Spring in Nanjing

Chapter 20: Heart is at peace

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Old Madam Guan laughed and said, "Come back in a few years when you are older!"

How is this possible!

Zhou Shaojin had no choice but to pull Mrs. Guan's sleeve and act coquettishly: "I don't want to follow Mrs. Guo, I want to follow my grandmother."

"Silly child!" Old Madam Guan was both happy and relieved, but she still said, "You will understand when you grow up. Grandma is doing this for your own good. If you listen, I will ask your aunt to make you some new clothes. Just go to Hanbi Mountain House and serve Old Madam Guo happily."

What if I meet Cheng Xu

Zhou Shaojin looked at his grandmother's smiling face and couldn't bear to pour cold water on the old lady, so he had to return to Wanxiangju in a depressed mood.

When Zhou Chujin came back, he saw her bending over the desk copying scriptures and asked curiously, "Are you in a hurry?"

She had also copied Buddhist scriptures. In her opinion, it was just one volume of scriptures and she should be able to finish copying it before the Buddha's Birthday.

"No." Zhou Shaojin said unhappily, "My grandmother asked me to help Madam Guo copy a few pages of scriptures."

"Ah!" Zhou Chujin was surprised and delighted, and walked to the desk excitedly, "Really? Grandma really asked you to help Madam Guo copy a few pages of scriptures? Why did grandma suddenly think of asking you to copy scriptures for Madam Guo?"

Zhou Shaojin told his sister what had happened.

"Amitabha!" Zhou Chujin couldn't help but put his hands together, bowed towards the west, and said, "I said that grandma is a blessed person. You will definitely be able to turn danger into safety if you follow grandma. Look, at the right time, you have met Madam Guo. Although Madam Guo can't be said to be pure, not everyone can catch her eye. As grandma said, this is your good fortune. You must be obedient and serve Madam Guo well, maybe..."

You can also find a good marriage because of this.

But this shouldn’t be said in front of her sister, so she swallowed the words with a smile.

If it were Zhou Shaojin in his previous life, he would not notice these details, let alone guess what his sister was thinking. But Zhou Shaojin in this life put his heart into it, so he naturally saw through his sister's thoughts clearly.

Could it be that she is so timid and cautious just to get married

Does getting married guarantee that she will have a smooth, safe and healthy life

She felt a little uncomfortable and said to her sister angrily, "I won't go!"

Seeing that she was unhappy, Zhou Chujin thought that she was afraid of seeing the eyes of the people in the eldest house. After thinking for a while, he said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aunt Yi has always wanted to send cousin Jia to old lady Guo to teach, and even asked the old lady of the second house to intervene, but it didn't work. You got it without any effort, so you must cherish it."

Zhou Shaojin was surprised when he heard this.

In her previous life, she and Cheng Ji were inseparable, but she never knew that Cheng Ji's mother Jiang had such a plan.

Zhou Chujin smiled.

It seems that my sister is not a person without ambition. It's just that the women and servants of the Cheng family are used to flattering Cheng Ji because of the wealth of the third branch. Over time, my sister can't help but feel a little insecure and speaks without confidence, so those women and servants like to flatter Cheng Ji even more.

Now she used Cheng Ji to provoke her sister, and it turned out that what she said was right.

She continued to comfort Zhou Shaojin: "Besides, the eldest cousin Zheng and Xiao are already married. Although cousin Sheng from Uncle Wei's family grew up in Madam Guo's house, she was sent to Uncle Wei's house in the capital by Madam Guo after she got engaged. Cousin Xu is the only one in the eldest house who enjoys her happiness. Cousin Xu is a man of honor. Even though he is young, people have to address him as 'Master' when he walks outside. He will not enter the inner courtyard except for morning and evening visits. You only need to deal with Madam Guo. Madam Guo has strict rules. Who dares to neglect you?"

Zhou Shaojin felt like he had been enlightened.

