Chapter 161 The Shopping Lady is so fierce
In less than two days, Song Jin found out what this matter was.
That morning, Song Jin felt much better, so he went to visit the ladies and finally heard clearly about the recent big incident at the card table.
A man of some importance came from Nanjing. It was said that he had connections with the East Factory. Since the beginning of autumn this year, he had somehow occupied nearly 10,000 acres of farmland in Wu County. The people there were suffering terribly, as that was the capital for survival. So the village collected money and sent young strong men to start a lawsuit all the way from the county.
But that person was involved with the Eastern Depot, so not only the county but even the state had to give him face, so they fooled him all the way. So after winter, they reported him to the government.
And so, after spending several months, the case was finally handed over to Lu Junnian.
"It's strange. This man is a well-known man. How can he recognize a father-in-law as his godfather?"
"This man is so weak that he can't even compare to a woman."
"But how are you going to judge this matter? Are you going to try to smooth things over like the people below?"
"Who knows?"
......
This is a tricky thing.
If I punish the common people, I will feel guilty; if I punish that person, I may lose my job.
If he has to choose between the two, Lu Junnian will definitely get angry.
After Song Jin learned about it, he was stunned for a long time without saying a word. Then he got up and went to the front to find Ji Shubai. As a result, when he reached the door, he heard the sound of people talking inside, so Song Jin slowed down his pace to listen.
"I wrote to the capital a month ago, and I received news these past two days that they said they could not hold back any longer."
"What about Nanjing?"
Song Jin heard a sigh and knew the result after thinking about it.
The Beijing Division didn't care about it, let alone the Nanjing Division, which was eating free meals. It only had nearly 10,000 acres of land and was just a big landlord. Are there not many landlords these days? Are there not many poor peasants?
Song Jin was distracted and didn't hear what was said afterwards until a voice called her.
"Ajin?" Ji Shubai walked over from inside the house: "Why didn't you inform me when you came here? Don't let me catch a cold again."
Song Jin smiled and said, "It's okay. I'm wearing something thick today."
Ji Shubai grabbed her wrist and said, "Come in, I have something to discuss with you."
The officials left and Song Jin stood in the room waiting for Ji Shubai to speak.
He rarely hesitated, and this time he was unusually hesitant.
"Ajin, have you heard about what happened just now?"
Song Jin pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled with difficulty: "You never tell me about your daily affairs, so how would I know?"
Ji Shubai felt a little embarrassed: "I didn't want to cause you trouble."
"But aren't husband and wife one flesh? Even when I bought a house under Arong's name, you didn't mind it, so why do you separate yourself from me so clearly?"
Ji Shubai felt ashamed when he heard this: "That's not what I meant. I was just afraid that you would worry."
"I am a grown man, and I have been through storms before. What can you endure that I cannot?"
Song Jin pouted and complained that he didn't tell her when he had something to say, but instead asked her to go to other ladies to inquire.
With the previous lesson, Ji Shubai did not argue with her about what was good for her, but just took her hand and said:
"I have something to discuss with you. Wu County has arranged for several young strong men to come to our place. Now they don't even have a place to stay. The weather is so cold. I want to take some money out of our house. The New Year is coming soon. At least let them go back and have a good New Year first."
Song Jin said: "You are not a wealthy man, you should spend money in moderation."
Seeing that she gave in so quickly, Ji Shubai was somewhat relieved and said, "I know, it's up to you how much to disperse, okay?"
Song Jin said, "Most of the silver is in the old house. We still have a hundred or so taels here. I'll go sort it out."
"Okay, thank you ma'am."
Song Jin snorted lightly: "You only come to my wife when you have something to do, and you keep silent when you have nothing to say. Next time, play dumb again. I am not that easy to fool."
Ji Shubai smiled and hugged her into his arms: "Madam is so fierce, husband will remember this."
Song Jin sorted out all the silver in the government office, even the copper coins, and collected a total of about one hundred taels.
A little over a hundred taels, not much, just enough for two top-quality fur coats. But not too little, it was Ji Shubai's annual salary.
He was not rich, but he received many gifts at his wedding, which made him wealthy today. However, he could not spend more.
Song Jin also has his own life to live.
The silver was handed over to Ji Shubai to distribute, but Song Jin reminded him: "That's all. I can't ask for more. I still want to have a good New Year. Finish the errand quickly and let's go back to the old house."
Ji Shubai smiled and replied, "I'll listen to you, Madam."
Ji Shubai was used to living alone, and after getting married, he gave all his property and belongings to Song Jin. He had few demands, so he was indeed easy to support.
But Song Jin couldn't do that. He spent today thinking about tomorrow, and spent this year thinking about next year. The little money he had was not enough for Song Jin to make plans for the future, so he never gave up on making money.
The house under Arong's name has now been turned into a shop. Song Jin still does his old business and first opened a food shop specializing in seasonal food, and does not compete with the shop on Guhuai Street for business.
They brought over Wufangzhai’s rice dumplings and Suzhou-style fresh meat mooncakes, as well as iced drinks to cool down in the summer and ginger milk to warm the body in the winter. Although there were not many things to sell, they were novel enough and slowly attracted some stable customers.
On the night before the New Year's Eve, the government office gradually began to sleep down. After Ji Shubai finished his business, he returned to the old house with Song Jin.
As soon as Song Jin got off the sedan chair, he saw extremely festive red lanterns hanging in the corridor. Zhang Hongan had come back several times to buy New Year's goods and had also made simple decorations.
"What should we write for the couplet this year?"
"Is it better to use Zhong Kui or Qin Qiong as the door god?"
