CH 29

Chapter 29 – In the City (1)

Xiao Jingfeng repeated the matter of buying a house for Jing Niang.

“I just want to place the mother and children in a stable home so they won’t have to stay in that desolate place.”

“Have you asked for her opinion?”  Doing his own thing without consulting her.

Does he still need to ask?

Xiao Jingfeng’s expression told him the answer.

“Xiao Jingfeng, how did grow up to be an adult?”

It is truly a pity……..how good will it be if this body with such a good physique is given to him to experiment with poisons.  It is indeed good material for a medical practitioner.

“I grew up by eating rice.”  He replied without hesitation and was unable to detect the sarcasm in the words.

Upon hearing this, Chen Dasheng who was beside him, burst into loud laughter.

“What I mean is that have your brains ever been caught in a door jam or have you ever planted yourself in the field when farming?  Have you heard of a wooden club?  You’re a wooden club.”

He was too straightforward and his way of thinking was too direct without realizing that there could be other possibilities to solve problems.

“Divine Doctor Zhou, what exactly are you trying to say?”

He was bewildered by the ambiguity of the words and could not understand a single word.

“Playing the qin to a cow.”  Zhou Jingyu flicked his hand.

“Ha, ha………now you finally realize he is an honest hard-working dimwitted ox!  If you don’t tell him the meaning, even if you draw a flower to show him, he will only ask what fruit the flower bears and will never think it can be an orchid that doesn’t bear fruit.”

Chen Dasheng teased with a smile.

Zhou Jingyu and Xiao Jingfeng are two people with very different temperaments.  One is smart and perceptive, thinks clearly and thoroughly about everything, and can find ways to go around the matter.  However, the other person is practical and realistic, believes what he sees, would not think too much, and seeks to have a clear conscience.

The relationship between the three men is quite bizarre.  In addition, Chen Dasheng who seemed to have nothing in common with the other two could actually blend in with them and develop a friendship similar to brothers.  There was nothing they could not discuss and even sometimes when the words were hurtful, they would not feel angry.  Anyway, none of them care because they know that behind all those harsh words is their concern.

“Lord Zhenfu, I’m not dimwitted.  I can still differentiate between flowers and crops.”

One should not assume he is a country bumpkin who has not seen the world because he is indeed a good farmer.

“If you’re not a dimwit, why can’t you convince that woman in the mountain, and instead you have to approach me for leave?  Do you know what that woman is thinking?”

After allowing him so much leave, Chen Dasheng also felt guilty.  Is there any soldier like him who lacks perseverance and only thinks of his wife at home?

Chen Dasheng’s words sounded a bit angry.  Is it easy for him to ‘borrow public benefits for private use’?  All the duties and errands were given to him and all the idle troops were despatched up the mountain to assist him in collecting wild ginseng.  The harvest that should have been completed in 7 days was eventually extended to 15 days.

Isn’t this generous enough?  For the sake of both the husband and wife’s reunion, he had spent a lot of effort to cover up this matter to fulfill his brother’s selfish motives.  If both the husband and wife can be reunited then he should be considered a good brother who had made a huge contribution.

“Xiao Jingfeng, go and ask that woman whether she is willing to live together with you.  If she agrees, I’ll give you as much as you want.”

The ironic Zhou Jingyu is not short of money.  He just wanted to see how stupid is this Xiao Erlang.

That woman’s thinking is very meticulous.  From the start, she had planned to divorce and was even able to take her daughter away with a divorce letter.  It can be seen that this woman is not a simple person and has a lot of tricks.

Last year, the south was devastated by major disasters, and an adult male could hardly make it through.  However, as a single woman with a child, she was able to travel to the north, arrived safely, and even found a favorable place to settle down.  Will this kind of woman listen to the arrangements made by her ‘ex-husband’?

However, there was another way of looking at it and Xiao Erlang had a different view of this.

“Tsk!  Zhou Jingyu, have your brains been kicked by a donkey?!  When have you become so generous?  Your brother, I also lack money, so why not lend me some as well?”

A witness should get a share and one should not be favored over the other.  This Lord Zhenfu is also a poor official and is not earning much!

General Chen is an upright man by nature who never greeds over the common people, so the soldiers he trained were just as upright and honest as him and as a result, all of them were as poor as him.

“When you marry someone who won’t cuckold you, I’ll give you a big fat red envelope.”

Anyway, he does not mind doing some charity since it is impossible for him to spend all the money in his possession.

Zhou Jingyu stabbed the sore point of Chen Dasheng whose first wife was caught red-handed committing adultery.  However, the matter was not publicized because his wife came from a prominent family.  The adulterer was beaten up and his legs were broken while Chen Dasheng’s wife was sent to the family temple to practice cultivation where she died a violent death three months later.

After that, Chen Dasheng became a little cynical.  He did not care about anything and even if he has no descendants, it did not matter to him.  Except for his brothers in the army, he no longer communicated with other people.

