CH 28

Chapter 28 – Asking For  A Loan

Xiao Jingfeng’s heart ached.

“No matter how strong she is, she can’t be stronger than the winds and rains in the mountain.  Do you still remember when we hid in Niudu Mountain?  At that time, the snow fell continuously and we were so cold that our four limbs were frozen stiff.  It was Vice General Tian who sent troops to help dig us out of the snow and I can still remember the freezing cold.”

Everywhere was just a sheet of white and he thought he would not be able to survive.

Because of that battle, Vice General Tian was promoted to General Huaihua, a 5th-rank official.

“Alright, alright, I give in!  At the most, I can only grant you leave every 5 days and every time it will be a 2-days leave!  Don’t bother me anymore.  It’s not that you aren’t clear about our situation in the Guard Base here.  The troops that were originally based here are dissatisfied that we had taken over their lucrative post.  Although there were some occasional minor conflicts, fortunately, there has never been any bloodshed.”

Those people were initially waiting for promotions and wealth.  From a minor soldier, they had slowly climbed up the ranks step by step, and when it was finally their turn, the promising position was snatched away from them.  Those feelings of hatred, resentment, and loss were not easy to swallow and they would grab them back given an opportunity.

“Stirring up trouble again?”

At present, they are already very low-key.  They did not take the initiative to instigate trouble and tried to maintain discipline in the camp.  Isn’t that enough?

Xiao Jingfeng was well aware that they are outsiders and could not get along with the local soldiers.  However, they are the army that serves the imperial court and are paid by the imperial court.  Why must they be segregated as southerners and northerners?  Their usual diet is eating rice but they still made do and ate flatbreads and wowotou* and no one complained in bitterness.

(Wowotou is a kind of steamed bun found in northern China made from corn flour which used to be a cheap staple food for the poor. )

“Fortunately, this matter is not under my jurisdiction so just let the Commander at the top settle it since his people started it.”

Chen Dasheng’s tone sounded sloppy.  He had been in the army for a long time, so he had developed an air of hooliganism, refused to interfere or offer help, and just watched from the side.

“We can’t ignore this completely.  A minor matter that is ignored may turn into a major disaster.  If it is our people who started it first, wouldn’t that give the people of Country Feng a chance to take advantage?”

Xiao Jingfeng was worried about Agulie’s whereabouts and as long as Agulie does not show up, he would not be at ease.

“Alright, I’ve taken note, so stop nagging.  Just look after your wife and child and……..your nose.”

Looking at the obvious teeth marks, he had the urge to laugh again.  The wife’s teeth were so strong and out of all the places to bite, she had to bite that spot.

Showing a red and swollen nose tip, Xiao Jingfeng did not feel annoyed about being bitten and instead kept smiling.

“It doesn’t hurt, it’s a trivial matter.  Jing Niang threw a tantrum.”

“That’s right!  Even if she had bitten off a piece of your flesh, you wouldn’t feel any pain and still show the look of a lunatic.  Look at you, you have smiled foolishly several times since you entered.  Even I feel ashamed on your behalf when I see you.”

He was about to fly up into the air and say to everyone………’My daughter is very adorable.   She has a small face with big shining eyes that glistens as though they can talk.  Her small mouth is similar to rouge, moist and red.  The little child is fair and girly and particularly endearing…….’

His daughter is unparalleled in this world and no other child is lovelier than her!

Look, he is talking about her again!

“Enough, don’t mention your wife and daughter anymore.  You talk about them all the time and my ears are getting calluses.  Is it that great to have a wife and daughter?”

Perhaps he should seriously get a wife and not expect other people’s children to send him off on his last journey when the time comes.

Chen Dasheng has a younger sister named Chen Yulian who brought back a son and daughter to her maternal home to stay permanently with her parents.  There is a possibility that he might not have any children in this life but his nephew and niece are not considered outsiders.  When they grow up, they will show filial piety to their biological uncle who treats them well so he can still rest in peace.

However, if people do not interact they will never know whether a person is good or bad.  One child is 7 years old while the other is 10 years old and they have developed an arrogant character after learning from their mother.  They are lazy, dislike work, lacking in principles, crave to eat the best and use the best, and both of them only know to stretch out their hands to ask for money.

Sometimes when he thinks about it, he wonders about the reason the children were brought back.  As the only son, he takes care of the whole family by himself, so why should he look for trouble?

When it comes to his wife and daughter, Xiao Jingfeng has a lot to talk about but then he thought of a very important matter that needs to be resolved.

“Lord Zhenfu, I’ve something to discuss with you.”

Chen Dasheng was startled.  “I haven’t even spoken yet!”  Even though they were brothers, not all his words can be taken as genuine.

“Being courteous without reason is either treachery or plunder*.  When have you ever spoken to me so humbly?  A few days ago, I heard you mumbling that you don’t have enough money, so do you think I can’t make a guess?”

(Being courteous without reason is either treachery or plunder means someone who suddenly shows favor to another person should be harboring a purpose.)

