Chapter 76 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 76 Fang Xiucai’s Brain is Really…
Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu looked at each other, and both saw a glimmer of understanding in each other's eyes.
The second Miss Lu was indeed good-looking and graceful, but her eyes were filled with the young master of the Kang family.
Yu Qinglong hesitated for a moment. "Changjie, not only did you hide it from Aunt Wu, but Uncle Wu also didn't know you were coming to the county town, right?"
Even if the father was less involved in household affairs, there was no reason for him to let his son break off the engagement on his own. He was not the kind of parent who didn't care about his children.
Wu Sheng gazed at the direction the two men had left, his expression unconcealed as he said, "Yes. The Lu family came to my house early last month, and my father didn't agree to cancel the engagement. That's why my mother had a headache. I didn't want to worry them anymore, so I decided to come alone."
"Why doesn't Uncle Wu agree to cancel the engagement?" Fang Shu asked, "A forced melon isn't sweet."
"Last month, they came without a token of gratitude, so my father and mother disagreed, insisting they would not leave until they brought one. Since then, my family has been waiting, but they still haven't come. I figured I couldn't put it off any longer, so I decided to go and ask."
It seems there is no need to ask anything now.
Yu Qinglong said, "No wonder you said the marriage was going to fail. It turns out they were here before."
But this matter always feels strange.
Since the Lu family wanted to cancel the engagement, and they had already climbed up the social ladder, shouldn't they hurry up and return the token of love so that the engagement can be canceled as soon as possible? Why are they still hesitating?
Wu Sheng then said, "Let's go inside and talk."
Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu didn't ask any more questions and went into the Lu family shop together.
Once inside, I discovered it was incredibly small, nothing like Dexin Bookstore. It was a small square space with four or five shelves, and with three grown men standing there, it looked quite crowded. They did sell things like bowls, chopsticks, and plates.
The shopkeeper was busy thinking about something when he heard the voice: "Welcome, welcome, guests..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he saw Wu Sheng and Fang Shu. He stopped talking and said stiffly, "Nephew, why are you here? And Fang Shu. Who is..."
"My husband," Fang Shu said, "Brother Long, this is Uncle Lu."
"Oh." Yu Qinglong responded without saying hello, just looking at the furnishings in the shop.
"Let's talk inside." Lu Tianda frowned unhappily at Yu Qinglong, and as he led them to the backyard, he asked Wu Sheng, "Your father and mother didn't come?"
"No," Wu Sheng said, "They just came to get something. It doesn't matter whether they come or not."
"Then let's go. Lin'er's mother! Xiaosheng is here with Fang Shu and his wife! Please entertain them, I'll close the door and come right over!"
Lu Hua came out and saw the people. A trace of guilt flashed across her eyes briefly, then she smiled and said, "Fang Shu is here too. We wanted to go see your wedding, but we were too busy to go. Come and sit down. I'll make you some tea."
Fang Shu said, "Don't bother Aunt Hua, we'll leave as soon as we're done."
Wu Sheng placed the engagement letter and the silver bowl on the table. "Uncle Lu, Aunt Hua, these are the things you left for me when my family first proposed marriage. I'm returning them intact. Could you both also return the bracelet and engagement letter that my family left behind?"
"this……"
Lu Hua exchanged a glance with her husband. "Xiaosheng, I can return the engagement letter to you. But can this bracelet...can it be exchanged for cash? It's all silver anyway, so it won't make any difference if you make another one just like it. If that doesn't work, I'll give you an extra half liang for the labor."
Wu Sheng frowned, "Auntie Hua, this won't do. You know that bracelet was my mother's dowry, a relic left to her by my grandmother. She thought Lin'er would definitely be with me, so she left it here early as a token of our engagement. Now that the marriage is off, I naturally want to take the bracelet back and return it to my mother."
"You're right. But, the bracelet is gone now."
"Gone? What does gone mean?"
"That's right, it's lost. Hey, we didn't do it on purpose. We just lost it by accident. If it weren't for this, we would have gone to your house this morning to talk about breaking off the engagement."
"Was it really lost or just a lie?" Yu Qinglong suddenly interrupted. "Where was it lost? On what date?"
"Of course I lost it on the street," Lu Hua said. "What day was it? June, I think. I can't remember the exact date."
