Chapter 89: Temple Fair 2/3

“Yeah, his parents don’t care about him at all.”

“I think it’s just bad luck, being born into his parents’ family…”

…

Zhao Sanni’s husband’s surname was Yang, and everyone called her father-in-law Old Yang.

Li Qingzhi asked, “What is the situation like in that person’s family?”

Sister Wang and the others then told him about the situation in the family of that wolf in sheep’s clothing. The man’s parents were both from the county town and were well-known eccentric characters.

Both families were relatively wealthy, but after marriage, they only cared about their own enjoyment, neglecting their children. They left their children at home to suffer while they went out to enjoy themselves.

That wouldn’t have been so bad, but later on, the man squandered all his family’s wealth, and they continued to borrow money everywhere to keep up their extravagant lifestyle…

Eventually, when people came to collect debts, the couple fled together.

That wolf in sheep’s clothing was almost starved to death, and it was Old Yang who took him in. Unfortunately, he showed no gratitude.

The group scolded him for a while, then praised Zhao Sanni, saying that Old Yang and his wife were old and in poor health, relying entirely on Zhao Sanni’s care.

Sister Wang said, “Old Yang took in a bad apprentice, but found a really good daughter-in-law. They treat her like their own daughter.”

Mrs. Xu added, “Yes, Sister Zhao is a good person.”

Sister Wang continued, “But she’s a bit too good. She even had a child with the simpleton… At that time, Old Yang and his wife didn’t expect her to give birth to a child, and they even wanted her to find someone else to have a child with. But she appreciated Old Yang and his wife so much that she insisted on giving them a grandson.”

Mrs. Xu sighed, “Ah… it’s not easy.”

Mrs. Xu and Zhao Sanni both married in the city from the countryside. Mrs. Xu married a man twenty years older than her as his concubine, while Zhao Sanni married a simpleton.

Mrs. Xu felt she was luckier than Zhao Sanni. Her son was so smart, but Zhao Sanni’s son… She reportedly wasn’t even as good as her husband.

Li Qingzhi also felt that Zhao Sanni had it tough. But in the end, in this era, life was too hard for the poor. So much so that, for a meal, a good girl was willing to marry a simpleton.

Thinking of this, Li Qingzhi thought of those tenant farmers who had caused trouble before, and the stone miners from the quarry.

Their lives were actually worse than Zhao Sanni’s.

Magistrate Gou originally despised those tenant farmers, but during the interrogation, he found them so pitiful that he didn’t do much to them in the end. He even sent them to work at the new dock.

A few days ago, Li Qingzhi heard a lot of news about those tenant farmers from people in Miaoqian Village. He heard that they were working particularly hard now and praised Magistrate Gou every day, even asking someone to carve a longevity tablet for Magistrate Gou. A group of people went to pay their respects every day.

Li Qingzhi was quite speechless upon hearing this news, but unfortunately, some people in Miaoqian Village were planning to follow suit.

People these days really like to follow trends.

Just then, Sister Wang spoke mysteriously, “By the way, Xiaoye, I heard that someone recently asked a carpenter to carve a longevity tablet for Magistrate Gou to worship… Do you want to worship one too?”

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Sister Wang continued, “I heard that worshipping more can turn bad luck into good fortune and bring wealth!”

Jin Xiaoye didn’t say anything, but the others became interested, “Is that true?”

As they spoke, Sister Wang also mentioned another thing, “Tomorrow is the fifteenth, there will be a temple fair in the city, are you going to see it?”

Talking about this, Jin Xiaoye said, “Isn’t there a temple near my house? There will also be a temple fair there, but it can’t compare to the one in the city.”

So they started talking about the temple fair again and planned to go to the temple to pay their respects.

It was said that just paying respects at the end of the year wasn’t enough; you had to pay respects on the first day of the new year as well.

Jin Xiaoye said, “I also plan to go and pay respects. I’ll come a little later tomorrow, and then go see the Yang family’s shop.” The big order was almost done, and once the goods were shipped out, she wouldn’t be as busy as she was a few days ago.

“How much incense money are you planning to donate, Xiaoye?” Sister Wang asked.

Jin Xiaoye said, “I’ll just pray, no need to donate money.” Praying to Buddha was fine, but donating money wasn’t.

Li Qingzhi couldn’t help but smile when he heard Jin Xiaoye’s words.

This was the Jin Xiaoye he knew!

While they were chatting here, on the other side, Qu Yunqing went to find a government official he knew, only to find out that the person had gone to the new wharf.

However, he soon struck up a conversation with another yamen runner. He first talked about what happened when he escorted Doctor Zhang to the new wharf that day, and then gradually shifted the topic to Li Qingzhi…

“Brother Qu, your wife has such a good relationship with Li Qingzhi? You’re really lucky!” The government official looked at Qu Yunqing with envy. “The magistrate really values Li Qingzhi, always invites him for meals…”

The government official talked about some things regarding Li Qingzhi, and after listening, Qu Yunqing immediately realized that his previous behavior was somewhat inappropriate.

Luckily, he hadn’t gone too far!

Qu Yunqing said, “Brother, do you want to do a favor for Li Qingzhi?”

The government official asked, “How?”

Qu Yunqing said, “Li Qingzhi’s wife is going to look at a shop tomorrow. You can have someone follow her and give her some support.” Qu Yunqing also knew about the things happening in Zhao Sanni’s family. He felt that it wouldn’t go smoothly for Jin Xiaoye to go see the shop tomorrow.

The government official was grateful when he heard Qu Yunqing’s words. “Brother Qu, thank you for telling me about this! I owe you a favor. If you ever need help in the future, just find me.”

Qu Yunqing quickly responded, “No problem, we’re good brothers.”

After they finished their drinks and meal, the yamen runner insisted on paying the bill.

Qu Yunqing was in a great mood as he hummed a song on his way home.

By the time he arrived home, it was almost dark. Jin Xiaoye and the others had already left, and when Sister Wang smelled the alcohol on him, she couldn’t help but complain, “All you know is to drink every day! You’ve only been back for a few days? How much money have you spent?”

“You don’t understand; this isn’t just simple drinking; I’m doing big things!” Qu Yunqing said.

Sister Wang rolled her eyes. “There’s hot water in the kitchen; go wash up.”

“Xiao Wang, let me tell you, I’m not just an ordinary person, you know? Today, even the government official invited me to dinner!” Qu Yunqing spoke excitedly.

Sister Wang: “…” Her man, he always boasts when he’s drunk.

On the other side, in the Li family, everyone was discussing the temple fair.

The reason why the village was called Miaoqian Village was because there was a temple to the north of the village.

The temple was quite small, with only two monks inside. Whenever someone from Miaoqian Village or nearby villages held a funeral, they would invite these two monks to chant sutras. The villagers would also bring offerings to the temple, and on the first and fifteenth days of every month, the old ladies in the village liked to go to the temple to chant sutras.

The two monks in the small temple weren’t very knowledgeable about Buddhist scriptures; they could only recite them. However, they were very familiar with the funeral customs and could even play suona.

When Li Qingzhi strolled around, he often passed by the temple and chatted with the monks.

Li Qingzhi didn’t expect that such a small temple would also have a temple fair.