However, Mrs. Wu heard the noise and sent her maid to inquire.
When the maid came back and told her, Mrs. Wu felt it was bad luck and immediately said goodbye and went home with her two children!
In Taijia Village, as the sun began to set, every household began to carry firewood and called out to the chickens, ducks and children who had run away to return home quickly!
In the winter in the north, the laziest thing is the sun, which sets almost immediately after noon.
In order to save lamp oil and for the safety of the family, every household ate two meals and finished all the chores before daybreak.
Therefore, when Manager Min arrived in a carriage at this time, everyone in the Tai family was surprised.
An earthen stove was set up in the main hall of the Tai family, burning wooden stoves. The hot air made Manager Min sneeze twice.
The old man quickly picked up the kettle on the stove, made some hot tea, and asked Manager Min to cool down.
Manager Min laughed and said, "Maybe it's going to snow. It's not very cold outside, but I'm afraid that after it snows, it will be freezing to death!"
The old man didn't get angry at all, and replied, "Every household has prepared rice, flour, grain, and oil, and there's no shortage of firewood. When the snow starts, they start to hibernate. It's a good time to rest after a busy year."
"That's right. This is the time when we in the north are the most idle." Manager Min drank up the tea. While the old man was refilling the tea, he looked around to see if there was anyone in the room, and then he got down to business.
"Uncle, a middle-aged man came into town today, accompanied by a guard and entourage. He looked quite arrogant. While they were dining at the restaurant, he asked the waiter about the cashmere clothing business and even got angry because the cashmere business was spreading and wasn't exclusively yours.
"The waiter at the restaurant noticed something was amiss and came to tell me. I noticed that these people were using the Third Prince's badges to enter and exit the city gate.
"Originally, these people had inquired about our home's location, perhaps intending to visit us. However, not long after the carriage left the city gate, a weasel appeared and bit the horse's neck. The frightened horse turned around and ran to the outside of the moat before stopping. The middle-aged man in the carriage was unlucky and was thrown into the moat. He hit his head and bled, and died after being taken to the infirmary.
"I saw with my own eyes the carriage carrying the coffin leave the city and head towards the palace, so I came to tell you."
He spoke in a plain and straightforward manner, but everyone in the Tai family felt a surge of emotion when they heard it.
"Someone fell into the moat and drowned? The moat that is less than one person deep?" The person who asked this question was the kind and honest Tai Jizu.
"Is this the man who wants to steal our business?" This is the question from Tai Jizong, who is quite smart.
"Brother Min, have you followed these people the whole time? Did they find anything wrong?" Yang Lihua was not surprised at all that these people returned empty-handed and even lost their lives. She was only worried that Manager Min would be implicated.
Old Master Tai nodded and instructed, "These people are gone, so let them go. If anyone else comes, you must ignore them. No matter how much trouble they cause, they won't harm our family. But if you get implicated, it will be troublesome."
Manager Min was filled with confusion after hearing this. For some reason, the Tai family always gave him the feeling that they were not afraid of these nobles coming to steal their business, as if they were sure that their family would not suffer any loss or encounter any disaster.
What exactly gave the Tai family such confidence?
Old Master Tai didn't see his expression and told his daughter-in-law, "Hurry up and cook two good dishes, and then invite your third uncle over, and let's have a drink with Brother Min."
Yang Lihua and Liu Dongniang both quickly agreed and then got busy.
Uncle Tai San was wandering around the house like a donkey pulling a millstone, his brows furrowed tightly, looking extremely worried.
The old lady was picking grain with a winnowing basket. She felt dizzy after the old man spun her around, so she started complaining a few words.
"What's wrong with you these past two days? You toss and turn at night, making it hard for me to sleep, and you're like that during the day too! If you have nothing to do, go chop wood. There's a lot of work to do around the house!"
Master Tai glared at her and said angrily, "Of course I have something on my mind. Do you think I'm like you, raising pigs like you, eating when I'm full and sleeping when I wake up and eating again!"
The old lady rolled her eyes, unconvinced and arguing, "I'm kind-hearted and fat, unlike you who's narrow-minded. Life in the village is good now, and there's still Lao Liu's family to take care of things outside. What is there for you to worry about? You're just superfluous, thinking about useless things every day!"
Mr. Tai was so depressed that he was about to explode. He shouted casually, "You are superfluous. I am worried about the real business! Lao Liu's cashmere business has been taken away! The good life of the village is over!"
The old lady was startled. Before she could ask, He Hua suddenly appeared out of nowhere and yelled, "Dad, what did you say? How did Sixth Uncle's cashmere business get taken away? Who took it away? Will we have no way to make money in the future?"
Mr. Tai San wanted to plug his daughter-in-law's mouth with a rag. He was so careful every day, but in the end, his daughter-in-law, who had such a loud mouth, still managed to overhear what he said.
"Shut your mouth! Are you afraid that others won't know that you're not mute?" Mr. Tai shouted loudly, his face turning black.
Hehua wanted to continue speaking, but she was so scared that she swallowed the rest of her words.
At the end, she still muttered unwillingly, "Dad, you said it yourself, I was just asking casually..."
The old lady angrily pulled her daughter-in-law's ear and said, "Didn't I ask you to go to the row house to help with cooking? Why are you back? Are you being lazy?"
Hehua protected her ears, her eyes darting around, not daring to stay any longer, and she ran out of the yard in a flash.
As luck would have it, the man from the neighboring house next door was working and heard what had just been said. He climbed over the wall and shouted, "Uncle San, what's going on with the cashmere business? Is the workshop going to be disbanded in the future?"
Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, Mr. Tai sighed and didn't know how to explain it.
Fortunately, Tai Yonglu came to invite people at this time, "Third Grandpa, my uncle Min is here to visit, and my grandfather wants you to go drink with him."
Uncle Tai San got an excuse and immediately said to his neighbor, "Don't talk nonsense. Wait for me to ask your sixth uncle."
After saying that, he walked towards the village entrance.
As soon as he entered the house, he apologized to his old brother and told him what had just happened. At the end, he sighed, "It's unfortunate for our family to marry such a daughter-in-law. She has no bad intentions, but she behaves in a way that makes people dislike her!"
Old Master Tai quickly advised, "Don't take it seriously, Third Brother. I'm afraid everyone in the city knows about this now, so there's no point in hiding it from the clan members. Even if you don't tell anyone today, I should tell everyone now."
Manager Min also quickly chimed in, "Yes, there are more than a dozen merchants in the city who sell cashmere clothing and trousers. As long as our villagers go into the city, they will hear about it. There is no way to hide it."
Mr. Tai San was slightly relieved, but still felt guilty. He secretly decided that after his son came back, he would punish his daughter-in-law and make her change her nagging habit!
At this moment, there was suddenly a commotion outside the yard.
Uncle Tai San's heart instantly rose, thinking that it was the villagers who knew the news and came to inquire!
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