"Uncle Qian, is this how it is?" Jiang Wenxi said, making a punching and kicking motion.
When Coach Qian saw Jiang Wenxi's actions, his eyes lit up. He looked at Jiang Ling and whispered, "Big sister, to be honest, this little girl might really have the potential. But I still have to advise you, in this place, let alone a little girl like this, even most boys wouldn't be able to handle it!"
Although Jiang Ling was reluctant, she made up her mind and said to Instructor Qian, "Instructor Qian, I'm entrusting my Wenxi to you!"
He then took out two silver ingots and placed them in Instructor Qian's hand, saying, "Instructor Qian, please accept these two silver ingots first. If it's not enough, I'll give you more next time I come!"
"No, no, you are Brother Zhishan's older sister, which means you are my sister. How can I take my sister's money!" Don't let Qian Jiaotou's big and muscular appearance fool you; he is a kind-hearted person.
"It's nothing, this little girl eats a lot, consider this as payment for her food here!" Jiang Ling waved her hand shyly.
"Oh, sister, why are you being so polite with me? How much can a little girl eat?" Instructor Qian waved his hands repeatedly after hearing this.
"Alright, Instructor Qian, don't refuse anymore, or you'll make me come here like this from now on!"
Seeing Jiang Ling's resolute attitude, Instructor Qian could no longer refuse and had no choice but to hand over the silver.
After leaving Coach Qian's martial arts school, Jiang Ling felt somewhat sad. After all, she had parted ways with Wen Xi and her daughter. Although it wasn't that she would never see them again in this lifetime, Jiang Ling still felt a little empty inside after their sudden separation.
She sat alone in the lobby of the Imperial Kitchen, somewhat lost in thought.
"Aren't you going to eat? The food will get cold!" A voice pulled her back to reality.
Magistrate Duan was looking at her with a smile. Jiang Ling was a little flustered and tried to get up, but she accidentally bumped into the chopsticks in the bowl. The chopsticks fell onto Jiang Ling's clothes, revealing a stain.
“Oh, didn’t I already say that there’s no need for such formalities between us, Madam Jiang?” Magistrate Duan quickly waved his hand, gesturing for Jiang Ling to sit down.
Seeing Jiang Ling's melancholy expression, Magistrate Duan asked curiously, "What's wrong, Jiang? You don't usually look like this. Is something on your mind? Or did someone bully you?" By the end of his sentence, Magistrate Duan's brows had furrowed.
"Reporting to you, my lord, I... I'm fine, and no one has bullied me..." Jiang Ling sighed and replied.
“Madam Jiang, there’s no need for such formalities between us. When we’re alone, you can call me Duan Kang’an, or Brother Duan!” Magistrate Duan continued.
"Brother Duan? This..." Jiang Ling clicked her tongue helplessly after hearing these two titles. She hoped that all the messy thoughts in her mind were just wishful thinking on her part.
Jiang Ling hesitated for a moment before calling out, "County Chief Duan... Brother."
Magistrate Duan was delighted to hear this address, his already small eyes narrowing almost to nothing. He said with a smirk, "Since you're calling me 'Big Brother,' is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually, it's nothing. I just feel a little empty inside after sending my daughter to the martial arts school!" Jiang Ling said honestly.
“Oh? Indeed, it is hard for a mother and daughter to part, but you don’t need to worry, sister. This is my jurisdiction, and I will be extra careful!” Magistrate Duan said.
Seeing that Magistrate Duan had already said so, Jiang Ling had nothing more to say but thank him repeatedly. Magistrate Duan waved his hand, his gaze falling on the stain on Jiang Ling's clothes.
“We all know the owner of the cloth shop next door. Remember to pick out a few bolts of cloth after you finish eating. Your clothes are too old and you should get some new ones! You eat first, I have something to do and need to go now!” Without waiting for Jiang Ling to refuse, Magistrate Duan got up and walked towards the door.
Jiang Ling felt somewhat helpless. Looking at Magistrate Duan's retreating figure, her heart became even more complicated. With something on her mind, even the most delicious meal tasted like cardboard.
As soon as Jiang Ling stepped out of the Imperial Kitchen, the shopkeeper of the nearby cloth shop came to greet her.
"You must be from the Jiang family!" the shopkeeper tentatively called out Jiang Ling's name.
Jiang Ling was taken aback and immediately became alert. She looked at the boss warily and asked, "Who are you?"
Seeing Jiang Lingru's wary look, the shop owner quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I am the owner of the cloth shop. Magistrate Duan just told me. I will announce it to you when you come back."
Jiang Ling felt somewhat helpless after hearing this. She hadn't expected that Magistrate Duan had predicted her prediction. Jiang Ling had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the shopkeeper into the cloth shop.
"You can choose any fabric you like from Jiang's shop. Magistrate Duan has told him to come and settle the bill!" the fabric shop owner said, leaning close to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling was even more helpless. She looked around and figured that if she didn't bring back a few bolts of cloth today, she probably wouldn't be able to leave the cloth shop.
As she thought of this, Zhao Qianyu's face suddenly appeared in Jiang Ling's mind. Jiang Ling looked at the colorful fabrics and finally chose a piece of coarse earth-yellow cloth and a piece of lake-blue silk.
The khaki one is for myself, and the lake blue one is naturally for the young master in the family. After all, our clothes are all made of linen, and the young master is delicate and precious. It wouldn't be good if his skin got damaged by linen.
After thanking the cloth shop owner, Jiang Ling returned to Lujia Village with the two batches of cloth.
As soon as Jiang Ling returned to Lujia Village, she saw Jiang Zhishan pacing anxiously back and forth in front of Uncle Lu's house.
Jiang Ling had never seen Jiang Zhishan with such an expression before. She felt a sudden jolt in her heart and a wave of panic washed over her.
She quickly jumped off the oxcart and ran towards Jiang Zhishan.
"Zhishan, what's wrong?" Jiang Ling asked.
"Sister! No... something bad has happened!" Jiang Zhishan was almost crying with anxiety.
Seeing Jiang Zhishan like this, Jiang Ling became even more anxious, but she calmed herself down and said to Jiang Zhishan patiently, "Zhishan, don't rush, tell me slowly!"
"Sister, it's my fault! You...you punish me!" With that, Jiang Zhishan grabbed Jiang Ling's hand and slapped herself hard twice across the face.
With two sharp slaps, Jiang Zhishan's cheeks immediately turned red.
"What are you doing! What's wrong! Tell me! This won't solve anything!" Jiang Ling couldn't hold back any longer and shouted at Jiang Zhishan with a frown.
"Sister... hurry... hurry home and see!" Jiang Zhishan covered her face and dragged Jiang Ling towards home.
By this time, a crowd had already gathered at the entrance of Jiang Ling's house. Everyone, including the village chief, had complicated expressions when they saw Jiang Ling.
"Village chief? What happened?" Jiang Ling's heart began to pound wildly, as if it would burst out of her mouth at any moment.
"Jiang Shi, I... I never expected that refugees would come to our village!" The village chief was holding the crying Nianci in his arms. His words made Jiang Ling's eyes widen. She seemed to have thought of something.
He grabbed Nianci in his arms and rushed into the house.
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