Chapter 182: Chapter 178: Fated_1

Translator: 549690339

Wu Shi instantly understood what his father meant.

His cousin from his aunt’s side, well, better forget about it.

They didn’t fancy him at first, and it’s unlikely they would now. His parents are worrying over nothing.

Wu Shi felt the lump on his neck. It used to be the size of an egg, but now it was half that size.

That child wasn’t just bragging, she really could cure this illness.

Years of seeking medical treatment hadn’t helped, but surprisingly, a little girl’s medicine had cured him.

A smile appeared on Wu Daozi’s face as he looked around, but he didn’t find what he was looking for.

Oh? Little Yingbao seemed to have forgotten to bring out the medicine. Did she forget?

Wu Shi glanced at the golden ear mushrooms that his father was holding.

It can’t be that those mushrooms were meant for him. Seeing his father was around, did she decide to use them as a gift?

Seeing his son staring at the golden ear mushrooms in his hand, the old master Wu subconsciously wrapped the small bag in his hand and glared at his son. “What are you looking at? This is a gift from the little girl to your dad.”

Wu Shi touched his nose and smiled awkwardly. “I know, I won’t snatch it from you. Why are you so nervous?”

Yingbao and her father followed Wu Rui to the Teeth Row.

The Teeth Row was a department under the county government. All business transactions in the county must be registered there.

Wu Rui took the father and daughter to the office responsible for property registration to inquire about any good locations for sale.

Seeing that they were brought by the servant of the County Magistrate, the clerk was enthusiastic and recommended a shop on the street front to Jiang Sanlang.

In the end, Yingbao picked a shop opposite the county school.

Although it was somewhat distant from the bustling city center, it wasn’t too remote, it was close to home, and the Gao Family Inn was not far away.

Yingbao and her father were very satisfied, so the clerk took them to see the shop.

The shop wasn’t large, it consisted of three wooden rooms facing the street, a yard at the back, and several dilapidated straw houses.

Opposite was the county school, and there was a small river on the side of the school.

“The front three rooms used to sell food and tea to pedestrians. Later, the house owner’s son lost a lot of money in gambling. The house owner had to pawn the house to the Teeth Row to pay the son’s debt.”

The clerk said, “You guys are here at a good time. The house owner just pawned the house to us, and not many people have come to see it. 240 taels of silver is not expensive. There is a pretty big yard at the back.”

Jiang Sanlang frowned. Was this dilapidated house worth 240 taels? His own five-tile-roofed rooms with a big yard were worth no more than 300 taels, including the contract tax.

Yingbao didn’t think it was expensive. In the next decade or two, every square measure of this road section would be worth its weight in gold. 200-plus taels could only buy one shop front. Plus, she had the protection of the County Magistrate’s follower, so the clerk wouldn’t dare to inflate the price.

So she decided to buy it. The title of the house was still registered under her father’s name, Jiang Sanlang.

The shop had to pay contract tax every year and therefore couldn’t be registered under a minor’s name.

Afterwards, they paid an additional mortgage tax, and the shop was completely their own.

After signing the property papers at the government office, Wu Rui went back to report, and Jiang Sanlang took his daughter to Furuifeng Trading Company to buy candies from Zhou Mao.

There were all kinds of goods in the trading company, like fur, cloth, tea, fruit, dry fruit, medicinal herbs, sugar, etc., but they only did wholesale, not retail.

Jiang Sanlang bought 200 catties of candied fruit, spending only eight taels of silver, which was indeed nearly half the price of retail.

The father and daughter then strolled around several streets in the city, purchasing mats, blankets, and daily necessities for their new home.

They also bought some pots, bowls, ladles, buckets, and washbasins, and they even weighed out two catties of rice, two catties of white flour and a bag of coarse salt.

The family stayed in the new house for three days. Not only did they clean the house thoroughly, but they also inspected the surrounding environment.

On the fourth day, they rode the carriage back to their hometown.

The carriage returned to South Slope. Jiang Wu jumped off the carriage and ran to report to his master.

But he soon came back and shared a piece of big news to his sister, “Sis, my master has taken another disciple.”

Yingbao was helping brother and sister-in-law unload the candied fruit, and didn’t pay much attention. “Isn’t it normal for your master to take disciples?” she asked.

“It’s not normal! Not normal at all!” Jiang Wu said mysteriously. “They took in Brother Chuyan as a disciple!”

Chuyan, who was already sixteen years old and of adult household, was surprisingly accepted as a disciple by their masters Zhang and Xu. This was simply unbelievable.

“Chuyan?” Yingbao was surprised.

Zhang Meng and Xu Kun only took in children aged ten or below. They refused anyone older than ten, saying that their muscles and bones were already set, and even if they learned martial arts, they wouldn’t make much progress.

But now they had taken in Chuyan as a disciple. Did this have some deeper meaning?

“What about Sister Chuchu?” Yingbao asked. “Have you seen her come back?”

Jiang Wu said, “Sister Chuchu is also at the martial arts field, she is cooking for the masters.”

“I’ll go and see.” Yingbao ran towards the martial arts field, pulling her brother along.

Ever since Zhang Meng and Xu Kun started accepting disciples, their father Jiang Sanlang had submitted new household registration papers for them to Sun Licheng. It was unknown when the approval would come down, but the Clan Leader had already agreed to let the two outsiders build houses on the wasteland beside the village.

The houses of Zhang Meng and Xu Kun were built next to the martial arts field. They had three thatch huts and a small kitchen, but no fenced yard. It only took the villagers about ten days to finish building.

At this moment, it was afternoon. There were many kids on the martial arts field watching Chuyan practicing horse stances.

Chuyan was dripping with sweat, his clothes were soaked front and back, but his face was determined and aloof, not showing any sign of backing down.

Seeing Chuyan like this, Yingbao suddenly remembered the Chu school official from her previous life.

“Yingbao!” Chuchu spotted Yingbao as soon as she arrived and ran over, pulling Yingbao aside with a joyful face. “You’re back.”

Yingbao looked at the girl in front of her, who was even more radiant and beautiful than last year with her bright eyes and white teeth.

“Sister Chuchu, why haven’t you visited us for so long?” she asked.

Chuchu pulled Yingbao aside and spoke in a low voice, “Bandits came to the village last time and our clan ran away to other places. We only returned this spring. After that, we had to clean up the house, then build mushroom sheds and plant golden ear mushrooms, so, so I haven’t had time to come.”

The truth was, her father didn’t want her to come anymore, saying he was arranging a marriage for her. But she didn’t want to marry at all.

Yingbao nodded and pointed at Chuyan on the martial arts field. “Is he here to apprentice?”

Chuchu glanced in her elder brother’s direction and smiled, “No, my eldest brother brought me here. But Master Zhang and Master Xu insisted on taking him as a disciple when they saw him. They also said that my eldest brother is predestined with them.”

Destined? Yingbao pondered.

Chuchu added, “The two masters also said that my elder brother has a distinguished destiny and must learn martial arts to protect himself.”

Yingbao quietly watched Sister Chuchu as she chattered on and on about what had happened in the last few days.

“My father came to find me and my brother yesterday. Master Zhang said that my brother is now his disciple and he would be responsible for everything. He also promised my father that he would arrange a good marriage for my brother. My father agreed, but he insisted that I go home with him and said he would come to pick me up in a couple of days.”

Chuchu was in a dilemma. “Yingbao, I don’t want to go back and get married. Can you help me think of a solution?”

She had no one else to turn to, and her only hope was pinned on Yingbao.