The waves of the harbor in the distance, wave after wave crashing against the trestle, the sound is in the ears, I don't know whose sweet dreams are disturbed. Occasionally, the sea breeze blew, mixed with a low whisper.

Early the next morning, not long after the sun just crossed the sea, Dong Rong got up, freshened up, carefully checked that the outfit was not bad, and then went to the front hall of the inn. The young man and another companion were busy wiping the tables and chairs, sweeping the floor and dusting, and when they saw Dong Rong coming in, they hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

"Guest officer, I slept well last night, why did you get up so early?"

Dong Rong nodded with a smile and responded, "I suddenly changed places, and I was still a little uncomfortable, so I woke up early." No, I was in a hurry to eat and buy some seafood, and then I hurried home. ”

"Objectively, he is a diligent person, come on, what do you want to eat for breakfast, I'll give you Zhang Luo. It is estimated that after eating a good meal and drinking a cup of tea, the shops will be opened. The young man was busy carefully wiping the table in front of Dong Rong while enthusiastically instructing.

Dong Rong thanked him and ordered a porridge with shrimp, two steamed buns and a plate of side dishes. The young man smiled and ran to the back kitchen to order, and then he was still busy gossiping with Dong Rong.

Dong Rong glanced at the empty lobby and asked as if very casually, "Little second brother, do you know that there is a Dong family's seafood shop in our port?" ”

The young man seemed to be shocked when he heard this, and before he could answer, another young man interjected, "This guest officer, the Dong family's seafood shop has been closed for a few months. Why are you still looking for the Dong family, and you are not afraid of getting into trouble? ”

"The Dong family is closed, when did it happen? Why would you get into trouble if you buy goods from the Dong family? Dong Rong made a look of surprise, half explaining and half curious, and said, "My wife has a pearl hairpin, which she bought from the Dong family's jewelry building. She often remembers that the Dong family is benevolent and righteous in doing business, and does not deceive. No, as soon as I said that I wanted to come out to sell @ sell seafood, she shouted that I must let me find the Dong family first. Why is this Dong family still closed? ”

The young man had been observing Dong Rong's expression before, but he didn't notice anything unusual, so he came up to him and said, "This guest officer, you don't know anything. The Dong family had an accident a few months ago, and it is said that the two owners died, and all the shops and restaurants of the Dong family were closed in a few days. There are also a few seafood shops on this street that have a good reputation, so I think you should buy them separately. ”

Dong Rong frowned and said suspiciously, "Didn't the owner of the Dong family say that it was the prince of our Great Qi, and if such a big thing happened, the imperial court would not have an explanation?" Why did you close all the shops, as if you were evacuating? ”

The young man looked around to see that there was no one, so he lowered his voice and persuaded him, "This guest officer, it's nothing to say here, don't open your mouth more when you go out." As the old saying goes, the wall is down, and everyone pushes it. The kings of Zhongshan are dead, what can the court do if they are angry?

I heard that the Qincha who came from the capital lived directly in Fucheng and didn't come at all. Only one of the Qingke brought dozens of soldiers to pretend to hang around, looted a lot of things, and went back. If this is the case, it is nothing, and the Dong family will not be closed. Later, I somehow offended the Maitreya sect again, and there were often sectarians who blocked the door of the Dong family's shop and insulted them, and I heard that the Dong family was asked to pay 1,000 taels of incense oil money every month. The Dong family is also a tough person, if it was placed in someone else's house, the shop would have been sold a long time ago, and the Dong family would have closed down directly. ”

Another young man heard what they said lively, and also came over and said, "That's it, the Dong family's shop is in the middle of this street, the location is good, and many people are worried about taking over." The Dong family is wealthy, and they have no intention of selling it at all, so I don't know how many people are angry. ”

Dong Rong nodded while listening, and responded, "This Dong family is a powerful one, and my wife loves to eat canned pineapples sold by the Dong family's shop." She paused at this point and asked, "However, then the King of Zhongshan is really dead, could it be that someone fished out his body?" ”

"Not really," said the young man, shrugging his shoulders, "but it is said that it was an incident on the sea, and it was a stormy day, so it is estimated that it will not be easy to survive." Now at this time, I am afraid that the corpses have been eaten by fish and shrimp. ”

The other young man had a different opinion and retorted, "I don't think so, the King of Zhongshan is a powerful person, maybe he won't die, and now I don't know where to hide to recuperate." When his injuries are healed, all the people who fell into the well and bullied the Dong family will be unlucky. ”

"What do you two say? The meal is ready, why don't you bring it over quickly! The fat shopkeeper of the inn stuck his head out of the back kitchen and scolded the two young men who only cared about gossip and forgot to do their work. The two young men hurriedly smiled and grinned, one continued to clean, and the other went to serve the meal.

Dong Rong smiled apologetically at the two young men, and took advantage of the fat shopkeeper's absence, and gave them more than a dozen copper plates, and sure enough, the two young men cleverly hid the money, and they were all happy like little mice who had stolen oil.

