Fifty taels of silver is enough for my brother to go to Beijing to take the exam.
It's enough to change my brother's fate.
But if we really just follow the boss girl's wishes and deduct a part of her salary every month to repay the fifty taels, I don't know if it will be paid back in the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.
And these fifty taels are no longer a matter of money to her, but a huge favor.
She had nothing to repay, so she could only sell herself to her.
"You get up first."
Song Chen looked at Li Xuemei kneeling in front of him, and there was no trace of joy on his face.
Li Xuemei raised her head and glanced at Song Chen, seeing that she seemed a little angry, "Girl, I'm not ungrateful, I just feel that I really can't repay this favor."
After saying that, Li Xuemei stood up.
Song Chen just looked at her calmly for a while before speaking.
"You have to remember that no matter what time it is, you are first of all a person, not something that can be bought, sold or exchanged. I am not giving you these fifty taels to ask you to sell yourself to me. What do I, a woman, want from you?"
Song Chen's words sounded a little bit improper, as if she accepted Li Xuemei just because she was a man.
Wen Ping and Qiu An almost laughed.
But seeing their girls looking so serious, they didn't dare to laugh.
"I don't need you to remember any of my favors. You came to help our milk tea shop when we needed people most. I owe you a favor. Up to now, your brother is writing all our labels, except for the first one.
After I paid that sum of money, he never took any wages from me again."
Song Chen knew that he didn't ask for the wages because his sister was already working for her, but she was obviously not a person who would take advantage of others.
She accepted the love, and she had to find a way to repay the money.
When Song Chen talked about this, Li Xuemei remembered what her brother said, "Brother said that the girl from the boss has helped us a lot, and every time he helped the girl write those labels, he felt very peaceful in his heart, which helped him learn.
.”
So I was determined not to ask for any more money. My parents felt the same way.
"But I can't turn a blind eye. I don't think anyone can do this better than your brother. I should come up with these fifty taels. Don't think you owe me. Just think like this. In the future, your brother will gain fame.
Now that you are here, will you take more care of me?"
"Don't worry, Miss Boss, our whole family will never forget your great kindness, and my brother is not an ungrateful person."
Li Xuemei quickly promised that Song Chen didn't need to mention these words at all.
But she also knew in her heart that what the girl from the boss said was just polite words. She worked in a milk tea shop, and they didn't avoid her when they talked about some things. The girl from the boss's business went to Beijing, and her brother's fate was also the same.
Even if she takes the Juren exam, she can't help her yet.
"That's good. You can take the money. Chun Wei doesn't have much time. Your brother is going to Beijing to take the exam this time. It's better to bring some. If it's too late, all the inns near the exam venue will be full. If you find one too far away,
The inn is very inconvenient.”
Rushing for exams in this era is similar to modern civil service exams. Every time the exam is approaching, the inns near the exam venue are always full.
"Also, please tell your brother that since you have gone to Shangjing, don't take money too seriously. If you don't have enough money, you can go to Shopkeeper Su of Liuweizhai or Huichun Hall and tell me your name."
Song Chen basically helped them think it through.
Li Xuemei was even more moved.
"Thank you, Miss Boss. Thank you, Miss Boss. Then I will send the money back quickly and let my brother prepare to leave in the next two days."
Song Chen nodded, "Go ahead, I'll treat today as a day off for you."
"No need for a holiday. No need for a holiday. I'll be back as soon as I go. It only takes two-quarters of an hour."
Li Xuemei didn't dare to ask Song Chen for a holiday anymore. Now she wished she could stay here twelve hours a day to help Song Chen.
After leaving the milk tea shop, Li Xuemei wrapped fifty taels of silver in a cotton-padded jacket and ran back as fast as she could.
This was the first time in her life that she had received so much money, and she was extremely panicked.
She didn't dare to stop along the way. It wasn't until she entered the house and locked the door tightly that Li Xuemei dared to sit on the ground and gasp for air.
The parents inside the house hurriedly ran out when they heard the noise outside. The door closed so loudly that they thought something big had happened, but they saw Li Xuemei sitting on the ground, breathing heavily.
Her parents walked up to her and said, "Mei'er, aren't you working at a milk tea shop? Why are you back at this hour?"
"Did your boss kick you out because you didn't do your job well? What on earth are you doing, kid? Don't your mother and I tell you to work hard at home every day?"
Li Xuemei ran very hard all the way. Now, even though her parents were talking in her ears, she took a breath first before talking.
Her father and mother were so anxious that they refused to speak no matter how much she asked.
