Chapter 013 Traitorous Minister 13
The winter clothes and quilts cost 1,340 wen, and after deducting the cost of shoes and hemp paper, he was only left with 362 wen, which was shockingly poor.
Xiao Chen felt a little nervous as he looked at the gradually decreasing number of copper coins.
It’s hard not to panic if you don’t have money.
He watched Xiao Yan stop in front of the noodle stall and paused: "Brother, it's almost noon, why don't we go find Uncle Hong?"
Xiao Yan casually found a small stool and sat down, "Auntie, please give us two bowls of three ounces of臊子面."
The aunt moved so swiftly that Xiao Chen didn't even have a chance to speak.
Xiao Chen: “…”
Xiao Chen pursed his lips: "I'm not hungry..."
Before Xiao Yan could say anything, the auntie had already said, "I've already given you the face. If you don't want it, I'll give it to someone else!"
The臊子 (臊子) her restaurant serves is delicious and affordable, and since it’s dinner time, there’s no shortage of customers.
"Aunt, don't listen to his nonsense. Just go ahead. He's just too sensible and wants to save money. In my opinion, this guy needs to be well-treated. Your noodles are strong and have a lot of sauce, so he won't suffer any loss."
The aunt was praised and smiled, "Isn't it? I've been making臊子面 here for over ten years, and I'm the most honest one."
She poured the sauce on the noodles, and it was obvious that she was very skilled. She brought the bowl of noodles over and said, "It's eighteen cents in total. Do you want to pay now, little brother, or wait?"
Plain noodles are five cents, and noodles with meat are eight to ten cents, which is not expensive for her.
Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Chen, and Xiao Chen had no choice but to take out the copper coins and hand them to the aunt, looking at the few copper coins left in his homemade purse with a painful look.
Xiao Yan had talked to Xiao Chen before. He was in poor health and Xiao Chen was the one who managed the finances at home.
Before Xiao Chen could be happy for long, the copper coins in his purse flowed out like water, but his brother still had a lot of big truths to say.
For example, shoes are essential wearable items, and for example, hemp paper, his brother said that there is no gain without pain, but why is this happening now?
As long as you are patient, you can go back and eat. Why waste these eighteen cents?
Xiao Yan was eating when he felt Xiao Chen's resentful gaze. He paused and looked up in confusion.
"What's going on? Why aren't you eating?"
Xiao Chen stirred the noodles in his bowl and said quietly, "Brother, we are out of money."
Xiao Yan skillfully revealed a melancholy look: "Blame me, if it weren't for my body..."
Xiao Chen quickly interrupted: "No, no, no, how can this be blamed on you? Don't worry too much, brother. The doctor said that as long as you take good care of yourself, you will definitely recover! Don't worry, brother, I will definitely find a way to deal with the money. Don't worry."
He didn't dare to complain anymore, fearing Xiao Yan would once again take all the blame on him. Otherwise, just when he was recovering, he would be troubled by his heart disease. It's said that heart disease is difficult to cure, and it seems that heart disease is the most difficult to cure!
Xiao Chen buried his head in eating noodles, not giving Xiao Yan a chance to speak.
“Make way, make way!”
A carriage came galloping, and the coachman raised his whip and hit the horse. The horse ran forward in pain, ignoring the pedestrians and vendors on the roadside.
The aunt hurriedly packed up her stall, shouting, "Quick, move inside! Don't let the stall tip over!"
The carriage galloped away, raising a cloud of dust.
Xiao Chen frowned, protecting his bowl of noodles: "Who is this? You can't ride a horse in the street, how could he not know?"
The aunt lowered her voice and said, "Hey, little brother, don't say that. Be careful not to be heard."
Xiao Yan knew that these were cannon fodder A, B, C, and D who were providing experience to Xiao Chen, so he pricked up his ears and listened while eating.
He thought Xiao Chen would be like other male protagonists, slapping the table and saying something like "Is there any law in this world?", but Xiao Chen just listened and then buried his head in eating noodles.
Xiao Yan: “???”
This doesn't fit the male protagonist's behavior at all!
Oh, that’s not right. Xiao Chen has been reborn. If it was in his previous life, Xiao Chen might still feel resentful. However, after his rebirth, Xiao Chen, who has witnessed the ups and downs of officialdom, must understand the darkness in it.
Today's Xiao Chen is no longer the kind of young man who is just starting out, fearless and full of passion.
Someone else sighed and said, "I think the good days of the second master of the Sun family are almost over."
"Isn't it? A few days ago, I heard that Master Sun Da and Master Sun Er were having a huge fight. According to the Sun family's servants, Master Sun Er even attacked the young master of the Sun family."
The man took over and said, "That's not surprising. The young master of the Sun family was born weak. If something happens to him, won't he have to be adopted from a side branch? This is all because of the family property."
The aunt nodded and said, "But no matter how powerless Mr. Sun is, he is not someone we common people can afford to offend. Everyone should be careful and don't get into trouble because of your words. Our small business can't afford to be ruined."
Mr. Sun Da is a kind person who often does good deeds, while Mr. Sun Er and his family are eccentric and domineering, and are hated by everyone.
The two brothers are completely at opposite ends of the spectrum.
As much as people admired Master Sun Da, they hated Master Sun Er. Now, apart from this incident, it is inevitable that they think Master Sun Er is really ungrateful.
The Sun family owes its current status entirely to the eldest master, Sun. The second master, Sun, is greedy and even wants to take action against someone else's son. This is bound to cause discussion.
