Chapter 33 Negligence
Chapter 33 Negligence
After Zhu Minfan left the stage, the royal family members who were eating at the banquet became even more unscrupulous. Some of them who were so anxious simply didn't even use chopsticks, but threw them aside, rolled up their sleeves and started fighting for the food.
The roast chicken that had just been served had not even landed on the table when several clan members scrambled for it and it disappeared in the blink of an eye. The one who got it was smiling happily, while the one who didn't could not help but curse and continued to stare at the next dish. You have to know that today's dinner is not a common one, there are only a few times a year. Wouldn't it be a big loss if you don't enjoy it properly and bring some back for your family?
Looking at this scene, Zhu Shenzhui was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, they were all members of the royal family and were considered people of status, but the scene reminded him of the banquets he had encountered in the countryside before.
If the royal family members all brought steel pots and plastic bags, it would be no different from the banquets he had seen. But even so, it was not much better. Take his own table for example. Zhu Shenzhui didn't eat much at all. He was busy watching the royal family members at the same table grabbing dishes one after another.
How can these people look like royal family members? They are clearly a group of hungry wolves running out of the mountains! Shaking his head secretly, Zhu Shenzhu simply did not intervene. He just drank the wine, ate a few bites of stir-fried dishes, and let them toss and turn.
In just one stick of incense, all the dishes were served, except for some dishes that were difficult to pick up. Then, several clan members poured the remaining wine on the table into the wine gourds they brought with them, and then patted their buttocks and left the table with the chickens, ducks, fish and meat they had just grabbed.
Zhu Shenzhui's situation was similar. The table was almost empty, so there was no point in sitting there any longer. He smiled and stood up, asking Zhu Minyu and the others if they wanted to stay. If not, they could leave.
Zhu Minyu had really tried his best for his mother, wife and children at home. Since everyone was doing the same, he had no worries. His arms were bulging and his face was full of smiles.
After hearing Zhu Shencui's question, Zhu Minyu immediately said he was leaving. Before leaving, he did not forget to take the remaining steamed buns with him. He put them in his arms and left the table with Zhu Shencui.
As soon as they left, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi also stood up and left. The four of them left the general's mansion together. When they arrived outside the general's mansion, they turned around to look towards the mansion, and then looked at what they had in their arms, and suddenly they all burst into laughter.
"Sixth Uncle, take this." After walking for a while, Zhu Minyu called Zhu Shenzhui, took out half a roast chicken wrapped in oil paper from his arms, and stuffed it into Zhu Shenzhui's arms.
When they were robbing things just now, Zhu Shenzhui didn't do much, and even deliberately helped Zhu Minyu to stop other clan members from fighting, so Zhu Minyu's harvest today was not small. In addition to the snacks before, Zhu Minyu was very grateful to Zhu Shenzhui, and when he got outside, he took out half of the roast chicken he had robbed and gave it to Zhu Shenzhui.
"Uncle, take this too. Take it back and let my aunt try it." Zhu Qiuqi happily took out half a pig's trotter and stuffed it into Zhu Shenzhui's arms.
Zhu Shenzhui was quite moved by their actions. You know, neither Zhu Minyu nor Zhu Qiuqi's families were wealthy, but even so, they still cared about him. Although these foods were not a lot, they were what they had just snatched with great difficulty. If they took them back and saved some, they would be able to smell the meat for several days.
"Sixth uncle, please take it. You were busy covering for us just now. It's not a good idea to go back empty-handed. You have to bring something back after coming here with great difficulty. Please take this gourd of wine with you. I am not as nimble as fifth brother and little eighteen. They snatched away all the good things. Only this little wine is left." Zhu Minfeng happily stuffed his wine gourd to Zhu Shenzhui and said with a smile.
Looking at these things, Zhu Shenzhui felt deeply moved. These two nephews and nephews were really good to him. It was not easy for members of the royal family to do this. After all, their lives were not easy either.
But then again, if I took it, they would have less, and although Zhu Shenzhui's family lived a peaceful life, he was actually not short of money. In the past two years of smuggling salt, Zhu Shenzhui had saved a lot of money. These things were important to them, but they were of no importance to me.
