Shen Dejian was worried that Shen Ruolan was at home alone, so he parted ways with the eldest son as soon as he left the Yamen, and went home to see his daughter.
When she got home, Shen Ruolan had already woken up and was busy cooking in the kitchen.
Hearing the news of Shen Dejian entering the courtyard, Shen Ruolan came out from the west wing. She was wearing a floral apron and a simple ingot bun on her hair. She was youthful, beautiful and full of vigor.
"Father, are you back? Where did you go this early in the morning?"
Seeing his well-behaved and sensible daughter, and thinking about the disappointing Shen Ruomei of his elder brother's family, Shen Dejian felt sincerely relieved, so he told Shen Ruolan about saving Shen Ruomei.
However, he said it selectively. After all, men and women are different. There are some things that a father can't tell his daughter in detail, so he just talked about Shen Ruomei being kidnapped to the countryside and becoming the wife of a countryman. He didn't say a word about Ruomei being gang-raped and turned into a village prostitute.
When Shen Ruolan heard what happened to Shen Ruomei, she twitched the corners of her mouth, but did not express anything.
To her, Shen Ruomei has long been an irrelevant stranger. Whether she is good or bad, whether she is dead or alive has nothing to do with her. If it is good, she will not be jealous; if it is bad, she will not gloat. She's all.
After Shen Dejian narrated Shen Ruomei's experience, he thought that Shen Ruolan would express his own opinions, but the child turned back to the west wing with a blank expression and went back to work, without any sympathy or regret.
Originally, Shen Dejian thought Shen Ruomei was pitiful, and wanted to discuss with Lan'er how to help her, but when he saw the indifferent look of his daughter, he knew that she would not help, so he closed it in resentment Mouth, to dispel my thoughts.
Although he is the patriarch of the family, Lan Er is actually the master of the family. He is just a name for the patriarch. Lan Er is in charge of the big and small affairs of the family. He is already used to this family model , since the girl decided on something, he can't change it!
The lunch was ready, it was just a few side dishes from the parents, all of them were light and delicious, the father and father picked up the rice bowl, and before they had eaten a few mouthfuls, someone suddenly came to the house.
It was Yu Nu and her mother who came.
"Oh, what gust of wind brought you two here, just in time, let's have some food together." Seeing their mother coming, Shen Ruolan hurriedly gave way to the table, and Yu Nu and his wife waved their hands again and again, "No, no, no , our mother and I came here after dinner, you don't need to worry about us, let's eat quickly, it will be cold in a while."
Seeing that her mother and father were determined not to eat, Shen Ruolan asked them to sit and wait for a while, and only came to talk to them after she and father had finished eating.
Yu Nu and her mother came here to pay back Shen Ruolan's money. When Yu Nu's mother was ill, Shen Ruolan lent them three taels of silver to see a doctor, but the three taels of silver hadn't been repaid yet, and Yu Nu was in the silver building again. For breaking a bracelet, they asked her to pay fifty taels of silver. At that time, Yu Nu didn't have the money to compensate, so she almost sold herself to pay off the debt. It was Shen Ruolan who acted righteously and lent her fifty taels of silver to save her from the tragedy of being sold as a slave. fatalistic.
Afterwards, Shen Ruolan asked Yu Nu and her mother to work with her, and gave them a chance to survive. The two mothers earned money by working here, and life gradually slowed down.
"Lan'er, this is fifty-three taels of silver, you can accept it, our mother and I are able to have today, thanks to your help, thank you for your kindness, your kindness to us and our mother and I will remember it forever. "Yu Nu handed over a half-worn handkerchief, inside which was a silver note of fifty taels and a small silver ingot weighing three or four taels.
Shen Ruolan took it over and jokingly said, "Tsk tsk, where did you get all this old money, where did you get rich?"
After hearing this, Yu Nu blushed and lowered her head shyly. Her mother said with a smile, "To tell you the truth, Miss Lan, Yu Nu is engaged. The fifty taels of silver is her betrothal gift, and the other few taels are from our mother and daughter." Saved for several months."
When Shen Ruolan heard that Yu Nu was engaged, she was also happy, and said with a smile, "I don't know what kind of husband sister Yu Nu has found, and when will they get married? I can go and ask for a wedding wine."
