Chapter 18: Villagers Mobilized
Somehow, Zhou Chongwen felt that the atmosphere in the village was a little strange.
These two days he went out early and came back late, and met more people on the street than he had in the previous month. They whispered to each other from time to time, but quickly dispersed when they saw him and gave him an ambiguous smile from afar.
Is he that ridiculous? Or do the villagers know about Li Bao's marriage proposal and want to see how he will respond? No matter how you think about it, this is just a private matter. Although he has been popular in the village for the past two years, he always feels that this attention seems a little too much.
"Good boy, you are a hidden talent." A sturdy man blocked his way. His dark face, lean figure and the apron splattered with oil and blood around his waist revealed his identity: Li Bao, a professional pig butcher.
Zhou Chongwen was of average height, and Su Luo usually had to look up at him at a 45-degree angle to look him in the eye. Today, compared to Li Baoyi, he was more than two sizes smaller.
"A few days ago, he was pretending to be holding five taels of silver, but now he's giving away twenty taels of silver."
Hearing Li Bao's tone, which was not sure whether it was jealous or envious, Zhou Chongwen was stunned for a moment, his face suddenly sank, and he took big strides and ran straight to the Su family in a hurry and anger.
Su Luo was waiting for Zhou Chongwen for two days. At this time, she was practicing chopping wood in the yard, while Su Yi was sitting in front of the house carving woodblocks in the sun. The spring was warm and joyful, and Zhou Chongwen rushed in. The momentum of breaking into the door made Su Luo's axe almost hit her feet, and also made Su Yi carve the work that he was about to finish.
"Don't keep your word, and eat your own words!"
This was the charge Zhou Chongwen brought against Su Luoding.
Su Luo didn't expect that she would wait for two days for this. She threw the axe away, put her hands on her hips, and refused to give in. "You are ungrateful and repay evil with kindness!"
Zhou Chongwen said that even if I repay kindness with hatred, you were the first to break your promise. You used the things dug out from the mountain just as you said you would. Su Luo was not convinced, and Zhou Chongwen did not waste any words and directly asked to check the silver.
Su Luo's eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth twitched suddenly, as if he wanted to laugh but held it back. Then he put on a miserable and stern look, went into the house and dragged out the box. He lifted it up on the ground, and the white silver scattered all over the floor. Zhou Chongwen also got angry, and squatted on the ground and counted everything. When he counted to ninety-eight, he looked at the two remaining silver bars on the ground and blinked in surprise.
Was he wrong? Did Li Bao mean nothing by the twenty taels he mentioned?
Su Luo pursed her lips, squatted on the doorstep, twisted her neck and didn't look at Zhou Chongwen, to show that she was aggrieved. Zhou Chongwen stuttered for a long time and was unable to fully express what he meant.
Finally, Su Yi couldn't bear it anymore. He frowned and modified the carved work while saying, "My sister took me to Mr. Xie's house the day before yesterday. I took the silver to show Mr. Xie and said, "This is your ancestral property. You lent it to our family for emergency use. We will pay it back next month. I asked Mr. Xie to wait a little longer and not rush to marry Miss Xie off."
Su Luo actually wanted to take the money and ask for marriage for Zhou Si directly, but at the last moment, Zhou Si's righteous figure emerged in her mind, so she changed her words temporarily. The seemingly shrewd Mr. Xie did not doubt her at all, and the thin monkey-like second wife of the Xie family kept asking her what she was going to do with so much money and whether she could guarantee to pay it back on time. It seemed as if she had regarded the money as her own private property.
As a result, Master Zhou's expedition failed, while Miss Su's counterattack was successful. Zhou Chongwen offered to work as a cook and firewood collector for a month to show his guilt, but Su Luo would not let him get away with it so easily. He complained about his grievances with a sly grin, until Zhou Chongwen made a promise in desperation that "anything is fine as long as I can get compensation."
He regretted it the moment he said it, as he had already guessed what Su Luo wanted.
Su Luo glanced at his face and said with a smile, "Are you afraid that I want to use the money now?"
Zhou Chongwen agreed. Su Luo patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry to use the money now. Just leave the money alone. I can wait for a month."
Zhou Chongwen was surprised. "Are you not in a hurry to open a bun shop?"
Su Luo was confused for a long time and said, "You are crazy, why should I open a bun shop?"
Zhou Chongwen asked, "What did you do in town the other day?"
Su Luo blinked, "Go find Bao Zixing... Yes! To discuss opening a steamed bun shop."
Zhou Chongwen shook his head helplessly, with an expression that said, "You can't fool me." He didn't notice that Su Luo rolled her eyes behind him. If he knew about his plan, he would definitely be opposed. So, let it be a bun shop.
Finally, Zhou Chongwen said, "Even if it's next month, I won't use your money to propose marriage."
Su Luo stared at this guy for a long time, then rolled his eyes at him, "You can go if you want."
So the marriage proposal came to a temporary end. No matter what Zhou Si's plan was, Su Luo also won him a month, which was very considerate.
"Did you hear any sound?" Su Luo suddenly spoke, opened the door and stuck his head out.
Another little head popped out, it was Su Yi. Zhou Chongwen squeezed on the other side, watching the villagers carrying hoes and heading out of the village in groups of three or four. They were whispering that they were going to the back mountain to dig for treasure.
Su Luo looked at Zhou Chongwen speechlessly. Zhou Chongwen suddenly regained his memory and remembered that when he rushed into the Su family, he was followed by a group of villagers who were watching the fun. Although they did not follow into the yard, the low wall was enough for them to understand what happened in the yard .
So Zhou Si squatted in the corner to reflect on himself again.
Su Luo did not get complacent because she had a new handle on this guy. She was a little worried that it was not safe for her and her brother to guard such a small amount of money, so she checked the doors and windows carefully every night before going to bed. Fortunately, the villagers of Baolai Village were very simple. After a few days of fear, they did not have any bad ideas about the Su family, but went to the mountains to look for treasures with their whole family. This activity lasted for a long time. As for whether anyone had dug up treasures or dug out a hot spring in the mountains, making Baolai Village a famous hot spring resort, this is another story.
Since the treasure hunt began, the village has become quieter. Zhou Chongwen still goes to the town to set up a stall every day and tries to take on more part-time jobs. Su Luo, on the other hand, is waiting for news from Bao Zixing at home. After more than half a month, Su Luo began to get a little anxious. When she was about to go to Zhuxian Town to inquire about the situation, Bao Zixing arrived.
He brought good news. After receiving the letter, the Duifeng brothers went to various shops to collect some rice samples and asked someone to bring them back for Su Luo to choose. They then went to a slightly farther place to inquire about the latest rice prices. Two days later, they returned to Zhuxian Town to meet with Su Luo.
Su Luo suddenly felt like she had been injected with chicken blood, her blood was boiling, her fighting spirit was soaring, burn, little universe!
