"How?"

Lu Zhengan looked at everyone's reactions, and gently shook the cup of pear tea in his hand, wanting to cool down faster.

"It's okay, it tastes sweet, and it tastes weird."

Lu Changgen had heard some things from Lu Zhengan before, and when he heard Lu Qingshan say this, he said with a smile: "This autumn pear tea not only tastes good, but also moistens the lungs and cleans the heart, eliminates phlegm and relieves cough." Like you smoke a cigarette pouch occasionally, drinking a pot has a lot of benefits. ”

"Ouch, why is it so lively today? Where are the big guys here? ”

When everyone heard the sound of talking, they immediately looked behind them, only to see Song Xiren and Song Lan carrying things and had just entered the courtyard gate.

The two elders of the Song family often came and went, and Song Xiren did not know him in the same village as the same people, and there was no one in Lujia Village who did not know him. Seeing them enter, everyone got up from their stools and greeted them.

After greeting everyone, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu brought out preserved pears and pear tea for the two elders to taste.

If the people in the village say that it is good, then Lu Zheng'an always has these doubts in his heart. After all, there are few people in the village, and my father-in-law walks outside all the year round, so his knowledge is naturally not comparable to that of the people in the village.

Therefore, when Lu Zhengan stood aside and watched his father-in-law and mother-in-law taste the pear, Lu Zhengan kept breathing a sigh of relief. It wasn't until he saw his father-in-law and mother-in-law nodding in unison that Lu Zhengan let go of his heart.

Although the two elders of the Song family are not strangers, they are also first-class guests no matter what. After talking with the people of Lujia Village for a while, they said hello to Lu Zheng'an and his family and said goodbye one after another.

After sending people out of the door, Song Xiren hugged Lu Xingyi and said to Lu Zhengan: "Didn't you say that you wanted to buy a shop before?" I do know one, that shop is in Yuanyang City, the location and size are quite suitable. ”

"Yuan Yang? How did the father know ? But have you already seen it? ”

"This shop belongs to an old fellow of mine, and I went there once last year when I bought it. The scale of the shop is not small, and there is a warehouse in the back. Although it is not in the downtown area, it is not far from the city gate, and the location is not bad. ”

As soon as he heard that the shop still had a warehouse, Lu Zheng'an was immediately moved. However, the price of this kind of shop is generally not cheap, even though Lu Zhengan has earned a lot of income recently, but I am afraid that it may not be possible to buy such a shop.

According to my father, this shop is not cheap. Huai Shu and I probably have more than 400 taels in our hands now, I'm afraid it's not enough, right? ”

Song Xiren knew that Lu Zheng'an was selling good dried peaches this year, but he didn't expect to make so much money. After being stunned for a moment, he replied: "The price of this shop is 500 taels, but it doesn't mean that we will give him as much as he wants." Besides, this year's year is not good, and there are not many people who are willing to take over such a big shop, and when the time comes, it is estimated that four hundred and fifty taels should be able to win it. ”

After that, Song Xiren handed over Lu Xingyi in his arms to Song Huaishu, turned his head and continued: "Have you had anything to do these days?" If it's okay, let's go to Yuanyang, and you can see how the shop is. If you think it's appropriate, we'll make a decision. ”

"I'm fine, it's just my father's shop......"

Hearing this, Song Xiren waved his hand indifferently. "The goods in the shop have just arrived, and there is no business now, Xiao Chen himself is enough in the shop, and it will be enough for us to go back and forth for seven or eight days."

Hearing what his father-in-law said, Lu Zheng'an was also very moved, and turned his head to look at Song Huaishu. Seeing that he nodded to himself, Lu Zhengan agreed.

"Okay, then bother my father to accompany me on this trip."

"It's all a family so polite What to do, have a good rest tonight, let's leave early tomorrow morning."

Because the weather was getting colder and colder, Lu Zhengan didn't dare to take Song Huaishu and Lu Xingyi's father and daughter to toss around. After Lu Zhengan carefully instructed Song Huaishu several times, he took the father and daughter to sleep. As soon as the sky was bright, Lu Zhengan packed up his things and went to the town.

At this time, Song Xiren had already rented a carriage and waited at the entrance of the town, and after Lu Zheng'an arrived, the father and son took the carriage and walked in the direction of Yuanyang.

……

Yuanyang is not smaller than Linzhou City, but because it is farther away than Linzhou, people in Hualong Town naturally go to Linzhou more often.

At the beginning of the Youshi period, Lu Zheng'an and Song Xiren finally arrived outside Yuanyang City, registered their numbers at the clerk's office at the gate, and paid the entrance tax.

