Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 3 The Soft Persimmon That Gets Pinched
"I will go see my daughter in a little while and discuss this matter with her."

Master Gu carefully examined Chen Qing's expression. Seeing that the latter remained calm, he then said, "Once we meet, we can discuss the marriage in detail."

Chen Qing still smiled and said, "Alright, Uncle, you don't need to force Miss. If it doesn't work out, we can talk it over amicably so as not to ruin our relationship."

Upon hearing this, Master Gu glanced at Chen Qing again before sighing, "Nephew, at your age and in such circumstances, it is truly remarkable that you can remain calm and composed."

Young Master Chen said helplessly, "You think I have a good attitude?"

"Actually, I'm out of ideas."

This is not false.

From the moment he came into this world, his body had been in a weak state. The medicine given to him by that aunt would most likely have killed him.

Although he was lucky enough to have a different soul, his health was poor for six months. It wasn't until recently that he barely recovered and seized the opportunity to marry into the family and escape from that home.

People in this era value status highly, but Chen Qing does not.

Although he was reborn twice, he was not well-versed in literature, especially in the classics and current affairs of this era. The original young master Chen might have known some of it, but he had already passed away.

The current Chen Qing has indeed inherited some of the former's memories, but they are all rather vague, mainly about some major life events, as well as memories of his parents and what the eldest son of the Chen family has learned over the years.

Chen Qing inherited nothing.

Therefore, the path of becoming an official through the imperial examinations becomes much more difficult.

Another way to become an official is through patronage or hereditary privilege. This path is extremely difficult for ordinary families, but for the Chen family, it is not entirely hopeless.

After all, his father, Chen Zhaoming, is now a prefect and is only in his early forties. Given time, he may have the opportunity to rise to a high position and bring his son into the court.

Unfortunately, given the Chen family's current situation and circumstances, even if such a day comes, it's highly likely that Chen Qing's two brothers will be helped by their father.

He wasn't included.

In that case, taking care of the family becomes a pretty good choice.

Since the Gu family is a merchant family, and they have taken in a son-in-law, they naturally only have this one daughter. As long as she demonstrates her abilities, the family fortune will belong to Chen Qing in the future.

As for whether or not one can endure the mistreatment.

Firstly, Chen Qing comes from a decent family; after all, she has an official father. Secondly, she is their only daughter, and since Master Gu will pass away sooner or later, as long as the Gu family isn't short-sighted, they won't cause Chen Qing much trouble.

It's much better than starting from scratch all by yourself.

Of course, the premise is still to see if Miss Gu is good-looking and whether they can get along. Otherwise, Chen Qing would rather jump over the wall and run away to start from scratch.

Master Gu said with a smile, "My dear nephew is witty."

“Nephew, please go back and rest. I will go see my daughter and tell her about the situation. You can meet her tomorrow morning.”

“If it’s a good match, you two can get married in Deqing at the end of the year. In the next six months, my dear nephew can come with me and get familiar with the family business.”

Chen Qing nodded first, then said, "I heard that your uncle is in the medicinal herb business?"

"In earlier years, yes."

Master Gu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "For a few years afterward, the medicinal herb business wasn't doing well, so I started a grain business on the side, and a couple of years ago I also started a cloth business."

"Right now, we mainly have these three businesses."

Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "Once your marriage is settled, my dear nephew, you can gradually take over the family's medicinal herb business. I've been in this business for twenty or thirty years and I'm familiar with all aspects of it."

"It's easier to get started."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing simply smiled and said, "I will definitely learn well from my uncle."

These polite words are just polite words; take them with a grain of salt.

Don't worry too much about it. After all, the two of you haven't even met yet. Even if you do meet and get married in the future, there will probably still be many difficulties to overcome.

After chatting with Master Gu for a while, Chen Qing first went back to his room to rest for a while. Then he took some loose silver coins from his luggage and left the Gu family compound.

He has been in Deqing County for several days now, but he hasn't even explored the county town yet.

Now that his father, who is an official, has confirmed his identity, he no longer needs to live in the Gu family's house.

