Chapter 393: The Encounter
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Bai Cha.”
“Master He.”
Bai Cha immediately replied.
“Am I despicable now?” He Hong asked.
Bai Cha was silent for a moment, thinking, before saying, “You can’t help yourself, it’s understandable. However, I don’t quite understand why you don’t care about Cheng’er.”
“Isn’t he your son?”
He Hong stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath.
“When I left, I was full of ambition. But in this world, it’s very difficult to achieve things without someone backing you up.”
“Five hundred taels of silver was cheated away in one go.”
“I even begged on the streets for two months. How could I have the face to come back?”
“I have been to Chenzhou City, and seeing Brother Heng getting higher and higher, I don’t have the courage anymore.”
The five hundred taels was his money to start anew.
He remembered that he would return what was borrowed, but Cheng’er… He couldn’t take him away.
“Cheng’er is living in the Marquis’ manor. Brother Heng and Sister-in-law will never treat him badly, and he has been brought up very well.”
“My wife was born to a merchant family. Although she is not stingy, she told me directly that she will not welcome Cheng’er and she doesn’t want me to take Cheng’er back.”
“Bai Cha, if I can go back to the past, I will never leave Puyi County, nor will I abandon Cheng’er.”
“But money is hard to earn. If I had known earlier…” He sighed, “There is no medicine for regret in this world. I can’t go back to the past, and I can’t leave my wife now. I can only make Cheng’er suffer.”
Bai Cha wanted to tell him that Cheng’er was very unlucky.
He never knew there were parents like Cheng’er’s.
One was vicious and the other was hypocritical.
However, Bai Cha was also glad that He Cheng had met his Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, and had a complete family.
“I see.” Bai Cha said lightly.
When they arrived at the barracks, Bai Chai introduced He Hong to Shopkeeper Zhu. The latter was busy sorting out the things Zeng Asan brought.
Zeng Asan may look unreliable and always liked to smile cheekily, but the was actually the most reliable.
He was cautious and considerate.
This time, he brought a lot of herbs and salt.
But he had to organize them.
The salt should be kept, and the medicinal herbs should be put in the pharmacy.
Shopkeeper Zhu was a very tactful person. His words and actions were flawless. Although Bai Cha brought He Hong over, he was still doing his job. Even when He Hong said that he wanted to provide food to the military camp, Shopkeeper Zhu discussed everything in detail with He Hong.
The price had to be lowered. It was impossible to raise it higher than others.
After a while, He Hong became a little wary of the man.
Because Shopkeeper Zhu was difficult to deal with; the price he offered was very tight. He refused to give He Hong a single leeway.
“Master He, you need to understand that with so many people in our barracks, we need a lot of food every day. The military’s income is limited.”
Of course Shopkeeper Zhu didn’t say that the barracks now had nearly 10,000 people. These people had to go to open up wasteland and farm every afternoon.
They had already planted a crop of wheat. The feces were preserved and fermented according to the Marchioness’ instructions and then used to water it. Anyway, their crops grew very well.
The vegetables and radishes that had been planted were growing very well.
There were basically no leftovers, but there was pot-washing soup and green leaves, and they raised dozens of pigs as well.
The Marchioness said that as long as one was diligent enough, one would be able to be self-sufficient sooner or later.
He Hong nodded repeatedly at Shopkeeper Zhu’s explanation.
He understood this.
“The price is negotiable.”
When he joined the family, his father-in-law and several of his brothers-in-law had discussed the price carefully.
The price could be negotiated, and Shopkeeper Zhu knew that the deal could be negotiated too, “Then let’s talk about it in detail.”
Han Qiao didn’t have much malice towards He Hong.
After Heng Yi returned from playing with the kids, Han Qiao said to him, “Is this the end of Cheng’er’s matters?”
“What?” Heng Yi was puzzled.
“He Hong doesn’t admit that he is his father, does that mean we’re going to change Cheng’er’s last name? Is He Hong going to write a letter of separation? Or is he planning to reap all the hard work we put into Cheng’er like it was nothing?” Han Qiao asked matter-of-factly.
