Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 56 The Grand Plan for Starting a Business!

Niluo Lane, Deqing County.

This is a relatively ordinary area in Deqing County, where Mr. Yang and his daughter live.

Three days had passed since Chen Huan left Deqing, and Chen Qing had rented a decent house in Niluo Lane. After a few days of cleaning and tidying, he finally moved in on this day.

He didn't have much stuff, just a bundle. There wasn't anything particularly special in the bundle, except for a few changes of clothes. The only thing worth mentioning was a divine tablet.

It is the spirit tablet of Chen Qing's mother.

This shrine was something he carried out of his home when he left the Chen family. His memory of that time was not as clear as it is now, and perhaps he didn't even carry it out back then.

It was that "Young Master Chen" who insisted on reciting it.

At this moment, Chen Qing placed the shrine on the altar in the house, lit a few sticks of incense, and bowed in worship.

A girl's voice came from the courtyard.

"Master, Master!"

This is not Xiaoyue's voice, but Miss Yang's voice.

Miss Yang is the daughter of the storyteller Mr. Yang. Chen Qing still doesn't know her real name. He only hears Mr. Yang call her Xiao Huan, so Chen Qing also calls her Xiao Huan.

Before Chen Huan came to Deqing, Chen Qing was already very familiar with the Yang family father and daughter. His revised version of The Romance of the Western Chamber made Mr. Yang Qi famous in Deqing. Recently, people from the prefectural city and other places have even come to Deqing to listen to his storytelling.

In just one month, the father and daughter had almost escaped their previous predicament. Although they were not rich, they were much better off than before.

Chen Qing glanced at the shrine on the altar, turned around, pushed open the door, and went out. He saw that the Yang family father and daughter were already in the courtyard, carrying a lot of things.

Chen Qing went up to him, looked at Mr. Yang, and said with a smile, "I heard that you've been very busy lately, being held back by the owner of the teahouse every day. The teahouse should be open by now. How come you have time to come here?"

Mr. Yang, with a big smile on his face and a pot of wine in his hand, said with a smile, "Even if the master keeps me here and doesn't let me leave, even if the master kicks me out and doesn't let me go to tell stories, I still have to shamelessly come to your place today."

As he spoke, he lifted the wine jug in his hand and said with a smile, "Well, I went with Xiao Huan early this morning to prepare wine and food. Today we are celebrating your housewarming and also your release from prison."

Mr. Yang said solemnly, "With your talent, young master, you will be like a dragon returning to the sea and a tiger entering the mountains."

Chen Qing glanced at him, then at Yang Xiaohuan beside him, and said with a smile, "It's just that we moved out of the Gu family's place. It's not as exaggerated as you make it out to be, sir."

"Besides, I don't have any talent."

Young Master Chen smiled and said, "That 'Romance of the Western Chamber' was copied by me."

Mr. Yang grinned, clearly not believing it. He asked Xiao Huan to move a table, then said with a smile, "It's hot inside, let's eat under the gazebo in the courtyard."

At this point, he first carried the wine and dishes to the pavilion in the courtyard, and then looked around at the house that Chen Qing was renting.

"This house is really nice, much better than the one Xiaohuan and I live in."

Chen Qing sat down under the pavilion and said with a smile, "Sir, you must have quite a bit of money every month now. If you want to live in a nice place, it's a piece of cake, isn't it?"

Mr. Yang shook his head and said, "My daughter and I have lived in all these years. We are already content with having a roof over our heads."

At this point, he looked at Chen Qing and chuckled, "To be honest, young master, I'm not a very ambitious person. I'm doing quite well in Deqing now, and I'm thinking of saving some money so I can buy a house in Deqing next year."

At this point, he looked at the house where Chen Qing lived and said with a smile, "It would be great if it were as big as yours, young master."

"If I have any spare money in the future, I'll see if I can buy a few acres of land."

At this point, he looked at Yang Xiaohuan, who was still busy, and continued, "In a few years, when I marry this girl off, I will have done right by her mother."

Chen Qing poured him a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Sir, you're still so young, and now that you're financially secure, don't you want to find someone else?"

Mr. Yang was silent for a while, then shook his head: "I don't want to think about these things. If I really find someone else, I'm afraid Xiao Huan will suffer."

He sighed, "This child has suffered a lot with me these past few years."

Chen Qing looked at him and asked, "With your skills, sir, there must be some hidden reasons why you ended up wandering the martial world, right?"

