loyal dog becomes cat

The spring is beautiful in March, and the willows have sprouted new shoots. The children who have been covering the winter at home are starting to play wildly in the wild. The women are picking up wild alfalfa on the hillside with baskets, and the men gather in twos and threes in the fields. The green wheat is smiling.

Under the supervision of shopkeeper Zhou, Ma Ke took orders from many restaurants, and almost monopolized the raw material supply of major restaurants in Huanzhou City. The grand occasion of queuing up across the street to buy a piece of tofu can be described as spectacular.

At this point, not to mention Deng Liuniang's family, even the tofu shop in Huanzhou City that has been open for generations can't keep up with Ma Ke's prestige.

The more people buy, the higher the income will be, but the daily work will also increase a lot.Ma's family is sparsely populated, Ma Ke and Hua Jian are too young, and Madam Wu is too old, and the only one who can do it is Ma Dingbang, but in a few months, the corn will be planted, and the farming will definitely depend on him. , manpower is even more of a problem.

Ma Ke began to think about hiring a few people in the village to help, but Dengzhuang is too far away from Huanzhou City, and transportation will also be a problem after the production increases. Forget about opening a tofu shop, and save the trouble of running back and forth between Madam Wu and Hua Jian.

Before leaving the stall this morning, Ma Ke said: "Don't come back in a hurry after you sell the tofu, go around the city to see if there is any shop for rent, and come back and let me know."

Hua Jian wondered: "Brother, what do you ask the store for?"

Mother Wu was old, so she guessed his thoughts immediately, and asked, "Do you want to open a tofu shop in the city?"

Ma Ke nodded and said: "I have this idea, but the paving manpower is a problem, and the money on hand may not be enough, let's take a look first, don't worry."

Nanny Wu nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll tell the shoemaker and the secretary next to our stall to pay attention, and they should be able to find a suitable one."

Seeing that the two left, Ma Dingbang was pressing tofu in the firewood room. Ma Ke wanted to help, but Dingbang felt sorry for his thinness and let him rest. Ma Ke couldn't resist, so he sat on the bench at the door to bask in the sun.

After the beginning of spring, Mrs. Ma cultivated a small vegetable field in the yard, and planted some seasonal vegetables for the family to adjust their life. Liu Xiaodong didn't catch mice, and he had nothing to do all day long, so he rolled around in the vegetable field early in the morning. play.

After a while, the little thing excitedly ran to Ma Ke, carefully spat out a colorful little pink butterfly from his mouth, put it at his feet, pressed it gently with his little paw, and let him see it with a "meow meow".

He doesn't know how to catch mice, but likes to catch butterflies. Ma Ke is really speechless about it, but it's not easy to discourage its enthusiasm. He pinched the butterfly and looked at it, let it fly, and said: "Okay, good boy, really filial."

Liu Xiaodong rolled his eyes, jumped onto his lap and got down on the ground, squinting his eyes at the pink butterflies flying in the air, and basking in the sun with him.

After raising the kitten for a winter, the kitten got fatter, but it didn’t grow much, and it still looked like a milk cat. Ma Ke stroked its head and said to himself: "If you are really Liu Xiaodong, that would be great. I don't have to worry about it... It's really hard to do manufacturing. You have to find a shop, you have to hire people, and you have to prevent technology leaks... How do you think he started such a big agricultural company with his bare hands? I knew it earlier Then I learned a lot from him.”

Liu Xiaodong licked Ma Ke's hand tenderly, as if telling him not to worry.

Although it is only a cat, Ma Ke unconsciously trusts and relies on it because of the fact that he passed through together. He felt a little more confident after being encouraged by it, and said with a smile: "Try first and then talk." , maybe we can do a chain or something.”

Liu Xiaodong nodded.

"Yes, is there anyone?" An old and weak voice suddenly came from the door. Ma Ke looked up and saw an old man in ragged clothes standing outside the threshold, holding a broken bowl in his hand and leaning on a walking stick. The beard is half a foot long, the corners of the eyes are full of eye feces, and the unkempt face can't even be seen clearly.

