Chapter 51: What a degenerate society this is...
The next morning, the couple was woken up early again.
There were indeed no crowing of roosters in the city... but there were hawking sounds.
"Selling tofu! Selling tofu!"
"Big pears, fresh big pears!"
“Hot buns! Hot buns fresh out of the pan!”
Qi Huaijing, who was woken up, tried to get up angrily, but failed. He continued to lie down and covered Chen Tang's ears.
Chen Tang rarely stayed outside, so he quietly moved his hand away, put on his clothes, walked to the window, and opened it a crack.
It was the morning market downstairs, and it was bustling with people.
She closed the window, tiptoed back to the bed, looked at Qi Huaijing who was still deep in sleep, and whispered softly.
"Husband, I want to go out for a walk. You should sleep well and I will bring you some delicious food when I come back. Be good."
After saying that, she considerately covered his head with the quilt, turned around and was about to leave, but was unexpectedly grabbed by the hand by the person inside the quilt.
“…I want to go too.”
At the morning market, people were coming and going, and the hawkers’ calls could be heard constantly.
It was Chen Tang's first time to visit the market. He was in great spirits. He looked around, asked questions and bought things as he walked. He stopped to look at every stall, tried every kind of food, and bought all kinds of things.
However, prices in the countryside are low, and it only costs less than one or two taels of silver to go from south to north on a street.
Chen Tang couldn't help but sigh, it turns out that money can be spent so easily, no wonder the waiter took his money yesterday and didn't say anything more.
Qi Huaijing felt somewhat proud and told her to spend the money without worrying about it. The money in his pocket was enough for her to buy the whole street.
Chen Tang smiled but said nothing.
There was a stall by the river at the end of the street, with all kinds of fresh fish and river shrimps on display. When Chen Tang finished shopping and was paying, he saw a small pile of red snails at the end of the stall. They were very shiny and beautiful, so he picked up one and asked the stall owner.
"Uncle, how much is this?"
The old stall owner waved his hands hurriedly.
"Hey, throw it away quickly, it's not a good thing, it's poisonous!"
Upon hearing the sound, Qi Huaijing immediately knocked the red conch out of her hand.
The old man raised his foot and pushed the pile of red snails farther away.
"This is a bitter snail. It looks good, but it's poisonous! If you mistake it for a field snail and eat it, even the strongest man will feel pain for three to five days. I just picked it out of the pile of field snails and was about to throw it away!"
Qi Huaijing was a little scared after hearing this and used his sleeve to wipe her hands, but Chen Tang smiled and comforted him.
"It's okay, there's no harm in touching it."
The old man looked at Shen Tang and added kindly.
"It's okay to touch it. But if you are pregnant, you must not eat it. If you eat one or two, you may get a stomachache, but you may lose the baby!"
Chen Tang smiled and said, “The old man is really knowledgeable.”
"As soon as I see your delicate skin and tender flesh, I know you are from the city and don't understand this. We are from the country and even the children know this."
Chen Tang felt that there was nothing wrong, but Qi Huaijing was still worried and took her to see a doctor.
"What if you get pregnant and touch that thing?"
Chen Tang calculated carefully in her mind. Her period had always been on time, and Feng Xi had just checked her pulse a few days ago and found that she was not pregnant.
Qi Huaijing refused and dragged her around the streets to look for medical clinics. After hearing three doctors in a row say that it was okay as long as she didn't take it and that she was really not pregnant, he had nothing to say.
On the way back to the inn, Chen Tang looked at his expression, which he couldn't tell whether it was disappointment or relief, and pretended to ask casually.
"Husband, you like children very much?"
Qi Huaijing was frank: "I don't like it. It's too noisy."
“…”
"But I want you to have a child, the sooner the better, even if we quarrel a little. If we have a child, your life in the Qi family will be easier."
"My life has been pretty good..."
“…It’s not enough.”
Not enough, he always felt it was not enough.
When they got back to the inn, everyone met up and went downstairs to check out. When they were preparing to go back, the waiter saw Chen Tang and Qi Huaijing walking away hand in hand, and his eyes almost popped out.
He stopped Lidong who stayed to pay.
"Is that young master the cousin of that young lady?"
Lidong nodded, "Yes."
The waiter turned around and looked at the cousins holding hands and talking and laughing from behind, and could not help but admire them.
"This world is so degenerate!"
Before leaving, Chen Tang did not forget to go to the bookstore and buy a set of new books for the teacher.
This set of annotated books had just been published. He went to two bookstores in a row but was told they were out of stock. He went all the way to the third one, where the owner took out four or five copies of New Interpretations of the Five Classics. Chen Tang flipped through them one by one, and only nodded when he got to the fourth.
“This is the new version.”
Qi Huaijing looked at it for a long time, flipped through it casually, and compared the new and old versions together.
"These books are exactly the same. How do you tell which one is the new edition?"
Shen Tang smiled and pointed it out to him.
"This is a very complex subject. First, read the preface and postscript, then the center and the end of the page, as well as the plaque, paper, ink color... If I were to explain it in detail, it would take three days to finish. I've read a lot in my father's study, so I'll learn it naturally."
Qi Huaijing didn't understand at all and could only listen to her talk, feeling a little unhappy in her heart - it had been said long ago that she was really wronged to marry into a merchant family like the Qi family.
After returning to the manor, Chen Tang sent Li Dong to deliver a book to someone, but Qi Huaijing refused and insisted on going in person, and he was very confident.
"My wife said that people who study should be respected. They gave me a chicken, so I personally delivered the book to them. This is respectful to both sides."
Chen Tang smiled and let him go.
Not only did Qi Huaijing want to go, he also put on his golden crown again, changed into brocade clothes, and forced Lidong to change into new decent clothes as well. Only then did they go out together.
It wasn't far away, but he actually had to ride a horse over there.
Chen Tang saw him out the door, looked at his high-spirited figure in fine clothes and on a horse, and whispered quietly to Hua Ping.
"Look at this gentleman of ours. He is dressed like a groom. If you know him, he is going to the school to deliver books to the teacher. If you don't know him, you might think he is going to propose marriage."
Huaping laughed so hard that she couldn't straighten her back.
When Qi Huaijing returned from school, he was even more proud than when he left.
The teacher was indeed young and good-looking...but he married early and had children.
As soon as Qi Huaijing entered the door, he saw his children running around the yard and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Look at the teacher again, he looks... maybe a little better than Lidong at best.
When the teacher saw the third master of the Qi family coming in person, dressed in fine clothes and with outstanding looks, and thought about the wealth and status of his family, his arrogance as a scholar softened a little. Not only did he welcome him to sit in his hall, he also personally served him tea and spoke to him politely.
Qi Huaijing was in a good mood and chatted with Lidong for a while. Before leaving, he asked Lidong to leave a bag of silver, saying that it was a donation to the school.
The teacher refused to accept the money from selling the chicken, but was moved to tears by this small amount of money. He repeatedly praised the Qi family for their kindness and righteousness, and said they were truly a kind and virtuous family.
Qi Huaijing said goodbye with a smile, thinking that Chen Tang's idea was really good, which was much better than the dirty trick of secretly killing the chicken.
She really understands scholars.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
