Chapter 111: Quarrel Again

Chunying was taken aback: "Going south? Where to? Why haven't you heard the second uncle mention it before? ”

Second Uncle Lu smiled bitterly: "I didn't expect it, I thought I would stay in Beijing for a year or two, but I didn't expect Master Hou to receive an urgent letter from Steward Xiao Chen to Nanjing today, saying that the aunt of the Huo family is seriously ill, and it doesn't look good, and the aunt is crying sick, so I asked the house to send another master over." ”

Mrs. Aunt? Chunying remembered that it was the young lady her mother had waited for when she was young, and she hurriedly asked, "So, Master Hou sent the eldest young master?" ”

"Master Hou can't leave, there are only a few little masters in the house, the second young master is still in the village, and he has nothing to do, the third young master is still young, except for the eldest young master, there is no other person who can do errands. It's the husband's family of the sister-in-law, and you can't just let a few stewards fill the scene. Second Uncle Lu paused, worried about Hu Fei's presence, so he cautiously didn't continue, "In short, this matter is urgent, and I have to leave the day after tomorrow." Your mother will come over tomorrow night, but you can't go home for the time being, but fortunately, there is Wei Gong and Wei Po here, and Brother Hu can also help take care of it. You have to be honest at home, don't make trouble for me! I told your mother to come and take care of her every few days. ”

Chunying was busy, and said: "I'm not a child anymore, I can do housework, I won't let you worry, second uncle can go out with confidence." Suddenly remembered that I went to conduct market research today, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "But...... Second uncle, when Brother Xiaofei goes out to do business, can I follow to help? I can pretend to be his sister and no one will recognize who I am! You're not at home, and if someone else comes to search for you, I have nowhere to avoid it, so I might as well just stay away! ”

Second Uncle Lu frowned, looked at Hu Fei, and the latter hurriedly said: "The little sister is like my own sister, I will protect her and not let others bully her." Uncle Lu, please rest assured. ”

Second Uncle Lu thought for a while and said, "Forget it, female. What does the child look like running around? Now that the weather is still hot, when it gets cooler, it's autumn again, why bother to eat the northwest wind? If you are afraid of letting people know, you will no longer go out, at most go to Wei Gong Wei Po to do needlework during the day, and then go home when it gets dark. He wasn't worried about letting people know that Chunying was here, in the end, the so-called secret she knew couldn't be counted at all now, the matter had already spread, and the second young master had already been driven to Zhuangzi, even if he came back in the future, it would not be as good as before in front of the old lady and Hou Ye, even if he knew that Chunying was an insider, he couldn't do anything to his younger brother's girl. He wanted to hide Chunying's whereabouts before, but he was just lying for his relatives, and he was afraid that she would be entangled in gossip.

Chunying was extremely disappointed in her heart, but still no. Willingly argued a few words: "It's still far from winter, second uncle, I have nothing to do anyway, it's good to see the world later." I'm only so old, pay attention to rules and etiquette? When I'm older, it's not convenient to go out at will. Besides, didn't Aunt Cui come to inquire about the news before? If she comes back and sees me here, she doesn't know if she'll go back! ”

Second Uncle Lu hesitated. There is some truth in his niece's words, he seems to think. It's too optimistic. After all, the eldest young master got this errand, and he became more and more embarrassed in front of the Hou Ye, and even the old lady would treat him closer because she was worried about her daughter, and the wife was afraid that she would be more uncomfortable, in case she really asked her to find out that the real estate in this alley was privately purchased by the eldest young master behind the back of the house, and it was very bad to slander in front of the Hou Ye. Besides, his eldest brother has already been named under his wife's cronies, and it is not good for the eldest brother to be found out by his wife's people that Chunying is here. Let her go out during the day to avoid it, and when it gets dark, then it will be difficult for Widow Cui to quietly go outside to investigate. Hu Fei has also known each other for a while and is trustworthy.

He thought about it carefully in his heart before he sighed: "I thought it would grow in Beijing. Stay, I picked you up, I knew I was leaving, and I let you continue to stay at the stone shopkeeper at the beginning. Just be careful outside, be less nosy, and think more about what you say and do. Remember that you have to go home before dark, and your mother will come looking for you! ”

Chunying was overjoyed, nodded busily, and said, "I just talked to Brother Xiaofei. After discussing, I will go back to Funing Street tomorrow to see the stone shopkeeper, but I don't need to go back, second uncle, rest assured, I can take care of myself! ”

Seeing this, Hu Fei was in his heart. I was also very happy, seeing that Uncle Lu was tired, and it was already past dinner, so he said goodbye and went back to the hospital to eat. Chunying sent him out, hurriedly turned around to make dinner, and waited for Second Uncle Lu to take a bath, and then brought the meal out.

