Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 147 You're introducing a concubine to your future brother-in-law?!
Staggering over to the overpass, I found my sister, who was hawking cigarettes, calling out, "Mohe."

"Brother, what brings you here?" Upon seeing her brother arrive, Mo He hurried over.

"Come on, come home with me." Master Fan grabbed Mo He's hand and started walking.

"No, brother, what are you doing? I still have to sell cigarettes!"

"Why are you selling cigarettes? Come on, let's go home." Uncle Fan interrupted without giving a chance to explain. "I've told you not to sell them, why don't you listen to your brother?"

"Hey, brother, let go! If you don't sell now, the cigarettes will get ruined!" Mo He said, both amused and exasperated, not daring to struggle too violently. She could only speak softly and gently.
"Brother, I only have about ten packs left to sell. Can I go back after I sell them all?"

"There are only about ten packs left, why are you still selling them? Just leave them for your brother to smoke." Master Fan rolled his eyes and stuffed all the cigarettes in the basket into his arms. "Now they're all gone, right? Come on, I have something to tell you when we get back."

Seeing this, what could Mo He do but agree?

After returning home, Mo He put down the basket. "Brother, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go make you some food."

"Come back, stop fussing, I've already eaten." Master Fan tossed the melon seeds onto the table, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said smugly.

“From today onwards, girl, you should stop selling cigarettes. It’s not proper for a young lady to be out in public like that. It’s not a good look.”

"Brother, if I don't sell cigarettes, how will my brother and I survive?" Mo He was both amused and exasperated. Although she still had a dozen or so silver dollars to fall back on, what could that amount of money possibly buy?

Neither of them has a proper job, and they can't just sit around and live off their savings.

"Besides, what's wrong with me selling cigarettes? I'm not stealing or robbing. I earn money through my own labor. It's not shameful."

"Have you forgotten what that brat Soba said about you?"

"Let him say what he wants, it's not like it's going to hurt me."

Bang~
"Look what this is."

The sound of the large yellow croaker slamming onto the table interrupted Mo He's words. Her eyes widened as she stared at her brother in disbelief, stammering, "Brother, what... what is this?"

Master Fan smugly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and said with an air of self-importance, "Isn't it obvious? A big yellow croaker! And that's not all, look again, what is this?"

As he spoke, he pulled out the check from his pocket, pointed to the number on it, and said proudly, "One thousand silver dollars!"

"Ah? A thousand?!" Mo He quickly picked up the check and looked at it. Seeing that it was indeed a thousand silver dollars, her first reaction wasn't joy, but worry:

"Brother, tell me honestly, where did this money come from?"

She was terrified that her brother had done something shady. These days, anyone with that much money is not someone to mess with, and they were far beyond what the siblings could afford to offend!

"Where else could it come from? Your brother earned it!" Master Fan said smugly, extremely proud. "Have you forgotten what that kid Cao Weida said when he treated us to dinner at Dongxinglou last time?"

"These are all the rewards he gave me for helping him!"

"This is just the first one; there will be more in the future."

At this point, he glanced at the girl teasingly, "He mentioned you when he came back today; he seems to care about you a lot."

The topic suddenly shifted to her, and Mo He's face immediately turned red. "Brother, what nonsense are you talking about? What did he say?"

Although her face was flushed, her ears perked up, clearly wanting to continue listening.

Cao Weida was her benefactor and the man her brother favored. He had also told her these things. Even though she didn't admit it, she was gradually turning Cao Weida into her future man.

With this change in her mind, she naturally wanted to hear news of Cao Weida, and even more so, she wanted to hear what Cao Weida had to say about her.

Seeing her expression, Master Fan couldn't help but laugh, saying in a teasing tone, "He really cares about you. Normally, my broker would only give you four hundred silver dollars as commission, but to make sure you're not living well, he insisted on giving you over a thousand more."

"Tsk, to be honest, I've lived this long, and I've been generous and extravagant before. I've seen plenty of people who are generous, but I've never seen anyone willing to spend over a thousand dollars just to prevent someone else's girl from having a hard life."

He held Cao Wei Da in high regard, and having already decided on him as his brother-in-law, he naturally did everything he could to speak well of him.

As soon as she said those words, Mo He's face turned as hot as a steamer, and she didn't even dare to lift her head.

So he added a little more pressure, "I told you before, when I'm rich, I'll definitely hire ten or eight servants to take care of you."

"Looking at it now, that brat Cao Wei Da has fulfilled your promise first."

"Alright then, tomorrow I'll use this money to hire ten or eight servants to take care of you. It won't be a waste."

