Chapter 136 Fighting Spirit "...I don't want to go home."...
Faced with Ji Shubai's plea, Song Jin knew that there was no one more suitable than him, so he did not continue to refuse. He just said softly, "You hurt my hand," and Ji Shubai let go.
The two have reached a strange tacit understanding.
"Would you like to have dinner with me here?"
"I'm not hungry."
"But I'm hungry."
Ji Shubai's voice was low, as if he was pleading. Song Jin sighed in his heart, this man was becoming more and more shameless.
"Even if you're not hungry, you still have to discuss with me how to help Hong Xing, right?"
It was winter and the two of them could not have their meal in the garden, so Ji Shubai led Song Jin into a living room. When the servant lifted the door curtain, the aroma of food and hot air came in. The Chai couple were already sitting inside.
Surrounded by public opinion, Song Jin was timid for a moment and stood at the door, not knowing whether to go in or retreat.
"Come in quickly, we are not outsiders. If you stand at the door any longer, the food will get cold."
Mrs. Chai's friendly appearance made Song Jin feel much more comfortable, and he followed Ji Shubai into the house.
The four of them sat around the table. Song Jin observed the atmosphere at the table. Compared with the previous banquets for the prefect and the censor, this one was more like a family dinner. No one mentioned the gossip between Song Jin and Ji Shubai. Instead, Madam Chai asked her if she was feeling better recently, if she still needed any medicine, and if she had any new plans now that spring was coming.
Song Jin then told them everything. He was feeling much better now and had no shortage of medicinal herbs. He had already asked his employees to plant the land. They would be back when they were done and the shop would be reopened.
Mrs. Chai agreed repeatedly and said that she would bring her over to teach Baobao after the rumors died down.
Song Jin thanked him verbally, but he no longer took this statement seriously in his heart. Things change so quickly, so let's talk about it when the day comes.
Ji Shubai didn't mention how to help Hong Xing until the meal was over. Song Jin felt that he was indebted to him, so he didn't ask any more questions and had to eat in silence. It was not until the time of parting that Song Jin glanced at Ji Shubai. In the end, he didn't ask any more questions. He just excused himself from everyone and left.
When the man reached the sedan chair hall, he heard footsteps behind him.
Ji Shubai chased after him, and Song Jin stopped there and didn't move.
His expression changed a little. It was no longer as guilty and sad as it was at the beginning. It was now full of hope. Song Jin could see the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
"Just wait patiently after you return. I will send someone to tell you when there is news."
"Wait?" Song Jin was not used to waiting.
"In fact, you have no relationship with her, so it's not right for you to do this. It's better to leave it to me. I will give you an explanation after I finish it."
Once people become biased, they become unreasonable.
When Song Jin wanted to get rid of his nationality, he planned for several months and even sent himself to the torture chamber before he could make any progress. In the end, he still had to find a legitimate reason to get rid of his nationality.
Now that Ji Shubai felt guilty, and took the initiative to help Song Jin, she didn't even ask her, let alone show up. She just asked her to wait at home, and he would help her get things done.
"How long will it take?" Song Jin was a little anxious. The shouting didn't sound like he could wait.
"Very quickly."
Song Jin felt slightly relieved, but when he turned around and got into the sedan, he couldn't help but ask, "Very fast, how fast?"
Ji Shubai leaned forward slightly, and said in a low voice as if he was coaxing someone: "It will be fine in a few days."
He stood in the sedan chair hall and watched Song Jin's sedan chair go out the door before turning back and happened to run into Chai Heng who came out to look for him.
"What did I say? It's guaranteed to work." Chai Heng knew the result was good when he saw Ji Shubai's raised lips.
"As for women, you have to go along with them. If they get angry, you have to coax them. If they hit you, you have to endure it. It is better to be beaten than to fight back. If you really have to cry, you can't talk back. Women are soft-hearted. If you use force, you will suffer when she cries. This is the experience I have accumulated over the years, and I will teach you today."
When it comes to dealing with women with bad tempers, no one is more experienced than Chai Heng. His wife would pull his ears in front of outsiders, and Ji Shubai had seen it more than once.
But Ji Shubai wondered, would this really work for Song Jin? She was so angry, would she forget the hatred of that day and make peace with him in a blink of an eye? Could she still stand on the high steps and look at him with her chin raised like before?
He was not sure, so he could only treat Song Jin well in his own way.
Song Jin thought for a long time after returning home, how would Ji Shubai help her? Why was it that it was not legitimate for her to come forward, so was he legitimate?
She couldn't think of an answer, so she just sat at home waiting, getting very anxious. More importantly, Qingshan seemed to be busy these days and had no time to come to her, so she couldn't get any news.
Ji Shubai lost contact with her, which made her very frustrated, but she was unwilling to send anyone to urge him, so she was getting a headache from waiting.
About five or six days later, there was suddenly a noise in the shop in front. When Song Jin was about to get up to check, A Rong had already led people in.
Hong Xing walked in front with red eyes, Ji Shubai and Qingshan walked behind, and behind them was a yamen runner carrying a box.
They sent the person and luggage directly here.
"Hong Xing, what's wrong?" Song Jin didn't care how Ji Shubai did it for a moment, and went to pull Hong Xing to sit down and talk.
Hong Xing just shook her head and started crying when asked. Song Jin had no choice but to stop asking and look at Ji Shubai.
The corners of his mouth revealed his emotions; he was happy. He handed the red apricot to her and stood there without leaving, staring at her expectantly with his eyes, as if asking for a reward from her.
But what can Song Jin reward him with?
