Magistrate Xu sat in the main seat, with Xu Xiao sitting next to him, while Xu Feng sat next to Song Ning.
Magistrate Xu looked at the servants waiting to the side: "Where is Miss?"
"Reporting to you, sir, the young lady said she is not feeling well and will not be coming."
Magistrate Xu sighed. Xu Xiao glanced at Song Ning and then smiled, "Father, you know how my sister is feeling. She's been in a bad mood lately. Don't worry, I'll visit her more often."
Magistrate Xu knew that his daughter liked Zhou Ling'an, and he had also heard from his son that Zhou Ling'an had no feelings for her.
Now, Magistrate Xu understood that the man was probably upset about being rejected.
"Alright, let's eat."
Xu Feng was already starving, and as soon as Magistrate Xu made the announcement, he couldn't wait to eat.
Song Ning glanced at him but didn't say anything. Xu Feng paused, put away his monkey-like nature, and even served food to Magistrate Xu and Xu Xiao.
Magistrate Xu was taken aback. He glanced at Song Ning, who was eating with his head down, and was overjoyed.
The meal was eaten in silence. Magistrate Xu and Xu Xiao did not speak, and Song Ning also kept quiet. Only Xu Feng almost choked on his words during the meal.
Song Ning put down her chopsticks and heard Xu Feng next to her burp. He rubbed his stomach and said, "Oh, I'm full."
She glanced at his bowl, smiled, and said softly, "Eat the rest."
Xu Feng said with a pained expression, "I can't eat anymore."
The smile on Song Ning's lips slowly faded, and Xu Feng immediately sensed that something was wrong. He picked up the bowl and quickly emptied the rest of the contents.
Xu Xiao stared at the two of them in surprise. Xu Feng had developed this bad habit since childhood: he always left food uneaten.
I've never once finished the rest of my food properly in my entire life.
Magistrate Xu seemed to be in a good mood. Good, finally someone can control his son.
It seems that sending them there was the right choice.
They even felt that it was delivered a little late.
After the meal, Xu Feng kept turning back to look at his father, but Magistrate Xu remained silent.
Xu Feng's heart was broken; his father had truly given up on him.
As they were leaving, Song Ning said speechlessly, "It's not like you're never coming back. As long as you behave well, I'll bring you back often."
Xu Feng pursed his lips: "Forget it." He figured he'd have to go back to Tianxiang County anyway, so he might as well not come back at all.
Magistrate Xu and Xu Xiao stood at the door, watching the two leave. Xu Xiao asked, "Father, don't you think Feng'er seems to have changed?"
Magistrate Xu stroked his beard and laughed: "That kid has finally found his match. We can finally have some peace and quiet at home."
After leaving the county government office, Song Ning found the craftsman's house recommended by the proprietress of Yunxiu Workshop.
I heard that this family's craftsmanship was inherited from their ancestors.
They are a renowned family of craftsmen in Jiangning County.
However, because of the high fees, the business is not very good, and they basically only work for wealthy people.
However, I heard that they offended a wealthy family last year, and because of this, they lost a lot of money. Since then, no one has dared to hire them, and their business has plummeted.
I heard that some family members have already started looking for other jobs.
After walking through several alleys, I finally found my doorstep.
"Knock knock knock"
Song Ning knocked on the door, and after a short while, there was movement in the courtyard.
The door opened from the inside, revealing a middle-aged woman: "Who are you?"
"Excuse me, is this the home of craftsman Li?"
"Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Someone recommended me to come here. My family wants to build a house, so I came to ask about it."
Upon hearing Song Ning's words, the woman's spirits rose, and she quickly invited Song Ning inside.
"Please have a seat, young lady. I'll go and call someone."
As the woman walked into the house, she excitedly called out, "Husband, come out quickly, we have guests."
A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth clothes and with messy hair came out of the house, looking slovenly.
"You are craftsman Li?"
"No, Craftsman Li is my father."
"It's like this, the proprietress of Yunxiu Workshop introduced me here. I heard that your family has been craftsmen for generations, so I wanted to ask you to build a house for my family."
Song Ning thought that the Li family's current situation shouldn't be a big problem, but she didn't expect the person in front of her to refuse outright.
"Go find someone else, we don't take business here."
The middle-aged man in front of me wasn't very nice; after saying that, he tried to go back inside.
"Oh." The woman from before looked at Song Ning apologetically, "Miss, I'm sorry, he's just in a bad mood."
"But what happened?"
The woman sighed, "Alas, young lady, you don't know, but last time someone came to our house saying they wanted to build a house, but... in the end, they cheated our family out of a lot of money, and we're upset about it. Please don't take offense, young lady."
Song Ning smiled and said, "It's alright. I came here because I've heard so much about it. It's always good to be cautious."
Song Ning took out a money bag from his clothes and handed it to the woman: "I'm from Tianxiang County. My family wants to repair a house. This is a deposit. If craftsman Li is willing, we can pay the rest after the house is built."
It's easy to find someone who can build houses these days, but it's not easy to find someone who is an expert in building houses.
Before Song Ning came, she went to see the houses built by the Li family. She had to admit that the workmanship was indeed exquisite; even she, a layman, could tell the difference.
The woman glanced at the money pouch and her eyes widened; there must have been fifty taels of silver inside.
The woman probably didn't expect Song Ning to be so generous. In the past, when they worked in the family, they only earned a total of fifty taels of silver.
"Auntie, could you please go in and ask again? My family does need to renovate our house. If you're willing, we can start construction as soon as possible."
The woman beamed from ear to ear: "Please wait a moment, young lady."
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