He was unwilling to copy scriptures for Mrs. Guo because of what happened that year.

But those things are not happening now.

If she cannot overcome such inner demons, how can she save the Cheng family and protect the relatives who care about her

As long as you carefully avoid the things that happened in your past life, you may be able to create a bright future for yourself.

Zhou Shaojin's heart, which had been restless since his rebirth, seemed to have taken root and suddenly settled down.

She smiled and pulled her sister's hand, saying, "Sister, I'm so busy, can you not go to Jing'an Zhai?"

That’s a promise!

Zhou Chujin chuckled and tapped his sister's forehead: "Don't even think about it! Don't think you can be lazy just because your grandmother is protecting you. Do you want people to call you 'illiterate' in the future?"

"If you can't read, then you can't read!" Zhou Shaojin muttered, "It's not like I can't read the account book."

Like my grandmother, although she could hardly read or write, she was strong and generous. She not only supported the fourth room, but also raised younger generations like Uncle Mian and Cousin Gao who were kind-hearted and sincere to others. This shows that being a good person is the most important thing.

"How dare you say that!" Zhou Chujin flicked his sister's forehead again. "Grandma is already in her prime and still regrets not reading more books when she was young. Do you want to be like her and regret it when you're old? Don't even think about it!"

Neither this nor that is possible!

Zhou Shaojin muttered to himself, and then thought of something, and hurriedly said: "Sister, no one is taking care of Qi'er at Fan Mama's house. I'll ask Fan Mama to bring Qi'er here and find him a job in the mansion..."

Zhou Chujin had heard Chixiang say this a long time ago. She thought that Zhou Shaojin was getting married soon, and if she could have a loyal person by her side to go to her husband's house when she got married, she would have someone to rely on in the future. She was in favor of letting Qi'er come to work in the mansion.

"Then let him follow Ma Fushan first!" She said with a smile, "Once he's trained, it won't be too late to bring him to your side to serve."

Zhou Shaojin nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Then I will pay for his monthly allowance."

"That's fine!" Zhou Chujin thought for a while and said, "Since he takes your monthly allowance, he is your man. If you order him to do something, he will run away faster."

That's exactly the truth!

Zhou Shaojin smiled sweetly.

The elder sister teased her, “Are you satisfied now?” and then, “Who did you learn this from? You made three requests, knowing that I would not agree to the first two, and you waited for me to agree to the third request…”

Zhou Shaojin felt very wronged.

She hadn't thought about it at all... but the thought flashed through her mind and she seemed to be thinking about it again.

Have you really never thought about this in your heart

Since when did she start using methods to achieve her goals

And to my sister...

Zhou Shaojin's face turned red.

Zhou Chujin not only didn't care, but also taught her: "In the future, you should use your brain more when you speak and do things like you did this time."

Zhou Shaojin blushed even more.

Shi Xiang came in and reported, "Mother Fan brought Fan Qi back!"

So fast!

Zhou Shaojin glanced at his sister.

Zhou Chujin smiled and said, "Let them come in and talk!"

Shi Xiang went away in response, and soon brought in Fan Liu and Fan Qi.

Fan Qi was dark and thin, not even as tall as Zhou Shaojin. He wore a plain brown short-sleeved shirt made of coarse cloth. The folds on the shirt were still new. It was obvious that these were new clothes that Fan Liushi had bought for him at the clothing shop in order to bring him into the mansion.

It’s no wonder that Fan Liu said he was incapable of doing anything else.

With this physique, you really can't do anything in the countryside.

However, Fan Qi's eyes were dark and bright, rolling around, and he looked like a very clever child, so it was just right for him to work in the mansion.

Zhou Chujin rewarded Fan Qi with a few silver ingots as a gift, told him about the arrangements for him, and then asked Shi Xiang to take him to kowtow to Ma Fushan, leaving Fan Liushi behind to say, "This is the Second Miss's grace, you must serve the Second Miss well in the future."

