Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather turns cooler and we can finally have some fun in the sun.

The small butcher shop in the north of the city was a bit deserted compared to the bustling pre-holiday scene. When Xia Yiyi and Ji Shouyi, who was pushing a small cart, entered the butcher shop, the butchers rushed to attract customers, "Yiyi, here's some top-notch pig's head meat, look at it!"

"Hey, here's a whole load of pig offal, specially reserved for you!"

"Fresh pork chops just arrived, the meat is firm and tender. They're a rare commodity when delivered to the tavern!"

……

There was inevitable bargaining and gesturing with fingers. Shushu specifically instructed that while the butcher shop's business was slow after the festival and the weather was cool, they should buy more and braise the quantity for the next few days.

Hearing that Xia Aiai was going to purchase a large quantity for a few days, the butcher tried his best to use his trump card of offering a discount for large quantities. Knowing that Shushu was planning to open a store, Aiai made all kinds of publicity, highlighting the excellent craftsmanship of the Ji family and the popularity of their braised meat. She paid a flat price of five taels of silver and bought the meat from a pig vendor's stall. The butcher shop was almost boiling with excitement. Who else but the rich and powerful could be so generous!

This large cart of meat went from street to street and returned to the Ji family in a high-profile manner. All day long, the three large pots never stopped working, the firewood was burning continuously, and the aroma of the braised meat filled the air. Wangshu had been surrounded by the smell of cooked meat for a long time and was so used to it that he no longer noticed its fragrance. Instead, it attracted the children of the neighborhood to take deep breaths all day long, and the millet porridge he drank was tasteless.

The neighbor who had earned money from Ji's father and mother for pearl hairpins and red hairbands for girls for many years now came to the door with a lot of copper coins or goods to exchange for braised meat.

"I just ate a lot of mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. When I smelled the smell of your house, I was so greedy that I cried. This child is really greedy!"

Xia Xiaoxiao was very happy, "Eat more meat and grow taller! In the future, he will be taller and more capable than his father!"

You can get as many free compliments as you want. Anyone who comes to buy meat will get it for free.

Wangshu had just ordered ten bundles of firewood from a shirtless old farmer who was selling firewood, and asked Ji Shou to go home with the man and use his old donkey to pull the cart to save effort and save the old farmer from running back and forth.

"We need thick, dry firewood that lasts long." Wangshu pointed to the bundle of firewood he had just collected. "We can't do any worse than this."

The shirtless old farmer was dark and thin, with a hunched back and prominent cheekbones. The wind and frost of years of hard work were like knives on his face and body...

He was too simple. Upon hearing this, he hurriedly said humbly and sincerely, "I'm a fire-resistant person. I've been chopping wood all my life. Selling firewood is a good thing..."

The smaller the business, the more conscientious people are when earning a few cents of hard-earned money. But in big businesses, conscience is no longer a concern.

The two men and the donkey made two trips and brought back all the firewood in an orderly manner and piled it up against the wall on the side of the elm tree in the yard.

Wangshu paid the copper coins and gave him some leftover braised meat. "These will last my family half a month. If your firewood is good, you can pass by my house and knock on the door in ten days. I will buy it from you."

"Okay, okay, young lady, you really have a kind heart. I'll come back in ten days." He kept bowing with his back hunched.

Wangshu asked people about the local specialties and agricultural products of the village. As they asked and answered questions, the old man and the young boy had a very intimate chat.

At this time, the Kitchen God was in the courtyard. A neighbor lady who had seen this scene in the yard approached Xia Xiaoxiao who was cutting meat and lowered her voice, "Your daughter has really been reborn since her illness. She treats people well and manages household chores like a natural!"

How could that be? Shushu is very smart, but she wasn't born with the talent. "Look at what you said, Madam Li. Look at her left index finger wrapped in cloth. She came here to help with the knife this morning and it's already bleeding. Shushu is very smart and a very hardworking young lady."

The crooked ridge in the yard was not created to be like that by nature, but Shushu never complained no matter how much hardship he had to endure, except when he was sick, then he would become discouraged and want to commit suicide.

"That's right, that's right. I heard from my wife that your future son-in-law is also very young and promising. Master Ji and Madam Ji will be blessed in the future!"

"Then I will accept your kind words, Madam Li!"

"Madam, Yaocheng is flooded with refugees from other places right now. They have families and it's hard to find a place to stay. I heard that some unmarried ladies are interested in marrying off soldiers with outstanding looks and martial arts skills! Many ice men are waiting at the gates of the military camp. They're here to act first and quickly find a matchmaker for them!"

"So casual?"

"I won't tell this to anyone except you. Although your future son-in-law's family is not prominent, he is now a centurion. Many concubines' daughters from well-off families don't care too much about him. I'm afraid they will have some ideas about your son-in-law!"

Xia Xiaoxiao sent Lady Li away and quickly told Lady Ji what she had said. Lady Ji was busy sewing and wasn't worried at all. "Of course, the concubine's family is prosperous and can lend him a hand. But Xiuyuan is a strong-willed person with good character, so there's no need to worry too much. If something unexpected happens, Shushu hasn't married him yet, so we won't suffer any loss."

Madam Ji knew her daughter had received a large sum of money from Qin Xiuyuan, perhaps even spending all her family's savings. She wondered where to go. While these two couldn't be said to be in love or have a deep relationship, they knew each other well and were convinced of each other. Of course, she only shared this letter with her husband and kept it a secret from her.

