Chapter 48: Action in Progress (Part 1) (Two Chapters in One)

When Zhao Shiqing came out of Mr. Bai's house, he didn't see Jie Liuzi. By the way, she has a name, Xiao Yueyue.

Zhao Shiqing couldn't help laughing when he thought of the name. When he turned around, he saw Loach following behind him.

I almost forgot about this little loach.

"Boss, we agreed to give each of us one golden bean, but now that kid has taken them all. I only got one or two taels of silver. Boss, you can't go back on your word, Boss..."

Well, this is my fault.

Zhao Shiqing is not someone who doesn't keep her word, and what's more... she is attracted by this boy's slippery kung fu.

"Loach, besides your eighty-year-old mother, are there any other people in your family?"

Loach's face turned red. The boss must be teasing him!

He had previously said that he had an 80-year-old mother at home, but his boss ruthlessly slapped him in the face.

He scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I was picked up from a quagmire by my grandfather. I was almost dead. He had already retired from the underworld, but returned to the underworld to support me.

Grandpa also passed away two years ago. My brother and I are the only ones left at home. My brother is only three years old.

Zhao Shiqing was confused: "Your brother was also picked up by your grandfather?"

"I picked up my brother. Grandpa had already passed away when I picked him up. When I first found him, he was only this small." Loach gestured with his hands to indicate the size of the swaddling clothes.

Zhao Shiqing nodded: "Did you learn this martial arts from your grandfather?"

"Yes, my grandfather used to be a big shot in the underworld, but he injured his leg and retired. When I was a child, I was too weak and needed ginseng, so my grandfather had no choice but to go back to his old ways. If it weren't for my grandfather, I would have died long ago." Tears welled up in Loach's eyes at some point.

Zhao Shiqing asked, "How old are you this year?"

Loach: "Fifteen, I am fifteen this year."

Loach's grandfather passed away two years ago when he was only twelve years old.

At the age of twelve, he probably had difficulty supporting himself, but he picked up a younger brother.

Zhao Shiqing remembered a saying: Those who are loyal are usually butchers, and those who are unfaithful are usually scholars.

"Come on, take me to your house to see your brother. For the next few days, you will follow me and I will pay you. Don't worry, after the work is done, I will give you five gold beans."

Loach was startled at first, then something occurred to him: "Boss, Loach is incompetent and timid, and can't do anything big. Boss, you don't have to use my brother as a hostage to threaten Loach. Loach is not worth it."

Zhao Shiqing...you people in the capital are really cunning.

"Don't worry, I'm just going to accompany you back to see your brother. I won't take him away, nor will I let you do anything dangerous."

As he spoke, Zhao Shiqing took out another piece of silver and said, "Use this to buy food for your brother."

What Loach was thinking about most was golden beans. Zhao Shiqing had golden beans on her, but why didn't she give them to him, but only gave him a piece of silver?

Because she didn't want Loach to think that the golden beans came too easily.

Many things will become habits once, twice, or the third time. If you don’t give him gold beans next time, he will think you are stingy.

Since Zhao Shiqing wanted to use loach, she would not take it lightly until she had complete trust in loach.

As for Xiao Yueyue, who had already given two golden beans, Zhao Shiqing said that these were two different matters.

Although Xiao Yueyue is young, she is more mature than Niuqiu in both mentality and behavior. Zhao Shiqing cannot see through such a child and dares not use him.

However, there is a chance for cooperation.

Just like treating Xiao Zhen.

Although Loach was still on guard, he took the silver and emphasized as he walked away: "Boss, my brother is not my biological brother, I just picked him up."

Voiceover: You are using him to threaten me, but you have picked the wrong person.

Zhao Shiqing remained calm and urged him to lead the way.

Loach was extremely unwilling, but he didn't dare to provoke Zhao Shiqing. Although this girl was about the same age as him, it was obvious that she was not an ordinary person. Moreover, her skills were better than his. He could do nothing except running away.

Even the ability to escape was lost to this girl.

So he didn't dare to make trouble and could only bite the bullet and lead the way.

Passing by a pastry shop, Loach went in and bought a few pieces of osmanthus cake.

I don’t know how far I walked, but the houses on both sides became more and more dilapidated, and the road became bumpy and uneven. I couldn’t see any carriages or sedan chairs. The people passing by were dressed in rags and looked poor.

If it weren't for Loach leading the way, Zhao Shijing really wouldn't have known that there was such a place in the magnificent and prosperous capital.

