Shen Qingyin’s mind was filled with thoughts of today’s losses, so when she met the man’s gaze, her mouth moved faster than her brain.
“Will, will you pay for it?”
The man was silent for a moment and was just about to speak when a county officer interrupted.
“Military Officer Zhou, we will take them back to the county office first.”
Hearing the other party address the man next door as a Military Officer, Shen Qingyin looked rather surprised.
Her neighbor next door was actually an official.
Zhou Sheng nodded and gave a quiet “Mm.”
He then looked over the smashed tables and chairs, as well as the broken earthen stove and clay pot.
Finally, his gaze fell on the woman crawling out from beneath the table.
Once the woman emerged and stood up, he said, “Come to the county office before the exact hour of Shen to have the damages assessed.”
Hearing that she would be compensated, Shen Qingyin immediately nodded repeatedly without the slightest complaint.
Zhou Sheng led several county officers away with the criminals.
Shen Qingyin turned her head toward the wreckage of her stall and sighed.
What kind of mess was this?
Sure enough, in movies and television dramas, whenever the main characters fought and caught criminals while making a grand display of themselves, ordinary people were the ones who suffered.
In the past, she had only thought the fight scenes were exciting. Now that she had become an ordinary citizen herself, it was difficult not to sympathize.
It was not even noon yet, and her stove, pot, tables, and chairs had all been smashed. What was the point of continuing to set up her stall?
She would go get compensation instead!
Shen Qingyin efficiently packed up the stall. After taking everything home, she went out again.
She walked for nearly half an hour before finally reaching the county office.
After explaining why she had come to the county officer, they led her inside to assess the damages and arrange compensation.
The officer responsible for recording the losses asked her what had been damaged.
Shen Qingyin immediately said, “One table, two stools, one earthen stove, and one pot. There was also some meat topping left in my pot that I had not finished selling.”
The officer glanced at her before lowering his head and recording the damaged items.
After a moment, he said, “One old table, fifteen wen. Two old stools, five wen. The old stove and old pot, fifteen wen. With depreciation, the total is thirty five wen. Do you have any objections?”
Shen Qingyin fell silent.
The amount was reasonable enough, but although those things were old, she had never planned to replace them.
A new table alone would cost seventy or eighty wen.
The compensation she was receiving was only enough to buy one earthen stove and two stools.
But could she really object to the county office under the authority of the imperial court?
She could not.
“The topping in the pot was worth several times too.”
The officer’s expression turned cold.
“I will add another five wen. Take the money and leave.”
She could only swallow this bitter pill and accept forty in compensation.
Shen Qingyin came out through the side room and happened to see Zhou Sheng walking out after interrogating the criminals in the jail.
He was still wearing the same black fitted clothing from earlier in the day.
His hair was tied high and kept perfectly neat, making him look as though he were completely devoid of human warmth.
The young officer in black following behind Zhou Sheng saw the widow who clearly had some sort of unusual relationship with his superior and hurriedly reminded him, “Military Officer, that is Madam Shen from the noodle stall.”
Zhou Sheng looked up upon hearing this.
Their eyes met.
The woman who normally wore a bright smile had a cold expression today, seemingly carrying a grudge. She turned around and walked out of the government office without even giving him another glance.
Zhou Sheng frowned and thought for a moment before walking toward the side room the woman had just left.
When he entered the room, the officer who was sorting out the compensation saw a shadow fall over him and assumed that the woman had returned.
The officer said impatiently, “If you have any objections, you can go find the people who smashed your stall!”
“Find me?”
A deep, cold voice sounded.
The officer abruptly raised his head and saw the notorious Military Officer Zhou of the county office. He immediately stood up and clasped his hands.
“Greetings, Military Officer.”
Zhou Sheng said, “That woman’s stall was damaged when I was catching the criminals. How much compensation did she receive?”
The officer was about to answer when he noticed Zhao Yi, the officer standing behind Zhou Sheng, winking at him.
He did not understand and looked rather confused.
Zhou Sheng turned his head and cast a warning glance behind him. Zhao Yi immediately stopped making any further gestures.
Zhou Sheng turned back and asked, “How much?”
The officer answered truthfully, “Because the items were old, depreciation was applied. She received forty women in compensation.”
Hearing the amount of forty wen, Zhou Sheng immediately understood why the woman had given him such a cold look.
Zhou Sheng nodded and turned to leave the room.
The officer hurried out from behind the desk and grabbed Zhao Yi, who was about to follow.
