Chapter 53 What kind of lewd and inappropriate words are these, "I'll raise you"?

She'd been married into the family for quite a while before she could even bring herself to say it; they'd only met a few times! How could Zhu Yi just blurt it out so naturally?

Qingduo looked him up and down; this man was unexpectedly wild!

Hmph! Aside from addressing Lu Nong respectfully, he never calls her by her real name properly. He calls her "Little Qingduo," "Little Qingduo," and just now, he called her "Little Hedgehog." This time, he directly calls her husband "Qingqing."

She could tolerate being treated casually by him, she was magnanimous and wouldn't stoop to his level, but she wouldn't stand for it if he bullied her husband!

Qingduo grew angrier the more she thought about it, and glared at him angrily.

Seeing everyone's surprised expressions, Zhu Yi panicked. He scratched the back of his head and asked guiltily, "What? Did I call her by the wrong name? That's what Qingduo called me before?"

Qingduo finally understood what had happened. She had indeed been calling him "Zeng Qingqing" in front of them, but she hadn't expected Zhu Yi to have such a misunderstanding. The anger that had been building up in her cheeks suddenly burst out.

Lu Nong quickly whispered a reminder: "Brother Zhu, that's how husband and wife address each other..."

Zhu Yi suddenly realized that he also thought Qing Duo's husband's name was strange, "Qing Qing", which sounded like a woman's name. So that's it, it's a term of endearment between husband and wife!

He actually addressed a man affectionately!

Zhu Yi's face was burning hot, and he was delirious with fever. He blurted out incoherently, "Of course not, we're not husband and wife, oh no, I mean..."

Qingduo chuckled, then said in a serious tone, "I am Qingqing's legal wife. If you want to enter the family, you'll have to beg me and kowtow three hundred times. But considering our relationship, I'll give you a discount. How about two hundred and fifty?"

The mischievous thoughts in her heart finally showed on her face: "It suits your temperament just like that!" After she finished speaking, she laughed loudly. Lu Nong, considering Zhu Yi's face, had been holding back her laughter, but after being pulled by Qing Duo, she could no longer help but laugh out loud. When she saw Zhu Yi's twitching lips, she laughed even more. She quickly raised her sleeve to cover her face.

Seeing that Zhu Yi was blushing, Zeng Zhengqing stood up to defuse the situation and said, "Brother Zhu, my surname is Zeng and my given name is Zhengqing. You can just call me by my name."

“Miss Lu Nong has the talent to write poems about snow. I was able to ask her for help because of her relationship with my wife. She let me take advantage of this opportunity. I should thank her for her kindness.”

"Qingduo is mischievous and playful, always trying to get the upper hand verbally. Thanks to your two kind companions for taking such good care of her and being so tolerant of her, I'd like to offer you both a toast." Zeng Zhengqing finished speaking and drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Nong also stood up and drank her wine with Zhu Yi. Qing Duo said dejectedly, "You all talk like you're the heads of the family, and I'm the only child. I've clearly taken care of everyone too!"

Upon hearing this, all three of them laughed. After sitting down, Lu Nong said with a smile, "We're drinking wine, but you're drinking honey water. Aren't you just like a child?"

Was it because she didn't want to drink it? It's because Zeng Qingqing wouldn't let her drink it!

Zeng Zhengqing caught a glimpse of Qingduo's glare and casually said, "Do you want me to say it?"

Qingduo immediately wilted. She didn't want anyone to know about her embarrassing incident of running around the yard after drinking, so she could only say, "The honey water is so sweet, I like it."

Zeng Zhengqing smiled slightly and turned to Lu Nong, saying, "Miss Lu Nong, please start organizing the three manuscripts of 'Hua Tang Chun' immediately. We need to reprint and publish them as soon as possible. At that time, it will be clear which is better, which is more genuine, and which is inferior."

“Your manuscript is also key evidence. I will submit applications to the booksellers’ guild and the government later. He has damaged my shop’s interests. I will demand that Shouzhentang stop its piracy and we must not let him continue to confuse the public!”

"Of course, the publicity campaign among literary circles and peers cannot be stopped. Scholars value moral character and integrity above all else. They are also the core customers of the bookstore. If the act of Shouzhentang stealing books and names spreads among these people, it will damage its reputation and lose people's hearts. The foundation of this store will be severely damaged, and it will be difficult to stand up again."

As Lu Nong listened to his detailed explanation, her confidence grew. She said firmly, "Yes! I've already organized it. I'll go through it again in a bit and give it to you as soon as possible."

