Chapter 693 Zou Family

The Zou family finally arrived in the capital.

In the old house left behind by the "distant relative", there are all kinds of servants.

The old housekeeper said with tears in his eyes that they were all servants left behind by distant relatives and were willing to serve the new master.

The Zou family was surprised and happy.

From then on, the entire Zou family came to the capital. Except for the sick old lady, there were also Mr. Zou and his wife, and their several children.

Except for the eldest daughter and the second daughter who had already married locally, the youngest daughter and two young sons also accompanied them to Beijing.

After a few happy days, the old butler discovered that the lady of the Zou family was always asking him intentionally or unintentionally about the affairs of the Xin Guo Mansion.

The old housekeeper's eyes moved slightly, and he said with a smile: "I wonder why Madam asks these questions?"

Madam Zou tried to evade the question by saying that they had met someone from the Mansion of Duke Xin before when they were in the capital. Now that they were back in the capital, they were naturally very curious.

The old housekeeper chuckled, "So that's how it is. The people of the capital all know that the Xin Guogong Mansion is a first-class noble family in the capital. The old Duke and his wife killed many enemies on the battlefield and made many military achievements, which is enough to ensure the wealth of three generations."

Mrs. Zou's eyes were burning and she wanted to ask something, but Mr. Zou walked over majestically, put his hands behind his back, and coughed.

Madam Zou immediately stopped talking, acted like the mistress of the house, waved her hand, and asked the old butler to leave first.

The old butler said respectfully: "Yes."

Not long after the old butler left, he could still vaguely hear Master Zou behind him blaming Madam Zou for being too talkative and asking why she talked so much to the servants.

The old butler said nothing, as if he had heard nothing.

Old Madam Zou sat on the Luohan couch in her room, touching the small table and the soft gold silk pillow, her face smiling like a chrysanthemum: "Oh, these, are they all left for us by his aunt?"

Nanny Yue said respectfully, "Yes, old lady, these were all left by our old lady. According to what our previous old lady left before she passed away, these are all for Master Zou. I just hope Master Zou will offer incense and don't forget her... Our previous old lady was not as lucky as you, with a house full of children and grandchildren, and you can tell at a glance that they are all very filial."

Old Madam Zou laughed even more happily.

Look, I still have to give birth to a son!

Nanny Yue was quite flattering towards Old Madam Zou in her words, and she made her happy with just a few words.

Old Madam Zou couldn't help but recall with Nanny Yue the glory of the Zou family in the past.

More than ten years ago, the Zou family was one of the richest merchants in the capital. But after that incident, their luck started to fall on hard times. Within a few years, their tens of thousands of fortunes were all gone. Finally, the Zou family had no choice but to sell the old house and return to their hometown with all their fortunes.

Old Madam Zou never imagined that one day they would be able to return to the capital and live in such a magnificent house!

Old Madam Zou felt very proud when she thought about it!

She even wanted to find her old sisters in the capital to let them know that she was blessed by fate. Now, she had returned to the capital to live a good life!

Nanny Yue followed the meaning of Madam Zou's words and flattered her, "That's right, Madam. I have been in the capital for so long and have met many old ladies. Madam, I can tell from one look that you have a face that will bring you both good fortune and longevity. There are not many people in the whole capital who have such a blessed face as yours."

This made Old Lady Zou even happier. She grinned and asked Nanny Yue, "Are you serious? Have you ever seen anyone with a face as blessed as mine?"

"Of course it's true." Nanny Yue said clearly, "You know the Xin Guo Mansion, right? I have seen the old lady of her family before."

Nanny Yue spoke casually, but after she said the four words "Duke Xin's Mansion", she kept staring at Old Madam Zou's expression.

Old Madam Zou's expression changed slightly. Although the change was fleeting, it still did not escape Nanny Yue's eyes.

Nanny Yue pretended not to see it and continued, "…The old lady of Duke Xin is a well-known old lady in the capital who has a long life and good fortune. Duke Xin's mansion is one of the most powerful families in the capital, and all the masters are capable. Even the young masters and young ladies are all very capable."

Old Madam Zou was attracted by Nanny Yue. She swallowed her saliva, and her cloudy eyes moved a little in her sockets.

She said in a somewhat hoarse voice: "Okay, okay..."

Nanny Yue knew that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make, so she didn't say much. Instead, she said some other auspicious words, which made Old Madam Zou smile happily.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the old housekeeper slipped into Nanny Yue's room.

