Chapter 84 [VIP]
"That being said, his death has inevitably caused Qiu'er a lot of gossip. Now, many people in the county say that Qiu'er and Cao Kun are heartless, watching their own father and brother starve to death."
Chen Rong spat, "That old scoundrel, even in death he still wants to harm my Qiu'er again, he's utterly disgusting!"
Li sighed, "When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Forget it, it's all in the past. Everyone's just watching the show, they'll forget about it eventually. You don't need to pay attention to them."
"That's what Qiu'er said too. He's quite open-minded, but it's not good for Sui'er to have just been engaged."
Lin Sui was very fond of the second son of the Huang family and was afraid that this matter would affect her marriage.
At his age, he was at the peak of his romantic feelings, and he had fallen for Huang Yong the moment he met him, his heart pounding whenever the topic came up. Unfortunately, Huang Yong was lukewarm at first glance, and he didn't know if Huang Yong was even interested in the marriage.
Wang Ying asked, "How are the shops in the county town doing?"
"With the weather getting warmer, the vegetables we bring in can't be stored any longer, so we've started selling groceries instead. Although it doesn't earn as much as selling vegetables in the winter, we still have income every day, so supporting our family isn't a problem."
Wang Ying said, "My cousin-in-law is a man of ideas; I reckon he'll expand his business in the future."
Speaking of her son-in-law Chen Rong, she was extremely satisfied. "Cao Kun is an excellent child. My daughter and I lived there for more than half a year, and he was meticulous and thoughtful in everything he did. We couldn't find a single fault with him."
Madam Li smiled and said, "Qiu'er is a lucky girl, you can rest assured now."
"I'm relieved. By the way, how's Qingyun's marriage going? Has she gotten engaged yet?"
"I mentioned to Aying a couple of days ago that there's no suitable person right now. I'm thinking of waiting another year until Qingyan finishes the imperial examination before we discuss it again."
"That would be great. If Qingyan passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, Qingyun will be his sister. At that time, matchmakers will probably wear down the threshold."
"Third Aunt~" Qingyun blushed with embarrassment, stomped her foot, and pulled Lin Sui out, leaving behind a room full of laughter.
Once Chen Rong returned, Li Shi no longer felt lonely and stopped talking about going back to town. Otherwise, she would have thought about going back every few days, always feeling that staying on the estate was meaningless.
It wasn't that Wang Ying wouldn't let her go back, but that Yuanbao didn't want to leave the estate.
Children at this age are naturally playful, and being confined to the yard in town every day is nothing compared to the freedom they enjoy in the village.
Secondly, as the weather gets warmer day by day, it's time to get the popsicle business going.
Although it's possible to do it back in town, hiring people there is bound to cause trouble and attract envy. It's safer to stay on the estate.
Time passed so slowly that the four masters and disciples from Jizhou Prefecture had been there for seven or eight days.
These days, Chen Qingyan and his friends go to the library of the prefectural school every day to listen to Master Lu's lectures.
Lu Zhongqi served as a teacher for over thirty years, a teaching method far superior to Liang Boqing's unorthodox approach. In particular, Lu's writing skills in policy essays were truly masterful.
He broke down and explained in detail how to pinpoint the topic, address the core issue, and then draw inferences after solving the problem, which greatly benefited Chen Qingyan and his colleagues.
Furthermore, articles and phrases that cannot be quoted in policy essays, as well as the names of the late emperors, must be avoided by using homophones whenever the same characters are encountered; otherwise, even if one passes the exam, one will be dismissed on charges of disrespect.
"In our year's imperial examination, there were several candidates who were disqualified because they did not avoid using the late emperor's name. It was a great pity. You must remember this."
The three nodded and noted it down. Old Master Liang had never told them these things before, because Liang Boqing himself had never participated in the provincial examination.
Of course, Liang Boqing was not idle either; he taught several poetry lessons to the students of the prefectural school.
