The nearby villages all took this route to enter the city. On every three, six, and nine days, Uncle Cheng would drive his ox cart to and fro between the village, Tugu Town, and the county town. Those who took a ride would also charge one or two coins.
The people in the mountains were self-sufficient. Occasionally, they would buy a needle and thread, waiting for the peddler to enter the village. Other than the New Year, there were actually very few people who entered the city.
After passing Tugu Town for ten miles, they arrived at Qingcong County. At this time, the sun just rose above the city wall.
The mottled green brick wall looked as if it was covered with moss, making it unbearable to look at. The cracks in the bricks were filled with dust, and a few tufts of weeds on the wall listlessly pointed at the portrait, telling the passers-by who came in and out of the city gate his misfortune over and over again.
A bailiff in black clothes and black boots seemed to be quite familiar with Uncle Cheng. He came up to greet him from afar and glanced at the car from the corner of his eyes."Uncle Cheng, which village are you from?”
"Give it away!" Uncle Cheng had an honest look on his face as he placed a corner of silver into the bailiff's palm."It's a relative of our village. It's a gift from a noble. Why don't you treat the brothers to a drink first?”
The bailiff beamed and nodded at the people on the ox cart."Drink two cups, drink two cups!"
After watching the ox cart leave, the bailiff withdrew his gaze and threw the silver to his follower."Go, get a jug of wine and prepare a few dishes to treat the brothers to a meal!”
The main street of the county had a nice name: On White Horse Mountain Road, it was said that there was a 40-year-old Jinshi who dreamed that a white horse would pick him up when he was appointed as the county magistrate of Qingcong County. The white horse carried him over mountains and ridges before arriving here. After the county magistrate took office, he named the road in front of the county office White Horse Mountain Road.
The bluestone streets were wet from the dew, but the ox cart did not make any sound as it passed by.
The ox-cart turned into an alley and Xu Changqing asked,""The one just now, is he one of us? Wasn't the person sent here a county magistrate?”
"Yes, Ming Tang County Magistrate Ming, Old Jin's godson. Because he's afraid of attracting too much attention, he rarely comes into contact with us. This Mu Shun was originally Mu San 'er's man and was in the arrest squad. This kid is smart and has some skills.”
Xu Changqing nodded." Mother hasn't been able to stand out in the past few years. It's all thanks to Uncle Jin and Uncle Mu that we've been able to handle the outside world!"”
The ox-cart stopped in front of a house with a crooked old elm tree in front of the door. Yi 'er had slept the whole way. At this moment, Xu Changqing carried her down in a daze and asked,"Uncle, can we eat chicken wontons now?”
"Puff!"
"Greedy cat!"
"Sure, sure!" Uncle Cheng smiled and quickly agreed. He went forward to unlock the door and drove the ox cart through the door. Then, he threw a bunch of keys to Xiao Fei."You guys go into the house first. I'll go buy wontons!”
The two-door house was made of green bricks and tiles, and the floor was paved with bluestone. There was a half-moon-shaped flower bed at the entrance, leaning against the screen wall. There was a bunch of roses planted in the flower bed. Although it was mid-autumn, there were still a few pink flowers proudly standing on the branches.
Xiao Fei and her sister were busy opening the door and windows, while the other was busy wiping the tables and chairs in the room. Xu Changqing, on the other hand, held Yi 'er's hand and followed behind them.
"Uncle, look, Shiliu is grinning!”
"Wait, Uncle will take it off for you!”
“……”
"Aiya, Uncle, this way, this way, this is big!”
"Good!"
"And this, this…"
“……”
When Uncle Cheng entered the house after buying the food, he saw the uncle and niece running around the pomegranate tree. There were more than ten pomegranate fruits the size of a child's face on the stone table at the side.
Shredded chicken wontons, sauced meat buns, eight-treasure porridge…Yang Ping helped Uncle Cheng take out the food from the basket one by one and called everyone over to eat.