Loach stopped in front of a dilapidated yard and said, "Boss, my family lives here."

The gate to the yard was open, and two stout women were chopping wood in the yard. Seeing them, one of them said with a smile, "Loach, why are you back so early today? The grocery store is closed so early?"

"The boss had something to do at home today, so he closed early."

While answering, Loach glanced at Zhao Shiqing, fearing that Zhao Shiqing would say something and expose his identity.

Zhao Shiqing kept her lips tightly closed and looked straight ahead, as if she didn't hear what they were saying.

Since Loach has never let the neighbors know his identity, why should she meddle in other people's business?

At this time, a woman saw Zhao Shiqing following behind Niu Qiu. Although Zhao Shiqing was wearing coarse cloth clothes and a conical hat, she looked like a young girl.

"Loach, who is this girl? Is she your relative? Do you have any relatives?"

Loach opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, when Zhao Shiqing spoke up: "I just hired him to do some temporary work for me. He said he wanted to go home first, so I followed him here."

"What kind of temporary job is this?" asked an aunt.

"I came out to purchase goods and asked him to move things." Zhao Shiqing said.

The people who lived here weren't surprised that a girl was out buying goods. Only the wealthy cared about staying home, not going out of the house. Ordinary people didn't have so many rules. They didn't show up in public, and they didn't know what to eat or drink. Without women like these to manage everything, and relying solely on men, this family would have fallen apart long ago.

Therefore, when Zhao Shiqing said this, the two women not only did not become suspicious, but warmed up to him: "Loach is really capable. He is willing to do odd jobs after work. I say, girls, are you still short of help? I am very strong and can do all kinds of lifting and moving work."

Zhao Shiqing smiled: "We have enough manpower this time, I'll find you next time."

......

The yard is very big, but it is not a square courtyard. Instead, it looks like a randomly enclosed yard. Some parts of the wall are made of bricks, and some parts are surrounded by old door panels. The houses in the yard are also varied, but they have one thing in common: they are dilapidated.

Loach took her to a stop in front of a house and said, "This is my home."

Instead of opening the door, he knocked on the door of the house next door: "Auntie, I'm back."

"It's Loach. The door is not closed. Come in." A woman's voice came from the room.

Loach pushed open the door and walked in with Zhao Shiqing.

The room was very simple, but very clean. A gray-haired woman was mending clothes. There was a straw mat on the floor. Two children were playing house. One girl was about five or six years old, and the other boy looked no more than three years old. This one should be Loach's younger brother.

"elder brother!"

When the little boy saw the loach, he rushed over with his little arms open. The loach picked him up and kissed him on the little face.

"Brother bought you some sweet-scented osmanthus cake. Take it and eat it with Sister Xiaohua."

When the woman saw Niqiu take out a whole bag of osmanthus cake, she quickly said, "That thing is so expensive, just give Xiaobao one piece, and keep the rest for Xiaobao to eat slowly."

Niu Qiu took out a silver ingot from his arms, which was the small silver ingot that Zhao Shiqing had given him before. He also took out a dozen copper coins from his body, which were the change from the osmanthus cake he bought with the broken silver.

He put all these in front of the woman and said, "Auntie, I'm going out with my boss. Please help me take care of Xiaobao for a few more days. This money is for you. Don't think it's too little, and don't save it. Use it to buy rice."

The woman was stunned and quickly declined: "Xiaobao can't eat much, and he won't need so much. You have to go out, and you can't be without money. Take this."

Loach smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm going out this time to make money. The host provides food and accommodation, so I don't need to bring my own money. Besides, I still have money."

As he said that, he looked at Xiaobao, who nodded vigorously: "My brother is rich!"

The woman had no choice but to accept the money.

Niu Qiu picked up Xiaobao and whispered a few words in his ear. Xiaobao turned his head to look at Zhao Shiqing. Only then did Zhao Shiqing see the child's appearance clearly. He was white, plump, and as delicate as a piece of jade.

This child doesn't look like he was raised in a poor family at all.

Not only the child's biological parents are good-looking, but also thanks to Loach. It can be seen that the child has never suffered any hardship following Loach.

......

As they walked out of the compound, Zhao Shiqing jokingly asked, "If you leave with me and never come back, what will happen to the silver you hid?"

Loach: "My brother knows where the silver is hidden."

After saying that, he glared at Zhao Shiqing and said, "Boss, I only have a few dozen taels of silver as my fortune, which you can't afford."

