Chapter 94: Bad News: A firecracker seemed to have run out of the house
When Song Jin was happily taking the large stack of books off the bookshelf, he suddenly heard a snapping sound and a large hand pressed on the books.
Without a doubt, Ji Shubai was going to stop her.
"…What's wrong, sir?"
Ji Shubai restrained his gentle smile. How could he believe that Song Jin could correct himself immediately?
"What made you want to watch this?"
What do you learn from this? To rebel? Or to make meat buns?
"Read, study..." Song Jin knew he was in the wrong, so he spoke in a lower voice.
"What to learn? How to make meat buns?"
Ji Shubai narrowed his eyes and questioned, which made Song Jin stunned for a moment. When she reacted, she suddenly laughed: "Sir, I don't know how to make pasta."
Song Jin really didn't know how to cook pasta. She had never made noodles or buns. If she wanted to eat noodles, she had to rely on others to pull them for her.
Ji Shubai was originally a little annoyed, but her smile made him lose his temper, so he had to force himself to keep a straight face and said:
"This book is not for you."
"It's quite suitable. I even told Baobao the story of Qiongying, and you didn't stop me."
Ji Shubai sighed. Qiongying was a rare reasonable person in Water Margin. She didn't kill innocent people indiscriminately. Everything happened for a reason.
“It’s still not good.”
"Sir," Song Jin pleaded, "I don't have any skills. Now I'm going out to do business on my own, and just knowing how to cook is not enough. I think it would be better if I could tell stories, after all, I don't have the ability to play any musical instruments or sing."
Song Jin had observed during her trip that many shops had people singing and telling stories inside, but none of her and her friends could sing or play, so the only one left was the storyteller.
Who would tell a story about "The Book of Documents"? Of course it is more convenient to tell "Water Margin".
"You want to tell a story?"
Song Jin smiled awkwardly: "Is this not okay?"
Ji Shubai sighed: "...It's not impossible."
He frowned and said, "Do you want to tell it yourself?"
Song Jin thought for a moment and said, "If I want to teach someone to say something, I have to read it carefully first."
That makes sense.
Ji Shubai didn't say anything else. He just pinched her wrist with three fingers, moved her hand away from the book, and then took out the first book at the top and gave it to Song Jin.
"This set of books is too many and heavy to carry all at once. Take this one first, and then come back here and take more when you are familiar with it. I will tell Mother Chen and will not stop you."
Song Jin bared his teeth: "Thank you, sir."
After saying that, he grabbed the book and said happily, "Then I'm leaving, sir."
"Go ahead."
Song Jin cheered and ran out the door screaming. Ji Shubai frowned when he heard it, as if a firecracker had run out of the house.
Song Jin ran outside, running wildly all the way. The sound had already stopped, and only the wind whistling in his ears could be heard.
She had no way to describe her feelings at the moment, she only knew that the sunshine in Suzhou belonged to her.
The sky is clear.
Song Jin went to the Changshu County government office, took the documents, changed the yellow book, changed his household registration, and also changed his name to Lu Jin.
She had no intention of changing her surname back to Song, nor did she plan to trace her ancestry across dynasties. She also had no intention of being labeled as unfilial in the Ming Dynasty or going against Old Lu. She just got used to the name "Jin" and continued to use it.
When Song Jin had finished everything and was carrying his luggage back to Guhuai Street, ready to celebrate, a bolt from the blue struck without warning.
The person is gone.
Mancao's father's name is Lu Cai. He was a tenant farmer before he was sold into slavery. He only had two skills in his life, one was growing flowers and plants, and the other was doing his job honestly.
Doing business requires boldness and carefulness, and doing your duty can be a fatal blow.
So during the time when Song Jin left Changzhou County, he could not do business, so he lived a frugal life with the money Song Jin left behind, hoping that Song Jin could come back to make money soon. At the same time, he disliked the men for eating too much, said a few unpleasant words, and even drove them away.
Driving the man away was one thing, and the other was that Hong Xing Cai Wei Du Juan's family came and forcibly took the man away, leaving Chun Yun, who was still young and incapable of doing anything, alone at home.
The reason why Chunyun was still there was because she was too young to be sold at a high price, and she couldn't get married. It would be expensive to keep her by herself, so since Song Jin agreed to keep her, let her be. That's why she was not taken back and was left with Old Lu.
Song Jin planned for a long time but to no avail. Now listening to what Old Lu said, he felt dizzy and his eyes went dark.
"You can't blame me for this. Those guys are just too greedy. Now they can't do business and have no way to make money. Can they just keep them around?"
"I said at the beginning that this method wouldn't work. We need written documents, otherwise they would just leave when they said they would. But that's not what happened. As soon as you left, the families of the three girls came looking for you, and they left with their families without saying anything. How could you have any conscience? What a good deed you're doing. You're just making things easier for them."
"Look at Chunyun. She's so small, she can eat and grow, but she can't do much. You're raising someone else's daughter for nothing. When she grows up and can get married, her parents will collect the betrothal money and take her away to marry. You don't have any documents, so how can you stop them? The longer you raise her, the greater the loss. You might as well give her back now."
......
"Dad," Song Jin interrupted Lao Lu's complaints, "I've been busy all day and I'm tired. I'm going to sleep first and we'll talk tomorrow."
Song Jin didn't want to say too much to Old Lu. The old stubborn man couldn't be persuaded. Why should she just take action? Why should she persuade him?
