Chapter 70: My father messed up everything...
Lu Junnian was quiet in the small study in the government office for a moment, and then there was a sound of sudden enlightenment.
"I knew there was something wrong with you, and I was right. Hey, wait a minute—"
Ji Shubai couldn't stand it anymore and reached out to touch the red contract in Lu Junnian's arms, but Lu Junnian twisted his body to avoid him.
"Why did you hit me? You were not like this before. It turns out that when a man falls in love, he is not ordinary. You won't do this to her, right?"
Ji Shubai fumbled around in Lu Junnian's arms for a long time but couldn't find the red contract. Lu Junnian used it to joke with Song Jin, and he was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick.
"Stop making trouble."
"Why are you making a fuss? Let me tell you, you are a Jinshi, she is a house slave, you haven't even married yet, you want her to marry into your family, should she be considered a wife or a concubine?"
"Why would I take a concubine?"
"That's it," Lu Junnian suddenly said seriously, "Now you can't take a concubine, but do you really want to marry a house slave? Although she is not a criminal slave, you are a Jinshi. If your Ji family members knew about it, how could they agree?"
Ji Shubai had a splitting headache: "I don't want to marry her..."
"Then become a concubine? From a servant of the Bai family to a servant of your master Ji, from the kitchen to your bedroom? I'm telling you, that young lady doesn't look easy to control, be careful that you get controlled by her."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Where did I say that? Didn't you see what she did? A few days ago, you locked her up in jail and beat her, but today she was willing to take poison for her. I think you're out of your mind."
Ji Shubai sat down dejectedly: "I don't want to marry her, nor do I want her to be my concubine, I just want her to be free from her status."
"Then you are really a bodhisattva, and a biased one at that. You have never helped so many servants in Suzhou to get rid of their slavery, so why do you have to help this one? Are you biased?"
Why did this sound so familiar to Ji Shubai? Who told him this?
"Brother Lu..."
Lu Junnian waved his hand and said, "I think you should stop talking. Think about what you really mean."
Ji Shubai went back empty-handed, wondering all the way how he, who had always been so frank, had fallen into one lie after another?
He couldn't figure it out.
The decertification document was delivered to Lu Junnian one day later, and he detained Song Jin again.
"Give her to me and I'll test her for you. If you want her to be your concubine, you can take her away. If you want to marry her, you'll have to find a way to get the Ji family to approve of you first. If she's not interested, hehe, wait and see how I deal with her."
Ji Shubai said nothing, angrily took away the stack of documents, and took the sedan chair to the old house.
Song Jin and his people stayed at Ji's house. The servants were very hardworking and the maids helped with chores, which made Mother Chen very happy. Old Lu took A Rong and two servants out to find a place to live.
According to Song Jin's request, it cannot be too close to Shidinglou, so as not to be implicated in the poisoning case that day. It cannot be too remote, otherwise there will be few guests, and it cannot be too small, after all, it needs to accommodate all these people.
Lao Lu and his group had not returned yet, but Ji Shubai returned first.
He brought the red deed and the documents for decertification, put them in an envelope, and stuffed them into Song Jin's hands.
Song Jin, who was free, couldn't speak clearly: "Thank you... Thank you, Master Ji..."
Ji Shubai smiled bitterly: "Let them go to the government office to change the yellow book. From now on, I will be your beloved."
"Thank you, Master Ji. My father is going to the streets to look for a place to live. Can you please bother him for a while before he finds a suitable place to live? We will pay for it."
"Stay if you want. I don't come back often, and Mother Chen will be happy to have you accompany her."
"Thank you, Master Ji."
Song Jin ran away happily, but Ji Shubai, who agreed to let her stay, did not feel relieved. He felt guilty when he thought of her disappointed look later.
When the last ray of sunlight faded from the western sky, Song Jin came back, crying.
"Master Ji, wow, Master Ji, my red deed and documents are gone, my things are gone..."
Ji Shubai was panicked. He thought Song Jin would make a scene when he came back, but he came back crying and snotting.
"Well...don't worry..."
"I'm anxious, Master Ji, I'm anxious..."
"That...that..." The real reason was almost blurted out, but Ji Shubai held back: "Well, I'll send someone to look for it tomorrow..."
"I looked for it," Song Jin cried non-stop, "I didn't see it in the government office, so I suspected that you didn't catch it yesterday and left it on the road. We looked for it all the way after we came out of the government office but couldn't find it. I can't get away from it, what should I do?"
Ji Shubai felt his legs trembling. It felt really bad to lie.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Well... maybe I didn't give enough yesterday. Can I ask Master Lu to ask again?"
Song Jin felt more at ease after hearing this: "Is that okay? Then I'll go find him now."
"Wait a minute," Ji Shu hurriedly pulled the man back and said, "Let me go and talk. It will be more convenient for me."
Song Jin wiped his face and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Master Ji again."
"It's okay. We all work in the same government office, so it's convenient for us to talk."
Ji Shubai was sweating profusely, but Song Jin didn't see the trick. It's hard for people to doubt the good people they think they are, but it's easy to forget that people can change.
