Chapter 50

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On the way back, however, Butler Xu looked worried and said, "Young Master, the identity of that Miss Xie is not simple. Even Mama Qiu in the annex is afraid of her. If what you said today gets to her ears, she might come looking for trouble with you."

Previously, Zhou Chong deliberately made his relationship with Xie Lingyun seem ambiguous to anger that Second Young Master Song. However, from Mama Qiu's subsequent behavior, it was clear that Xie Lingyun's background was not as simple as they imagined. At the very least, the Xie family's influence must be far greater than what was shown on the surface. Otherwise, a place like the annex would not have proactively requested a refund just because Zhou Chong and Xie Lingyun were close. Moreover, Mama Qiu seemed to be very afraid of Xie Lingyun.

Actually, Zhou Chong had been thinking about why Xie Lingyun had such great influence even before Butler Xu reminded him. After much consideration, he could only conclude that the Xie family was not simple. As for how exactly the Xie family was not simple, that was not something he could guess.

"It's fine. Even if Xie Lingyun knows what I said today, she won't do anything to me!" Zhou Chong said confidently. Although their Zhou family had gone bankrupt, the Zhou family's connections still existed. For example, his future father-in-law, Lord Wang Lun, was someone even the Prefect had to humble himself to befriend. With him backing him up, even if the Xie family really wanted to move against him, they would have to think twice. Besides, Xie Lingyun was not an ordinary woman. With her depth of character, she wouldn't care about a few rumors.

When Zhou Chong and Butler Xu returned to the manor with Suniang, the sun had already set. Concubine Wang and Zhuo'er had already prepared dinner. Seeing Zhou Chong and the others, they immediately invited them to sit down. Concubine Wang, in particular, warmly said, "Chong'er and Uncle Xu, please sit down. This must be Sister Suniang. Please sit and rest. Since you're pregnant, you should take good care of yourself. I'll invite a doctor to adjust your health in a few days."

Seeing Concubine Wang's warmth, Suniang was pleasantly surprised. On the way, Butler Xu had introduced her to the Zhou family's situation. Although Concubine Wang was nominally a concubine, she was highly respected by Young Master Zhou Chong and held a high status in the entire Zhou family. Suniang had been considering how to please Concubine Wang, but she never expected that the other party would be so approachable and treat her as a sister.

"Thank you, Madam. After being redeemed by Young Master, I am now a servant of the Zhou family. Please just call me Suniang in the future!" Although Concubine Wang called her 'Sister Suniang,' Suniang did not dare to be presumptuous and considered herself a servant.

However, Zhou Chong, who had just sat down, interjected, "Suniang, don't say that. Uncle Xu is loyal to our Zhou family. Even though our family has fallen, he has never left us. My aunt, my sister, and I all consider Uncle Xu as family. So don't think of yourself as a servant!"

As Zhou Chong spoke, he took out Suniang's indenture contract from his pocket and handed it to her, saying, "This is your indenture contract. Now it's yours to handle. In a few days, Uncle Xu will take you to the government office to register your household. Then we'll have a celebration, as a belated wedding for you. When the child is born, your family will be part of ours. If you get bored, come to the inner quarters and chat with Aunt."

Suniang, holding the indenture contract and listening to Zhou Chong's sincere words, was moved to tears. She wanted to kneel and kowtow to Zhou Chong, but Concubine Wang stopped her. After all, she was pregnant, and the ground was cold. It would be bad if she hurt the child.

The dinner was very harmonious. Throughout the meal, Butler Xu kept serving Suniang, while he himself ate very little. Suniang was initially a bit restrained, but as she chatted with Concubine Wang and Zhuo'er, she gradually relaxed. Moreover, she had not been eating well in the annex recently, and now she needed nutrition. In the end, she ate two large bowls of rice, and Concubine Wang kept praising her, saying she would definitely give birth to a healthy baby boy.

After dinner, Butler Xu took Suniang to the front courtyard to introduce her to the general layout of the Zhou manor. Zhou Chong, on the other hand, went to deliver dinner to Wu Shan. However, when he arrived at Wu Shan's courtyard with the food box, he saw Wu Shan using a simple crutch to slowly come out of the toilet.

Seeing this, Zhou Chong hurriedly went to support him, saying, "Old Wu, don't you have a chamber pot under your bed? Why did you go to the toilet outside?"

Wu Shan grinned and said, "It's fine. I'm almost recovered. Walking a bit doesn't take much effort."

Zhou Chong helped Wu Shan into the room and had him wash his hands to prepare for the meal. Because of Wu Shan's injuries, he had been eating in bed for a while. For this, Butler Xu had specially found a low table, which was placed on the bed during meals, similar to a computer desk used in bed, making it very convenient.

