Chapter 99 Zhou Family Boy and Madam Bai Faint
After the snow, the winter sun shines, casting a layer of shimmering white light over the world.
On this day, Baijia Restaurant welcomed a guest.
"Waiter, is your manager here?"
The waiter looked up and invited Manager Chen out.
"Sir, who are you?"
Old Chen sized up the newcomer. The young man was dressed in Hangzhou silk, with a refined and elegant demeanor and a beautiful face, but he was someone Old Chen did not recognize.
The young man was taken aback, and quickly added, "Not this manager, but has a female manager recently joined the shop?" He did not speak with a Beijing accent.
Old Chen frowned. "This gentleman must be a student from the capital taking the imperial examinations. You look quite respectable, yet you're asking around about the female shopkeeper. What are you up to? Go away!"
He raised his broom, ready to sweep the person out the door.
How shameless.
The young man nearly fell as he was being driven away. Impatient, he turned and shouted loudly, "Zhao Zhao, Zhao Zhao, Zhao Zhao!"
Then he said to Manager Chen, "I am an old friend of hers. I came here specifically to see her after learning that she had opened a shop here."
Shopkeeper Chen: "Your lover?"
The young man shook his head vigorously, "No, no, absolutely not."
"Brother Chengli?" Li Yang came out upon hearing the voice, and looked up to see Zhou Chengli standing at the shop entrance. He greeted him with joy, "Brother Chengli, what brings you here?"
Shopkeeper Chen hid behind the counter, saying, "Brother and sister, pshaw."
"Having received Yuanyuan's letter, and seeing that you didn't come looking for me, I had no choice but to come looking for you myself. How is it now?" Zhou Chengli looked around at Bai Family Restaurant, thinking to himself that it wasn't as impressive as his own family's banquet hall.
Since Li Yang arrived in Beijing, Fang Yuan has maintained correspondence with him and contacted Zhou Chengli together, asking him to take good care of Li Yang and his group.
Zhou Chengli smiled wryly. In Fang Yuan's eyes, he was just like a local from the capital, having only arrived in the capital a few months earlier than Li Yang.
However, Li Yang is also a long-time friend of his, and he would take care of him even if Fang Yuan did not ask him to.
Li Yang laughed, "Brother Chengli, as you can see, business is so-so since we just opened. It's all thanks to Sister Ziyan's idea that we've been able to earn some money. By the way, how are you doing now? Have you taken care of everything in the capital?"
Zhou Chengli: "With Mr. Zheng's invitation, everything will be convenient. Now that I have become a disciple of Prime Minister Zhuang, who is a Grand Councilor and has profound knowledge comparable to a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, I am sure I will get a good ranking this year."
Li Yang didn't understand much of this, but he felt that the Prime Minister must be a high-ranking official, and Zhou Chengli must pass the imperial examination this year. He was overjoyed and patted Zhou Chengli on the shoulder, saying, "You're amazing! Uncle Zhou used to worry about you every day, but I never expected you to be so successful now."
"We still need your and Mr. Chen's help. By the way, Zhaozhao, I heard from Yuanyuan that you're currently staying at the Bai family's house. Is it convenient for you? How about I find you a place to stay?"
Zhou Chengli's actions were truly a timely help, and Li Yang quickly pulled him aside to whisper in his ear.
Manager Chen watched from afar, his disdain growing stronger.
Ever since he learned from his wife that among the women in the group were boat girls, he has looked down on all of them.
One is a boatwoman, and I'm afraid the other one who got married isn't from a good family either; she's probably just a concubine.
Ultimately, it's the South that's more civilized; even concubines can openly travel north to the capital to do business. In a large family in the capital, whether a concubine could even leave the inner quarters is another matter entirely.
Seeing Li Yang and Zhou Chengli behaving so intimately now, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Old Chen wasn't the only one having doubts; news of Zhou Chengli's visit to Bai Family Restaurant to look for Li Yang reached Fei Ye's study in no time.
