Poor Family

  Chapter 53 Windfall

Although Qianshan Village has the word "mountain" in its name, it actually has nothing to do with mountains. It is also located on the plain. Qianshan Village is located to the west of Liwen Village. A small village with dozens of families, including about eight families from the Li clan.

Li Dongdong is the best among the members of the Li clan in Qianshan Village. He followed a fellow villager to the capital at the age of twenty and first worked as a bartender in a tavern in the capital. With the money, a tea stall was set up on the edge of the Bianhe Wharf outside the city.

   A few years later, the tea stand turned into a tea shed. A toothman saw that he was smart and capable, so he married his daughter to him.

  However, Li Dongdong wanted to make a lot of money, so he took the risk and used all his savings to invest in the bootleg liquor business. Unexpectedly, the bootleg liquor was confiscated by the government, and he also went bankrupt.

Li Dongdong was desperate, so he had to help his father-in-law to run errands to earn some hard-earned money to support his family, but he was not willing to fail. Seeing that he had found his way, his father-in-law agreed to let him enter the business, but he had no capital. He could only borrow money from everywhere, but no one would Lend him so much money until he met Li Yanqing.

  On the morning of the fifth day of the lunar new year, Li Daqi and his son rode donkeys and came to Qianshan Village a few miles away along the ridge path. Today, Li Dongdong’s family invited guests, and yesterday they officially issued an invitation card. Li Daqi and his son accepted the invitation and came to visit.

  As soon as the New Year is over, there is a hint of warmth in the air. The white snow covering the field has melted, and there is only a little bit left in the shade, but it is also unable to resist the erosion of the warm wind, shrinking and fading day by day.

  Even the thin ice in the small ditch began to show signs of melting, and the thin layer of ice on the water surface made people afraid to step on it.

  The wheat fields on both sides of the ridge have exposed green shoots, covering the bare fields with a layer of light green. At a glance, the eyes are full of tender green, which makes people's eyes no longer feel boring, which is quite pleasing to the eye.

Li Daqi's face was gloomy, and he seemed a little reluctant to go to the banquet. He hadn't fully digested the business experience his son had instilled in him for the past two days. If he is the leader, he will not do it. He will be satisfied with earning five or six pennies a month. What do you want so much money for?

  Seeing that he was about to reach the entrance of the village, Li Daqi said angrily: "If Li Dongdong wants to discuss business with me alone, I will ignore him. If I want to talk to you, go talk to him."

  Li Yanqing smiled and said: "Daddy only needs to do one thing today, sign a cooperation contract, and the patriarch will make arrangements for it. Other daddies don't have to worry about it. Let's go home tonight."

   "Then what are you doing?" Li Daqi glared at his son and asked.

  Li Yanqing patted his bulging book bag and smiled, "I have to catch up with my homework! The day after tomorrow school will start, and I still have a lot of homework to do!"

  The son changed from a veteran in the shopping mall to a naive primary school boy in an instant. Although Li Daqi has already gotten used to it, he is still a little confused sometimes. Who is the master between the father and son?

Not long after, the father and son came to Li Dongdong's house. Li Dongdong's house also built six or seven brick and tile houses. The village is regarded as a wealthy family. Although he is the youngest of the three brothers, his parents live with him. He usually lives in the capital. , parents live in his house.

   "The second uncle is finally here, welcome! Welcome!"

   Li Dongdong and his old father personally came to greet him at the entrance of the village. Although his father was over 60 years old, he was of the same generation as Li Daqi in terms of seniority.

   "Nephew, find a room for Brother Qing to do his homework. If he doesn't finish it, he will be punished the day after tomorrow!"

  Li Dongdong smiled all over his face, "Second Uncle, from what you said, Brother Qing is the leader of the Children's Association, the number one in the county, why is Master willing to beat him up?"

   "If you don't fight, you can't succeed. You were often beaten by your father when you were young, and now you are promising!"

  Li Daqi was quite good at talking, which made Li Dongdong and his son smile. The four talked and laughed and walked into the courtyard gate. Li Daqi went to the main hall to have tea, but Li Dongdong led Li Yanqing to the inner room to do homework.

  Finding an opportunity, Li Dongdong expressed his gratitude to Li Yanqing with great gratitude. If Li Yanqing hadn't helped him connect, how could he have gotten this chance to stand up.

  Although the patriarch only gave him 30% of the share, he also figured it out. He will always run errands for his father-in-law. No matter how much money he earns for his father-in-law, he can only get a little hard work.

   But if he is with the patriarch, he is one of the proprietors. As long as the business grows bigger, 30% of the profit is enough to make him rich.

   "Brother Qing, I talked with the patriarch yesterday, and all the details have been finalized. We can sign the contract today. From now on, we will be grasshoppers on the same rope."

  Li Yanqing rolled his eyes, what do you mean by this, Li Dongdong hurriedly laughed and said: "It's just a joke with my brother, in the future we will help each other and get rich together!"

