31 Chen Jingshan
◎ "Husband! Please say something!"◎
On the other side of the high gray brick wall was a man dressed as a clerk, with a big sword on his waist. With a roar, the sharp sword was unsheathed and the man ran quickly towards the two people standing stupidly on the other side.
Ye Yunzhao and Cuihua were startled. They picked up the backpack, led the donkey, and ran forward regardless of anything.
"It's over..." Madam Cuihua wailed in a low voice.
Ye Yunzhao had never seen such a scene before. Except for the man who put a knife to her neck in the backyard of the county government office on the first day she came here, she had never seen any other official sword unsheathed!
The two weak women were not moving fast to begin with, and now they were carrying a backpack and leading a donkey. Ye Yunzhao only felt that the man was getting closer and closer to her. She looked back and saw that he was only three or five steps away!
The man brandished his official sword: "You dare to run! My sword has no eyes!"
A silver light flashed, and Ye Yunzhao instinctively closed his eyes, but his head hit heavily into a warm embrace.
"How come I didn't know that patrol officers could injure people with knives in the street?" A cold voice sounded above Ye Yunzhao's head.
"Shopkeeper Chen, this..."
Before the clerk behind him could finish his words, Madam Cuihua, who was panting as she ran beside Ye Yunzhao, exclaimed in surprise.
"Brother Jingshan?"
Do the two know each other?
Ye Yunzhao's mind raced. He gritted his teeth and steeled his heart. One second he was tightly gripping the reins, and the next he was hugging the man's slender waist in front of him, crying:
"Husband! Someone wants to kill us! Please save me and Sister Cuihua!"
Ye Yunzhao buried her head in the man's chest, her face flushed with shame. Chen Jingshan, whom she called "husband", froze up and did not respond.
Madam Cuihua standing by was also dumbfounded. Brother Jingshan and County Magistrate Ye... huh???
The patrolling clerk asked suspiciously, "Manager Chen, is this really your wife? How come I've never heard of her or seen her?"
The four of them froze in place, and the atmosphere was a little awkward.
After a moment, Chen Jingshan did not answer directly, but asked: "Why are you chasing people with knives in the street? What have they done wrong?"
This statement was not clear, and the patrolling clerk could not be too presumptuous. After all, the shopkeeper Chen in front of him ran the most luxurious Ruyi Tower in Yuezhou City, and had extensive personal connections with the officials in the government office. He was not someone a small clerk could afford to offend.
The patrol clerk smiled flatteringly: "Manager Chen, these two were hawking in the street. You know our rules. If they don't register their mortgage in the market, they will be fined. I called out to them a few times, but they actually tried to run away, so I drew my sword..."
When she heard that she was going to be fined, Cuihua became anxious. She didn't care about being afraid of the man's sword and said indignantly, "How can this be? We only..."
Ye Yunzhao was afraid that she would let the cat out of the bag, so he interrupted her immediately: "We are only here to look for my husband, when did we start shouting?"
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Madam Cuihua instantly understood Ye Yunzhao's intention, quickly changed her tone, and looked at Chen Jingshan pleadingly.
"Shopkeeper Chen, she..."
The patrol officer was about to speak when Ye Yunzhao suddenly raised his head and slammed the man before him, "Sir! Say something!"
Her clear eyes were full of thoughts, and although she was angry she looked as if she was smiling. Her fingers were as sharp as peeled onions, and when they hit her, it didn't hurt at all.
Chen Jingshan's cheeks were warm, even he himself had not noticed, but his tone did not change, and he said in a deep voice:
"They came to stay at my house for a while. When you said they were hawking their wares, they must have been talking about the mountain products they brought for me."
Although the patrol officer felt strange, he dared not refuse the respect of the Ruyi Building owner, and immediately bowed to Ye Yunzhao:
"I was a little rude just now, I hope Madam can forgive me."
Ye Yunzhao didn't dare to say anything more and waved his hand quickly, and the clerk walked away sideways.
Seeing him walking further and further away, Ye Yunzhao breathed a sigh of relief, immediately took a step back, and spoke awkwardly: "Shopkeeper Chen, something urgent just now happened, I'm sorry for the offense..."
Chen Jingshan said: "Nothing."
Then he turned his head towards Madam Cuihua, but his eyes were still on Ye Yunzhao:
"If you want to sell something, you'd better go to the market and ask the clerk for two cents as collateral. They will give you a red card, which you can exchange for one cent when you leave. But if you are selling things on the street, you must be careful. If you are caught by the patrolling clerk, you will be fined ten cents."
"Ten cents!" Madam Cuihua exclaimed in surprise, then realized belatedly and said with relief, "It's a good thing that County Magistrate Ye reacted quickly and hugged Brother Jingshan, otherwise all the money we just earned would have been wasted!"
Can you please not mention what happened just now?!
