Chapter Seventeen: The Proposal

  A Fu thanked again, and Jiang Pozi got up and walked towards Liu Ji Qian's house.

  Liu Jiqian's home is a standard quadrangle courtyard, not very large, but with a front hall and backyard, side rooms and gardens.

  Jiang Pozi knocked on the door and entered Liu Jiqian's home, arriving at the living room. Apart from Liu Jiqian, Yang Huaiyan and his three servants were also present.

  When he saw his mother-in-law enter the room, Yang Huaiyan stopped talking and just drank tea.

  Liu Jiqian looked at Jiang Po and asked: "Jiang Po, it's so late, why are you still visiting?"

  The old woman was a greedy master, and at this moment she had already been moved by the ten taels of gold that Song Kai had promised. She smiled and said: "Liu Zhanggui, didn't I come to congratulate you?"

  "What's there to be happy about? Where does the happiness come from?" Liu Jiqian subconsciously glanced at Yang Huaiyan, thinking that he was the one who had invited them.

  The old woman didn't recognize Yang Huaiyan, and she spoke on her own: "Liu Zhanggui, you really are a noble person who forgets things easily. This joyful event is naturally the marriage between your family's Liu Niangzi and East Head Song Dalang."

  "What!" Liu Jiqian suddenly opened his mouth and asked back.

  The teacup in Yang Huaiyan's hand across from him also shook slightly.

  "Master Liu, don't you remember? Last time, didn't you say that if the Red Dust Inn could operate successfully, you would agree to the marriage between Young Master Song and your daughter? Now, the Red Dust Inn is booming! Yesterday was just the first day of business, and we earned over a hundred taels of gold! Think about it, this is just the beginning... Haha, I'm truly envious of you, Master Liu, for having such a good marriage arrangement."

  The matchmaker relied solely on her mouth. The old woman poured out all the information she had gathered from Ah Fu, adding oil and vinegar to make it more flavorful.

  "Over a hundred taels?" Liu Jiqian's mouth twitched.

  The old woman smiled and said, "Isn't that right? Ah, actually, Liu boss, we're about the same age, so it's not a loss to call you Liu brother. You have this precious daughter, plus your family business, whoever she marries will be worry-free. The key is, does Liu miss want happiness or not? Think about it, Song Dajiang and your young miss, they've been a perfect match since childhood, playing together from small to big, their feelings have always been good, even I know this old wife, let alone other neighbors! You say, isn't this marriage a match made in heaven?"

  Liu Jiqian listened, his mouth half open.

  Yang Huaiyan couldn't help but sneer, "That old hag is too good at boasting! You think the guest house will always be prosperous just because of two poems that came from who-knows-where? Once the novelty wears off, it'll close down just like before! And you think Liu Zhuang can make a profit of 100 taels of gold? Do you really think he's easy to deceive?"

  Liu Jiqian also reacted, coldly snorting, "Old woman Jiang, don't spout nonsense. My daughter is clean and innocent, and she has nothing to do with that foolish young master of the Song family. If you continue to spread false rumors, I'll go to the government office to accuse you of slander."

  Old Lady Jiang was taken aback, her eyes swept over Yang Huaiyan, and she knew that the timing wasn't right. It seemed that Yang Huaiyan had also come to propose a marriage. Thinking of this, Old Lady Jiang didn't say much, stood up and left. She knew that next time, when Yang Huaiyan was not around, she would have a good talk with Liu Jiqian, and maybe the ten taels of gold could really be hers.

  Just after the old woman left, Yang Huaiyan also stood up to bid farewell. "Uncle Liu, please don't see me off, and another thing is that regarding the imperial court's tribute matter, I still need to ask Uncle Liu to make a decision as soon as possible."

  After finishing speaking, Yang Huaiyan took two family servants and went out.

  Liu Jiqian sighed and knew that Jiang Bao's words earlier had caused Yang Huaiyan some misunderstanding.

  Yang Huaiyan is also a narrow-minded person. As soon as he went out the door, he snorted and scolded: "Which crazy woman dares to be a matchmaker for Song Kai and says some nonsense that makes me uncomfortable? Yang Yong, Yang Quan, you go and teach her a lesson, don't beat her to death, just leave her with some breath."

  Yang Yong and Yang Quan lowered their heads, following Jiang Po in a trail of smoke to a small alley, where the two didn't exchange a word before launching into a flurry of kicks.

  The old woman was not an ordinary person, she had followed her deceased husband to mix with the gang's leader when she was young. She grabbed Yang Yong's leg and shouted loudly: "Murder! Robbery! Help!"

  No matter how hard Yang Yong and Yang Quan kicked her, she refused to let go.

  Yang Yong and Yang Quan were frightened, and before long, the two of them broke free from Jiang Po's grasp and took to their heels.

  The old woman stood up, rubbing her waist, and looked at the backs of Yang Yong and Yang Quan. In her mind's eye, it was clear that it was that little white face who had proposed marriage at Liu Ji Qian's house.

  Dare to provoke me, old ginger, I'll make you so embarrassed that you won't know where to hide!

  Back home, Ah Fu was still waiting in the courtyard.

  The old woman grabbed Ah Fu's belt with both hands and hummed, "Ah Fu! Oh no! My life is gone! For the sake of Song Dalang, I've lost more than half of it!"

  Ah Fu saw Jiang Po covered in mud and bruises on her face, and was startled. He hastily asked for the reason, and finally found out that Yang Huaiyan had beaten Jiang Po in anger. He had no choice but to leave behind a few taels of gold from his waistband.

