Chapter 76 Departure from Jizhou
Zhu Mingyue explained, "Uncle, Aunt, don't worry. I've made up my mind to go, and I won't stay there for long. I'm just going to take a look. If things don't look good, I'll come back immediately. I will never put myself in danger."
"Don't worry, there are so many people in the merchant caravan, it's very safe." The two wanted to persuade him further, but Zhu Mingyue interrupted them directly: "If you have anything you want to give to Brother Zhengyang, you can give it to me. If I can see him when I get there, I can give it to him."
The village chief sighed deeply. What else could he say? Zhu Mingyue was clearly determined to leave. Don't let his obedient and sensible appearance fool you; he's actually very opinionated, and once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it. They often say Li Zhengyang is stubborn, but Zhu Mingyue is the truly stubborn one.
Li Zhengyang's mother took out two pairs of cloth shoes from the house: "These are new shoes I made. I originally wanted to keep them for him to wear when he comes back. Since you are going to Jizhou, please take them to him for me."
"When are you planning to leave? I'd like to dry some meat, but I don't know if I'll have enough time."
Zhu Mingyue thought for a moment: "It's probably too late." He remembered that when he went on the last business trip, he was told that he would only be resting briefly in Shangyang County and should not stay for too long.
"I brought a lot of dried meat this time, I will give it to Brother Zhengyang."
The village chief, who had left sometime earlier, came out of the house again, holding a red cloth bag in his hand. When he opened it, there were five taels of silver. "Our family has taken too much advantage of you. Take this silver; consider it our way of covering your travel expenses."
Zhu Mingyue didn't want it. He hadn't gone to Jizhou specifically for Li Zhengyang, so there was no reason for him to charge the two elders for his travel expenses.
But the two were very adamant about this, so he could only accept it: "If there's any left, I'll give it to Li Zhengyang."
"Great!" Li Zhengyang's mother said happily upon hearing this.
Zhu Mingyue planned to deliver the five taels of silver intact to Li Zhengyang at that time.
After saying goodbye to the two elders, Zhu Mingyue went to Zhengfu Inn in the county. Outside the inn, a waiter was feeding the horses water. When Zhu Mingyue went in, she saw the person she had briefly met that day eating on the first floor.
The other party clearly recognized him as well, and one of them stood up first: "I'll take you upstairs to find the boss."
As soon as the shopkeeper opened the door, he saw Zhu Mingyue jingling as she placed her package on the ground.
He looked at the package and then at Zhu Mingyue: "You brought so much?"
Zhu Mingyue blinked: "Can I go in?"
Zou Shang stepped aside to let him in. There was still some unfinished food on the small table. Zhu Mingyue said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your meal."
The traveling merchant paid no attention to this and instead asked him, "Want something to eat?"
"No, thank you," Zhu Mingyue waved her hand, "I've already eaten."
The merchant hurriedly shoveled a few more mouthfuls into his mouth, then had the food removed. He personally poured Zhu Mingyue a cup of tea, saying, "I won't go to Jizhou anymore. Jizhou is already in imminent danger; it might be conquered by the Southern Barbarians soon."
Zhu Mingyue let out a soft "Ah," and asked nervously, "Are you still going this time?"
The merchant glanced at him with a half-smile and said, "Go ahead, this is the last time. I still have a batch of brocade in Jizhou, so you can have it for free this time."
He blew on the tea and said, "Is everything I asked you to send to Jizhou here? I'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."
Zhu Mingyue nodded quickly, her eyes sparkling: "It's all here."
"money……"
Zhu Mingyue immediately understood and answered, "I brought money too. Is fifteen taels enough?"
He pulled a purse from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "Here you go!"
The merchant held the items in his hand and weighed them in his hand, then slowly said, "There's quite a lot of stuff."
Zhu Mingyue: ...A swindler! He complains that the money is too little, and even says that some things are a bit too much. Where are there too many things?!
Zhu Mingyue said seriously, "It won't take up much space."
The merchant frowned: "Why aren't you taking any more? You already have four or five packages, don't you?"
"Fine, fifteen taels it is." He emptied the money into his pocket and threw the empty purse back.
Zhu Mingyue took the empty bag and chuckled twice. "I'll carry the package myself. You guys just need to take care of me."
The merchant was stunned for a moment, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of tea. Zhu Mingyue took several steps back, looking disgusted, and looked down to check if her clothes were smeared with saliva.
"You're coming with us to Jizhou!"
"Mmm," Zhu Mingyue nodded, her big eyes full of hope. Anyone who didn't know her would think she was a child eagerly reaching out for candy, as if she would be sad and upset if you didn't give it to her.
The merchant caught his breath and looked at him incredulously: "You're crazy."
