Chapter 94 Playing a Double Agent in Front of the Bell (with Trimmed Feathers and Broken Wings)

Miaoxiang Tea House, Songshan Town.

Aunt Zhong ran to the counter with a happy expression, "Manager Fang, you can read, can you read for everyone?"

Fang Yuan took the note, quickly glanced at it, and couldn't help but show a happy expression.

"Auntie, Madam Luo, Zhao Zhao is going to open a shop in the capital." She read the letter aloud again. "It seems that her foreign friend can't help her sell tea. I wonder what kind of connections this Lord Zhang has that he can influence the business of merchants in the capital."

At the corner of the stairs, Zhong Qian, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, strained his ears to listen to the conversation of the female protagonists, and unconsciously grinned.

Since he showed some wavering in his resolve last time, he had his wife expel him from the conversation, and everything was filtered by his wife before reaching his ears.

The people at the Chen residence were looking for him three times a day, which was extremely annoying.

However, Young Master Chen did indeed find a traveling doctor who cured his mother's long-standing cough; otherwise, his wife wouldn't have been able to help out at the teahouse every day.

This time, it seems that the young master of the Chen family is truly sincere; otherwise, he wouldn't have humbled himself before her.

Yesterday, when the two met, Chen Junbo bowed deeply to Zhong Qian and said, "Manager Zhong, Zhaozhao has been away from home for several months. I just want to know if she is doing well. Thank you for your help."

This was the first time Zhong Qian had ever seen Young Master Chen speak to someone so politely and humbly.

He closed his eyes and crouched down as he left the teahouse.

"Young Master, Manager Zhong has arrived." Bi Fang led his men straight into the inner room of the salt shop.

Zhong Qian looked left and right along the way, and he was surprised to find that he could even enter the inner hall of Chen's Salt Shop. He listened to the clattering of abacus beads and the busy scene inside, and his feet felt a little light on their feet.

"Manager Zhong," Chen Junbo stood up and bowed deeply, "Please sit down."

This chair looks really nice; it must be made of rosewood, with a glossy sheen.

I plopped down, and wow, the chair fit my back snugly; it really is a great chair.

Zhong Qian turned around and saw Bi Fang holding a teacup to his side. "Oh dear, no, no, please don't trouble Butler Bi to serve me tea personally." He then hurriedly stood up and bowed. "Young Master Chen, I have something to tell you today."

Chen Junbo was overjoyed.

There's nothing else between the old shopkeeper and him; it must be news about Zhaozhao.

"Manager Zhong, please speak freely."

With that, he waved his hand, and the others in the room took their leave, leaving only Xiao Bifang and the other two.

Suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and the doorman beckoned to Bi Fang, calling out in a low voice, "Butler Bi, Butler Bi..."

As soon as Bi Fang stepped out the door, the servant handed him a letter with both hands. Upon opening it, Zhong Qian exclaimed joyfully, "Young Master Chen, the mistresses of the master have gone..."

"The capital city!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously, one from inside the door and one from outside.

Bi Fang strode inside, glanced at the clock, and thought to himself: You old codger, timing your arrival perfectly to play the good guy.

He hurriedly handed the letter in his hand to Chen Junbai. Once Xiaolu arrived in the capital, she no longer needed to write or draw herself. On the first day, she generously asked a letter writer to help her and wrote a long and detailed letter.

So this is the capital city.

Upon seeing this, Zhong Qian thought to himself: What a close call! If I had arrived a moment later, I would have missed this opportunity to do this favor.

Then she thought again: That little deer girl, following the young mistress around, actually communicated with the butler, what a wicked woman!

Thinking of this, he quickly said, "Young Master Chen, now that the letter has been delivered, I shall take my leave."

After leaving Chen's Salt Shop, Zhong Qian weighed the purse in his hand, his eyes darting around, and headed straight for the teahouse.

"Madam, Madam! There's a traitor among us!" He ran to the teahouse in one breath and slammed his hand on the counter, attracting several women to gather around.

"Manager Zhong, please speak slowly."

Fang Yuan was terrified. Was there a traitor among them?! Could there be something wrong with the Kui Long Pearl?

“Just now, the young master of the Chen family came looking for me again, and I went with him to their salt shop…” He pointed to the teacup, fanning his face with a large hand, clearly feeling extremely hot, “Guess what happened.”

Luo Yinhua served tea, and Aunt Zhong slapped him on the back, saying, "Speak quickly."

He took the teacup and took a big sip. "Before General Manager Chen could torture me, the steward received a letter!"

"letter?"

"Yes! You wouldn't guess, would you? The little deer girl by the master's side wrote a long letter to the pen butler..." As she spoke, she spread out one hand, holding up five fingers. After thinking for a moment, she added another finger to her other hand, "It's a full six pages!"

"Oh my god!"

"That girl!"

"Six pages..."

"Yes, a full six pages, I saw it with my own eyes." Zhong Qian curled his lip, glancing at everyone out of the corner of his eye. "That's right, they covered every little detail, revealing everything about the boss's group!"

"This is outrageous!" Fang Yuan was furious and immediately sent a letter to Li Yang to warn him about Xiao Lu.

But Zhong Qian stopped him.

"Why are you stopping me?!"

"Manager Fang, don't be anxious. Think about it, it's already the dead of winter, and the canal transport has long since stopped." He tapped the counter lightly with his index finger. "If we wait until the canal transport resumes next spring, even if Young Master Chen rushes to the capital, it will be summer at the earliest. By then, the teahouse branches will have already opened."

“That’s true…” Fang Yuan pondered, then looked at Manager Zhong with suspicion, “Manager Zhong is quick-witted today.”

