North and South groceries

When Luo Yong and the three returned to Xipo Village, it was already dark.

"I thought you weren't coming back tonight." Hearing the noise from outside the yard, Erniang happily went out to greet her, but as soon as she finished her sentence, she saw two boys and girls following behind Luo Yong.

"I'm very hungry, is there any food at home?" Luo Yong asked his elder sister with a smile.

"Wait a minute, I'll make it for you." Erniang said, going to the kitchen to cook food for them, turning her head to look at the two as she walked.

"Let's eat in the hall today." Luo Yong said.

"Oh." Er Niang answered absently.

Luo Yong led the two of them into the living room, heated the kang, and once the wooden doors at both ends were closed, the room gradually became warmer.

Looking at the clothes of those two people, it may be because they plan to sell them to those rich people from outside. Both of them are fairly neatly dressed and relatively clean, but their clothes are a little thinner, and they walked in the snow. During the half-day journey, I was hungry, cold and tired, and my spirit didn't look very good at this time.

"Let's all sit on the kang, and we'll have food in a while." After running outside for two days, Luo Yong was a bit sleepy at this time.

"Slaves don't dare." Both of them lowered their heads, the older girl among them was still looking out the door, asking the master's little lady to provide them with food, which really made her feel uneasy.

She was sold by her family when she was very young, and her family was poor, and she couldn't even afford food, so Aye said, help her find a family that can feed her.

She lived in that family for seven or eight years, from five or six years old to 13 years old. Some time ago, the owner didn't have enough money, so they resold her, just because Chen Qi's price was [-] yuan higher than other people's. Knowing that the other party was notorious, the master still sold himself to him.

That Chen Qi had a lot of young men and women in his hands, and he wanted to sell them to the rich people in Chang'an. Recently, he not only gave them enough food, but also got a lot of old and new clothes from somewhere, and followed them all day long. They talked about what would happen after they went to Chang'an City, and many young people were very moved by what they said. They really thought that as long as the lords of Chang'an City bought it, they would be able to live a good life with rich clothes and fine food.

But daydreaming, people like them are sold as livestock, not sold to work for others, but sold to be used as playthings for others, so Chen Qi's mind is obviously on the latter.

"Suqin and Wang Shao, but your real names?" Seeing that the two of them were reserved, Luo Yong did not insist on letting them go to the kang.

"It's not her real name," said the girl.

"Wang Shao is my real name." The black and thin boy replied.

Luo Yong thought for a while and asked them, "But you want to change your name?"

He knew that many people, after experiencing bad things, would want to bury the memories of the past and no longer want to use their previous names.

That Wang Shao's name was chosen by his parents, and he didn't want to change it.

He is from Dinghu County, and he sold himself more than a month ago. Her mother was sick and had no money to buy medicine. Just a few days ago, someone was buying a child from them. The words are very good, and the host is very reliable. Well, after all, this kid was young, and he sold himself after listening to the other party's words, but he was changed hands within two days.

For a while now, I was under Chen Qi's hands. At the beginning, I was coaxed and scared by Chen Qilian, and I thought that as long as I performed well, I would be bought by those Chang'an city lords and go home. The scenes of selling people a few times gradually came back to life.

He also thought about running away, but someone ran before, and was caught by that Chen Qi, stripped naked, hung up and beaten, leaving only half his life, and then he was sold to no one knows where, that Chen Qi Qi also said that he has quite a few brothers in the city, and they are also related in Yamen. No matter where they go, they must be caught in the end.

On the street today, when he heard Luo Yong ask if they would do farm work, he boldly agreed. Later, he was so frightened by Chen Qi's yelling that his legs were so frightened that he thought it would be okay if he didn't die this time. Unexpectedly, Luo Sanlang was not afraid of Chen Qi, and bought them both back.

Unlike Wang Shao, Na Suqin wanted to change her name. Her name was originally given by Arty, the master. When she heard this name, she felt that she was a plaything, and she was very disgusted in her heart.

Luo Yong asked her what kind of name she wanted to give herself, and she said: "My surname is Peng, Xing Er. You can call me Peng Er."

If it was a woman from an ordinary family, she would be called Erniang Peng, but since she has become a lowly person, she can no longer be called a mother.The two characters Lang and Niang were originally honorific titles.

