Chapter 171: A Small Favour

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

---

The two of them continued to sip tea. Fang Jicheng and Liu Yun’er hadn’t shown up yet. Actually, Liu Lin had the suspicion that they wouldn’t come at all today. The little speech they said as they left was intended solely to scare this Young Miss. 

The Young Miss was lost in thought for a while before finally making up her mind. She bitterly smiled and said to Liu Lin, “Young Sir can probably tell – it’s strange that I, a Young Miss, would show up here in person, exposing myself to the public… Actually, something has happened at home.”

Liu Lin nodded his head understandingly, but didn’t ask further. It wasn’t good to probe. 

Since the Young Miss had started, she obviously wanted to make everything clear. After pausing for a while, she explained the general situation. 

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Rv vwadle swv vbyv vblka qyxkzu oyp pwadyxle Fsdt. Tla ulul oyp y Tydzkd pnbszya ewakdt vbl ralhkswp lxrlasa’p alktd. Tl bye alvkale y qlo ulyap yts yde alvwadle vs bkp bsxlvsod, blal. Tl bye rypple yoyu zypv ulya, zlyhkdt sdzu y pkdtzl psd clbkde. Mbyv oyp vbkp Zswdt Ykpp’p qyvbla. Gzsdt okvb blaplzq,&dcpr; Ykpp Fsdt bye vos szela casvblap.&dcpr;

Ykpp Fsdt’p qyvbla bye iwyzkqkle vs clnsxl y pnbszya, cwv bkp cseu’p nsdekvksd bye yzoyup clld rssa, ps bl dlhla clnyxl yd sqqknkyz. Tl bye alvwadle obld bkp qyvbla alvkale vs alpv. Ebld vbl sze Tydzkd pnbszya bye rypple sd, vbkp Zswdt Ykpp’p qyvbla’p nsdekvksd bye nsdvkdwle vs elvlaksayvl.&dcpr;

Gp qsa vbl Zswdt Ykpp’p vos lzela casvblap, csvb sq vblx olal dsv vbyv elrldeyczl. Mbl lzelpv casvbla bye clld pvweukdt, yde clld pkvvkdt vbl lmyxp, cwv bl oyp fwpv y cssjkpb qssz, sdzu lhla cwakle kd bkp cssjp. Ms eyvl, bl oyp sdzu y fwald – ds xyvvla bso bl pvwekle yde vakle, bl pllxle vs cl wdyczl vs xyjl ydu qwavbla pvakelp kd vbl lmyxkdyvksdp.&dcpr;

Ebkzl Zswdt Ykpp Fsdt’p plnsde casvbla oyp fwpv rzykd wplzlpp. Tl prldv yzz eyu rzyukdt, yde dlhla csvblale vs pvweu. Tl bwdt swv okvb y cye nasoe, yde bl oypd’v lhld blal kd Wldt Msod – bl oyp kd vbl nyrkvyz nkvu.&dcpr;

Zswdt Ykpp Fsdt sdzu caklqzu elpnakcle vbl xyvvlap rlavykdkdt vs bla casvblap, lprlnkyzzu okvb altyae vs bla plnsde casvbla, cwv Nkw Nkd oyp yczl vs kxxlekyvlzu wdelapvyde.&dcpr;

Ebld vbl Xze Yypvla oyp pvkzz yaswde, vblal oyp pvkzz psxlsdl yczl vs xykdvykd y&dcpr; zlhlz sq saela kd vbl qyxkzu. Jwv sdnl vbl Xze Yypvla bye rypple, vblal oyp sdzu bla qyvbla vs vau yde jllr vbkdtp vstlvbla. Gde kv oyp nzlya vbyv bla qyvbla oypd’v psxlsdl nyryczl. Rd vblpl rypv qlo ulyap, vblu bye yzalyeu lxrvkle swv xspv sq vblka nsqqlap. Mblu olal elrldekdt xspvzu sd vblka qlo zsuyz alvykdlap yde obyv rasrlavu vblu pvkzz bye alxykdkdt. Jwv vos, vball ulyap yts, vbl sze pvloyae bye yzps rypple yoyu yde svblap bye alvkale bsxl. Gp pwnb, vbl qyxkzu’p qsavwdlp bye nsdvkdwswpzu elnzkdle. Lso kv oyp nzlya vbyv vblal oyp ds oyu qsa vblx vs nsdvkdwl vs xykdvykd vblka zkqlpvuzl.&dcpr;

