The road to wealth of a peasant widow

The next day, Chen Cui sent the children to school and drove a mule cart to the county town and went to Chu's Grocery Store.

"Boss Chu, long time no see."

Chen Cui smiled and greeted Boss Chu who was guarding the counter at the time.

When Boss Chu saw Chen Cui with her child, he was all smiles. He quickly took a piece of candy from the counter and handed it to Sui Sui: "I haven't seen you for a while. This child is getting better and better!"

When Sui Sui saw the candy being handed to him, he wanted to reach out to take it immediately, but when he was about to touch the candy, he pulled his hand back.

She looked up at her mother, her little face full of inquiry.

Chen Cui nodded and said, "Since it was given by Boss Chu, just take it. Why don't you thank him?"

A light of joy immediately flashed in the little girl's eyes, and she said softly, "Thank you!" before reaching out to take the candy.

Boss Chu was a little puzzled. This girl, who was not even as tall as the counter, was so knowledgeable about the rules and knew not to take food handed to her by others. This was really surprising!

He gently stroked Sui Sui's little head: "So good!"

The most important thing is that Mrs. Liu is just an ordinary peasant woman, but she can teach her children to be so obedient, which is extremely rare.

"Mrs. Liu, if you come here today and see anything, just take it. I, Old Chu, will give you the cost price."

Boss Chu said with a smile.

Chen Cui also smiled back: "Then I won't be polite!"

In fact, she knew very well that the so-called cost price in the mouths of businessmen was just for reference. It would be good if there was a discount of one or two. It was impossible not to make money from selling goods.

But that’s how businessmen are. They greet and see off guests all day long and are polite to everyone. Every customer is an acquaintance of theirs and they pay everyone “cost price”.

Chen Cui actually had some things to buy, and the first thing she did was weigh out ten kilograms of salt.

The quality of salt sold in the grocery store in town is really poor. Although the salt sold by Boss Chu is not that good either, it is still much better than the one in town.

When Boss Chu was filling the jar with salt, Chen Cui seemed to be chatting with him casually.

"I wonder who owns the newly opened fruit shop in the city. The shop is so grand, and the fruits inside are even kept iced. It's really a big deal. I wonder who has the financial resources to do that!"

Chen Cui sighed.

Boss Chu just happened to know the answer to this question, and when he heard Chen Cui discussing it, he couldn't help but tell her what he knew.

"You've really asked the right person. My brother-in-law is a hanger-on in the government office. The news of the store spread as soon as it opened. It's the business of our county magistrate's wife. How can it not be impressive?"

Boss Chu lowered his voice and said.

Chen Cui was surprised and asked, "Doesn't our county magistrate claim to be fair and honest? Why is his wife..."

It was Muramasa who told her this news. When talking about corn planting before, Liu Youcai said that the newly appointed county magistrate was a man of practical work, different from the previous officials. That was why he had high hopes for this new grain, hoping that he could use it to gain a foothold in front of the county magistrate.

Boss Chu chuckled, "Our county magistrate is naturally like this. Since he took office, the market has become much cleaner, and we businessmen are less exploited. Although we still have to pay some money, the people in the government office don't ask for money or extort money like they did in the past."

"Our county magistrate is a good person, an honest official, but his wife is..." Chen Cui wondered.

"Why do you think our county magistrate doesn't care about this money? It's because he has a rich wife. It is said that the county magistrate has an ordinary family background and studied hard, but his wife's family is very wealthy in Shuzhong, and she is the eldest daughter of the family. Her dowry is more than the wealth of the richest man in the county. With such a wife's wife, the magistrate naturally does not need to rely on exploiting the people to make money. People want to move up, what they want is political achievements, and they cherish their reputation. They will not let a stigma on themselves delay the road to promotion."

Boss Chu had finally met someone who was willing to listen to him, so he naturally told him everything he knew. After taking a sip of herbal tea, he continued.

"Our county magistrate's wife has been living a life of luxury since she was a child. She opened a fruit shop just to satisfy her daily needs and to pass the time. If she really wanted to make money, she wouldn't have left such a good location and only opened a fruit shop. She would have opened a restaurant, a silk shop, or something like that!"

He had been to that fruit shop before, and the business was just so-so. There were only a few wealthy families in the county, and it was impossible for them to buy fruits there all day long.

If he had a shop in such a good location, he would definitely open the largest grocery store in the county, stocking a large variety of goods and encourage everyone to come to his store to buy things.

After hearing this, Chen Cui had a vague impression of the county magistrate and his wife.

Isn't this just a story about a scholar from a poor family and his rich wife? Simply put, it is the story of a Phoenix man and a rich girl. Such things are not uncommon, whether in ancient times or modern times.

Chen Cui couldn't help but sigh, "Then our county magistrate's wife is really in luck. Her family is rich, her husband is ambitious, and she has an imperial decree at such a young age. She has become an official's wife. How enviable!"

Boss Chu sneered and said contemptuously: "That may not be the case!"

Chen Cui cooperated very well and asked in a low voice: "Why, is there something else going on here?"

Boss Chu also lowered his voice: "I heard that our county magistrate's wife has been married for five years and still has no children, but the county magistrate's eldest daughter is about to turn one year old. If the couple is really in love, how could this happen!"

He has been doing business in this city for so many years, he has seen all kinds of people, he is familiar with people and places, and he has heard a lot of gossip about wealthy families. He knows what is going on when he hears something like this!

It's all written in the storybooks. The scholar achieved fame with the help of his wife's family, but he began to dislike the money of the merchant girls because it smelled of copper. He turned around and abandoned his old wife and married the daughter of an official family. Tsk tsk, these scholars!

Although the county magistrate did not remarry, a woman who has been married for five years without having any children must not have an easy life!

Boss Chu was grateful to the county magistrate for protecting his shop from being exploited, but this did not stop him from exploring the official's family affairs with his gossipy heart.

Based on the information he had received from the county magistrate's family, he had already imagined in his mind a story about a foolish woman and a heartless man and an ungrateful scholar, and he sighed inwardly.

After Chen Cui learned what she wanted to know, she stopped asking questions and picked out a dozen suitable jars with wooden stoppers, loaded them into the cart. Then she said goodbye to Boss Chu and drove the mule cart to Baiguofang.

Before leaving, Boss Chu grabbed a handful of preserved fruits and gave them to Sui Sui. The little girl still followed her mother's instructions and only dared to take them after Chen Cui asked her to pick her up. This well-behaved look made Boss Chu very fond of her.

After the mother and daughter finished their shopping and had lunch in the county town, it was already late, so they went straight to the town to wait for the three Changping brothers to finish school so that they could go back together.