Chapter 44: Divide the money. Find a way.
The next day, Zong Xiao followed him down the mountain.
The wild deer he hunted yesterday was injured but still alive. He sold it for four taels of silver as soon as he brought it to town.
This price is not the most expensive. If you wait until it snows before selling it, a deer will fetch at least six taels.
It’s a pity that they don’t know how to raise deer. If they can’t keep the injured wild deer alive, they can’t sell them at a good price.
Zong Xiao walked around the stall with the purse in his hand, and he actually spotted someone with suspicious behavior.
The man stood under a big tree not far away with his hands in his pockets, staring at their stall.
He neither went forward nor left, but just stood there and watched.
Zong Xiao walked around behind him and patted his shoulder.
"Can you please take a look?" he said suddenly.
"Look, the scarred man is not on the stall today." The man thought it was his companion who came back, and he replied without even turning his body.
"Really? Where did that scarface guy go?" Zong Xiao continued to ask.
The man rubbed his chin. "He must be going out to sell something. But Scarface is in town today, so we can't do anything. By the way, has Madam Lian given any other instructions?"
When he heard the words "Madam Lian", the mystery in Zong Xiao's mind instantly dissipated. It turned out that she was the one behind the evil.
Everyone in Yuan Town knew Madam Lian. This woman was very evil and most of the girls in the brothel were abducted by her.
Unfortunately, she has someone behind her, and even if we report her to the authorities, they can't do anything about her.
"I'll go take a break over there, you keep watching." The man turned around and looked up to see the scar on Zong Xiao's face.
He swallowed his saliva and said guiltily: "You...you..."
Zong Xiao grabbed his collar and pushed him hard against the tree. He said in a low voice, "I heard everything you said just now. Now, you answer whatever I ask you. If you're talking nonsense..."
Zong Xiao looked towards the government office and said with a half-smile, "Those families whose girls you kidnapped wanted to vent their anger, who would they choose?"
The man was not stupid. He knew that Madam Lian had someone behind her, otherwise how could she be safe and sound every time.
But he... he is just a small fry, if something really happens, no one will protect him.
He nodded, which was considered as agreement.
Zong Xiao dragged him to a dark alley nearby and said straight to the point, "Who did Madam Lian want you to kidnap? How long have you been watching them?"
The man held up two fingers and said timidly, "Your wife...the girl who kidnapped your stall...we've been watching her for two months."
Two months.
They were targeted from the moment they set up their stall.
Zong Xiao held his breath, hating himself for not noticing it for so long.
"Why did you kidnap her?" Zong Xiao asked.
The man didn't really know, but he had heard someone mention it, "It seems it's because she has skills... Madam Lian feels that it can't be wasted."
What a thing that cannot be wasted. Qiu Xuan works hard to make money with her own hands, and studies food painstakingly every day, but when it ends up in other people's mouths, it becomes something that cannot be wasted.
The man had been doing surveillance work, and the kidnapping was not his responsibility, so his knowledge was limited. However, under pressure, he told everything he knew.
"Last year, a young lady was kidnapped from the brothel. I heard she was an excellent embroiderer, so Madam Lian never arranged for her to receive clients. She said she had found many other embroiderers to come and learn the craft." The man secretly glanced at Zong Xiao's expression. Seeing that he was not angry, he continued, "The girl thought that if she taught the craft to those people, she could leave safely..."
Zong Xiao's face darkened.
The man was completely unaware and continued, "Later, she taught all the embroiderers how to do it. Madam Lian felt she was no longer useful and had her sold."
"Sold?" Zong Xiao only thought that the abducted girls were in brothels, but he didn't expect that they were actually involved in private transactions.
"I don't know about that." The man really didn't know what happened later. "I think Madam Lian probably wants you...the girl at your stall to make money for her."
"Madam Lian only told us to keep an eye on her these past few days, and didn't allow us to kidnap her directly..." The man said everything he could, and begged, "Well... I swear I won't tell anyone about what happened today. Can you please let me go?"
"Get lost." Zong Xiao released his hand and let the man go.
At this moment, Zong Xiao felt as if a pair of large hands were pinching his neck tightly, making it impossible for him to breathe.
He is just a hunter, with neither power nor money, and now someone is targeting his family... How can he break the situation and protect her?
-
In front of the stall, Qiu Xuan was rolling spring pancakes.
What happened yesterday was truly horrifying. Afraid that her family would worry, she only told Zong Xiao.
But now Zong Xiao has been gone for so long and hasn't come back yet, she can't help but feel worried.
What if he...
"Why has my second brother been gone for so long today? Is it because the game is not selling well?" Zong Anji looked at the sun and felt that his second brother had been out for at least an hour.
It wouldn’t have taken this long in the past.
"Your second brother may have asked a few more families. It's cold out today, so game is a good choice." The grandmother continued to cook noodles, her hands never stopping. "You will get married in the future, so learn from your second brother."
When the topic of marriage was brought up, Zong Anji blushed instantly. His wedding was just over half a month away, and he was actually getting married.
Qiu Xuan looked at his expectant expression, and her heart ached. She only prayed that their family could always remain the same as it is now.
"Grandma, my second uncle is back." Huaixue jumped down from the stool and pointed to the opposite side.
Qiu Xuan looked in the direction she pointed and saw Zong Xiao in the crowd. He looked fine, so nothing must have happened.
