Chapter 45: Prepare for a Rainy Day
"Send two people to follow them secretly and protect them."
As soon as the man gave the order, he realized that it might backfire, so he changed his mind and just ordered the guards to be stationed near the mansion.
The subordinate was ordered to retreat and met Mr. Li when he went out.
The latter walked in as the door opened and saw the man arming himself. He sighed and said, "Shenzhi, I wanted you to stay in the rear, not to take the risk of leading the attack yourself."
The man took off his hat, revealing Jiang Yu's shaved face.
He continued stuffing the gun and bullets into his hat, saying, "You all take the risk. I can't just sit back and enjoy the results. Now that the attention of several major Fuso agencies has been diverted, one more person will give us a better chance."
Mr. Li couldn't persuade him, so he took out his treasured weapons and gave them to him, reminding him: "Be sure to pay attention to safety!"
Jiang Yu accepted it and clapped his hand vigorously, shaking it firmly: "Don't worry, we're getting married in two days, and I must come back alive."
Mr. Li was silenced by his words. "Isn't this just a casual affair? Are you really planning to marry her?"
"You know, I always finish what I start." Jiang Yu left this ambiguous remark and turned to walk out.
Mr. Li chased him out the door, but he had already disappeared.
Only a few people noticed the undercurrents surging behind the scenes. On the surface, most people, like Rong Zhen, continued to live their lives, carefully planning for their lives and the future, and making preparations for a rainy day.
She and A Cui returned to the mansion, first settled the fare with the driver, and then handed the shoes she bought to the fat aunt who came over and asked her to distribute them.
When she learned that there was one for her, Auntie Pang's plump face suddenly smiled like a flower, and she said happily, "Oh, the young lady thought of me when she bought something. It's really thoughtful."
"It's convenient. You can try it to see if the size is right. If not, you can change it." Rong Zhen reminded.
Aunt Pang immediately called everyone over, distributed the winter shoes, and spoke well of Rongzhen, asking everyone to thank her after receiving the shoes.
The housekeeper, who was recuperating in his room, was also helped out by Dazhu to join in the fun. When he saw his own pair of big cotton boots, he happily put them on on the spot and kept saying it was good.
Rongzhen asked Dazhu to continue taking care of him and asked A Cui to go upstairs.
Ah Cui understood the elegant meaning of the music from the music, and after going upstairs, she first found the young lady's dowry and moved it to her bedroom.
There were three large bundles and five wicker boxes in total, containing newly made bedding, clothes, jewelry, etc. from home, as well as two thousand silver yuan notes and dozens of dollars.
The silver dollar notes were originally supposed to be worth 2,500 yuan, plus clothes and jewelry, a total of about 3,000 yuan, but 500 yuan was given away at the Special Intelligence Bureau, and now this is all that is left.
Rongzhen checked them all and took out the bedding and clothes that could be used and put them in the cabinet in her room for future use so that she wouldn't have to spend money to buy them in the future.
Precious items such as gold, silver jewelry, pearls, jade and gems, although not in large quantities, can be exchanged for some money at critical moments and hidden away.
There were only a few dozen scattered dollars, just enough for daily pocket money, and they were given to A Cui for safekeeping.
In the end, only silver dollar notes were left, which were still the most valuable.
Rong Zhen frowned as he held the light pieces of paper and asked Ah Cui, "Can this be exchanged for silver or gold?"
Ah Cui could see that the young lady didn't like the silver dollar notes very much. In fact, she didn't like them much either. Compared to this light paper, the heavy dollars were more pleasing to her.
Ah Cui: "This is a silver dollar note. I should be able to exchange it for silver dollars at a bank, but I'm afraid I can't exchange it for gold."
Moreover, even if you exchange it for dollars, you will still have to pay a certain handling fee. It is better to trade directly with others and exchange the silver dollar coupons for physical objects.
Rongzhen took out two thousand yuan, called Dazhu over, and told him to go and inquire about the situation of the tofu shop first.
If there is no problem, she will trade with the other party using silver yuan coupons.
Dazhu took on this important task and specifically asked, "Miss, can you let the housekeeper know? He's the best at negotiating prices when buying a shop."
Hearing the word 'good at', Ah Cui couldn't help but burst out laughing and explained to Rong Zhen, "The housekeeper is very stingy. Miss, you can ask him to negotiate. He will definitely save you a lot."
By the way, let him see where the young lady's dowry money was spent, so that he can report to the master and the mistress when he returns, and it will be convenient for them to ask for money later.
