Chapter 239 Li Shunzi and Zhang
Li Shunzi watched with his own eyes the two men who came later, each carrying away a sack of charcoal, with a complicated look on his face.
These are people who have no shortage of money!
Li Shunzi was reluctant to leave and wanted to just leave, but when he thought of the promise he made yesterday, he hesitated.
After struggling for a while, he finally decided to buy five kilograms and send them over.
Twenty wen per catty, and five catties is one hundred wen.
When counting the coins, Li Shunzi's hands were shaking and his eyes were almost red.
It’s too expensive!
He has never lit charcoal in his life!
But thinking about the man's past life, he gritted his teeth and gave him the copper coins he had counted.
The charcoal seller who received the copper coins finally smiled and quickly took out a scale to weigh five pounds of broken charcoal for Li Shunzi. He then asked, "Can you bring a backpack or a sack?"
Li Shunzi's eyes widened when he heard this: "I spent a hundred coins and bought five catties of charcoal! You didn't even give me a bag?"
The charcoal seller was not happy: "I sell charcoal, not bags! If you buy dozens or hundreds of kilograms, I will personally deliver it to your door! You only bought five kilograms and you delayed for so long, and I will give you a bag for nothing?"
"What's wrong with five pounds? These five pounds of charcoal cost me a hundred coins!" Li Shunzi said in a loud voice. In his opinion, these hundred coins were a sky-high price!
"Let alone a hundred coins, even a thousand coins are nothing nowadays. If you want this charcoal, then find a way to take it yourself. If you don't want it, I will return the hundred coins to you."
The charcoal seller was too lazy to say anything more to him. He put the weighed charcoal aside, took out the one hundred copper coins he had received earlier and put them on the stool in the stall, letting Li Shunzi make a choice. He then turned around to solicit other customers.
These words were like a slap in the face, hitting Li Shunzi's face with an extremely loud sound, making his face turn red and extremely embarrassed.
He clenched his fists and waited for a long time before asking in a low voice, "If you want to sell this bag, how much would you like it for?"
The charcoal seller was weighing charcoal with someone, and without even looking up, he said, "Bring me three more coppers, and I'll sell you the bag!"
Three coppers...
This price is really not cheap!
Li Shunzi wanted to bargain further, but looking at the people coming around to buy charcoal, he was afraid that the charcoal seller would not give him face in public.
The question "Can it be cheaper?" kept rolling around in my mind but I never asked it.
Enduring the pain, Li Shunzi took out three copper coins and handed them to the charcoal seller.
The charcoal seller ignored him and after taking the copper coins, he casually tore a bag and stuffed it into his hand, waving at him continuously, indicating that he should fill it himself!
Li Shunzi held the bag, endured it with a grim face, squatted down and put all the charcoal pieces into the bag without saying a word, then put it on his back and hurried away.
Squeezing out of the long and narrow street, Li Shunzi headed north, walked past several intersections, and turned into an alley with familiarity.
The alley was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk through, and it was filled with filth and extremely dirty.
Li Shunzi's expression remained unchanged as he stepped around the dirt on the ground and walked straight to the end of the alley.
At the end of the alley, there is a small door facing east, which looks like a corner gate rather than a proper courtyard gate.
When he arrived at the door, Li Shunzi subconsciously looked back in the direction he came from. Seeing that no one was following him, he breathed a sigh of relief and then raised his hand to knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
A familiar woman's voice came from the courtyard behind the door. Li Shunzi showed joy on his face and replied to the courtyard by sticking to the door: "It's me, Shunzi! I'm here to bring you charcoal."
The woman in the courtyard changed her tone and immediately became happy: "It's so cold, it's amazing that you still care about us orphans and widows..."
The sound of the door bolt being pulled off was clearly audible. Li Shunzi quickly stood up straight with a serious look on his face.
When the door opened, a plump and beautiful woman appeared in front of Li Shunzi.
If Gu Tang were here, he would definitely exclaim in surprise, this woman is actually Zhang!
Zhang had a happy look on her face, and her eyes were fixed on the bag on Li Shunzi's back. But when she saw that the bag was only half full and the rest was empty, the smile on her face faded.
The bag didn't look very big, and it was not even half full, let alone full.
If this bag is filled with charcoal, how much is there?
I weigh a few pounds!
Zhang was extremely dissatisfied, but then she thought that even a few mosquitoes were still meat, and someone sending a few pounds of charcoal for free could at least solve their urgent problem.