"You lost it in June, and you're taking it so long to tell me. Do you remember which street you lost it on?"
"Lost it on Tonger Street."
"Which location is on Tonger Street?"
"Hey kid, why are you asking so many questions?" Lu Tiandao said, "You're just a junior, why are you so aggressive? You don't even know the etiquette when talking to your elders. Fang Shu, you're a famous scholar in the whole village, so why did you marry a guy like this?"
"My husband is very good." Fang Shu said, "But you two, if you lost the bracelet, why didn't you tell me earlier? It was a relic of Changjie's grandmother."
"That's what we agreed on, didn't we? Give him an extra half tael of silver! The bracelet is less than two taels of silver in total, so we should give him two and a half taels, right? That'll be enough for a new one!"
"This isn't about money!" Wu Sheng said angrily, "When we first arranged the marriage, we said the bracelet was the only thing my grandmother left my mother. My Wu family took this marriage so seriously, so how could you lose the token of love? I actually believed you!"
He thought that the Lu family did not come later and that they were regretting their previous actions. They might decide not to cancel the engagement, but he never expected this to be the case!
"We don't want to lose it," Lu Huashi said, "but if it's lost, what can we do?"
"What can I do? Then we can't cancel the engagement." Yu Qinglong stood up, tall and imposing, "Husband, you get up too. Let's take Changjie away first. You've already lost the engagement token, and you still want to cancel the engagement so easily? You're dreaming better than anything you can say."
"Hey? What do you mean by that? How can you say that thinking is better than singing? This marriage is not suitable now! Why can't you cancel it? We already said we would give you an extra half tael of silver! If it really doesn't work, you can give us an extra tael, right? Don't be too greedy!"
"We're greedy? You guys are really good at turning the tables! Okay, just take your time looking for it. When you find it, we can talk about breaking off the engagement!"
Yu Qinglong said this domineeringly and then gave Fang Shu a look, and Fang Shu pulled Wu Sheng out of the shop together.
Wu Sheng didn't quite want to leave yet. He wanted to ask what was going on. If he lost the bracelet, his mother would be very sad. How would he explain this to her when he returned?
He turned around and said, "Why don't I go back and ask around."
Yu Qinglong said, "What are you asking about? Those two never tell the truth. Let's find a place to wait. When Miss Lu comes back, we'll ask her if it's really lost. If it is lost, someone must have found it. If we spend more money, we might be able to get it back. If there's anything else we don't know, we'll have to talk about it."
"What else could it be?" Wu Sheng asked, "Isn't it lost?"
"Who knows whether it's lost or not! People's hearts are hidden. Look at those two people, they are obviously guilty. Besides, if it was really lost, why didn't they apologize earlier? They deliberately dragged it out. Isn't it just that they don't want to pay more money and want to cancel the engagement? Changjie, just tell me, do you want this bracelet or not? If you do, listen to me. If you don't want it, then let's go back now and ask for more money as compensation and then we'll leave."
"Of course I have to have the bracelet. I absolutely have to have it."
"Then listen to my brother Long." Fang Shu said, "It's really wrong for them to do this. There must be an explanation."
Wu Sheng hadn't thought of this possibility on the way here, but he was feeling annoyed and had no good ideas, so he said, "Okay, I'll listen to you and wait for Lin'er to come."
Yu Qinglong said, "Maybe we should go look for it. My husband, I'm hungry. Let's find a place to eat while we wait."
Yu Qinglong pointed to a restaurant on the street and said, "That's the one I'll go to."
This street is lined with various shops and restaurants. Yu Qinglong was referring to a place with people soliciting customers outside. It looked like this place was doing good business.
The group went over. Fang Shu then asked, "Long'er, what do you want to eat?"
Yu Qinglong stared at the street across the street: "I want to eat meat."
Fang Shu then looked at what dishes this restaurant had.
At this time, Yu Qinglong said, "Let's not rush to order food. We may have to leave soon."
The young man who was trying to attract customers was not happy when he heard this: "Sir, what do you mean? Do you want to eat or not?"
Yu Qinglong gave the clerk three coins and said, "Young man, do you know the second girl from the porcelain shop across the street?"
The waiter took the money and said, "Of course I know her. You mean Miss Lu Er, right? She's a famous beauty on our street. Which man doesn't know her?"
