Chapter 120 Doesn't know how to manage a household

Song Chunxue's words made Xie Zheng lower his head and chuckle.

"Sister-in-law, you're overthinking it. It's not that we'll starve, it's just a bit tight. But I still have my salary from the government, so I won't go hungry."

As he spoke, Xie Zheng gently brushed his hand across the jar in front of him. "If I am not mistaken, this jar should be valuable. If the market is good, it could sell for a hundred taels."

"..." The mother and her two children exchanged glances, looking at Xie Zheng in disbelief.

Sanwa smiled slightly and said, "How about this, it's not too late to give us the money after you've sold it. It would be too much of a burden for you to have to pay for it before we've received the money."

“That’s right. Anyway, it’s something we found for free. We trust you, sir. We can just share the money with you when you sell it. We don’t have any other connections. The pawnshops here will only take a few dozen copper coins at most.” Song Chunxue said earnestly, “Sir, it’s settled then.”

Xie Zheng shook his head slightly, "Ten taels, I won't misjudge."

Song Chunxue looked at Xie Zheng and thought to herself, "He didn't even mention 'this official' before, and now he's saying 'this official'? Is he trying to scare me?"

She had never met such a sincere person before. Could it be that he couldn't afford new clothes himself and was giving them all away to charity?

"If I may ask, did your family members not accompany you, sir?" Song Chunxue asked softly. "You are a well-known incorruptible official. Does your family manage the money personally?"

"..." This made Xie Zheng feel a little uncomfortable, so he picked up the bowl and took a sip of soup.

“My wife and I have been divorced for many years, and the person in charge of the family accounts is in Jinzhou City and did not come with me. I did not bring much silver, but I still think this jar is quite old and I don’t want to deceive you.”

Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh.

"Then let's give you one tael first, and the rest can be given after you sell them, how about that?"

She never expected that the man in front of her was so stubborn, and that he must have been fooled many times before, unable to hold onto his money.

As she spoke, she took out a lucky charm from her bosom.

"The lord is a good official and a good person, but he doesn't seem to know how to manage a household."

Song Chunxue handed him the talisman, saying, "This was given to me by a very skilled Taoist priest. It's very effective. If you don't mind, please carry it with you to reduce financial losses."

"..." The fourth brother lowered his head and drank his soup, while stomping hard on the third brother's foot.

Sanwa also kicked back, thinking to himself that his mother dared to say that Master Xie didn't know how to manage a household.

How could someone like Lord Xie possibly believe such things?

Xie Zheng stared at the yellow talisman in her hand and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Sister-in-law is really good at judging people."

He smiled as he took the talisman and examined it carefully. "Many people say I'm destined to be poor, and even if I have a fortune, I might not be able to keep it. This is the first time someone has given me a talisman to attract wealth."

He folded the talisman into a triangle, tucked it into his pocket, and patted it gently.

"Then I will accept it, thank you." He bowed and thanked him earnestly.

He didn't mention his official title again, Song Chunxue thought to herself, what a strange person.

Before long, Xiao Wu brought over the money bag and reluctantly handed it to Xie Zheng.

"My lord, this is all you have left..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Zheng glared at him.

Song Chunxue smiled; she had indeed guessed correctly.

Xie Zheng took out ten taels of silver from the bag, which was almost empty in an instant.

"May I ask your age, sir?" Song Chunxue asked him.

Sanwa and Lao Si looked at her in surprise. "Can I ask that?"

"I am thirty-five years old this year." As he spoke, he put a little silver in his pocket. "This is ten taels of silver, sister-in-law, please take it first."

“Sir, we agreed on one tael, and that’s it. We dare not accept any more.” Song Chunxue pushed the silver back. “We farmers won’t starve without silver, but it’s not certain for you, sir.”

"Cough cough cough!" The fourth brother kicked Song Chunxue under the table.

Sanwa lowered his head and bit his lip hard, trying not to laugh.

So this is what Lord Xie is like—stubborn yet amusing in private.

At first he was quite scared, but now he felt a little sorry for the man. His mother was right, he really didn't know how to manage a household.

Even more surprisingly, he originally thought that Lord Xie was at most thirty, but he didn't expect him to be thirty-five.

He would look younger if he didn't have a beard.

Song Chunxue said in a serious tone, "Sir, let's make a bet. This jar is worth at most one tael of silver. If you don't believe me, I'll have Sanwa take it to the pawnshop to ask."

"I'll go right away."

Sanwa stood up, not wanting to thank the master for spending money on them at all.

Besides, they had already eaten noodles. In fact, one or two taels of silver was too much. They were fine after eating the noodles.

"Alright, one tael it is. I'll send someone to deliver it to your home when it sells well later."

Xie Zheng knew the pawnshops in the county all too well.

A few days ago, I had Xiao Wu pawn an inkstone. It was a top-quality inkstone, worth more than a hundred taels of silver.

The pawnshop manager wouldn't even give two taels of silver.

Song Chunxue stood up to take her leave, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you today, sir. You must carry that talisman with you at all times from now on."

"..." Xie Zheng showed no emotion as he paid for his noodles while holding the jar.

"Then we shall part ways here and await my good news." Xie Zheng nodded to Song Chunxue.

"Please take care, sir."

Looking at the one or two taels of silver in her hand, Song Chunxue felt somewhat helpless.

"Let's go, let's buy a piece of land, some cloth and cotton, and two bags of flour, then we'll go home."

I ate two bowls of noodles, which saved me a lot of money.

She wants to buy two bags of flour so she can eat better from now on.

“Then I’ll buy things for my eldest brother, and you guys take care of the land purchase,” the fourth brother said frankly. “Just pick land that will be easy to sell in the future.”

Song Chunxue smiled, "That's true. This time, I'll just buy a small piece, something closer to the city."

She was surprised that the fourth brother didn't stop her, nor did he ask why she had kept it from him last time.

It seems that the fourth child is also growing up quietly.

Half an hour later, Song Chunxue returned with a property deed. She had bought a shop that was being resold, and the family said they were moving to Pingchuan in the north.

The third child, holding the writing implements he bought with five hundred copper coins, smiled so happily his eyes crinkled.

"Let's go home." Having spent some money, Song Chunxue felt at ease.

She didn't spend the one or two taels that Lord Xie gave her.

If you encounter him again in the future, you should return it to him.

I used to think that because he read a lot of books, he must know a lot about good things.

But after seeing how he squandered money, Song Chunxue realized that he was a genuinely good person.

When I got home, it was already late afternoon.

The fourth brother took his pig's trotter and went to herd the sheep.

Sanwa watched him leave the yard with the sheep shovel and couldn't help but say, "Fourth brother, you take a break, I'll go and let them graze."

The fourth brother looked at him and said, "You should stay home and study."

"How about we go together?" Sanwa scratched the back of his head and glanced away. "There are some things I don't understand, and I'd like to ask you about them."

The fourth brother smiled and puffed out his chest, "Great, let me see how you've been studying lately."

Then, the third child turned around, changed his clothes and shoes, and ran out of the yard to chase after the fourth child.

Looking at the silly smile on Sanwa's face, Song Chunxue felt a sense of relief.

Even if the brothers go their separate ways in the future, seeing them get along harmoniously now is precious to her.

She sat on the steps, preparing to rest for a while before going to the field to dig potatoes.

"Mother, I'm going to Chen Feng's house tomorrow. Will you come with me?" The eldest son came in from outside, carrying a bowl of fried dough sticks.