Chapter 33 This is a test

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  Madam Zhao walked out of the courtyard, her sharp eyes sizing up the visitor from head to toe.

  "Qingzhou Qian's letter says that he heard Madam Zhao is recuperating at the mountain villa and has come to pay his respects."

  Facing Zhao's gaze calmly, Qian Zhixin slightly bowed to her with a rather polite demeanor. After seeing Zhao's elegant bearing, he couldn't help but wonder in his heart: Where did this aunt come from? Looking at her poised attitude, she must be from a prestigious family.

  Just... his gaze slightly shifted back, and he discreetly glanced at the small courtyard behind Zhao's mother, furrowing his brow. Hmm, something doesn't feel right. If she were a proper young mistress, why would she be living in such a dilapidated villa, and not even an inner courtyard?

  Besides, when he just entered the door, Feng Guan Shi didn't clarify that this was a young master, but vaguely said it was Zhao's family's young madam.

  The Zhao family? The Zhao family is a renowned and aristocratic clan, with not only the main lineage but also two major branches, and numerous descendants. As for the young mistresses of the Zhao family, if we don't limit ourselves to those of noble birth, there are many more.

  Perhaps it was a fallen branch of the Zhao family. Recalling the encounter at the wine tower, the young lady wore fine cotton clothes, although the fabric was rare, but the floral pattern was not fashionable, it was obvious that they had carefully preserved the old fabric for over 20 years, thinking about this, Qian Zhixin became even more certain of their identity.

  "Qingzhou Qian family?" Madam Zhao didn't overlook the scrutinizing gaze of Qian's letter, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is it the Qian family of Qingzhou Qian's Silver Building?"

  "That's right, it's below," Qian Zhixin nodded, he had just "confirmed" the identity of the person in the yard, and didn't expect this old lady to be able to say his family name as soon as she opened her mouth, quite an experience.

  "Haha, so it's still a social call," Although Zhao's mother didn't know what the person in front of her was thinking, she also understood that Qian's young master had come from afar and definitely wasn't just here to "pay respects" to Zhao's young mistress. Thinking of this, she didn't continue with the small talk and directly asked: "Young Master Qian is too polite, logically speaking, since Young Master Qian has come from so far away, you should be invited in for a cup of tea, but the courtyard is narrow and the inner rooms are occupied by women, receiving a noble guest would inevitably lead to a loss of etiquette..."

  Qian Zixin heard what Zhao's mother said and knew that she was about to see him off, but he hadn't achieved his goal for this trip yet, how could he return empty-handed? His wife had been unable to eat anything for two or three days, just waiting for the tomatoes to stimulate her appetite. If he returned with nothing today, wouldn't his wife continue to suffer?!

  Without regard for etiquette, Qian's letter hastily stepped forward, interrupting Mrs. Zhao's words, and said earnestly: "Mrs. Zhao, Qian knows that this trip is abrupt, but my wife is pregnant and has an upset stomach, only the tomatoes purchased from your esteemed lady can be eaten. For this reason, I have already sent someone to buy fresh fruit from the county town. However, distant water cannot quench present thirst, so please, Mrs. Zhao, considering our 'family ties', give me a few more."

  Tomato?

  Mrs. Zhao's eyes flashed with confusion, when did her family have tomatoes? It was early spring now, and except for those grown in the greenhouse, there were none on the market. Where did Qīniáng get them from? According to Master Qian's words, Qīniáng had even sold two to him, what was going on?

  "Don't worry, Qian knows that the young lady is also pregnant. Once our tomatoes are harvested, Qian is willing to repay double."

  Mrs. Zhao's silence made Qian Zhixin think that she disagreed.

  Come to think of it, his wife is pregnant and the young lady next door also has a child. Both are pregnant women with poor appetites. Only these tomatoes, sour and sweet, fresh and juicy, can stimulate their appetite. Now he comes to buy them with a proud face, what can they do?

  Even if he was a declining aristocrat, looking at the nanny's vision, Qian Zhixin also knew that the other party was not short of money. He thought to himself that it would be impossible to buy her off with silver now.

  "This..." Aunt Zhao hesitated for a moment, she didn't know anything about the tomatoes. She thought that Seventh Lady was hiding something from her, and her heart felt somewhat uneasy. But since the other person had already said so much, and she herself had mentioned that the two families were "old friends", if she couldn't even spare two fruits, it would be embarrassing to talk about it later.

  "Alright, Master Qian, please wait for a moment. I'll go and report to the mistress of the house first, then we can make a decision!"

  As she spoke, Zhao's aunt placed her hands on her waist and slightly squatted down before closing the door and returning to the room.

  Outside the door, Qian Zhixin and Feng Tizhu were both nervous and astonished, each lost in their own thoughts, silent.