After some demurrage, seeing their insistence, Zhu Shenzhui could only accept the wine. As for the roast chicken and pig's trotter, he reluctantly took half each and gave the other half to Zhu Minyu and Zhu Qiuqi.
"The situation at home has been much better in the past two years than before, at least not as difficult as you imagined. I'll take half of these things back for my sister-in-law and Qiao'er to try, and you can take the rest back. I won't be polite about the wine, and besides, there's no way to divide the wine, so I'll take it all." Zhu Shenzhui said this with a smile.
"Uncle, I remember that your family didn't have much property, how come life is so good?" Zhu Qiuqi said this in confusion, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he leaned close to Zhu Shenzhui and lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, tell me quietly, have you found a way to make a fortune? If you really have a way, can you take care of me, your nephew? Alas, life is getting harder and harder these days. Look at my fifth uncle, it's really not easy for this family to live like this."
"Uncle Six, Xiao Shiba's words may be rough, but the logic is correct." Zhu Minfeng was also a smart man. After hearing what Zhu Qiuqi said, he immediately came to his senses. He pulled Zhu Shenzhui and whispered, "There are no outsiders here. We are all family. Uncle Six, if you really have any way to make money, you might as well take care of us. Don't worry, no matter what we do, we promise not to tell anyone."
As he spoke, Zhu Minfeng's eyes were filled with anticipation, and even the honest Zhu Minyu looked at Zhu Shenzhu eagerly. Their lives were not very good, and although Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Qiuqi's families were better off than Zhu Minyu's, they were still limited.
It would be great if we could have a feast like today two or three times a year. But even if we did, it would only improve our life for a few days. Most of the time, we had to eat coarse food, or even had no food to eat. We had long since had enough of such a poor life.
Zhu Shenzhui didn't expect that his casual words would lead to such a result. Listening to them say this and looking at the three pairs of eyes looking at him, Zhu Shenzhui wanted to raise his hand and slap himself in the face.
What happened to me? I had just had a good life for a short time, but I had lost my necessary vigilance? According to Zhu Shenzhu's original idea, at a banquet like today, he should pretend to be like everyone else and go back with a bulging bag.
Just because he saw the honest Zhu Minyu and thought about the difficult life of his family, and associated it with the situation when he just took on the responsibility of this family, Zhu Shenzhui felt soft-hearted for a moment and did not do so. Instead, he helped them.
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have done this. Now, Xiao Shiba, the cunning fellow, actually saw through it. Zhu Minfeng, the eldest nephew, was also a smart man, and he understood it in a blink of an eye. They were sure that Zhu Shenzhui had other ways to make money besides his salary, and he was eager to help them.
Zhu Shenzhu didn't know how to solve the situation for a moment. If he just said a few perfunctory words and sent them away, it would definitely not work. Everyone was not stupid. Since they had seen it, Zhu Shenzhu still denied it, which meant that he didn't regard them as his own people.
Maybe Zhu Shencui could get rid of them today, but what about the future? Since they had guessed something, if they denied it, it would be like offending someone, and Zhu Shencui would have to spend more energy on guarding against them. They were all afraid of being poor, and their eyes would turn red when they saw silver. Who knew what they would do to get a chance to make money?
Even if they didn't spread the word, could Zhu Shenzhui still tie them up if they followed him around every day? If that was the case, Zhu Shenzhui wouldn't have to do anything in the future and would just have to be on guard against them from morning till night, which was definitely not going to work.
But if he told them about the smuggling of salt, it would be impossible to get them involved. Let alone whether they were really reliable, even if they were relatives of the royal family, it would be fine for ordinary things, but Zhu Shenzhui would never use outsiders for such a big matter.
Besides, although the profit of smuggling salt is huge, Zhu Shenzhui's business is far less than those of big merchants, and the money he earns is hard-earned under limited conditions. These three companies have inexplicably added money to share. Regardless of whether they can help him, the money they share cannot be less. In this case, what should Zhu Shenzhui do?
Neither this nor that worked. Zhu Shenzhui was a little confused for a moment. While cursing himself inwardly, he also warned himself that he must never make the same mistake again that he made today due to carelessness.
(End of this chapter)