Chapter 70: Discussion 1/2

Jin Xiaoshu rowed the boat, taking Jin Xiaoye and Fang Jinniang near the Zhu family’s place. After parking the boat, he escorted them to the entrance of the Zhu family.

The area where the Zhu family lived was inhabited by wealthy people from Chongcheng County. The alley was exceptionally clean, with not a single weed on the courtyard walls.

The main gate for the Zhu family was open. Jin Xiaoye didn’t enter but instead said to the gatekeeper, “Is Mr. Zhu at home? I am the wife of Li Qingzhi. I have something to discuss with Mr. Zhu.”

“Oh, so you’re Mr. Li’s wife. Please come in and have some tea while I inform my master.” The gatekeeper smiled as soon as Jin Xiaoye mentioned her name. Mr. Zhu had specifically instructed them to be polite if they encountered Li Qingzhi or anyone from his family.

After saying this, the gatekeeper warmly led them inside.

Li Qingzhi had previously told Jin Xiaoye that she could seek help from the Zhu family if needed, but Jin Xiaoye hadn’t expected such hospitality upon arrival.

The three of them were taken to a side hall of the Zhu family’s residence. Servants not only served them tea but also brought some snacks. Li Qingzhi had often brought snacks from the Zhu family home before, and Jin Xiaoshu had tasted these glutinous rice balls before.

Being his age, Jin Xiaoshu had a particularly good appetite. He was still very greedy for good food that he hadn’t tasted before.

Whenever Li Qingzhi shared food with him in the past, he would be happy for a long time, praising it endlessly.

However, for the past month, he hadn’t eaten any of the food Li Qingzhi gave him; he gave it all to Fang Jinniang. He even spent his own money to buy some things that he thought Fang Jinniang would like.

Now, seeing these snacks, he immediately said to Fang Jinniang, “Jinniang, these snacks are delicious. You should try them.”

Seeing Fang Jinniang not moving, he took one and brought it to her mouth.

Fang Jinniang opened her mouth and ate it, saying, “It’s very tasty.”

Jin Xiaoshu smiled again at her words. “Eat a little more.”

Jin Xiaoye also said, “Yes, Jinniang, you haven’t eaten anything this morning, right? Eat more. Oh, I was so anxious I forgot to let you eat before coming!”

She was afraid that Fang’s mother would cause trouble, forgetting to let Fang Jinniang eat before coming.

“It’s okay, I’m not hungry. I still have a bag of chestnuts here,” Fang Jinniang took out the chestnuts that Jin Xiaoshu had given her in the morning. “Shopkeeper Jin, these are bought by Xiaoshu. You should have some too.”

Jin Xiaoye glared at Jin Xiaoshu. He had been freeloading at their house for some time now, but he never bought anything for them to eat!

Unfortunately, Jin Xiaoshu was too focused on looking at Fang Jinniang and didn’t notice his sister’s gaze at all.

Forget it, let’s not dwell on it! Jin Xiaoye grabbed some chestnuts and started eating.

While they were eating, Zhu Qian arrived.

Just a few days ago, Zhu Qian became the president of the Chongcheng County Chamber of Commerce. Consequently, he had been particularly busy these days, meeting many people.

However, even so, when he heard that Li Qingzhi’s wife wanted to see him, he put aside his work and came over.

Upon arrival, Zhu Qian saw them eating and couldn’t help but smile. Li Qingzhi’s family members were indeed similar to Li Qingzhi himself!

After exchanging greetings, Jin Xiaoye didn’t hide anything and explained Fang Jinniang’s situation, then asked, “Mr. Zhu, can Jinniang stay at the mansion for a few days?”

“Of course,” Zhu Qian readily agreed.

The Zhu family had many houses, so it wasn’t a problem to accommodate a girl for a few days.

As for the trouble with Fang Jinniang… Zhu Qian didn’t see it as much of an issue at all.

As for Mr. Wang’s side, a simple notification would suffice; he certainly wouldn’t dare to pursue it. And as for Fang Jinniang’s mother, she was just an ordinary woman, what could she possibly do?

However, this young couple from the Li family was quite interesting. Li Qingzhi had previously brought Zhao Mancang, who had been sold by his own father, to their home. Today, Jin Xiaoye brought Fang Jinniang, who had almost been sold by her mother, to them.

Zhu Qian was quite pleased with this. In a way, Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye’s willingness to help others showed that they were good people.

He naturally preferred to associate with good people.

Zhu Qian immediately arranged accommodations for Fang Jinniang, placing her in his daughter’s courtyard. He personally escorted Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu out.

As he saw them off, Zhu Qian even handed them a large box of snacks.

Once they were outside, Jin Xiaoshu couldn’t help but say, “Sis, Master Zhu is really a good person!”

Jin Xiaoye replied, “Indeed, Master Zhu is indeed a good person. But his willingness to help is all because of your brother-in-law. You should remember the kindness of your brother-in-law.”

“I will definitely remember!” Jin Xiaoshu said.

Jin Xiaoye added, “By the way, Xiaoshu, Jinniang’s eyesight isn’t very good… did you know?”

“Huh?” Jin Xiaoshu looked puzzled.

Jin Xiaoye had already guessed that he didn’t know. Fang Jinniang’s poor eyesight wasn’t a secret; it was known by everyone in the neighborhood. But Jin Xiaoshu definitely wouldn’t have inquired about Fang Jinniang from others; she hadn’t said anything…

Jin Xiaoye explained how Fang’s mother had made Fang Jinniang constantly do needlework in the past few years, causing her eyesight to deteriorate: “During her growing years, excessive use of the eyes can easily damage them. Jinniang’s eyes got damaged, and she can only see a blurry outline. She couldn’t even see clearly what you looked like when you brought her food before.”

Jin Xiaoshu felt as if he had been struck by lightning at her words.

Jin Xiaoye frowned, “What? Do you dislike her?”

“No, no.” Jin Xiaoshu shook his head repeatedly, feeling both distressed and regretful, “How could her mother be so cruel! Sis, Jinniang has never seen me clearly. Does that mean she doesn’t like me at all? Then… then…”

Previously, Jin Xiaoshu had thought that Fang Jinniang liked him, which made him especially happy, but now it seems that he had misunderstood…

Thinking of this, Jin Xiaoshu felt quite uncomfortable.

“No matter whether she saw you clearly or not, she wants to marry you. What about you? Don’t you want to marry her?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

“I want to marry her!” Jin Xiaoshu immediately said.

“Wanting to marry her is good. It’s your blessing to be able to marry her,” Jin Xiaoye said. “Since things have come to this, I’ll accompany you back home and tell our parents about this.”

With such a big event happening… After settling in Fang Jinniang, it was still better for them to go home for a while.

Jin Xiaoye also thought she should tell Li Qingzhi about this.

Previously, after Zhang Yunquan’s men beat up Jin Xiaoshu, Li Qingzhi somehow managed to send Zhang Yunquan and his men to jail… Jin Xiaoye thought Li Qingzhi was particularly powerful.

So, without further ado, Jin Xiaoye told Jin Xiaoshu to go back to the village immediately.

After such an incident, Jin Xiaoshu had no mood to do business anymore. He quickly rowed the boat in the direction of Miaoqian Village.

When they arrived at Miaoqian Village, it was just around noon.

With not much work in the fields lately, some villagers had gone to the county town to work, while most stayed at home to rest. As the two of them made their way home, they saw many people sitting at their doorsteps, basking in the sun.

Seeing them, the villagers were quite curious: “Xiaoye, why are you back so early today?”