Little wealth

"In the future?" Er Bao paused, tilted his head and thought for a while, and said, "There are a lot of things I want to do, but I just don't know what to do."

"Oh, tell me." Situ Tai'an was a little interested in this cousin's thoughts, and waited for someone to continue talking with great interest.

"When I was young, seeing my father and father was too hard, and I wanted to help them share some of the burden when I grew up. Later, I studied with my grandfather. My grandfather hoped that I would become an official, be an official, and be able to plead for the people, be loyal to the king, and serve the country. Contribute to the country." Er Bao was actually quite confused about his future, since his birth, their family's conditions have been better, and he knew from a very young age that his elder brother was named Pingyuan Hou's son, and he would inherit the Hou in the future. In the government, the family will definitely need someone to bear this burden in the future.

In recent years, their family's property has grown more and more, and the two younger brothers at the bottom are both elder brothers. They may marry into someone else's family in the future, and they may not be able to stay in their own family.He himself is the second son in the family. Although his father did not mention this matter explicitly, since he was very young, his father took him around to let him familiarize himself with the family's property. He probably also guessed what his father had in mind. idea.

It's just that it would be a lie to say that he never thought of going into an official career. His grandfather liked him since he was a child, and he took him by his side to teach him personally. He learned a lot from his grandfather. The most he was a businessman was for this family and this world. The family saves a little, but if he becomes an official, he can contribute to many people and the community.

But until this time when he saw his elder brother passed the examination and stayed in the capital as an official, although his father and father didn't say anything when he came back, he could see the reluctance of his father and father.If he takes an official career in the future, who can guarantee that he will be able to come back here, or maybe he will be transferred to a local government to become an official, and he will go further, and he will not be able to stay by his parents' side to fulfill his filial piety.

"Don't worry about what other people want you to do, you have to ask yourself what you want to do in the future." Situ Tai'an could see the inner confusion of this little cousin and said.

"Myself?" This second treasure really didn't think about it, what does he want to do?

"Yeah, with your talent and intelligence, if you don't do something, wouldn't it be a waste?" Situ Tai'an stared at the little cousin's eyes, and asked closer: " Do you want to go to the northwest with me?"

"Going to the northwest?" Er Bao's eyes widened, he really didn't think about it.

"Yeah, go to the Northwest with me. We'll go there for a few years and come back. The big man is to defend the country. Let's go to the Northwest to kill the enemy, protect our homeland, and protect our family. It's not easy for you to be an official. Cut a few The head of the enemy, I guarantee that no one can take away your credit, and you can become an officer. If you don't want to do it in the future, you can come back and inherit the family business." Situ Tai'an continued to encourage.

But Erbao is not such a person who is easy to be instigated. He looks at this second cousin with a little doubt in his eyes. Could this second cousin be trapped in the capital and want to go far away?And this second cousin is a prince, so can he easily go to the Northwest?

If he remembers correctly, this second cousin seems to have some interest in their family, Axiu. If this second cousin runs away, what will their Axiu do? "Don't you like Axiu? You go to the northwest, do you also want Axiu to follow you to the northwest to eat sand?"

"...That's true." Situ Tai'an didn't feel sorry for himself when he went to eat sand, but when he thought about letting that poor and cute little brother follow him to eat sand in the northwest... he was not very willing.

"Let's go there. I'll tell Uncle Aqiu and the others to let my uncle find a good wife for Axiu." Er Bao waved his hand to the second cousin, and said, "Actually, I like Axiu quite a bit too. She is good-looking, has a good personality, and is good at abacus. If I marry her in the future, she can help me make money and housekeeper. You go, and I will ask Axiu if she likes me, so I might as well marry Axiu."

"..." Situ Tai'an looked at this little cousin with a fierce look in his eyes, threw himself over to wrap his arms around the man's neck, and asked, "What did you say, say it again!"

"I just said..."

The two brothers almost got into a fight inside the house.

It was the guard outside who heard the sound and rushed in, really thinking that the two masters in the room were fighting, "Master, you?" If you have something to say, don't do it...

"What are you doing running in here? Don't disturb the chat between our two brothers." Facing the doubtful expressions of the two guards, Situ Tai'an put one hand around the neck of the little cousin, and waved his hands to let him go out.

The two guards were full of suspicion, but seeing that the two masters were still good brothers and looked intimate, they went out dubiously.

The two cousins ​​couldn't discuss the matter of going to the northwest to eat sand, so they left the restaurant together.

