Chapter 111 Rewarding Monsoon
Ji Feng parked the carriage beside Liu's Noodle House in advance according to the time Qianhuan said, but after waiting for more than two quarters of an hour, Qianhuan still didn't show up. He stood beside the carriage and looked at the alley entrance anxiously. He was relieved when he saw her finally come out of the alley.
"Ji Feng, I had something urgent tonight that delayed me for some time, so I came so late. I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting again." Qian Huan said apologetically.
"It's okay. It's my duty to wait for you. You don't have to feel sorry." The young man's gentle voice sounded.
A driver like him is used to being ordered around. No employer would be as polite to him as this young employer. This young employer always makes him feel respected. He is lucky to meet such an employer.
After Qianhuan climbed onto the carriage and sat firmly in it, Ji Feng began to pull the reins and whip the horse as it galloped towards Yunfeng Village.
Qianhuan had ridden in Ji Feng's car several times and had become somewhat familiar with him. In the dark, she lifted the car curtain and began chatting with Ji Feng.
She asked curiously, "Ji Feng, who did you learn to drive from? Why did you become a rickshaw driver at such a young age?"
She learned from Ji Feng that Ji Feng's father was originally a coachman, and he learned how to ride a horse and drive a car from his father.
Later, his father unfortunately passed away, leaving only him and his mother in the family. His mother became seriously ill, and in order to earn money to treat his mother's illness and buy medicine, he started working as a coachman at a young age.
He is also a miserable person, Qianhuan sighed in her heart.
The carriage stopped at a fork in the road. Qianhuan fished out five coins from her bosom and handed them over: "Ji Feng, you always drive me home late at night. You've worked so hard. This five coins is a reward from me. Just consider it as your payment for staying up late."
She had already rewarded him once last time, and just after Qianhuan learned about his family situation, she decided to reward him again.
Five cents was just a drop in the bucket compared to her ten taels of silver per night, but for the boy's family, it might be a hope. Besides, Ji Feng was really conscientious in picking him up and dropping him off, and he was totally worth the reward.
"Thank you." Ji Feng didn't act pretentiously this time. After thanking, he took the reward money and put it in his arms. He had been saving money to find a doctor for his mother, but unfortunately he had not saved even one or two taels of silver so far.
Qianhuan jumped off the carriage, turned into the path, and walked quickly towards home.
When she arrived at the earthen wall, she was dumbfounded. She was so busy putting the bench in the yard that she forgot to put it outside the wall.
She jumped and reached towards the wall, but was always just a little bit short. She was so anxious that she was running around. She couldn't just stand outside the wall all night, or she would be frozen into an ice stick.
"You can go in by stepping on my shoulders." The young man's clear voice rang out.
Qianhuan was startled by the sudden voice, but she quickly came to her senses. She recognized the voice of the coachman and turned around and asked in confusion, "Ji Feng, why are you following me?"
"It's too late. I was worried about you walking alone at night, so I followed you here. Don't worry, I have no ill intentions and I won't say anything nonsense." Ji Feng was afraid that he would misunderstand, so he explained a little more.
Seeing that the young boy was thin and his height was just up to his shoulders, Ji Feng was a little worried about him walking at night, so he tied the carriage in the bamboo forest and followed behind him to escort him all the way.
Under the faint moonlight, Qianhuan looked into his extremely sincere eyes and nodded in agreement.
The young boy squatted down and she stepped on him. After climbing over the earthen wall, she stepped on a high stool inside the wall, turned around and said softly to Ji Feng: "Ji Feng, thank you. Be careful on your way back when you drive yourself."
"Okay, I understand. Go in now."
Qianhuan jumped lightly from the wooden stool, wiped the shoe prints off the stool, and climbed into her bedroom through the half-open window.
When Ji Feng saw her enter his yard, he turned around and walked away.
Seeing that the young master had to climb over the wall to return to his home, he guessed that he must have sneaked out without telling his parents. Although Ji Feng was puzzled as to why the young master always sneaked out late at night, he did not have the habit of prying into other people's privacy.
He only had to fulfill his duties as a coachman and pick up and drop off his employer on time. He had no right to know anything else. Besides, this young employer was really a good, generous and kind person, so he had to do his best to escort him.
Qianhuan climbed into the room through the window, lit the oil lamp, found a handy tool to dig the hole in the earth, and hid all the 200 taels of silver notes in it. There were already 260 taels of silver in the small wooden box. After she drew the blueprints, she would prepare to build a house and a workshop.
After covering the pit tightly, she took off her coat and got into bed to sleep. Thinking that she was getting closer to her plan of making money, she fell asleep happily.
The next day Qianhuan got up very early. She put the ten taels of silver she earned from dancing last night and the remaining silver in her arms, about thirty taels in total. She planned to take the silver to the county town to buy a bundle of six gifts for Mr. Fan.
After she had breakfast, she took a few pounds of sand for frying sugar and chestnuts and went to her aunt's house.
Wenjie knew that he had to visit the teacher this morning. He was nervous and excited. He got up early, put on his new cotton jacket and trousers, and waited at the gate of the courtyard with a cloth bag containing pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
Seeing Qianhuan coming over, he waved his hands and shouted happily: "Sister Qianhuan, you finally came to pick me up."
"Wenjie, from now on when I dress up as a man, please don't call me Sister Qianhuan anymore, especially when we are at the master's place, you should call me Brother Shanbo. From now on when I dress up as a man, you should call me Liang Shanbo, remember?"
Qianhuan had already told her parents that she would use the name Liang Shanbo when she dressed up as a man.
"Okay, Sister Qianhua...Oh, no, it's Brother Shanbo. I remember it."
"Well, just remember it. Have you had breakfast?"
Wenjie nodded obediently, "I've already eaten it. My mother made me a pancake."
Chen couldn't help but start coughing again. Qianhuan felt distressed when she heard her coughing.
After she stopped coughing, Chen smiled and said to Qianhuan, "This child knew that he would go to see the master today, and he told me before going to bed last night that I must wake him up early this morning. After he finished breakfast, he stood at the door waiting for you to pick him up."
Qianhuan touched Wenjie's head and said with a smile: "Haha, Wenjie, I hope you can be as positive about studying as you were today. Don't be lazy and give up."
"Brother Shanbo, don't worry, I will definitely love studying as much as I do today in the future."
"Well, let's go. Brother Shanbo will take you to the county town by ox cart."
"Wait a moment, cough cough..." Chen called the two people again amid a cough.
Qianhuan turned around and asked, "Aunt, do you have anything else to tell me?"