He lowered his voice and asked, “Why is Military Officer Zhou so concerned about that woman’s compensation?”
Zhao Yi gave him a meaningful look. Remembering Zhou Sheng’s warning, he could only pat the officer on the shoulder.
“I am already struggling to protect myself. You had better take care of yourself too.”
After all, he had openly said in front of Military Officer Zhou that he wanted to marry the woman he favored.
Shen Qingyin left the government office in a huff.
She still had to continue running her stall. The tables and chairs should be usable after some repairs, but the stove and pot were beyond saving, so she needed to buy new ones.
After walking angrily for a while, her anger gradually faded.
At least the stall had not been deliberately smashed. It had been damaged while Zhou Sheng was catching criminals, so there was some justification for it.
Although the compensation was a little low, at least they had not simply told her to accept her bad luck.
Once she had thought it through, Shen Qingyin took the forty wen and went to buy a new stove and pot.
After bargaining, she eventually spent forty two weeks to bring home one stove and one pot.
However, when she returned home and saw the broken table and chairs, she immediately felt a headache coming on.
There were not even any usable iron nails in this ancient era. How was she supposed to repair a tabletop that had been smashed into pieces?
Shen Qingyin fiddled with it for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.
She could cut two small square openings along the joining edges of each split wooden board, then find wooden strips and carve them into concave shapes to fit into the openings and connect the boards together.
The problem was that there were no suitable tools at home.
There was nothing she could do except take them to a carpenter’s shop and pay someone to repair them.
If they could not be repaired by tomorrow, she would simply take the tables and chairs from home to the stall first.
Shen Qingyin unloaded the things from the flat cart and then loaded the broken tables and chairs onto it.
She looked up at the sun. It should be around the exact hour of Shen by now.
The carpenter’s shop would still be open at this hour, so she hurried out with the cart.
She had barely reached the entrance of the alley when she encountered Zhou Sheng returning from the county office, leading his horse into the alley.
Zhou Sheng glanced at the tables and chairs on the cart and spoke to her for the first time.
“Where are you taking them?”
Since he was a Military Officer, Shen Qingyin could not show even the slightest dissatisfaction. She simply replied, “I am taking them to the carpenter’s shop for repairs.”
Zhou Sheng was silent for two moments before saying, “Later, have Jinyou bring them over. I will repair them.”
After saying that, he simply led the large black horse past her.
Shen Qingyin blinked.
He was being so kind?
But that made sense. He had been the one who smashed her stall, so he should make amends.
This man’s character did not seem bad.
Since she could save some money, she did not put on airs. She pulled the broken table and chairs back home.
When Lu Jinyou returned from school, he saw the broken tables and chairs on the cart, then noticed the new stove and pot. He seemed to have connected the dots and hurriedly asked, “Sister in law, our stall was smashed?!”
Shen Qingyin pressed her hand down, telling him to lower his voice and not make such a fuss.
His voice was so loud that the neighbors next door could probably hear him.
She briefly told him everything that had happened that day.
Lu Jinyou hurriedly asked, “Sister in law, were you hurt anywhere?”
Shen Qingyin shook her head.
“Not even a single hair was harmed. Only the tables and chairs were smashed.”
“I was just about to take them to the carpenter’s shop for repairs when I happened to run into Brother Zhou next door. He told me to have you take them to his house after school.”
Lu Jinyou hesitated.
“That is too much trouble…”
Shen Qingyin said, “He was the one who smashed them while catching the criminals.”
Lu Jinyou immediately changed his mind.
“Since he bears some responsibility, then it is only right for him to repair them.”
Shen Qingyin said, “After you take them over, come back once more.”
“We still have some bone broth left from today. I made winter melon and tofu soup. Take some to our neighbors. You can deliver some to the Zhou family.”
There was still more than half a bucket of bone broth left from today, and there was no way their family could finish it all, so she had made winter melon and tofu soup.
Winter melons were cheap. A large one only cost five or six wen. The tofu was also leftover from today and would not keep until tomorrow, so she might as well give some away.
That way, she could avoid waste and build goodwill with the neighbors.
Lu Jinyou frowned slightly, seemingly wondering why they were sending food to someone who had smashed their stall.
Shen Qingyin said, “Although he was the main reason our stall was damaged, he was catching criminals, and the county office has already compensated us. He is also willing to repair the tables and chairs for us, so let this matter go.”
“He seems to be a decent person. We can just treat it as ordinary interaction between neighbors.”
