Chapter 13 Chapter 13 The next day, Shen Xuan rode...
The next day, Shen Xuan rode his mule out and trotted all the way. He arrived at Lezhou City in just one hour.
He left home early today, and it was still morning when he arrived at Jinli Street. The shops along the street had just opened, and there were not many pedestrians on the road.
Chen Xuan saw the sacrificial paper stall from afar. The stall owner had just arrived and was setting up the stall and putting out the sacrificial paper and paper pagodas one by one.
Seeing Shen Xuan coming so early, the stall owner was happy and quickly invited Shen Xuan to sit over.
The business of sacrificial paper is different from others. On ordinary days, there are very few of them, but before Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival, it is extremely popular. It's the kind of place that can be closed for a year and then make enough to eat for a year after it opens.
He had just set up his stall when customers came. Shen Xuan naturally couldn't sit still, so he immediately spread out his pen and ink and started writing the memorial.
In just half an hour, more people came to Koi Street and long queues formed in front of the sacrificial paper stalls. Some people who did not write yesterday also came over today. Shen Xuan is busier than yesterday...
Shen Xuan's hands never stopped for the entire morning. He wrote twenty-eight petitions in half a day today, and his wrists were aching like needles from writing.
By noon, more people were eating lunch, and Shen Xuan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He stopped to drink some water, stretched his wrists, went to the shop next door and bought a meat bun. He had just taken a bite when the person who wrote the petition came to his door again.
One tael of silver for a petition. Shen Xuan had no money on hand now, but he was reluctant to reject the petition.
He hurriedly put the bun down, ignored the pain in his wrist, and started writing again. When it was almost 3 p.m., Shen Xuan calculated the time and stopped taking any more work. He just finished writing what he had and prepared to go back.
He came early today and wrote a total of fifty-nine petitions in one day. After deducting the money given to the stall owner, the net profit was fifty-three strings of cash and one hundred coins.
This time, Shen Xuan took the money to a nearby silver shop, and together with the money left over from yesterday, he exchanged it for a fifty-liang silver note and five liang of silver, leaving more than four strings of cash.
Ordinary farmers in Yunshui Village could only save one or two taels of silver a year after deducting their food rations in years without natural disasters.
An ordinary yamen official in Lezhou City received a salary of only one tael a month, or twelve taels a year.
Adding in the grey income from shopkeeping, boats and carriages, bail, and roads, he earns sixty or seventy taels a year, which is considered an upper-middle income in the city.
Shen Xuan earned more than fifty taels in just two days, because he could write and caught the opportunity of the Ghost Festival.
After all, the literati of the Jin Dynasty were still very valuable, as long as they had the title of scholar and were not overly aloof. On weekdays, he would copy books, write letters, or give lectures to the children of wealthy families. That month, he could easily earn six or seven taels of silver, which was enough for the whole family to spend.
While Shen Xuan was working hard to make money in Jinli Street, in Yunshui Village, Brother Zhong was carrying a vegetable basket and heading towards his home.
He went home yesterday and didn't sleep all night. He tossed and turned, his mind full of the scene of Xue Fenglin and Shen Xuan chatting and laughing in the yard.
Shen Xuan is tall and looks just like a man. Although Zhong Ge'er's family was poor, he was slender and had a pretty appearance.
He felt that all men liked boys who looked like girls, and Chen Xuan was not as good as himself, so how could he marry a man like him?
Since Shen Xuan can do it, then I will definitely be able to please the other party!
Besides, there were precedents of village gentry marrying several wives at the same time. She would rather share a husband with Shen Xuan than marry that old widower to raise his son.
So early in the morning, Brother Zhong went to the mountain to dig bamboo shoots, and then went to the fields to pick some wild vegetables. Then I picked a little of each and put them in a basket.
He is not like Wang Xiaolian on a daily basis. He has no money to buy rouge and powder, so he doesn't know how to put on makeup. But before going out today, she changed into her best clothes, washed her face repeatedly, tied her eyebrows with a rope, and braided her hair before going out.
