Chapter 3 Borrowing Money
Caiwei murmured inwardly, perhaps the old lady was worried that she wouldn't be able to get the half tael of silver that the young lady earned every month from drawing amulets for the temple, and would have to pay for the medical consultation instead?
"Back at the Old Lady's temple, they've already prepared a decoction to cool down the pilgrims. Miss, you're just in time to get it without spending any money."
After Caiwei finished speaking, she hurriedly looked at Chen Chunhua's face, only to see that her slightly wrinkled brows relaxed and a smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
As expected, she guessed correctly. The old lady was thinking about the young lady's half a tael of monthly salary.
"Although Sister Yu is weak, she is quite lucky. I am worried about her. I just hope she can recover in the temple soon."
Nanny Wen, who was waiting at the side, said hurriedly, "Old Madam, your words are auspicious. The young lady will surely recover."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Chen Chunhua's face froze.
The wild girl is still weak and sickly. If she recovers, won’t she have to collect half a tael of silver less every month?
"Caiwei, please leave. Tomorrow her and her mother will be back. There's no need to rush to pay your respects. Come back after you've rested."
"Yes, I'll take my leave."
Caiwei walked out of the lobby and ran into Song Minglang, the third master of the Song family, who was striding towards her with a folding fan in his hand.
Caiwei hurriedly bowed and stepped aside.
Song Minglang tilted his head to look at her and raised his eyebrows, "Lift your head up so I can see."
Caiwei raised her head slightly and said, "Greetings, Third Master."
Song Minglang looked at her beautiful face and felt a little distracted for a moment. This girl was becoming more and more beautiful.
"Minglang!" Song Minglang was about to lift Caiwei's chin with his folding fan when Cui's voice sounded behind him.
Song Minglang was so scared that he quickly put away his folding fan and walked straight towards the main hall.
Cui walked up to Caiwei, glared at her, and whispered a warning, "You little bitch, dare to seduce the Third Master? Be careful or I'll tear your face off!"
Caiwei lowered her head even lower, "I dare not!"
Seeing Caiwei like this, Cui became more and more annoyed and raised her hand to slap her.
As if he had some concerns, he quickly put it back and went into the main room.
"What did you say? A hundred taels to buy the four treasures of the study for Rui'er? Are you crazy?"
Chen Chunhua was furious when her youngest son asked for money right away. "Do you know how much money one hundred taels is? Do the villagers even make a hundred taels a year? Do you think our Song family has a good life and that money just comes from the wind?"
Song Minglang felt a little helpless. Every time he came to ask for money, he had to talk a lot, but in the end he still had to give it to him, right?
"Don't we still have cotton fields, tea fields, orchards, fish ponds..."
"That doesn't belong to our Song family alone." Chen Chunhua quickly interrupted him.
Although the Song family accounts for the majority of the income and has a lot of money every year, they can't spend it one hundred taels at a time. No matter how rich they are, they can't afford it. "It's not even the beginning of the dog days yet, and Sister Yu has fainted from heatstroke. It hasn't rained yet, so I'm afraid this year's harvest will be bad."
Song Minglang suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and fanned himself quickly, "Rui'er is studying in the county now. He finally passed the exam and became a scholar. Isn't it embarrassing to use cheap pens, ink, paper and inkstone?"
Chen Chunhua: ...
"These are just small amounts of money. Rui'er will go to Beijing to take the imperial examination in the future. If he passes, he will be able to become an official in Beijing. With my brother-in-law's help in the court, Rui'er will definitely be able to become an official in Beijing. In the future, he can even ask for an imperial decree for mother. Are you happy?"
Chen Chunhua rolled her eyes at him and said, "You talk nicely, but you still want a hundred taels?" Chen Chunhua said this but in her heart she hoped that her eldest grandson would pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official in Beijing in the future, and ask for a title for her.
At that time, she was not only an old lady respected by everyone in the village, but also the wives of officials in the capital who were of lower rank than her had to bow to her when they saw her.
"Mother, please give it to your son."
After all, Chen Chunhua had lived through hard times. Asking her to take out a hundred taels would be like cutting into her flesh. She rolled her eyes and said, "Mother would like to give it to you, but I really don't have it. You also know that your eldest brother receives a monthly stipend from the imperial court. In the past twenty years, the total amount is less than a hundred taels."
"Minglang." Cui calmly tugged at Song Minglang's sleeve. "Brother should be back from the capital in a few days."
Song Minglang understood immediately and said with a smile: "Brother Rui, it doesn't matter if you use the new brush, ink, paper and inkstone a few days later. When big brother comes back, you will have money."
Chen Chunhua's face darkened instantly. "Don't try to plot against me. You know your elder brother is kindhearted and he even acts as a lawyer for the poor for free."