It turned out to be a beggar. Ma Ke was soft-hearted. He hurriedly put the kitten aside, took two steamed buns from the kitchen, put them in the old beggar's bowl, and said, "Is that enough? Do you want water?"

The old beggar looked at Ma Ke with cloudy eyes, and there was a look of relief and sadness in his eyes. After a long time, two lines of tears suddenly rolled down, and he said, "Miss, you don't know me anymore?"

Marko looked at the old beggar suspiciously, searching his mind desperately but couldn't figure out who he was. Seeing that he couldn't recognize him, the old beggar wiped his tears and tremblingly said: "Okay, okay, I feel at ease when I see you It's..."

After finishing speaking, he put the steamed buns in a rag bag, turned around and limped to leave.

"Mancang?" Mrs. Ma stood in the doorway with a wire basket in her hand and said in surprise, "Mancang! Is it really you?"

The old beggar's leaving back suddenly stopped, turned around slowly, bowed slightly to Mrs. Ma, and choked up, "Ma'am, I haven't seen you for half a year. How are you?"

"A Ke, let Mancang come in!" Mrs. Ma put down the work in her hands, walked over quickly, and said to Ma Ke, "This is Mancang, our former long-term worker." As she said, she grabbed Mancang's sleeve and pulled him away. Pulling back, Mancang whimpered and cried, struggled with his limp legs, and was finally pulled into the gate hobbled.

"Mancang, what's the matter with you?" Madam Ma felt uncomfortable seeing him downcast, her eyes were a little red, "I haven't seen you for more than half a year, why are you a beggar?"

Mancang was buzzing and crying: "When I came out from home, I went to Wangzhuang to do work for others. I accidentally injured my leg while beating pigweed. I didn't have money to treat it. After a long time, the wound rotted and became lame. What? The work is not easy, I was kicked out by the boss when winter came, and I had to eat for several months, and my legs were rotten, and now... I'm afraid I can't do it."

"I actually hurt you." Mrs. Ma was sad when she heard this, and said in tears: "You are a long-term worker of our Ma family. When you are old, we originally asked us to take care of you. But this time the master... , I sent you away at the beginning because the family really couldn't afford to hire anyone, and seeing that you can still work, I hope you can find a good employer when you go out, and have someone to rely on for the rest of your life."

"Ma'am, what are you talking about? I know your kindness. I originally planned to go out to do half a year's work, save some money, and then come back to take care of you and the eldest lady. Who knew that I would become what I am now. I don't know if I'm crippled." , I’m going to lose my life.” Mancang nodded and choked with sobs, and said, “I’m naked, the only thing I’m worried about is my wife and eldest lady, thinking of the kindness of the master in the past, I wanted to visit you before I died, and now I know you Have a good life, I, I can die with peace of mind."

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Ma wiped her tears, pointed at Ma Ke and said to Mancang, "Ah Ke was seriously ill last autumn, and I don't remember anything from the past, so I didn't recognize you today , fortunately I recognized your voice...Since you are here, you can stay here, let Huajian invite a doctor to come and take a look at your legs tomorrow."

Mancang said: "I can't burden my wife, I'll leave as soon as I see you." As he said that, he was about to get up.

"Full warehouse." Ma Ke hurriedly held him down, and said, "What are you talking about is not burdensome, mother said that our family should provide for you in the old age, and my father is not here, so naturally I will take care of it—let me see your legs. "

Mancang couldn't hold back Mrs. Ma, so he had to roll up the torn trouser legs.

A burst of stench hit, and Ma Ke almost held his breath. The wound on Mancang's leg was originally deep. At that time, he should have cleaned and sutured it as soon as he was injured, but because he didn't treat it in time, he was contaminated with soil and fertilizer and became inflamed. Later, the wound festered Without treatment, it turned into gangrene, and now it is rotten to the bone, and it is very scary to look white.

