Chapter 100 Business: Let my father be your slave?
Ji Shubai was not very willing for Song Jin to continue telling stories, especially the Water Margin. He regretted very much that he had lent her the book in the first place. Otherwise, with her brain and memory, she would most likely not be able to piece together all the stories of the characters in the book. It was just that he was soft-hearted at the first place, so he couldn't really blame her.
He thought that he had to find a way to get Song Jin to stop doing this.
Ji Shubai went back and thought for a long time about how to get Song Jin to stop doing this, and finally he came up with a solution.
There was a pot of jasmine on the incense table in the government office, but it had now withered, so the gardener came and replaced it with a pot of night-blooming jasmine that was in full bloom. Ji Shubai happened to see it and came up with an idea.
Isn't the old man in the Lu family a gardener? Giving him a gardening business would also be a source of income, and I can also ask Song Jin to stop his storytelling business.
At worst, I can teach other people in the shop a lesson. It's better than her cursing at people every night.
He did what he said, so on the day off, Ji Shubai waited for Song Jin to come to the old house.
Song Jin was very diligent. Knowing that Miss Pei was coming that day, he got up early in the morning to start making preparations.
Boiled chicken is indispensable. As July approaches, it is the time to eat pea pods, and Song Jin made an order with the vegetable farmers early on.
Pumpkins were in season, so I took some salted duck eggs with me.
The leeks and river shrimps are both plump. The stuffed bitter melon was prepared last night and has been cooled down with well water. Then there is the steamed sea bass.
Song Jin thought it was about enough, but then he changed his mind and thought that Ji Shubai should pay the bill.
Add more food!
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t finish the food, as long as she could get the money back. It wouldn’t be wasted anyway, so she added a few more meat dishes.
Everything was ready. Song Jin, accompanied by two servants, carried the things and went to the old house of the Ji family.
When people entered the yard, Song Jin looked around and didn't see any extra sedan chairs, so she knew that Miss Pei had not arrived yet. She went to the kitchen to soak the fresh fish and shrimps in water, and then went inside to look for Ji Shubai.
When Song Jin learned that Ji Shubai was in the study, he thought to himself: Old scholar, why don't you have any new tricks? This is so boring, no wonder he has nothing to say to the girl.
When the person entered the study, Song Jin smiled and bowed: "Master Ji, I am here to talk to you."
Ji Shubai was sitting behind the desk, reading a book in his hand. When he saw someone coming, he smiled brightly and was very happy. He was also happy.
"You've come just in time. I just wanted to talk to you."
He pointed to a seat at the bottom with the scroll and asked her to sit there.
"There are very few people coming to my old house. I don't have many servants at home. There is only one family member. The two of them are old and a little tired of taking care of it. Besides, there are many flowers and plants in my yard, and they are not good at it."
"I was thinking, didn't your father work as a gardener in the Bai family? I just happen to be short of someone here."
"Ah?" Song Jin jumped up in surprise: "Let my father be your slave?"
Then she would have worked in vain.
It is said that the life of women in the Ming Dynasty was not easy. Take Wen Ya for example. She was capable and rich, and had done nothing wrong. However, she could not inherit her husband's estate, nor her own family's estate, just because she was a woman.
Song Jin had long known that women had to depend on men to live.
So she dressed as a man at first, and later took her father away from the country. It would be of no use for her to go out alone, so she had to have a man by her side.
Song Jin chose his father.
If this father becomes Ji Shubai's slave, then all her work will be in vain.
"Just listen to what I have to say."
Song Jin was an impatient person. After hearing what Ji Shubai said, she sat down again.
"I need someone to take care of the house regularly. Since my own family members are not enough, I will hire an outsider instead of buying a slave."
"Oh, that's more like it."
Ji Shubai couldn't help but laugh when he heard her say "That's more like it": "Why, do you think I want to buy your father as a slave?"
"If my father becomes a slave, I will be finished too."
She could either find a man to be her spouse or have a son as her stepson. The best case scenario would be to dress up as a man and keep pretending.
Although it’s not much different from now, there is no way back, and we have to go this way.
"With this officer here, you won't be able to finish for the time being."
When Song Jin heard Ji Shubai's words, he couldn't help but feel nervous. It was indeed different being with a high-ranking official. He would feel more confident when going out in the future.
"Then I would like to thank you, Master Ji. Master Ji is like timely rain..."
"Don't," Ji Shubai couldn't help interrupting. Now he didn't want to be involved with Song Jiang at all: "I invited your father here, but there are conditions."
"What conditions?"
"You are not allowed to tell stories anymore."
Ji Shubai took one business in exchange for her cutting off another business. Song Jin quickly figured this out and couldn't help but tilt his head to think about it.
The result is simple. Which is more important, Ji Shubai, the backer or the storyteller? Any hesitation would be disrespectful to the fifth-rank official.
"My benefactor, please accept my humble respect."
Song Jin stood up, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply.
When Ji Shubai saw her like that, he knew it was the right thing to stop her. His words had a strong flavor of Water Margin.
"But, instead of talking about Water Margin, can we talk about something else?"
Song Jin started bargaining, and Ji Shubai couldn't help but sit up straight and become alert.
"What do you want to say? Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"
"No, no, no," Song Jin shook his head. "I'm not taking the exam for the top scholar. There are so many people in there, I have to sort them out based on their color. Besides, I don't like Zhuge Liang."
Ji Shubai took a deep breath and asked her why she was unhappy. He was mentally prepared to hear her scolding. He wanted to see how Song Jin would scold Mr. Wolong.
