121. Chapter 121

==Chapter 121==

It was a coincidence. After Boss Chen and Xue Tingyan agreed, he went back and asked people about the paper mill.

People like them who do this business usually deal with paper mills, ink mills, engraving mills, etc. They know that such craftsmanship business is generally not sold to outsiders. But by chance, a paper mill with which he often does business is selling out its workshop.

He asked the owner of the mill and found out why.

It turned out that the business of this paper mill has always been bad. It only relies on making some bamboo and cotton paper to make a living. Even in the off-season, it has to make some fire paper and ghost money to subsidize the wages of the craftsmen.

Shanxi is not a province with a large paper production, and there is no famous paper. Bamboo and hemp paper are produced in Jiangxi and Fujian, cotton paper is produced in Henan, Guizhou and Zhejiang, and Xuan paper is produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui. These are famous places for producing paper, and people always buy paper from these places.

Shanxi can only produce cotton paper at best, but it is grayish white and slightly thick, which is despised by people. Just like the worst bamboo and cotton paper sold in Boss Chen's shop, they are produced in Shanxi. Only some poor scholars will buy this kind of paper.

So it's not just this paper mill, other paper mills are having a hard time. It's just that the owner of this paper mill is really tired of this business. Moreover, the paper mill is not profitable, and the owner has to do it himself, and the hard work is needless to say.

It just so happens that the owner is old, and his children and grandchildren have changed to other jobs, and he doesn't need to earn this money, so he wants to sell the paper mill. But after a long time, no one took over. The owner of the paper mill was worried about the livelihood of the craftsmen in the paper mill, and Boss Chen came to the door.

After some negotiations, Boss Chen bought the paper mill for a relatively low price, and the craftsmen no longer had to find another way out.

Xue Tingxuan went out with Boss Chen, and when he came back in the evening, he told Zhaoer that the paper mill had been bought.

He took a look. Although the paper mill was a bit old, the utensils inside were newly added in recent years and were still usable. Even if some other tools were added, it would not cost much money. He and Boss Chen had signed the partnership contract. He provided the recipe, and Boss Chen provided the silver and took charge of the business. The silver earned was divided into 6:4 between the two.

Xue Tingxuan 4:4.

Originally, Boss Chen said that he took 40%, but now silver is not valuable, but the recipe is valuable. A good recipe can be passed down from generation to generation. It is unknown how much money it can be exchanged for. This is how ordinary people form partnerships.

But Xue Tingyan insisted on not giving in. He knew that he couldn't take care of the business himself, and that everything would depend on Boss Chen in the future. Besides, Boss Chen had helped him a lot in the past, and he had always remembered this favor.

So the matter was settled, and after Boss Chen signed a 20-year contract with the craftsmen, the paper mill was reopened.

On this side, they first did their old business to maintain their daily expenses. On the other side, Xue Tingyan went out for several days in a row to teach the craftsmen the craftsmanship of making paper, and he taught Boss Chen the most important thing in the eucalyptus paper to prevent insects.

As for the future, it all depends on Boss Chen.

The weather is getting colder and colder, and it is almost the twelfth lunar month.

Every time it comes to this time, it is the slowest period for Zhaoer's business. Wang Ji Vegetable Store relies on some cellar vegetables and pickled vegetables, meat, eggs, chickens and the like to support it. The business of delivering vegetables has stopped, and Jiang Wu, Gao Sheng and others can also take a break.

At this time, the Jiang family heard about a wedding for Jiang Wu.

It turned out that the Jiang family had already chosen a wife for Jiang Wu. She was a girl named Li from a nearby village. It was said that the girl was fair and beautiful, and virtuous and hardworking. Jiang Wu had also met her, but because he was busy, he set the wedding date in the winter month, and got married before the twelfth month, so that Jiang Wu could "get a wife to celebrate the New Year" this year.

