Cao Yingying didn't know why and walked over.
Zhao Ergou wrote four words on the paper: Caoji Trading Company.
After he started doing business, he got into the habit of keeping accounts. Gradually, he became able to write decently in his handwriting.
Her face suddenly turned pale, and she tried her best to remain calm: "I can't understand what you wrote."
"Many people in Pingan Town are saying that the Cao family has offered a reward of one hundred taels of silver to find the Cao family's daughter. The news in Hekou Town has spread to Pingan Town. You can imagine how big a fuss this matter has caused." Zhao Ergou said slowly. He said, "You must be the lost daughter of the Cao family."
A sarcastic smile appeared on Cao Yingying's face: "My stepmother is willing to pay a hundred taels of silver to find my whereabouts. It's really touching."
Seeing her sarcastic smile, Zhao Ergou felt inexplicably distressed.
He inquired about it and found out that the Cao family was a large family in Hekou Town. There were more than a hundred slaves in the house. The master was taken care of when he came in and out. They were well clothed and well-fed every day. It was a luxurious life that ordinary people could not imagine.
After all, how wronged she had been, she didn't even want to be a wealthy lady, she would rather come to Dahe Village to be an ordinary girl.
"Boss Cao is your father, I heard. He won't return to Hekou Town for another half month." Zhao Ergou's voice became softer, "You just stay in our house and wait until your father comes back. Make plans again.”
Cao Yingying said nothing.
She felt that the future was at a loss and she had no idea what to do. It seemed that she had no other choice but to wait for her father to come back.
She lowered her head and continued to arrange the cloth.
Cheng Wanwan came out of the shower, smiled and said, "Yingying, can you come over and wipe my hair?"
Cao Yingying immediately put down her work, took the dry towel in Cheng Wanwan's hand, walked to the side, and carefully dried her hair strand by strand.
"Yingying, I went to Hekou Town today and heard something."
Cheng Wanwan just started talking.
Cao Yingying said in a low voice: "Yes, I am the lost daughter of the Cao family, Aunt Zhao. I know that you are not a money-grubbing person, and I also know that you will not send me back for a hundred taels of silver, but I still want to say something , when my father comes back, I will definitely repay your kindness."
Cheng Wanwan smiled: "I didn't keep you here to repay my kindness, but because I think your little girl is pretty. I only have a son but no daughter. I can't help but feel soft when I see a pretty little girl. If you My daughter, I will definitely pamper and protect you like an eyeball."
Cao Yingying's eyes suddenly turned red.
She used to be a treasure in her mother's hands, but her mother passed away long ago.
She and her stepmother have lived under the same roof for ten years. Although they are well-dressed and well-fed, they are frightened and cautious every day. She has long forgotten what it feels like to be cherished and pampered.
She looked at Cheng Wanwan with tears in her eyes.
It would be great if Aunt Zhao was her stepmother, she wouldn't have suffered so many years of injustice.
But this is impossible.
Because her father only liked young women, the youngest concubine in the family was only two years older than her.
"Okay, stop crying, be careful if Si Dan sees it and laughs at you." Cheng Wanwan wiped her tears, "Although you are still young, you should learn to deal with some things by yourself. The daughter of the Cao family was sold. Entering a brothel is something that everyone in Hekou Town talks about now. No matter whether you are actually forced to sell yourself or not, as long as you walk through a brothel, it is equivalent to ruining your innocence. That Mrs. Cao should be arrested now Because of this incident, rumors about you are spread everywhere. By the time your father comes back, the rumors will have become a fact. Even if your father feels sorry for you, I am afraid he will not openly take you home."
Cao Yingying pursed her lips: "My father won't believe it."
"If Mrs. Cao's evidence is conclusive, even if it is fabricated personal and material evidence, it is still evidence. Do you think Dad will still believe you?" Cheng Wanwan pointed out the facts, "For men, especially successful men, family Your reputation is much more important than your daughter’s life and death, not to mention that you are not the only daughter of the Cao family. In order to protect the reputation of the Cao family and prevent the Cao family from being ridiculed, I think your father should do something Something unexpected will happen."
Cao Yingying bit her lower lip.
Her father really cares about face. If it is true that his daughter was sold into a brothel, even if the Cao family will not force her to die to prove her innocence, they will send her to a small village in the suburbs and then find another place elsewhere. After marrying a businessman, he will never have anything to do with the Cao family in this life.
She doesn't want this kind of life.
She ordered herself to calm down, and after a long time she said: "Shen Zheng and Zhao Ergou know that I did not sell myself to Yihonglou, and they can testify for me."
Cheng Wanwan looked at her and said, "Yingying, what you have to do now is not to prove that you have not been betrayed, but to use this matter to counter Mrs. Cao."
Cao Yingying opened her eyes in confusion: "Counterattack?"
Cheng Wanwan nodded.
Fortunately, she had watched some palace and house fighting dramas, otherwise she really wouldn't know how to help this child.
"Mrs. Cao did two things wrong. First, she forced you to marry an old man while your father was away. Second, after you were sold to a brothel, not only did she not rescue you, but she publicized the matter and ruined the Cao family. The person with the reputation is not you, but Mrs. Cao." Cheng Wanwan said in an orderly manner, "As the saying goes, the bad guy files a complaint first. You must collect evidence before Mrs. Cao files a complaint, and then send it to your father. Then, your father will come back. The first thing I do is to seek justice for you, rather than being used as a weapon by Mrs. Cao."
Cao Yingying listened blankly.
She never thought that she could use this incident to counteract her stepmother.
If you think about it carefully, this kind of thing has actually happened a lot over the years. According to Aunt Zhao's tricks, she has countless opportunities to fight back.
But she never thought about fighting back, so she just missed the opportunity, making her stepmother go too far every time, forcing her to run away from home.
"Aunt, I understand, thank you." Cao Yingying thanked her sincerely, "When I return to the Cao family, I will definitely repay my aunt well..."
Aunt Zhao is really the most powerful elder she has ever seen. There seems to be nothing that Aunt Zhao cannot do.
"You kid, why are you always talking about repaying me?" Cheng Wanwan tucks up her slightly dry long hair, "Two lambs are barking in the back yard. Go and feed the sheep and the rabbits."
Cao Yingying nodded and went to work.
Looking at her figure, Cheng Wanwan sighed. The material conditions of the children in the village were miserable, and the intrigues among the children in the house were also miserable.
I just hope that after this incident, Yingying can stand up and stop being bullied like this by her stepmother.
Cheng Wanwan went to do his own business.
In the past two days, the second child has started to engage in cloth business, and the third child has been sent to martial arts. The only one left in the family who can hold a big position is the eldest child.
But the boss is needed in the fields, and Huiniang is pregnant and needs the boss at home. To deliver goods to Zuixianlou, someone has to be hired to do it.
Zhao Da is familiar with the route and is a very suitable candidate. However, this person is too honest and cannot say a word to strangers. Even with Shopkeeper Yang, whom he interacts with every day, Zhao Da dare not say a few words to people face to face. talk.
Furthermore, the delivery person will temporarily keep the payment of more than 20 taels, which is an astronomical amount of money for the villagers and is difficult for anyone to believe.
But it’s okay. You can change the model and arrange for a person to deliver the goods. She will check out every three days.
Cheng Wanwan stretched out her hand under the eaves. The rain had almost stopped. She braved the drizzle and walked to the door of Lao Zhao's house.