After a while, he arrived at the gate of the courtyard where Shen Xuan lived.
At this time, the yard was quiet. Shen Xuan had already left the house, but Xue Fenglin had not yet gotten up.
Brother Zhong already knew that Shen Xuan was not at home today, so he knocked on the door and deliberately called Shen Xuan's name a few times.
After a while, Xue Fenglin pushed open the door and walked out of the room.
His complexion has fully recovered today, except for some bruises and abrasions in some places, and his right foot which was bitten by a snake is still not very flexible.
Wearing the new coat that Shen Xuan bought for him, Xue Fenglin came to the door. After seeing Zhong Ge'er, he said, "Chen Xuan went to the city. He was not at home all day today. I'm afraid he will not be back until the evening."
He was only staying here temporarily and actually didn't want to have much interaction with these villagers. But this person who came to see Shen Xuan was a brother, and it was unknown whether he was his good friend in the village.
Xue Fenglin knew that Shen Xuan was not doing well in the village, so he was even more afraid of neglecting his friend.
For Shen Xuan's sake, he politely put on his clothes and went out to talk to Zhong Ge'er with a very gentle attitude.
As soon as Zhong Ge'er saw Xue Fenglin's face, his heart was already distracted. In addition, Xue Fenglin treated him in a friendly manner, which made him feel that he had an opportunity.
"Brother Lin, I'm Brother Zhong who used to live next to the Shen family. I've always been good friends with Shen Xuan." Brother Zhong said with a smile.
"Chen Xuan has moved far away these days, and he has no time to go up the mountain with me to dig vegetables. I really miss him. So this morning I just happened to dig some wild vegetables and fresh bamboo shoots, and I brought them to him."
Zhong Ge'er raised the basket in his hand to show Xue Fenglin, and Xue Fenglin saw some fresh wild vegetables inside.
We haven’t finished eating the vegetables we bought yesterday, so we have no shortage of vegetables.
Xue Fenglin didn't want it at first, but after refusing twice, he found that the boy was not giving in, and it looked like he would not leave if he didn't accept it today, so he had no choice but to open the gate and let him in.
As soon as Zhong Ge'er entered the yard, he scanned every corner of the yard with his eyes.
He went straight to the kitchen, put down the vegetables in the basket, but did not leave. Instead, he went to the front yard again.
He picked up a basin of dirty clothes in the corner of the yard skillfully and said, "Look at this basin of clothes. No one washes them here. Shen Xuan is really something. A boy is so lazy. Is he waiting for a man like you to wash them?"
Speaking of these dirty clothes, it was indeed Shen Xuan who washed them when Xue Fenglin was in bed a few days ago. But he was too busy in the city these two days, so how could he have time to wash clothes when he came back?
Xue Fenglin felt sorry for his hard work and that he was almost recovered, so he washed himself during the day.
He had not had to do these rough work in the Marquis' Mansion before, but now that he was doing it, he felt that it was not that difficult, it was just a matter of manual labor.
Besides, the masters in the marquis's mansion, whether men or women, don't have to do any rough work.
Xue Fenglin was very unhappy to hear that Zhong Ge started to belittle Shen Xuan as if he was supposed to do these rough jobs.
Brother Zhong carried the basin of clothes to the well and started washing without saying a word.
He does a lot of work at home, including washing clothes and cooking, and is often praised by villagers for his ability.
While washing the clothes, she said to Xue Fenglin, "Brother Lin, you are alone at home and you are injured. It is very inconvenient for you. I will help you wash the clothes."
"Chen Xuan wasn't here at noon either, so how are you going to eat? I don't know what you like to eat, so I'll cook for you later."
Brother Zhong acted like a virtuous and capable person, and he always stepped on Xuan Shen everywhere, which was done specifically for Xue Fenglin to see.
