Chapter 124
After the exam, Luo Yan went on a long journey, so the private school was on break and had a long vacation.
Xiao Li'er's life was really happy when he didn't go to private school. He could sleep until noon every day. Not only that, he could also go out shopping and have fun whenever he wanted.
But there were also some unpleasant things, and he didn't know what was going on. In the past, his brother, who was as stupid as a wooden fish and only devoted to reading sage books, rarely spoke to Xiaoxing when the three of them were in the same classroom. But ever since the teacher helped the family with the lawsuit last time, his brother became very familiar with Xiaoxing.
During these days when there was no school, Xiao Xing didn't always come to see him alone. Sometimes he would discuss poetry and articles with his brother in the study, and draw, and they could stay there for the whole morning.
He also liked to join in the fun and spend time in the study with them, but his interest was not as high as the two of them. He would stay for an hour at most and then slip away. In the end, he was the only one having fun.
Fortunately, his father often goes back to the village recently, so he follows him to the village.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He have indeed been busy running back and forth to the village recently. Their family is planning to buy a mountain top, and they need to compare them one by one, looking at the size of the mountain, what kind of trees there are, whether it is facing the sun, and so on. There are many things to consider.
Although our family can be considered wealthy now, money does not come easily after all. We still have to calculate carefully when we encounter big expenses.
Ruili went to the countryside with his father, climbing from one hill to another. The mountains were not that cold in early winter, and there were still many sunny days, so it was a perfect time to climb mountains and see the mountains.
"The forests here are lush and sunny. Dad, don't look at them any more. It's better to stay on this hill. There are many mountain elm peppers and wild walnut trees. I'm sure we can get a lot in autumn."
Ruili was a little tired after climbing the mountain for half an hour. He didn't care about his expensive clothes and just sat down on the ground.
I pulled a piece of foxtail grass from the roadside, rubbed it back and forth, and began to fantasize: "When the time comes, I will raise some rabbits and small prey in the mountains. When the autumn harvest is good, I will open it to the outside world like the horse farms in the suburbs. People can come in and hunt for money. Then we will have another thing to do around our village. How great it is."
Zhang Fangyuan glanced at Xiaolige: "You are good at calculating."
"That's right. I have to take care of the family business in the future."
Xu He shook his head: "Take care of yourself first."
As they were talking, a rustling sound came from the steep mountain road. Little Li pricked up his ears, his eyes sparkling, and he quickly stood up: "Could it be a small animal?"
Just as he finished speaking, a young boy came down the mountain from behind the bushes on the mountain road, carrying two bundles of firewood. When Xiaoli saw that it was a person, he was a little disappointed and sat back down.
He took a look at the man carrying the firewood. He had a young face and looked about the same age as him, but was quite tall like his brother.
When Xiaoli saw the young man carrying firewood in patched clothes, who was running around in the mountains and looking so miserable, he silently admired the man for his diligence and ability. He then moved his butt uninterestedly to make way. However, when the man came closer, he narrowed his eyes and smacked his lips. This little villager was really interesting in appearance.
What does the book say? Standing like a delicate orchid and a jade tree, smiling like the bright moon in your arms.
He couldn't help but say something familiar: "Hurry up and get a few more bundles of firewood. Who knows, this place might become a private mountain in a few days."
The young man carrying firewood heard these words that were obviously meant for him, and he lowered his eyes to glance at the bored young man who was holding his face up and said, "Thank you for telling me, sir."
"Why are you being polite? If this is my mountain in the future, I will allow you to come up the mountain to chop firewood." Little Li said with a smile, "Brother, my family has always been very generous to talents like you."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was hit on the back of his head: "I told you not to associate with the fat kid next door, what kind of words did you learn! You will be beaten by the teacher when he comes back."
Little Carp rubbed his head and said, "I just said hello to him. I didn't say anything else."
"Who would greet someone like that? Only hooligans and ruffians in the market would talk like that."
Xu He was so angry that he was at his wit's end. Fortunately, he was a boy. If he was a boy, he would have become a frivolous playboy.