As Zeng Zhengqing was talking to Lu Nong, Qingduo's eyes met Zhu Yi's. She winked and mouthed something to him in an exaggerated way. Zhu Yi stared at her for a while before realizing she was saying three words:

"Two", "one hundred", "five"

Zhu Yi immediately bristled like a cat, slowly raising his fist from bottom to top, but when Lu Nong glanced over from the corner of his eye, he opened his palm and quietly wiped his hair.

Qingduo teased Zhu Yi and became quite smug. Unexpectedly, after the meal, he threatened her with his boxing skills, saying he would stop teaching her if she didn't apologize. This really got her to her limit. Not only did she apologize quickly, but she also praised him to the skies, saying all sorts of wonderful things that made Zhu Yi very happy.

"well!"

On the carriage ride home, Qingduo leaned against the side of the carriage and sighed, "Brother Zhu has suddenly become interested in my kung fu. He's going to check how well I've practiced my boxing next week."

"If I had to paint and practice martial arts at the same time, even if I became 'Tang Shuangduo,' I still wouldn't be able to manage it!"

She was filled with regret: "I should have known better than to tease Brother Zhu. Not only did I waste time trying to coax him, but I also had to practice my boxing and catch up on my studies!"

Hearing Zeng Zhengqing's low laughter, Qingduo glanced at him and said with dissatisfaction, "You too, you clearly have so many ways to solve Sister Lu Nong's problem, but you didn't reveal a single one. I can only wander around the streets like a headless fly!"

She poked his waist with her index finger. "Tell me, were you hiding to the side, secretly laughing at me? Were you? Were you?"

Zeng Zhengqing involuntarily shrank back and laughed, "No, no," and when Qingduo stopped attacking, he added, "I always laugh in front of people, why would I hide and laugh secretly?"

Qingduo glared at him, rubbed her hands together, and used her index fingers as two short swords to launch a ruthless attack from the left and right.

Zeng Zhengqing was ticklish, but he couldn't dodge her. He could dodge her left hand, but he couldn't avoid her right hand. So he reached out and grabbed her wrist, defeating her in one move. Qingduo was still unyielding and struggled to poke forward. He quickly explained, "I was just joking! I admire Madam's punishment of evil and promotion of good."

"As for resolving Lu Nong's matter, I have already told her beforehand that our bookstore has never dealt in storybooks before, so I am not entirely confident about what we can do. I can only say that we will do our best!"

When Qingduo heard him mention this, her frustration vanished instantly. She tried to pull her hand away, but Zeng Zhengqing held it tightly, so she let him continue holding it and said, "It's alright. Sister Lu Nong understands that you are helping her, and she appreciates your kindness."

Zeng Zhengqing pondered, “Shouzhentang changed its name to Steal Books, and there must be more than one victim. There must be rumors in the industry, but they have been able to operate safely until now. They must have considerable connections behind them. My Qingyuan Bookstore has only been here for a short time. It is just a small bookstore in Wuzhou City. We have not yet fully figured out the intricate relationships in the city. If we are not careful and act rashly, we may be brought to ruin in the blink of an eye.”

Upon hearing this, Qingduo's heart clenched: "Ah? Is it that serious? Is your shop in danger of closing down?"

"This is still mild. They might have some powerful figures backing them up. If they really get angry, they might uproot our Zeng family and cut off all our paths to survival."

Zeng Zhengqing teased, "If that day really comes, I wonder if my wife will still be with me, eating coarse food and wild vegetables?"

After he finished speaking, seeing Qingduo's furrowed brows and worried expression, he regretted it and quickly comforted her, "I spoke too harshly. I'll be more careful in my actions; it won't come to this..."

Qingduo cupped his hands in her own, and said decisively, "I'll take care of you!"

"When that day comes, Zeng Qingqing, I, Tang Qingduo, will take care of you!"

"Oh?" Zeng Zhengqing raised an eyebrow. "I wonder how Madam supports me?"

“Of course, it’s my painting!” She raised her chin high, as if it were her eyes looking at people. “My painting sold for a tael of silver today! If I paint twenty or thirty of them, supporting you will be no problem at all!”

He owned the art shop, and he bought her paintings with his own money. In the end, wasn't she just using his money to support him?

Alright, alright, the wool has returned to the sheep.

However, this Manager Fang actually offered one tael of silver, and it was extremely generous of him to use his money to do a favor.

Seeing Qingduo's smug look, he thought to himself, "Oh well, as long as Madam is happy."

"Then—we'll have to rely entirely on your mercy, Madam." Zeng Zhengqing sat up straight, bowed respectfully, and said with a smile.

Qingduo thumped her chest loudly, assuring him, "Don't worry! You're all I have, who else would I pity! I'll definitely pity you as much as I can!"

Hold it in, hold it in. Zeng Zhengqing lowered his head and gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.

What inhuman and lewd words!

