Chapter 66 Trying to renege on the debt?
Jiang Nuanzhi frowned as she looked at the suspicious blush on his face and took his pulse again: "Why is your pulse so fast? Are you very hot?"
Reaching out to check under his bedding, although there had been quite a few fires today, Li Rong had been moved to the end of the kang (heated brick bed), so he shouldn't be too hot.
None of these are the reasons. There can only be one: he was so excited because he earned an extra hundred taels of silver. Jiang Nuanzhi patted him on the shoulder.
"You've been living such a miserable life before, and you're so excited about a hundred taels of silver. Don't worry, I'll take care of you and make sure you live a life of luxury from now on."
Li Rong: "."
What did she mean by that?
Lu Zhong was stunned. Did this mean they had a very good relationship?
He had always thought that his family's general could marry even a princess. He never imagined his future sister-in-law would be like this. He felt a pang of sadness.
"Grandmaster, are you inside?"
Just then, a sound was heard coming from outside the door.
The group went outside and saw a young man in red robes and with black hair standing there. Upon seeing the Divine Physician Que, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed: "Grandmaster, you really are here!"
The magpie doctor glanced at her with displeasure: "Sanqi, how did you find your way here? You really never have a peaceful day!"
"My goodness, this time it really is something important!"
After saying that, she pulled him aside and whispered something in his ear. It was obvious to the naked eye that Doctor Que's expression was getting worse and worse.
Upon hearing this, he snorted coldly, "He's just too much trouble."
At that moment, he could only step forward and give Jiang Nuanzhi some instructions:
"Girl, I have something to attend to today, so I'll head back first thing tomorrow morning. Shall we have your old iron pot stewed fish again?"
Jiang Nuanzhi was both amused and exasperated: "Isn't it a bit greasy to eat this so early in the morning?"
"Not greasy at all! Prepare it for tomorrow. Don't worry, I definitely won't let you cook for nothing; I'll pay for the meal."
Jiang Nuanzhi found it amusing: "That won't be necessary. I can easily treat you to a meal. If you're busy, you can go back first. See you tomorrow."
The magpie doctor nodded: "Then you must remember to make that fish for me tomorrow."
Don't worry.
As he spoke, the old man repeatedly looked back as he boarded the carriage.
Watching the carriage depart, Lu Zhong came to his senses: "In that case, sister-in-law, I'll be going now?"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Wait a minute."
As he spoke, he went into the house and put away the ten taels of silver he had given to the children, along with the one and a half taels of silver that Lu Zhong had given her.
After thinking for a moment, I took another ounce and put it in the package, and gave it to him as well.
Lu Zhong, however, refused to accept it no matter what.
Jiang Nuanzhi shoved it directly into his arms.
"The money you gave me before is all here, and I've added an extra tael for your travel expenses. Keep it. Don't be too frugal; your brother isn't that short of money."
As Lu Zhong held the bag of silver, his eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.
He turned his face away and said, "I'm a grown man, unmarried, and a government official. How could I be short of money? You can keep this money, sister-in-law."
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "Then save it to marry the girl you love. We don't need that much right now. We've only earned a hundred taels, haven't we? If we really need money later, we can ask you for it."
Lu Zhong paused for a moment, put away the silver, and then suddenly laughed, "Sister-in-law, since you've already earned a hundred taels, why don't you give me fifty taels? Doctor Que will be coming again tomorrow, and then I'll cooperate with you, and we'll set up a scheme to swindle more of his silver?"
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "Get out, get out without stopping."
Lu Zhong: "...Okay."
In the past, he had always seen strategists smiling and conspiring with others to swindle money, so why did it not work on him?
After sending both Buddha statues away, Jiang Nuanzhi returned home and started counting her silver.
All things added up, it amounted to more than eighteen taels and a half strings of cash.
Xiao Baozhu watched Jiang Nuanzhi take out her little golden dog and put it on the table.
Li Xiaoer also took out the dozen or so coins that Jiang Nuanzhi had given him earlier.
Li Junping pursed his lips, staring at the silver without saying a word.
"In that case, with the hundred taels I earned today, we can not only bring Xinbo back, but also have enough money for Ping'er to go to school."
