Porridge and side dishes [farming]

The two talked about it, and there was no conflict. The vegetables grown on the windowsill grew better and better.After more than ten days, there is no shortage of vegetables at home.With fresh ones, there will be less pickles at home.

The newly caught male rabbit quickly adapted to the environment. Although sometimes he would try to escape from the prison, he was not afraid at all, even if he ran away, he would be able to catch him back.The roe deer skin was exchanged for a few coins, and the family's savings were already four or five taels, which was more than enough to build a bigger thatched cottage.

When Li Ji is free, he counts the money one by one. Now the money saved by the family is richer than most people in the village. The key is that others have saved money for many years or even the older generation. The silver is only earned by Er Gouzi in one winter.

If this momentum persists for two years, there will be no richer people in this village, and the money earned will be enough to last a lifetime even if they don't do anything in the future.

Li Ji is greedy, greedy for money and also greedy for enjoyment.But when I think that Er Gouzi risked his money to earn it from the mountain, he feels uncomfortable, and the money feels hot in his hand.

Li Ji spends Ergouzi’s money, and it’s lavish, but everything he buys is enjoyed by the two of them together. What Li Ji thinks in his heart is to let Ergouzi go up the mountain as little as possible in the future, and wait a few years for Ergouzi to go up the mountain. Gouzi is used to life down the mountain, so don't go hunting on the mountain anymore.

The chickens at home are well raised, and the rabbits are just starting out, and they look good. With the few taels of silver in hand, I can buy a cow to plow the land in the spring, and buy two pigs so that I can eat pork in the winter.

Cows can be rented out when they are used up. Pigs are one male and one female. After the sows give birth, the male pigs are killed to eat meat, and the new piglets are raised separately.

It is said that the poor eat pigs, and the rich eat cattle and sheep.The pigs can breed two litters a year, and there is still a lot of meat. If they are raised, it will be enough to feed Er Gouzi's meat needs.

Li Ji calculated this, and stood at the door watching Er Gouzi chop up a rooster.

There are fewer and fewer roosters, and if you eat another three or five roosters, you will not be able to eat any more. Otherwise, the number of roosters will not be enough, and the eggs laid by the hens will not be guaranteed.

How could the chickens bought for building the chicken coop be enough to eat?Later, I bought it a few times in the village, and forced the hen to hatch two litters of cubs, which are now half-grown, thanks to the fact that the chicken house is big enough to support them.

Now there are more than 30 big and small chickens in total. They eat one chicken every five or six days. Many chicks hatched in winter die, and they need higher temperature. I have to go to the village to buy chickens.

There are quite a few families in the village who raise chickens, ducks and geese, basically ten or eight. No one has as much food as Li Ji's family, and no one is willing to do so.

This year's winter has been longer, Li Ji would stand in the yard and look out every day, thinking in his heart that spring will start soon.

Maybe God heard Li Ji's prayer, and the weather is getting better day by day, getting warmer every day.

The courtyard of Li Ji's house was clean, and the snow was cleared out in time. One day, Li Ji walked out of the courtyard and took two steps, stepping on the snow and lifting it up to stick a piece of snow on his feet.Li Ji took off the snow and held it in his hand, grabbed the snow with his hand and let the water flow out.The viscosity increases, and when there is water in the hand, it means that the snow has begun to melt.

After the snow melts, winter will go and spring will come, and the long-awaited spring plowing will not be far away.

Li Ji called Er Gouzi to let him have a look: "After the snow melts, the weather will be hot and the leaves will come out, so we can plant the land! We can plant in the yard, and there are still many places in the field outside. The yard You may not have enough vegetables to eat in the field, and you are afraid of being stolen in the field. We can grow some in the house, but if we can’t, we will plant stick rice, leaving a space in the middle, and we will plant other things in it when the stick rice grows taller. .But there is no sun, and watering is also laborious."

Li Ji seemed to be talking to Er Gouzi again, but in fact he was talking to himself. The left and right Er Gouzi couldn't understand, and Er Gouzi basically played the role of a tree hole in Li Ji's place.

Er Gouzi also knew this, squatting beside Li Ji and listening carefully, no matter whether he could understand or not, Er Gouzi has always been a qualified listener.