After all, they didn't spend money recklessly. They were seriously buying the shop and property, intending to live a good life with their brother-in-law in the future. It's just that the prices of goods and shops here are different from those in their hometown, which leads to a lot of expenses. If the master knew about this, wouldn't he support them a little more?
A Cui discussed her plan with Rong Zhen and felt that this was a good thing that would kill two birds with one stone, and no one was more suitable than the housekeeper.
Rongzhen agreed and went downstairs to find the housekeeper in person. She asked him to help her set up a shop on the grounds that she was young and inexperienced.
The butler had just accepted her gift and was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Then, after hearing her flattery, he turned it down. "I really want to help you, young lady, but I'm just as unfamiliar with this place as you are. I have to leave soon, so I'm afraid I won't be able to find it for a while."
"Don't worry about that. I've already found a place. You and Dazhu just need to find out more about the shop and then bargain with them."
Rongzhen's words made the housekeeper feel relieved and he agreed to help her take a look first.
Everything that happened in the mansion, big or small, could escape Aunt Pang's eyes. When she learned that the young mistress wanted to buy a shop, she didn't say anything rashly, but just asked someone to stare at her.
The old butler quickly took the silver dollar notes and Dazhu and went out.
Rongzhen went upstairs to rest for a while. When Aunt Pang rang the bell to notify her to go downstairs for dinner, Jiang Yu had not returned yet.
Auntie Pang explained for him: "Madam, the young master hasn't finished his business outside yet, so you can eat at home first and don't wait for him."
Rong Zhen looked at the four dishes and one soup on the table, which were the same size as before, nodded, and said, "I see. Did you leave some food for him? Or maybe we could share half of the food with him."
Aunt Pang said no need, Lao Yu still had some warmed up on the kitchen stove, it was enough.
Rongzhen used a serving chopstick to pick up some food and put it into the bowl. After eating, she gave the rest to the servants as a dish.
They were all clean and delicious meat and vegetables. Aunt Pang and A Cui didn't mind at all. They shared some with each other and ate with relish.
It was still early after dinner, so Rongzhen let A Cui do her own thing while she walked around Xiaomeilin for a few laps to help digest her food.
Several plum trees are still in full bloom. The snow that had previously remained on the branches has long since melted away, and there has been no sign of snow in recent days, indicating that the weather will be good for the next few days.
The old housekeeper was very happy about this and said that the wedding date was well chosen. It was indeed an auspicious day and even God was pleased with it.
Rongzhen felt that this was a completely normal natural phenomenon and there was no need to say it was a good omen. Otherwise, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment in the end.
I wandered around daydreaming for a while, and then I heard a faint cat's meow in the plum fragrance.
Rongzhen thought of the raccoon cat she had met in the small pond in the backyard and called out uncertainly to the people around her, "Meow?"
"Meow~" This time the cat's meow came clearly from the big plum tree in the middle.
Rongzhen walked in the direction and looked up to find that it was the civet cat that she had only met once.
I saw it hanging high on the top of a plum tree. Its two hind claws had lost their grip, and it was holding a sparrow it had just caught on the plum branch in its mouth. It flapped its wings as if it couldn't get down, but it was reluctant to let go of the prey in its mouth to save itself.
Maybe it sensed someone approaching, so it wanted to call for help by meowing.
This is a trick that only domestic cats can use. Stray cats outside are not so delicate, not to mention that it is the civet cat with the strongest survival ability in the wild.
Rong Zhen noticed this and slowed down his pace to approach, "Little Cat, where is your master?"
"Meow." The tabby cat called out to her, seemingly expressing a friendly attitude, unlike last time when it ran away when it saw her.
Rongzhen then walked under the tree and raised her hands to signal it to jump down and she would catch it.
The cat twisted its head and refused to do it, and even tried to climb up again, but its claws kept slipping uncontrollably, and it was obvious that it was almost exhausted.
Rongzhen looked around and saw that there was no one around, so she simply lifted up the hem of her skirt and shook it to let it dance.
The little fellow finally let go of the claws that were holding the branch of the plum tree, jumped down with the sparrow in its mouth, and fell into Rong Zhen's arms. The red plum blossoms instantly appeared on her clothes.
It turned out that the little civet cat had injured its paw, otherwise it might not have been so cautious and would not have asked her for help.
Rongzhen no longer had the heart to wander around, so she carried it back to the small building and asked A Cui to bring some ointment and gauze to treat the little guy's claw wound.
Maybe because he knew he was being helped, the little guy was very well behaved throughout the whole process. However, he ignored everyone except Rongzhen who was helping him, and was quite arrogant.
