Although He Jiuniang's words were unpleasant, they were reasonable. However, the current county magistrate was unwilling to listen, his mind preoccupied with the prospect of losing his official position.
This person works in Prince Chen's residence. He can just go back and tell Prince Chen something, and that will be the end of it.
The matter was now considered closed, and the onlookers gradually dispersed. Seeing that there were no people around, the magistrate's legs went weak, and he knelt down before Lu Baichuan.
"My lord, I truly did not know of your presence and thus made a mistake. Please, my lord, grant me another chance, considering that I had previously made proper arrangements for your family!"
There were many people around before, so he couldn't easily reveal Lu Baichuan's identity; that's the rule in the business. Now that there are fewer people around, he dares to kneel down and beg for mercy.
His nephew's problem was solved, but his own problem was not; in fact, his situation was much more difficult than his nephew's.
Why am I having such bad luck today!
“Zhang Sheng, do you know what will happen to you if your actions today are seriously investigated? Your nephew dared to cause such a scene in the county town, which means you've covered for him a lot of things. Do you really think you can do whatever you want in the county town?”
Lu Baichuan addressed the magistrate by his full name, and the magistrate kept his head pressed to the floor, not daring to lift it, and kept apologizing, saying that he knew he was wrong.
"From now on, I will definitely restrain my relatives and friends and never let today's incident happen again. Please give me another chance!"
The magistrate spoke with great passion, clearly expressing his determination, but Lu Baichuan remained the same, wearing a mask, and it was impossible to tell what his expression was like.
The county magistrate was in a real panic.
He didn't say anything more, and just let the magistrate kneel there until the servant brought the five hundred taels of silver.
After He Jiuniang had Lianhua accept the money, Lu Baichuan finally spoke up, saying, "Go back now. We'll see how you perform from now on. Anyway, there are plenty of people who want to be county magistrates these days."
The magistrate's legs were numb from kneeling, and hearing these words now made his heart bleed even more.
This is a rhythm that's ready to be changed at any time!
"Thank you... thank you, sir..."
He stood up unsteadily and was then helped away by his servants.
"Wow, Daddy is so amazing!"
As soon as everyone left, Gou'er, that little sycophant, started flattering him. The other kids were also seeing this for the first time, and they were all excitedly surrounding Lu Baichuan.
Leizi and Jiezi kept asking him what he had done all these years, where he had been, and what the outside world was like.
Lu Baichuan then talked to them about some non-sensitive topics, and the shop became quite harmonious.
Lu Xiaoyang returned with the food and was stunned to see the messy shop and He Jiuniang's group of people.
"Third Uncle and Third Aunt, you're back! What happened?"
He looked at the shop, then at the group of people. Surely they wouldn't smash up the shop just because they were so happy to be back!
"It wasn't a big deal, it's been resolved."
He Jiuniang smiled, not wanting to talk about that unpleasant matter anymore, but Lu Xiaoyang still went to ask Lianhua.
At this moment, Lianhua and Leizi were repairing the table legs, and Lu Xiaoyang went over to lend a hand.
He Jiuniang looked at Lu Xiaoyang's retreating figure with a face full of regret and said, "Fate is cruel. Xiaoyang lost in the end."
Lu Baichuan: ...
How come I never noticed before that his wife was such a gossip?
The ten maids who came with them also joined in cleaning up the mess. Together they tidied up the shop, washed the food that had fallen on the ground, drizzled it with sauce again, and then sent it to the poor people outside. Only then did they happily prepare to return to the village.
Lei Zi and his group of boys were curious about Lu Baichuan's affairs outside, so He Jiu Niang asked Lu Baichuan to ride in a carriage with them, while she took Lianhua and You Yatou in a separate carriage, and asked about the shop's business during this period.
Overall, things are good, but sometimes some people get jealous and try to cause trouble for the shop, but these problems are always resolved.
He Jiuniang said, "It's alright. After what happened today, there shouldn't be any more fools trying to take over the shop. You can focus on managing the shop and finding a successor. Then I'll take you to the prefectural city."
"Uh-huh!"
The two little girls' eyes sparkled; they had been looking forward to the capital city for a long time!
"Aunt Jiu Niang, how many days will you be staying this time?"
"About four or five days. There are still patients in the prefectural city, so we can't delay too long."
"We will also try our best to get to the prefectural city as soon as possible!"
He Jiuniang liked seeing them so full of fighting spirit, but she still said, "Business in the prefectural city is not as easy as in the county town. The competition is fierce, so you should be prepared."
Wherever there are people, there is competition, that's inevitable. In the county town, everyone is from the same family, so there's not much competition. But it's different in the prefectural city, where everyone is a hired hand. They have to put in a lot of effort to achieve their targets.
"Yes, we know, we will try our best!"
The two girls were still looking forward to Fucheng and said they would persevere and work hard no matter how difficult it was.
He Jiuniang nodded in satisfaction; it was a good thing to be ambitious.
She then asked, "By the way, why are there only three of you in this shop? Where are the others?"
Lotus replied, "The three of us can manage the shop, but we need help at the workshop at home, so we sent them to help out there."
He Jiuniang nodded in understanding, which meant that the material was being used to its fullest potential.
However, she still said, "Although after what happened today, few people should come looking for trouble, there will still be some blind fools. In the future, we still need to bring one or two people with us to help out at the shop, otherwise we will be isolated and helpless like today. If we hadn't come back and happened to run into you, you wouldn't know what to do, right?"
Lianhua and Youya both nodded. He Jiuniang then touched Lianhua's hand and said, "You're getting more and more beautiful. You should find someone to protect you. Being good-looking isn't a crime, but you also need to know how to protect yourself, understand?"
When praised for her beauty, Lianhua blushed but still nodded. Come to think of it, it was she who suggested that the girls go home to help in the workshop, because she felt that there were too many people in the shop and they couldn't use them all. Now, however, it had caused her trouble.
"I brought back four helpers for you this time, all of them are top-notch. We'll feel more at ease if you keep one of them by your side."
He Jiuniang's affection for Lianhua was evident, making Youya envious. The little girl said sourly, "Third Aunt is so good to my cousin!"
"What, am I not treating you well? Sigh, I even brought you a gift, and if you don't like it, then I can only..."
"Ahhh, yes, yes, yes! I didn't mean no, Auntie, I was wrong!"
Youya suddenly threw herself into He Jiuniang's arms, trying to cover her mouth, and the three of them started making a ruckus.
The laughter reached another carriage, which annoyed Lu Baichuan. He really didn't expect to be kicked out by his wife!
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