Lian Ye's whole body was shaking as if he was sifting chaff.
He thought his parents were crazy! Why do you think that noble people will like you? Just because Qing'er was an "ugly" boy that no one in the village was willing to marry, and she herself is not that good-looking?
But even if they are ugly, people are different! Even though Qing Ge'er is still not the type that men like, his aura, his style of speaking and doing things, when standing next to him, one is the clouds in the sky, and the other is the mud underfoot!
But he didn't want to go, so Wang picked up the broom and beat him. Lian Ye was in so much pain that he didn't want to live anymore. Ever since the family split up, Wang was unhappy with everything and she took it out on him whenever she was unhappy. He always had new wounds before the old ones healed. His father never cared and just stood there with his head down and sighed.
Today is Lian Ou’s wedding. Lian Ye envied Lian Ou and Shen Qing so much. But he had neither any special skills, nor a mother who loved him, nor the courage to stand up and resist like Shen Qing did.
Let’s go then, Lian Ye thought. If I don't go, I will be beaten to death sooner or later. It's better to go and annoy the noble man. It would be a relief to be beaten to death at once, and avoid this kind of piecemeal torture.
But he didn't expect that the nobleman was not angry and even bought him. Lian Ye was puzzled and even more scared. If he was taken back by the nobleman, would Qing Ge'er forgive him? Thinking of Shen Qing's fierce fighting record in the village, Lian Ye trembled even more violently.
However, Shen Qing just glanced at him twice and pulled Song Kaiji aside to talk. Lian Ye closed his eyes and shivered, feeling that this was almost like waiting to die, and every minute and every second was torture.
After listening to Song Kaiji's explanation of the whole story, Shen Qing frowned slightly. Spending ten taels of silver to save Lian Ye was not a big deal, but Song Kaiji did this: "You set this precedent, and some people in the village will think that this can be successful. Just wait to be attacked." He did not doubt Song Kaiji's feelings for him, but it was too troublesome.
Besides, "I just had a chat with Lian Ou and you heard it." Shen Qing glanced at Lian Ye next to him, "But who knows what Lian Ye is thinking? The relationship between the two families is not good, and Ou Ge'er doesn't talk much to Lian Ye. Lian Ye is indeed pitiful, but maybe he is willing to stay with his parents even if he suffers."
Not every poor person in this world is like Wang San, who can develop the spirit of self-reliance after a few words of advice from others. There are many people struggling in the quagmire, constantly complaining to others, but when someone really extends a branch to save them, they are afraid of the world outside the quagmire.
"Why should I care what he thinks?" Song Kaiji didn't care much about Lian Ye's thoughts, he only cared about Shen Qing's thoughts. Shen Qing wanted to save Lian Ye, so he bought Lian Ye. As for whether Lian Ye needs help - why should he consider Lian Ye's feelings? People were bumping into him, so he took the opportunity.
Shen Qing was stunned when he heard this, and was a little dizzy with his train of thought. He couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or a little amused. But the person has already been bought. Shen Qing looked at the indenture handed over by Song Kaiji and said, "Why don't you take him back instead of waiting for me at the door?"
"How can I take him back?" Song Kaiji said anxiously, "Then I'm just like you said. I can't explain it in the village. I don't know how many people will miss me and come after me in the future. I didn't refute it just now because I was afraid that the two of them would come to their senses. Now the indenture is in our hands, what are we afraid of? Just look for a business vacancy and send someone to send him there quickly. Don't let him enter our house."
Reputation is a man’s best dowry! He didn't want the villagers to think that he was capable of doing anything other than Qingqing!
"You're not stupid yet," Shen Qing was amused by his anxious look, like a puppy whose bone was taken away and running around in circles. Song Kaiji immediately revealed a smug expression of "Of course", and his tail was about to shake like a propeller.
Shen Qing thought for a moment and felt that he should talk to Lian Ye first. He had not had much contact with Lian Ye and did not know what kind of person he was. If he wanted to help him, he had to first see what kind of person Lian Ye was. He walked towards Lian Ye, and Lian Ye subconsciously wanted to run, but then he remembered that his indenture was already in Shen Qing's hands, and his parents had already accepted the money, so where else could he run to? He stopped abruptly, lowered his head and waited for his fate.
