Chapter 1154: Climbing the ladder of fame and wealth (10)

The brother and sister spent the night in the beggar's den. Early the next morning, all the beggars who were able to move went out to beg for food. Even when they saw Ao Shichu and his sister and a half-dead injured person suddenly appear in the beggar's den, they did not react at all. After all, they had tried their best to survive and had no extra energy to be curious about other people's affairs.

Ao Shiyan went outside and bought some steamed buns, and shared them with the remaining beggars. He left the two meat buns for his sister, and Ao Shichu was not polite to him either.

Qi Liangjun woke up vaguely and smelled a delicious aroma. He opened his eyes and saw the tender boy who had treated his wound last night eating a meat bun with relish. The aroma came from the meat bun.

Ao Shichu noticed his gaze and thought he wanted to eat meat buns, so he said, "You can't eat this now. You need to eat something nutritious that is easy to digest. By the way, do you have any money? My brothers and I have already spent a lot of money to buy medicine for your injury last night. We don't have any extra money, and we have to rent a house today, otherwise we will end up on the streets."

Qi Liangjun opened his mouth, but no sound came out because his throat was so dry. Seeing this, Ao Shiyan slapped his head and said, "Oh, I forgot to bring him some rice porridge. I'll go buy him some porridge to fill his stomach." After saying that, he went out again.

Ao Shichu said to Qi Liangjun: "Look, we saved you, not only do we have to pay for your medicine, but we also have to pay for your food. Now we have even less money."

Qi Liangjun's dark eyes blinked slowly, and he finally uttered a few words with difficulty: "I... will pay it back..."

"That's good." Ao Shichu could be kind enough to treat this person, but he couldn't let her pay for it.

Ao Shiyan bought some rice porridge and fed it to Qi Liangjun. Qi Liangjun then felt more energetic and spoke more fluently. Ao Shiyan asked about his background, and he only said that his name was Qi Liangjun and he was a scholar. He accidentally offended a big shot in the capital, so he was hunted down and almost lost his life.

As for why he offended the big shot, he didn't say much, and Ao Shiyan and his sister didn't ask much either. After all, sometimes the more you know, the more dangerous it is, so it's better to know nothing.

"Don't worry, my two little brothers. When they tried to kill me yesterday, I held my breath and pretended to be killed by them, so they don't know I'm still alive." Qi Liangjun said this to reassure the brother and sister.

"That's good. Otherwise, if those people knew you were still alive, we wouldn't know where to hide you." Ao Shiyan said with relief.

"Brother, we have made an appointment with a middleman to find a house today." Ao Shichu reminded Ao Shiyan.

"Yes, I almost forgot about it." Ao Shiyan said in annoyance, then he looked at Qi Liangjun who was still unable to move, feeling a little embarrassed.

Qi Liangjun was very considerate and said, "I am very grateful to you two brothers for saving my life yesterday. How can I delay you because of my own business? Just go and do your own business."

"But you are injured so badly, how can you do without someone to take care of you?" Ao Shiyan was a soft-hearted person. Seeing Qi Liangjun being so considerate and easy to talk to, he felt guilty first.

Ao Shichu pointed at the beggar couple, one old and one young, and said, "Brother, just let them help take care of him. When he gets better, give them some rewards. They should be happy to do so."

"Okay." Ao Shiyan said, and went to ask the two beggars. Qi Liangjun had no objection, and the three of them soon reached an agreement. Qi Liangjun let the two look after the house temporarily, while Ao Shichu and his sister continued to look at houses with the middleman.

The house-hunting trip went particularly smoothly that day. Ao Shichu and his sister quickly settled on a small house with two entrances. The house had not been lived in for a long time and the roof was leaking a little, but it would be fine as long as they bought some tiles and fixed it. The wall was also collapsed a little, but it could all be repaired.

The most important thing is that although this small house is shabby, there is a well in the yard, so there is no need to go outside to fetch water. Moreover, the location of this house is not bad. The people living around it are either small businessmen or ordinary honest people. There are no ruffians and even petty thefts are rare. Ao Shiyan was very satisfied and soon rented this small house.

Now that they had a small house, the brother and sister settled their bill with the inn, moved all their luggage into their new home, then worked together to pack it up and bought some furniture. This was their home in the capital.

"Sister! This is our home in the capital!" Ao Shiyan was a little excited. Before he arrived in the capital, he only thought about going to his cousin's house and getting the protection of his relatives. He was mentally prepared to live under someone else's roof. But he didn't expect that when he really arrived in the capital, he found that the relatives he went to were not reliable at all, and might even implicate himself, so he had to give up. Then he began to worry about whether he could settle down in the capital with his sister. He was very worried that he would be useless and would end up on the streets with his sister.

But now, everything started to get better. Even though this house was only rented, they finally had a place to stay and didn't have to worry about sleeping on the streets. And even though they could only rent a house now, he believed that after a while, if they worked hard to make money, they would be able to buy a house that truly belonged to them. At that time, they would have truly gained a foothold in the capital.

"Brother, it's too early for you to get excited. We will have a better home in the future." Ao Shichu said with a smile.

"You're right." Ao Shiyan is very excited now. He feels that everything in the future is full of expectations. He must work hard to make money, study hard, and provide a better life for his sister.

"Don't be silly, let's go buy some tiles and repair the roof first. It will be bad if it leaks when it rains." Ao Shichu reminded him.

"Yes, yes, not only the roof needs to be repaired, but the wall also needs to be repaired. Otherwise, it will be bad if a thief breaks in." Ao Shiyan said hurriedly.

So the brother and sister went to buy tiles, mud bricks and other things and brought them back to repair the house.

The brother and sister were not spoiled people and they had done a lot of work in Mobei before, so they did not find it difficult to repair the roof and the wall, especially Ao Shichu. Ao Shiyan saw her moving around the roof lightly, flexibly and agilely, and checking the tiles quickly and accurately. He suddenly felt that he was as clumsy as a duck and could not do the work as well as his sister, so he was very ashamed.

"Sister, as the eldest brother, I feel that I am really useless. In the end, you are the most reliable one to repair the roof." In the end, Ao Shiyan was completely reduced to a tool man who passed tiles to his sister.

"Brother, your expertise is not in work, but in studying. I am looking forward to you passing the imperial examination and bringing honor to our family." Ao Shichu comforted him.

(End of this chapter)