Goldfield
Chapter 52: Home Visit

Little Shitou was squatting in front of the entrance and combing Tiny's fur with her small hands. When he heard the sound of a running horse, he raised his head and looked towards the direction of the voice. He noticed that the young man leading the group looked somewhat familiar, so he could not recall it but narrowed his eyes to examine it more closely.

“Young Master, the five-room house with the courtyard in front of it is the residence of Uncle Yu. The question of this servant, there are only a few households in the entire village with such a big house, but… ”The Third Young Master's personal servant Zhou, Simo, paused for a moment hesitantly.

“What?” Third Young Master Zhou had already recognized the little boy at the door from afar. It was Xiaocao's younger brother who was extremely cute. This has to be the place!

Simo also saw the boy wearing a patched green upholstered outfit and sighed, “With Uncle Yu's ability and the size of this house, the Yu Family should have decent living conditions. However, the clothes on her children were even shabby than the other children in the village. ”

“See, isn't that Miss Xiaocao's sister? Her worn clothes should have been discarded long ago. Recently, they should have earned at least sixty to seventy taels from selling the hunted produce to Zhenxiu Restaurant. It's almost New Year's, but they still don't want to buy a new set of cotton-coated clothes for children.. ”.

Zhou Zixu frowned slightly and said, “Uncle Yu doesn't look like someone who would molest his children. Could it be that they had some undisclosed difficulty? ”

After personally experiencing the constant power struggles and planning in his family, Zhou Zixu would think deeply about every situation he faced. Isn't his own family like this? Had his grandparents not been there to control the family, by showing his talent in business for the past two years, the second branch would have been eaten by his voracious relatives a long time ago. Uncle Yu might as well have his own predicament that he could not reveal.

“I remember you! You are the third young master of the Zhou Family, right? ” Little Shitou stood up and raised her head with a beaming smile.

Zhou Zixu got off his horse, ruffled the messy little guy's hair, and said with a warm face, Little “Shitou, who are you calling ‘Third Young Master Zhou’? Call me ‘Third Brother Zhou’! If you make a mistake again next time, then I'll punish you! ”

What kind of punishment? Little Shitou blinked and asked curiously.

“I will punish you ..” Zhou Zixu took a box of cookies from Simo's hand and smiled, “You will be prohibited from eating cakes brought by Third Brother Zhou!”

Little Shitou excitedly stared at the exquisite food box in Third Young Master Zhou's hands and slowly read the name on the box, “Lian.. ji! Is this ‘Lianji’ with the largest storefront and most expensive cake in town? Doesn't this box of cookies cost you a lot of money? ”

Zhou Zixu was somewhat amazed and said, “Oh, Little Shitou is still very young, but you can already read?”

Little Shitou timidly scratched his head and said, “While playing at Wuzi's house, I learned a few words from Brother Wen ..”

“Little Shitou is so smart! I heard that your second sister is sick? ” Zhou Zixu asked.

“Iya! He's been sick. If Eldest Grandfather had not lent us money, my second sister would probably have.. ”The little boy lowered his head and looked excited. She and her older sister were both very obedient, but why did their grandmother dislike them?

“Shitou, who are you talking to? Are you in a hurry to find firewood when the weather is good? All you know is how to play! Every day, you just think about eating and not doing any work! In addition, we have to take care of people with chronic diseases! I have to owe you something! ” Mistress Zhang's screams flashed.

Zhou Zixu could not help but furrow his brows, ‘He is a very young boy, yet he has already been ordered to work?’

Just as she was deep in thought, a cruel-looking old woman with a sharp gaze walked out the door. With his hands on his waist, he made a mouse-like gesture that cursed loudly in public.

Looking at the three people standing in front of her, Madam Zhang let out a curse that came out of her mouth. In front of the courtyard was Zhou Zixu who was clearly born of noble status, Madam Zhang's originally threatening attitude immediately withered. With his shoulders drooping and head shrinking, he asked in a timid voice, “You ... Who are you looking for?”

Simo had underestimated the double standard of the evil old woman with different treatment, so he had a face of contempt as he asked, “Is this the residence of Yu Hai?”

“Yu Hi? Did Yu Hai offend the grand noble? That damn bastard always causes trouble for our family! This young master, Yu Hai had yet to return from hunting in the mountains. Whatever he does has nothing to do with us! ” Seeing the gloomy expression on Simo's face, Madam Zhang was so frightened that she spoke indistinctly, scolding and severing ties.

Simo was even more displeased and impatiently interrupted, “Yu Hai wasn't home, but Yu Xiaocao should have been home, right?”

“Xiaocao? Was he involved too? I know that the bad guys are sharp-tongued and will eventually cause trouble. Isn't this. The troublemaker caused trouble for our family.. ”Madam Zhang was really confused as he muttered.

“Is he here or not ?!” Simo's expression grew uglier when he realized his young master had narrowed his eyes, which was a sign of his anger.

“Ya... In the western room!” Madam Zhang trembled in fear as she suddenly raised her voice. They wouldn't be affected by the anger of the nobles, would they?

“Third Young Master Zhou, you are finally here!” The room was a bit dim and Zhou Zixu's eyes had yet to adapt to the light inside, so he was surprised by Xiaocao's voice.

