Chapter 45 Old Friends Return

"Is Yu Bao asleep?"

When Zhang returned, she lowered her voice and asked.

Qin Tianhai nodded: "Are you all done? Then I'll take Yu Bao back."

Qin Tianhai closed the book, went to the bed, picked up Qin Jin'an, and took her back.

Seeing that the child was asleep, Qin gently washed and dressed her.

Qin Tianhai returned to the main room, and Zhang brought hot water: "Come on, let's wash up too."

Qin Tianhai gently pressed down on Zhang, who was about to take care of him, and said, "You always take care of me, so today I'll take care of you. I have to take the imperial examination, and you still have a long way to go to suffer. You're not young anymore. You must be exhausted today."

Ms. Zhang was a little embarrassed. She nodded, saying that she was indeed tired after a busy day at home and helping her daughter in the evening.

However, she is getting better and better now, and she only needs to sleep for one night.

“I’m too physically fit to study, so let me take care of you.”

Qin Tianhai washed Zhang's feet. Zhang was extremely shy. Fortunately, her son and daughter were not as impulsive as when they were children, otherwise she would have no place to put her old face.

After washing up, Qin Tianhai had Zhang lie face down and massaged her shoulders and back.

"I haven't heard you complain of headaches lately. Are you just enduring them, or have they stopped hurting?"

Qin Tianhai asked with concern.

"I haven't been in pain lately. I had a relapse about a month ago when my daughter came back, but the pain stopped after they came back."

Zhang also found it strange.

"Old man, do you think this might be bad for the child? Have we absorbed her good fortune?"

Zhang felt a little guilty. She had suffered from headaches for many years, and they would hurt for a few days every month. But ever since her daughter brought the child back, her headaches had inexplicably disappeared.

The thought that she was ingesting the child's good fortune and health made Zhang feel uneasy.

"Don't overthink it. Yu Bao is perfectly healthy. Besides, she has learned a lot from her experience with the Su family and won't sacrifice herself to benefit others. I think it's because she is extraordinary. Wherever she lives, the feng shui will be good, and good feng shui is good for people, just like crops in the field. With enough sunshine and rain, they will grow better than crops in other places."

Qin Tianhai also has his own views on this matter.

Every time he looked into Qin Jin'an's eyes, he felt that she understood everything.

"That's good. I can rest assured now. Yuwan can do this business now and raising her child won't be a problem at all. If she can't farm the land, she can rent it out to the clansmen next year. Taking 30 or 40 percent of the grain will be enough for her and her daughter to eat. I'm not worried anymore."

Ms. Zhang felt relaxed. Her son had an heir, and her daughter was capable and settled. She had nothing to worry about.

Aren't you worried that I won't pass the exam?

Qin Tianhai joked with a smile.

"If we don't pass the exam, we don't pass. We'll still live our lives as usual. I don't ask for wealth and luxury. I just want my family to be healthy."

Zhang said earnestly that she had never thought about becoming an official's wife.

"With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"

Qin Tianhai smiled and sighed.

Zhang's face flushed; this sudden display of literary elegance threw her heart into turmoil.

...

As dawn broke, Qin Jin'an got up and went out with Qin Shi.

Qin Tianhai had already arrived at the oxcart, and he and Qin Yulin were loading the goods onto it; the amount was about the same as yesterday.

Qin Jin'an ate the egg first, then drank water from the water bag, and then ate some snacks.

By the time we arrived in Liuzhou, it was already broad daylight.

We went to the location from yesterday and moved the things down.

Immediately, people came to buy it.

"Little sister, these snacks you make are really good, they smell delicious. I'll buy two pounds today."

The woman said with a smile.

Qin smiled and immediately began weighing the items.

Qin Jin'an also noticed that after weighing the food, he added more to his plate: "Pretty auntie, I remember you, I like you so much."

"Oh my, what a sweet talker."

The woman kept laughing as Qin Jin'an amused her.

Qin Jin'an smiled slightly, seemingly shy.

Seeing that he didn't need to help with anything, Qin Tianhai took advantage of a lull in customers and said to Qin Shi, "Yu Wan, you take Yu Bao and watch the stall. I'm going out for a bit."

Qin nodded. She knew her father had things to do and she couldn't help him, so she didn't ask any more questions.

"Grandpa, take care."

Qin Jin'an waved with a smile.

Qin Tianhai touched Qin Jin'an's hair, then turned and walked into the crowd.

Qin Jin'an diligently helped the Qin family sell snacks.

Qin Tianhai walked through the bustling market, turned several corners, and finally arrived at a very quiet street.

This is a place where only scholars come.

The shops selling writing brushes, ink, and paper are all on this street.

Qin Tianhai entered the largest bookstore.

"Guest, our Haina Baichuan Pavilion is the largest bookstore in Liuzhou City. Is it for your grandson or your son? What do you want to buy? We have everything you need."

The quick-witted worker immediately came forward to greet him with a beaming smile.

Undeterred by his ordinary clothes, Qin Tianhai politely said, "I'm not buying books or writing materials. I'm looking for your boss, Liu Yun. I'd like you to pass on a message that my old classmate and friend, Qin Tianhai, has something to ask of me and would like to meet to discuss it. I'll come back here in three days to see if he's willing to see me."

Liu Yun, a friend he made during his school days, came from a wealthy family.

He didn't pass the imperial examination to become a scholar, but his family was already well-off, and he knew that he had started this bookstore after getting married and establishing his career.

He once jokingly said that he would buy books and writing materials for his descendants from him, but his son had no talent for studying, so he never came.

Over the past twenty years, the jokes and laughter of the past may have been forgotten, and perhaps Liu Yun no longer remembers him at all.

He came to ask this question because he wanted to copy more advanced books, which would be more expensive.

If Liu Yun doesn't remember him, he can still copy popular books without any problem.

“Uncle, it won’t take three days, it can be done today. Our boss is upstairs. You’re really lucky. Our boss only comes once every six months, and he just happened to come today. Please wait a moment, I’ll go upstairs to inform him and then come down.”

The young man smiled and said that, then quickly went upstairs.

Qin Tianhai hadn't expected such a coincidence, but it saved him some trouble.

While waiting, Qin Tianhai started reading on the bookshelf.

Many of the books were copied, and he recognized a familiar handwriting. Seeing the familiar handwriting, Qin Tianhai was no longer so nervous.

Some people change, perhaps because that's just their nature.

But some people, even after twenty years, still have the heart of a young person.

"Qin Tianhai, Qin Tianhai..."

Hurried footsteps came from upstairs, along with a slightly aged shout.

"Where is he? I can't see him."

Liu Yun didn't see anyone, so she turned around and asked about the job.

"Boss, he was just here."

The guy looked confused, scratched his head, and muttered something.

Qin Tianhai emerged from behind the bookshelf and greeted Liu Yun with a cupped hand: "Liu Yun, it's been a long time."

Both of them were quite shocked to see each other now that they were old. In Qin Tianhai's memory, Liu Yun was a slender scholar, but now he was heavily pregnant... If he hadn't been the only one next to the waiter, he really wouldn't have recognized this as his childhood friend.