Ye Yunzhao coughed twice hurriedly: "Cough cough cough!"
"County magistrate?" Chen Jingshan asked.
"Oh, I almost forgot you've never met before! This is Chen Jingshan, the owner of Ruyi Tower."
"This is our new county magistrate. He's quite impressive!" Madam Cuihua said, giving a thumbs-up. She lifted the lotus leaf from her backpack and boasted, "Brother Jingshan, look at this! Magistrate Ye taught me how to make this crystal cake!"
"Crystal cake?"
Seeing that he was interested, Ye Yunzhao quickly said, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Chen, for your help. I have no way to repay you, so I can only give you a piece of crystal cake to try."
Madam Cuihua quickly wrapped a piece in a lotus leaf and said, "Exactly."
Ye Yunzhao was really embarrassed. He originally thought that the clerk just now was the same group as the official who scared him in the county office on the first day. He was afraid of losing his life and that’s why he did this desperate measure. Who knew that it was just because he was hawking something along the street!
She had lost such a big person. If she had known it was a fine, Ye Yunzhao would have taken out ten copper coins from his pocket!
She couldn't wait to slip away: "I think it's almost time, I'm going to the embroidery workshop first. If Shopkeeper Chen is free, please take Madam Cuihua to the market."
"We will gather at the city gate at 1:00 PM."
Ye Yunzhao threw down these words and disappeared without a trace, leading the two donkeys.
*
Qiluofang.
The person who welcomed Ye Yunzhao in was the same shopkeeper from last time. She smiled and said, "Madam, you are looking for Fangniang, right? She specifically instructed that the clothes be made yesterday. Madam, would you like to try them on in the back?"
"Where's Fangniang?"
Compared to trying on clothes, Ye Yunzhao was more anxious to find out about the silkworm feces.
"Madam, please come back."
When she reached the east corner room, she happened to see Fangniang opening the curtain and walking out.
"My lady, you are here!" Fang Niang was very cautious and did not directly point out her identity.
Then she lowered her voice and said, "I'll take you to the owner later. In previous years, people bought silkworm manure, and it was about ten cents per pound. But this year, no one came. There are so many piled up in the warehouse. I asked around, and the owner has been wanting to sell it for a long time."
Ye Yunzhao gave a grateful smile. The information Fangniang provided could be of great help. "Thank you."
Fang Niang raised her eyes and smiled, "I am glad to be able to help my lady."
The two of them approached a rather luxurious house one after another. Fang Niang raised her hand and knocked on the door: "Master, I have brought the person here."
Someone inside spoke slowly, his voice tender and affectionate: "Please invite the distinguished guest in~"
Fang Niang pushed open the door and motioned Ye Yunzhao to go in, then she stepped outside the house and closed the door.
Incense was burning in the room. Sitting at the head of the table was a lady with heroic features. Her voice and appearance did not match hers. Ye Yunzhao was a little surprised: "Meet the boss."
The owner of Qiluofang said with a smile, "I heard from Fangniang that Madam wants to buy silkworm sand?"
Ye Yunzhao nodded.
"You know that silkworm sand is expensive. I wonder if you have enough money with you?"
Ye Yunzhao chuckled, sat down on the mahogany stool beside him, and poured himself a cup of tea.
She picked up the white jade teacup, used the tea lid to slant the tea, took a sip, and sighed, "Cui Luo Xue Ya, good tea."
The host, who was sitting in the upper seat, was a little confused when he saw Ye Yunzhao was so calm and composed: "Madam..."
"Qiluofang has a lot of silkworm excrement, and it's been stored for such a long time. Doesn't the boss think it... has a smell?"
"Why are you..." The owner of Qiluofang blurted out, knowing immediately that something was wrong, and quickly changed the subject: "Silkworm excrement only has a pleasant fragrance, why would I complain?"
Ye Yunzhao glanced sideways: "Isn't the boss curious about why I know about the silkworm sand situation in Qiluofang?"
She answered her own question, making up a story: "Because some time ago, the gown my wife bought at Qiluofang had a strange smell."
"Impossible!" The boss stood up suddenly, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Ye Yunzhao's expression remained unchanged. He picked up the teacup and blew on it twice: "If the boss doesn't believe me, just send someone to take a look."
She was so calm and composed that the owner of Qiluofang felt at a disadvantage and hurriedly called for someone to check. Soon, the maidservant who was sent came running in and whispered something in her ear.
Ye Yunzhao was naturally observing her carefully. Noticing her brows twitch slightly, he slowly spoke, "Logically, I don't really want silkworm excrement that's been stored for too long, but since I've gone through so much trouble to come here, I naturally want to make friends with the boss. If I help him process it and he sells it to me at a low price, wouldn't that make everyone happy?"
The owner of Qiluofang didn't say anything for a long while. Then, after some unknown thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "Then I'll give you a sincere price. Just consider it as a way of making friends with you. Three cents per catty. What do you think?"