Ma Ke touched his head, it was very hot, and he knew that the inflammation was very severe. There was no penicillin cephalosporin in ancient times, and he didn't know if it could be cured.

"You can keep the warehouse." Ma Ke sighed, and said, "I'll ask the doctor to show you the wound right away. Don't think too much about what is cumbersome or not. Adding a mouth is just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks Besides, I am busy with business and have a lot of work, and Dingbang also needs to help, so you can stay here with peace of mind."

After hearing Ma Ke's words, Mrs. Ma smiled with tears in her eyes: "A Ke is right, the warehouse is full, you can stay."

Mancang is one of the old people brought back from Chongzhou by Master Ma. He is not too old. He is 45 and six years old. In modern times, he is in the prime of life, but he has been down for a long time and is seriously injured. Now he looks Looks old and dirty.

Ma Ke saw that the gangrene on his leg was so severe that ordinary people would not be able to cure it, so he gritted his teeth and took a large sum of money, and invited the most famous doctor Ding in Huanzhou City.

Doctor Na Ding is really miraculous. He poured a bowl of Mabosan into the warehouse, and he just used a small knife to goug out the necrotic muscle on his leg, scraped it off the bone, stuffed it with the secret golden sore medicine, and supplemented it with Decoction, in less than half a month, the wound has grown new flesh.

The injury was healed, but the root of the disease was left behind. Mancang eventually became lame. From now on, he could only walk on crutches. He might not be able to work in the fields, so he could only do simple housework.

Mancang knew that Ma Ke spent a lot of money for him, and now his life was saved, but he became a useless person. He was very sad. Before the wound healed, he struggled to the ground and helped Dingbang to press the tofu. bean sprouts, or help Mrs. Ma tidy up the vegetable patch in the yard.

Ma Ke understood that he was used to being busy, and asking him to be idle would make him feel uneasy, so he simply let him go, Shan quietly told Dingbang to watch while he was working, and try not to tire him.

After a month, Madam Wu finally found two suitable shops in the city. One is in the downtown area, diagonally opposite Hexiangji, but the place is smaller and the price is more expensive; The gate has a big face and a small yard, and the price is relatively cheap.

Ma Ke weighed it for a long time, and he still chose the remote one. He also knew that the busy market is good for business, but the money on hand is not enough. Besides, he also wants to try to develop new products such as dried tofu and tofu skin, and he also needs a place. Engage in processing.

Without further ado, it must be done. The next day Ma Ke went to the city with Madam Wu, signed a paperwork with the landlord, and paid a year's rent in advance.

Mrs. Ma set the date for the start of work, and it will be auspicious. Ma Ke didn't think about extravagance, so he just bought a few firecrackers, set them up at the door early in the morning, and placed a "[-]% off opening discount" under the eaves of the porch water sign.

Because "Little Horse Tofu" has long been famous, Hua Jian and Madam Wu sent out leaflets a few days ago. Not long after, regular customers found a new store and took advantage of the discount to buy a lot of tofu back. They were all snatched up.

Business was booming on the first day of opening, which was a good sign. Ma Ke was very happy. He hung a "sold out" sign at the door, and posted a "recruitment notice" next to it, and ordered Ma Dingbang to close the door.

Dingbang tidied up the counter in front, Mrs. Ma took Nanny Wu home to prepare lunch, and Ma Ke was stringing dried tofu in the backyard.

He has never done this before. He only remembers reading the introduction of Ganquan Dried Tofu on the Internet. He roughly remembers that the tofu should be cut into pieces and dried.

Mancang knows how to marinate meat, so Ma Ke asked him to marinate a few pieces of tofu two days ago, and asked Mrs. Ma for some hemp rope, and now mobilized Hua Jian to skewer dried tofu with him.

On the other hand, Ma Dingbang suddenly ran over with a rag and said, "Miss, go out and have a look, someone is here to give us a congratulatory gift."