Goldfield
Chapter 51: Business

today is a beautiful day. The sky was clear and there was not the slightest bit of wind. Yu Xiaocao pretended to be weak and asked Little Shitou to prop her up to the middle of the courtyard to sunbathe. When one is acting in a drama, one has to continue the entire set, ah!

The winter sunlight on her body felt warm and comfortable like the hand of a mother gently caressing her face. Yu Xiaocao felt so comfortable that he almost fell asleep. Even the sight of Madam Li peeking through the window did not bother her too much.

As the sun began to set in the west, Yu Hai and Xiaolian returned. Judging from the smile rising on Xiaolian's face, the spoils of the day were good.

Yu Hai took his youngest daughter and moved her from the somewhat cold courtyard back to the room. After checking the temperature in the bed, he went to add more firewood to the fire pit under the bed. She smiled as she looked at her two daughters, who were growing more and more similar to each other every day, as they whispered in each other's ears. He said, “You two can keep talking, Father will go up the mountain to cut more firewood and bring it back. The older and experienced villagers all said that this year would be a harsh winter. Being prepared with extra firewood will definitely pay off. ”

“Dad, I'll go with you!” Little Shitou felt stuffy after being stuck at home for most of the day. He brought his little waiter — a little egg deer named Tiny — and excitedly ran behind his father.

Xiaolian waited until her father left the house before she looked around the courtyard and closed the door carefully. Only then did he take off his shoes and climb onto the kang bed right next to Xiaocao. He took out a five-tael bar from his breast pocket and quickly put it in his sister's hand and calmly said, “Hurry to hide the money and don't let Grandma and Oldest Aunt see! We actually caught a lot of game animals today. Other than yesterday's hunt, we sold everything for five taels! However, when Zhenxiu Restaurant paid the bill, they did not give the money to Father and instead gave it to me. Don't you think that's weird? ”

What's so weird about that? In the past, Xiaocao had always taken money when doing business with Zhenxiu Restaurant. Last time he even handled a reward of fifty taels. So why would it be different to a smaller number of five taels?

Xiaocao put his money aside in a very natural way and replied casually, “Xiaolian, is it worth it to be so happy over this pair's tael?”

“What do you mean by ‘tael pair’? Before today, the most money I had ever skipped was about ten copper coins. This is the silver tael, ah! A whole silver bar worth five taels !! ” Xiaolian realized that the volume of her voice was louder and hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands as she looked out the window.

“The Oldest Aunt is very annoying. He's trying to eavesdrop on us again! I don't know if he heard what I said before. If Grandma finds out, her head will definitely explode! ” Xiaolian had seen Madam Li with a broom getting closer to the western room as she swept the floor. Seeing her window open, Madam Li tried to retreat and headed towards the chicken coop.

Yu Xiaocao spoke as if he did not care, “If he heard, then he heard. What could he do? We owe Grandfather at least a few taels of money! I am also sick now and may need to buy more medicine later. I need to take care of my body carefully so that I don't end up with a chronic illness! How much can this little money do? ”

He deliberately raised his voice for the last few sentences he spoke, as if he was talking to Madam Li who was in the middle of the courtyard.

Madam Li waited until the window to the western room closed and only then did she get up and spit towards the western room and say. “Bah! He was a bad investment that considered himself a treasure. A few taels was more than enough to marry a wife. But now, all of that would feed the medicine that wastes the pot on the second branch. He really is a bottomless pit. When she was born she should have been thrown down the southern slope because raising her was just a disaster! ”

The south slope is on the south side of the Western Mountains and is a mound filled with rubbish and debris. Whenever a child in a nearby village died prematurely or suffered a violent death and could not be buried in the family ancestral tomb, he would always be buried there.

Madam Li naturally did not dare to voice her grievances behind the backs of others. Therefore, the two sisters in the western room did not hear it. Xiaolian was currently excited about telling her story of what happened when she met the young boss of Zhenxiu Restaurant.

“Sister, you won't believe how cute that scene is. The young master of the Zhou Family caught me as soon as he met me and called me ‘Xiaocao’. He even said that he had a business venture that he wanted to know if I was interested. At that moment, I was so shocked that I could not react. I was just thinking of pretending to be you when our father sincerely told me the truth and sold me out! When Third Young Master found out that I was your twin brother, his entire face exuded shock and astonishment and he could only say ‘sama, too similar!’. You wouldn't believe how cute his expression was back then! ”

Yu Xiaocao waited until his sister raved to completion and then said, “Xiaolian, Third Young Master Zhou said he has business matters he wants to talk to me about? Did he say what kind of business? ”

“No, he didn't say it! I guess when she found out I wasn't you, she thought it would be a waste of time to tell me. Oh right, little sister! Did they really learn how to make a special oyster sauce-themed dish at Zhenxiu Restaurant from you? Father told me that the King of Hell accidentally brought you there by accident and gave it to you as compensation. What does he mean? Tell me everything!”

Yu Xiaocao had long known that the fabricated story would someday be passed on to his close family members. Therefore, he made sure to polish his forgery about meeting with the King of Hell. He told Xiaolian what had happened as if he was recalling an old story. Moreover, he repeatedly warned Xiaolian not to let anyone outside their family know lest she become strange in the eyes of others.