Neither of them turned on the lights, and in the darkness they spoke in low voices as they thought about what had happened that day.

"Today, Madam Zou came to me specifically to ask about the Xin Guo Mansion. I was planning to test her, but Master Zou came over and interrupted Madam Zou."

"Today, I also specifically mentioned the Xin Guo Mansion in front of Old Madam Zou. Old Madam Zou's demeanor can't deceive anyone. I guess they all know about it!"

"Well, let's calm down first. I will report to the Duke tomorrow and then follow his orders."

"Okay, I understand."

The two of them spoke in low voices, and the old butler quietly left Nanny Yue's room and disappeared into the night.

…

The Zou family has been enjoying great success recently.

You must know that the distant relative left behind not only a house, but also several shops and businesses.

Among them was a rouge and powder shop. Mrs. Zou was extremely happy and specially took her youngest daughter and eldest son to visit the shop.

Mrs. Zou's eldest son is not very old, he is just fourteen this year. Although the Zou family has fallen on hard times in recent years, they have never treated this eldest son badly, and raised him to be very spoiled, and he has to ride in a sedan chair when he goes out.

Now that Mrs. Zou had some spare money, she immediately waved her hand and rented a very nice sedan for Zou Minglei.

However, it so happened that a new store opened on Suzaku Street today and held an opening ceremony. People were so eager to get in that they blocked the store entrance so that no one could get in.

The Zou family's three-top sedan chair was certainly not easy to get by with.

The coachman stopped and consulted with the host to ask if it was possible to take a detour.

But Zou Minglei opened the curtain and became interested: "What kind of store is this? Why are there so many people?"

"Master, this is the newly opened cloth shop of Yu's Department Store. I heard that there are opening discounts these days. Anyone who comes to the store to buy cloth can get three for free, and the price of the cheapest cloth can be reduced."

As soon as the coachman explained, Zou Minglei immediately became interested: "Really? Merchants in the capital are really generous."

Zou Minglei no longer wanted to accompany his mother and sister to look at any rouge and powder.

He looked at Madam Zou and said, "Mother, we have come to the capital, but we have not made many clothes. I think, this is a good opportunity. Why don't we buy some cloth and make some nice clothes? In the future, when you go to a banquet, it will be a relief, right?"

Although Mrs. Zou had some extra money, it was not much, and she had originally thought of using it to provide for her two sons.

But at this moment, her youngest daughter was also looking at her eagerly. It was in public, and Mrs. Zou couldn't refuse her youngest daughter and lose face.

She nodded helplessly and lovingly: "In that case, let's go pick three horses."

It is said that if you buy three pieces of cloth, you can get the price of one piece of cloth off. In reality, many people still cannot afford to buy three pieces of cloth at once. But the newly opened cloth shop of Yujia Commercial Store also has corresponding discounts. As long as you buy cloth in the store, you will get a piece of cloth for free.

The rich families disliked this piece of cloth, but the common people loved it very much.

These scraps of cloth are more than enough to make a handkerchief or a small piece of clothing!

What's more, it's free!

That's why there are so many people in the cloth shop at this moment.

The manager of Yu's store even transferred a lot of people from other stores to maintain order, which shows how busy it is.

The Zou family, mother and her two sons, took a lot of effort to get into the cloth shop.

As soon as she entered the store, Zou Pingping, the youngest daughter of the Zou family, was immediately stunned!

Although she lived in the capital for a few years when she was a child, she was not very old at that time and had long forgotten what the capital looked like.

What I came into contact with were always things from small county towns.

What good things can be found in a small county town? Most of the patterns are a bit old, and the fabrics are not that good either.

Now that he had come to the capital, and had found himself in a cloth shop owned by one of the most influential shops like Yu's, he was naturally dazzled by the sights. He felt as if he had entered some paradise full of flowers and splendid decorations.

These cloths were so beautiful, but the prices were very expensive, which made Zou Pingping feel painful.

Mrs. Zou felt even more pained.

The money that could buy two pieces of cloth in their small county town could probably only buy one piece here!

It just so happened that Zou Minglei was able to take on the task at this moment, and the guy following behind him already had two rolls of cloth in his hands.

Mrs. Zou felt so heartbroken when she saw this!