Mr. Yang simply lowered his head and drank without answering, so Chen Qing didn't ask any further questions.

However, he could roughly guess that a martial artist like him, wandering the world, would most likely have killed or injured someone in his hometown. The two chatted for a few minutes and finally brought the topic back to Chen Qing. Mr. Yang looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "From now on, for any story told by the young master, the income will be split 50/50 with the young master."

"In this way, you can hire a maid here to do laundry, cook, and take care of your daily life."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "There's no need for that. You earn your money through hard work. Besides, we already agreed beforehand that you only need to teach me martial arts, and that will be considered a deal."

"Let's not talk about profit sharing."

Mr. Yang was naturally a forthright person. He hadn't spoken much before, mainly because of his predicament. Now that he was out of that situation, he had regained his forthright nature and his voice had become louder. Hearing Chen Qing's words, he didn't mince words. He simply raised his wine glass and said with a smile, "Come on, let's drink this cup. Congratulations to the young master on escaping from prison!"

Chen Qing clinked glasses with him and said with a smile, "Moving out of the Gu family doesn't mean escaping a cage."

"How can it not be considered escaping from the cage?"

Mr. Yang tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine, exhaling a breath of alcohol, and said loudly, "A real man would rather starve to death outside than live under someone else's roof! Now that you've finally figured it out, I'm very happy for you!"

He poured Chen Qing another drink and laughed loudly, "In my opinion, young master is finally free from his cage!"

Chen Qing clinked glasses with him, about to drink, when the courtyard gate creaked open.

Chen Qing glanced back and saw Miss Gu, dressed in a light blue dress, leading Xiao Yue into the courtyard.

Xiaoyue looked angry.

Miss Gu was looking at Chen Qing and Mr. Yang. She first glanced at Mr. Yang and then fixed her gaze on Chen Qing.

Not a word.

Chen Qing stood up abruptly, put down his wine glass, and strode over to Gu Pan. He gave an awkward smile and asked, "Miss Pan'er, what brings you here?"

Before Gu Pan could speak, Xiao Yue said angrily, "The door wasn't closed, so Miss and I came in."

As she spoke, she glared at Chen Qing: "Young master, you are too heartless! The tables, chairs and beds in this room were delivered by my young lady yesterday!"

Chen Qing smiled wryly and said, "Xiaoyue, don't talk nonsense. I didn't say anything."

Miss Gu sighed softly and said to Chen Qing, "Knowing that you moved in today, Xiaoyue and I thought we'd come over to see if there's anything we can do to help, and also to discuss things with you about the future."

At this point, she glanced at Mr. Yang and his daughter.

Miss Gu had been going to the teahouse with Chen Qing a few times recently, so Mr. Yang naturally recognized him. At this moment, Mr. Yang, who had been so loud just moments before, looked somewhat embarrassed. He stepped forward and bowed to Miss Gu, saying, "Yang Qi greets Miss Gu."

Gu Pan bowed slightly in return, saying, "You're too kind, sir."

She paused, then added, "Sir, your version of The Romance of the Western Chamber is very well told."

Mr. Yang smiled wryly and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Miss."

He really didn't know what to say, so he beckoned to his daughter, Yang Xiaohuan, to come over and bow to Gu Pan, and then said, "Since Miss Gu has come to talk to Young Master Chen, I won't keep you any longer."

As he spoke, he coughed at Chen Qing and said, "Young Master Chen, I'll come find you for drinks later."

Chen Qing agreed, and Mr. Yang then took his daughter and left as fast as he could.

After the father and daughter left, Chen Qing was about to speak when Gu Pan had already walked to the bottom of the pavilion. She looked at the food and wine on the table, then at Chen Qing, and sighed softly.

"It seems you're in a good mood since you've moved out of my house."

Chen Qing coughed and said, "These were all brought by Mr. Yang."

Miss Gu glanced around, but didn't reply. Instead, she asked, "What are your plans for the future, young master? Are you only considering becoming a bookseller?"

Mentioning this, Chen Qing perked up. He returned to the pavilion and said with a smile, "Printing books is just one aspect. In the meantime, I will come up with a few stories similar to The Romance of the Western Chamber. Miss Pan'er, you can have some printed."

"Besides becoming a bookseller, I have many other ideas, but I need time to verify their feasibility. Once I've verified them..."

Chen Qing looked at Gu Pan with full confidence.

"When the time comes, we can hand it over to Li Shiyi and the others to do."

(End of this chapter)