Chapter 60 Painstaking Efforts in the Gao County Flood (3)
Inside the tent, Chen Junbo immediately changed his clothes.
Li Yang sat in a corner, observing the furnishings inside the tent. An old wooden table and two low stools were where the salt shop owners usually came to discuss matters with Chen Junbai. A low bamboo couch was where he rested daily, upon which lay the change of clothes she had just brought. Apart from that, there was only a copper basin for water.
Who would have thought that this was the place where the young master of the Chen family would find refuge?
"Chen Junbo, what should we do for disaster relief?"
The man chuckled and walked to her side. “To address both the symptoms and the root cause, we need to build dikes and dredge canals. As long as we build high dikes and widen canals to divert the floodwaters in all directions and directly into the sea, we can relieve the suffering of flooding here.”
Li Yang: "Have you ever encountered something like this before?"
Chen Junbo recounted how he and his grandfather organized able-bodied men to fight floods and defend against bandits. Later, they built dikes and canals, relieving the floods and helping the people rebuild their houses.
Li Yang: "A flood has cost so much manpower and resources. If only it hadn't rained."
Listening to her childlike words, Chen Junbo gently rubbed her head. "It's never the rain's fault. If it doesn't rain, there will be another drought." Seeing Li Yang listening with great interest, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, he continued, "If water gathers here and drought gathers there, then the world will truly be in chaos. But if the water is diverted, then there will be no drought or flood."
Li Yang: "What you said is the same as what Sister Ziyan said. She taught me to lead the disaster victims to other places, which is why the flower shop's business has been able to continue as usual these past few days, and the disaster victims' porridge and rice have been distributed."
Upon hearing the woman's name, Chen Junbo frowned and smiled, "You've become quite close to Ziyan these days."
As a dignified businessman, Mr. Chen was fortunate enough to receive the compliment of being "just like Ziyan" from his own wife, as if it were a source of great pride and praise. It was only because Li Yang dared to compare the two of them that he didn't know whether to be pleased or displeased.
Young Master Chen changed the subject, "By the way, why would disaster victims gather at your flower shop?"
Li Yang spread his palms out. "I don't know either. When they gathered around, they said they heard that the flower shop was distributing rice porridge. Perhaps the flower shop's reopening was too grand, which caused the disaster victims to misunderstand."
"Where did you settle the disaster victims?" Chen Junbai stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to lead Li Yang to meet the others. But he saw that the young lady was still sitting on the low stool, head down and motionless.
He paused, then went to look at her.
She craned her neck and looked up at him, saying, "I led the disaster victims to the Xiahai Temple."
He grunted in agreement, not taking it seriously. As long as the old Taoist priest agreed, he could simply donate some money to the temple later; it wasn't a big deal.
“Chen Junbo.” Li Yang was still staring at him intently. “You won’t blame me, will you?”
Chen Junbo: "No, leading people to the Xiahai Temple is a good idea, we'll see later..."
"I invited Manager Zhong back to oversee the matter of the disaster relief rice."
Upon hearing this, Chen Junbo paused and looked down at her. All that buildup had been there; she was waiting for him here.
Seeing that he remained silent, Li Yang simply looked up at him with his eyes full of earnestness.
Their eyes met, and Chen Junbo chuckled softly, "Zhaozhao, I've said before, you have full authority over this flower arrangement, and I won't interfere anymore. You don't need to test me anymore."
He had assumed she had come to Gao County because she understood his good intentions. But it turned out to be a scheme by this young woman. She had gone to great lengths for a shopkeeper who was no relation to him.
Thinking of this, he turned around and wanted to go back inside, not knowing what else he wanted to find in this small tent.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his hand at his side. Looking down, he saw a pair of slender, pale hands tightly holding his left palm.
"No." Li Yang held Chen Junbai's hands tightly with both of her hands, and her words seemed to have guessed the secret in his heart. "I came to see you because I wanted to see you. I wanted to see if you were eating well and sleeping well here, and if you were having a hard time." Her words were sincere, and Chen Junbai's eyes relaxed.
“I told you about Manager Zhong because I didn’t want to hide it from you.” Seeing him loosen his grip on her hand, Li Yang took her hand and slowly stood up. “I want to know what you’re doing and what you’re thinking. I also want you to know what I’m doing and what I’m thinking. I don’t want to hide anything from you, and I don’t want you to hide anything from me.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Junbo looked at her with a mixture of clarity and helplessness.
“If you don’t agree…” She really wanted to try again for Zhong Qian. “Manager Zhong made a mistake, but he also had his reasons. I can understand his helplessness in being in a subordinate position. He lost his position as manager, and his mistake has already been punished. Now, I’m letting him help me distribute porridge at the Xiahai Temple because I really need more manpower. But if you don’t agree, I will not let him go back to the Flower Bureau.”
Seeing that her words seemed genuine, Chen Junbo finally relented, "Zhaozhao, you're in charge of the flower business. But if one day he sells you to the rival, will you regret it?"
This time, he wasn't saying it out of anger, nor was he trying to coax her.
In recent days, this shrewd businessman from Lianghuai had figured it out. What did it matter to him whether the flower shop was in front of the clock or behind it? As long as Zhaozhao was happy and could settle down and live a good life with him, that was more important than anything else.
He just didn't want Zhao Zhao to be heartbroken one day because she had misjudged someone.
“No, if I’m mistaken, then…” Li Yang suddenly stood up and hugged him, “I will come back to beg you, I beg Mr. Chen to help me.” As he spoke, Can Jie smiled.
Chen Junbo smiled and frowned as he looked at the little girl pressed against his chest, feeling somewhat grateful to Zhong Qian. If it weren't for his intervention, the two might not have argued, but they might not be as in sync as they are today. "If you've made up your mind, then let him come back."
