Chapter Thirteen Unexpectedly Also Had Such A Day

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  This father and son were discussing something, while outside another father and daughter came out of the Xu family's house but didn't leave immediately.

  Merchant Zhao Chen, a medicine merchant from Jiangning, never thought he would get entangled in such a lawsuit. He was furious at first, but now he has calmed down, narrowing his eyes and stroking the short whiskers under his chin, with a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and a hint of murderous intent floating on his gloomy face.

  He fell silent for a moment, then said to Miss Zhao: "Mengting, the Xu family is clearly not willing to give up. This is all because of your father's trouble, but you don't have to be afraid. Later, when we leave here, as long as we get out of this county, the Xu family will still be unable to do anything to me. Even if they want to file a lawsuit, once we reach Jiangning, our Zhao family doesn't have to fear them either."

  Miss Zhao frowned and said, "Father, releasing a fugitive slave is a serious crime. Even if we report it to the Qiantang County government, they can still send someone to capture him in Jiangning. If I leave Qiantang with you, I will be considered an escaped slave and bring disaster to our family."

  She bit her lip, and a hint of desolation flashed across her beautiful eyes as she continued: "So the daughter can't leave. In my opinion, Xu's father and son are just trying to take advantage of us. As long as I remain unmoved and Father shows an uncooperative attitude, they will eventually give in. Then, Father can ransom me back, and everything will be resolved."

  Zhao Chen's face showed a look of unbearable pain, and he said: "But... but..."

  Miss Zhao smiled slightly, stroking her disheveled hair, and this smile was like the pear blossoms blooming under the morning dew, beautiful and moving. She interrupted Zhao Chen's next words and said: "My daughter has made up her mind, so Father doesn't need to persuade me anymore. I will temporarily go to the Xu family, and Father can quickly return to Jiangning and wait for an opportunity to rescue me."

  "If all else fails, let's just have Dad go to the Zhangs..."

  Miss Zhao shook her head resolutely and said firmly, "Father, don't forget that when you were released from prison, I also went to the Zhang family to plead for help. What was the result? The Zhang family feared Wang Gonggong and stood by with folded arms. Haven't you felt the warmth and coldness of human relationships in this matter?"

  Zhao Chen hesitated for a long time, stamped his foot and said: "Forget it, forget it, everything is up to you, just be careful." Then he turned around three times in one step, sighed and walked away.

  Miss Zhao's eyes sparkled, and she let out a soft sigh.

  By dusk, Miss Zhao arrived at the Xu's as promised, but all she brought with her were a few changes of clothes, nothing else. This made Xu Chang feel disappointed and worried. He had thought that although Miss Zhao was bound by the sale contract, she would still bring some valuable items into their home, so the Xu family could not only gain a daughter-in-law but also make some profit from it.

  The Xu family's tile house has a total of three rooms, just enough for the three people to have one room each. When asked about Miss Zhao's name, it turned out that her name was Zhao Mengting. Xu Qian didn't say much, but casually instructed her to be in charge of washing clothes and cooking meals, which Zhao Mengting agreed to.

  At the end, Xu Qian held a book in one hand and looked at Zhao Mengting with a curious expression, saying: "Isn't your family very wealthy? Don't you usually have maids serving you?"

  Zhao Mengting remained silent and said quietly, "Of course there are people serving."

  His tone was neither overbearing nor respectful, making Xu Qian feel very uncomfortable. He couldn't help but think to himself: "Still putting on airs, how boring." So he instructed Zhao Mengting to go and tidy up her own bedroom first tonight. As soon as Zhao Mengting left, Xu Chang came in with his hands behind his back, glanced at Xu Qian, saw that she was holding a book, and looked slightly better, but couldn't help warning: "Although Miss Zhao has entered our Xu family's door, you must not have any improper thoughts now. You're still young, your studies are important, don't have any wild ideas."

  Xu Qian was wronged to death and hurriedly said: "Dad, am I such a person?"

  Xu Chang carefully sized up Xu Qian, full of suspicion, and said: "A hero's son is a good man, if his father is such a person, he won't be that kind of person? Moreover, in the future, you will be a scholar, scholars are often frivolous, haha... It's also interesting to say, we vendors have lustful thoughts, it's called indecent, but scholars having lustful thoughts is called romantic. My son will also have a romantic day."

  Although Zhao Mengting is a young lady from a boudoir, since she arrived at the Xu family, she has been quite obedient and diligent in doing household chores. She has won Xu Chang's favor, and even Xu Qian has changed his opinion about her. However, Xu Qian secretly feels that there is always an air of stubbornness around Zhao Mengting, thinking that this woman is too proud.

