Chapter 14: That Brother Hong
“Ah, finally found him! Where is Brother Li? Brother Li!”
Hong Zhenye’s voice rushed in before he did.
Li Jinzhu shook the water from her hands and hurried to meet him.
Hong Zhenye met Li Jinzhu and quickly bowed deeply, “This must be Eldest Sister. I am a fellow student and friend of Brother Li, my name is Hong Zhenye. Greetings, Eldest Sister.”
“You are too kind,” Li Jinzhu hastily returned the bow. “I’ve heard my brother mention you, Second Master Hong. Thank goodness for you, Second Master Hong! If not for your help, alas! My brother is not yet awake. Second Master Hong! Second Master Hong…”
“Eldest Sister, just call me Hong Er. Hmm! It’s already past three in the afternoon, and he’s still not up! Which room is it? I’ll go wake him!” Hong Zhenye was very familiar, and following the shop assistant’s directions, he headed straight upstairs.
“I’ll go wake him up right away,” Li Jinzhu rushed ahead of Hong Zhenye and quickly ran into the room.
The loud inquiry from Hong Zhenye’s servant had already woken Li Xiaonan and Li Xuedong inside the room.
They quickly got up, tidied the written paper from yesterday’s explanations and writing, and then searched every corner of the small guest room. Once they were sure nothing was missed, Li Xiaonan rolled up the papers and stuffed them into her sleeves, shrinking into the corner of the bed. Li Xuedong straightened his clothes and opened the door.
“Congratulations, congratulations! Brother Li actually placed sixteenth! To be honest, Brother Li, I really didn’t expect it! Where is Feng? Bring the congratulatory gifts!” Hong Zhenye saw Li Xuedong and, from a distance, cupped his hands, speaking and laughing.
“I don’t deserve it, it was just luck,” Li Xuedong replied, his words slurred, his face flushed red.
As a nominal Xiucai scholar who hadn’t even taken a single exam, he couldn’t accept this with a clear conscience.
“Hahaha, right, right! That’s the way to respond. Smart!” Hong Zhenye put his arm around Li Xuedong’s shoulder and pulled him along, “Let’s go!”
“Go where?” Li Xuedong flinched, leaning back forcefully.
“Huh! You’re still asking where we’re going? Oh~~” Hong Zhenye drew out the last syllable, laughing heartily, “I forgot again, you don’t understand the rules, you don’t understand anything!
“Let me tell you: you’ve passed the exam, and today you must go to the Temple of Literature and the City God Temple to give thanks. After that, we must go to the Pingjiang Club.
“Since the results were posted yesterday, our Kunshan Chamber of Commerce and the Pingjiang Club have been looking everywhere for you, but no one knew where you were staying! They were smart to find me later and know to look for me, only I could find you! Let’s go quickly.”
Hong Zhenye spoke as he dragged Li Xuedong along.
Li Xuedong stumbled along, pulled by him.
“Giving thanks requires copper coins, right? Why are you looking for me at the Pingjiang Club? Hey! Don’t rush, tell me first.”
“Giving thanks requires incense and candles. What do you need copper coins for? Are you planning to throw copper coins at the Master? That won’t do.
“This time, you’re the only one from our Kunshan County who passed. Fortunately, there’s you, otherwise, our Kunshan County would be completely empty! In Pingjiang Prefecture, the entire Pingjiang Prefecture! There are only six, six!”
“This time, Educational Commissioner Wei’s methods were truly ruthless, tsk! The number of people who passed this year is less than thirty percent of previous years! Tsk! Truly heartless and black-handed!”
“I meant the copper coins for buying incense and candles,” Li Xuedong had already been dragged by Hong Zhenye to the entrance of the tavern.
“It’s all bought! I knew you wouldn’t understand, so I prepared it all for you!” Hong Zhenye waved his hand generously.
“Then you still haven’t told me why the Pingjiang Club is looking for me,” Li Xuedong grabbed the door frame of the tavern.
“Hahaha, you! What do you think they’re looking for you for? You’re a Xiucai scholar now!
