Chapter 41

PS: Wishing all the book friends a great Year of the Horse, may you become rich soon, and I also request recommendations and collections!

The crowd present probably did not expect that the family who donated the most would be the Song family, who had been disgraced recently due to a broken engagement. This surprised most people. However, after the initial shock, many quickly understood that the father and son of the Song family were trying to regain their lost reputation through this method.

It must be said that the Song family indeed made a good move, using the donation to rebuild their reputation, which earned them the admiration of many present. Of course, this did not include Zhou Chong, who now wished he had slapped himself. If he had known that the Song family would use his idea to restore their reputation, he wouldn't have...

But when he thought about it, Zhou Chong suddenly felt deflated. Even if he had known that the Song family would use his method to gain fame, he would still have told Xu Shen about it, as it was a matter of life and death for over twenty thousand disaster victims.

"Wen Da, don't be too disheartened. In business, credit is the most important. The broken engagement has already revealed the true nature of the Song family to many people. No matter how much they try to salvage their reputation, they can't change the impression they've left in everyone's minds, and their business won't recover immediately!" Li Zheng, noticing Zhou Chong's dejection, consoled him.

"Forget it, doing good deeds always comes with a price. The Song family must have donated a lot of money to be the top donor. That money could save many lives, so I'll just consider it as if they donated on my behalf!" Zhou Chong appeared quite magnanimous. There would be plenty of opportunities to deal with the Song family in the future. If he were to strike them down with one blow, it would be rather boring.

The ceremony continued, with Mr. Wang and Mr. Song unveiling the red cloth on the merit stele. The stele, about six feet tall, had cloud patterns and auspicious beasts carved at the top. On the side facing the road, rows of small characters were densely carved, listing the names and origins of the donors.

After the unveiling, Governor Xu gave a speech and declared the ceremony complete. The crowd then rushed into the pavilion to examine the amounts donated by each family. When they saw that the Song family had donated two thousand taels, it caused another stir, and many people looked at the Song father and son with admiration, making Mr. Song even more pleased.

Zhou Chong didn't want to go into the pavilion, but Li Zheng and Zhang Kuang, being very curious, dragged him in to look at the stele for a long time. They discussed which families had donated too little, gossiping like the old women on the street. Xu Shen was called away by Governor Xu, and no one knew what for.

However, while Zhou Chong was accompanying Li Zheng and Zhang Kuang, he suddenly felt someone approach. When he turned around, he found it was the Second Master Song, whom he had tricked several times.

"Zhou Shao, you really have the leisure to come and look at the merit stele. Too bad our Song family is at the top, while your Zhou family doesn't even have a name on it. How pitiful!" The Second Master Song taunted Zhou Chong with a smug look. Today, their Song family had the spotlight, which boosted his confidence. Seeing Zhou Chong in the crowd, he came over to mock him.

Zhou Chong didn't expect the Second Master Song to dare to provoke him. He first sized up the other man, then retorted, "I wondered who it was. It's the Second Master Song who invited me for tea last time. What, do you want to invite me for tea again today?"

Hearing Zhou Chong mention the incident at the teahouse, the Second Master Song was instantly filled with anger. He pointed at Zhou Chong and said, "Shameless! Only a scoundrel like you would use such despicable means!"

"Ha ha ha, you too! Your Song family's betrayal and treachery are already well-known throughout the city. Compared to you, my shame is nothing!" In his previous life, Zhou Chong had dealt with all sorts of people and knew that the key to verbally outmaneuvering someone was not to get angry and to maintain a smiling face, which would have a greater effect.

Sure enough, seeing Zhou Chong's smiling face and his infuriating words, the Second Master Song was so angry that he trembled, unable to speak, only managing to stutter, "You... you..."

Seeing the Second Master Song lose his composure, Zhou Chong felt a sense of disdain. Such a person could be so easily provoked by a few words, showing no depth at all. In contrast, Mr. Song was much more difficult to deal with. Although they had only met once, through their interactions, Zhou Chong found that Mr. Song was thick-skinned and good at seizing opportunities, making him a worthy opponent.

