Chapter 334: Debt Repayment

After seeing off the people from Tanjiazhuang, Dou Zhao breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Mo didn't come back until the afternoon.

She told him the purpose of Mrs. Tan's visit and asked him jokingly, "What have you done to make the Tan family come all the way from Zhending to Kyoto to make their position clear to you?"

Song Mo was helpless and said, "The Tan family is worrying too much. Not to mention that they have helped me in my time of need, I will not provoke them for no reason, given their extraordinary status in the martial arts world."

Dou Zhao couldn't help but look around and saw that the maids and wives had all gone out. He asked quietly, "Child, what does Fifth Uncle have planned?"

He is his only son. Is he going to be raised in Tan's village forever?

Song Mo showed some reluctance in his eyes, and whispered: "This is what Fifth Uncle meant. He said that even if the Jiang family is calm for a while, there will always be a day of turmoil, and no one knows what will happen in the future. Since the child was able to turn danger into safety, that is his fate, so don't get involved, it can also be regarded as leaving a bloodline for the Jiang family."

Dou Zhao remained silent.

From what Jiang Bosun said, it seems that he has made plans for the future of the Jiang family. I hope he is not just an armchair talker and can lead the Jiang family out of the trough.

Women with children are particularly prone to sympathize with children. Song Mo thought Dou Zhao was worried about the child's rough fate, so he comforted her softly: "A blessing in disguise? The Jiang family is still in a very difficult situation now. It's safer for the child to stay in Tan's manor." He added, "Didn't you say that you can't be too happy or too sad now? Let's not think about these things. After dinner, I'll play chess with you."

Dou Zhao felt much better after hearing this and asked with a smile, "Is Gu Yu gone?"

"Yeah!" Song Mo responded, holding Dou Zhao's shoulders and entering the inner room, "I sent him out of Anding Gate, and he will be back before the New Year's Eve." Then he told her some stories about the farewell to cheer her up.

Du Wei sent a servant to reply to Song Mo: "...the five pomegranate ornaments were originally heirlooms from the family of Chen Zuxun, Chen Jia's deceased godfather. After Chen Zuxun's death, the Chen family lost their jobs, and their son died of shock. Only Chen Zuxun's old wife, daughter-in-law and a little grandson were left to live. In addition, former Jinyiwei people often came to beg for money, and the family's financial situation became increasingly difficult. After Chen Jia was promoted to assistant magistrate of the town's Fusi, he helped support the Chen family. Later, when he wanted to give a gift, he couldn't get the money. When Chen Zuxun's old wife found out, she gave him these pomegranate ornaments."

All the Jinyiwei who are capable of taking charge are wealthy.

Chen Jia had been unsuccessful in the Jinyiwei for the past few years and was almost dismissed. He had spent all the money he had earned from following Chen Zuxun by making connections. Although Song Mo spoke for him in front of Wang Yuan later, he had to pay for the money to curry favor with his superiors and make friends with his colleagues. It was not surprising that he was now penniless.

Dou Zhao pondered and said, "I wonder if the Chen family gave it up willingly or was forced to do so?"

"I think he gave it out willingly." The servant said with a smile, "The Chen family now treats Chen Jia as their own son, and they hope that he can help their grandson support the family!"

Song Mo was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then asked, "How much money does Chen Jia owe?"

The servant was shocked and asked in a lost voice, "How did the prince know that Chen Jia owed a lot of money outside?"

Song Mo has been in a very good mood since he knew that Dou Zhao might be pregnant. He didn't take it as an offense and said, "I don't know yet. Although the Chen family has fallen into decline, Chen Zuxun was once a thousand households in the Zhenfu Division. Even if there are former colleagues who take advantage of the situation, it is not possible to do anything too extreme under the emperor's feet and in a peaceful and prosperous era. The Chen family still has some foundation. Since the Chen family is counting on Chen Jia to support their grandson, if one suffers, all suffer, and if one prospers, all prosper. If Chen Jia can make a name for himself, the Chen family will be able to keep the family business. If Chen Jia falls, If the Chen family knew that Chen Jia would fall sooner or later, they would naturally support Chen Jia with all their strength. Now, the Chen family could only help Chen Jia financially. Chen Jia had been living off his savings for the past few years, and his house was rented out. It was clear how poor his family was. How could the Chen family not support him financially? But he couldn't even give money as a gift, which showed that the hole was too big for the Chen family to fill. "Speaking of this, he smiled faintly with a slight smile on his face, "In that case, I will pay off his debt for him! Just consider it as the money to buy his five pomegranate ornaments."

The servant opened his mouth wide.

Dou Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Do you like this pomegranate ornament so much?"

Song Mo looked at Dou Zhao and smiled, "This pomegranate ornament was delivered at the right time. How could I not like it?"

Dou Zhao's face suddenly turned red.

Song Mo had already called Chen He in: "Go to the accounting office to withdraw money and pay off all the debts owed by Chen Jia."

Chen He should answer “yes”.

The servant couldn't help but muttered: "Chen Jia owes more than 20,000 taels of silver..."

Dou Zhao was shocked and asked, "How could I owe so much?"

Song Mo didn't even frown, and told Chen He calmly, "Go to the cashier's office and withdraw the money!"

The servant shuddered, bowed respectfully to Song Mo, and retreated with Chen He.