Qiu Xuan wiped her hands, stepped forward and took the things from his hands, and asked with concern, "Why did you take so long today?"
"I asked a few more shops." Zong Xiao handed the pastry to Huai Xue and asked her to try it quickly. It was still hot from the pot.
As he turned around and took off the backpack, Zong Xiao whispered in Qiu Yu's ear, "I met someone. I'll tell you in detail when I get home."
Huaixue opened the oil paper and saw six steaming lotus cakes inside.
"Grandma, you eat first." Huaixue picked up a piece, blew on it, and handed it to the grandmother's mouth.
The mother took a small bite and said to Huaixue, "You eat it. Grandma doesn't want to eat anymore."
Lotus cake is sweet because of the sugar added, and it tastes even softer because it is freshly baked.
Qiu Xuan looked at the lotus cake and asked Zong Xiao quietly, "How much did these cost?"
"Twelve coins."
Qiu Xuan suddenly raised her head and looked at Zong Xiao in surprise, her eyes seemed to say, "Twelve cents for just this little?"
This pastry is even more profitable than noodles, it's extremely profitable.
"Anything with sugar in it will be more expensive." Zong Xiao thought she was worried about the money, so he took out his purse and stuffed it into Qiu Yun's hand, coaxing her, "Don't worry about the money. We made four taels of silver today."
Four taels of silver is a lot of money for ordinary people, especially when the New Year is approaching. With this money, people can have a good year.
Zong Xiao had his own concerns. He pointed at the money bag and suggested, "Let's not sell it for a few more days. This money is enough for us to have a good New Year."
Qiu Xuan knew what he was worried about. She nodded and agreed, "Okay, then we won't sell it in a few days."
In the evening, the family sat around the table, dividing the copper coins on the table.
These days they bring five kinds of food down the mountain every day. In addition to the fixed thirty large intestine buns delivered to the braised meat shop, there are also noodles, spring rolls, pork jelly and soup dumplings sold at their own stall.
These things may not seem expensive, but I actually made a lot of money from them.
After deducting the costs, they earned a total of fifteen taels of silver in two and a half months. Among them, pork skin jelly had the highest profit, while noodles and spring rolls sold the most.
The grandmother's hands were shaking as she counted the money. She had never made so much money in such a short time in her life.
Qiu Xuan divided the money among everyone, giving Zong Anji four taels and Zong Mu three taels. She stuffed the remaining twenty copper coins into Huai Xue's hands.
Zong Anji knew at a glance that the money was too much. He was just helping out with cooking noodles and washing dishes, so there was no need for so much money.
"Keep it. You're getting married soon, so it's only right for you to save some money. Besides, we won't sell it for a few more days, otherwise we'll have no income for two months." Qiu Xuan told them about setting up a stall on the way back.
She originally planned to sell it for another half a month, but after this incident, she always felt uneasy. What if those people attacked Huaixue?
Instead of being nervous, it is better to take a break and stay out of the spotlight. After a while, maybe those people will stop targeting her.
At night, Qiu Xuan went to bed early. Zong Xiao had stuffed a hot water bottle into her quilt, and it felt warm as soon as she came in.
"By the way, did you see those people today?" Qiu Xuan turned sideways to look at Zong Xiao, only to see him resting his head on his arms, staring at the beams of the house.
Zong Xiao: "I did see a stalker."
Qiu Xuan perked up. She propped herself up and asked, "Who sent those people? Are they really here for food?"
Qiu Xuan didn't think she was that great. After all, what she was making now were just appetizers. She could make many more dishes, but the cost of stir-fried dishes and pastries was too high and it wasn't suitable for her to set up a stall to sell them now.
"Almost." Zong Xiao didn't want to tell her those dirty things, so he deliberately concealed them and said, "Those people think you can always come up with recipes, so they want to take you back."
"Why not just come to me to do business directly? Why tie me up?" Qiu Yun didn't think badly of the person.
Zong Xiao's heart softened when he saw her innocent look. "They don't want to spend money. After all, everything in the recipe is quite expensive."
"How do you know it's expensive without asking me?" Qiu Xuan snorted, "Forget it, even if they pay me later, I won't sell them."
Qiu Yu slept well that night, which was rare for her, but she didn't know that Zong Xiao beside her had not slept all night.
He has been thinking of ways to protect his family. It is impossible for him to do it alone unless someone can protect them.
And that person has to have a say in the brothel...
Zong Xiao thought about it for two whole days, and finally set his sights on the county magistrate.
After all, the magistrate is the highest official here.
However, it was not easy to get in touch with this person. Zong Xiao spent a long time trying, but he couldn't even meet the person and send a gift.
Until the last day of setting up the stall, he met Fu Shun from Datun Village in Yuanxiang Town.
He originally had no hope and just asked casually, but he didn't expect that he would actually find out a lot of information.
Fushun told him that the people in this brothel were not simple, and the forces behind them were not simple either. If he wanted to control the brothel, he would have to find a higher-ranking official.
"I heard that Prince Pingyang has been looking for white fox fur recently, saying he wants to make a cloak." Fushun was well-informed and said, "If you can hunt a white fox, this might be a good opportunity."
But foxes are cunning and it was difficult to catch them in the past, let alone the elusive white fox.
However, Zong Xiao kept this in mind. After all, this was the only solution he could think of at the moment.
If he could hunt a white fox, there would be a glimmer of hope.
He did what he said. After breakfast the next day, he went into the mountains alone.
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