Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

The box was about eight inches long and six inches wide.

Si'er carefully picked off the large pieces of mud on the box, then found a piece of cloth, dipped it in water and wiped off the remaining mud.

The box had probably been buried underground for too long, and the iron sheet covering the outside of the box had rusted. If you touched it lightly, you could feel a handful of iron slag.

Si'er squatted down and turned the box over and over twice, finally stopping at the copper lock on the front of the box.

Copper doesn't rust easily and looks pretty good.

Si'er tried to pull it open with his hands, but he was too weak to do it.

Why don’t we go back and look to see if there’s a key buried in the ground?

He did what he said and returned to the courtyard with a small shovel.

*

Li Yu returned home and saw the box in the yard at a glance.

Han Xiaomei also saw it, ran over quickly and walked around it.

"Second sister-in-law, what is this?"

"Ask Si'er." Li Yu turned around and called Si'er's name.

"I'm here." Si'er climbed out of the hole he dug, wiped the sweat off his face and ran out, "Sister Li, you're back."

Li Yu nodded, pointed at the box and asked where it came from.

"I dug it in the courtyard." Si'er said, "Didn't Sister Li say she wanted to plant a tree in the courtyard? So I thought about digging the hole first, but I didn't expect to dig out this thing without paying attention."

Li Yu listened to his words and walked to the gate of the courtyard to see. Sure enough, there was a big pit in the courtyard.

This kid...

I asked him to stay at home today so that he could watch the door and have a rest, but he didn't seem to rest at all.

*

Retracting his gaze, Li Yu walked back to where he was and asked, "Have you found the key?"

"No, I looked everywhere, but I can't find the key."

Li Yu looked up at Lu Xuan and said, "Go find a rock."

After that, she added: "Find something bigger and heavier."

Lu Xuan responded and walked out quickly.

Li Yu squatted down and looked through the box.

Si'er and Han Xiaomei squatted beside her and watched with her.

Not long after, Lu Xuan came back with a stone in his right hand.

Li Yu took it and smashed it against the copper lock.

He hit it once, twice, and then more than ten times, but it was all of no use. The copper lock was still firmly hanging on the wooden box.

After thinking about it, Li Yu put down the stone and asked Lu Xuan to find the axe from the utility room.

She wanted to take it and smash it open, but Lu Xuan leaned over to avoid it, "I'll do it."

Li Yu didn't bother to be polite with him. He pulled Han Xiaomei and the others out of the way and reminded them, "There might be valuable things in there. Be careful with your strength."

Lu Xuan nodded, swung the axe and chopped down.

After a few breaths, there were two clicks, and the rusty iron sheet on the top of the wooden box cracked, with wood chips splashing out from the cracks.

*

Lu Xuan chopped a few more times, and the upper part of the wooden box was completely destroyed. Li Yu felt that it was enough, so he asked him to stop for a while.

After removing the broken wood and iron sheets, Li Yu saw what was inside the box.

At the top is a book titled "Purple Jade Records".

After taking this book away, there is another book underneath, titled "The Golden Hairpin".

This seems to be a storybook that was popular in Beijing a few years ago.

Several people: “…”

In addition to the two books, there was a silver ingot in the box, and nothing else.

Li Yu reached in and took out all the things.

She handed the silver directly to Han Xiaomei. As for the books, she and Han Zheng each took one, and then opened them at the same time under the gaze of Han Xiaomei, Lu Xuan and Si'er.

*

After a while, Li Yu and Han Zheng held the books motionless.

Han Xiaomei leaned over to look at Li Yu's hand and said, "Second sister-in-law, are these two storybooks?"

Li Yu held the book tightly, raised his head and said, "What I have in my hand is not "The Purple Jade Record"."

Han Zheng turned sideways and looked at Li Yu, "What I have in my hand is not The Golden Hairpin either."

Han Xiaomei: “Ah?”

Li Yu quickly handed the book in his hand to Han Zheng, and Han Zheng handed the book in his hand labeled "Purple Jade Record" to Li Yu.

The two of them looked even more slowly this time, and if they hadn't been blinking, Lu Xuan would almost have thought they were asleep.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Li Yu handed him the book in his hand, then called Si'er into the house and said seriously, "Don't tell anyone except us about what you dug out in the courtyard today."

Si Er was worried: "...Are those two books wrong?"

Li Yu shook his head: "Those two books are not storybooks, but account books. Although they are useless to us, since they are buried underground, they must be useful to others.

We don’t know who buried the account book, and we don’t know if that person will come back to look for it, so just in case, don’t let anyone know about it, just pretend nothing happened and you know nothing about it.”

Si Er nodded hesitantly, "I understand, Sister Li, I'll listen to you. So should we bury these two account books back?"

Li Yu: "I will bury them in a few days. For now, I will keep them. You don't have to worry about them. Don't worry, I will make arrangements."

*

Let Si'er follow Han Xiaomei to pick vegetables, while Li Yu, Han Zheng and Lu Xuan sit in the house looking at the account book.

The "Purple Jade Record" records some external expenses. The person who did the accounting is unknown, but the expenses were recorded very clearly.

Like the page that Li Yu had just turned to, it recorded in detail the time, place, things, and objects of expenditure.

but...

Li Yu looked at Zheng Yi and Qin San under the spending objects on the far right. These should all be pseudonyms.

"The Golden Hairpin" records some income, including the time, place and person who gave the gift.

Pseudonyms are also used here. Most names consist of a surname and a number, and only a few look like people's real names.

Li Yu memorized several real names, planning to find out who these people are one day while ensuring his own safety.

As for the two account books, after Han Zheng and Lu Xuan looked at them, she put them away in a hidden place.

*

The pit across the courtyard was filled up by Han Zheng and Lu Xuan at night.

Li Yu didn't plant any trees there because the hole dug by Si'er was too big and it would be weird to plant trees there.

Especially since the shed has not been built yet, planting trees at this time may easily arouse suspicion.

It’s better to fill it up.

But the excavated soil was different from the original soil. In order to prevent others from discovering something was wrong, Li Yu did not allow the people who were building the shed to come to his house the next day.

"My brother-in-law will start attending court in the next few days. We often have guests at home. I am afraid that the guests don't like the banging noises at home, so please wait a few days before going. You can find other work to do in the next few days."

After saying that, Li Yu gave each of them a bag of braised meat.

Several people were flattered, "Madam Li, you are so polite."

They were not the only ones who could build stables in the capital. Even if Madam Li said that they would not be allowed to go there in the future, they had no choice but to accept it. After all, Madam Li was the top scholar's sister-in-law. They, the common people, had no right to fight against the officials.

However, Madam Li not only explained to them, but also gave them food. She is truly a rare good host.

A few people wrapped the braised meat and said that if Li Yu asked them to come, they would go to work without saying a word.

*

This matter was put aside for the time being. Li Yu paid attention to the situation across the campus while doing business as usual.

Another day passed, and it was time for Han Zheng to go to court.