Chapter 003 East Market Shops (3)

I saw a two-storey two-bottom shop standing in front of me, and on the lintel in the middle, there was a plaque with gold paint on a black background, and there were four words written on the plaque: "Li Ji Groceries".

Perhaps the age of the shop is too long, the black paint on the plaque has fallen off a little, and most of the gold dust on the words has also disappeared, revealing the background color of the log.

Under the door, there are two red-lacquered pillars, on which are hung the store's banner, which is made of half-used apricot satin, and the store's signboard is also written on it.

Amethyst opened her mouth, turned her head to look at the new and delicate shops on both sides, reached out and touched the mottled red paint on the pillar, and the crooked lines carved by a naughty child with a knife, and said with a wry smile: "Second young grandmother, are you sure this is it?" ”

Unsure Wang Qifang's eyes widened, carefully checked the title deed in his hand, and confirmed it N times over and over again, then he nodded dejectedly: "Alas, don't look at it, this is it." Qingfeng, go in and report it, and say that I have something to do with the shopkeeper."

"Yes, Second Young Grandma"

Qingfeng agreed, flashed into the half-open door, called up the young men who were sleeping on the counter, and told them their intentions concisely and clearly.

"What? Looking for our shopkeeper? The young man wiped the saliva with his sleeve, opened his sleepy eyes, looked at the distinguished guest who was the first to 'visit' in half a month, and asked uncertainly.

"That's right, what about your shopkeeper, our young grandmother has something important to discuss with him"

Qingfeng glanced at the dimly lit room, and when his eyes came into contact with the poor dozen or so dilapidated 'groceries' on the humble shelves, he shook his head secretly, and was worried about the second young grandmother in his heart - well, it's such a broken place, not to mention that it can recover the profits, and it's good not to lose money.

"Oh oh, okay, I'm going to call"

As he spoke, the young man ran out from behind the counter, ran upstairs in three steps and two steps, and shouted noisily: "Shopkeeper, there is a distinguished guest who wants to see you" There is no guard against Qingfeng, a stranger, and he is not afraid of losing the goods in the store. Of course, there is nothing to lose in such a place.

……

"Old Li Huaien, I don't know what instructions this second young grandmother has to find here?"

Half an hour later, Amethyst helped Wang Qifang to the reception room on the second floor, and an old man in his fifties greeted him, only to see that he was not tall, his face was thin, his pointed chin had a few short beards, and his small eyes were full of fine light.

"Amethyst, take the things to the shopkeeper Li and take a look"

After some observation, Wang Qifang no longer had the original vision for this store, she sat on the main seat of the head casually, waved her hand weakly, and motioned Amethyst to take out the title deed and cooperation contract and show it to Li Huaien.

"Oh, it turned out to be the eldest lady, the old man really didn't know Mount Tai, and he didn't even recognize the owner," Li Huaien squinted his eyes and carefully looked at the title deed and the contract signed by himself, a complicated light flashed in his eyes, as if he was lost, and he sighed secretly as if he was relieved, and he bent his knees excitedly to give Wang Qifang a salute, and said in a babbling voice: "It's been twenty-two years, and the old man has been guarding this grocery store, just waiting for the eldest lady to come and take the shop back one day...... God has eyes, finally let the old decay wait? By the way, how is my wife? How is the eldest young master? ”

Wang Qifang was stunned, she was frightened by Li Huaien's excited and inexplicable appearance, seeing a person who was old enough to be her father, she was about to kneel down for herself in tears, she, she was really a little uncomfortable, and hurriedly winked at Amethyst, signaling her to pick up the person.

"My mother has passed away, and my eldest brother is also on a study tour," wait, no, it stands to reason that the person who can help him take care of such a hidden industry must be the confidant of the prince's wife. But if Li Huaien is his mother's confidant, how can he not know the news that his mother has passed away?

Suspicious eyes fell on Li Huaien's old face full of tears, and Wang Qifang stared at his eyes tightly, trying to see some clues from his demeanor.

It's a pity that she watched it for a long time, except for seeing that the old man was really sad to hear the news of his mother's death, she didn't see anything else. He sighed reassuringly and continued: "Butler Li, it's really hard for you to take charge of the store for me-"

"Alas, don't say that, eldest lady, when it comes to business, the old man is really ashamed," Li Huaien picked up the conversation and interjected: "Thinking about this capital, the capital of the dignified Zhou Dynasty, at the foot of the Son of Heaven, the royal family is full of nobles, to say a big disrespectful word, take our shops in the East Market, each of them is a person with a big backer behind it, and we'Li Ji', alas, it's really hard to say," shaking his head helplessly, Li Huaien took out a bunch of keys from his sleeve pocket, and shouted over the waiting account room, "Mr. Jia, You bring the account books of the counter and the warehouse, before, the wife has not been instructed, and the old man does not know who to give these things to, but now that the eldest lady is here, all the things of this 'Li Ji' should also be returned to the original owner."

