Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 650 - 648

Chapter 650: 648

"These two baskets of rotten apples are worth a tael of silver, my goodness, isn’t this robbery?" The little boy’s mother was frightened by the demand for compensation of six taels of silver.

Although her family’s life was not too bad, losing six taels of silver at once would hurt more than if the old woman had broken her bones; it would be her own financial ruin!

"The doctor said that the medical expenses alone would cost over five taels of silver. Right now, at the end of the year, every household needs to buy some apples for ancestral worship and to entertain guests. These well-preserved apples, each one large and red, can at least be sold for ten to eight coins a pound. The two baskets of apples combined must weigh a hundred or dozens of pounds, so wouldn’t they be worth thousands or hundreds of coins? You’re making a profit being asked to pay just six taels of silver! You want to bet on what if we report this to the authorities, you might have to pay several hundred more coins!" Zhu Yan spoke up.

"Oh my god! I can’t survive this! You rotten boy, why don’t you watch where you’re going, running around everywhere! Now you’ve bumped into someone! Six taels of silver, even if I sell you, I don’t have six taels to compensate!" When the boy’s mother heard this, she was so angry that she couldn’t help but to spank him.

The boy burst into tears instantly: "Dad, Mom hit me! Wah...I’m going to find Dad! Dad! Mom hit me! Hurry up and hit her ..."

"Oh dear, my little treasure, don’t cry, Mom was wrong. I just couldn’t control myself for a moment, six taels of silver, my goodness! Your dad will kill us if he finds out!" The woman nervously tried to soothe the boy when she saw his response.

The bystanders shook their heads when they heard this. This child really needed discipline! And this woman’s family was not normal either! Who teaches their child like that?

However, the boy didn’t listen. He struggled to free himself from the woman’s grip and ran crying towards their house: "Dad, Mom hit me! Dad,... "

The woman hurried to chase him: "Son, don’t run! Wait for Mom! Don’t tell your Dad...Son ...."

Zhu Yan reached out and grabbed her: "Are you trying to run away? Pay the six taels of silver first!"

Zhu Yan didn’t lack six taels of silver, but she was determined to teach this woman and child a lesson!

Seeing she couldn’t escape, the woman clenched her teeth in frustration. She knew her son’s misbehavior, so she beat him on purpose and then tried to escape amidst his cries, but the escape was unsuccessful after all!

What did this girl eat to grow so strong? Herself weighs no less than 150 pounds, and even her husband couldn’t pull her, yet this girl simply held onto her wrist, and she couldn’t move! What a brute force!

With her escape plan failing, she turned around and forced a smile: "Miss, I didn’t bring that much silver on me, and my son ran away. I’m worried he’ll cause more trouble. Let go of my hand first. I’ll catch up with him, go back home to get the silver, and bring it here then."

Go home to get the silver and then bring it here? Did she think Zhu Yan was a fool? Zhu Yan shook her head: "Since you didn’t bring the silver on you, I’ll accompany you back home to get it."

The boy’s mother: ....

This is totally my doom! She was just trying to trick them, who would actually go get the silver!

Seeing that the woman didn’t move for a long time, Zhu Yan chuckled coldly: "What’s the matter? Aren’t you worried that your son will get into more trouble? Hurry up and follow! Or is it you intended not to pay the silver!"

The woman had no choice but to go towards home with tears streaming down her face!

If she had known that her son was caught by others, she wouldn’t have come out. They would always let the child go if no parents showed up anyway. She thought she could grab some silver coins through this opportunity, but ended up losing out! This was like biting off more than she could chew!

Zhu Yan followed the woman to get the silver.

From the bits and pieces of what the woman and boy said, it seemed that this woman’s family was probably not made up of good people. Jingrui was afraid that Zhu Yan would suffer, so he followed without hesitation.

...

Xiao’er and Jinghao had been waiting at the colored glaze shop for quite some time, but they hadn’t seen Jingrui come back.

Seeing that it was about to snow, Jinghao expressed his worry: "Older brother can’t really be buying one of each dish I mentioned, right?"

Xiao’er walked to the window and glanced out onto the street, but he still didn’t see Jingrui. He couldn’t help but worry: "Jinghao, I’ll go look for older brother. You wait here for him."

Jinghao stood up: "Let’s go together. We’ll leave a message for the shopkeeper that if older brother comes back, he should wait for us here."

Xiao’er nodded in agreement.

The two of them started walking towards the snack street near the Juxian Academy. When they passed by the clinic, they saw Jingrui and Zhu Yan walking out.

Xiao’er and Jinghao hurried up to them.

"Older brother, what happened? Why did you both come out of the clinic?"

Jingrui briefly explained, and concluded: "Miss Zhu is very smart. With a few words, she made that woman obediently hand over the silver."

Zhu Yan blushed at his words: "Young Master Shen, your praise is too much. That woman was just someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. But those children do need some lessons. Otherwise, they might hurt themselves and others. The streets are busy, and it’s very easy for accidents to happen."

Xiao’er and Jinghao exchanged glances, then nodded.

"Parents’ failure to teach is the fault of the father. Indeed, those parents and children need to learn a lesson!" Xiao’er agreed.

"How’s the old woman now?" Jinghao asked.

"She’s already been treated. Her son and daughter-in-law rushed over to take her home." Jingrui answered.

"That’s good." Xiao’er nodded, then looked at Zhu Yan: "Miss Zhu, it’s better to meet by chance than to invite. It’s lunch time now, shall we all have a meal together?"

Remembering the information Zhao Yong had found, Xiao’er was interested in testing it out.

"Yes, you’ve been carrying apples and an old lady around. You must be hungry! Let’s have a meal together! The Four Seasons Restaurant is just ahead, and their food is quite good." Jingrui also encouraged.

Xiao’er and Jinghao exchanged a glance again, there was something unusual about big brother.

Zhu Yan hesitated a bit. Accepting this meal invitation so readily would make her appear too eager. But she did need their help and wanted to befriend them.

She bit her lip and thought of a compromise: "I was actually planning on going to the east of the city today for a bowl of hot and sour soup noodles. They make really good sour bamboo shoots there. If you don’t mind, let me invite you all to a meal there!"

"Don’t mind at all, don’t mind at all! I know what you’re talking about. I’ve been planning to have several bowls since I got back, to cure my craving." Jinghao quickly waved his hand to say.

To cure his craving? Zhu Yan was amused by Jinghao’s phrasing.

"There are three of us, you are only one person. How could we let you pay? If anyone should invite, it should be us." Jingrui glared at his brother, who was about to take the Imperial Examination but still always thought about food.

"Big brother is right. Let’s go, Miss Zhu!" Jinghao didn’t argue.

The four of them came to the noodle shop and chose a spot by the window to sit down.

It’s mealtime now, and the shop was full of people, so their noodles couldn’t be served for a while.

Zhu Yan tried to speak several times but stopped herself.