Cheng Chi couldn't help but touch his forehead.
Shouldn't I take this opportunity to reprimand that little girl and ask her to behave herself in the future? Why did I end up following her words and telling her how to give a reward
Zhou Shaojin, however, ran straight to the ear room where Zhou Chujin was as if he had escaped to heaven.
Uncle Chi is really scary when he gets angry!
No wonder Jiying and the others were afraid of him. It turned out that it was because they had never seen Uncle Chi lose his temper.
If Uncle Chi loses his temper again in the future, I’d better stay away from him.
Zhou Shaojin patted his chest and took a deep breath, then smiled and went into the ear room. He told his sister that the people from Yutai Hangzhou Branch had sent her flowers, and said, "Uncle Chi also knew about it, and asked me to reward Madam Wang like an ordinary maid."
Zhou Chujin said: "Isn't this bad? At least you should give me double the amount."
"What's wrong with that!" Zhou Shaojin said disapprovingly, "That's what Uncle Chi said. Anyway, they sent me flowers just to please Uncle Chi. My attitude doesn't matter to them at all. I just do what Uncle Chi says."
She didn't dare tell her sister about Cheng Chi's anger, for fear that her sister would scold her and forbid her to go to Uncle Chi again.
Zhou Chujin had never encountered such a thing before, and was a little undecided for a moment, so he asked, "Do you want me to accompany you to meet that Mrs. Wang?"
Zhou Chujin thought for a moment and said, "I'd better go by myself! Mrs. Wang is mainly here to test Uncle Chi's attitude, lest she sets her sights on you and make Uncle Chi think that we are taking advantage of the power of others."
Just look at the newly planted osmanthus tree in the middle of the courtyard of the Hangzhou branch to know how smart these people are.
Zhou Chujin nodded.
Zhou Shaojin returned to Wanxiangju, changed his clothes, and combed his hair again. Nanny Lu personally accompanied Mrs. Wang over.
Mrs. Wang saw that Zhou Shaojin's jet-black hair was simply tied up in a bun, and she wore a half-new rose-purple and gold bodice, with only a pair of lotus-seed-sized South Pearl earrings hanging on her ears. She looked casual and generous, yet elegant and luxurious, which was very different from the exquisite and reserved appearance on the boat. It seemed that she seemed to appear more at ease at this moment.
Or maybe it’s because this is where she lived since she was a child!
Mrs. Wang guessed and smiled as she knelt down and saluted Zhou Shaojin.
The maid brought tea and snacks.
Zhou Shaojin said politely, "Please ask Madam Wang to thank the manager of your branch on my behalf. The gift is small but the thought is profound. This gift is too valuable. Apart from anything else, I will accept this favor just for the thousands of miles I have traveled."
If they didn't want you to do them a favor, why did they send the flowers from Hangzhou to here? Couldn't they have just sent the flowers and trees to her boat
Mrs. Wang complained in her heart, but her face was full of smiles. She said, "My second cousin, you are too polite. I should have given you the flowers and trees a long time ago. Who knew that Miao Wu had cultivated another pot of Eighteen Scholars? I was waiting for this pot of Eighteen Scholars, so I delayed it. Fortunately, Master Miao Wu's craftsmanship is great, and the flower has formed buds on the way. In order to keep this pot of Eighteen Scholars blooming during the Spring Festival, our shopkeeper also invited Master Miao Wu's eldest disciple to take care of the flower. I'm afraid I will have to give a few instructions to the manager of your greenhouse later."
Another pot of Eighteen Scholars!
Zhou Shaojin was secretly amazed and had great admiration for the manager of the Hangzhou branch. He thanked Mrs. Wang with a smile and told the maid to invite the manager of the greenhouse over.
Mrs. Wang took the opportunity to say, "Our shopkeeper heard that the master will be leaving next year, so he is thinking about ordering a few more pots of Eighteen Scholars from Master Miao Wu as soon as possible. It will be a good omen for people who come to pay New Year's greetings to see them!"
This shopkeeper is really thoughtful!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and said, "You should ask Uncle Chi about this matter. After all, this was your idea."
Mrs. Wang was overjoyed when she heard this.
They did so much just to leave a good impression in Cheng Chi's heart. The reason why they decided to make a breakthrough in Zhou Shaojin was that they thought Zhou Shaojin was young and would definitely ask his elders for advice when encountering such a thing. In this way, they could test Cheng Chi's attitude, attack or defend, and find someone to speak well of them.
Mrs. Wang thanked Zhou Shaojin again and again, and talked about the other pots of flowers: "... Although the black chrysanthemum has passed its flowering period, I brought the seedlings here. When it sprouts tomorrow spring, I can divide a few pots into gifts; one large one and one hexagonal one, both of which are about to bloom. Also, thinking that the New Year is coming soon, I also sent some daffodils and orchids of various colors. I guarantee that my second cousin's room will be full of flowers and it will be very beautiful." After saying this, she looked embarrassed.
Is she waiting for me to answer
Zhou Shaojin pretended not to notice and smiled as he invited her to drink tea: "This is our local Yuhua tea. How does it taste?"
Mrs. Wang had no choice but to drink some tea and praised for a long time.
Chun Wan came in and reported: "Master Miao Wu's eldest disciple has already made things clear to the manager of the flower room. The manager of the flower room is now personally instructing the servants to move the flowers."
Zhou Shaojin nodded and said to Chunwan with a smile, "You also know Mrs. Wang. I have work to do at Tingyuxuan. It's rare for her to come here, so you can accompany Mrs. Wang around Jinling City. If you want a carriage or a sedan chair, just give the order."
