Chapter Seventy-Five Straightforward

  I don't understand.....

  "Daughter, I've made a fool of you." Chen Shi Ba's face was somewhat downcast as she bowed her head in greeting.

  "I didn't laugh," said Jingniang, "You talked too much, I don't understand."

  Chen Shi Ba Niang raised her head and smiled bitterly.

  "Cheng Niangzi, actually, I don't understand either." she said.

  Chen Dan Niang and her maid stared in surprise, while Cheng Jiao Niang might have been surprised or not, but either way, she remained expressionless.

  "Those words, I memorized them when my grandfather, father and husband said them, but it's not because they said so that I think they're good. Although I don't understand, I really do feel that way." Chen Shi-ba Niang said to Cheng Jiao Niang.

  This statement is also incorrect, everyone says it's good, can't it be bad? It's strange that you think it's not good.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was at a loss for words and became even more restrained in her demeanor.

  Maybe she shouldn't have come so hastily, it would be better if she had prepared for a few more days.

  "My words aren't very good either," said Cheng Jiaoniang, shaking her head.

  "No, no, Miss Cheng, you're being too modest." Chen Shi Ba's wife hastily said.

  "I'm not being modest," said Cheng Jiaoniang as she looked at her.

  A moment of silence in the room.

  "Eighteen girl, what are you going to say?" Chen Dan Niang couldn't help but ask, looking at her in puzzlement. "Are you going to learn from Mrs. Cheng?"

  Chen Shi Ba Niang had a complex and somewhat embarrassed expression.

  "Actually, my handwriting is not good at all." She sighed softly and said, "I studied the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing, but I still can't grasp the key points that you taught, sir. I don't understand the spirit of their characters either. In fact, I don't understand anything."

  She said this and looked at Cheng Jiaoniang.

  "The words of praise that I've memorized and recited, didn't come from the heart, it seems they're still not enough, and have made a fool of you, milady." She said, bowing her head in courtesy.

  "No." said Jingniang.

  I didn't understand it at all, so I naturally didn't find it funny either.

  The maid on the side supplemented Qiaoniang's words in her heart.

  "Hey, sister." Chen Dan Niang couldn't help but grab Chen Shi Ba Niang's sleeve, staring at her with round and bright eyes. "What are you talking about? You think Cheng Jie's handwriting is good, yours is bad, and you want to learn from her? What's wrong with that? Why say so much?"

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was getting a bit anxious from being called.

  "No, it's not that I think her handwriting is good, it's just that others, everyone thinks her handwriting is good, so I want to learn from her." She said, biting her lower lip. Looking at Cheng Jiaoniang again, she bowed her head in respect. "Chen Su, forgive me for being shallow."

  Chen Shi Ba Niang, named Su.

  Jiang Yao looked at her and curved the corner of her mouth.

  "What's this supposed to be?" she said, "Isn't it just right like that?"

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was taken aback and didn't understand whether she was being serious or sarcastic. As she pondered, Chen Dan Niang had already nodded repeatedly.

  "Exactly! Everyone says it's no good, what's the point of learning it?" She said, shaking her sister's sleeve.

  Is it like this?

  It seems so, indeed it is like this, but can we say it this way?

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was somewhat stunned.

  "...Sister Cheng, I went out with my mother a few days ago and saw a sister from the Wang family who had two beautiful braids. My wet nurse can't do them, so I told her to ask someone else...". Chen Dan Niang was already chattering away, pointing at her own head, "Look, look, it's like this, isn't it pretty?"

  "It doesn't look good," said Cheng Jiaoniang.

  "Cheng jie! What's wrong with your appearance?"

  The room was filled with the bright and cheerful laughter of children, just like a crowded and lively atmosphere.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang looked at the serious conversation between the big and small ones in front of her, and suddenly smiled after a moment of stunned silence.

  "Miss Cheng." She said again, with a slightly different tone from before, more relaxed, and bowed to Cheng Jiaoniang. "Chen Su doesn't understand books, but likes them. Although she doesn't know the goodness of words, she knows her handwriting is not good, so I don't know if Miss can point out my mistakes and help me practice writing? Chen Su wants to make herself into someone she likes, someone she admires."

  Jiang Nang and Chen Dan Nang stopped talking.

  "My words aren't good," she said.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang lowered her head and suddenly felt disappointed, so she refused again.

  "I'm also practicing," said Jingniang. "If you like, you can learn with me."

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was overjoyed.

  "Thank you, miss," she said with a curtsy.

  After bidding farewell and leaving the Zhou's house, Chen Shi Ba Niang sat in the car with an excited look on her face that she couldn't hide.

  "It's really exhausting talking to this woman." She couldn't help but sigh and patted her chest.

  Chen Dan Niang blinked at her.

  "What's wrong, sister? You're speaking with such effort, it's just learning characters, you say so much but I don't understand what you're saying at all." She hummed and said.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang was in a great mood and pinched her nose with one hand.

  "You don't understand anything." she said.

  Chen Dan Niang dodged.

  "Eighteen girl, you should learn characters with Mrs. Cheng now, I will also come..." She hurriedly said again.

  Chen Shi Ba Niang thought of something and quickly pulled her sister's arm.

  "Dan Niang, you must remember what I said, don't let this matter be spoken out." she said.

  Before leaving, Chen Shiba Niang had tactfully asked Cheng Jiaoniang if she wanted to reveal that the five characters at Moshan Temple were written by her.

  Jiang Yao shook her head and refused.

  "Why doesn't Sister Cheng let us talk?" Chen Dan Niang was very puzzled.

