"Okay, I hope it's a pleasure to work with the little boy." Xu Chenlin made a decision, fortunately it was only five years instead of signing a death contract, fortunately, it was not a master-servant relationship but cooperation, which made him greatly relieved.

"Childe!" Zhao Qin disagreed very much, so Xu Chenlin admitted it.

Xu Chenlin waved his hand so that Zhao Qin didn't need to say much, took the pen handed over, signed his name on the paper, and stamped the seal letter belonging to the person in charge of the Xu family.

Hong Ming took the deed and presented it, Xi Chao nodded after confirming that it was correct, and Hong Ming took the other half of the chalcedony and handed it to Zhao Qin, who was not very good-looking.

Xu Chen was about to take the medicine, and when he saw the young man turn around and want to walk out, he said: "Little boy go slowly, you and I are the cooperative relationship, whether there should be a certificate." ”

Xu Chenlin is asking for a token, the main purpose is to speculate on the true identity of the young man, and Xi Chao obviously understands this: "What do you want?" "Xi Chao didn't use the word 'son' to call Xu Chenlin because there was no need to be too polite after establishing a relationship, which would be too hypocritical and not conducive to the cooperation between the two sides in the future.

Xu Chenlin was slightly stunned and said with a smile: "What can prove the identity of the little boy is like my jade pendant." "I took off the 'noon' word on my waist and handed it out, I must be honest as a man.

Xi Chao took the jade pendant and put it away, and with a flip of his wrist, there was an extra blood jade small chapter in his hand, which was engraved with the word 'Xi Chao'.

The high-grade blood jade, the small seal the thickness of the thumb, Xu Chenlin took it in his hand and looked through it carefully, and the corners of his lips pulled into a meaningful smile.

In the early morning of the second day, Xu Chenlin's body recovered after a night's rest, and when he heard the sound of swords outside the courtyard, he went out of the door and saw that there was a young man practicing swords.

"Childe, disturb the master in a hurry." Lu Yin stepped forward to stop Xu Chenlin.

As soon as the words came out, Xu Chen came back to his senses and realized that he had lost his temper, and said with a smile: "It's abrupt." ”

Xi Chao's sword practice also didn't like people to disturb and watch, and because Xu Chen couldn't avoid it when he lived here, and he couldn't drive people away, so today's practice only stopped halfway through.

"Little boy." Xu Chen stepped forward and said, "I didn't expect the little boy's martial arts to be so outstanding. Xu Chenlin also has a martial arts background, so he can naturally see how the young man's martial arts are.

Xichao took the cotton towel handed by Luqin to wipe the sweat off his hands, and turned around and walked towards the house without answering.

Xu Chen ignored the young man when he came, still smiling and following into the house, and was slightly surprised when he saw the breakfast on the table.

Xi Chao has never been heavy on appetite, but attaches great importance to health, breakfast generally does not use greasy things, only two refreshing side dishes, a bowl of rice porridge and a vegetarian bun, no wonder Xu Chenlin will be surprised when he sees it.

Xu Chenlin has calculated the true identity of the young man, there are not many people who can take out the chalcedony, and he lives in the backyard of Fengyang Building and other people behind him, he can already draw the circle to a very small range, whether it is consistent with his conjecture in his heart, he can't take it lightly, he has to understand the boy first, the important thing is to know what the boy 'buys' himself for five years, and only by knowing himself and the other can he win a hundred battles.

"Can we eat together?" Although he asked this question in his mouth, he had already proved it in action, and Xu Chenlin shamelessly sat opposite Xi Chao.

Seeing that his master was not displeased, Luqin added another pair of chopsticks and two steamed buns, and a plate of side dishes.

Xu Chenlin was secretly happy about the young man's acquiescence, it seems that the young man is not unkind, so good, at least it will not be too difficult to get along in the future.

The two of them should get to the point after eating, Xu Chenlin said after using tea: "What do you have to tell the little boy?" "After the assassination, he was not going to stay in Changzhou forever, he had to go back to Linzhou City.

"Open a shop." Xi Chao said bluntly: "A grain shop, an iron shop, and a medicinal herb shop, I need you to take care of it." ”

"The little boy needs manpower, this is easy to do." Xu Lilin thought it was a difficult thing, but it turned out to be a trivial matter.

"It's not just people." Xi Chao explained: "Just like your Xu family, every state and town has a grain shop, an iron shop, and a medicine store, and if someone provokes trouble, you have to solve it." She just wants someone to help, and it's convenient to hang the signboard of the Xu family behind her back.

