After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 344 Making money in the right way
Before Shen Dagou could react, Liu Laosan brought Shen Tian over from the backyard and talked about the New Year's gifts. Some were for Shen Yi, some for the Su family, and another one was for Shen Dagou's family.

Distracted by Liu Laosan, Shen Dagou forgot to ask further questions and only realized it after leaving the capital.

"Something's not right! What does that young master mean? Why is he sending New Year's gifts to my family? And what is his identity?" Shen Dagou was startled and suddenly felt uneasy.

Su Zhan comforted her, "Don't be suspicious. With Uncle Liu around, he's my brother-in-law's godfather. He'll definitely take good care of your sister. Who cares who he is! Anyway, we've already given him a New Year's gift, so why not take it? I wonder if my sister has given Uncle Liu a New Year's gift too?"

He started to worry.

Song Yongnian was somewhat speechless. "Brother Shen is reliable and always thinks ahead of everything. You don't need to worry about him."

"That's true!" Su Zhan muttered and then stopped thinking about it.

Just then, a caravan passed by them, heading into the city.

Su Chuan turned around and exclaimed, "That looks like a caravan from our Lizhou."

Everyone looked back for a while before expressing their agreement.

The caravan, carrying a large amount of goods, arrived at the Yong'an Marquis's residence.

The gatekeeper went in to report.

Liu Laosan came out to take another look.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) presented a gift list and said, "My lord, these are New Year's gifts prepared for you by the Shen, Su, and Liu families of Zhaohua County, Lizhou. Please take a look."

Liu Laosan opened the thick gift list and looked at it with great interest in front of Murong Xu. He noticed that there was jade in it and immediately became interested. "Where did that child get such good things?"

The head镖师 explained, "Young Master Shen instructed that some of the valuable items were obtained through trade with merchant caravans from the Ice Plains, while others were purchased through intermediaries. Young Master Shen is currently the town magistrate of Dahe Town and is busy building the pontoon bridge. Most of the items were prepared by his wife."

Liu Laosan smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Su Tai is a very capable and thorough person."

As he spoke, he showed the gift list to Murong Xu.

Murong Xu was stunned, not expecting to find live seafood. "You can even transport these?"

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Shen has paid a sufficient price, so we can naturally deliver it. The item is still alive; please take a look."

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) had several boxes brought over. Two of the boxes were covered with fresh water plants. With a simple scoop using a strainer, the live shrimp underneath began to wriggle and jump. Each shrimp was about the length of a hand, and they were exceptionally fresh and beautiful.

"Great stuff!" Murong Xu praised without reservation.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) looked pleased with himself, puffed out his chest, and continued to have others open the other boxes.

All of them were large fish weighing over ten kilograms, as well as bighead carp weighing twenty or thirty kilograms, and two large boxes of fresh, live crabs.

These items are definitely luxuries for winter.

Murong Xu praised him repeatedly.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) said proudly, "That's not all! Besides these things, there are also fresh fruits and vegetables, all grown in greenhouses. There aren't many, but they look so tempting."

As corn, cauliflower, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, and eggplant were brought out one by one.

Murong Xu was moved.

The melons, apples, persimmons, and oranges that were then opened next dazzled everyone once again.

Murong Xu shamelessly said, "My lord, you really got a good deal on this godson! These good things are meant to be shared, so please give me some!"

Old Liu glared at her, dissatisfied, "These were all gifts from my son, and you, young master, are asking for a share right away? That's not very nice!"

Murong Xu decisively took out a silver note from his pocket. "How about this?"

"This isn't much," Liu Laosan said with a pained expression. "These are all from my son and daughter-in-law's heartfelt wishes." "How about this then!" Murong Xu gritted his teeth and gave him two more bills.

"Deal!" Liu Laosan quickly took the silver notes, afraid that Murong Xu would change his mind. "Young master, just tell me what you like, and I'll have the steward distribute it to you."

Murong Xu laughed in exasperation, "Is a dignified marquis so obsessed with money?"

Old Liu pouted and played the victim, "Young master, you know me. We have no family fortune, and we can't even bear to spend the rewards the emperor gives us. We only have a small salary each month, and we still have to pay for Tian Tian's medical treatment, medicine, and health supplements. We have to spend money everywhere. I can't help but be greedy for money!"

Murong Xu was speechless, then took out two more silver notes. "Is this enough?"

"No, no. Those were for selling things, we can't accept these two!" Old Liu was a man of principle.

Murong Xu squinted and said, "Isn't there jade? Let me see it."

"Alright!" The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) ordered someone to bring up the jade.

Upon opening the package, Murong Xu was quite surprised. "It's actually top-quality mutton-fat jade, such a large piece of raw stone! That's a rare find!"

He became unusually serious.

Liu Laosan muttered, "My daughter-in-law's uncle is from the Ice Plains. It's much easier for him to do business with people from the wilderness than for us! Isn't it normal for him to get some good stuff?"

Murong Xu remained silent, then quietly took out a few more silver notes. "My lord, how about giving me some of the goods?"

Liu Laosan nodded vigorously and obediently put away the remaining silver notes.

I made almost ten thousand taels of silver from Murong Xu today, I'm rich!

He was secretly delighted, but kept a straight face.

He had some seafood, vegetables, and fruits packed up and sent back to Murong Xu, and then prepared another portion to send to the emperor in the palace.

He left behind enough for him and Shen Tian to have a good New Year.

Murong Xu was in a good mood after acquiring a large piece of top-quality jade, and he stayed with Liu Laosan for a while before leaving.

As soon as he left, Liu Laosan immediately called the steward over to settle the accounts.

"With all these extra silver notes, how long can our household last?"

The steward immediately pulled out the account books and said, "My lord, there aren't many servants in the manor, and the expenses are also low. The monthly daily expenses are about eighty taels. If we don't count social obligations, a thousand taels of silver a year is enough. This is enough for our manor to use for several years."

"Good! I didn't expect my godson to be so capable! From now on, as long as we sell the New Year's gifts he sends every year to that sucker Murong Xu, we won't have to worry about money anymore, hahaha." Liu Laosan's calculations were going on and on, and he no longer had so much resentment towards Murong Xu, who often came to harass Shen Tian.

When Shen Tian learned that Liu Laosan had swindled a large sum of money from Murong Xu using those things, she couldn't help but laugh.

I miss that peaceful and warm village more and more.

Shen Dagou and his group traveled day and night, hurrying as fast as they could, and finally returned to the village before the New Year.

The first thing to do was to go to Shen Yi's house to divide the money, and also to explain all the gifts from those years.

The more he was told, the more displeased he became with the New Year's gifts given by Murong Xu.

Head drooping, he dragged his things home and first told his family about Shen Tian's situation.

The family was relieved to learn that Shen Tian was recovering and would be fully recovered in just six months of treatment, so they weren't in a hurry to bring her back.

Shen Dagou carried the New Year's gifts into the main room. He spoke animatedly about Liu Laosan's New Year's gifts, but became suspicious when he mentioned Murong Xu's New Year's gifts.

"I don't know anything about that young master. I went twice and ran into him both times. He even prepared New Year's gifts for our family separately. It's too strange."