Li Xing ate a piece of meat and nodded in support of Li Zhi's words: "I think so. Second Grandpa didn't help us at the critical moment. What should we do with him now?"
Ms. Zheng disagreed with her son's point of view: "Although he is unwilling to raise money, he still said he would be your guarantee, right?"
Li Zhi was about to reject his mother's words when he heard a cry coming from outside the yard.
"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law! My second uncle and I are here! Open the door quickly!"
Listening to the voice, Li Zhi knew that the person shouting at the door was his second uncle Li Dao. The second uncle in Li Dao's mouth was naturally Li Zhi's second grandfather. Hearing this call, Li Zhi and the other three looked at each other and put down their chopsticks, secretly thinking that this meant Cao Cao.
, Cao Cao arrived, and the second grandfather, the patriarch of the clan, didn’t know what kind of wind blew, but he actually brought Li Zhi’s second uncle to Li Zhi’s house.
Mrs. Zheng wiped her hands on her pants, quickly opened the door with a smile on her face, and welcomed the two of them in. Li Zhi and Li Xing were juniors, so naturally they had to stand up to greet the guests.
An old man with white hair and beard, of medium build, wearing an 80% new cotton-padded jacket and walking on a cane walked into the Li family yard. He was Li Yousheng, the second grandfather of the Li Zhi family. Behind him was a middle-aged man about forty years old, wearing a cane.
Wearing a melon-skin hat and a shabby coat full of patches, he was Li Zhi's second uncle Li Dao.
"Li Zhi bought mutton today. My second uncle and younger brother are here. We just happened to have some meat together!"
Mrs. Zheng welcomed the two people in, then hurriedly went to the kitchen to get two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and placed bowls and chopsticks for the two of them at the main seat at the dinner table. Li Zhi's second grandfather smiled and sat down carelessly.
At the main seat, Li Zhi's second uncle looked at the mutton in the pot, rubbed his hands with a smile, and also sat down.
Li Zhi was too lazy to be polite to the two of them. He pointed at the meat in the pot with his chopsticks and said, "This is fresh mutton. Second grandpa and second uncle, don't be polite. Eat! Eat!"
After Li Zhi finished speaking, he took the lead in eating.
Except for the rich family of the patriarch Li Yousheng, everyone else is from a poor family, and there is very little meat or meat in the house. At this time, seeing the fragrant mutton naturally makes you appetite, and you and I start to eat one piece at a time.
After eating a round, Li Yousheng coughed and started talking.
"Li Zhi, I see you have changed a lot these days!"
Li Zhi pretended not to know and replied casually: "Second Grandpa! What changes have happened to me? Why didn't I notice?"
When Li Yousheng saw that his grandson did not cooperate with him, he coughed in embarrassment and said unhappily: "You have become smarter! You used to be dull and stupid, but now you are smart." He knew that Li Zhi hated himself for not raising money for him to pay back the money.
, Deliberately making excuses, Li Yousheng turned around to Mrs. Zheng without waiting for Li Zhi's reply and said, "How did you get into this soap business?"
Li Zhi's second uncle, Li Dao, swallowed a mouthful of mutton and said: "Your business is so big. Now the whole city is talking about your soap, saying that it saves effort in washing clothes, protects clothes, and can also
It’s really good for taking a bath.”
Li Dao added: "The good thing about this soap business is that it is purely new. No matter how big it gets, it won't take away people's jobs, and it won't arouse people's resentment."
Seeing that her second uncle spoke so well of the soap, Zheng quickly replied with a smile: "This soap is said to be shipped from the south of the Yangtze River. In fact, Zhi'er learned it from a Taoist priest and made it at home.
.”
Li Yousheng asked with great interest: "Where did you meet the Taoist priest?"
How did Zheng know where Li Zhi met the Taoist priest? When the patriarch asked, he looked at Li Zhi: "Zhi'er, where did you meet the Taoist master?"
Li Zhi picked up a piece of mutton, without looking at the second grandfather, and said calmly: "This is a secret, I can't tell you."