"Thank you, Master Ji."
Ji Shubai's mouth corners pressed down.
Just, is that so?
"It's spring now, and the weather is getting warmer. Do you want to...well, I've arranged a pleasure boat to take you for a cruise on the lake in a couple of days."
After saying that, he turned around and left, so fast that Song Jin didn't even have time to say no.
This is what Lu Junnian taught me. Ask whatever you want to ask. Just leave it as it comes. Don't have time to refuse and see what she will do.
Song Jin was thinking: A pleasure boat? A cruise on the lake? Asking her, who had just recovered from an illness, to go out in the cold spring weather? She must be crazy.
While Song Jin was complaining in his heart, he went to see Hong Xing, who was crying with her face covered.
It is common sense that a widow does not need to ask for help.
She didn't know what Hong Xing had been through, and the situation didn't allow her to ask, so a question was put before Song Jin.
How to arrange red apricots?
When Lao Lu came back at night and saw Hong Xing, his face sank.
The shop hasn't reopened yet, and there's an extra mouth to feed at home. He obviously has a home, so why not send him back? What's the point of bringing him to his shop?
The same thing goes for Song Jin. Ji Shubai treated her like this, so why didn't he just take the opportunity to ask him to take responsibility and marry her? Even if she was just a concubine? What was the meaning of this unclear thing?
Song Jin turned a deaf ear to him, but Hong Xing noticed the unfriendly look and dissatisfaction in Lao Lu's words, so she didn't dare to eat much at the table that night, and the only dish she had was picked up by Song Jin.
In fact, Song Jin was also very distressed. She asked Ji Shubai for help, but he sent the person directly to her home without saying a word.
She doesn't mind having one more person at home, but the question is where will they live?
She shared a room with Chunyun, the two servants shared a room, Arong and Dujuan shared a room, and Lao Lu and Mrs. Chen shared a room. The room was full and there was no extra bedding for her. Hongxing only brought simple clothes and jewelry, but no bedding.
There was no choice, so after dinner that day, Song Jin had to ask her to stay with him and Chunyun for the night, and Dujuan also came over to talk.
Hong Xing realized the difficulty and had to confess at this moment.
It turned out that her husband, who was seriously ill, died two days after New Year's Eve. At this time, she had only two options: remarry or remain a widow. But the Lin family blocked her way to remarry, saying that they had plenty of money to marry a daughter-in-law, and they were not short of money, and they didn't have a mistress at home. Hong Xing would just be a good housekeeper at home, so they didn't let her remarry.
Her parents, who could have made the decision for her, had accepted a lot of dowry and were too embarrassed to say anything at this moment, so they let Hong Xing stay in the Lin family.
Being a widow is not an uncommon thing, but it is rare for a young and beautiful girl like her to be a widow without any children. The most important thing is that the Lin family has no mistress.
An old man without a wife and a young, beautiful widowed daughter-in-law live in a large courtyard with servants guarding the door. It's really like a nightmare to think about it.
Hong Xing did not elaborate on what happened to her later in the Lin family. She only said that she could not stay there any longer, so she asked a merchant who came to her house to stay overnight, stuffed a lot of jewelry into his pocket and asked him to help her pass a message to Song Jin. Only then did she have a chance to escape.
"How did you get away?"
Song Jin was really curious, how would Ji Shubai take the person away in this situation? It wouldn't be appropriate to openly snatch someone's daughter-in-law, right? He had to find a legitimate reason to snatch a servant.
Hong Xing sniffed and said, "I don't know the details, I just know that one day the government officials brought my parents to the Lin family and took me away. They didn't send me back to Shilipo, but brought me here directly. Lord Ji also told me not to go home."
Song Jin curled her lips. What if she didn't go home? What if she kept a mistress? The shop hadn't opened yet, but she had quite a few employees. She was rich despite being poor.
"It's okay, you stay here first, and when we reopen our shop in a few days, we can make a lot of money together."
Song Jin encouraged himself in this way.
That night, Song Jin couldn't sleep. Ji Shubai didn't seem like the kind of person who was thoughtless. He had his own reasons for not letting Hong Xing go back to Shilipo.
Given Hong Xing's parents' personalities, I'm afraid they'll have to find a matchmaker to remarry their daughter as soon as they return. That would be truly a torment.
She had to find a way to provide a way out for her group of people.
Song Jin couldn't sleep, and Hong Xing was not much better. She kept her eyes open at night and tried to hold back her sobs, but she couldn't hide her heavy nasal sound.
"Hong Xing, don't be afraid, we can always survive." Song Jin said in the darkness.
"......I don't want to go home." Hong Xing's voice was filled with tears.
"If you don't want to go back, then don't go back."
"I can do some needlework. If I can't do it, I can make clothes for others and embroider some patterns. I can also earn some money and I won't live and eat for free."
"Okay, then make me a dress."
Last month, when she was still in her prime, the Chai family sent her some satin fabrics, which she had not used yet. She had thought that she could exchange them for money to buy land in the future. After being humiliated in the government office, Song Jin began to think that she would go out in a glamorous way, wearing silver on her body, on her face, and on her head, to piss off those dogs who spread rumors about her.
The more Song Jin thought about it, the angrier she got. This anger slowly turned into fighting spirit without her noticing, so much so that when Ji Shubai sent someone to pick her up, her first reaction was not "This is not good", but "Since you want to atone your sins, then I'm going to take advantage of you to my heart's content."
So Song Jin raised his chin, got on the sedan chair like a fighting cock, and went all the way to the shore of Taihu Lake.
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