Chapter 16 Old Friends

  Entering the store, Yang Yun pretended to carefully select some pearl flowers, but in fact, his eyes were scanning around looking for Meng Chao. He soon found him hiding in a corner chatting with a young girl dressed as a maid.

  Yang Yun quietly walked behind Meng Chao and patted his shoulder with her hand.

  At this time, Meng Chao suddenly turned around.

  "Yang Xian Di, what brings you here?"

  "Brother Meng - you didn't go to the library, so you were secretly meeting a beauty here." Yang Yun put down her hand nonchalantly and said with a smile.

  "No," Meng Chao and the girl said in unison, denying it.

  Meng Chao smiled wryly and said, "She's my sister, Meng He."

  Then he said to Meng He: "This is my good friend Yang Yun."

  Meng He bowed and gave a salute, a pretty little girl about 15 or 16 years old. Yang Yun hastily returned the courtesy.

  "It's actually Meng's little sister. Sorry about that, sorry about that. It's all old Meng's fault for hiding such a beautiful younger sister at home and never mentioning it."

  Meng Chao was taken aback, thinking to himself that he had only known Yang Yun for less than a month and it was normal not to mention his sister. And when did he become Old Meng? He hadn't thought of Yang Yun as being overly familiar before.

  Meng He covered her mouth and smiled, "Don't blame your brother, I'm a maid in the outer house of Zhang Yuan, usually even brothers are hard to meet, let alone his friends."

  Unexpectedly, Meng He was not very old, but she spoke quickly and cheerfully. What's more, she didn't shrink back because of her status as a maid, nor did she become sharp-tongued and petty. She gave Yang Yun the feeling of being like his own little sister, Yang Lin.

  A few people had been talking for a while when the curtain beside them suddenly moved slightly, and a low voice called out: "Xiao He..."

  "My sister is going back home now. Brother, you should take care of your body and not read books so late every day. See you next time, Yang brother, goodbye!"

  Meng He finished speaking, took a few steps forward and lifted the curtain. "Miss, let's go."

  A foot wearing a shoe with green embroidery on a blue background first appeared from behind the curtain. Yang Yun's spirits lifted, and he used all his might to gaze at her, wanting to see what this young lady with the pleasant voice looked like.

  "Not bad!" When the whole beauty walked out, Yang Yun exclaimed in her heart, "Meng Chao's sister is quite pretty, huh? She counts as a 7, but this miss can count as a 9! Although she doesn't look absolutely stunning, her figure and temperament are both great, a typical Wu State beauty."

  Yang Yun was secretly criticizing in his heart, unaware that the memories he had obtained from his dreams were silently influencing him. Originally, at his age and having always studied poetry books in rural areas, how could he have dared to stare at everyone's beloved daughter?

  The girl came out with her head down, never looking in Yang Yun's direction, and didn't know how she felt about Yang Yun's recklessness. A red cloud flew up on her face, and she lowered her head even lower, pulling Xiao He away from the store like a fugitive.

  The woman shopkeeper who followed behind was just a few steps away, and when she came out, she couldn't see anyone anymore. She cried out in surprise: "Huh? How did Miss Zhang walk so fast?"

  Yang Yun withdrew his gaze, but found that Meng Chao's expression beside him was a bit off. Since the young lady came out, Meng Chao seemed to have turned into a statue, except for his eyes which kept following Miss Meng, his body didn't move at all.

  It turns out that when Miss Zhang came out, her eyes had glanced in Meng Chao's direction. It seems that Miss Zhang's blushing may not be because of herself.

  Yang Yun suddenly came back to her senses and smiled as she patted Meng Chao once.

  "Old Meng, he's already gone."

  "Ah——" Meng Chao finally came back to his senses.

  "Haha, Old Meng, you're not being honest, and yet you said you wouldn't meet a beauty here."

  When he said this, Yang Yun laughed like a weasel that had just discovered a chicken coop.

  Meng Chao smiled awkwardly and said, "Doesn't seem like Yang Xian has anything on him?"

  "Yeah, reading is a bit tiring, just taking it easy today."

  "Alright, come and have a drink with me then." Meng Chao said as he pulled Yang Yun's arm.

  Meng Chao is a local snakehead who led Yang Yun Dong into a secluded alley.

  Walking into an inconspicuous small restaurant, Meng Chao loudly greeted everyone.

  "Uncle Kui - bring seven or eight small dishes, and a pot of your best Huangjiu!"

  "Good luck——"

  The boss of the small restaurant personally took action, and without asking Meng Chao where to sit, he quickly cleaned up a table by the window, and soon the dishes and drinks were served.

  It's said to be a small dish, but the serving is generous, with things like braised goose head, duck palm, and fennel beans. Yang Yun tasted a few mouthfuls and found it quite flavorful.

  The seat is by the window, and outside the window, there is a sparse bamboo forest. The gentle breeze comes, and after drinking another mouthful of warm yellow wine, Yang Yunle says: "Old Meng, this place is not bad, you come often."

  Meng Chao shook his head, "You also know I don't have much money. I've been an apprentice here for half a year, and just quit my job before the new year to prepare for this year's college entrance exam."

  "So it is, nothing more to say, hope both of us will be on the list in the autumn exam, come, let's have a drink"

  "Alright, I'll take Yang Xian's auspicious words."

  Two people raise their cups, smile at each other, and drink up in one gulp.

  The wine went down his throat, bringing up a faintly bitter and sour taste.