The imagined slap did not fall. Shen Qing's voice was actually mixed with a hint of warmth in this cold winter of December. Lian Ye heard Shen Qing say: "Before, I heard from Ou Ge'er and Aunt Lian Er that you were pitiful, so my husband bought you. It is impossible for you to become a concubine in our family. This is a contract of selling one's body, not a document of buying a concubine. If you are willing, I can send you to work in a shop in the county town. You can work for a few years and earn a job as a manager. After that, you can get married and live on your own after receiving the contract. But in this way, you have to completely sever your relationship with your parents. If you don't want to..."
Shen Qing frowned. If Lian Ye was a person who couldn't make sense of the situation, he would let him stay at Aunt Lian's house for a few days and then find a better family for him. He would have done his best. If I stay at Aunt Lian's house for the next two days, I'm afraid I'll cause some trouble for Aunt Lian.
Fortunately, before he could finish his words, Lian Ye had already knelt down in front of him, crying: "I am willing to work for you like a cow or a horse. Qing'er, please send me away. If you don't tell me, I don't want to have anything to do with them anymore!"
He pulled up his sleeves. He was only wearing a thin jacket in December. His fingertips were frozen and turned purple. However, these bruises were nothing compared to the ones on his arms. They looked like they were caused by a cane. The black and purple bloodstains overlapped one another. "Ever since the family split up, my mother... takes it out on me whenever she's not happy. Now she's not that nice to Lian Bao, so Lian Bao cries all the time. When she gets annoyed by my crying, she starts beating me... I didn't think of becoming your husband's concubine. They beat me so hard that I couldn't stand it anymore. I thought I'd die anywhere..." Lian Ye cried.
Wang used to think that she had given birth to another boy and was a great contributor to the Lian family, and she kept showing off by holding Lianbao in her arms. But when the Lian family split up, the old couple followed the second son's family and did not give her much of the property. Only then did she realize that the so-called having more boys would bring great merit was just her wishful thinking.
In other words, when compared with real money, whether one is a boy or not is not a big deal.
With such a huge gap, she was no longer so concerned about Lian Bao. But this child had been spoiled by Wang before, and would cry and make a fuss whenever he was not happy. Wang was annoyed by her crying, so she took it out on Lian Ye. Lian Ye was sobbing as he spoke. Shen Qing quickly helped him up. His hand touched Lian Ye's arm, and Lian Ye shivered again.
This is because they have too many children. Forget about the love of their parents. Even wealthy families don’t treat their servants so cruelly. Shen Qing sighed and pulled him to the workshop next door. Today is the day for the wedding of Lianou. Many people who drank too much are coming here to sober up and take a rest.
Shen Qing searched the crowd for a few times and found Brother Tieshan: "Could you trouble Brother Tieshan to drive Lian Ye to my shop in the city later? Just give her to Ruyi and ask her to find a place for her to stay. After two days, she will go to work in the shop with Mudan and the others."
Tieshan burped. Aunt Yan Zi and Miao Hexiang have a good relationship. Although he is not particularly close to his younger brothers Shen Qing and Lian Ou since they were young - after all, they are just little brothers and can't play together, they are all pretty good. Today is a good day for lotus roots. The merchants in Miaoqian Village are trying to get Ming He to drink wine. Lian Shi and Tieshan are the ones who are blocking them. At the moment, their minds are still a little unclear. They say with a big tongue, "Leave it to me."
Lian Shi had already fallen beside him, sleeping on his back.
Shen Qing: “…” But he wasn’t so relieved anymore.
As they were talking, several aunts brought a pot of hangover soup, rolled up their sleeves and fed everyone a bowl of it. Then they smiled at Shen Qing and said, "Qing, if you are not in a hurry, just wait. It is still early. Let them sleep for an hour."
There were also those who had heard some news and were very curious about Shen Qing and Lian Ye, so they boldly asked: "Didn't the nobleman buy Lian Ye..."
Shen Qing glanced over and the person who was speaking suddenly became speechless and dared not say another word.