While Wu Shan was eating, Zhou Chong briefly told him about Butler Xu and Suniang. Butler Xu would definitely introduce Suniang to Wu Shan later, so it was good for him to be prepared.

Wu Shan was very happy to hear that Butler Xu was going to have a child. He asked some questions about Suniang and then seemed to remember something. He turned over and took out a black object from a small box at the head of the bed, saying, "Young Master Zhou, since Uncle Xu is finally going to have a child, I don't have much to give him. This longevity lock is something I wore when I was a child. Do you think it would be good to give it to Uncle Xu's child?"

Zhou Chong took the longevity lock and examined it, finding it was made of silver. The surface was black and dirty due to oxidation. He smiled at Wu Shan and said, "Old Wu, giving a longevity lock is appropriate, but the child hasn't been born yet, so it's a bit early to give a gift. Also, your longevity lock is black. It would be best to have a craftsman refurbish it. That way, the child can wear it beautifully!"

Wu Shan nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "You're right, Young Master Zhou. I'll have it refurbished when I recover. By then, the child will be close to being born, and it will be just in time!"

While chatting and eating with Wu Shan, he quickly finished the food. After burping, he and Zhou Chong started to clean up the dishes. However, at this moment, Zhou Chong noticed that when Wu Shan reached out, the inside of his thick forearm had a strange fish tattoo. The fish was short and stout, resembling a carp, but with very wide pectoral fins, making it quite distinctive. Zhou Chong had eaten many fish in his previous life, but he couldn't recall the name of the fish tattooed on Wu Shan's arm.

Zhou Chong was about to ask Wu Shan what fish was tattooed on his arm, but at that moment, Butler Xu and Suniang walked in. Seeing Zhou Chong and Wu Shan cleaning up the dishes, Suniang immediately went to help. Although she was pregnant, she was still in the early stages, so she moved quickly and soon put everything back into the food box.

At this point, Butler Xu introduced her, saying, "Wu Shan, this is your Aunt Xu. If you need any sewing or mending, feel free to ask her."

"Wu Shan greets Aunt!" Wu Shan hurriedly tried to get up to bow, but Suniang stopped him, saying, "Brother Wu Shan, you are injured. Don't get up. Today, Aunt is just here to meet you. If you need any sewing or mending in the future, don't be shy with Aunt!"

Seeing Suniang's warmth and thinking about Butler Xu's care for him, Wu Shan, a rough man, was deeply moved. Butler Xu and Suniang stayed and chatted with Wu Shan for a while before returning to their own courtyard. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and now that they had a child, they had a lot to talk about.

After saying goodbye to Wu Shan, Zhou Chong took the dishes back to Concubine Wang's courtyard. In the bedroom, he could hear the laughter of Duo'er and Zhuo'er playing. The window paper showed the silhouette of Concubine Wang, who was making new clothes for the New Year for Zhou Chong and his siblings. Not wanting to disturb her, Zhou Chong went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Only then did he let Concubine Wang lock the courtyard gate and return to his own courtyard.

At this time every day, Zhou Chong would write "Journey to the West" under the oil lamp. He had finally finished the last chapter this morning. He thought he could relax, but unexpectedly, he had to sign a document with Xie Lingyun, agreeing to write another novel that could rival "Journey to the West."

"There are only four great classical novels in Chinese history. 'Water Margin' and 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' are out of the question. The only novel that can rival 'Journey to the West' is 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Could I really write 'Dream of the Red Chamber'?" Zhou Chong muttered to himself as he sat under the lamp.

However, Zhou Chong soon realized that 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was written during the Qing Dynasty and contained a lot of detailed and realistic descriptions that might not match the lifestyle of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, Zhou Chong could use the excuse of 'fictional writing,' but if he used it too often, it might raise suspicions. Therefore, it would be best to find a novel from the Ming Dynasty.

However, although the Ming Dynasty was a peak period for the development of novels in Chinese history, finding another novel that could rival 'Journey to the West' besides 'Water Margin' and 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' was a very difficult task.

Zhou Chong sat there, thinking hard for a long time but could not come up with any ideas. Finally, he took out a piece of paper and a pen, wrote down the names of the four great classical novels, and sat there, examining them while thinking, muttering to himself, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber. Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin..."

"Wait!" At this moment, a flash of inspiration came to Zhou Chong. He stared intently at one of the names of the four great classical novels and burst out laughing, "Hahaha, I'm so foolish. How could I forget it? Xie Lingyun, Xie Lingyun, you just want a profitable novel, right? I'll give you the most profitable novel. I wonder if you have the courage to read it!"