Second Uncle Lu ate the meal, praised a few words, and said: "Look at you are grown up, you can do food and clothing by yourself, with Wei Gong Wei Po here, I am not worried, but this time I don't know how long I will go, I can't come back until the matter is over, and it is not impossible to drag it for a year and a half." If it gets too long, talk to your mother and find a time to move back home. It's been a hundred days since you broke your muscles and bones, and you've been out for half a year, and you can still deceive people when you move back. ”

Chun Ying paused on her hand: "Are you going to go for so long?" "No mistakes, no skipping words. She lowered her voice: "Is it...... That aunt is no good? Want to do something later? She suddenly remembered Lin Ruhai, the aunt of Jiafu in "Dream of Red Mansions", and it took a long time from serious illness to death.

Second Uncle Lu sighed: "In front of Little Brother Hu, it is inconvenient for Second Uncle to say. Xiao Chen's steward mentioned in the letter that Aunt Huo saw that it was not good, his family descendants were not prosperous, the aunt himself did not have his own siblings, and there was only one young lady under his knees, and I heard that the people in the clan were discussing that they would give him an heir so that he could inherit the title of Earl of Jinshan. Hou Ye was worried that as soon as the aunt died, someone would take the Huo family's family business and snub Mrs. Gu and Miss Cousin, so he specially asked the eldest young master to help with the cooking, so as to support the scene for Mrs. Gu. ”

Chunying's eyes widened, and she felt that this drama seemed familiar: "Are they so bold?" Mrs. Gu is Hou Ye's sister-in-law, right? And also...... Since Xiao Chen's steward is there, his father is also there, right? No mistakes, not a lot of words"

"Of course. Your father also brought back a peace letter, in which he mentioned that Mrs. Gu was very ill, and the housekeeper wanted to ask for a doctor, and someone deliberately stopped him, and did not allow Xiao Chen's housekeeper to enter the inner house, and it was Mrs. Gu's mother who found your father, and Xiao Chen's housekeeper invited the doctor. You say, "What's the matter?" If it weren't for your mother's previous service to Mrs. Aunt, who would have known Mrs. Aunt's grievances? ”

There are really a bunch of dirty things in these big families! Chunying remembered that her old lady accidentally mentioned the past master, and only said that she was a very smart, elegant, gentle and beautiful young lady, with a very kind temperament, never spoke loudly, and did not quarrel with others, she was very good at piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she was a housekeeper, and she was also very good to the girls, just like a fairy daughter. Although the authenticity of Lu's mother's words is questionable, not all the big girls have such a high opinion of the master, which shows that the aunt is still a good person. She was born in the Hou Mansion, her husband's family is an earl, and she has been expensive all her life, but she was suddenly hit by her husband's serious illness and was plotted by others, which can be regarded as unlucky. Thinking that such a noble lady like a fairy daughter may not have enough means to fight against her husband's clansmen.

Chunying sighed to herself here, the second uncle of the road had already finished eating, had a drink, then took out a bunch of keys, and said to her nephew: "Chun'er, this is the key to several courtyards in the alley, except for Wei Gong's place, there is a gate of each courtyard, only this one is the most complete, including the keys to all important rooms." If the eldest young master and the eldest young grandmother in the house want to come over, they all ask me to get it. Since I am going out far away, and I don't know when I will be back, I will put this thing with you, and you can put it away carefully. ”

Chunying saw that the matter was very important, carefully took the key, and saw that there were small bronze plaques hanging with red threads, engraved with the words "Wei", "Li", "Zhao", "Min" and so on, thinking that the doors of the empty courtyards in the alley were hung with signs such as "Wei House" and "Li House", so she knew that it was the corresponding key, and hurriedly turned out a small box and loaded it, took it back to the room, stuffed it into the corner of the kang, and covered it with quilts, sewing boxes and other things.

Second Uncle Lu looked at his niece's actions, nodded with a smile, and said: "Don't worry too much, most likely no one will come, but in case the young grandmother really asks someone to come to you, don't give the key to others, just lead the person to go in person." There are no valuable things in those houses now, and the important thing is to hide them from outsiders. He took out another drawing for Chun Ying to recognize, with a pattern of a jade pendant painted on it, if someone came to hold this jade pendant, it would be credible, otherwise it would never be admitted that the eldest young master owned these courtyards.

