Mo Sang – CH 276

Chapter 276. Wild

From Yangjiaping to Yuzhang City, they traveled upstream. Fortunately, there was no wind. Dong Chao hired twice as many boatmen as usual and also hired a boat specifically for the boatmen to rest. The boatmen rotated every hour, and the boat moved quickly upstream.

They set off before breakfast. After breakfast, Ah Ying sat under the canopy on the foredeck, loudly reciting the Three Character Classic along with Meng Yanqing.

Li Sangrou dragged out a chair, sat with her back against the foredeck door, munching on sunflower seeds, watching Meng Yanqing’s overly serious face and Ah Ying loudly reciting.

Xiao Lu squatted down next to Li Sangrou and said in a low voice, “Boss has good taste; this little girl is quite sensible.

Yesterday, when she went back, she did not say a word to her parents, did not mention a word; she just said that you treated her well and that everyone treated her well. She said that Brother Chang took her to bathe, bought her new clothes, taught her to read, and even taught her horse stance.

The little girl even told her brother that once he was full, he could not eat anymore, that he could not overeat, saying it was your advice. We have to be self-disciplined.”

“Tsk, that’s good.”

Li Sangrou smiled slightly. “Let Chuantiao catch a few fish; we will grill them for lunch.”

“Alright!” Xiao Lu leaped to his feet.

………………………………

The next evening, the boat docked at the Yuzhang City pier.

Ah Ying, carrying her luggage, followed behind Li Sangrou, her eyes wide with astonishment, completely absorbed in the sights.

Her family’s old boat was a small fishing boat, never venturing far, always staying in the Yangjiaping area; they’d never even been to Jiangzhou City.

Such a grand city, so many people, such prosperity—the overwhelming sense of awe far surpassed the events of the previous night.

After all, she had no concept of money or social status.

Before Brother Chang gave her those five taels of silver, she had never seen silver before; none of her family had ever seen silver before that piece.

After entering the city gates, Li Sangrou instructed, “Da Chang, go back first. Old Meng, go to the commander’s mansion and tell them we are back. You all come with me to Tengwang Pavilion.”

“You go with the Boss; this is for me.” Da Chang took Ah Ying’s bundle and gestured for her to stop.

Ah Ying quickly let go of the bundle and stayed close to Li Sangrou.

This place was too big, and there were too many people. She was afraid she would lose sight of her Boss and get lost.

Li Sangrou, leading Ah Ying, Hei Ma, and Xiao Lu, soon passed through the city gate, and the Tengwang Pavilion was in sight.

The Tengwang Pavilion and its surroundings had been completely renovated. The bamboo fences that had surrounded the construction site had been removed, as had the connecting corridors. Flowers and plants had been planted, and outside the former corridor area, red ropes had been used to create a barrier, supporting a sign indicating the government’s avoidance policy.

Li Sangrou stood outside the red ropes, looking up at the newly renovated Tengwang Pavilion and the two pavilions on either side.

The newly renovated Tengwang Pavilion was brand new, yet not glaringly so. Its deep, rich colors—vermilion and emerald green—were extremely pleasing to the eye.

Li Sangrou squinted for a while, quite satisfied. She jumped off the rock, circled the red rope, and carefully examined the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees.

The plants and trees were vibrant with life, exuding a natural charm, as if they had always been there naturally.

Li Sangrou looked them over and clapped her hands in satisfaction.

That Jia Wendao, despite his gambling addiction, had remarkably good taste.

Li Sangrou returned after her look around. Jia Wendao, clutching his iron chain, trotted out from the nearby teahouse.

“B-Boss!”

“You look much better.” Li Sangrou stopped, scrutinizing Jia Wendao from head to toe.

Jia Wendao had lost a lot of weight. His eyes were no longer red or puffy; he looked not only more energetic but also much better-looking than before.

“Thanks to the Boss.” Jia Wendao smiled obsequiously.

“Xiaoyi and Nanny Zhang will be setting off for Yangzhou in a few days. You will go with them and continue working there. This Tengwang Pavilion is quite well-built. After we arrive in Yangzhou, I will give you five taels of silver a month for your labor.

You will have food and lodging, so you will not need the five taels. I will have someone give it directly to your wife.”

Li Sangrou finished speaking and turned to leave, but Jia Wendao hurriedly called out to her, “Boss.”

“Hmm?” Li Sangrou turned back to look at Jia Wendao.

“Boss, look, the day after tomorrow, this place will be completed, and the final rankings will be announced. Officials from the military and grain transport departments, big and small, will all be coming. The heads of Yuzhang City, the famous scholars and Confucians of Hongzhou, and people from Tanzhou and Jiangbei—so many people! Do you not think so? Do not you think so?”

Jia Wendao kept nodding and bowing.

