Chapter 170 Gifts or Extortion
After delivering the goods, Lu Qiniang returned to the stall.
Seeing that Erya had not returned from buying the bronze mirror, she went there too.
"Mom, everything I like is expensive, and I don't like the cheap ones." Erya said distressedly.
“How much can it be expensive?”
"It's one or two taels of silver more expensive! Didn't you say that it would cost two taels of silver at most?" Erya said.
"Three taels is enough." Lu Qiniang thought for a moment and said, "I'll have to rely on him for care in the future."
Shunzi is now very successful and is in charge of the entire canal currency exchange.
Even the wife he is going to marry now is a daughter of an official family. Although I heard that she is the daughter of a seventh-rank official, it doesn't make the same difference.
"If it doesn't matter a tael, then mother, can you buy us this small one?"
Erya was holding a bronze mirror with a lotus pattern in her hand and was reluctant to put it down.
Seeing that Lu Qi's mother was about to curse, she rolled her eyes and said, "Look, I haven't bought anything for a long time. I won't spend any money for the next two months, and I don't want new clothes. And I will use them with my eldest sister and third sister. I promise not to monopolize them. Mother, mother, please buy them for me——"
Lu Qi Niang had no way to resist her and could only pretend to be tough: "I tell you, in the next two months, if you spend another penny on me, I will beat you up!"
"I can't bear to hit such a beautiful daughter," the shop assistant said with a smile. "Buy both mirrors, big and small, and I'll give you a silk flower as a gift."
"Four!" Erya said, "My mother and I, three sisters, each got one."
"Our small shop has little profit, it really is..." The clerk looked embarrassed.
"Don't lie! This bronze mirror in my hand is so thin! You're going to make eight cents on one ounce of silver, and I haven't even bargained with you. Four for me, four for you!"
"My dear, a silk flower costs a hundred coins! I can't give it to you, I really can't."
After some bargaining, they only gave me two.
Erya muttered, "How do we divide this?"
Lu Qiniang pulled out the bag she had prepared long ago from her sleeve, wrapped up the bronze mirror, and said as she walked out, "I don't care. I don't want it anyway."
"I'll go back and talk to San Ya and give her my candy so she doesn't want any more."
"Where did you get the candy?"
Erya: "...Mom, my elder sister is busy over there. I'll go help her first."
After saying that, she ran away.
Lu Qiniang cursed behind her back, "Wait until I get back."
She was particularly worried that Erya would be lured away by small favors, so she kept a close eye on Erya's things.
Although I always hope that my child will suffer less or no hardship in her life, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
In a family like theirs, children should be aware of their family circumstances and know that the meat buns used to beat dogs are definitely poisonous.
However, Lu Qiniang felt that most of the candy Erya received was given to her by Yun Ting.
Yun Ting would share any delicious food at home, and most of the time he was tricked into coming by Erya.
Lu Qiniang was afraid that others would see her giving Sun Shun a gift, which would be disrespectful to Sun Shun, so she wrapped up the bronze mirror.
She didn't know that she had been targeted.
After arriving at the bank, Sun Shun was very polite when he saw her coming. He invited her into his private study and asked someone to serve her tea.
Lu Qiniang stood at the door, looking at his study, "Why has it changed so much? It's completely different from the last time I came."
Looking at the terrazzo floor inside, which was so clean that it seemed to reflect a person's reflection, she rubbed the mud on the soles of her shoes at the door.
A whole row of rosewood shelves on the west wall were filled with blue cloth-covered notebooks, each fastened with brass clips, giving it a very impressive appearance.
Under the east window, a whole pile of boat guides with red stamps were weighed down by a bronze tiger paperweight. Next to it was a plum vase, and I was afraid it would break if I looked at it for too long, which would be a waste of money.
There was a carpet under the desk, and Lu Qiniang couldn't help but think how easy it would get dirty.
"Come in quickly." Sun Shun said, "Come and sit down."
Lu Qiniang held the bronze mirror and said with a simple smile, "Shunzi, you have done such a good job here that I dare not even enter. Come, I'll give you the things and I won't go in."
Sun Shunqiang pulled her in and sat her down on the chair.
The open windows faced the dock, offering a panoramic view of the bustling scene.
Lu Qiniang reached out and touched the big red gold-woven cushion under her butt, feeling a little uneasy.
After Sun Shun heard her explanation of her purpose, he accepted her gift and said, "It's not easy for you to make money. Don't spend money like this in the future."
"Getting married is a big deal. We've been neighbors for many years, so it's only natural." Lu Qiniang smiled. "Look, you know, I'm always busy setting up shop. So I won't be there on the wedding day. I wish you and your wife a happy marriage and a son soon... I'm not very good with words, but anyway, just live your life well."
She actually felt a little regretful that she shouldn't have bought the bronze mirror.
Judging from the appearance of Sun Shun's study, his home must be similar. This three-pound bronze mirror would look shabby if placed on the table and would be in the way if placed in the corner.
Never mind, he might as well keep it as a reward for others, Lu Qiniang comforted herself.
Sun Shun nodded.
He knew that Lu Qiniang was avoiding Zhang Heyao.
"Then you go ahead and get busy. I'm leaving too." Lu Qiniang stood up and said.
She felt out of place here, and with so many people coming and going in the bank, she felt cramped.
"Wait, Qi Niang." Sun Shun walked behind his desk and took out a few brocade boxes from underneath and gave them to her. "These are gifts from others. There are sea cucumbers, dried abalone, and some other supplements. I didn't look closely. Take them all back. My grandmother is always worried about your previous illness..."
"Sea cucumber and dried abalone? That's too expensive. I can't have it."
"It's okay, someone gave it to me. I can't finish it, you can take it back."
"People always give you gifts." Lu Qiniang hesitated for a moment. Knowing that this would not please people, she still said stubbornly, "Shunzi, this, this can you accept?"
She felt hot.
Sun Shun smiled. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It's just some food. If I can't even accept it, who would want to be an official? Is it just for the twenty taels of salary every month?"
"Can you really do it?" Lu Qiniang didn't expect him to be so incorruptible that he wouldn't accept a single needle, but she was worried. "Shunzi, I'm going to say something you might not like. We come from poor families, so we might not have anyone to guide us when we become officials. You should learn from others, but don't let them cheat you. You might lose the big picture while gaining sesame seeds. You paid for this official position with your life."
"Yeah, I know." Sun Shun said with a smile.
"Okay, then you get busy."
Lu Qiniang went out with a bunch of brocade boxes in her arms, thinking that these people were not here to give gifts, but to ask for something for free.
Why.
This favor must be repaid in the future.
After she returned, she secretly opened the brocade boxes behind the stall and looked at them with Daya.
Fortunately, I had seen them before at Zhou Mansion, so I could still distinguish between sea cucumber and abalone. There were also some scallops and a box of bird's nest.
"How much does this cost?" Lu Qiniang said, "This favor is really huge."
Erya said, "Just accept it. What about all the things you saved from your own mouths and gave to his grandmother during the years he was 'dead'?"
"That's not worth much."
"It's all a token of my love," Erya said. "It came out from between his fingers. If you don't accept it, he'll still remember that he owes you a favor!"
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