Linxia

Chapter 96, Drive Away

At lunch in the morning, I met Manager Liu's daughter-in-law, Liu Ding, who was cooking. Well, it was pretty good. She stir-fried some vegetables.

Usually at this time, Huang Di would always joke and complain about others being stingy, but he didn't say anything this morning.

——This was different from when Fang Lincai first came. At that time, Huang Di only said half of the story, but today he said nothing at all. It was obvious that after some things that happened in the morning, he was wary of someone.

"Here, I have some fermented tofu." Fang Lin took it out out of habit to share.

Chai Yiwei and Huang Di stopped at the required amount as usual, but when it was Chai Hongyi's turn, he was not polite at all. The total amount he took out with one large chopstick was more than that of the three of them combined.

"Linzi, thanks. This fermented tofu tastes great." Chai Hongyi said to Linzi while stirring the food in the bowl.

"Brother!" Chai Yiwei pulled him down, feeling embarrassed.

Huang Di was not so tactful, and said as if jokingly, but also as a warning: "Hey, kid, you are so rude!"

He is a man who would occasionally take advantage of others, but he knows his limits and would never take big advantages. For example, after mentioning the five cents of silver that Cheng Shiliang borrowed a few times, he stopped asking for it.

"Lin Zi is taken out for people to eat, isn't it?" Chai Hongyi said so, not knowing whether he didn't hear it or didn't care.

"Yes, it's for people to eat."

Fang Lin looked at Chai Hongyi, smiled, and said nothing more. He was not so petty as to hold a grudge against him. He needed to see more about this person.

……

There was nothing much to say in the afternoon because with the addition of another person, Chai Hongyi gradually became proficient. Although his efficiency was still relatively low, it made Fang Lin and the other two feel a lot more relaxed.

……

In the evening, Fang Lin went out after dinner, strolled along the teahouse route, and came back to copy books.

Huang Di and Chai Yiwei were playing chess to kill time and taking a break, while Chai Hongyi was watching from the side.

Fang Lin sat down and copied books, especially Confucian classics. On the one hand, Confucian classics sold well, and on the other hand, it also helped him to become familiar with them in preparation for possible imperial examinations in the future.

Today, he was copying Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books", and his brows were frowned from time to time.

'I copied and read the originals of the Four Books and Five Classics, and I always had some insights. I could understand many principles of life from them. But my understanding seems to be very different from the official interpretation of the eight-part essay for examinations! '

The Daxia imperial examination system inherited that of the Yuan Dynasty, and the interpretation of the Four Books and Five Classics was based on the Cheng-Zhu annotations. In other words, if you want to pass the exam, you must follow this.

Just take the various interpretations of Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books" as an example. Many of them conflict with Fang Lin's three views. It's not that he can't memorize them for the purpose of taking a test, but if he can't understand them, forcing himself to memorize them will result in a loss of results, which makes him quite distressed.

At this time, Chai Hongyi watched the chess game for a while, came over, saw Fang Lin's handwriting, and praised: "Linzi, your handwriting is really beautiful!"

"It's just average." Fang Lin smiled and said.

"Linzi is being modest, isn't he?" Huang Di, who was playing chess over there, added casually, "The shopkeeper has already said that Linzi's calligraphy will not hold him back when he takes the imperial examinations or the Jinshi examinations. In the future, you may actually be able to pass the imperial examinations!"

"So amazing? Brother Fang, you don't know that I have respected people with knowledge since I was a child..."

'The name has changed?'

Fang Lin glanced at Chai Hongyi and clearly felt that this person's attitude towards him had suddenly become much warmer. He had some guesses in his mind.

After a while, Chai Hongyi wanted to go to the toilet. Because he didn't bring a toilet token, he just said it directly and took his toilet token without waiting for Chai Yiwei to agree.

"Hey, brother..." Chai Yiwei wanted to call out, but failed to stop him. He said aggrievedly: "It's like this at home. I can just cut another one, but how can I find bamboo here?"

After spending a long time with Chai Yiwei, Fang Lin and Huang Di both knew that Chai Yiwei was a bit of a germaphobe. He would rub his clothes several times before washing them, let alone toilet tokens. How could he use them after others had used them?
"This guy is really something. I'll go talk to the shopkeeper." Huang Di stood up and wanted to go out.

"Brother Huang, forget it. Otherwise, my stepmother..." Chai Yiwei held him back.

"Ogi."

Fang Lin also said: "As for Chai Hongyi, it's OK for either of us to be fired, but not for Yiwei. Don't make it too difficult for him."

Fang Lin explained it so clearly, what else could Huang Di do? He sighed helplessly, sat down, and ultimately did not go.

……

The next morning, Fang Lin got up early as usual and found Chai Hongyi bending over and picking up two copper coins on the ground. He thought that the other party had dropped money and didn't pay much attention to it.

He casually said hello, went out, and took a stroll with Manager Liu.

Come back and have breakfast.

Fang Lin took out the fermented tofu as usual.

This morning, it was Chai Hongyi's turn. This guy unexpectedly became more polite, just like Huang Di and Chai Yiwei, and only took a small bit.

