books44 Chapter 3 Young Master, you are a good person
Chapter 3 Young Master, you are a good person
Chapter 3 Young Master, you are a good person
Wang Wenzhou was frustrated. He'd run into a stubborn idiot who was willing to suffer for the sake of saving face. Just a moment ago, the idiot was complaining about the price, but now he was like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking him. He knew this kind of person well; these kinds of fools would swallow their pride and suffer in silence for the sake of saving face. They would fight for this even if it meant selling their pants.
"Gentlemen," Wang Wenzhou thought, "a gentleman does not take what others cherish. I truly admire this young lady. I would be grateful if you would grant me this favor and invite me for drinks another day." He then decided to return the favor first, and then offer a higher price to discourage them.
Wang Wenzhou helped Gao Guilan up and said, "Miss, I am willing to offer ten taels of gold for a proper burial for your grandfather."
"Haha!" Sun Feng laughed loudly, mocking, "Have you ever seen what ten taels of gold looks like?"
Wang Wenzhou's words were met with disbelief from the onlookers. In the Ming Dynasty, one tael of gold could be exchanged for eight taels of silver. A family of three could live comfortably for a year with ten taels of silver. The idea of spending ten taels of gold to buy a maidservant seemed utterly foolish to anyone.
Lin Qing walked up to Ma Deyun and chuckled softly, "Haha... Brother Ma, you've run into a fool today."
Ma Deyun nodded. Ten taels of gold is eighty taels of silver. To spend ten taels of gold for a girl who is reasonably good-looking—what else could a person be but a fool?
"Brother Pig, if you're trying to fool that young lady, the elders of Hanshan won't stand for it! Where's the money?" Ma Deyun stared at Wang Wenzhou, thinking, "You fatso, keep bragging. I don't believe you'd part with ten taels of gold for a young lady. Serves you right for your boasting, you fatso! Now you have ten taels of gold; you can't refuse!"
"Of course not!" Wang Wenzhou scoffed. He really didn't care about ten taels of gold. He didn't know the purchasing power of this era; he had only seen Wang Qiang playing with small gold ingots. Those were Wang Qiang's pocket money accumulated over the years, most of which he had skimmed off from Wang Wenzhou in the past.
"If I could produce ten taels of gold, would you gentlemen be willing to give this young girl to me?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"Haha! No problem." Ma Deyun nodded with a smile.
"Xiaoqiang, pay up!" Wang Wenzhou waved to Wang Qiang.
"Young Master..." Wang Qiang felt wronged. Young Master, have you lost your mind? Buying a little maid with ten taels of gold? If the master and madam find out, they will break my legs.
"Xiaoqiang! Hurry up!" Wang Wenzhou whispered, "What are you worried about? Young Master will lend you some first, and pay you back as soon as he makes some money. It's just ten taels of gold. Your young master is now the magistrate of Hanshan County. This little bit of money is nothing to him."
"Young Master, I think we should leave!" Wang Qiang was truly distressed.
Wang Wenzhou frowned and threatened fiercely, "Xiao Qiang! Don't push me!"
"Alright, alright! Here you go, girl!" Wang Qiang reluctantly took out the gold ingot and handed it to Gao Guilan.
"what!"
Everyone was stunned. Who was this fat young master? He was so rich.
Ma Deyun and his three companions looked at each other, none of them expecting that this fat man was so rich. Eighty taels of silver was not a small sum for them.
"Thank you, young master!" Gao Guilan accepted the gold ingot and immediately knelt down to express her gratitude.
"Get up, get up!" Wang Wenzhou said hurriedly.
Wang Wenzhou reached out and wiped away Gao Guilan's tears. As someone from a later era, he truly had no ulterior motives towards the little girl. He simply felt it was unbearable to see such a cute little girl being treated like a plaything by a few foolish young men.
Gao Guilan was a lady from a respectable family. It was the first time a man had touched her face. She was stunned for a moment, and her face flushed.
"Thank you so much, young master!" Gao Guilan kowtowed as she expressed her gratitude to her benefactor.
Wang Wenzhou teased, "Get up quickly, or I'll kneel down too, and we'll kowtow to each other. That would be like a wedding ceremony..."
"Pfft!" Gao Guilan burst into laughter through her tears, her little face turning red and looking incredibly cute.
"Get up!" Wang Wenzhou pulled Gao Guilan up and teased, "Girls will get kneeling marks on their legs if they kneel for too long..."
Gao Guilan didn't laugh this time. Wang Wenzhou's lame joke wasn't too bad, it's just that people in ancient times wouldn't understand it.
Ma Deyun curled his lip and said sarcastically, "This fat idiot, he's like this on the street. I bet in a little while, they'll be having sex right there in the street. Everyone, let's not disturb the young couple, let's disperse."