"You said a scholar went looking for her? Who is he?"
Xuan Ying respectfully replied, "Master, I have just learned that this person is named Zhou Chengli. He is the son of the owner of a restaurant in Songshan Town. He came to the capital to take the imperial examination this year and is now studying under Prime Minister Zhuang."
“Prime Minister Zhuang,” Fei Ye murmured, “how could the merchants of Songshan Town become his disciples?”
Xuan Ying: "It is said that they invited Mr. Zheng."
"Zheng Qingbo? He's quite enthusiastic." Fei Ye said with a laugh.
Xuan Ying looked up at his master and hesitated before saying, "Our people said that Mr. Zheng has been staying in Songshan Town since he left the capital. I heard that he has been living in the painted boat of the salt merchant Chen family."
“Songshan Town, Zheng Qingbo, Chen Junbo…” Fei Ye suddenly smiled, “It’s just a restaurant, how could it have colluded with the head of the salt merchants? It’s probably because he’s familiar with the salt merchants’ wives. Chen Junbo is actually henpecked.”
While the two were recounting the events of Songshan Town in the study, Madam Bai and her maids and servants were also speculating about what had happened at the restaurant that day.
Madam Bai grasped Chun Tao's hand, "You said a handsome scholar came looking for Miss Li?"
"Yes, that's what Manager Chen just said. I never would have guessed. I thought only that Ziyan girl was a courtesan, but it turns out none of them are easy to deal with. They're all shrewd." Chun Tao said resentfully.
"Madam, should we ask them to leave our house?"
These words were exactly what Madam Bai was thinking. She frowned and said, "Let's wait a little longer. Let's talk about it after Heng'er goes to the Qin Garden, so as not to cause any unforeseen complications."
You can't talk about people behind their backs during the day, so Bai Liheng strode over with a big smile. Madam Bai quickly sat up straight and scolded, "You little monkey, where have you gotten yourself into trouble again? How come you're back so soon?"
"Mother, I just went to the restaurant to get the sheet music." He sat down in the chair with a smile, overjoyed, and popped a date into his mouth. "Guess what? I met a master! She plays the piano better than any teacher I've ever met. A casual tune she plays is more wonderful than any sheet music I've ever read."
Madam Bai was impatient to discuss such romantic matters with her son. "Oh? There are such accomplished people."
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously, "That's right, that Ziyan girl is actually a reclusive master."
"What?" Madam Bai's eyes widened. "Who did you say it was?"
“Miss Ziyan, Mother, I’ve made up my mind. I won’t go to the Qin Garden. I’ll just become Miss Ziyan’s apprentice. She’s at the restaurant every day and lives at the Bai family’s house. Why should I go through all the trouble of going to the Qin Garden and going to such lengths?”
Madam Bai waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, you can't become her disciple."
Why?
Chun Tao couldn't hold back any longer, "Young Master, don't you know that Miss Zi Yan comes from a brothel? You are such a refined and elegant man, how can you get entangled with someone like that?"
"Hey~" Xiaobai said dismissively, "I thought it was something serious, Sister Chuntao. I'm free now, so why can't I turn back from my misfortune? Besides, I already became a disciple at the restaurant today."
Chun Tao exclaimed in surprise: "What? Become an apprentice in a restaurant?"
Xiao Bai didn't take it seriously: "Yes, I begged her to take me as her apprentice in the restaurant, and I performed the kowtow ceremony in public, so she couldn't refuse. My master, Sister Chun Tao, whom I finally managed to get, can take care of me."
Chun Tao's voice trembled: "In a restaurant, in public, you kowtowed to her?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Bai rolled her eyes and fell backward, startling the chickens and dogs in the room into a frenzy.
-
Miaoxiang Tea House, Songshan Town.
Fang Yuan, with a stern face, looked at the newcomer and said, "What strange wind is blowing today, bringing the head merchant of the Lianghuai salt industry all the way to our little shop?"