After leaving the Gu family compound, Chen Qing walked with his hands behind his back along the streets of Deqing County, taking in the town as he went. Deqing County is located in Jiangnan. Although it is not as prosperous as those famous cities, it is not dilapidated either. However, Chen Qing came from the prefectural city after all, so this county town seemed quite ordinary to him.

He wandered around the streets twice, bought some local snacks, and before he had eaten a few bites, he saw a group of people gathered together. He went over to take a look and saw that the crowd was surrounding a storyteller.

The storyteller sat in the middle, with only a small table and a small gavel, and was telling his story with great intonation.

This was outdoors, and there were many people around. Although not many people were making noise, it was not easy for everyone to hear. This gentleman was indeed quite skilled.

As it happened, Chen Qing was gradually learning about the ways of the world, so he stood in the crowd and listened for a long time. After a story was finished, a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old came up to collect the money.

Most people avoided it, but Young Master Chen took out twenty large coins from his sleeve and threw them into the gong that the little girl was holding.

The young girl's eyes lit up, and she bowed to Chen Qing, saying, "Thank you, young master, thank you, young master."

The little girl wasn't speaking the local dialect, but fortunately it was understandable. Chen Qing smiled and said, "This gentleman has quite the skill. Why don't you go to a teahouse or restaurant to practice? Why are you performing on the street?"

The little girl lowered her head and said, "My father and I have only been in Huzhou for a short time, and we don't have a place to stay yet."

Chen Qing said "Oh," then took out a piece of silver and threw it into the gong, smiling as he said, "Sir, you're right. What's your name? When you settle down, I'll definitely come to support you."

The young girl bowed her head again to express her gratitude and said, "Thank you, young master. My father's surname is Yang. Back in my hometown, people gave him face and called him Mr. Seven."

Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, I've got it."

After saying that, he looked at the father and daughter, then left with his hands behind his back.

Although he was kicked out by his concubine, he was still from an official family. When he left, his concubine gave him some money, not much, but enough for him to live on for a while.

Now that he's "attached" to the Gu family, he doesn't feel bad about spending these small amounts of money.

After listening to the storyteller for a while, it was almost noon. Young Master Chen found a restaurant in the county town and had a meal. After eating and drinking to his heart's content, he was about to head back home for a nap when a man in his thirties silently walked up behind him.

"Is this Young Master Chen?"

Chen Qing turned around, sized up the person, and asked with some curiosity, "Who are you?"

The man grabbed Chen Qing by the collar and then chuckled.

“Even if I told you, Young Master Chen wouldn’t recognize me. We have a business deal to do with Young Master Chen.”

Chen Qing looked around and saw that four or five men had already surrounded him.

He frowned, about to speak, but the man grabbed him tightly and dragged him into a small alley.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qing saw two men guarding the alley entrance. The man who had grabbed him earlier punched him in the face without saying a word!
Chen Qing was just recovering from a serious illness and his body was not particularly strong. He collapsed to the ground in pain, and several people rushed up and beat him mercilessly!
Chen Qing had no choice but to protect his vitals, grit his teeth, and remain silent.

After fighting for a while, the men, fearing they might kill the scholar-looking Chen Qing, stopped. The one in the lead looked at Chen Qing and sneered, "Young Master Chen, someone doesn't want you to stay in Deqing."

"Be smart and get out of here."

The man called out and turned to leave, saying, "Otherwise, we brothers will beat you every time we see you!"

After saying that, the men strode away.

Chen Qing curled up on the ground and it took him a while to catch his breath. He struggled to sit up, looked up at the alley entrance, and his expression became very ugly.

What is certain is that it was definitely not his aunt, but also his two brothers.

They wished they could stay in Deqing.

I've just arrived in Deqing, I haven't met many people, and I haven't offended anyone...

With this kind of reasoning, it's not hard to guess.

These past few days, he stayed at the Gu family's house and inquired about their situation. Although Master Gu had no sons, he had quite a few nephews from the same clan.

Moreover, many of them work in the Gu family's businesses.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with anger.

This persimmon of mine...

Is it really that soft?
(End of this chapter)