Chapter 21 Coughing Old Man
"Who do you think will win the poetry competition this time?"
Lin Anyuan suppressed his emotions and said calmly, "If no one interferes, Master Zhang is basically safe."
Zhang Fuhu gazed greedily at the handsome face, a forced smile spreading across his plump cheeks. "Luckily, I have you, Brother Lin. You're truly a thoroughbred. By the way, that woman you had last time is almost dead, isn't she? Shall I send you another one?"
A fine horse deserves a discerning eye like him.
Lin Anyuan cupped his hands to create some distance, saying, "Master Zhang is too kind. My health is not quite up to par."
"Hahaha." Zhang Fuhu couldn't help but laugh when he saw the dark circles under his eyes. He said with a lewd expression, "Brother Lin, I have a lot of good medicine. I'll get it for you later."
"Could Zhang Gui, that pig, really write such a poem?"
In another private room, Magistrate Wu looked at Zhang Gui's poem with a suspicious expression.
Why doesn't he believe it? If he were really that talented, he would have taken the imperial examination long ago. Which scholar doesn't want to pursue an official career?
A servant spoke up, "Sir, not long after Zhang Gui wrote the poem, his men brought a man inside. I suspect this poem..."
"Go and investigate that man."
Just as Magistrate Wu finished speaking, they heard a commotion on the first floor.
"Oh, Young Master Liu, you've arrived too! I'll prepare your writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone right away." The shopkeeper greeted him with the utmost enthusiasm.
This Qingfeng Tower belongs to the Liu family, and the young master has come! How could they not be enthusiastic? It's just that most people don't know that.
"No need, a private room, just a pot of tea will do," Yantai said.
"The Liu family?"
On the same second floor, Chu Xiujie also saw Liu Wenshu and awkwardly tugged at his long robe.
When he came to Minxian to find someone, he naturally learned all about the local bullies.
Zhang Gui is, at best, a slightly larger insect in this place.
"Boss, do you think it's possible that the Liu family is also looking for someone? Should I go and keep an eye on them?" Chu Jiu asked in a low voice.
"No need, the Liu family is definitely looking for someone. By the way, how's that idiot Wang Dagang doing?"
Chu Xiujie put down his teacup, deciding to find the token first.
The Emperor's men searched for three years but couldn't find him. How could he find him overnight unless he showed up on his own initiative?
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chu Shi arrived. "Boss, Wang Dagang secretly ran away yesterday. I reckon he went into the mountains. We haven't heard from him all night."
Chu Xiujie slammed his fist on the table.
"Fool, didn't I just say yesterday that another force has arrived in Min County and we should be careful? What's their name? Big Jar. I think they should just call them Big Hammer."
Just as I was about to leave, the waiter came in with a smile, "This customer, you need to pay for the table you broke."
Chu Xiujie: ...
...
...
The westernmost part of town is dirty and chaotic. Those who stay here are basically people who have no money. If they had a better option, they wouldn't stay here.
In a low, dilapidated courtyard lived an elderly couple.
"Old woman, it's time to take your medicine."
An old man with a hunched back and gray hair coughed as he carried medicine into the house. Inside, on the kang (a heated brick bed), lay an old woman who was as thin as a rake.
"I really don't want to take medicine anymore. My mouth tastes bitter every day. Today I want to eat meat porridge."
The old woman also had gray hair and a heavy breathing, but she spoke quite fluently.
"Cough...cough...you drink your medicine first, I'll go make some porridge."
The old man placed the medicine on the table with trembling hands and suppressed his cough.
The old woman turned her head to the side and said, "I drank the meat porridge and then took my medicine."
"Ahem... You're already this old, and you're still acting like a child with me. Alright, alright, I'll go make you some porridge."
The old man got up, suppressing his cough, and looked at his wife on the bed. "Old woman, I'm sorry, I haven't been able to give you a good life."
"You said this when you were young. You've lived your whole life, and you'll be buried soon. What's the point of saying these things? Hurry up and go. I want to eat meat porridge," the old woman urged.
"You lie down and rest. I'll go out and buy some meat to make you meat porridge."
The old man, his body hunched over, started coughing violently as soon as he stepped out of the yard, as if he were coughing up his internal organs.
"Hey old man, are you going out? Is your wife feeling better yet? The family I introduced to you has a lot of clothes that need mending, and they haven't given them to anyone else yet. They say your wife's mending skills are the best."
A woman from across the street came out to get water and happened to see the coughing old man.
They didn't know the old man's surname, but he coughed frequently, so over time everyone called him Coughing Old Man. I think his surname was Ke.
"It's not better yet, it'll take a while, cough cough..."
"Your cough is so bad, you should go and get some medicine." The woman thought to herself, "Could it be something serious?"
This old couple is pitiful; they don't even have any children.
The old man didn't reply, and walked unsteadily toward the meat stall.
Thinking that there was still a handful of rice and ten coins left at home to buy some meat, he figured that should be enough to cook a bowl of porridge.
The butcher was about to close up shop when a big customer arrived—a beautiful young woman.
"You want all of these? Young lady, I have to warn you, if you buy them in this heat and can't finish them, they'll go bad by the next day. Don't come back and say I sold you rotten meat!"
The butcher saw that the young woman was pretty and well-dressed, with no patches on her clothes, and that she was very generous and hospitable.
Ye Wan nodded, "I want them all, but you'll have to wait a bit while my man comes to get them; I can't carry them myself."
"Cough cough... How much for this meat... cough?" the old man asked, pointing to a piece of meat.
"Twenty coins."
"Would ten coins be alright? Uh... it looks like less than an ounce." The old man didn't have any extra money on him.
I thought I could buy an ounce or two, enough to make porridge when I got home.
"You old geezer, you're trying to haggle over such a small amount of meat? If you can't afford it, don't eat it! Get out of here!"
The hot weather made the butcher irritable, and seeing the old man looking sickly, it affected his business.
"Cough cough... You, I didn't take your money for nothing, why are you talking so rudely?" The old man coughed violently.
"Get out! Get out! You're bad luck!"
Seeing that the old man's eyes were a little moist, Ye Wan couldn't bear it and said, "Old man, wait a moment."
She took three or four ounces from the meat she had bought and gave it to him, saying, "Here, this is for you."
"This...cough cough, I can't accept this, I'll pay you." The old man quickly took out his ten coins.
"Everyone has their tough times. Take this. When you have money later, come to the market to eat noodles. I'll be setting up a stall there."
Ye Wan wasn't a soft-hearted person; she was probably just in a good mood today because she made money from the sale.
"Thank you very much, young lady."
The old man didn't refuse any longer; he took out a lotus leaf from his sleeve and wrapped the meat in it.
"Young lady, when is your husband coming? Where did he go? Do you want me to deliver the meat to your house?"
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