"Don't you know what the situation is like in Jizhou? Everyone else is eager to get away, but you're eager to jump into a fire pit. I'm only doing this because I have to help my brothers make money. What are you after? Are you bored and want to go and die?"
Every time Zhu Mingyue was insulted, her head would droop lower. He kept repeating the same insults, and by the end, Zhu Mingyue's head was almost buried in the ground, but he was still not satisfied.
"A madman, an absolute madman." The merchant paced back and forth in the room a few times, pointed at his nose and asked, "Does Xie Pei know you're this crazy?" He certainly didn't know. Zhu Mingyue was too good at pretending. Just looking at her face, she didn't seem like someone who would cause trouble.
Zhu Mingyue pursed her lips and quickly and cautiously looked up at him, her tone revealing a smug satisfaction at having achieved her goal: "I've already scolded you, and you've taken the money, so you can't go back on your word!"
The merchant was so enraged by the man's smug attitude that veins bulged on his forehead. The money he had put into his chest no longer seemed like money, but rather a hidden dagger. Indeed, he felt like he had been ambushed.
Xie Pei was definitely deceived, and so was he.
After a long pause, he finally relented and sighed, "My caravan will depart at dawn tomorrow. We won't wait for anyone who doesn't."
Zhu Mingyue was delighted: "I'll meet up with you beforehand." But what if they lied to him? His eyes darted around, and he added: "If I arrive at Zhengfu Inn at dawn and find you've already left, I'll chase after you all by myself, all by myself!"
"Hey, what a thick skin! He even has the nerve to threaten him." The merchant cursed under his breath. "They say birds of a feather flock together, but are Xie Pei and this guy really family?"
As Zhu Mingyue emerged from Zhengfu Inn, he was humming a cheerful tune. The young bodyguards downstairs, who had already finished their meal, greeted him warmly. Zhu Mingyue waved back to them in high spirits, "See you tomorrow!"
Huh? Everyone was confused and turned to look at their leader, only to see him standing on the second floor, gripping the railing tightly, his face not looking too good.
Uh, it seems the boss got scammed.
Everyone felt the boss's extremely low pressure and dared not make a sound. In fact, they had only ever escorted goods before, and had never escorted living people before!
Zhu Mingyue went back to town. It was almost noon, and the few people in the shop were still busy.
Since his family changed their business model, from selling only noodles and meatballs to selling all kinds of food, their business has become incredibly successful.
Who can blame them when their dishes are so different from other restaurants? People are used to the same old dishes in restaurants, so they naturally prefer their new flavors.
For some reason, my reputation has spread throughout the county in the last couple of days, and now even people from the county are coming here to eat because of it.
Besides his family, who else could have a packed house even after mealtime? This extraordinary sight was the envy of other businesses that were open for business.
He saw him as soon as he entered, but He An was too busy doing accounts and seeing guests off to pay attention to him. He only glanced at him briefly, as if he were looking at a heartless man who had abandoned his wife and children.
Zhu Mingyue got goosebumps from his gaze and quickly rolled up her sleeves to join the work.
Half an hour later, the shop was finally empty.
After seeing off the last customer with a beaming smile, Xiao Cui's smile vanished instantly. She frantically rubbed the stiff muscles on her face, turned around, hung up the "Closed" sign, and closed the door.
"You've all worked hard. Don't rush off, sit down and rest," Zhu Mingyue said, pouring a pot of tea and placing it on the table.
The three kitchen staff members were obedient; they wiped the sweat from their brows and came over to fill water containers.
He An ignored him and, taking advantage of the closing time, sat in front of the counter and started banging away on his abacus.
Zhu Mingyue was utterly impressed by this involutionary maniac, the chosen ox of capitalists, and went up to grab his arm: "Let's calculate it later! I have something I want to discuss with you."
He An looked up at him, his hands still moving: "Shopkeeper, just say what you want to say, I'm listening."
“Then I’ll say it,” Zhu Mingyue said, “I’ll be away for a while, and during that time, this shop will be in your care.”
He An's hands, which had been rapidly moving across the abacus, finally stopped. He looked up and asked, "Where are you going?"
Zhu Mingyue's eyes flickered uncertainly, and she mumbled indistinctly, "Never mind that. Anyway, since I'm not here, you're the manager, and you have to help me manage the shop."
What nonsense! Zhu Mingyue always loves to change the subject.
He An felt a headache coming on, raised his hand to rub his temples, and said bluntly, "You're going to Jizhou to find Brother Xie?"
Zhu Mingyue was silent for a moment, then said, "Haha, you're so smart! You guessed right!"
Hearing this, He An's head throbbed even more. "Shopkeeper, what can I say to you? You, you're being too ridiculous."
Zhu Mingyue remained calm and composed. This was the third wave of people who expressed their disapproval of him. Zhu Mingyue said that he was already used to it, especially after being subjected to a barrage of angry and varied insults from Zou Shang.
