Xu Mingzhu: “…”
Could she really tell him that she had only meant five taels? If she had known the market was this good, why would she have bothered selling braised meat?
In all those transmigration novels, heroines casually earned thousands, or even tens of thousands, of taels. Judging from how hard she had worked over the past few days to earn a little money, she had thought unimaginable wealth was still far beyond her reach. Who would have thought she would stumble upon it just around the corner?
At that moment, the frustration of not having a cheat system finally eased.
Fearing Manager Yu might change his mind, Xu Mingzhu immediately nodded in agreement.
Only after she nodded did the anxiety in Manager Yu’s heart finally settle.
“Good. Since you’re so straightforward, I won’t beat around the bush either.” He pulled out a fifty-tael banknote from his robe and handed it to Xu Mingzhu with both hands. “Miss, please take good care of it.”
Without changing her expression, Xu Mingzhu accepted the note and slipped it into her money pouch. “Thank you, Manager Yu. We still have things to do, so we’ll be on our way.”
“I’ll see you out.”
After leaving the bookstore, Xu Mingzhu felt the huge sum of money in her pouch and couldn’t help feeling delighted. This was truly an unexpected windfall.
Only after stepping outside did Xu Ming’an dare to breathe a sigh of relief. With just a few casual words, the man had handed over fifty taels!
Fifty taels! Not five copper coins. Not five taels. Fifty taels!
If he went to the mountains to quarry stone, it would take him seven or eight years to earn that much money. Yet his little sister had earned it just by saying a few words.
“Little Sister, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with accepting this money?”
In all his life, Xu Ming’an had never seen so much money. After the initial excitement, he began to worry. What if there was some catch?
Xu Mingzhu smiled. “Don’t worry. We signed a written contract with clear terms. There won’t be any problem.”
“Let’s go. We’re going to bring Daya home.”
“Huh?”
Xu Mingzhu repeated herself.
“We’re going just like this? Don’t we need to prepare anything first?”
Xu Mingzhu shook her head. Daya was almost ten years old now. If she remembered correctly, in a few years the girl would be worked to death. Her life in the Chen household couldn’t be easy. The sooner they brought her out, the less suffering she would have to endure.
“Alright. Then let’s go right now.”
Meanwhile, Mother Xu had just finished packing up the braised-meat stall and was tidying up the remaining items. Hearing this, she was startled and quickly asked: “Mingzhu, won’t it take ten taels of silver to redeem Daya? We’re still far short of that amount. How could we possibly have enough?”
Xu Ming’an opened his mouth to answer, his eyes full of excitement. But he used every ounce of self-control he had to stop himself from blurting out the secret of the fifty taels.
Xu Mingzhu didn’t want to complicate matters, so she offered a simple explanation: “Mother, Manager Yu from the bookstore heard about our situation and took pity on us. Not only did he give us the storybook, but he also provided some silver so that we could redeem Daya first. In return, we only need to keep supplying him with braised meat in the future.”
Mother Xu was astonished, and her heart filled with gratitude.
“There really is such a kind-hearted benefactor in this world! Then I must personally go and thank him properly!”
The brother and sister immediately grabbed her arms from either side and gently tried to persuade her.
“Mother, we’ve already conveyed your thanks on your behalf. It’s getting late now. Let’s hurry and bring Daya home first. The longer we wait, the more likely something unexpected could happen.”
“Alright, we’ll do as Mingzhu says.”
Mother Xu had long since lost any sense of direction regarding this matter. Now that she’d heard her granddaughter could be brought home immediately, she naturally had no objections.
As long as her granddaughter could return, she was willing to cooperate with anything.
Xu Daya had been sold into the Chen family as a servant. The Chens were a prominent, wealthy household in Qingzhou City, with an imposing, well-kept estate. However, the family later declined. After the original Madam Chen was divorced, the master remarried a harsh, spiteful woman who, in the original story, eventually worked Xu Daya to death.