"Forget it, I'll buy it from the villagers when I don't have enough to eat. Anyway, this thing is not worth much, and the food bought for a few pennies is enough for the two of us to eat for two days."

This year I still plant stick rice, that is, more corn, and less potatoes. Er Gouzi loves potatoes. The potatoes I eat this winter are still the ones planted in my yard. I will plant a few ridges this year, even if I can’t eat them and sell them. Good sale.

The more Li Ji thinks about it, the more he feels that the future is bright. This day is really promising. Looking back on the days of the past two years, it is incomparable.

It took only a few days to melt the snow, and the ground was muddy for a few days. Li Ji's yard was clean and free of snow, and the terrain was relatively high, so the yard was always clean. Li Ji seldom moved around these two days because he hated the ground outside. It was very dirty, and there were dull people on the left and right, so they hid at home for a few days.

After the ground was completely dry, except for a little snow in Gelari, the rest had basically melted away. There were more walks in the village, and Er Gouzi could no longer sit still.

Er Gouzi has been in the nest for nearly a month, and Li Ji knew that he was overwhelmed, so he didn't stop him.

"When you meet a rabbit on the mountain, you can catch it alive and bring it back. If you can't meet it, you don't have to look for it. Anyway, our bunny is quite big, and the big female rabbit looks a little bigger. Maybe it's bringing cubs again, so You don't have to run all the way to find me, just come back early, remember, don't care if you don't catch anything, as long as you come back properly, you know?"

Er Gouzi nodded while wearing the patched torn padded jacket.There is a lot of cotton in this old padded jacket. Although it is ugly, it keeps warm. It doesn't feel bad if it is scratched by a tree branch when going up the mountain. Er Gouzi will wear it every time he goes up the mountain.

This time Li Ji didn't send him to the entrance of the village, and let Er Gouzi go by himself. He still has a lot of things to do at home.

After feeding the chickens and rabbits, watering the vegetables on the window sill, and sweeping the yard, when Li Ji was free, he would sit by the window and pluck the green onion leaves on the window sill to eat.This green onion leaf is spicy when eaten in a large bite, and sweet when eaten in a small amount.

It's delicious when you eat it, but it stinks when people smell it. Generally, good-looking people won't eat it, but this village is full of mud legs, who can dislike anyone?No one will care about this.

After eating green onion leaves for a long time, when he heard the sound of the door opening, Li Ji's first reaction was that Er Gouzi had returned, but then he realized that Er Gouzi was unlikely to come back at this time.

"Fourth Uncle?" The voice of the visitor was crisp and sweet, and a small head came in first.

Li Ji had unfinished green onion leaves in his mouth, and when he looked back, it was Li Qiaoer who hadn't come for a while.

"Why did you come here?" Li Ji stuffed the remaining onion leaves into his mouth, stood up and smiled.

Li Qiaoer's quietness is still looking in the house: "Where is Brother Ergou?"

"I'm going up the mountain." Hearing that she was looking for Er Gouzi, Li Ji felt uncomfortable, and said with a smile on his face, "I have to come back in the afternoon, it's just a coincidence, Er Gouzi hasn't gone up the mountain for nearly a month, just today I went, and missed you."

Li Qiaoer's face was bright red, and she smiled coquettishly: "Fourth Uncle, don't make fun of me. Brother Ergou is a capable person. Who in our village can compare to Brother Ergou. He can hunt far in the mountains, and he can also hunt with something nice."

Hearing Li Qiaoer's shy praise, Li Ji felt even more uncomfortable, which of course wouldn't let Li Qiaoer see it: "That's right, when I brought Er Gouzi back, there wasn't much food at home, and Er Gouzi was so filthy. I can eat it, and I was thinking about selling charcoal to earn two copper coins to eat bran swallowed vegetables this winter, but it turned out that I borrowed him to eat spicy food all the time."

What Li Ji said was the truth. Li Qiaoer walked in to take a look at the things in the house. Many of them were bought after Er Gouzi came. Compared with the penury before, the changes now can be described in big words. ?

