Linxia

Chapter 58, Gratitude
"I have money." Fang Lin tore the corner of his clothes and took out five coins of silver: "I thought that in case of emergency, I sewed some money here."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Huang Di, then at the scholar, and said sincerely: "Although the price of a piece of clothing is not cheap for me, everyone has bad luck when they are away from home. If you help others, you will also help yourself. But I only brought this much money. If the clothes I bought are not good, please don't blame me!"

"What are you talking about?"

In this most embarrassing moment, with so many people in contrast, someone came to help. This was so rare that the scholar's voice was a little choked with tears, and he said gratefully: "Thank you, brother, thank you very much, I can't thank you enough!"

Usually, "great favor" refers to the favor of saving a life or changing one's destiny. This kind of thing obviously cannot be called that, but the fact that one can say "great favor" without saying thank you shows the degree of gratitude.

After Fang Lin stood up, the people stopped mocking him, and some even started to cheer for Fang Lin - people, even if they cannot or don't want to be good people, still hope to be surrounded by good people, so that when they encounter difficulties, there will be good people to help them.

Therefore, even though some people thought Fang Lin was stupid for spending money to buy clothes for a stranger, they still followed the crowd and praised him.

"This brother is a kind-hearted person!"

"Yes, he is even smarter and more careful. He even sewed some silver scraps on his body in case of an emergency."

"That's a good idea. I'll learn from you tomorrow."

……

Facing everyone's praise, Fang Lin remained calm. He said to the scholar, "Wait a moment," and went out with Cheng Shiliang and Huang Di. With their advice, he chose a reputable pawnshop and bought a set of clean old cloth clothes.

"I heard that you speak very logically, are you a scholar?" Fang Lin turned over and asked while the other person was putting on his clothes.

"Yes, I forgot to introduce myself to my benefactor. My surname is Dong, my name is Zugao, and I am a scholar."

Dong Zugao explained what happened today while putting on his clothes: "I have been to Wengtang twice before, and nothing happened the first two times. I was careless. I didn't take precautions when I was wearing new clothes today. Who would have thought that this time... Alas!"

Cheng Shiliang and Huang Di were surprised to hear that this man was a scholar, but they were relieved soon.

As for a scholar, it is rare, but it is also not rare. How can this be explained?

If he were in the countryside, he would be considered very famous. After all, the scholar was a disciple of the county magistrate. When the village had problems, they would often ask the scholar for help, such as helping villagers to sue, write complaints, etc.

It is relatively common in the provincial capital, especially for those pure scholars who only read and write and do not think about other things. If they cannot pass the imperial examinations step by step, they can only enjoy the subsidies allocated by the court to make ends meet in this life.

Of course, there were also some smart ones who, relying on their social status as scholars, established good relationships with clerks in yamen. When someone encountered problems, they would ask them to do things for them and charge a commission.

As for this Dong Zugao who could come to Wengtang to take a bath and wore new clothes without any bad intentions, I think he was most likely the former.

"Brother, you are too polite. It's just a small matter and not worth mentioning. You don't have to call me benefactor." Fang Lin said his name and asked the other party to call him directly.

Seeing Fang Lin's determination, Dong Zugao did not insist any more. However, he did ask where Fang Lin lived and insisted on repaying the money for the clothes.

Fang Lin did not hide it and said that he was busy in the store, so he took his leave.

What happened today was just a small investment that he made casually. He did have the benefit of the doubt, but he also knew that being too impatient would give people a bad impression.

Furthermore, we don’t know this person’s character. We can get a glimpse of him by seeing whether he pays back the money in the future, and then decide on our subsequent attitude.

It is naturally good to be able to interact with others, as it can be considered a network of contacts; if the other party does not go, then you have chosen the wrong person, and if you lose, then you lose. Investments have losses and gains, and a piece of clothing is still within your budget.

"Brother Fang, you are a gentleman!"

Dong Zugao saw Fang Lin leave calmly after helping him, without any fuss or nagging, nor did he emphasize the favor like some people did, as if they were afraid of forgetting the favor. He was so casual, which was a gentleman's friendship. Dong Zugao could not help but admire him and felt even more grateful. Of course, he knew his own business, and now he was just a poor scholar who failed the exam, and there was nothing worth clinging to, but because of this, this help was even more precious.

"Xuan Mo Zhai, I'll remember that." Dong Zugao made up his mind. It was getting late today, so he would go to the house early tomorrow morning to express his gratitude and return the money.

……

After returning to Xuan Mo Zhai, Cheng Shiliang and Huang Di talked about the incident in Weng Hall. Not only did they mention Dong Zugao's jokes, but they also emphasized that Fang Lin was extremely righteous and acted out of justice.

There is no jealousy involved.

Firstly, Dong Zugao was just an ordinary scholar, so even if Fang Lin helped him, it was not worthy of envy; secondly, their impression of Fang Lin became better and better, including Huang Di - even in Wengtang, Fang Lin did not listen to his advice.

After all, Fang Lin could lend a helping hand to a stranger, let alone those of them who had some friendship with him? Understand the applause!

Furthermore, Fang Lin usually does not fight or compete in the bookstore, and is humble and low-key, which has earned him an excellent impression.

Cheng Shiliang and Huang Di both had some talent for storytelling, and they told the story vividly. When they talked about how Dong Zugao was so angry that he only wore a gauze hat, boots and a ribbon to question the people, Liu the shopkeeper and Chai Yiwei laughed out loud; when they talked about how everyone laughed at him and only Fang Lin came forward to help, they sighed again.

"Brother Fang is a good man." Chai Yiwei said.

"To help others is to help yourself. That's a good saying!"

After hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu remembered that Fang Lin had saved him from a wild dog. He became more and more satisfied with Fang Lin. If Fang Lin had not had a daughter, he would have wanted to become his in-law.

But then he thought, his family didn't have it, but his relatives did, so he asked, "Fang Lin, are you married?"

“No, but…” Fang Lin did not hide anything and told the story of Tian Xuan.

"What a pity! What a pity!" Shopkeeper Liu sighed twice.

……

In the evening, it was finally not Manager Liu's daughter-in-law Liu Ding who cooked, but Liu Min and Old Lady Liu came.

As for the mentality of the four waiters, it is true that when Old Lady Liu comes, the sky will be clear, well, no, the food will get better.

People need to be compared. Compared to Liu Ding who is reluctant to cook vegetables and radishes, old lady Liu can at least cook tofu, vermicelli and other dishes. The portions are smaller, but acceptable.

For dinner, there was rice soup, a small dish of fried bean sprouts, and a leek box for each person. I was quite satisfied with the quality of the food, but I didn't feel full.

Huang Di suggested going to Madam Qiu's place to get some meat.

Cheng Shiliang was a gambler by nature, and he agreed without hesitation; Chai Yiwei didn't refuse to go either, after all, it only cost one, two, three, or four cents, and it was worth it in exchange for eating meat.

Fang Lin naturally would not refuse, but he took a closer look at Huang Di. This guy had had free time with Cheng Shiliang in the afternoon, and went to Wengtang to take a bath, so he was clean. This guy probably wanted to see Madam Qiu more.

The four of them said something to Manager Liu and went out.

……

(End of this chapter)