Xiaoyaoshanjun

Chapter 23: The Prostitute

Early in the morning, Tian Buli set up a stall to sell tofu again.

"Tofu for sale! Fresh tofu!"

Soon someone came over.

"Brother Tian, ​​why are you still selling tofu? Didn't you pass the exam?"

Tian Buli always smiled when he met someone. "After passing the examination for Tongsheng, there is still the examination for Xiucai. This requires money. Going to the government to take the examination not only requires travel expenses, but also requires someone to guarantee you."

"To take the exam, you need a guarantor from an old scholar. If you have to pay for the guarantor, you also need to go to the exam room with the guarantor to verify your identity."

"The gentleman is thinking about his ancestral home and wants to take back the old house that his parents sold. If he doesn't make some money now, he will have no money to take the exam in April."

“Would you like to buy two pieces of tofu?”

The tofu stall's business soon picked up again.

In the past, I had ruined my business by delivering tofu to Liu's house. Later, I let the silly Hu'er and Bao'er take over the stall, and some regular customers left.

Fortunately, everyone gave me face today. I sold a bucket of tofu within an hour of setting up the stall, and sold a few pieces from the second bucket as well.

Two buckets of tofu don’t actually cost much, and a few hundred dollars is not enough to find someone to guarantee it.

Mr. Bing's interpersonal relationships only extend to the students. There are also a few poor scholars in the city, but most of them will not ask for less money.

It would be good enough if I could find someone to guarantee my tofu sales for a month.

Tian Buli thought of the generous Mr. Liu San.

The Liu family did not mention the tofu incident, but gave some money as compensation.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand. People probably think that delivering tofu is not a decent thing. Before the news gets out, it would be embarrassing to do odd jobs and deliver tofu in someone's home.

So they never thought of inviting me to deliver tofu to their family again, nor did they think that I would sell tofu.

Although scholars are not prohibited from doing business, many of them still want to save face, and no one is as willing to give up that face as Tian Buli.

Even if you are shameless, your family members still have to have some dignity. They have to borrow money so that students can study well at home.

When doing business, you have no time to read. You know a lot of businessmen, so forget about entering the circle of scholars.

Since ancient times, businessmen have made friends with scholars and given them money to entertain them.

He was both a businessman and a scholar, and was not well-liked by the literati community.

Although merchants refer to those who have servants as intermediaries, it is indeed not decent to come out to make money. It makes you look like you have no money, and people will also say that you are not doing your job properly.

Tian Buli had never thought of becoming a high-ranking official. He planned to go out to seek immortals and ask for advice when he was older and had mastered the self-defense technique.

Being an official is not as good as cultivating immortality. If there is a chance to live forever, of course one would seek for immortality.

The tofu in the bucket was getting less and less. When I was about to go home, I smelled a fragrant breeze.

Tian Buli raised his head and saw a beautiful woman in her twenties standing in front of him.

"It's Miss Bai. I haven't seen her for half a year. Miss Yanhong has become even more beautiful!"

Tian Buli and Bai Yanhong greeted each other with a smile, but he stopped calling her grandma after he passed the imperial examination.

Bai Yanhong was delighted when she heard this, and looked at Tian Buli charmingly with her pair of almond-shaped eyes.

"The scholar is good at talking. I'm not a girl, not even a concubine. You don't need to call me that. Just know who I am."

She was a concubine in the manor, but as a concubine used to entertain other people, she was actually a commodity, and she knew her fate.

Tian Buli smiled and said, "You are older than me, how about I call you Aunt Bai?"

Bai Yanhong waved her hands quickly, "No, no, it makes me look rude, don't call me anything."

"Okay." Tian Buli looked at her and said with a smile, "I'll keep it in mind."

Bai Yanhong blushed and took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it over.

"My dear, you are good at talking. I heard that you passed the imperial examination. There is nothing I can do to help you. Here is some of my private savings. You can use it to spend your money."

After Tian Buli took it, he felt that it contained jewelry and silver, so he quickly took it and put it in his arms.

"Okay, I have to go to the capital city for an exam in April, and I'll be in this city the rest of the time. I just happened to have sold all my tofu, so I'll take you home to rest and have a cup of tea."

When Bai Yanhong heard that he was going to bring someone like her into the house, her face immediately turned red with shame.

"How can I enter your house? If it gets out, people will laugh at me."

Tian Buli put away his stall and said, "What's the big deal? I'm staying at my master's house now. Many people have come to his house to drink tea and chat these days. If you know the way, it will be convenient for you to find me if you need anything in the future."

Bai Yanhong nodded shyly, "Okay, I'll find the way."

Tian Buli carried the two buckets back and brought Bai Yanhong into the house.

"My husband lives in the big house, and I live in the small house."

Tian Buli knew Bai Yanhong's identity, so he didn't call the master out and took her to the cabin in a low-key manner.

Bai Yanhong was also aware of her own identity. She was very excited and proud to be invited into the house for tea by Tian Buli. How could she feel embarrassed?

After entering the house, Bai Yanhong looked at the small house which was only a few steps away. Although the house was small and simple, it had a bed, bedding, a desk, and a wardrobe box, and it looked very tidy.

"There's no chair in the room. Please sit on the bed. I'll go to the kitchen to get you some water."

"No need!" Bai Yanhong said quickly and politely, "I have nothing to do and it's time to go."