*

Zhu Yi and Lu Nong washed the dishes together. Lu Nong glanced outside and said, "Brother Zhu, it's getting late. Why don't you go back first? I can clean up by myself."

Zhu Yi refused, partly because he wanted to help her with more, and partly because he wanted to spend more time alone with Lu Nong. He brought the basin in front of Lu Nong over: "There's only this much left, I can wash it myself. You go and organize the manuscript, the sooner you hand it over to Zeng Zhengqing, the faster it will be printed!"

Under his constant urging, Lu Nong handed everything over to him and went inside to organize the manuscript. Zhu Yi placed the washed bowls on the kitchen shelf, and as soon as he went outside, he saw many withered apricot leaves on the ground, so he picked up a broom and started sweeping the yard.

Before he knew it, he had swept to the brightly lit window. He picked up the broom and looked at the silhouette on the window. Just by looking at the shadow, he could imagine Lu Nong with her eyelids lowered, her head slightly asleep, and her eyes focused as she moved up and down. He was mesmerized by the sight.

Xiao Qingduo is skilled in painting, and even though she is unmarried, she can make a living by painting. Her husband, needless to say, runs a bookstore and is truly a great help to Lu Nong. Although Lu Nong is all alone, she can write popular stories. And what about him? He does know some martial arts, but he spends his days wandering the streets with those skills, never really putting them to good use.

How could he support himself? How could he become Lu Nong's support?

He couldn't help but look at that figure again. He was standing right next to her, but he felt that there was an unreachable distance between them.

*

The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window and fell to the floor, their fragmented patterns cut into pieces by the latticework of the window, making the whole room resemble a dilapidated lantern, shrouded in a dim, yellowish light. Sailinfu sat opposite Wu Yan, his expression a sinister, ambiguous smile, perhaps because his lips were partially obscured by shrimp whiskers.

Wu Yan accepted the money from Zhu Yi. She used most of it to treat her child Xiao Guang's illness, and with a small portion, she and her younger brother Wu Jiang went to the market to select the best donkey hides, intending to carve a new batch of shadow puppet figures.

The siblings made a living performing shadow puppetry and had long been planning to stage a new play. However, the family had faced numerous misfortunes in recent years, making ends meet was a struggle. They hadn't been able to afford new shadow puppets, let alone save any money for a stable income. Now that they had some money, their long-cherished wish could finally come true.

While scraping the hair and meat off the donkey's hide in the courtyard, Wu Yan was thinking to herself that once the new play was staged, she would definitely visit more villages to earn the money back as soon as possible and repay Qingduo and the others. She couldn't keep owing them this favor forever.

Just then, someone came to the door, claiming to be Manager Sai from Shouzhen Hall, inviting them to a talk. She had gone there countless times before, only to be turned away at the door. But this time, Qingduo and the others had only caused trouble for a few days, and the people from Shouzhen Hall were already rushing to her door. Wu Yan sneered inwardly, turned around and went with them; she wanted to see what tricks they were up to.

She glanced at the paper on the table and said coldly, "I can't read. What's written on this?"

"This is a contract. I recently checked the store's accounts, and it turns out that everyone else's book payments were settled long ago, but your husband's book payment is still outstanding!"

"Sigh, my men are so unreliable! They just cause me trouble!" Sailinfu shook his head and said.

"Book proceeds? But my family didn't tell me before they passed away that they were going to sell these books!" Wu Yan asked疑惑地.

Sailin took a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the table: "Words are no proof. This is the consent form he signed before. Look at it and see if his name is written on it."

“Once you sign this contract, you’ll have ten taels of silver immediately.” He placed the silver on the table but didn’t let go of it. “But let me make this clear: once you sign, you can’t utter a single word about this, and you’re absolutely forbidden from bothering Young Master Dong again. This money is a buyout!”

Wu Yan stared at the so-called 'consent form.' Although she was illiterate, the handwriting was clearly her husband's. But he had never said he would sell the manuscript, so where did this handwriting come from? If they forged her husband's handwriting to write a fake document, why did they hand over ten taels of silver? Her mind was in turmoil.

On second thought, if she took the ten taels of silver, she could quickly repay Qingduo, and she really didn't want to owe anyone a favor. But the money was obtained in a murky and unclear way; was she really going to sell her husband's last work like this?

For a moment, Wu Yan was filled with conflicting emotions.

Wu Yan picked up the brush, the tool she used to apply color to shadow puppets with ease, but now it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. She couldn't hold the brush handle, so she had to change her grip, like a toddler who had just learned to hold a brush, with her five fingers together, clenching the brush in her fist.

She bent down, her right hand trembling, the pen falling, falling, closer and closer to the contract...

Serinpoche laughed.

This time, the smile went deep into his eyes.