Bi Fang looked around. Luo Yinhua lowered her head to put on flowers. Aunt Zhong turned her head to look at the sky. He couldn't stand it anymore. "Miss Fang, can you be a little nicer? My young master is still the young master of this flower shop."
"Young Master? What's this? How impressive! Is the Chen family's owner here today to resign from my position as manager?"
Fang Yuan was furious when she heard this. If this man dared to speak to her like that, she knew that he hadn't treated Zhao Zhao any better. "Butler Bi, you have quite the nerve. Is this how you usually talk to Zhao Zhao? My Zhao Zhao is married into the Chen family and is now the young mistress of the Chen family. When did it become your place as a butler to tell her what to do?"
Pen Fang, breathless, exclaimed, "You! What did I do wrong?"
"Hmph, whether it is or not, you know it in your heart." Fang Yuan rolled her eyes. Who told the butler to get so close to Xiao Lu? Xiao Lu is a wicked person, so how good could the butler be?
Chen Junbo gave Bi Fang a cold look, and the latter stopped talking and took out the silver notes from her pocket. Only then did he say, "I would like to trouble Miss Fang to deliver these silver notes to her. It is more convenient for her to have more money on her when she is alone. Thank you for your trouble."
Fang Yuan glanced sideways at the silver notes on the table, which looked to be several thousand taels, and snorted coldly but ultimately did not refuse.
After leaving the teahouse, Bi Fang asked in confusion, "Young Master, why not send it directly to the Young Madam? We all know she's at the Bai Family Restaurant now."
Chen Junbo said calmly, "Bifang, have you been rather disrespectful to the young mistress on a regular basis?"
Bi Fang: "That's not true, young master. Don't listen to that Madam Fang's nonsense. I am most respectful to the young mistress."
Chen Junbo glanced at him sideways, "That's for the best. I'll include you in the silver notes from earlier, as a token of your respect."
Bi Fang: "...Young Master?"
“She doesn’t want me to know her whereabouts. Sending her money might backfire. Anyway, I’ll be going to the capital in two months, so I’ll give her some money first so she can get through these next few months in peace.”
Bi Fang: "Oh, I see. Young Master, what about the young master of the Zhou family?"
Chen Junbo: "Go find Mr. Zheng and have him send another letter to the Zhou family boy to reassure Zhaozhao and prevent anyone from becoming suspicious."
He paused, then added, "Let Mr. Zheng find a way to help him again. If he can become an official in the capital, it will be beneficial to us in the future."
Salt merchant families often have a tradition of having their sons become officials. However, the Chen family is small in number. If this young man from the Zhou family can obtain an official position, they can help each other out in case of trouble in the future.
Bi Fang accepted the order and left.
-
Before this, Zhou Chengli was in the capital when he received two letters from Songshan Town.
Fang Yuan, of course, was obliged to take care of Li Yang in every way, and she would hold him accountable for even the slightest mishap.
Chen Junbo even wrote him a detailed letter, in which he knew all about the whereabouts of Li Yang and his group, and only asked him to find them a place to stay as soon as possible and have them move out of the Bai family home.
Zhou Chengli spread the two letters on the table and couldn't help but laugh. The women thought they had kept it a secret, but little did they know that the other party knew everything.
Mr. Chen was a good-tempered man. Not only did he not expose them, but he also let them do whatever they wanted, only thinking about getting people to move out of the Bai family home as soon as possible.
It's true that rich families produce romantics, just like him, with a tragic fate.
He glanced down and saw the third letter on the table, and couldn't help but frown. Songshan Town, the Zhou family, his father was urging him again to make connections with noble ladies in the capital.
His gaze shifted between the letters, then suddenly the candlelight on the table flickered. Zhou Chengli picked up his pen and replied to each of the three letters.
The young man smiled, his pen moved fluently, and his eyes sparkled.
"Bai Family Restaurant," he tapped the table with his index finger, "I'll go there tomorrow."
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