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Chapter 131: Little Jiu's Astonishing Connections
Chapter 131: Little Jiu's Astonishing Connections
Meng Qianqian stroked her chin thoughtfully. The bearded man who lived nearby was a carpenter, and he didn't seem like a bad person the way he treated Baoshi. Why would he get into a fight with Ji Li? It must have been Ji Li who provoked him!
Next door, Ji Li, who was enduring the shame of being bare-bottomed, sneezed violently.
Meng Qianqian asked, "Aunt Feng, do you know who else lives in this alley?"
Aunt Feng replied, "Most of them have left, but there's also an ironsmith who lives across from you. He doesn't stay here often, but he's around more than the carpenter."
Meng Qianqian had heard from Chun's mother that in the past, many skilled craftsmen had lived in Fengshui Hutong. If it weren't for the murder that occurred, this would probably be the liveliest alley in the capital.
"And..." Aunt Feng hesitated, "That's about it. That fellow probably won't come back, so you won't meet him. They don't like being disturbed. Just say that I sent you."
Meng Qianqian didn't press Aunt Feng further about the identity of the fellow who wasn't likely to return. She nodded and asked, "May I ask how I should address him?"
"His surname is Lei," Aunt Feng replied.
Meng Qianqian left Aunt Feng's house and returned to her own. She picked a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables and headed towards the end of the alley.
The courtyard gate was locked, but she could clearly hear the sound of chopping wood coming from within.
Meng Qianqian knocked on the gate.
At first, there was no response, but she persisted in knocking.
Finally, the bearded man opened the gate with an extremely annoyed expression, exuding an aura of dominance. "Are you looking to die?"
Meng Qianqian smiled and raised the basket in her hand. "Greetings, Uncle Lei. I've come to buy a bed."
Whether the bed was good or not wasn't important; the key was to support a neighbor's business.
The bearded man's gaze shifted from the basket to her, and he asked gravely, "Did Aunt Feng send you here?"
Meng Qianqian nodded.
The bearded man, holding a huge axe, said with a formidable aura, "That old coot really thinks his face holds a lot of weight, huh?"
Meng Qianqian blinked. "It doesn't."
The bearded man turned and walked towards the main room. "Come in."
Meng Qianqian: "..."
Carrying the basket, Meng Qianqian entered the courtyard.
True to his profession, the ground was covered with wood that had been chopped by his axe. Meng Qianqian thought of the durable wood in Granny's house and wondered if it had also come from this man's hands.
His home was larger than she had imagined, especially after passing through the main room. She found herself in a spacious backyard, filled with numerous sculptures in various states of completion, though it seemed like none of them were finished.
"Uncle Lei, are these commissioned by others?" Meng Qianqian asked.
"No," he replied, casually tossing a Haidong Greenwood sculpture into the brazier in the kitchen.
"Uncle Lei, that... You don't want it anymore?" Meng Qianqian was surprised.
Even though it wasn't finished, it was the most lifelike sculpture she had ever seen.
The bearded man scowled. "It's not done properly."
Meng Qianqian fell silent.
"There's only one bed, take it if you want it," the bearded man said, pushing open the door to the storage room. The spacious room contained only one large bed covered with a dust cloth. From its outline and size, it appeared to be a canopy bed.
Meng Qianqian felt that a simple canopy bed would suffice. After all, she couldn't afford the more elaborate thousand-work bed, which required orders to be placed three years in advance.
"I'll take it," she said.
The bearded man gave her an unexpected glance. "Aren't you going to take a look? If you don't like it, I won't refund your money."
Meng Qianqian smiled. "I know!"
"Five hundred taels," the bearded man stated.
Meng Qianqian was startled.
He frowned. "Too expensive? Then, three hundred taels."
Meng Qianqian hesitated. "Uncle Lei..."
The bearded man wasn't very clear about the market prices. It seemed that the price was indeed different back then.
He pondered for a moment, then made a firm decision. "One hundred taels."
Meng Qianqian: "..."
In the end, Meng Qianqian still paid five hundred taels. Her conscience would have pricked her if she had paid only a hundred.
When Li Mama learned that Meng Qianqian had bought a bed, and that it had only cost five hundred taels of silver, she immediately became anxious.
"Can a five-hundred-tael bed be used as a wedding bed for a prominent family?" she fretted.
Outside, the worst ones would cost at least a thousand taels!
"No, I have to go take a look!"
