Chapter 47 Chen Junbo, the miser, how many concubines do you plan to have...?
The bright moon hangs high, and sparse stars dot the sky.
A few strands of the girl's hair fell slightly inside the room, rising and falling with her breath and movements, making one's heart itch with desire.
Li Yang propped her head up with one hand and twirled an empty teacup in the other. The teacup in her hand seemed to have a temper, swirling to the left before she pulled it back to the right position.
She heard a slight noise and turned her head to see that Chen Junbo had changed out of his outer robe. She then picked up the kettle to pour water and pondered how to ask for his help.
"I got some green plums from Lady Luo's family today, have a taste."
Chen Junbo took it, nodded and smiled, "I do need these green plums to relieve my fatigue."
Hearing this, she tilted her head to look at him, only to hear him say, "The road surface is being compacted, you've come at the wrong time today, you're covered in dirt."
As he spoke, he placed the empty cup on the table and sat down beside her. "With the yellow sand everywhere, only Liu Yitong can stomach it. Today, he even shared the fried rice with us that was sent from his home. It's rare to see this miserly man being so generous."
Li Yang was puzzled. "He's a general manager, after all. Are you two going to fuss over something as small as a bowl of fried rice?"
Seeing her naivety, Chen Junbo smiled and said, "You don't know, the eggs that our Liu Yi and General Manager Liu eat are not ordinary ones. The eggs raised by his cook cost him one tael of silver each. A serving of fried rice must have at least five eggs to suit his taste, not to mention the other ingredients. Compared to those eggs, everything else is nothing."
"What kind of golden hen laid these eggs? One tael of silver each! Even if he doesn't know the value of things, he wouldn't be such a fool." Li Yang was instantly attracted by the exorbitantly priced eggs, completely forgetting that he had originally wanted to ask someone for a favor. "He's just being a rich fool."
Chen Junbai laughed and said, "How could someone as shrewd as him be fooled? You don't know, the old hen that the cook raises eats ginseng and atractylodes every day, and he even gave it a name called 'Ginseng and Atractylodes Chicken.' It's really not a bad deal for him to pay one tael of silver per chicken."
"Feeding ginseng to an old hen?" Upon hearing this, Li Yang felt as if he had been shattered into pieces, as if he were listening to a heavenly book. "This is too much! Is he trying to cultivate into an immortal and live to be a hundred years old?"
Of these businessmen, Liu Yitong was the most utterly simple-minded.
Li Yuhan burns incense and prays to Buddha every day, hoping to one day become a top merchant. Over the years, he has been cautious and prudent in everything he does, smoothing things over everywhere. He has earned some money by repairing official roads and building city walls. He has been so busy for more than ten years that he may not have actually saved much.
Although Chen Junbo himself did not seek anything, he had no brothers or parents to support him, and he managed the Zhang and Chen families all by himself, while also taking care of the salt industry in Lianghuai. He was never free for a day.
But Liu Yitong, for some reason, was born with such good fortune. He was born as the only son of the head merchant, and his father didn't even have time to find him a concubine to have a half-sister before he passed away.
He only needed to guard his family's property; as long as he didn't make any mistakes, the family fortune would be secure for generations. He was a man of little ambition, spending his days either indulging in food and drink, visiting theaters, and taking concubines.
He has already married seventeen wives, and it is said that he will marry twenty wives, filling all the rooms of his mansion before he stops.
Strangely enough, while other families would have a lot more trouble with taking another wife, in his family, for some reason, all the wives would gather together and revolve around one 'Aunt Tao' all day long.
If Liu Yi were to anger Aunt Tao one day, the other sixteen wives, along with the first wife, would not give him a good look. Several friends advised him to change the Liu residence to the Tao residence; wouldn't that be wonderful?
If we're talking about wealthy, idle people in Songshan Town, no one can surpass him.
Upon hearing Li Yang's words, Chen Junbo laughed and said, "I'm afraid you're right. He's the kind of person who doesn't have any worries on his mind. He looks like he's going to live to be a hundred."
"This Mr. Liu is really wasteful. His big hen is eating medicinal food." Li Yang curled his lips, feeling like he was about to have a nosebleed just hearing about the recipe for the hen.
Suddenly, she remembered her worries, and her eyes lit up. "You said last time that General Manager Li contracted the rammed earth work, while General Manager Liu picked up the elegant job of planting trees by the roadside?"
As she spoke, she moved a little closer to him, and Chen Junbai felt as if his wife's abacus beads were already bouncing in his face. "What are you up to now?"
Li Yang quickly smiled apologetically and waved his hand, "No, no."
Then, her delicate brows furrowed, and she sighed bitterly, "Alas, the flower and potted plant business in the flower shop is doing well now, but where am I going to sell that batch of rocks and saplings in the warehouse... If they can't be sold, I'll have to rent the warehouse for another month, which will cost me a lot of money... By the agreed date, I'm afraid I won't be able to turn a profit... At that time, I'll have no choice but to pack my bags and leave the Chen family..."
As she spoke, she stole a glance to see the man's reaction, then sighed deeply, putting on a show.
Chen Junbo was amused by her appearance and said, "It's my fault for bothering the young mistress like this."
"You can't blame General Manager Chen for this. He works from dawn till dusk, and he's always busy..."
Chen Junbo couldn't stand her nonsense. "Fine, fine, what do you need me to do this time?"
Seeing that he meant to agree, Li Yang suddenly flew into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest, resting her head on his shoulder and said, "Anyway, Liu Yitong is going to plant trees, so why not plant trees from anyone else? I was thinking, why don't you talk to him and buy the saplings from my warehouse?"
As she spoke, her hands fidgeted with the man's fingers, making it impossible for him to think.
"That won't do."
What?
Li Yang immediately sat up straight and looked at him incredulously. How could such a small thing be impossible?
