"Pretty much. No official is immune to corruption; it's just a matter of how much or how little they are greedy."
What she said might make some sense.
If all officials were honest and upright, then the entire country would be filled with upright judges like Bao Zheng.
He nodded solemnly.
"Perhaps what you say makes sense, but I believe that the censor sent by the Emperor this time is definitely not a corrupt official. If he is indeed a corrupt official, then we will investigate and punish him as well."
He has the right to say that.
She turned around, looked up at him, and touched her forehead.
"I can't control what you do here, but please don't bother me and Yiming."
"Zhiwan, Yiming is my biological son. I don't want to take him away, nor do I want to disturb your lives. I just want to be closer to him, see him more, and spend more time with him. Even if it's just interacting with you like ordinary friends, please don't restrict us, okay?"
His tone suddenly softened, which made her feel a little sorry for him.
Seeing that the facts were already laid out before her, she couldn't very well lock Yiming up and prevent him from going out.
She nodded, looking rather helpless.
"Okay, you can see Yiming, but you can't tell him the truth, you can't let him call you 'Dad,' and you can't even think about taking him away. Not even once. If you can't do that, we'll move immediately."
"I can do it."
He had finally gained a foothold here, and finally found them; he couldn't let them get away again.
"Zhiwan, don't worry, from now on we'll just be ordinary neighbors, and Yiming will just be the neighbor's kid. Is that alright?"
She nodded in satisfaction.
"If that's how you put it, then that's great. I wish you booming business."
Having left those words behind, he was just about to turn and leave when Zhuang Xiaomei walked in, carrying a large abacus. Before she even entered the room, she began to shout.
"Young Master Chu, I heard your shop opened today, so I've come to congratulate you..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw Zhiwan walking out of the house, and her smile immediately froze on her face.
"Luo Zhiwan, aren't you a doctor? What are you doing here?"
Zhiwan frowned disdainfully.
"You're still Miss Zhuang, what are you doing here?"
"I... I'm friends with Young Master Chu. He's opening a shop, and I came to give him a gift. You came empty-handed?"
A friend? A gift?
When did Leng Chuchen become friends with her?
Looking at the large abacus in her hand, she immediately felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"Miss Zhuang, you're so kind. Please continue your conversation. Goodbye."
“Zhiwan…”
Leng Chuchen tried to call out to her, but Zhuang Xiaomei grabbed her arm.
"Young Master Chu, you haven't seen the gift I gave you yet."
This Zhuang Xiaomei, she inexplicably sent me an abacus, it's really funny.
Did she think his fabric shop was doing very well?
However, he still nodded and thanked him.
"Thank you, Miss Zhuang."
"Call me Xiaomei..."
"I'm not used to calling you that."
"Okay, call it whatever you like. By the way, today is your first day of business, how can you not have customers? I've already told my girlfriends that they'll be coming to your place later."
Hearing this, Leng Chuchen suddenly felt that she had gone to unnecessary lengths.
He didn't open this shop to make money; he just wanted to be closer to the Luo family's pharmacy.
Just as he was about to raise his hand to stop them, three women suddenly rushed in through the doorway, each followed by a maid.
Seeing this, Zhuang Xiaomei shoved the abacus in her hand into Leng Chuchen's hands and hurried over to greet her.
“Young Master Chu, these ladies of mine are all daughters of wealthy families, and they have very discerning tastes. Please help them choose some styles.”
Leng Chuchen frowned, then let out a shout that was both funny and exasperating.
"Pingping, Xiaoke, didn't you see we have guests coming in?"
Hu Ke and Li Ping had never done business before, and seeing these chattering women, they were completely dumbfounded and at a loss.
Seeing the three grown men standing there dumbfounded, Zhuang Xiaomei simply went behind the counter and helped the three girls choose some items.
Seeing this, Leng Chuchen directly reminded Hu Ke and Li Ping:
"You two good-for-nothings, you blush when you see a girl, can't you be a little more dignified?"
Li Ping scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassed.
"Young master, who knows what they want? They're chattering away like a bunch of sparrows, it's driving me crazy."
Hu Ke echoed in a low voice,
"Exactly! These hands of ours have only ever learned how to wield swords and knives, not how to use an abacus or do business! You're forcing us into this!"
"Don't you know how to learn?"
He glared at them, annoyed.
"We should do what we're supposed to do properly. Let's hurry over there and leave Zhuang Xiaomei busy there. What kind of situation is that?"
Under his coercion, Hu Ke and Li Ping finally went to meet him.
Upon seeing the two of them, the three young ladies from wealthy families immediately covered their mouths and chuckled.
This scene left Hu Ke and Li Ping even more bewildered.
Zhuang Xiaomei then directly greeted him:
"Miss Su wants this and this, Miss Li wants this and this, Miss Wang wants this pattern, let's settle the bill quickly!"
These two men, who had never done business before, were forced into starting a business.
The two of them, one clumsily tearing cloth for the other, the other fiddling with abacus beads.
Seeing this, Miss Su whispered to Zhuang Xiaomei:
"Are they business people? Their hands seem clumsy than their feet to me."
"Of course it is! Didn't you see the shopkeeper? He looks like a respectable businessman."
Following her gaze, the three girls looked in the direction where Leng Chuchen was.
At that moment, he was sitting in a chair by the window, his posture upright, his brows slightly furrowed. His appearance immediately amazed the three girls.
The girl surnamed Su was the first to speak, her mouth watering.
"Xiaomei, he's really handsome. Do you know if he's married?"
Zhuang Xiaomei glared at her, annoyed.
"I told you to come and buy fabric, why are you bothering whether the man is married or not? Turn your heads back."
Only after her insistence did the three girls reluctantly turn their heads away.
Zhuang Xiaomei reminded again,
"Let me tell you, don't even think about him, he's mine."
Hearing her say that, the three girls suddenly realized what was going on.
"No wonder you insisted we come here to buy fabric; you had ulterior motives all along!"
"Xiaomei, you have excellent taste! That young man is truly handsome and dashing, as good-looking as Pan An!"
"That's right, that's right. Not only is that young master handsome, but these two waiters are also good-looking. They're from the capital, so they're definitely different from the men in our small town."
Of the three girls, Ms. Wang, who was more clear-headed, offered a reminder:
"No matter how good-looking he is, he's just a waiter. What future can he have? Stop whining and grab the fabric and get out of here!"
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