If an unmarried woman secretly accepts a large sum of money and property from her fiancé, it will definitely damage her reputation if the news gets out.

"Madam Li also said that my aunt's cousin has been getting close to the third young master of General Qin's mansion lately."

Madam Ji was stunned. "The Third Young Master is already engaged..." The other party is the daughter of the Governor of Youzhou. Is her niece going to be a concubine? Then she thought it through. "After all, she is a concubine from a high-ranking family."

Not to mention the four young masters, General Qin was already forty years old, and there was an endless stream of women offering themselves to be his concubines. After all, it was a well-known top family in the northwest.

"Yes, but my lady, I'm sorry for being nosy. Should Shushu's marriage be put on the agenda now?"

Wedding preparations can take as little as half a year, or as long as one or two years. Shushu is already eighteen years old, which is not young at all. But she is the only sweetheart in the family. When Ji's mother reminded Ji's father last time, Ji's father covered his ears and shook his head violently, "My daughter is still young, there is no rush!"

My husband probably thinks that his daughter will be sixteen years old all her life, is still young, cannot leave her parents, and cannot get married yet!

"Let Shushu take care of this. Her father can't be relied upon!"

Xia Aiai covered her mouth and laughed, "I'm afraid if Shushu goes out, Master will cry like a tearful man! Cry, cry, cry, marry, maybe Shushu won't cry, but Master won't be able to stop crying."

Madam Ji thought about it and realized that it was indeed true. She touched the horse on the embroidery frame and said, "Don't mention him. I can't bear to let him go either!"

A piece of embroidery takes several days or even months to complete, and one feels reluctant to hand it over, especially since it is one's only daughter.

I hope that she will grow up healthy, happy, sensible and well-mannered, and be able to stand on her own feet early. But when she is really about to stand on her own feet, I feel sad that she is about to leave and we will see each other so seldom in the future... She is still young, and I can't wait for her to grow up. When she grows up, I wish she could still be little and stay by my side... Being a parent is really a dilemma and a contradiction, alas!

The martial arts training ground in the northeast of Yaocheng.

The burly General Qin sat at the head of the table, flanked by generals who had fought alongside him for years. His four sons sat at the lower levels, one on each side. The competition on the martial arts field was in full swing, a fierce and intense contest. The two competitors were Qin Xiuyuan and his former cavalry commander, Duan.

The two spears with red and blue tassels without their gun heads were fired back and forth. Both men held the reins with one hand, rode tall horses, attacked left and right, and held the gun in their right hand. You fired a shot in the face, and I blocked it flexibly. This went on for more than a hundred times, and the winner was not decided for a long time. One side was young and strong, with a flexible body and good dodging skills, while the other side was experienced, powerful, skilled in horse control, and kept attacking.

Li Fugui's heart was in his throat at the martial arts arena. He clasped his hands together, muttering to himself, not daring to open his eyes. "Buddha and Bodhisattva, bless you! Buddha and Bodhisattva, bless you!" How could it be that Duan Qi Du came to challenge in the end? The four young masters still had a 50% chance of success...

"Meeting Commander Duan is tough!" Duan was renowned for his strength; in a bare-handed fight, he could easily send someone flying with a single hand. Seeing Qin Xiuyuan unable to control his horse, the brown horse took another heavy shot to the tailbone. The horse, agitated, leaped up with its front hooves and neighed loudly.

"No more! No more!" the brothers around him continued to predict.

Li Fugui even closed his eyes tightly, not daring to leave even a crack, "Please, Buddha, Bodhisattva!!"

Everyone stretched their necks and waited closely, waiting for the brown horse, which was jumping high in pain, to get out of control, waiting for Duan Qidu to swing his spear and attack again.

Duan Qi Du indeed seized this rare opportunity, and swung his spear with his right hand from behind Qin Xiuyuan's back with great force. The wind from the spear was fierce. At this moment, he held the reins tightly to control the horse's speed. Qin Xiuyuan kicked the saddle with both feet and stepped on the horse's back. He quickly supported the horse with his left hand, and stood upside down on the horse's back with one hand, dodging the fatal blow from behind. His right hand quickly gathered power and struck diagonally from the back. Duan Qi Du was not prepared for his amazing riding skills. He wanted to retract the Blue Tassel Spear, but was entangled by Qin Xiuyuan's quickly falling legs. In a panic, he quickly dodged sideways, but after all, he had no weapon and was soon knocked off the horse.

"Commander Duan, I appreciate your submission."

The twists and turns, and the outstanding performance on the spot made the whole audience boil. Amidst the overwhelming cheers, "Congratulations to the general for having another young and powerful general."

"Congratulations, General! There are so many talented people here!"

"The future is terrifying!"

Li Fugui, who was still begging desperately, was instantly swept up by the overwhelming shouts of "Qin Xiuyuan! Qin Xiuyuan!" He jumped up and down, as happy as if it were New Year's Day, "I told him he could win!!"

He bet a tael of silver! Not only did he not lose, he doubled it! He won! Haha!

A clerk congratulated Ji's father, "Ji Shuwen, this is a great joy. A feast at Xiangyun Tower is a must!"

Father Ji was laughing so hard that he couldn't stop smiling. His daughter had given him ten taels of silver that morning, and specifically asked Qin Xiuyuan to bet on it. "If you lose, it's my daughter's. If you win, we'll both take half."

He had five taels of silver in hand, and with money in his pocket, he spoke with confidence, "Of course, of course. When you come back from your holiday, we clerks will have to show off!"