  A moment later, the gate of the small courtyard opened and Zhao's mother-in-law came out with a gray cloth bag. The bag was not large, about one foot long and half a foot wide, tied at the mouth with a drawstring, and it was bulging with something inside.

  "Master Qian, my mistress said that since you came in person and we are old acquaintances, a few tomatoes aren't worth much. If Mistress Qian likes them, take a few more as a token of our goodwill!"

  Qian Zhi Xiang glanced at the cloth bag in front of him, a hint of joy flashing across his face, but then he heard that they didn't accept money, which wasn't good. He hesitated for a moment, "This is really too much trouble, Mrs. You see, I didn't bring anything valuable this time when I came to visit, this box of donkey hide gel was specially sent by my family, it's not some kind of precious medicine, but it does have some nourishing effect..."

  "Alright, then I'll accept it on behalf of my young mistress!"

  Mrs. Zhao took a glance and found that Qian Zhixin was holding a square package in his hand, through the thin wrapping paper, it could be vaguely seen that inside was a special box from the hundred-year-old brand Jishitang.

  "Ah, the medicinal herbs from Jishetang are indeed authentic. This package should be good stuff." Zhao's nurse nodded to herself and smiled: "Thank you, Mr. Qian. Please forgive any impoliteness!"

  Old Lady Zhao took over the box, nodded her head and body, and saw Qian Zhixin off as he left.

  "What's this? Medicine?" Qifang glanced at the thing Zhao Ayi brought in, not paying much attention to it, and hastily pulled Zhao Ayi over. "By the way, Ayi, shouldn't Chen's funeral be over by now? Find some time to call Chen Erdou over for me, I have something to ask him!"

  "Oh, okay!"

  Aunt Zhao originally wanted to ask about the tomatoes, but seeing Wang Qifang pick up her brush again and write something with an unusually serious expression, she knew she was busy with important matters, so she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

  A few days later, Chen Erdou came to the courtyard of Xiaoyuan after finishing his father's funeral. He first respectfully knocked twice on the door for Qifang, and when he heard someone calling from inside, he stood at the door with his hands tied, waiting for orders.

  "Chen Dongsheng, have you finished dealing with family matters?"

  Chen Dongsheng is Chen Ergou's real name. A few days ago, his family suffered a fire disaster, his father died and his mother was seriously injured. Thanks to the support of Wang Qifang's ten taels of silver, he was able to send off his father and invite a doctor for his mother. As compensation, Chen Dongsheng signed a twenty-year labor contract.

  Sitting on the edge of the kang, Wang Qifang gazed at Chen Erdou through the gap in the window paper.

  "Thanks to you, young mistress, everything has been taken care of. Thanks to your kindness, my father can rest in peace and my mother can afford her medicine. I, Chen Er Dog, will repay your kindness even if it means working as a cow or a horse!"

  "No need to work like a cow or horse, just do your job well and you'll be fine." Wang Qifang took out a silver ingot from her purse and handed it to Zhao Ayi, indicating that she should give it to Chen Dongsheng. "Coincidentally, I have an errand for you - the Zhuang family's property in Qingquan Village is up for sale, do you know about it?"

  "I know!"

  Chen Dongsheng gritted his teeth and spat out the two words, a dense hatred on his young face. He suppressed the dull pain in his chest and asked hoarsely: "Young lady, do you want to buy this estate?"

  "That's right, and you represent me to talk to the people of Qingquan Village. I've handed this matter over to you. This silver ingot is for your tea money, do a good job. Zhao Auntie has said many good things about you, otherwise, as a woman, I wouldn't have taken action on these matters. Chen Dongsheng, remember, don't disappoint Zhao Auntie's trust in you!"

  "Don't worry, madam, I'll definitely get the job done properly," As he spoke, Zhao Ayi also came out with the silver and Chen Dongsheng took it with a grateful face, "The kindness of Zhao Ayi to me will be remembered by our whole family for generations!"

  He said this without any pretence, just as the young lady said, if it wasn't for Zhao Ayi's pity and their pleading to the young lady, she would have known what Chen Er Gou was like. Compared to his reverence for Master Wang Qifang, he felt gratitude towards Zhao Ayi.

  Facing his benefactor, Chen Ergou kowtowed on the ground, knocking his head three times towards Zhao Dajie, then thanked him and left with the silver.

  "Qī niáng, nǐ zhè shì?"

  Translation: "Seventh girl, what's this?"

  Mrs. Zhao saw Chen Ergou off and closed the gate, then went back into the house and asked in puzzlement: "Didn't we all agree on everything with Master ZHUANG? Why did he let Ergou go?"

  "Heh heh, Mother, since we've taken in Chen Ergou, let's see if he has what it takes to be a servant or a manager. The matter of buying the estate is just a test!"

  P.S: Thank you for the gift from Qi Luo Yu, thank you!