Chapter 16 Thunderclaps from Heaven! I've really messed with the person in charge...

Passing by the woman in red's courtyard again, I saw her holding up a porcelain teapot and teaching little girls to identify teapots.

For some reason, even though they were all the same kind of earthen houses and courtyards, Li Yang felt that this woman's courtyard looked exceptionally serene and beautiful, and the suffocation he had felt at Zhao Di's house earlier immediately dissipated.

"What is this?" the woman asked in a gentle, smiling voice.

"The lid of the pot!" the girls shouted in unison.

"And what about here?" the woman asked again, this time with all sorts of conflicting opinions:

"hole!"

"No, no, I know, it's a button..."

"You're all wrong, this is a nail!"

The woman wasn't annoyed by their haphazard answers, but smiled brightly and said, "This is called Kong, remember it well this time!"

"Wife, wife..." Suddenly someone entered the courtyard and called out to the woman, who then went out the door.

In the courtyard, only the little girls remained, gathered around the square table, pointing to the teapots and identifying each one. After a short while, they burst into laughter, their clear voices making Li Yang feel even more cheerful.

After descending the mountain and returning to the house arranged by the village head, Li Yang pushed open the door and called out, "Chen Junbai!"

There was no one there.

Li Yang was stunned for a moment: Hasn't he come back yet?

She glanced at the sky, turned back into the courtyard, asked someone for directions to the kitchen, and then made her way there.

With a grin, she crept into the kitchen, rummaged around for a bit, and then could only sit on the stove stool and sigh. In front of her were two eggs covered in chicken feathers, three wilted eggplants, and a few green and red tomatoes. There wasn't a single speck of meat in the kitchen—how was she supposed to make wontons?!

She blinked. There was nowhere to buy meat right now, so she'd have to make do with what she had. With that thought, she pouted, scooped a spoonful of flour from the bag onto the cutting board, sprinkled some water on it, and began kneading the dough.

When Li Yang finished her work and came out carrying the tray, she saw Chen Junbo. Her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "You're back!"

“Young Madam.” Bi Fang appeared from behind Chen Junbai.

The three men exchanged glances and were all taken aback. After a moment, they nodded to each other and then went into the house one after another.

After the master and servant exchanged a few words, Bi took his leave. Li Yang immediately picked up the tray from the table by the door and hurried over to Young Master Chen.

Chen Junbai remained silent, watching her set down the tray she was carrying and then push it towards him. On the tray was a bowl of noodles topped with sauce. The woman smiled brightly, "Haven't eaten yet, have you?"

After carefully examining the bowls on the table, Chen Junbo looked up at Li Yang and asked, "What about this time?"

"Oh, this is a noodle dish with toppings, served with eggplant and egg sauce. Would you like to try some?" Li Yang kindly explained, "Luckily, there was a jar of lard in the kitchen, so I..."

"What's the reason this time?" Chen Junbo still didn't touch his chopsticks.

When he asked this, Li Yang felt a little awkward, so he moved to sit down opposite him, placed his hands on his knees and twisted his fingers. "Today, I... I bought someone."

Chen Junbo frowned as he listened, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Seeing this, Li Yang clenched his fists and said fiercely, "Today in the village, I met a family who wanted to sell their daughter as a prostitute. I bought the girl from that family."

She pursed her lips, her almond-shaped eyes wide and fixed on Chen Junbai, afraid he would disagree. After all, she was just an employee of the Chen family, and it did sound quite inappropriate for her to have taken it upon herself to buy a little burden.

"You bought it?" Chen Junbo asked, his voice trailing off, still incredulous.

"Well, she'll be here soon to sign the papers. Could I..." Li Yang's voice trailed off, "...could I take her back to the Chen family?"

Chen Junbo frowned, then asked again, "How much silver did they ask you for?"

"Fifty taels," Li Yang said sullenly, then, as if remembering something, quickly added, "However, I can pay for this myself."

Fifty taels of silver is a bit expensive, but not too much. Chen Junbai thought to himself: This girl has only saved fifty taels in total, and she usually treats it like the apple of her eye. Why is she being so generous this time?

Seeing that he just frowned and didn't say anything after hearing this, Li Yang felt that there was no hope and had no choice but to give up. "Okay then... I'll go and tell them later that I won't buy it."

After saying that, she silently reached out her finger, hooked the tray back in front of her, picked it up, and was about to leave.

Chen Junbo spoke up: "Just once."

Li Yang was taken aback. "Huh?"

"This is a one-time thing." Chen Junbo sighed and explained to her, "My mother has always been in charge of letting people into the house. This is something I can't bypass her on. I'll talk to her about it when we get back."