As Jiang Nuanzhi spoke, she returned Xiao Baozhu's little golden dog to her and gave her five coins.
The waiter returned the dozen or so coins to him and also gave him an extra five coins.
When they got to Li Junping, they simply counted out twenty coins for him.
"Ah Nuan, what is this?" Li Xiaoer stared blankly at the money in his hand.
"This is the allowance I'm giving you this month. Keep it safe. If you want to buy anything you like, just tell me and I'll go to the county to buy it for you."
"I'm rich now! Brother!" Little Baozhu held the copper coin with great delight, then suddenly asked, as if she had just remembered something, "Mother, we all have silver, does Father have any?"
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at Li Rong, who was lying there with his eyes wide open: "Yes, your father also has some, but he is not in good health right now, so his mother will temporarily keep his money."
As Jiang Nuanzhi spoke, she took out ten taels from a pile of silver and said, "Ping'er will use these ten taels for the school. We need to set aside some of the remaining silver to buy seeds. It's almost time for farming, and we still have a piece of land. I plan to start planting there."
"Really?! That's wonderful!" Li Xiaoer clapped his hands excitedly, his eyes slightly reddening, and said, "We can grow our own food now!"
Seeing Jiang Nuanzhi looking at Xiao Er with some confusion, Li Junping lowered his eyes and said, "In the past, we would stay in one place with Father for no more than half a year, so naturally we would not grow grain. This time, the land was given as a gift when we bought the house. Xiao Er likes it very much and goes to check on the land every now and then."
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded: "I see. Then we won't leave anymore."
Upon hearing this, Li Junping frowned: "No, our whereabouts have been exposed. Father used to move us every six months. Once we bring Grandpa Xin back, we must hurry up and move to avoid attracting trouble."
Jiang Nuanzhi looked at him with a strange expression: "You've moved so many times, haven't you caused enough trouble?"
These words successfully left Li Junping speechless.
Li Rong, who had initially agreed with the statement, was visibly shaken upon hearing it.
Jiang Nuanzhi: "I think the worst that can happen is right now. Instead of hiding your whole life, you might as well face the challenge head-on. They may bully and suppress you, but you must prove yourself. I believe that one day they will welcome you back to the capital with great fanfare."
As she spoke, she patted Li Junping's head. Ping'er was eight years old this year. The book described him as the youngest top scholar in history, passing the imperial examination at the tender age of fifteen. There were still seven years to go.
Li Junping clenched his fists tightly, and finally pursed his lips and said, "I...I can't."
"You can do it, you definitely can."
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled gently and did not continue the topic.
Instead, she picked up the clothes that Aunt Wang had helped her cut earlier, intending to hurry up and finish making them.
Li Junping had almost finished sewing the waiter's clothes, only the finishing touches remained. So he let him continue.
Jiang Nuanzhi then picked up Li Junping's clothes to sew. She didn't know how to sew, but she often sewed up skin and flesh for people, so her needlework was particularly sturdy when used to sew clothes.
Nothing was said that night.
The next morning, remembering Doctor Que's instructions, Jiang Nuanzhi stewed a fish after finishing her chores. Thinking of the hundred taels of silver he had spent, she specially added a handful of mint leaves, remembering that the old man had said he liked them.
But after waiting and waiting, no one showed up. In the end, they finished the food with the children.
By noon, still no one had arrived. Jiang Nuanzhi thought for a moment and then stewed the remaining fish. But still, no one came.
In the evening, several people sat together grinding medicinal herbs.
The waiter couldn't help but ask, "Ah Nuan, have you been scammed?"
Li Junping was also deeply worried: "One hundred taels of silver, is he trying to renege on the debt? Ah Nuan, did you make him write down the words yesterday?"
Jiang Nuanzhi shook her head: "No."
She left in such a hurry that she hadn't even thought of it. But surely he wouldn't hold back his hundred taels of silver?
However, for three consecutive days, the miracle doctor seemed to have vanished without a trace, and there was no news of him at all.
Jiang Nuanzhi: I'm panicking.
Li Rong: I'm not worried, it won't end up in my hands anyway.
(End of this chapter)
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