"Isn't this the sin of that couple? Who among the good families would force their own son to be someone's concubine?" Shen Qing said coldly. This was a scolding to Wang and Boss Lian, but also a warning to other people in the village who had ulterior motives. "My husband bought it because he felt sorry for Brother Ye after he was beaten. He did it to accumulate merit. Look, he didn't even bring the person back, but came straight to me."
Shen Qing brushed off his clothes and said, "It's not easy to get into our house."
No one in the room dared to say a word, and even the drunkard's snoring seemed to have become quieter. Shen Qing knew that after today's words were spread, those who had ulterior motives but could not succeed would definitely say sour words again. But is Shen Qing still afraid of being criticized?
He also saw through it. Most of the people in this village were fence-sitters. He built a workshop to benefit the village, and he would be a popular young man. He shot and broke the legs of Zhao Youwei's group, and then spread rumors that he was like a demon. When he distributed porridge on Laba Festival, he became the great philanthropist Shen. He has always been Shen Qing, and the change in his reputation is just a matter of whether he has allowed others to take advantage of him or gain benefits from him.
Those who covet her husband cannot get any benefits, so of course they will speak ill of him.
However, after a while, Lian Laoer, who had also heard the news, came over with Wu Guixiang's mule cart and said, "Qing'er, don't wait for Tieshan. I'll take Lian Ye to the city."
He looked so embarrassed that even when Ye Chong bumped into Song Kaiji today, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Qingge'er has helped his family so much. If it weren't for Qingge'er, would his family be living the life they are today? Now it happened that his family members were trying to steal Qingge'er's man.
Is it easy for Qingge to find such a good man?
Miao Hexiang and Wang had a fight at the doorstep just now. After returning home, Miao Hexiang scolded Wang for a long time. She only calmed down after hearing the wind: "I thought, Qingge'er's man doesn't seem to be hungry. He drags all kinds of people into the house." After thinking for a while, she said, "What a bargain that shameless couple got. They even got ten taels of silver from Qingge'er's man!"
But even as she cursed, she still got up and packed two sets of half-worn clothes for Lian Ye that Lian Ou had left at her parents' home. "Qing'er is kind-hearted. He saved Lian Ye for Ou'er's sake. You can't let Qing'er buy all her clothes, right? Go to the village chief's house and borrow a mule cart, and send Lian Ye away quickly. Don't let those couple have any illusions!"
After seeing Lian Ye off, Shen Qingcai and Song Kaiji returned to the farm on the mountain. Song Kaiji held Shen Qing's hand and said shyly, "What did you call me in front of the villagers just now?"
Shen Qing was stunned.
Song Kaiji circled around him: "Call me again, call me again~~~ We just met not long ago, and you called me Brother Song. Now that we have a child, you still call me Brother Song. Don't you think you are a bit too much?"
Shen Qing's face turned red: "I'm just... used to it, right?" It felt awkward to suddenly change the words. Only occasionally... when he was in bed and anxious, he would call Song Kaiji's full name. Compared to Song Kaiji calling him Qingqing in a sticky way, Shen Qing really didn't seem to have any special nickname for Song Kaiji.
But there's nothing wrong with calling him Brother Song. Zhao Yu also calls Lian Shi Brother Shi, which is already very close. Many young couples in the village call him that, and others call him the child's dad. Is it really necessary to call him "husband" or "husband" in a cheesy way? That would make the villagers laugh their heads off.
"Oh, you're afraid that the villagers will laugh at you now. Don't you care about what the villagers say? But you care about me again!" Song Kaiji put his hands on his hips and blocked him, pretending to be angry, "I don't care, I don't care, I want it, I want it!"
Shen Qing was really at a loss for words because of him. There was no one around, so she had to stand on tiptoe and kiss Song Kaiji, whispering, "Husband."
"Husband~~"
Ah, that's a bit shameful.
But Song Kaiji benefited greatly from it. In an instant, as if he had taken stimulants, his ears turned red to a color visible to the naked eye. Shen Qing found it interesting and for some reason bit his ear gently.
Half of Song Kaiji's body was numb, and he seemed to have endless strength. He suddenly carried Shen Qing on his shoulders and ran home. In the farmhouse, Zhang Sujuan was still trying to explain to Miao Chunlei with an embarrassed look on her face what a shameless son she had. Zhang Sujuan knew in her heart that Song Kaiji was not the kind of person who would gossip and her family couldn't raise a child like that. But Song Kaiji just couldn't keep his face in public!
