Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Deportation
Li Xiaoxiao took the thing Meng Guanqi handed her, opened it, and was immediately stunned: "What is this?"
Meng Guanqi asked, "Can't you read?"
Li Xiaoxiao looked at him blankly: "I know, this is my indenture, but why are you giving me this?"
Meng Guanqi looked at her: "Didn't you ever think about getting your citizenship removed? Didn't you ever think that I would let you get your citizenship removed?"
Li Xiaoxiao was stunned, staring blankly at the contract of indenture in her hand: "You, you want to release me from my status? You, you don't need me anymore?"
Li Xiaoxiao is not from this world. The people here regard "indentures" as something that is vital to their lives, but she does not have such thoughts.
In her eyes, the indenture was similar to an employment contract. She worked for the magistrate's family, and the magistrate's family paid her wages. Moreover, she was very lucky. Her first employer was a kind-hearted magistrate. Although his wife, Liu, was somewhat weak and incompetent, she was extremely kind to the servants.
In addition, her optimistic and carefree personality allowed her to quickly become one of the people in the mansion. There was no suppression or framing, no backstabbing or infighting. She could basically do whatever she wanted, so she lived a very comfortable life.
But now that Meng Guanqi has returned her indenture to her, it's tantamount to telling her that he's terminating her employment contract and that she's no longer a member of his family.
She didn't do anything wrong, so why fire her?
Li Xiaoxiao was unconvinced and felt somewhat wronged, and tears quickly welled up in her big eyes.
Meng Guanqi thought she would be so happy that she would spin around in celebration, but instead she looked like she was about to cry. He panicked immediately: "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm freeing you from your servitude, aren't you happy? So many servants who have signed indentures want to redeem themselves, but their masters won't let them go. Why are you crying?"
Having never seen her cry before, Meng Guanqi took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, but Li Xiaoxiao angrily snatched the handkerchief from his hand and threw it on the ground, forcing back her tears. She said fiercely, "I haven't done anything wrong, why are you kicking me out?"
"Get rid of her?" Meng Guanqi frowned. "When did I say I was going to get rid of you? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Li smiled and said, "Since you're not trying to get rid of me, why are you returning my indenture for no reason?"
Meng Guanqi said seriously, "I returned the indenture to you because I didn't want to keep taking advantage of you. You are so capable and have helped our family so much. It would be wrong to use the indenture to restrict your personal freedom. Although I know you don't care about this, I can't pretend I don't know about it just because you don't care."
Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but recall what Pang Shi had told her before he left. He had instructed her to remember to redeem herself before going to the capital.
She thought that Meng Guanqi probably wouldn't have much of a chance to go to the capital in the next few years, so she didn't take it to heart. But she didn't expect that as soon as Meng Guanqi came back, he would redeem her and release her from her free status.
But now that she no longer has a contract of indenture, can she still stay in the Meng family?
That's what she thought, and that's what she asked.
Meng Guanqi said matter-of-factly, "Of course you're still at my house. Otherwise, where would you go? I've returned your indenture to you. From now on, you're a commoner. We're no longer master and servant; we're employers and employees."
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "Hired?"
Meng Guanqi nodded: "You came to our family during our most difficult time. We had almost lost contact with our old friends in the capital, so no one said anything to you during the year you were sold into servitude and acted recklessly in the backyard. This was partly because my parents were kind and generous, and partly because our family was in dire straits and there was no need to maintain the old airs and adhere to the old rules. But my provincial examination is approaching, and if I pass it, those old friends I've lost contact with will probably start seeing each other again. Plus, my sister is of marriageable age, and her marriage will definitely be on the agenda... With more people coming and going, even without my parents mentioning it, Granny Qi will probably pick up the old rules again and adopt the manners of an official's family. With your straightforward nature, you'll definitely find it very difficult to get used to. But if you're just a hired hand, these rules will naturally be much more lenient..."
He sighed, trying to soften his tone: "You may not like to hear this, but there is a clear hierarchy between servants and masters, especially for servants who have signed indentures. Their life or death, or being given away, is entirely in the master's hands. They may not share in the master's glory, but if the master is convicted, they will definitely be implicated and sold like merchandise... Do you want to be in that situation?"