Ji Shubai changed and started telling lies overnight.
Song Jin was calmed down. Ji Shubai told her not to go look for Lu Junnian. He had taken croton seeds and was a little angry. It was difficult for him to calm him down. If Song Jin went there again, he would probably get angry.
Song Jin knew that he was in the wrong first, so he had to agree and accompany his father to find a house first.
The chosen courtyard was on Guhuai Street, several blocks away from Shiding Building. There was a huge locust tree at the entrance, and it was blooming right now, with a large patch of white inflorescences hanging like grapes, which was very beautiful.
Walk three or four houses along the intersection and you will see the house that Lao Lu chose.
There are two floors facing the street, with two shops on the lower floor, and the upper floor can also be converted into a dining area. After entering the shop, there is a small courtyard, a kitchen on one side, a woodshed on the other side, and a small hall connected to it, and the backyard is beyond the hall.
It has two floors and several rooms, and its layout looks very similar to the courtyard in Mati Lane, so it is definitely big enough for everyone to live in.
Song Jin liked it very much. If she could buy it and start a small business, she would be able to gain a foothold in Suzhou, so she asked.
"This place is not cheap. It has two courtyards and the location is not bad. There is a river behind it. I'm afraid it will cost no less than two hundred taels."
When Song Jin heard the two hundred taels, she immediately lost her temper. She didn't want to owe the loan sharks before she even made any money. So she gave up the idea of buying a house and rented it instead.
The rent was much cheaper, and Song Jin had a lot of spare money left for business.
After renting the yard, they discussed and decided to stay at Ji's house that night and move in the next day. They prepared the tables, chairs, benches, cutting and washing vegetables, and bedding for sleeping, and they could open the shop.
Song Jin ran happily to find Mother Chen and said that he wanted to pay for the board and lodging for the next few days. Mother Chen refused to accept it, saying that the young master had instructed not to pay.
Song Jin did not argue and took his mother, Mrs. Chen, to the market to buy some vegetables, intending to have a good meal together.
After Old Lu found out, he followed. Song Jin felt like laughing for some reason. After coming to the Ming Dynasty, they could actually go shopping for groceries as a family of three.
However, Lao Lu didn't think so, he had other ideas.
"Mancao," Old Lu said as Song Jin was selecting chickens, "Now that we are no longer citizens, it would be nice to start a business, but is it possible?"
"Why can't it be done? I have the manpower, place, ability, and capital. Why can't it be done?" Song Jin was full of confidence.
"Yes, yes, but can you keep this person? Take Du Juan for example. She is the maid who is close to the grandmother. What kind of life does she lead? It is much better than washing clothes and cooking for that poor boy. Besides, we are doing business, what does she do? After washing clothes for the poor boy, is she going to wash vegetables for you?"
Song Jin tilted her head and thought about it, but she didn't think that much.
"Think about it, if she gets married, can she still work for you? What will her parents-in-law think?"
Song Jin sighed, and Old Lu continued, "I have carefully observed the other two girls over the past two days. They are not capable of doing this job. Especially Hong Xing, who was punished and expelled before, and had to obey you. Now that she has been expelled, will she listen to you?"
Song Jin lowered his head, not knowing what to say.
"Let's not talk about whether they want to or not. Now that they have been stripped of their citizenship, what should they do if they want to go home? Even if they don't want to go back, their parents will find out and come looking for them. How can you stop them without the red deed?"
Song Jin rubbed his brows. It seemed that not everyone thought that being denaturalized was a good thing.
"And Chunyun, she's so small, what else can she do except eat? She's not worth much money if she's sold..."
"Dad, Chunyun belongs to me. If she wants to follow me, I want to stay. Don't worry about it."
"When you grow up, the old man comes to ask for you. What will you do? You raised you for nothing, and he takes you back and sells you for a higher price. Will you lose out?"
Song Jin had just been immersed in the joy of starting a business, but now everything was messed up by his father.
"We have a big shop, but we need so many servants and we have to pay them wages. Where can we get the wages in the Bai family? We are lucky to have food and shelter..."
Old Lu kept complaining, which made Song Jin feel flustered. It seemed that she had indeed forgotten to consider some things.
However, now that things have come to this, she will not waver. She has decided to do this business, and she will expand it in the future, so she will need manpower. She will get through it no matter what.
On this day, Song Jin selected two chickens, some side dishes, and a jar of liquor. He went home and prepared a table of food. He invited Mother Chen and Old Man Liu to eat together because they would be moving away the next day.
Mother Chen was reluctant to leave.
"It's been a while since our home has been so lively. After a few days of excitement, it's finally over again, leaving us two all alone."
Song Jin smiled and said, "Then hurry up and urge your little master to get married and give birth to a little master for you. Then you will be busy."
"I think Miss Pei is pretty good. She has a gentle personality and is pretty. But my young master doesn't care about her."
Song Jin burst into laughter. It was not just your young master who was not paying attention. The girl was not paying attention either. There was no emotional connection between the two of them.
Just when Song Jin was having a lot of good news, Ji Shubai had new troubles.
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