Mrs. Fan Liu hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to the Zhou sisters.

Zhou Shaojin hurriedly asked Chunwan to help Fan Liu up.

Zhou Chujin picked up the teacup and blew on the tea leaves floating on the water, then said calmly, "Go down! Remember to do your job well."

Mrs. Fan Liu replied respectfully, "Yes," but hesitated to speak.

Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Mom, what do you want to say?"

Mrs. Fan Liu's face flushed red, and she said, "My family affairs have not been settled yet... I want to take a few more days off..."

Zhou Shaojin was stunned.

Mrs. Fan Liu murmured, "Lu'er's great uncle... is unwilling to return the land to us..."

Zhou Shaojin frowned and said, "Then what are you going to do?"

Fan Liu lowered her head in shame and said, "I have asked the clan leader to come forward. It will take a few days at most."

Zhou Shaojin pondered and said, "Then let's report to the police!"

"Report, report to the authorities!" Fan Liu's eyes were as big as copper bells.

They are good citizens, how can they sue others

"Yes, report it to the authorities!" Zhou Shaojin said firmly, "Since he is unreasonable, we can only let the authorities make the judgment."

"But as the saying goes, the government office is open, but if you have a case but no money, don't come in." Fan Liu said hurriedly, "I'm afraid that even if we sell all the few acres of our family's thin land, it won't be enough to pay for the lawsuit!"

Zhou Shaojin was furious and said, "Lu'er's uncle is just a commoner. You are a servant in our family. Can't you compete with him?"

"No!" Fan Liu shook her head. "If this gets out, the master will be known as someone who allows his servants to do evil. I can't ruin the reputation of the Zhou and Cheng families."

"Oh!" Zhou Shaojin was angry at him for not fighting back, and said, "I'm not asking you to really sue him, I'm just trying to scare him, you don't even know how to do this?"

"Oh, oh, oh!" Fan Liu came back to her senses and said hurriedly, "I understand - I told the clan leader that if he returns the land to us, I will ask the young lady to go to the government and tell them."

"Yes, yes!" Zhou Shaojin saw that she understood and said happily, "Your uncle is definitely not willing to compete with you for these acres of land."

Fan Liushi nodded continuously and said happily, "Then I'll go back first!"

Zhou Shaojin asked Chunwan to send Fan Liu out.

Zhou Chujin tapped Zhou Shaojin's nose and said, "Who gave you this idea? You actually know how to use the power of the tiger to bully others?"

Zhou Shaojin blinked and smiled: "My sister told me!"

"When did I tell you?" Zhou Chujin asked, but Zhou Shaojin just smiled.

This is indeed what her sister told her.

In her previous life, she married into the Lin family by relying on the power of her sister and brother-in-law.

Zhou Shaojin only felt tears in his smile.

Fan Qi was indeed suitable for working in the mansion. In just a few days, he became familiar with the maids, servants and managers of the Cheng family.

Shi Xiang told Zhou Shaojin: "I don't know whose personality he inherited, but his mouth is as sweet as honey, and he even coaxed Mrs. Qin, who guards the second gate, to take him in as her godson."

Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "Did Fan Qi agree?"

"That kid is very slippery." Chun Wan laughed, "How could he agree? He said that a fortune teller told him that he couldn't worship his godmother as his father, and he had to wait until his 30th year of Tianluo destiny was over."

"By the time he's thirty, Mrs. Qin will probably have gone to find Old Man Qin."

The master and servant chatted for a long time. Zhou Shaojin changed into a light green jacket with a dark pattern of twined grapes and wore a string of red agate bracelets. He asked Chunwan to hold the copied Buddhist scriptures and went to Jiashu Hall.

Sisters, have a great weekend!

However, I have to work overtime on weekends recently, so I can't update more... Because I don't have enough manpower, and I can't ask for leave...

~~~~(>_