"Mother-in-law, please listen to my explanation. Kaiji must have other ideas. He can't possibly do anything wrong to Qing Ge'er! If he dares to do anything wrong to Qing Ge'er, I will be the first one to beat him!"
Miao Chunlei took a deep breath: "I know." If I didn't know, I would have slapped him at that time! But Miao Chunlei, the mother-in-law, is still a little unhappy about Song Kaiji's behavior! As the two were talking, they suddenly saw Song Kaiji rushing back carrying Shen Qing like a gust of wind, and the two of them laughed like silver bells.
There was no Lian Ye following behind him.
Miao Chunlei, Zhang Sujuan: "..."
Well, they are worrying for nothing, the couple is doing fine.
The matter just passed like that. Although Ruyi didn't know the inside story, she naturally followed the master's instructions. Lian Ye was kept in a house in the north of the city for two days. When Lian Ye's clothes were lifted up, the maids and boys in the yard were stunned. Ruyi quickly sent someone to call a doctor.
Lian Ye was still a little nervous: "These are just skin injuries, it's okay, no need to spend money." It would cost a lot of money to see a doctor, not to mention to invite a doctor over. He had already spent ten taels of silver on Shen Qing, and let him live in such a nice house and gave him work to do, so he didn't dare spend more.
"It's okay. It doesn't cost much. We are familiar with the old doctor." Ruyi comforted him and asked someone to boil some hot water to clean the area around the broken wound. She was talking about the old doctor who delivered Shen Qing, and who later stayed to deliver Zhao Yu and treat Song Kaiji's injuries. They became familiar with each other after a few interactions. They didn't invite the old doctor himself, but several of his apprentices who were in the learning stage. When Ruyi and his friends opened a fried skewers shop and occasionally got scalded, they would ask these apprentices to take a look, free of charge.
Several maids looked at the wounds on Lian Ye's body, and some recalled their own past: "I was like this when I was at home, I was always beaten, and new wounds piled up before the old ones healed."
"My parents were alone in the house and didn't take good care of my brother. He fell down, and my father came out and kicked me, asking why I didn't come to take care of him." The little maid pulled up her trouser leg a little: "I hit my leg on a stone, and there is still a scar on my calf."
"I was so scared when I was first sold. I felt that my own parents treated me like this, and I didn't know how I would live after being sold. I didn't expect to be able to come here and enjoy the good life with my master."
"Yes," the little maid held Lian Ye's hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, we have a good life here, the master never beats anyone, and if you do something wrong, Sister Ruyi will scold you but never beat you. You will never be beaten again when you come here."
Lian Ye sniffed and uttered a soft "hmm".
By the time Wang and Lian Laoda had happily counted the silver and fulfilled their beautiful dream of Lian Ye becoming favored and squeezing Shen Qing out, Lian Ye had not been in the village for several days. The two were stunned for a moment, and after some inquiries, they found out that Ye Lian had not even entered his house and was sent away on the same day, let alone being visited by a nobleman!
They wanted to go to Shen Qing's house to make trouble, but they couldn't even get through the gate. Several strong boys were guarding the safety of the house. If you want to cause trouble at Miao Hexiang's house, what does it have to do with Miao Hexiang's family? Ou Ge'er happened to come back home. Old Mrs. Lian felt that she had lost face in front of her grandson-in-law, so she came forward and scolded Lian Lao Da and Wang, saying that she never expected that their Lian family would also have a coward who sold his children - when Old Lady Shen sold Shen Xiaojuan, she was severely despised by her, but she didn't expect that it would be her grandson's turn to be sold.
The elder couple was scolded so badly that they were ashamed, but they were still unwilling to give up and kept wandering around the village like headless flies. It was Wu Guixiang who took out the money of the village head's wife and came forward to teach the two of them a lesson:
"You two sold your child. Do you know what selling means? The old Shen family sold Shen Xiaojuan, which means the child will follow the buyer wherever he goes. He has no relationship with the old man and mother anymore. We can't ask about him, and he has never returned to the village! You sold Lian Ye to Qing Ge'er's family, so naturally Qing Ge'er can do whatever he wants with her. It's up to Qing Ge'er to kill her or shave her. Who do you think you are? You want to control how others deal with slaves?"