The Jiang family had been preparing for it for a long time, and it was only when Jiang Wu came to announce the good news near the wedding date that Zhao'er and the others knew about it.

Gao Sheng and others congratulated him one after another, and Zhao'er was also very happy when he heard about it. A group of people told Jiang Wu that they would definitely go to the wedding wine when the time came.

On the day, the Jiang family was very lively.

Although the Jiang family was a family of other surnames in the village, because the Jiang family had a hunting skill, their life was no worse than anyone else. Not to mention that since Jiang Wu and Zhao'er started a business, it was unknown how much money they had made for the family.

Now that the son was getting married, it was natural to have a big wedding. The Jiang family had prepared a buffet on the first day, and on the day of the feast, the whole village went, and the celebration was lively.

Only the Xue family did not go, after all, they were in mourning, and they were afraid of bumping into others.

Jiang Wu was wearing a bright red wedding dress, standing in front of the door to greet the guests who came to the feast, and suddenly saw a big black dog running over. His eyes moved slightly, and he said something to his brother, and then quietly followed the big dog.

Zhao'er was seen from a distance.

Zhao'er stood there with a bulging belly, wearing a light blue jacket and a moon-white pleated skirt, with a bun on her head, and no jewelry, looking clean. Maybe because she was not exposed to the wind and sun like before, Zhao'er looked much whiter, with a better complexion and a rosy face.

Jiang Wu was a little surprised.

In the past year or so, he had rarely returned to the village and spent more time outside. He had only seen Zhao'er before when he announced the good news, but he suddenly found that Zhao'er had changed a lot now.

In the past, he was very popular, fierce and capable. Nowadays, she is a little softer, maybe because she is going to be a mother, the edges of her eyebrows are softened, and there is always a gentle smile in her eyes.

At this moment, Zhao'er looked at him and smiled so tenderly.

"Brother Jiang Wu."

Even the voice has changed, less crisp and a little more soft.

Who changed her?

Is it that frail and frail young man?

No, he is no longer a young man, but the famous Xue Juren.

Zhao'er finally came through!

Even Jiang Wu was surprised that he actually thought like this, instead of being jealous every time he thought of that person like before.

Maybe, time can really wash away everything.

"Hey." He responded and said with a smile: "Why are you standing here? Come on, go in and sit down."

Zhao'er's eyebrows scolded: "Have you forgotten that I have filial piety?" Before Jiang Wu could speak, she added: "I originally prepared a gift for my sister-in-law, but it's a pity that you haven't gone to Xiaoshantou since that time. I I couldn’t give it to you either. No, I saw it was almost time, so I came on my own.”

Seeing Jiang Wu walking towards her, she quickly stopped him and said, "Don't come over here. I'll let Heizi hold it for you. We can't come into contact, lest it spoil your happiness. You are the groom."

Jiang Wu stopped and Zhao'er took out a slender brocade box from his sleeve and asked Heizi to run to him with it in his mouth. He knelt down and took it. It was obviously not heavy, but it felt heavy.

It took him a while to stand up, not knowing what to say.

In fact, I have a lot to say, but I just hesitated and hesitated for so long that I became speechless at this time.

"Brother Jiang Wu, I'm leaving." He waved his hand and turned around to leave. She was wearing thick clothes and had a big belly. Her posture was not good-looking and she was clumsy.

"Heart!"

"Ah!" She stopped, half turned around, and looked at him in surprise.

Seeing her look like this, Jiang Wu's urge that he had finally aroused suddenly disappeared again. He smiled: "It's okay, I just want to tell you, walk slower when you go back, the road is slippery."

Zhao'er nodded: "Yes, I know. Go quickly and pack up. We have to pick up the bride later."

"Why."

It seemed that Jiang Wu looked a little weird, and Zhao'er turned around hesitantly. She glanced at Jiang Wu again and said, "Brother Jiang Wu, you want to be happy."

"The same to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhao'er suddenly became cheerful, nodded to Jiang Wu, and led Heizi away.