  The old woman saw that she had gotten what she wanted and was no longer suicidal, so she let Ah Fu go.

  Ah Fu felt depressed in his heart, this matter was handled so poorly, the matchmaker not only didn't succeed, but also lost two taels of silver and two strings of cash. This...this is too much of a loss. That damned old woman Jiang, her heart is too black.

  With a dejected look on his face, Ah Fu returned to the inn and told Song Kai about what had happened.

  Nie Ling Tong heard that Jiang Po had cheated Ah Fu out of one or two taels of gold, and immediately rolled up his sleeves to go settle the score with Jiang Po.

  Song Kai's mood was not good, and he said loudly: "Alright! That old woman was also beaten by someone. When it comes to it, it's also related to us. The gold is gone, so be it, no big deal, as long as there are no more troubles."

  On the other side, Zhao Tieshan saw Nie Zhongzheng's anger and also indignantly said: "None of you stop me! Let me, the 18th generation successor of the Yang family, go meet that Jiang Po and Yang Gou. I'll use my meteoric iron knife to cut off their... eggs. Who doesn't know that back in the day when I was training with my master, I could make eighteen swift slashes with one hand?

  "Will you die if you don't boast!" Nie Lingdang scolded in a bad temper.

  Song Kai waved his hand, "Alright, let's eat now. It seems that this matter needs to be helped by others. Ling Dang, you continue to study accounting with me tonight and hurry up to master the most basic addition and subtraction."

  "Oh," Nie Zhongying reluctantly lowered his head, very unwilling, as if he had returned to the time when he was a child learning the Four Books and Five Classics with his master.

  After dinner, several people returned to their rooms without mentioning it again.

  In Song Kai's room, the oil lamp jumped up and down. Nie Lingdang lay on the desk, drawing Arabic numerals with a brush in his hand.

  Song Kai took out an abacus and said, "You see, the principles are all the same. One plus one equals two, one plus two equals three. The only difference is that they use different symbols to represent them."

  "Why use these ugly symbols when they're all the same?" Nie Lingdang said discontentedly, wearing a white dress and staring at Song Kai.

  Song Kai pouted, "When the numbers are very small, it's naturally hard to see the use of them, but when there are tens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, this symbol becomes much more convenient..."

  Song Kai lowered his head and slowly explained.

  Fortunately, Nie Ling Tong was not stupid and soon grasped the key to it. She started nodding her little head, and indeed there was some truth to it.

  "Ah... it's late at night, time for bed. Practice more tomorrow," Song Kai yawned.

  Nie Ling Tong put down his brush and was about to stand up when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

  "Ouch!" Nie Lingdang bent her knees and sat back down, covering her lower abdomen with both hands.

  "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Song Kai supported Nie Lingdang's wrist with a gentle gesture.

  "It's nothing, maybe it was just the tea I drank earlier that was a bit cold, my stomach hurts," Nie Lingdang said in a low voice.

  Song Kai muttered, "Huh?" and felt the pulse on Nie Lingdang's wrist. He then whispered, "As expected, you're a foolish woman. Don't you know that you shouldn't drink cold things during your period?"

  "What's Aunt Flow?" Nie Ling Tong scrunched up her little face, still asking who Aunt Flow was. Her body had always been fine, although she occasionally had menstrual cramps, but they only lasted for a few seconds at most. This time it seemed to hurt a bit longer, all because of that glass of cold water.

  Song Kai stretched out his hand and said, "Relax, I'll just massage your stomach a bit."

  Nie Ling's head was raised stubbornly, staring at Song Kai.

  Song Kai saw Nie Zhong's expression, which was as ferocious as a wolf, and felt wronged. He said, "I'm a doctor, don't think too much, be at ease, there are only the two of us here, no one will know."

  Nie Lingdang hummed and said, "It's just because there are only two of us that I..."

  "What are you doing? Don't forget that with just one hand, you can beat me until I'm searching for teeth all over the floor," Song Kai said gloomily.

  Nie Ling Tong burst out laughing.

  Song Kai's hand was placed on Nie Lingdang's lower abdomen, his fingers tapped three times at a point two inches below her navel, while his palm gently rubbed several times.

  A warm current rose up and the pain was relieved.

  "Huh? You... you actually know medicine?" Nie Lingdang was very surprised, she suddenly discovered that this shop owner who looked like a mess, actually knew quite a few things.

  Song Kai smiled and rubbed a few more times, but soon felt something was off. Nie Lingdang's skirt wasn't thick at all, and the soft warmth in his hands grew stronger, making him somewhat reluctant to let go.

  Nie Lingdang was enjoying herself with her eyes closed, her body half-reclined on the stool. When the pain had completely disappeared, she suddenly opened her eyes and was about to thank Song Kai again when she discovered that Song Kai's pair of eyes were staring tightly at the lower part of her neck.

  "Ah! You bastard..."

  Nie Lingdang suddenly pushed Song Kai with both hands.

  Song Kai Zheng crouched on the ground, staring at Nie Ling Tong's pale skin with uncontainable desire. Suddenly, he pushed forward and fell to the ground.

  "Ow! You're killing me, woman!" Song Kai rubbed the back of his head, scolding angrily.

  "You deserve it!" Nie Lingdang ran out of Song Kai's room in a flash.

  "Alright!" Song Kai raised his middle finger, and suddenly felt a bit hot all over his body. Hmm, it's time to get married! Tomorrow, he'll personally go to Liu Ji Qian's house to propose!