Seeing that the old man agreed, Gu Yanzhang was delighted. But soon, he took out the red candle from his inner pocket without making a sound.

"Old man, as the saying goes, one thing does not trouble two masters. I think you are a fair man, can you help me see how much this red candle of mine is worth?" In

fact, in ancient times, candles were still valuable things. Ordinary people, even poor people, not only could not use candles, some people could not even afford oil lamps. Even if they could not afford it, they were reluctant to use it.

Those people would lie down on the bed and sleep as long as it was dark. They would get up before dawn in the morning.

So, when Gu Yanzhang took out the red candle, the old man was a little surprised, but he didn't want to explore it.

After all, the boy surnamed Gu just said that his son was going to get married. In this place, if you don't save more money, how can you get a daughter-in-law?

The old man took out a magnifying glass and looked at it for a while. Finally, he said slowly, "The color and texture of this candle look good."

Then, he took the candle and smelled it gently, and lit the candle in front of Gu Yanzhang.

It was found that there was no pungent smell when the red candle burned. The old man immediately extinguished the candle.

"One hundred coins, no bargaining. If you're willing, let's sign the contract now."

After hearing this, although Gu Yanzhang felt a little disgusted that he gave too little, he hesitated for a moment and agreed reluctantly.

After all, it was already evening. They had to find a restaurant to have a meal, and after the meal, they had to find a place to rest.

"Okay. Let's sign the contract!"

After the two signed the contract, Gu Yanzhang got six coins.

Together with the more than two hundred coins he had earned from selling kimchi in Tongzhen, Gu Yanzhang thought about it, took out the money, and begged the old man to help him exchange the two hundred coins directly into two coins.

As a result, Gu Yanzhang only had more than 30 copper plates left.

...

After leaving the gate of Deyi Pawnshop, Gu Yanzhang hurriedly called his father and Dazhu who were guarding the gate, "Let's go quickly. It's getting late now, and we have to find a place to sleep in the county town."

In June, July and August of previous years, Gu Yanzhang usually followed the people of Chenjia Village and Gujiagang to work part-time at the East Pier in the county town. So, he got to know a lot of people there.

After he tied the eight silver coins in his hand tightly to his chest, he reminded his father and eldest son on the way to his friend's house.

"We will go to Ma Ergou's house later. There are dozens of people in that family, and they all live in a shed at the East Pier."

"When you get there, try not to talk. No matter what they ask, don't answer. Also, don't separate from me. We'll stay there for the night. We only need to bring a few pounds of kimchi to sleep there for a night. If we go to a big shop or a guesthouse, the money we will have to spend will be more than that. Besides, those places are full of good and bad people, and I'm worried that we will be targeted."

Once they are targeted, not only will their money be stolen, but they may also turn the tables on those black shops and say that they still owe them money!

...

Gu Yanzhang is more familiar with the East City District of the county. When they were walking in all directions, Gu Yanzhang quickly took off the clothes he was wearing and wrapped them with a tattered cloth. After pressing the things under the pile of straw in the basket, Gu Yanzhang changed into the tattered clothes he usually wore.

Noticing the puzzled look on his eldest son Gu Dazhu's face, Gu Yanzhang smiled and explained to him, "We should not show our wealth in front of acquaintances."

"Especially this new set of clothes I'm wearing, they can't see it. Otherwise, they will come to borrow it for various reasons."

Although Gu Dazhu is more than ten years old, he is indeed rather dull in dealing with people. Fortunately, he is a very obedient child.

Although he didn't understand why his father acted like that before he left and now suddenly acted like this, he still nodded gently.

Gu Yu'an, who was carrying a load of goods on his shoulder, agreed with his son after hearing what he said, "Brother Yan, you are absolutely right."

"You should not have the intention to harm others, but you should be on guard against others. We are a big family, even if we make money, we can't tell anyone."

"Especially when we go out, except for those places where we need to be respectable, we can't waste our nice clothes in other places."

At this point, Gu Yu'an reminded Gu Yanzhang, "By the way, Yan'er, if those bad friends of yours ask you to borrow money, you must not lend it. Giving away that money is like throwing meat buns at a dog. What's more, if you dare to ask, you can't expect to live a peaceful life in this life."

Gu Yanzhang heard it and said hurriedly, "Dad, how can I be that kind of fool?!"

"No matter what I am, I can clearly distinguish between relatives and strangers."

"For those people outside, I can help them a little and have mutual benefits with them, that's fine. But if those people want to take advantage of me and want to treat me as a sucker, I will never have anything to do with them again..."

Gu Yu'an felt relieved when he heard this. Soon, he began to inquire about what Gu Yanzhang had pawned in the pawnshop and how much money he had earned.

Moreover, he kept asking what good things his wife had given him in private. He

kept listening to his father saying that he was lucky to find such a good hen that not only gave birth to sons but also laid golden eggs every day... Gu Yanzhang couldn't help but frowning.

Soon, he suppressed his dissatisfaction in his heart and said to Gu Yu'an with a serious face, "Dad, can you please stop saying such things?"

"Given my brother-in-law's temper, do you really think it's so easy to take advantage of his family? In the future, we don't know what we will use to pay him back with our family? And my mother-in-law, if she gets angry, half of the people in Chenjia Village will probably tremble."

"Dad, you'd better be careful with your words in the future. Don't let things slip at home without paying attention. My wife has always had a bad temper, and sometimes I can't figure it out. If you really have a conflict with her, and if she doesn't want to live with me anymore, I'm worried that she will be like her elder sister, and be taken back to Chenjia Village by her mother-in-law, and then find another man to marry..."

When Gu Yu'an heard this, he reflexively roared, "She dares?!"

Gu Yanzhang looked at him coldly, and then said coldly, "If you don't believe it, then try it..."