Ah Cui exclaimed how adorable it was, "Miss, let's keep it. It's hard to find food in the winter, and it'll get hurt and starve to death if it's out there."
"It's good, but it seems to have an owner." Rong Zhen used a small comb to comb the tangled fur of the little cat, considering whether to give it a bath later.
Ah Cui helped from the side, pointing at Huali's appearance and saying that it was impossible, because if it had an owner it wouldn't be so dirty.
Perhaps realizing that he was being disliked, Huali meowed and bared his teeth at her, then turned around and escaped from Rongzhen's arms and ran towards the kitchen.
Rongzhen and A Cui quickly chased after it and found that the cat seemed to know the layout of the mansion very well. During the parkour process, it not only skillfully avoided all obstacles, but also found the kitchen and meowed very familiarly.
Lao Yu thought it was a wild cat that had run out from somewhere and was about to chase it away when Rong Zhen and the others arrived.
Huali dodged them a few times and jumped onto the cupboard, picked up a few dried fish from it, and quickly slipped away through the small door.
Ah Cui was surprised to see this. "This cat is really cunning. How did it know there were dried fish on top of the cupboard? Did you know, Old Yu?"
Old Yu shook his head: "It must have been left behind before, and it found it by following the scent. I'll clean it up right away."
Rongzhen asked him to clean it and put it in a small bowl so that the cat could eat it when it came. Be sure to put away the other ingredients.
Old Yu responded in a low voice, promising not to let the cat ruin the good stuff.
"Why do I feel that this cat was raised by the mansion before?" A Cui and Rong Zhen muttered as they returned to the living room and found that the sparrow caught by Hua Li was still lying dead on the floor and had not been taken away by it.
Rongzhen put it next to the small pond in the backyard.
The next day, A Cui went to check and found that it was gone. It must have been taken away and eaten by the civet cat again.
It was a new day. Rongzhen got up early and passed by another bedroom. She wanted to knock on the door to greet someone, but unexpectedly the door opened as soon as she touched it. The bed in the room was tidy, as if it had not been moved all night.
When Rongzhen went downstairs to have breakfast, she asked Auntie Pang, "Did your young master not come back last night?"
Auntie Fatty said she had been back, "I was the one who opened the door last night. It was already very late at night, and the young master specifically told us not to wake up the young mistress, so I didn't tell you right away."
"But I saw that the bedding in the room didn't seem to be moved. I thought he hadn't come home all night."
"Well, that's because the young master is particular. He always does it himself. It's tidier than what we do. It's as if it hasn't been touched at all."
With this explanation, Rongzhen put the matter aside and asked about his whereabouts.
Aunt Pang said that she went to the old Chinese doctor for acupuncture early in the morning, and might have to continue to be busy with yesterday's affairs later, so she would probably come back late again.
Rongzhen expressed her understanding. After dinner, she called Dazhu, who had also returned very late last night, and asked him about the progress between him and the old housekeeper yesterday.
Dazhu took out the treasure he had in his arms and handed it over. "Miss, the housekeeper was very helpful yesterday and saved you two hundred dollars. The shop was bought for eighteen thousand. Here is the deed and the remaining money."
The two hundred dollars saved were still in silver notes. Rongzhen only took the deed and examined it. After confirming that it was correct, he said to Dazhu, "You've had a chance to learn a lot from the steward. If I give you the responsibility of running the tofu shop, can you handle it well?"
Dazhu looked excited. Let him manage the shop? Isn't this just a promotion from a farmhand to a manager?
"I can! Thank you, Miss, for giving me the chance. I promise to take good care of it for you."
Ah Cui couldn't help but pour cold water on him: "Don't just talk big, try it for a month first, don't end up not making any profit but letting Miss lose money."
Rongzhen agreed and asked him to try it for half a month to see how it went. He then gave him two hundred silver yuan notes as start-up capital and told him to spend it frugally as they didn't have much money left.
Until the tofu shop makes money and they find a new source of income, they are just living off their savings.
Dazhu was puzzled: "But we are clearly eating at my uncle's house, it's free."
"That won't do either. The son-in-law belongs to the son-in-law, and the young lady belongs to the young lady. If you dare to spend money on the young lady recklessly, I'll teach you a lesson!" Ah Cui pinched her waist to warn him, and she was so angry that she wanted to hammer his obstinate head open.
Dazhu nodded quickly and slipped away, saying he was going to do something.
The old housekeeper ran around for a long time yesterday and was exhausted. He still hasn't gotten up.
Rongzhen asked A Cui to bring food and drinks to see the old man, and she would not feel relieved until she was sure that there was nothing serious.
