At this time, the horse bandits had left, and only the caravan members and the Land Rover father and son were left in the inn. At this time, the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
The caravan's guard leader and a few people got up and went out to check the goods piled behind the inn. The horse bandits were gone, but they had to strengthen their defenses just in case.
Shao Xi saw Lu Yunxiang hiding in the kitchen alone, looking at Lu Hu who looked lost, and called him closer.
"Shopkeeper Lu, can you tell me what's going on? Why are these guys so entangled with you father and son? But you have offended them before?"
When Lu Hu saw Shao Xi's question, he quickly bowed and bowed, showing humility from his expression to his movements.
"Don't call this young master Xiaoren shopkeeper. Xiaoren and his son just opened a small inn here. Xiaoren is both a cook and a waiter. He really doesn't dare to be the shopkeeper."
Shao Xi smiled noncommittally. This Land Rover did seem to have a timid temperament. Even when he spoke to himself, he was cautious, nodding and bowing, for fear of offending him with any word.
It seemed that father and son were often bullied and had developed this habit. They couldn't help but begin to understand Lu Yunxiang's reaction just now.
"That group of horse bandits just asked you for money. Did you owe them a debt, or did you offend them, so you let them come to take revenge?"
Seeing Shao Xi asking this question, Lu Hu's face was full of injustice and grievance, and he bowed and replied: "This villain and his son opened such a small inn here just to make a living, how can I dare to borrow money from the Yesha Gang?
"The villain has never owed them any debt, let alone offended them. It's just because the villain's inn is within their sphere of influence, so they come over from time to time to ask for money from the villain, saying that they take it back to honor the elders. Head Shahu.
"Actually, the villain understands in his heart that this is just the second head of the family, Li Ermazi, who wants to ask for some benefits from the villain. Before, he only asked for tens or even hundreds of yuan, but later he asked for more and more.
"A few days ago, he actually asked the villain to take out ten taels of silver to honor him. But the shop's profit is small and it can barely survive. How can it come up with so many taels of silver to honor him?
"They came to ask for it again today. Fortunately, shopkeeper Sun generously came to help, but three days later he will come to get the other five taels. I really don't know what to do!"
When Shao Xi heard this, it was a bit outrageous. How much money could Lu Rover and his son make in a year by opening such a wild shop in the desert?
Lu Lu said that Li Ermazi had been begging for tens or even hundreds of yuan before. In the past year, almost all the savings of Lu Lu and his son had been emptied. The father and son could barely make ends meet. Opening this inn was equivalent to He is raising Li Ermazi.
Unexpectedly, Li Ermazi was so greedy that he even asked for ten taels. For Lu Rover and his son, it was an astronomical figure. How could they get it?
If Sun Lichang hadn't come to help today, I'm afraid Lu Hu and Lu Yunxiang would have suffered today.
But what if I help?
That Li Ermazi will still come three days later. Even if he helps his father and son overcome the current difficulties, Li Ermazi will definitely come again in the future and ask for more.
If Land Rover can give out ten taels this time, Li Ermazi will only ask for more next time, so to a certain extent, it helps them but also harms their father and son, and will only make them face further squeeze from Li Ermazi in the future. .
At this time, Sun Lichang turned to look at Shao Xi. He wanted to know what Shao Xi was thinking at the moment. If Shao Xi was willing to help the father and son, even though he was a businessman, he would not hesitate to spend another five taels of silver.
However, he could see from Shao Xi's expression that Shao Xi had no intention of helping.
He also understood what Shao Xi was thinking, so even though he saw Lu Hu being pitiful, he didn't say anything.
Whether it is Sun Lichang or Shao Xi, they can only sympathize with each other in their hearts. They really can't help because they know that it is useless and cannot solve any substantive problems.
They could only express their helplessness about this.
Shao Xi looked at the cowardly look of Lu Rover in front of him and couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart.
It is really not easy for the father and son. They just want to make a living by relying on this small shop in this deserted place. They did not expect to have to face these unreasonable disasters.
"Shopkeeper Lu, haven't you ever thought about leaving this place with your son to make a living elsewhere? In this way, with your skills, you can not only make your life better, but also avoid these horse bandits. It’s unreasonable to be entangled, but why do you have to stay here and would rather be exploited by them?”
Hearing this, Lu Rover sighed helplessly.
"It's not that I haven't thought about it, but I and my son only have this inn. If they leave this place, they will have no choice but to wander around without a fixed place to live.
"I myself have nothing, but this child has to suffer all the sufferings in the world with me. As a father, I really can't bear to let my son suffer all these sufferings with me.
"Besides, the child's mother is buried in this oasis. If we leave, the cemetery will no longer be taken care of. I'm afraid it won't be long before it will be picked apart by wolves. How can I be worthy of his mother?"
