Wanjin Lady

Chapter 64 Peacock Flying

"I've been waiting for her at the tavern every day these past few days, but the owner never showed up." Cheng Yunzhang gently pulled his hand free from the old man's grasp, his eyes bright. "I've ordered the servants to wait by the tavern day and night. If you're interested, sir, once the owner shows up, we can make an appointment and we'll definitely get him to tell us what's going on."

The old man clapped his hands and smiled, "It's a deal!"

When he got out of the house, Yuan Jing was waiting for him on the carriage, holding a backpack. When he saw Cheng Yunzhang coming out, he waved at him, "Youngest, come quickly! We just went for a walk around the village, and luckily there's a clerk who's willing to lend us a carriage!"

Cheng Yunzhang got into the car. Yuan Jing saw that he was still wearing the coarse linen clothes that the old man's wife had just given him. He looked disdainful and asked, "Where are your clothes?"

"At the master's."

"Why don't you switch?"

"Stay at his house so that you have a reason to come over next time."

"Why did you ask him out?" Yuan Jing was puzzled. He lowered his head and fiddled with the things in his backpack. The donkey cart had just overturned into the river, and all the mountain products in the backpack were soaked in water. The other products were fine, but the soaked tea cakes were not beautiful to give to others. He felt very distressed. "Oh, this is the top-grade Snow Leaf Silver Needle! Now it's good. The gift that my aunt prepared for you to meet your master--"

Cheng Yunzhang thought of the old man and smiled knowingly, "No need. I can find a better gift for my apprenticeship."

Yuan Jing sighed, "But we still don't know where Mr. Qiushan lives!"

Cheng Yunzhang leaned against the carriage wall, looking at the passing scenery outside with a leisurely look, and said slowly, "Just take your time to look, you will find it eventually."

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A horse-drawn carriage came swayingly from the direction of Ping County's official road.

In August, among the lush green mountains, there are patches of yellow-orange rice fields that are about to ripen.

Master Ma was sitting in a donkey cart, watching the father and daughter of the Wen family quarreling. He was curious but didn't dare to ask.

The young master warmly invited the old master to ride in a carriage, but the old master insisted on squeezing into a donkey cart with him. During this period, he ignored the young master's repeated kindness.

Hmm. They must have had a fight.

Ma Changshun whispered to Wen Wan, "The old boss just recovered from an illness. Young boss, please don't be angry with him. They say that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. As a child, it's nothing to suffer some grievances."

"I'm not angry." Wen Wan smiled. "The old man wanted to beat me up these days, but he didn't succeed, so he's angry now."

"Ah." Master Ma opened his mouth, unable to understand the evil taste of his two masters. After a while, he said, "Then why don't you just stand there and let the masters beat you up a few times to vent your anger?"

Wen Wan: This is such a good idea.

How can you say such cold words with your lips that are 36 degrees?
Wen Wan tilted her head, "Master Ma, are your parents healthy?"

Master Ma laughed and said, "My father died young, but I have an old mother who is almost seventy years old. She still works in the fields. If I don't let her work, she will get angry."

Wen Wan smiled and said, "Then next time Master Ma's mother wants to beat you, you should just stand still, okay?" Master Ma scratched his head sheepishly, "Well... I still have to run."

A parent-child game.

How to increase affection without running?

When they arrived at Hexiang Village, several people got off the car. Wen Wan reached out to help Old Man Wen, but Old Man Wen waved his sleeves and pushed her away.

Good. The old man is really stubborn.

In the past few days, the Wen family has been performing a drama of her running away and him chasing. Old Man Wen has poor legs and feet, and Wen Wan has the help of two spies, Zhao Heng and Wen Jing, so Old Man Wen can't even touch the corner of Wen Wan's clothes. Is he angry now?
The father and daughter stood there waiting for Village Chief Li of Hexiang Village.

Village Chief Li arrived late and greeted the two enthusiastically with a fist. "Hey, Brother Wen... Young Master Wen... How come you have time to come to Hexiang Village today? Brother Wen, are you feeling better now? I'm so sorry for going to the wedding banquet to collect debts last time. When I got back, my wife scolded me severely. I'm so..."

A look of embarrassment appeared on Village Chief Li's face.

If someone hadn't fanned the flames last time, he wouldn't have gone to Wen Wan's wedding banquet to block the door and demand debts.

After all, he had ruined someone else's wedding day. Now that Wen Wan was kind to him, he felt ashamed.

"That's fine. The Wen family owes you money for the goods, it's a done deal. It's just an early settlement. Don't worry about it, brother. I came here today... to ask, with the autumn harvest approaching, do the villagers of Hexiang Village have any extra rice or corn to sell? I'll take whatever you have, and the price is negotiable."

"Ouch!" Village Chief Li slapped his thigh. "Brother, you're a step too late. Just now, all the grain in our village was signed over to Shopkeeper Zhu! Not only Hexiang Village, but even several nearby towns have been taken away by Zhu's owner!"

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

As soon as Wen Wan raised her eyes, she saw three people standing in the yard in front. The leader was the pig, and next to the pig was a proud male peacock. Next to the male peacock was a mole. The three people were standing in a row. Wen Wan felt as if she had arrived at the zoo.

"Oh." Old Man Wen stepped forward to lead the charge. Ever since he suspected that Shopkeeper Zhu and Shi Jinquan were having an affair, Wen Weiming had been filled with anger and resentment. His tone was sharp, like a machine gun, "Brother Zhu, is business so good this year? You bought so much grain in one go. Aren't you afraid of starving to death?"

Shopkeeper Zhu, whose Chinese zodiac sign was the Pig, looked remarkably calm. Despite Old Man Wen's rant and rave, he still smiled and replied, "Thanks to you, brother, business is doing OK. But I heard that my niece cleared out the warehouse a few days ago and emptied out all the Wen family's savings. She must have made a killing, right? Now we have money to buy food, and the debt to Xinlong Bank must be paid off as soon as possible. Don't let the people from the bank drag you down and have your hands and feet chopped off. I'd feel bad for you, brother."

"Alright, Zhu Ligang, are you admitting now that you were behind the incident involving the 1,000 taels of silver from the Xinlong Bank?"

"What kind of tricks could I possibly be playing? What nonsense are you talking about, Brother Wen?" Shopkeeper Zhu said cheerfully, his smile as bright as that of the Maitreya Buddha. He was clearly experienced in verbal battles. "Everyone in Ping County has heard about the Wen family's debt. If you accuse me of colluding with the people from Xinlong Bank, that's really unfair. After all, Shi Jinquan is your confidant, and I don't know him at all. If you want to blame someone, it can't be me..."

Wen Wan interrupted Shopkeeper Zhu's chatter with a low cough and looked at the male peacock beside him. "Shopkeeper Zhu, is this... the distant relative of the ink maker you mentioned last time?"

Shopkeeper Zhu glanced at Yuan Jing, clearly unsure of how to respond. "This is..."

The male peacock raised his chin proudly, completely ignoring the Wen family father and daughter. His tone was very arrogant: "I am the cousin of Shopkeeper Zhu. This time I am here to help my cousin expand the grain store. You are Wen Wan, right? I heard your cousin mentioned you. I heard that you made a big scene in Ping County a few days ago. I guess you made a lot of money, right?"

(End of this chapter)