mid-year.
A new cloth shop has opened in the town. Today is the first day of opening. Firecrackers are going off.
“Today’s price is only half the usual price, and you get a free gift if you buy it. It’s a great deal.”
"It doesn't matter if you don't buy it, you can go in and have a look."
"Auntie, do you want to buy some cloth? We also have embroidery, come in and have a look."
…
After the sound of firecrackers, the waiter was shouting vigorously at the door. People passing by stopped because of curiosity. In a short time, a small group gathered around the door of the store.
Once they heard that it was half price, many people were still willing to go in and take a look.
The store has hired three clerks, who are busy measuring the cloth. At the other end of the store, there are embroidery items, and there is also a person busy:
"Look at this purse again."
"The color is also good-looking, and it's more suitable to wear."
"And this, I'll get it for you."
…
The woman who spoke had a soft and soft voice. She was wearing a light blue gauze skirt, tied around her waist with a white soft cigarette, which highlighted her slender waist. She looked small, with delicate facial features, fair skin and delicate hair, and her hair was combed into a ponytail. Women's bun.
There are more and more people in the store, and the four of them are constantly busy.
At noon, there were finally fewer people, and Ji Huai walked in with a baby in his arms. The little baby, with a plump face, was lying on his shoulder. When he saw the little lady selling embroidery, he grinned, with glistening saliva flowing down the corner of his mouth.
When he was happy, his eyes narrowed, he raised his little head, danced and stretched out his hands towards the other party, so happy.
When Tang Xiuer saw him, her eyebrows softened and she walked out of the counter. Before she could reach her, the little baby had already reached out, grabbed her clothes with his little fleshy hands, and threw herself into her arms.
"Young Master is anxious." The maid behind Ji Huai joked with a smile.
Now they live in a new house, and Ji Huai has bought several servants and maids, but Tang Xiuer is not used to being served by others, so she takes care of her son and his affairs personally.
When she opened this clothing store, she went out of her way to inquire about it and learned a lot about it, so she was very well prepared.
"You've been standing for a long time, let's take a rest." Ji Huai walked to her side and said.
"I'm not tired, the business is better than expected." Tang Xiuer smiled happily and walked to the backyard with her son in her arms. He stayed with her on her shoulder, playing with her mother's soft hair with her little fleshy hands.
She held her milky son in her arms and loved him tightly.
"Eat something." Ji Huai took the food box from the maid, followed her in, and said to the maid behind him, "Go help first."
"Yes." The other party turned and left.
There was a room in the backyard where they could rest, and a family of three walked in. Tang Xiuer sat down, hugged her son and talked to him.
The other person couldn't speak yet, so he babbling in response to her and grinning widely.
Ji Huai put the food box on the table and took out the pastries inside bit by bit. He also asked the maid to cook a bowl of mung bean porridge that could clear away heat and detoxify, and placed it in front of her.
When the baby saw the food, he reached out from her arms to grab it.
"You can't catch him." Tang Xiuer quickly stopped him and held his son away.
"!@@#..." When his mother refused to let him catch her, he immediately grimaced or looked like he wasn't crying. He looked at Tang Xiuer eagerly and continued to lean over.
"I'll hold her while you eat something." Ji Huai took the child from her arms and sat a little further away.
The little baby kept fussing and looked at her pitifully. Where could Tang Xiuer eat
She ate half a piece of pastry and fed another piece to Ji Huai. Looking at her son who was drooling constantly, she took a spoon and scooped up some mung bean porridge and put it to his mouth.
The baby's little tongue immediately stuck out, licking and drinking.
The soup is sweet and he likes it very much.
That look of enjoyment made Tang Xiuer laugh. She arched her eyebrows and continued to feed him a little more, and at the same time fed Ji Huai a piece of cake.
The little baby drank the soup and saw his mother feeding his father cakes, so he reached out to take them.
"You can only drink this." Tang Xiuer took her hand away and wouldn't let him touch it.
The baby's mouth was deflated and he stopped drinking the soup. He squirmed several times in Ji Huai's arms and looked grumpy, so he tried to take it.
"Still making trouble." Ji Huai patted his butt gently, "If he makes trouble again, he won't even give him any soup!"
I don’t know if he understood what he heard, but he felt more at ease anyway.
Tang Xiuer smiled and held her son's hand, "I'll feed you when you grow up."
The little baby looked at his mother and continued to drink the sweet soup.
At this time, the clerk in the store came over, looked at Ji Huai and said anxiously, "Mr. Cheng of the Cheng Mansion is here, do you want to go out to greet him?"
Who in the city doesn't know Mr. Cheng
Mr. Wei had raised a purple chirp many years ago, but it died not long after he had raised it. Now there are five purple chirps in Cheng Mansion, which is a litter.
Except for Mr. Cheng, no one owns Zi Jiu. Everyone who wants to see this rare bird has to go to the Cheng Mansion to see it. It is not something you can just do if you want to see it. Even the county master has to give him three points of thin noodles.
