When the waiter heard Shen Xiu ask about Aunt Xu from Shiqiao Street, he shook his head and said, "I'm not very familiar with the people on Shiqiao Street. But if you want to inquire, you can ask our shopkeeper."
The innkeeper is a local know-it-all, and there is almost nothing in Qingshan County that he doesn't know.
When the shopkeeper heard that Shen Xiu was looking for Aunt Xu from Shiqiao Street, he glanced at her first and said, "Who are you from Aunt Xu?"
Shen Xiudao: "I am the daughter of an old friend of Aunt Xu. I heard that Aunt Xu lives in Qingshan County, so I came to visit her."
The shopkeeper said: "You're a little late. Aunt Xu has already moved away."
"Moved?" Shen Xiu was obviously stunned, and then asked: "Then where did she move to?"
The shopkeeper said: "I don't know about that. I only know that she originally rented a house on Shiqiao Street, but later she couldn't pay the rent and was kicked out by the owner of the house. This was half a year ago.
"
"Oh, by the way, I heard someone say that Aunt Xu has a distant nephew in the country. Maybe she might go to join that distant nephew."
When Shen Xiu asked where his distant nephew was, the shopkeeper said he didn't know.
Shen Xiu had no choice but to go to Shiqiao Street to inquire about it again.
The result of the inquiry was similar to what the shopkeeper said.
There has been no news from Aunt Xu since she left here. Some say she went to the countryside, while others say she was poor and ill when she left. She may not be alive anymore.
As for her distant nephew, people who know Aunt Xu said that they only know that he is in Qingshan County, but they don’t know which town or village he is from.
There are several small towns in Qingshan County, and each town has more than a dozen villages.
If we keep searching like this, how many years and months will it take to find the person?
Shen Xiu thought for a long time before he came up with a solution.
The next day, she wrote countless notices, went to the inn kitchen to get some paste, and then posted these notices all over the county.
Within half a day, these notices attracted everyone's attention.
There was a scholar who could read and explained the content of this notice to everyone.
"This notice says that there used to be Aunt Xu living on Shiqiao Street. If anyone knows her whereabouts, she will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. If anyone finds her and brings her to the inn, she will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver."
Ten taels of silver to buy a piece of news is not a small amount. Not to mention that if you find someone, you can get twenty taels of silver.
Everyone couldn't help but talk about it, because Qingshan County is located in a remote place and there is no daily entertainment. Therefore, after this notice appeared, the entire county became a topic of discussion. Within a few days, even the nearby country people who came to the market knew about it.
this matter.
When Xu Erzhu drove an ox cart to the county town to sell cloth, he heard people in the market talking about this matter.
Xu Erzhu didn't take this matter to heart at first, but it wasn't until he heard someone talking about Shiqiao Street that his face changed slightly.
His aunt seemed to have lived on Shiqiao Street.
Next, Xu Erzhu heard some useful information from other people.
He pieced together a story piecemeal. Someone was looking for his aunt, and as long as he knew her whereabouts, he could get a reward of ten taels of silver.
At this time, Xu Erzhu couldn't sit still.
Originally, his wife repeatedly told him to sell the cloths at a good price, but Xu Erzhu was worried and was not in the mood to bargain, so he just gave the cloths to a guest and then drove an ox cart back home.
It was not yet past noon, and Xu Erzhu's daughter-in-law was picking beans in the yard. When she saw Xu Erzhu coming back, she asked, "Why are you back so early?"
Xu Erzhu washed his face and handed the money for selling cloth to his wife.
Xu Erzhu's daughter-in-law frowned and said, "Why do you need so little money? Didn't I tell you to sell the cloth at a good price?"
"Don't worry, listen to me telling you something." Xu Erzhu told his wife everything he heard.
"As soon as I heard about ten taels of silver, I couldn't sit still anymore. Those priceless pieces of cloth of yours are only sold for a few taels of silver. Can they be compared with ten taels of silver?"
Xu Erzhu's daughter-in-law seemed to believe it but not believe it: "Really or not, is there really someone willing to pay ten taels of silver to find out the whereabouts of that old woman?"
"Don't talk about an old woman, that's my aunt. I told you, my aunt used to be a famous embroiderer. If her eyes hadn't been broken early, she wouldn't have fallen to this point."
Xu Erzhu said: "After lunch, I will go and ask her. If she really lived on Shiqiao Street before, the ten taels of silver will be ours."
Xu Erzhu's daughter-in-law couldn't wait any longer, "Why bother going after dinner? You go now. When you come back, we will have lunch."
So Xu Erzhu swept the dust off his body and thought it would be a bad idea to go empty-handed. Taking advantage of his wife's unpreparedness, he secretly took a few eggs from the kitchen, then carefully put them in his arms and walked towards the east of the village.
There is a small river passing by here in the east of the village. From chen to noon every day, there are always girls and wives washing clothes here.
It's just that it's almost noon now, and there aren't many people washing clothes by the river.
Xu Erzhu searched around and found his aunt, Aunt Xu, who Shen Xiu was looking for, in a corner.
Aunt Xu is about fifty years old. She may have had a hard time in the past few years. Her hair has turned all white and she looks very haggard.
Her eyesight was bad and she did not dare to get too close to the river, so she bent down and laboriously washed a few pieces of dirty clothes in the tub.
These dirty clothes are Aunt Xu's livelihood. The clothes come from several tenant farmers who work in the farm. They have to work in the fields every day and there are no women at home, so they give the clothes to Aunt Xu to wash.
Washing a piece of clothing can earn you a penny. By starching the clothes, Aunt Xu can finally fill her stomach. Therefore, she washes it very carefully and rinses it two or three times.
Xu Erzhu shouted several times before Aunt Xu heard his voice.
"Aunt, I'm here to see you." Xu Erzhu stepped forward to take the wooden basin, and then supported Aunt Xu.
Aunt Xu squinted her eyes and saw clearly that her nephew was coming. She said calmly: "How did you find this place at noon?"
"Aunt, did you ever live on Shiqiao Street?" Xu Erzhu did not answer Aunt Xu's words, but asked first.
Aunt Xu said: "I used to live there, but later I was kicked out because I had no money. Why are you asking about this?"
Her tone was calm, as if she didn't care much about this matter, and she seemed to have forgotten that she wanted to stay at her nephew's house for a few days, but they refused.
Xu Erzhu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He felt that he blamed his wife for having long hair and short knowledge, and only saw the little benefit in front of her.
He smiled and said: "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered it and asked casually."
Then Xu Erzhu sent Aunt Xu home again, and before leaving, he put down a few eggs, saying they were to replenish her health.
Aunt Xu always felt that her nephew's behavior today was a little abnormal, but when she thought about it carefully, she had reached this point now and had nothing to gain, so even though she knew that her nephew was a little abnormal, she ignored it.
After Xu Erzhu left Aunt Xu's house, he had a quick lunch and then went to the county seat again.