The three of them talked here for a long time, Peng Er, Wang Shao and Luo Yong respectively told about their family backgrounds, and also talked about what happened under Chen Qi's hands during this period.

Luo Yong also inquired about Chen Qi's personality with them. He bought these two people today and spent three pennies. It is reasonable to say that this price is very fair, but what Chen Qi wants is obviously not a fair price. I'm afraid this beam has already been formed.

At this time, Luo Erniang also came from the kitchen next door with a bowl of noodle soup. Seeing that she had cooked it, Luo Yong hurriedly got off the kang with his shoes, and went to the next door to bring the other two bowls. I took three pairs of chopsticks.

"Sister, I want to eat some more." Luo Yong asked Er Niang.

"I don't want to eat, I just ate." Er Niang said.

"You two come over to eat too. This is my elder sister. You can call her Erniang later." Luo Yong said to Peng, Er, Wang and Shao.

"..." The two looked at each other, but they still didn't come forward.

"Come and eat, don't be shy, go to bed early after eating, and ask my sister to teach you how to cook pig food tomorrow." Luo Yong said again.

"Yes." When they heard that they were going to be asked to cook pig food tomorrow, the two felt at ease. Although they were still a little timid, they finally sat down on the kang and picked up chopsticks to eat.Originally, I wanted to eat more gracefully, but I never thought that once I started, I couldn't stop. When I came back to my senses, there was still a little bit of soup in the bowl.

"Do you want to cook some more?" Erniang also heard Luo Yong's story of the two people at this time, and she felt very sympathetic. Her family also had that difficult time in the past. went that way.

"No, I'm full." Peng Er said quickly.

"Where are the two of them going to sleep?" Erniang asked Luo Yong again.

"Peng Er sleeps in the kitchen, and Wang Shao sleeps in the grocery store." Luo Yong said.

Luo Yong didn't sleep well that night, he would get up to take a look at the slightest disturbance, and fell asleep drowsily when the sky was getting brighter, and slept until the sun was rising.

When he left the house, he happened to see Wulang and Wang Shao, driving five pairs back from the outside. There were several buckets on the donkey cart, apparently going to fetch water from the village.Peng Er and Siniang were squatting on the open space outside the kitchen to wash vegetables, and the dishes were filled with two reeds, that is, radishes, that Luo Yong brought back from the city yesterday.

"Brother, how do you eat this reed?" Seeing that Luo was using it, Si Niang asked him excitedly. Such a white and tender big reed is not common here. If Peng Er hadn't told her, she wouldn't I know this is also reed.

"You can cook soup, stew meat, or steam it on top of rice and then dip it in soy sauce." Luo Yong said with a yawn.

"Delicious?" Si Niang swallowed.

"Delicious." Luo Yong nodded.

Then Si Niang broke her fingers and began to figure out how to cook the two reeds. Recently, she was responsible for most of the meals at home. Brothers and sisters were too busy, and Goro and the others were too clumsy to help.

Now that there are two more helpers at home, Siniang thinks it's great. My sister doesn't need to feed the pigs anymore, and she doesn't need to mix chicken food in the future. She can just pick eggs.

"Master, do you have fermented bean curd for sale?" At this time, an old man in a long robe walked in from the gate of the courtyard.

"Yes." Si Niang's girl agreed, and happily went to sell things.

"How much is the price?" the other party asked.

"Five cents a jar." Si Niang saw that the other party was well dressed, so she didn't quote the loose sale price.

"I want five jars."

"That's 25 Wen."

Si Niang is not serious about calligraphy, but she learns arithmetic very quickly. Now she is very smooth in counting money when selling things in the store. Although she still looks a little frizzy, she is very sensitive to numbers and rarely makes mistakes. when.

While the two of them were talking, Peng Er put the two washed reeds in a clean wooden basin next to him, picked up the used vegetable washing water, and poured it into the ditch outside the yard. At that time, I also took a look at the ox cart parked outside the courtyard and the man driving it.

In the former owner's house, and when it fell into the hands of Chen Qi, she met children who were abducted and sold. go.