However, he had a terrible temper. He would get angry and jump up and down when he saw poems that were completely nonsensical and couldn't even rhyme or meter. He was even worse than Chen Qingsong!
After teaching for a few days, he couldn't stand it anymore and simply left the three of them with Old Master Lu while he went out to visit friends and attend a poetry gathering.
Today is a day off for the prefectural school, so Chen Qingyan and the others don't need to study and can have a day off.
Early in the morning, the inn received an invitation. Liu Changyi was holding a poetry gathering at a teahouse and had specially invited the three of them to attend.
Chen Qingyan took the invitation to Master Liang and asked, "Master, can we go?"
Liang Boqing glanced at it and said, "There's nothing you can't do, just don't embarrass me."
"Yes, disciple understands."
Chen Qingyan quickly went to inform her two younger brothers that the poetry gathering would begin in the afternoon at Shen Shi (3-5 PM) and end in the evening at Xu Shi (7-9 PM).
It was still early, so the three of them decided to go out for a stroll. They hadn't gone out for a walk since they arrived in the prefectural city.
Chen Qingyan first went to the experimental field to leave a note for Wang Ying, saying that he would probably be back very late tonight and that he should rest early without waiting for her. He also took two strings of cash for pocket money.
The three left the inn, with Chen Guang following behind to protect them, while Er Shun stayed at home to take care of Old Liang.
Outside the post station was a wide and quiet street, with flowers, trees and shrubs planted on both sides and small pebbles on the ground. Because this place used to receive officials and dignitaries from other places, it was considered the face of Jizhou Prefecture, so it was kept very clean.
It's just a short walk to the main street. The environment here is much worse. You can often see cow and horse dung on the ground. There aren't many pedestrians on the road, and most of the people who live here travel by bus.
The further into the city you go, the more lively it becomes. The houses on both sides of the street are lined up one after another, and the various shops are dazzling.
Chen Qingsong, despite his young age, was obsessed with food. He wanted to try the mung bean jelly and the milk skin. He couldn't resist the freshly steamed meat buns and only left after being scolded by Chen Qingyan.
Before leaving, my mother told me to make sure Qingsong ate less while I was away, because the child had started to grow horizontally since last year, and it wouldn't do for him to just gain weight instead of growing taller at his age.
Chen Qingyan stopped when he reached the jewelry shop. June was Wang Ying's birthday, and he wanted to buy her a gift.
Normally, Wang Ying would tie her hair up with a wooden hairpin and a cloth. He noticed that most of the husbands in the prefecture tied their hair up with silver hairpins, which made them look more energetic. He also wanted to buy a silver hairpin for Wang Ying.
The three of them were immediately struck by the dazzling silver shop upon entering. The ceiling was covered in gold leaf, giving it a magnificent and opulent feel.
A servant boy approached them to greet them. "What would you three gentlemen like to buy?"
Chen Qingyan said somewhat awkwardly, "I want to buy my husband a hairpin."
"Please follow me, young master." The shopkeeper led the three inside and took out a wooden tray from the cabinet. On it were more than ten sets of silver hairpins, all of which were exquisitely designed and eye-catching.
How much do these cost?
The shopkeeper pointed to a few simpler-looking items in front and said, "These are a little cheaper, around one guan. They're suitable for personal use or as gifts for relatives and friends."
"Our Zhou's Silver Shop is a century-old establishment. We use only pure, high-quality snowflake silver, absolutely no fakes whatsoever. Even if you don't wear it anymore, you can pawn it for travel expenses."
Chen Qingyan didn't like any of these; they were too plain and suitable for older people. Ah Ying, being younger, would be better suited to more beautiful hairpins. He pointed to the carved hairpin inlaid with rubies behind him and asked, "How much is this one?"
"Young master has excellent taste. This hairpin was just made by the silversmith a few days ago. It uses the silver wire inlay technique. Only three hairpins like this can be made in a month. The ruby on it was transported from the Western Regions. Such a quality is rare."
