Chapter 5 Chapter 5 "Amu, hug me."...
"Mr. Zhang was expelled from Mingdao Academy. Now his reputation is even worse than mine."
Chen Ying paused as he was flipping through the book, feeling a sudden rush of emotion. Good man, he actually knew that he had a bad reputation now.
She raised her eyes and looked at him silently. Chen Jinshi grinned widely, his eyes shining, and her was reflected in his pupils.
"Mom, there's one more thing. Principal Wang has sent someone to ask me to go back to school. Do you think I should go back?"
Chen Ying took a deep breath, stretched out her hand to pinch his face and said, "You have such good news, just be happy about it, and you still ask me."
Chen Jinshi smiled, revealing the tip of his fangs. He removed her hand from his face and held it in his palm. His elbow rested on the table in front of her, and the distance between them suddenly closed, their eyes just level.
While she wasn't paying attention, he lifted a braid from her shoulder and twirled it around his fingertips. He stopped looking at her and stared at the twirling braid. He said slowly, "Am, this time you seem to have to admit that you were wrong."
Chen Ying remained silent for a moment.
He raised his eyebrows, took her hand, and gently rubbed the back of her hand with the tip of his nose. Although he was speaking words of accusation, he made ingratiating gestures: "Am, you shouldn't have stood on my side that day. Admit it, Chen Jinshi has never let you down. Your behavior this time was wrong."
Chen Ying took back the braid that he had wrapped around his fingertips, still without saying a word.
Chen Jinshi moved closer, his forehead almost touching hers, their noses touching. He stared at her intently, leaving her with no way to avoid him.
"Chen Ying, you have to promise me this time that you will always stand on Chen Jinshi's side. Forever, do you hear me?"
Chen Ying wanted to say that she was not related to him in any way, but she just wanted to do her best to settle the trouble he caused so as not to let the general down.
But he was so overbearing that he actually wanted her to unconditionally stand on his side forever and unconditionally believe in his teachings.
It was strange. He was only eight years younger than her, but his gaze was like a pair of hands, holding her tightly.
"Amu, Chen Jinshi will not let you down and is willing to forgive your betrayal this time. Do you understand?"
He rested his hands on the arms of her chair and suddenly leaned over, looking her down. He exuded an unyielding aggression. He saw her apology on his behalf as a betrayal. Chen Ying felt he was being unreasonable, considering she was clearly trying to help him resolve the situation.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your approval. Okay, it's your turn to praise me."
Chen Ying looked up at him again, and he leaned down again, moving his eyes to a level with hers, and smiled gently. However, the meaning in his eyes could not hide his domineering and jerk-like nature.
"What should I praise you for?" Chen Ying raised her eyebrows and asked back, her tone a little cold.
"I was praised for my bravery, integrity, and intelligence."
Chen Ying looked at him steadily, slightly cold, while he remained as firm as ever. After a moment's confrontation, her expression softened, she took a few breaths, and formally said:
"First of all, Chen Jinshi, I promise you that no matter what happens in the future, I will stand by you unconditionally;
Secondly, you did a great job this time.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw his expression suddenly become gentle and well-behaved, just like the look he occasionally showed in the past. He didn't often have this expression, but he had this expression when he warmed her bed.
"Amu, give me a hug."
Shen Ying refused.
He said, "Amu, you haven't hugged me for a long time."
He deliberately acted pitiful, like the little puppy she had raised in her yurt when she was little. Even though Chen Ying had told herself countless times not to trust him, his true face was a cheetah with bared teeth.
His eyes are focused, he is ready to strike once he locks on the target, and his movements are calm and elegant.
For example, at this moment, his head fell limply into her arms, and she couldn't even move to push him away.
She gritted her teeth and gave in. Just this once, it was her compensation to him.
Am is a very good person, but unfortunately he knows clearly that he is not the only one who enjoys her kindness. His brother has also been buried in her warm chest and abdomen.
Not only that, she is extremely kind to her father, sister, and everyone in the family.
At this moment, his face was pressed against her abdomen, wrapped in softness and warmth, and he exhaled hot air. He thought sourly in his heart, it would be great if Am belonged to him alone.
He took a deep breath, deeply intoxicated.
From the first time she held him in her arms and he buried his head in her chest, he was unwilling to admit that he had become addicted to this feeling.
Chen Jinshi went to school as usual. Chen Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief and formally made an appointment with Su Lanzhou to go out and look after the shop.
Chen Jichuan had no objection to her move and even encouraged her: "Dulan, if you are short of money, just withdraw it from the account. We are one family and we have no quarrels."
Chen Ying was indeed short of money, but she had earned a lot of money in the past three years by helping the Chen family run their business, so she didn't feel it was against her principles to spend it.
He nodded and thanked her: "I will, General."
They were the only two in the family who still addressed each other as "General" and "Dulan," as if by doing so they could briefly return to their past days on the grasslands and battlefields.