Li Yang was overjoyed. She hugged his waist, rested her head on his chest, and said in a low voice, "Chen Junbai, do you know what Sister-in-law Zhong said when she found out that Manager Zhong had lost his job?"
"Um?"
"She said that life will always go on, and that Manager Zhong should just relax, take good care of himself, and hope that the family can stay together for a long time." Recalling what Sister-in-law Zhong said that day, Li Yang choked up, "I also hope that we can stay together for a long time."
Lovers, may your love last forever, just like this beautiful time and lovely scenery.
“Brother Long, now that we’ve raised enough money, we can pay off the debt. All I want is for the two of us to live a simple and long life together.”
In a low-rise house in a corner of Songshan Town, Liu Rufang lay on the bed, sweating profusely, with one hand on A Long's back, lost in thought about a beautiful scene.
The smell inside the room hadn't dissipated yet, but Ah Long had long lost the will to coax him.
"Forever and ever?" He's planning to live his life with himself, how funny.
He'd only slept with her a few times, yet he wanted to spend his whole life with her. This androgynous woman, she'd only get a few hundred taels of silver if she sold herself. Could she give him a dragon cub, or provide him with a life of luxury?
“Brother Long, the ten-day deadline is almost up. I’ll go to the Chen residence to ask for some more silver. With the money you have, that thousand taels should be enough to pay back the debt.”
Liu Rufang's words reminded Ah Long that he had been so preoccupied with his lovemaking in the house these past few days that he had almost forgotten about the debt collectors. Counting the days, the ten-day deadline was fast approaching.
Thinking of this, he opened his mouth and bit Liu Rufang's shoulder hard, making the person beneath him cry out before he let go. "Alright, we're still short some silver, so I'll have to trouble you again. Tomorrow I'll go to the gambling den and tell them that when the time comes, they should come and collect the silver, and I'll never go to that gambling den again."
He truly would never go to that gambling den again. Ah Long let out a sneer.
Upon hearing this, Liu Rufang was overjoyed. Brother Long had agreed to let him retire from gambling. As long as he broke his gambling addiction, she could slowly find him a job. Tomorrow, she would ask her master for help. If he couldn't return to the opera troupe, she could try to persuade Chen Zhangshi to give her a job. That way, the two of them could live a good life. Although it wouldn't be the best, with the Chen family's connections, they would be better off than most.
The two parted ways that day; one went to work hard to raise money, while the other went to the gambling den to find Er Mazi.
Er Mazi, puffing on his pipe, tapped the pipe against the stool at his feet a few times, then raised an eyelid and glanced at him sideways, "Are you serious?"
"Brother Ma, would I lie to you? It couldn't be more real. I've already told Ru Fang that you just need to come on the appointed day." Ah Long's face was full of flattery, and he kept calling him "Big Brother."
When Er Mazi heard that he had dealt with Liu Rufang, he snorted, "You little brat wouldn't dare to play any tricks. Fine, I'll go over there later."
"Sigh, sigh." Ah Long, having received the message, smiled and turned out of the gambling den, lifting the curtain and going out the door.
He put his hands in his sleeves, turned his head to look back, and seeing that no one was behind him, he spat angrily, "What a piece of trash, daring to yell at Grandpa, you dog!" After saying that, he saw the curtain move and ran away.
Meanwhile, Liu Rufang also hurried back to the Chen residence.
“Master, please do me the greatest favor and let Brother Long come back. Without Brother Long, who can play the role of Xiang Yu? It’s been so long since our troupe performed ‘The Story of a Thousand Gold’.”
Liu Rufang's few words ignited the troupe leader's fury. The old man swung his pipe at his calves repeatedly, shouting, "Rufang, how can you still be so foolish! That beast! My Cui'er was such a good girl, and he drove her to jump into the canal and become a water ghost. If you continue to entangle yourself with him like this, you won't have a good ending!"
“Master, no, there must be more to Cui’er’s story. Brother Long told me that Cui’er’s lover isn’t him. Brother Long is innocent, please let him come back.”
These words infuriated the troupe leader, who kicked him right in the chest.
"Master." Granny Sun walked over from afar, and only spoke after the master kicked Liu Rufang to the ground. "The madam is waiting over there. Look here." As she spoke, she glanced at the ground.
The old troupe leader's face froze instantly, and he glared angrily at Liu Rufang.
Granny Sun didn't urge him, a smile playing on her lips as she coldly observed the master and apprentice. The old troupe leader let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and waved his hand, signaling Liu Rufang to leave quickly. She chuckled and led the woman away.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the old troupe leader pounded his chest repeatedly, crying, "Oh, my ancestors, what sins have I committed?" He slid off his stool and knelt on his lap, tilting his head to look at the sky, and suddenly began to sing:
I have once enjoyed the Emperor's favor. I was personally served in his warm tent.
Fragrant clouds embraced her temples. Her morning makeup still seemed weary.
The tinkling of jade pendants was delicate. Her crimson skirt fluttered in the breeze.
A beautiful face may not necessarily be enough to topple a nation. But the emperor's favor in the imperial harem is boundless.
The crabapple blossoms awaken in the beauty of spring. Let not the golden pearls tarnish their color.
Though the gold beads are beautiful, their color is uneven. How can their hue always be so tinged with displeasure?
But I grieve that spring has passed and colors have faded. I cannot receive the emperor's favor to keep myself safe. (1)
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The author has something to say: (1) Reference: Kunqu Opera "The Story of a Thousand Pieces of Gold - Farewell My Concubine", excerpt of the lyrics of "Yu Meiren".
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