Little Li covered his head with his hands. It was too humiliating to be beaten in front of others. However, he was worrying too much. The villagers did not stay to watch the fun. When he raised his head again, they had already walked away.
He only glanced at it once before looking away and said to his father who was watching the fun, "Dad, was he like this before?"
Zhang Fangyuan stopped laughing: "What does this have to do with me?"
"Dad used to be a gangster."
"Hey, who told you that my dad is a gangster? Dad has always been a serious person, otherwise why would your little dad care about me?"
Seeing that the two men were getting more and more outrageous as they talked, Xu He went forward to beat them up, but the two guys ran away very quickly.
Amidst the laughter, a voice came from the mountain road: "Boss Zhang is in a good mood."
The father and son turned around, and Zhang Fangyuan frowned: "Master Qin is also coming to see the mountain?"
"You can buy this if you have money. Boss Zhang can see it, so why can't I see it?"
"Master Qin, you are too serious."
Xu He came over when he heard the voice, and heard Zhang Fangyuan calling "Young Master Qin". Seeing that this person was not Qin Shang, he guessed that it must be Qin Shang's cousin Qin Zhong. This person had high brow bones and a shrewd and powerful face. Just by looking at him, one could tell that he was not a fool like Qin Shang who only relied on his family's power to bully others.
The few simple words between the two were full of tension. After Qin Zhong left, the originally relaxed atmosphere became less harmonious.
"Master, this Zhang was down and out in the dumps. If it weren't for you giving him a living, how could he be so prosperous today? In this lawsuit, Master, he didn't care about our past friendship. I must teach him a lesson."
Qin Zhong's expression was uncertain: "My eldest brother, that idiot, has caused a lot of trouble for the family. It would have been fine if he had caused trouble, but he is a useless idiot who only knows to ask the family to help him settle things when things go wrong. My uncle has been with my eldest brother for a long time, but he was tricked by someone."
"When the lawsuit was going on, he pestered my father every day and asked my sister to persuade the county magistrate. He said good things and the county magistrate was willing to help. But in the end, he kicked the nail. He was reprimanded by the prefect because of the lawsuit. In the end, the county magistrate had to take the lawsuit. He was angry and blamed the Qin family. Our family sent a lot of money to the government."
"My uncle's shop was ordered to be closed, and he also appeased the county magistrate by sending thousands of taels of silver. If I continue to help my uncle and my brother, these two idiots, the Qin family will be ruined by them sooner or later."
The servant asked, "So let's just forget about the lawsuit?"
"There is still a long way to go. The Zhang family's business has surpassed the Qin family. If not for my uncle and brother, I have to keep a close eye on the family business."
"Master is wise."
Xu He watched the people walking away, knowing that he had a feud with the Qin family, and it was impossible to resolve the conflict with just a few words. He said, "It seems that Qin Zhong is also interested in buying the mountain. Let's make a decision as soon as possible to avoid more trouble."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "Little Li likes this place, and it's not far from our village, so let's decide on it."
The yamen runner who had been taking the buyer to see the mountain for so many days was relieved to see that it was finally settled. Not only would it be one less thing to worry about after the mountain was sold, but the court would also give him some money as a reward. Moreover, the merchant buyer was also very considerate and would not only treat him to a good meal, but also give him some silver as a reward for his hard work.
The two parties reached a deal. Zhang Fangyuan took out a stack of silver bills and went to exchange the land deed for it, then went to the government office to handle the formalities.
The magistrate was quite flexible and acted as if the previous lawsuit had never happened. He treated Zhang Fangyuan the same as before, even more polite and enthusiastic than before. Of course Zhang Fangyuan knew why, but he never pointed it out. Life had to go on, and if he made too much of a fuss with the county government, it would be difficult to get things done in the future.
By the time the purchase of the mountain was completed, it was already winter.