There is a bird fighting competition at the end of the year. I heard that purple chirps are different from other birds. If they fight, they will definitely win. Everyone is waiting to see Zi Jiu's true face and face during the bird fighting competition.
"I'll go take a look." Ji Huai stood up, gently put her son in her arms, and followed the man out.
Mr. Cheng looked around the store while fanning himself.
Behind him was Heizi, who was also excited when he saw Ji Huai, but had to suppress it and reminded Mr. Cheng, "Shopkeeper Ji is out."
Mr. Cheng looked at Ji Huai and walked towards him.
"Master Cheng." Ji Huai was the first to call out.
Mr. Cheng waved his hand and walked aside with him, his tone a little impatient, "How did you catch the purple chirp last time? Can you catch it again this time? You only took the baby bird, what about the big bird?"
"Isn't five enough?" Ji Huai asked.
"It's not not enough. There will be a bird fighting competition at the end of the year. These five birds cannot be trained at all. They are not as good as the hill birds. What if I am embarrassed by the hill birds? What will everyone think if I use the hill birds? But we are all waiting to see the purple chirps." Mr. Cheng said and fanned again impatiently, "You must not be wild, catch the big bird, that's the wild one."
Seeing this, Heizi thought he was hot and wanted to step forward and take a fan to fan him, but he stopped him.
Ji Huai agreed.
That male purple chirp is really wild and has a bad temper. After training him for so long, he became more obedient and tamed, but he still had to be coaxed.
Because he had dried black mulberries and understood his nature, he was quite handy.
"Heizi was still able to train him in the beginning, but now he is becoming more and more disobedient, and he even goes against the grain. I don't know what's going on." Mr. Cheng said in a hurry.
Hearing this, Heizi next to him looked at Ji Huai as if asking for help and did not dare to speak.
He relied on the dried black mulberries given to him by Ji Huai to coax the young birds. Master Cheng valued him more and more, and his status gradually surpassed that of Cheng Jiu. But there was always a time to finish the dried black mulberries, and he didn't exercise restraint and finished them quickly.
Now the purple chirping bird is not as likely to win as Cheng Jiuxun's hill, and he is also anxious.
Before Ji Huai spoke, Mr. Cheng looked at his shop and said directly, "If you can find the big bird in the mountain, I will give you a thousand taels. When will this shop earn a thousand taels?"
If he wins the Bird Fighting Conference, he will become famous, and then money will no longer be able to measure it.
It’s only a thousand taels, so worth it.
Since he bought the five purple chirps, his family has been crowded with people, and everyone wants to take a look. Who in the city doesn't know that he has five purple chirps
There are so many people who want to interact with their home. Even Dou Niao’s old man, the respected old man Wei, found excuses to visit their home several times.
His father, who used to scold him as a prodigal, no longer scolded him.
The winner of the bird fight this time must be him, and he must win with Zi Jiu, so that Zi Jiu's status and his status can be preserved.
"I caught the big bird in the mountains some time ago." Ji Huai replied to him.
Mr. Cheng was startled suddenly, his eyes widened, "Are you sure?!"
Ji Huai: "One male and one female. They laid six eggs when they came back."
Not only Mr. Cheng was blinded, but Heizi was also wide-eyed.
"Are you going to sell it? To whom? I bought it." Mr. Cheng said immediately, his attitude could even be said to be tough, "You can't sell it to others, I'll buy it all!"
He is the only one in the city who has Zijiu, and this has brought a lot of benefits to the Cheng family. If Ji Huai was sold to someone else, the current situation would not be the same.
"I don't plan to sell." Ji Huai shook his head.
"I want that male purple chirp, please give me a price." Mr. Cheng said again.
Ji Huai did not hesitate: "I don't plan to sell."
Mr. Cheng: "One thousand taels."
Ji Huai's expression did not change.
"One thousand two hundred taels." Mr. Cheng gritted his teeth and said again.
Ji Huai: "..."
"One thousand five hundred taels, okay? You sell it to me, but you can't sell the other baby birds to others. I can only buy them." Mr. Cheng still said it quite confidently.
Ji Huai spoke slowly and said to him: "I don't plan to sell it. I'm also trying to train it. There is no big problem at the moment. If you think it can't be trained, maybe I can give it a try."
"You know how to train birds?" Mr. Cheng was surprised.
"For now, it's quite obedient." Ji Huai nodded.
"If you don't sell it, what are you going to do with it?" Mr. Cheng was curious, "That's one thousand two hundred taels. Anyone else would not offer you such a high price."
"Keep it for training. It will relieve your boredom." Ji Huai smiled, not thinking too much.
Seeing that he couldn't say anything, Mr. Cheng had no choice but to give up and asked Ji Huai to promise again that if he wanted to sell Zijiu, he must sell it to him first.
"Okay." He nodded.
"If you really know how to train, if you succeed in training, and win the competition, you will definitely benefit from it!" Mr. Cheng told him, and even said, "I will definitely reward you heavily."
"Then I'll give it a try." Ji Huai smiled slightly and his tone was not impatient.