In the bungalow in the backyard of the Liufangzhai Teahouse, the hemp pole lit the firewood in the small pottery basin, grabbed a few pieces of charcoal with his hands, carefully set them on the flames, clapped his hands and looked at the small teapot that was lighting the oil lamp, and finally stopped at the cloth bag full of silver dollars on the low table, his head was still dizzy, as if he was in a dream.

One thousand and one hundred silver dollars was a huge wealth that Ma Pole had never seen and could not even imagine, but now it was placed in front of his eyes and belonged to him.

The scenes of the afternoon have been deeply impressed in Ma Zhu's mind, and his fragile mind is still violently shaking, if it weren't for a bag of heavy silver dollars at his fingertips, he couldn't believe that the jade pendant, which was only the size of a cup and was worth a maximum of three silver dollars, actually sold his big brother's small teapot for 1,100 silver dollars.

Thinking of the madness of the eldest brother in the foreign bank in the afternoon, Ma Zhu couldn't help but tremble again, at that time his first reaction was that the eldest brother wanted to go crazy for money, and it was estimated that he was going to be blasted out by foreigners, who knew that in the end, it turned out to be this unbelievable and shocking ending.

"Cold tea, let's drink it." The small teapot brought two bowls of tea and put them on the table: "Are you still stupid?" Or you sleep with your money bag in your hand at night. ”

Ma Zhu smiled: "Little brother, how did your brain grow?" You weren't so bold before. ”

The little teapot drank half a bowl of cold tea, put the bowl heavily on the table, and stared at the hemp pole with a smile: "Look down on me, don't you?" Learn a little, hehe! Second, let's not talk about anything else, I guess you've already figured out how to use the money, right? ”

Ma Zhu suddenly brightened: "Think about it, little brother, you take half of it, marry your mother-in-law to buy a house, how to do that is your business, I take the other half to buy a small yard in the south of the city, now the house in the city is cheap, three or four hundred silver dollars can buy a house with a small yard in the downtown area, after buying the house, I will let a group of brothers and sisters in the land temple all live in, eat and drink spicy food and spicy at will, no longer have to starve and freeze...... How? Little brother, why are you unhappy? ”

The little teapot shook his head, untied the big braid on his head and shook it: "I don't want a penny, but I don't agree with you to buy a house." ”

"Why?" The hemp rod was very puzzled.

The small teapot tapped his fingers on the table: "Have you ever thought that to buy a house, you must first go to the newly established police station to apply for a household registration certificate, and after finding the guarantor, you have to go to the yamen to pay a tax of 10% to get the house deed, and you have to pay the donation tax to the donation bureau. Let's not talk about these for the time being, just talk about your current identity and status, people like you and me, don't even have a certificate of registration, if you suddenly have a huge amount of money to buy a house for no reason, how much trouble will it cause? ”

These words were like a slap in the face, and the hemp pole finally calmed down, and after being stunned, his face was full of shame: "What the little brother said is that I was careless, if I really went to buy a house in a daze, even if no one doubted it, I am afraid that it would not be stable, and I don't know how many people on the road and officials want to beat us." ”

The little teapot smiled with satisfaction: "It's right to think so, but don't worry too much, the place where you live still has to be solved, otherwise, your younger brothers and sisters may not survive this winter." Do you remember the pond on the east side of the North School Field? It is the east side of the broken temple where you live now, there is a yard next to the pond, this morning when I passed by with the third child, I saw a sign for rent hanging on the bamboo fence of the yard, I think that place is very good, spacious and quiet, there is a vegetable field near the pond, don't look at the remote place, but it is safe there! And a few steps to the east, is the German consulate and the lively Wenshu Monastery market, diagonally opposite the market is the German church, it is very convenient to buy things or something, why do you have to go to the chaotic place in the south of the city to join in the fun? ”

Ma Zhu nodded thoughtfully: "I listen to you, little brother, you are more thoughtful than me, what you decide is right, but you share half of the money, I don't want you to live in this leaky firewood house, brothers should share blessings and difficulties." ”

"It's okay, I have something to do now, I have a salary of five silver dollars a month, enough to spend, but you, not only do you have no place to live, but you also have to take care of a dozen hungry brothers and sisters, don't look at the more than a thousand silver dollars in front of you, but it can be evenly distributed to a dozen people, and you have to think about how a large group of people will live in the future, so you have to put away your heart, you can't spend money indiscriminately, and you can't live like before." The little teapot sighed, and his childish face showed a maturity that did not match his age.