The children of the Luo family have never experienced this kind of thing, so they don't know how to be prepared, but for a person like Peng Er who has been betrayed, the world is full of dangers, so they are more vigilant.

Luo Yong saw what Peng Er did and the guard on her face.I thought it would be a good thing to have something like this at home.

Although he brought these two people back home, he didn't completely trust them in his heart, and he had to observe them slowly in the days to come.Sympathy is one thing, but trust is another. Luo Yong was not the kind of person who could easily trust others.

After lunch that day, Luo Yong rarely went to work in the backyard, but took care of the shop in the front yard, gave Siniang Wulang and the others a holiday, asked them to go to the village to play, and brought wheat, green beans There are still five pairs, which are only allowed in crowded places in the village and are not allowed to leave the village entrance.

As for Peng Er and Wang Shao, Luo Yong asked them to stay in the grocery store to make toothbrushes. Sometimes some customers bought a lot of things, and they could help pack the car.

"I heard that you had a quarrel with that Chen Qi yesterday?" A person who often came here to buy fermented bean curd asked.

"You already know about this?" Luo Yong laughed.He knew that this person took fermented bean curd mainly to sell it in Fangshan County. Although he was from Lishi County, he seldom had a home.

"When I went back to the city yesterday, I heard that Chen Qi told people everywhere that you bullied him. It was clearly worth ten pennies, but you insisted on buying it for three pennies." The other party said.

"Can the people in the city trust it?" Luo Yong asked.The reason why he wanted to look at the shop here this afternoon was also to inquire about some news in the city.

"Who would believe him? Then Chen Qi's reputation in Lishi is already rotten." The other party waved his hand.

"But it's also a bit vicious. When I met me yesterday, I said that I was going to skin so-and-so, which really scared me." Luo Yong said.

"He is a cannibal who doesn't spit out bones, Saburo, you have to be careful." The other party reminded him kindly.

"Be careful." Luo Yong nodded.

In fact, what Luo Yong is most afraid of is Chen Qi's secret tricks, such as attacking the Luo family's dolls, or colluding with outsiders to bring him trouble.

Now it seems that the other party is going to come to explain?Or is it already showing weakness?In this way, Luo Yong is not afraid.Now that I think about it, maybe I thought highly of Chen Qi. Some people are like that. They are very capable of showing off when facing the old and the weak, women and children.

That afternoon, many people who had heard about this incident expressed concern for Luo Yong, and reminded him to beware of Chen Qi's mischief.

As for Chen Qi's side, the situation is not so gentle and peaceful. The few words of Chen Qi's aggressiveness towards Wang Shao yesterday have also been spread, and almost everyone thinks that his words are aimed at Luo Sanlang. He bullied Saburo when he was young, and threatened him with vicious behavior.

For many people in Lishi County, to have trouble with Luo Sanlang is to have trouble with their own jobs.The situation of Chen Qi can be imagined.

·

"Lang Jun, if you do it at this time, you can just put the blame on Chen Qi." In a room in a guest house in the city, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance and dressed as a servant bowed to the man standing by the window. The handsome young man said.

"Hush." ​​The young man turned his face slightly, put his index finger in front of his lips, and motioned for him to speak softly.The light coming in from the window was imprinted on his fair face, and he looked so handsome. If Luo Yong was present at this time, he would definitely be able to recognize this person. Who is this person if he is not Yan Liulang? I saved a little bit of goodwill, so I took a few more glances.

"Lang Jun!" The middle-aged man said anxiously.In his opinion, there has never been a better time than now.

"Were you here yesterday?" Yan Liulang asked unhurriedly.

"No." The middle-aged man replied.

"I'm not far away." Yan Liulang said: "Luo Sanlang is not as simple as you and I thought before. I'm afraid he will have a backup."

·

Luo Sanlang: I don't have any backhands, I only have cheats.

Luo Yong never imagined that when his mind was hot and he was nosy for a while, and his domineering side leaked for a while, he could make some people with evil intentions step on the brakes.

Speaking of which, his biggest life-saving capital now is that space. In order to guard against bad guys, Luo Yong long ago found a big stone and put it in the space. Take it out and put it directly where the other party is!

And as long as he is within a certain distance, he can retract and release this stone an infinite number of times, retract and release it again...