"That's because of your kindness, fourth uncle. Brother Gao's family searched all over Li's family and seniors, and brothers of the same generation also searched for a lot, but they refused to accept them. Finally, they found you here. At the beginning, everyone thought Brother Ergou was a burden. Hiding far away, fourth uncle, you are so kind to take him home because you are hungry, so now you should enjoy this blessing." Li Qiaoer laughed.

What Li Qiaoer said was the truth. As I said before, Gao Liehu’s family also approached Li Qiaoer’s family, and wanted Li Qiaoer’s father, Li Shuisheng, to adopt the second dog. At that time, Li Shuisheng shook his head like a rattle, and now he regrets it. It was every time I heard that Er Gouzi went up the mountain and hit something and came back.

So Li Qiaoer could hear her father urging her to come over and get close to Er Gouzi more often when she was at home every three days or so. After marrying Er Gouzi, Li Shuisheng would not have to worry about it for the rest of her life.

After all, Li Qiaoer is a girl with a thin skin. She hasn't come here for a long time. Recently, she also misses Er Gouzi, and was urged by her father again, so she mustered up the courage to come here, but when she came, she even went up the mountain.

"Er Gouzi is capable, I just happen to be." Li Ji gave Li Qiaoer some candied fruit to eat, but Li Qiaoer was not polite, after eating two yuan, there was nothing to do inside and outside the house, so he said to help Li Qiaoer. Ji made lunch.

Every time Li Qiaoer came over, the excuse was to help the two old men cook, although it was an excuse to cause gossip, if she didn't do anything and left for a while, it would be even more gossip.

Li Ji nodded in agreement, and let Li Qiaoer cook the food. Li Qiaoer had eaten here, and knew how much to cook, so Li Ji went to the chicken house to see how the rabbits were doing.

Grab some soybeans and throw them in, and the rabbits will eat them when they see them.Li Ji looked at the bouncing rabbits and was still thinking about something. Er Gouzi didn't want to marry a wife. Even if he kept this idea in the future, what should he do in the future?What do the villagers think of him?

There are quite a few bachelors in the village, but they are all incompetent and not decent people. Normally, anyone with decent conditions can marry a wife. Whether a person has a wife is a sign of whether a person is a waste or not.

When Li Qiaoer finished all the dishes, Li Ji didn't think of a reason. Li Qiaoer came over to say hello and leave, so Li Ji gave Li Qiaoer three of the newly laid eggs and told her to go home and divide them up as a thank you. help.

At this time, the chicken hadn't resumed laying eggs, and the eggs were still rare, so Li Qiaoer took them.

Li Ji didn't want to understand, so he simply didn't want to.Enlarge the ventilation hole and burn a small brazier and put it above the corner of the chicken house to heat up. Find a warm place in the chicken house to put the nest and eggs.

The chickens are in the mood to hatch when the temperature is warmer. Seeing that the weather is getting hotter, it is better for the chicks to hatch earlier.

Back in the house, the vegetables in the pot were still stewed. When I opened it, I saw stewed sauerkraut inside. Li Qiaoer didn't ask him about the meat, so it was just stewed sauerkraut.

The sauerkraut was bought from someone else in the village, as was the cabbage.Li Ji thought this year can't be like this, the left and right yards are big, and it's good to order a variety of cabbages.

Cover the pot, the fire in the stove is almost gone, the left and right vegetables are stewed, and the sauerkraut will not be so delicious if you add firewood and sauerkraut.

Li Ji is squatting on the edge of the stove to peel garlic. He likes to eat sauerkraut with garlic sauce. The so-called garlic sauce is actually mashed garlic with some soy sauce. Sometimes vinegar is added. Peel more garlic and eat with bread dumplings at night. , if Er Gouzi hunts big prey, use fresh ones, if not, the meat is still frozen at home.

After peeling the garlic, Li Ji was chopping, when he heard movement in the yard again, he poked his head out with a kitchen knife in his hand to have a look. Er Gouzi came back, his face was flushed from the cold, and he was looking at the white prey with blood on his shoulder.

Li Ji hurried over to see if the two dogs were injured, but fortunately, it was just a tear in their clothes, and some cotton flew out.Every time he went up the mountain, his clothes were always torn, and Li Ji got used to it, so he went to see Er Gouzi's prey.