Thinking of this, Zhou Chong felt a sense of boredom looking at the red-faced Second Master Song, as if he were bullying a child, which gave him no sense of achievement. Fortunately, Li Zheng and Zhang Kuang had finished looking at the stele, and Zhou Chong ignored the Second Master Song, walking out of the pavilion with them. The Second Master Song, angry but hesitant to chase after them, could only stomp his feet in frustration.

However, just as Zhou Chong left the pavilion, someone blocked his path again. This time, it was a middle-aged servant who bowed and said, "Zhou Shao, please wait, my master wishes to see you!"

The middle-aged servant pointed to the north of the pavilion, and Zhou Chong turned to see his future father-in-law, Mr. Wang Lun, standing there, still glaring at him with a stern look.

Seeing that it was Mr. Wang Lun, Zhou Chong immediately felt a chill. After hearing Xu Shen's words, he had planned to prepare and visit the Zhou residence, but he didn't expect Mr. Wang to be so impatient, finding him right after the ceremony.

Li Zheng and Zhang Kuang also saw Mr. Wang Lun in the distance. As Zhou Chong's good friends, they knew the relationship between Mr. Wang and Zhou Chong, so they immediately encouraged him with smiles. With Mr. Wang's gaze on him, Zhou Chong had nowhere to run and could only follow the middle-aged servant to Mr. Wang.

"Cough, Uncle Wang, your nephew Zhou Chong greets you!" Zhou Chong cleared his throat and bowed deeply, knowing that despite Mr. Wang's anger, he had to show respect.

"Follow me, I have some questions for you!" Seeing Zhou Chong's polite demeanor, Mr. Wang coldly hummed and said in an icy tone. He then turned and walked away from the pavilion, leaving Zhou Chong no choice but to follow.

They walked north along the main road in front of the pavilion. Due to the recent snow, the road was still covered with snow, making it sparse with vehicles and pedestrians, providing a quiet atmosphere for the conversation between the future father-in-law and son-in-law.

"Have you paid off your family's debts?" Mr. Wang asked first.

"Uncle Wang, I have indeed paid off the debts!" Zhou Chong answered, keeping a step behind Mr. Wang.

"Hmm, how is your family now?" Mr. Wang asked again, his tone less cold.

"Everything is fine at home. Only Lady Wang among the four concubines has stayed. The others, Zuo'er and Duo'er, are still young and girls, so as the eldest, I can't let them suffer. I've been working hard to improve our living conditions and haven't had the chance to visit Uncle Wang, which is very impolite!" Using Mr. Wang's question about his family, Zhou Chong explained why he hadn't visited.

However, his explanation only made Mr. Wang coldly hum and say, "Did I ever say I was angry because you didn't visit me?"

Zhou Chong was taken aback, thinking that Mr. Wang had been frowning since he saw him, and Xu Shen had said that Mr. Wang was angry because he didn't visit. Could this be wrong?

Mr. Wang continued walking without stopping and said, "As the only man in the family, providing for your family is your responsibility. Earning money by writing books is also a respectable way for a scholar, so I support that. Visiting me or not is not important."

At this point, Mr. Wang turned to look at Zhou Chong and continued, "However, you are too bold, writing anything in your books. Although it's rare for someone to be punished for their words in our Ming Dynasty, your 'Journey to the West' uses supernatural stories to criticize current affairs, which is too sensitive. It's best to find a learned person to review your work!"

In the past, Zhou Chong might not have understood Mr. Wang's words, but as the fame of 'Journey to the West' grew, many scholars came to borrow the book. These scholars, being face-conscious, didn't directly ask for the book but made roundabout requests, forcing Zhou Chong to understand their intentions and offer the book himself.

With this experience, Zhou Chong immediately understood Mr. Wang's meaning. The words were almost identical to those of the scholars who came to borrow the book, but Mr. Wang's tone was more assertive, as he was Zhou Chong's future father-in-law and had the right to ask for things from his son-in-law.

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