“This time, there are only six people from our Pingjiang Prefecture who passed. Even if there are only six, we must celebrate. No, precisely because there are only six, we must celebrate even more. Also, this matter cannot be explained in a sentence or two. I’ll explain it to you on the way. In short, you must go!
“At noon, there’s a celebration banquet at the Pingjiang Club, and in the evening, there’s a celebration banquet at our Kunshan Chamber of Commerce. Tomorrow, you also have to attend the Cai Qin Banquet.
“Huh! Have you prepared your clothes for the Cai Qin Banquet tomorrow? You’re not going in just this one outfit, are you?”
Hong Zhenye fiddled with Li Xuedong’s short gown made of home-woven cloth.
“Looking at you, you don’t know anything, do you? Your family is poor, so this is probably all you have. Let me tell you! The Cai Qin Banquet requires a tailored long gown, you need to wear a blue gown! We also need to get you a couple of outfits. I didn’t think of this. Hurry, hurry, there’s no time!”
“I’ll tell Eldest Sister…” Li Xuedong struggled and turned his head.
Li Jinzhu, who had been standing nearby, quickly handed over a few silver coins she held in her palm. “Follow Second Young Master and learn from him.”
“Eldest Sister, please don’t be so formal, just call me Hong Er! We’re leaving now, Eldest Sister, don’t worry, I’m here.”
Hong Zhenye dragged Li Xuedong out of the tavern.
Li Xiaonan slipped out of the room and hid behind Eldest Sister, peeking out half her face to watch Li Xuedong, who was being dragged along, and Hong Zhenye.
Li Jinzhu watched as Li Xuedong was helped onto a horse by Hong Zhenye’s attendants and servants and rode away. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Li Xiaonan.
“Were you woken up by them? Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Third Uncle left a message at the counter, we can eat whatever we want.”
Li Jinzhu’s face was beaming with unconcealable joy.
“Eldest Sister, have you had breakfast? What do you want to eat?” Li Xiaonan asked, linking her arm with Li Jinzhu’s.
“You little chatterbox,” Li Jinzhu tapped Li Xiaonan’s forehead with her finger. “Then let’s have chicken soup rice, with two poached eggs in one bowl!”
“Okay!”
Li Jinzhu spoke to the shopkeeper and went into the backyard. She saw a woman squatting by her basin of clothes, washing them vigorously.
“Hey! Those are mine…”
“Oh my! It was my oversight. How could I let Eldest Madam do such rough work? From now on, if you need to wash clothes or use water, Eldest Madam, just give the order,” the shopkeeper quickly stepped forward, explaining with a smile.
Li Jinzhu was a little flustered, holding Li Xiaonan’s hand tightly, and smiled apologetically at the shopkeeper. “Thank you. We’ll thank you again when Third Uncle returns.”
“You’re too kind. Please sit and have a cup of tea. The dishes will be ready shortly,” the shopkeeper said, stepping aside with a smile.
Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan chose a table in the corner and sat down. A moment later, a shop assistant brought two bowls of chicken soup rice, a dish of shredded cucumber with shredded chicken, and a dish of braised chicken offal.
“Eat more!” Li Jinzhu whispered, picking up an egg from her bowl, about to put it into Li Xiaonan’s bowl.
“I have one too, two each!” Li Xiaonan quickly showed Eldest Sister the poached eggs.
Li Jinzhu paused for a moment, then smiled, withdrew her hand, carefully looked at the poached egg, and took a small bite.
After they finished eating, Li Xiaonan said to Li Jinzhu with a smile, “Eldest Sister, Brother won’t be back until after dinner. Shall we go out for a stroll?”
“Okay,” Li Jinzhu agreed immediately.
Her little A Nan loved looking at everything. This trip to Hangcheng, A Nan had been focused on studying and hadn’t dared to look at the excitement along the way. Now that the exam was over, she had to let A Nan see her fill.
After explaining to the shopkeeper, Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan left the tavern together.
………………………………
You little chatterbox: You child, full of emotion.