  Anyway, Xu Chang and his son finally bid farewell to the era of dirty clothes that no one would wash, and the cold stove and cold rice at home. The two felt much more comfortable.

  A difficult problem was placed in front of Xu Qian, and for the past few days, he had been burying his head in books. However, although reading books has a bright future, practical problems are still in front of him, and no matter how hard he tries to avoid them, they can't be escaped. Once that official Wang finishes handling things and the Xu family changes their registration, Father's job will be ruined. Now the Xu family has one more mouth to feed, and living expenses have been gradually increasing. If this continues, it won't work out; sooner or later, they'll end up with nothing left.

  Xu Chang spent his whole life as a minor official, neither accomplished in literature nor skilled in martial arts. He will surely become an unemployed middle-aged man in the future. On the other hand, Xu Qian wanted to go out and earn some money, but unfortunately, the old master refused no matter what, forcing him to study instead.

  With a preoccupation, Xu Qian found it difficult to focus his mind. In fact, the Four Books and Five Classics and Zhu Xi's collection of annotations were all deeply ingrained in his heart. Recently, he had also tried writing eight-legged essays several times and had gained some insights. However, Xu Qian was someone who liked to get involved in other people's business, so it was inevitable that he would be somewhat distracted by this matter.

  By September, Wang Gong had already sent someone with a message saying that everything was ready and they were just waiting for the official documents to be issued from the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

  Making a living is imminent, Xu Qian feels that this day will not survive, counting the little silver in the family every day, sighing.

  After reviewing the Book of Rites for a day, Zhao Mengting went to call him for dinner. Xu Qian responded and came out. The relationship between the two was still lukewarm, or there were always some misunderstandings. Xu Qian couldn't stand Zhao Mengting's arrogance, while Zhao Mengting had a grudge against Xu Qian and looked down on him.

  Look down on him if you want, but Xu Qian doesn't care. He does have a lustful heart, but that doesn't mean he can't walk properly when he sees a beauty. Old Master Xu Chang went to the county government office as usual today, although he doesn't know when he'll lose his job. The old master still sticks to his post, extorting the last copper coin and catching the last thief.

  In the room were only Xu Qian and Zhao Mengting, the two sat silently eating, occasionally there would be a cough that made the atmosphere slightly oppressive, but they didn't have much to say to each other.

  She didn't want to talk, and Xu Qian was even less willing to bother with her. After hastily finishing dinner, he comfortably lay down on the chair. Zhao Mengting, however, was more considerate and immediately got up to pour tea. The tea was of poor quality, but as Old Master would say, since one has become a scholar, they must drink tea three times a day; otherwise, how can they become a gentleman? Gentlemen always drink tea to cultivate their nature, Xu Chang didn't expect Xu Qian to develop any good qualities from drinking tea, he just hoped that at least he could put on a decent appearance.

  After taking a sip of tea, Xu Qian let out a sigh and pondered his plan to make money. There are many ways to make money, but the problem is that making money requires capital. The Xu family, from top to bottom, has only saved more than 20 taels of silver over the years. Now in Hangzhou, it takes 7 or 8 taels of silver to buy one mu of paddy field. It seems like three mu of paddy fields would require a lot of silver, but after all, it's still a small business. After working hard for a year, he might only be able to make ends meet.

  Zhao Mengting was quietly putting away the bowls and chopsticks, when suddenly they heard a knock at the door. Xu Qian raised his eyes and said to Zhao Mengting: "Go see who it is?" But then he thought about it, after all, Zhao Mengting was a woman, and it wouldn't be proper for her to greet the guest, so he lazily got up and said: "I'll go instead."

  Arriving at the courtyard, he opened the door and saw two young servants in green clothes and small hats, looking impatient as they gestured to continue knocking on the door. Behind them stood a young master wearing a satin round-collared robe, fanning himself with an air of impatience.

  "Who are you?"

  "Who are you again?"

  Xu Qian saw that the visitor was not good, and his heart couldn't help but have some anger. This guy ran to his own home, yet he came to ask who he was? His face suddenly turned cold: "You must be looking for the wrong person? I don't know you, and you don't know me..."

  The young master's eyes were looking into the courtyard, and the little servant next to him whispered a few words in his ear. The young master sneered: "You don't recognize me, I naturally don't recognize you either, but I'm here to find Meng Ting, so get out of my way!"