Shen Luzhu and Chu Yi saw Jiang Juan off and were no longer in the mood to continue running the stall, so they collected the paper money stall in advance. Chu Yi returned to the backyard and continued working, and Shen Luzhu moved a small stool to sit aside. Chu Yi couldn't persuade his wife, and he was afraid that she would be cold, so he took the stove from the stall and let Shen Luzhu warm up the fire.
"Chu Yi, Xiaobao will be fine!"
"Will do!"
Seeing that Shen Luzhu was silent and a little depressed, Chu Yi thought for a while and said, "I haven't seen my aunt and cousin since I was eight years old!"
"Did something happen between my aunt and my grandfather's house?" Shen Luzhu had vaguely guessed it just now. The cousins did not recognize each other. Something happened to Jiang Juan's cousin's family and she needed money urgently. Instead of going to her grandfather's house, she had been looking for him for many years. Unseen cousin.
"Well, let's break up the relationship!"
Chu Yi's aunt Cui Ying was the youngest daughter of the Cui family. When she was sixteen, she married Jiang Er from nearby Zhutun Village. In the second year of their marriage, they gave birth to their daughter Jiang Juan. When Jiang Juan was four years old, her father Jiang Er contracted a serious illness and died within two months!
Their daughter was childless and her husband was dead. The Cui family was worried that Cui Ying would have a hard time in the Jiang family, so they planned to take her and Jiang Juan home. The Jiang family did not agree with Jiang Juan going to the Cui family, and Cui Ying was reluctant to let go of her daughter, so they had to give up!
But who would have thought that the next year, news came out that Cui Ying was getting married to none other than Jiang Er's eldest brother, the widower who was raising his daughter alone after his wife died!
As soon as the news came out, the Cui family quickly went to Cui Ying for verification, worried that she was forced by the Jiang family and planned to snatch their daughter back directly!
As a result, Cui Ying told Grandma Cui that she was willing to marry Jiang Da!
The Jiang family is naturally happy about this matter. Of the two sons of the Jiang family, the younger son is gone and the older son has no wife, leaving only a granddaughter. If Cui Yingruo marries the elder Jiang, there will be two granddaughters. In the future, you don’t have to worry about getting a stepmother or your mother remarrying and becoming fatherless. Secondly, you also save a fortune in remarrying your eldest son. Although it may sound unpleasant to say it out loud, over time, Who still remembers this about their family?
Cui Ying was determined to get married, and the Jiang family was happy to get married. The Cui family tried their best but couldn't stop her!
"My grandpa and grandma broke off the relationship with my aunt in a fit of anger. Since then, I have never seen her again!"
Shen Luzhu couldn't help but sigh a little after hearing this: "Chu Yi, we must always be good in the future."
"good!"
Two days later, Jiang Juan asked someone to send a message, saying that the child had woken up and the fever had gone away, but he was still very weak. Jiang Juan was taking care of her and could not get away. She said that the child would be completely recovered in a few days. Be sure to bring your children to thank you!
Shen Luzhu and Chu Yi were relieved when they heard that Xiaobao was out of danger!
During the Winter Clothes Festival, with the burning of copper coins and paper money and the newly launched banknote paper money, I made a lot more money than before during the Ghost Festival!
Just like last time, after the peak of the Winter Clothes Festival, Shen Luzhu's paper money stall stopped again. After all, making money is to live a good life, and a balance between work and rest is a must.
Seeing that it was almost November, the weather was getting colder and colder. It was really hard to set up a stall outside, so Chu Yi thought about building a small brick house for Shen Luzhu outside the courtyard gate and close to the courtyard wall. , and a small fire bed was set up inside, and it would be used as their small shop from now on, so that they would not have to suffer in winter or summer. Shen Luzhu naturally supported this with both hands.
So while the stall was closed and there was a slack period, Chu Yi quickly bought bricks and tiles, and found a few masons from the village to start construction!
In early November, the new shop was finally built. Not only did it have a fire pit, but it also had a counter made of bricks. It was much larger than originally expected, so that in addition to selling goods, it could also store paper money, killing two birds with one stone.
The shop had just been built and was very damp, so it couldn't be put into use right away. It had to be baked on the fire for a few days.
Before dinner that day, Shen Luzhu was working with Grandma Chu in the kitchen. Chu Yi came out to provide firewood for the stove in the shop. As soon as Chu Yi locked the door of the shop, he saw someone entering the yard at some time, with his cat bent over. Sneaky and quietly closing the door of their house!
At this time, the sky had turned slightly dark, and Chu Yi could not see clearly. Just as he was about to sneak up behind him and catch him, Chu Li opened the door and walked out of the third uncle's room!
The thief heard the noise and was about to escape from the gate. He turned around and saw Chu Yi who was already blocking the courtyard gate. He panicked and ran in the opposite direction.
Chu Yi chased the man all the way to the backyard. The thief had already climbed up the courtyard wall. When he saw the man behind him, he panicked and fell down from the courtyard wall, limping away. Into the dusk.
In the house of Chu Yi and his wife, the drawers of the kang cabinet and the dressing table were opened, and things were rummaged everywhere. Even the two large wooden boxes that the Shen family brought were opened. Shen Luzhu The money box that was usually used when leaving the stall was also found, and it was overturned and thrown to the ground!
When Chu Yi entered the house, Shen Luzhu was busy counting the losses. Xiuxiu and Chu Li helped pack up the things in the house. When Chu Yi came back alone, Grandpa Chu knew that the thief had escaped and asked, "Can you see clearly?" Who is he?"
