Chapter 120 What is Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork)? And what is roast meat?
Achoo! Achoo!!
Jiang Nuanzhi, who was in the county town, rubbed her nose.
Frowning, he looked suspiciously at Lü Shizhu beside him: "Did you insult me?"
Upon hearing this, Lü Shizhu rolled his eyes: "Who insulted you? What kind of relationship do we have? Even if you have a bad temper and aren't good-looking, you're still my good brother. How could I talk badly about you behind your back?"
Jiang Nuanzhi rolled her eyes: "Thank you so much."
She didn't bother with him at the moment, and just secretly counted the silver she had on her.
I went to Canglin earlier and came back with only twenty-odd taels of silver left.
Today, her ointment sold for 111 taels.
I counted the silver I had on me; it totaled one hundred and thirty-four taels. I'll leave aside the miscellaneous copper coins for now.
In retrospect, it seems that going to redeem Simbo was still a bit short.
He reached into his pocket and found two ounces of gold. It was the gold that Doctor Magpie had placed in the trap earlier.
At that time, one tael of gold was equal to ten taels of silver, which could be counted as twenty taels.
That adds up to 154 taels. Barely enough to redeem oneself from bondage.
Jiang Nuanzhi thought for a moment, then smiled and placed twenty taels of silver in Lü Shizhu's hand.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Lu Shizhu asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you also think what I just said was absolutely right?"
Jiang Nuanzhi gritted her teeth inwardly, wishing she could tear his foul mouth apart, but on the surface she smiled and said, "This is the money I'm giving you. You've been helping me take care of the house these past few days, and you've been handling the medicinal herbs for me. You must be tired from running around like this. You've earned quite a bit this time, so this is what you deserve."
"No. I can still get the silver, can't I?"
"Um."
"I...I...I received silver for the first time. No, I mean, I earned silver on my own for the first time."
Lu Shizhu held the silver in his hands with disbelief, looking as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded with a smile: "Although this business was done by me and the Lü family, our friendship goes beyond business. I have never regarded you as a member of the Lü family or a business partner. I just feel that you, Lü Shizhu, are yourself, my good younger brother, someone I can entrust with my life."
"Ah Nuan." His voice trembled with a sob, and the next second, he burst into a loud wail. Snot bubbled from his nose as he cried, but he simply wiped it away, immediately grabbing Ah Nuan's hand and saying earnestly, "Ah Nuan, you are my confidante! To have a confidante in life, I'd be willing to die... cough cough cough, even be sick!"
As he spoke, he suddenly looked up at the sky and let out a long howl.
"Hahaha, I finally earned money on my own! Good heavens, look! Who said I was useless? I've earned money!"
His face was streaked with tears, and snot was still dripping from his nose. Yet, a smile played on his lips, making him appear somewhat insane.
Jiang Nuanzhi secretly wiped the snot on his clothes and said with a smile:
"Am I being a good older sister?"
Lu Shizhu thumped his chest loudly: "You're a true friend! From now on, we're sworn brothers! No matter what, just give the order, and I'll do my duty without hesitation!"
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded seriously, then extended her hand: "In that case, as your older sister, I really do have something I need your help with."
Lu Shizhu's expression was firm: "Speak up, I'll go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Actually, it's nothing big, it's just... borrowing some money."
Lü Shizhu turned around and said, "Farewell. I won't see you tomorrow, nor the day after."
Jiang Nuanzhi: "."
The next second, he gritted his teeth, grabbed his braid, and pulled him back, saying with a forced smile, "Going through fire and water without hesitation? A life-or-death friendship? Hmm?"
Lu Shizhu immediately clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly to Jiang Nuanzhi: "Good sister, please let go! How much do you want? I really don't have any more!"
As he spoke, he suddenly came to his senses, frowned, and said, "That's not right. Wasn't my father talking to you about business just now? He said he'd give you an extra hundred taels of silver, but you refused. Why are you coming to me to borrow silver now?"