Yu Nuniang said with a smile, "My aunt and aunt also recognize the marriage that was just arranged. It was Shen Youjia who wrote books for the girl in the past, but now my aunt is no longer a scholar, but a master of Juren. I’m going to go to the government office to be a judge in the next day.”
It turned out that Shen Youjia won the seventh place in the Jizhou Township Examination in the autumn examination this year, and the Beijing News even won the Yellow Jia. It can be said that the scenery is boundless and the future is boundless!
After winning the exam, the Shen family's small broken courtyard suddenly became lively, there was an endless stream of people congratulating, fawning, watching the fun, and proposing marriage.
Back then when Shen Youjia was still in high school, he made a vow that if he had no fame in this life, he would never marry. Now that he is in high school, the matter of marrying a wife is naturally on the agenda.
Because the status is not the same as in the past, there are as many matchmakers as the crucian carp crossing the river to propose Shen Youjia's relatives and protect the matchmakers. My eyes are all spoiled, and I don't know which girl to choose.
In the end, it was Shen Youjia who said, "Grandma, my grandson is withdrawn. If you find someone who doesn't suit you, I'm afraid it will cause trouble. Your master will not be safe. Why don't you find a woman who you know well? You don't need to find someone who is familiar with each other. I am afraid that there will be disharmony in the future."
There are too few women that Shen Youjia knows well, and there are even fewer women who are suitable to marry him. Grandma Shen didn't bother much, she just thought of Yu Nu, and only then did she know what this dull grandson was thinking.
Grandma Shen also likes Yu Nu very much. Although Yu Nu's family is poor, she has a gentle temperament, is diligent and filial, and is also very beautiful. These advantages are enough to make up for the shortcomings of her family.
So Grandma Shen immediately asked her neighbors to go to Yu Nu's house to propose marriage for her. When Yu Nu heard that Shen Yujia had come to propose marriage, she blushed and hid in the house and refused to come out, nor did she say whether she was happy or not.
Seeing her daughter's expression, Yu Nuniang guessed that her daughter must like Shen Youjia, but she was too embarrassed to say so, so she agreed.
In fact, she also likes Shen Yujia to be her son-in-law. Although Shen Yujia is dull-tempered and doesn't talk sweetly to make her mother-in-law happy like those big-hearted boys, she has her own advantages as a son-in-law.
First of all, Shen Youjia is intelligent and knowledgeable, otherwise he will not pass the exam, and he will have a bright future in the future. If his daughter marries him, she can be regarded as a lifelong trust; Straightforward, jealous like hatred, he will never do something like his father-in-law's doting on his concubine and destroying his wife, no matter how proud he is in rewarding him, he will definitely not do something to offend Yu Nu.
Therefore, she was very satisfied with this marriage, and the two families quickly exchanged Geng Tie and combined their horoscopes, and then sent a betrothal gift—fifty taels of silver.
Shen Youjia's family was poor, so he couldn't afford fifty taels of betrothal gifts, but because he was promoted in high school, his relatives and neighbors deliberately flattered him, and they came to congratulate him one after another. From ten taels to eight taels, the members of Guangli received more than a hundred taels of money.
Therefore, it doesn't take much effort to take out fifty taels of silver as a dowry gift.
When Shen Ruolan heard about Shen Youjia's high school, she was also happy for him. She accepted the money and said with a smile: "Congratulations to sister Yunu. Shen Youjia is a sincere gentleman and extremely smart. My sister will be happy in the future after marrying him." .”
"That's right, I think so too." Yu Nu Niang happily echoed, "This child Yu Nu has a lot of misfortunes. When I come to the Shen family, I will have nothing else to ask for in my life."
Shen Ruolan said, "Naturally, she will marry in a safe and secure way. Both families are willing, and the zodiac signs are also compatible. What is there to worry about?"
The smile on Yu Nuniang's face froze, and she said with difficulty, "The girl doesn't know something, that bastard father of Yu Nu came to Jizhou with his three evil sons, that bastard is doing very well now, even his The three scoundrels couldn't support them. They suddenly came to us a few days ago and wanted to defect to us. We were shocked. I didn't give him a good face and kicked him out. I was afraid that he would jump over the wall and come back again. We are bothered, if you reveal the experience of Yu Nu being abducted in the past, I'm afraid my uncle will have an idea... "
"No, if he really does that, he is not worthy of being a father, nor a husband, or even a human being." Shen Ruolan comforted.
