Chapter 66 Losing Money! "Pah!" A voice from the crowd...
"Pah!" someone in the crowd spat. "They say the other party came knocking, but who doesn't know that Liu Dabao has always been a beast who preys on both young and old? He's almost gambled away the entire Liu family's fortune. I wonder where he'll sell this girl to pay off her gambling debts."
“Yes, that’s right,” another person stepped forward and said, “That man is a beast. He takes advantage of his few plots of land to indulge in all sorts of vices—drinking, gambling, whoring, and prostitution. That second young lady that Madam Feng mentioned earlier was someone he gambled away and sold to some old geezer…”
The man lowered his voice and quickly looked at Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian to explain, "It seems that the Second Miss was saved by you two kind people. That's wonderful!"
Lin Qing'an didn't speak, and Chen Gengnian was busy with his work. Seeing that they didn't respond, he didn't say anything more and turned to continue talking about Liu Dabao and the child bride.
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian listened to these people talking one after another, treating everything except Liu Yiyi's matter as mere gossip.
After all, in this era, the hobbies of the rich are often vulgar, and they are all in cahoots, with countless unchangeable customs that the law cannot punish.
Inside the house.
Lin Jing helped Liu Yiyi tie up her loose hair, allowing Liu Yiyi's pitiful oval face to be revealed.
"I'm going to see my mother first. I'll leave things here with Aqing and the others." Liu Yiyi's voice was a little hoarse, but she remained relatively calm.
"No! I'll go with you." Lin Jing didn't stop her at all. She knew how anxious she was, so even her words were forceful.
Liu Yiyi shook her head and refused, "No, I'll go by myself."
Lin Jing gritted her teeth, grabbed her hand, half-squatted in front of her, locked her gaze into those watery eyes, and said earnestly and unquestionably, "I must go with you, no matter how you refuse."
Liu Yiyi looked over and, seeing the determination in Lin Jing's eyes, knew she couldn't stop him. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded in agreement.
When their eyes met, their unspoken worries were clear to each other. Some things don't need to be said so explicitly, just like... the relationship between them.
After this incident, Lin Qing'an and his group packed up their stall after selling all the potatoes in the pot. As they entered the house, they happened to bump into Liu Yiyi and Lin Jing, who were about to leave.
"Go to the Liu family?" Lin Qing'an asked.
Lin Jing nodded, "Yes, Brother Nian, A Qing, I'll go with Yi Yi to see her mother."
Lin Qingan didn't try to stop him, but instead looked at Chen Gengnian and said, "Then let Brother Nian go with you."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yiyi quickly waved her hand, "No need, Aqing, Ajing can come with me."
“I’ll go with you. I see your situation over there isn’t good either. I don’t know what awaits you when you go back.”
Although Chen Gengnian was not very talkative, every word he said had an effect. Lin Jing accompanied Liu Yiyi because she was afraid that the Liu family would cause trouble for her. She had always admired Chen Gengnian the most, and since the other party treated them as family, she was naturally very grateful.
Liu Yiyi wanted to refuse again, but before she could speak, Lin Jing interrupted her, saying gratefully to Chen Gengnian and Lin Qing'an, "Brother Nian and Qing'an, thank you."
A simple thank you may seem insignificant, but it's the proper etiquette. It's not just empty words; I will show my gratitude through my actions in the future.
That was settled. Without even having lunch, Chen Gengnian and Lin Jing accompanied Liu Yiyi back to the Liu family home.
Lin Qing'an had actually planned to go with them, but there were too many people and it would be too much of a fuss, and he wouldn't be of any use if he went, so he decided to stay and guard the shop.
After the potato stall at the entrance closed down, and with the occasional rain showers, business at the store wasn't as good. Occasionally, one or two people would come in to buy some snacks and dried goods.
After having some free time, Lin Qingan tried to call out to A Meng with his mind, but there was no response even after calling several times.
Lin Qingan then realized that A Meng was very, very far away from him, so far that he couldn't even contact him with his thoughts.
Alas! Just as the moon waxes and wanes, so too do people experience joy and sorrow, separation and reunion.
I didn't notice it when we saw each other every day, but after only a few days apart, I already miss him terribly. I wonder if his senior brother has found a suitable place yet.
Just as I was feeling down, I heard voices coming from the doorway.
Thinking it was a customer coming in to buy something, Lin Qing'an lazily said, "Just browsing," and didn't get up, continuing to lie on the counter playing with the abacus beads.
A row of shadows blocked the light, and a voice rang in my ears.
"Ah Qing, this really is your shop. It seems I haven't come to the wrong place."
Hearing that familiar voice, Lin Qing'an suddenly looked up and bumped right into Zhang Cuiping's hypocritical little face.
He stood up abruptly, asking in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"We came to your shop to take a look. You've been running this business for so long without telling your family. What kind of behavior is this!"
These words were spoken by Lin Yongwu, who looked at Lin Qing'an with feigned anger, as if an elder were reprimanding a junior.
Before Lin Qing'an could even see his guest off, Zhang Cuiping said in a shrill voice, "That's right, Qing'an, if we hadn't just heard about you sneaking into town to open a shop recently, you probably would have kept it a secret from us your whole life."
Lin Qing'an got a headache just looking at the couple, let alone having to see their hypocritical faces.
He slammed the abacus beads on the cabinet with a snap and shouted angrily, "Get out! I don't welcome you big shots here."
"Hey you..."
"Alright, alright." Lin Yongwu pulled Zhang Cuiping, who was about to get angry, and smoothed things over, saying, "Why are you arguing with a child? We can look after each other in town from now on."