“Hehe, not at all,” Zhong Qian scratched his eyebrows. “Besides, Young Master Chen angered the master and now that he knows where the master is and can’t find him, it might be a good thing for him to be anxious.”

Seeing that several women were completely charmed by him, Zhong Qian grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the counter and tossed them out the door, a smile gradually spreading across his face.

Earlier at the salt shop, he was about to take his leave when he heard Chen Junbai say, "Manager Zhong, please wait."

It turned out that although Xiao Lu had hired a letter writer, she was just dictating the letter, which was long and rambling with no focus. Chen Junbo was impatient with the repetitive rambling and simply threw the letter aside to ask questions.

Now that he had Xiao Lu's letter as a backup, he became bolder. As he said, the canal transport had long since stopped, and Chen Junbai was powerless to stop it.

He then proceeded to recount in detail how the group had followed Lu Jie northward.

Seeing Chen Junbo's face darken inch by inch, Zhong Qian had a thought. "This man shouldn't take his anger out on me." He sighed and said, "Mr. Chen, please don't blame this old man for being nosy."

Chen Junbo suddenly looked up at him.

"The owner is single-mindedly focused on making the teahouse a success. I've seen it all. Even during the most difficult times for the tea house, the owner never considered firing anyone. He was always thinking about how to improve the business." Perhaps these were his heartfelt words, because they sounded somewhat poignant when he said them.

"But she herself is just a child. At this age, other girls are surrounded by their parents, carefree and happy, only hoping to marry a perfect husband every day..."

"My ideal husband..." Chen Junbo murmured repeatedly, then suddenly chuckled, seemingly mocking himself.

“Young Master Chen, you are undoubtedly one of the most distinguished people in Songshan Town.” Zhong Qian sighed, “But when it comes to marriage, all the lady of the house hopes for is a confidant who understands her heart and knows her feelings.”

"There are millions of couples in this world, but few are as bright and clear as Mr. Chen. Other couples also have loving and happy marriages, but they all share the same respect."

"Respect?" Chen Junbo raised his eyes in confusion. "How can it not be considered respect between us? I never refuse her requests..."

“But this is not respect.” Zhong Qian interrupted him. “Young Master Chen, I may not be as good as you in business, but I have more experience in marriage.”

Seeing Chen Junbo pacing around in circles, Zhong Qian felt a surge of encouragement, "If Young Master Chen doesn't mind, perhaps I can have a debate with him."

"Please enlighten me, Manager Zhong."

Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and said, "Young Master Chen may know that his wife is fierce and his son is considered a 'good-for-nothing' husband in the surrounding villages."

Upon hearing this, Chen Junbo slightly curled the corners of his lips, "I've had some dealings with your wife." He had indeed experienced the shrew's behavior firsthand.

“Young Master Chen, you may not know this, but before my wife married me, our family was quite well-off. She managed all the affairs of her family’s residence and shops,” Zhong Qian said with a bitter smile. “Later, because she met me, she insisted on marrying into my Zhong family. She was abandoned by my family. Poverty-stricken couples suffer all kinds of misfortunes, which is why she is now a shrew busy with farm work and taking care of her elderly mother.”

"It is because my wife insisted on marrying me, a poor fellow, that I am willing to be a henpecked husband."

Speaking of the past, Zhong Qian's eyes welled up with tears. "We were husband and wife, spending every day and night together. The word 'respect' couldn't be faked."

"The first day I saw you and your wife, when the flower shop was being sold, I could tell at a glance that you doted on your wife. However, your wife is not a stray cat or dog. She is passionate and has lofty aspirations. She is like a bird. You keep her in a cage and pamper her. But once the cage door is opened, the bird will naturally fly to the high mountains."

"Everyone who keeps a parrot knows that it should have its wings clipped. But if someone clips its wings and confines it to their side, does that person truly love the parrot, or is it just using 'love' as an excuse to amuse themselves?"

Chen Junbo was stunned and speechless, "A bird with broken wings..."

“Young Master Chen, everyone in the teahouse knows that this teahouse is no longer just a bet for the young mistress. It is her place to spread her wings and soar. If you close the teahouse, wouldn’t that confine her back to the Chen residence? The inner courtyard of the mansion is a cage for a woman like the young mistress.”

"Manager Zhong, watch your words." Bi Fang couldn't bear to listen anymore; the Chen residence was truly a cage.

“It’s alright,” Chen Junbai raised his hand, seemingly lost in thought. “Thank you for your guidance today, Manager Zhong. I am deeply grateful.”

Today, having received General Manager Chen's gratitude and having also uncovered the traitor Xiao Lu, Zhong Qian was secretly delighted. His wife didn't understand; couples often quarrel and then reconcile. Since General Manager Chen was determined to pursue his employer, their reconciliation was only a matter of time.

Now that his wife has thoroughly offended General Manager Chen, she naturally follows her employer's lead in everything.

But he intends to be on good terms with President Chen today, so he can leave himself an out and make it easier to meet again in the future.

Luckily, he burned his tongue with hot tea and spat out the tea leaves. If he had been any later, Little Deer's letter would have beaten him to it, and his mission to deliver the message would have been ruined.

Inside the salt shop, Chen Junbo sat alone, lost in thought.

Bi Fang stepped forward to comfort him, "Young master, this old man Zhong is talking nonsense, young master, don't worry about it."

“But didn’t you also say that what I give Zhaozhao might not be what she wants… Bifang, you also think he’s right, don’t you?”

Bi Fang lowered his head and remained silent. Indeed, he had heard Xiao Lu complain more than once that the young mistress did not seem to be very happy with the gold and silver treasures that the young master gave her. Xiao Lu did not understand, and neither did he.

But he vaguely sensed that what the young master gave was not what the young mistress wanted.