sjar Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Zhong Ruyi didn't care whether their business was good or not. She just wanted to make sure Zhongji sold out early and closed the shop early every day.
The Wang Ji Braised Food Shop at the back was still open, and they still used the recipe they had discovered by accident. People who lived nearby or who wanted to get a bargain would buy from them, and the shop was barely able to stay open.
Half a month before the Chinese New Year, Chen Dongzhi brought two cages of rabbits to the town to sell, and Chen Xiaoxue came along to help.
The last time I went back, Chen Dongzhi said that he had too many rabbits at home and wanted to take them to town to sell.
Zhong Ruyi originally wanted him to sell all of them to her. She planned to sell all the braised goods in the morning and then make cold dishes like rabbit to sell in the afternoon.
But there are so many rabbits in Chen Dongzhi's house that he even built a small house for them. Now the house can hardly accommodate them all.
The number she wanted was about four a day, and she really couldn't digest all the rabbits from Chen Dongzhi's house at once.
When she said she wanted to cook the rabbit cold, Chen Dongzhi refused to take her money. "If you want it, I'll give it to you. It's all caught in the mountains anyway. It's free."
Zhong Ruyi was unwilling. Even brothers had to settle accounts, let alone them.
Because of this matter, Chen Dongzhi looked depressed and seemed quite unhappy.
"Brother Dongzhi, you and Aunt Chen worked so hard to raise this rabbit by cutting grass in the mountains. You spent so much effort and energy, I really can't let you take it for nothing!"
Seeing that he was still pursing his lips and not speaking, she reached out and pulled him, "Brother Dongzhi, if you do this again I will ignore you."
Chen Dongzhi didn't understand why she had to make it so clear with him. His things were hers, but he knew she would be unhappy, so he decided not to say anything.
Mother Zhong was watching the two people arguing from behind and couldn't bear to watch, "Ahem!"
The two turned around to look at her, and Zhong Ruyi quickly let go of her hand that was holding Chen Dongzhi's clothes, "Mom."
"Yeah." Mother Zhong responded.
"Mom, I want to go out for a walk with Brother Dongzhi." Zhong Ruyi said hesitantly. She was not sure whether Mother Zhong agreed or not. Besides, they were both unmarried man and woman. If they went out together, they might be gossiped by others if they were seen.
"No!" Zhong's mother refused immediately, "You two are not engaged, how can you go out alone? If someone sees you, they will gossip."
"Besides, what time is it now? Your second brother should be back with the pigs by now."
Yes, Chen Dongzhi and Xiaoxue came early. When Zhong Ruyi came out to open the door for his second brother to go out, Chen Dongzhi and Xiaoxue happened to come over.
Zhong Ruzhi was very surprised to see them, "Brother Dongzhi! Xiaoxue, why are you guys in town so early?"
When Xiaoxue saw her, she shyly called her Sister Ruyi.
Zhong Ruyi quickly let them in. Seeing that Chen Dongzhi was pulling a raft behind him, she quickly removed the door panel to make it easier for them to come in.
When I went in, I saw two cages of rabbits on the raft. Xiaoxue came over to help collect the money.
Seeing that Zhong's mother disagreed, Zhong Ruyi felt that she had not thought so deeply about it. Her second brother had gone to pull the pig into the water for quite some time and would probably be back soon.
"Come here! Xiaoxue, have a steamed bun. It was just steamed this morning!" Mother Zhong handed a steamed bun to Chen Xiaoxue with a smile.
She loves girls, especially a pretty girl like Xiaoxue.
Zhong Ruyi also quickly handed over two steamed buns, "Brother Dongzhi, you eat too!"
Chen Dongzhi shook his head. "I ate before I got here, so I'm not hungry now."
As they were talking, the second brother's voice was heard outside the store, and Mother Zhong got up to open the door for him.
Zhong Ruyi held Chen Dongzhi's hand under the table.
Chen Dongzhi was so startled by her action that he almost stood up. He was barely able to stabilize himself when she pulled him back, but his ears and neck were completely red.
Chen Xiaoxue, who was sitting nearby, didn't notice their little actions and was only concentrating on eating the white flour buns given by Zhong's mother.
Zhong Ruyi's thumb caressed the back of Chen Dongzhi's hand intentionally or unintentionally. Her movements were gentle, making people feel a little itchy.
Chen Dongzhi felt as if there was a feather constantly scratching his heart, making him itchy. He couldn't help but look up.
He saw Zhong Ruyi holding her chin with one hand, looking at him with a smile on her face, and the other hand was placed under the table. It was unclear what she was doing, and no one could see their hands under the table as they just sat there unless they came in from the door.
The two of them were doing something with their hands under the table, and no one had noticed yet, so Chen Dongzhi bravely grabbed her mischievous hand.
It was soft and delicate when touched. Chen Dongzhi couldn't help but feel excited. It turned out that Ruyi's hands were so soft and so nice to touch...
My hands are so rough, I won’t hurt her hands, will I?
Zhong Laoer bent down and pulled the cart in, and Zhong's mother helped push it from behind.
As soon as she came in, she saw these two people sitting there stupidly. Mother Zhong knew what was going on from their eyes and actions. She squatted down and looked under the table.
Sure enough! The two of them were holding hands right under her nose!
But work was the most important thing right now, so she couldn't say anything to the two of them. After all, her daughter had already told her about them.
As she pushed the cart, she thought, why not get them engaged after the New Year?
When Chen Dongzhi saw Zhong's mother and her husband pushing a cart in, he quickly stood up to help.
You have good sense!
Mother Zhong muttered to herself and gave her daughter another look.
Receiving her mother's stern gaze, Zhong Ruyi blinked innocently, indicating that she knew nothing.
He helped pull the cart to the yard and then moved down the several buckets of pig offal. Chen Dongzhi originally planned to help with the cleaning.
But Mother Zhong looked at the sky and stopped him, "Dongzhi, it's almost dawn now, you should go to the market early to find a good seat and sell all the rabbits, then bring Xiaoxue over for dinner!"
Since Zhong's mother had spoken, Chen Dongzhi had no choice but to listen. Besides, the sky was indeed much brighter than when they first arrived. He thought that some people must have set up stalls at the market by now.
If you don't go early, you won't be able to find a good seat. You have to pay to set up a stall at the market, and you have to pay five cents regardless of whether your seat is good or bad.
On every street, there are people from the government who are responsible for registering and collecting money. Each stall charges one cent. Only individual vendors who set up stalls need to be charged. Those who own stores do not need to pay.
The money is not given to the county magistrate or the county magistrate. Da Zhao has such laws, and the collected money is used for the people.
In times of drought or floods, the money would be used for disaster relief, but merchants wouldn't have to pay because they paid taxes every year.
One penny at a time is not much, but there are many people setting up stalls to do business in the town, so a little bit adds up to a lot.
A few years ago, there was too much rainfall and a landslide occurred in a village.
The county magistrate at that time took out the stall fees collected in the past to help with disaster relief, and also contributed some of his own money.
Later, because of his contributions to disaster relief, he was promoted and sent to another place to serve as a county magistrate.
The people also erected a monument to his credit, thanking him for his hard work and care for the people over the years.