Chapter 155: I won’t take a concubine in the yard.
Song Jin had this idea in mind, but it would take time to implement it, and she had to discuss it with Ji Shubai first in order to take out three or four hundred taels of silver from home.
Although Ji Shubai had entrusted her with all the family's land, houses, shops and money to manage, she still wanted to consult Ji Shubai about the large-scale embezzlement, after all, it was for her mother's family.
So after making an agreement with Arong, he sent him away that day and went back to the backyard to accompany Ji Shubai in polishing the manuscript.
On the way back, he reminded Dujuan not to tell Chunyun about her father's affairs for the time being, so as to prevent her from being frightened at such a young age.
"Madam treats Chunyun so well." There was a hint of envy in her voice.
Song Jin smiled, put his hand on her wrist and said, "I treat you and A Rong the same way, but Chunyun's marriage certificate is with me, so I have to worry about it, so as not to hurt her with my good intentions."
"Madam has a kind heart, we all know that."
Du Juan knew that Chunyun's marriage certificate was with Song Jin. In the past, she might have only been able to help her choose a reliable partner, but now it was different.
If Song Jinruo was a mean person, Chunyun's life would probably not be easy, but she was very nice to her, which made people envy Chunyun.
It's hard to say, but I became the most favored one without realizing it.
Following Song Jin doesn't mean you'll be guaranteed security for the rest of your life.
When the two returned to the backyard, Chunyun was craning his neck to look at the paper in Ji Shubai's hand, but he couldn't understand it, and his eyebrows were twisted together.
Song Jin smiled and sat down next to him.
When Ji Shubai was working seriously, he spoke very little. The two of them were just like they were at the Chai family before they got married. Song Jin was copying the new manuscript, Ji Shubai was revising the old manuscript, and they would occasionally chat.
The two of them were busy until lunch time before they took a break. A dish of boiled chicken brought by A Rong was placed on the table. Song Jin tasted it and found it tasted the same as before. It must be the cooking of her mother, Mrs. Chen.
"There are fewer people in the shop. Is everything okay now?"
Ji Shubai asked casually, and Song Jin said, "I asked Arong this morning, and he hired a few new guys, and they're doing OK."
Ji Shubai nodded and said nothing more.
When the two of them finished their work in the afternoon and were ready to leave for the yamen, Song Jin sent the servants away and personally helped Ji Shubai change his clothes and prepare.
"Why are you so attentive today?" Ji Shubai was both happy and surprised by her sudden attentiveness.
"I have something to discuss with you."
Ji Shubai sneered, pinched her chin and shook it: "As expected, those who show kindness for no reason are either traitors or thieves."
Song Jin smiled and slapped his hand away: "I am not committing any crime or stealing today. I just want to finish the manuscript as soon as possible. I want to give it to Madam Chai as soon as possible so that I can print it and take it to the bookstore to see if it can be sold, so that I can exchange it for some money as soon as possible."
"Why? Is your family short of money?"
"No," Song Jin straightened Ji Shubai's clothes and put his hand on her chest, "My family is short of money. The shop at home is rented, and my parents are old, so I think they should have a place to stay. My father is thinking about taking a concubine, and I'm worried that my mother will be wronged in the future, so I always want to give her some protection."
At this point, Ji Shubai became serious and put his arm around her waist: "What kind of yard do you plan to buy?"
Song Jin told him about his plan to buy a three-story house with a shop on the street. Ji Shubai said, "Just take it from the warehouse at home. You can't earn that much by selling books."
Song Jin guessed that Ji Shubai would give it, and when he really heard it, he couldn't hide his joy and hugged his neck.
"Thank you."
Ji Shubai bent down and kissed her.
"Don't worry, I won't take a concubine."
After that day, although Song Jin lived in the yamen, he often went out and arranged several things at the same time.
The first thing is to let Arong go to see the house, and then take her to see it if she likes it.
The second thing was to go find Mrs. Chai, hand over the transcribed manuscript, and wait for it to be printed.
The third thing was to find a silversmith and ask him to make something with a strange shape. Song Jin drew a picture, kneaded a shape out of dough, carved it with a knife, and gave it to the man.
The fourth thing was to find some fun for herself. She asked Qingshan to find a carpenter, and she drew the pattern of mahjong tiles herself, planning to make a set of mahjong.
Those ladies either played dominoes or chess pieces, and she didn't know how to play either, so she decided to try something new. Maybe she could even open a mahjong parlor in the future.
Song Jin arranged things, and the Double Ninth Festival was coming a few days later. Ji Shubai specifically told Song Jin that he wanted to invite Lord Lu and another magistrate to a banquet, and asked her to help prepare.
"Which judge?"
"It's Mr. Zhang who lost his wife this spring. Tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival, and he will inevitably miss his old friend. I'm afraid he will be sad alone, so please come over and have dinner with us."
Song Jin said hello.
It's just a private dinner among friends, so there's nothing to be too particular about.
Song Jin first arranged for Zhang Hongan to go to the shop to get two boiled chickens, and then went to the market to buy some fresh vegetables. After returning, he cooked them in the kitchen and also prepared fruits, wine, and snacks for the evening banquet.
The residence in the government office was not like the old house of the Ji family, which had a backyard to hide from male guests. Besides, Song Jin was famous for her brashness in the government office, so she did not hide this time and they ate together at the table, and no one was surprised.
This was the first time she met the magistrate Zhang Hanchi.
A middle-aged man in his forties, who had been with his wife for many years, passed away suddenly due to illness. Even after several months, he couldn't help feeling sad during the holidays.
