Chen Zhancai was startled and turned his head sharply, only to see an old woman who had appeared in front of him at some point.
He hurriedly blurted out, "I, I'm not looking for anyone, I'm just passing by, yes, just passing by."
The old woman sized Chen Zhancai up and down, then questioned him, "Just passing by? I saw you lurking around my house suspiciously as soon as I reached the alley entrance. What are you trying to do? Are you going to steal something?"
"No, no, no, you've misunderstood me, ma'am." Chen Zhancai said, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "What did you just say? This is your home?"
"Yes, this is my home, so what?"
"Where did your young lady go?"
"Our young lady?" The old woman looked bewildered. "I only had one son, where did this young lady come from?"
Chen Zhancai quickly explained, "Grandma, you've misunderstood again. I meant the lady you're serving."
"The lady I serve? When have I ever served anyone? Are you out of your mind?!" The old woman's face immediately darkened.
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhancai panicked immediately. "No, old lady, don't get angry. Since you say this is your home, what's the story with the young lady here?"
"Oh dear~~ So that's what you're asking about." The old woman suddenly realized, shook her head and gave a bitter smile, "It's driving me crazy. Just thinking about it makes me angry. We agreed to rent the house for three months, but who knew that in less than ten days, those people hurriedly moved out. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have rented it to them!"
"What did you say? Those two girls left?" Chen Zhancai's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition rose within him. "That's not right. That girl said her father was an official in the imperial court. Why would she be renting a house? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"What? Her father is an official?" The old woman laughed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "You're really hilarious! How could such a frivolous woman be the daughter of an official? You're talking nonsense!"
"What? A frivolous woman? What do you mean by that?"
"Since you ask, then I'll tell you the story." The old woman stopped laughing and sighed softly. "It's like this: about ten days ago, I was tidying up my yard when two men came over. They said they were here to do business and wanted to rent out a house nearby."
As luck would have it, my house had been vacant for a while and I was looking to rent it out, so without much thought, I verbally rented it to them.
To my surprise, after paying a month's rent, they brought two more women. Those two women were really beautiful, but incredibly shameless. Right in front of me, they called one of the men "brother," and a little while later they kissed the other man on the cheek. I had no idea what their relationship was.
I regretted it then, but there was nothing I could do. I just waited a month to kick those shameless bastards out.
Just last night, they rushed to me saying they wanted to check out. I refused, and then a woman named Little Pig, hands on her hips, started to yell at me.
When I saw this, I knew I couldn't afford to offend them, so I immediately refunded their rent, and the group left that very night.
Later, I heard from the neighbors that these people were con artists who used their looks to deceive men from out of town. Their hasty check-out meant they must have hooked a big fish.
Upon hearing the old woman's words, Chen Zhancai was struck dumb, frozen in place. He was filled with resentment and disbelief.
"That's not how it is. The woman herself said that her master is an official, how could he be a liar?"
"Oh dear~~ I'm not trying to be mean, but did you get your head caught in a door or kicked by a donkey when you were a kid? Why don't you think about it?" The old woman was both amused and exasperated. "Don't you think about it? No official is easy to deal with. They're all incredibly wealthy, living in mansions with pavilions and towers. Who would let their children live in a thatched hut like this? You're just spouting nonsense!"
"Oh my god, I've been scammed!" Chen Zhancai suddenly realized what had happened, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
He spent his whole life playing with eagles, only to have one peck out his eye.
How could I not have seen through such a clumsy scam?
He was filled with remorse, raised his hand, and slapped himself hard twice.
Let you be so arrogant and reckless. Now look what happened! You tried to steal a chicken but lost the bait instead; your only forty taels of silver were swindled away...
The old woman was startled by Chen Zhancai's behavior, thinking he was out of his mind. Fearing she would be taken advantage of, she turned and hurriedly left.
It took Chen Zhancai a long time to come to his senses. He felt like dying. He had no money. How was he going to pay the inn bill? How was he going to get home?
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. That's right, the results haven't been released yet. As long as he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he would have money and could go home in glory.
Thinking about it this way makes me feel a little better, but it still hurts my heart and makes my liver tremble, after all, it's forty taels of silver.
How many times could I have visited brothels and enjoyed countless delicacies? Now it's all just a pipe dream.
I shouldn't have thought about currying favor with the powerful back then.
Instead of finding immense wealth and fortune, he ended up with a mountain of filth.
It really proves the saying, "The city is full of tricks, it's better to go back to the countryside; the roads in the countryside are slippery, and people's hearts are even more complicated."
When I finally attain high office and ride a fine horse, I'll first arrest a bunch of big swindlers to vent my anger.
Back at the inn, Chen Zhancai was afraid that the innkeeper would find out and ask for the room fee, so he quickened his pace to get back to his room.
The shopkeeper had been waiting for Chen Zhancai. Seeing him enter, he hurriedly came out of the accounting office with a beaming smile.
"Young Master Chen is back. Why are you here so early today?"
"I just went out for a walk, but it wasn't interesting, so I came back early," Chen Zhancai said as he walked upstairs.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly blocked his way, "Young Master Chen, please wait a moment, I'd like to tell you something."
Chen Zhancai asked knowingly, "What is it?"
“Young Master Chen, as you know, we are a small business. You have been staying for more than a month, and you have been treated to good food and drinks every day. We are now operating at a loss. Could you please settle part of the previous room fees so that we can have some cash flow?”
"You are so rude. Didn't I tell you long ago that you would pay the bill after checking out? But you kept asking for the money back. How can you do business like this? Are you afraid I will renege on my debt? If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have stayed here in the first place."
"Young Master Chen, please don't be angry. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that our shop is having cash flow problems. I hope you can understand." The shopkeeper wasn't lying. Since Chen Zhancai arrived, they've been serving top-quality banquets every day. In just over a month, the cost has reached nearly fifty taels of silver.
Chen Zhancai was internally furious, but he still tried to remain calm on the surface, and sternly rebuked, "I always do things in a proper and orderly manner. What is agreed upon will be done. How dare you go back on your word halfway? This is outrageous!"
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