Chapter 69: The Trouble Brought About

  Inside the Drunken Fragrance Building, a lively scene unfolded. The shop assistants stood at the entrance, greeting and bidding farewell to customers, their shouts of welcome never-ending. Just by looking at the throngs of people going in and out, one could imagine how good the business inside was.

  Qin Dai Xin arrived at the first floor lounge and didn't see the person she was supposed to meet, so she went upstairs to the second floor, thinking about what had just happened as she walked.

  She simply wanted to help the poor mother and daughter, but didn't expect it to turn out like this. She had never seen anyone in this world who would willingly sell themselves into slavery instead of being free. Could it be a trap? After thinking about it carefully, she laughed again. She was really scared of being schemed against. Apart from the Qin and Gong Sun families, who would dare to scheme against her? Moreover, the mother and daughter duo had some accent from elsewhere and were relatives of Chen Zhanggui, so they wouldn't be ungrateful, right? It was precisely because she wanted to settle them down that Qin Dai didn't let Ruyi follow, fearing that they would be unfamiliar with the place and unable to find anyone when they needed help.

  Just as she was thinking about it, she unknowingly arrived at the second floor. Raising her eyes to look around, she saw three people she wanted to find sitting in a corner.

  Hei Daigeku, dressed in rough clothes, although he also wanted to be more ordinary, his body involuntarily emitted an intimidating aura, scaring some people who didn't dare eat near him and retreated far away.

  In contrast to Pei Hu, there was the military strategist Zhao Shu. He was called a military strategist simply because he was the only one among a group of bandits who had read books. He had a gentle disposition and a clear mind, and did things in an orderly manner, which made him slightly better than the bandits who were impulsive and only knew how to fight. Although he also wore coarse linen clothes, his temperament was more akin to that of a scholar from a poor family.

  There was another person, Qin Dai Xin also knew, Xiao Tou Mu Xu Daichuan. On that day, it was he who brought the horse cart, so Qin Dai Xin had an impression of him too. In her memory, this person used to be a hunter by profession.

  Three people are drinking quietly, except for the military advisor who is a bit more civilized, the other two's eating seems to be not very good.

  Qin Dai walked towards their table, but had only gone halfway when she saw Xu Dachuan reveal a wary expression. If it weren't for the military advisor holding him back and whispering something in his ear, Qin Dai feared that he would have pulled out his knife to chase her away.

  "Third Miss, what's with your getup?" Xu Dachuan boomed as soon as she sat down.

  The voice was very loud, but no one dared to look this way. Pei Hu stretched out his palm-like paw and slapped him on the head, "Just you can, speak softly." In fact, his voice was even louder than Xu Dakuan's.

  Qin Dai Xin looked at it and shook her head, even General Zhao Shu had a helpless expression.

  "Let's talk about serious matters! I got a deed for an estate, and on that estate there is an abandoned winery. I plan to make use of it." Qin Dai simply shared her plan with the three of them, and when they heard that there was land to farm and a winery where everyone could work, they were all very happy. They could settle down there and have a stable income, which was a dream they had been seeking for many years but had yet to achieve.

  "Tomorrow morning, brothers will be waiting for me on the way to Xiaoqianzhuang. I'll take a horse-drawn carriage to meet up with you all. Once we arrive at the manor, I'll arrange your accommodations and brief you on specific matters. There's just one thing: no one is allowed to cause trouble or bully the tenants, farmers, or anyone else in the manor."

  "Third Miss, rest assured! We are not the kind of people who bully others with our power." Xu Dakuan spoke quickly and almost got slapped by Pei Hu again.

  "Third Miss, rest assured, I will restrain them. Although we are all rough men, we have never done anything that goes against heaven and reason. This is one thing we can definitely do." Zhao Shu still had some confidence in his brothers, they were all from poor origins, knew how hard it was for these common people, over the years, his brothers had never robbed or harmed ordinary people, according to the books, this kind of person was called a righteous outlaw.

  Hei Da Ge also expressed his attitude, saying that his greatest wish is to go on the battlefield and kill enemies, but now it's a peaceful world, there's no such opportunity. However, second best, being able to live an ordinary life, having food and clothing without worries is also a good thing.

  The four of them chatted happily and didn't disperse until after a while. Qin Dai returned to the Qin Manor alone, waiting for two hours before Ruyi came back.

  "Have you settled down?" Qin Dai asked somewhat absent-mindedly while flipping through a miscellaneous book in her hand.

  "Arrangements were made at the Lucky Inn, and Li Daifu was found to examine the girl's illness. They said they would stay for a few days and come to seek refuge with Miss after recovering from their illness." Ruyi didn't even bother with etiquette, hastily drinking a big mouthful of water before speaking clearly, apparently exhausted. "Miss, what do you make of this? You helped them, but instead got entangled in all these troubles."

  "What's all the fuss about!" Chunli brought in a plate of dried fruits and placed it on the small table by the kang.

  Ru Yi told Chun Li about what had happened, and then said: "Our house is already chaotic enough. Now, for no reason at all, two more people have come in. I'm worried that the others in the other courtyards will be dissatisfied. It's almost noon, and I haven't even eaten a mouthful of rice yet!"

  "It's just that our young master is too handsome when dressed as a man, and that little girl has taken a liking to him."

  Before Qin Dai could speak, Ruyi tapped her forehead and said: "Tsk, you dare to say anything, shameless. That big sister-in-law saw that our young lady was disguised as a man at a glance."

  "Oh!" This matter caught Qin Dai's attention, "What did you say?"

  It turned out that the elderly woman had long discovered Qin Dai Xin's true identity as a woman. Seeing her dressed in an unsophisticated manner, yet seemingly worldly-wise, she thought to herself that Qin must be a young lady from a wealthy family. Thus, she harbored thoughts of selling herself into slavery. Although she and her daughter had two hundred taels of silver on them, which was no small sum, the two weak women were already lucky not to be bullied; how could they possibly engage in any lucrative business? Therefore, she thought of going to a wealthy family's household to work as a servant, and once she had a secure place to live, it wouldn't be too late for her to redeem herself.

  "I see that the big sister is not very old, and her daughter is already 15 years old. She looks pretty, but a bit weak. However, according to Doctor Li, she'll be fine once she's recovered. This mother-daughter pair is quite interesting, they want us to help them settle down first, and then they'll redeem themselves. They're really clever."

  The three masters and servants chatted for a while, Qin Dai thought they were tired, so she lay down on the kang and took a nap. Ruyi and Chunli didn't dare to disturb her, each busy with their own work.

  She didn't know how long she had slept, but Qin Dai's ears were suddenly filled with the sound of arguing voices. Like Yi and Chun Li's voices seemed urgent and a bit suppressed, mixed with a haughty and arrogant voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

  Qin Dai Xin opened her eyes to find herself alone in the room, but the sound of arguing was still clearly audible. Before she could make sense of what was happening, footsteps were heard outside, followed by the sound of kicking at the door. The chaotic footsteps drew closer and closer, until Qin Jia's second miss, Qin Qian Xin, burst in with a group of people.

  Qin Qianxin stretched out a finger, pointing at Qin Dai's nose and asked: "What did you say to Si Mei? She actually cried and ran to beg me, saying that she would rather become a nun than be a concubine of the Jia family."

  Qin Dai's heart didn't understand, how could I be sitting on my own kang and still offend people? Who did I provoke?

  PS: Favorites dropped again? Everyone cheer up, I'll work harder too!