Looking at the brilliant lights in the city, the father and son, who had been nesting in the carriage for two days, finally couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

By this time, it was getting late, and it was too late to go to the shop. Song Xiren led Lu Zheng'an to find a inn with a decent environment to live in, and asked Xiao Er to send two buckets of water in, and after the two took a good bath, they each rested.

I didn't dream until dawn, and when Lu Zhengan was awakened by a knock on the door, he found that it was already dark outside. He hurriedly turned over and got up from the bed, and when he opened the door, he saw his father-in-law standing at the door with two brown papers.

Seeing Lu Zhengan's sleepy face, Song Xi smiled lovingly: "Hurry up and wash your face and have breakfast, I bought beef buns, you can taste them." ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, scratched his messy hair, and said to Song Xiren: "Why didn't my father wake me up? ”

"You haven't had a good rest all this way, and now you finally have a good night's sleep, what do I tell you to do." With that, Song Xiren walked into the room, put the buns on the table, and continued to Lu Zhengan: "Isn't it too dry to just eat buns? I'll go downstairs and ask Xiao Er to bring you another bowl of porridge, right? ”

"No, no, that's it. Has my father ever eaten it? If you don't have anything to eat, let's eat together. ”

Song Xiren touched the teapot on the table, and when he saw that it was cold, he carried it out, and as he walked, he said: "I have already eaten outside, you can eat it while it is hot, and I will go down there and bring you a pot of hot water." ”

Lu Zhengan saw his father-in-law carrying the kettle downstairs, so he went to the basin rack behind the door and began to wash. When Lu Zhengan cleaned himself up, Song Xiren walked up with a pot of hot water. After watching Lu Zhengan finish eating, the two of them went downstairs and walked in the direction of the shop.

Song Xirenti's shop is also in the grocery business, facing Weishui Lake, and the environment is not bad.

Lu Zhengan followed Song Xiren into the shop, and the shopkeeper was looking down and writing something, but he didn't notice the two of them entering.

Seeing this, Song Xiren walked to the counter with a smile, stretched out his hand and knocked on his counter, and then said with a smile: "Boss, how much is maltose a catty?" ”

The shopkeeper's hair has turned gray, and he is no longer young. Hearing someone inquiring, the old shopkeeper continued to write, and replied without raising his head: "Fifteen wen a catty." ”

Seeing that the old shopkeeper didn't hear his own voice, Song Xiren still couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Can you buy 20 catties cheaper?" ”

Hearing Song Xiren say this, the old shopkeeper finally noticed the abnormality. Looking up at Song Xiren, he squeezed his gray eyebrows and looked at it, then he put down the brush in his hand with a smile and walked out of the counter quickly.

"Oh, I still have a big guest here, it turns out to be you, Brother Song." As he spoke, the old shopkeeper took Song Xiren's hand and let him go to the inner hall with a smile. "Come on, come on, please sit inside."

When the two of them were halfway there, the old shopkeeper remembered Lu Zheng'an, who was following behind. After looking up at Lu Zhengan carefully for a moment, he shook Song Xiren's arm and asked suspiciously, "Brother Song, is this ......?"

"This is my son, come out with me to see the world." Saying that, Song Xiren said to Lu Zhengan with a smile: "Zheng'an, hurry up and greet your Uncle Ouyang." ”

Hearing this, Lu Zheng'an hurriedly responded and made a junior salute to Ouyang Li.

Seeing this, Ouyang Li stepped forward to hold Lu Zhengan's arm and boasted, "No need to be polite, no need to be polite." Ouch, my brother's son is really talented. I don't know if I've ever been married? ”

Hearing Ouyang Li say this, Song Xiren immediately laughed. "Oh, let's be honest, this is my son-in-law. Not only is he filial to me, but he is also self-motivated, and he has always wanted to open his own shop to do a small business. I heard that Brother Ouyang's shop is going to be sold, and I think they are all acquaintances, and the size of the shop is appropriate, so why don't I take him to see it? ”

Although Ouyang Li was surprised that Song Xiren agreed to his son's agreement with someone, this was a private matter, and he didn't want to inquire too much, so he smiled and led the two to the inner hall.

After some greetings, Song Xiren took a sip of tea and said to Lu Zhengan with a smile: "Isn't it unintentional to listen to our older people? Why don't you go outside first? ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan raised his eyes and looked at his father-in-law's expression, knowing that he was giving himself a hint and asking him to go out to see if there was any dissatisfaction with the surrounding environment of the shop. So he stood up with a confused expression and confessed to his father-in-law and Ouyang.