So she took Chunyun, who was a little anxious at the moment, to wash up and go back to the room to sleep.
She was tired and wanted to get some sleep first.
Chunyun, on the other hand, opened her eyes wide in the dark, looking at the ceiling of the bed, then at Song Jin, unsure of her fate tomorrow.
Song Jin, on the other hand, was confident. He got up early the next morning and did nothing. After washing up, he took Chunyun and went to the market with the copper coins.
"What are we going to do?"
“Buy chicken.”
“Buy chicken?”
Song Jin turned around and smiled at Chun Yun, "Can I cook a chicken for you?"
Chunyun couldn't laugh: "Why? What's the happy news? Why do you want to eat chicken for no reason?"
When people have suffered for a long time, they will always be wary of good intentions that come out of nowhere. If it had been at Shidinglou last year, she would definitely not have asked this question.
Song Jin felt bitter and held Chunyun's hand tightly, "If there is something good going on, of course we have to make something delicious. Do you know where A Rong and the others are? Let's go find them."
"I know." Chunyun was overjoyed when she learned that Song Jin was not trying to drive her away but to bring her back. "They told me when they left that Uncle Lu disliked them and drove them away. But before they left, they told me that if you come back, you can go find them."
Song Jin smiled. She knew that it was not easy to find a job in Ming Dynasty, especially with such a generous boss like her.
On this day, Song Jin went back to his old ways. He bought a chicken at the market and gardenias at the pharmacy. Then he went home and started preparing to make boiled chicken.
Old Lu sat in the small hall and felt worried. Without soil, pots and flowers, he could do nothing.
Mrs. Chen followed behind Song Jin, helping her with some reserve.
Song Jin was also a little reserved towards Mrs. Chen and didn't know how to face her. She knew clearly that they were not her mother or daughter, but she still tacitly acted like unfamiliar mother and daughter.
She didn't want to continue being so reserved, so she took the initiative.
"Mom, please help me watch over the chicken while it's in the pot. I'm going to go out and do something."
When Mrs. Chen saw that she was talking to her, she said, "Okay, do you know the way?"
Her family rarely went out. If she wanted to go somewhere, she had to ask for directions.
"I'll take Chunyun with me and ask as we go. Once the chicken is in the pot, it can be taken out after two cups of tea. It should be soaked in half chicken soup and half well water."
"Oh, I see. Go ahead."
Song Jin took Chunyun out and went straight to find Arong.
She thought about it carefully and decided that Arong was the most important person.
First of all, he can read, use an abacus and keep accounts, which makes him better than many people, even better than Song Jin.
She doesn't know how to use an abacus, and even if she could, she couldn't count as well as Arong who has an abacus in the Ming Dynasty where there are no calculators. What's more, she is also responsible for the kitchen. Wouldn't she be exhausted trying to do both?
She had seen Arong keep accounts, and he was clear about every penny. After closing time, he would sit at the counter and copy down the accounts written in cursive script during the day. His handwriting was beautiful and the accounts were clear. She needed this helper.
Even if she doesn't need it now, she will need it in the future. It is better to save it now than to look for it in the future, so the first person she wants to win back is Arong.
Ah Rong's full name is Chen Jiarong. He lived in Yudai Lane, which is a little distance from Guhuai Street. Before he entered the Bai family as a slave, he had studied but had not achieved academic success. Later, because his family fell into poverty, he could not even afford to eat, let alone study, so he entered the Bai family as a slave.
Because she was literate and good-looking, she was chosen by Wen Ya to be an apprentice in the accounting office after two years, and she learned a lot of skills. She was supposed to be well trained, but she was unexpectedly seduced by Song Jin, a good girl, and her personal maid Du Juan was also seduced along the way.
She thought that in this way, the two of them would finally get married, which was a good thing. She could be considered the matchmaker, and Arong would definitely remember this favor.
Song Jin thought as he walked, feeling confident, so his steps were brisk, and the two of them arrived at Arong's house before noon.
She knocked on the door and it was A Rong who opened it himself. Song Jin was a little surprised.
"Arong, it's me, I'm back."
It went so smoothly.
Ah Rong was also very happy, his frown immediately relaxed: "Mancao? You're back? Come, quickly, come in."
A Rong led Song Jin and Chun Yun into the house. Song Jin took a quick look and saw a small courtyard. It was obvious that the family used to be well off, but now it was a little depressed, but at least it was a small square courtyard.
Several people sat in the hall. As Ah Rong made tea, he asked, "When did you come back? Was your trip smooth? Did Lord Ji make things difficult for you?"
"How could that be? Lord Ji is so nice to me." Song Jin seemingly unintentionally revealed her extremely close relationship with Ji Shubai. It is easier to get things done when you have a backer, even if this backer is someone others think is your backer.
When A Rong heard Song Jin say that he had a good relationship with Lord Ji, he was indeed very happy. No matter who it was, having a relationship with the co-magistrate of the government office would be something to brag about.
"Are we still doing business?"
He asked tentatively, and Song Jin affirmed: "Of course I will. I came to find you. I can't do business without you."
A Rong's lips curled up, as if he was a little happy, but soon the happiness disappeared.
"What's wrong? You won't come?"
"No," Ah Rong said softly, as if he was in some difficulty: "I... I really want to do business with you..."
When Song Jin heard his hesitant attitude, he suddenly felt a little annoyed.
Why does the whole world want to play with her? It's endless, right?
"What's going on?"
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