Li Zhi's lukewarm words immediately caused the table to fall into embarrassment. After a while, Li Zhi's second uncle smoothed things over and said: "Since it is a secret recipe given by a Taoist priest who practices Taoism, naturally it cannot be revealed casually! Li Zhi,
We just asked casually and don’t care where you got your secret recipe.”
The patriarch Li Yousheng was choked by Li Zhi's words. He couldn't help but put his chopsticks on the table and said directly: "Li Zhi, I don't want your secret recipe!" After a pause, Li Yousheng said directly: "I am here today.
I came to your house to say something! Now that your soap is in such short supply, do you want to recruit people in your store? In today's turbulent times, it is difficult for all businesses to do business, and many children in the family are idlers. If you
If you want to recruit people, why not find a few people in the family to help you? People in the family can't be of much help, but at least they won't do anything harmful to others, so you can rest assured, right?"
Li Zhi took a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, and said ruthlessly: "It won't hurt me, but you can't rely on it when it comes to saving your life!"
Li Zhi was insinuating that the second grandfather was unwilling to raise money for himself.
Li Yousheng's face turned red because of Li Zhi's irritation, and he said loudly: "Why can't you rely on me? Didn't I say that I want to be your guarantee and become someone else's servant? If you owe money, you will become a servant. This is also our fate. We Li
My family is not a big one. It is not easy for every family, and they all have their own problems. Your family had no income at all, and the borrowed money is obviously not enough. How can I let these poor relatives chip in to fill your bottomless pit?
The hole."
Li Yousheng was so angry that he blew out his beard and said, "If I keep you as a servant of someone else's house, you will have a bowl of rice to eat. How come I can't save your lives?"
Li Zhi thought for a while and felt that what the second grandfather said made sense. He tilted his head to one side and said nothing.
Li Zhi's second uncle saw this and said with a smile: "Li Zhi, the second grandfather is the patriarch. Naturally, he has difficulties as a patriarch. It is impossible to mobilize the whole family to help any small family. The second grandfather said at that time that he would be your guarantee.
Being a servant is also a way to survive, right?"
Li Zhi turned around after hearing his second uncle's words, but still didn't speak.
Li Xing turned around faster than Li Zhi, and also came to persuade Li Zhi: "Brother, I think what the second uncle said is reasonable."
Seeing that Li Xing said the same thing, Li Zhi had no choice but to agree. Putting the chopsticks on the table, Li Zhi said: "Okay! Okay! Second Grandpa, who are you going to send as a helper?"
Seeing that Li Zhi agreed, the patriarch Li Yousheng blew his beard with satisfaction. After a pause, Li Yousheng pointed at Li Zhi's second uncle Li Dao and said: "The first person is your second uncle Li Dao!"
The life of Li Zhi's second uncle, Li Dao, was not very good. After he and Li Zhi's father, Li Cheng, lived together, Li Dao was assigned to a small yard on Wanqi Street in the west of the city and made a living by selling bowls and chopsticks. This novel
What kind of profit could there be in a business that was thin and profitable? Li Dao could barely support himself, and by the age of forty he was still unable to marry a wife and have children.
Li Zhi also knew that his second uncle's life was not good, and his life would be greatly improved if he came to work as a helper in his store. He nodded and said: "Okay, I welcome my second uncle. I only earn two taels of silver per month, and I can take care of him for one day."
Three meals.”
Taking care of three meals a day, the two taels of silver can be saved for household expenses and savings. This is a rare good treatment. If you save money for a year or two, maybe Li Dao can catch a night market and get married.
Daughter-in-law! After hearing Li Zhi's words, Li Dao's eyebrows were filled with joy, and his face was a little rosy. He looked at Li Zhi's mother Zheng, and then at the patriarch Li Yousheng, with a happy face.
Unexpectedly, I had suffered a lifetime of hardship, and in my middle age, I relied on my nephew to escape from abject poverty.