“Let’s not talk about how much money it costs to raise a child, but we treat him sincerely. I don’t want others to take advantage of him.”
“Just the horse alone cost over thousands of taels of silver to get from the border to our house, not to mention the price of the horse itself.”
Although the horse will mate with a mare to give birth to a calf in the future, their original intention was to choose a good horse for He Cheng, raise it slowly, and cultivate their relationship. When He Cheng wanted to learn how to ride a horse, he would have his own horse.
He Cheng never envied Han Chi for having his own.
Han Qiao sighed again, “If I say too much, it will make me seem petty. If I don’t say anything, I’ll feel uncomfortable.”
Heng Yi understood Han Qiao’s thoughts.
His heart still ached for He Cheng.
“Don’t think about these unhappy things. As long as Cheng’er is in our family, he will be our son. When he grows up, he will understand what is right and what is wrong, and know what he wants. It will be up to him to choose.”
“While he still lives in this residence, we will teach him well and take care of him. We have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s good that we don’t feel ashamed of him.”
Han Qiao looked at Heng Yi.
She smiled sweetly, “Why are you so eloquent?”
He could even say so many words to comfort her.
“People will always change.” Heng Yi replied.
He kissed Han Qiao on the lips.
It was just words of comfort, but the two ended up kissing until they were on the bed.
“Hehe.”
“Father and Mother are biting each other’s lips.”
Hearing this, Han Qiao blushed and pushed Heng Yi away.
Heng Yi was also very embarrassed.
They were so absorbed in their desires that he didn’t hear the tiny footsteps of the two children coming in.
Han Qiao pretended to be sullen, “Why did you two come in?”
“Mother!” Ah-Yao stretched out his hand toward Han Qiao.
Han Qiao picked him up and found that his pants were wet.
“What did you do?”
Han Qiao asked, looking at He Cheng.
He Cheng immediately explained, “There are fish in the basin, and the basin turned over.”
“You both played in the water?” Han Qiao said and asked Cui Guo to bring her clothes and pants over for the boys.
She helped Ah-Yao change out of his clothes.
Cui Guo took the place of the servant girl and quickly brought over the clothes and pants.
After changing Ah-Yao’s clothes,
Ah-Yao said, “Mother, play with fish!”
“You are getting bolder.”
There was a pond behind the kitchen, where fish were usually raised. She took a few children there and told them it was dangerous, and the children never went there.
The door to the pond was also often locked, and there was an old man who was responsible for cleaning, guarding the door, and feeding the fish.
“The weather is getting cold, yet you’re still playing with water. Do you want to get slapped in the palm?” Han Qiao’s voice turned cold, and Ah-Yao became a little scared.
He Cheng also shrank away.
Zeng Bao’er and Wen Xuan outside the room, not daring to say a word.
“I told you that when the weather gets warmer, I’ll take you to learn how to swim, but that’s for next year. Can’t you wait for such a short time?”
“Mother, I was wrong.” Ah-Yao quickly admitted his mistake.
He Cheng also followed, “Mother, I know I was wrong.”
Han Qiao patted their heads, “Mother is not blaming you. You are still children, you love to play. It’s just that the weather is cold. If your clothes get wet, you can easily get sick, you know?”
“When you’re sick, you have to take bitter medicine. Do you want to take bitter medicine?”
Ah-Yao and He Cheng shook their heads quickly.
“Be good. Go and eat some grapefruit.”
The grapefruit in this season was very sweet.
Both children like to eat them.
Han Qiao was afraid that she would spoil their stomachs, so she only gave a little every day.
As soon as the two children heard this, they immediately called Wen Xuan and Zeng Bao’er to the next room.
Han Qiao looked at the still embarrassed Heng Yi and snorted.
She raised her hand to wipe off the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Han Qiao smiled and went to wash her face and change her clothes.
He Hong came to Sanzhou Town and met He Cheng. Han Qiao was not very happy at first. After two days, she noticed He Cheng did not even think of He Hong, so she threw him to the back of her mind.
Han Qiao went out and observed young women make cotton clothes..