Yi 'er washed her hands and ran to the table happily." Uncle Cheng, is this the crescent moon chicken wonton you mentioned? Ah, it's so beautiful!"
"Try it!"
The little girl scooped up a thumb-sized wonton with a spoon and put it in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes and tasted it."Good times-good times-"
"Haha!"
"Hurry up and eat!"
It was unknown where Uncle Cheng had gotten a horse from, but Yang Ping and the others went to the two most prosperous roads in the county town. When they were about to reach the largest medicine shop, Baohe Hall, the siblings got off the carriage ahead of time and walked in with a basket on their backs. After some bargaining, Yang Ping sold the three old ginsengs to the old shopkeeper of Baohe Hall for a thousand taels of silver.
Returning to the car, Yang Ping saw Xu Changqing and Yi 'er eating a stick of candied haws each. She said excitedly,""Uncle, one thousand taels for three stalks!”
Xu Changqing flicked out his index finger and hit Yang Ping and Xiao Fei's forehead.""You two idiots! Ginseng of this quality could be sold for 800 taels in the capital!”
"Ah?"
"What ah! This was a place where even birds couldn't fly. It was normal for there to be fewer of them.”，Xu Changqing turned his head and looked outside the carriage."Master Cheng, you chose this street to open a shop? Go to the dental clinic now?"
"There's no hurry. There's a braised food shop ahead. Let's take a look around.”
Little Fei and her sister were secretly regretting their decision when they suddenly heard someone calling their name. They lifted the curtain to look and saw a man dressed in a short black shirt chasing after their carriage.
"Big Brother Dacheng? Uncle Cheng, stop the car! It's Big Brother Dacheng!"
"Phew-Phew-Little, Little Fei-It's you! "I'm so tired that I can catch up with you guys." The man rested his hands on his thighs as he bent over and panted.
Little Fei jumped out of the car. Yang Ping and Yi 'er also craned their necks to look outside."Big Brother Dacheng!"
Dacheng agreed and reached out to carry Yi 'er out.""Yi 'er is here too. I was on the second floor of the shop over there. It looked like the two of you came out of the medicine shop, so I quickly chased after you.”
Xu Changqing reached out and hugged Yi 'er, revealing half of his body that was covered by the three of them. Dacheng paused for a moment and quickly pulled Xiao Fei to the side."What are you doing here? Who was in the car? Don't take Yi 'er to run around. Come with me to the shop and wait for a while. I'll send you back after I apply for leave from the boss! Didn't I tell you? If you want to buy anything, let me send a message in advance. I'll bring it back when I go to my house!”
Xiao Fei laughed." Brother Dacheng, that's our uncle!”，Afraid that he would not believe her, she added,"My biological uncle!”
Uncle Cheng settled the horse and said to Xu Changqing softly,""This is Old Wang's son, Dacheng. I'll go and give him some advice.”
Although Dacheng pulled Xiao Fei to the side, everyone heard what he said. Xu Changqing couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and chuckle."Hehe, he's a practical person. Master asked him to make a trip to the residence when he has time!”
Yi 'er hurriedly nodded." Yes, yes…Brother Dacheng is very good. Every time he comes home, he will buy me delicious food!"”
The county town was not very big, so they walked around it in less than two hours. They sat on the second floor of a restaurant, and Uncle Cheng pushed open half of the window to introduce them." Look, fifty to sixty steps to the east from here is the county government office, and two yards further east is the county school. The shops on this street are mostly two-story. The restaurants, inns, food and clothing shops are all on this street. The street behind is basically one-story, but there's a big yard behind it. The stores selling mountain goods here are all on that street. If we talk about wealth, there are a few big houses in the south. Those who do small businesses and manual labor are all in the north..."
" Uncle Cheng," Xiao Fei interrupted," we didn't see any empty shops along the way.”
Yang Ping also nodded.
