A life of clearness

Chapter 139 Zhou Family Mansion
"Here is a bowl of wontons."

There was a window on the small building, and a plump woman leaned out and hung a bamboo basket down with a hemp rope.

"okay."

The middle-aged man selling wontons put down his shoulder pole, deftly took a porcelain bowl from the bamboo basket, and scooped a whole bowl of chicken wonton soup. The soup was covered with fat and green onions.

He took the copper coin and put the porcelain bowl back into the bamboo basket.

Three copper coins for a bowl. Rong Qing could see clearly. Compared with the price of eight and a half copper coins for a bowl in Suicheng, it was much lower.

This is normal. After all, this is just a small town, and selling things on the street saves the cost of renting a yard...

The aroma of chicken soup is still extremely tempting even in the wet rain.

As the bamboo basket was carried upstairs, the small window was closed, and the middle-aged man covered the box containing the chicken soup tightly.

When he was about to pick up the burden again, he happened to be confronted by two noblemen in white clothes in front of him.

Just by looking at their clothes, hairpins and the manner in which they stood there, he knew that their status was extremely noble, even without any servants accompanying them.

The middle-aged man nodded and bowed, and was about to carry his load to make way for the two nobles. In fact, the road in front of Rong Qing and the others was wide enough that he didn't need to make way, but small vendors have always been well aware of the truth, and they were afraid that if they didn't do it well, they would be in trouble if they displeased the nobles.

However, these two nobles looked familiar... He was a little puzzled. But he immediately lowered his head and didn't dare to look any further.

"Go away." A slightly cold voice came.

"Yes, yes, I'll leave right away." He noticed the nobleman's displeasure, and immediately lowered his head, picked up his load and walked away quickly.

Only after he had walked a long way did he dare to sell his own wontons again.

……

"Sir?" Zhong Xiu was a little confused.

At first, she didn't recognize who the middle-aged man was, but after looking at him a few more times, she remembered him.

"Aunt Qin has been complaining about you behind your back." Rong Qing explained lightly.

So, Rong Qing deliberately ignored Qin Dalang.

Zhong Xiu frowned slightly, a little puzzled, but soon understood the meaning of Rong Qing's words.

"Although I haven't been out much these years, being a mistress is not something I can look up to in public." What Zhong Xiu didn't expect was that even Aunt Qin, who was from the same town and had watched her grow up, would gossip about her behind her back. "But it's all in the past."

Rong Qing nodded, "Don't worry, I don't want to embarrass them."

"What were you trying to say just now?" Rong Qing was very interested in Zhong Xiu's childhood.

Led by Rong Qing's words, Zhong Xiu forgot about the previous episode and a look of reminiscence appeared on his face.

"Sir, you should know that my family runs a bookstore. Although we are not wealthy, we can still make ends meet."

"My father didn't like me studying, so I didn't continue after three days. Later, my mother saw that I really liked playing with the sisters there, so she saved money to give to the female teacher at that time."

"The one ounce of silver I got for the hairpin only allowed me to listen from outside the window."

"Later, I had a slight argument with Miss Zhou, and I could no longer enter this house."

"He said he often came here to play when he was a child, but in reality, it was only three or four months." Zhong Xiu's smile was a little bitter.

After three or four months of merely superficial learning as an auditor, Zhong Xiu could only read some comic books and other reading materials in his own bookstore.

Hearing this, Rong Qing's heart was slightly moved. She said to Zhong Xiu, "What about now... it's okay to revisit the old place."

… Rong Qing and Zhong Xiu sat at the top of a restaurant. The rain outside the window had stopped, and they could only hear the sound of raindrops dripping down the eaves. The iron horses hanging on the eaves made a crisp sound when the wind blew past them.

Every breath you take is filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants.

Through the window they opened they could see a corner of the Zhou family's residence.

The house, which has always been quaint and quiet, is now messy and bustling.

Boxes of belongings were transported to the carriage at the gate. At this time, the gate of the Zhou family's house was also filled with many people watching the excitement.

"The Zhou family has always been the richest family in town. The person who gave the order must be very powerful to make the Zhou family give up their old house."

"It's hard to say. I think the Zhou family is trying to escape. Otherwise, why would they sell off their ancestral home?"

"Mrs. Zhou is related to the governor by marriage. I haven't heard of any movement in the governor's office. It doesn't look like they are fleeing."

Someone immediately refuted it.

In short, there were all kinds of noises, and it was a noisy mess.

Qin Dalang was among them.

The more I listened, the more frightened I became.

"I'm not mistaken. That's Mr. Yu and Gong Xiuniang."

Both of them were regular customers at the wonton stall. However, more than four years had passed, and Rong Qing and Zhong Xiu's clothes and demeanor were very different from when they were in Suicheng. It was normal that Qin Dalang could not recognize them at first sight.

Qin Dalang pondered for a long time in his mind, and finally remembered Rong Qing and the others. However, he was still half-believing and half-doubting, so he returned to the Zhou family's old house.

Rong Qing and Zhong Xiu were no longer in their original places. In front of Qin Dalang was the scene where the head of the Zhou family's old house, the women, and many servants had all moved out.

The Zhou family moved out very quickly. It seemed that if they were any slower, the whole family would be wiped out.

This happened after Rong Qing and Zhong Xiu left. Qin Dalang didn't believe that the two had nothing to do with each other.

"It seems that Mr. Yu has become rich." He sighed in his heart, "If I hadn't escaped from Suicheng with my wife, I might have been able to marry a nobleman like Gong Xiuniang."

When the three northern states of Jing State were in trouble, many people fled southward from Suicheng. The Qin couple chose to flee back to their hometown, Yuxiang Town. They could make a living anywhere, but at least it was much safer here.

But today, seeing Zhong Xiu's extravagant clothes, Qin Dalang suddenly felt a little regretful. Especially since Zhong Xiu was also from Yuxiang Town, but she had become a phoenix, and the change was so great that Qin Dalang could not recognize her. How could he not be jealous?

Just as Qin Dalang was secretly resentful, the crowd exclaimed.

It turned out that after the Zhou family packed up their belongings and left in the carriage, soon more than a dozen carriages arrived at the door of the old house.

The carriages were exquisite and elegant, the horses were well-trained, and the maids who filed out of the carriages were all pretty and friendly.

One of the leading maids smiled and said to the crowd gathered at the door: "Dear villagers, to celebrate my master's housewarming, a banquet will be held on this street in three days. You are all welcome to come and gather."

Someone in the crowd immediately asked, "I haven't asked for your master's name yet?"

The maid smiled and said, "My wife's maiden name is Zhong, so there is no need to be polite, just call me Madam Zhong."

Others didn't notice anything yet, and some were even wondering about the origins of this Mrs. Zhong.

Only Qin Dalang was greatly shocked.

"Gong Xiuniang is really hooking up with Mr. Yu. This is the Zhou family's ancestral home. How much silver would it cost to buy it? Mr. Yu is so rich."

(End of this chapter)