nagpurpolice Chapter 57 Meeting
Chapter 57 Meeting
The room was warm and cozy, like springtime.
Seeing that Meng Chen remained silent, Yan Zhao changed the subject and asked, "I heard that you have failed to break through to the next realm several times, my worthy brother?"
This means they're offering something in return! Meng Chen sighed in agreement, but remained silent.
"If that's the case, then it's either because the timing is wrong, or you lack a good teacher." Yan Zhao said very seriously, "My father will be back after the New Year, and he will definitely want to meet the young talents of our Qingshui County. If he can give you even a word of guidance then, it will be more useful than studying at the Du family school for three to five years."
You don't need to belittle others just to elevate your own status, do you? Meng Chen is very good at distinguishing between gratitude and enmity. Although the Du family's martial arts are just so-so, the Du family father and son have been very good to him. On the other hand, he was almost forced to death by the Yan family. There's no need to think too much about who is close to whom.
Meng Chen remained silent, as did Shi Xingzhi and Bu Shengyan. Cui Butong, however, was quite envious and loudly asked, "Young Master Yan, may I also pay my respects to your father?"
"Everyone can come then," Yan Zhao replied casually, then stared at Meng Chen. He believed he had already been humble enough and had given the other party an excellent opportunity to curry favor with him.
It should be noted that in Qingshui County, there is only one martial artist of the fourth realm, Yan Long. No matter how many people want to curry favor with him, they are not qualified and have no way to do so.
Seeing that Meng Chen remained silent, Yan Zhao felt that the man was taking advantage of the situation to demand more money, so he said, "Brother, you are currently living at home in leisure. Would you like to find a job? I have some influence with Magistrate Hu. If you are interested, I can recommend you."
"Young Master Yan, I am but a humble country bumpkin, not qualified for any job," Meng Chen politely declined. Not wanting to offend Yan Zhao, he added, "Why don't you wait a moment, and allow me to inquire in the county town after the New Year?"
Yan Zhao was displeased.
Shi Xingzhi and Bu Shengyan exchanged a glance, but neither of them said a word.
Cui Butong, however, was very magnanimous and took it on immediately, saying, "Brother Yan, I'll take care of this. Master Du and Senior Brother Du value me highly. I'll put in a good word for them, and I'm sure it will work!"
"That's unnecessary," Yan Zhao coldly refused. "Going around in circles, it's like I'm begging them! I, Yan Zhao, am not one to stoop so low!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Chen, Shi Xingzhi, and the others realized that Yan Zhao, having lived in the prefectural city before, still possessed some backbone.
To everyone's surprise, Yan Zhao immediately added, "When my father comes back, neither Li Xiang Sheng nor Longwei Escort Agency will be able to get into my house!"
After that, Yan Zhao never mentioned Li Xiang Sheng again, but instead chatted with Cui Butong about the heroes of the prefectural city.
The wine grew increasingly tasteless with each sip, yet Yan Zhao continued to ramble on and on. After more than an hour of this, Bu Shengyan, feigning drunkenness, rose to take his leave.
Yan Zhao, being considerate of the women, lingered a little longer before personally seeing them off. Seeing that Shi Xingzhi and Bu Shengyan had horses while Cui Butong had none, he gifted Cui Butong the white horse that Yan Bao had left behind, making Cui Butong truly grateful.
As for Meng Chen, Yan Zhao didn't even see him, and Meng Chen didn't care about it either.
Upon exiting the gate, one could see a person standing beside the stone lion of the Yan family; it was Qingyu.
"Brother, you're not drunk..." Qingyu saw Meng Chen leave and quickly went up to him. She was wearing a sheepskin hat, her hands were in her sleeves, and the tip of her nose was red from the cold with some clear snot hanging on it. She was about to say something, but seeing that there were many people, she became a little timid.
It was freezing cold, and the wind was especially strong in the countryside. Meng Chen quickly stepped forward, blew the snot off her nose with his hand, wiped it on the soles of her feet, and asked, "Are you cold? I can't miss the temple fair. How long have you been here?"
"It's been half an hour." Qingyu was a little embarrassed after having her nose blown, and her face turned even redder, but her eyes kept glancing at Bu Shengyan.
"Why didn't you send someone in to announce our arrival?" Meng Chen asked.
"I told the doorman, and he told me to wait outside." Seeing that Meng Chen was a little unhappy, Qingyu whispered, "It's okay, I'm not cold."
"You said you weren't cold." Meng Chen saw that there was snot running down her nose again, so he wiped it for her.