The weather is getting colder day by day, and the houses in the mansion are filled with charcoal braziers. There is not much fun in winter. The wind is strong this winter, and it is always blowing outside. Brother Li's face becomes red with cold after walking around for a few rounds. Even if he likes to go out, he can't go out now.
On weekdays, I would take off my shoes and socks and lie on the small couch to read some of the latest novels in the city, but I would get bored of reading too much.
They were either stories about the undying love between a poor scholar and a rich lady, or stories about a rich lady escaping from the secular world and about poor boys... He put aside the storybooks and became quite interested in those supernatural stories.
"Are you still reading the storybooks?" When Rui Jin came over here, he saw the storybooks scattered all over the floor. He went forward to pick them up and stacked them on one side: "It's rare to stay in the house for a few days like this."
"I have nothing to do but to do these things." Little Li closed the book in his hand and said, "Brother is not in the study, why did you think of coming to my room?"
"The teacher has returned from his work trip. I think the private school will be open again tomorrow."
"ah?"
Shocked by the bad news, Xiaoli jumped up from the couch and said, "Master is back!"
“That way you won’t feel like you have nothing to do.”
Little Carp whimpered, "I'd rather have nothing to do."
"It's just right that you two are here. I have two new sets of winter clothes. Come and try them on to see if they fit you well."
When Xu He entered the room carrying clothes, he saw both brothers were there.
"It's cold this winter, so make two thick clothes so you won't feel cold when you go to school."
Little Li spread his arms and stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his new clothes. The only consolation was that the weather was cold and it might snow, so he could enjoy the snow scenery then.
"When did you get a scent sachet? I remember you didn't like wearing these before."
Little Li was having his maid tie the belt of his new clothes for him. When he heard what his father said, he tilted his head to look.
He saw that his brother had a small satin sachet on his waist, which was hung next to the heart-shaped jade pendants that each of the brothers had.
"You did it?"
Xu He asked Xiao Li while holding the sachet.
Ruili was just about to ask where he got this skill, but when he turned his head, he saw his brother winking at him: "That's right, I've been so bored lately, so I made one for you when I had some free time."
"It's very well done. It's really a good idea to let Xiao Xing teach you needlework." Xu He looked around at the sachet and was very satisfied: "Why don't you make one yourself and wear it?"
"I already smell so good, I don't need it."
Only stinky men would hang sachets, he rolled his eyes at Rui Jinwei.
"Okay, this dress is well made. It fits you both perfectly."
Xu He patted Rui Jin on the back and said, "Brother has grown a lot taller. Fortunately, he didn't make the small size of last year."
"Thank you, little daddy."
The two of them said something to Xu He.
"Okay, I'll go see if your dad is back, you guys can continue playing."
Seeing Xu He leave the room, Xiaoli came up to Ruijin like a puppy and sniffed: "Xiaoxing did it!"
"Don't talk nonsense." Rui Jin pushed away the head that was leaning towards him. He straightened his clothes and hung the sachet straight.
"You're still trying to fool me. There are plum blossoms in Xiaoxing's yard." Xiaoli snorted, "I'd rather do it for you than for me!"
"He said it was to thank me for teaching him how to ride a horse."
Little Li snorted and laughed: "Little Xing is just too polite. You didn't even teach me how to do it, but I made a sachet to thank you after I only went around twice."
He smiled again and said, "But that's true. Only people who are not familiar with each other are so polite. It's only right to give brother a sachet."
Zhang Ruijin's eyebrows twitched when he heard this: "You and I met Xiao Xing'er together, so how can we not be familiar with each other?"
"People are divided into different classes, and there are naturally close and distant relationships." Little Carp opened his eyes wide: "Little Carp and I talk every day and sleep on the same pillow, but my brother doesn't have that, so we are not just unfamiliar with each other, we are complete strangers!"
After listening to this, Rui Jin shook his sleeves and went out: "The master has asked you to write eight articles, so you can only wish for the best."
“Hey hey hey!”
Little Li brother changed his proud expression, quickly put on his shoes and chased after him: "No, you two are familiar with each other, you are the most familiar with each other, okay!"
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