"With a strange face, I only know that he is a young man of medium height and thin. He fell from the wall in the backyard and hit the crooked neck tree outside the yard. He must have been injured!" Chu Yi said and lifted himself from the tree. He took out the rag that was removed. The cloth was soaked with blood, and the injury must have been serious.
Grandpa Chu sighed: "Seeing that it's the end of the year, I'm afraid there are more and more petty thieves. When the family is doing business, they will naturally be targeted. In the future, everyone should be more careful when going in and out, but you know What have you lost?"
After Shen Luzhu checked the places where the two of them usually kept their money, he breathed a sigh of relief: "The copper coins in the money box are gone, but everything else is still there!"
Uncle Chu knew that the young couple usually bought and sold copper coins, so he was a little anxious when he heard that everything in the money box was gone: "All gone? How many are there?"
"Don't worry, Third Uncle, I didn't lose much. Fortunately, I went to town a while ago and most of them were replaced with banknotes and hidden away. The jewelry and other items are still in the secret compartment. I just kept them in the money box." Some change for daily use, but I spent a lot on building a house recently, so after all, it’s only two taels of silver at most!”
Fortunately, she and Chu Yi were used to it. Every once in a while, they would go to the town to exchange most of the money for banknotes. Chu Yi also made a mezzanine with small wooden boards under the kang cabinet, and the banknotes he exchanged were all Hidden there.
The thief only rummaged through the cabinet and did not find that there was a mezzanine between the cabinet and the kang surface. Shen Luzhu's jewelry was also locked in the hidden cabinet of the dressing table. It was a blessing that it was not found.
Uncle Chu Chu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "It's a lot of two taels. Fortunately, everything else is fine. It's terrible to encounter this kind of thing, even if it's only one penny!"
After hearing this, Grandma Chu breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt a wave of fear in her heart. Fortunately, the old man was in the room at the time and found it early, otherwise the money she had saved would also suffer!
After the meal, after cleaning up the messed up house, Shen Luzhu discussed with Chu Yi and went back to buy a big lock. In the future, he would lock it whenever no one was in the house, although not too many were lost this time. , but anything you can do with two taels of silver is better than being stolen!
Chu Yi felt that they must have been targeted: "At that time, there were people in every house, and they came directly into our house knowing that someone was there."
"You mean, the thief came just for us? Yes, our business is booming. Everyone in the ten miles and eight villages probably knows it. He must have done it in advance. Then he only found two copper coins this time. Chu Yi Do you think he will come again?"
Shen Luzhu knew that their family was rich and had done a good job, but they didn't steal much. Shen Luzhu felt that the thief would probably not just let it go!
"We must catch him again!"
After the new shop had been drying for a few days, Shen Luzhu's paper money shop reopened, welcoming people and delivering goods every day, but no thief came again. I thought it might be that the man was timid, and he was almost killed last time. If you catch it, you won’t dare to do it again.
Unexpectedly, on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, when Zhao Chenglai was delivering copper coins and burning paper, he brought a message: "When I first came here, I met someone in your backyard. He was leaning against the wall and peeping his head. I guess he wasn't a good person. When he saw me, he yelled He covered his head and ran away!”
Hearing this, Chu Yi put down the burning paper he was carrying: "What kind of person?"
Zhao Cheng recalled: "I'm not tall, quite thin. I couldn't see clearly because my face was covered, but I must be young. Oh, by the way, my feet seem to be a little lame. It's the end of the year, and those who are in debt have itchy hands." Yes, we all have to think of ways to make money for the New Year. People who do business at home are the most likely to attract attention, so be careful!"
"Don't worry, you should also be careful at home!"
Chu Yi saw Zhao Cheng off and then returned to the shop, where he continued to sell paper money with Shen Luzhu. The newly built shop was sheltered from the wind and warm, so it was not too difficult to stay inside and just chat when no one was around.
"Daughter-in-law of the Chu family, help me get a knife and copper coins to burn paper, and I want three more of these banknotes and paper money. This is a new shop. It looks different from the previous stall. It even has a counter!" said the visitor! Put the money directly on the newly built counter.
Seeing Chu Yi handing over all the paper money, Shen Luzhu put the money in the money box: "Yes, it's much more comfortable than before! By the way, aunt, if you need to buy paper money recently, don't come on Laba day. , there was no one at home that day!”
What Shen Luzhu said was a little strange. This paper money business was not like a grocery store, so why would someone come to buy it from time to time?
But the aunt from the neighboring village was busy gossiping and had no time to think so much: "It's the Laba Festival, why is there no one at home?"
"I'm not at home because of the festival. I plan to go shopping in the town with the whole family and try the Laba porridge in the shops in the town!"
Throughout the afternoon, Shen Luzhu told almost everyone he met that he shouldn't come to buy paper money on Laba Day because there was no one at home!
Some people agreed with smiles on their faces, but they didn't think so in their hearts. Isn't it just porridge, but it can still taste dragon meat? After all, she had made money through prosperous business. After Laba Festival, the whole family had to go to the town to see what she was doing!
Some familiar people would also tease Shen Luzhu, asking her to come back and tell everyone how the Laba porridge in this town's shop was different from the one cooked at home!
And after hearing this, I couldn't help but regret a little. If I had known that the Chu family's life could be so prosperous, I would have married my daughter to her!
It's none of Shen Luzhu's business what others think. Anyway, it won't be long before no one in their family has anything to do with it on Laba Day. Everyone should know what they should know and what they shouldn't!