She calmed down and no matter what she was thinking, Zhang kept a straight face and moved aside affectionately to let the person in.
"Come in quickly. You've worked so hard. There's some tea in Langge's room. I'll make some. You can have a few cups to warm yourself up..."
Li Shunzi felt very relieved to hear this. He had been feeling sorry for the one hundred copper coins, but when he saw Zhang, that feeling of pain instantly disappeared.
As he walked in, he smiled and said, "That tea is for scholars, leave it for Lang Ge to drink slowly. I am just a rough man, so just pour a bowl of hot water!"
Zhang closed the door and glared at him, not too harshly, with a hint of anger in her eyes, which was somewhat charming.
"You are not a rough person. The kindness you have shown to us orphans and widows is better than that of ten scholars! Not to mention a few cups of tea, even the delicacies from the mountains and the sea are worthy of you!"
Li Shunzi had never been with any woman and was still unmarried at the age of over 30. He was no match for Zhang.
Being praised by Zhang at this moment and looking into those charming eyes, I felt that all the bones in my body were softened!
He looked at Zhang stupidly, and when he saw her, his face turned red.
Zhang was secretly proud, and deliberately walked up to him with a puzzled look on her face and asked, "Why are you standing here like an idiot? Aren't you cold? Just put the bag under the porch, and come with me into the house to warm up."
"Oh, oh..." Li Shunzi was brought back to his senses by these words. He looked at Zhang with obsessed eyes, obediently put the bag on the corridor, and followed Zhang into the house.
This small courtyard was separated from the big house next door. The owner's family business has fallen into decline, and now he is so poor that he can only divide the big house into small courtyards and rent them out to supplement the family income.
The small courtyard rented by Zhang was originally the servants' quarters, and the door just now was the corner door for the servants to enter and exit.
This small courtyard has only three rooms in the east, and a kitchen built in the west, which is drafty on three sides.
The three eastern rooms were connected. Zhang and her daughter Lin Yue lived in the southern room, Lin Lang lived in the northern room by himself, and the middle room was reserved for dining and entertaining guests.
Although the yard is narrow and there are few houses, the three houses are all made of bricks and tiles, and are equipped with furniture. They are much more substantial and decent than thatched houses.
The monthly rent is not cheap.
The rent for this small courtyard is two hundred copper coins per month, which is considered high in West Street.
I opened the curtain and walked into the room. It was not warm inside, but freezing cold.
Zhang asked Li Shunzi to sit down and rest, then went to the room where she lived and brought out a brazier.
Seeing this, Li Shunzi quickly stood up, took the brazier from her hand and put it at his feet, "Bring the brazier out, won't Yue be frozen? Her arm is not healed yet, she can't be frozen."
Li said apologetically, "It's okay for just a moment. It's so cold, and you came to our house to bring us coal. I should treat you well.
It’s just, it’s just… We are an orphan and a widow with no means of livelihood, and can only barely survive with one meal a day. If I have been negligent in any way, please don’t hold it against me…”
As she spoke, Zhang bowed to Li Shunzi with such a gentle gesture that Li Shunzi felt so distressed that he hurried forward and helped her up.
"You should have told me that you're having a hard time! I'm a man, and I'm more lenient than you women. I can't give you a life of luxury, but I can still fill your stomach with simple food."
After saying this, Li Shunzi took out a string of copper coins from his chest bag and handed it over: "Here are two hundred copper coins. You can use them for now. I will come again in two days and bring you firewood and rice. No matter what, I have to make sure you fill your stomachs."
Two hundred coppers...
Zhang lowered her head and pretended to be shy, but in fact she curled her lips in disdain.
What's the use of two hundred copper coins?!
Only enough to pay one month’s rent!
Zhang looked down upon the two hundred copper coins, but she did not refuse them. Why not take them for free?
She took the copper coin and gave Li Shunzi a grateful smile with a seductive look in her eyes.
Li Shunzi was immediately hooked again.
"Please sit down first. I'll go pour you some tea." Zhang seemed to be embarrassed by being looked at, and went to her son's room with the silver in her arms.
There was a stove lit in Lin Lang's room, with a teapot on it, in which tea was stewing.
The two rooms were separated only by a thin door, and Lin Lang in the inner room could hear clearly the conversation outside.
In the past, if he saw his own mother acting like this, he would definitely accuse Zhang of being unfaithful and shameless!
But now, after a series of changes and hardships, Lin Lang has become more and more aware of the importance of money.