Chunwan smiled and walked forward to bow to Mrs. Wang, and replied "yes" respectfully.
Mrs. Wang was so anxious that she didn't care about anything else. She said hurriedly, "Second cousin, since we are here, we should go and greet the old lady. There are a few pots of daffodils and orchids specially given to the old lady."
Zhou Shaojin said angrily, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Look which pots of flowers are for the old lady. I'll have the servants sort them out and send them over later."
Mrs. Wang said, "Then what about the old lady..."
Zhou Shaojin was surprised and asked, "Didn't you just meet Aunt Lu? What's the matter? Haven't you gone to the old lady's place yet?"
"I heard that Lord Song's wife is visiting our house, so..." Mrs. Wang hesitated to speak.
Zhou Shaojin pondered and said, "The old lady's affairs have always been decided by Madam Lu. If this is the case, I can't help you make a decision!"
Mrs. Wang looked at Zhou Shaojin expectantly.
Zhou Shaojin sighed secretly.
Uncle Chi and Madam Guo’s attitudes were already very clear. Not to mention that she was not qualified to change anything, even if she was qualified, she would not go against the wishes of Uncle Chi and Madam Guo.
She only asked which pots of flowers were given to Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Wang could not hide her disappointment.
Bi Tao hurried in and whispered in Zhou Shaojin's ear: "Miss Jia is here!"
To Cheng Jia, Wanxiangju is just the gate to the vegetable garden. She can enter and leave as she pleases. Since when did she ever need such a covert communication
Zhou Shaojin's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face. He smiled and reminded Chunwan to "do your best to be a good host", then went to the study with Bitao.
Cheng Ji was sitting on the armchair in the study, crying alone.
Seeing Zhou Shaojin coming in, she immediately stood up and said angrily: "Isn't this ridiculous? No matter how poor I am, I won't become a merchant's wife. That cousin of the Li family, Li Jing, actually took 20,000 taels of silver as a betrothal gift and said he wanted to marry me... Am I only worth that 20,000 taels of silver? He underestimates our Jiuru Lane Cheng family too much! Could it be that our Cheng family would sell our daughter?"
meeting!
Zhou Shaojin was silent.
The Cheng family will indeed sell you out for money!
Seeing that Bitao had retreated hastily with great tact and carefully helped them close the study door, she personally poured a cup of tea and handed it to Cheng Ji.
What happened in the previous life is repeating itself.
It’s just that Li Jing got 50,000 taels of silver in his previous life, but only got 20,000 taels in this life.
In his previous life, Cheng Ji had no way out, but in this life, the Cheng family has not yet reached the point of giving up on the Cheng family.
There is no way Li Jing could succeed.
Zhou Shaojin asked her: "Are you angry that Li Jing took 20,000 taels of silver to marry you or are you angry that Li Jing wanted to marry you?"
Cheng Ji was puzzled and asked, "What's the difference?"
"Of course there is a difference!" Zhou Shaojin said calmly, "If you are just angry that Li Jing took 20,000 taels of silver as a betrothal gift, then it means that you don't mind marrying Li Jing at all, but you are angry that he doesn't respect you enough and wants to use the silver to hit you. If you are angry that Li Jing wants to marry you, then you probably mind Li Jing's status and position, so you don't want to marry him..."
Cheng Ji fell into deep thought.
Although Zhou Shaojin hoped that Li Jing could protect Cheng Ji like in the previous life, Cheng Ji was forced to marry Li Jing in the previous life, so what she thought in her heart was the most important. So in this life, she would not take the initiative to intervene in this matter.
"I, I don't know either." Cheng Ji, who was always open and honest, thought for a long time and muttered, "Anyway, I don't want to marry Li Jing."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and asked again: "Is it because Li Jing is a businessman?"
"That's not the case." Cheng Ji said, "If our family didn't have the first and second branches, wouldn't we still be looked down upon? If I really married Li Jing, I would be marrying down, and who in his family would dare to look down on me? If I married a scholar, maybe the more dowry I brought, the more people would look down on me. In the end, those people used my dowry and still looked down on me for my low birth! Anyway, I don't want to get married!"
It all depends on whether Li Jing can impress Cheng Ji.
Zhou Shaojin smiled and persuaded Cheng Ji for a long time: "... 20,000 taels of silver! Look at the whole Jinling City, which girl has ever received a betrothal gift of 20,000 taels of silver? Your value must have increased now! You should be content!"
Cheng Ji burst out laughing and said, "If you are so envious, why don't you get married? If you say that to me again, I will get angry."
Zhou Shaojin smiled with his eyes narrowed, and finally persuaded Cheng Ji to leave.
However, the news of Li Jing's 20,000 taels of silver as betrothal gift soon spread in Jinling City.
Zhou Shaojin was a little worried that this trend would get worse and worse, which would be bad for Cheng Jia. Who knew that the prince of Liangguo would remarry the eldest daughter of the Mei family in Guanjie, the husband of the third lady of the Sun family, the eldest master of the Liu family who was dissatisfied with the third lady's small dowry and borrowed 2,000 taels of silver from the Sun family and filed a lawsuit.
Everyone in Jinling City had their eyes cast on the ground.
For a while, everyone in the streets was talking about this matter, and Li Jing's 20,000 taels of silver were scattered like the wind, and were soon drowned out by the discussions of the crowd.
Zhou Shaojin breathed a sigh of relief.
Huang Yijun came to pick up Mrs. Song on the orders of Mr. Song: "… If you don't leave for the capital now, you will miss the New Year."
※
Sisters, here’s an extra chapter for Cadyss’s spirit beast egg.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)