Dong Rong had something in her heart, and her appetite was naturally not good, so she only drank a bowl of porridge and went out. At this time, many shops on the street have opened their doors, and some barefoot fishermen carry their burdens to deliver fresh fish and shrimp to the restaurant. There was seawater seeping out of the burden and falling on the bluestone road, causing pedestrians to shout and curse. A few children were naughty and played with splashes, and were soon pulled home by the old lady.

Dong Rong pretended to be an ordinary vendor, walked silently on the side of the road, and soon saw the Dong family's shop with the door closed. The doors and windows that were originally freshly painted were splashed with some sewage by someone, and the shriveled vegetable leaves hung on the door locks, occasionally blown by the wind, and it was extremely bleak. The plaque on the lintel was also messed up by sharp blades such as swords, and it was barely possible to see the original four words, "Dong family seafood".

Dong Rong felt pain in her heart, although she didn't run these shops herself, but all the shops in the commercial house had poured her heart and soul into it, and she ended up like this, how could she not be sad?

God's heart is really a little bad today, just when Dong Rong was looking at the façade of the Dong family's shop in a daze, five or six big men wearing wide robes and bare heads came from afar on the street. If they are ruffians, they are dressed like monks, but if they are monks, this appearance of bare chests and backs, picking teeth, and shaking their arms is really unseemly.

But no matter who they are, the effect of this quiet street is first-class. Many pedestrians saw them from afar and hurriedly avoided them, but the shopkeeper of some shops came out with a bitter face, holding some silver taels in both hands, and the leading man accepted the silver, or scolded a few words, or simply raised his legs and kicked them, and then continued to move forward with his men.

When he walked to the door of Dong's shop, the big man spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm, and after thinking about it, he untied his belt and snorted at the door. The big men who followed not only did not stop them, but shouted loudly.

Dong Rong was so angry that she clenched her fists tightly, at this moment she hated that she was a weak woman, if she knew some martial arts, she would definitely come forward and fight them all over the ground looking for teeth.

Xu is expression was too angry, and the shopkeeper of a seafood shop next to her was a kind one, secretly pulled her sleeve, and shouted while staring hard, "Oh, this guest officer, we have the most complete seafood in our shop, you are here to come to me." Quick, quick, let's sit down in the house and have a cup of tea. ”

Dong Rong's eyes swept over a few big men and turned their heads to look over, so he hurriedly responded, "I won't be polite when the shopkeeper says this, I just want to sell some seafood and go back to my hometown to sell, just take a look here." ”

"Okay, guest officer, please."

The two entered the shop while talking, and the old shopkeeper leaned on the window and secretly looked at the big men walking away, so he breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head and asked in a low voice while beckoning Dong Rong to sit down, "This little brother, you have something to do with the Dong family's shop, right?" Even if you are angry again, you can't show it in front of those Maitreya disciples, be careful of getting into trouble. ”

Dong Rong tried her best to endure her anger, bowed her hand to the old shopkeeper, and whispered at the end, "Shopkeeper, my old lady was seriously ill back then, but fortunately, this Dong family's shop rewarded medicine every month, so she survived." The old lady always asked me to repay the favor, and now that I have saved up money and want to sell some seafood back, I am naturally the first to find the Dong family's shop. But how can these people be so rude? ”

The old shopkeeper shook his head and sighed, "If you want to say that this Dong family is also very good with our old neighbors." The shopkeeper Chen and his men are also enthusiastic and righteous, but unfortunately, something happened to their owner, and they didn't know where they offended these Maitreya disciples, so they came to the door every day to make trouble, and they had to close the door. This level has been closed for a few months, and I don't know if there will be a time when it will be opened. ”

Dong Rong drank a cup of tea at this time, and she was relieved, thinking that the old shopkeeper couldn't find out anything here, so she picked up some cheap goods such as dried kelp, dried fish, and seaweed in the shop, and gathered a few boxes for only seven or eight taels of silver. The old shopkeeper didn't dislike the small business, he still greeted her with a smile, and at the end he helped hire a carriage in a familiar carriage shop.

Dong Rong took the carriage back to the inn, took the package, paid the money, and went all the way out of the city to Binzhou.

The driver who drove the car was only forty years old, and he often delivered goods to Binzhou, and he was a joker. Talking and laughing with Dong Rong along the way was also lively. The distance of 300 miles, the two of them arrived in only four days. Dong Rong found an inn to live in, and in addition to the fare, he gave dozens of dollars more, which was regarded as thanking him for his hard work all the way.

The coachman was very happy, helped Dong Rong unload the box in the backyard and left. Dong Rong was so anxious that she couldn't know the current situation at home immediately, so she found the innkeeper, talked briefly, and sold these boxes of seafood for five taels of silver.

The inn entertains guests every day, and they have to buy these seafood every other month or two, and now Dong Rong has delivered them to his home, and the price is half cheaper, so the old shopkeeper is naturally willing to take over. He happily accepted the box and found a clean room for Dong Rong that was easy to enter and exit.

Dong Rong washed up briefly and ate some food to cushion her stomach, and then quietly waited for the night to fall. At this time, it is almost winter, and even if Jiangnan is warmer, it will be much colder than summer. Dong Rong finally looked forward to the fact that it was completely dark, so she added a shirt, and then walked out of the back door of the inn. R638