Rice shop.

The doors were wide open, but no customers came in.

Even if the neighborhood is strong, the salt sold by the shop has been designated by the government, and it will soon spread to the hundreds, and the food in the shop will not be sold.

Orphans and widows stayed for a long time and did not open.

Zhu Niang is checking the accounts.

I don't know if I don't check.

It turned out that a lot of money did not match the small accounts kept by Zhu Niang in private, and there was a lot of silver deficit in the account, which suddenly made Zhu Niang's guilt for Zhu Hao's slander of Sun's shopkeeper greatly reduced.

At noon, four people came in the door.

The leader was Xia Po sent by Zhu Niang to invite people, followed by an old man with gray hair, Zhu Hao thought about it carefully and recalled that this person was Uncle Zhong, who was only forty-two years old this year, but he was no different from a sixty-year-old man in later generations, which shows how much pressure life is.

Followed by two young people, one named Yu San, with a thin figure and a shrewd face, and the other was honest and short, Zhu Hao felt very strange.

"Master, are you looking for us?"

Uncle Zhong came over to salute.

"Hmm."

Zhu Niang put away the account book, asked Aunt Li to pass through the door panel, hung up the sign that was closed, and then greeted, "Let's talk to the backyard, today I am looking for you to come to work and settle the day's wages for one day." ”

……

……

The group reached the large backyard through the corridor connecting the shop and the courtyard.

Xia Po came in with her.

In this era, there are many widows in front of the door, especially Zhu Niang is still a festival woman, if you invite a man to the inner courtyard to talk for no reason, it will cause gossip, and you must have an old Xia Po to witness it.

As Yazi, Xia Po is not only a messenger, but also a witness, and she is a neighbor, and she has a good relationship with Zhu Niang.

"Here's the drawing, and we want to follow it and give the backyard a makeover."

Zhu Hao took out the simple drawings he drew with charcoal.

It's just an approximation, the terrain is high and low, and there are specific processes, which need to be supervised by him.

Uncle Zhong didn't look at it carefully, glanced at the drawings slightly, and then looked at Zhu Niang with puzzled eyes: "Zhu is in charge, I have also heard about what happened before, and I am deeply sorry for this, it is the Zhu family...... I'm sorry for you. But you can't ruin a good yard, I'm afraid...... It's not good for your reputation, right? ”

Zhu Niang was stunned.

has a noble character like her, and she didn't understand why Uncle Zhong said this for a while.

Zhu Hao said: "Uncle Zhong misunderstood, we are not going to destroy the yard, but to renovate it and use it to dry salt." ”

"Salt?"

Uncle Zhong looked confused.

Zhu Niang said distressedly: "At the beginning, in order to enter the salt, the shop invested more than 200 taels of silver at one time, and owed a large amount of foreign debt, but now the salt is poured into the pool, and I can only find a way to refine it." According to Xiao Hao, salt can be obtained through exposure to the scorching sun. ”

Uncle Zhong was relieved, and then he was puzzled: "This shop has such a good business, and it should make a lot of money at ordinary times, this purchase ...... Why do you have to borrow foreign debt? ”

Zhu Niang didn't want to say anything, but Xia Po on the side was full of gloom: "Haven't you been taken away by your own family?" In fact, the daughter-in-law of the Zhu family has a very hard life......"

Uncle Zhong nodded in understanding, and then pointed behind him, "This is the apprentice who has just been accepted by the old man, his father died early, and he has followed his mother since he was a child, and his name is He Qiang......"

The honest and sturdy young man approached and saluted: "The little one greets the lady, the little one is called Gouzi, and the name He Qiang was given by the master." ”

People look stupid, their eyes reveal a sense of innocence, and they are sixteen or seventeen years old, compared to three young people one or two years old.

Zhu Niang said: "The old rule, do 20 wen a day, Uncle Zhong co-ordinates the project and adds 10 wen a day, takes care of the meal at noon, and can bring the food back at night...... Is there a problem? ”

Uncle Zhong and Yu San are veterans, so naturally there is no problem, but He Qiang smiled innocently: "Can you still take the meal home?" That's okay if you don't get paid. ”

Zhu Hao reminded: "Mother, let Uncle Zhong invite two more people, we have to rush to work, otherwise...... It's too late. ”

Uncle Zhong originally planned to finish all the work with three people, so that he could work for a few more days and get more wages. But Zhu Niang said that he wanted to catch up with the construction period, so he had to go back to the dock and call three more Lifu to come over, and six people worked together.