Xu Chenlin understood that if the young man wanted to open a shop, he needed his Xu family to be the backstage on the bright side, and others would not dare to fight the idea of these three shops, it was really a good calculation, he had to do day jobs for the young man, and he would have to do it for five years.

Xi Chao could see the unwillingness that flashed in Xu Chenlin's eyes, and he had already guessed what Xu Chenlin was thinking in his heart, but he still made his words clear, so as not to have a gap in the future.

"In business, you won't let your Xu family suffer." The Xi Dynasty does not have a penchant of taking advantage of others, "Food, iron, and medicinal materials are purchased from your Xu family as needed, and the price is according to your Xu family's departure, and your Xu family only needs to take care of one or two in the back, and I will pay for the expenses needed to deal with the disaster." ”

When Xu Chenlin heard that it was not a loss, he was just an ally of mutual benefit in business, and nodded in agreement.

"As for the manpower, the Xu family has to contribute a little." Xi Chao said: "I don't lack the shopkeepers here, as for the guys with eyes and ability, I haven't found a few people." She wants to put those secret guards who have withdrawn from the shadows due to injuries in the shop as the shopkeeper and accountant, first, to ensure that the troublemakers will be expelled, and secondly, to pass on the news with one stone, fortunately, she has just enough to open three shops.

"Yes, a shop needs at least four guys, how many from Changzhou City to open?" Xu Chenlin asked if the calculation could be called up.

"Starting from Changzhou to the border, there are a total of eight cities and four counties." The Xi Dynasty has already planned, and other small towns should also have strongholds to facilitate contact, although the grain, iron, medicinal materials, and the like are purchased from the Xu family, it is good to say within five years, it is not a long-term solution because of the relationship of interests, what she needs is self-production and self-sale, yes, it is such a word. Then you need a lot of land, you need someone to cultivate, you need a big Zhuangzi to include these, the best place is those villages and towns that are vast and sparsely populated, and they can also be arranged to cover people's eyes and ears, Zhuangzi's affairs are not something that the Xu family can meddle in, and people naturally need to find it themselves, and they must ensure that nothing goes wrong.

After a few days of getting along with the teenager, Xu Chenlin found that the teenager still has a lot of merits, at least he will not look down on people because of his identity, but he is a little cold, he doesn't like to talk much, and he also found an extremely strange thing, that is, he didn't see the teenager has an Adam's apple, no, he can't see the Adam's apple, like a usually twelve or thirteen-year-old boy at this age The Adam's apple will bulge, and his voice will also change and look hoarse, the teenager looks like he is twelve or thirteen years old, how can he not see the Adam's apple, Could it be the cause of stunting? No, the height of the teenager is a little higher than that of the average peer, and the voice is pleasant with coldness, not at all like the ugly male duck voice, should it not be a woman dressed as a man, I don't think it is like it, no matter how careful the average woman dresses up as a man, there will be some omissions, such as a small prickle of ears and eyes can not be covered, and for example, the posture of walking, the tone of speech will more or less bring out the charm of the daughter's family, but the teenager is different, not to mention the admirable bearing, words and demeanors are all man's true colors, It's hard to believe that it's a daughter, even the four maids around the boy, although they are also dressed as men, behave and talk neatly, there is no 'weakness' of the daughter's family, fortunately, the four of them did not hide their identities Xu Chenlin could see that the four of them were women, as for the teenager, he didn't want to ask too much, this was a private matter of the teenager, so he only regarded the teenager's Adam's apple as a nobody.

To be honest, if Xi Chao knew the truth about Xu Chenlin, would he really get a fake Adam's apple and paste it, and then use medicine to change his throat, and no one would be suspicious.

It's a pity that Yixi Dynasty's habit is not to pay attention to these, she doesn't care about being said, she doesn't care about everyone's eyes, she is her, she is herself, what does she have to do with others.

The matter of the shop was well prepared, and as early as the Xi Dynasty intentionally started to let people find it, and now things are going very smoothly. Xi Chao and Xu Chen went to the Xu family's several shops in Changzhou City, and saw the grain and iron shops in their hearts, basically as long as they arrived, they could open it, and the follow-up needs should be ordered to Hongming and Hongrui to follow the shopkeeper in the Xu family's shop to Zhang Luo, and Xi Chao took the two green and Xu Chenlin to the street with the four of them.