Seeing that she didn't react in a daze, he added, "Once Granny Qi establishes the rules of the manor, the first one will be the curfew; the maids and servants in the house will not be allowed to go out casually—"
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiaoxiao snatched the indenture from his hand, hid it in her bosom, and pulled him outside, saying, "Come on, come on, come with me to the yamen to change your household registration..."
Meng Guanqi stopped her: "Wait, you have to promise me one more thing."
Li smiled and asked, "What is it?"
Meng Guanqi looked at her nervously: "After the household registration is changed, you won't just turn around and leave, will you?"
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "Turn around and leave? Where am I supposed to go?"
Meng Guanqi looked at her earnestly: "You don't need to go anywhere. Everything will remain the same as before. You will come with me to Lin'an Prefecture to participate in the provincial examination, and in the future, you will go to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination. You will stay by my side and protect me, okay?"
"Going to the capital in the future?" Li Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up: "Pang Shi came before and said we would meet in the capital. Can I go too?"
Meng Guanqi said, "Of course you can go. Just wait for me. At the latest, I can take you to the capital in two years. Not only can I take you to the capital, but I can also take you to other places to study." After he finished the provincial examination, he returned to Wanshan Academy to study for two years. According to the rules, he could start studying in the third year. He could decide where he wanted to go and travel all the way to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination.
This was the path that almost all candidates would choose.
Having learned enough from the knowledge in the academy, the teachers would also encourage the candidates to travel and study more, to gather local customs and experiences, to gain a deeper understanding of people's lives and broaden their horizons. This would also deepen their understanding of the interpretations in the books, and make their writing more refined and insightful.
The farthest place Li Xiaoxiao had ever been was Luzhou. She was a restless person to begin with, and when she heard that she could travel and study everywhere, a look of longing appeared in her eyes: "Okay, then I'll go with you."
Meng Guanqi calmly took out another piece of paper from his pocket and handed her a pen: "Then sign this contract as well, and we'll take it to the yamen to register it together."
Li Xiaoxiao took it and saw that it was an employment contract. The employer's name was Meng Guanqi, and the employee's name was left blank. Meng Guanqi pointed to the blank space and said, "Sign here, and we'll go to the yamen together."
Li Xiaoxiao was still looking at the new contract without making a move. Meng Guanqi's palms couldn't help but sweat. Would she change her mind if she saw that the signing period was too long?
Li Xiaoxiao exclaimed "Eh!" and pointed to a spot, saying, "It says here that the monthly salary is two taels of silver? Am I getting a raise?"
Meng Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course, two taels of silver a month, clothes and shoes for all four seasons, and holiday gifts will not be lacking. It's the same as in our mansion. Whatever Madam Mao and the others have, you will have too."
Li Xiaoxiao beamed, picked up the pen, and signed her name in the blank space: "I knew I'd struck gold this year! Money's pouring in, I can't even spend it all!"
After watching her sign her name, Meng Guanqi calmly took the contract back, carefully folded it a few times, and put it in his pocket: "Let's go, let's hurry up, lest my father leaves."
The two went to the front office to find Magistrate Meng. Magistrate Meng picked up Li Xiaoxiao's indenture and held it in front of him, but his eyes were subtly scrutinizing Li Xiaoxiao through the paper. The girl's face was slightly dark, but her eyes were bright and she was full of energy. He glanced at Meng Guanqi, who had fair skin but was staring at Li Xiaoxiao with a nervous expression, and sighed inwardly.
My son is growing up, and there are more things to worry about now. Is his aesthetic sense a bit skewed?
But Magistrate Meng pretended to be deaf and dumb, said nothing, handed Li Xiaoxiao's indenture to his clerk and asked him to cancel her registration and re-register her household registration.
The clerk completed the cancellation of the household registration in less than half an hour, and issued a new household registration for Li Xiaoxiao, stamping it with the official seal of the county government.
Magistrate Meng handed the register to Li Xiaoxiao: "From today onwards, you are also a citizen of Biyang County. Will you regret it?"
Li Xiaoxiao asked curiously, "I won't regret it~" This is equivalent to her ID card. She has obtained an official ID card. She should be happy. Why would she regret it?