“One should never mention another’s shortcomings.  I’ve almost forgotten that I used to have a wife but you reminded me.  Do you have a grudge against me in my previous life and now you want to bring this up and settle scores with me in this life?”

One must keep one’s eyes open when making friends, otherwise, a single mistake would turn into eternal hatred.

“Forget it, let’s go for a drink and it’s your treat.”

“My treat?”  Zhou Jingyu raised an eyebrow.

“Ha, ha…….  Your brothers are all poor people.  If you’re not going to pay, then do you want us brothers to mortgage our horses and sell our swords?”

Chen Dasheng burst into loud laughter.

Then Zhou Jingyu said.  “How about we enjoy the aged wine Yu Lichun?  Whoever gets drunk first will have to abstain from wine for a whole year.”

“Sure, that’s straightforward.”  He can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

While the two people were talking happily, they simultaneously looked at Xiao Jingfeng who was showing a wry smile.  He was famous for getting drunk with three cups of wine.  No matter if the wine is strong and mild, he will get drunk after drinking three cups.

***☆☆☆***

“Mother, there are so many people in the city.  It’s very lively but why do they keep walking around and don’t stop?  Don’t their feet hurt?  My eyes are getting blurry………..”

Shuangzhen who rarely talks much feels very excited.  From the moment, they entered the city, she kept talking endlessly like a bird that had just been let out of its cage.

The year is ending soon and the number of pedestrians on the streets was many more times than usual.  Everyone bustled around to buy goods in preparation for the New Year.  With bags of various sizes that contained dry goods, rice cakes, candies, etc., that they could not even handle with both hands, the people still shouted back and forth that their purchases were incomplete and there were items they had missed out.

At this time last year, Li Jing’er did not have much money and the children were still young.  Little Sister Yue was just learning to sit up, so Li Jing’er had to leave the children with Grandmother Hu while she entered the city alone with a bamboo basket on her back.  To celebrate the New Year, she only bought some goods and bones to stew soup.

Therefore, although the children have entered the city several times, they had never witnessed this kind of lively scene before the New Year.  When they suddenly saw the rare scene in front of them, they showed big smiles on their faces.

As the children grew older, she felt it was more difficult to look after them.  She did not feel at ease and constantly kept her eyes on the children.  She would glance around suspiciously and everywhere she looked, it seemed that everyone is a villain that harbored bad intentions and wanted to kidnap the children.

At this moment, she regretted bringing the children to the city with her because the crowd was too big.  She was afraid she would not be able to take care of them and if any child is to go missing, then she could only cry without tears.

Most of the children that went missing during the festive season usually could not be found and it was not known which dark corner they would be sold.

“Shuangzhen, look where you’re going, and don’t look around.  Remember not to let go of Mother’s hand just because you’re curious.  There are a lot of bad people here who abduct children and sell them.  The moment you let go of my hand, Mother won’t be able to find you.”

Shuangzhen was a bit slow and is not alert to everything around her.  Whatever she is told, it always goes into her left ear and comes out of her right ear which made Li Jing’er feel ill at ease.

Ever since she was abandoned by her parents, Shuangzhen still feels insecure until now.  As soon as she heard there were child abductors around who will abduct children, the smile on her face disappeared instantly.  She grabbed her mother’s hand in panic and stuck to her mother’s leg like a piece of flesh on her mother.  As a result, she was half-pulled and half-dragged along the way.

“Shuangming…….”

“Mother, you don’t have to worry about me, I won’t simply follow anyone.  Whoever touches me I will scream and whoever secretly hugs me I will bite his ears, nose, and neck and kick his chin and chest.  I remember all that Mother told me.”

Bad people are afraid of pain too, so it’s right to bite them.

Without waiting for Li Jing’er’s reminder, Shuangming started to recite the various ways she taught him how to deal with the abductors.

Li Jing’er had told him in detail what to do starting from being approached by someone to being picked up and what he should do if he was taken away.  On the inside of each child’s clothes, she had also embroidered a line of small characters that read ‘Yangliu County, Shuiyuan Village’.  In case they were sold and as long as they were still wearing their clothes, they could be found based on these traces.

She thinks a lot and had done a lot.  She is not fearful of being overly anxious but only fears a moment of negligence.  It’s better to be prepared than be confronted by a sudden incident.

“Good boy, Mother knows that you’re the most sensible and will never make me worry.”

He is very anxious to grow up and is always saying that he is the only man in the family.

Upon hearing his mother’s praise, Shuangming lifted his face proudly.

“I’ll help Mother take care of sister and also help Mother choose New Year goods……..and also paste Spring Festival couplets.”

“Paste Spring Festival couplets!  Paste Spring Festival couplets!”

It’s fun and sticky………Yueyue can do that too!  Yueyue is grown up like Guo Guo!

Paste Spring Festival couplets!