Zswdt Ykpp Fsdt’p plnsde casvbla bye nywple psxl vaswczl y obkzl cynj kd vbl nyrkvyz nkvu yde watldvzu aliwkale nypb. Mbl qyxkzu nswze sdzu plzz psxl sq vblka vbkdtp ps vbyv vblu bye vbl pkzhla vs plde. Jwv vbyv xlydv vblal oyp ds oyu vs xykdvykd vbl zkqlpvuzl cynj blal. Fs vblu bye pldv yoyu vbl hypv xyfsakvu sq vblka plahydvp. Mblu bye sdzu cyalzu xydytle vs alvykd vbkp pvsal – vblu dllele kv qsa vbl rlsrzl yv bsxl vs lyv.&dcpr;

Gzvbswtb Ykpp Fsdt pyke lhlauvbkdt hlau pkxrzu, yde eked’v ts kdvs xwnb elvykz, Nkw Nkd nswze qkzz kd vbl czydjp bkxplzq. Mblu olal rascyczu yv vbl lde sq vblka asrlp. Xvblaokpl, y Zswdt Ykpp zkjl bla oswze dlhla nsxl swv kd rwczkn vs elyz okvb cwpkdlpp zkjl vbkp. Gde okvb sdzu yd sze olv dwapl yv bla pkel!

RIght then, the wet nurse came in and reported. The storefront had mostly been cleaned, but there were another two counters that belonged to Fang Jicheng still remaining. 

Miss Song nodded, “Then he should be by today to collect them.”

The wet nurse went back out to keep a watch while Young Miss Song and Liu Lin continued their conversation. This wet nurse wasn’t her wet nurse. Her own wet nurse was in the capital city – she was no longer with her family. This was her mother’s wet nurse. Because she didn’t have anyone who could support her, she continued to stay on with the family. 

When Liu Lin heard, he was speechless. How did this prestigious family manage it? With all of their education, how did they manage to devolve to this state? Scraping the bottom of the barrel?

Miss Song continued to explain. By the time she was done, it was noon. Liu Lin had originally assumed that Fang Jicheng wouldn’t be coming, and so had planned to help with the cleanup of the store before leaving. But it seemed that he had just heard the wet nurse mention there were still another two counters? If so, did he really need to wait here all day?

After thinking about it, Liu Lin told Miss Song, “Why don’t you head back for the noon meal. You don’t have to come back too early. It’s enough that someone is here to help keep watch right? I will let my servants watch this area. If Fang Jicheng were to come, they would supervise as he takes his items away.” Since there wasn’t much of value here, there wasn’t anything to be too worried about. 

 Miss Song considered Liu Lin’s suggestion. It was true – this was just an empty store. They wouldn’t be able to do much to it. From the looks of things, it was only because the wet nurse had specially asked him to come by that he did, bringing with him some help to clean up. He was a stranger who had already helped her so much – how could she slap him in the face with a lack of trust?

So she quickly nodded her agreement, before saying with some embarrassment, “I really don’t know what to say. This matter had nothing to do with this Young Sir, but I dragged you into it….”

Liu Lin only waved his hands, “Miss Song, please don’t say that. I am really not a Young Sir. It feels rather awkward when you call me that. You can just call me Liu Lin. And it’s nothing – this isn’t anything much. If we were in the village, anyone would willingly lend a hand. You really don’t need to worry about this. How about this, why don’t you and your wet nurse head back. In the afternoon, around 5pm, you can come back. I should also be here around then. If nothing is the matter, you can lock up the store. Then that would wrap up all the loose ends.”

Young Miss Song agreed before again offering her repeated thanks and leaving with her wet nurse. 

The place had already been mostly cleaned up. Liu Lin told Xiaobei and Xiaoxi to stay here to keep watch. If anyone came to move the counters, they needed to check closely with them. Only if the people were able to mention either Fang Jicheng or Liu Yun’er by name could they be allowed to take them. 

Then he returned to his own store. 

In the afternoon, around 5 pm, Liu Lin again came to the Song family’s store, and was shocked to see that the counters were still there. He asked Xiaobei about it. Xiaobei shook his head, “No one has come so far.”

Liu Lin found that strange – what were Fang Jicheng and Liu Yun’er trying to pull? They definitely would still want the counters, but if they didn’t come by to take them, then how should the Song family handle this situation? It wasn’t an easy matter to handle as Fang Jicheng would probably leap on this matter and try to harass the family. 

The worst part was that there was no one capable of handling matters in the Song family. Otherwise, Liu Lin wouldn’t need to help them worry about this matter. But now, there was only this Miss Song trying to manage things. If Miss Song were to have a conflict with Fang Jicheng, she would definitely lose!