Shao Xi felt sad after hearing this. It turned out that Lu Rover had been swallowing his anger not just because he was weak by nature, but because he had been thinking about his children and his deceased wife, so he reluctantly bowed his head to reality.
As he said, it was okay for him to endure hardship alone, but Lu Yunxiang was only a ten-year-old child.
Although Lu Yunxiang became sensible very early, children are still children after all, and as a father, he naturally does not want his son to suffer more with him.
The latter reason is even more irrefutable.
It is said that after death, a person should be buried in the ground. Lu Rover buried his wife in this oasis. Naturally, he wanted to guard his deceased wife's resting place with his son.
If he really left this place just to avoid horse bandits, it would be unacceptable for him to bury his dead wife without anyone taking care of her.
At this time, Shao Xi finally understood why Lu Rover had always been humble and submissive to the group of horse bandits. It turned out that he was not doing it for himself, but for his son and his deceased wife.
Shao Xi couldn't help but be moved by this family affection.
"But this is not your solution. Those horse bandits are greedy and will only push for more. Now they are even more aggressive. What will you do in three days? If they really kill people and set fire to the store, won't you all suffer the same? "
Lu Lu sighed heavily and said in an extremely heavy and helpless tone: "Alas! The child's mother once told me before she died that no matter what happens, she must let the child grow up safely.
"Don't let Yunxiang get involved in the turmoil of this world, the right and wrong. I've been sorry to his mother before, so I have to keep her last wish for her no matter what. I can never be sorry to this child again."
As he spoke, Lu Rover knelt down in front of Shao Xi, Sun Lichang and others with a plop.
Everyone in the room was stunned. They all wondered that although the innkeeper was a bit cowardly, he wouldn't kneel down to these guests, right? Which song is this singing about?
Shao Xi, Sun Lichang and others were also stunned for a moment. This Land Rover suddenly knelt down to him. Could it be that he wanted to ask for help from his group?
However, what else can they do to help him besides giving him more money?
What Lu Rover just said also moved Sun Lichang very much. As a father, Sun Lichang knew how difficult it was to earn money to support his wife and children at home.
What's more, Land Rover's situation was so special that it inevitably made Sun Lichang feel compassion in his heart.
So Sun Lichang reached out and took out another silver coin and handed it to Lu Rover.
"Why are you doing this? Get up quickly! Here are five taels of silver. You can take it and give it to the horse bandits three days later. It can help you overcome the difficulties you are facing. We are just passers-by, and there is only so much we can do to help you. That’s all we have, and as for what happens in the future, we are really helpless.”
Shao Xi didn't think there was anything wrong with Sun Lichang's move at this time.
I originally thought that I could only help for a while, but now it seems that I really just want to help as much as I can!
At this moment, Shao Xi has deeply understood Lu Rover's difficulties, and can also feel his inner unwillingness and grievance. He has been burdened with so much, but his son does not understand him very well. It is really not easy for him as a father. .
Unexpectedly, Lu Hu did not reach out to take the silver handed over by Sun Lichang. Instead, he leaned over and kowtowed deeply to Shao Xi, Sun Lichang and others.
Shao Xi and others were puzzled by his kowtow. If it was because of the five taels of silver given by Sun Lichang, he did not reach out to receive it. If not for the five taels of silver, why would he kowtow like this?
After kowtowing, Lu Hu raised his head and looked at Shao Xi, his eyes full of pleading.
He had long seen that Shao Xi's status among this group of guests was higher than that of Sun Lichang. Although Sun Lichang seemed to be the person in charge of the caravan, it seemed that everything depended on Shao Xi's face.
"This young master, I know that you are a person who can make decisions. I have something to ask you and I will agree to it no matter what."
Shao Xi is not surprised that Lu Rover can see his status among this group of people. People who open stores and do business are naturally very discerning.
He was just a little strange. Isn't Land Rover's biggest problem right now lack of money? Since Sun Lichang had already given out five taels of silver, why did he come to beg for it instead of accepting it? So what does he want for himself?
"Oh? Do you have something to ask of me? Tell me."
Before Lu Lu could speak, he kowtowed to Shao Xi again, which gave Shao Xi a hunch that what he wanted was by no means as simple as a little money.
"The villain knows that even if all the benefactors help the villain today and hand over the five taels of silver to that Li Ermazi three days later, it will still be endless in the future, and it will only make their appetites become more and more big.
"If this continues, my father and son will never have peace, but the villain cannot leave this place to protect his deceased wife, so the villain wants to ask the young master to agree to let the villain's son Lu Yunxiang leave with all the benefactors.
"In the future, even if he is only allowed to be a handyman leading camels and feeding horses, he will not be bullied here with me again, and his life will be precarious! I can see that the master is a kind person, please agree to the villain."
After saying that, Lu Rover kowtowed again.