However, Shen Ruolan's consolation did not soothe the worries in Yununiang's heart. She said with a sad face, "It's hard to say, at that time, that bastard knew that his brother, the vixen, had kidnapped and sold my jade slave, but for those three The reputation of this evil bastard will not be damaged, but he will not let Yu Nu tell the truth, and marry Yu Nu to an old man for the sake of money, what unreasonable things can't be done by this kind of beast?"
Shen Ruolan said, "If he is really capable of doing such unconscionable things, you two don't have to be polite to him, and treat him as you please. Since he does things that are not human, you don't have to treat him as a human being." gone."
Yu Nuniang nodded and said, "What you are saying is that I have only one child, Yu Nu, in my life. She is my life. If anyone dares to do harm to my Yu Nu, I will risk my life. To fight him to the end."
Seeing the determination and determination in the eyes of this kind and gentle woman, Shen Ruolan finally realized the profound meaning of the phrase 'a mother is strong'.
"Actually, you don't have to fight hard. If he pesters you and you can't handle it, you can come to me. If I can help you, I will try my best to help you." Shen Ruolan promised.
Yu Nuniang said gratefully: "Thank you, Miss Lan, but you don't need your help. Her bastard father is a bully and a coward. If she really dares to harm my Yu Nu, I will go all out and spend some money to buy some bastards." The son broke his leg, and it can be regarded as revenge for us mothers... "
Shen Ruolan laughed when she heard this. Although she did not agree to use violence to control violence, special people should be treated specially. For a bastard like Yu Nu's father, it is really appropriate to treat him by discounting his legs!
The couple left, and Shen Ruolan went to the west wing to wash the dishes. When she entered, she found that her father had already washed the dishes and the kitchen was clean.
Shen Ruolan smiled heartily, went back to her room and changed her clothes, and was going to visit the chamber of commerce.
After arriving at the chamber of commerce, the president of the chamber of commerce, Li Xianqing, told her that he had passed on the news that Shen Ruolan's family shop had been sold out. Almost all the merchants in Jizhou City knew about it, but there was no feedback for the time being. He suggested that she find a few more shops. Putting a name on the tooth line, and taking a two-pronged approach, the effect will definitely be better.
Shen Ruolan accepted his suggestion, and after leaving the chamber of commerce, she went straight to the largest dental shop in Jizhou City, paid the money in the dental shop and put her name on it, pointing out that she could get out of the shop quickly.
**
The effect of the two-pronged approach is really good. On the third day after the establishment of the dental clinic, Shen Ruolan's shop and house have found buyers one after another.
Among them, the printing factory was bought by Tianxia Zhizhi, and the house and the factory were sold for a total of 7,000 taels of silver. Because Tianxia Zhizhi still wanted to do printing business, all the workers in the factory were retained, even Shen Fucun Shen Ruolan was able to keep her management status, which made Shen Ruolan feel at ease. Otherwise, if the factory was sold out, people like her would not be used anymore, and she would be very sad to see those people unemployed.
The hot pot restaurant and dim sum workshop were bought by a foreign merchant, including the house and the hot pot recipe dim sum Fangzi sold for a total of 14,000 taels of silver. Shen Ruolan also took the initiative to give a cumin incense pot recipe as a gift. There is a condition, that is, whether it is a hot pot restaurant or a dim sum workshop, the workers from the original shift must continue to be retained. If there is a violation, she will not provide cumin and pepper to their shops.
Shen Ruolan's family has already had a good harvest of cumin and pepper, and she is the only one in the entire Jizhou area. Rare things are more expensive, and of course she can use the scarce resources in her hands to raise conditions.
The new boss was shocked by the delicious taste of the cumin pot, and also realized that this will be a huge business opportunity. How much money does it take to hire a few people to work? Besides, he still wants to continue to do this business, he can hire anyone, and if he has ready-made skilled hands, he would like to keep them.
