Chapter 261: Yuan City’s First Cannon

With this behavior, Luo Xiu did not chase after him. He retreated and bent down to pick up the scattered hair. It looked a little like a Dragon Li[1].

Someone should have been killing cats in the alley. It was unknown if he was afraid or if he wanted to catch them and eat them, but he heard someone and threw them out. Thus, this almost hit the county magistrate.

Luo Xiu looked around again before turning around and returning to Lin Yuchen’s side. He reported, “Lord, we didn’t see anyone. He should have escaped to the end of the alley and climbed over the wall. There were no other abnormalities. There were hairs scattered on the ground, and they looked like those of cats.”

Lin Yuchen looked at the alley deeply. “He ran so fast? You only stopped for a moment before looking over. You didn’t manage to catch him?”

Luo Xiu paused and said, “I think it was a young, strong, and agile man.”

This deduction was right. Furthermore… the other party should have reacted immediately after throwing the meat in his hand. He immediately turned around and fled in a panic.

Lin Yuchen was deep in thought.

That person was very conscious.

He just didn’t know if he had killed a living creature in the alley and was preparing to cook it at home. In the end, he accidentally threw the flesh out and was afraid that the people on the street would settle scores with him, so he immediately ran away. Or did he deliberately throw the flesh and blood on the street?

There were too many commoners living in Yuan City. As there were many merchants, there were also many commoners who went out to walk around. There were local people from Yuan City who returned from overseas. It was also common for them to kill live chickens, ducks, and rabbits at home and cook a good meal.

Therefore, this piece of meat… It really didn’t mean anything. After the lady boss of the shop finished scolding to vent her anger, she admitted that she was unlucky and treated it as an accident. She picked up the broom and splashed some water on the wall.

Moreover, the lady boss had taken the meat down and seen it. It was indeed fresh and good meat. No matter how prosperous Yuan City was, most of them were ordinary people. The lady boss saw that the meat was good and even took it in to the shop, saying that she would stew it!

In any case, this flesh symbolized bad luck. If she cooked it, wouldn’t that mean that she had overcome her bad luck? It would be even better.

The lady boss carried the meat and felt both relieved and happy. She turned around and entered the shop.

Everything looked normal. Lin Yuchen returned to his senses and could only say that he had encountered a bad thing.

Lin Yuchen was forced to stop on the street for a moment. His face was flushed red as he led Luo Xiu and the officials back to the Yuan City government.

…

Voyages were about to start in the Yuan River in two days.

Mother Rong was extremely excited and was already focused on doing business. After setting up a stall at the docks before the new year and earning so much money, she was in a high mood and could not wait to set up the stall.

They were preparing to leave the city. Over the past two days, the Guan family had entered a busy state again. Mother Rong led the other Guan family members to wash the vegetables, pots, and utensils. The entire courtyard was busy.

As for Ye Lulu, she left the Guan family and looked around the village twice. She found two women in the village and asked them if they had picked many mushrooms recently and if there was a steady supply every day.

The women in the village said that there were quite a lot of them, but the number they picked was different… It was harder to say. This was because mushrooms were everywhere on the mountain, but not every woman dared to enter the deeper mountains. Sometimes, no one dared to walk too deep, so the mushrooms they picked might not be enough.

Ye Lulu knew what was going on. She nodded and thanked them before turning around and returning to the Guan family.

They passed by Old Aunt Xu’s house in the middle. Xu Huang carried a thick tree branch and gritted his teeth. He struggled to walk slowly toward the Xu family’s house while drenched in sweat.

It was already spring, so Xu Huang naturally had to come out and do something. He could not stay at home and rely on the Guan family’s help.

Old Aunt Xu had to have a warm bed every day, and there was no more firewood in the Xu family, so Xu Huang went out to find deadwood to carry back today.

However, Xu Huang was still too young. Furthermore, the Xu family was too poor and had not been able to fill their stomachs. His physique was relatively weak and he was not strong enough. An adult man would have to use a lot of strength to carry it. Xu Huang naturally had to stagger and struggle.

He was panting. When he saw Ye Lulu, he reluctantly greeted her.

Ye Lulu looked at him and saw Xu Huang slip. His body tilted and the tree branch on his shoulder fell!

“Ah!” Ye Lulu cried out and rushed forward to help.