  This is almost the same, Li Yanqing asked again: "Can this medicinal material business catch up?"

"No problem, I bought it early this time, and I only went to Yongji Township to collect all the medicinal materials of my father-in-law, and then went to several other townships, and it will be done in a few days, and the patriarch also promised to use the family's cargo ship to replace it for me. Shipping the goods can save a lot of freight, and the river will be thawed next month before we can start, this time we can earn at least three hundred guan.”

   "What about after that?"

  Li Yanqing was more concerned about the long-term plan. This was his father's long-term job, so it had to be built solidly. He asked again: "What's the plan for the future?"

   "Of course!"

Li Dongdong rubbed his hands, couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, and said with a beaming smile: "Yesterday, I discussed with the patriarch that we can do grain business in the future. Tangyin is a major grain-producing county, and the prices of wheat and millet are twice as cheap as those in the capital. It will be cheaper to harvest wheat directly from farmers’ homes. It will be cheaper to transport it to the capital and sell it to the line. After deducting various taxes and fees, it will be at least 20% of the profit. Although the profit is not as high as that of medicinal materials, it is safe and stable. If you run a few more times, you can get your money back in a year."

   As he spoke, Li Dongdong's eyes were full of longing for the future, and his eyes became brighter, as if piles of copper coins were shining in his eyes.

Li Yanqing is in favor of this idea. Bianjing has a population of one million and consumes a lot of food every day. Moreover, at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court had lost control over the food in the capital. It relied on a few rice shops to supply the whole city's food. The food business was not only stable, but also Moreover, the long-term benefits are more suitable for big landlords like the Li family. This must be the idea of ​​the patriarch. He should have been planning for a long time, and he just happened at the right time.

At this moment, the door creaked open, and two young girls came out one after the other, the one in front was a little younger, about four or five years old, wearing a big red padded jacket, combing a double ring bun, oval face, and slender. Eyebrows, little face flushed, looks quite delicate and well-behaved.

  The girl in the back is much older, in her early ten years, dressed like the girl in the front, although she is not pretty, but her skin is fair, holding a handful of melon seeds in her hand, her mouth is busily kneading.

   "Third uncle!" The girl in front ran up and shouted sweetly.

  Li Dongdong smiled, "My dear, your mouth is so sweet!"

  The older lady behind looked at Li Yanqing and asked, "Third Uncle, where did this little monkey come from?"

   "Don't talk nonsense!"

  Li Dongdong's face darkened and he said, "Come quickly and call Uncle Qing!"

  Li Yanqing almost burst out laughing, he turned into Uncle Qing, these two girls must be Li Dongdong's nieces, he puffed out his chest, ready to accept greetings from the junior.

  The lady in front obediently stepped forward to give Wanfu, "Hello Uncle Qing!"

  The little girl behind was stunned for a moment, and actually called this little brat uncle, she blushed, and muttered in a low voice: "I won't call you!"

   "If you don't call, uncle won't give you lucky money next year!"

   Li Dongdong obviously knew how to make the eldest niece submit, so the young lady had no choice but to step forward and reluctantly give a blessing to Li Yanqing, who was a few years younger than herself, "I met Uncle Qing!"

  Li Yanqing nodded in satisfaction, grabbed two handfuls of money from his book bag and handed them to them, "This is... the lucky money given to you by Uncle Qing, go play!"

   "Thank you, Uncle Qing!" The younger sister stretched out her hand and joyfully held the money.

  The little lady at the back grabbed the money with a blushing face, then gave Li Yanqing a hard look, and ran away in a hurry.

   "Sister, wait for me!" The younger sister chased after her.

  Li Dongdong looked at the backs of the two of them and said: "These are the two young ladies from my elder sister's family. They came to my house to play today, but let Brother Qing spend the money. I'm really sorry."

   "It's just a few pennies, let's make the New Year auspicious!"

   "Exactly!"

Li Dongdong knew that Li Yanqing was a small rich man who gave out two hundred taels of silver. He was much richer than himself. Then go to meet the guests.

  The room where Li Yanqing does his homework is the place where Li Dongdong's house stores sundries. The main reason is that it is quieter, not disturbed by guests, and there are tables and chairs.

Li Yuanqing sat down by the window, took out a pen and paper, and was about to start writing. While studying ink, he looked at the room. The room was full of all kinds of waste household items, like copper lamps with oil leaks, and rough paper with knocked edges. Bowls, stools with broken legs, bamboo mats with holes, etc., have not been touched for a long time, and have been covered with a thin layer of dust.

   This must have been packed by the old man, and he was reluctant to throw away everything. At this moment, Li Yanqing suddenly saw a dagger placed under the feet of the cabinet. His heart moved, he stepped forward to raise the cabinet slightly, and pulled out the sword.

   Get up early and ask for tickets!

  (end of this chapter)