"Who sold the child to Shen Qing? We sold the child to the noble lady!" Wang said with her neck stiff, "The noble lady wanted to take our Ye Ge'er as a concubine, but Shen Qing was jealous and sent our child away. Why can't we ask for justice?"
"Fair?" Wu Guixiang was so angry that she laughed. "Fair means that you are Qingge'er's man, they are one family, and you bought a servant from Qingge'er's family. You said you wanted to take her as a concubine, so you did? Buying a concubine also requires a written document, do you have one? But I received ten taels of silver and signed a contract to sell her. If you are not satisfied, bring the ten taels of silver and I will go and make peace with Qingge'er. The contract to sell her is not valid, and you can take the child back!"
Wang made a fuss for a long time, but no one paid any attention to her. It is even more impossible to pay back the money and take Lian Ye back! Lian Ye is also of marriageable age next year or the year after, but the betrothal gift of the young man is not as good as that of the young girl. He can get five or six taels at most. Who is so lucky as Lian Ou to get twenty taels of betrothal silver? While Wang was eating sour lotus roots, she knew clearly that her lotus leaves could not be sold at that price.
Given ten taels of silver versus five or six taels, of course I would choose ten taels.
After this incident, many people in the village put their little thoughts aside. Qing'er is a very capable person. Not to mention being sold as a slave, even if she was really a concubine, Qing'er could sell her whenever he wanted or send her away whenever he wanted, without even having to inform her parents' family. Then wouldn’t it be a waste of time and effort?
Shen Qing and Song Kaiji lived peacefully in Lantang Village for some days. On the New Year's Eve, Shen Qing packed some gifts and took Song Kaiji to visit County Magistrate Lin in person. He also followed the Golden Tooth Man to visit the Chief Clerk and Secretary Yang.
If I had gone to pay a visit last year, I might not even have been able to see the chief clerk. But who doesn’t know by now that Shen Qing and County Magistrate Lin’s only brother are good friends and often visit the County Magistrate’s home? The chief clerk and Secretary Yang received Shen Qing and Song Kaiji courteously. Secretary Yang was even more enthusiastic, and his friendship was evident in his words.
Who doesn't know that Miao Yu and Tieshan, who are now serving the county magistrate, entered the yamen through Shen Qing's relationship? Now it is quite useful! In the past, it was Shen Qing who begged him to be his backer, but now it was he who hoped that Shen Qing would say a few good words for him in front of the county magistrate.
Song Kaiji accompanied him for two drinks. He didn't drink much before. At most he would eat some rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice and drink some pineapple beer, and he rarely drank beer. But the alcohol content of ancient wine was too low. Song Kaiji drank a lot, but when he went out, his face was just red and he was very sober.
Shen Qing held his face: "Are you okay?" They visited Shuban Yang first. Since he was more familiar with Magistrate Lin, they wanted to stay longer in the afternoon and put him last. But it would be disrespectful to go to the county magistrate's house drunk. "How about we find an inn and get a room, so you can get some sleep and drink some hangover soup, and then we can go visit Brother Ning's house?"
Song Kaiji wanted to say it was okay, but when he heard the words "book a room", the alcohol made him a little distracted: "Well... well, that's fine."
He leaned on Shen Qing's shoulder and rubbed it: "Qingqing, I feel dizzy."
The man with the golden tooth was still following them. It was he who arranged for Shen Qing to visit Yang Shuban and accompany him. Seeing Song Kaiji's look, he quickly bowed and said goodbye: "I won't go with you, sir. I have something else to do at home. I'll take my leave first."
Shen Qing was a little embarrassed, but still put his arm around Song Kaiji and nodded, "I'll prepare a generous gift and visit Brother Jin's home alone in a few days."
The man with the golden teeth ran as fast as if his feet were greased: Mr. Shen’s man turned out to be such a person, and he could act like a spoiled child in front of a man like Mr. Shen, it was really... really admirable!
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