Chapter 55: Miss Fang Jinniang 3/3

“I see,” Li Qingzhi stopped looking at Fang Jinniang and turned his attention to Jin Xiaoye with concern, “Xiaoye, do less work to avoid harming your health.”

“I’ll be careful,” Jin Xiaoye smiled and continued with her tasks.

When Jin Xiaoye finished her work, she turned around to find Li Qingzhi engrossed in lively conversation with the two elderly ladies who had come to paste shoe soles.

She had been worried before that Li Qingzhi might like Fang Jinniang, but it was obvious that Li Qingzhi preferred the company of the two elderly ladies.

“Ah Qing, let’s go,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Qingzhi reluctantly stood up and followed Jin Xiaoye out.

Fang Jinniang remained focused on her needlework, not glancing aside.

She couldn’t see others’ expressions clearly, making it difficult to chat, especially since she wasn’t familiar with the people here. So she simply listened without speaking, while mentally imagining what others looked like.

Shopkeeper Jin’s husband is quite talkative… Fang Jinniang pictured the image of a middle-aged man she had seen in her childhood, who loved to chat.

Outside, as Li Qingzhi followed Jin Xiaoye, she said, “Ah Qing, Xiaoshu got beaten up today!”

Li Qingzhi frowned, “What happened?” Jin Xiaoshu was old enough to be his son… Li Qingzhi had always seen Jin Xiaoshu as a younger peer.

Jin Xiaoye explained what happened in the morning and added, “Today, Zhang Chuqian made it known that from now on, anyone who empties a chamber pot will have to pay a penny each time.”

Li Qingzhi’s brow furrowed at the news.

Chongcheng County was a prosperous and bustling county town, with many businesspeople and residents living both in the city and its outskirts, totaling around twenty thousand people.

Most of these people didn’t have much money; in fact, many had no land and had to come to the city to make a living. There were about one or two thousand workers who frequented the docks, carrying goods, repairing ships, and ferrying them. There were also numerous servants from wealthy households.

Maintaining basic sustenance was already difficult for them, and now they had to pay to empty chamber pots… Wasn’t this making their already challenging lives even more difficult?

But there were regulations against the indiscriminate disposal of waste. According to the laws of Daqi, those caught doing so would be whipped ten times and fined… There were reasons for this, as in the past, improper disposal of waste had led to foul odors throughout the city, and residents had inadvertently contracted diseases.

Life is genuinely challenging for the people in the city now.

However, Zhang Chuqian should be able to make quite a bit of money from this. Charging a penny each time a chamber pot was emptied, and with so many people in the county town, he could easily make two hundred taels of silver a month.

Plus, there was money to be made from selling human waste… That was another source of income.

It might not seem like much, but earning money in this era wasn’t easy… Zhang Chuqian wasn’t a big merchant like Zhu Qian, but he had been in Chongcheng County for a long time. Making this much money every month had already surpassed many of the people in Chongcheng County who ran restaurants or shops.

“Is Jin Xiaoshu okay?” Li Qingzhi asked.

“Jin Xiaoshu is fine, but this matter is really infuriating,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Qingzhi said, “I’ll think of a solution.”

When the two arrived at the riverside, Jin Xiaoshu was already waiting.

Seeing Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye, Jin Xiaoshu greeted them with a smile, “Sister, Brother-in-law.”

Li Qingzhi looked around and noticed that the boat had been washed clean, and Jin Xiaoshu had even applied a fresh coat of paint on it.

“Sister, Brother-in-law, there’s no smell on the boat now,” Jin Xiaoshu said.

This morning, Jin Xiaoshu had been busy washing the boat. Afterwards, he went to buy some paint and applied it after the boat had dried.

“Jin Xiaoshu, let me see where you were hit,” Li Qingzhi said.

Jin Xiaoshu had been struck on the shoulder with a bamboo pole, leaving a deep red mark that was already swelling.

Jin Xiaoshu didn’t say anything, but he was clearly in pain.

Because of Jin Xiaoshu’s incident, both Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye were in a bad mood. Jin Xiaoshu, on the other hand, didn’t show any signs of distress. He even asked Jin Xiaoye, “Sister, who’s the girl at sister Wang’s house, the one who’s exceptionally fair and dressed in blue like a young lady?”

Jin Xiaoye immediately knew who he was referring to, “That’s Fang Jinniang.”

Fang Jinniang… Jin Xiaoshu stored that name in his mind. It was the first time he had ever liked a girl!

But is it possible that Fang Jinniang is already married?

Jin Xiaoshu was torn between asking or not, but Jin Xiaoye spoke up: “Jinniang is in a tough situation.”

Jin Xiaoye briefly explained Fang Jinniang’s situation and complained about Mrs. Fang, but she didn’t mention Fang Jinniang’s poor eyesight since she had already discussed it with Li Qingzhi.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiaoshu felt deeply distressed.

But… Fang Jinniang is already twenty-four? Eight years older than him?

When Fang Jinniang was sixteen, he was only eight years old?!

Feeling a bit disheartened, Jin Xiaoshu thought Jin Xiaoye might assume he was upset because of the beating. “Xiaoshu, don’t be too upset. Zhang Chuqian will get his comeuppance sooner or later!”

“Yeah,” Jin Xiaoshu nodded.

Thinking about the injustices he faced in the morning, Jin Xiaoshu suddenly had a different idea.

If he were like Mr. Zhu, who would dare to beat him? He might not even have to empty chamber pots.

He used to think that owning his own small boat in the future would be good enough, but now… he felt that wasn’t sufficient.

He wanted more money, he wanted to become more formidable.

Tomorrow morning, when his sister learns to read, he would learn too! In the future, he wants to do business like Mr. Zhu.

Mr. Zhu’s autobiography truly inspired many people, at least Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu, who both underwent some changes because of this book.

When the three returned to Miaoqian Village, they found it bustling with activity, or rather, it wasn’t the village but the neighboring Yao family’s compound that was lively.

The reason was simple: Mr. Yao, was going to take on apprentices.

After taking on apprentices, Mr. Yao would also introduce all the customers who hired him for transportation to his apprentices!

Renting a boat to go to the county town to find work might not necessarily earn money; it might not even cover the rent. But with Mr. Yao guiding them, they could make money no matter what!

There were over a dozen young men in the village eager for this opportunity. They all showed their strengths: some helped repair Mr. Yao’s roof, some helped pound rice, and some brought gifts to Mr. Yao. Each one treated Mr. Yao better than Yao Zhenfu did, as if Mr. Yao were their own father, which left Yao Zhenfu dumbfounded!

Of course, this matter had nothing to do with them. That night, Li Qingzhi was preoccupied with thoughts of Zhang Chuqian.

The next day, Li Qingzhi originally had no plans to go to the county town, intending to stay home and write and teach his children.

But after the incident with Jin Xiaoshu being beaten up… Early the next morning, Li Qingzhi followed Jin Xiaoye to the county town as usual.