Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 529: Rage

He couldn’t stay any longer.

Lian Ze leaned on the table and got up unsteadily to say goodbye but Xiao Tao Hong stood up first and held his arm tightly.
Softly, she asked in concern: “Young Master Lian, what’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

Lian Ze instinctively wanted to push her away but remembering that he had caused her to fall to the floor earlier, the hand he raised dropped again.
He wanted to break free from her, but Xiao Tao Hong held on tightly and he couldn’t get free at all.

As he struggled to escape her, Boss Feng and the others started to make noise.

“Oh, Young Master Lian is really drunk!”

“He can’t go home like this, help him rest for a while!”

“Hey you guys, quit playing and help!”

Lian Ze tried to refuse but his voice was drowned out.
Even he couldn’t hear his own voice clearly.

Suddenly remembering Ah Jian’s words, Lian Ze realized that he might have fallen into someone’s trap.
A cold sweat formed on his back and his mind became much clearer in an instant.

“I’ll take my leave first, you drink slowly!” Lian Ze said loudly, finally breaking free from Xiao Tao Hong’s grip.

Boss Feng frowned: “Brother Lian, we can’t rest assured seeing you go out like this!”

“That’s right,” Xiao He said, “why don’t you hurry up and help Young Master Lian to rest!”

The room was a rush of voices, the women’s coquettish and bell like voices all mixed together.
After being pulled by everyone in a rush, Lian Ze groaned and staggered.
He wanted to escape but where could he go?

He couldn’t help but regret everything greatly.

At this moment, the door swung open with a bang and a young girl called out in a delicate, clear voice: “Masters, do you want to buy flowers? Peach blossoms, crabapples, spring plums, jasmine?” She was carrying a basket that had several flowers.
“White magnolias, tender branches, do you want to buy some for your wives and sisters?”

Everyone in the room was shocked, they had expected someone to come in.
Lian Ze felt a little more energetic, the girl’s voice was like a clear spring, washing away all the mess and filth!

“Don’t want it! Don’t want it! Get out of here!” Boss Feng shouted furiously, giving the girl a hard look.

But the little girl refused to leave, begging: “Are you sure you don’t want some? They’re very cheap! Peach blossoms are only two coins each and begonia—”

“Get lost!” He shouted again.

The girl jumped and hurriedly headed back out with a smile.
She glanced over at Lian Ze and suddenly exclaimed: “Young Master Lian, is that you? I saw your servant Li San looking for you!”

Lian Ze was overjoyed: “Li San is looking for me? It must be something important! Boss Feng, you two, I’ll take my leave first!”

Cupping his hands at them, he staggered out in a rush.

The little girl saw that his footsteps were unsteady and called out: “Young Master Lian, be careful!” Before anyone could react, she hurried forward and helped him down the stairs.

Stepping out of the restaurant and into the brisk wind, Lian Ze’s mind became clearer.
Looking around, he asked: “Where is Li San?”

The little girl twisted the corner of her clothing nervously.
Whispering, she said anxiously: “I’m sorry, Young Master Lian, I… I lied to them.
I just passed by the door and heard your voice, so I listened for a while.
You didn’t want to stay, so, so…”

Lian Ze came back to his senses with a stupid “Oh”.
Quickly, he smiled at her.
“I see, thank you very much! By the way, you, it’s…”

He looked at her in a daze but he really couldn’t remember where he had seen her before.

There was disappointment in her eyes but the little girl quickly put it away and forced a smile.
“It’s no wonder you don’t remember me! You rewarded me with a tael of silver a few days ago.
You are my benefactor, I can’t forget!”

Lian Ze was still a little confused and smiled apologetically, expressing that he still had no impression.

He could see the disappointment on her face.
Thinking about it, it was natural.
She had saved him but he didn’t even remember who she was.
How could she not be disappointed?

“I, I may have drunk too much and my mind is still… well, it’s a bit messy.
I can’t think of anything at the moment.” He explained quickly.

The little girl finally smiled.
Her eyes lit up and her voice became two points more cheerful.
Smiling, she said: “You are a nobleman who is very busy, it’s normal not to remember!”

Finally, she reminded him: “It was at the corner of Sifang Street and South Street.
If I don’t make money, my parents would definitely beat me to death.
I was sitting on the side of the street crying and you passed by…”

Her voice slowly dropped, filled indescribable pain and sorrow.

Lian Ze slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering.
That day he had gone to the shop on business and when he came out, he passed a little girl in patched clothing and braids.
Her hands were wrapped around her knees and her head was buried, sobbing so pitifully, he couldn’t bear it.
After talking with Li San for a moment, he gave her some broken silver and left.

Naturally he wouldn’t remember this matter.

He didn’t think much at the time but this little girl had helped him a lot! Presumably the reason she knew of Li San was because he had called out to him at that time.
She obviously cared a lot.

Taking a closer look at her, he could see that she was very thin and her complexion was sallow.
Her eyes were big and bright but her lips were thin and dry, and her stature was extremely small.
She was still wearing the ugly patched floral clothes from before and on her feet were a pair of old, wore cloth shoes with torn edges.

Digging around in his clothes, Lian Ze took out a broken pieces of silver without looking to see how much it was.
Gently, he put it in her basket and smiled: “Even if today’s flowers are sold, go back quickly.
But don’t give all the silver back to your father.
Save some for yourself and buy something delicious! I will go first!”

He was still confused and didn’t want to think too much, so he gave the girl the money and left in a hurry.

The little girl stood there holding the broken piece of silver in her hand for a long while before turning around and leaving.

~

Of course, when Lian Ze told the story to Lian Fang Zhou and Ah Jian, he left this last part out.
He only said that the little flower girl came in by mistake and Boss Feng couldn’t pester him when there was someone else there, so he took the opportunity to leave.

Seeing that Lian Ze still seemed embarrassed and unnatural, Ah Jian was secretly puzzled and couldn’t help but study him a little more.

On the other side, Lian Fang Zhou was furious.
Gritting her teeth, she said angrily: “Those bastards are really nothing good! My Ah Ze is only so old but they dare to use such a despicable trap!”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she was.
“That Boss Feng, we buy more than 70% of our timber from him and he makes a lot of money! It’s not like there won’t be any business in the future.
If there is no reason behind this, I don’t believe it! Obviously Ah Ze was not interested but he insisted on pestering him.
How can a businessman not have the ability to notice words and emotion? I think there must be someone behind this! I just don’t know if its Boss Wang, Boss Xiao, the Zhao family, or someone else! If I find out, I will never forgive them!”

Thinking about how they plotted against her, plotted against Ah Ze, how could she not be furious?