bookrebus Chapter 21 Jiang Siting had no childhood
Chapter 21 Jiang Siting had no childhood
Jiang Siting has a small appetite; she only ate half a bowl of rice and a little bit of vegetables.
"Maintaining a good figure requires good health. How can you help someone have a son if you eat so little?"
"I don't want to have a son, I want to have a daughter."
"Girls are not well received by their husbands' families, and even if a son is thin, he is called a big fat boy and a man, while even if a daughter is fat, she is called a little girl."
“A little girl is not necessarily inferior to a man; she can accomplish great things just as well.”
"You're right, women hold up half the sky. Gender equality is the ultimate goal of social development, and only equality for all can lead to harmonious national development."
"You, a mere bodyguard, are always talking about social development and national harmony. I don't know where you learned that from."
Jiang Siting really enjoyed listening to Zheng Qian's risqué jokes—no, she really enjoyed listening to Zheng Qian talk about life and society.
He is truly extraordinary, with unique ideas.
He said that society and the country should be equal for everyone, and the government should establish schools instead of private schools. It is wrong that only the children of the rich can afford to go to school. Every child should be able to read and write and be enlightened from an early age so that the country can become strong.
His level of understanding is very high.
"Where did I learn that? I started learning skills at the age of one, followed the class to study at the age of three, and only finished my studies at the age of twenty-seven. I studied for twenty-seven years before entering society. I worked for five years and got up at six o'clock every morning and went to bed at midnight every night. I've been a 'king of rolls' for over thirty years. Where do you think I learned that?"
Jiang Siting lightly punched Zheng Qian with her small fists.
"Bullshit! A twenty-year-old kid dares to claim he's been the king of exams for over thirty years? That's outrageous."
"Hehe, I learned it in my dream."
Zhang Tiezhu, who was engrossed in his meal, felt a sharp pain in his teeth; he couldn't stand it, he really couldn't.
"I'm leaving Lvchang County tomorrow with Wang's Teahouse to escape the war. Will you come with me?"
Jiang Siting smiled, as if asking if the food was good today.
Zheng Qian raised his teacup. "I still have things to finish. Have a safe journey."
The people from the Jade Spear Sect might have been watching him secretly all along. He couldn't leave with Jiang Siting, otherwise Jiang Siting would be in even more danger.
The Jade Spear Sect has been completely silent these past few days; they must be planning something big.
After a long silence, Jiang Siting asked.
"are we friends?"
"of course."
"I'm meeting with the people from Wang's Teahouse at the East Gate at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. You have to come see me off, or I'll get angry."
Zheng Qian remained silent; he truly could not agree.
Wangji Tea House is the largest tea merchant in Lvchang County, and is extremely wealthy.
Their withdrawal will surely attract a lot of attention, with everyone wanting a piece of the pie.
His appearance at the Jade Spear Sect would likely lead to his intervention, further complicating the situation.
Jiang Siting understood from Zheng Qian's silence that Zheng Qian didn't consider her a friend at all, and he wasn't even willing to see her off.
She's been helping him out of her own pocket these past few days, but maybe he's still annoyed.
It's ridiculous.
The sooner you resolve matters of the heart, the better. Jiang Siting never experienced maternal love growing up and had long been accustomed to the coldness and warmth of human relationships.
"Thank you!"
After Jiang Siting finished speaking, she got up and left.
She sincerely thanked Zheng Qian for the joy he had brought her these past few days, a joy she had never experienced before.
Zheng Qian, who received the telepathic power, was a little stunned. What was this girl thinking?
Zheng Qian had no appetite, and when it was time to pay the bill, the owner refused to accept the money.
"Chief Escort Zheng, this meal is on me as a thank you for ordering the gold coin set the other day. Someone paid the balance the night before last, and I got a pretty good bonus."
The words of the owner of Zuiyixuan confused Zheng Qian. He had eaten there more than ten days ago and had only settled the final payment the day before yesterday.
The owner of Zuiyixuan immediately told Zheng Qian what had happened. After he left that day, Bai Shao, Hua Zhongzheng, and Hei Xiong had no money to pay their bills. In the end, Bai Shao and Hua Zhongzheng guaranteed that Hei Xiong would pay it off later.
As a result, the black bear died the next day, Bai Shao and Hua Zhongzheng disappeared, and the boss behind Zuiyixuan ordered Biqiangmen to pay. The night before last, someone placed the final payment and a note with payment instructions on the table of Zuiyixuan.