Bu Shengyan suddenly said, "Young Master Yan, it's one thing for your servants not to announce our arrival, but can't you even invite Brother Meng's family into the gatehouse to avoid the wind and warm themselves by the fire? This girl doesn't look like a martial artist; she's not as resistant to the cold as us roughnecks."
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhao's face turned cold, and he questioned Sun Jiulang beside him, "Sun Jiulang, why didn't you report it?"
Sun Jiulang immediately bowed, looking flustered, and said, "Please forgive me, sir. I was afraid of disturbing your enjoyment of the wine, so I told her to go home and wait, but she refused to go back, insisting that she would wait at the door. I had no choice but to let her be!"
Qingyu clearly said that she should wait outside the door, but Sun Jiulang had a different story.
Meng Chen looked at Qingyu, who hid behind him, pouting and shaking her head.
"Remember this lesson from now on, and don't mistreat my distinguished guest!" Yan Zhao scolded, then turned to Meng Chen and said, "It was my fault for not managing my subordinates strictly, please don't blame me, my good brother." He waved his hand and said, "Bring me a sum of money, and let this girl go back and buy some charcoal."
"I dare not accept such praise. My family is poor, but I can still afford to buy a few pounds of charcoal." After saying this, Meng Chen took Qingyu's hand and left.
Yan Zhao frowned and remained silent, but Bu Shengyan caught up with him.
She took off her cloak, draped it over Qingyu, and bent down to tie it up, saying with a smile, "It's freezing cold; girls shouldn't stand in the wind all the time."
"Junior Sister!" Shi Xingzhi quickly took off his cloak and draped it over Bu Shengyan.
Qingyu is usually very clever, but when she saw this exquisite cloak, she immediately fell silent. She wanted to return it, but Meng Chen held her down.
"Thank you, Senior Sister. I will definitely hold a banquet to express my gratitude another day." Meng Chen clasped his hands in thanks to Bu Shengyan, and then led Qingyu away.
The north wind howled, and the two walked all the way to the Old Dragon Pool before Qingyu dared to touch the cloak.
"Brother, who is that sister?" Qingyu asked softly, tilting her head to look at Meng Chen.
"She's a senior sister who studies martial arts," Meng Chen replied. Seeing Qingyu's curiosity, he added, "Actually, we're not that close."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Qingyu felt relieved. She touched the cloak and asked, "What kind of material is this? Why doesn't the wind blow in?" She then touched the brown fur on the hood, "Is this the fur of a weasel?"
"Fox fur." Meng Chen looked at the cloak and thought to himself that, not to mention the price of the cloak, he and Bu Shengyan were not exactly close, yet Bu Shengyan gave him the cloak in front of Yan Zhao. It was clear that Bu Shengyan did not care about Yan Zhao's likes or dislikes at all.
However, this would create another favor for me.
"We can't get it dirty, we'll return it to them tomorrow." Qingyu was, after all, a country girl; she lifted the hem of her cloak, afraid it would drag on the ground.
"No need to return it. It was a gift from someone, so just keep it." Meng Chen said with a smile.
"You gave it to me..." Qingyu stared in disbelief, then muttered softly after a moment, "What should we give in return? Our most valuable possession is our donkey..."
"It's cold today, so don't go out alone in the future." Meng Chen patted her head when he saw her muttering to herself about doing calculations.
"I'd completely forgotten!" Qingyu quickly said, "It was your classmate who came, that's why I went to find you!"
"Hurry up and go!" Upon hearing this, Meng Chen quickened his pace.
"Slow down!" Qingyu said, wearing a cloak and holding it up with both hands, as if afraid that the cloak would get dusty.
Seeing that she looked like she had never seen the world before, Meng Chen simply carried her on his back.
After passing Laolongtan and entering the house, I saw people talking in the donkey pen. Looking inside, I saw Gong Ziming and Old Chentou tasting the donkeys.
"I can only ride a donkey at most. You're luckier than me, girl," Old Chen said when he saw Meng Chen carrying the bluefish.
Qingyu blushed furiously. She quickly got off Meng Chen's back and ran back to her room in a flash.
"What are you talking about?" Meng Chen entered the donkey pen and patted the donkey's rump.
"I'm listening to Mr. Chen evaluate donkeys," Gong Ziming said with a smile.
Old Chen left the donkey pen. "You two can touch it."
As soon as Old Chen left, Gong Ziming gently stroked the donkey's head with one hand and whispered, "The envoy said, 'One day is the beginning of this year, and the events of a year ago are all in vain.'"
"Meet him tomorrow?" Meng Chen immediately understood.
"Indeed, tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the perfect time to pay your respects." Gong Ziming smiled and said, "The envoy has made time. Tomorrow at noon, go to the top of the mountain behind Caiyun Temple, and you will have the opportunity."