He An couldn't speak harshly to him, and his repeated attempts to persuade him failed.
He gave Xiao Cui a wink, signaling her to go on stage. Xiao Cui immediately confronted him, asking in a serious tone, "Manager, are you going to your death?"
Zhu Mingyue: ...Such powerful attack!
"I'm not going to my death. I just want to go to Jizhou to take a look. I'll be with a caravan and I'll be back soon."
Xiao Cui gave an "oh" and said lightly, "Following the caravan, then there's really no need to worry about the dangers of Jizhou, because we'll probably encounter several groups of bandits before we even leave Ganzhou."
Zhu Mingyue was on the verge of tears: "Xiao Cui, can't you wish me well for once?"
He An sighed helplessly, “The caravan didn’t tell you how dangerous the journey was. Xiao Cui and her younger siblings all came from Suiyuan. Their parents escaped the Southern Barbarians but died at the hands of bandits. Do you know how perilous it was?”
Zhu Mingyue muttered, "This time is different; I'm heading south with the bodyguards."
Others may not understand, but He An knew that his shopkeeper was a stubborn mule. He had talked until his saliva was dry and could only give up: "If you encounter robbers, if the strength is too great, run away. Never fight them head-on. If necessary, it is okay to lose money and valuables. Life is the most important thing."
Zhu Mingyue listened attentively to what he said and agreed to each of his answers.
Finally, he said to He An, "While I'm away, you'll be the manager. You'll make all the decisions in the shop. I believe you can do it. I'll raise your wage to two taels, but you might have to put in a little more effort."
Zhu Mingyue left the shop, and He An watched him from afar at the door, his worry evident in his eyes. If it weren't for his mother's illness and the need for someone to take care of her, he would have gone to Jizhou with Zhu Mingyue and kept an eye on him at all times, which would have put his mind at ease.
"He An, is the shopkeeper really going to Jizhou? Isn't there a war going on there right now?"
"Yes, after the New Year, many people from our area were taken away by the government, which means they were going to Jizhou."
He An snapped out of his daze, his expression turning serious again: "It's just a short trip, I'll be back soon, you all do your work well."
...
Zhu Mingyue entrusted the shop to He An with peace of mind. He An had a deep affection for the shop and could be said to care about it much more than Zhu Mingyue did.
When he got home, he packed up the box containing the valuables and the things that Xu Linguang had given him and sent them to the village chief's house.
When you're not home, you shouldn't leave valuables there, lest they attract unwanted attention.
His meager bedding and clothing were secondary; Xu Linguang's, however, were very valuable.
The curse written on Xu Lingguang's box could only deter those with some education; the entire village was illiterate, and to them, the curse was no different from a decorative carving. If someone actually succeeded, it would be a huge loss.
He had always forgotten to open the box, but later, during his free time, he remembered it and was almost blinded by the light when he opened it.
He hadn't expected Xu Lingguang to be so rich. No wonder the box was so heavy despite its small size; it was filled with gold and silver jewelry.
Xu Lingguang also attached a short letter, which basically said that he had run away and would never return to Nanfeng Pavilion. He entrusted all his possessions, which were inconvenient to take with him, to him to use as he pleased.
That's what they say, but even when Zhu Mingyue was most short of money, she never thought of using these funds.
He had a premonition that he would see him again in the future, and it would be so embarrassing if the other person asked about the box of jewelry and he said he had used it all. He had to keep it safe for Xu Lingguang so that it would be convenient to hand it back to him when they met again.
Having resolved these issues, he was finally free of any worries and could confidently travel south with the caravan.
He was so excited that he barely slept a wink all night, almost keeping Er Ya up all night.
At dawn, Zhu Mingyue, fully armed and carrying an oil lamp, locked the gate of the Xie family mansion.
Er Ya stood listlessly on his shoulder.
Zhu Mingyue patted it and comforted it, saying, "It'll be tough for you. Things will be better once we get to the county. I'll ask them to let you ride in the carriage, and you can rest however you like."
He said that, but in his heart he was puzzled. Are birds so dependent on sleep? How come Er Ya can't stay awake for long?
She didn't know how long she had walked, but as Zhu Mingyue approached the county, she noticed a faint tinge of dawn breaking over the sky.
His heart skipped a beat, fearing he would miss the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), so he quickened his pace, causing Er Ya to bounce violently on his shoulder. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she flew down to the low sky and circled above his head.
Zhu Mingyue practically ran to Zhengfu Inn. Seeing the caravan ready to depart at the door, she finally stopped to catch her breath.
The traveling merchant stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and pointed to the large bird circling in the sky, asking with interest, "Why is this bird following you?"
Zhu Mingyue looked up, then made a gesture, and Er Ya suddenly swooped down and landed on Zhu Mingyue's shoulder.
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