Somеthing?!
Whаt соuld shе роssibly havе?
Zhоu Shаоjin thоught for a momеnt.
Shе wanted Unсle Jing or Unсlе Wеi tо givе sоme guidanсe to her brother-in-law Liао Shaоtang оn his еssау writing, but that wоuld hаvе tо wаit until tomоrrow after hеr brоther-in-lаw took the imрerial еxaminаtiоn аnd раssеd аs a prоvinсial grаduаtе. As fоr now... shе rеally didn’t hаvе anуthing!
Zhou Shaojin shоok her heаd аnd sаid, “I don’t hаve anything!”
Сhеng Сhi cоuldn’t hеlр but stаrе аt her fоr а momеnt, supрressing his irritatiоn, and sаid, “Тhеn why did уоu соme looking fоr me?”
Zhou Shaojin reрlied frankly, “Didn’t уou leаve withоut а word thаt day? I thought I’d see you again in a couple of days, but with all the excitement at home, I haven’t seen you at all, so I came specifically to see you. I never expected you’d gone out to offer birthday congratulations! I wonder whose old master’s birthday it was? Was it fun? Did Sixth Master Gu go with you? A few days ago, I had someone deliver the gift I bought for the Gu family’s seventeenth young lady. She was very happy when she received it and sent me two bolts of foreign Zhang velvet in return, saying that Sixth Master Gu had sent them to her some time ago. Has Sixth Master Gu gone to Fuzhou recently?”
Why does this girl have so much to say?
He asks one question, and she has ten waiting for him.
And she has no idea what the main point is...
Cheng Chi said, “Who told you Zhang velvet comes from Fuzhou? The best Zhang velvet comes from our Danyang, just over a hundred miles from Jinling City.”
Zhou Shaojin let out an “Oh.”
She wasn’t asking where Zhang velvet came from! She wanted to know how Uncle Chi had been spending his days these past few days. Old Madam Guo was busy entertaining Madam Song, so surely no one was looking after him. When he was on the boat and in the mood, he could read books all night!
Zhou Shaojin said, “Uncle Chi, what have you been doing these days? The old madam doesn’t have time to take care of you. When you have nothing to do, why don’t you go out for a walk? Or you could move to Algae Garden and stay there for a while! Isn’t that your villa? The scenery must be very nice! It would be better than staying cooped up indoors every day, reading books and playing chess.”
This little girl, how dare she meddle in his affairs!
Cheng Chi said, “My affairs are none of your concern. Just take care of yourself! I heard that last time when you accompanied Madam Song to Spirit Valley Temple, Madam Song got into her sedan chair safely and properly, but you got lost!”
Zhou Shaojin’s face flushed red as she said, “How did Uncle Chi know about that?”
She had been to Spirit Valley Temple before, but what she hadn’t expected was that going with Old Madam Guan and going with Old Madam Guo were two completely different experiences—when she went with Old Madam Guan, it was just to offer incense in the main hall, listen to Buddhist teachings in the side hall, and eat vegetarian meals in the side rooms. But when she went with Old Madam Guo, the abbot of Spirit Valley Temple actually opened the pagoda tomb of the famous monk Baozhi for them. That was when she learned that Spirit Valley Temple had such a place.Not to mention, in front of the tomb pagoda of the great monk Baozhi, inside Baozhi Hall, there was a black stone stele. Besides the portrait of Baozhi painted by the Sage of Painting, Wu Daozi, and the eulogy composed by the Sage of Poetry, Li Bai, there was also an inscription handwritten by the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing. At the time, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from it. Seeing that everyone from the abbot to the guest preceptor of Spirit Valley Temple was busy attending to Old Madam Guo and Madam Song, she quietly asked a young novice monk for some tracing paper and made a rubbing of the inscription on the stele... By the time she finished, the sky had darkened, and Old Madam Guo and Madam Song were nowhere to be seen. It gave her quite a fright. If Nanny Shang hadn’t found her in time, she would have made a fool of herself that day.