Zheng Qian knew that the owner behind Zuiyixuan was the son of the lord of the manor, so Biqiangmen dared not disobey and could only obediently pay the money.
The payment method weighed heavily on Zheng Qian's mind; the person making the payment didn't want anyone to know he was there, which was why they used this method.
Who is this person?
As dawn broke in the east, Jiang Siting led a group of people to meet up with the people from Wang's Teahouse at the East Gate on time.
The madam watched Jiang Siting standing by the carriage, gazing at the street, and couldn't help but feel sad.
No one wanted to leave their home and flee for their lives, but when war came, what could these women do? To survive was their greatest hope.
The madam took out a cloak and draped it over Jiang Siting, she said in a low voice.
"Tingting, we will come back after the war. Don't miss anything. Staying alive is the most important thing. Get in the car first, and be careful not to catch a cold."
Shaking her head, Jiang Siting stood stubbornly in place.
A man with half-gray hair walked over, his eyes gentle.
"Tingting, let's ride in the same carriage. We haven't talked in a long time."
He is Jiang Siting's father, the owner of Wang's Tea House, and the largest tea merchant in Lvchang County. Everyone respectfully calls him Master Wang.
The Red Turban Rebellion was sudden, and the Red Turban Army's territory was only three county towns away from Lüchang County.
Old Master Wang has a keen eye for business, having spent his life in the business world. He believes that Lvchang County will be captured by the Red Turban Army sooner or later, so leaving sooner is safer.
Jiang Siting was a smart child from a young age. She ran away from home at the age of thirteen to make a living, and at seventeen she took over Lichunlou and became the boss, becoming a well-known artist in Lvchang County. He was still very happy.
Jiang Siting politely declined, saying, "Thank you, Father, but I'm not feeling well and want to rest by myself."
Grandpa Wang sighed helplessly and returned to the queue at Wang's Teahouse to check if the goods were loaded properly.
Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes; every family has its own set of problems.
At this moment, the two sons of the Wang family rode by on tall horses.
"Bah! My Wang family is a prestigious family, how could we have such a disgraceful piece of trash?"
"At such an advanced age, she's still unmarried and spends her days posing and selling herself for money. She's a disgrace to the Wang family."
"Father is really something. They're all people who've been kicked out of the house. Why did he have to ask her to come along? He should just let her die here."
"You might not necessarily die; you might be recruited as a prostitute for the Red Turban Army."
"The top courtesan of the Red Turban Army."
"Hahaha."
The two spoke loudly and unrestrainedly, drawing strange looks from those around them towards Jiang Siting.
It's common knowledge that she sells her art, not her body, but she couldn't withstand the rumors spread by her two younger brothers.
Being in the Lichun brothel and having her family spread rumors about her, what could she do?
Killing her two half-brothers would only make her father more upset, so Jiang Siting chose to tolerate it.
Jiang Siting had never met her mother. Grandpa Wang told Jiang Siting that her mother had disappeared and he didn't know where she was.
When he was three years old, Grandpa Wang got married and a year later his son was born. Four-year-old Jiang Siting helped her younger brother wash diapers during the day and had to get up at night to feed him milk.
In the third year, after giving birth to her second child, Jiang Siting slept in the woodshed, but she still did all the laundry and cooking, and she wasn't even allowed to eat at the table.
Mr. Wang had argued with his wife many times, and even fought with her. He couldn't understand why his gentle and virtuous wife had become like this after marriage.
You promised me you'd treat Tingting well, so why did you change your mind?
In a fit of anger, Old Master Wang also got angry.
He devoted himself to his career, turning Wangji Tea House from a small tea shop into the head of tea merchants in Lvchang County.
Even though they hired a helper, his wife still made Jiang Siting do the dirty and tiring work, and the pay was even worse than the helper's.
Jiang Siting has no memory of childhood, because her childhood was full of pain.
At the age of thirteen, Jiang Siting met the madam and her sister, the madam and her sister. She left the Wang family and started the Lichun Brothel with the madam and her sister. At the age of seventeen, she became the top courtesan of the Lichun Brothel.
Jiang Siting had a hairpin that her mother left her. She accidentally opened it and saw the secret recipe for rouge inside, thus gaining control of the economic lifeline of Lichunlou and becoming the big boss of Lichunlou.