Chapter 192 1/3

Shen Xuniang slowly ate her noodles, but her eyes remained fixed on the entrance of the teahouse.

She was waiting for Li Laogen to come out.

However, Li Laogen didn’t come out. Instead, her brother Shen Da emerged with an unpleasant expression on his face.

Shen Da strode into the noodle shop, sat down in front of Shen Xuniang, and downed the tea that the shopkeeper had poured for her in one gulp.

Seeing his expression, Shen Xuniang felt a pang of anxiety and asked, “What happened?”

Shen Da replied, “That bastard Li Laogen was in the teahouse telling everyone that you were throwing yourself at him, wanting to be his wife, and that he looked down on you and didn’t want to marry you…”

Shen Da had been keeping an eye on Li Laogen for some time and had been waiting early at the teahouse today, sitting not far from him. When Li Laogen started boasting, Shen Da got so angry that he couldn’t stay any longer and stormed out.

In fact, Li Laogen didn’t mention Shen Xuniang much. Most of what he said afterward was about how he didn’t want to marry anyone. But Shen Da, harboring resentment, exaggerated the story in front of Shen Xuniang.

Shen Xuniang’s face turned dark.

What kind of person was Li Laogen? If he didn’t have such a successful son, Shen Xuniang wouldn’t have looked at him twice!

And now, Li Laogen had gone and said such things about her in front of a bunch of old men!

Were all those old men in the teahouse talking about her?

“Xuniang, let’s find someone else. This kind of scoundrel, even I look down on him,” Shen Da suggested.

He wasn’t a good person, but he felt he was better than Li Laogen.

He couldn’t understand why his sister was willing to marry such an old man.

Shen Xuniang was furious and wanted to leave as well.

But then she remembered the person who had urged her to seek out Li Laogen.

That person had promised her two hundred taels of silver if she succeeded!

She knew that person had ulterior motives, but she wanted the money and also wanted to become Li Qingzhi’s stepmother.

As for Li Laogen, he was just a fly she had to swallow for the money.

Shen Xuniang had already invested a lot of time in Li Laogen, and she couldn’t give up now.

However, she couldn’t stay here any longer; she didn’t want to be the subject of ridicule for the old men coming out of the teahouse.

Shen Xuniang left the noodle shop and waited on Li Laogen’s route home.

So, when Li Laogen finished his tea and happily headed home, he ran into her again.

Shen Xuniang used garlic to bring tears to her eyes, and they flowed down her cheeks. “Brother Li, the people in the teahouse said I was throwing myself at you. Did you say that to them…?”

Shen Xuniang cried pitifully, and Li Laogen, who had never seen such a scene, felt guilty.

He had just been boasting and casually mentioned Shen Xuniang, but now that she was crying… he felt uneasy.

So, he bolted.

Despite his small stature, he ran quickly and disappeared in no time.

Shen Xuniang was left dumbfounded.

She had waited for Li Laogen since before dawn, pretending to want to jump into the river. Li Laogen had given a few words of comfort before rushing off to have tea.

When she brought him gifts, he had accepted them greedily.

When she offered to be his wife, he seemed interested, but the next day he acted like he didn’t know her.

She had never encountered a man like this before.

Was Li Laogen even a man?

Shen Xuniang considered herself shameless, but Li Laogen was even more so!

Li Laogen always had new clothes to wear, but even in new clothes, he looked sleazy. His fleeing made passersby instinctively wary.

After running away from Shen Xuniang, Li Laogen quickly forgot about her.

When he got home and found no one there, he grabbed a stool and went to steal some jujubes.

Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t let him eat them, but he still stole them often.

Li Laogen grabbed a handful of jujubes and happily went back to his room to eat them.

Li Qingzhi arrived home just in time to see Li Laogen sneaking around.

His father probably stole something again.

Li Laogen thought he was being discreet, but in reality… both Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye just turned a blind eye.

There wasn’t much happening at school today, so Li Qingzhi returned home early.

As for Qian Changsheng, he was very interested in teaching and had been attending classes, preparing to become a teacher in the future.

Li Qingzhi fully supported this, as he needed more people to help out!

Li Qingzhi went to his study to continue writing “The Lone Journey,” but soon after, Qian Changsheng, who had been attending a lecture, came to see him.

With no one else around, Qian Changsheng smiled, showing his little tiger teeth. “Brother, my father is here. Let’s go to my house for dinner!”

Qian Fugui had left the provincial capital at dawn and had just arrived in Chongcheng County. As soon as he arrived, he sent someone to fetch Qian Changsheng.

Li Qingzhi happily agreed and met with Qian Fugui and his two aunts.

The original owner of his body had grown up in the Qian family, under the care of Qian Fugui and his wife. However, he wasn’t very familiar with the second wife, Mrs. Qian.

Mrs. Qian had married into the family when he was five years old, and soon after, she was preoccupied with her own child, the frail Qian Changsheng… She didn’t have time for her husband’s nephew.

But today, both Mrs. Qian and the first wife were very warm towards Li Qingzhi, with Mrs. Qian even showing a hint of flattery.

If Qian Changsheng were in good health, she wouldn’t be like this; she might even guard against Li Qingzhi.

If Qian Fugui decided to adopt Li Qingzhi, most of the family’s wealth would go to him, leaving her son at a disadvantage.

But wasn’t Qian Changsheng in poor health?

Despite seeming better recently, he was still frail… Mrs. Qian had even considered adopting a son for Qian Changsheng.

She wanted to adopt a child so that Qian Changsheng wouldn’t be without descendants.

Li Qingzhi, noticing this, thought, “…”

While chatting with the two aunts, Qian Fugui looked puzzledly at Qian Changsheng’s bulging stomach. “Changsheng, what’s wrong with your stomach?”

His nephew’s stomach was bulging significantly, and he was cradling a warmer, protecting his belly…

He looked like a pregnant woman.

Qian Changsheng replied, “Uncle, I’m incubating chicks.” Qian Fugui was stunned.

After dinner, Li Qingzhi talked with Qian Fugui.

Qian Fugui shared some of his recent activities.

He had managed to extract quite a bit of money from Yulong Trading Company.

On the surface, he seemed to have relinquished his power due to family bereavement, passing it to people arranged by Prince Yan, but in reality…

He had set numerous traps for those taking over.

Business wasn’t that simple! It was easy to deceive those scholars who had never been in the business world!

Among other things, Qian Fugui had people disguise themselves as wealthy merchants to do business with them, initially using real silver notes, then switching to fake ones, and running off with the goods.

“I had my people disguise as wealthy merchants to trade with him. At first, they used real silver notes, but later they switched to fake ones and absconded with his goods. I also had them sell fake goods, take the money, and disappear…”

Li Qingzhi couldn’t help but be impressed.

The reality of business battles was indeed straightforward and unadorned.

As they continued talking, Qian Fugui said, “By the way, I got some news.”

“What?” Li Qingzhi asked.

Qian Fugui replied, “Prince Jin, who has been under pressure, has been acting recklessly lately… I heard he’s planning something against Governor Zhang. Meanwhile, Prince Yan, playing the role of the mantis stalking the cicada, is placing his people near Prince Jin, planning to do something behind the scenes.”