Jiang Nuanzhi's lips twitched at the mention of what had just happened. Did he think she didn't want it?
But she didn't feel at ease taking the money!
Selling it to Jinhua Hall is something the Lü family's enemy would never do.
Besides, even without that hundred taels, she would still prioritize cooperating with Elder Lü. Mainly because both the Lü father and son are kind-hearted and the best partners they could be.
It's unlikely she'd sell the prescription to the Lü family; it would cause her considerable inconvenience later.
Upon reflection, Old Master Lü had previously given him several sets of silver needles, which were quite valuable. He decided to simply consider it a favor to him. He absolutely could not accept the silver.
"Anyway, I can't take that money from your family. Right now, I'm short of money, and I have to go out to take care of something important in the next couple of days. I'll pay you back after I've made the medicine, with interest, so it won't be a freebie."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand again: "Good brother, lend me a hand."
Lu Shizhu reluctantly handed her the twenty taels again: "They haven't even warmed up in my hands yet."
Jiang Nuanzhi accepted it and then smiled and extended her hand.
Lu Shizhu clutched his purse tightly: "That's all, that's all!"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "I saw it all. You even lent Li Rong ten taels of silver, which he didn't spend and returned to you. Also, that day you said you'd give me silver to tide me over."
Lu Shizhu gritted his teeth and handed over his purse.
Jiang Nuanzhi went to take it, but he held on tightly and refused to let go.
"Hey, give it back to me sooner rather than later, this is all my savings."
Jiang Nuanzhi pulled the purse over, took out twenty taels of silver notes from it, left the remaining loose change untouched, and returned the purse to him.
"Okay, okay, I'll pay you back as soon as I make money from the ointment next time."
There were already more than 150 taels, and with these 20 taels for round-trip travel expenses and bribes, it should be about right.
However, Old Master Lü just ordered over two hundred bottles, so it'll probably take some time to sell them all. Who knows when the next batch of ointment will arrive...
Lu Shizhu took the purse and immediately tied it to himself, making a tight knot.
He then glared resentfully at Jiang Nuanzhi: "I was planning to treat myself to a nice meal at Yi Man Lou today, and tell those snobbish people about my recent achievements! But now, I don't have enough money at all! I don't care, you have to treat me to a good meal!"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Okay, but it's so expensive outside! And I don't even know if the food they cook is clean. I'll cook something delicious for you when we get home. What do you want to eat? How about crayfish?"
Lu Shizhu's face turned pale: "No! I won't eat! I'm going to Yimanlou!"
"If you don't eat crayfish, how about I cook fish? How about grilled fish? The skin is crispy and the inside is tender. Or you could stew a fish with plenty of tofu and glass noodles, whichever you like."
Yes, you still like sweet and sour pork ribs, right? I'll make you a little more this time.
The teppanyaki grill I ordered arrived a while ago. I'll mix some meat with it when I get home, and we can grill some. Today, I'll cook you a big dish—sweet and sour pork. How about it?
Lu Shizhu, who had been stubbornly refusing to listen, secretly resolved that no matter what she said, he would not be fooled. He was determined to eat at Yi Man Lou.
But in the end, I couldn't help but ask, "What is sweet and sour pork? And what is roast meat?"
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "You'll see when we get back. I guarantee you'll eat much better at Manlou than you do. Let's go buy some meat first. We really should celebrate today."
The two strolled around the market, and the basket on Lü Shizhu's back was almost full.
Just as they were about to return to the village, they suddenly heard shouts coming from behind them.
"Madam Jiang! Madam Jiang! Please wait!"
Jiang Nuan subconsciously turned around and saw Hua Yue rushing towards them, waving from afar.
Hua Yue ran breathlessly, and when she arrived, she grabbed Jiang Nuanzhi's hand tightly: "My wife, I've been looking for you everywhere!"
Goodnight, my darlings
(End of this chapter)
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