Listening to his effusive boasting, Chen Qingyan couldn't help but feel a little worried. "How much?"
"Six strings of cash."
The price is indeed quite high. "Can you make it cheaper?"
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "It's really not going to be any cheaper. You get what you pay for. There are other places that sell these kinds of hairpins, but they're made of impure materials. There are too many impurities in the silver, and they won't shine after a few days."
"The materials used in this hairpin alone cost two taels of silver. Even if it gets worn out, a quick boil in salt water will make it look brand new again. The ruby on it is worth at least three strings of cash. The jewelry store only makes a profit on the labor."
Chen Qingyan picked up the silver hairpin and examined it closely, liking it more and more as she looked at it. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough money with her when she went out today. "Can I come back to buy it tomorrow?"
The shop assistant chuckled, "I can't guarantee it will still be available tomorrow. After all, if a customer wants to buy it, I can't force them to stay, can I?"
Chen Qingyan remembered that she still had a silver note given to her by her mother in her purse. "Excuse me, is there a bank nearby?"
"Yes, the money exchange is about 200 meters ahead. If it's inconvenient for you, I can help you withdraw the money."
"No need, we can get it ourselves."
Chen Qingyan took his two younger brothers to the money exchange, exchanged the 100-tael silver note for a 50-tael note, and exchanged the rest for cash to buy a silver hairpin at a jewelry store.
Unexpectedly, in the short time they were going back and forth, they were spotted by a group of thugs.
This group of people commits all sorts of evil deeds, including swindling, cheating, and stealing, and they only target people from other places. Every time, due to the lack of evidence, the local government can't do anything about them.
After shopping, the three continued strolling on the street. Chen Qingyan bought two more exquisite toys for her son, one of which was a mechanical bull. By turning the tail of the bull a few times, the little bull could walk forward on its own, which was quite interesting.
Qingsong also bought two gifts for his older sister and mother. The prices were not expensive, and he used his own savings.
The three of them were carrying their things and were heading towards the inn when an old man suddenly darted out from a nearby alley, bumped into Chen Qingsong, and fell heavily to the ground.
"Ouch—" the old man groaned in pain, clutching his leg and rolling on the ground.
Chen Qingyan quickly squatted down and asked, "Are you alright?"
"It hurts so much! Why don't you all watch where you're going?" The old man's foot was tilted to the side at an odd angle, and it looked like it was broken.
Chen Qingsong was terrified. "No, no, I didn't bump into him. He bumped into me on his own."
"How can you say that? At my age, I can't possibly outrun you! Ouch, that hurts!"
The old man's cries quickly attracted a lot of attention, and everyone condemned the three people for hitting him like that.
Chen Qingsong was almost in tears. This person clearly bumped into him and made him fall, so how could he be falsely accused?
Seeing that more and more people were gathering around to watch the commotion, Chen Qingyan, fearing that things would escalate, reassured him, "Uncle, how about this? We'll take you to a clinic. If you're really hurt, we'll definitely treat you."
The old man stopped wailing upon hearing this. "Really? You can't go back on your word! I have a grandson to raise. If he can't be cured, we'll both starve to death!"
Chen Qingyan hurriedly took out a string of coins from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Take this money and use it to buy food for your grandson. We'll go to the clinic for treatment."
"Okay." The old man took the money and slowly stood up.
Suddenly a voice came from the side, "Ge Laojiu, you're out here swindling again! Don't believe him, this guy is a fraud, his leg is perfectly fine!"
The old man, who was originally unable to walk easily, suddenly got up, pushed through the crowd, and ran out. His agility was not like that of an elderly person.
The three were stunned and it took them a while to recover. Chen Qingsong excitedly ran over and bowed, "Thank you for your help, young master!"
A glint flashed in the man's eyes, and he said with a smile, "It was nothing, not worth mentioning."
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