Xu Huang’s head was covered in sweat, but he did not injure himself. He dodged the log and watched it roll down. He helped the log up in a sorry state to the front of his house.

Ye Lulu asked him, “You went out? Old Aunt stayed at home to recuperate, right?”

“Yes.” Xu Huang was very good to the Guan family. He nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll manage the family well for the next two days. After that, I’ll prepare to leave for the city and find some freelance work. When I earn money, I’ll also return your family’s food.”

Xu Huang’s eyes were firm. He was a responsible person.

Ye Lulu sized him up and asked, “You’re going out to the city to do odd jobs? What about Old Aunt Xu?”

“I can come home every day or stay outside for a few days at most. There are many people in the village, so Grandma can rely on everyone to take care of her. She can still stay at home,” Xu Huang replied.

“What kind of odd jobs are you finding in the city? It’s not easy to find those where you can go home every day, right? Furthermore, many people are fighting over them,” Ye Lulu said.

Xu Huang’s expression paused. Ye Lulu was obviously right.

Then, he said, “As an errand boy or servant who can carry goods and move things. I can find such odd jobs or go to rich families to help.”

“You have to keep changing jobs all the time, so it’s unstable?” Ye Lulu asked. “Also, will you get bullied easily?”

Xu Huang paused again and nodded. “Yes, but it’s better if I can come home every day. I just have to spend some effort to find work.”

Ye Lulu paused for two seconds and looked at Xu Huang.

Xu Huang was stunned by her gaze. He was already a fifteen-year-old boy, after all. Furthermore, Ye Lulu was not much older than him, although she had married someone. “Sixth Auntie Guan, what’s wrong?”

Ye Lulu said, “Why don’t you stop looking for work and come help me?”

Xu Huang was stunned and looked puzzled. “?”

Ye Lulu made a decision and said, “I want to start a business in spring. Don’t go out and look for odd jobs. You can work for me. I need someone to help me anyway.”

“So come and help me. Not only can you earn money, but you can also return to the village with me every day. You don’t need to keep changing jobs either.”

Xu Huang said in disbelief, “You… Are you serious? You want to do business? What kind of business?”

Ye Lulu said, “Food business. I need someone to help me run around and move things, like an assistant. Weren’t you looking for odd jobs? You can just help me.”

Xu Huang was in disbelief. “Is… is that true?”

Ye Lulu nodded.

“Yes, I just need someone.”

Xu Huang looked at her with wide eyes. There was a rare look of surprise on the young man’s calm face. “This… this…”

“You don’t have to worry about the salary. When the time comes, I’ll ask the workers outside and set a price for you. However, don’t worry. It will definitely be more than the usual. After all, I’m hiring you on a full-time basis. It’s different from you going out to do multiple odd jobs.”

Xu Huang widened his eyes. “No… that’s not what I meant. Your Guan family helped our family. I can even give up my salary… I just… don’t know what I can help you with.”

Ye Lulu said calmly, “You’ll just be helping me run errands and be my assistant. Didn’t I tell you just now that I want to do a food business? Naturally, I need someone to help me run around and do some miscellaneous work. It’s the same for you when you go out to do odd jobs. The load is lighter here, but you might be busier.”

“Of course… Of course, I don’t mind being busy. I don’t mind being tired or bitter. It’s just that… if you really need my help, I’ll help you.”

Xu Huang could not hide his surprise. After a while, he lowered his eyes and agreed.

Ye Lulu happily said, “It’s settled then!”

“I’ll be preparing for it in the next two days. I’ll look for you if there’s anything. Wait for me, I would call at any time,” Ye Lulu instructed.

Xu Huang nodded. “I’ll settle my grandmother down, but I’ll definitely have time to help you.”

At Xu Huang’s place, he thought that Ye Lulu needed help with something. He was extremely grateful to the Guan family and was willing to help in every way. Since Ye Lulu asked, he would definitely do it.

He did not think at all that Ye Lulu would really do anything and give him a salary.

Ye Lulu nodded and returned to the Guan family.

…

When she returned to the Guan family, Mother Rong was walking up to her. She asked excitedly, “Lulu, we can set up a stall at the docks in two days. The food we’ll be selling hasn’t changed, right? Do we continue to prepare the ingredients for congee? The variety hasn’t changed?”

