Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times - Chapter 81
Jing Xingzhi sat on the big carriage and looked at the buildings. Just looking at the outer walls and the lush green walls, he felt that the yard there was a good place.
“Oh!” A sound sounded, and the carriage stopped outside the gate of a quaint-looking courtyard.
Unexpectedly, before anyone got off the carriage, they heard a dispute in the courtyard.
A middle-aged man said displeased: “My lord, a disciple is coming over today. I have to pick him up. Don’t block the entrance of the courtyard!”
“Steward Tang! It’s obvious that you promised my brother but failed to do it. Why can’t I look for you?” A young male voice said angrily.
Jing Xingzhi raised his eyelids and looked at Wang Zhuang with amusement.
Wang Zhuang’s face darkened and he said, “I’ll go down and take a look.”
From the conversation between the two, it could be heard that Steward Tang agreed to the young brother’s request, but failed to do so. So, this young man came to look for him. It was also because of this that Steward Tang didn’t go to the dock to pick them up in time.
Wang Zhuang went through the matter in his mind and stepped out of the carriage.
There was an old knife hanging on his waist. Although his clothes had changed, his whole person had not changed much since he left, and he could be recognized at a glance.
When Steward Tang saw Wang Zhuang’s figure, he immediately trembled, hurriedly pushed the young man away, and trotted to Wang Zhuang with a smile: “Brother Zhuang, why are you here so early? I was just going to pick you up! Is the young master on the carriage?”
“Let’s settle this matter with you first,” Wang Zhuang pulled him back with one hand. “Tell me, what did this person want to do with you?”
Wang Zhuang spoke with a stern face. Jing Xingzhi secretly opened a corner of the carriage curtain, sitting in the carriage and looking outside.
Steward Tang felt guilty. He looked at Wang Zhuang imploringly and said, “Nothing’s wrong, Brother Zhuang. It’s just that I borrowed some money and haven’t paid it back.” He looked at the young man with his eyes and motioned for him to leave.
In order to make the young man obey, Steward Tang quietly made a five sign with his fingers to appease the young man.
The young man caught a glimpse of Steward Tang’s gesture and thought the steward was also a servant of a wealthy family, and he wanted to follow it.
But thinking of Steward Tang’s evasion in recent days, he changed his mind and thought there was no jade, he might as well get his money back from Steward Tang.
The young man in coarse cloth swallowed his saliva and plucked up the courage to say, “Steward Tang, you borrowed seven hundred taels from my brother to buy a jade, please pay me back immediately. Once you pay me back the money, I will leave.”
Wang Zhuang narrowed his eyes and looked at the young man, who appeared nervous and guilty.
Steward Tang just wanted to get the person away now, and he was willing to pay more for it. He happily took out his wallet and counted seven hundred-tael silver notes from it.
As soon as the banknote was handed over, Wang Zhuang’s hand grabbed Steward Tang’s arm, and at the same time Jing Xingzhi’s voice rang out.
“Brother Zhuang, catch this thief!”
“Yes.” Wang Zhuang responded, and then he saw the mournful face of Steward Tang.
Steward Tang cried and said, “Little brother Zhuang, I, Old Tang, didn’t steal anything! If you don’t believe it, just go to the warehouse account book and see if there is anything missing?!”
“No need, someone will go and look through the place where you live.” Wang Zhuang shook off Steward Tang’s hand, and someone immediately grabbed him and took him into the courtyard.
The carriage driver watched such a play and asked Jing Xingzhi curiously, “Young master, how did you know that he is a domestic thief?”
“Jade has been quite pricey lately.” Jing Xingzhi smiled and got off the carriage.
However, Jing Xingzhi knew in his heart that they were attacked by thieves before he even entered the door. It seemed his trip to Beijing was going to be full of twists and turns.
After entering the house, Jing Xingzhi only chose a small courtyard and did not stay in the main courtyard.
It was a matter of living in the teacher’s courtyard. There was no need to directly occupy the old man’s main courtyard. Keeping the main courtyard empty was also a sign of respect.
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When Jing Xingzhi arrived for the first time, no one came to say hello. Only two bowls of pea yellow came from the next door, and he was asked a few questions about Fang Qichen.
While eating the pea yellow, Jing Xingzhi told Wang Zhuang, “Brother Zhuang, that steward must have taken away a lot of things. Let’s look back not only at the quantity but also at the quality!”
Jade was popular this year. He didn’t know what was popular last year, but things got changed every year, and what was popular this year would not be valuable next year.
Jing Xingzhi thought the safer way was to sell whatever was popular this year and buy it back when it became cheaper next year. ‘Come and go, you could make a huge profit at a high price.’
With a status like that of Steward Tang, it was simply easy to earn money.
When Jing Xingzhi thought of this, the people below found a lot of old things that were not of the same quality and put the evidence and the board in front of Steward Tang. He was so frightened that he explained the matter in detail.
Steward Tang had only started to do resale business a few years ago. At first, he was very careful and only dared to do a small part of the business that could buy things back.
But courage grew stronger as time passed by. There was no news of Fang Qichen’s return, and there were constant rumors that he was seriously ill. Steward Tang gradually relaxed and made money happily.