Xu Changqing took a sip of tea and pushed the snacks on the table in front of them."Eat first. We'll talk when we're done! If there's no idle shop, I'll make one for you!”
Yi 'er's eyes lit up, but Yang Ping and Little Fei secretly rolled their eyes in their hearts, and then tacitly picked up a piece of snack each and lowered their heads to eat it.
Uncle Cheng: " Even if there are idle shops, they probably aren't too new, and the layout might not be suitable. We can buy a piece of land and build our own houses. The county is only so big, so it won't be too far away. It will just take some effort."”
Xu Changqing: " Then let's build it. It'll be built together with our house!"”
"Yes!" Uncle Cheng agreed.
After the few of them had eaten and drank their fill, they discussed it and went to the Zero Zero Main to buy some miscellaneous things for daily use. Then, they returned to the house in Elm Lane.
As soon as he turned the corner, Uncle Cheng saw Dacheng pacing back and forth at the door. The 18-year-old young man seemed to have endless energy. He called Xu Changqing uncle enthusiastically. After a short period of helplessness, he got busy. First, he moved the things in the carriage into the house one by one. Then, he picked up a broom and cleaned the fallen leaves in the courtyard with Xiao Fei.
Xu Changqing asked him to sit down in the hall and told him what he had discussed with Uncle Wang that day. He added,"I wanted to discuss it with you when you got home, but I didn't expect to run into you and hear your opinion in person. I heard from Brother Wang that the owner of your shop wants to return to the south?”
Dacheng suppressed the excitement in his heart and said as he thought,"The boss is indeed going back to his hometown. It has been more than a month since he has received any new goods. He wants to clear out the goods and transfer the shop out…Uncle said that he wants to open an embroidery workshop? There are only two clothing shops in our county, and they sell ordinary grey cloth and coarse cloth. There are very few ready-made clothes. I heard that the rich officials in South City go to the prefecture to buy materials and clothes. There are a few tailors, but they all take on the cutting work at their own homes. I don't think there are any specialized embroidery girls…Uncle, if you can find a good embroidery girl, you can open an embroidery workshop. At that time, you can sell grey cloth, ready-made clothes, and embroidery together. You can also teach some disciples…"
Xu Changqing nodded his head. He felt that Dacheng was a man of foresight. He spoke steadily and looked at problems in a comprehensive manner. He could be trained well for a few years. He continued,"Your current shop wants to make a move? Do you think it's useful to open an embroidery workshop?"
Dacheng pondered for a moment and said," Uncle, our boss's shop is in a good location. It's just opposite the Baohe Hall and close to the county school. It has two floors and a courtyard. There are three upper rooms and three wing rooms on both sides. However, that house is quite old. The stairs alone have been repaired three times. The west wing room has been used to store groceries. It has been ruined over the years. I'm afraid it won't be possible to open an embroidery workshop!”
"What about demolishing and rebuilding?" Yang Ping interrupted.”
" Tear it down and rebuild it?" Dacheng was shocked." It's not appropriate to pay for the reconstruction. Two days ago, the dental clinic brought people to take a look. The owner asked for 1,000 taels of silver, but they didn't agree because the house was too old. From what the owner said, 900 taels of silver is about right. Sister Ping, you don't know, 300 taels of silver is enough for such a large open space a little further east.”
Yang Ping nodded, but Xu Changqing said," That seat is worth the money. I see that there is a small garden next to the county school, right?" The key was that it wasn't far from here. Was it very close to the alley?”
"Yes, yes, yes!" Dacheng hurriedly said. There is a garden that the students of the county school often wander around. You can see it from the second floor of our shop. That alley is called Salted Vegetables Alley. I just passed through there.”
"Then it's settled. Master, bring the silver and go with Dacheng to find their owner later. Buy the shop and the small courtyard. Tell the old owner that we're not in a hurry and let him move slowly!”
Uncle Cheng agreed.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。