"Brother Pig, I'm not trying to be mean, but there are some things that need to be done at home!"
"That doesn't seem right. I feel like Brother Pig is too fat to have sex, right?"
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Brother Pig has extraordinary bones and exceptional talent. He's clearly a master in bed."
The four great scholars of Hanshan made a few sarcastic remarks about Wang Wenzhou, but seeing that Wang Wenzhou did not refute them, they lost interest, turned around and took their leave. The group chatted as they walked.
"I've never seen such a rich, fat idiot before. Who is this guy?"
"Find out somewhere, and in a few days, go and get some money from that fat idiot."
"He's rich and stupid, we'd be doing God a disservice if we didn't take advantage of him."
"That's right, that's right! Don't worry, Brother Ma, I'll go and find out where this fatso comes from later."
After the four talented scholars left, the crowd gradually dispersed. Apart from a very few who thought Wang Wenzhou was generous and righteous, most people thought this fat young man was a bit off-witted. Ten taels of gold was equivalent to eighty taels of silver, enough to buy ten or eight maids like him.
“Little girl, your grandpa has passed away, don’t be too sad. Girls will become ugly if they cry too much. Go find someone to bury your grandpa, I won’t bother you anymore.” Wang Wenzhou said, patting the little girl’s head like an older brother.
After saying that, Wang Wenzhou waved to Wang Qiang, "Xiao Qiang, let's go."
Wang Qiang stared at Wang Wenzhou with his mouth agape and his eyes wide open, looking at him like he was a fool, thinking, "Young Master? What do you mean?"
"Young master! You..." The little girl blushed and peeked at Wang Wenzhou, not knowing why.
Wang Wenzhou, a person from a later era, simply couldn't accept having sex with a little girl. Besides, he was too fat now; he himself felt that he wasn't good enough for such a cute little girl. Moreover, this little girl was too beautiful; he was afraid that if he kept her around, he wouldn't be able to resist touching her a few times, which would be practically a crime. He'd better let her go home by herself; anyway, she had money now.
Wang Wenzhou looked at Gao Guilan with reluctance, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Young lady, we'll meet again someday!"
After saying that, Wang Wenzhou kicked his foot. Wang Qiang, who was still in a daze, said irritably, "What are you doing? Let's go."
Wang Qiang rolled his eyes at him, thinking, "Young Master, which of us is the fool? Who spent ten taels of gold to buy a young girl, even though it was a bit expensive? But what's going on now? Why are we leaving so soon?"
Seeing Wang Wenzhou turn and leave, Gao Guilan was stunned for a moment. To be honest, if she had a choice, she would never have sold herself.
But forced into this situation by reality, she had no other choice. How could the fat young master just leave like that? Gao Guilan came from a merchant family, and the most important and indispensable quality for merchants in ancient times was integrity. Since she had already sold herself to the fat young master, she couldn't go back on her word.
Gao Guilan quickly chased after her.
"Young master! Wait a minute!"
The young girl's voice was very pleasant, and Wang Wenzhou suddenly felt it was familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. He turned around and asked, "Miss, you're not going to say, 'Wait, where's my husband?'"
What does "husband" mean? Gao Guilan didn't understand at all. She blinked her bright eyes, slightly shy, and asked softly, "Young master, where do you live? After I have someone send my grandfather away, I will go to your residence to serve you."
Looking at the pretty little girl, Wang Wenzhou struggled for a long time between adapting to local customs and sticking to his principles. Finally, he made a decision: forget it, don't ruin the little girl's life.
"You should quickly find someone to bring your grandfather home."
After saying that, Wang Wenzhou turned and left.
"what……"
Gao Guilan came from a wealthy family and knew that ten taels of gold was no small sum. The fat young master took it out to help her without asking for anything in return. Although the fat young master looked ugly, he had a pure and kind heart.
"Young master! Wait a minute!"
"Again!" Wang Wenzhou's imagination ran wild. Hearing the slightly childish yet delicate and cute voice behind him, some inappropriate images kept popping into his mind. He casually said, "Little girl, you're still young. You can talk about those kinds of things when you're older."
"Young master! You are a good person!" Gao Guilan smiled slightly, her soft voice was very pleasant.
Damn it! Wang Wenzhou suddenly wanted to curse, "You're the good guy, your whole family are good guys!" But facing such an adorable little girl, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Little girl, we'll meet again someday!" Wang Wenzhou looked at the smiling little girl, thought for a moment, and said, "By the way, tell your father that I bought you, and he has no right to interfere with your marriage. When you meet someone you like, you can decide for yourself whether to marry him or not."