"Eh, young man, it's all like that. You went out for a stroll, and I haven't seen your father for a long time, and I'm trying to talk. ”

When Lu Zhengan heard this, he bowed his hand to the two of them, and then withdrew from the shop.

The surface of Weishui Lake is about dozens of zhang wide, the lake water is turquoise, reflecting the golden sunshine, and the scenery is very good. In addition, a circle of willow trees is planted around Weishui Lake, and the willow branches sway gently with the breeze, like a graceful dancing queen.

Diagonally opposite Ouyang Li is a two-story restaurant built by the lake, although it is not yet there, the restaurant has already seen many customers come to the door, and it seems that business is very good. Lu Zhengan looked up at the signboard of the restaurant, and thought that he would bring his father-in-law over to try it later.

After a while, Lu Zhengan walked around the street for a while, and then returned to the shop. At this time, Ouyang Li and Song Xiren had already come out, and when they saw Lu Zhengan coming back, they both looked at him with a smile on their faces.

"How? Is the surrounding environment better than that of Linzhou ? ”

"Yes, the scenery of this Weishui Lake is really good. It's perfect to open a restaurant or something. But ......"

Lu Zhengan raised his eyes and glanced at his father-in-law and Ouyang Li, and said the rest of the words.

Seeing him like this, Ouyang Li was a little curious. I wanted to ask clearly, but I was interrupted by Song Xiren on the side.

"Forget it, it's lunchtime. We haven't seen each other for a long time, and now our brother is the east, let's have a drink. With that, Song Xiren asked Ouyang Li to close the shop and dragged Ouyang Li to the Shen Ji Restaurant opposite.

As soon as Lu Zheng'anfu entered Shen Kee Restaurant, he looked up at the names of dishes carved with bamboo chips hanging on the counter, and only felt that this Shen Ji Restaurant had an inexplicable sense of familiarity. However, now that the two elders were already going upstairs hand in hand, Lu Zhengan hurriedly followed, regardless of his thoughts.

……

Ouyang Li was not a good drinker, and Lu Zheng'an's face was already flushed when he saw that he was persuaded by his father-in-law to drink two glasses of wine.

"Brother Ouyang, isn't your shop very good, why do you suddenly want to sell it?"

Hearing Song Xiren mention this topic, Ouyang Li couldn't help but sigh. "Didn't your untalented nephew get a petty official in Shangjing a few years ago, and he was promoted to the top if he had to be taken care of by Shangfeng. No, they just want to pick me up and the. I was originally unwilling, but I couldn't stand it and agreed. ”

Speaking of this, Ouyang Li looked at his shop through the window, his face full of reluctance. "I corresponded with you, brother, because I wanted to talk about the anguish in my heart. Second, I also want to ask you if you have a reliable candidate who you want to take over. After all, this shop is also an ancestral property, and I am quite reluctant to sell it coldly. ”

Hearing this, Song Xiren patted Ouyang Li's shoulder and gently persuaded: "My nephew should be happy to be so filial to my brother, although this shop is an ancestral property, it is not as important as the child's heart for himself." You say yes, right? ”

"What my brother said is, after all, we are handed down from our ancestors, and we still want to find a suitable person to take over." As he spoke, Ouyang Li looked at Lu Zheng'an, who was speechless, and asked with a smile: "Your nephew looks like a reliable person, but I don't know if he likes it." ”

Seeing Ouyang Li looking at himself, Lu Zhengan owed himself, and then replied: "Uncle, this shop is really good, and the environment is good. Just ......"

Ouyang Li saw Lu Zheng'an hesitate again, his expression was immediately stunned, and he put down the chopsticks in his hand and said to him: "It's all my own family, but it's okay to say it." ”

Hearing him say this, Lu Zheng'an immediately lowered his eyes and replied: "It's just that the shop faces Weishui Lake, and the water vapor is too strong, and mosquitoes are easy to breed in the summer season." Moreover, I heard from my father that the price offered by my uncle was really high for my nephew. I, I don't have that much silver......"

After Lu Zhengan finished speaking, he touched the back of his head with a confused expression.