Cheng Chi’s eye twitched.
This little girl answered so lightly!
If it weren’t for the fact that she was a female relative of the Cheng family from Nine Prosperities Lane and had gone with his mother, just for rubbing the inscription from Baozhi Pagoda, Spirit Valley Temple could have detained her there!
Otherwise, his mother wouldn’t have urgently sent him to Spirit Valley Temple.
Fortunately, aside from this incident, she hadn’t made any other major mistakes, and his mother merely thought her naive and fearless, saying nothing about it.
But before he could speak, Zhou Shaojin had already walked over excitedly, standing in front of his large desk and calling out cheerfully, "Uncle Chi." She said, "I know, it must have been Nanny Shang who told you! I actually saw the authentic work of the Sage of Calligraphy, Yan Zhenqing. Uncle Chi, was that really Yan Zhenqing’s authentic work? The abbot of Spirit Valley Temple said it was. But people in temples often exaggerate in front of devotees. Even if the stele in Baozhi Pagoda was a fake, the characters were majestic, elegant, dignified, square yet rounded, robust and powerful—it must have been written by some master. Being able to bring back a rubbing to study every day made the trip worthwhile!"
Indeed!
Cheng Chi thought to himself.
I paid Spirit Valley Temple a thousand taels of incense money, so of course your trip was worthwhile.
Zhou Shaojin, however, widened her eyes and hesitated, "Uncle Chi, are you unhappy?"
Perhaps because he had cultivated the skill of keeping his emotions off his face since childhood, Cheng Chi instinctively retorted, "I’m not unhappy."
Really?
Zhou Shaojin stared intently at Cheng Chi, as if trying to discern the truth from the subtle expressions on his face.
For the first time in his life, Cheng Chi felt somewhat uneasy.
The little girl’s eyes were clear and bright, like a pool of clear spring water. He could clearly see his own reflection in her eyes...
Cheng Chi couldn’t help but curse silently to himself.
Knowing full well that this little girl was clueless, he had to bring up the very topic that would cause trouble. Wasn’t this asking for trouble?
He cut straight to the point and said, "Since you’re fine, you should go back! Didn’t my mother ask you to assist your sister in organizing the poetry gathering? If you leave like this, you probably won’t learn anything, right?"
Uncle Chi must be somewhat unhappy.
Otherwise, he would have "chased" her away rather than "advised" her to leave.
Uncle Chi had a peculiar trait in his behavior.
The more displeased he was, the more polite he became toward others; the happier he was, the more casual he acted.
Zhou Shaojin pursed her lips and smiled, asking Cheng Chi, "Are you still going to attend the birthday banquet tomorrow?"
Sometimes birthday banquets lasted two or three days, with only one day being the formal celebration.
Cheng Chi said, "No!"
"Then I’ll come tomorrow to keep Uncle Chi company and play chess?"
Without having to comfort his mother, Cheng Chi truly had no patience to entertain a child."I don't want to play chess tomorrow."
"Then you can teach me how to play chess."
"I don't want to teach you."
"Then you can watch me study the chess manuals!"
"Do you even know how to study chess manuals?"
"No," Zhou Shaojin declared shamelessly. "That's why I need to learn from you!"
"What is your Madam Shen doing?"
"She's not as good a teacher as you," Zhou Shaojin said. "She taught me for a long time, but I still couldn't understand the chess manuals. Yet after just a few days with you, I can already grasp simple set patterns."
"I'm busy tomorrow!"
"I'm not asking you to stay by my side," Zhou Shaojin said. "I'll just study the manuals in your study. When I don't understand something, I'll ask you, and you can just answer me..."
He hadn't realized she could be so clingy!
Cheng Chi was so angry he laughed. Just as he was about to scold her, Huaishan walked in with lowered eyes and said softly, "Fourth Master. Yutai Hangzhou Branch has sent over some plants and flowers, saying they're for Second Young Miss..."