Jiang Wu watched until her back was out of sight, and then he looked away.

He stood quietly for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter before returning to the fiery world full of shouts and noise.

*

Zhao'er finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This breath has been hidden in her heart, unable to spit it out or swallow it. Today she can finally let go. She walked slowly all the way, because most of the people in the village gathered at Jiang's house, and it seemed especially quiet everywhere.

Kuroko followed her step by step.

One person and one dog walked slowly.

She looked at the grass on the roadside and even the dry tree branches. It was obvious that the scenery was not good, but she was in a good mood.

Suddenly he looked up and saw a person standing not far in front of him.

It was Xue Tingyan who was wearing a blue cotton robe.

"Where are you? You didn't even tell me."

Xue Tingyan's expression was obviously normal, but Zhao'er felt guilty inexplicably. She subconsciously lied: "Isn't this a happy day for Brother Jiang Wu? I just wanted to take a look. Halfway through, I remembered that I was filial and turned back."

Xue Tingyan walked to her side, helped her move forward, and said calmly: "Why didn't you take a look? I remember that you seemed to have prepared a gift for the Jiang family, why didn't you take it and send it over?"

"Isn't this a sign of filial piety? I asked my sister to take it with me."

Xue Tingyan snorted and said nothing.

The two returned to the hilltop.

There was no one on the hill today. Aunt Gao, mother and son, and Zhao Di were carrying Brother Wei to the wedding banquet, so they were left alone. It was Zhao'er who specifically asked Zhao Di to go there. Since Zhao Di has settled down in the village, she has to get in touch with the villagers. It will also be good for Brother Wei to go out and interact with people more.

It's not too early, it gets dark early in winter, so we usually start cooking at this time and wait until it gets dark to eat, then eat early and rest early.

Xue Tingyan went to the kitchen, scooped out a bowl of rice from the rice vat, washed the pot with water, and then sat in front of the stove to light a fire. During this period, Zhao'er didn't enter the house, and just followed him step by step.

"You go back to the house, it's cold outside."

"It's not cold in the kitchen either."

The fire was lit, and Xue Tingyan stuffed some dead branches into the fire to start the fire. His white hands, which usually only held pens, could now do these chores with style.

He and Zhao'er usually eat together with everyone, but now Zhao'er has a big belly and gets hungry quickly. Sometimes when she gets hungry in the middle of the night, Xue Tingyan has to cook for her, so she has practiced it. .

It’s too complicated to make, but you can still make porridge or a bowl of noodles.

After filling the stove with firewood, Xue Tingyan stood up and went outside to get vegetables.

Every winter here in Yuqing Village, the endless vegetables are frozen outside. People who are not particular about it just display it casually, but people who are particular about it make a special cabinet and put some meat and vegetables in it. It will not go bad and it will be clean.

Xue Tingyan took two bowls of mutton from the cabinet and soaked them in a basin for a while. The frozen mutton came out of the bowl. He threw the mutton into the hot pot, and within a short time, he could smell the aroma of stewed mutton.

These muttons are all prepared in advance. One part is mutton and the other part is frozen mutton soup. You only need to defrost it when you eat it and add some side dishes.

It is simple and labor-saving. This method was thought up by Zhao'er.

Xue Tingyan took out two radishes from the corner of the kitchen, washed them with water, and then chopped them on the chopping board. With a bang, a carrot split into two halves. After a few more bang bang bang sounds, the radish was chopped into small pieces.

Zhao'er was frightened when he heard this and couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.

After Xue Tingyan chopped the radishes and soaked some dried mushrooms, she sat down in front of the stove again. The orange-red firelight illuminated his face, and the jumping flames rendered his fair face with flickering colors.

Zhao'er couldn't help but take two steps forward, squatting next to the stove to warm Heizi, looking at the master, and then at the mistress.

"Your skills are really getting better and better now, it smells delicious!" Zhao'er said with a flattering smile on his face, pretending to be cheerful.

