Su Luo still has Shuiqingzhuang and Fumanlou to manage, so she needs to find an official to help her manage some of her businesses and household affairs.
"That's no problem. I know someone who is very capable. But if I want him to come here willingly, you need to do one thing for him."
"What's up?"
A good steward is almost always a domestic servant.
That's why Su Luo wanted to ask Nangong Qing. Although she didn't know Nangong Qing's true identity, she was certain that it was not simple.
"Butler Shi has always had a wish that his grandson could learn to read and write. If you could arrange for his grandson to be Yan Chuan's study companion, that would be great."
I think he'll come here from the capital without hesitation.
It's just a study companion. Yanchuan and the others will be going to school soon, so having a study companion will keep them company.
"That's no problem, but if you work for me, the indenture must be in my hands."
"I'll figure something out."
People like Steward Shi are all trained by the royal family, and are prepared to be used directly by the princes after they are assigned to their own residences.
If Shi Zhengping were to serve in the Prince's mansion, the master would never allow his grandson to be his study companion; other ministers' families had plenty of children like that.
At the end of the day, Nangong Qing and his companions decided it was inappropriate to spend the New Year at Su Luo's house, so they drove back to Yongle County with A Xu in a horse-drawn carriage.
Du Xiuyuan has his own room here, and the villagers know that he and Su Luo are studying medicine together, so they don't say anything because they have a formal relationship with him.
Seeing how happy Zhao Ruyun was, Su Luo decided to tell her about Chen Huaixu's death later.
...
During this Spring Festival, some families are happy while others are sad.
Luo Mei, wearing only a thin garment, was tied up by Chen Dazhi and thrown into the pigsty.
Her mouth was gagged, and the cold made her curl up into a ball, unable to speak.
In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the Luo family came to Luo Mei to ask for money back. They had lent Luo Mei three taels of silver when they were helping Chen Mengqing find work.
They agreed to pay it back in a month, but it's almost Chinese New Year and they still haven't paid it back. Chen Dazhi has even started keeping a concubine at home.
The Luo family was furious. They had no money for the New Year, so the whole family came to find Chen Dazhi.
When they said the family had no money, the Luo family robbed them, taking everything they could sell, including the only piece of cloth that Luo Mei had that was worth keeping.
His work style is exactly the same as Luo Mei's.
They outnumbered him, and Chen Dazhi was no match for them. He also had to protect his pregnant wife, Sun Xiaoxiao, at home.
Seeing his home robbed and with Sun Xiaoxiao whispering in his ear, Chen Dazhi could only vent his anger on Luo Mei afterwards.
Since Chen Mengqing wasn't home anyway, Luo Mei became his and Sun Xiaoxiao's servant. Whenever Luo Mei dared to resist him, he would beat her.
He used to give in to Luo Mei, but did Luo Mei really think that he, a man, couldn't handle a woman?
In the room, Sun Xiaoxiao threw the bowl on the ground and wiped away her tears, looking aggrieved.
"Dazhi, it's Chinese New Year today, what are we eating? The vegetables are all rotten and moldy."
As she spoke, Sun Xiaoxiao's crying grew louder and louder.
"Chen Dazhi, since I joined you, I've been bullied by Luo Mei every day, and you haven't let me have a single good day."
You didn't say this to me before. Now I'm pregnant. Romee didn't kill me, but you're starving me to death.
I don't care if I die; I've always been an unlucky person. But the child in my womb is innocent. You can't harm your own son.
Chen Dazhi picked up the bowl; the two dried vegetable membranes inside were hardened and moldy.
"Xiaoxiao, it's my fault. It's all the Luo family's fault. They took all our food and made you suffer."
He grew angrier the more he thought about it. Since the Luo family had gone so far, he shouldn't blame him for dealing with Luo Mei.
"Dazhi, you locked Luo Mei in the pigsty and didn't let her wear clothes. Won't she die?"
Sun Xiaoxiao wasn't concerned about Luo Mei; she and Luo Mei didn't get along, but she didn't want to cause a death.
Chen Dazhi slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Don't worry, she's got enough flesh, she won't die."
"That's true. If she had listened to us and gone to the Luo family to get our things back, she wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Although the items weren't Sun Xiaoxiao's, she could still use them, so naturally she felt bad about them.
"Xiaoxiao, luckily I still have you. I, Chen Dazhi, have been suppressed by Luo Mei for half my life. Only after meeting you have I been a real man."
When she used to rob the second son's family, she did it with great force; now we're just asking her to take back our own things.
She refused, saying, "I'm useless, as fat as a pig, I should sleep in the pigsty."
"Dazhi, as long as you treat me well, I don't ask for anything else. Tomorrow, you should go to the county and find your eldest son and get some money from him, otherwise we will really starve to death."
"Okay, okay... I'll go find that unfilial son tomorrow."
Luo Mei overheard their conversation from inside the pigsty; they were still looking for her son.
If Chen Dazhi hadn't brought Sun Xiaoxiao home, Meng Qing would never have left.
He was a young man in his early twenties, and Sun Xiaoxiao was only a few years older than him; he was not married.
Chen Dazhi did something so shameful, no wonder Meng Qing left.
Tears streamed down her face. Luo Mei had had enough of this life. If it weren't for her son, she would want to take that bitch to her death every moment.
She hasn't eaten anything since this morning, and her weight has visibly decreased.
"Chen Dazhi, I'm going to kill you."
Luo Mei struggled to sit up. This pigsty hadn't been used to raise pigs in a long time; she'd used it to store miscellaneous items.
Chen Dazhi and that bitch didn't care about anything, nor did they notice what she had put in the pigsty.
Bound up, Luo Mei could only slowly grope her way around. Her hand was cut by a sharp object; this was where she kept her sickle and hoe.
Luo Mei didn't care at all that her hands were bleeding; she kept cutting with her sickle until she could cut the rope binding her.
After a long while, the rope in Luo Mei's hands was finally cut, freeing her hands. She immediately took the rag off her mouth.
Chen Dazhi stuffed her too hard, and her lips were chapped.
His eyes were fierce, as if he wanted to devour someone, as he stared intently at the room where Chen Dazhi and Sun Xiaoxiao were.
That used to be her bedroom; now she could only lie in the pigsty.
She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud, her whole body sobbing uncontrollably.
"Magpie, if only you were still here. I miss you so much. Are you doing well over there? I want to come and find you."
"Chen Dazhi, Sun Xiaoxiao, if I'm not having a good time, neither are you, and don't you dare try to harm my Meng Qing."
The night was not yet deep, and Luo Mei used her body to slip into the haystack in the pigsty to conserve her energy.
Chen Dazhi and Sun Xiaoxiao wanted her dead, to let her freeze to death in the pigsty, but that wouldn't do.
Even if she dies, she must drag these two down with her.
Sun Xiaoxiao couldn't sleep until late at night; the baby in her belly seemed to be moving around constantly.
She felt really upset, but she couldn't explain why she felt this way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com