The Xi Dynasty wandered through the streets and alleys of the city for five consecutive days, and was comforted to see the people smiling and living with food and clothing, and the place was well governed.

Although Xu Chenlin didn't know why the young man was keen on shopping, he didn't ask sensibly, he was a businessman, his mouth was natural and sharp, and he talked about the origin of this place along the way, or good food, and his words were funny and witty, and he didn't feel bored, Xi Chao didn't talk much, just listened with his ears and saw with his eyes, and the harvest was not small.

"Master, I heard that the hemp balls in the front store are delicious, can you buy some?" The green voice who followed opened his mouth, and he has been losing a lot of money with his master in the past few days, but if there is something delicious, he will buy some to taste.

"Go ahead." Xi Chao is accustomed to it, the four maids have the same hobbies, and people are the best to do whatever they want.

Xu Chenlin was surprised by this before, who had ever seen Yahuan want to eat, and the master simply agreed and gave out the silver, which was too unusual, but fortunately, he had become accustomed to it in the past few days.

Green Yin pulled the green piano and went happily.

"There's a teahouse in front of you to go and take a break there." Xu Chenlin mentions.

The two of them walked a few steps to arrive, and when they entered the door, suddenly a black shadow rushed straight towards Xi Chao, what happened in an instant Xu Chen was grabbed by Xi Chao by the collar before he could stop it, and then he saw that it was a seven or eight-year-old boy with a tattered clothes and a yellow face.

There is no need to guess that this child is a thief, he must have seen the splendid purse hanging from his waist in the Xi Dynasty.

"Let go of me, let go of me." Xiao'er was scared and worried when he saw that it was not possible and was now caught, and he kicked and beat the person who caught him, but unfortunately no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch Xi Chao.

The two of them were standing in front of the teahouse, and many people in the teahouse saw it, and the discussion gradually started, what happened to the son of a rich man who couldn't eat well, what didn't have long eyes, pitiful and so on.

Xi Chao didn't think of what to do with this child, and a woman who sold cakes stepped forward at this time and accused again and again: "Son, let this child go, this child is a hard worker, and he didn't mean to collide with you." ”

This is so unusual, as soon as Xu Chenlin saw the woman, he saw that this child was not a woman's child, and he was not even a relative.

As soon as the child saw the woman open her mouth to intercede for herself, she gave up the struggle, lowered her head and kept silent.

The discussion continued, and someone said: "Mrs. Yan has interceded with this little child again, and I don't know if this time is as good as last time?" ”

"If it weren't for Mrs. Yan, the child would have died a long time ago."

"It's pitiful, there is a half-dead father at home."

"What's the solution, it's a pity."

"Childe." Mrs. Yan's face turned pale when she saw that the young man did not let go.

"Master." The two of them, who came back from shopping, saw the child in the master's hand and didn't know what was going on.

"You go find a doctor and follow him back." Xi Chao can understand a little bit and ordered the green qin.

"Yes." Lu Qin handed the food and shelter in his hand to Lu Yin, and grabbed the child to prepare to leave.

"Thank you." The little boy knew that he had met a good person in this great disaster, and turned around and bent deeply to the young man in brocade.

Mrs. Yan sighed, and hurriedly closed the stall and followed away.

"You're going to help that kid?" Xu Chenlin looked at the child's distant figure and said, "It's a child who knows how to be gracious, it's a pity." ”

"What a pity?" Xi Chao looked at Xu Chenlin and said, "It's a pity that he is a thief, and he can't change his humility." ”

Xu Chenlin smiled indifferently and said: "Yes, what is a bad thing for a seven- or eight-year-old child, but to steal, more than once, this time it was the little boy who kindly let him go, next time I don't know if I can live, that mother-in-law is a kind person, but unfortunately a good person may not have a good reward, maybe one day he will be affected by that child." ”

"You're wrong, he doesn't want to but can't." There was an indescribable desolation in Xi Chao's shallow voice, "A few copper plates are no longer enough to support the expensive cost of medicine. ”

Xu Chenlin smiled and didn't argue, the kindness of the moment is forgivable, the kindness of a lifetime is a bad person, even the Buddha can't save everyone.

"Master, go back." Lu Yin spoke, because there was no leisure for what happened just now, and he went into the teahouse to drink tea again.

Xi turned around and went back to the three of them, and when they arrived at Fengyang Building, they chose a compartment near the window on the second floor, ordered a pot of good tea, and waited for Luqin to come back.