Ye Lulu replied, “Yes, it’s still cold at the beginning of spring. It’ll be cold for a while, but we can still sell congee. The number of glutinous rice chickens and steamed dumplings can also increase a little. After spring, the Yuan River will open again. There will probably be more people and it’ll be very lively.”

“Yes!”

When Mother Rong heard this, she laughed until her teeth couldn’t be seen. She was extremely excited and wanted to continue working.

However, Ye Lulu stopped her. “Mother! Don’t leave yet. I have something to tell you.”

“Ah?” Mother Rong paused her enthusiasm and turned around in confusion.

For the entire winter, Ye Lulu did not mention anything about doing business. However, the Guan family should have thought of it since she was making different pastries.

Ye Lulu said, “Mother, you know as well that I can walk around after spring. I can do anything. I want to do something to earn money as well.”

“Ah?” Mother Rong was stunned and said mistakenly, “You want to go out and do business too? Then you can manage our stall. I can let you cook our food. Anyway, we’re from the same family, so you don’t have to do anything else, right? Do you want to go out and set up a stall as well?”

Ye Lulu said, “No, Mother. Of course, you should be the one to set up this stall at home now. I don’t mean to manage the stall. I just want to do another business that’s also food-related.”

Mother Rong was even more puzzled. “We already have a stall. Business is not bad and we can’t even handle all the work. Wouldn’t it be better for you to help out at our stall? Why do you need to do another business?”

Ye Lulu wanted to say that it was because she had the freedom to be human and had her own thoughts. She could do whatever she wanted.

However, her expression did not change. She said with a smile, “No, Mother. Think about it. Can you place all the eggs in one basket? That means, if you have a lot of eggs in a basket and you accidentally knock over that basket, will all the eggs break? Not a single one will be left?”

Mother Rong was confused and said, “Yes…”

“Our family already has a stall. It’s true that business is very good. This is a good thing, so Mother, you can continue to manage it. You don’t have to let me have it. I don’t mean to snatch it. However, Mother, tell me, is my cooking skill good?”

Ye Lulu asked Mother Rong patiently.

Mother Rong nodded. “That’s naturally very good. Lulu, your cooking skills are much better than Mother’s…”

“That’s right, Mother. Do you think it would be good for me to sell my cooking skills and do another business?” Ye Lulu smiled and said, “Our family has Mother’s business, and I have my cooking skills. If I do another business, our family will have two businesses. If I have the strength, wouldn’t it be better for our family to earn extra money?”

Mother Rong understood a little and said, “That’s true, but our family’s business is already very busy. There aren’t enough people. If you want to do another business, can you do it?”

Ye Lulu nodded and said, “I can hire a helper. I can set up another stall. I can handle it with my skills. When the two of us set up our stalls, we can take care of each other. However, Mother, don’t deny the matter of finding people first. Think about it. Our family has three babies who aren’t a year old yet. Isn’t it very difficult to raise them?”

Mother Rong originally wanted to say that there was no need to hire people. When she heard this, she nodded in a difficult manner, but she said, “But our family’s current business is enough to earn money. We can raise three babies. If you come over to help, the family can definitely earn more money by working together.”

“If we can earn more money, why don’t we earn more?” Ye Lulu asked Mother Rong gently.

As a modern person, even though she was only a university student before transmigrating, she already knew how to look at the situation and knew how to tolerate it.

This was the characteristic of the new generation of young people in the modern world. They were mature and knew human affairs well.

It was not that the Guan family was bad. On the contrary, they were too good. There was nothing to be picky about the Guan family. The family was also especially close and harmonious. It was also because of this that Ye Lulu wanted Mother Rong and the rest to lead a carefree life.

The Guan family had not thought about dividing their assets. Although Ye Lulu was a modern human soul, she did not have the heart to live alone now.

However, there were some things that she had to do and obtain her own autonomy. Doing business could be considered to be progressing slowly.

Hence, Ye Lulu was not angry and her tone was gentle.

Mother Rong was stunned as she was led away by her. She hesitated and said, “That’s true…”

If they could earn two portions of money, why would she insist on earning only one portion?

“The three babies are not even a year old yet. They still have to be raised. There are also many children at home. I’m not someone who favors one over the other. Mother, you know that as well. Therefore, this is also the reason why I want to do another business. If we raise the three babies well, don’t we have to care about the other children at home? We have to raise them well too.”

[1] a Chinese breed of domestic cat