The prey had a long tail, and Li Ji could barely guess it just by looking at the second half: "Is this a fox?"

Er Gouzi nodded, went into the house and threw the fox on the ground.

Li Ji squatted on the ground to have a look. The wound on the hind leg looked like a tooth bite. It was a pity that he smashed his mouth: "But this skin is torn, and this white fox has less stray hairs, only a little stray hair on the back, which is worth more than ordinary fox fur." old money."

Er Gouzi said: "If you can't catch a fox in winter, it might be looking for food. When I saw it, it was almost dead, bleeding too much."

No wonder the wound was on the hind leg.Because Er Gouzi twisted the neck when he caught the smaller prey, and the big prey would see blood.

"Then you rest for a while. I don't dare to pick the skin. You have to do this job. You came back early today. How about rewarding you with dumplings? I'll use foxes as stuffing."

When Er Gouzi heard that he was refreshed after eating, he nodded in agreement, sat down to drink tea and began to peel the skin.

After picking up the fox skin, Li Ji sent it to Gao Orion's house as soon as possible, and sent it to Gao Orion. Before leaving, he asked Er Gouzi to shave all the fox meat and chop it into minced meat.

Li Ji was in a good mood and hummed along the way. Although this fox fur was incomplete, it was also a white fox fur, which must be very valuable.

Although Li Ji has shallow eyelids, he has also heard about the price of some skins.Those ladies are all fashioned to wear clothes made of fox fur. They like to use white foxes the most, but white foxes are much less than red foxes. It is said that rare things are more expensive. Li Ji has never seen the market and can’t say the price, but he knows for sure. Quite a few.

Li Ji walked briskly to Gao Orion's house. When he arrived outside the courtyard, Gao Orion's daughter-in-law was sweeping the yard. Hearing the sound, he looked up and saw that the God of Wealth had come. Li Ji usually didn't come, but once he came, it meant that the family was going to make money again, and it happened to be planned. This year, building a new house and having two children all cost money, so seeing Li Ji was particularly happy and enthusiastic.

"Fourth Uncle is here! You said you didn't say hello in advance, so I can kill chickens and buy wine." Gao Orie's daughter-in-law hurriedly welcomed him into the house.

"You're welcome, I'm not an outsider."

Gao Orion, who entered the room, heard the voice and responded: "Fourth Uncle is here? Did Er Gouzi bring some leather?"

Li Ji handed over the fox fur that had started to harden: "Look at this."

Seeing the high color of the fur, Orion was stunned, and hurriedly took the skin over for a closer look: "This... this is fox fur!"

Li Ji just had a concept, but Gao Orion knew the value of it.When I was young, I heard from my grandfather that there were white foxes on the mountain, and one of those things would be enough for the whole family to eat for most of their lives. Although this one is not pure white fox fur, it has a bit of fur, and it is not complete, it was bitten to pieces. But that is also a precious treasure.

"This is what Er Gouzi picked up today. I saw it dying just as I went up the mountain. It must be because I was hungry and came out to look for food. I encountered some kind of beast. I don't know how it escaped. Cheaper for my second dog."

This high hunter is jealous, he has been hunting for half his life, but he has never had such a good job.

Gao Orion put his hand on the leather and stroked it carefully. This is the white silver.

After Li Ji finished speaking, he said with a smile: "Then help me estimate how much this thing can sell for?"

Gao Orion fell into deep thought, and didn't rush to answer. Li Ji waited, thinking that this thing was too rare.

Gao Liehu thought for a while, and then said with a happy face: "It's worth ten taels of silver at least."

Li Ji was also taken aback when he heard that, he didn't expect it to be so valuable, such a piece of leather was worth more than all the previous leathers.

Li Ji is greedy for money, his gums almost burst out of laughter when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Then please help me sell it, the old rule is to give you [-]%, and then give me [-] taels of silver."

When Gao Liehu heard that Li Ji was so happy, he hurriedly shouted to his wife: "It's in the house! You go and find out how much money is left in our house, take it all out and find a round number for fourth uncle! Hurry up!"

Gao Orie's daughter-in-law heard that this was a big deal.Busily went to find out the money box, and counted out five liang of silver from it.