  This year's autumn exam, if everything is still on the original track, Yang Yun will be out of luck. After finishing the list, he wandered around in a daze for half a day and met Meng Chao, who also failed to pass, and the two went drinking together like today.

  Yang Yun couldn't remember the location and name of that tavern in the city, only the greasy tables and chairs, and a dim yellow oil lamp. The two people got drunk and were carried out of the tavern by someone, and they spent a night in a drunken stupor by the roadside ditch.

  The next day, after Yang Yun and Meng Chao parted ways, Yang Yun coincidentally met Xian Yuan and embarked on a completely different path, never to see Meng Chao again.

  Two people, you one cup and I one cup, soon had a few degrees of intoxication.

  "Lao Meng, don't you have a crush on Miss Zhang from today?" Yang Yun asked, fueled by the wine.

  Meng Chao's hand holding the cup paused for a moment, "Don't talk nonsense, Miss Zhang is an immortal fairy, not someone like me, a mortal man, can match."

  "What's wrong with that? What's Miss Zhang's background, isn't she a member of the royal family?"

  "It's not that serious, but it's not an ordinary family either. Her family is a prominent family in the county, with a long history of producing scholars and officials who have passed the imperial examination. Her father is not the eldest son, but he has been managing the family business and has turned out to be quite talented at it. The business has been booming in recent years, and it's said that this year they might become the richest family in the county."

  Upon hearing Meng Chao say this, Yang Yun finally had an impression and exclaimed: "So it's the Zhang Bazi family!"

  "Do you also know her father?"

  "Not very clear about it, but every day you can hear someone on the street scolding this name."

  Meng Chao smiled bitterly. This Zhang Lao Ye was indeed notorious, and he hadn't expected that even Yang Yun, a newcomer to the county town, had heard of him.

  Zhang Lao Ye was called "Zhang Ba Jiao" by the people of Jinghai County because he did business without choosing a method, and when dealing with opponents, he would entangle them like an octopus, using his tentacles to make them go bankrupt before stopping.

  "What made Xia He become a maid?" Yang Yun asked again.

  "Repaying debts." Meng Chaodong raised a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

  "Pay off debts?" Yang Yun thought of Zhang Ba's nickname and understood a bit.

  Meng Chao had seven or eight parts of wine intention, plus he got along very well with Yang Yun, so he took the initiative to start telling.

  "My father used to run a pawnshop, and when my sister was born, my mother passed away. Before she died, my father promised her that he would close the pawnshop. My mother was worried that if she were gone, my father might have an accident while traveling for business and leave me and my sister without anyone to take care of us. My father worked hard his whole life to save up some money, and after closing the pawnshop, he went into business with someone else. The first few years were pretty smooth, we had a servant taking care of my sister at home, and I was sent to a private school."

  Meng Chao stopped here, and Yang Yun guessed what happened next.

  Meng He was serving as a maid, and Old Master Meng had also passed away several years ago. These things must have something to do with Zhang Ba's escape.

  "Miss Zhang is a good person, completely different from her father. When Xiaohua first entered the Zhang household, she was bullied, and it was Miss Zhang who took her under her wing." Meng Chao sighed, "At that time, I and Xiaohua disliked her because of her father's relationship with us, but she treated Xiaohua very well. In private, she apologized countless times for her father's behavior. She knew Xiaohua missed home, so she would often find excuses to go out, allowing Xiaohua to meet me and chat for a bit. Actually, Miss Zhang herself dislikes going shopping and prefers staying at home reading books - these are things Xiaohua told me."

  "Yang Xian, don't mention these things to others, it will affect Miss Zhang's reputation if they spread. Actually, I haven't even exchanged a few words with her." Meng Chao reminded him.

  "Don't worry, I won't say anything. But Old Meng, you should seize the opportunity too, Miss Zhang is talented and beautiful, don't tell me you're not moved, otherwise I'll go after her." Yang Yun said jokingly.

  Unexpectedly, Meng Chao became serious and wanted to make a bet with Yang Yun: whoever got the best results in the autumn exam would go to Miss Zhang's house to propose - if both of them did well, then Yang Yun would step aside.

  Yang Yun was greatly worried, this autumn exam he was bound to win, but Meng Chaozhong's chances were not high - he didn't pass the exam in his previous life, unless he also had an unexpected encounter like himself. Although Miss Zhang was quite good, Yang Yun hadn't planned on bringing a wife home yet.

  Thinking about it, following the current trajectory of development, after the autumn exam results are announced, Meng Chao may really come to force himself to propose.

  Meng Chao is not a saint, but his concerns are very real and he truly has Miss Zhang's best interests at heart. If he doesn't pass the imperial examination, he won't be qualified to ask for her hand in marriage. If he fails once, it's unlikely that Miss Zhang will wait another three years for him to take the exam again.

  Considering Mr. Zhang's reputation, if he were to marry Miss Zhang off to an unsuitable person for the sake of fame and fortune, Meng Chaonan would rather have her as his own sister-in-law than see that happen.

  Yang Yun tried to shirk for a while, but Meng Chao was slightly drunk and became insistent. He said that if Yang Yun didn't agree, he would be a petty person who repeated himself, and wanted to cut ties with him.

  Yang Yun had no choice but to respond vaguely for the time being, thinking in her heart that she would let Meng Chao also pass the exam, so as to get rid of this trouble later.

  They drank wine until sunset and then bid each other farewell, stumbling away.