"Amethyst, you go with Mr. Jia"

Wang Qifang felt very comforted when she saw Li Huaien's sincere face. Well, although this shop is a little broken, but the shopkeeper is still dutiful, even if the annual dividend is not much, it must be a lot of money accumulated in 22 years, right?

"Yes, Second Young Grandma"

Amethyst knew that the second young grandmother took her out to receive the accounts of the shop, and after hearing Wang Qifang's instructions, she hurriedly claimed that it was.

"Second young grandmother?" After Li Huaien heard this title, a pair of deep old eyes quietly looked at Wang Qifang, who was sitting at the top. Well, the four butterflies with red gold and rubies, the Nanzhu earrings the size of broad beans, and the wide-sleeved robe with scarlet gold silk trim with exquisite embroidery...... Tsk, whose second young grandmother is this?

Li Huaien has been mixing on the interface all year round, and a pair of eyes that look at people are the most vicious. Just from the simple clothes and accessories of the woman in front of him, he could conclude that he, the daughter of the life-saving wife, must have married into a big family in the capital.

Thinking of this, Li Huaien's heart rose a little worried, I don't know if this young grandmother will have a seizure on the spot after reading the account book.

"By the way, Shopkeeper Li, just now you mentioned that it is difficult to do business in the capital, is there someone who is embarrassed by our 'Li Ji'?" Wang Qifang picked up the teacup, took a small sip, then took a handkerchief and touched the corner of her mouth, and asked casually.

"Oh, it's not," Li Huaien gritted his teeth and secretly made up his mind, deciding to follow the previous plan. Now hearing Wang Qifang's question, he grinned and showed a helpless wry smile, "Miss, don't you know, first of all, the accident ten years ago, the shops in the east and west cities were smashed by the chaos of the people.

Later, the rebels were suppressed by the women's army, and our shop was finally retained, but unfortunately, the warehouse was emptied, and most of the house was destroyed...... This is also the reason why the old man has not been able to send the profits to the eldest lady."

"Oh, what else is going on?"

Wang Qifang has no concept of this at all, she was still in her hometown in Qingyuan ten years ago.

"That's right, at that time, the old man also reported the loss of the store to the government, presumably there is still an archive in the government," Li Huaien recalled the past, sighing, "The turmoil has subsided, after several years of hard work, the store has finally eased up, but there was a fire in the shop next door, it was spring, the weather was dry, and it burned to our warehouse after a while, and the good poplin full of warehouses turned into ashes in an instant...... Miss, you must have heard that this poplin is a kind of cotton cloth, and it is also the first fabric of Zhou's cotton cloth store back then, and the price is more expensive than the best tribute silk, and this alone will ruin the operation of the store for several years."

"Fire?"

So unlucky? Or is it such a coincidence? Wang Qifang listened to it, and felt that Li Huaien's words were too strange. Originally, she looked at Li Huaien's face and looked a little thinner, but he looked very loyal.

Especially after knowing that she was the owner who took over, she took the initiative to hand over the account books and warehouse keys of the store without saying a word, and the whole process was crisp and neat, without any reluctance or deliberate procrastination. This made Wang Qifang very satisfied, because Li Huaien's frank appearance allowed her to be sure that her mother did not entrust the wrong person back then.

It's just that after listening to Li Huaien's words just now, Wang Qifang always felt weird, but she couldn't think of anything wrong for a while.

"No, the fire even alarmed the guards stationed in the area, and dozens of people were deployed to put out the fire."

Li Huaien did not hesitate to say this, because what he said was the truth and there was evidence to check.

"Alas, the fire is just that, it's a natural disaster, and we can't do anything about it. But, but those gangsters in the market come to the store from time to time to harass, and every time they come, they don't say anything, but often blackmail us, shouting for what 'protection money' to pay. This alone is a bit unbearable. ”

"In this way, the shopkeeper Li is really hard," Wang Qifang suppressed the suspicion in her heart, thought of the question she had been puzzled about, and asked: "By the way, since 'Li Ji' is running so hard, why didn't the shopkeeper Li ask for help?" ”

"Uncle? Which uncle? Does he also live in Kyori? ”

When Li Huaien heard this, his expression was obviously stagnant, and his tone was a little more eager.

"Why, you don't know that my uncle and mother's eldest brother are officials in Beijing?"

Wang Qifang saw that Li Huaien's reaction was a little strange, so she deliberately tried it.

"When, be an official?" Li Huaien's face was a little stiff, he grinned a few times, shook his head and said: "Mrs. never mentioned it, but she just said that she didn't want her family to know about this business, so she ordered the old man to go to Beijing to see the shop." ”

As the two of them were talking, Amethyst walked over with a strange face, she held a few thick account books in her hand, and walked to Wang Qifang's approach, "Returning to the second young grandmother, the account room and warehouse have been counted, and there are a total of one hundred and seventeen taels of silver on the account, and there are ten horses of linen in the warehouse, more than 100 zhang of brown rope, pots and pans and other trivial items."