Gao Liehu gave Li Ji even the silver and copper coins, and said, "I'll give you these first, and I'll buy the fox skin later, and then I'll give you the rest."

Li Jiyuan wanted to push it away, and give it to him when he sells out a piece, but after thinking about the warmer weather, he would take Er Gouzi to the city for two days to buy some things, which would cost a lot of money, so he put it in his pocket first.

In fact, the money was also earned by Gao Liehu from Li Ji Ergouzi, and Li Ji didn't have any psychological burden to hold it.

Li Ji thought he hadn't eaten yet, kicked the money, stood up and was about to leave.

Gao Liehu and his wife sent Li Ji to the gate all the way, and said with a smile that Li Ji must come over after two days of killing chickens.

It is not easy to eat meat in the village, and every household is willing to raise ten or eight chickens, and some people even keep them to sell eggs or sell chickens to earn copper coins. When guests come.

Li Ji's pockets were bulging, and he was in a great mood. Before he got home, he could hear the sound of chopping meat inside. When he entered, the voice said cheerfully, "Er Gouzi, we've made a lot of money!"

Er Gouzi stopped his movements and turned his head, seeing Li Ji's joyful expression, he also laughed.

"Do you like this kind of fur?" Er Gouzi didn't know the fox's name.

"Yes! The pure white ones are the best! The more complete and whiter the more valuable! Just such a piece of skin with mixed fur can be sold for enough money for the two of us for several years." Li Ji stretched out his hand and patted Er Gouzi on the shoulder. , very satisfied.

"I'll catch more from now on." Although foxes are difficult to catch, Er Gouzi has never caught them before. He didn't catch them very much before. It's because foxes are not good at cunning and catch less meat. It's better to catch roe deer, which saves effort. Since Li Ji likes it, he will try to find more ways to make Li Ji happy in the future.

Looking at Er Gouzi's appearance, he knew that Er Gouzi would still be able to catch him. Li Ji couldn't hold back, so he pulled Er Gouzi's neck and kissed Li Ji's forehead.

In Li Ji's heart, this action is a kind of reward, which is often seen between older brothers and sisters.Or the elders are to the juniors, Er Gouzi is two years older than Li Ji, but in terms of seniority, Li Ji is Er Gouzi's fourth uncle, so there is nothing wrong with kissing like this out of love for the juniors.

Er Gouzi's eyes lit up, Li Ji kissed him without drinking, it was because of the white prey that was hard to catch, then he will catch more in the future, will Li Ji be able to kiss him often?

With this idea, Er Gouzi became more determined to catch more foxes in the future.

In a good mood, Li Ji wanted to drink two cups again. Although he had bad memories before, wine is innocent, and it would be nice to have another two sips when he was in a good mood.

Li Ji went to buy a catty of wine, not much, it would be good to drink less for a few days.

Er Gouzi's eyes lit up when he saw the wine. In his eyes, wine has been equated with some kind of activity. It's just that last time he bought wine, Li Ji got sick, so he didn't dare to buy wine again. It's Li Ji.

In the evening, the dumplings were made, and the sun was setting in the west, and it was getting dark. After the dumplings were cooked, two side dishes were fried, and the two sat opposite each other and poured some wine.

"Hmm! Delicious! I've heard that fox meat is a mountain delicacy, and this is the first time I've eaten it! It's also delicious as a dumpling stuffing. Come on, Er Gouzi, eat more!"

After picking up a dumpling for Er Gouzi, Li Ji took a big sip from his wine glass.I couldn't stand this wine when I first drank it, but I got used to it after drinking it more often.

Li Ji poured himself another drink, and unknowingly drank half of a catty of wine by himself.

When he was half drunk, he heard a knock on the door outside. Er Gouzi got down from the table to open the door, and a person came in.

The man was trembling with his hands, and when he saw Li Ji first called fourth grandfather, Li Ji took a closer look and saw that it was Li Changfa from his own family.

"Fourth grandpa! Did you sell a fox skin today?"

Li Ji was stunned, and the news spread in the village: "Yeah? I sold it for a lot of money. It all depends on Er Gouzi." Li Ji couldn't control his emotions after drinking a little wine, and began to show off Er Gouzi to others. The child is powerful.