Zhao Shiqing suppressed her laughter and nodded. "My maid is called Lingbo. She told me the other day that she had saved two hundred taels of silver. Your wealth is so small that even my Lingbo wouldn't look down on me, let alone me."

Loach: Comparing yourself to others is really frustrating. Is it too late for him to sell himself now?

Zhao Shiqing looked Niuqiu up and down. While eating wontons, Niuqiu had already taken off his long gown, revealing a pair of coarse cloth shorts that had been washed so much that they looked pale.

Niu Qiu felt uncomfortable when Zhao Shiqing looked at him. Although this person was his current employer, she was still a young girl after all. He felt embarrassed to be looked at by a young girl like this.

The loach lowered its head and rubbed the corner of its clothes with its two paws, feeling embarrassed.

Zhao Shiqing couldn't bear to watch it anymore.

"Put on your gown."

Loach didn't understand what was going on, so he put on the long gown that was rolled up on his back again.

In fact, loach is not ugly, it’s just not tall.

Zhao Shiqing took him to an inn, let him stay there, gave him five taels of silver, and asked him to wait for news in the inn.

After settling Niuqiu, Zhao Shiqing went back to the grocery store. The owner already knew her, and there were no other customers in the store. Zhao Shiqing got straight to the point: "I need something related to the Imperial College. Any test papers or homework with professors' annotations will do. I'll pick it up at Wanfu Temple tomorrow."

After leaving the grocery store, Zhao Shiqing felt that it would be necessary to bring Ling Bo over next time and introduce him to the boss, so that he wouldn't have to come in person every time.

When Zhao Shiqing returned to Youxiyingmen, she saw everyone gathered in her and Li Mu's room.

There were nine people who came to the capital with her this time, and Li Mu was the leader of them.

Zhao Shiqing had not returned since he left in the morning. Everyone gathered together and was discussing whether to go out and look for him.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhao Shiqing coming back.

Ling Bo hugged her arms: "Second Miss, you are finally back."

Meow~

The little demon sat on the windowsill with a look of disdain on her face. These fools were just making a fuss. Only she knew that her master would definitely come back.

Zhao Shiqing said to everyone, "Since everyone is here, let's hold a meeting. I have a few things that I need you to do right now..."

Nothing happened overnight.

The next day, Zhao Shiqing came to Wanfu Temple again and was led to the monastery by the monk Tongda. It was Dengxin who opened the door again.

Just like yesterday, Old Man Han was there too, but this time he was not giving Zhao Tinghan acupuncture, but was taking his pulse.

Zhao Shiqing waited for a while, and then Mr. Han put away the pulse pillow and turned to leave.

Seeing him leave, Zhao Shiqing asked Zhao Tinghan, "Don't you need acupuncture today?"

Zhao Tinghan smiled and said, "Acupuncture treatments should be separated by three days, otherwise my body won't be able to handle it."

He handed the things he brought out from the palace to Zhao Shiqing: "I don't know what you want to do with this, do you think these are okay?"

Zhao Tinghan has been studying at the Imperial College, but due to his poor health, he has to take sick leave several times every month. In the past six months, he has simply dropped out of school.

What he brought to Zhao Shiqing was the examination paper from the Imperial College.

Although he was on leave from school, he still asked someone to go to the Imperial College to get the test papers so that he could do them at home.

For these princes and grandchildren who study in the Imperial College, if their grades are good, it is icing on the cake; if their grades are not good, it is not a big deal.

The Imperial College examinations were the same with or without them.

If you do well in the exam, you will be ranked together.

If you don't do well in the exam, just treat it as if you didn't have any reference.

Zhao Tinghan brought two test papers, one was blank and the other had the seal of a professor from the Imperial College on it.

The professors of the Imperial College were of the ninth rank, and had always been descendants of Confucius, Mencius, Zengzi, and Yan.

The seal on this test paper belongs to Professor Meng.

There was ready-made pen and ink in the academy. Zhao Shiqing used the pen to dip the ink and smeared Zhao Tinghan's name on the test paper. Zhao Tinghan was puzzled and asked, "Little sister, why do you do this?"

Zhao Shiqing then told him about the chance encounter yesterday and his plans. Zhao Tinghan's usually calm eyes gradually lit up.

"Little sister, I never thought that the two books I sent back to Liangdi could be used in such a wonderful way."

Mr. Fang Ying and Mr. Fang Er had both taught Zhao Tinghan, but given their status, they only came to teach one or two classes every month at most.

However, Zhao Tinghan left a good impression on them.