“What is it?” Li Sangrou looked confused.

“This chain, this big iron chain, do you think I should keep it? How about just one day, the day after tomorrow? Look at this huge scene. You know, I am, after all, a scholar, even though…” Jia Wendao stammered.

“Even though what?” Li Sangrou pressed.

“Even though it was later erased, I did pass the preliminary examination and was a proper scholar. At the very least, I am a former scholar, am I not?

Boss, look at me, dragging these chains; it is really undignified,” Jia Wendao jingled the chains as he dragged them.

“Back then, you were peeking over the wall at the women of the inner quarters enjoying the cool air, and you got beaten, tied up, and paraded through the streets. You lost your scholar status because of that. Did you not feel ashamed?

You gambled all day long; every penny you had was gone. Your wife and children were starving, and you ignored them. Did you not feel ashamed?

You were always drunk, getting dumped on the street, and I heard people often urinated on you. Did you not feel ashamed?”

Are all your dirty deeds respectable, but this iron chain is not?” Li Sangrou asked slowly, enunciating each word.

Jia Wendao shrank back until his neck was completely hidden.

“If it were not for your decent eyesight and the fact that you are still somewhat useful, I would have thrown you into the river to feed the fish long ago.

If you died, your wife and children would at least have a way to survive. At least the money your wife earned for sewing would not be stolen by you to gamble away.

Keep this chain on. If you dare to try to remove it again, I will put it through your collarbone.

Also, once we get to Yangzhou, if you dare to come within ten feet of the wealthy merchants, I will cut off one of your toes. One toe at a time.

Do you understand?” Li Sangrou coldly glanced at Jia Wendao.

“Yes, yes,” Jia Wendao stammered, wishing he could disappear.

Watching Li Sangrou turn and walk away, Jia Wendao shrank back to the teahouse, dejected.

Sigh, he knew she would not listen. This Boss was far more ruthless than his father.

After walking a short distance, Li Sangrou looked at Ah Ying and asked with a smile, “What did you want to say?”

“He was watching us when we first arrived.” Ah Ying stepped forward and looked up at Li Sangrou.

“Hmm, continue.”

“Did he see you were quite satisfied with his work, which is why he came out to plead with you?” Ah Ying looked at Li Sangrou.

“Hmm, he’s quite smart, and you are even smarter.” Li Sangrou patted Ah Ying on the head.

“Why did you chain him up?” Ah Ying looked up and asked again.

“First, because he owed me money and offered himself in exchange for it. He’s a bad person with no credit, so I had no choice but to chain him up.

Second, he’s a gambling addict, and his wife does not want him to come home.” Li Sangrou glanced at Ah Ying and continued, “His name is Jia Wendao, an only child. When he was young, his family was very well-off, owning two or three hundred mu of good paddy fields and two shops. He was also very smart; he passed the preliminary imperial examination at seventeen or eighteen.

His father was a good man, shrewd and capable, and strict in raising his son. However, his father spent more than half the year traveling for business, while his mother doted on him excessively, believing her son was perfect in every way.

Jia Wendao was inherently bad. When his father was alive, during the short six months his father was home, he was extremely well-behaved and studied diligently. When his father was away, he misbehaved and ran amok.

When he was seventeen or eighteen, his father fell seriously ill and died. Before he died, he arranged a marriage for him, choosing a good wife, and left a will stipulating that he should marry during the mourning period.

His wife was very good, educated, polite, and sensible. But how could a young wife withstand a powerful husband and a domineering mother-in-law? Not many years after their marriage, Jia Wendao first lost his scholar’s title, then squandered his entire fortune.

Not many years later, Jia Wendao’s mother was first knocked deaf in one ear by her precious son’s punch, then went blind from crying. After Jia’s mother became deaf and blind, his wife’s life became much easier.”

Li Sangrou paused, glanced at Ah Ying, and then smiled. “Jia Wendao stole my silver. When I caught him, he still had quite a bit left, which I had someone give to Jia Wendao’s wife.

Jia’s mother’s eyesight could be cured with the money spent on daily fumigation and acupuncture.

However, Jia Wendao’s wife did not treat her. Instead, she used the money to send her son and daughter to school and opened a tiny shop selling needlework and embroidery.”

Li Sangrou finished speaking and looked at Ah Ying, who looked up at her. “If Jia’s mother’s eyes were cured, she would definitely make a scene if she saw her son in chains! It’s better for her to be blind.”

“Smart.” Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow, then patted Ah Ying’s head with a smile.

“Boss, this guy surnamed Jia only pawned himself for three years, and more than a year has passed,” Hei Ma poked his head out and said.

“After it expires, someone will come and talk to his wife. If she agrees, they will negotiate a price and then pawn it for another ten or eight years,” Li Sangrou said casually.