Zhu Hao had already inspected the terrain and immediately instructed a few people to start digging from the lowest place in the backyard.

……

……

After arranging things properly, Zhu Hao could finally breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to leave the shop and take a good look at the state city.

Naturally, what he wanted to go to most was Xingwangfu.

"If I can establish a relationship with the young Zhu Houxi, I will be a close minister of the Son of Heaven in the future, how many years can I struggle less? It's not impossible to pay homage to the prime minister! But a companion is like a tiger, and it is easy to have problems if you are not careful...... Oh yes, and Lu Bing, the people around Zhu Houxi have basically ascended to heaven...... But it's not easy to get to know Zhu Houxi as me......"

Outside the door of the shop is the main street that runs through the north and south of the state city, and the road where four carriages can be paralleled is lined with rows of shops, with many signboards and many guises.

"Fengshengxing, Dadetang, Liubiju, Fumaoxing, Qingyutang, Taihezhuang, Yueshengzhai, Zhibaolin......" along the way, Zhu Hao's eyes saw that all the names were beautiful, and the front of the store was fluttering high.

These shops are tall, with blue bricks and blue tiles, carved birds and beasts on the eaves, and the window lattices are also finely carved, the materials are exquisite, and the wooden through-head door panels have been removed.

"My own business, compared with other people's business, alas, ......"

The more Zhu Hao shopped, the more he was in the mood, so he simply turned back, and when he returned to the shop, he found that Zhu Niang and Aunt Li at the counter looked unhappy and seemed to be in trouble again.

"Mother, is something wrong?"

Zhu Niang nodded: "When you go out here, a creditor comes to the door and asks us to repay the money, in fact, the debt is not due, but they heard that we destroyed the salt, and they are afraid that we will repay the debt, so they will come to the door in advance to collect it." ”

Aunt Li said with a bitter face: "They also said that if they don't pay it back tomorrow, they will bring someone to the door to make trouble, and there may be a lot of trouble at that time." ”

Zhu Hao smiled faintly.

Debt collection must be a dirty trick made by the Zhu family.

"Mother, you listen to me, go to the creditor and talk to it. You tell them that you can't repay the money for the time being, and if they want to make trouble, they can make trouble, and they will be happy to bully the court's concubines. ”

Then Zhu Hao said his plan.

The more Zhu Niang listened, her eyes widened, and finally said, "Xiaohao, let's ...... It's really a debt to someone, and it's only natural to pay back the debt. ”

"It is only natural to repay the money when it is due, and it is not reasonable to repay it in advance...... Tell them, don't think that we don't know that these debts are actually put by the Zhu family, and now the Zhu family can use them, encourage them to come to the door to collect, and when the shop returns to the Zhu family, they will definitely cross the river and tear down the bridge.

"The Zhu family is so ruthless to their own family, will they let go of the Zhu family's festival to make trouble? When the time comes, hum...... I'm afraid that the benefits they get will not be enough to compensate for the loss of the Zhu family's reputation......"

Zhu Niang and Aunt Li glanced at each other, obviously what Zhu Hao said was very likely to happen.

It's just that they don't understand how Zhu Hao came up with this hurtful idea.

"Mother, we are now going to divide and disintegrate the relationship between the creditor and the Zhu family, you go now, so as not to turn around and be blocked by the Zhu family's way to make peace, if it doesn't work, we will think about the next move."

……

……

Zhu Niang immediately went out to negotiate with the creditor as she said.

The creditors are all businessmen in the city, and they usually have a good relationship with Zhu Niang, after listening to Zhu Niang's analysis, they all broke out in a cold sweat, and they all expressed their understanding, and agreed to repay the debt when it was due.

Mipu escaped again.

When Zhu Wanjian learned the news, he was angry and went to Zhu Jiashi to complain, but was stopped by Steward Liu.

"Get out of the way!"

Zhu Wanjian said angrily.

Steward Liu's attitude was resolute: "The old lady is receiving the special envoy of Jinyiwei from Jingshi, and no one is allowed to enter. ”

"You!"

Zhu Wanjian glared angrily.

This housekeeper Liu was brought by Zhu Jia's family from his mother's family, and he belonged to the lineage of the lineage, and the family accounts were all managed by him, and Zhu Wanjian hated his itchy teeth.

"Good dogs don't get in the way!"

Zhu Wanjian pushed aside Steward Liu and went straight inside.

In the main hall, Zhu Jiashi, the old lady of the Zhu family, was meeting with a brocade guard wearing a flying fish suit and wearing an embroidered spring knife at his waist.