  "Perhaps she thought it wasn't good," Chen Shiba said, "As the news of her treating illnesses has already been circulating wildly in the capital, she just took the opportunity to cover it up and naturally didn't want this matter to spread again at this time."

  "Why is it not good?" Chen Dan Niang asked even more puzzled.

  "Because wealth shouldn't be revealed," said Chen Shi Ba Niang, "She is originally weak and young, at this time her reputation is too great, if someone with ill intentions were to use it as material, it wouldn't be good for her."

  Chen Dan Niang blinked her eyes and looked at her, still with a bewildered expression.

  A five- or six-year-old child, how could she be expected to understand this, thought Chen Shi-ba Niang with a wry smile.

  "In short, you remember, Mrs. Cheng doesn't like to be known. Because she thinks..." She thought of a reason that children would easily understand. Then she said, "The word 'self' is not written well enough."

  Chen Dan Niang nodded vigorously, her eyes wide with realization.

  "It's not written well, if people find out, it'll be very embarrassing." Chen Shiba Nang smiled and said, "Mama Cheng is waiting for the future when it's written better to say it. You remember now, don't say it yet. If you do, Mama Cheng will be unhappy and won't play with you anymore."

  This was what Chen Dan Niang feared most, and she immediately widened her eyes and nodded repeatedly.

  Seeing off Chen family sisters, the maid looked at Cheng Jiaoniang with sparkling eyes.

  "Girl," she cried, leaning forward.

  Jiang Yao looked at the book without lifting her head and just hummed in response.

  "Miss, I didn't know your handwriting was so good!" The maid said with a smile.

  Although Chen Shiba said she didn't understand, what she said was indeed a true description of others about Cheng Jiaoniang's words.

  "Just words, okay. What else? Not okay, what else?" asked Cheng Jiaoniang.

  That's also true...

  The maid was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head busily.

  "It's not, it's not, if it's good then it's good, and it's not about how either." she said.

  Jiang Nang did not say yes or no and remained silent.

  "Daughter." The maid said again, smiling with curved eyes, "It wasn't until now that I understood why Miss Banxiao was so reluctant to leave when she left."

  Jiang Nang raised her head and looked at her.

  "Why?" she asked.

  The maid couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Miss, Half Cabbage Girl has learned the art of fine dining with you. I'm following you, but I don't know what to learn next." She covered her mouth and smiled, "Because there's too much to learn."

  Jiang Nang raised her head and looked at her, curving the corners of her mouth.

  "Then learn, the way of non-action," she said.

  The young woman covered her mouth and smiled, smiling and smiling, but suddenly stopped smiling.

  The Way of Non-Action, isn't that the way of Laozi? Could it be that you, maiden, have truly encountered an immortal and received enlightenment from Laozi himself?

  "Is it incurable?"

  In the Immortal's Residence, a man in casual attire put down his bowl and chopsticks, slightly surprised.

  "Yes, it's true that he's ill," said Dou Qi, "and the doctor from Ren Hua Tang has confirmed it. It seems that it wasn't an encounter with a supernatural being after all."

  The man smiled disdainfully.

  "Immortals? These days, immortals have a hard time, everything is relied on them, thinking of profiting from their fame." He said, while dipping the rabbit meat in front of him into the sauce and taking a bite.

  The official courtesan sitting beside him timely used a handkerchief to wipe away a bit of juice from the corner of his mouth.

  "It seems that the Zhou family's move wasn't a panacea either." He said, taking over another official courtesan who brought wine, drank a mouthful, with a few words of praise, "The wine of Huixian Building is indeed very good."

  "Yes, yes, Grandpa, since we got this wine, our business has been even better." Dou Qi hurriedly smiled and said.

  "Has anyone from the Zhou family come over?" the man asked.

  "No one has come since that day," said Dou Qi, also feeling a bit strange in his heart. Could it be true what the woman had said, that she didn't care at all?

  So the Zhou family didn't mind either?

  At that time, they didn't care, but what about after the gods' residence became more and more prosperous?

  It's rare in this world for people not to be tempted by money, especially when it's money that they should have been able to earn themselves.

  It's impossible. The one who can suppress their thoughts and remain still is naturally a more formidable person. As his mind turned, the smile on Du Qi's face became even more flattering.

  "With Grandfather around, the Zhou family isn't blind after all," he said.

  "It's good that I'm not blind." The man burst out laughing.

  If Zhou Jia really came to provoke trouble with red eyes, although he had his own way to cure the disease of red eyes, after all, it would still be troublesome, and as an official, he would have to use some connections, which would inevitably lead to a lot of hassle.

  Moreover, this week's family secret recipe seems mediocre, spending thoughts and money, don't know if it's worth it or not.

  Zhou's family understood the situation and it also saved him a lot of trouble.

  "I heard your family's old store has been sold?" he asked with a careless tone.

  "Yes, grandfather, it's been sold..." Duan Qi said excitedly. This old shop, which could only be bought for 4,000 to 5,000 yuan by regular customers, had actually encountered a few outsiders who didn't understand anything, and he had made a huge profit from them.

  A flush rose to his face, and at once his heart skipped a beat. Looking at the man in front of him who was eating and drinking under the guise of official attire, the smile on his face seemed slightly strained, as if someone was sucking his blood.

  "Grandpa, I made a lot this month, so I had them send your dividend over early." said Du Qi.

  The man hummed in satisfaction, picked up a piece of meat and swished it around, then swallowed it in one gulp.

  I suggest everyone update this book once every ten days, it will probably feel a bit better.