Her brother inside the house was also alarmed.
Seeing his sister like this, he became anxious.
"Sister, what happened, please tell us quickly. Don't be afraid. No matter what happens, don't be afraid. There are still parents and brother."
Li Xuemei also ignored her brother.
After almost a cup of tea, Li Xuemei felt that she had come to life. At that moment, she felt as if her heart was burning.
"Father, mother, my brother has enough money to go to Beijing to take the exam."
Before, her family was worried when she didn't speak, but now that she spoke, her family was shocked.
"Meier, please tell me what happened. Mom is scared to death by you. Do you know how much money it costs for your brother to go to Beijing to take the exam? Why do you just say that you have the money to go to Beijing to take the exam? You kid
Did you do something stupid?"
As she spoke, Li Xuemei's mother almost burst into tears. Their brother and sister had been very close since childhood, and she was really worried that the child would do something irreparable in order for her brother to take the exam.
I have to say that Li Xuemei's mother's guess was not unreasonable. When Song Chen took out fifty taels of silver, Li Xuemei really planned to sell herself to Song Chen.
Li Xuemei didn't speak at first. She just took out the things in her arms and showed them to her family, lowering her voice and saying, "There are fifty taels of silver in it. Didn't we calculate that it would take at least twenty taels of silver to go to Beijing to take the exam? We still haven't done it until now.
It’s half off.”
But twenty taels can only keep my brother from having to sleep in the open in Beijing.
They still want to prepare more if they can, but they really have no choice, and they haven't even collected the twenty taels yet.
They had all heard that other students in the town who were going to Shangjing to take the exam had already decided when to leave for Shangjing, but her brother was the only one who didn't know when he could leave because he didn't have enough money.
As soon as the number fifty taels came out, Li Xuemei's parents almost fell down, "Meier... you, are you..."
While she was talking, Li Xuemei's mother was already holding Li Xuemei and was about to cry, and her brother's expression was extremely ugly.
"Sister, I don't care where you got the money. Please return it as soon as possible. My brother would rather not go to the exam than let you do something stupid."
"Yes, return the money and dad will go with you."
Li Xuemei couldn't laugh or cry when she saw these reactions from her family. She seemed to understand a little bit how her employer's girl felt when she was about to sell herself.
She patted her mother's back comfortingly and said, "You are all thinking too much. The girl who owns our milk tea shop gave me this money. She asked me to send it back to my brother for his exam. He said he would lend it to me first and every time in the future.
A portion of it will be deducted from my salary every month to repay it."
Afraid that they would continue to think too much, Li Xuemei simply explained clearly, "Furthermore, the hostess also said that her brother should prepare as soon as possible and go to Beijing as soon as possible. She was afraid that the inns near the examination room would be booked by others, and it would be very inconvenient to live far away.
Already."
This suggestion is completely based on Song Chen’s experience combined with the modern civil service examination.
Li Xuemei's brother had never gone to Beijing to take the exam before, and had never thought about this problem. He was even thinking about whether to wait until the exam was about to start before going to Beijing, so that he could save a lot of money for staying in an inn.
But a big head.
Now that I think about it, what my sister conveyed does make sense.
"Sister, you shouldn't take Miss Song's fifty taels. Even if it is deducted from your salary, you will have to pay it back at least ten years. But have you ever thought about how many more years you can work in the milk tea shop?
?Is it true that you will never marry for the rest of your life?"
"Why do I have to get married?" Li Xuemei asked.
Their family has suffered so much for their brother's future, why should they give up because of money at this critical moment? Now the opportunity is in front of them.
"These fifty taels are what we need most now. When my boss girl gave it to me, I didn't hesitate at all. I also knew that my little salary was not enough to pay back fifty taels. I proposed to sell myself to my boss girl at that time, but
She rejected it."
Li Xuemei told her family everything she said to Song Chen at the milk tea shop.
"My boss girl is a kind-hearted person. I, Li Xuemei, will remember this kindness for the rest of my life. Brother, you will also remember it for the rest of your life. But I can also tell you, even if you pass the exam this time, you can't help my boss."
Girl, so you must pass the Jinshi examination as soon as possible and become an official."
The ultimate goal of all students is to become a Jinshi, and this is also the only chance for poor students to make a comeback.
Li Xuemei said this in the hope of giving her brother some encouragement.
Her brother did not disappoint her, "Okay, let's take the fifty taels of silver, and I will also remember this favor. In the future, as long as Miss Song can find me useful, I will do it without any hesitation."