Ye Yunzhao frowned and thought, as if he was struggling: "Okay..."
She looked sad, but was very happy in her heart. Although the silkworm feces had a faint odor after being stored for too long, it actually reduced Ye Yunzhao's trouble. There was no need to ferment it anymore, and it could be directly spread into the fields!
The owner of Qiluofang waved her hand, and another little maid came in: "Madam, follow her and take a look."
Then he said to the little maid, "Qinghe, find a bigger cart and have the servants in the backyard take this lady to the mansion."
"yes."
There are also ox carts!
Ye Yunzhao regained his spirits and quickly stood up to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Master. I will give the silver and wallet to the two servants when we get home."
Following the little maid, turning left and right, they came to the door of a warehouse. Ye Yunzhao followed her into the house and found that the silkworm sand was not the same as what he had seen before.
In her previous life, the farmer she helped to help with poverty alleviation raised spring silkworms, but the number was not large. The silkworm sand was the "little black rice" that was sifted out. The silkworm sand in front of her was completely different from what Ye Yunzhao remembered.
Some broken silk threads and mulberry leaf stems were intertwined, looking soft and fluffy, but mixed with countless silkworm sand.
It's simply excellent fertilizer! The embroidery workshop looked down on broken silk, but they could take it back and ask five or six peasant women to pick it out. Ye Yunzhao looked at the silkworm litter piled up in the house and estimated that he could make a thin silk jacket.
She pretended to be disgusted, covered her nose, took out a few copper coins from her bosom, and quietly put them into the little maid's hand: "Please find some people to move them quickly. My home is a long way away, so I need to leave early."
"Madam, please wait outside. I will make sure the people below are more efficient."
Ye Yunzhao was drinking tea in the outer room, feeling very relaxed. She had not expected that things would go so smoothly. The embarrassing incident in Fang Street earlier had long been forgotten by her.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Ye Yunzhao was leading two little donkeys, which were carrying eight bamboo baskets stuffed full of things. Behind them was a servant driving an ox cart.
*
At 1:00 PM, at the Yuezhou city gate.
"Brother Jingshan, are you really not lying to me?" Madam Cuihua asked suspiciously.
"Can crystal cakes really be sold at such a high price? Could it be that you took pity on me and deliberately asked the shopkeeper to give me so much?"
Madam Cuihua thought of what happened this morning and touched the heavy purse in her arms. She still felt that it was not real, as beautiful as a dream.
"Didn't you see it just now? After Ruyilou cut the crystal cake and arranged it on a plate, it sold for thirty-five cents per piece." Chen Jingshan, who was standing aside, had a blank expression on his face, his eyes vaguely looking into the distance.
"Yes... yes..." Madam Cuihua murmured.
She saw with her own eyes that the crystal cakes that were sold for two cents a piece in Fang Street were carved into white lotus flowers by the chef of Ruyi Tower. The high price of thirty-five cents was in short supply!
Of the thirty-five coins, the Jingshan brothers took twenty coins, and they were left with fifteen coins for each piece!
This time she came to Yuezhou City, she actually earned 184 coins for nothing!
Madam Cuihua was a little dazed.
"You said she taught you how to make crystal cake?"
"Who?" Madam Cuihua asked, then realized, "That's right, County Magistrate Ye taught me, and not only me, but also a young lady. Oh, right..."
Madam Cuihua suddenly lowered her voice: "County Magistrate Ye said she wants to set up a county school for girls. Brother Jingshan, please don't tell anyone else about this. I'm telling you this because I treat you like my own."
The matter of the girls' county school was somewhat unbelievable. County Magistrate Ye had never made it public before, so Madam Cuihua naturally followed County Magistrate Ye's lead.
Girls' county school?
Chen Jingshan was a little surprised.
However, Madam Cuihua did not give him much time to think and suddenly spoke:
"Brother Jingshan, you're tall. Look, is that the man leading the donkey, County Magistrate Ye? We came here riding on a donkey this morning, and it was really uncomfortable..."
In the distance, Ye Yunzhao was leading a little donkey, with her chin slightly raised, looking very energetic. The warm sunlight shining on her attracted the attention of others.
But she seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly raised her arm and waved it hard towards the city gate.
Chen Jingshan was stunned and frowned slightly. Why was this man so familiar? He hugged him and called him husband this morning, and now he was waving at him in public.
Forget it, she's just a young lady, why should I be angry with her?
Chen Jingshan sighed softly and waved his hand at her reluctantly.
【Author’s words】
Ye Yunzhao: Who waved at you???
Chen Jingshan: My wife calls me husband! She must have a crush on me. Forget it, although I didn’t want to get married before, but my wife likes me so much, I will reluctantly give her a chance to pursue me~ Q3Q
Ye Yunzhao: ...Get lost
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