Lu Yin opened the food he bought, and the three of them drank tea and used snacks, and they were quiet for a while, and no one spoke.

An hour later, Luqin came back and replied truthfully: "The child's name is Ye Jiu, there is an elder brother and a younger sister, all of whom starved to death a few days ago, leaving an old father who was lying on the bed and couldn't move, and the doctor said that he would not live for a few days after consultation." ”

"I'll give it to you, and ask him what his father means when he's gone." Having said that, Xi Chao did set that child in his heart, and since she met her, he would not let it go, just because the child has good roots and is suitable for martial arts.

"Yes." Luqin understood her master's intentions.

"You're going to help him?" Xu Chenlin was very surprised, and looked at the young man who was calm and light, and didn't pay attention to anything.

"No, kindness doesn't always work." Xi Dynasty has a purpose, and if you want to live a good life, you must pay the price you deserve, and the same goes for the child.

Xu Chenlin was very surprised, the young man could actually say this, so what did the young man want the child to do, as a young man, there should be no shortage of little people around him.

"That kid looks clever, and if he keeps it by his side for a few years, he can also be put in the shop to do some chores." Xu Chenlin wanted to know what the young man's plans were.

"You're talking too much." How could Xi Chao not understand that Xu Chenlin deliberately asked, although he was a partner, there was no need to explain everything.

After Xu Chen listened, he stopped talking and changed the topic: "When are you leaving?" "He had to rush back to Linzhou as much as possible, and he couldn't rest assured here.

"Two more days." Xi Chao replied: "I told Lu Yin to pass the dishes."

Xu Chenlin thought about it and decided to follow the young man, on the one hand, he had a care on the way, and on the other hand, he wanted to know more about the young man.

After dinner, they returned to the back garden of Fengyang Building and went back to their rooms to rest.

Hongming and Hongrui went into the house to put down the toiletries, Hongrui went to the inner room to make the bed, and Hongming served Xichao to wash.

"Master, Zhuangzi has been found, but the manpower problem has not yet been solved." Hong Ming said while busy: "There are also those helpless orphans, there are seven people who have been found, and the shadows are still checking their parents' lineage. ”

"Kuài." Xi Chao always felt that there was not enough time, "As for Zhuangzi sending two people over first, as for the people to buy some silver or hire the surrounding people, now is not the busy season for farming, try to sort out the land, and sow seeds in autumn." ”

"Yes." Hong Mingjing wet the cotton towel and handed it over: "The seven children are about six to nine years old, do you want to take the master with you?" ”

"No need, put it on the Zhuangzi and let the dark department here pick two people who have nothing to do to teach." Xi Chao will not take people with her, first, the target is too big and unsafe, and second, she plans to put these children in their place, Zhuangzi needs people to watch, they are just right.

"Yes." Hongming and Hongrui packed up their things and retreated.

Zhao Qin asked in the house: "When will the son go back?" "He was worried that something would happen again.

"Two days later." Xu Chenlin was not in a hurry, but he and Zhao Qin were not safe alone.

"With that one?" Zhao Qin frowned, obviously already knowing the answer.

"Hmm." Xu Chenlin replied lightly.

"That young man ......" Zhao Qin couldn't say, he always felt that the young man was unreal.

"What do you want to say?" Xu Chenlin looked at Yue Qin, the two of them were called master and servant, but they were actually playmates who grew up together.

"Temperament does not match appearance." Yue Qin frowned lightly and said: "The appearance is just delicate, I can't say it, it's wrong anyway." ”

Xu Chenlin understood Yue Qin, he must have suspected something, "You mean Yi Rong?" ”

"Not impossible." Zhao Qin thought so in his heart.

"It doesn't look like it." It is said that according to the age of the teenager, he has not grown up at all, so why bother if he says that he is easy to face, is it afraid that others will recognize him or there is another reason.

"You'll have to find out who he is." Zhao Qin is really not at ease, the identity of the teenager has become obsessed with a time bomb, and it is difficult for people to sleep and eat when they are placed next to him.

"You're right." Xu Chenlin didn't think about checking the bottom of the young man, but now the two of them are not able to show something under the young man's nose, which makes it even more difficult for the two of them to protect themselves.

"Also, he is so attentive to that kid that he needs to send someone to investigate?" Zhao Qin wanted to nip a qiē danger in the bud.

"No, I think it's a moment of mercy." Xu Chenlin has probed the young man's tone, and now he is afraid that if he investigates it again, it will cause the young man's disgust.