Lin Hongchu arrived at the bookstore, only to find that it was past midnight and the door was still closed. Her mind raced with thoughts: Could it be that the owner hadn't returned home the previous night?
Just as she was about to take out her key to open the door, Xu Jiang came out from the corner door, sleepy-eyed. Seeing her, she lazily greeted her and then stood in front of the door waiting for the breakfast vendor.
Lin Hongchu went over and circled around her, looking at her back and forth several times.
Xu Jiang held her down, "What are you doing? You're making me dizzy."
"The boss said yesterday that he was going to give a lecture to Lu Zhen, so why is he hanging out with Master Lou at Liquanfang?"
Xu Jiang was struck by the word "hanging out" and felt her vision go dark. She quickly covered her mouth and said angrily, "What do you mean by hanging out? I was just going to meet friends and watch a play. If you keep saying that, I'll glue your mouth shut with glue."
Lin Hongchu pried her hands apart, "But my father said that Liquanfang is a place where idle people hang out, and he never lets me go there."
"Master Lin really said that?"
"Um."
"You didn't tell him I was there, did you?"
Lin Hongchu shook his head.
Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, pinched her face and said, "Don't complain, understand?"
Lin Hongchu nodded, then continued, "The boss is definitely out hanging out, otherwise why would he be afraid of father finding out?"
Xu Jiang pinched her lips and said, "Don't say those two words again."
"Woo woo." Lin Hongchu looked at her pitifully with his eyes bulging.
"Promise me and I'll let go."
She nodded quickly.
The two of them argued for a while, and then the breakfast vendor carried his load and turned into Huailiu Lane.
She ordered two bowls of oil tea and shared them with Lin Hongchu.
"I've eaten." Lin Hongchu said helplessly while holding the bowl.
"Eat more so you can grow taller."
"I've gained weight since I came here."
Xu Jiang looked at her small body like a seedling and was speechless for a while. "Stop mumbling and eat quickly."
"oh."
Master Lin has only this one daughter, and she will have a heavy burden on her shoulders in the future. If she doesn't grow up strong, how can she withstand the wind and rain?
After breakfast, Xu Jiang asked Lin Hongchu to guard the shop. She packed up, took her things and went to visit Master Lin.
Daixianfang was very close, and it only took her half an hour to walk there. Following the route provided by Lin Hongchu, she soon found Nanshan Academy.
Lin Qinnian's handwriting is very easy to recognize.
Xu Jiang stopped to admire the plaque at the door. A woman came out of the yard. Her features were somewhat similar to Lin Hongchu's. This must be Lin's mother.
Xu Jiang looked at her face and saw that she looked a little sick and sad. She knew that she was going to die young, and her heart sank.
Seeing her standing in front of the door, Lin's mother came over and asked, "Are you looking for someone, ma'am?"
Xu Jiang smiled and replied, "Aunt, I'm Xu Jiang, I've come to see you and Master Lin."
"Oh, it's you." Mother Lin came over with a look of surprise, took her hand, and looked her up and down. "That girl Hongchu didn't even tell me you were coming. Please come in."
Seeing that she was a little breathless, Xu Jiang supported her lightly and walked into the courtyard. She found that it was quite large, with two entrances and three exits, a front hall and a back yard. All the furniture looked old, but very clean and elegant.
There is a plaque above the door of the front hall with the words "Baji Zhai" written on it. There are three symmetrical rooms on the left and right of the front hall, and there are students reading and practicing calligraphy in each room.
The two of them simultaneously lowered their footsteps, lowered their voices, and walked into the backyard through the second door.
There is a main house and six side rooms in the backyard. The layout is similar to the front hall, but they are used for living.
As they walked under the eaves, Madam Lin said, "The teacher is in the quiet room preparing his teaching plan and never allows anyone to disturb him. Please sit in the inner room first. I'll call him later."
"It's okay. I just want to talk to my aunt."
Mrs. Lin led her to the main house, asked her to sit down, and poured her some tea. Seeing that they were about to go about preparing for the meal, Xu Jiang quickly pulled her over to sit down.
"Aunt, please stop working and sit down for a while. I had breakfast when I came out, so I'm not hungry now."
Mrs. Lin then sat down, took her hand, and looked at her with a smile.
"She's so healthy, she looks so energetic."
Xu Jiang also smiled: "I said I wanted to come see you a long time ago, but I didn't have time recently. How is your aunt?"
"Whether it's good or not, it's just my body. I'll just take care of it for as long as I can."
Seeing her smile fade, Xu Jiang advised, "Aunt, please relax. Many illnesses are caused by overthinking." Then she asked, "Have you seen a doctor as scheduled?"
"I only came to see her because I wasn't feeling well. This alone has already cost me a fortune. This illness has almost bankrupted our family. Even Hong Chu has to go out and work for others." At this point, she patted Xu Jiang's hand and said, "I'm so lucky to have met you. If she had been sent somewhere else, her father and I would have been worried."
Xu Jiang sighed, "There must be some providence in the universe. If not, how could I have met Master Lin again?"
"Exactly. When the Master came back and told me you were an old friend, I was quite shocked. What a coincidence!"
The two held hands and felt close to each other.
After chatting for a while, they heard three knocks on the cloud board outside and heard voices again. Mrs. Lin said, "The students are on break. The teacher should be out by now. Please wait a moment. I'll go call him."
Xu Jiang nodded in agreement.
Mrs. Lin left, and Master Lin returned with her a short while later. Xu Jiang hurriedly stood up to greet him. Master Lin, as serious as ever, simply nodded and asked her to sit down again.
"Why didn't you let Hongchu know before you came? And why didn't you come prepared?"
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "Didn't you tell me to treat you as a family member? A sip of tea and a few words of greeting are all that's needed when you come to a family member's place. There's no need to prepare anything."
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