People tend to be nostalgic when they get older, and Chen Ying didn't mind being pulled back for a brief moment by him. Similarly, she knew that the general, who was no longer in good health, also liked her to call him that, as if he could still pick up his gun and go into battle at any time to kill everyone.
Su Lanzhou had been waiting for her outside the Chen residence since early morning. "I've asked someone to find several shops for sale at the price you mentioned. Let's go and look at them one by one."
Chen Ying nodded. With the general's words, she was now more financially well-off.
“I originally wanted to rent a place to try out the business, but now that I have enough money, I might as well buy it outright.
Su Lanzhou was also happy for her: "This is the best."
Chen Ying was not someone who liked to be entangled and argued. She walked around the street with Su Lanzhou, saw everything they needed to see, and directly chose an old house facing the West Street.
The entire street was paved with bluestone slabs. Next door was an old teahouse, frequented mostly by familiar locals, exuding a down-to-earth, everyday air. Chen Ying really liked this feeling.
Su Lanzhou was also efficient and invited the former owner to sign the store deed that same day.
Chen Ying climbed up to the second floor on the wooden ladder and pushed open the creaking window. Outside the window was an old locust tree.
Su Lanzhou leaned over and touched her shoulder. "I just like your straightforwardness. By the way, how's your boy? Is he still so annoying? If I were to say, if he doesn't behave again, I'd give him a slap."
Chen Ying smiled and said, "My temper isn't that bad."
"Let's not talk about him anymore. Your shop is in need of a manager. Would you like me to transfer a reliable one to you from my house to work with you first?"
Chen Ying shook her head: "No, I have people."
Su Lanzhou nodded: "Indeed, there are several young men in the Chen family medicine shop who were brought up by you. Just send them over and make them managers. This will save us the trouble."
Chen Ying originally felt that this was not in accordance with the rules, but since the general never treated her as an outsider, she herself found it a bit troublesome, and those guys listened to her completely, so it was better to save trouble.
She paid for it out of her own pocket and hired a few workers for the Chen family's shop which was short of staff.
The shop still needs renovations and a new signboard. As Chen Ying and Su Lanzhou were talking, they heard the laughter of several students downstairs. Calculating the time, it was Mingdao Academy's dismissal time.
The shop was right on the road from the academy to the Chen residence. Chen Ying leaned forward to look down and immediately spotted Chen Jinshi, standing in the crowd. Surrounded by them, he was excitedly recounting how he had "driven" Mr. Zhang out of the academy. He was truly a man of great renown.
Halfway through the journey, at a fork in the road, Chen Jinshi waved goodbye to his classmates and headed in another direction. Chen Ying withdrew her gaze and lowered the window.
He was heading towards the martial arts training ground outside the city, probably because he was itching to do something again.
"How about we go to Xiang Man Lou and eat Eight Treasure Duck later?"
Chen Ying looked a little gloomy and did not answer Su Lanzhou for a while.
Su Lanzhou pushed her twice: "Hey, what are you thinking about? Do you want to call Jinyun out? I haven't seen that little pink ball for a long time. Auntie misses her."
Chen Ying came back to her senses and smiled gently, "Okay, I'll tell the driver to go back and tell him, and we'll go pick her up in a while."
Chen Jinyun was like a snowball soaked in honey, perfect in every way. She never caused Chen Ying any worries, yet always pleased her. Her sweet "Ah-mu" calls were so sweet that Chen Ying felt a little unworthy.
Su Lanzhou said, "I really don't know how the Chen couple gave birth to three children who are so different from each other. Tsk."
The two of them took a carriage to the gate of the mansion, where the wet nurse was already waiting with Chen Jinyun.
Chen Jinyun was not young anymore and did not need a nanny to stay with her all the time, so Chen Ying waved and sent the nanny away: "Go back, I'll take her out to play for a while."
There is nothing for the wet nurse to worry about, because Miss Shen is the most reliable and caring person in this family.
“Miss Shen, go slower.”
Chen Ying held the carriage pillars and held the curtains together so that Chen Jinyun could climb up by herself. She nodded casually to the nurse and said, "Don't worry."
When Chen Jinyun got into the carriage, she lowered the curtain and Su Lanzhou had already held the little pink ball on her lap.
"Hey, why are you so heavy now?"
Chen Jinyun was a little embarrassed: "Sister Lanzhou, I have already learned to embroider flowers on handkerchiefs. I am not a child anymore."
Chen Ying glared at her and stretched out her index finger to tickle her nose: "Why are you so sweet? You call me Am and her Sister?"
Chen Jinyun felt even more embarrassed and softly called out, "Sister Am."
Su Lanzhou asked, "What kind of embroidery do you want her to learn?"
She looked at Chen Ying, who shook her head hurriedly: "I'm only half-baked at sewing myself, so why should I let her learn? I think it was the maids around her who instigated this. Girls are idle at home anyway, so it's better to learn sewing than to waste time."