"Mom, don't try to fool me. Big brother is well-known outside now. Many gentry and wealthy businessmen will come to him to be his lawyer. If he takes on a few gentry and wealthy businessmen, how can he still be short of money?"
Chen Chunhua was speechless for a moment. "...Even so, your elder brother wouldn't ask for a hundred taels for a lawyer's job. This time when he went to the provincial capital, he might even be working for free."
Song Minglang frowned, "Then let Big Brother borrow money from Wen Can. He will definitely lend it to you. After all, Big Brother likes Rui'er and will definitely not let Rui'er use cheap pens, ink, paper, and inkstone. Besides, if Rui'er is poorly fed and clothed, wouldn't it be embarrassing for our Song family?"
"Yes, mother." Cui hastened to agree, "Brother Rui is your eldest grandson, you can't treat him unfairly."
Nanny Wen, who was serving on the side, couldn't help but secretly complain, has the Third Master forgotten that he also has a tavern and several shops in the county?
The village chief pooled his money to open the restaurant for him, and the liquor and drinks were all from the Wen family, at low prices and of high quality.
Don’t you have a hundred taels of silver to buy writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone for the young master?
Let the village chief borrow money from the Wen family, and then won’t the village chief be the one to pay it back?
This is really treating the village chief as a fat sheep, you can take advantage of him!
Chen Chunhua took a sip of the herbal tea. As long as it didn't cost her money, she was happy to do it. "Okay, then I'll wait for your eldest brother to come back and talk to him."
Song Minglang was delighted. He glanced at Cui and said, "Since you asked Big Brother to borrow money from Wen Can, then let Big Brother borrow more, borrow... ten thousand taels."
"Puff..." Chen Chunhua sprayed a mouthful of cold tea on Song Minglang's face.
Nanny Wen and the others quickly lowered their heads, fearing that they would not be able to hold back their laughter.
"How dare you ask your eldest brother for ten thousand taels. Even if the Wen family is rich, they earned it through hard work. So, will you pay it back, or will your eldest brother?"
Song Minglang didn't take it seriously. He took the handkerchief Cui handed over and wiped his face calmly. "Brother is very capable and smart. He will always be able to pay back the money."
The Wen family also helped to contribute to the dowry that the eldest brother prepared for Mingzhu, and they didn't ask the eldest brother for any money.
He didn't dare to say it directly in front of the maids and servants sent by the Cui family.
This ten thousand taels is a drop in the bucket for the Wen family.
Lending ten thousand taels to the eldest brother is equivalent to giving it to the eldest brother.
Chen Chunhua glanced at Cui, who was dressed in brocade and pearls, and said in a deep voice, "Is it that your third brother owes money to the gambling house again?"
Cui's heart skipped a beat, "No."
"No? Nanny Wen."
"The old slave is here!"
"Immediately send someone to check if the third son of the Cui family owes money to the gambling house again? We, the Song family, will not be suckered into lending him money to pay him back!"
"yes."
"Mother!" Song Minglang stopped Nanny Wen, "My son actually wants to buy a few more shops in the county so that he can earn more money. Once we have enough money, when Rui'er goes to the capital to serve as an official, we can go there to buy real estate and farmland."
"Son, this is also for our Rui brother's future. Our family has real estate and farms in Beijing. Rui brother will be favored by the emperor in the future. There will be many noble ladies in the capital who want to marry our Rui brother."
Chen Chunhua looked at the couple suspiciously, "Is this money really used to expand the store?"
"Of course, I can't hide it from Big Brother's sharp eyes."
"Well, I'll tell your eldest brother when he comes back. You can go out now."
Cui: "Mother, I have something to tell you alone."
Chen Chunhua narrowed her eyes and looked at Cui. After a while, she let Nanny Wen and others leave.
"Tell me, is there anything you want to talk to me alone?"
Cui said, "The indentures of these maids and servants sent by the Wen family are still in their hands. Without them in our hands, how can they truly be loyal to our Song family?"
Chen Chunhua rolled her eyes at Cui, knowing what she was thinking. She had also thought about taking the indenture contract into her hands.
But with the indenture in hand, I have nothing to do with the Wen family, which means I have to pay monthly wages to the maids and old women!
"Be content that we didn't stuff young and beautiful maids into your couple's room. Keep your family members from asking for money. Although Minglang is a commoner now, when Rui Ge gets admitted to high school in the future, our Song family will be much better than it is today. It won't be impossible for us to bring in a concubine."
Cui's face turned pale instantly.
"...If my son wants to take a concubine in the future, I will definitely not stop him. Young and beautiful women are like the fish in our village pond, there are so many of them, you can never kill them all. What you need to do is to firmly grasp your man's heart, understand?"
"My daughter-in-law understands."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com