After I traveled through the book, I fought back in the Hou Mansion

Chapter 58

The woman laughed and said, "How is that possible? I just want you to do me a small favor. It's not a bad thing."

The woman leaned forward and whispered her request in the little boy's ear.

The little boy frowned deeper and deeper and said, "No, we can't do this."

He was just young, not stupid. He didn't want to do something that would ruin someone's reputation.

Seeing this, the woman stood up and her voice turned cold. "If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people who will. It's just a message. Just pass on a message, and I'll reward you with thirty copper coins each. If you don't want to, I'll go find someone else."

The group of children behind them did not hear the whispers between the woman and the boy, but they heard their conversation just now.

The group walked forward a few steps, and one of the boys said, "Gousheng, he's right. If we don't do it, there are plenty of people who will. If it's not something that's against the will of heaven and morality, and it's just a message, we'll go and spread it."

The little boy thought to himself, thirty copper coins, their parents can't even earn thirty copper coins a day, and if they can get this money, they can go back and buy some sweets and cakes for their parents at home and let them have a taste too. He savored the remaining sweetness in his mouth and felt his saliva uncontrollably.

When the boy called Gousheng heard him say this, he couldn't help but feel hesitant, his face full of hesitation.

Seeing Gou Sheng's hesitant expression, the little boy quickly added, "Think about your sister at home. Doesn't her medicine cost money? You can take the money back and buy her some medicine."

Gou Sheng thought of his sick sister at home, so he finally gritted his teeth and said to the woman, "Okay, give us the money now."

The woman smiled at him and shook her head.

Gousheng couldn't help but get angry. He stiffened his neck and his face flushed red. "What's wrong? We promised you, and you still want to go back on your word?"

Seeing that he was angry, the woman quickly comforted him, "Don't be angry, little brother. It's not like that. I will pay you half of the money first, and the remaining half will be given to you after you complete the task I assigned you."

Seeing Gousheng still looking dissatisfied, she continued, "This is also to ensure that you can complete this task seriously. After all, I also need to see your sincerity. Don't you agree?"

Gousheng frowned, his eyes full of suspicion: "Who knows if you'll cheat? What if we finish the job and you don't give us the remaining money?"

The woman raised her chin slightly and spoke firmly, "I guarantee with my integrity that as long as you do as I say, I will give you the remaining money after completing the task. I have my own difficulties and goals, and I need your help. Besides, there are so many of you. If I cheat, you can spread the word about my dishonesty. Why would I ruin my reputation?"

Gou Sheng pondered for a moment, still feeling a little uneasy. But when he thought of his sister's condition, he hardened his heart and said, "Okay, then I'll do as you say. But you'd better keep your word, otherwise we are not easy to bully."

The woman nodded. "Don't worry, I won't break my promise. I'll give you half of the money now. After you complete the task, I'll give you the rest."

As she spoke, the woman took out a string of copper coins from her package, counted out half of them, and handed them to Gousheng. Gousheng took the money, tightly grasped the string in his hand, and watched the woman leave.

Then he turned around and said to his brothers who were looking at him eagerly, "Come, fifteen cents each, line up and I'll give it to you."

Before Gousheng could distribute the silver in his hand, he heard footsteps behind him. Startled, he quickly opened his collar and stuffed the string of money inside.

He suppressed the panic in his eyes, tried his best to make his expression calm, turned around as if nothing had happened, and saw a boy who was slightly older than him walking towards him.

He forced a smile and asked, "Big brother, are you looking for someone in Osmanthus Alley?"

Wang Gousheng wasn't bragging; he knew most of the people in Guihua Alley, and even those he didn't know, he'd chatted with them once or twice. But he clearly hadn't seen this young man before, and he was dressed much better than them. Thinking of what the beautiful girl had just told him, Wang Gousheng felt his heart pounding.

The boy smiled at him and said, "Hello, Gousheng, my name is Zhao Cheng."

With just this one sentence, Wang Gousheng was absolutely certain that the young man named Zhao Cheng had heard his conversation with the girl. He suppressed his pounding heart and tried to speak in a calm tone, "What's the matter?"

The young man glanced at the sweat on Wang Gousheng's forehead and said, "I saw the conversation between that girl and you just now. Can you tell me what she said?"

Wang Gousheng felt the sweat on his forehead running into his eyes, causing a stinging sensation. He blinked hard. "Why should I tell you?" he said stubbornly.

The young man smiled and said, "My young lady is capable of curing your sick sister."

Wang Gousheng suddenly froze in place, looking at the young man in disbelief, and asked with trembling lips: "What you said... is it true?" He seemed to be speechless and asked this question intermittently.

Chunhuayuan

Luoshui Yao copied out a multiplication table and gave it to Chuntao, Dujuan, and Chunxing. After briefly explaining it to everyone, she asked them to recite it carefully.

Among them, Chuntao was the first to understand.

She looked at the table in her hand with delight and said admiringly, "Miss, you are so smart! You can come up with such a brilliant idea. After your explanation, I can do arithmetic faster."

Luo Shuiyao laughed, "How could your young lady be that smart? I saw this in an ancient book and learned it. Now that you are all around me, and you and Chun Xing can both read, you should learn this arithmetic method early."

As she spoke, she glanced at Dujuan and said, "And you, Dujuan. You can't read, but that's okay. Learn more from Chunxing and Chuntao in the future. I don't ask you to be erudite, but I hope you can understand some things so that you don't become a blind man."

Du Juan's eyes were already filled with tears. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, Miss. I will study hard and will not hold you back."

Du Juan was born into a commoner family. When she was still young, she was sold to another mansion as a maid because her family was poor. A maid in her courtyard became involved with the young master, which angered the young mistress. She sold all the maids in the courtyard, and Du Juan was implicated.

After the harsh treatment she received from her previous master, she was extremely grateful to be able to be with the young lady. At least in the mansions before that, she had never heard of any young lady worrying about teaching her maids to read and write.

Seeing her tears welling up, Luo Shuiyao couldn't help but sigh, then stood up and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with a handkerchief. "That's enough, you're already a grown-up girl, and you still cry so much."