Ma Pole was moved in his heart, but firmly disagreed with the small teapot not taking money.

The two argued for a long time, and finally the little teapot said that yours is not mine, what are you arguing about? It's a big deal that you will leave me a room after renting a house, and you can't discuss how to live in the future? Can you bear to see me hungry when you drink wine and eat meat? A few words made the hemp pole put aside the guilt, smiled with eyebrows, and was extremely warm in his heart.

On the afternoon of the third day, with the help of the third and fourth children, Ma Pole happily placed the thirteen beggar brothers and sisters in a rented yard, and went to the street to buy more than a dozen quilts, a dozen sets of old cotton jackets, 500 catties of charcoal, 200 catties of rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, etc., and hired an ox cart to load it and moved it back.

In the evening, the small teapot came and saw a group of happy children, and the oily and steaming red pepper hot pot on the two tables, I couldn't help but feel good, and sat down in the arms of the brothers with hemp sticks, took the chopsticks, and happily let go of the cheeks and ate violently.

Wu San and Luo Defa already knew what was going on, and they admired the eldest brother and the little teapot incomparably, and when the little teapot ate a few pieces of meat, they competed with the hemp pole to toast the little teapot, and a small but very rich dinner was eaten lively.

After drinking two bowls of water and wine, he picked up a piece of fat intestine and stuffed it into his mouth, put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with satisfaction, and sighed with emotion: "It's good to have a home!" ”

The brothers burst into laughter, and after the little teapot finished laughing, he said unhurriedly: "I have finally settled down, don't worry about other things for the time being, and I will talk about it after the New Year." In the past few days, you go out for a walk, buy more New Year's goods, and buy a pair of cotton shoes for each of the dozen or so small ones, and buy some soap towels or something, so that everyone can celebrate the New Year happily together. ”

"Little brother, these second brothers have thought of it, tomorrow I will accompany the second brother with the third brother to do it, don't worry, with me, I am sure that I can buy good and cheap things." Rodfa, the son of a merchant, was too familiar with these things to be more familiar with them, and took it for granted.

Ma Pole remembered something: "Little brother, haven't you been reading and reading lately?" We discussed it and sent you a set of four treasures and a few new books, but I don't know what other books you like besides "Three Kingdoms"? ”

The little teapot thought about it and was not polite: "The four treasures of the study are exempt, there are in the store, the shopkeeper checked the night last night, and saw me use his brush and ink to practice calligraphy, not only was he not angry, but he said that he didn't need to sneak in the future, but he had to buy his own calligraphy and paper, so you just gave me a knife of ordinary stationery." As for the book, you don't need to buy a new one, your house is close to the ancestral street, and you can help me buy a few copies from the used book stall if you have time, and it's best to use the maps and books that introduce foreigners published in the past few years. ”

Luo Defa immediately agreed, and said with emotion: "Little brother, the little brother really convinces you, you only started to learn to read after you were injured, and now you write better than the little brother, if you also start learning at the age of seven, I'm afraid those people in the school can't compare to you." In the past, my father always wanted to make money desperately, so that I could stay abroad and learn more skills to glorify my ancestors, but I couldn't listen to it. ”

"That's right!" The little teapot praised loudly: "Fourth, among our four brothers, your body is the worst, but your brain is the best, especially your arithmetic and planning plate, none of us can compare to you, I won't abacus that thing, if you can learn something new, you will definitely be able to achieve great things, maybe our brothers will rely on you in the future." ”

"Right! I see it that way, too. ”

Ma Pole echoed the voice, and Wu San, who was illiterate in big characters, also admired the fourth brother who could write and calculate.

Luo Fa's face was full of shy smiles, but his heart was extremely useful, and he secretly made up his mind that he must learn more things in the future, and he can't let his eldest brother surpass him, he can't fight by himself, and his body can't do it, the only thing he can be proud of is that his brain is easy to use, and he can write and calculate, if these skills are also surpassed by his eldest brother, it will be too much of a failure.

Wu San didn't talk much, he had been carefree, but at the moment, the wine was a little up, his bronzed square face became sauce-colored, and he was much bolder: "Little brother, the second brother said to me today, if I don't want to continue to stay in my brother's coolie, I will ask for the surname to move over and work with the second brother, I also want to come over, but I don't know what to do in the future, little brother, do you have an idea in your heart?" ”

The little teapot looked at the hemp stick, turned to Wu San and asked, "San, your father doesn't care about you anymore?" ”

"He cares about me, he hasn't cared about me since last year, and said that I will have to get out when I turn sixteen next summer, and stand up for myself like my eldest brother and second brother, and he will marry another mother-in-law after the New Year, so that my mother and eldest mother are always crying and crying these days, and the family is noisy every day, and the annoyance is annoying." Wu San was discouraged, and after speaking, he picked up the wine bowl again.