Li Yang's eyes instantly lit up like stars, his face beaming with smiles as he nodded repeatedly to vouch for him, "Yes, just this once!"

Seeing her looking like a hungry cat with its eyes wide open, Chen Junbo slightly raised his chin, nodded slightly towards the table, and his gaze fell on the tray in her hands.

Without uttering a single word, Li Yang hurriedly pushed the tray towards him, plastering his face with obsequiousness, and repeatedly said, "You should try it."

"Is it tasty?"

"There are only eggplants in the kitchen, so I can only make eggplant sauce. I'll make something else for you next time."

"But I added lard when I stir-fried it, so it was very fragrant."

Chen Junbo focused solely on eating his noodles, not even sparing her a glance.

Seeing this, Li Yang smacked his lips and finally shut up.

Smoke rises from the village, and an amber-colored wind sweeps across the terraced fields, causing the folds to ripple like waves.

The sparrows returned to their nests, chirping and chattering.

"Young Madam!"

Mo Lian entered the house and stood at the door calling to her.

Glancing at the man eating noodles, Li Yang tiptoed to the door and asked in a low voice, "They're here?"

Seeing that Mo Lian nodded in agreement, he added, "Oh, okay, I'll be right there."

But then Chen Junbo spoke up: "I'll go with you."

Upon hearing this, Li Yang turned his head and saw the light shining on him, turning his light blue robe a pale blue. He paused for a moment before confirming, "Are you going too?"

There was a moment of silence. The man put down his chopsticks, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his mouth, placed it on the table, and stood up, saying, "Let's go."

Li Yang followed behind him, beaming, thinking to himself: if he goes to negotiate in person, he's sure to win.

Mo Lian silently followed the two.

After leaving the hall, Chen Junbo went straight to the right. Li Yang was also unfamiliar with the place, so he quickly followed behind him. He walked to the door of a room and knocked.

"Young Master." Bi Fang opened the door and came out. The two exchanged a few words in hushed tones, and then Chen Junbo led the three of them to the left side of the courtyard.

In fact, Chen Zhangshi usually took care of all the purchasing of servants for the Chen family. If the shop needed to hire a helper, the manager wouldn't bother Chen Junbai; at worst, there was Bifang. If we're talking about people he personally handled before they entered the Chen family, it's probably only Li Yang.

It wasn't until the group entered the front hall and Chen Junbo sat down in the central armchair that Li Yang realized this young master had sent Bi Fang to talk to the broker.

She thought to herself: Couldn't he just tell me to go talk to Bi Fang myself? I thought this young master was someone who could handle things.

But then he thought: Forgive me, forgive me. Butler Bi is Young Master Chen's confidant. If it weren't for Young Master Chen's sake, I wouldn't be able to order him around, let alone get this head butler involved in this mess.

Seeing Bi Fang standing beside Chen Junbai, the master and servant were one standing and one sitting, one moving and one still. Li Yang found a good spot to sit down and rubbed his hands together, preparing to learn how to negotiate the purchase of people.

Although it wasn't the first time she had dealt with Bi Fang, she had never had the chance to quietly observe him because she always had other matters to discuss.

Having some free time today, I took a closer look. The two young masters were dressed in shades of light blue and dark blue. Chen Junbai truly inherited Chen Zhangshi's looks, handsome and refined. Bi Fang stood beside him; though not as elegant and refined as him, she was still dignified and proper.

Most of the time, it was Bi Fang who did the talking, while Chen Junbo just focused on drinking his tea.

From Li Yang's perspective, the man in blue stepped forward with an air of confidence, while the handsome young man sat behind him, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration as he flipped through the covered bowl.

this?

Could it be that Bi Fang is Chen Junbo's beloved?!

Thunder rumbled through the air! Li Yang was utterly shaken. No wonder Bi Fang was so nervous when signing the contract with him, stammering and saying he couldn't let a fourth person know when he asked why. Good heavens! He'd just walked right into the lion's den!

A thunderclap exploded in her mind. She finally came to her senses, rubbed her eyes, and looked again!

This! This! This! The more I look at it, the more it makes sense!

No wonder she looked so unnatural when the two of them returned to the manor together earlier.

No wonder the two of them rode in the same carriage on their way here.

Ah! No wonder these two were inseparable every day for the past few months, leaving early and returning late.

She was too busy processing this astonishing event to pay attention to what was being discussed in the hall. Anyway, Bi Fang, or rather, Young Master Bi, would handle everything.

A note from the author:

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