As a result, the guys from the hot pot restaurant and dim sum workshop were also left behind. Even the salary is the same as when Shen Ruolan was there, it hasn't changed at all because of the change of owner.
Shen Ruolan's family spent money to buy two men in the dim sum workshop, and now their house is about to be evacuated. Shen Ruolan specifically asked the two of them for their opinions, asking if they would like to go back to the mountain village with her to farm, or Stay in Jizhou City to work.
If they are willing to stay, Shen Ruolan will not force others. Even if she has already bought them, she is not willing to do things against the will of others. She is a modern person, and this spirit of democracy has not changed just because she traveled to ancient times. Disappeared, on the contrary, after seeing more unequal waiting in ancient times, she respected the essential will of the individual more.
These two guys are loyal and loyal servants, after hearing what the master said, they all said in unison that they listened to the master, Shen Ruolan was very happy, and planned to take them back to the backing village.
The house on Wangfu Street was also sold, including the house and furniture for a total of eleven thousand taels of silver.
Adding these things together, they sold a total of more than 30,000 taels of silver. It can be said that Shen Ruolan's family has become rich! Make a fortune! According to the current expenses of their family, the more than 30,000 taels of silver is enough for their family to lie down and eat for a lifetime.
Shen Dejian didn't know that the house and the two shops he lived in were his own before, and he didn't know until now that they were sold. When he heard Shen Ruolan say that it was given by King Zhan, he acquiesced.
In the future, Lan'er will have to marry him, so I will use the money from selling these few houses as a dowry for her, and it will be the same for her to bring it back...
Shen Ruolan threw out the house and the shop in one go. The workers were relieved when they heard that they could continue to work and their wages would not change.
Only Uncle Shen's family reacted strongly.
Both Shen Fucun and Shen Jincun were worried that the business was not owned by the second uncle's family, and their jobs would not be guaranteed. Later, they were relieved when they heard from Lan Er that their jobs and wages would not change.
However, from now on, the two brothers have to work harder, otherwise, they may lose their jobs at any time.
After Uncle Shen heard about it, he was a little worried about his two sons at first, but he was relieved when he heard that the two sons were not affected; Less money, right? The second family is getting rich now, tsk tsk..."
She didn't know that these houses belonged to Shen Ruolan's family, if she knew, it would definitely be even more embarrassing!
After Shen Ruomei heard that her second uncle had sold the house and shop, she immediately said in a strange manner: "I must be dead, Lan Ya saw me back and didn't want me to live in their house, so I sold the house and shop on purpose."
(Shen Ruolan: "..." Sister, you think highly of yourself...)
Although Aunt Shen didn't think like her daughter, she immediately thought of a problem. The second family sold out the printing factory, and the printing factory would no longer be owned by the second family, so they would not be eligible to continue to live in the house. here it is.
So, she put forward her own ideas.
Uncle Shen said, "Anyway, Mei'er has been found, so it's useless for us to stay here any longer, but pack up and go back."
Aunt Shen also agreed that after being away from home for so long, she also misses her home, saying that the gold and silver nests are not as good as her own kennel.
Shen Ruomei disagreed, she came out of the backing village in desperation, and planned to live a good life here to show everyone, but now she is mixed up, so let her She is not willing to go back like this!
"Father, mother, I won't leave. If others can live a decent life here, so can I." The person Shen Ruomei was referring to was naturally Shen Ruolan.
In her heart, she kept holding her breath. Since she was a child, she was better than Shen Ruolan in everything, and she should continue to be better than her when she grows up. But now that Shen Ruolan is living a beautiful life, she is confused like this. Shen Ruomei, who has always been proud and arrogant, was very unconvinced, and vowed to live a good life and compare Shen Lanya.
Shen Ruomei refused to leave no matter what, Uncle Shen and Aunt Chen thought about the terrible crime she had just suffered, and they were reluctant to force her, and it was not the busy season, so it didn't matter where they lived, so they stayed at the dim sum shop not far away. They rented a small house, and the old couple moved there with Shen Ruomei and Shen Jincun.
On the second day after Shen Ruolan sold the shop and house, she went back to Gushan Village with her father and two servants. She didn't go to see Shen Ruomei until she left, because Shen Ruolan really annoyed her. Maybe, she wished she would never see her for the rest of her life.
