novelraw Chapter 239 Li Shunzi and Zhang Shi
Chapter 239 Li Shunzi and Zhang Shi
Chapter 239 Li Shunzi and Zhang Shi
Li Shunzi watched as the two men who arrived later each carried away a sack of charcoal, his face a complex mix of emotions.
These are people who are never short of money!
Li Shunzi was reluctant to leave and initially wanted to just walk away, but then she hesitated, remembering the promise she had made the day before.
After struggling for a while, I finally decided to buy five pounds and send it over.
Twenty coins per catty, five catties would be one hundred coins.
When counting the coins, Li Shunzi's hands trembled, and his eyes were almost red.
too expensive!
He's never lit charcoal in his entire life!
But thinking of the man's past life, he gritted his teeth and handed over the counted copper coins.
The charcoal seller, having received the copper coins, finally gave a smile, deftly took out his scales, weighed out five jin of broken charcoal for Li Shunzi, and asked, "Did you bring a basket or a burlap sack?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shunzi's eyes widened: "I spent a hundred coins to buy five catties of charcoal! You won't even give me a bag?"
The charcoal seller was displeased: "I'm a charcoal seller, not a bag seller! If you were buying dozens or hundreds of pounds, I'd personally deliver it to your door! You only bought five pounds, and it's taken so long. And now I'm giving you a free bag?"
"So what if it's five catties? These five catties of charcoal cost me a hundred coins!" Li Shunzi's voice was loud and clear. In his opinion, a hundred coins was an exorbitant price!
"Let alone one hundred coins, even one thousand coins wouldn't amount to much these days. If you want this charcoal, then find a way to take it yourself; if you don't want it, I'll return the one hundred coins to you."
The charcoal seller was too lazy to say anything more to him. He put the weighed charcoal aside, took out the hundred copper coins he had previously received, placed them on the stool at his stall, and let Li Shunzi make his choice. He then turned around and went to attract other customers.
These words were like a slap in the face, loud and clear, making Li Shunzi's face turn red and extremely embarrassed.
He clenched his fist, and after a long pause, asked in a low voice, "If you were to sell this bag, how much would it fetch?"
The charcoal seller was weighing charcoal for someone when he casually remarked without looking up, "Give me three more copper coins, and I'll sell you one of these bags!"
Three copper coins...
This price is really not cheap!
Li Shunzi wanted to haggle over the price, but seeing the people surrounding him to buy charcoal, he was afraid the charcoal seller would embarrass him in public.
The question, "Could you make it cheaper?" kept tumbling out, but I never actually asked it.
Despite the pain in his eyes, Li Shunzi took out three copper coins and handed them to the charcoal seller.
The charcoal seller ignored him, took the copper coins, casually tore off a bag and stuffed it into his hand, waving it at him repeatedly, indicating that he should fill it up himself!
Li Shunzi, his face ashen, held back his anger, squatted down, and silently filled the bag with all the broken charcoal. Then he slung it over his shoulder and hurriedly left.
Squeezing out of the narrow street, Li Shunzi headed north, passed several intersections, and turned into an alleyway with practiced ease.
The alley was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk through, and inside it was piled with filth and extremely dirty and messy.
Li Shunzi remained expressionless, carefully avoiding the dirt on the ground, and walked straight to the end of the alley.
At the end of the alley, there is a small door facing east, which looks like a side gate rather than a proper courtyard gate.
Upon reaching the door, Li Shunzi subconsciously glanced back in the direction he had come from. Seeing that no one was following him, he breathed a sigh of relief before raising his hand to knock on the door.
"Who?"
A familiar woman's voice came from the courtyard behind the door. Li Shunzi's face lit up with joy. She pressed her face against the door and called out to the courtyard, "It's me, Shunzi! I've come to bring you charcoal."
The woman in the courtyard immediately brightened up, her tone changing instantly: "It's so cold, yet you still remember us, a widow and her orphan..."
The sound of the latch being pulled off was clearly audible. Li Shunzi quickly stood up straight, looking composed.
When the door opened, a plump woman with a beautiful face appeared in front of Li Shunzi.
If Gu Tang were here, she would definitely exclaim in surprise that this woman was actually Zhang Shi!
Zhang was initially delighted, her eyes fixed on the bag on Li Shunzi's back. But when she saw that the bag was only half full and the rest was empty, her smile faded.
The bag doesn't look very big; it's not even half full, let alone full.
If this bag contained charcoal, how much would it be?
At most, it weighs a few pounds!