Yu Qinglong smiled and said, "It's good to know him. Please keep an eye out for me. If you see that girl coming back or someone leaving his shop, please let us know immediately. If you arrive in time, there will be a bonus for you."
The clerk weighed the money and asked, "Are you a bad guy?"
Yu Qinglong said, "There are so many people on the street. What harm could I do? She just stole something from my brother and refused to return it. His family refused to acknowledge the debt, so I wanted to ask what happened."
The clerk took the money and said, "Okay, please sit down first. I'll let you know as soon as I see the person."
Yu Qinglong sat down with Fang Shu and Wu Sheng near the door. They didn't order anything, just looked at the menus hanging on three walls of the room.
Fang Shu asked, "Did Long'er see anything he wanted to eat?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I want to eat all of this. But I probably won't be able to finish this meal."
Wu Sheng asked, "Why can't I eat it?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Because if those two from the Lu family see us in a restaurant so close to them, they'll definitely wonder if we're going to go back and ask for an explanation or try to stop Second Miss Lu. Then they'll have to go and tell Second Miss Lu what they're talking about, so they don't let anything slip later."
Although Wu Sheng was only a blacksmith, he was no fool. He immediately understood what Yu Qinglong meant. He asked, "What if they really go and make the argument?"
Yu Qinglong said: "Of course we want to make them inconsistent."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man strode towards them: "Sir, sir, the shopkeeper has left."
When Yu Qinglong arrived at the door, he saw that Lu Tianda was walking towards the east in a stealthy manner.
Wu Sheng asked, "Shall we follow him?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Let's go."
He left another three coins for the waiter and ran east with Fang Shu and Wu Sheng. At this time, Lu Tianda discovered them and quickly ran faster.
Yu Qinglong, however, pulled Fang Shu and Wu Sheng and watched Lu Tianda run away without following him.
"Brother Xiaoyu, why aren't you following me?" Wu Sheng asked anxiously, "If you don't follow me now, I'll disappear!"
"It was fake to begin with. If it's gone, it's gone. He's not the one we're following." Yu Qinglong turned and hid at the corner of the path, raising his chin to the west. "The one we're following is that one."
But Lu Hua peeked out, and seeing no one was there, she hurried out, closed the door, and quickly walked west.
Fang Shu and Wu Sheng: "...How did you guess that?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Why would we need to guess? Didn't Second Miss Lu and Young Master Kang go west? I came into the restaurant because I thought the old couple from the Lu family would suspect that we were waiting for Second Miss Lu to come back, so they would definitely find a way to notify them. But if they could see us coming in, they would definitely think we were watching them. So wouldn't they make a feint to the east and attack in the west?"
Fang Shu and Wu Sheng: "..."
Who would think about all these complicated things at this moment? This is not a war!
Wu Sheng asked, "What if they went west? Or if they went west, how would they get back to the east?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Just follow them to the west. If we go back to the east, they don't have wings, how can they be that fast?"
Wu Sheng still felt that this was too much to think about.
However, the facts were very useful. Lu Hua thought they were being led away by her head of the household, so she walked away quickly without even looking back.
Several people followed secretly, and soon they saw Lu Huashi arrive in front of a cloth shop. She was about to go up the stairs when Yu Qinglong suddenly shouted, "Auntie Hua! If you move again, I'll tell everyone what happened right in the street!"
Lu Hua froze for a moment. After a moment's thought, she retracted her foot and said to Yu Qinglong and the others, "What a coincidence! Why are you here?"
Yu Qinglong walked into the cloth shop without thinking.
Lu Hua was so frightened that she quickly stopped him and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm just browsing the cloth shop, why are you so anxious?"
Then he shouted inside, "Is the owner of Wangjiang Cloth Shop here? Someone here won't let me into your shop to buy cloth!"
Lu Huashi never expected him to be so unreasonable. She angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't stop you from buying it!"
The shopkeeper came out upon hearing the noise and asked, "What's going on?"
Yu Qinglong pointed at Lu Huashi and said, "This person wouldn't let me in and just stopped me. He's not here to steal your business, is he?"
The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "Let's see who dares! Sir, please go in and take your time to choose and look around."