Fang Lin was stunned for a moment, and looked at Chai Hongyi deeply: "This person... is interesting!" He had a good idea of ​​this person. He took advantage of him yesterday because he was the last one to come and was the easiest to offend, so he took advantage of him unscrupulously. And last night, when he saw him copying books, Huang Di mentioned the evaluation of Manager Liu and said that he might be able to pass the imperial examination, which frightened this person.

After seeing Fang Lin's potential, Chai Hongyi's attitude suddenly changed and he became enthusiastic. He did not take advantage of him this morning. Or rather, he did not take advantage of him, but wanted to build a good relationship and have bigger ambitions.

"So, this person is not ignorant of the ways of the world, but he wants to see whether you are worthy of being flattered, or even have the potential to be flattered?" Fang Lin thought this person was quite interesting.

"Okay, I've made some progress this morning."

As Huang Di was talking, he suddenly thought of Chai Hongyi's changes, and realized something. He smiled and said, "Your changes are based on your attitude towards people?"

"Isn't it? Even if you go to a restaurant, if the waiter sees whether you are wearing good clothes or patched clothes, how can he treat you the same?" Chai Hongyi thought it was natural.

Beside him, Chai Yiwei said nothing, but lowered his head silently, as if he felt helpless for having such a brother.

……

At noon, Huang Di suddenly said that his clothes had a leak and two copper coins fell out, but he couldn't find them, so he asked Fang Lin and others if they saw them.

Fang Lin thought of what happened this morning, glanced at Chai Hongyi, and said nothing.

"I thought, it's in the store, where could it have fallen? It should be in the house. Linzi, Yiwei, Hongyi, did you see it?" Huang Di had dropped it before, but he could always find it. But this time he couldn't find it.

Chai Hongyi still remained silent.

Fang Lin spoke up: "Hongyi, I saw the two copper coins you picked up this morning..."

A trace of panic flashed across Chai Hongyi's face, but he still said stubbornly: "Brother Fang, that's mine. I dropped it myself, so I picked it up myself..."

"There is a peanut-sized piece of copper rust on the back of my copper coin. Hongyi, take it out and see if you have made a mistake." Huang Di suddenly said.

"Copper coins are easy to rust, and many are the same..." Chai Hongyi was still being stubborn.

"Okay." Huang Di didn't argue anymore and went straight to find the shopkeeper.

At this moment, Chai Hongyi was still trying to keep a straight face, but he was extremely nervous in his heart. He resented Fang Lin for talking too much, and also resented Huang Di for making a fuss just for two copper coins... Finally, he was also thinking about how to argue when he got in front of Manager Liu.

After a while, Manager Liu called everyone over and said to Chai Hongyi in public: "If you pick up something and don't return it, it's no different from stealing. Chai Hongyi, please leave. My shop is small and I can't keep a big Buddha like you."

As he said this, he put down a penny of silver as payment for the two days' wages to pay Chai Hongyi.

"Shopkeeper, I didn't..."

"Still quibbling?"

Shopkeeper Liu shouted and turned his head away: "Go ahead!"

He is not solving a case, so he just needs to know what evidence he needs.

"No, boss, it's my fault. I picked it up. Give me another chance..." Hearing the firm attitude of boss Liu, Chai Hongyi suddenly panicked.

He couldn't even imagine that he would be sent back with a reputation of being a thief because of this. His mother... well, his mother wouldn't say anything, but how would his father react? A beating would definitely be inevitable!

Shopkeeper Liu waved his hand and said, "Third time is better than last time. Don't make me say it a fourth time. If I really ask you to leave, it will be embarrassing for both of us."

What else could Chai Hongyi do at this point? He could only take the money, turn around, and pack his things.

After Chai Hongyi entered, Fang Lin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly glanced at Huang Di and said, "Huang Di really listened to what I said last night!"

He really couldn't believe that there was such a coincidence in the world. Today, Huang Di just happened to lose two copper coins, and there just happened to be a mark on them.

Of course, Chai Hongyi could not blame Huang Di. Most of the traps in the world were set because the people being targeted had flaws in themselves, such as Man Gensheng and Chai Hongyi.

"Are you satisfied now?" Shopkeeper Liu also glanced at Huang Di.

"Brother Huang, thank you." Chai Yiwei suddenly thanked Huang Di.

"No, why do you all say that? I...I~didn't!" Huang Di still refused to admit it.

Fang Lin smiled and said to Chai Yiwei: "Go help your brother!"

"You have to go." Shopkeeper Liu also reacted and nodded to Chai Yiwei: "I'll give you a day off. Send your brother back and explain this matter clearly."

After all, Chai Hongyi is Chai Yiwei's brother. Even if he is his stepmother's brother, there is no reason for Chai Yiwei to stay behind to work and not see him off. Otherwise, he would be in the wrong if others talk about it later.

Furthermore, if you don't fight for the right to speak, others will take it. If Chai Yiwei follows, it can also prevent Chai Hongyi from going back and talking nonsense, putting the blame on Manager Liu or even Chai Yiwei.

……

(End of this chapter)