Zhang was extremely dissatisfied, but then she thought that even a few mosquitoes were still meat, and if someone delivered a few pounds of charcoal to their door for free, it would at least relieve their immediate crisis.
After calming herself down, Zhang Shi maintained a composed demeanor and warmly stepped aside to let the man in, regardless of her inner thoughts.
"Come in quickly, you've really gone to a lot of trouble. There's some tea in Lang'er's room, I'll go brew some, have a few cups to warm yourself up..."
These words warmed Li Shunzi's heart. He had been heartbroken over the hundred copper coins, but upon seeing Zhang Shi, that heartache vanished instantly.
As he walked inside, he said with a smile, "That tea is for scholars. Leave it for Lang-ge'er to enjoy. I'm just a rough man, so a bowl of hot water will do!"
Zhang closed the door, gave him a light glare, her expression a mixture of anger and reproach, her eyes sparkling with a hint of allure.
"You're no boor; your kindness to us orphans and widows surpasses that of ten scholars! Let alone a few cups of tea, you should be treated to the finest delicacies!"
Li Shunzi had never been with any women and was over thirty years old without getting married, so he was no match for Zhang Shi at all.
At this moment, after being praised by Zhang and meeting those captivating eyes, he felt his bones melt!
He stared blankly at Zhang, not missing a single detail, and his face flushed red.
Zhang was secretly pleased with herself. She deliberately stepped forward and asked him with a puzzled look, "What are you standing here for? Aren't you cold? Just put the bag down on the porch and come inside with me to warm up."
"Sigh, sigh..." Li Shunzi was brought back to his senses by these words. He looked at Zhang Shi with infatuation, obediently put the bag down on the porch, and followed Zhang Shi into the house.
This small courtyard was partitioned off from the large house next door. The owner's family business had declined, and now they were so poor that they had to divide the large house into small courtyards and rent them out to supplement their income.
The small courtyard rented by Zhang was originally the servants' quarters, and the door just now was the side gate for the servants to enter and exit.
This small courtyard has only three rooms on the east side, and a kitchen built at the back on the west side, which is drafty on three sides.
The three east rooms were connected together. Zhang lived in the south room with her daughter Lin Yue, Lin Lang lived in the north room, and the middle room was used for meals and entertaining guests.
Although the courtyard was small and the houses were few, all three houses were built with bricks and tiles and were furnished with household items, making them much more presentable than thatched houses.
The monthly rent isn't cheap.
This small courtyard costs two hundred copper coins per month, which is considered a high price in the West Street area.
Lifting the curtain and entering the room, it was cold and not warm at all. Zhang asked Li Shunzi to sit down and rest, then went to her own room and brought out a brazier.
Seeing this, Li Shunzi quickly got up, took the brazier from her hands, and placed it at her feet. "If you bring the brazier out, won't Yue'er get cold? Her arm isn't healed yet, she can't get cold."
Zhang looked apologetic: "It's just for a little while, it's nothing. It's so cold, and you came to our house to bring us charcoal, so we should treat you well."
But... but... we're just a widow and her child, with no means of livelihood, barely managing to survive on one meal a day. If we've neglected you in any way, please don't hold it against me..."
As she spoke, Zhang bowed to Li Shunzi with a gentle and charming gesture, which made Li Shunzi feel sorry for her. He quickly stepped forward and helped her up.
“You should have told me if you were having a hard time! I’m a man, and I can do things more easily than you women. I can’t give you a life of great wealth and luxury, but I can still feed you with simple meals.”
After saying this, Li Shunzi took out a string of copper coins from his chest pouch and handed it over: "This is two hundred copper coins. You can use it for now. I will come back in a couple of days to bring you firewood and rice. In any case, you have to fill your stomachs."
Two hundred copper coins...
Zhang lowered her head, feigning shyness, but in reality, she curled her lip in disdain.
What good are two hundred copper coins?!
It's only enough to pay one month's rent!
Zhang looked down on the two hundred copper coins, but she didn't refuse them either. Why not take something that's free?
She took the copper coin, gave Li Shunzi a grateful smile, and her eyes were alluring.
Li Shunzi was immediately hooked again.
"Please sit down first, I'll go pour you some tea." As if she was embarrassed by being looked at, Madam Zhang took the silver and went to her son's room.
Inside Lin Lang's room, a stove was lit, with a teapot on it, simmering tea.
The two rooms were separated only by a thin door, and Lin Lang could hear the conversations in the inner room clearly.
In the past, if he had seen his mother act this way, he would have arrogantly rebuked Zhang for being unchaste and shameless!
But now, after a series of changes and hardships, Lin Lang understands the importance of money even more.