Knowing her impatient nature, Chen Junbo quickly said, "This Liu Yitong is different from others. He is greedy for money. If you want to do business with him, you have to go and talk to him in person. It won't work if I make a suggestion."
I see... She seems to know a few people like that, and they're not easy to deal with.
"He's been feeding ginseng to the old hens, isn't he the kind of person who's obsessed with money?" She immediately seized on the loophole to refute him. If he were truly obsessed with money, why would he throw money into the chicken coop?
Chen Junbo laughed and said, "For him, that ginseng just went around in circles and ended up in his own stomach. But now you're talking to him about a real deal, a business where he's taking money out of his own pocket. Don't underestimate him; he's even more difficult to deal with than Li Yuhan."
"How so?"
Chen Junbai was dissatisfied with his empty arms, so he reached out and pulled her close, gently patting her back. "Li Yuhan seeks fame, and if you give him enough face, he'll get his way. But Liu Yitong lacks nothing and asks for nothing. With someone like that, you can only talk business. You see him acting like a simpleton all day, but the moment he mentions money, he's a completely different person. In this respect..." He lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the young woman's head, "...he's somewhat similar to you."
Li Yang wasn't annoyed by this; he was preoccupied with figuring out how to persuade Liu Yitong. "You said during the day that Mr. Zheng wanted to host a banquet. Would you be willing to go, Mr. Liu?"
Chen Junbo: "Of course I'll go."
Leaning on his strong shoulder, Li Yang's thoughts drifted away. "You just said that Mr. Liu has seventeen concubines in his business family?"
Chen Junbo: "Mm."
Li Yang looked up: "So how many rooms do you plan to get?"
Chen Junbo: "..."
The night is long, the stars are silent, and the moon is full by the window.
In the room behind the bed, the man had already removed his cumbersome clothes and was sitting against the headboard, with strands of sweat sticking to his forehead.
Chen Zhangshi squinted as she leaned against Liu Rufang, enjoying the man's gentle caresses, and couldn't help but hum softly.
Upon hearing this, Liu Rufang's eyes flashed. "Madam, Brother Long said that the manager of the flower shop told him that he doesn't need to go to the warehouse anymore at the end of the month."
Chen Zhangshi was enjoying herself and had no time to think about Ah Long or Ah Hu. But Liu Rufang was skilled and teased her to the point of ecstasy, only to stop her abruptly, leaving her feeling restless and unsatisfied.
"You mean the eldest brother in your opera troupe? I'll call the manager over for questioning later... Good husband, hurry up and give it to me..." As he spoke, he could no longer resist turning around to kiss the person behind him.
Seeing that she had agreed, Liu Rufang's eyes curved into a smile, and she began to fawn over her again, which made Chen Zhangshi's scalp tingle and feel as if she had fallen into water and was going to collapse.
Since the incident at the woodshed, no one knows what Chen Junbo's plans are. All that is known is that the Fengya Troupe is now stationed in the courtyard where the central kitchen is located.
This male lead, Liu Xiangong, practices his skills by day in the fourth courtyard, and by night, he goes to the Baomo Hall to hum and whine as he works hard.
It's truly a case of burning a candle at both ends; even the strongest ox can't withstand such relentless toil day and night. He was clearly no longer as energetic as before and had been hiding from Chen Zhangshi for several days.
This morning, Brother Long hurriedly asked someone to relay the news from the Flower Bureau to him, which is why he had no choice but to sneak into the main room of Baomo Hall again.
After a few days apart, Chen Zhangshi was at the prime of her life, not easily fooled... He was already exhausted, and could only use his hands to make her comfortable before making any further requests.
Liu Rufang was born with a beautiful face, possessing captivating beauty from a young age. Without uttering a word, his mere presence could make all other women pale in comparison. Unfortunately, he was born into a bad family; his father was a drunkard and gambler, and his mother was weak and incompetent. This beautiful face became his death warrant.
While other parents were busy calculating how much dowry they could get by selling their daughters, Old Man Liu had long set his sights on his youngest son. He was just waiting for him to grow up a bit more before selling him to the city. His father had heard that wealthy men in town had many ways to have fun, and as long as someone was good-looking, they didn't discriminate between men and women.
That's when he met Brother Long. The man was incredibly brave and tall, standing eight feet tall. He knocked out three of Old Man Liu's teeth with a single punch and pulled Liu Rufang out of the mud. Homeless, he went back to the opera troupe with Brother Long. When the troupe leader saw him, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed that he had "found a treasure."
The two shared a life-or-death bond, and this bond extended beyond the stage into real life. Who would have thought that their passionate affair, fueled by lust in broad daylight, would be caught red-handed by the troupe leader kicking down the door?
After being slapped, Brother Long was furious and quarreled with the troupe leader, leaving in a huff. Although Brother Long was handsome and dashing, he knew nothing but how to sing opera and spent his days in gambling dens, dreaming of winning the world with a single move.
Poor Liu Rufang had been secretly and openly supporting her lover all these years, and finally managed to get a proper job through Chen Zhangshi's connections.
It's hateful that Madam Li. As soon as she took over the flower shop, she let Brother Long do whatever he wanted. In the past two days, he has heard the gossip of the servants in the house and also knows that the young mistress had a disagreement with Young Master Chen a while ago because she refused to fire the waiter at the flower shop.
Why can so many waiters be kept at that brothel, but not Brother Long?
In a fit of anger, he bit Chen Zhangshi's neck and whimpered, "I'm afraid the young mistress won't agree, and the manager can't keep her either."
“This family is not her place to make the decisions!” Madam Chen turned around, hooked his head, stretched her neck to kiss him, and said, “Tell your brother to put his mind at ease. With me here, this girl can’t cause any trouble.”
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