Li Changfa slapped his thigh: "Oh, you have no conscience! What did Lao Gao's family tell you? Did they say that fox fur is worth ten taels of silver?"

"That's right!" Li Ji heard that his tone was wrong, whether Li Ji was drunk or stupid, he could tell that there must be something wrong.

"When I relieved myself just now, I heard the truth. That damned fox said that the fox fur was worth at least 20 taels of silver, and he could make 12 taels of silver just by changing hands. He earned a lot from the price difference."

Li Ji's first reaction when he heard this was not to believe it. The business is doing well these days, but Li Ji is not stupid. Thinking about it, he knows that Li Changfa does not seem to be lying.

Because the fact that he asked Gao Orion to sell the skins to raise 20% of the profit did not spread. Only two families knew about this. Earning 12 taels, if Li Changfa made up such a thing, it would be impossible to know.

Li Ji frowned and asked, "Are you serious?"

Li Changfa walked over and rubbed his chapped hands: "Can I lie to you? We are from the same family, and you are my elder. I can fool no one and I can't fool you. I heard they said that they will run to the city in the middle of the night tonight." Li rushed in and sold it, so you don’t have to react and ask him for it, and then I will send you the money to silence you, and you don’t know where he sold it, so he will definitely earn the money.”

This is a full 12 taels of silver. It takes five or six years to save a copper coin without spending a long time working outside. As long as you earn it in your pocket, even if you are found out, you will break with Li Ji. Li Ji can't grasp the evidence. Don't blame him, the 12 taels of silver are enough to eat if you don't do business.

Of course Li Ji wanted to understand this, and immediately slapped the table: "Did you hear that it's tonight?"

Li Changfa said: "If you don't believe me, let's find two people to block it at the entrance of the village. If you don't block Fourth Grandpa in the middle of the night, you can slap me a few times in the face!"

Li Changfa has said so, that is to say, he is fully sure that Li Ji got off the kang and called the second dog. Li Ji is a well-known honest person in the village, and he is usually not willing to go out for nothing serious.But being honest doesn't mean being fooled by someone as a fool!

It is kind enough to let them earn [-]% of the silver by running an errand, but if they are not satisfied, they dare to make the difference!And there's such a big price difference!

Er Gouzi is very sensitive to Li Ji's emotions. After getting off the ground and getting dressed, his temperament has changed under the influence of Li Ji's emotions. Those eyes are the same as those of Li Ji when he first met him, like a man who can feel at any time. A wolf pup who might bite.

Li Ji was not afraid of Er Gouzi, and was very satisfied with this momentum, patting Er Gouzi on the shoulder to show encouragement.

Li Changfa had never seen it before, so he was taken aback and deliberately stayed away.

After going out, Li Ji asked Li Changfa to find a few young and strong men, and they squatted at the gate of Gao Orion's house and at the entrance of the village, and found that they used cuckoo calls as signals.

It said it was late at night, but in order to prevent him from worrying about leaving early, it’s okay to start squatting now. Li Ji’s promise was ten copper coins per person.This is almost free money, how can anyone not keep it?Everyone was full of energy, for fear of missing ten copper coins.

Li Ji and Er Gouzi are both at the entrance of the village, and it is still relatively cold at night. Li Ji is wearing a thick coat, and sitting there with his hands folded is boring, counting the stars in the sky to play, the moon is quite big tonight, and things on the road are very good Clear, so I can only hide in the bushes. Fortunately, the mosquitoes have not come out at this time, except for the cold, the rest can hold on.

Ergouzi found the hiding place and stood there without moving, staring at the village, just like when he was hunting.

Li Ji has never seen what Er Gouzi looks like hunting. The Er Gouzi he is familiar with is the silly big guy who can make him beautiful for a long time with a smile, so it is hard to imagine Er Gouzi on the mountain. How to face those ferocious beasts and hunt them.

Li Ji thought for a while, walked up to Er Gouzi and said in a low voice: "If you really want to catch someone, don't kill him, that Gao is not a prey, don't kill anyone, just catch it, and send it to him immediately." In the ancestral hall, if this matter is true, it will be endless!"