Lin Qing'an didn't quite understand, but he wasn't very interested either, and he didn't even look at them directly.
He coldly dismissed them again: "I don't care what you're here for, please leave and don't bother coming back!"
He had barely finished speaking when he saw Lin Tianyou pick up the snacks without any regard for the consequences and start eating them. Not only did he eat, but he also stuffed them into his pockets. Lin Qing'an was immediately enraged and reprimanded him.
"Lin Tianyou, what are you doing! Put it down!"
The group was startled by his sudden roar. Lin Tianyou was so frightened that he dropped what he was holding and burst into tears after a half-second of hesitation.
"Oh dear, son, don't cry... don't cry." Zhang Cuiping quickly hugged her precious son and comforted him, while scolding Lin Qing'an, "Lin Qing'an, what's wrong with you? Look how scared you've made your little brother! What's wrong with eating some of your food? It's not like we can't afford to pay!"
Lin Yongwu was also very unhappy. He put on a stern face and tried to lecture Lin Qing'an as an elder. Lin Qing'an was not stupid. He didn't give him a chance to speak and started to argue back.
"You ask me what happened? Did he pay before eating? You said you paid, right? Fine, one tael of silver." Lin Qing'an spread his hands. "If you don't take it, I'll consider it theft. Immediately shout at the door that your son stole something, and that your whole family is involved. Then I'll see if people believe you or me!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuiping instantly flew into a rage, "How much? One tael of silver? Are you running a shady inn? Why don't you just rob someone?"
"That's fine for others, but this is the price for you. Pay up!" Lin Qingan smirked, openly provoking him.
Lin Yongwu and Zhang Cuiping were both so angry that their hearts ached. Lin Yongwu looked extremely disappointed and said, "What are you saying, you brat? We're family, why do we have to be so calculating? Ayou is so small, how much food can he eat from you? It costs one or two taels of silver. Besides, he's your cousin, you're related by blood!"
Lin Qing'an felt like vomiting from hearing it. He suppressed the urge to beat Lin Yongwu to a pulp and said, "Stop! I don't have a brother like that. Besides, I've cut ties with you all a long time ago. We're strangers now. I'd be ashamed to even admit I'm from the same village as you. And besides..."
Lin Qing'an suddenly stopped, his eyes sweeping over Lin Tianyou and Lin Pan'er, who had been hiding behind Zhang Cuiping, before he said, "Don't you even remember how they used to bully my Ah Feng? Let alone this little bit, I wouldn't give it to you even if you fed it to the dogs!"
Lin Tianyou's crying grew louder, like a dead child who hadn't been weaned, wailing in Zhang Cuiping's arms.
The noise was so loud that several neighbors came over to ask what was going on.
Lin Qingan thought he could handle it himself, so he made up an excuse to decline his neighbor's offer.
"Give it to me." Lin Qing'an shook his palm forcefully and said forcefully, "One tael of silver, not a penny less, or I will call for help immediately."
"You...you...how dare you actually want it!" Zhang Cuiping's chest heaved with anger, while Lin Yongwu was so angry that his eyes went blurry.
Seeing that they didn't react, Lin Qing'an didn't give in and asked one last time, "Are you taking it or not?"
"You unfilial son!" Lin Yongwu raised his hand to point at Lin Qing'an, but before his hand was halfway there, Lin Qing'an grabbed the outstretched index finger and quickly pried it off with great force.
Lin Yongwu was so frightened that he withdrew his finger at the last moment, faster than he had ever done in his life.
He quickly put his hands behind his back and rubbed them repeatedly, clearly terrified.
Lin Qing'an was too lazy to deal with them and was about to shout, but Zhang Cuiping quickly stopped him before he could make a sound.
"Here you go!" Zhang Cuiping said, reaching into her pocket for her silver pouch.
She can't afford to lose face like this now.
Lin Qing'an thought she would only give him ten or twenty coins at most, but to his surprise, she readily gave him one or two taels of silver.
Moreover, Lin Qing'an noticed that her silver purse was bulging, indicating that she had a considerable amount of money.
Lin Qing'an took the silver, and then reluctantly looked at the people in front of him.
The group of people, who usually dressed simply, were all wearing new clothes. Moreover, the clothes were some of the new styles that the clothing store was selling. He and Chen Gengnian had seen them when they went shopping a while ago and thought the prices were quite expensive.
Why would Zhang Cuiping be so generous on a day that is neither a holiday nor a festival?
Although there's always a reason behind unusual behavior, he didn't want to know anymore. In any case, given this family's character, their wealth couldn't have come from any legitimate source.
Lin Qing'an really didn't want to see these people hanging around in front of him anymore, so he spoke up forcefully to shoo them away, "Alright, pick up what's on the ground! Get out of my shop now, I don't welcome you."
He felt that neither side owed the other anything and they should not interfere with each other, but the other party was relentless.
Just moments before, Zhang Cuiping had been furious, but now she pulled Lin Pan'er to the front, her voice laced with smugness: "You think you're the only one who can get rich? The family my Pan'er will marry will be much richer than that poor man you married, and of course, much more valuable than your run-down shop. We came today hoping you'd come to our wedding in a couple of days, thinking we'd be family and could ask the son-in-law for help if we ever had any problems. But since you're so ungrateful, we'll pretend we weren't here! You don't care about building connections with us, but our connections will be something you can't afford to rely on!"
Lin Qing'an was utterly shocked when he heard Lin Pan'er say that she was getting married.
Good heavens, how old is Lin Pan'er?
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