Chu Nanzhi felt a twinge of regret when she saw the two handsome men leaving with an air of bewilderment.
Although they were not as handsome as Lin Jinxiao, they were still easy on the eye.
More importantly, if they had taken the initiative to approach her, that meant that they were not aloof.
Then, she thought about Lin Jinxiao. Not only was he paralyzed, he was also unwilling to see her.
"Sigh, I've been entertaining female guests for the entire afternoon. I finally met two elegant young men, but the shop owner chased them out just like that."
Chu Nanzhi sighed inwardly. She was just looking disappointed when the shopkeeper walked over gloomily.
"Lady, can you be merciful and let me off?"
"What do you mean? You set the rules yourself. Aren't you grateful that I helped you make so many sales this afternoon…"
"Lady, you can have your pick of whatever is left in the store. I won't take a single cent."
The shopkeeper's face was solemn. He felt pained and impatient.
"That wouldn't be nice."
"Lady, don't worry about it. It's just a few taels of silver."
As the shopkeeper spoke, he immediately handed her the pink girl's dress that she had admired, and generously gestured for her to choose a few more.
Chu Nanzhi found it hard to refuse his kindness. She chose two sets of clothes each of the four children and two sets for herself.
Finally, she thought of Lin Jinxiao and got him a long black robe.
Eleven pieces of clothing cost a total of nineteen taels of silver. After earning so much money, Chu Nanzhi generously handed ten taels of silver to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper wrapped up the clothes and handed them to her with the ten taels of silver. He half-pushed her out of the door and said with a pleading tone,
"I'm a man of my word. Please don't come back again. I'll burn incense and pray for you every day to have a long life."
Then, he quickly closed the door.
Chu Nanzhi walked out of the door in a daze and muttered to herself,
"First he despised me for not being able to afford the clothes, but when I had the money, he refused to accept it."
Puzzled!
I don't want to take advantage of him.
The coachman had dozed off. Seeing that the shopkeeper of the clothes shop had bolted the door after she left, he came over to pick her up and asked in confusion,
"This shop owner doesn't look too good."
He looked up at the sky. "It's almost time for night market. Why is the shop closed when this is the busiest time of the day?"
"Maybe his business has been too good today. I've earned enough money. I'm tired."
Chu Nanzhi picked up the package, put away the silver, and got back into the carriage.
Se had actually earned eighty taels of silver by visiting the county office today. If this continued, she would be able to open a restaurant for Liu Yun and her daughter.
She was happy. When she reached the city gate, she bought two taels worth of mutton pancakes.
Her back was aching after a tiring day. She did not want to cook when she got back, so she would let the children have a good meal of mutton pancakes.
When they reached her own courtyard, they heard Li Ce's comforting voice as soon as she entered.
"Your mother will definitely come back. Be good and eat first."
When Little Ruijia heard footsteps outside, she was the first to run out.
She stopped in her tracks when she reached the door and saw the familiar figure.
Her red and swollen eyes were wide open, but she remained silent.
Then, Li Ce and the other three children followed. They all stared at Chu Nanzhi quietly.
Chu Nanzhi glanced the looks of resentment mixed with delight, and smiled awkwardly.
"I came back a little late. Sorry to keep everyone waiting."
To her surprise, when Little Rujia heard her words, she suddenly burst into tears again.
Influenced by Little Ruijia, Lin Ruixi and Lin Ruichong began to cry too. Only Lin Ruiwen watched the chaotic scene in a daze.
Chu Nanzhi hurriedly went up to them and put down the bag containing the case files. She opened the bag containing the clothes and took out the mutton cakes. She consoled them gently.
"Don't cry. Look, I bought you new clothes and your favorite mutton pancakes. It cost me a lot of money."
The three children immediately stopped crying when they smelled the fragrance. Lin Ruijia came over and touched the mutton cakes. She was stunned when she saw the brightly colored clothes.
Not only had the bad woman not run away, she had bought them beautiful new clothes and delicious mutton pancakes. She was being nicer and nicer to them.
Little Ruijia was a little happy, but also a little afraid.
She was afraid that these events was not real. She was also afraid that she would never see this bad woman again.
Lin Ruiwen grabbed the mutton pancakes and ran in excitedly. As he ran, he shouted into the room,
"Father, she's back. She even bought us mutton pancakes."
Lin Ruixi and Lin Ruichong also ran in. "And new clothes."
Chu Nanzhi took out the money bag and waved it in front of the children. "I even earned a lot of money. I'll buy mutton pancakes for you every day from now on."
Little Ruijia was so happy that she did not know what to do. She wanted to hold her hand, but suddenly retracted it. She tugged at the corner of Li Ce's shirt and looked up.
"Uncle Li, let's go eat. I'm hungry."
Li Ce helped her pick up the document bag. He rubbed the back of his head and smiled.
"I didn't know when Sister-in-law would come back, so I made some porridge for the children. However, they refused to eat. Brother Jinxiao didn't eat either. Fortunately, Sister-in-law came back."
"I bought a lot of mutton cakes. Third Brother, come in and eat with us."
Chu Nanzhi thought for a while. "I'll set aside a few pancakes for you to bring back for your family to try."
"We can't afford to eat such things."
The smile on Li Ce's face began to stiffen, and he looked a little ashamed of himself. "It's better to save it for the children."
"Don't stand on ceremony with me."
Chu Nanzhi looked at him very seriously. "Thank you for taking care of Brother Lin and the children. I'm very grateful that your wife doesn't mind."
"It's my duty. Sister-in-law, my wife knows that things are difficult for you now, so she specially instructed me to come over and take care of you."
Li Ce answered seriously and frowned slightly.
"It's just that my work hasn't been going well lately. The county magistrate and the deputy magistrate are very angry. They told me not to go to the county office tomorrow but to stay home and reflect on my behavior. Their punishment is that I have to come over and take care of Brother Jinxiao. In the future, I can help Sister-in-law even more."
Chu Nanzhi also felt a little ashamed when she heard that. Fortunately, they were still paying him.
Then, she took out five taels of silver and handed them to Li Ce. She said gently,
"I don't know when this case will be solved. Take these five taels of silver to cover the family's expenses first."
"How can I do that?"
Li Ce quickly pushed it back. "The county magistrate said that it was Sister-in-law who pleaded with him and saved my salary. How can I take your money?"
Chu Nanzhi was surprised to hear that.
These two sly old foxes knew the ways of the world. They probably felt guilty for trapping her, so they did her a favor.
Even so, she did not want Li Ce to suffer a loss and forced the silver into his hand.
"Listen to me and take it. The county magistrate asked me to investigate the case for him. I'm afraid the family will have to rely on you from now on. Besides, this money is not for you. It's for Sister-in-law and the children."
Li Ce was a little afraid of her and did not dare to push the money away.
It was strange. In the past, he was afraid of her because he was feared that she would cause trouble and affect his brother. However, at that time, he still dared to shout at her.
Now, he was afraid of her because he felt that this woman was fierce, but she was so fierce that he could not refute her. Instead, he felt some respect for her.
It was a strange feeling.