"Yo, is Er Zhuzi back?"
"Er Zhuzi has made it big, he’s sitting on an ox cart!"
"Isn’t it, what’s all that stuff on the cart?"
"Oh my, it’s all grain, a whole cart full..."
Almost instantly, the sound of gossip filled the air.
Some more unruly ones even reached out directly.
Er Zhuzi hurriedly stopped them, "Everyone, uncles and aunts, this all belongs to our employer, if it’s missing I can’t be held accountable..."
This is also the reason Er Zhuzi didn’t dare go to the neighboring village alone but returned first.
At least, this is his own village, even if someone says a few sarcastic words, they don’t dare to blatantly rob.
But in other villages, that’s not necessarily the case.
"Er Zhuzi, your parents said you went to see your sister. Where do you and your sister work now? Do they need more people? How about my family...?"
Their village is known for being poor, especially Er Zhuzi’s family, even poorer.
But now, not only have they paid off their previous debts, but recently Er Zhuzi’s dad even acquired an acre of land, it seems they are going to prosper.
Of course, there are always people eager to find out.
Er Zhuzi, although honest, isn’t stupid, he just responds vaguely to these inquisitive folks, not daring to reveal specific details.
Thankfully, hearing that his son was back, Er Zhuzi’s dad hurriedly came to greet him.
From afar, he saw Er Zhuzi surrounded by a group of people.
Er Zhuzi’s dad rushed over, shouting, "What are you all doing, what are you all doing? Bullying the kid because I’m not around?"
"Yo, old brother, what are you saying? We’re just asking Er Zhuzi a few things, concerned about him!"
Er Zhuzi’s dad didn’t buy it at all, saying with full vigor, "Er Zhuzi just went for a few days, what can he know? If you want to find out, you can wait till my daughter Cuihua gets back, then she can tell you slowly!"
As soon as he said this, the nearby person’s expression instantly turned awkward.
That girl Cuihua, who doesn’t know her in the village, she’s fierce as hell, yet with strength enough to match four or five strong laborers, who dares to ask her anything?
After the crowd dispersed, Er Zhuzi’s dad asked him, "Why did you come back now? What’s on this cart?"
After hearing Er Zhuzi’s explanation, he immediately dropped his nonchalant demeanor and became serious.
"This is the first big task our master entrusted to you, we can’t mess it up, I’ll go tell your mom and then go with you."
Er Zhuzi wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, "That’s what I’m thinking too, if I ran into the same situation in the neighboring village, I’d be even more helpless."
After all, he’s still young, dealing with such a big task for the first time surely made him a bit nervous.
"This isn’t too big a deal, during broad daylight, they aren’t like those reckless bandits, they wouldn’t dare rob openly, but the oil trade needs to be handled carefully, you as a kid going, can’t ensure they won’t take advantage of you, dad will go and haggle, ordering such a large quantity, we should be able to lower the price some..."
Just like that, Er Zhuzi set out with a cart of grains and returned with a cart full of oil.
Er Zhuzi’s dad, feeling uneasy, accompanied him all the way back to Taohua Village.
As they were nearing the village entrance, Er Zhuzi’s dad asked him to stop the ox cart, saying he would only accompany him this far and had to return.
He rejected Er Zhuzi’s idea of sending him home and walked alone on the way back.
The endless setting sun stretched the shadow of the old small man into a long figure, tall yet lonely.