Mother Chu took a sip of tea and calmed down. Memories are like springs that slowly open and seal, and the old past is slowly unsealed in this way.

Mother Chu spoke, and the old voice said slowly: "Your mother and I grew up in this Nancheng since we were children, and our two families were adjacent when we were children, and we are of the same age, so we can be regarded as sisters without blood. Later, we both reached the age of marriage, she married a salt merchant, that is, your father, and I married a cook, who is now sitting next to you. ”

"Your father and Father Chu were still doing business in the market at that time, and your mother and I were used to living in this southern city, and we didn't want to leave, so we settled our home here."

Speaking of this, Mother Chu sighed heavily, she had been faintly blaming herself in her heart, she thought that if she had strengthened her will a little more back then, maybe Zhinan's parents would still be alive now.

She continued: "Later, when the officials and merchants were in power, the salt trade of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty was owned by the officials, and this salt also became official salt. Your mother has been an embroiderer since she was a child, and she loves to make clothes, so your father later opened a fabric shop. ”

Hearing this, Zhinan couldn't help but ask curiously: "I have some impressions of the fabric shop, but how do I remember that the fabric shop was in Nancheng at that time?" Isn't it in the market? ”

Chu Mu nodded, and then said: "It is said that interlacing is like separating mountains, your father is used to selling salt, and this salt and cloth are completely two different things." When he sells salt, he comes into contact with the old men of all big families, or the merchant Xiao Er, who runs a restaurant and tavern, and this fabric shop comes into contact with another group of women who love beauty and care every day. Your father still sells this cloth with his attitude of selling salt, and the business is naturally not good. ”

"In addition, at that time, Nancheng, as you see now, there are people with independent courtyards within a radius of 100 miles, there are no shops and no stalls, everyone usually has to walk for a long time to buy something, it is very inconvenient, your father and Chu's father hit it off, and the two decided to go back to Nancheng to open their yard and do the business in the market before."

Zhinan sat quietly on the chair and listened carefully to Chu's mother's eloquent words.

Zhinan, who was originally relatively quiet, seemed more tranquil at this moment, Fengqi sat next to her, looking at Zhinan's appearance, a person like him who has lived alone outside since he was a child, understands Zhinan's feelings too well at this moment.

The calmer this kind of person is on the surface, the more turbulent he is in his heart.

He stretched out his hand and put Zhinan's hand in his palm, Zhinan's hand was so cold, clenched into a fist, and the palms were all the marks of his nails that he had tried to restrain himself.

Mother Chu then told the story of their generation: "Your father and father Chu are not from this Nancheng, so they naturally don't understand the rules of this Nancheng, and some people have lived in this Nancheng for generations. At that time, your father wanted to make the lives of his neighbors easier, so he really took the lead in opening a fabric shop. Then our family also opened a restaurant here. ”

"However, this change always comes faster than planned, and some of the neighbors around you often look for your father and Chu's father openly and secretly, and persuade them to close the shop and go back to the market. One is that they are afraid of messing up the atmosphere, and the other is that they have outdated thinking, that is, they can't accept the passing of people they don't know coming and going at their doorstep. ”

"I'm a little different from your mother's temperament, I'm the kind of person who is a little submissive, in fact, back then, when my father said that he wanted to go back to Nancheng to do business, I didn't agree in my heart, because I knew too well, I knew too much what these people in Nancheng thought in their hearts."

"I took advantage of the fact that your father and Chu's father were asleep late at night, and I had found your mother and told me what I thought, but your mother was born with the character of daring to fight, and she said to me that it was time to change the closed atmosphere of this southern city. I didn't say anything more, and I couldn't control anything, so I followed them back to the southern city. After speaking, Chu Mu sighed heavily.

When Fengqi heard about Zhinan's mother, he shook Zhinan's hand harder.

He knew that this would definitely make Zhinan's heart very uncomfortable, unlike him, Zhinan had seen his mother since he was a child, and this kind of childhood happy memory, if her relatives were no longer there, it must be the most sensitive weakness in her heart.

He listened to Mother Chu describe the character of Zhinan's mother, and suddenly realized why Zhinan could be so heroic, dare to bear the fate of the Xuanwang Mansion alone, sneak into the palace alone, serve in the Yongbao Pavilion, and find out the case.

That night, when he took Zhinan and rushed out of the palace through layers of obstacles, although Zhinan was also afraid, but compared with other women, Zhinan was already very fearless.

He stroked Zhinan's back and silently supported Zhinan on the side.

Chu Mu took a sip of the tea in her hand and continued.

"When the shop first opened, it was indeed as I thought, no one came, our family sat in a tavern, and some people who loved to eat and drink would secretly come behind their backs to buy two jars, but your father's cloth business was much more difficult to do, and your mother had no choice but to return to the market all day long, saying that those old customers who used to frequented your house were invited to Nancheng and sold at a loss."

"In this way, the people who went back and forth increased their popularity, but the good times did not last long, and the old-fashioned people in the village just couldn't get used to seeing these strangers who didn't know walking around in the alleys, and a few people went to your father to talk to your father about it."

"Your father's thoughts are the same as your mother's, and they both feel that it's time for this southern city to integrate some fresh blood, so those who are old-fashioned are always separated from your parents."

Speaking of this, Chu Mu choked up, and she continued, "If I had really stopped it at that time, there might not have been such a thing." ”

Zhinan is surprisingly calm, but in fact, she almost guessed what happened later.

It must have been some of those who were against their parents, some of the more radical, deliberately or unintentionally caused a fire around their home, which caused the house to catch fire.

But Zhinan didn't understand something, so she asked, "Auntie, why did your family continue to do this business?" ”