“Are you helping his wife?” Ah Ying asked, looking up.

“Yes!” Li Sangrou’s “yes” was extremely certain. “In this world, women have it extremely difficult, extremely tough. We cannot help all women, but if we encounter them, like Jia Wendao’s wife, like you, if we can help, we must lend a hand. If we cannot, then so be it.

From now on, you should do the same.”

“Alright!” Ah Ying answered with a crisp, decisive “alright.”

“You all go back first. Ah Ying and I will go check out the back courtyard of the yamen,” Li Sangrou instructed Hei Ma and the others, then pushed Ah Ying towards the yamen.

The gatekeepers had already seen Li Sangrou several times. Upon seeing her, one quickly came out to greet her, while the other rushed inside to announce her.

Ah Ying followed behind Li Sangrou, entering through a side gate. She held her breath as she looked around. This place was truly beautiful!

The flowers were beautiful, the trees were beautiful, the houses were beautiful, the people were beautiful, and the clothes were even more beautiful. Their clothes were like water, flowing, like sunlight.

This must be what immortals were like.

Lady Wei and the others came out to greet her. After exchanging greetings, all four of them could not help but stare at Ah Ying, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

Ah Ying was already dazzled. She followed Li Sangrou closely; when Li Sangrou bowed, she bowed in return; when Li Sangrou went inside, she went inside; when Li Sangrou sat down, she sat down without any hesitation. Seeing Ah Ying sitting upright next to Li Sangrou, Lady Wei could not help but laugh. She sat down next to Li Sangrou, nodded her chin towards Ah Ying, and said with a smile, “Whose child is this? That the Boss has her by her side?”

“A very clever little girl, courageous and determined, raised wild in the mountains until now,” Li Sangrou said, not answering Lady Wei’s question but handing Ah Ying a cup of tea.

“I will leave her here. You can teach her for me. When you leave, or when I leave, I will take her back,” Li Sangrou continued with a smile.

Ah Ying’s eyes widened.

What? Leave her here?! But after hearing the last part, she calmed down. The Boss would definitely take her back.

“Teach her what?” Wei Jingming walked to Ah Ying’s side, bending down to look at her.

“Teach her whatever you think she should be taught,” Li Sangrou said, spreading her hands. “You’ve all seen it; she’s like a little animal, incredibly clever, but she’s grown up wild.”

Fu Wannian walked over, took Ah Ying’s hand, and gently touched it. “This child is quite capable.”

“What’s your name?” Liu Rui bent down, looked at Ah Ying, gently stroked her face, and asked with a smile.

Ah Ying’s face was too dark; she always felt like she had something on it.

“Zhang Ah Ying. I can write my own name.” Ah Ying was a little nervous, surrounded by Wei Jingming and the other two.

“Then come here and write it for us to see.” Wei Jingming pulled Ah Ying up and led her to the long table.

“What are the Boss’s plans for her?” Seeing Ah Ying sit down at the long table to write, Fourth Madam Wu née Wei asked in a low voice with a smile.

“No, she will be fine as she is.” Li Sangrou smiled at Lady Wei. “I cannot take care of her for long. You can teach her a bit, and then I plan to send her to Yangzhou, where someone will teach her something else.”

“Teach her what?” Lady Wei asked again.

“Just now, I took her to Tengwang Pavilion, and we talked about Jia Wendao.” Li Sangrou paused, looking at Lady Wei.

Lady Wei nodded quickly. “I know that Jia Wendao. Tengwang Pavilion was all arranged by him; he has excellent judgment.”

“Yes, speaking of Jia Wendao’s wife, after receiving the several dozen taels of silver from Jia Wendao’s self-pawning, she did not use the money to treat Jia’s mother’s eyes. Jia’s mother’s eyes could have been cured if she had been willing to spend the money.

She thought it was perfectly reasonable,” Li Sangrou continued.

“Uh,” Lady Wei murmured. “No wonder the Boss said she is like a little beast, raised wild; she really is… wild.”

“Without worldly wisdom and understanding of etiquette, one cannot distinguish right from wrong, nor can one weigh the importance of things,” Li Sangrou sighed.

“I understand; do not worry, Boss,” Lady Wei said with a smile.

“By the way, which of you has good handwriting? How about writing a couple of characters for me? I have a shipyard, and I’d like to make a copper signboard to affix to the ships coming out of the shipyard.”

“Then let Sister Ming write it for you. All the characters are good, but Sister Ming’s handwriting is more spacious and powerful, which is more suitable,” Lady Wei said with a smile.

“Alright, then I will trouble you all. Once it is finished, there’s no need for framing. Just have someone deliver it to me. I am off.” Li Sangrou stood up.

Lady Wei quickly stood up as well and saw Li Sangrou out of the courtyard gate.