Although they are not the rich people, it does not prevent them from bringing themselves in. After all, they don't need money even in their dreams, and their lives lack entertainment. This is also gossip after dinner. What's more, everyone has received the favor of Master Sun, so they will naturally speak for Master Sun.
Xiao Chen was not familiar with Master Sun Da, but in his previous life he had a grudge against Master Sun Er and his family.
In his previous life, he made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. His painting skills attracted the attention of Sun Hedong, the beloved son of Master Sun Er.
Sun Hedong is a well-known playboy in the town. He is a pretentious person and has a bad taste for forcing women of good families into prostitution.
He was a famous painter at that time. Even though he concealed his name, Sun Hedong still found him under the pressure of money and "invited" him to entertain at Sun Hedong's banquet and play him as an actor.
Xiao Chen was young and energetic with a strong sense of self-esteem, so he naturally refused to agree. With the help of his followers, he successfully offended Sun Hedong.
The Sun family had become a powerful force in the town. In order not to offend the Sun family, the bookshop that bought his calligraphy and paintings refused to do business with him. In addition, there were villains who tried to obstruct him. Fortunately, he was cautious and did not get blocked from taking the imperial examination.
Later, when he gained power, he didn't have to take revenge personally. In order to curry favor with his subordinates, he naturally helped deal with Sun Er's family. At the same time, Master Sun cut off ties with him and sent an apology gift.
Even though he had never come into contact with Master Sun, Xiao Chen felt that this man was not as kind as the legend said. Although this was a bit far-fetched, didn't Master Sun's family rely on the power of Master Sun's family to do evil?
Mr. Sun knew what he was doing, but he didn't stop him. How is this different from being an accomplice to a tiger?
The reason why he saved the young master of the Sun family was, firstly, that he felt that the boy was innocent; secondly, he was inevitably saddened by the thought of his own brother; thirdly, he wanted to prevent Sun Er's family from benefiting as they did in his previous life.
As for the so-called life-saving grace, it’s good if it exists, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t exist. Just think of it as saving a kitten or a puppy on the roadside.
Of course, he didn't think that Master Sun Er would fall because of this. After all, if Master Sun Da wanted to discipline Sun Er's family, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?
The only possibility is that Master Sun could not guarantee whether his own son could live long. If something happened to him, it would be convenient to adopt him. This also explains why Sun Er and his family were taken to the Sun Mansion.
There were so many twists and turns in this, Xiao Chen had no intention of getting involved. Of course, if there was an opportunity to take revenge on Sun Er's family, he would not let it go.
He has always been vindictive!
What Xiao Chen was thinking in his heart could not be told to outsiders.
After eating the臊子面, there were still two quarters of an hour until noon.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen went to the place they had agreed to meet with Uncle Hong, only to see Uncle Hong already waiting there in a donkey cart.
Seeing them, Uncle Hong tied the donkey.
"Uncle Hong, I have some bedding at the Brocade Shop. Could you please drive there?"
Xiao Yan took out the small package of snacks that the shopkeeper had given him and stuffed it into Uncle Hong's pocket: "Give it to Brother Qian and Sister Su to try."
Qian Ge'er and Su Jie'er are Uncle Hong's grandson and granddaughter. They are only four or five years old this year, and are a generation younger than Xiao Yan. Although he is young, he is of a high generation.
Uncle Hong waved his hand: "How can that be possible? You're not in good health, you need to nourish yourself more. There's no shortage of food at home, take it back quickly."
Xiao Yan stuffed his hands into his sleeves to keep warm. "This is a gift from the brocade shop owner, who saw that my brother and I had a good impression of each other. It didn't cost much. I have more, so please don't refuse it."
Hong Shui smiled and put away the snacks: "Okay, then uncle won't be polite with you. If you have anything, just tell me."
When he arrived at the brocade shop, the shopkeeper came up to him quickly, and his friendly attitude surprised Uncle Hong.
"Brother Xiao is here? Where is the car? I'll give you a hand."
As soon as Manager Pan opened his mouth, he treated Xiao Yan as a peer.
Uncle Hong was a little confused, but he had a natural respect for the town's shopkeepers, a result of the disparity between the rich and the poor. He took the bedding and other items from Shopkeeper Pan and said, "I'll do it. I'll do it."
Shopkeeper Pan is waiting to show his courtesy, so how can he let Uncle Hong lend a hand?
He put the things he had carried on the donkey cart, his slightly plump figure panting a little: "Brother Xiao, it's a deal then. I'll come to bother you tomorrow morning."
If today is too rushed, he would like to go with them.
If you want to make money, you have to do it early and be thick-skinned. He naturally knows this clearly.
Xiao Yan thanked him: "Uncle Pan, you're welcome."
Under the watchful eyes of Shopkeeper Pan, the donkey cart moved slowly.
Uncle Hong felt itchy inside, but the question was a little sensitive and he didn't dare to ask it out loud.
But he was so curious that he finally asked tentatively, "Does Brother Yan have any connection with the owner of the brocade shop?"
If there was no reason, why would others send snacks, move things themselves, and even say they were visiting?
Xiao Yan also knew that he could not hide this matter from others, but he could conceal part of it.
He said vaguely, "Uncle Pan and my father are old friends. He knows I'm his descendant, so he's taking extra care of me."
Father Xiao had passed away, so there was no way to verify it. As for Shopkeeper Pan, he certainly wouldn't make it public.
In the past, Xiao's father had indeed gone out to take jobs and knew many different people. Uncle Hong did not suspect anything, but was also worried that talking about Xiao's father would make the brothers sad, so he did not ask any further questions.
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