Su Lanzhou said, "Don't learn embroidery anymore. Ask her to come to your shop and help run errands. Let her learn how to do things. A girl can't stay at home all day."
As they were talking, the carriage arrived at the door of Xiangmanlou.
The waiter came over and the two asked for a table by the window.
The three of them sat down, eating without drinking, and chatting about other things. The two women had endless things to say about medicine and business, and occasionally teased Chen Jinshi as a change of pace.
Chen Ying continued, "That depends on whether her father agrees or not. I can't make the decision."
She didn't know how to sew before she came to Jinling. Later, when she wanted to learn, she slowly learned it.
She felt that the women of Jinling had a kind of static beauty, and when she got off the horse, she gradually got used to sitting in the room embroidering, and her temperament also became gentler.
No matter how fierce a horse is, it will surrender obediently under her whip, but this delicate needle will break if you use a little force, which is very tiring.
As time went by, she insisted on struggling with the soft silk cloth. Maintaining this stillness was not cowardice, but a kind of inward-growing power.
Chen Jinxing was on duty at the counter when he heard the waiter say that Chen Ying had taken Chen Jinyun to Xiangmanlou for dinner. He packed up his things and went there too.
Seeing him coming, Chen Ying smiled and waved: "Come quickly, I was just saying that we ordered too many dishes and couldn't finish them. You came at the perfect time."
Chen Jinxing bowed to Chen Ying and Su Lanzhou respectively and sat down naturally.
He and Shen Ying are a family, and Shen Ying and Su Lanzhou are good friends, so there is no need for them to be polite to each other.
As soon as he arrived, Chen Ying didn't hide anything from him and told him about the shop she had bought.
"How about calling it 'Shen's Pharmacy'?"
Her medical skills were originally limited to some unconventional prescriptions, and she was not best at taking pulses and examining patients. Moreover, she did not have the time to sit in clinics every day, so she only planned to do the herbal medicine business, reading prescriptions, and selling some herbs and pills.
Su Lanzhou shook his head: "This name is not grand. It should be called 'Shen's Pharmacy'."
"It's a small shop like that, and hanging a sign like that might be a bit of a joke."
Su Lanzhou asked Chen Jinxing: "Mr. Chen, what do you think?"
Chen Jinxing was not used to Su Lanzhou calling him that.
If it weren't for Mum, she definitely wouldn't have addressed him as an elder. But he was always a gentleman, never arguing with women, and he showed even more respect for Shen Ying. He replied, "I think Shen's Pharmacy is great. Mum is a skilled doctor, and he has the skills and the resources. He'll definitely expand the pharmacy in the future."
Chen Jinxing coaxed Chen Ying very well, and they all had a happy meal together.
Over here, Chen Jinshi fought several hearty rounds in the martial arts arena, even the most well-trained soldiers were beaten to the ground. Several people started to cheer, "You're worthy of being General Chen's son! Chen Jinshi, we'll send Heitie to fight. If you can defeat him, we'll submit to you!"
"Black Iron" is a fierce general in the camp. He is called Black Iron because his whole body is like a piece of black iron chiseled from the rock.
He was shirtless, with muscular body and a bronze back with several scars of varying depths. He looked like a man who had just come back from the battlefield.
With his bare hands, he roared, "Who is Chen Jinshi? Come out and die!"
Chen Jinshi covered his chest, his lungs tightened, and he felt a little breathless. He waved his hand and decided to take a break.
Someone called out to him, "Don't be a coward, Chen Jinshi! They say a tiger father will have a dog son. What are you doing sitting down? You're acting like a sissy."
"Chen Jinshi, you are very different from Chen Da. Chen Da looks delicate and elegant, and he is as refined as a pretty boy."
As he spoke, the audience burst into laughter.
Chen Jinshi has always been against being provoked like this, and he can't stand being compared with his brother. He has achieved nothing in his studies, and his father has expressly forbidden him from pursuing a career in martial arts. In the family, he is not as prominent as his brother.
Even that woman, Chen Ying, often told him to learn from his brother: "Be good and learn from Jinxing. He is much less of a worry." He had heard this so many times that his ears were almost callused.
He pressed his chest, as if this would make his gradually tightening lungs obey, allowing him to breathe in air freely and sustain him for another fight.
He raised his fist to his forehead, his eyes like a hawk.
"If I win this round, please spread the word about my name, Chen Jinshi! I, Chen Er, am not some useless loser who relies on my family's business for a living, nor am I a wimp who cowers in the face of a tough battle!"
Heitie glared at him, already ready to attack, like an enraged buffalo, with no worldly emotions in his eyes, only the goal of charging.
Someone reminded him, "This is General Chen's son, Heitie, take it easy, don't really beat him up."
Heitie didn't hear a word he said.
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