ver a hundred more miles.This time, they arrived at a prefecture city called Lingquan Prefecture.From afar, the walled city was much more imposing than the county town.But likewise, the carriages bloc...They intended to do well, but at the intersection, they were stopped.
No matter how hard they tried, even with frostbite and chapped lips, those veterans who were missing limbs refused to let them in.
They just shouted a few words, and countless people came over carrying sticks and axes.
When Jiaren and Jiayin arrived from Xin Cun, the Liu family and Wang family huddled together like frightened chickens, their faces whiter than snow.
It's so satisfying to see!
Behind every naughty child, there's a doting parent!
While Wang Sheng and Liu Kui are undoubtedly hateful, their parents and elders who raised them like this are definitely not good people either!
Instead of rushing to "reason" with the two families, Jia Ren turned his gaze toward the road behind him. Their carriage had just arrived.
Shuiling jumped out of the car and said with a smile, "Miss, it's too cold outside, why don't you just stay in the car"
Before Jia Yin could refuse, Jia Ren had already spoken up, “Fu Niuer, go upstairs. And Brother Lu and Brother Jia should also move out of the way."
"In the territory of Suijin Beach, there's no need to worry about our family being at a disadvantage."
Lu Zonghe and Jia Xu didn't insist either. They personally helped Jiayin onto the carriage and then followed after it.
The carriage had a brazier burning, making it warm and cozy.
Even on the small table, there was hot tea and snacks like melon seeds and peanuts.
Jia Yin thought it was funny, Shui Ling really understood the essential routines for "eating melons"!
Lu Cong and Jia Xu also laughed, each grabbing a handful of melon seeds and then leaning to the window.
Then, Jiaren brought his two younger brothers forward and gestured for the crowd from Ercun to disperse.
The Liu family and the Wang family let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed.
Liu Kui's father, a businessman for many years, lowered his posture and said with a flattering face: "The commoner pays his respects to Young Master Li Da, Young Master Liu, and Young Master Seven. Today's visit is truly bold, I hope you will forgive me."
Wang Sheng's father was Wang Yuanzhong, a low-ranking clerk who made a living at the yamen. He considered himself to have some face, but he just bowed his hands without speaking.
Jiarren was not in the mood to be entangled with them any longer. With a wave of his hand, he opened the door and said plainly: "Our Li family has no dealings with your two families, so there's no need for formalities. Come on, what brings you here today"
Liu Zhuangui and Wang Yuanzhong glanced at each other, both looking displeased.
A mouth without hair can't get things done properly.
This Li Jia boy doesn't know any manners at all. How could he block someone in the street and speak directly like that
Could it be that the Li family can't even afford a cup of tea!
But the situation was beyond their control. They couldn't force their way into Li's house if others wouldn't let them through.
Thinking of the shop at home, Liu Zhuanggui coughed and said with a stiff face: "That...Young Master Li, at Mr. Mo Mei's poetry meeting the day before yesterday, my son was ignorant and disrespectful. I hope Young Master will be magnanimous and not hold it against him."
"You are both around the same age, so Young Master should understand what it means to be 'young and vigorous'. Everyone does some foolish things when they're young. "
For example, betting with a storefront that doesn't belong to you...
He then pulled Liu Kui forward and roared, "Don't you kneel down and apologize to Young Master Li!"
"Look at you, spending your days idle and doing nothing worthwhile. If you had even half the composure of young Master Li, I wouldn't have to worry about you so much!"
Liu Kui's face was flushed, he didn't know whether it was from anger or shame, but he still knelt down.
Hanging its head, looking very honest.
Wang Yuanzhong hesitated for a moment, then pushed Wang Sheng out as well. He kicked Wang Sheng's bent knee and chided him: "Fool! Apologize to Young Master Li immediately and say that you will never joke like this again!"
"As a student who relies on your family's money for everything, the general store, our only source of income and rightfully mine, was used as gambling chips by you! You have the audacity to act so recklessly!"
“If word gets out, how will people talk about you A sensible person would say you've gone too far with your jokes. But if it reaches the ears of someone foolish, they might even think that the Li family is using their power to bully us and steal our shop!”
As expected of someone who worked as a clerk in the government office, you can pinpoint the key points right away.
After Wang Yuanzhong said these words, Wang Sheng and Liu Kui became ignorant children, while the Li family became bullies!
Jiarren sneered, pulled his cloak tighter, and retorted, "Mr. Wang and Mr. Liu may be eloquent, but they can't change the fact that you want to shirk your debts."
That day at the poetry meeting, the last competition was initiated by Wang Sheng and Liu Kui, who also strongly advocated for adding the two shops as stakes.
"We were forced to fight, and we even brought our family's orchids as decorations. At the time, there were hundreds of guests, including Mr. Mo Mei, who witnessed it all. We even made a written agreement, black and white, that couldn't be denied!"
Even so, Wang Sheng and Liu Kui still took advantage of loopholes in the documents, forcing our family servants to compete with them. They were determined to win against Xianke Lai, being utterly arrogant.
As a result, they were utterly useless and couldn't even compare to our own servants. They lost the competition.
"No matter the outcome, they must pay up. It's only right that they hand over their stakes to us!"
"Now that you're here, you say a child is being unreasonable and want to sweep everything under the rug. Isn't that too shameless"
"If we had lost the game that day, you guys would probably be sitting in the Xiankelai hall now, waiting to take charge!"
Wang Yuanzhong and Liu Zhuangui both had grim faces, secretly gnashing their teeth in hatred.
If their son won the competition, they certainly wouldn't let go of this treasure trove, Xianke Lai.
But now their family has lost, of course they don't want to hand over the shop no matter what!
Mr. Liu narrowed his eyes, but still wore a smile and said to Young Master Li in a humble tone: "Young Master Li, it's true that our child was wrong that day, but you are all classmates. Just have a little fun..."
Jia Ren waved his hand, his eyes full of contempt.
"Manager Liu, Liu Kui already has children. I haven't heard of someone over twenty years old, being a husband and father, still being called a child."
"When does one become an adult, when they are half-buried or completely in a coffin"
This remark was truly cutting, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
An old soldier with a bushy mustache joined the fun, "Well, that means I'm also 480 months old!"
His old brother also wailed, "Then I'm a child of five hundred months, who will take care of me!"
Everyone laughed even harder, while the people from the Wang family and Liu family blushed a deep red that seemed to have hints of black!
Jiarren ignored them and continued, “Also, from now on, don’t say that I and Liu Kuai Wang Sheng are classmates.”
They initially schemed against me, wanting to ruin my imperial examination path. After being exposed, Luo'an Academy has expelled them and will never accept them again.
Therefore, Liu Kui and Wang Sheng, not only were they not classmates with me, but also enemies!
"From now on, you two families should stop using the term 'classmates' to express affection. Even if I agreed, all the teachers and students of Luoyang Academy wouldn't agree!"
Wang Zhongyuan still had some pride, and couldn't help but retort, "Young Master Li, no matter how you say it, both shops belong to me and Liu Zhuangguan. What Wang Sheng and Liu Kui said doesn't count at all."
"Your bet is invalid, we would never give up our shop for a joke the children made!"ky was already getting very bright, and most of the people in the camp had woken up.Only the half-sized children were still asleep, and the little ones were dreaming with their fingers in their mouths...