dognovel Chapter 26 I've been kneeling at your doorstep for almost a whole day!
Chapter 26 I've been kneeling at your doorstep for almost a whole day!
She was so shocked that her mouth dropped open. Realizing what had happened, she quickly stepped forward and said, "This bolt of cotton cloth costs seven or eight hundred coins, look..."
Meng Fuqing looked at her and said, "The shopkeeper used to take good care of my mother, and I am grateful. Since we are going to buy something anyway, we might as well buy it here from the shopkeeper to save trouble."
Zhang immediately understood that this was not only because she could afford it, but also because she was repaying a favor.
Her smile grew even brighter. "Why be so formal? Your mother and I have been close since childhood. If Qingqing is willing, just call me Auntie."
Meng Fuqing's hand brushed across the pieces of cloth, pretending not to hear.
Zhang didn't mind and turned to talk to Shan Qiyu.
When the mother and daughter finally left, they bought six bolts of cotton cloth, three bolts of fine linen, and a considerable amount of cotton. Zhang also gave them a lot of scraps of cloth as a bonus, spending a total of nearly ten taels of silver.
Zhang carefully escorted the person to the outside of the shop, watched the shop assistant load the cloth onto the cart, and then watched the donkey cart drive away before her smile faded.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—who could have imagined that Shan Qiyu would have this day? The Shan family is truly shameless; after today, whether they can preserve their reputation is another matter entirely.
Fortunately, she hadn't gone too far before.
Meng Fuqing originally wanted to go to the blacksmith's shop to make an iron pot, but after asking around, she learned that there was no blacksmith's shop in town, only in the county. She was quite disappointed and had no choice but to wait until she returned to the county to make the decision.
After everything was prepared, the two drove the donkey cart back to the carriage shop, intending to hire a driver to take them home to avoid trouble. On the way, Shan Qiyu also bought more than ten meat buns, a lot of snacks, and a small bag of maltose.
All day today, she felt as if she had returned to her childhood when she hadn't suffered much hardship.
Encouraged by her eldest daughter, she decided to go all out and spend lavishly, letting the children have a sweet treat too.
After renting a companion, the donkey cart quickly left Shili Town.
The sun was already setting in the west, and on the way back, we could still run into villagers from Shili Village or Mengjia Village.
They returned to the village without any obstacles. As soon as the donkey cart reached the village entrance, a little guy came running over in a flurry, while Meng Ranran followed behind him with an incredulous look on her face.
Meng Ali turned around with a beaming smile and called out, "Second Sister, come quick! I told you it was Mother and Eldest Sister! It was them!"
Meng Ranran stepped forward, "Mother, elder sister, what did you buy? You actually bought a whole cartload!"
"Get in the car, let's go home!" Shan Qiyu called to the two children with a smile. There were people coming and going at the village entrance, and she didn't want to be too conspicuous.
Little did she know, her house was bustling with activity all day long. Everyone in the village rushed to her doorstep to take a look, making it impossible for her to avoid attracting attention.
Before they even reached the Meng family's house, the driver slowed down. He asked the people in the carriage curiously, "Is that your house? Why are there so many people at the door?"
The villagers were either standing or squatting, whispering amongst themselves. When a donkey cart arrived, someone came over and asked loudly, "What did Shao Yuan's family buy?"
"Go check it out, Da Chengzi has been kneeling in front of your house for almost a whole day, being beaten by his father—"
"Did they sell ginseng? They bought so much stuff!"
After getting out of the car, Shan Qiyu answered each question one by one, and finally said, "Qingqing and I went to town early this morning. We really didn't know that we had made him kneel for so long. Please help him up and take him home."
In reality, Meng Fuqing had been urging them to leave early in the morning. Shan Qiyu was still worried about Sun's father apologizing, but Meng Fuqing said that he didn't know when the person would arrive, and that they should just come back as soon as possible. So they hurried off to town.
She only understood after hearing those words on the bus.
This statement was unanimously agreed upon by the uncles, aunts, and other relatives: one should be forgiving when possible and not go too far in anything.
"You're so kind-hearted. This guy is a scoundrel. It's not a bad thing to teach him a lesson."
Before long, several uncles helped him up from the ground. Sun Dacheng, who had been kneeling for most of the day, had dark circles under his eyes, looked listless, and walked with a pained expression. He was completely different from before.
Even so, his eyes held a hidden ruthlessness as he passed by Saitama.
Sooner or later, sooner or later...
Seeing this, Meng Fuqing narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing that this person would not easily give up.
Then don't blame her.
The two houses were not far apart, so she summoned Teng Si and tripped Sun Dacheng as he limped home and crossed the threshold.
After the man fell, her vines pierced Sun Dacheng's spine, causing some damage, before quietly retracting.
After they finished tampering with the truck, they noticed that most of the onlookers had left. Some villagers stayed behind, saying they wanted to help and also wanted to see what was on the truck.
Meng Fuqing carried the basket containing silver, buns, and snacks back into the house. He also took a few pieces of malt sugar and distributed them to the children and his younger siblings who were running around outside. The things on the donkey cart were all unloaded by the helper and the villagers.
The traveling agent was clearly satisfied with the trip's haul, and after receiving payment, he invited the customer to come again next time.
The courtyard only became completely quiet after the carriage shop staff and villagers left.
Meng Fuqing went inside and took out steamed buns and pastries, saying to Meng Ranran and Meng Ali, "Eat, your mother bought these for you."
Meng Ranran and Meng Ali were like idiots, not moving an inch when poked, and sitting down to eat when told to.
Meng Ranran took a bite of the sweet and soft osmanthus cake, but before she could swallow it, she suddenly looked up and said, "Sister, am I dreaming?"
Meng Ali held the big steamed bun, blinked her big, dark eyes, and took a big bite. She mumbled, "Even in my wildest dreams, this is so delicious! So tasty!"
"Silly girl, it's not a dream." Shan Qiyu patted Meng Ranran's head. "Eat up, Mother promised you."
Meng Ranran took another bite of the osmanthus cake, tears streaming down her face. She looked up at her mother and older sister and said with a smile, "Mother, older sister, Ranran is the happiest person today."
***
As the family of four enjoyed pastries together, a stranger at the village entrance was chatting with the villagers of Mengjia.
If Meng Fuqing were here, he would recognize this person at a glance as the tall servant boy from the Lin family.
After realizing he had lost the person, the short waiter immediately returned to the Four Directions Inn to inform the tall waiter.
He was after the money Meng Fuqing made from selling ginseng, and suggested that they take men to stake out the town entrance and rob it directly.
The tall servant boy didn't care about that little bit of silver. He thought that as long as he gave that young woman to his master, he could easily get some money out of her.
So the tall servant rented a carriage beforehand and waited at the town entrance, following the mother and daughter to find out what kind of family they were.
Unexpectedly, this investigation yielded an unexpected discovery—the girl's name was Meng Fuqing, and her father was Meng Shaoyuan!
Meng Shaoyuan, a scholar, had no shame whatsoever. Upon hearing from the servants that the master wanted to find a beautiful girl to take as a concubine, he directly brought a portrait of his own daughter to the master's door.
It was called taking a concubine, but it was actually a business transaction. After the master took a liking to her, the woman took money from the steward of the Lin family.
This matter should have been resolved long ago, but Meng Shaoyuan gave him three days to go home and have his daughter willingly marry his master. His master was a respectable man and did not want to do the despicable thing of forcibly taking a woman. He was unwilling and even made a fuss, so he agreed.
Unexpectedly, what they received in return was news of Meng Shaoyuan's death!