When the weather is warm and the old man Lou and the little mute may be gone, it is better to let the diligent and quick Sister Ma Feng come over to help, and give the Ma family shares first, which will be full of the feelings of the two families, and Sister Feng will be more attentive when the time comes.

Even if Old Man Lou and the others don't leave, when the new inn is built in the spring, the workload over there will be more and bigger.

After getting along for more than a year, she knows that Ma Yue is a reliable young man, and she can rest assured if she asks Ma Yue to help her when the time comes.

She didn't dare to recruit outsiders anymore, and she couldn't stand it with a little mute.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, the swallow building closed after half a day's business.

After eating a sumptuous New Year's dinner, Qin Liu began to be busy with big things - sharing money.

This month, I earned one hundred and seventy taels of silver, half of which was given to the little mute, one percent to Old Man Lou, one percent to Ma Ang, and thirty percent for myself—that is, fifty-one taels.

Qin Liu was still quite satisfied. In these two months, she made a total of 100 taels of silver, and after deducting the fifteen taels of silver for the banquet for Maang, and the twenty taels of silver for the land across the street, there were still seventy taels left.

This beginning is already much stronger than this time last year.

With this money, she will have a good life next year.

The little mute didn't look very happy when he took the money, and he looked indifferent.

Qin Liu was so depressed that she secretly smashed the wall - she always felt that she was humiliated by giving this money, and she was afraid of the soft and the hard.

The little mute also cut the meat every day, and she had already taken one hundred and fifty-five taels of silver, twice as much as the shopkeeper!

She also cares about him eating, drinking, and wearing warm covers!

It's unreasonable!

It is estimated that the little mute mother may not treat him as well as himself!

Well, let's just raise a costly Tartar son for yourself!

Old Man Lou smiled faintly, and his eyes were full of approval when he looked at Qin Liu. This look made Qin Liu feel that the money he paid was worth it.

Maang stood in the courtyard and took her money, his eyes complicated and painful.

Qin Liu didn't dare to look at it anymore and went back to the house.

She can understand that the poorer a person is, the more he cares about his self-esteem, and this money was given to the Ma family, but it hurt Ma Ang's self-esteem.

He was a young man with strong blood, pinched his nose and married a woman who was forced by the chief, and was forced to ask for the benefactor's shares in disguise.

Ma Ang took the money and threw it directly to his "wife" Mrs. Qu.

Mrs. Qu was overjoyed when she looked at the white flowers, and weighed the scales four times before she was sure that the white flowers and silver of seventeen taels were in her hands after a few scolding!

That's a lot of money!

Then she began to interrogate Maang again: "How much is this bonus?" She can only open a store if she is stained with your light, how can she give more! ”

Ma Ang was forced by her to ask, and said impatiently: "This is a bonus of one percent!" This is still based on past friendships! Now you're satisfied?! ”

Mrs. Qu was stunned.

Seeing this, Ma Ang was speechless, and hurriedly found an excuse to avoid the barracks.

……

Qin Liu, Old Man Lou, and Little Mute don't have any relatives in Shabaozi Town, and they don't have any good people to interact with during the New Year.

Qin Liu thought about it again and again, but still took the child and Old Man Lou to Dr. Qian, Zheng Baihu, the post next door, the grain shop owner, the grocery store, and the butcher for a walk, and brought some New Year's gifts.

They mainly come and go in the town, and everyone looks up and doesn't look down, so it's better to take the initiative and be enthusiastic.

The little mute is sensitive, and she doesn't dare to take him out.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Liu began to open the Swallow Building again - mainly because there were more pedestrians passing by on the street.

She had to seize the opportunity of the crowds in the winter to make another handful. What made her angry was that the little mute was not so honest, and sneaked out every now and then, although the meat cutting work was not delayed - he would cut a few more plates in advance, but sometimes the meat supply was not available, and Qin Liu was still very anxious.

She started it herself, and found that she couldn't do it at all—it was either thick or broken, and it was really difficult to make each piece of meat roll as thin and uniform and beautiful as a little mute.

She had no choice but to let Old Man Lou try. Old man Lou's meat cutting skills are much better than hers, but it is still a little worse than the little mute, and some guests will report that the meat slices are a little difficult to chew.

Qin Liu sighed slightly, and the title of the little mute's "First Knife Worker in Swallow Building" was firmly seated.

On the evening of the eighth day of the first lunar month, Mrs. Qu, who came back from going out, stood in the courtyard and announced a great news - she was pregnant.

The Ma family all had tense faces, and only Aunt Ma barely managed to squeeze out a smile: "Congratulations." ”

Ma Ang was not at home, Qin Liu didn't dare to continue to watch the excitement of the Ma family, and hid in the house.

Now Da Lang is watched by Qin Liu to write in red every morning and evening, and Erlang is taught a children's rhyme by her: "I came from the mountains with orchids and grass." Planted in a small garden, I hope the flowers will bloom early. I watch it three times a day, and it takes a lot of time. The orchids are still there, and there is not a single bud. In the blink of an eye, autumn arrived, and the orchid moved into the greenhouse. The dynasty is frequently cherished, and the night is not forgotten. Looking forward to the spring flowers, I can fulfill my long-cherished wishes. The garden is full of flowers, adding a lot of fragrance. ”

Ma Laohan's back injury has been recuperated for a month, and he has been cured, and he occasionally goes out of the house for activities.

Qin Liu pondered, save money for a while, do you want to go to the south to live?

It's just that she is also a little worried, Hebei people are suffering from Ma Zheng, southerners are suffering from food, she is a woman with no relatives and no reason, if she moves her family with the elderly and children, will she be robbed halfway?

This matter needs to be cautious.

From the eighth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, it is a ten-day Shangyuan Festival holiday. The business in the store is a lot busy, but the unit price is not high, many customers just order a few small dishes to order dumplings and noodles to eat, and a meal is only a hundred dollars.

There were a lot of guests on this day, and the little mute secretly went out again, and Old Man Lou was arranged by her to go to the street for temporary purchases, and she was the only one busy in the store.

In the midst of the guests' talk, Qin Liu vaguely heard Li Laohan's mournful shouts.

She hurriedly threw down the guy in her hand and ran into the backyard.

Li Laohan fell to the ground of the hall, his face was injured, and he shouted bitterly: "Child, the child has been arrested!" ”

Qin Liu chuckled in his heart, and a burst of blood rushed to the top of his head.

She took a deep breath and asked steadily, "Who took it?" "I didn't notice my voice trembling.

Her first thought was that the Tartars had struck.

The Tartar soldiers, who the army had not been able to catch, may have been hiding in the city, seeing that her family's business was booming, or perhaps they were thinking of kidnapping tickets.

"Wearing a military uniform, let you go to the second house of East Street from the west! Let you go alone! ”

Li Laohan paused and said, "Don't go by yourself, go and call Ma Da's nephew and Old Man Lou!" And the little mute! Hurry, hurry! ”

Qin Liu nodded, went to the house and took out all the silver, walked out of the door and turned back to leave ten taels of silver for Li Laohan.

If she can't come back, she has to leave some emergency money for Li Laohan.

She went to the kitchen and took a kitchen knife in her arms, first went to the dumpling shop that was still open, and said to Ma Yue: "My child was taken away, let me go to the second family in the west of East Street, you go and tell your brother." ”

Ma Yue panicked, and immediately called Aunt Ma and Sister Ma Feng, and ran away as if she was flying.