There is no village where seniority is not respected. Those big official families may use money and power to talk, but in this poor mountain valley with similar status and family property, it is that seniority crushes people to death, and Li Ji suppresses hunters according to seniority. On the one hand, he was a member of his father's generation, and it was treason for Gao Orion to lie to Li Ji.

This is no longer a matter of fraud, it can be charged with unfilial piety.Even if the village lynches and kills people and makes trouble to the government, the government will turn a blind eye, and the government will not care too much about family affairs.

Of course Li Ji wouldn't make such a big fuss, but he wouldn't let Gao Orion go easily either.Looking back now, Gao Orion was a little bit wrong during the day, and this time he dared to make a false report to make a difference, so it was possible to do this kind of thing before.

Li Ji didn't understand the market, even if he was waived, he didn't know about it. This time, he only knew about it because Li Changfa overheard it. If it wasn't for Li Changfa, he would only get more money from him in the future.

Looking at the moon, it's already late at night, the weather is a bit cold, and the original vitality has been worn down little by little. Li Jilai walked back and forth a few times, thinking that he can't stand the torment at night, if he really can't, go back today, at worst tomorrow Counting silver during the day.

At this time, I heard a few cuckoos in the village, and I had to admire those young men for their imitation.

"Everything is ready, people are coming! Er Gouzi?"

Er Gouzi responded, and his body became even more tense.

After half a cup of tea, I heard the sound of brisk footsteps not far away. The man was obviously in a good mood, and he was humming an out-of-tune tune. He was carrying a tightly wrapped leather bag. If he had a tail, he might I went up to the sky early.

"Go!" Li Ji gave an order, and a group of young men rushed out together!Er Gouzi took the brunt of throwing a few people behind him. Before Gao Orion could react, his chest hurt and his feet numb, and then his back fell to the ground and he screamed in pain.

"Rooted! Come on!"

"Shut up!" Li Ji snarled, Li Ji walked in and knelt down to look at Gao Orion who was being pushed down on the ground, "See who the master is!"

The moonlight was just right, and Gao Liehu saw Li Ji's face clearly when he looked up, and his expression changed immediately: "Fourth Uncle?"

"I'm your fourth grandpa!" Li Ji, smelling a little drunk, reached out and tore off Gao Orion's burden and opened it to find the fox fur inside.

Gao Orion's heart was broken, and he said quickly: "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Li Ji ignored him, and said to Er Gouzi, "Send it to the ancestral hall!"

Then he turned around and walked in front. Er Gouzi followed behind Li Ji without knowing where he was. Someone consciously woke up the village chief and the elders in the village. Except for the 70-year-old old man, the rest of the elders Was called out of bed.

Gao Orion was gagged, he couldn't say anything at this time, he was thrown into the ancestral hall and broke out in a cold sweat, he knew what it would mean if things were revealed, but if it was successful, the profits would make him naturally ignore the danger .

What he couldn't understand was how Li Ji found out. After all, except for the old people in the village who were very experienced, it was impossible for a cucumber like Li Ji to know the value of the white fox fur.

Gao Orion made several noises trying to get Li Ji's attention, but Li Ji ignored him completely, and sat down on a stool to wait for the village chief and elders to arrive.

In the past, it was someone else's matter that made Li Ji, the elder, go through the motions. This time Li Ji is the protagonist. Li Ji has been living in peace since he was a child. The biggest thing is when Li Ji's father died. In fact, nothing happened, and he never caused trouble for the villagers. Even Er Gouzi, who was considered troublesome at first, was taken over by Li Ji, so Li Ji's popularity in the village has always been very good.

When all the people arrived, they basically heard what was going on on the road, and they basically scolded Gao Orion Wang Bazi after entering the house.

Li Ji is Gao Orion's fourth uncle in terms of seniority, and he is still an unmarried child in terms of age. Er Gouzi is even immature in mind.

When everyone was here, Li Ji said what he had been thinking about for a long time, and took out Li Changfa first, so as to save him from being a bad person in the village in the future.

"Recently, when I was selling leather, I found that the valuation he gave me was getting less and less. To be fair, I have already given him two tiers of profit. This is because he saved the second dog. I gave it for the sake of it. The price given at the beginning was quite high, but recently every time I took the leather, I lost a penny or two of silver. I felt something was wrong in my heart, but we didn’t understand it, so I have no position to say.”

