Chapter 39 Pawn I think he seems to be afraid of me
Ji Shubai doesn't like to laugh and doesn't talk much, but he is a thoughtful person. Song Jin doesn't dare to smile at him.
But when our eyes meet, you should at least say something, right?
I've already thanked you, what else can I say?
Song Jin was so anxious that he blurted out, "Master Ji likes sweets?"
Ji Shubai was obviously stunned for a moment, and said awkwardly: "Yes, I like to eat some on weekdays."
Seeing him embarrassed, Song Jin felt much more at ease instead. This was what a human being was like.
"I have recently tried a new dessert. If you don't mind, why not come to Shi Ding Lou in a few days to try it." After saying that, he hastily added: "It is better to set a date, because it will take some time, and I have to prepare in advance."
"Then let's do it on the Mid-Autumn Festival. I will go to Shi Ding Lou for dinner on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Please help me prepare it."
"Okay, okay."
Song Jin regretted it the moment he agreed. Isn't this like a thief inviting the police into his house? But since things have come to this, he had no choice but to go on.
"I am waiting for you, Master Ji, at the Food Bowl Building."
After saying this, he turned around and went out. If he didn't leave now, who knows what kind of trouble he would get into.
Manager Song ordered people to carry Song Jin back to Shidinglou in a sedan chair. It was not too late, so there would be some excitement after they returned.
Song Jin generously gave some change to everyone, and tried his best to keep most of the silver for himself, locking it all in a box.
At night, everyone set up tables and chairs in the yard as usual, with a boiled chicken, a can of liquor, a plate of fried peanuts, and some side dishes, and everyone sat down to eat and drink.
Song Jin was still thinking about the gossip he had heard halfway today and asked everyone.
"Have you heard of a sea route admiral named Ji in Fujian a few years ago?"
"I don't know. Why are you asking this?" A Rong threw a peanut into his mouth.
"I'm just curious and want to know how he died." Song Jin concealed the fact that the person was Ji Shubai's father.
"What's there to be curious about? Let alone a Haidao admiral. Even Lord Hu, who fought against the Japanese pirates, was a very powerful official, but he still committed suicide in prison. And the Yingtian Governor Hai Qingtian, such a good official, was transferred away after only six months. If you ask me, our court is in chaos. Some people have been high officials for their entire lives, but before they die, they are accused of being bad guys, and they are imprisoned, their homes are confiscated, and their heads are chopped off. I don't know what they have been doing before. That Haidao admiral, no matter if he is a good person or a bad person, he is dead. No matter how much we think about it, we will still be killed tomorrow morning."
Song Jin was quite moved after hearing this. Isn't it true? The big man died, but the little people still have to live their lives as usual. Who would care about the fate of a sea route admiral? Not to mention Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty, Song Jin didn't even know the names of the governors and mayors of various provinces and cities in the 21st century.
He doesn't even have time to care about himself, so how can he have the time to care about others? He is not like Hai Rui, who just stayed in Suzhou and returned those fields to the people, so that many people benefited from them. That's why everyone remembered his name.
Song Jin gave up the idea of finding out the fate of the Kaidao admiral and concentrated on eating meat and drinking. After being out for a long time, she had more meat on her body than before and was no longer skin and bones.
In the dead of night, Song Jin lay on the bed and began to think. She didn't think Wen Ya would let her go so easily. If she wanted to get her whole family out of the country, she would have to prepare more money. If she behaved herself, she might be able to find a way out.
If Chai Heng's family came to two more banquets like this, she might have a chance. But Chai Heng didn't always look for her, and it was rare for him to look for her for two consecutive months.
Song Jin decided to save up for a few more days before going back to find Wen Ya to get rid of her citizenship. This would be safer, so he decided not to return to the Bai family for the time being.
Early the next morning, Song Jin helped kill and pluck the chicken and finished making today's boiled chicken. It was almost noon at this time.
She was not in a hurry. She had prepared the dishes and handed over the cooking methods to the maid, then told everyone that she was going out for a while and would be back soon.
It wasn't a big deal. I just took those pieces of white-glazed porcelain from Dehua Kiln to the pawnshop to inquire about the price.
There was a tall counter and a whole wall of wooden fences. The old official with poor eyesight stood behind it, grasping the delicate white-glazed porcelain with his dry fingers and examining it carefully.
"Shopkeeper, this is from Dehua Kiln."
After hearing this, the old court official raised his eyes impatiently and said, "I know, but it's not worth much."
"Why is it worthless?" Song Jin thought that this thing was an antique in the 21st century and was worth a lot of money, so why is it worthless here?
"Your tea bowls should come in sets, but how many do you have?"
"Why isn't it a set? Don't we have both the tea bowl and teacup?"
"I'm not talking about tea bowls or teacups. I'm talking about a set of tea bowls. There should be at least four to six pieces to make a set. What's yours? Besides, your teacup is so small, how much can it be worth?"
Song Jin knew that this was a way to lower the price, but he couldn't argue with the other party, so he had to ask: "Then how much silver can these pieces be worth?"
"One penny, no more."
Song Jin had some knowledge of the pawn industry, and it was impossible for her to pawn the item at the original price, so she was mentally prepared to lower the price. But she never expected that the confused old court official would bargain at her feet.
Song Jin was so angry that he put his hand through the fence and said angrily, "I don't want to be one anymore."
The old court official did not want to keep her and stuffed the things into her hands: "Okay, come back when you have made up your mind."
Song Jin ignored him, pouting as he grabbed the porcelain pieces, then went back to Shidinglou angrily.
