not injured." In fact, he had already seen the child well, and he was probably frightened. So I didn't plan to identify myself, and I was going to say something nice and spend some money to settle the matter. The middle-aged man took out a money bag, put it on the child in the old man's arms, and comforted him with kind words. The old man didn't have the heart to argue with him, and only cared about comforting the child.

The middle-aged man secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said to the people around him: "Today we can't stand everyone, it's really frightened." Everyone's loss, we are all with you. ”

After speaking, the three big men behind him also took out the money and began to distribute it to the people around him, everyone knew that they were not ordinary people by looking at them, and they didn't dare to provoke them. Anyway, they all got high compensation, and they didn't have much to do, and they quickly dispersed. Even most people don't dare to stay and watch the excitement.

The middle-aged man pulled Ah Hao and Geng Qiu instead, he had already asked Ah Hao along the way, and knew that they were here to sell prey, so he bluntly said that he wanted to buy it. Geng Qiu and Ah Hao untied the firewood and grass on the mule, and the two wild boars were exposed. The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Sure enough, it's a good thing, such a big wild boar can only be hunted by a good skill like a little brother." ”

He took out another money bag and whispered, "Here are thirty taels of silver, and I want these two wild boars." "In fact, two wild boars are worth more than six taels of silver, and people are so generous to thank them.

Geng Qiu and Ah Hao didn't say a word, took the money bag, and the middle-aged man smiled with satisfaction. Two of the three strong men behind him came over, one carrying a wild boar. The other person followed behind the middle-aged man and did not make a sound. The middle-aged man bowed his hand to Ah Hao Geng Qiu and the old man, expressed his gratitude, and left with the people. If it weren't for the urgency of the matter, middle-aged people would want to win over Ah Hao.

After the group left, the old man said to Geng Qiu and Ah Hao: "This grandson of Lao Er is the two lives saved. Anyway, I have to invite the two benefactors back to sit down. We also need the rest of your goods. The two thought about it, they were originally going to sell things, so they simply followed him.

After walking about two miles, away from the noisy market, they turned into a wide and neat stone road, and along the way, they rarely encountered pedestrians, and it was clear that the people who lived here were either rich or expensive. Not long after, a huge courtyard appeared in front of me, and the tall houses with blue bricks and blue tiles were hidden among the layers of trees. The old man took them to a small door, obviously this is a side door, there are two old women by the door boring swallowing melon seeds, chatting around, seeing the old man, hurriedly said respectfully: "The big housekeeper is back." ”

"Yes. Someone was called to drag the goods from the two little brothers' mules to the back. By the way, feed the mules. The old man commanded with an expressionless face. But he invited Geng Qiu and Ah Hao to go inside.

Geng Qiu and Ah Hao followed the old man through two quiet mezzanines, and the people they met on the road were all respectfully giving the old man luggage, and no one said anything when they saw Geng Qiu and Ah Hao. Geng Qiu secretly thought in his heart, the old man's status in this mansion is not low, and these servants are obviously very well-behaved. Not long after walking, they came to a small courtyard with a separate door. Knowing that the old man was a big housekeeper, Geng Qiu and Ah Hao were not surprised to see that he had his own small courtyard.

"The butler is back." There were only two boys in the courtyard, the eldest was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and the younger one was about eleven or twelve. One of the older ones is about a teenager who is teaching something smaller. Obviously, these two people are also subordinates in this house.

"Take Bao'er to Lang Zhong to take a look, I'm frightened outside." The old man instructed the big young man, and earnestly invited Geng Qiu and Ah Hao to sit down. The eldest boy took Bao'er away, but the younger one quickly called warm water, and the old man personally asked them to wipe their hands and faces, and of course he himself wiped his hands and washed his face. The boy did not wait for them, and soon brought tea and snacks. He left quietly.

The three of them gossiped over tea. Ah Hao didn't like to talk very much, so most of the time the old man was asking, and Geng Qiu was answering, at this time, everyone knew each other. Each other knows some basic information about the other. This old man's surname is Zhou, and this Zhou Mansion is a small courtyard of the eunuch's family, and there is usually only one master who lives here to recuperate. Of course, they live in the front courtyard, and there are several floors inside and out. Far from here.

After drinking three pots of good tea, Steward Zhou took advantage of the convenience and went out for a while, and Geng Qiu and Ah Hao sat for a while. After Steward Zhou came back, he took Ah Hao and Geng Qiu back the same way, their mules were full of food and drink, and the basket still contained a lot of things. originally thought they could leave, but they didn't expect Steward Zhou to take them to the restaurant to eat and thank them.

"No, no. Our house is far away from here, so we have to hurry early in the morning. Geng Qiu excused himself. After such a delay, although everything was sold smoothly, it was not too early. If you don't leave, you'll have to travel at night. The lights are dark, the weather is cold, and it is not easy to walk at night.

Hearing him say this, Steward Zhou was embarrassed to insist, but he took out a money bag and said: "Our master also likes to eat wild things, especially the big fish, next time, he will come to me directly, and tell the two mothers-in-law in the concierge that Steward Zhou said that it was good." They'll bring you in, even if I'm not in the house. Someone will look at the goods and settle accounts for you. Here are ten taels of silver, which is the money for the purchase. There's something in the basket, which is a little bit of my heart. Thank you so much today. I'll be sure to come back another day, and we'll have a few glasses of wine. ”

Geng Qiu said a few polite words, and Steward Zhou said with a smile: "I have a total of one grandson, and I really look heavier than my eyes." Bao'er is usually quite well-behaved, and Ming'er brought your children over to play, the two are of the same age, and they can just play in one place. ”

Hearing this, Geng Qiu was no longer polite, took the silver and left quickly with Ah Hao. Steward Zhou looked at their backs and nodded slightly, he was still very satisfied with the two of them, and felt that these two people were not at all like the villagers in the mountains. Geng Qiu is not a native of ancient times, and he does not have any natural awe for the upper class, and Ah Hao's original identity is not low. The two of them didn't seem timid at all in the Zhou Mansion, and they were both generous and decent.