Chapter 150 [VIP]
Chen Qingyan and the others went to take the exam, while Wang Ying and Lin Sui continued to run their shop as usual.
A while ago, due to Manager Wei's situation and moving to a new house, the shop was closed for a few days. Today, after opening, there were no customers all morning.
Ice is a seasonal commodity; it's in high demand when the weather is hot, but nobody buys it when the weather gets cold.
However, Wang Ying was not in a hurry. His profits in the past few months were more than the annual profit of an ordinary shop. In addition, he froze all the ice himself, which was a business with no initial investment. No matter how you looked at it, he was making a profit.
In the afternoon, a big order suddenly came in: Old Master Li from the city had passed away and sent his servants to order two hundred blocks of ice.
Three hundred coins per piece, all this ice adds up to sixty strings of cash, almost equal to a month's income for an ordinary shop.
After paying the deposit, Wang Ying immediately sent someone to deliver ice.
Strychnos nux-vomica and Tianju delivered ten blocks of ice to the funeral procession. They continued to deliver ice three times a day, morning, noon, and evening, until the seventh day when the funeral was held. Any extra cost for the ice was refunded or supplemented as needed.
This old man Li also had another identity: he was the grandfather of Marquis Wuping, Li Mu.
Although Li Mu had long since severed ties with his father, there was no reason not to attend his grandfather's funeral; if people brought it up, they would gossip about it behind his back.
So that afternoon, he took his mother and daughter back to the Li family. However, when he entered the house, the mistress sent people to stop him from entering. The relatives persuaded him for a long time before finally allowing Li Mu to bring his daughter in. His mother, Luo, could no longer enter the Li family after leaving.
Li Mu turned to leave, but his mother stopped him, saying, "Mu'er, you can't leave. She just wants to use this to tarnish your reputation."
The emperor valued filial piety, and Li Mu, as a military general who was exceptionally granted a title, was under the watchful eyes of many. If he made a single wrong move, he would immediately be impeached.
After thinking for a while, Li Mu finally understood, "I'm sorry to have wronged Mother."
Madam Luo shook her head. "I'm not wronged. Mother doesn't want to see those people either."
Years ago, because she gave birth to Li Mu, Luo suffered all kinds of contempt in the Li family. Her husband neglected her and she was bullied. During the most difficult time, there was no charcoal fire in winter. The mother and son huddled around the quilt and counted the days in agony.
Now that her son has taken her out, she has no worries about food and clothing and has servants and maids to take care of her, so she can't suffer any grievances.
After giving a few instructions, Luo took a carriage home, leaving only Li Mu carrying his daughter into the courtyard.
He hasn't returned here since his outburst three years ago. Looking at the familiar scenery in the courtyard, he felt a mix of emotions. This was the place where he had lived since childhood, but it was also the place where he had suffered the most. Now, seeing those familiar faces in the courtyard, his stomach churned with nausea.
"Young Master, please come over and change your clothes."
The old servant stepped forward to take the daughter from his arms, but Li Mu stepped back and said, "No need, I'll carry Qing'er inside."
Changing clothes was simply a matter of putting on a hemp garment over the clothes and tying a white cloth around the waist. He was not the eldest son or grandson, so he did not need to wear a mourning hat. His daughter simply wrapped a white cloth around her neck.
When they arrived at the mourning hall, a large group of people knelt on the ground. Several aunts were crying in a long, drawn-out melody, and the matriarch, Madam Jiang, was also covering her eyes with a handkerchief, pretending to squeeze out tears.
The only one who was saddened was probably his father, who looked much older than he had three years ago, with a completely white beard.
Seeing that Li Mu no longer resorted to beatings and scoldings as before, he merely glanced at him indifferently and pointed to the side, saying, "Burn some paper money for your grandfather."
Li Mu knelt down and placed his daughter beside him, saying, "Kowtowing to my great-grandfather."
Xiao Qing'er obediently kowtowed, and after they finished, Li Mu began burning paper money.
Actually, his grandfather wasn't very good to him. The Li family was a large and prosperous family. His branch of the family had four grandsons, his second uncle's family had three sons, and his third uncle's family also had three.
With so many grandsons, he was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, and he was also ugly because he had a birthmark on his face. Therefore, Old Master Li didn't like him at all.
I remember one year during Chinese New Year, he and several brothers came to pay their respects to their grandfather. The old man gave out lucky money to everyone, but skipped over him the whole time.
Young Li Mu was heartbroken. He cried for half a day after returning to his mother's house, and even sobbed in his sleep at night. This saddened Luo Shi, who fell ill as a result.
Looking back on everything that had happened in the past, there was nothing he could reminisce about; all he felt was hatred.
After burning a bundle of paper money, Li Mu left the mourning hall with his daughter. His elder brother, Li Chen, stepped forward and exchanged a few pleasantries with him.
He was one of the few normal people in the Li family. In his early years, he secretly helped Li Mu and his mother without his mother's knowledge. When his father sent him to the army camp, Li Chen knelt down and begged him. So Li Mu always remembered his kindness.
"It's been a while since I've seen my third brother. How have you been doing in the army?"
"Thank you for your concern, brother. I am well."
“Sigh…you’ve suffered so much these past years. I know you still resent your mother and father, but after all…”
"What's past is past, I don't care about it anymore, so please don't bring it up again."
Li Chen nodded. "This must be Qing'er. She's grown up so much."
Li Mu squeezed his daughter's little hand, "Call him Uncle."
Xiao Qing'er shook her head and buried her head in Li Mu's chest.