Seeing that Zou Minglei was about to pick the third horse, Zou Pingping also became anxious: "Brother, don't be so self-conscious. You have already picked two horses, and those two are both for men. The last one should be picked by me and mother, right?"

Zou Minglei curled his lips and said, "Sister, what are you talking about? I pick mine and you pick yours. It's not like you can only buy three."

Mrs. Zou was even more distressed after hearing this. She hurriedly said, "Minglei, listen to what mother said. This is a shady shop and the cloth they sell is too expensive. If you like it, we can go back to another shop and buy a few more pieces."

Zou Minglei was unwilling: "Mother——"

"Madam, why is our store a black shop again?"

A voice that sounded like a smile came from behind the Zou family. Gong Qingniang was wearing a neat riding outfit and holding a horsewhip in her hand. It was obvious that she had just returned from outside.

She just came back from outside and heard someone slandering her store as a black shop. Hey, she couldn't tolerate this little temper.

Mrs. Zou had never expected that her casual advice to her son would be overheard by the shop owner. She looked a little embarrassed and coughed, "No, the cloth in your shop is so expensive. Look at this piece of brocade. We usually only need one or two taels of silver to buy it, but you are charging one or two taels of silver and eight cents for it..."

Originally, when Madam Zou and Gong Qingniang came face to face, many people looked over here, and Madam Zou felt a little embarrassed.

But as she spoke, she felt more and more that she was right.

How dare this shady shop set the price so high and not allow people to say anything?

However, Mrs. Zou originally thought that in a store like this, if she said the things were expensive, there would be a lot of response.

But after Madam Zou finished speaking, no one agreed with her. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

Mrs. Zou felt a little puzzled by the way everyone was looking at her.

Gong Qingniang's eyes sparkled: "Oh? Madam, please take a closer look. The one or two taels of silver per piece of makeup brocade you mentioned is the same as the one in our store?"

Mrs. Zou laughed angrily: "Aren't they all just brocade makeup? What's the difference——"

She reached out to touch it, and just with that touch, her facial expression froze.

Seeing the lively and lively man's expression stiffen when he saw the woman, he knew that she must have noticed something different.

This brocade is woven with silver thread, which not only increases the luster of the fabric but also adds a bit of softness.

Although you can't see it when you look at it from the front, it is very obvious if you look at it in the sun and slightly face the light.

Or you can feel it by just touching it.

Seeing that Madam Zou's face had turned red, the crowd began to laugh at her, "She is from another place, right? Don't you know that the makeup at Yu's store is top-notch?"

"Pay me one ounce of silver per horse. Well, in that case, give me two horses!"

"What a country bumpkin!"

Mrs. Zou was so ashamed by the ridicule of the crowd that she could hardly bear it.

Zou Minglei felt even more ashamed. He decided not to buy anything and angrily pulled his mother out.

Zou Pingping stamped her feet and chased after him.

However, the Zou family didn’t know that when they went out, Xingxing came out to look for Gong Qingniang and happened to see their backs.

Xing Xing stood there in a daze.

In her memory, many chaotic images were rolling and clamoring, giving her a headache.

Gong Qingniang was a little puzzled at first. Why was Xingxing standing there motionless?

But seeing Xingxing's face again, Gong Qingniang was startled, and hurried forward to hold Xingxing's hand: "No, Xingxing, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Your little face is pale, and your little hands are cold——"

Gong Qingniang was worried.

Xing Xing finally came back to her senses and shook her head with a complicated look: "Second sister-in-law, I'm fine."

There was no color left on Xingxing's lips, which made Gong Qingniang feel extremely distressed.

"Come on, I'll help you go inside to rest and drink some hot tea." Gong Qingniang put her arms around Xingxing's shoulders and led her inside.

Xingxing did not resist and let Gong Qingniang hug her and leave.

Xingxing held a cup of hot tea in her hand, but she was still thinking about the looks of those people just now.

She probably had never met those people before, but why, when she saw them, so many chaotic images that she had no memory of appeared in her mind?

In those pictures, the people looked ferocious and evil, like ghosts, and were extremely scary.

Xingxing paused while holding the cup of hot tea.

She remembered that her grandmother had picked her up from the rocky beach. She was only three years old at that time and had forgotten everything that happened before.

Aren’t those messy lines and scary images in the mind a child’s intuitive impression of the things he fears?

Xingxing's expression was inevitably a little complicated.

Could it be that those were her former family members?