Shi Qingluo asked Bai Xu to write another copy, so she could get one as well.
Bai Xu wondered, “Are you afraid that I won’t give you twenty taels of silver?”
1
Shi Qingluo blew on her new receipt. “It’s hard to say. I don’t know you well. If you jump over the wall, who will I look for?”
Bai Xu was speechless. Was my reputation that poor?
“I’m famous for being generous and easy going in the county. Why would I deprive you of 20 taels of silver?” He felt that he had to clear his name.
Shi Qingluo curled her lips. “Then when I said that I could definitely heal the flowers, you also didn’t believe me either.”
Bai Xu…
Okay, he was convinced!
He asked curiously, “Are you also like this in front of Xiao Hanzheng?”
Would she display her difficult personality in front of Xiao Hanzheng?
Shi Qingluo looked as if she was sick. “This is my true personality. Thank you!
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“Besides, that’s my husband. You’re a stranger. How can it be the same?”
Bai Xu choked. “Alright.”
Shi Qingluo kept the receipt. “Give 5 taels of silver as a deposit. After the flowers are healed, you can pay another 15 taels.”
Bai Xu looked at her in disbelief. “You took away my 160 taels of flowers, and you still want me to give you a deposit?”
He was still afraid that something would go wrong with her.
Shi Qingluo rolled her eyes at him. “Correction, this is a flower that is about to wither. If I take it back to treat it, I’ll have to bear the risk of not being able to heal it. I’ll return 160 taels of silver equivalent to the price of the flowers. So what if I want a deposit?
“If you’re worried, just let someone else treat it instead.”
In the future, Bai Xu might still have to do business with her, so it was better to follow her rhythm.
The main thing was that she really couldn’t eat any more wild vegetables.
1
Bai Xu was speechless.
What she said made sense, but why did he feel that something was wrong.
Shi Qingluo continued, “If you don’t believe me, are you saying that my husband is not worthy of your trust? A scholar is vouching for me. How can I scam 5 taels of silver from you?”
Bai Xu looked helpless. “Alright, for the sake of Scholar Xiao, I’ll give you a deposit.”
He felt that Xiao Hanzheng’s reputation was still reliable.
Although he wasn’t familiar with him, he had heard a lot about him.
He had a great talent for studying, was open-minded and treated others humbly and elegantly.
The most important thing was that he had additional titles, not just a normal elementary scholar.
If nothing unexpected happened, there wouldn’t be much of a problem for him to become a high scholar.
If he could maintain his reputation in the future, he might even be able to become a noble scholar
He was also willing to befriend such a person with a promising future.
Shi Qingluo was also helpless. “Give me the money, and I’ll write a receipt for you.”
Therefore, not only was her reputation inferior to that of a dead priest, but it was also inferior to that of her young husband, who hadn’t even shown his face to others in the village…
Hence, Bai Xu gave him 5 taels of silver, and Shi Qingluo wrote him a receipt.
1
“Your handwriting is really good.”
Bai Xu realised that Xiao Hanzheng’s wife’s handwriting was actually better than his.
Shi Qingluo lifted her chin. “Of course.”
1
Back then, in order to write her better calligraphy, she had been constantly threatened by her grandfather.
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She would cry whenever she mentioned it.
But now, she was especially grateful for her grandfather’s supervision, which allowed her to write well even in ancient times.
Bai Xu asked, “Can’t you be a little humbler?”
Shi Qingluo raised her eyebrows. “Do you understand my true nature? If I were to play tricks on you, I’m afraid that you’ll cry.”
She didn’t like to play tricks, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to.
Bai Xu was speechless.
A good man wouldn’t bicker with a woman.
Shi Qingluo casually picked up the chrysanthemum and placed it in the basket.
Bai Xu’s heart ached as though she had spoiled his precious purple chrysanthemum.
Shi Qingluo was speechless. “Come to my house a few days later and you’ll know how reliable my flower treatment skills are. You won’t feel sorry for its current situation.”
She continued, “Of course, if you’re really worried that they will be too tired or that you don’t feel good that they are lying in the narrow basket, you can send a carriage to send it to our house.
“I believe that it’ll love you more and recover better.”
4
Bai Xu…
You’re the one who wanted a ride on the carriage, aren’t you.
She actually threw the burden on the flowers. This woman was really amazing.
But when he thought about how his precious flowers would have to be tossed around in the narrow basket for more than an hour, he was concerned that they would be damaged.
His heart ached again.
So he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll get Number Four and Number Five to send you back in the carriage.”
He wanted to see where Xiao Hanzheng’s house was so that he could visit his flowers.
Shi Qingluo corrected him. “It’s not for us, but for your precious flowers. Thank you.”
2
She didn’t want to acknowledge this favour.
Bai Xu…
Please be more humane.
“Alright, please help to treat flowers.” He gritted his teeth even more.
Then, he got Number Five to take the flowers out from the basket and carry them himself.
He even told him to carry them all the way to Xiao Hanzheng’s house and never let Shi Qingluo put them in the basket again.
1
Then, Shi Qingluo took Mother Xiao’s arm and happily went to the carriage.
After leaving the Bai residence, she got Number Four to drive the carriage to the grain store to buy rice and flour.
She also went to the grocery store to buy some household items.
Then she went to buy pork and eggs.
After thinking for a while, she got Number Four to bring them to buy chicks.
Mother Xiao, Xiao Baili, and Xiao Erlang were all hardworking people.
Previously, they had only been given three hectares of sandy land, so they couldn’t grow any grain.
Therefore, the land was temporarily idle.
Shi Qingluo was going to buy some chicks for the three of them to raise.
In the future, she wouldn’t have to buy eggs and chickens.
If it weren’t for the fact that the carriage was too clean and she was afraid that Number Four wouldn’t agree, she would have bought a few piglets and dragged them back.
2
Forget it, this was their first interaction.
It was better to let Number Four and Number Five off.
Number Four wanted to cry at this moment.
How could Scholar Xiao’s wife be so excellent at buying things?
When he heard that she wanted to buy chicks, he was going crazy. “Scholar Xiao’s wife, why don’t we forget about the chicks? Let’s hurry over to your house. Otherwise, we’ll delay the treatment time for the flowers.”
Shi Qingluo looked at him with half a smile. “I’m the one who treats flowers. My gloomy mood will delay the flowers’ treatment time more.”
“If you don’t want to buy chicks, it’s actually not bad to buy piglets.”
3
Number Four and Number Five…
This was too ruthless.
Number Four was about to cry. “Buy chicks then. I’ll bring you to buy chicks now. After this, we’ll go to your house, right?”
Shi Qingluo smiled and nodded. “Yes, after buying the chicks, we’ll go straight home.”
Only then did Number Four drive the carriage to bring her to buy more than twenty chicks.
Seeing that there were still ducklings for sale, Shi Qingluo bought more than ten ducklings.
Number Four did not allow her to put the chicks and ducklings into the carriage, so he had to tie the basket beside the seats himself where he drove the carriage.
It was not until they left the city that he was completely relieved.
The speed of the carriage was much faster than walking.
Shi Qingluo roughly estimated the time and arrived at the village in about twenty minutes.
When they reached the Xiao family, the tofu stall outside had already been closed.
Jumping off the carriage, Shi Qingluo pushed open the door and entered.
She saw Xiao Hanzheng sitting in the courtyard, teaching Xiao Baili and Xiao Erlang how to read.
1
Shi Qingluo gave a big smile and shouted sweetly, “Hubby, we’re back!”
1
Xiao Hanzheng looked up…
He had a bad feeling seeing her shouting so sweetly and smiling so brightly.
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