Chapter 22: Past Life and Present Life

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  "No, the little one is also seen for the first time, but that young lady should be a fallen noble," The shopkeeper saw that Qian Ershao was concerned about this matter, so he hastily and enthusiastically told him his observations and speculations. "The young lady inside had only one maid, and she didn't seem to be from a wealthy family's servant, but rather like a rough maid from a farm. Her clothes were old, but the fabric was extremely good, it was the finest cotton fabric from twenty years ago!"

  "Cotton?"

  It's even more unusual, the Qian family are merchants, they have been doing business since their great-grandfather, and they are particularly familiar with rare goods on the market. Other fabrics are easy to say, no matter how expensive, as long as you have money, you can buy them, but this cotton fabric is a symbol of status, it's not something that can be bought just because you have money.

  But judging from Xiao Er's words, the noble guest inside seemed to be in a sorry state, otherwise he wouldn't have guessed that it was some declining wealthy family. But then, how could this tomato be explained? When did Qing Shui Town ever have such a family?!

  "No, at first I didn't notice it either. Just now when I went in to deliver the tomatoes, I was close to that young lady and took a closer look. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be finely woven cotton fabric, only the material is a bit old, if you don't look carefully, you really can't tell!"

  "Oh, okay, I know, you go ahead and get busy!"

  The young man's mention of "tomato" reminded Qian Zhixin, who temporarily put aside his suspicions and waved his hand to let the young man leave. Regardless of whether he was a noble guest or not, his primary goal was the tomato, and once this matter was resolved, he would send someone to investigate carefully.

  But if it's really a noble guest, can they bear to part with it?!

  Qian Zhixin stood at the screen in front of the private room, just about to raise his hand to knock on the door, but hesitated and put it down again.

  "It should be okay, didn't Xiao Er say that the other party's situation doesn't seem very good. Maybe, as long as I offer more silver, I might be able to buy it!"

  Thinking of this, Qian Zhixin's mind was filled with the miserable scene of his wife vomiting profusely during her pregnancy and being unable to eat anything. Alas, he thought, it's not easy for his wife to have something she wants to eat, how could he fail to fulfill even this small request? After deliberating for half a day, he still reached out to unlock the half-empty screen.

  "In the letter from Qian of Lower Qing Prefecture, I disturbed Young Mistress!"

  "Oh, what's wrong with Master Qian?"

  Wang Qifang sat elegantly by the window, holding a tomato in her hand, seemingly ready to eat. When she saw a stranger enter, she quickly straightened up and asked solemnly.

  She was actually anxious in her heart, and people had already been attracted to come, why hadn't they come in yet.

  Now that her target had finally arrived, she secretly let out a sigh of relief and asked in a calm tone.

  "It's like this," Qian Zhixin first bowed respectfully, then said sincerely, "My wife is pregnant and wants to eat some sour and sweet fresh vegetables and fruits, but unfortunately, there aren't any delicious ones in this county town. Coincidentally, I saw the waiter bring you two tomatoes just now, and after asking, I found out that they were actually brought by Madam herself as a rare fruit. Forgive me for being abrupt, may I ask if Madam would be willing to sell those two fruits to me?"

  "Transfer?" Wang Qifang put the tomato back on the ceramic plate, pulled out a handkerchief and pressed her mouth corner, smiling shallowly: "How does Gongzi Qian transfer? Hmm?"

  "Mrs., Qian is a businessman, if there's any offense in my words, please forgive me." As soon as Qian heard this, his eyes lit up. Ah, there's hope! He wasn't afraid of the price being high, just that they wouldn't sell it to him. Since they were willing to ask "how to transfer ownership", that meant they were willing to name a price. Thinking of this, he clasped his hands together and bowed: "I don't know if five taels of silver per mu is acceptable?"

  Five taels for one? Two is ten taels, right? After these few days of understanding, Wang Qifang also has a certain understanding of the current currency value. Listening to Zhao's mother, she said that when she was in the Zhao Mansion, her monthly allowance was only twelve taels of silver, and ten taels of silver was already the price of a ordinary little maid. And Feng Dajie also mentioned that nowadays, an ordinary field, one mu of land is only five or six taels of silver, and ten taels of silver can buy two mu of good quality land in the countryside.

  Not bad, this price is still reasonable. Wang Qifang's face was calm as water, but in her heart she was quickly calculating the numbers.

