Until early October.
Guihua was pestered by Master Zheng for more than half a month.
She couldn't take it anymore.
I told my mother about it.
"What? You've been bothered by a man for so long? You keep running into him everywhere? And he's even asking you about our shop?"
Yan Xia was startled.
Has my daughter fallen victim to a "pig butchering scam"?
"You weren't fooled by him, were you?"
Osmanthus shook its head.
"How could that be? My daughter doesn't like that kind of man. He's too frivolous, and the way he talks is always..."
“It’s just a pretentious display of wealth, which my daughter doesn’t like.”
Yan Xia breathed a sigh of relief.
It's good that she wasn't scammed. Luckily, she had often brainwashed her two daughters beforehand, telling them not to be love-struck and telling them many tragic consequences of being love-struck. If Guihua really liked this kind of hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress man...
She will bleed.
How many men who play the hero and save the damsel in distress are actually good...?
What kind of man has nothing better to do than sneak into alleys to rescue little girls?
Coincidence? Nobody believes that.
"Mother, what should I do?"
Yan Xia sensed something was amiss, so she decided to play along.
"Later, you pretend to go to the jewelry shop to look at jewelry. I'll follow behind you. If he shows up, chat with him for a bit, then hurry back to the shop. I'll go with him."
First, have your daughter lure the man out.
She'll catch the turtle in the jar again.
"Okay, I understand, Mother."
The osmanthus tree now is no longer as timid and cowardly as it was when Yan Xia first arrived.
She stood up straight, her eyes no longer darted around when she spoke, and she was poised and confident.
With a much better demeanor, I naturally became bolder.
After closing her shop at noon, Guihua went alone to a jewelry shop on the next street to start browsing.
Just as she was trying on her third hairpin, Zheng Yangliu appeared.
"Oh, what a coincidence, young lady! We're really destined to meet here. Are you choosing a hairpin? The one you're holding looks especially good on you."
"What are you doing browsing a jewelry store, a man like you?"
Upon hearing this, Guihua immediately put down the hairpin in her hand with disdain and picked up another one to play with.
"Hehe, my mother's birthday is coming up soon, and I was planning to buy her a bracelet, which is why I came to this shop. I didn't expect to find you here too, young lady."
Zheng Yangliu gave an awkward smile and made up an excuse.
"Really? Then take your time choosing. I don't really like the jewelry in this shop, so I'll be going now."
Guihua felt disgusted by his appearance. Did he think everyone was stupid? This shop mainly sells jewelry for young women. Was he here to pick out a gift for his mother? Was his mother only twenty?
"Huh? They're leaving already?"
Before Zheng Yangliu could react, Guihua had already disappeared in a hurry.
He stomped his feet in anger.
"Sir, we have just received three new jadeite bracelets. Would you like to take a look?"
The jewelry shop owner thought he really wanted to buy a bracelet, so he quickly took out some bracelets from the shop to show him.
The colors are all rather mature, making them suitable for older women to wear.
“What are you looking at? My mother would never wear such a cheap bracelet.”
Zheng Yangliu opened her folding fan, fanned herself twice in anger, and then turned and left.
"Pooh--"
"What the hell? Dressed in cheap clothes, he's acting like a big shot here—"
The experienced shopkeeper could tell at a glance that he couldn't afford it, but business had been so bad lately that he wanted to take a gamble.
Zheng Yangliu walked through a narrow alley, then weaved from one street into another. He arrived at the back door of a shop and knocked lightly twice.
"Open the door, it's me—"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the people inside to hear clearly.
"Creak—"
The wooden door is a bit old.
The noise when the door opens is slightly uncomfortable for the ears.
"So, did you get it?"
The man speaking in the courtyard was Zhou Yiliu.
"No, this woman is too wary. It's been over half a month, and she runs away whenever she sees me. I can't do anything about it—"
Zheng Yangliu looked impatient.
This was the first time he had ever encountered such a difficult woman to pursue.
"Oh, even the dashing Young Master Zheng got turned away. I thought you could win him over in seven days at most."
Zhou Yiliu's voice was laced with sarcasm.
The two had been drinking buddies for three years. Zheng Yangliu was twenty-one years old this year. From the day they met, Zhou Yiliu was envious of Zheng Yangliu's reputation for having dated countless women. However, he could only watch helplessly as Zheng Yangliu changed one girl after another.
Zheng Yangliu was quite beautiful, while he was so ugly that the girl disliked him.
Years of debauchery quickly eroded Zheng Yangliu's health and made his handsome appearance increasingly dull.
It makes you look greasy.
In addition, he was born into a farming family. His parents were small tofu vendors with only a few acres of land. Although they were considered wealthy in the village, they were among the lowest class of people in the town.
He swindled all his family's money by lying about going on a scientific expedition, and now at this age he still doesn't have the money to get married.
So Zhou Yiliu stopped associating with him after getting married.
"Don't worry, give me another week, and I'll definitely get it done. A good woman can't resist a persistent suitor, you know."
"It's not that I don't want to give you time, but my dad told me that if you can't do it, we'll find someone else. How about this, considering we've known each other for a while, I'll give you three more days at most. If you still can't do it, I'll find someone else."
Zheng Yangliu became anxious.
The two had agreed that if they could win over this woman named Guihua and get the pastry recipes from her mother's shop, they would give him five taels of silver.
But now they want to change the person?
He has already invested so much time, how could he let Zhou Yiliu replace him so easily? Otherwise, all his efforts would have been in vain.
"Brother Zhou, look, I've been busy for so long and haven't even seen a single copper coin. How am I supposed to win her over? Chasing a girl always costs money, right? Here's what I'll do: give me a little money in advance."
After haggling for a long time, Zhou Yiliu finally took half a tael of silver from his pocket and threw it to him.
“My father said that if she gets pregnant, he will add two more ounces.”
"Well, I'll have to do my best then. Don't worry, Brother Zhou, I'll definitely get this done for you."
They talked at the door for about ten minutes before Zheng Yangliu left with a big smile on her face.
He had just left the alley.
A person appeared at the other end of the alley.
It was Yan Xia.
At this moment, her teeth were clenched so tightly they were practically grinding together, and her eyes were blazing with an unspeakable rage.
He seemed to be extremely angry.
"Heh, well done, you've managed to mess with my daughter? Well then, let's see who's going to be unlucky!"
Yan Xia turned and left.
It's as if it never existed.
Back in the shop, she pretended nothing had happened.
He did not tell his daughter about it.
On the third day, Yan Xia sent Guihua out again to lure the man out.
She followed him until she saw several places he frequented, as well as his home.
I followed them for a whole day.
Only then did they leave satisfied.
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