Ningzhou City in Layue is the coldest time of the year, although it is not the northernmost part, but it is also thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting. Old lady Xia has always been in good health, although she is already in her prime, her hair has turned gray, she may be able to eat and move, and in this snowflake weather, she is still dancing in the yard with guns and sticks, not like a businessman who gives way, to like a reclusive worldly master.

Since the abdication of Mrs. Xia, she has lived in a small courtyard on the outskirts of the eastern part of the city, taking a few long-term servants to take care of the basic life. The small courtyard is far away from the main courtyard in the north of the city, so the Xia family only comes once every three to five days, and the old lady Xia is not to blame, and she does not feel lonely when she dances with guns and sticks all day long.

On this day, it was not the day when the Xia family came to ask for peace, the courtyard was very quiet, a few servants were sweeping the snow, but there was a knock outside the door. Everyone was surprised, only two days ago, the second master led a group of people to come over to ask for peace, why did he come again today, Zhang's mother on the side put the broom that swept the snow casually aside, rubbed her hands wet with snow in her sleeves, and dusted off the snowflakes on her body before opening the door.

Standing outside the door was not the second master, it was a middle-aged man who had never seen it, his sparse beard had not been shaved for a few days, showing an old and tired state, the whole body was covered by a cloak, and the heavy cloak was full of snowflakes, only revealing a pair of thick boots that were also wet with melted snow, but he still said confidently, "Below is Xue Qing, the shopkeeper in Tong'an City, a few days ago, the owner promised to come back to visit relatives, and there is something important to report to Mrs. Xia, and I hope to be accommodating." As he spoke, Xue Qing buried his head deeply.

Zhang's mother has always been a loud voice, "What do you say about being accommodating or not, you wait, I'll ask the master for you." "Zhang's mother was originally the wet nurse invited by Mrs. Xia when she got a child, and later everyone felt that Zhang's mother was quick with her hands and feet, and she was cheerful and didn't talk much, so she kept it, even if she changed her family later, she still called Mrs. Xia the old name, and only changed her name Xia Zhongda to the uncle.

Old lady Xia heard that a shopkeeper came to visit, and without waiting for Zhang's mother to report his surname, he said that he would not accept guests, but the people outside the door changed their elegant style just now and shouted loudly, "Old lady, please save us, save the only thirty-five guys left in Tong'an City, if you don't see me today, I will wait here for you to see me." "The dog was anxious to jump over the wall, which annoyed Mrs. Xia, he had already said that no matter what happened in this business, there were still people who came to the door, and there was also a shopkeeper a few days ago, and he went back stupidly if he didn't let him in, this Xue Qing was only promoted from a guy to the shopkeeper in recent years, but he became more and more out of order, and the matter was not given to the current family, but he came here to disturb.

But it's not appropriate for the neighbors to know about it, so Mrs. Xia still let him in, and asked Zhang's mother to make a charcoal fire and bake his clothes.

"Tell me, something has taken the lives of thirty-five of you." Old lady Xia shook on the Taishi chair on the side, and said in an unkind tone, he was a person with a rough voice, but his words were majestic, if others would have been unable to hold it back, but Shopkeeper Xue came with the determination to lose this bowl of rice, just like a swordsman who said goodbye, and did not look back.

"Old lady, I, Xue Qing, was a guy under you back then, in the past few years, thanks to the second master, I have been promoted to the second shopkeeper of Tong'an City, this matter should not have been me, but if I don't come, no one will come, and next year, the guys in Tong'an City will have to find another way out, and the teahouse in Tong'an City will also change its course and make him his surname!" Saying this, the shopkeeper Xue knelt in front of the old lady, took out a number of paper rolls from his cloak and presented them.

The old lady was obviously a little confused by these words, and there have been many people who have told Xia Zhongda about the evil situation in recent years, it is nothing more than that the uncle is not doing his job, but it is the first one to say that he has changed his course, and the old rivers and lakes for decades will naturally not let outsiders see the slightest emotion, and after a long time, he brought over the things presented by the shopkeeper Xue.

Xue shopkeeper still maintained that posture, did not get up, it happened that Zhang's mother came in with a pot of charcoal, there was a trace of heat in the cold room, it turned out that there was no fire in this room, just now I was so enthusiastic that I didn't pay attention, and now the account book and resignation are handed over, I feel that the snowflakes on the road are biting, so when Zhang's mother came to take the cloak to the side to bake, she got up quite easily and untied it, revealing her original coat, which was more sloppy than the cloak, At this moment, there is no shadow of the guy who was extremely concerned about his appearance and meticulous clothes in the past few years.

The old lady looked at the account book handed over by the shopkeeper Xue, the wrinkles between her eyebrows deepened, but she was kinder to the shopkeeper Xue than when she first came, and saw that his boots were also wet, so she asked Zhang's mother to bring him a new pair, and asked the shopkeeper Xue to follow to try it, and then continued to read the account book.

Shopkeeper Xue was changing his boots in the compartment, but there was a sudden crackling sound of broken cups outside, which made Shopkeeper Xue stop. Looking at Zhang's mother on the side again, she was used to it, and she was apologetic to let Shopkeeper Xue continue to wear boots, and put the towel aside for Shopkeeper Xue to wipe his face, and he went out first.

When the shopkeeper Xue rearranged his appearance, Zhang's mother was sweeping the tea residues on the ground with a rag, and the shopkeeper Xue wanted to help, but was stopped by the old lady, pointed to the chair on the side, and asked him to sit down.

After Zhang's mother finished cleaning up, she changed the tea cup for the old lady again, and I don't know if it was by the way, or the old lady's promise, the shopkeeper Xue who came half-loud was also able to drink hot tea, which can be regarded as warming up again, plus the brazier in the house worked, and the body slowly warmed up.

After a long time, the old lady finished turning over the account book, closed her eyes and lay down for a while, before she opened her eyes again and glanced at the shopkeeper Xue, and called Zhang's mother to come over and burn the paper like a letter in her hand.

Shopkeeper Xue knew that it was his resignation, the old lady didn't even take it apart to see, and burned it directly, it was really unruly for the family to come here to hand over the resignation letter, so he didn't save any face and burned it directly, but now Xue Qingdao doesn't care about face, he even sued the complaint, what rules are there, and he straightened his waist and was ready to face the old lady's reprimand.

"Where did you get these? In the Xia family, there is no precedent for the second shopkeeper to touch the account book. When the old lady spoke, although her tone was lazy, she was not angry and arrogant, which made people feel furious when they heard it.

Shopkeeper Xue naturally knew that there was such a rule, and he also knew that the old lady would inevitably ask, so he repeated the words he had prepared before, and then slowly replied, "Back to the old lady, this matter has to start from three years ago, and it will be a long story." ”

"It's okay, it's getting late, and you can't miss your stutter."