The waiter in the store was busy, and when he saw Song Jin coming back, he greeted him, "Hey, the shopkeeper is back. Have you pawned your things?"
Song Jin said: "Damn old Chao Feng, he plotted against me."
"Well, this is how it is in pawnshops. The more anxious you are to pawn it, the harder they will try to lower the price. I think this thing is so good, and the shopkeeper is not in a hurry to get the money, so it's good for you to use it yourself."
Song Jin walked in with a pout, and suddenly saw two pens standing there.
According to Song Jin's plan, he would practice making the new dessert in the next few days so that he could make it for Ji Shubai on the Mid-Autumn Festival. As a result, Ji Shubai appeared in the store without saying a word, with Lu Junnian beside him.
The six eyes met, and Ji Shubai's gaze moved down to the package of porcelain in Song Jin's arms.
Others didn't know where the porcelain came from, but Ji Shubai knew it very well. When they met on the road that day, Song Jin was holding these pieces of porcelain in his hands.
And last night, Song Jin told Manager Song that she wanted to return it, and Manager Song told her to keep it for her own practice, but then he turned around and took it to the pawnshop.
Ji Shubai curled the corners of his mouth, and the meaning was self-evident.
It was not good for Song Jin to explain, nor was it good not to explain, so he simply pretended that he didn't see it and let people think whatever they wanted. But Lu Junnian started talking again.
"Hey, shopkeeper, is this your porcelain? It's quite nice. You must have spent a lot of money on it, right? You're quite willing to spend money on it."
Song Jin smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer, so he could only ask, "I'm sorry to see you two masters. Please take a seat upstairs. I'll be here to serve you after I put my things away."
Song Jin winked at the waiter and watched the two of them go upstairs with a silly smile. Finally, she saw Ji Shubai's eyes fall down and glance at the porcelain in her arms.
For some reason, Lu Junnian wanted to eat the bitter melon wine he had eaten last night. Song Jin, who was standing at the table, also had a headache when he heard this.
"Lord Lu, this bitter melon is not difficult to make, but it doesn't taste good when it's cooked right now. It has to be left overnight, or at least eaten the next meal. Otherwise, I'll make it for you now, and you can take it home and eat it in the evening, okay?"
"So troublesome?" Lu Junnian didn't expect that the overnight stay that Luo Daren mentioned was really overnight stay. "Okay, make one for me first and I'll ask someone to take it back."
Then he changed his words: "Two portions, including Lord Luo's portion."
Song Jin happily agreed: "What would you two like to eat for lunch?"
Lu Junnian pinched his chin and thought for a while before saying, "Shu Bai, don't you like corn pancakes? Give me one."
Song Jin looked at Ji Shubai, only to see him say hello indifferently.
For some reason, Song Jin felt as if she had seen ice cubes when she saw his face. She couldn't smile anymore and turned to look at Lu Junnian. "In addition to corn pancakes, we also have boiled chicken and boiled shrimp. Would you like to try one?"
"Okay, two more vegetarian ones."
Song Jin said yes, and then asked, "Does the lord want another pot of wine?"
Lu Junnian said that it was not necessary as he had a lot of work to do in the afternoon and drinking was not a good idea. Song Jin stopped trying to sell him wine and after confirming that no other dishes were needed, he took the waiter downstairs.
When Song Jin turned her back to the two of them, she always felt a pair of gazes coming at her from behind. When she reached the stairs, she couldn't help but take a look. Sure enough, she saw Ji Shubai's eyes staring at her. She was so panicked that her heart skipped a beat and she almost fell down.
Ji Shubai felt that this person was weird, but he couldn't figure out what was weird about him.
"Brother Lu, do you think this person is weird?"
Lu Junnian took a sip of tea and said, "What's so strange about this? This is pretty good."
"I felt as though he was afraid of me."
Lu Junnian smiled and said, "You are right to be afraid. How can people call us 'official masters'? If we are not afraid, is it still a master? How many scholars pass the imperial examinations just to become an official one day? You are right to be afraid."
Ji Shubai disagreed: "I don't think so. He is not that afraid of you. Do you think it is because of the fire at the Bai family?"
"Well, I told you that you shouldn't take things too seriously." Lu Jun put down the tea bowl and said seriously, "You shouldn't take this seriously."
Ji Shubai was puzzled: "Why? The fire that day was obviously man-made, why did Brother Lu tell me not to care about it?"
Lu Junnian said, "This fire was man-made, but so what? First of all, this fire only burned the Bai family. The mistress of the family didn't care, so why should you and I care? Moreover, they said it was a woman who did it. Bai Xiaonan has neither sisters nor daughters. If it wasn't me who would protect him to this extent, then who could it be?"
"It's fine if we let it go. If we really make a fuss about it, it will be a lawsuit involving human lives. Why bother causing a loss of life?"
Ji Shubai was even more confused: "It was clearly arson, how did it become a murder case?"
Lu Junnian said, "If you don't care, it's just an insignificant fire. If you care, it's a lawsuit about a life. Think about it, if the Bai family really handed over the woman and she admitted her guilt, what would you do? Should you punish her? If you don't punish her, why did you arrest her? If you punish her, can a woman bear it? What's the difference between this and being beaten to death? Isn't it a lawsuit about a life?"
"Even if she could bear the punishment, imagine a woman being stripped of her outer clothes and tortured in the government office. How old was she? Would she be allowed to remarry? Would she still be alive? She would be too ashamed to go back, and hanging herself would still be a murder case, wouldn't it?"
Ji Shubai was deflated.
"If you ask me, even if the Bai family bears a huge loss, we can just turn a blind eye to it. Caring too much will make you age quickly."
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