This person's surname is Lin, he is thirty years old, tall and mighty, and heroic.

“…… Old lady, this letter is to be delivered for Zhu Deputy Qianhu at the risk of killing his head, you should recognize the handwriting on it, and it must be burned immediately after reading, and no clues can be left, otherwise it will not be beneficial to Zai Xia and the Zhu family. ”

Lin Baihu was very cautious.

Zhu Jiashi finished reading the letter, and burned the letter paper with the candle on the offering table.

"My son...... Is he good in Beijing? ”

"Not so good."

Lin Baihu shook his head, "Zhu Deputy Qianhu was arranged by Zhang Yongzhang's father-in-law to guard the imperial mausoleum in the first year, and suffered a lot, and gave a generous gift at the beginning of the year, so he was able to transfer back to the Fusi Yamen in Beizhen, but he still undertook the drudgery of guarding the edict prison, but fortunately, although he couldn't go back to his private residence every day, he could be regarded as having tiles to cover his head, and it said that the news that the Zhu family had sent back to the capital in the past two years was insufficient, and it was difficult to make a difference, so it was ...... Alas! ”

Zhu Jiashi looked sad: "My Zhu family was ordered by the first emperor and stayed in Huguang for 20 years, but King Xing has followed the rules since he arrived in Anlu and will never communicate with courtiers, how much news can my Zhu family send back to the capital?" ”

Lin Baihu understood the situation of the Zhu family and smiled bitterly, "Back then, the imperial horse eunuch Liang Fang and others conspired with Concubine Wan to abolish the emperor and establish the royal affairs, and the emperor was still haunted by himself before his death, but now His Majesty has been on the throne for a long time, but there are no heirs left, and the queen mother is quite concerned about the affairs of Huguang, and has made a decree to inquire many times in the year. ”

"The Queen Mother?"

"Yes, His Majesty has rarely asked about the affairs of Xingwang today, but the Queen Mother knows the past and often inquires. It is said that if you want to make Deputy Zhu Qianhu keep the clouds open in Beijing, you have to start from Xingwangfu. ”

Lin Baihu clenched his fists, "That's all for the next word." ”

Zhu Jiashi got up: "Okay, let's send Lin Baihu back to Beijing...... The silver is in a box, so you can send someone to take it away. ”

Just as he was about to go out, a loud shout suddenly came from the door: "...... Two small flags dare to spread wild in my Zhu family? My father is still a thousand households in brocade clothes! If you don't get out of the way, I want you to look good! ”

But it was the brocade guards brought by Lin Baihu who blocked the door, which made Zhu Wanjian, who couldn't break in, furious.

The main hall door opens.

Zhu Jiashi came out with Lin Baihu.

Lin Baihu hugged his fist at Zhu Jia's again, and without even saying goodbye, he asked people to carry the box out.

"Put down the box!"

Zhu Wanjian shouted angrily again.

Zhu Jiashi was angry: "No, Xiaozi, what's the matter with you here?" Don't get out of the way, the family law is waiting! ”

Zhu Wanjian is usually spoiled by the old lady, thinking that his father is bedridden and his brother is in Beijing, and he is the head of the family.

Unexpectedly, in front of outsiders, her mother scolded herself without any face.

When Lin Baihu took people away, Zhu Wanjian and Zhu Jiashi entered the main hall and immediately asked, "Mother, who is that?" Why did he give him so much money two or three times a year? Our Zhu family is not a good church. ”

"This matter has nothing to do with you."

Zhu Jia's expression was indifferent.

"Isn't it the eldest brother, he is in the capital and spends as much time drinking as his loser son? Our Zhu family's annual harvest is only one or two thousand taels, and the shop of the third family is worth a thousand taels if it takes so much effort to recover it? I don't want my mother to bring it to the eldest brother as soon as it changes hands...... Mother, your heart can't be biased like this, right? ”

Zhu Wanjian was emotional, feeling that she had worked hard to manage the family business, but she was treated poorly.

Zhu Jiashi was furious: "How much has your eldest brother suffered all these years in Beijing?" The younger brother has no sympathy and pity? ”

"Bullshit, he's the deputy of Jinyi Wei, and he is majestic in the capital, I don't think it's okay, hard? Hmph, will you suffer if you spend one or two thousand taels of silver a year? Eccentricity is eccentricity, don't find reasons to prevaricate indiscriminately...... Son went. ”

Mother and son parted unhappily.

Zhu Jiashi stood at the door, watching his son's back disappear behind the porch, with a calm face and no words.