At this time, facing Zhang's behavior, he did not make any criticism. He just continued to sit in front of the desk in silence, with a cold face and said nothing.
Zhang knew why her son had a cold face, and she also knew that what she did was inappropriate, but she really had no other choice. If she didn't do this, they, an orphan and a widow, would sooner or later end up sleeping on the streets and becoming beggars!
Putting the copper coin in her hand on the desk, Zhang looked at her son and opened her mouth, wanting to talk to him, but she didn't know what to say even though her mouth was open.
After hesitating for a while, he finally said nothing. He just silently picked up the teapot on the stove, poured a cup of tea, and took it to the outer room.
After the others left, Lin Lang's gaze moved from the book to the string of copper coins, and his eyes moved slightly.
I saw an ink stick the other day, but thinking that the money at home had other uses, I didn't want to buy it.
Now that I have this extra string of copper coins, the amount is enough to buy ink sticks!
He reached out his hand, took the coins, and counted them patiently.
See how many coppers I have. If it's enough, I can buy some paper and pen.
Outside, Zhang didn't know that her son had already taken the two hundred copper coins for himself and found a place for them to go.
With a shy look on her face, she handed the teacup in her hand to Li Shunzi personally, but did not put it on the table in front of her.
Li Shunzi subconsciously raised his hand to take the tea. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, their fingers touched each other and they both trembled a few times.
Especially Li Shunzi, he felt that Zhang's fingers were soft and tender...
Zhang had never done any work in her life, and it was the same after she left the Gu family. She asked a woman from the alley to wash clothes for her and her two children, and only Zhang had to cook her own meals.
In order to maintain her hands, Zhang bought a lot of ointments to protect and nourish her hands. Apart from her face, she was most satisfied with her hands.
Her fingers are slender, white and tender.
Now that she was held by Li Shunzi, her face flushed with embarrassment and she quickly put the teacup on the table.
"Eat quickly, or it will get cold..."
"Oh!" Li Shunzi grinned, looking silly, picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhang frowned for a moment, and was very disgusted with Li Shunzi's rude behavior!
Drinking tea is an elegant thing, how can one drink it like a cow? !
I suppressed my annoyance and asked him with a smile if he wanted another one.
Li Shunzi smacked his lips, feeling that the tea was extremely bitter. He shook his head and refused: "No, one cup is enough. By the way, has Brother Lang changed his tea recently? This time's tea tastes too bitter to me, and it doesn't have the fragrance of last time."
The smile on Zhang's face froze, but soon returned to normal and tried to make amends for the tea.
"Lang Ge'er recently changed the tea to a bitter one in order to make people more energetic when studying. Most of the students like this kind of tea, but we are not used to it."
"Indeed, although this tea is bitter, it makes you feel particularly energetic after drinking it."
Li Shunzi knew nothing. He believed whatever Zhang said and then continued to talk nonsense along with Zhang.
Zhang forced herself to smile and didn't respond, hoping that he would skip the topic and talk about something else.
Li Shunzi actually started talking about something else. He asked Zhang: "It's rumored that there will be a snowstorm this year. Are you and your son sure you're staying in Bei'an City and not going back to Linjia Village?"
Zhang: ...This person really knows how to touch people's hearts!
"No, my mother-in-law has passed away, and everyone in the family is coveting the things we have at home! If we go back, I'm afraid we'll be forced to hand them over."
What are you going back for?
She had secretly sold the yard at home long ago, and after her mother-in-law passed away, the private money she left behind also fell into her hands.
Why are they going back now? Are they waiting for the villagers to surround them and demand their debts?
She kept the silver in her hand for her son to take the imperial examination. When her son passed the examination and became a scholar, she would return to Linjia Village and ensure that no one would trouble them again.
Li Shunzi looked sympathetic and said, "Those people are heartless! If you don't want to go back, then don't go back. I'll bring you some firewood and food before it snows.
If there is a snowstorm, you and your son will have firewood and food to eat, so you will be able to survive safely. If, if..."
Li Shunzi spoke in a lower and lower voice, hesitantly, and avoided looking at Zhang. He kept saying "if" for a long time and couldn't say the next words.
Zhang lowered her eyes to hide her impatience, and interrupted him timidly, "I understand your feelings... but I will be divorced by the Gu family soon. If people knew that you and I... were familiar with each other, I'm afraid you would be scolded!
You have done us a favor, I can't let you fall into that situation! If it really comes to that, just push it onto me! My reputation is already ruined anyway, so it doesn't matter if I add more..."
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