Hearing Lu Zhengan's words, Ouyang Li and Song Xiren were stunned for a moment, and then immediately laughed. Ouyang Li patted Song Xiren on the shoulder and teased: "Speaking of which, the elder brother is not short of money, how can he make it difficult for the child to be like this?" ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan's face turned red, and he hurriedly waved his hand to help Song Xiren defend himself: "No, no, no, my uncle misunderstood, and my father has helped us a lot. Now that my father is getting older, we can't let him worry about these trivial things for us. ”

Seeing Lu Zhengan like this, Ouyang immediately laughed. patted Lu Zheng'an's arm and smiled at Song Xiren: "Brother Song, you, who are as shrewd as a fox, have found such a honest son-in-law. If I want to sell this shop to you, how much silver can you pay? ”

As soon as Ouyang Li said this, Lu Zheng'an's heart jumped suddenly. Trying his best to stabilize his mind, he said to Ouyang Li: "Four hundred and twenty taels, although it is not a lot, this is already all the belongings of our family. ”

Lu Zheng'an's voice fell, and after Ouyang Li was silent, he nodded at Lu Zhengan. Song Xiren, who was sitting on the side, looked at his expression, and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Ouyang Li by raising his hand.

Song Xiren was also an interesting person, and when he saw this, he didn't say anything more, and poured Ouyang Li a glass of wine with a smile, and the dinner table resumed its previous liveliness.

The dishes at Shen Kee Restaurant are good, and the three of them are very happy to eat. By the time I came out of the restaurant, it was almost time to apply.

At this time, Ouyang Li was already a little drunk, and after Song Xiren and Lu Zhengan helped him call a carriage to send people home, the two of them walked to the inn where they were staying.

On the way back, Song Xiren remembered what Lu Zhengan had said during the banquet and hurriedly asked, "Zheng'an, is this shop really not suitable?" I think that although it is quite close to Weishui Lake, as long as you are more diligent in summer, mosquitoes should not be a problem. ”

Lu Zhengan nodded, "It's true, but if you buy a shop, you are 100% satisfied, and you have to find something wrong, otherwise people will see their thoughts, and it will inevitably not raise the price." ”

Saying that, Lu Zhengan continued: "Uncle Ouyang's shop has also been seen before and after, this street has also walked around, the crowd is okay, and more importantly, next to the Shen Ji Restaurant, if it is operated well, the business should not be bad." ”

Hearing Lu Zhengan say this, Song Xiren relieved his heart. "Then we'll go to him tomorrow and pick up the shop?"

"Wait two more days, since we are here, let's take a good stroll, and just test Uncle Ouyang's bottom limit." If there is really no suitable one, it is not too late for us to go to Uncle Ouyang again. ”

Seeing that Lu Zheng'an had already made up his mind, Song Xiren stopped saying anything. The father and son returned to the inn and rested for another night, and the next day they walked together in Yuanyang City.

Indeed, as Song Xiren said, Yuanyang City is indeed much larger than Linzhou. Moreover, it is backed by the north-south trade route, and there are many merchants who come and go. However, in the prosperous area, the business of ordinary people's shops is not bad, and they have no intention of making a sale. Even those who want to sell out are all priced at extremely high prices, far exceeding the price of Lu Zheng's peace of mind.

The two of them wandered around most of Yuanyang City, and finally found one. This person's family also sells dry goods, and because the store has no supply of goods, and the family is sick, they want to change hands when they see Lu Zhengan asking. But the other party asked for eight hundred taels when he opened his mouth, and he didn't sell any less.

Although the other party's position is good, and the shop doesn't need to change too much after taking over, it can save a fortune. It's just that the other party's asking price is too high, so Lu Zhengan hesitated for a moment and then gave up.

Song Xiren also felt that the price was a bit inflated, and he didn't feel a pity when he heard Lu Zhengan say to give up. "If you say six hundred taels, you can still think about it. After all, I used to sell dry goods, and I basically didn't need to touch the decoration or something, and I could use it directly when the time came. However, the 800 taels are really a bit high, and it is really not cost-effective to buy them. ”

After that, Song Xiren couldn't help but sigh, "In the end, Ouyang's shop is more cost-effective, and I originally pressed down some for you." But when I heard him say it was an ancestral property, I didn't have the heart to open my mouth. Let's take a look again, maybe you can meet the right one again. ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan nodded. As soon as the father and son entered the house, they heard the inn's junior second man come up and ask, "Second master, there is just now an uncle surnamed Ouyang who left a letter for the second master." ”

As he spoke, the little second took the letter out of his sleeve pocket and presented it to Song Xiren with both hands.

Song Xiren unfolded the letter with a suspicious expression, and when he saw that the letter was actually written by Ouyang Li, he couldn't help but be stunned. "Father, who left us this letter?"

Song Xiren replied while looking at it: "Yes Ouyang, said Let's go to Shen Ji Restaurant for a while, I estimate that Ouyang is relieved." ”