Xue Tingyan hummed.

It was obviously a yes, but Zhao'er could hear a hint of hum.

Zhao'er couldn't hold on any longer, so she looked around pretentiously and said to herself: "It seems there's nothing I can do to help, so I'll go back to the house." After saying that, she ran away in despair. He fled back to the room with agility.

Xue Tingyan glanced at her back with a gloomy face and snorted again.

At the same time, Kuroko snorted, licked the corners of his mouth, and touched his trouser leg with his nose.

Xue Tingyan glanced at it: "You bitch! What did you just do? You didn't know what to do and you still want to eat?"

Heizi glanced at him innocently, it was a dog to begin with, why would it be called a dog-legged one!

*

Dinner was eaten quietly, and after eating the two of them packed up and took a rest.

After heating the hot water and soaking the feet, Xue Tingyan added firewood to the kang, and the two of them lay down.

It seems that because there was too much firewood, the kang was extremely hot today. Zhao'er turned over and over and couldn't sleep, so he could only lift the quilt.

It felt much more comfortable to lift the quilt. She lay with her back on her back, covered her with the quilt when she felt cold, and took it off when she felt hot. She seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Xue Tingyan, on the other hand, remained silent from beginning to end.

When Zhao'er covered him with the quilt again, there was another person behind him.

He still hugged her from behind as before, but he didn't just fall asleep, but held his hand in front of her. After squeezing and squeezing, the clothes were untied at some point, and the slightly cold palms slipped in.

These days, Xue Tingyan sometimes behaves dishonestly, but this is just a taste. Zhao'er thought it would be the same this time, so he didn't stop him and instead cooperated somewhat.

But she soon realized that something was wrong. When she reacted, something had already squeezed in.

"What are you doing? It's not possible!" Her voice seemed to be stuck in her throat, small.

The people behind her ignored her at all and pinched her legs. Because of the posture and scruples, it’s not too deep, but it’s the most torturous thing.

She used all her strength to turn her head around, and when she was about to speak, someone bit her lip.

After a violent robbery, the other party let her go, but they didn't let her go.

In the end, Zhao'er even cried and begged for mercy: "I was wrong, I was wrong..."

He panted slightly and said in a low voice: "What did you do wrong?"

Zhao'er burst into tears: "I shouldn't lie. In fact, I went to see Brother Jiang Wu and gave him the gift I prepared. After I gave it to him, I came back and bumped into you."

Xue Tingyan snorted and stopped moving.

As if he didn't know? In fact, he was always following behind.

He knew that Zhao'er had done nothing, but he just felt uncomfortable.

"Are you still thinking about him?"

"I don't think about him. I treat Brother Jiang Wu as my older brother."

"Could it be Brother Qing?"

Zhao'er used his hand to push him: "You are unreasonable! How can I have any love for you brother? You are talking nonsense!"

He snorted again.

Zhao'er's voice was small: "I was just afraid that you would be angry, so I hid it from you."

But whether he hid it or not, he was still angry.

In the next few days, Xue Tingyan's anger never went away. No matter how Zhao'er tried to please him, it was of no use. Even Zhao Di and Aunt Gao noticed it, and privately asked Zhao'er if the couple had a quarrel.

But it doesn't look like it. Xue Tingyan does everything inside and outside, especially when it comes to recruiting children. For several days, I heard him get up in the middle of the night to cook for Zhao'er. Whose man could do this?

What can Zhao'er say? It can be said that I lost my head for a moment, so I made a mistake and regretted it for eternity. It has been a hundred years since I looked back.

This man is so stingy!

Even though she was gnashing her teeth with hatred, she turned her head and still let him go. She cried for father and mother after being tortured at night, for fear that the child would be tortured.

Time passed day by day, until the time entered the twelfth lunar month and Li Datian came to the door, Xue Tingxiang's anger disappeared.

Li Datian is here for business.