In the afternoon of the next day, Ah Wu and his cousin Wang Yuting rushed to Cai Lian Lane.
The two of them had lived in Li's house for a few days and were most familiar with Sister Mei. When they entered the courtyard, they greeted and talked to Sister Mei first.
Li Xiaonan stood at the entrance of the courtyard, looking at the two horses tied to the horse-tethering stone.
These two horses were so valuable. She had heard Ah Wu tell her countless times that these two horses would eat hundreds of copper coins a month.
Cousins Awu are the people she hired, and the horses of the people she hired, alas, must be considered her horses.
It would be great if this was not a horse, but a dog, a cat, a bird or something. Dogs and cats can be turned into pets, and horses must be considered production tools.
Not counting people, these two horses alone cost almost one tael of silver a month.
She only has less than fifteen taels of silver in total.
Alas, we have to start this business quickly. One day late will be a day's loss.
"If we are the prince, let us come to your place to get work. What kind of work do you have here?" Wang Yuting approached Li Xiaonan and asked.
"I want to start a small business, but I'm a woman and only ten years old. I can't convince others. I have to have a man stand outside and pretend to be the shopkeeper. That's it." Li Xiaonan leaned on the door frame and looked at the yard.
ri.
In the yard, Awu fetched a bucket of water, brought it to Sister Mei in the backyard, and strode over.
"What kind of job should we get from her?" A Wu asked Wang Yuting, pointing at Li Xiaonan.
"I'm pretending to be the shopkeeper." Wang Yuting frowned.
"Pretend? You want to lie? That's definitely not possible, you are not that kind of person. You want to solve the case? It's not possible, you are not an official. Are you pretending to be a job sent by the Crown Prince?" A Wu asked a series of questions in one breath
Son.
"No, I just do my own business." Li Xiaonan looked at the two of them.
"It's not convenient for a little lady like her to do business in public." Wang Yuting explained.
"That's it? Is there anything else? The things you do business with are valuable, do you need a bodyguard?" Awu asked again.
"No, none. I just stand there pretending to be the shopkeeper and don't have to do anything." Li Xiaonan drooped her shoulders and looked at Awu.
"Isn't that just like a dummy that scares birds? Why don't you call us over for such a dummy? You clearly know how important my and Yuting's work at the pier is!" Awu stared at Li Xiaonan with his arms crossed.
"I originally wanted to marry an old man with a white beard in his fifties or sixties. It's cheaper and more reliable than you think. It was your prince who forced you to give it to me." Li Xiaonan said rudely.
"This is nonsense!" Awu put his hands on his hips and yelled with great force.
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways at her.
"I'm going to find the prince. The prince must not know that what you want is a dummy. I have a lot of work on the dock!" Awu pushed her cousin and walked out.
Li Xiaonan leaned against the door frame, looked at A Wu and Wang Yuting who were getting on their horses and leaving, and waved goodbye.
It’s best not to come back after leaving now.
In just over half an hour, Wang Yuting was in front and Ah Wu was behind. They got off their horses in Cai Lian Lane and entered the courtyard gate dejectedly.
Li Xiaonan was sitting under the tree writing, when she saw the two people coming in, her shoulders slumped.
Alas, she knew that the trip would be in vain.
"Have you met your prince?" Li Xiaonan put down her pen and asked.
"I didn't even see Mr. Shi." Wang Yuting picked up a small bamboo chair and sat next to Li Xiaonan. "Someone who said he was Mr. Shi's servant came out and spread the word, saying that it was the prince who sent a mission. How could there be anyone?
You picker, let us work hard with you."
Ah Wu also picked up a small bamboo chair and sat down, dejected.
"Have you written a contract of sale?" Li Xiaonan asked.
"That definitely can't be written. We have taken refuge with the prince, not sold into slavery." Wang Yuting was confused as to why he suddenly asked about this.
"Then why don't you follow that prince? The sea is vast and the sky is vast. You can go wherever you want. Once you leave, he won't be able to control you anymore." Li Xiaonan suggested.
A Wu held Li Xiaonan sideways, and Wang Yuting smiled bitterly, "A Wu and I have been on tenterhooks since we left home. We were afraid of everything. It was only after we followed the prince that we were able to sleep peacefully all night long.
"You know who she is." Wang Yuting patted Ah Wu gently, "Where can I find someone like Shi Ziye? Who else knows who she is? Not only can she pretend not to know, but she can also pretend to be someone who doesn't know who she is.
Do men use her the same way?
"Well, if you want to do business, just do business. If you want to be a dummy, just be a dummy. Maybe you can do this business for three to five days and then quit.
"I see, you don't look like someone who can do business at all." Wang Yuting looked at Li Xiaonan sincerely.
Li Xiaonan was so moved by her last words that she almost wanted to slap her in the face.
"You can't live in my house, and you can't let my eldest and second sisters know about the business, and you can't let Sister Mei know about it. You..."
"They said they would let us live in the teahouse opposite and eat in the teahouse. They said there was a row of empty houses in the backyard of the teahouse." Wang Yuting interrupted Li Xiaonan.
"Then you go to the teahouse first. I will go to the teahouse to find you tomorrow at the beginning of the morning. Business must be started quickly.
"You guys should go quickly, Sister Mei is here." From the corner of her eye, Li Xiaonan saw Sister Mei coming from the backyard holding a handful of leeks, and hurriedly chased the two of them out.
………………………………
Wangfuyeye.
Gu Yan sat under the study window, folded the thick pile of letter paper he had just read, stuffed it into an envelope, and photographed it on the desk.
The letter was written by his mother-in-law. She talked at length about various trivial matters at home after he went south. At the end, she told him in an understatement:
Mrs. Pan Er lived in Pingjiang Mansion for some time last year, and she was much stronger physically and mentally. This summer, Mrs. Pan Er planned to go to Pingjiang Mansion to escape the summer heat. The eldest girl from the Shi family and several other young ladies accompanied Mrs. Pan over here and stayed there as usual.
In their separate business in the palace, ask him to take care of them.
Gu Yan glanced sideways at his mother-in-law's letter.
During the Spring Festival, his mother-in-law's flower-viewing parties were in vain one after another. I heard that the historians, especially Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Pan, were very happy.
I probably really thought that he broke off the engagement because of the quarrel between the young couple. After all, they are no smarter than that stupid girl Wan Qing. Wan Qing still knows that she is not smart, but Mrs. Shi and Shi Jia think they are very smart.
Just come.
Gu Yan stood up, put the letter into the mailbox, stood in front of the window, thought for a while, then turned and walked out.
He is going to Linhai Town. He plans to stay in Linhai Town tonight.
I have been staying in Linhai Town for almost two months in front of the bullock cart, and I have probably memorized a lot of money.
On this trip, he should go to the Customs and Excise Department and take a good look.
Gu Yan came out, got on his horse, and, surrounded by the guard chief and his servants, headed straight for Linhai Town.