Li Mama brought Wan Mama, Hu Mama, and Du Niangzi to the bearded man's house to see the bed.
After seeing it, all four of them fell silent.
"Do you want to return it?"
The bearded man asked.
Li Mama stammered, "No, no... we're not returning it!"
The three of them walked out with unsteady legs.
"Isn't our young miss... taking advantage of him?" For the first time, Wan Mama felt a twinge of guilt.
"Was it really just five hundred taels?" Du Niangzi asked in a small voice.
Hu Mama said, "Back then, when the First Madam was married into the Lu family, the thousand-work bed that was moved in wasn't as good as this one."
Li Mama cleared her throat and continued to stammer, "All, all, don't, don't say anymore, let's, let's, go back..."
As the weather warmed up, the wedding date was approaching.
However, Meng Qianqian found herself with quite a bit of free time. Every day, aside from practicing martial arts, she spent time with Baoshi, occasionally visiting Granny's house to help fix the stove and other things.
As a token of gratitude, Granny Feng gave Meng Qianqian a skull.
"This is something I've cherished for a long time. I haven't been willing to part with it for anyone else."
Meng Qianqian smiled politely. "Thank you, Granny Feng."
On this day, it was a day of rest for the civil and military officials, and it was also the day of Meng Qianqian's appointment with the Lin family.
Meng Qianqian called out to Yu Li.
Yu Li asked, "Am I going too?"
Meng Qianqian said, "Don't you want to go, Cousin?"
Yu Li quickly said, "No, I'm just worried that it might be inconvenient for me to be there since it's all ladies."
Meng Qianqian smiled. "There won't be any outsiders this time, only Mrs. Lin's family."
The Lin family residence.
Lin Furen had instructed her people the night before that there would be an important guest coming today, and they must not be negligent in their treatment.
Even her husband was kept at home, not allowed to go anywhere.
"Madam, is this really necessary?"
"Just this once!"
Early in the morning, a maid reported that the guests had arrived.
Lin Furen went to greet them with a smile, but when she saw who it was, her face darkened. "Why are you here? I don't recall inviting you!"
Zhou Furen laughed freely. "Whether you invite me or not, I'm coming anyway."
Zhou NanYan, dressed as a maid, jumped down from the carriage. "Aunt Lin!"
Lin Furen immediately changed her expression and smiled. "It's Yan'er! Come inside quickly!"
Zhou NanYan smiled and linked her arm with Lin Furen's.
At this moment, Meng Qianqian and Yu Li also arrived.
Tan Er didn't come, as she had gone with Meng Bo and the others to the Governor's mansion to set up the wedding bed.
Meng Qianqian had brought Ban Xia with her.
Zhou NanYan's eyes lit up, and she quietly called out, "Sister Meng, Ban Xia!"
Meng Qianqian curved her lips slightly.
Ban Xia quickly greeted her. "Miss Zhou..."
Zhou NanYan stopped her and whispered, "It's fine, it's fine. I'm also a maid today."
"Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Zhou." Meng Qianqian greeted the two ladies as a junior.
Yu Li also bowed respectfully. "Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Zhou."
Lin Furen smiled as she sized up Yu Li and instructed the young servant beside her, "Bring Young Master Yu to the study."
Yu Li didn't think much of it and followed the servant.
At the door of the study, the servant respectfully reported, "Master, Young Master Yu has arrived."
Yu Li was taken aback. Master? Did she mean Master Lin, Lin Cong's father?
He had thought he was here to meet Lin Cong.
"Come in."
A stern voice came from inside.
Yu Li took a deep breath and stepped inside, following the etiquette of not looking directly at the other person's face. He could only vaguely glimpse through his peripheral vision a figure sitting behind the desk, exuding an air of intimidation.
He bowed and said, "Your junior, Yu Li, greets Master Lin."
It seemed that Master Lin, Lin Cong's father, was an official. However, Yu Li hadn't inquired about his specific position.
Lin Zhengliang scrutinized him and asked, "Are you Yu Li?"
"Yes," Yu Li replied.
Lin Zhengliang pointed to the small table across from him. "Let's begin."
Yu Li was taken aback. "Hmm?"
Lin Zhengliang said sternly, "Take the exam! If you don't, how will I know your level of knowledge? How can I determine if you're qualified to enter the Imperial College?"
Yu Li: (⊙o⊙)
Haha, now you know how Mrs. Lin managed to bring Little Jiu into their family, right?
(End of Chapter)
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