Chapter 328 - 328: The Bootlicking Lord Zhou

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Zhou Jia cupped his hands in the direction of the capital and said, “You don’t know the inside story. His Majesty cares about these lonely children and is worried that they will be homeless. His Majesty is busy with government affairs and can’t do these things personally, so he allocated silver from his private stash to subsidize them. We’re all sharing His Majesty’s burdens.”

When Mr. Lu heard Zhou Jia’s words, he felt that he had made the right choice to agree to come to the Zhou Mansion to teach the two children. Now, it seemed that His Majesty really trusted Lord Zhou and his wife. He had a teacher-student relationship with Lord Zhou’s young master and would have a backer in the future.

Mr. Liu touched his injured leg and thought about how he had originally thought that he could only be a farmer for the rest of his life. Now that he could pick up books and teach these children, he had not studied for so many years in vain.

The two of them knelt down excitedly and kowtowed in the direction of the capital. They said in unison, “Your Majesty is wise. Great Yong has hope of prospering.”

Zhou Jia looked at the two excited people and thought to himself, “Beloved, it’s not easy to do good! You have to spend the money in your pocket and carry the person above to the front.”

The three of them sat and chatted for a while before Zhou Jia sent the two gentlemen away. When Li Yu came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, he told Li Yu about his meeting with Chu Feng. “When I told him what Ruyi found out, Chu Feng was so angry that his face turned ashen and he sat on the ground. From the looks of it, he didn’t know anything about what the grain shop did.”

“In general, he was too careless.” Li Yu was a little disappointed in Chu Feng. “As the Head Shopkeeper of the Four Seas Bank in Yunzhou, why didn’t he think about how many tenants there are in those big families? There are records of how much the grain shopkeeper dealt with.”

“He said that the shopkeeper of the grain shop is an old shopkeeper. I didn’t expect him to do such a thing. He’s already sent someone to investigate. We’ve already told him what we found. Let’s not think about these headaches.” Zhou Jia looked at the sky. “Where did Yang’er go? Call him over to take a walk to cool down.”

Li Yu nodded. “That kid has long gone to the drying field to play games with

Seven Pounds. The two of us will go out for a walk.”

The two of them walked to the drying field and saw a group of children holding bamboo swords made of bamboo. They were divided into two groups and chased each other in the courtyard. A group of old people sat under the eaves and watched happily. From time to time, they instructed, “Be careful not to poke your eyes.” The two of them stood at the side and watched the warm and lively scene in the drying field for a while. They smiled at each other and walked out into the fields hand in hand.

The two of them strolled along the cornfield to the stream. On the way, Zhou Jia told Li Yu what he had said to Mr. Lu and Mr. Liu. Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia seriously. “Xiao Xi, why do I feel that your bootlicking skills are almost at the point of perfection?”

Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu and replied seriously, “I have the same feeling.” The couple laughed out loud.

The two of them stood by the stream for a while before slowly turning back. Just as they bathed Yangyang and let him sleep, Ruyi came to the main courtyard with a piece of paper and handed it to Zhou Jia. “Master, Madam, Ji Xiang, Zhao Cai, and I have observed these children separately. They are pure and warm, and their bones are suitable for martial arts.”

Zhou Jia took it and took a look. “I don’t stay much at the manor. It should be good if you think it’s okay. Madam, what do you think?”

Li Yu took it and looked at it. She nodded and said, “Little Loach, Maizi, Little Stutterer, Mao Dou. These children are not bad. Let these children practice for a few more days and observe for a while before making a decision.”

Ruyi bowed and agreed. “Yes, Madam. I’ll tell them to wake up tomorrow morning to cultivate.”

Ruyi arrived at the children’s dormitory and stood at the door, shouting, “Little

Loach, Maizi… The four of you come out for a while.”

Shui Sheng asked Little Loach worriedly, “What did the steward call you for?”

Little Loach thought for a moment. “I don’t know either.”

The children put on their clothes and ran out. Ruyi brought them to the backyard and said to them, “The few of you will get up tomorrow at midnight and go to the backyard to practice martial arts.”

“Practice martial arts?” The children widened their eyes at Ruyi. Little Loach asked, “Really, Uncle Yi? Just us?”

“Just the few of you. However, Uncle Yi wants to tell you that the most important thing about martial arts is persistence. That process is very bitter and tiring. Even if it’s windy or rainy, you have to continue practicing. Can you do it?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison without hesitation.

Ruyi looked at the four of them. “This is a secret you can’t tell anyone. Can you do it?”

They looked at each other and nodded. “Yes.”

“Go back and rest! I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Aye!” The children ran towards the dormitory with their shared secrets. Ruyi looked at the backs of the four of them and wondered if they could withstand this. It was the simplest and most difficult test.

When the four of them returned to the dormitory, Shui Sheng looked at them worriedly. “Is it okay that Uncle Yi looked for you?”

Little Stutterer shook his head and crawled onto the bed to lie down. “I’m fine.” After Maizi, Little Loach, and Mao Dou agreed in unison, they quickly crawled onto the bed and lay down.

Seeing that they were hiding something from him, Shui Sheng smiled and shook his head as he lay back down.

The next day, Ruyi brought four of them to the backyard at dawn and began to teach them the basics. After practicing for a while, Little Loach said to Ruyi awkwardly, “Uncle Yi, why can’t I tell Brother Shuisheng and the others about practicing martial arts?”

Ruyi looked at them and said, “You were chosen by Master and Madam to learn martial arts. Keeping the secret is a test for you, and there are other tests. When you pass the test, I’ll hand over other missions to you. If any of you don’t have confidence in yourself, tell Uncle Yi after you’re done practicing.”

When they heard from Ruyi that Master and Madam had chosen them, they puffed out their chests. “Uncle Yi, we’re confident.”

Zhou Jia had official matters to attend to in the government office and left early. When Li Yu woke up for her morning exercise, she looked at Yangyang, who was sleeping soundly with her small stomach, and called out in his ear, “Good baby, wake up for your morning exercise.”

Yangyang rolled on the bed and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He looked at Li Yu sleepily and pounced on Li Yu’s body to hug her neck. “Mother, I’m so sleepy!”

Li Yu smiled and kissed him. She said gently, “Why don’t you sleep a little longer? You can get up when Seven Pounds comes.”

Hearing the mention of Seven Pounds, Yangyang opened his eyes and stood up, he said, “No, I said I won’t stay in bed anymore.”

“That’s right. Yangyang is a man of his word.” Li Yu smiled and kissed him. “Put on your clothes and wash up. We’ll call Brother Seven Pounds.”

“Alright!” Yangyang put on his thin cotton coat and thin cotton pants and jumped out of bed to wash up. He went with Li Yu to get Seven Pounds and ran out of the manor. When they reached the stream, they practiced boxing with Li Yu. The two of them were in the horse stance and their punching and retracting movements were already agile with some strength..