On the official road leading from the prefectural city to Liucheng, a carriage was slowly moving along.
Gu Ziyi coughed twice, covering his face, and looked at a military book in his hand. Despite being only eight years old, he was surprisingly composed.
Two guards drove the carriage, and Gu Ziyi asked, "Has Zhuifeng arrived yet?"
One of the guards immediately replied, "Lord Zhuifeng has already set off for Liucheng at full speed this morning, and should be arriving soon."
"Hmm." Gu Ziyi picked up the lotus root juice on the table and slowly drank half a cup before feeling a little better.
Thinking of that day when he was freezing cold but still seriously told him what he wanted to eat, I couldn't help but smile.
Another guard glanced at the person opposite him and asked, "Your Highness, do you suspect that there is something wrong with this prefect?"
Gu Ziyi chuckled: "I want to see for myself how he's going to threaten Magistrate Qin."
……!
Half an hour later, Old Lady Shen, carrying a total of one hundred and fifty taels of silver, left Huichuntang in a daze.
Shen Laoda immediately came over and asked, "Mom, how is it?"
Both Boss Shen and Shen Jiahao were extremely nervous, barely daring to breathe, their eyes fixed on Old Lady Shen. Although they knew nothing bad should happen, they were still tense.
Old Mrs. Shen glanced at them, put Lili back in Shen Jiahao's arms, and slowly stretched out her hands, one on the left and one on the right, making a "one" gesture with her left hand and a "five" gesture with her right hand.
Shen Jiahao exclaimed upon seeing it: "Wow, it sold for fifteen taels! My sister is amazing!"
Old Master Shen gasped, asking in shock, "Hiss! Mother, could it be...?"
Shen Jiahao scratched his head: "Huh?"
Old Mrs. Shen nodded leisurely, having received an affirmative answer. Even Boss Shen, who had seen the world as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was astonished by this number.
Shen Jiahao was increasingly confused: "Huh? What does this mean?"
Shen Jiahao looked at his quiet little sister in his arms: "Li Bao, do you know what happened?"
Lili smiled tactfully: "Big pot, not fifteen taels."
Shen Jiahao looked at Old Lady Shen with a puzzled expression. Old Lady Shen suddenly burst into laughter, but immediately calmed down after laughing and said in a low voice, "One hundred and fifty taels."
“Oh, one hundred and fifty taels.” Shen Jiahao laughed, then paused, “What? Grandma, you mean Young Master Duo?!”
Old Mrs. Shen pulled the two of them to a secluded corner and carefully took out the 150 taels of silver. The thin silver notes and the handful of silver made people stare in disbelief.
Shen Jiahao rubbed his eyes. It really was one hundred and fifty taels!
He'd never seen so much money in his entire life!
Old Master Shen took a deep look at the well-behaved little dumpling in his son's arms, silently planning to give his wife and two sons a good talking-to when he got back. He couldn't let this little lucky star down!
He had a feeling that this was definitely just the beginning!
At this moment, he was extremely grateful that he had voted in favor when Old Lady Shen said she wanted to adopt Lili. Luckily, he was a motherly person. If he had been rebellious and hadn't agreed, wouldn't he have offended the little lucky star with his own hands?
Old Mrs. Shen secretly took the 150 taels of silver and stuffed two large silver ingots into Shen Laoda's arms, one for Shen Jiahao and one for Lili: "Keep some with you, so that if someone robs you, you won't lose everything at once."
"Pah, pah, pah, what are you saying, Mother? We can let this go. Our family's life will only get better and better!"
Old Mrs. Shen laughed and said, "I was just saying it casually, but our family's life will naturally get better and better in the future!"
Although the words were ominous, they were indeed very true. Boss Shen and Shen Jiahao quickly stuffed the silver ingots into their inner garments to hide them.
Old Mrs. Shen originally planned to keep the hundred taels for herself, but after thinking about it, she took the silver ingot from Lili's hand, folded the silver notes, and stuffed them into Lili's arms: "This is lighter, so it's easier for Lili to keep it."
Actually, Old Lady Shen felt that having Lili on her body was safer than hiding her anywhere else.
Compared to the other three who couldn't hide their excitement, Lili, the two-year-old toddler, was much calmer. She was also happy to see that her family had money.
With money, they could buy chicks and ducks. Half of the Shen family's backyard was planted with fruits and vegetables, and the other half was originally used to raise chickens and ducks. However, in the famine year, the chickens and ducks stopped laying eggs, so they were killed and eaten.
The backyard is still empty, so I can buy some chicks and ducklings!
"Grandma, chicks!" Lili pointed in the direction she had come from, where she had just seen someone selling chicks.
Old Mrs. Shen thought to herself, now that the family has money, it's time to buy some chickens and ducks to raise.
"Alright, let's go buy some chicks and ducklings to raise!" Old Mrs. Shen looked at the two baskets of mushrooms. "Didn't they say the county magistrate is buying grain at a high price? Let's go and inquire about it, and sell these mushrooms first."
"I'll do whatever Mother says."
Although the group now possessed a staggering 150 taels of silver, they did not forget their duty.
Farmers are farmers; they won't get carried away by a sudden windfall. Their lives will continue as usual.
Old Shen carried two large baskets on his back, one in front and one behind. He noticed that many other people were also carrying large bags and heading in the same direction. He keenly realized that they were probably all going to sell grain.
"Mother, I think all these people carrying grain are heading that way. Maybe the magistrate's grain collection point is over there?"
Old Mrs. Shen looked around for a moment, then asked Lili, "Lili, which way do you think it is?"
Lili's heart was pounding. The sale of Ganoderma lucidum had gone so smoothly that she was now feeling inexplicably nervous.
Something bad is about to happen.
Lili's little face scrunched up, but she couldn't tell them her premonition, because Lili knew it was something she couldn't avoid.
And perhaps it's not a bad thing.
“Lili thinks Uncle is right.” Lili remained obedient and well-behaved, showing no signs of anything amiss.
"Okay, let's go over there!"
Elder Shen led the way, guiding the group of people in one direction.
Pear Pear looked around but saw nothing unusual. The market was as bustling as ever, and the people were going about their business. She could only put aside her suspicions for the time being.
Sigh, sometimes having such a fortunate destiny can be a burden. She's destined to enjoy a life of happiness, so why is she always worrying about this and that?
"Mother, look, there's a line over there, that must be it, right?" Shen Laoda pointed to a long line, where everyone was carrying different kinds of grain, which was probably where the legendary county magistrate collected grain.
Upon closer inspection, a wooden sign stood in the open space with the words "Grain Collection" written on it. Under the sign was a large table, and next to it was a scale.
After observing the long queue, Old Lady Shen realized that it would be difficult to get a turn anytime soon.
Old Mrs. Shen spotted a candied hawthorn vendor in front of a shop not far away. They had only eaten the cakes prepared by Mrs. Yang along the way. The adults were fine, but she was worried the two children would go hungry, so she gave Shen Jiahao some copper coins and instructed him:
"Jiahao, take your sister to buy two skewers of candied hawthorns. Come back right away, understand? Don't go off on your own."
"Okay, milk!"
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