After Xu Mingzhu knocked on the door, a long time passed before the heavy gates opened a narrow crack. A gatekeeper in a gray short jacket poked his head out. He looked the three plainly dressed visitors up and down. They hardly seemed like the sort of people who would have dealings with the Chen family, so his tone carried obvious disdain.
“You’ve come knocking on the gates of the Chen residence. What business do you have here?”
Xu Mingzhu replied calmly and politely, “Please inform the proper person that we are the family of Xu Daya, a maidservant in your household. We’ve come today to redeem her in accordance with the agreed terms.”
“Redeem her?” The servant raised an eyebrow and asked bluntly, “Did you bring the redemption money?”
Xu Mingzhu nodded slightly.
The servant’s expression softened a little. “Wait here. I’ll inform the steward.” With that, he slammed the gate shut again with a loud bang, leaving the three of them standing outside.
Instinctively, Mother Xu clutched her sleeve tightly and asked in a nervous whisper, “As expected of a wealthy family. Their rules are so strict. Mingzhu, we’re not going to have made this trip for nothing, are we?”
“Don’t worry.” Xu Mingzhu gently patted her mother’s hand. “Don’t worry. We have both reason and the contract on our side. We’re redeeming her according to the agreed terms. No matter how many rules they have, they have no grounds to stop us. If they try to block us, we’ll go to the authorities and seek justice. The law is on our side.”
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the gate finally opened again.
The doorman from earlier stepped aside, his attitude now noticeably more respectful. Behind him stood a well-dressed middle-aged woman with shrewd eyes, one of the estate’s stewardesses. Her gaze swept over the three of them as she spoke indifferently.
“You are the ones who wish to redeem Xu Daya?”
Xu Mingzhu nodded. Bowing politely to the stewardess, she said respectfully, “Yes. We’ve brought the ten taels of silver agreed upon when we made the contract. We’d appreciate your assistance.”
The stewardess immediately put on a troubled expression. “Redeeming her is possible, but this child has been raised in our household for three years. We’ve paid for her food, clothing, and daily expenses. We’ve cared for her diligently until now. How could ten taels possibly compensate for three years of upkeep?”
Xu Mingzhu remained calm and presented the contract. “Madam, ten taels was the agreed price when my niece entered service. The contract signed at the time was a term-service agreement, not an outright sale. It clearly states in black and white that a payment of ten taels is sufficient to redeem her, and that the family may fulfill the contract and bring her home at any time. We’ve brought the money according to the agreement, so we hope you’ll make this convenient for us.”
As she finished speaking, Xu Mingzhu discreetly slipped a tael of silver into the stewardess’s hand.
The stewardess weighed the silver in her palm. “Well, the agreement does say that…”
The stewardess spoke coolly: “But the child has, after all, lived in our household for over two years. You can’t simply take her away the moment you decide to. Our household ought to be compensated for some of the expenses we’ve incurred. I’m only carrying out orders and must be able to account for my actions to my masters.
“How about this? Since you’re clearly sincere about redeeming her, we’ll meet halfway. Make it twenty taels of silver, and you can take her away immediately.”
Xu Mingzhu knew that minor officials and servants could be the hardest people to deal with. She had hoped a little silver would smooth things over, but it was clear the woman looked down on such a small amount and wanted more.
The moment Mother Xu heard this, she became anxious and hurried forward to argue: “But we agreed on ten taels back then! How can you suddenly raise the price?”
“Old Madam, that’s not quite the way to look at it.” The stewardess kept up a veneer of courtesy as she pressed her argument. “The Chen family has never taken advantage of anyone. But if our household hadn’t taken the child in back then, she might not have been able to live in peace these past years. Had those ten taels been deposited in a money house, they would have earned interest over two years. Surely a little compensation for those losses is only reasonable. I hope you’ll understand.”
Xu Mingzhu’s polite smile disappeared. “So, if I understand correctly, unless we produce twenty taels today, you’re not going to let Xu Daya leave with us. Is that right?”