Chapter 14: A ray of hope
"Nonsense!" Erya retorted, "My mother said that no matter how poor she was, she would never sell us out."
There was no way she was selling herself.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Begging for food." Erya said confidently, "My father died in December, leaving two little girls behind. Who wouldn't sympathize with me?"
Xiao Yan: "..."
OK, OK.
What a great idea.
So good that he...
Too exhausted to complain.
"You can't eat and drink for free in my house. I don't want you to do anything, but you won't refuse this little thing, right?"
Xiao Yan would not refuse.
Because he had seen the young man Tiezhu walking in through the gap in the window.
As his name suggests, he is as strong as an iron pillar. He is no match for the current one.
If you can't beat them, you can only join them.
Xiao Yan only made one request——
Wrap him up in a mat and don't let his face show.
Although he no longer had the face to lose, there was still a little useless reserve left in his bones.
Please allow him to be pretentious until he can overcome it.
Maybe after a while, he'll get used to it and it won't be so troublesome anymore.
“There’s so much going on.”
Although Erya said this, she still directed Tiezhu to wrap Xiao Yan in a roll of tattered mat.
Xiao Yan is now as thin as a piece of paper, and his weight is estimated to be less than 100 kilograms.
Tiezhu wrapped him up easily and placed him on the flatbed truck.
There was a strong stench on the flatbed, as if it had accumulated over the years and seeped into the texture of the wood.
Xiao Yan held his breath and heard Erya talking about Tiezhu.
"Brother Tiezhu, please push slower."
"Don't worry, it's okay. I can push the cart and won't let your dad get hurt!"
"Bah, who's afraid of bumping into him? I'm just worried you'll break the car. Next year, you'll have to rely on this car to buy and sell pigs!"
Xiao Yan: "..."
He has now started to get into the role, lying motionless, pretending to be dead.
Erya was again telling Sanya, "Don't say anything, just cry. Don't tell anyone anything they ask you. If you get caught, all our efforts today will be in vain."
Leave it to her to tell you about your life's sufferings, she is good at it.
"Second sister, I'm afraid I can't cry." San Ya had a sad face and was about to back out.
"Then think about not having meat to eat during the Chinese New Year. Or think about the candied haws you just bought falling to the ground and being taken away by a dog."
San Ya's tears started to flow.
That's too sad.
"Isn't that enough?" Erya said proudly, "Okay, big sister, keep an eye on the door, we're leaving."
Let’s talk about Lu Qiniang. She went to the butcher shop first, but found that it was closed.
I guess the butcher has also gone home to celebrate the New Year.
After a busy year, who wouldn’t go home to their wife and children at the end of the year?
Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has allowed the people to recuperate and reduce taxes, and the people have been living a good life.
Lu Qiniang was a little disappointed, but after thinking about it, she encouraged herself and went to Zhuangyuan Building.
However, her idea was frustrated when put into practice.
She was soliciting customers outside Zhuangyuan Building, but almost all of them were in a hurry. When they saw her coming up, they thought she was a beggar and looked impatient.
Not to mention asking her to help with cooking, I'm too lazy to even listen to her talk.
That's fine, Lu Qiniang is patient.
But the owner of Zhuangyuanlou refused to do so.
Isn't this poaching right under your own nose?
Lu Qiniang smiled and explained that she was only doing business during the New Year period and would not come to steal the business in the future.
But the shopkeeper refused to listen to her explanation and asked the waiter to send her away.
Lu Qiniang refused to give up. "Boss, how about I bring my daughter to help for a few days? I can do any rough or strenuous work, and I can do the work of three people! Wait, let's not talk about wages, you can also provide meals..."
In the end, she was driven away and squatted under the door of a closed teahouse not far away. She still felt unwilling to accept the situation.
She needs to be thicker-skinned.
Even though she was not allowed to do it, she insisted on doing it.
She kept staring at the people coming out of Zhuangyuan Building, and only approached them when they came closer.
The result is still the same.
She waited until the sun was setting, and there were so many people coming in and out of Zhuangyuanlou, but she didn't get a single customer.
"Money, money, you are really my enemy." Lu Qiniang said to herself, "Why is this New Year so sad?"
If this route is also blocked, she can only think of setting up a stall on the street during the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Selling things is not possible because it requires capital, which she does not have.
She performed a one-handed stone lock lift?
She had seen a circus before and someone gave her a tip.
But this is not a long-term solution, we can only take it one step at a time.
She still needs to make some money first as capital, and then return to her old business - raising pigs!
She calculated that the capital would be at least ten taels of silver...
Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore. I’ll go home and eat and sleep first.
Maybe she will suddenly come up with a way to make money!
Just as she was about to go home, she saw a man who looked like a waiter hurriedly coming out of Zhuangyuan Building.
"It's almost dark. Where can I find people to work?"
He happened to be walking in the direction of Lu Qiniang, and her muttering was heard.
"Big brother, what kind of work are you looking for?" Lu Qiniang walked up to her and started a conversation with a smile.
"Don't block the way, I'm in a hurry!" The man frowned and said impatiently, "I'm going to find a few people to help move the goods."
They were merchants from other places, transporting twenty carts of tea to Beijing for delivery.
Tea is extremely precious, so after arriving at Zhuangyuan Building, they deliberately moved the tea into the room for fear of it being stolen or getting damp due to snow.
Unexpectedly, we suddenly received news that the buyer wanted to send this batch of tea to Zhili, and asked it to be delivered before the 30th.
We have to ride fast and travel day and night.
But it’s already this time today, the city gates are about to close, and it would be very rushed to load the trucks.
That's why they were anxious and came out to find help.
Lu Qiniang was delighted when she heard this, "I can do this job. I'll help you move it!"
The man saw that Lu Qiniang was fat and felt that she might be out of breath even when walking, so he said impatiently: "Move aside, move aside, I'm in a hurry and don't have time to play with you."
"I'm not kidding you. Your work is important and can't be delayed. So," Lu Qiniang's mind raced, "go find someone first. The goods are in Zhuangyuan Building, right? I'll go move them for you!"
The man was anxious to find someone, but after thinking that it seemed like he wouldn't lose anything, he agreed.
So, Lu Qiniang ran to Zhuangyuan Building in a hurry.
"Why are you here again?" The shopkeeper was unhappy to see her.
Lu Qiniang smiled and said, "I won't come to disturb your business this time. I'll help you move things."
She went to the backyard and easily found where the carriage was.
Those people were also loading the truck, but in Lu Qiniang's opinion, their speed was simply slacking off.
"Get out of the way, let me do it!"
She rolled up her sleeves.
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