Chapter 127 Could it be that the house has been burgled?
Xie Liangchen naturally felt familiar with it, especially the older one; in a daze, he even thought he saw the Imperial Advisor.
I found the idea quite funny and shook my head noncommittally.
She ignored Afu and walked home on her own.
Afu hurried to catch up, but after taking only a few steps, he couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong with Zhao Yuniang today? She didn't wait for you at the village entrance. Young master, that woman is always cunning and sly. Our family has consumed much more grain than usual. When Jiang Pangya was in charge of the household affairs, she was much more frugal than her. We still need to be careful."
Xie Liangchen felt secretly distressed upon hearing this.
In the past, he would never have paid any attention to such a thing.
Unfortunately, his earlier paintings had mysteriously disappeared. Afu said they had gotten moldy at the bottom of a box, so Chuntao used them as kindling. Now that his hand was injured, he naturally couldn't paint to sell, and he was really struggling to make ends meet these days. He was even trying to split a single copper coin in half.
He knew the saying that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish," and since he had a large and prosperous family in the past, he naturally looked down on such trivial matters.
The people around him were just trying to make a quick buck, and as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he would turn a blind eye.
Of course, he didn't have much of a concept of money back then. But now that he's struggling financially, Xie Liangchen has naturally become more careful.
It's impossible to say she harbored no resentment towards Zhao Yuliang. Zhao Yuniang was two-faced; the money he gave her was quickly spent on herself. She fed him and Afu coarse grain cakes and wild vegetable dumplings every day. They hadn't seen any meat or oil in a long time.
However, he currently lacks capable assistants and genuinely has no money. He can only make do for now, and once his hand recovers, he can sell his paintings. At the very least, he can earn money by copying books for others.
He only needs to hold out until next year's preliminary examination. Once he passes that, he will have special privileges and won't have to be confined to the countryside any longer. At that time, he can buy a house in the county, and life will be much better.
Lost in thought, he and Afu entered the house one after the other.
But as soon as the two of them came in, they sensed something was wrong.
Normally, when Zhao Yuniang is at home, the chimney always emits some smoke, even when making pancakes, she needs to start a fire. Why is it so quiet today?
When they went into the house, they were stunned to see Zhao Yuniang lying on the heated kang.
"What...what's going on?!"
Ah Fu slapped his thigh: "Could it be that our house has been burgled?"
As he spoke, he immediately jogged into the small house, squatted down, and dug out a loose piece of brick.
After digging out the bricks and stones, he took out a money bag, patted it a couple of times, and then slowly exhaled: "Luckily, the money wasn't lost."
Before he could even catch his breath, he sensed something strange about the atmosphere and stiffly turned around to look.
Immediately afterwards, Xie Liangchen squinted at him dangerously.
Afu immediately hid the money bag behind his back: "Young Master... um... I..."
Xie Liangchen stepped forward and snatched the money bag away.
He frowned and opened the gray money bag, finding inside two ten-tael silver notes and some loose silver coins, totaling nearly twenty-five taels.
"Ha, so this is what you meant by having no money?" Xie Liangchen's voice was chillingly cold: "I had no idea you had been hiding so much money from me."
Ah Fu was filled with remorse and immediately slapped himself across the face.
This is the reward for all the hard work he's put in for serving the young master all these years!
From the time his home was confiscated until his exile, he had only hidden this much silver, and it was all taken away in one fell swoop!
Even though it hurt, he knew that the young master was really angry. His eyes rolled around, and the next second, he knelt down on the ground with a thud, crying and sniffling, "You don't know, this money is what I saved by not daring to eat or drink. I was thinking that if we, master and servant, encountered difficulties one day, I could use it to help you in an emergency."
Xie Liangchen asked suspiciously, "Really?"
Afu cried even more earnestly: "Of course it's true, young master, how can you not believe me? With all these years of friendship, would I do something as despicable as hiding silver behind your back? If it weren't true, why would I take out this silver in front of you?"
Xie Liangchen frowned slightly: "But I spent three copper coins to buy a meat bun during the day, and I even shared half with you. I'm so hungry that I'm dizzy now, and you didn't mention that you had any money."
Afu: "Young master, we're not at our wits' end yet, are we? We'll still have food to eat when we get back tonight, right? If we run out of our last penny, I'll definitely use this silver to help us out."
As she spoke, she stole a glance at Xie Liangchen's expression.
Xie Liangchen's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, but instead of giving the silver to Afu, he stuffed it into his own pocket.
After thinking for a moment, he opened the silver pouch again, took out two taels of silver from it, and handed it over.
Before Afu could even feel happy, Xie Liangchen said, "Go and invite Jiang Pangya over."
Afu was taken aback: "Jiang Pangya?"
Then, Afu nodded knowingly: "If we can bring Jiang Pangya back, then these two taels of silver won't be a loss. She can earn money and help us supplement our household income. These two people at home really need to be taken care of."
Then he added, "But young master, to get her to come back willingly, I'm afraid you'll need to go. She really doesn't like me, and if I go, I might even get beaten up."
Xie Liangchen frowned: "What are you thinking about? I wanted to invite her over to take a look at Chun Tao and the others' illnesses. We can't let them stay sick like this forever."
Zhao Yuniang, who was lying on the heated kang, was covered in sweat. Even though she couldn't make a sound, the pain on her face seemed genuine.
Chun Tao is feeling a little better, but after lying in bed for so long, she still can't sit up. She really should get a checkup.
Ah Fu was extremely dissatisfied: "Young Master! You're going to spend two taels of silver to hire a doctor for these two wretches? Do they even deserve it?"
Xie Liangchen frowned: "What are you shouting about? We live under the same roof, how can you just stand by and watch someone die? Just go when I tell you to. Besides, my hand is still injured, and I want her to see me one more time. You should properly invite her over, and don't be as rude and presumptuous as before."
Even though Afu was unwilling to give the money to these lowly women, he had no other choice.
Both of them are now bedridden and unable to move, so wouldn't he have to do all the housework? In the end, he agreed, took the money, and went out.
"etc."
Xie Liangchen suddenly stood up and took the silver back: "I'll go with you."
When they arrived at Jiang Nuan's house, Jiang Nuan was cooking.
Ping'er has returned.
The large iron pot is already simmering with fragrant pork ribs.
The barbecue grill has been set up, and the pork has been mixed.
At that moment, Jiang Nuanzhi was chopping ingredients.
Lu Shizhu helped peel garlic. The waiter helped tend the fire.
The others, who didn't want Xie Liangchen to see them, went inside the house to hide.
Upon seeing Xie Liangchen approaching, Xiao Baozhu immediately frowned in disgust, but remembering that he had helped her once before, she managed to hold back and simply took a few steps back to keep her distance.
Li Junping had just finished washing his face, and his eyes darted back and forth between Xie Liangchen and his own Anuan. A hint of wariness flickered in his eyes, and his little fists clenched tightly.
(End of this chapter)
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