  "Madam, is it because you think it's too little?"

  Qian Zhixin saw Wang Qifang and didn't say a word, his face was also somewhat gloomy, so he asked in a low voice.

  "It's not a matter of price," Wang Qifang heard this and secretly rejoiced, thinking that the price wasn't the highest after all, and there was still room for appreciation. Thinking of this, she said with a hint of hesitation, "If it were an ordinary tomato, five taels per piece would already be an astronomical price. However, as a pregnant woman with poor appetite, this tomato is the fruit of a seedling given by a high-ranking monk, not only can it regulate the intestines and stomach, but I've also heard that it's good for the fetus... Just now, I heard that Master Qian was also seeking it for his wife and child. Logically, I should transfer it to you, but this tomato is not something I have a lot of stock of either. If I were to give it to you..."

  What? The high monk's gift? Qian Zhi wasn't an ignorant fool, he had done business for many years and knew some sales tactics. After hearing Wang Qifang's words, he suspiciously looked at the fruit on the white ceramic plate, trying to find a flaw.

  At first glance, he found that the head of this fruit was indeed bigger than the tomatoes he usually ate. He sniffed his nose again, and hummed, could it be his illusion? How could he smell the fragrance of the fruit from such a distance?!

  "It's a rare and precious thing, Qian shouldn't have asked for it, but his wife has a poor appetite and only wants to eat some sour fruit," Qian Zhi Xin seemed determined to get the tomatoes, he gritted his teeth secretly and said bluntly: "Alright, ten taels per one, I hope the young lady will spare some!"

  Ten taels? Wang Qifang heard this number, her eyebrows jumped, she stole a glance at Qian Zhixin's face, nodded secretly, yes, it should be the highest price already.

  "Alas, Qian Gongzi's daughter is indeed fortunate," Wang Qifang sighed softly, with a hint of envy, "Alright, since that's the case, I'll let you have those two small tokens!"

  "Thank you, young lady!"

  Qian Zhixin took out two heavy silver ingots from his pocket and placed them in front of Wang Qifang a few steps away.

  Wang Qifang didn't beat around the bush either, she gave Xiaoyazi a signal with her eyes, hinting that she should hand over the tomatoes and collect the money at the same time.

  Unfortunately, the one serving beside him had already been dazzled by two silver ingots and didn't notice his lack of spirit.

  "Alas, it seems that having a thoughtful maid is quite important," Wang Qifang shook her head helplessly and pushed the plate in front of her forward. "Qian Gongzi, these two tomatoes have been washed clean, please help yourself!"

  "Thank you, young lady, for your kindness!"

  Qian Zixin seemed to have missed their interaction and bowed his head in gratitude before picking up the porcelain plate and leaving the private room.

  At night, Wang Qifang pinched her nose and drank the medicinal soup personally brewed by Zhao's mother, then changed into a loose sleepwear and went to bed.

  Lying on the warm, clean quilt, she stared with her two eyes, unable to sleep no matter what. Thinking that there was already a small life in her belly, Wang Qifang's hands couldn't help but touch her flat little abdomen.

  "Baby, I'm sorry, I really don't want to do this, but..."

  Wang Qifang thought for a long time and decided to give up the fetus in her belly. It wasn't that she was heartless, but giving birth to the child would mean that her future would be constantly entangled with the Zhao family, and the messy situation in the backyard of the Zhao's house was something Wang Qifang didn't want to get involved in.

  During the day, Zhao's nanny kept an eye on her all the time, she had no chance. At night, perhaps it was time for her to take action.

  At this moment, the candlelight in the room suddenly flickered violently and the temperature around dropped sharply.

  "You, how did you come?"

  Wang Qifang felt someone staring at her and quickly raised her head, only to find the soul of her former self - the real Wang Qifang who had long given up on life!

  "Me? I am you, and you are me, Qie Fang. Why did I come?"

  In the darkness, a white figure flashed with a faint light, step by step approaching Wang Qifang.

  "You're me and I'm you? No way, aren't you already dead?"

  Wang Qifang felt something was off and just wanted to hide in space. Unexpectedly, a white light flashed before her eyes, and the soul of the former Wang Qifang suddenly flew towards Wang Qifang's physical body, then disappeared into her body.

  At this time, Wang Qifang's brain seemed to have been filled with a large number of images, many scenes about her past life and present life appeared in her mind one by one...