Faced with Zhang's actions, he made no criticism, but remained silent, sitting at his desk with a cold face and not uttering a word.
Zhang knew why her son was giving her the cold shoulder, and she knew that what she was doing was very wrong, but she really had no other choice. If she didn't do this, she and her son, a widow and orphan, would end up sleeping on the streets and becoming beggars sooner or later!
Zhang placed the copper coins on the desk, looked at her son, opened her mouth as if to say something, but once her mouth was open, she didn't know what to say.
After hesitating for a while, he finally said nothing, but silently picked up the teapot on the stove, poured a cup of tea, and took it to the outer room.
After everyone left, Lin Lang's gaze shifted from the book to the string of copper coins, his eyes flickering slightly.
The other day I saw a piece of ink stick that I liked, but I thought that all the money in the house was going to be used, so I couldn't bring myself to buy it.
Now that we have this extra string of copper coins, look at the quantity, it's enough to buy ink sticks!
He reached out and took the coins, patiently counting them.
Let's see how many copper coins we have. If we have enough, we can buy some more paper and pens.
Outside, Zhang was unaware that her son had already taken the two hundred copper coins for himself and found a place for them.
She looked "shy" as she handed the teacup in her hand to Li Shunzi herself, instead of placing it on the table in front of him.
Li Shunzi subconsciously raised her hand to take the tea, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, their fingers touched, causing them to tremble slightly.
Li Shunzi, in particular, felt that Zhang's fingers were soft and tender...
Zhang had never done any manual labor in her life, and this remained true even after she left the Gu family. She asked the old ladies in the alley to wash her and her two children's clothes, but she had to cook the meals herself.
To take care of her hands, Zhang bought many ointments to nourish and care for them. Apart from her face, her hands were the part she was most satisfied with.
Her ten fingers were slender, fair, and tender.
Now that Li Shunzi had her hand on his, she blushed with embarrassment and quickly put the teacup on the table.
"Eat quickly, it'll get cold..."
"Sigh!" Li Shunzi grinned, looking silly, and downed his tea in one gulp.
Zhang frowned for a moment, utterly disgusted by Li Shunzi's rude actions!
Drinking tea is an elegant affair; how can you gulp it down like that?!
Suppressing her annoyance, she smiled and asked him if he wanted another cup.
Li Shunzi smacked his lips, finding the tea terribly bitter. He shook his head and refused, "No need, one cup is enough. By the way, has Brother Lang changed his tea recently? This tea tastes too bitter to me, it doesn't have the fragrance of the last one."
Zhang's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly recovered and tried to make amends for the tea incident.
"Lang Ge'er recently switched to this bitter tea so that he could stay alert while studying. Most scholars like this kind of tea, but we people can't get used to it."
"Indeed, although this tea is bitter, it is exceptionally invigorating once you taste it."
Li Shunzi knew nothing, so he believed whatever Zhang said and then went on to spout nonsense along with Zhang's words.
Zhang forced a smile and didn't respond, hoping he would change the subject and talk about something else.
Li Shunzi actually brought up other things. He asked Zhang Shi, "There are rumors outside that there might be a snow disaster this year. Are you and your son sure you're staying in Bei'an City and not going back to Linjia Village?"
Zhang: ...This person really knows how to hit a nerve!
“We’re not going back. My mother-in-law has passed away, and the whole clan is eyeing our belongings! If we go back, we’re afraid they’ll force us to hand them over.”
What's the point of going back?
She had secretly sold the family's courtyard long ago, and after her mother-in-law passed away, the savings she had left behind also ended up in her hands.
What's the point of going back now? Are they just waiting for the villagers to surround them and demand payment?
She was saving the money for her son's imperial examinations. Once he passed and became a scholar, they could return to Linjia Village, and she assured them that no one would bother them again.
Li Shunzi said with pity, "Those people are heartless! If they don't want to come back, they don't have to. I'll bring you more firewood and food before the snow falls."
If there really is a snow disaster, you and your child will have firewood and food, and you will surely be able to get through it safely. If, if…”
Li Shunzi spoke softer and softer, hesitant and avoiding eye contact with Zhang Shi. He kept saying "if" for a while, but couldn't finish his sentence.
Zhang lowered her eyes, concealing the impatience in them, and interrupted him with feigned shyness: "I understand your feelings... but I will soon be divorced by the Gu family. If people find out that you and I... are acquainted, I'm afraid it will bring you a lot of criticism!"
You've been kind to my son and me, I can't let you end up in that situation! If it really comes to that, just blame it on me! My reputation is already ruined, so adding more won't matter..."