Lu Hua said, "He's talking nonsense! I want to go in and buy some cloth too!"
Her daughter was inside, and she was with the young master of the Kang family. What would happen if the young master saw these people?!
Why don’t you come earlier or later, but at this time!
Lu Hua pushed past the shopkeeper and entered, but Yu Qinglong had already entered the exhibition area. Just as Lu Hua was about to speak, Yu Qinglong spoke first, "If you say one more word or dare to drag someone away, you'll know whose reputation is being damaged by this incident today. Think carefully."
Lu Honglin also noticed it at this time. Seeing Wu Sheng, his face suddenly turned pale.
Master Kang asked, "Lin'er, what's wrong?"
Yu Qinglong stepped in front of Lu Huashi and said, "Second Miss Lu, right?"
Lu Honglin nodded: "Who are you?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm Changjie's friend. Aunt Hua said you lost the bracelet on Tonger Street while wearing it. Do you remember where on Tonger Street you lost it?"
Master Kang asked, "What bracelet? I'll give it to you as compensation."
Yu Qinglong said, "That's not something you can just compensate for. Sir, I'd like to ask Miss Lu to spare me a moment."
Master Kang said, "What a joke! You said you would lend me a step, so I'll just lend it to you?"
Lu Honglin was afraid of what the person opposite him might say, so he said, "I'll just say a few words and then I'll be back."
After saying that, she gestured for Yu Qinglong to follow her out. When the two of them were outside, and there were few people around, Yu Qinglong got straight to the point: "Where is the bracelet the Wu family gave you? Is it really lost, or do you have some reason not to return it? Miss Lu, I urge you to think it over before you speak. You're a girl, and I don't want to ruin your good fortune. But if you keep it a secret and try to fool Changjie, then I guarantee you won't be able to marry into the Kang family, and your family's business will fail."
Lu Honglin said, "No, no, Master Kang must not know about this."
She didn't even know how these people found them! Her family had clearly changed the name of the shop when they moved to the county town, and they had never mentioned where they lived in the county town to the Wu family.
No one knew that Wu Sheng had come here in June. He wanted to see Lu Honglin, but he saw her with another man.
At that time, the Lu family never mentioned breaking off the engagement, only saying that they would be living far away and contact would be inconvenient. He told himself that perhaps he was just being overly suspicious.
It was not until last month when Lu Tianda went to his house to express his intention to break off the engagement that he realized that the other party's family had never cared about him at all.
Yu Qinglong said, "Second Miss Lu, if you don't want Young Master Kang to know, then just tell the truth honestly. I'll only give you this one chance."
Lu Honglin said, "The bracelet was pawned by my family."
"Pawn it?" Yu Qinglong hadn't expected such an answer and asked doubtfully, "Your family isn't really short of those two taels of silver, is it?"
"Not so. The shops here are very expensive. When we moved here, my family spent all their savings, but it still wasn't enough, so we thought of pawning the bracelet. We wanted a good price, so we told the shopkeeper the truth, telling him that it was very important to us and that we would redeem it. We had never pawned anything before and didn't know much about the market. The shopkeeper said he would give more money if we pawned it and redeemed it. We didn't know that the 'redemption' he meant meant they could ask any price, so we agreed. Later, when we had the money and wanted to redeem it, the shopkeeper actually asked us for ten taels of silver. But we only pawned it for two taels. My parents felt it wasn't worth it, so..."
"You just want to tell the Wu family that it's lost and then pay an extra half tael of silver? Your family is really calculating." Yu Qinglong snorted and laughed, "Is the bracelet still in the pawnshop now?"
"It should be."
"That's easy. I don't care if it's ten or a hundred taels of silver, we must get this thing before nightfall today. If not, I will go to the government office and sue you."
"You, you can't do this! We really can't come up with ten taels of silver right now."
"Are you trying to fool people in broad daylight? Can't you come up with ten taels of silver for business?"
"I'm not lying to you. I really can't take it out. I just got two new batches of goods. You can go to the shop and take a look. We still owe the porcelain factory money. If you can take out the ten taels..."
Even if she could produce it, her parents would not really exchange ten taels for the bracelet.