Li Ji looked at Er Gouzi and said: "During the day, I felt that Gao's eyes were twinkling. He said that the skin was worth ten taels of silver, and his eyes were fluttering. At night, I asked Er Gouzi to pay more attention to his house when he went out for a walk. It's really tricky to think about it, but Er Gouzi has good ears, so he just let him listen to the couple talking at home!"

Who is Er Gouzi?Even if Li Ji said that the sun in the sky is square, he would agree, and immediately nodded happily.

Seeing that Er Gouzi didn't show his secrets, Li Ji nodded in satisfaction, and continued: "What they said at home is really ugly, saying that the leather is actually worth 20 taels of silver, and saying that I am a second fool. In the middle of the night, I went out of the village early and went to the city to buy it. When I come back tomorrow, I will give the money to me. Even if I find out later, there is no proof. After Er Gouzi told me, I found two young men to squat at the entrance of the village. Go!"

Li Ji shook the 20 taels worth of fox fur in his hand, letting everyone see clearly: "I found this from his backpack, and I went to sell the skins in the middle of the night so that I wouldn't find something wrong and look for him."

After Li Ji finished talking about the cause and effect, the faces of the elders who came over were full of anger. Li Shuisheng went over and kicked Gao Orion and said: "I don't think it's a thing when I was young. This is really a skill. I can't beat it myself." Something that prey bullies the elders."

The village chief said that the village is in charge, but relatively speaking, the crime of deceiving the elders in this kind of thing is greater than deceiving others. It is not a big deal to leave the matter in the yamen. possible.

After thinking about it, he said: "Since everyone has stolen the money and got it, then Xiao Ji, how do you deal with it?"

Li Ji thought for a while and said, "I'm young and you can trust me. If you ask me, I'll speak up boldly. In the final analysis, there are only two ways. You can either report to the official or do it privately. What do you think?"

The village generally does not report anything to the officials, unless there is a fatality, but even if it is a fatality, as long as it is not a vicious murder, it will not be reported to the official.Because in their eyes, these things are their own affairs behind closed doors, and what happens at home is naturally resolved by themselves.

"It's not easy for the government, so let's not make trouble for the government." The village head said, "That's selfish, Xiao Ji, tell me, you can do whatever you want."

Li Ji took out a bag of silver from his sleeve pocket, which was the five liang of silver that Gao Orion gave during the day: "The five liang of silver is the deposit money he gave me during the day, and he said that he would give me three liang of silver after he sold the fox fur." silver."

Li Shuisheng looked at the silver with straight eyes, and said with a smile, "You should keep this money in your pocket. Anyway, I don't know how much dirty money there is in the silver to cheat the price difference."

Li Ji shook his head: "My family is not short of money, but I can't be treated like a bastard. I think our ancestral hall has not been repaired for a few years. It is enough to buy some bricks, tiles and wood with this money. They are our own ancestors, so we should cultivate well."

The village chief smiled and said, "How about you are kind." Five liang of silver is enough for a family to live well for two or three years, and it would be more stupid than kind to say no.

Li Ji looked at Gao Orion: "Don't be idle, let him do the ancestral hall work alone. In order to prevent him from making a difference, let's buy the materials for him."

Every time the ancestral hall is repaired, more than a dozen men work together. This time, Gao Liehu is alone, and he can't finish it in two or three months.

Gao Orion hummed twice, and Li Ji walked over and pulled the rag from Gao Orion's mouth: "What else do you want to say?"

Gao Liehu hurriedly said: "I was wrong, I was wrong, fourth uncle! Take the money as soon as you take it away. It takes a long time to build the ancestral hall. I can't do it alone. I'm about to plant the land. How can I do it?" It's done, please do it! I promise there will be no next time, and I will never do it again!"

Li Ji smiled and asked, "Do you know what 12 liang represents?" After a pause, before Gao Orion could answer, Li Ji added, "Your life is not worth this price."

Gao Orion broke out in a cold sweat: "I really know I was wrong! Fourth Uncle, think about it, I even saved Er Gouzi, look