Magistrate Meng then said, "Your ancestral home is in Jizhou. The floods are over, and you are now free. Have you ever thought about going back to visit?"
Li Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes, a complex emotion flashing in them. Jizhou was the place where she had fallen after transmigrating from the apocalypse.
She fell into Niutou'ao Village, Huangshiling Town, just as a raging flood hit. She was rescued by a little girl named Xiaoyan. The two clung to a big tree in the floodwaters. She learned some information about the world from Xiaoyan. In the end, she was seriously injured and fell into a coma. When she woke up again, Xiaoyan had been swept away by the flood.
She impersonated Xiao Yan's household registration and wandered to Biyang County with the refugees, where she sold herself into the household of the county magistrate.
Unexpectedly, more than a year later, she heard about this place again from Magistrate Meng.
She looked up: "Sir, do you know how many people are left in Huangshiling Town after the flood in Jizhou?"
Magistrate Meng sighed, "Huangshiling Town was the most severely affected area. The mountains collapsed and the earth cracked, nine out of ten houses were empty, and only one in a hundred people managed to escape... I was presumptuous to bring up this sad matter."
Li Xiaoxiao's expression changed slightly: "Landslides and earthquakes? Wasn't it a flood? Or was there an earthquake?"
Magistrate Meng said, "The imperial court's report said that there was indeed a landslide and earthquake. The highest peak in Huangshiling Town was flattened by the flood, and the flat land became a deep valley. In the center of the valley, a huge hole appeared, and all the floodwaters flowed into it and disappeared. The water neither overflowed nor was it filled. The imperial envoy went to see it in person, and it is said that he dared not move his feet after just one look, as if it were an unfathomable black hole that inspired fear. As for how this phenomenon was formed, no one can explain it clearly."
Li Xiaoxiao's face turned pale instantly. There was no earthquake, so how could an ordinary flood flatten a mountain and turn a plain into a deep valley? To achieve such an effect, an extremely large energy field would be required.
Thinking that he had appeared in Niutou'ao Village, Huangshiling Town, and that this black hole happened to be nearby, could this black hole be related to a time tunnel?
Li Xiaoxiao couldn't help but shudder. Huangshiling Town, she would never go there again, even if it meant death!
What if the black hole senses her presence, senses that her energy field doesn't belong to this world, and then sucks her back in?
She lived to be sixteen in her previous life, and only in the year or so since she transmigrated did she finally begin to live a normal life. She was also about to achieve her goal of living a carefree and leisurely life. The job she found was simple and comforting, and her master was kind and good-tempered. Her occasional acts of bravery moved them so much that they gave her money, goods, and even a household registration. If she were to be sucked back into the world, given her current lazy and unambitious state, she probably wouldn't survive more than three days.
She involuntarily took a step back, as if she were about to turn and run away at any moment.
Meng Guanqi had been observing her. Seeing that her face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat, he thought she had been stressed. He quickly held her hand tightly and whispered to comfort her, "Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid, it's all over now."
Magistrate Meng, who caught them red-handed: ...
He closed his eyes, pretending not to see, and waved his hand: "Go down."
Meng Guanqi quickly pulled Li Xiaoxiao home, looking at her with concern: "Xiaoxiao, what's wrong?"
Li Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and said to Meng Guanqi very seriously, "I don't want to go to Jizhou. I'm afraid of that place."
Meng Guanqi thought she didn't want to face the previous tragedy again, so she quickly said, "It's alright, if you don't want to go, you don't have to. My father was just asking casually. We're hundreds of miles away from Jizhou, we won't go there unless there's a reason, don't worry..."
The damage caused by that flood must have been buried deep in her heart, something she dared not touch, which is why she reacted so strongly when Magistrate Meng suddenly brought it up.
Li Xiaoxiao looked at him and said, "I will protect you. You can go anywhere else to study, but I will not go to Jizhou."
Meng Guanqi could clearly see the fear in her eyes, and his heart ached terribly. He clenched her hand tightly and said, "Okay, we won't go there. Even if we pass by, we'll go around it."
Li Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that he was holding her hand again.
His hands were so white, with long, slender, and fair fingers, which made her dark skin look less attractive.
Li Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and felt that she might need to explain to him the differences between men and women.