Yu Qinglong said, "There should be a limit to one's immorality. You treat the person who waits for you wholeheartedly as a fool. How can you bear it? I have said all I can. Go back and tell your elders that I will only wait until tonight. We will go to your shop at nightfall. If we don't see the bracelet, I will go to the Kang family and complain. Maybe the young master of the Kang family won't care, but do you dare to bet that her elders don't care either? It's okay if they don't care. The government will take care of it."
Lu Honglin trembled, "Can't you give me a few days?"
Yu Qinglong said, "No. But if you tell me which pawnshop took the bracelet, I can guarantee that I will not contact the Kang family before you come to a conclusion tonight."
Lu Honglin bit her lip and said, "Chengxin Pawnshop."
Yu Qinglong nodded and told Shangfang Shu and Wu Sheng to leave without saying anything.
On the way, he told Wusheng about the Lu family's pawning of the keepsake bracelet, including why they said it was lost instead of pawned.
Wu Sheng was furious when he heard this: "They are going too far!"
Yu Qinglong said, "I said we'll go again tonight, and we won't break off the engagement until we see the bracelet."
Wu Sheng asked, "But can they produce it? If not, I can't wait here forever."
It was impossible for him to stay away from home for a long time. Not to mention that his parents would worry, he couldn't afford the accommodation and food expenses here.
But I absolutely cannot get the bracelet.
"So I thought we should go to the pawn shop first. If we can buy it out first, we should buy it out first."
"But didn't Lin'er say that the shopkeeper wanted ten taels of silver?"
"Shoucheng and I can certainly afford the ten taels of silver. However, doing this will definitely make things difficult for Miss Lu. I don't know what you're thinking. After all, you and she have known each other since childhood. If you don't want to embarrass her, then give them more time."
"No. I don't want to delay this for even a day. I just want to get the bracelet back and go back to Xiaxi Village."
"Actually..." Fang Shu said at this time, "I have an idea. Maybe I can get the bracelet back faster and get some justice for you, Changjie."
"What idea?"
"Maybe a little immoral."
"Just say it! We've been brothers for so many years and now you're acting like strangers!"
"Well, let me tell you something. Doesn't the Lu family have a house in Xiaxi Village? It was built only a few years ago, and it's in a pretty good location, and it's quite presentable. Since they've moved to the county town and don't seem to have any plans to return, why not have them mortgage the house to you? It could fetch over ten taels of silver. Just come over, and I'll buy it when the time comes."
"Ah?!" Wu Sheng said, "Why did you buy it?"
"Of course it's for my father-in-law and his family to live in. We can't keep renting someone else's house, and it's already crowded. Although we can build a new house next year, it will take until the end of the year to move in, which is really inconvenient. It's better to buy a ready-made house first."
Yu Qinglong: “…” Why didn’t he think of it!
Fang Shu said, "But if this happens, the Lu family will have to spend some money. I wonder if you are willing to do so."
Wu Sheng said, "Why should I be reluctant? Our Wu family has done our utmost for the Lu family. When their business in town was struggling, we provided a lot of help. But they are so ruthless! They want to break off the engagement after marrying into a wealthy family, and even lost my grandmother's belongings! If it weren't for this, my father and mother wouldn't be so angry."
Fang Shu said, "That's fine. There's no need to wait until dark. Let's go and talk now."
Yu Qinglong: “…” Six.
But he was really hungry. The snacks sold on the street looked delicious.
Yu Qinglong pulled Fang Shu and said, "My dear, I want to eat candied haws, roast chicken, and big meat buns."
Fang Shu: "Buy!"
Yu Qinglong: "There are also sesame balls, taro cakes, and sour jujube cakes."
Fang Shu said: "Buy it too!"
Wu Sheng: "This is so much, can we finish it? And didn't we leave after breakfast?"
Fang Shu said, "I'll eat the leftovers if you can't finish them. No problem, if Long Ge'er wants some, I'll buy it for him."
Wu Sheng: "..." Is that the question? !
-----------------------
Author's words: Fang Shu: My dear husband needs to eat fatter so that he can survive the winter [Let me know]
Qinglong: I think so too! [Hug]
Wu Sheng: ...A rabbit needs to survive the winter, but it doesn't say it has to eat a pig to be full. This isn't a question of surviving the winter at all [laughing and crying]
Qinglong: Please help me with some snacks, I'm really hungry [empty bowl][let me eat]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