Besides, he was a Military Officer and an official. There could only be benefits and no harm in maintaining a good relationship with him.
A sister in law was like a mother. When Lu Jinyou was seven years old, Shen had married into the Lu family, so he had always listened to his sister in law.
He nodded.
“All right.”
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “But what if he tries to give us money?”
Shen Qingyin replied, “If he gives you money, put it back in his house.”
Lu Jinyou nodded and immediately pulled the flat cart out the door.
The gate of the neighboring courtyard was slightly open, but he still knocked.
After a moment, Zhou Sheng came to open the door.
“Come in.”
Lu Jinyou pulled the cart into the courtyard.
“Leave it in the courtyard. I will repair it tonight. Come over and take it when you set up your stall tomorrow morning.”
Lu Jinyou answered, “All right.”
He looked around and discovered that Zhou Sheng had already taken out his tools and placed them beneath the eaves.
He put down the cart and left the courtyard.
Zhou Sheng watched his departing figure and frowned slightly.
He had not even finished speaking. Why had the boy already left?
After thinking for a moment, he bent down and began inspecting the damaged tables and chairs.
As he was examining them, he heard faint footsteps again.
He raised his head and saw the young man carrying food over.
Lu Jinyou explained, “We did not finish selling the bone broth today, so my sister in law made winter melon and tofu soup. She asked me to bring some over. She also sent some to the other neighbors.”
Of course, the other neighbors had only received winter melon and tofu bone broth. The cucumber salad had been given only to this household.
Zhou Sheng straightened up and looked at the tray in the boy’s hands.
The winter melon and tofu soup was milky white, with green scallions floating on top.
The cucumber seemed to have been smashed and seasoned with soy sauce and garlic. It looked very appetizing.
Zhou Sheng did not refuse. Instead, he walked toward the kitchen.
After a while, he came out carrying a fine piece of pork belly.
He walked up to Lu Jinyou and said, “I smashed your sister in law’s stall today. This is an apology.”
The boy froze.
Before he could react, Zhou Sheng picked up a bowl of soup from the tray and placed the pork in the empty space. He then picked up the other dish of cucumber.
Zhou Sheng raised his chin toward him.
“Why are you not taking them back?”
“My sister in law said we do not need…”
“An apology.”
The boy hesitated.
This was an apology for his sister in law, not payment for the food. Should he accept it?
Zhou Sheng carried the two dishes into the kitchen, poured them into his own bowls, then scooped water and washed the two large bowls clean.
When he brought the bowls out, Lu Jinyou had still not left.
He casually placed them on the tray.
“Why are you still here?” he reminded him.
Lu Jinyou had no choice but to go home first.
Shen Qingyin had almost finished preparing dinner. When she saw him return carrying a piece of pork belly, she was completely stunned.
Lu Jinyou said, “Brother Zhou said it was an apology.”
Shen Qingyin immediately remembered the half pot of topping she had lost and smiled.
“All right. Since it is an apology, we will accept it. We can add another dish tonight.”
There was no refrigerator, no cellar, and certainly not enough salt to make cured meat. The pork would not be fresh by tomorrow.
Such fine pork belly would be too wasteful to let it spoil, so she might as well cook it and eat it immediately.
She sliced the meat, added ginger and garlic to the pot, and stir fried it until the fat rendered out. She poured the rendered oil into the oil jar, then added a little water and let the meat simmer.
Soon, the entire courtyard was filled with its fragrant aroma.
When Zhou Sheng smelled the aroma, he was steaming rice.
Since there were ready made dishes today, he no longer forced himself to eat those unappetizing dishes.
While the rice was steaming, he went to repair the tables and chairs.
The courtyard was filled with the fragrance of meat. There was no need to guess. The neighbors next door had obviously cooked the pork.
At that moment, someone knocked on the courtyard gate again.
He seemed to know who it was and did not even raise his head.
“Come in.”
The gate opened, and an even stronger aroma of meat drifted in. Only then did he raise his head.
Lu Jinyou had brought another bowl of meat.
His expression was somewhat awkward.
“My sister in law said today’s incident happened because of special circumstances, so we will only accept half of the apology.”
Zhou Sheng looked at the bowl of meat.
With one exchange after another, their interactions would naturally increase. He did not know whether this was what that woman intended.
Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, there were already too many rumors surrounding a widow’s household. If he became involved, he would inevitably be surrounded by gossip.
After today, it would be better to have less contact.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would have no further dealings with the woman next door.