Chapter 100: Zheng Chunlai escapes poverty and Zheng Chang wants to marry
The next day, Xu Nian left Yan Fu at Zheng's house to purchase the beets, while she and Zheng went to visit Mr. Su.
After arriving in the town, they prepared the gifts and followed Zheng Chunlai's lead to Su's residence.
Upon learning that Xu Nian and others were coming to visit, Mr. Su and his wife came out to greet them in person.
"I never thought that the lady and the young lady would come to my humble home in person. I am so honored. Please come in and see them."
Madam Su was also smiling and welcoming the distinguished guests. She had heard from her husband yesterday about the identities of these two people. She really didn't expect that a servant that her husband had kindly bought on the street would have such wealthy relatives.
Yesterday, the old man came back from the pharmacy and he kept praising the quality of the herbs he got. She hasn't seen the old man so happy in a long time.
Zheng took Madam Su's hand and thanked her sincerely, "Thanks to Madam and Master Su for their kindness, otherwise I would not have been able to see these dearest relatives. I really don't know how to thank you. Anyway, please accept my greetings first."
As she was about to kneel down, Madam Su hurriedly pulled Madam Zheng back and said softly, "Our Su family is in the business of saving the dying and supporting the injured. How can we stand by and watch someone die without helping? Madam, please stop being polite."
After everyone sat down in the front hall, Mrs. Su pulled over the girl who had been silently following her and introduced her, "This is my only little daughter, Qiaohui."
"I have met the lady and the young lady."
Zheng pulled up the young girl who was greeting her and praised her, "What a pretty girl. I wonder if she has reached the age of marriage now?"
Mrs. Su said with a smile: "It has been half a year since I came of age, and now I am seeing each other."
Su Qiaohui blushed when she heard what her mother said, but Zheng suddenly had an idea. Her mother-in-law was worried about her uncle's marriage before. The Su family was of noble character, and the girl was pretty. It was really a good marriage that was hard to find even with a lantern.
But she couldn't make the decision in the end, so she could only go back and discuss it with her mother-in-law.
"I fell in love with this girl the moment I saw her," Zheng said, taking off the bracelet on her wrist and putting it on Su Qiaohui's hand, "Don't reject it, keep it and wear it for fun."
Su Qiaohui didn't know what to do for a moment and looked at her mother with an inquiring look. When she saw Mrs. Su smiled and nodded, she bowed again to express her gratitude.
The more Zheng looked at her, the more she liked her. She thought such a polite girl should not be given to anyone else.
Mrs. Su saw that Xu Nian had been sitting beside her quietly drinking tea, and she was afraid that she was being ignored.
"Yesterday, the old man came back and praised Miss Xu highly. I just knew that the medicinal herbs that the old man had been dreaming about were actually grown by Miss Xu. I never thought that Miss Xu could grow such difficult herbs so well."
Xu Nian put down the teacup and said softly, "Mrs. Su, you are very kind. When it comes to understanding medicinal materials, I can never compare to Mr. Su."
Xu Nian turned to Mr. Su and said, "It just so happens that I also want to talk to you about something today."
Old Master Su said with a smile: "Even if Miss Xu didn't mention it, I would still do this." Hearing what Old Master Su said, Xu Nian raised his eyebrows.
Mr. Su walked to the shelf of Duobao Pavilion, took out a piece of paper from a small box and handed it to Zheng Chunlai who was standing nearby.
"This is your indenture. I had decided to return it to you before you left. Now that you and your elder sister are reunited, I believe things will get better at home soon. Although we can no longer be master and servant, you have some talent in medicine. If you are willing, you can be an apprentice in the pharmacy."
Zheng Chunlai was so happy that tears filled his eyes. He knelt down and kowtowed three times to Mr. Su sincerely.
"I pay my respects to Master and thank you for giving me a new life."
Old Master Su nodded, helped Zheng Chunlai up and said, "Good boy."
Zheng was also very happy. She took Madam Su's hand and said with a smile, "You can't be so casual when becoming a disciple. When I get back, I'll ask my parents to prepare the gift for becoming a disciple, and then let them bring Chunlai to become a disciple again."
"Why would it be so troublesome?"
"No trouble, no trouble. Although I don't have much knowledge, I know how to respect teachers."
Mrs. Su was stunned by what Zheng said. She didn't expect that this young lady was so straightforward and could say that she was ignorant so easily.
Xu Nian also felt that becoming a disciple should be more formal, but that was not what she was about to talk about.
"Master Su, I want to tell you something else."
"Oh? What is it?" The only thing Mr. Su could think of was the indenture of the concubine.
"I heard from Uncle Chunlai that our pharmacy often provides free clinics for the poor. It just so happens that my pharmacy still has a lot of unsaleable herbs, so I will provide all the herbs needed for free clinics at Master Su's pharmacy in the future."
After hearing this, Mr. Su stood up and bowed to Xu Nian, saying, "On behalf of the common people, I would like to thank Miss Xu for her generosity." He knew very well that such good medicinal materials would be difficult to sell.
Xu Nian stood up and avoided the greeting, saying sincerely, "I think the people should be more grateful for the kindness of Master Su. If there were more good people like Master Su in the world, I think the people would suffer less."
Mrs. Su's eyes turned red when she heard what Xu Nian said. In order to save the cost of medicinal materials, her father often went up the mountain to collect herbs himself, and often came back with scars all over his body.
However, the variety of medicinal materials in northern Xinjiang is scarce, and many of them still have to be purchased, which is why Mr. Su became a medicine dealer.
Now that the free clinic has a source of medicinal materials, her father can finally get a few good nights of sleep.
Su Qiaohui was also happy for her father, so she walked over and bowed to Xu Nian, saying, "Qiaohui would like to thank Miss Xu for her kindness on behalf of my father."
Zheng looked at the people who were thanking each other and said loudly, "Stop thanking each other. We are all family, so why should we be polite?"
Zheng's words caused everyone in the room to fall silent. She also knew that she had said something rude, so she quickly added, "What I mean is... the relationship between our two families is like that of a family, yes... a family... hehe."
“…”
On the way back in the carriage, Xu Nian looked at Zheng and asked, "Aunt, what are you thinking about?"
Zheng knew that she couldn't keep anything secret from her shrewd niece, so she leaned over to Xu Nian and whispered, "Nian'er, what do you think of this Miss Su?"
Xu Nian thought about it and thought, he was handsome, well-educated, shy and timid, "quite good."
Zheng smiled and said, "Your uncle is 16 this year. Your grandmother was worried about what kind of girl to choose. I heard from Madam Su that Miss Su is also looking for one. I think this girl is a perfect match for your uncle."
Xu Nian nodded. The Su family was a noble family, so of course it would be a good idea to marry them. But after all, it was a matter for the two of them to spend their entire lives together, so they should get to know each other first before deciding if it was a good idea.
"Then why don't you act as a matchmaker and let Madam Su know about this. If Madam Su and Miss Su have no objection, then I can ask my uncle to come over and take a look."
Zheng thought this was a good idea. She had never been a matchmaker before, so she would come over with her parents tomorrow to test the waters.