Tian Buli stood at the door and saw Dou Niang coming out of the east room. He and Hu Er looked at this place curiously. The child was looking at who was sending gifts and what kind of edible things were coming. Dou Niang thought it was a guest and did not come over rashly. Women did not want to get involved in such things when men were present.

Tian Buli walked into the room and said, "I want to ask you something. Is Zhang Xia okay?"

Bai Yanhong quickly realized something.

"She is fine, nothing happened. When I came here, she asked me to ask you if you still remember her."

"What is your relationship?"

Bai Yanhong is also a smart person. She never thought about those things before, but now she understands the general idea once she thinks about it.

Tian Buli was also very frank, "We met in the village, and later I often went to her house. After I came out, we stopped communicating. But I received favors from her when I was selling tofu, that time with you and the time before."

"Please don't spread this matter, lest she be sad in the manor."

Bai Yanhong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "So that's how it is! Don't worry, I'm not a talkative person."

After understanding the whole cause and effect, Bai Yanhong became much more relaxed and enthusiastic. She sat on the bed and looked at the young, strong, and loyal boy.

"Am I beautiful?" Bai Yanhong sat leaning forward, adjusting her collar with one hand.

Tian Buli also smiled and said, "Beautiful."

At this time, Dou Niang came over and said, "Brother Tian! Are there any guests?"

When Damiao came in, Bai Yanhong had already stood up.

When the two sides looked at each other, they immediately felt that the other was not a good person.

They are all women around 30 years old, and they are all smart women who can tell whether a woman is good or bad at a glance.

Tian Buli introduced quickly.

"This is the thirteenth concubine of the head of Fuyuan Escort Agency. I met her when I was selling tofu last year. She gave me financial support."

"This is the damselfly. She took me in when I had nowhere else to go."

When Dou Niang heard that this woman was a concubine, and the concubine of the thirteenth room, she immediately became unhappy.

"Brother Tian, ​​I will find you a girl from a good family this year. Don't run around anymore. I still have to cook, so you should clean up and get ready for dinner."

Bai Yanhong had asked someone about this family the day before yesterday and found out that Dou Niang had been sleeping with Tian Buli for a long time, and she didn't look like a girl from a good family.

Last year she was a village woman selling tofu, but this year she was lucky enough to meet two scholars.

Bai Yanhong couldn't afford to offend him, so she smiled and said, "It's time for me to go too."

"I'll take you there." Tian Buli quickly made way.

Dou Niang didn't look at the flashy woman well and went straight to the kitchen.

Tian Buli saw Bai Yanhong out and followed her for about ten meters.

"I'll take you to the street. Damselfly is not a bad person. Don't mind what happened just now."

Bai Yanhong smiled and said, "I don't care. I'm used to this kind of thing."

Walking on the street, Bai Yanhong decided to give Tian Buli more benefits.

"I have a narrow courtyard in the city for retirement, with only four rooms. The courtyard is two arms wide and seven or eight steps long. If you don't mind, I can give it to you. I haven't been there since I bought it. It's been about seven or eight years."

Bai Yanhong sighed. That was the house she bought when she was bought to the farm.

Tian Buli immediately realized the problem, "If you don't live there, someone else will. There are a lot of gossips in the city. It's not easy for a woman like you to buy a house. Maybe someone will bully you and occupy the house without knowing it."

"I happen to have nothing to do these few days. I'll go over and help you tomorrow. If everything is ok, that's good. If there are any bad guys, I'll help you solve the problem."

Bai Yanhong glanced at Tian Buli's profile again, her heart filled with joy, "Thank you, young master!"

Tian Buli asked, "Where is it? I'll go check it out tomorrow."

Bai Yanhong quickly said, "I remember it wasn't too far from here, about five or six hundred steps. I remember when I bought it, someone said it was a house that had been burned down, so I was able to buy a corner of it at a low price."

Tian Buli was stunned. Is this the master’s hometown?

Bai Yanhong continued, "Speaking of which, Zhang Xia also has a deed to the land there. She entered the farm at about the same time as I did. The master's business was good in those years, but it has shrunk a lot in recent years. There are other counties that have similar businesses, so not so many people come here every year, and the monthly reward money has decreased a lot."

Tian Buli said quickly: "Don't worry, I'll take you back first and then go over to take a look."

"Okay." Bai Yanhong had met many scholars, but they were all people who played around with the occasion, and none of them was as considerate and sincere as the young man next to her.

Tian Buli ignored the gossip and sent her to a street not far from Fuyuan Escort Agency before saying goodbye and leaving.

After returning, I met neighbors on the street.

The woman selling rice dumplings bent over and poured water, teasing Tian Buli with a smile.

"Brother Tian, ​​who was that beautiful woman just now? Could she be your old lover?"

Tian Buli said seriously and quickly, "Don't talk nonsense. She is the chief escort's concubine. Last year, when she came out to buy things, she saw me selling tofu and studying, so she helped me a little. Today, she came to my house and rested for half a cup of tea, and then I found out that she bought a corner of the old house of the master seven or eight years ago."

"My husband felt that he had let down his ancestors and was still brooding over the old house and his father's affairs. After I knew that the girl had bought the house a few years ago, I asked more questions."

"This is a serious matter, please don't spread rumors. I will go and see it later to help you solve the problem that has been bothering you day and night."

Seeing that Tian Buli's words sounded righteous, everyone stopped paying attention to the matter and no rumors spread.

(End of this chapter)