"Yes, then let's move here, sooner or later we all have to stand on our own, and we can't always live in a nest like before." The little teapot didn't talk nonsense, and directly said his plan: "I thought about it for the past two days, and finally thought of a business, this business is now not done by few people in Chengdu City, but it is a bit cumbersome to go through the procedures at the China Merchants Bureau and the police station, but it doesn't matter, I plan to ask my sister to come forward to help with it, as long as my sister comes forward, others will not suspect the origin of the money." ”

"What business?" The three brothers asked almost at the same time.

"Buy a Toyo car and drive! The kind of thing with two rubber wheels is a hundred times better than a sedan chair carried by two people, and better than a carriage that feeds more than a dozen catties of concentrate every day. After the little teapot finished speaking, he smiled and watched everyone's reaction.

The three brothers were taken aback, and the fourth brother said suspiciously: "Little brother, this is a new thing, only the old man Chen's family in the south of the city bought back five new cars and opened a car dealership, the younger brother heard that it costs 170 silver dollars to buy an Oriental car, and you have to pay a fixed amount first, and you can get the goods after 40 days, the capital invested is too great, not cost-effective!" ”

The little teapot explained helplessly: "In fact, the Oriental car is not worth more than 100 silver dollars at all, it is all his mother's foreigners who pit us, who makes our country unable to build it by itself?" There are also the kind of bicycles that foreigners ride on the streets, simple and broken things, and they are sold for two hundred and fifty silver dollars each, which is unreasonable! But foreigners just sell it as a luxury product, and no one can do anything, so we can only grit our teeth and endure it, I have repeatedly calculated this matter, it is worth it! ”

"Is it worth it?" Ma Pole asked.

The little teapot nodded: "Don't you see many people rushing to ride in the Toyo car?" The guests of our teahouse often say this these days, and those who have sat say that it is comfortable, fast, and can sit two or three people, which is much better than the slow sedan chair, so it can be seen that there will be more and more of this thing, so now we don't seize the opportunity to set up a car dealership as soon as possible, and it will be too late for those rich masters to wake up, as long as our brothers work together, we will definitely be able to make money! The third child, you have to manage the car dealership with the second child, the black and white roads in the city give your old man face, and others dare not bully you when you come forward, and you can do it with peace of mind. ”

"Okay, this matter is on me, don't hire someone, I'll pull the car, what I have is strength!" Wu San slapped his chest with a bang.

The little teapot smiled: "Let's buy three cars first, how can you pull it alone?" I believe that within three months of opening, I can buy a few more cars, and then slowly grow bigger, and strive to achieve 50 cars in a year, only in this way can it become a climate. ”

The three brothers looked incredulous, and they didn't believe that they could build 50 cars in a year.

Seeing this, the little teapot smiled: "Don't believe it, right?" Okay, let's see, I'm here today, as long as a few of our brothers work together, we can achieve the scale of 50 cars a year, and in the future we will become one of the largest car dealers in the city! As for how to get money to buy a car, I'll figure out a way, I can't do it for you to kneel down and ask for guilt, but you have to be responsible for pulling a car to make money, can you do it? ”

The three brothers were stimulated by this, and stood up one by one: "Talking counts? ”

"A gentleman's word is hard to chase!" The small teapot comes casually.

Ma Zhu gritted his teeth: "Okay! Little brother, since you said so, brother, I don't have anything to say, I believe you, and I'll gamble on my life! ”

"And me! Brother, I'm done! Wu San's voice shook everyone's ears.

The fourth Luo Fa was not far behind: "I'll settle the account, little brother, we'll wait for you to buy a car and come back!" ”

The little teapot laughed, grabbed the wine jar, and poured four bowls of wine in a row: "After drinking this bowl, I have to go back to the vigil, the ugly words are ahead, once this bowl of wine is drunk, none of us can retreat, and no one can say a word in the future, you three have to think well!" It's too late to regret it now. ”

"Little brother, aren't you talking nonsense?"

"Long-winded!"

"Come on! Who's afraid of whom! ”

The four bowls of wine were served instantly, and when they touched the "ping pong", they all poured into their mouths, and everyone put down the bowls when they were finished, you look at me, I look at you, and couldn't help laughing in unison.

;