Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

The county magistrate transported all the bandits and the grain from the mountain stronghold back to the yamen, and Xu Qing also drove his oxcart back to the Xu family home.

Wen was worried all night. When she heard some noises outside the courtyard, she immediately got up quietly and found that Xu Qing had returned.

"Honey, you must be exhausted. There's some rice porridge on the stove, which I just cooked, and there's also hot water. You can wash up if you want. Have some milk before you rest. Beibei is a good girl; she's had milk twice and is still sleeping."

Xu Qing was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Hearing Wen's words, after climbing hills and slopes all night, he really should take a shower, eat something, and then go to sleep.

"Sorry for the trouble, mom."

Seeing Xu Qing's tired face, Madam Wen felt heartbroken and quickly went to scoop rice for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing went to Wen's room, looked at her sleeping daughters, and then went to wash up.

Wen brought the rice to Xu Qing's room, along with a small bowl of pickled vegetables to accompany the rice.

Xu Qing returned to her room, drank some rice porridge, and felt comfortable and warm all over.

Although it was summer, it was still a bit chilly on the mountain at night, especially when going down the mountain. My whole body was soaked with dew, and on the way back, I was dried by the wind while sitting in the oxcart.

After finishing a bowl of rice porridge, Xu Qing decided to take a day off and get enough sleep. She then gave Xu Beibei's food rations to Wen Shi.

"Mom, could you please take care of Beibei for another day? I'm so tired. Also, could you have Zhenzhen tell Manager Chen of Zuifenglou?"

I can't deliver the jelly today. If you need grass jelly milk tea, just let Zhenzhen and the others know, and I'll deliver it tomorrow.

Ms. Wen quickly replied, "I told you there's still some Aiyu jade in your room. Your brothers and I made the jelly last night, are you going to deliver it today?"

Xu Qing replied happily, "Since it's done, of course we should deliver it. My eldest brother's legs don't need much effort, so let my second brother deliver it. Mother, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, you really are my treasure."

Sending it there would bring in six taels of silver; why not? Her mother is so sensible.

Wen was very pleased with Xu Qing's praise and urged her to go to sleep as soon as she finished explaining.

Xu Qing lay down peacefully and quickly fell asleep.

The one-armed beggar, along with Xu Zhenzhen and Xu Gong, drove an oxcart to deliver goods and set up a stall. When they arrived in town, the oxcart was surrounded by people as soon as it entered the town gate.

"Where's Madam Xu? Why didn't she come? How are we going to order milk tea if she's not here!"

"Oh dear, I ordered too few yesterday. The customer who didn't get any told me she wanted to come for milk tea this morning. What am I going to do..."

The people surrounding the oxcart were the restaurant owners who had ordered milk tea yesterday to try it out.

Xu Gong, unaware of what was happening, hurriedly explained to the shopkeepers:

"Madam Xu is tired today and is resting at home. Managers, please write down how much you need and I will tell Madam Xu when I get back."

Even a one-armed beggar can write, but he can't reveal that he's just a beggar. How could a beggar possibly know how to read and write?

Xu Zhenzhen added softly, "Please remember to write down the restaurant name, the number of reservations, and the location as requested."

My mother said that even though we don't have to deliver the goods, we still have to write down the address, otherwise we won't be able to find anyone if there's a problem.

Upon hearing that they could continue to order milk tea, the shopkeepers all took out the slips of paper they had prepared beforehand and handed them directly to the one-armed beggar.

A shopkeeper widened his eyes and said, "The milk tea we took back yesterday sold so well, the ladies and wives love it."

I was worried that if I arrived late today, I wouldn't be able to get a reservation because of the long queue, so I wrote it down in advance. I didn't expect you all had the same thought as me!

The other shopkeeper said with a smile, "You're allowed to prepare in advance, but no one else is allowed to prepare?"

The one-armed beggar tidied up the note and handed it to Xu Gong: "Second Master, Zhenzhen and I still need to set up our stall. Please take this note back to Madam Xu after you finish delivering the jelly."

Xu Gong felt extremely uncomfortable and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "What do you mean, Second Master? You're too kind. You don't look much older than me. Just call me by my name."

The one-armed beggar did not refuse. He was grateful and respectful to Xu Qing, and therefore he also respected Xu Qing's family very much.

After handing over the slips of paper, the shopkeepers asked in unison, "Can it be delivered this morning?"

Remembering his mother's instructions, Xu Gong wasn't sure and could only apologize:

"I'll go back and ask my little sister. If she can't deliver it, I'll let everyone know. It will definitely be delivered by tonight at the latest."

After seeing off the shopkeepers, the one-armed beggar went to set up his stall, while Xu Gong delivered jelly to Shopkeeper Chen.

Shopkeeper Chen also wanted to order milk tea. Xu Gong couldn't read, so he had to follow the one-armed beggar's instructions and have Shopkeeper Chen write it down on a piece of paper so he could take it back to Xu Qing.

Watching Manager Chen scribbling a series of words on the paper with a flourish, Xu Gong's urge to learn reached its peak.

If he could write and read, he could have helped his younger sister better in this situation, and it wouldn't have been in vain that she shared the money she earned from her business with him and his older brother.

Xu Gong secretly vowed that when he got back today, he would learn to read with his nieces!

Xu Gong drove the oxcart back. When he left the city, a new notice was posted at the city gate, and a crowd had gathered around it. The oxcart couldn't pass, so he had to wait in the cart until the crowd dispersed.

"Those bandits have been caught, I can finally get a good night's sleep."

"That's right. Ever since our neighboring village was robbed, we've been living in constant fear. We even have to leave someone to keep watch at night."

"The magistrate said that the trial will be held tomorrow, so let's all go and watch."

"No way! What if those bandits aren't beheaded? If they're released, won't they come back to retaliate against us onlookers? Let's not go."

Listening to the crowd's discussion, Xu Gong recalled his younger sister's earlier warning about the bandits' revenge. She hadn't returned home all night, and today she had captured the bandits…

Could it be that my little sister went to catch bandits yesterday?

Xu Gong couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly shouted, "Make way, make way, please make way! The oxcart is coming! I won't be responsible if it hits you!"

The crowd parted to make way, and Xu Gong drove the oxcart back quickly.

……

Today, because the bandits who had been ravaging the village were caught, the townspeople were very happy, and more people went out into the streets.

The one-armed beggar sold out of roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) earlier than usual. After packing up his stall, he went to buy food as usual.

The abandoned Taoist temple housed not only children, but also the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled—all his brothers. With so many people, there was a lot to eat, so he had to buy food and send it to them every day.

As they passed a pastry shop, Xu Zhenzhen stopped in her tracks, and the one-armed beggar also stopped.

"Zhenzhen, would you like some snacks? Let's go buy some, and also bring some back for the baby and Mrs. Xu."

The one-armed beggar was about to step inside when Xu Zhenzhen grabbed his sleeve and pulled him aside.

"Father, look at that person, isn't he the one from the Shi family who caused trouble at our house before?"

The one-armed beggar looked in the direction Xu Zhenzhen was pointing and indeed it was Ding Guihua.

"Let's go buy some snacks and see what she's doing."

The one-armed beggar disagreed: "She's just here to buy snacks, why should we bother her?"

Xu Zhenzhen stomped her foot: "Their family has made a scene several times over my mother's money. This pastry shop is expensive; a small box costs 100 coins."

She doesn't seem like someone who'd spend money on this at all. What if she bought these pastries to cause some trouble? We should go back and warn Mother first.