Zhou Shaojin was taken aback. "For me?"
Huaishan didn't dare look up at Cheng Chi's face and replied respectfully, "Yes! They said that last time Second Young Miss praised the flowers they cultivated at their branch, they immediately picked out a few fine pots for you. But you didn't stay long enough, and it wasn't the right time to repot the plants. They were afraid something might go wrong if they gave them to you directly, so they temporarily left the flowers with Master Miao Wu. Recently, Master Miao Wu said the plants could be moved, so Hangzhou Branch specially sent someone to deliver them."
"Ah!" Zhou Shaojin had long forgotten about this, as she hadn't received any flowers when she left. She never expected Hangzhou Branch would go to such lengths to send them over.
She glanced at Cheng Chi.
A flicker of anger flashed in Cheng Chi's eyes.
These people really had nothing better to do.
To think of such a way to curry favor with him.
If they wanted to send flowers, they should have just sent them. But to flatter him like this—not delivering the flowers to the boat at the time, and instead sending them over specially after some time had passed... However, since he intended to sell Yutai at a good price when it was at its peak, whether Yutai did well or poorly no longer concerned him.
He took a deep breath, his expression unchanged.
Zhou Shaojin shivered.
Uncle Chi must be furious!
She waved at Huaishan. "I don't want them. Go tell them I can't accept them."
Huaishan, of course, wouldn't listen to her. He quickly glanced at Cheng Chi out of the corner of his eye.
To his surprise, Cheng Chi looked perfectly calm, even somewhat gentle, and said with a smile, "Since they've already been sent, just accept them."
Huaishan felt his fingertips turn cold.
Fourth Master was always the most amiable when he was angriest.
Trembling, he replied, "Yes," and added softly, "The one delivering the flowers is Madam Wang. She said she would like to enter the residence to pay her respects to Second Young Miss..."
"Fine," Cheng Chi said indifferently. "Go tell Nanny Lu and have her make the arrangements."
Huaishan scurried away.
Cheng Chi lightly tapped the large desk.
Perhaps he really wasn't cut out for managing things.
Others thought establishing a bank and competing with those people from She County was no simple task, but he had managed to set up Yutai Bank with just a few maneuvers. Yet once Yutai Bank was established, he lost interest, and now such a major blunder had occurred. His mother praised the osmanthus trees at the Ningbo branch, and the very next day, Hangzhou Branch knew about it. They even dared to send people to deliver flowers to those around him. Clearly, such things had been going on for quite some time...Perhaps it's time to sell Yutai Bank.
He had hesitated before, thinking of leaving something for Nine Prosperities Lane, but now it seemed it couldn't be kept.
Still, this might be for the best. Without silver, perhaps they would behave more properly.
Having made up his mind, Cheng Chi looked up and saw Zhou Shaojin standing there with lowered eyes, holding her breath, motionless, like a frightened little wife.
He asked in surprise, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Zhou Shaojin felt as if a great weight had been lifted and exclaimed joyfully, "So I can go?"
What was this little girl thinking now?
Cheng Chi nodded.
Zhou Shaojin flashed a brilliant smile and quickly said, "Uncle Chi, I really didn't ask them to send flowers. When they bring the flowers, I'll accept them first and then send them over to you." With that, she turned and ran out.
Cheng Chi called out, "Come back."
Zhou Shaojin turned around but spoke before Cheng Chi could say anything: "Uncle Chi, that Madam Wang came to pay her respects to me. How much reward should I give her to avoid being impolite? She's the bank manager's wife, not some family's personal maid!"
Cheng Chi, led astray by her question, sneered, "Since she presents herself as a servant, then treat her as one!"
Zhou Shaojin understood, nodded with a smile, and ran off.
※
Sisters, today's update.
o(n_n)o~
※ (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to...)
!!
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