Song Mo then stepped forward and hugged Dou Zhao, leaning on the big pillow, and whispered, "This Chen Jia is very good at dealing with things. It is expected that he owes 20,000 or 30,000 taels of silver." Then he teased her and said with a smile, "According to my original estimate, he must owe at least 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver. Who knew that he only owed 20,000 taels of silver? It shows that his foundation is still too weak. Even the loan sharks dare not lend him more. I wonder if his credit will be better after I help him pay off his debt this time, and it will be easier for him to borrow money in the future?"

Dou Zhao couldn't help laughing and said, "I don't know whether you are helping him or harming him by doing this?"

"Who cares?" Song Mo said indifferently, "Even if they are his parents, they can't be with him all his life. If he encounters something in the future, he won't think about how to solve it himself. What does it have to do with me?"

That's true.

Dou Zhao pursed his lips and smiled.

Song Mo said, "I will go to Daxiangguo Temple early tomorrow morning and ask the abbot of Daxiang Temple to bless this pomegranate ornament. Then I will put it at the head of our bed. It is said that this will bring more children and more blessings." As he said that, he reached his hand into Dou Zhao's clothes, rested on her belly and began to caress it carefully. "When will we have a definite answer? I can also ask my aunt to come and take care of you." He looked so impatient that Dou Zhao laughed again.

※※※※※

Chen Jia looked at the twenty-two thousand taels of silver that Chen He brought him, his face looking as gloomy as if it was going to rain.

Hu Zi didn't notice it and counted the box full of banknotes again.

"Brother Chen, it's really 22,000 silver notes, not a cent less!" He couldn't help but be so happy, and said to Chen Jia happily, "We can pay off our foreign debts, and we can also buy back the house we lived in before, and we don't have to worry about those people who lend money at high interest..." Halfway through his words, he saw Chen Jia's gloomy face, and he couldn't help but be surprised, and his voice gradually dropped, "What's wrong? Brother Chen, is there something wrong with this banknote? This banknote was sent by Master Chen who is next to the Prince of England. I have carefully checked it, and none of them are fake, and Master Chen also said that if there is anything in the future, you can just go to him directly. We have finally made it through, and we are about to have a good life. Why are you unhappy?"

Chen Jiazheng was impatient. Hearing Hu Zi's simple and naive words, he immediately lost his temper: "You are stupid! They sent a banknote of 20,000 taels of silver, which means they treat this as a business and the payment will be made upon delivery. They told me to go to Chen He if I have anything to do, which means I should go to the Duke of Ying less often in the future... What good life is this? What is a small assistant of the Jinyiwei Town Pursuit Division? It's all about a word from others! Who knows when someone will target you and you will have to make way for them?"

Hu Zi was dumbfounded and said, "Well, what should we do? Return the 20,000 taels of silver?"

Twenty thousand taels, not two thousand taels. Even if they take bribes, it will take at least three to five years!

He couldn't help but mutter, "But we have to go back!"

Chen Jia was walking around the room angrily, and when he heard someone shout "that's enough", his face looked very ugly.

Hu Zi couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.

Chen Jia felt short of breath and chest tightness, so he simply opened the window.

Cold air poured in.

He couldn't help but shudder, but his mind became much clearer.

After meeting the wife of the Duke of Yingguo's son, he was immediately promoted to assistant to the town's magistrate. Not only his colleagues, but even his superior's superior's superior Shi Chuan called him over and said pointedly, "You kid, you have such a good relationship with the Duke of Yingguo's son, but you hid it from me. If the son hadn't personally spoken for you this time, I wouldn't have known about it!"

He immediately felt that his wife's words were extremely useful.

After leaving the Jinyiwei Yamen, he thought that his wife would marry into the Duke of Yingguo's mansion, and the most important thing she would care about was probably having children and expanding the Duke of Yingguo's mansion as soon as possible. He walked almost every street and alley in Kyoto, and only then did he find the five pomegranate ornaments that symbolized fertility and good fortune in the Chen family... In a blink of an eye, he won a reward of 20,000 taels of silver, and all his foreign debts were gone!

In the final analysis, he was able to achieve what he has today and turn his life around, all because he chose the right path and found the right people.

If I can please the lady... No, to please the lady, I have to often walk around in front of her. There are differences between men and women. The Duke may not like him, and the lady may not meet him... I have to find a way to help the lady... And I have to do it in a way that makes the lady feel comfortable. I feel that except for him, no one else can do it well, and even if they can do it well, they can't do it as fast as him...

He started walking around the room again.

Lady of the British Crown Prince, what are you missing now?

This line must not be broken!

※※※※※

What does Dou Zhao lack the most?

She felt that what she lacked most now was a maid who could satisfy her.

Su Xin blushed and said, "How about we wait two years before we talk about my affairs? Anyway, Manager Zhao has to follow Manager Zhong to inspect the businesses under your name these days, so he won't have time for a while..."

"How does his going to inspect my business conflict with your marriage? Do all those businessmen not want to get married?" Dou Zhao said with a smile, "Don't let your imagination run wild. Your marriage will be arranged by Mr. Chen and Master Duan. You two just need one to be the groom and the other to be the bride."

Su Xin was embarrassed and muttered something with her head down. Dou Zhao didn't hear a word clearly, but she felt very relieved to see Su Xin with such girlish shyness - Su Xin, she must be looking forward to marrying Zhao Liangbi!