***

At night, as soon as Axiu returned to his room, he heard someone knocking on the window outside. After thinking about it, he went to open the window and saw a person standing below.The two looked at each other through the window, Situ Tai'an took out a jade pendant from his bosom and handed it over, asking: "When you grow up, how about I marry you?"

Axiu looked at the people outside, but didn't answer immediately, but turned and left.

"?" Is this a promise or not?

His Royal Highness the Second Prince, who did not get a response when he proposed to his younger brother for the first time, looked at the back of his younger brother who turned and walked away, and then looked at the jade pendant he handed over. Just when he was about to withdraw his hand, he saw the younger brother Brother came out of the house, leaned forward, took the jade pendant away from his hand, left another jade pendant for him, and closed the window with a snap.

...So, this is a promise to him?Just when Situ Tai'an was about to grin, he heard a dog barking behind him, "Wow, woof..."

"!!!"

Hearing the family dog ​​barking, Chen Tuhu opened the door and went out to look out. He saw that the yard was empty and their dog was barking in one direction.Looking at the house where their little brother lived, Chen Tuhu knocked on the door and asked through the door, "Brother, are you asleep?"

"Just about to go to bed, Father, what's the matter?" Axiu asked in the room.

"The dog at home is barking. I thought someone had entered our yard. You should have nothing to do. Rest early." Hearing that his brother's voice in the room didn't sound like something was wrong, Chen Tuhu was relieved. After stroking the dog that ran back to his feet, and letting the dog stay here to guard, he went back to the house where he and Fu Lang lived.

Hearing the footsteps leaving outside, Ah Xiucai, who was still standing behind the window, breathed a sigh of relief, and tightly held a jade pendant in her hand, which was given to him by the man standing outside the window just now.

As if thinking of something, he opened the window and looked outside, but he didn't see anyone outside, but saw their dog squatting outside his window, and when he looked out, their meat buns were lying on their backs Looking down at him, sticking out her tongue and wagging her tail at him.

His Royal Highness the Second Prince who had already jumped out of the fence did not expect that one day he would climb over the fence of his little brother's house to deliver things in the middle of the night, and was almost bitten by his dog, so he couldn't help laughing.But it's also fun, isn't it?

Seeing that no one was still outside, Axiu closed the window, took off her shoes and went to bed. When she was lying on the bed, she was still holding the jade pendant that someone else gave her and stuck it to her chest, her face showing A little goofy smile.

"What was the dog barking just now?" Asked Ah Qiu, who was sleeping on the bed when he saw the man coming back from outside.

"It's nothing, maybe I saw a mouse. Go to sleep." Although Chen Tuhu felt a little strange in his heart, he didn't find anything when he went out just now, so he didn't suspect anything, so he went to bed and slept with his husband.

This night, like many nights in the past, every household in the village closed their doors to sleep after dark.

The watchman beat the clapper and gong all night, and only went home to sleep at dawn.On the second day, the people in the village went out to work as usual, to do business, and to start a new day.

But this day, Situ Taian took Zhao's carriage, quietly left Sihe village to the pier, took the boat of Anyang caravan, and sailed to the south.He set off for the south in September, and did not return until early October. When passing through Anyang on the way, he stayed in Anyang for a few days, and then went north by boat and returned to Kyoto.

***

The beginning of winter this year was earlier than in previous years, and the weather was colder earlier. Before the vegetables in the field were damaged by frost, every household hurriedly harvested the vegetables in the field.

Since the canal was dug, it has become much more convenient to irrigate the fields in these villages, so the output of their fields here is much higher than that of ten years ago, and people will continue to grow vegetables in the fields after the annual autumn harvest. At this time of the month, every household collects a lot of cabbage and stores it for winter.

Every year when the cabbage in their family was returned, part of it would be set aside to make spicy cabbage. Caixia remembered that the young master liked spicy cabbage very much, so she asked, "Should we also send some spicy cabbage to the capital for the young master? "

Thinking of the children in the capital, Josh replied: "Yes, I want it. Nuomi and Luoxi also like spicy cabbage, but they may make it themselves, so let's make some and give them to them. Let's make it today." I will send someone to take it to the boat tomorrow, and I should be able to take another boat.” What others do is someone else’s, and what they do is sent to the children, they send it, anyway, hurry up, Should be able to take another boat trip.

"Well, master, what you said is, let's quickly prepare more things and send someone to send them to the young master and the others." Caixia also agreed very much.

It took less than half a day for more than a dozen of them to pack more than 40 jars of spicy cabbage, and sent [-] jars to Kyoto. Went to the pier to take the boat.

It's just that this year's sausage and bacon haven't been finished yet, and they won't be sent until later...