Chunying wrote them down one by one, but she was a little disappreciative in her heart. Since the eldest young master is so careful, why did he buy so many yards for nothing? Can't you keep your money in a bank? If you are afraid that your wife will know, instead of lying and pretending that there are people living in each courtyard, it is better to rent out the house, which can not only create the illusion that these houses have their own owners, but also make some money by the way. Anyway, the eldest young master has worked hard for several years and has not been able to separate the family, and when the matter of the separation is decided, it is not too late to take back the house and renovate it.

But these things have nothing to do with her, and she doesn't care.

Early the next morning, Second Uncle Lu went back to his house, and there were still many things to do in order to prepare for tomorrow's departure. Chunying made a few bags for him, and prepared winter clothes and bedding on the boat just in case, remembering that his mother would come over at night, so he ran to Hu Fei to find him.

Hu Fei had already packed up and was ready to go out, and as soon as the two of them summed up, they decided to go to Funing Street first, and then inquire about the market of fat powder on the return trip. Chunying changed her clothes and got into the carriage, Hu Fei put on a straw hat, sat in front of the car, and the carriage went all the way to Funing Street.

When they arrived at Funing Street, when Hu Fei lived here before, he was already familiar with the neighbors, and they quickly became one, and Chunying didn't bother them, and walked straight to Yunxiang Pavilion.

As soon as she entered the store, she saw that the store was quiet, there was no customer, and the guy at the counter was nowhere to be seen, only the shopkeeper Shi had his back to her, looking behind worriedly, and stomping his feet from time to time.

Chunying walked over and shouted, "Shopkeeper, what are you doing?" The shopkeeper was startled, and when he turned around and saw that it was Chunying, he hurriedly said, "Yo, why are you back?" Don't call someone to deliver a letter first......" Before the words fell, Aunt Cheng's shout was already heard from the small building in the backyard: "Dream! I'm not going to give a single one! You're dead! ”

The shopkeeper shouted upstairs anxiously and worriedly: "Sister, you dissipate your anger and tell your brother-in-law well, don't quarrel!" What answered him was a teacup that fell from upstairs, and Uncle Cheng's roar: "Vixen, look at what you have become?!" That's my money! My hard-earned money! ”

Seeing that there was another quarrel upstairs, Chun Ying curiously poked the stone shopkeeper: "What's wrong?" It's been more than a month, is it possible that you've been arguing all the time? ”

"Isn't it?" No mistakes, no word skipping. Shopkeeper Shi sighed, "Originally, I had persuaded my sister to go home, even if I was angry again, I had to think about the two children, right?" My sister can live with me, but Su Luosui didn't leave her own father, but without her own mother by her side, I don't know if I will be angry! My sister was already soft, but I hated the concubine, and I didn't know about the demon moth, isn't this? It's noisy again! ”

There was a sound of kicking and kicking on the stairs, and Uncle Cheng hurriedly ran down, looking like his face was still bruised, quite embarrassed, scolding non-stop, angry, and really no grace left. The shopkeeper Shi hurriedly greeted and supported him: "Brother-in-law, my sister is just angry for a while, so she is confused, don't you be angry with her?" ”

Uncle Cheng said angrily: "Brother, you say this is a problem?!" I've been running around for most of my life, and I see that there is a good opportunity to make a fortune in front of me, as long as your sister takes out the money I earned in the past, and she will be the boss steadily, but she is so ignorant, just drink flying vinegar! Brother-in-law, it's not easy for me to make money! If she can't help me, forget it, why is she still holding me back?! ”

Shopkeeper Shi said with a smile: "That's what I said, but ...... That's a thousand taels of silver! Not a small amount. My sister is also afraid that you will be deceived......"

"Am I the fool?!" Uncle Cheng pursed his lips disdainfully, "This is because people took a fancy to my business duty and shrewdness, so they pulled me into the gang!" It's also for the sake of being a local! People pay eight costs, I pay twenty percent, as long as you find a good store, you can account for half of the shares! I'll take care of the shop. Where to find such a good thing?! ”

The shopkeeper just reassured him repeatedly, but Aunt Cheng heard it upstairs, but shouted loudly: "You let him go!" I won't give any of them, so let him die of this heart! ”

The stone shopkeeper sneered, but Uncle Cheng rolled his eyes angrily: "Listen! Listen! He sulked for a while, but he suddenly had an idea, and hurriedly grabbed his wife's and brother's hand: "I said, brother, how about you come to participate in a share?" The two of us are in partnership, I have four hundred taels in my hand, and you can also give a few hundred, no matter where you borrow a few hundred, you can make up enough for a thousand, no, two thousand! Let's take the lion's share! You know a lot of cloth merchants, and you are familiar with the big families in Beijing, and in the future in the shop, we still have the final say? In a few years, the shop will be ours! ”

The stone shopkeeper was stunned, but Chun Ying next to him frowned.