If they were an ordinary country family, they might fall for his tricks. But Xue Fenglin has been in the Marquis' Mansion for so many years, what tricks has he not seen? Even the servants in the Marquis' Mansion don't use such clumsy tricks as Zhong Ge'er.
After learning about Zhong Ge'er's purpose, he would no longer regard him as Shen Xuan's friend.
Seeing Zhong Ge squatting there washing clothes, he did not expose them. Instead, he went into the house, took off the two sheets on the bed, threw them to him and said, "These are Shen Xuan and my sheets. You should wash and dry them together."
The weather is good today, perfect for washing and drying clothes. Since there is free labor, it would be a waste to use it.
Brother Zhong was stunned. He didn't expect that Lin Ye, who looked friendly, was not polite to him at all and actually started to order him to do work directly.
However, since I have to perform in front of the other party, I can't give up halfway. Although he was somewhat reluctant in his heart, he endured it and said nothing. He took the sheets and washed them.
Besides, Brother Zhong was sweating profusely while washing the sheets here, and he finally finished washing and hanging them up. Only then did I realize that Xue Fenglin had disappeared long ago and I didn't see his virtuous behavior at all.
"Brother Lin, Brother Lin?" Zhong Ge'er walked to the side of the house and called a few times, and found Xue Fenglin sitting inside. When I looked up and saw him, I asked, "Are you done washing? Then you can go."
Brother Zhong: “…”
I worked for half a day in vain, but it seemed that I didn't get any special attention from the other party, and there was not even a polite word of thanks.
Zhong Ge'er's chest tightened, but after seeing Xue Fenglin's handsome face, he suppressed his dissatisfaction.
Xue Fenglin had an indifferent expression and didn't even look at him. Zhong Ge'er wasn't sure what he was thinking.
He knew that some men were used to being served and were not very sensitive to these mundane matters.
Maybe Brother Lin didn't pay attention to his performance? Brother Zhong thought to himself.
Thinking of this, he forced a smile, walked into the room, and whispered to Xue Fenglin: "Brother Lin, it's almost noon, why don't I make you lunch? I wonder what you like to eat?"
Xue Fenglin then looked up at Zhong Ge'er and said, "No need to bother, just leave quickly."
Xue Fenglin had a pair of naturally sharp eyes, but one look at Zhong Ge'er made his heart flutter and his face turned red.
I thought that such a handsome man was like a banished immortal from heaven. If I could get a little favor from him, it would be worth it!
"It's not a big deal. I'm not as clumsy as Shen Xuan. I'm very nimble..."
Brother Zhong was jealous that such a man became Shen Xuan's husband, and he couldn't help but step on the other person while talking.
But before he could finish, he was interrupted by Xue Fenglin. Then he said coldly: "I am the one who feels troubled. I don't want to see you disturbing me here. Why don't you go away?"
"Also, Shen Xuan is my husband, so he doesn't need to be good at these rough jobs. Just buy a servant like you to do it in the future, and don't let me hear you disrespect him again."
Brother Zhong was stunned. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar in the hottest days of summer. His heart instantly turned cold. His face was swollen and red, as if someone had peeled off his skin and thrown it on the ground and stepped on it. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into!
Only then did he realize that the other party had seen through his thoughts and was deliberately humiliating him in this way.
The contempt and ridicule in Xue Fenglin's eyes pierced into his eyes like a knife. He fled the yard like a flash and rushed into the deserted forest.
He didn't dare go back home, for fear that if he disappeared quietly in the morning, his parents and siblings would notice something and they would just scold him and force him to marry that old widower!
Brother Zhong found an empty corner, sat on the ground, hugged his knees and cried.
Why! Why does Brother Lin treat me like that?
He boasted that he was not bad looking, and that he was as hardworking and capable as Shen Xuan. Even the pregnancy mole on his forehead was redder than Shen Xuan's!
How exactly is he worse than Shen Xuan? Is it true that everyone has their own destiny, Shen Xuan has a good destiny, but I just have a cheap destiny and don’t deserve to live a good life?
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