However, Song Jin thought it was better not to say anything. Not to mention saying bad things about Zhuge Liang in front of a civil official now, even those boastful men in later generations would not like to hear such words.
They will only say that you have poor vision, limited wisdom, and your thinking is too narrow.
She is all too familiar with this path of criticism.
"Anyway, I have plenty of stories. I'll tell them nicely without cursing."
Shakespeare, I'm sorry.
Song Jin thought, as long as she wanted to tell a story, she would never lack stories. At most, a few big guys would be suspected of plagiarism in the future.
"Are you talking about The West Chamber?" Telling love stories didn't seem to be Song Jin's hobby.
Unexpectedly, Song Jin thought about it seriously and asked, "Do you really think that the Xiangguo lady will fall in love with a scholar in white clothes?"
Ji Shubai chuckled and said, "I thought you were so great, but you are not as good as a matchmaker."
Just as Song Jin was about to argue, Qingshan came in with a message saying that Miss Pei had arrived.
She immediately forgot Ji Shubai's ridicule and stood up happily to greet him. Then she saw a girl in a goose yellow double-breasted bodice walked in. The moment she saw Song Jin, she felt a little surprised and a little delighted.
She bowed to Ji Shubai and then to Song Jin, so Song Jin naturally had to return the greeting.
Dressed in men's clothing, she returned the greeting, which embarrassed her. The girl couldn't help wanting to laugh, but she forced herself to hold it back and said softly, "What a coincidence."
"Unfortunately, Master Ji asked me to cook."
"That's right, she's talkative, you can chat."
Ji Shubai pushed the person to her with just one sentence. Song Jin was very happy, but the girl didn't understand why.
"We... chat?"
"She's often out and about, so she's well-informed. You won't be bored if she chats with you."
Song Jin thought that this was a compliment to her, and she smiled even more happily.
Miss Pei knew that this was an attempt to drive them away, and she felt a little disappointed, but she also felt that it was really unbearable for the two of them to sit there and waste time. Now that someone was accompanying her, she didn't say anything.
"Okay, that's hard for Miss Lu..."
Song Jin happily asked Miss Pei to leave so as not to disturb the nearsighted old scholar Ji Shubai who was reading a book.
The Ji family is not small. Song Jin asked Miss Pei to leave the study and walked straight to the small pavilion by the lake.
"Why did Miss Pei come here alone?" Song Jin didn't see any maid or wet nurse, so she thought there should be someone following her.
"The maid at home wanted to come with me, but I said that Brother Ji doesn't like crowds, so she didn't come."
Song Jin chuckled. This was true, but it was not certain whether it was used to please Ji Shubai.
"Do you like it here?"
"Here?" Pei Danyang glanced at the courtyard and said, "It's pretty good."
I was looking at the scenery, not the people. I didn't have any expectations of Ji Shubai when I came here.
Song Jin asked someone to sit down by the waterside pavilion and asked her to wait for a moment while he went to make her some milk tea.
Miss Pei wanted to follow out of curiosity, but was stopped by Song Jin.
"It's very hot in the kitchen. It's hard for you to go in wearing this."
Song Jin said goodbye to Pei Danyang and went straight to the kitchen to get her some food.
Boiling milk tea, steaming double skin milk, and scalding caramel pudding are all simple and familiar dishes, and do not require much effort. It didn't take long for her to make them. She took one portion to find Miss Pei herself, and asked Mother Chen to take the other portion to Ji Shubai.
Unexpectedly, when she arrived at the water pavilion, she didn't see the man.
Song Jin put down his things and looked around. When he found someone, he was shocked.
Wow, he's picking lotus flowers by the water.
Song Jin started to run. What if she fell down? She would have to be a hero to save the beauty.
"Miss Pei, Miss Pei," Song Jin called her back, "Let me help you fish it out."
Pei Danyang turned around and smiled sweetly: "Actually, I don't want lotus flowers, I just want to catch them."
Song Jin understood. Just like his past self, he didn't like eating wild vegetables, but he just liked to dig wild vegetables in spring.
Digging is fun, eating may not be.
I guess there is nothing to do for Miss Pei at home. If she wants lotus flowers, someone will help her get them, and I won't have the chance to do anything.
"We won't fish anymore. Come up and I'll make you something delicious."
Miss Pei didn't say anything else. She stood up and walked over along the narrow stone steps.
"Brother Ji said that you used to go out a lot and have seen a lot. Can you still tell me the story of Sawadee Ka today?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "I won't tell you about Sawadee Ka today. I will tell you a romantic story today."
Pei Danyang became excited and jumped up: "Okay, okay, tell me, I love to hear it. But what is Luo Mandik?"
"Well, it's about the same as the West Wing."
"Is it the love story between the daughter of the prime minister and the scholar in white? I have read it many times. I don't want to hear this today."
Song Jin smiled and said, "Let's change a general today. I'll tell you the story of Cinderella."
She had many stories, but she could only tell Pei Danyang very few of them, such as Water Margin.
The big knife was hacking around, cutting open the body and picking out the head from time to time. Miss Pei must have been terrified.
She didn't remember the entire Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but she estimated that Journey to the West would be published soon. Besides, she didn't want to talk about the most naive and innocent person in history with the best background and how he bullied the beautiful, strong and miserable people born in the lower class. When she first read it, she wanted to beat up Tang Seng.
Pei Danyang is really a good listener, with an infatuated look in his eyes and a smile on his lips.
Knowing that she was not a man, he no longer avoided her gaze, which made Song Jin's heart flutter. He only hated that he was not a man and could love her. He was so excited that he forgot the time to cook until Mother Chen came to remind her.
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