Liu Lin started to get bothered by this. He would just toss the counters outside! But after thinking it over, he knew it wouldn’t work. If they got damaged or stolen, Fang Jicheng would make trouble for them again. 

Just as he was speaking to Xiaobei, Miss Song came along with her wet nurse. The instant she heard that Fang Jicheng hadn’t come by to take the counters away, she was stunned. She glanced at the sky – it was quickly growing dark. What was happening here? Did he still want his items or not?

The wet nurse suddenly recalled the back courtyard – would there be items belonging to them there? She hurried over for a look while Miss Song followed behind closely. 

Liu Lin said to Xiaobei, “Go and call them over. Tell them they’ve got an hour to come and get their items. If they’re not here in an hour, we will put their counters at the door to the store. If they are damaged or lost, it’s not our responsibility.”

Xiaobei agreed and was about to head out when Liu Lin spotted Fang Jicheng in the distance, bringing two helpers along. When he saw him, Fang Jicheng’s face showed his surprise. 

Liu Lin lifted his head and looked at the sky. He suddenly understood. Fang Jicheng had probably deliberately waited till now to come. Fang Jicheng hadn’t thought that he would still be around. He had purposely waited till it was nearly dark to come. He might have even done it to check if the Song family had any other servants – if not, perhaps he would try and take advantage of Miss Song? Or perhaps say something lewd and disgusting to her. 

Liu Lin immediately got riled up. But he still remembered to say to Xiaobei softly. “In a while, you and Xiaoxi will pretend to be Miss Song’s family servants.”

Thankfully Miss Song and her wet nurse were in the backyard. Liu Lin told Xiaoxi to explain to them that Fang Jicheng had arrived, but that they didn’t need to come out. If any situation were to occur, he would get Xiaoxi to go over and report to them.

After giving his instructions, Fang Jicheng finally got to the store. Xiaobei said, “Why are you here only now? My family’s Young Miss and Master got impatient waiting and have already returned. They said that if you didn’t come to take your items, that we should just leave them outside for you.”

Fang Jicheng glanced at Liu Lin before hmphing. “You sure are hardworking! What does this have to do with you? Why are you always here?”

Liu Lin sneered in return, “I like the look of this store. I want to rent it. What? Is that not allowed?”

Fang Jicheng saw that Liu Lin was always here and had already guessed at his plan. What other possibility was there after all! So he hmphed again, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he got his helpers working. 

Right at this moment, Xiaoxi emerged from the back yard. Xiaobei then asked, “Has the backyard been tidied up? Is there anything else still there?”

Xiaoxi shook his head, “There’s no more.”

Xiaobei then nodded his head and said, “Remember to clean everything up. The last time Young Miss came, she said it was filthy. She was so angry about the situation that the Young Master came this time in person to have a look.”

“Don’t worry. I will make sure to give it a thorough cleaning.”

The two of them spoke softly, while Liu Lin watched the movers closely. It was only then that he started to walk around, looking at the store. Honestly, he did kinda want to rent this store. The store’s location was good – if he were to go into the textile business, it would naturally need to be on the busiest street in town. 

He sighed. Sadly, their timings didn’t match up, so he could only give up. It was a pity. 

Fang Jicheng watched as he walked around the store. He hmphed, but said nothing, only telling his workers to move the counters. Then he said to Xiaobei, “Go back and tell your owners that we’ve already returned the place to you. Don’t come and blame me for anything in future.”

Xiaobei smiled and said, “Alright, you should also check that you’ve taken everything. Please don’t come back in a few days claiming you’ve missed something.”

Fang Jicheng hmphed and left. 

The wet nurse was watching everything from the back door. When she finally saw that fellow leave, she quickly got Miss Song to come back out. Miss Song repeatedly thanked Liu Lin. Liu Lin waved his hands and took his leave. 

Miss Song actually still had a plan. She too could tell that Liu Lin really wanted to rent the store. But he had already made it clear – now was not the time. Miss Song had been rather badly frightened by Fang Jicheng, and since there was only her in their family to protect their businesses, she was terrified of meeting another person like him. 

But once she thought about having to rent out the store again, she would definitely have to meet with a lot of people. So, Miss Song really wanted to rent the store over to Liu Lin. Although she would have to wait another four months, their family situation wasn’t so dire that they wouldn’t have anything to eat within these four months. But if she hastily rented out the store, and again had to meet with all these types of shameless people; if she were to meet with more harassment, wouldn’t she be worse off?

Miss Song had thought it through very clearly, so she wanted to discuss the matter with Liu Lin.