She then placed the shop deed into the bottom layer of her dressing box. When she closed it, she suddenly realized that the height of the box was a little off.
When Ah Cui came up to bring her some tea and snacks, she saw her fiddling with it and asked without the slightest surprise, "Miss, do you want to see those things again? Wait a minute, I'll get them for you."
She was obviously very familiar with the small mechanism in the makeup box. She took out a pointed hairpin and poked the inner wall of the box twice. She saw that the outer wooden board loosened and split into two from a thick and complete piece.
A Cui took off the outer layer and pulled out a delicate and hidden small drawer from the bottom of the box, which contained the treasure she had mentioned.
Rongzhen was amazed and took it curiously. When she opened it, she saw that it was filled with manuscripts.
She flipped through it and guessed that it might have been written by the original owner. The writing style changed from childish to immature, and the story went from the ignorance of a child to the sorrow of a young girl. It was as if she could still see the girl growing up.
A Cui was able to find them skillfully, which indirectly confirmed that her guess might be correct.
Rong Zhen simply read the entire manuscript bit by bit with some tea and snacks, and gained a deeper understanding of the original owner.
A girl who appears to be well-behaved, quiet and introverted, but in fact is still full of curiosity and desire for new things in the outside world.
Because she was controlled too strictly at home and was watched by her parents and servants, she could not do what she wanted and did not dare to take that step. She had no choice but to put all her emotions into the words she wrote, and she was able to gradually improve through self-exploration.
No wonder at the end of the story, the original owner was able to become a teacher under the pressure of life. Although she was only an elementary school teacher who taught young children, it must be because she had this talent.
Rong Zhen was filled with admiration and read the book several times, finishing a pot of tea without realizing it.
Ah Cui refilled her pot and, seeing how intently she was reading, she couldn't help but suggest, "Miss, you've worked so hard on these. Now you don't have to worry about the master and mistress finding out. Why not send them to the newspaper and see if you can? I see other people have written articles for publication, so maybe you can, too."
Rongzhen had this idea and wanted to publish it on behalf of the original owner.
But sending her the original manuscript is definitely not an option. She needs help to review and polish it first.
A Cui's suggestion was adopted, and she was so happy that she busied herself serving her and thinking of a pen name with her.
The original owner actually had a pen name on his manuscript. Every time he wrote a story, he would write a new pen name at the end. As a result, there were too many pen names to choose from and it was difficult to choose.
If you can't make a decision, just put it aside for the time being. Rongzhen will first focus on selecting and polishing the original owner's manuscript.
When you are busy, time always passes quickly. It feels like a day has passed in no time.
When the little tabby cat flew in from the second-floor window carrying the frozen sparrow in its mouth, Rongzhen was awakened by the noise it made. She looked up and found that it was already dark outside.
The little tabby cat walked up to her with cat steps, put down the sparrow in its mouth, pushed its paw towards her, and meowed.
"For me?" Rong Zhen was surprised and a little amused. "Let me make a deal. I don't eat sparrows, so I can't accept this gift. Why don't you take it home and have it for dinner?"
The little cat was stubborn and continued to meow and push.
Rongzhen played with it for a while, using gestures and instructions to try to make it understand that she would not accept gifts.
Just as I was having fun, a magnetic and pleasant voice suddenly sounded behind me: "It's just a cat, not a human, it doesn't understand what you mean."
Rongzhen turned around suddenly and saw Jiang Yu returning home exhausted in a wheelchair.
The bandages on his mummy-wrapped face were now several times thinner, revealing his tall nose and elegant eyebrows. He looked faintly tired.
Rong Zhen guessed that he might have been busy outside all day, so she didn't ask any more questions and simply said hello: "You're back. Have you eaten yet?"
Jiang Yu was about to nod when his stomach growled honestly, and somehow startled the civet cat on the desk.
The little guy's fur suddenly stood up, and he arched his body and meowed at him as if he were an enemy.
"Where did this little kitten come from? It seems like it doesn't welcome me." Jiang Yu said as he glanced over. The fierce and murderous look in his eyes was not seen by Rong Zhen, but made the little cat face it.
"Meow!" The cat cried miserably, leaving the sparrow behind and running away.
Rongzhen explained that the cat might be a little shy. While telling her about how she treated the cat's injury during the day, she went forward to push Jiang Yu's wheelchair, preparing to take him downstairs for dinner.
Just as she approached Jiang Yu, Rong Zhen's nose twitched uncontrollably. She frowned and asked, "Why does it smell like blood? Are you injured again?"
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