"Don't waste money!" Forgetting all about being shy, when she heard that Fifth Master Fan wanted to use the money to hire someone to take care of her, Mo He immediately ran over and grabbed the check and the large yellow croaker.
“I have hands and feet, why do I need someone to wait on me? I’m not some rich heiress.” “Brother, we don’t earn money easily, we can’t waste it like this.”

"Anyway, it's not my money, it belongs to that brat Cao Weida."

"That won't do! Brother Cao's money didn't grow on trees."

Seeing her brother's teasing gaze, Mo He felt incredibly embarrassed and slowly buried her face in her chest.

Oh dear, this is so embarrassing! Brother, how could you treat me like this? I'm your sister!
She quickly changed the subject: "Brother, tell me, what did Brother Cao buy that made him give you so much money?"

Seeing his sister so shy, Master Fan knew he couldn't tease her anymore, lest he anger her and she lose her temper.

So he went along with it, saying, "Well, that's a long story. Let me tell you."

"No, wait a minute!" Mo He suddenly looked up, staring at her brother in astonishment. "Brother, you just said that you... you introduced a concubine to Brother Cao?!"

"Yes," Master Fan nodded generously in acknowledgment.

"Brother!! How could you do this?!" Mo He stomped her foot angrily. "He's going to be your sister's man, and you were the one who arranged it! How could you help your brother-in-law marry another woman!"

Master Fan coughed twice, a little embarrassed, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
"You silly girl, what are you being so jealous about? What's wrong with a capable man having one or two more concubines?"

"Besides, I'm doing this for your own good, you know? Don't be ungrateful."

But he couldn't help but be overjoyed. Since Mo He had said so, didn't that mean she had completely accepted his proposal?
Tsk, no, I have to go find that kid Cao Weida later and settle things quickly.

"Are you introducing a concubine to my future man, or is it for my own good?" Mo He laughed in exasperation. "Fine, then tell me, how would you do it for my own good?"

"Of course it's for your own good. Would I, your brother, harm you?" Fifth Master Fan put on a righteous and awe-inspiring act, as if he were "thinking of you."

"Think about it, he already has two concubines. Although they don't live together right now, they can't stay apart forever, can they?"

"We'll be getting together eventually, and you're a newcomer with a soft tongue. What if you get bullied?"

"Our family has some connections with Old Master Rui's family. Once you two get along well after moving into Cao's house, you won't have to worry about being bullied."

Master Fan spouted a string of fallacies and heresies with remarkable fluency. After his family was ruined, Master Fan relied on his silver tongue to make a living, and Mo He actually found some of what he said to be quite reasonable.

However, she felt that something was not right. She looked at Fan Wu with suspicion.

Feeling a little guilty under his gaze, Master Fan sighed inwardly, "Sister, don't blame your brother, but what man doesn't have a fling?"

Cao Weida has already asked your brother about Rui's wife, so he must have already set his sights on her. What can your brother do?
As the old saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a stolen affair, and a stolen affair is not as good as one you can't have.
Rather than causing trouble later, I'd rather give you a push and find you an ally while I'm at it—a win-win situation!

You have to understand my good intentions.
Of course, he couldn't say these words out loud. Seeing that he had already confused his sister, he immediately made the decision:

"Alright, would I, your brother, harm you?"

"Brother can see it too. You really have feelings for that kid Cao Weida. So I'll make the decision for you. That's settled then. I'll go find that kid this afternoon and settle things between you two so everyone can be at ease."

This tactic of changing the subject was very effective. Mo He no longer cared about her doubts and stomped her foot shyly, saying, "Brother~~ When did I agree to this? Never mind, do whatever you want. I'm going to cook. You've eaten, but I haven't."

Master Fan laughed immediately. How could he not know his own sister?

That's tantamount to agreeing! "No, money, money! Your brother doesn't have any money left!"

"I'll keep this money for you, and I'll give it to you when you need it." Mo He definitely wouldn't feel comfortable leaving such a large sum of money with her brother.

Otherwise, he might squander it all at some point.

After hesitating for a moment, he walked to the bedside, dug out three silver dollars from the corner, and stuffed them into his hand:

"Look, be careful with your money. If you need more, just let me know and I'll get you more."

"No, miss, miss! This little bit of money isn't enough. Can I have two more dollars, just two dollars?"

Mo He rolled her eyes. She hadn't wanted to give it to him, since her brother was such a spendthrift, but thinking about the large yellow croaker and checks in her pocket, she ended up giving him two more silver dollars anyway.

"Brother, you really need to be more careful with your money. Think about how tough it was when we didn't have any.

“If you really need money, I’ll definitely give it to you, but we can’t spend it recklessly. Your two silver dollars have been gone in such a short time. How much money can withstand such spending?”

(End of this chapter)