Xiaolian pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, “Do you remember when you were first injured and just woke up and couldn't remember much? Our good Oldest Aunt has told everyone in the village that a part of your soul has been captured by the devil. Because part of your soul has been lost, you cannot remember the past. He even said that people with partial souls most attract demons. Most of the village girls were afraid of him so they all stayed away from me. ”.

Outside the door, Madam Liu trembled endlessly in anger: ‘How good is Lady Li! He always spread evil rumors about the second branch but this time he spread a terrible story. If this really rubbed off on every household, how could my second daughter possibly get married in the future? My poor daughter has even been dragged into the underworld! He must be scared and helpless! ‘

Then he heard Yu Xiaocao in the room reply in a scornful tone, “The Eldest Aunt's tongue must have been slapped by the old shoe at the bottom! Was he afraid of being pulled into hell? Xiaolian, don't listen to him! The reason why I can't remember anything from the past is because I tried to sip Grandma Meng's soup out of curiosity! ”

“Sister, is the King of Hell scary? Doesn't he have four eyes and two mouths? ” Since Xiaolian is only eight years old, it's only natural that she wants to know about new and new things.

“Mm, mm!” Xiaolian nodded angrily but muttered silently in her heart, ‘Aibi and Eldest Brother Heizai have always bullied mom and us. In the future, they would definitely be punished in hell. ‘

Seeing that Xiaolian trusted him without hesitation, Yu Xiaocao's eyes shifted and he continued, “In the Hell's Palace, I also saw the God of Fortune as well! He was wearing a bright red robe and there was a lucky red hat on his head. His face was always smiling cheerfully, and he was always playing around with the King of Hell. When he heard I had been taken by mistake, he smiled, rubbed my head and said he was going to compensate me. Suddenly there were some strange thoughts popping up in my head. Those ideas were probably put into me by the God of Fortune? ”

Xiaolian suddenly squeaked ‘ah’ and then said quietly, “Daughter, you've never been in the kitchen before, and you very rarely see oysters. Since you can unexpectedly make oyster sauce, don't you think it's something the God of Fortune taught you? Then ... aren't you a disciple of the God of Fortune now? ”

Xiaocao only smiled but did not reply. From Xiaolian's point of view, it meant that his little sister had secretly agreed with his conjecture.

“Then... didn't the God of Fortune give us wealth? My sister, when we are rich in the future, we can eat steamed white flour bread and buy bakpaos and dumplings every day! ” Xiaolian somewhat exaggeratedly swallowed the saliva and revealed a cute expression on her face.

Madam Liu opened the door unhappily and hugged the two sisters in her arms. She sighed and said, “Mom doesn't want to be rich. My only hope is for Cao’er to stay healthy and you can all grow up peacefully. That would make me the happiest! ”

“Mother, did you hear everything?” Yu Xiaocao felt somewhat desperate. He didn't mean to make his kind and loving mother worry.

“Silver child. In the future, don't hide everything in your heart and tell Mom instead. Even though your mother does not have much ability, I will sacrifice my life to protect you and your brothers! ”

Madam Liu could clearly feel that her youngest daughter was afraid she would be worried, so she did not tell her the things that happened in the past. His eyes could not hold back tears. Her most tender little daughter would always think about it even when she fell ill. As his mother, doesn't that mean he's not qualified enough? It won't work, she has to become stronger and become a reliable mother to her children!

Alrighty! The three main members of his family had all accepted his far-fetched and somewhat absurd story. The most important aspect was that he was young, and his descriptions of the underworld and the scenery were very detailed and precise. The image he painted was such that it was impossible for others to not believe him.

Of course, Madam Liu also warned her children repeatedly for fear that the two of them would not know the severity of the consequences if the story leaked. If it was, it would cause a lot of trouble for his two daughters.

Time passed and before they realized it, two more days had passed. In those two days, Yu Xiaocao, who was barred from going out, worried endlessly about the business venture that Third Young Master Zhou mentioned. If he could do business with the Zhou Family, who were imperial merchants, then his money woes would mostly be resolved. Although he could not guarantee a hundred percent that he would not lose money, at least he had about eighty percent confidence that he would gain and not lose.

There was an uneasy feeling in his heart, as if he had a little kitten inside him, scratching incessantly. Fortunately, Third Young Master Zhou did not let him wait too long. On the third day, he arrived at his home.

The well-dressed young master cut a stylish figure as he rode on a high horse. Behind him was a dignified officer who had a noble attitude about him. Despite that, the man around fifty years old was clearly following and bowing completely to the young master. The delegation entered the village quickly and caused the frozen village of Dongshan to explode out of curiosity.

“Who are they?”

“How do I know? They're not looking for me. ”

“Searching you? with your look, you're not even fit to pick up the night shit for these guys! ”

“Young master looks pretty handsome, ah! It's good to be rich. Just look at the material of his clothes, the amount he spent on the cloth alone was enough to feed us for an entire year! ”

“He must be from a high-ranking family in town! Look at what her maid was wearing, it was even more dignified and elegant than what Wang's wallet was wearing. I just don't know if these people coming to Dongshan Village is a good or bad thing. ”

“Which family is he looking for? The Yu Hai Family? For the past few days, Yu Hai had gone to the city every day to sell the hunted. Did he offend some nobles? ”

“Do not make false allegations, you should know how relaxed Dahai is. How could he possibly cause trouble inevitably? Judging from the young master's facial expression, it didn't seem like he was here to solve the problem. Stop letting your imagination run wild. As soon as they leave, just ask around to find out, right? ”