Zhou Zixu looked around and saw the simple furniture in the room. There was a big bed, the blanket was old and shabby, but tidied up. Old rattan rods are placed at the head of the bed. Beside the bed, there was a wooden table that almost collapsed. There was nothing else in the room other than this simple and old furniture. Even the lowest ranked servants of the Zhou Family had better living conditions than them.

Zhou Zixu's brows furrowed tightly and said unhappily, “What happened to the money you earned? Where did all that money go? The blanket is already very stiff, so how can you still use it? Your family makes a lot of money from selling the game, so feel free to spend it. ”.

“Ssst .. shh ..” Xiaocao quickly pulled the arm of Third Young Master Zhou. If he was not too short, he would have already covered his mouth with his hands!

“Third Young Master, I have poor health and easily fall ill, so my family has borrowed a lot of money for my medical treatment. These days, the money my father earned from hunting wasn't even enough to pay the loan! How can I buy a new bed? ” Yu Xiaocao amplified his voice and spoke towards the door.

Zhou Zixu followed his gaze and saw the rough-looking old lady and the fat lady in the courtyard looking into the room from time to time.

He beckoned Simo with his eyes. Simo came out from the western room and stood gallantly in front of the door. With a grim expression on his face, he looked like a door god as he stared at the two scheming women, who greedily watched them.

The two women were equally fierce at home, so they retreated in fear and returned to the main hall when they saw Simo's sharp gaze.

Madam Li looked at the page vigilantly and whispered, “Mother! Who are these people? They look like they came to demand payment of debt! Did Second Brother-in-law borrow money from leeches? They charge a very high interest rate, if lending one tael means we have to pay back ten taels! ”

Madam Zhang could only panic, and scold, “Yu Hai refused to tell us how much the evil girl's treatment cost, Xiaocao. The third daughter-in-law said that there was a ginseng recipe, so it must have been expensive! He's wasting money. Even if we sell him, he will not be worth his ginseng money! That scourge, if I had known earlier, I would have strangled him and thrown him down the mountain! ”

“Mother, what should we do now? They sent three people, so Second Sister-in-law must have borrowed a lot of money. If Second Sister-in-law can't pay off her debt, they won't take the things in our house to pay off her debt, will they? No way! I have to hide all my valuables safely.. ”Mrs Li is a bit restless and wants to go back to her eastern room.

Madam Zhang also felt very anxious, so she quickly pulled Madam Li back and reprimanded, “What precious stuff do you have in your room? Oldest Son wouldn't keep a secret stash of money behind my back, would he? ”

Madam Li's face stiffened and hurriedly said, “Mother, we won't do that! Dashan was the most devoted child, so he would not have such thoughts. Didn't I just go back to my girl's house? My mother gave me a piece of cloth and secretly hid some money there for me. Mother, you are the most understanding and reasonable. You're not going to confiscate the money my girl's family gave you, are you? ”

Actually, this was not something Madam Zhang had never done before. Whenever the family of the daughter-in-law's daughter-in-law both came to visit, they always left her things or money. However, everything finally ended up in Madam Zhang's pocket. Moreover, he did not even forget to give them a warning. If they didn't give up everything, then he wouldn't have paid the medical expenses for the two chronic patients from the second branch.

However, Madam Li's girl family had a stronger background, so Madam Zhang did not dare to give her the same treatment. Madam Zhang would pretend not to see Madame Li constantly carrying things from her girl's house because half of the items she was carrying would be used by her granddaughter.

“Alright! Will they care about the little copper coins you have? If you are worried, go. But be careful and do not offend the nobles! ” Madam Zhang is also waiting for Madam Li to leave so she can move the money in the closet to a hidden place. He did not want to send money to the bottomless pit made by his second son.

Seeing that it was finally quiet in the courtyard, Zhou Zixu glanced at Yu Xiaocao and sat on the bed, “Alright, they are gone now, so stop pretending to be poor!”

“I have no choice either! You don't know about our family situation! The old woman forbade the children from keeping secret wallets, especially our second branch! He watches over us as if we were thieves! If he finds out that I have money, won't he turn the second body around! ” Yu Xiaocao did not hesitate to talk about the situation in his family.

Each family has its own difficulties. Zhou Zixu shook his head and whispered, “Alright, if the money continues to be in your hands, then it will eventually be uncovered. You have to take it out and invest in business with me! ”

He had just made a casual statement, so he did not expect that Yu Xiaocao had been waiting for him to give this suggestion, “I have heard from Xiaolian. What kind of business is so difficult for Third Young Master Zhou that you have to pull me into it? ”

“Hei! Something too hard for me to handle? Is there anything that my Third Young Master Zhou cannot do? ” Zhou Zixu glared at him and said, “As gratitude for your help, I want to invite you to make a lot of money! However, forget it because you said it .. ”

“No!” When Yu Xiaocao saw that he was going to leave, he hurriedly pulled him back. He was also joking before. If it was something that even the Zhou Family, who were imperial merchants, could not handle, then what could a fisherman's daughter like her do?

“Good! You, Third Young Master Zhou, have a generous heart, so don't be bothered by a little girl like me! So, what business is that? Tell details! ” Yu Xiaocao smiled and repeatedly bowed with clasped hands.

Of course, Zhou Zixu wasn't really mad at him, so he smiled and patted his forehead, “You! Stop doing this weird thing! I want to open an oyster sauce production factory and sell the products to big restaurants in neighboring cities. But, as you said, oyster sauce does not last long. So, I want to ask if you have a solution to this problem. ”