His ears are very sharp and he listens to this kind of matter with caution lest others tell him that his brothers harbor the intention to make ‘illegal’ money.

“Then will you lend me some money?”

“I don’t have money.”  He may look good on the surface but his stash has long been empty.

The Chen Family is prominent in the capital, an aristocratic family among aristocratic families.  However, the big tree has a lot of dead branches.

Chen Dasheng’s great-grandfather was the third son of the main line and after separating from the family, his line became a collateral branch.  Chen Dasheng’s grandfather was not the first heir and so he separated once again to become a collateral sub-branch.  When it came to his father’s generation, he was still a step behind others and as the second son, he slipped further and further away from the main line.

The main line is very rich with thousands of hectares of fertile land and numerous villas and shops that they could not keep track of and the amount of money was so huge that counting them would make their hands feel sore.  However, the descendants of collateral lines that became separated through the generations became poorer and poorer.

Chen Dasheng’s family background is relatively good as he is the first heir in the collateral line and is well looked after.

And it was due to this relationship that he was able to join the army to pursue his future.  With support from his own family, he might be able to get promoted to a 4th-ranked official after 3 to 5 years.

“How can you be lacking in money?  You’re paid 22 silver taels a month and in addition, you receive various allowances.  How can you be poor?”

He does not need to support a family and spends all the money on himself.

Chen Dasheng glared at him angrily.

“Don’t I have to eat?  Can’t I listen to songs and hug a lady in enjoyment?  Do you want me to suffocate until I die?”

“Don’t you have even a little?”  Xiao Jingfeng asked again in disbelief.

“I want to borrow from you too!”

Xiao Jingfeng is the most honest and it is rare to see him spend money.

“This…….I’m short of money, what should I do?”  He replied.

There is no solution to the problem of Jing Niang’s house and now it has turned embarrassing.

Look for the doctor if there is an emergency.  How can he get money by asking a poor man?  Is he stupid?  He might as well earn the money himself!

“Look for the Divine Doctor!  Perhaps he has the money!”

Chen Dasheng was also an idiot.  He just casually pointed it out and thought that as a divine doctor, there should be people coming to look for the doctor with lots of money to seek medical treatment, so he should be making tons of money.

However, Chen Dasheng did not expect he was right.

Divine Doctor Zhou Jingyu is indeed a rich master and can randomly pull out a banknote with a face value of 1,000 silver taels.  His willingness to see a patient depends entirely on his mood and it is not guaranteed that he will help every patient.  If he finds someone pleasing to the eye, he would extend a helping hand even if that person did not seek medical treatment from him, and for those people who are pretentious, he would not even nod when offered thousands of taels in gold.

His purpose in working as a military doctor in the army was not to show the benevolence of a doctor but to practice his surgical expertise and improve his medical skills since there were many wounded soldiers around.  During idle times, he could plant poisons on the dying soldiers to test how long they could survive and study their conditions and reactions when the poisons start to work up.

“Who is looking for me?”

As he spoke, Zhou Jingyu entered in a relaxed and casual manner followed by a soldier carrying a medicine box on his back.

“It’s me.”  Xiao Jingfeng stepped forward to greet him.

“Need a consultation for your nose?”  He swept a light glance over.  The corners of his mouth curved teasingly and his tone carried a hint of ‘you’re entertaining me’.

“I want to borrow money.”

As soon as Xiao Jingfeng started to speak, his speech became easier and smoother without the feeling of embarrassment.

“No.”

“Why?”  There will always be a reason for rejection.

“Why should I lend you money?”

The money is his and it is his prerogative whether to lend or not.

Xiao Jingfeng was stumped.

The money belongs to others and does not appear out of the blue, so how can the money be given away so easily?

“I need a sum of money.”

“When will it be repaid?”  A loan has to be repaid.

“This……”  Can he say 2 years later?

With a stern expression on his handsome face, Zhou Jingyu sneered coldly.

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“Oh!  I’ve misspoken.  Why did I ask when you’ll return the loan?  It should be said that you won’t be able to repay the loan in this lifetime.  You might as well go to the brothel to sell yourself to get more money.  However, at your age, you probably won’t get a good price.  At the most, you can only serve the wealthy middle-aged ladies.”

“Jingyu, you’re indeed mean.”

It is a known fact that Zhou Jingyu has a poisonous tongue and the poison spat out from his mouth could exterminate a whole pond of fish.  He should not have spoken in such a way to his own people leaving them no way out.

“Let me tell you about his exact situation now.  He misses his parents in his old home and can’t let go of his ex-wife.  He is torn between them and desires to have the best of both worlds but how can it be so easy?  Therefore, he has to let go of one party.”   Chen Dasheng chipped in.

It was like being pulled by his hands on both sides.  One was pulling him to the east while the other side was pulling him to the west and making him helpless.

“Divine Doctor Zhou, what is your opinion?”  Two heads are better than one.

“First of all, tell me why you need the money.”

If the reason makes him happy, perhaps he might do a good deed and accumulate some merits for his next life.

In this life, he is rotten to the core so his cultivation into a Bodhisattva would never materialize.