"Are we going to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God tomorrow?"
Then he asked Zhang Hongan: "Are the things ready?"
......
Song Jin became lively as soon as he got off the sedan chair, and kept asking Ji Shubai questions.
Ji Shubai just smiled and said, "Madam, please make the decision on this matter."
"No, the whole family is celebrating New Year's Eve. How can you stay out of it? Accompany me to the street to buy door gods tomorrow."
"ah?"
"Ah, what? You are not allowed to be a hands-off manager."
Ji Shubai originally thought that he would marry a wife to manage the household affairs, but who would have thought that Song Jin would not allow him to put his hands in his pockets and turn a deaf ear to the affairs at home, and insisted on dragging him into it.
After pretending to be Madam Wenwan in the government office for so long, Song Jin finally found a way out. She kept muttering about the things she was going to buy on the street tomorrow.
Fireworks, lanterns, dried fruits and candied fruits, door gods and couplets, everything you can think of, none of them are left out.
Ji Shubai listened and asked, "Madam, are you planning to go shopping on the street for a day?"
Song Jin bit her lip and asked tentatively, "Husband, can I change into men's clothes and go out?"
"ah?"
Song Jin's ambition was aroused again. She wanted to wander around the streets when it was busy. She used to do this, but now she hasn't wandered around the streets for nearly a year.
Who can't go out more than a few times a year? It must be because I miss you so much.
"I can even pretend to be your servant."
"You, forget it. I'm afraid you'll use me as a servant on the street."
Ji Shubai said this and walked inside with his hands behind his back. Seeing that he did not agree, Song Jin hurriedly followed him.
"Is it allowed or not? Magistrate Lin didn't punish me for this that day."
"You sound quite proud of it."
Ji Shubai sat down in the hall, with a cup of tea already handed to him, but Song Jin didn't sit down, and stood in front of him: "Do you agree?"
"Will you listen if I say no?"
"My husband is the best."
So the next morning, after offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God, Ji Shubai, at the urging of Mother Chen, accompanied Song Jin, who was dressed in men's clothes, on a sedan chair and went to the most prosperous and lively street market in the city.
Song Jin was in a very good mood that day and lingered in front of various shops.
Sometimes she was choosing a hat for Ji Shubai in front of the crown shop, sometimes she was choosing black boots for him in front of the shoe and boot shop, sometimes she was weighing Shangqing pills in the candy and preserve shop, and sometimes she was looking at wine pillars in the porcelain shop.
Finally, he walked back and forth in front of the three shops selling gold, silver, tin and lacquerware, with his chin pinched, as if he wanted to buy something, but he couldn't make up his mind.
"My lady, if you keep turning around, the ground beneath your feet will be trampled into ashes by you."
Song Jin heard him teasing her, turned around and pretended to be angry and said, "Then what do you think we should buy?"
"Madam, do you want to drink wine, tea, or pack something?"
Song Jin thought, if he knew everything, he wouldn't hesitate. The essence of shopping is to stroll around. If you see something nice, look at it carefully instead of taking everything home.
"Hmph, I want to buy tea sets."
After saying that, he went to the porcelain shop first.
Ji Shubai followed behind him and shook his head. It was really hard to figure out a woman's mind.
Song Jin led everyone on a long tour, and in the end he realized that he had forgotten to buy door god couplets and firecrackers, so he exclaimed, opened his arms, and ran back like a butterfly.
"Oh no, I bought so many irrelevant things and haven't even bought the firecrackers yet."
Song Jin completely forgot about the things he had thought of last night and was completely focused on shopping in various shops.
"Madam, how can I trust you with my family?"
"It's all your fault. You don't usually accompany me for a walk. This is the first time this year. How can I not be distracted?"
When Ji Shubai heard this, he thought that she was blaming him again. He couldn't help but hold his forehead and thought: It seems that she can't take off this men's clothing.
So a few people went to buy firecrackers first. Song Jin picked the big and loud ones, which made Zhang Hongan follow behind and keep giving instructions.
“I have this.”
“I have this one, too.”
“I’ve bought that one.”
"How come you've bought everything? What should I buy?"
Zhang Hongan: "......"
On this day, Song Jin picked out a bunch of peach charms, door gods, firecrackers, candies, candied fruits and osmanthus cakes and asked people to carry them back. He walked until he was hungry and finally stopped.
"Husband, I'm hungry..."
"I thought you were a Bodhisattva who could eat fireworks."
"The Buddha eats incense and offerings."
"Yes, I was wrong. You are not a Bodhisattva, but a demon."
"The goblins want to eat people."
It was a rare occasion for the couple to have a good time joking and bantering with each other, so instead of going back to their old house at noon, they found a nearby restaurant to eat out.
After leaving the government office, Song Jin became less disciplined and more talkative.
"You know, I ordered ice from Mrs. Chai in the fall for next summer. This time I won't have to worry about not having ice."
"My book sells very well. When I become famous in the future, my fame will surpass yours by a long way."
"I've picked out a piece of land that's perfect for growing tomatoes. It's cheaper than paddy fields. When I get rich, I'll buy you a mink coat."
Ji Shubai asked, "What about you? What are you buying?"
"Then I'll buy a lot of things, big gold hairpins, beautiful jade bracelets, and shiny forged materials. I want to dress myself up as a rich and beautiful woman, hahahaha——"
"Don't you think it's too heavy now?"
"As for the gold, I'll be patient. Even if I don't bring it, I'll still be happy just looking at it."
"Your way of having fun is really expensive."
“Hehehe——”
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