King Zhan went back with Shen Ruolan, but his whereabouts were relatively secret, he didn't go with Shen Ruolan and the others during the day, and only sneaked into Shen Ruolan's house at night, so until they got home, Shen Dejian didn't know what they were doing. There are still people walking along the way!
**
Just a few days after Shen Ruolan and Chun Yuzhen left, Lu Yuan and Chen Bingrong arrived in Jizhou City.
The two of them rushed from the capital to Jizhou together. After more than 20 days of contact along the way, Lu Yuan already had a good understanding of Chen Bingrong's personality.
This person is exquisite, long-sleeved and good at dancing. He is a man who talks to people and talks nonsense when he sees people. , it's a bit risky.
Because his personality is too smooth, and he doesn't have the perseverance and toughness of a soldier in his bones. If such a person encounters a strong enemy attacking him, he will most likely become a deserter.
When Lu Yuan saw that he had such a colleague, he felt very angry. Under the strong protection of King Zhan these years, Bei Bian'er had gradually stabilized. King Zhan's reputation as the god of war did not dare to act rashly. If they knew that King Zhan no longer led troops, but replaced by a glib villain, they would be surprised if they didn't come to fight.
If he is the only one who guards Jizhou with the 300,000 troops, even if he is a little bit tired, he can guarantee that he will definitely defend Jizhou city to the death and never let Jizhou fall into the hands of Wusun. However, there is Chen Bingrong, a cunning Now, he can't promise anything...
Chen Bingrong didn't know that he was disgusted by Lu Yuan in his heart. After arriving in Jizhou, he launched a rectification campaign with great fanfare to show how tough he is and how fair and honest he is.
He first checked the military supplies, and after checking, he found that there was no shortage, so he checked the identities and backgrounds of the senior generals in the army.
Knowing the prestige of King Zhan in the Northern Army, he was afraid that these generals would not accept him, so he thought of investigating the identities and backgrounds of these generals. If there was a loyal party supported by King Zhan, he would try to squeeze them out , lest they fight against him in the future (he is judging the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, because he took over the position of King Zhan, he thought that King Zhan would hold a grudge against him and would encourage his subordinates to fight against him, so , even if Chunyuzhen has never had any interaction with him, in Chen Bingrong’s heart, he already regards Chunyuzhen as an enemy that needs to be defended at all times); if there is someone who can win over or is willing to take refuge in him, he will of course raise his hands Welcome, as long as you can be loyal to him, no matter how poor your ability is, he will reuse it without hesitation.
Seeing his fuss, Lu Yuan couldn't help shaking his head secretly. If he continues like this, I'm afraid there will be infighting within the army before Wusun comes to invade!
However, he can't control these things. Although the emperor also authorized him, but there is the queen behind him in private. In fact, Chen Bingrong is more powerful than him. He wants to stop Chen Bingrong from messing around. The two have to have internal strife now.
Lu Yuan's behavior is different from Chun Yuzhen's. He is not the kind of heroic man who is dedicated to the country. In fact, he has been a little cynical since he was a child, and he doesn't care much about state affairs. Disaster, he is too lazy to argue with him, to argue, since the emperor chooses the person with his eyes open, let the emperor bear the consequences, anyway, he and Chen Bingrong can't work together, so they have to stay here for a while God, and then try to pretend to be sick and resign...
When Chen Bingrong came to the army this time, he only brought Hongmian and a concubine named Caifei with him. Because women were not allowed to enter the army, they were temporarily placed outside.
In order to show his honesty and frugality, Chen Bingrong did not look for a house on Wangfu Street, but found a house near the government office, which happened to be adjacent to the house of Liu Hanxiang and others. For neighbors.
This discovery made Chen Bingrong very excited. He is a womanizer, otherwise he would not have brought two beautiful concubines Hong Mian and Cai Fei here. Seeing a flock of fat sheep, he was immediately overjoyed.
It's just that he just came to Jizhou and was about to establish an upright image for everyone, so he can't attack them for the time being, he can only watch for the time being, and wait for him to stabilize here, and then find the right time to attack.