Li Mu said, "This child is four years old and still can't speak, but he can understand everything. I don't know why he never speaks."
"Haven't you seen a doctor?"
"I've seen her. The doctor said her throat is fine; perhaps she just started speaking late."
Li Chen patted Qing'er's hair, "This child has had a hard life... Have you ever thought about finding another one? So that someone can take care of her."
"Let's talk about it later. Even if I find someone who isn't my own child, they might not be devoted to me."
While the two were talking, Li Chen's children came out. He had three sons. The eldest was seven years old, and the second and third sons were twins, both five years old.
This was the first time Qing'er had ever seen so many children her age, and she struggled to get down and play with them.
Li Mu hesitated for a moment, then put his daughter down. "You can only play once. I'll take you home later."
Qing'er nodded, then smiled and ran into the yard to play with the three older boys.
Li Chen said, "Don't worry, there will be no problem with the old woman watching over her. Qing'er is probably too lonely because she doesn't talk. Maybe she'll start talking after playing with her older brothers for a while."
Li Mu looked at his daughter's smiling face and his brows relaxed. Perhaps it was really as his elder brother said.
The three children of the Li family were mostly raised by the old lady, so their personalities did not resemble Li Chen's. On the surface, they would warmly invite Qing'er to play together, but once the adults were not looking, they would reveal their true colors.
The old man said, "Are you mute?"
Qing'er shook her head.
"Then why don't you say anything? Can't you call me 'Big Brother'?"
Qing'er shook her head again.
The second and third brothers grinned mischievously and reached out to pry open Qing'er's mouth. "Does she not have a tongue?"
Qing'er covered her mouth, turned around and ran away, while the three children chased after her, laughing and joking.
The old woman watching from the side didn't take it seriously, and watched the group chasing and playing around with a smile.
Li Mu was far away and assumed his daughter was playing with them, so he didn't pay much attention and continued talking to Li Chen about things in the military camp.
Li Chen is currently the Transport Commissioner of Jizhou, in charge of both tax revenue and grain supplies. In the event of war, the two of them would be in charge of internal affairs and external affairs respectively, and whether they could gather enough grain supplies would depend on this elder brother.
"I heard that the court is discussing reopening the Longxi Tea and Salt Ancient Road. I estimate that after the New Year, troops will be sent to clear out the bandits and remaining Northern Qiang soldiers in the surrounding area."
"Any news about my brother?"
Li Chen shook his head. "It's just my speculation. Whether it can be opened or not depends on what the higher-ups want. However, I have already arranged for the officials below to start preparing provisions. Once the Jizhou army is sent as a reserve, it certainly won't hold you back."
Li Mu then revealed a genuine smile, "Thank you, brother."
Li Chen patted him on the shoulder, "We brothers don't talk about these things."
Meanwhile, Xiao Qing'er was being chased by three boys and ran in a panic, hiding in a random house.
The room was used to store ice; it was dark and cold, and she huddled in a corner, terrified and crying.
Just then, Ma Qianzi and Tianju came to deliver ice. The two unloaded the ice blocks from the carriage, stacked them neatly, and then asked the steward to come and count the quantity.
While she was waiting, Xiao Qing'er quietly followed and slipped out through the back door. Seeing the carriage parked outside, she struggled to climb up.
There was straw on the vehicle to cushion the ice, and the little girl crawled into the straw to hide.
The two men didn't notice the multiple children on the carriage after delivering the ice. It wasn't until they arrived at the shop and Tianju was tidying up the carriage that he discovered a little girl sitting on it, which startled him.
"Whose child is this?!"
*
Li Mu, still unaware that his daughter was missing, chatted with his elder brother for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, he called his daughter to go home together.
"Stay and have your meal before you go back. The second and fourth brothers will be coming over later."
Li Mu shook his head. He didn't have a good impression of his other two brothers, and they weren't close to each other. "Qing'er, stop playing and go back."
After calling out twice but the girl didn't return, Li Mu walked towards the courtyard in confusion. Seeing that the children who had been running around were not there, he immediately walked anxiously towards the backyard.
Several old women in the backyard were also looking for Qing'er. They had just seen her a moment ago, but she had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Li Mu hurried over, grabbed a familiar-looking old woman, and asked, "Where's my daughter?"
The old woman stammered, "I was chasing after the young masters in the backyard just now, and I don't know which room they've hidden in."
Li Mu's expression changed instantly, and he shouted loudly, "Qing'er! Come out quickly and go home with your father!"
Li Chen, following behind, also felt uneasy. He quickly had someone call his three sons over to ask, "Where did the little sister who was playing with you go?"
The three children shook their heads in unison. The eldest child said, "She can't speak either. When we try to get her to talk, she runs away. We chase after her and she disappears."
Li Mu, barely suppressing his anger, said, "Are you sending people to search, or should I mobilize troops to search?"
"Third brother, don't worry, I'll have people search right away, room by room!"
Li Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was exactly what he feared. He had finally managed to mend his relationship with his brother, and if this child got into trouble here, his third brother might just destroy the entire Li family.
He quickly summoned the household steward and ordered the servants and maids to search carefully, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground, to find the child.
Li Mu didn't just wait around; he asked the three boys where they last saw his daughter.
Li Chen's three sons were terrified by his fierce expression. The two younger ones burst into tears, while the older one, though not crying, was trembling all over, pointing to the ice storage room and saying, "It's...it's over there..."
The freezer is freezing cold; if a child is locked inside, they'll definitely get sick from the cold!
Li Mu ran over without a word, and before the servants could get the keys, he kicked open the door. "Qing'er, are you in there?"
A note from the author:
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