In her mind, she was sixteen and he was fifteen, both still children. Holding hands like this seemed harmless, but this was in ancient times. In other people's eyes, she was already an adult, and Meng Guanqi was not young either. The two of them could not just hold hands casually.
Meng Guanqi seems to always like holding her hand, which is probably a bad habit.
She took his hand in her own and said to him earnestly, "Son, you're fifteen now. You've grown up. You can't hold my hand like you did when you were little."
Meng Guanqi was taken aback, a blush quickly spreading across his ears. He then retorted, "Nonsense! When have you ever seen what I looked like as a child? You only came to our house last year! I was already fourteen last year."
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "When I first saw you here, you were like this." She pointed to his cheek and said, "You still had some fat on you. You only lost it this year as you grew up. In my eyes, you looked like a child."
Meng Guanqi said with dissatisfaction, "You're only a year older than me, not eleven years older, so why do you always talk like an old man?"
Li Xiaoxiao sighed, "I've experienced tremendous changes, so my mindset is a bit old-fashioned..."
After a few words of bickering, Li Xiaoxiao felt much better. Meng Guanqi took out a silver ingot from his purse and handed it to her: "You've regained your status as a law-abiding citizen. Go back to the inner courtyard and ask Mama Mao to prepare two tables of food to celebrate. We're leaving for Lin'an Prefecture in a couple of days to prepare for the provincial examinations, and it'll be more than a month before we return..."
For the first time in her life, Li Xiaoxiao refused his reward, patting her chest and saying, "I have plenty of money now! You don't need to give me any. I'll go and ask Mama Mao to prepare nine large dishes for the whole family to eat together!"
Meng Guanqi watched her skip and hop away into the inner courtyard, then glanced at his own hands, remembering her lack of understanding of romance, and sighed inwardly.
It seems he needs to work even harder.
Li Xiaoxiao gave Mama Mao ten taels of silver, asking her to prepare nine large dishes: "Is that enough? There are more people in the family now; we'll need three tables of food!"
After the emperor's reward money arrived, Liu finally added people to her family. Moreover, instead of looking in Biyang County, she entrusted a brokerage firm in Lin'an Prefecture and bought six men and six women, a total of twelve people, which finally solved the family's predicament of insufficient population. Including the original dozen or so people, the family now has nearly thirty people, just enough for three tables of food.
With mixed feelings, Madam Mao patted Li Xiaoxiao's head: "Ten taels of silver could make not just nine large dishes, but even eighteen simple dishes. You, you still spend money recklessly and without restraint—"
I wanted to advise her to be more frugal, but then I thought she was a very capable person who could make money much more easily than them, so I swallowed my words.
Well, her old experience might not be right. Haven't you seen how Li Xiaoxiao never leaves food for the next day, yet she still has more and more money in her hands?
She was very pleased: "When you first came last year, you were dark and thin, and you spoke without thinking. I thought you were a silly girl who couldn't be brought up to the table. I thought it would be good enough if you could just work as a helper in the kitchen and live a peaceful life. I never expected that you would be able to redeem yourself this year."
She tucked a stray hair behind Li Xiaoxiao's ear and said, "Xiaoxiao, you've met a good master. Ordinary families wouldn't be willing to let go of a servant as capable as you. No matter how much money you offer, they won't let you go and will force you to do many things you don't want to do. Remember, selling yourself is enough once in a lifetime. Never sell yourself again."
Li Xiaoxiao nodded solemnly: "I don't need to sell myself anymore. The young master said that I can still serve by his side as before."
Mao's mother was the first person to treat Li Xiaoxiao well when she came into this world. Although she was fierce in her words, she never really did anything. When Li Xiaoxiao did something wrong, Mao's mother would scold her by pulling her ear, but she would never hit her hard. Mao's mother also taught her a lot about how to conduct herself in life. It can be said that without Mao's mother's protective nature, Li Xiaoxiao would not have been able to maintain her straightforward personality.
Everyone in this family treats me very, very well.
She was all alone, with no ties to anyone. Although she had regained her freedom, she had no intention of leaving. As long as Meng Guanqi needed her, she would stay by his side to protect him.
As for the future, she'll consider it later.
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