Song Jin saw that his cheeks and eye sockets were sunken, his skin was sagging, and his face was dull and lifeless. He guessed that he had lost weight recently. The tuft of beard on his chin was not carefully trimmed, and now it looked sloppy and messy, not like a man in his forties at all.
He also glanced at Song Jin, but did not mention the sensational events in court that day. Instead, he became envious.
"In the past we always said that you would never get married, but who would have thought that you would get married? Having a wife at home makes you feel happy. Unlike me, when autumn comes, the house is cold and icy."
As he spoke, his voice began to choke up.
Ji Shubai looked at Song Jin, but all he could think of was the warm body he held in his arms at night. He didn't dare to think about how he had lived as a single person for the past thirty years, so he held Song Jin's hand under the table.
"My sister-in-law has been gone for a while. If it's hard to bear, you might as well ask a matchmaker to help find someone. I'm sure my sister-in-law will understand in the underworld."
Lu Junnian seemed to be trying to persuade her in a gentle manner, which was completely different from the way Song Jin remembered.
But Lord Zhang seemed not very happy: "That's what my stepmother advised me when she was alive. I think I have to guard her for a while. Let's talk about it later."
Lord Zhang drank a lot of wine that night. Song Jin couldn't drink much, so she only drank one glass and then replaced the wine with tea. No one said anything to her.
At the end of the meal, a warm caramel pudding was served. As Mr. Zhang ate, he said, "My stepmother loves this. I used to send people to buy it. Now we can eat it in the government office. If she were here, she would be very happy."
Lu Junnian drank too much and returned to the familiar look that Song Jin was familiar with.
"This is delicious. I'll like it even better when the weather gets cooler. I think your shop is too far away. If you open one nearby, like Shi Ding Lou, the location will be better."
What a shame. He dared to mention Shidinglou while eating caramel pudding. It must be the aftereffects of that medicine that he had taken.
After the meal, Song Jin accompanied Ji Shubai to see the two off. When they came back, Ji Shubai took her hand and the two walked slowly.
"It seems that Lord Zhang and that stepmother have a very close relationship."
"Yes, we have been childhood sweethearts. I heard that before my stepmother passed away, she was most worried that her husband would not be able to take care of himself."
Song Jin was quite touched after hearing this and turned to look at Ji Shubai.
It was almost mid-month, and the moon rose a little early. The silver moonlight sprinkled down, making Ji Shubai's face look particularly white.
"You must take good care of yourself."
Ji Shubai smiled and put his arm around her waist: "You are the one who needs to take good care of yourself."
That night, both of them drank some wine and felt a little drowsy. After washing up and going to bed, Song Jin snuggled into Ji Shubai's arms as usual and started chatting with his eyes closed.
"Will Master Zhang remarry in the future?"
"Of course he will. Even if he doesn't want to, his parents will persuade him."
"What kind of woman will the judge marry?"
Ji Shubai thought for a moment before saying, "It's fine as long as he likes it."
Song Jin stopped talking, but in his mind he was thinking that Ji Shubai could marry him so smoothly, as if marrying a wife here didn't have as many restrictions and rules as he had imagined.
Except for women from the entertainment industry, anyone else could be married.
Think about Qian Qianyi later. Didn’t he marry the famous prostitute Liu Rushi as his wife? Even though the public thought this was really inappropriate, it didn’t stop him from marrying her.
Ji Shubai treated her pretty much the same.
She comes from a humble background and has a bad reputation, so if they really want to marry her, they will marry her, and no one can do anything about it.
Thinking of this, Song Jin became a little happy. He turned around and slapped Ji Shubai's chest loudly with his lips. The body he was hugging began to tremble immediately.
Ji Shubai was smiling.
"Will you let Brother Jade Emperor sleep tonight?"
Song Jin climbed a little higher and kissed her lips again.
"Sleep, you have to sleep."
Then he buried his face in it again.
The matter of buying the yard had some progress after a few days. A Rong came over and told Song Jin that he had found a suitable yard, so he went to take a look.
The yard was on the main street of Yuquan Street, not too far from the Ji family's old house. The main door was on the side, with four shops facing the street, so it didn't have much of an impact on people coming in and out.
The small courtyard with three entrances is much larger than the one on Guhuai Street. It is not very luxurious inside, but has a little scenery. The house is two stories high and has five or six rooms that can be used as bedrooms.
"I have thought it through. If my godmother is unhappy in Guhuai Street, I will bring her here and let her live in the bright room upstairs. I will also arrange for a maid to serve her and will not let her suffer any injustice."
"T Dujuan and I will live in the other houses. If we have children, we won't have to worry about having nowhere to put them."
"There are two more rooms outside that can be used by the servants. They can't come in, so it's quite convenient."
Song Jin also thought it was a good fit, with the location, size and price being suitable, so he immediately took his people back to the old house, weighed the silver on a scale and asked A Rong to get the job done as soon as possible.
A Rong was efficient and handed over the house deed within a few days. Song Jin specifically reminded her not to leak the matter, especially not to let her father know.
She didn't buy a house for her father, but she arranged a good place for her servant to live. I wonder how her father would make a fuss if he found out about this.
Song Jin hid the matter from her parents, and didn't even tell Ji Shubai about the twists and turns involved. She just waited for a free day to bring her mother over, and asked A Rong and Du Juan to become her godmothers, so that she could take care of her mother in her old age.
But when A Rong asked whether the four shops outside could be run as food shops, Song Jin couldn't make up his mind for a moment, so he asked them to put it aside for the time being and see what was missing in the house and arrange them first. He didn't ask for expensive things, just enough to be needed.
A Rong obeyed the order and went to do the task.
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