Before Mrs. Zhu came, she first observed the beggars in the town.
She understands the world, especially in this low-productivity environment, where poor people like beggars and gangsters may have more than one group of forces, but they are definitely powerful.
Because this kind of people can't survive if they don't stick together.
She walked back and forth for more than half a circle when she saw a little beggar.
He was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and his face was half covered by a broken straw hat. He looked very ordinary, but the eyes of the other little beggars were staring at everyone passing by. Only he didn't even look at it, and there were several others sitting there.
The feeling of being calm and relaxed is obviously the little boss of this small area...and it is very likely that he is a yamen, a beggar yamen, otherwise he would not be so confident at such a young age.
Tang Shijin walked over and said softly: "Hi!"
He quickly grabbed the straw hat, revealing a dirty little face.
After seeing her clearly, he skillfully bent down and lifted the bowl: "Little girl, please do me a favor and give me something to eat..."
She pushed the bowl away and said directly: "Keep an eye on someone for me."
At the same time, he took two small bunches of money from his sleeve and gave them to him: "How about it?"
He quickly hooked his fingers and grabbed the money easily. His posture looked professional, and he smiled and said: "Of course, who do you want to keep an eye on?"
"It's coming soon," Tang Shijin said, "I'll point it out to you quietly in a moment."
Thinking that the time was almost up, Tang Shijin found a place to rest. As expected, he saw the oxcart in the village not long after.
The journey from Zhulin Village to the county seat takes less than half an hour if you walk quickly, but Zhu has small feet, so she will definitely have to take a bullock cart to get here.
Tang Shijin pointed it to the little beggar: "That's her. Help me follow her and let me know where she is."
The little beggar agreed immediately and followed.
Tang Shijin then went to find Tang Youde.
Wutong County is not a big place, but when people from the village want to come over, this is the only street they usually walk on. Tang Youde did not go out to flirt with women, he probably had no money... Anyway, he stayed in an inn, "sitting and talking" with his friends.
Tang Shijin was brought in by the waiter and timidly called out: "Daddy."
Tang Youde turned around and frowned: "What are you doing here?"
But I heard the sour scholar say: "Is this your daughter who was given the magic medicine?"
Tang Youde immediately turned around and said with a smile: "Exactly!"
So she was looked at like a monkey by some rotten scholars for a while, and then Tang Youde said: "What are you doing here?"
In fact, Tang Shijin was already a little anxious.
She was afraid that if she delayed for too long, she would lose track of Mr. Zhu.
She said patiently: "Dad, I caught two bamboo rats. It is said that they are real mountain treasures and are worth a lot of money. I dare not make the decision alone. Brother Yuanxiao is about to enter the city, so I will follow him. I want to invite him.
Daddy, go with me and sell this bamboo rat."
Tang Youde always took the route of not doing mundane things, and he suddenly frowned: "Why don't you find your mother-in-law?"
Tang Shijin said, "This thing is so rare, I still want to give it to my father."
Everyone immediately heard it. It seemed that the daughter-in-law didn't believe the stepmother... but she said a few compliments on her face: "My daughter's pure filial piety is really touching."
Another person stood up: "In that case, brother Ji, you should fulfill your child's filial piety! Let's go and see it together."
Seeing his posture, everyone suddenly understood.
This pair of bamboo rats are very fat, and I am afraid they can be sold for two taels of silver. When the time comes, Tang Youde will naturally hold the money. They all go there together, which can be regarded as a help, so they can naturally let him be the host and invite them to have a seat.
.
So four or five people stood up together and followed.
As soon as he left the door of the inn, the little beggar came over to him as if by accident and whispered: "Wannian Hall."
However, the original person had never been to the county town and had no idea where Wannian Hall was.
She could only walk forward and ask questions with her eyes. The little beggar worked very hard. He saw that she didn't know the road, so he led the way.
After a while, he pointed his bamboo stick to the right and shrank to one side.
Tang Shijin saw clearly the words "Wanniantang" on the signboard at a glance, and then a group of people passed by. She quickly looked into the store, with the reasons ready in her mind.
But it wasn't used at all.
Because Mrs. Zhu was in the shop, talking to a middle-aged man, the two were very close to each other, and they were not seen at all.
Tang Shijin immediately tugged on Tang Youde's sleeve: "Dad? What is that?"
When Tang Youde saw it, his face suddenly turned green.
He could recognize the person next to him, even if it was just a silhouette! The two of them were so close, what was going on!
He tugged at his front angrily and was about to rush in.
The other people had already taken a few steps, and when they noticed something, they turned around and said, "Brother Katsumi? But something is wrong?"
Tang Youde stopped abruptly.
He loves face the most, how could he cause such a big embarrassment in front of others?
After a while, he gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "Nothing, nothing, let's go!"
So the group of people found a restaurant and sold two bamboo rats for two and a half taels of silver. Tang Youde put away the two taels and threw the half to Tang Shijin with a generous look, saying: "Okay, it's okay.
Go back, you were wrong just now, don’t talk nonsense.”
As he walked out, he heard Tang Youde shouting loudly behind him: "Come on, everyone, I'm going to be the host today..."
Tang Shijin stepped out quickly and turned his head back and forth. The little beggar squatting opposite stood up and shook his head slightly.
Tang Shijin followed him to an alley not far away, and he whispered: "We haven't left yet."
Tang Shijin nodded.
Then she asked: "Who was speaking to her?"
"My surname is Fu, my name is Fu Wannian," the little beggar said, "He is the boss of Wannian Hall, and he is also the official. On the surface, he looks okay, but when he turns his back, he is a bad person. I don't think he looks like a good person.
"
Tang Shijin nodded slowly.
She whispered: "Keep an eye on her for me, wait until she leaves, and see if you can find out what medicine she bought?"
The little beggar responded in a low voice.
Then after waiting for more than a quarter of an hour, the little beggar came over to say that the person was gone and that he had secretly hidden medicine in his sleeve, but he couldn't find out what medicine it was.
Tang Shijin asked: "Is it a paper bag?"
"Yes, it's a paper bag commonly used in shops. It's quite small. It should be medicine powder." He gestured with his hand to size it.
Tang Shijin hummed, she thought for a while, and then took out two small bunches of money and gave them to him: "Help me go to the store to buy a pack of croton flour."
The little beggar nodded and left immediately. Then he came back after a while and quietly handed over the paper package. Tang Shijin hid it in his sleeve.
The little beggar's eyes went straight into her sleeves, and he looked back and forth, his eyes wandering.
It's not like Tang Shijin has never been a gangster, how could he not know what he was planning, so he slapped him casually: "What are you looking at! You have some discernment! I'll have more when I use you in the future! Grab two strings of money and it's gone.
I, a rich man, have you committed this crime?"
The little beggar was ridiculed by what she said.
But her tone was quite relaxed and casual, and he didn't feel insulted, so he smiled and said: "Then we'll be waiting... My name is Hualang, don't forget it!"
Tang Shijin nodded.
In a small place like this, beggars are really useful. Basically, if you know two or three beggars, you can know most of the news in the small county.
The two men spoke in low voices, head to head.
At this time, not far away, a man in blue and brown was standing leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
Behind him, another man wearing a scholar's shirt forced his head out of the wall to have a look, but he held his head down and pushed him back.
The scholar-shirt covered his head and squatted on the ground: "What are you doing? Staring at a child?"