Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 54 Uncle and Huanyun

"Tomorrow morning, you will come to Yun Gui Courtyard with Wan Jie'er. The head steward will then explain everything to you in detail."

Perhaps because it involved places of 'romance' or something similar, Madam Yun decided not to say anything more and left Fu'an Residence with her entourage.

Seeing that her maid was somewhat absent-minded, the second young lady said, "Mother mentioned to me during dinner that this group of people did indeed come by boat from Jinan to sell tea, but they didn't go to any tea gardens or tea shops. It seems that they received a batch of goods from a tea merchant in Lin'an. Don't overthink it; we'll find out the details tomorrow."

Meng Shu nodded, her heart pounding with anxiety. She stumbled after taking a few steps, and the pomelo in her arms almost rolled to the ground.

Mengzhu helped the second young lady walk ahead, while Ruizhu looked around and whispered to Mengshu.

"Second Aunt was wearing a very long face during the meal. The old lady only asked a few questions about our second young lady's experience inspecting the shop, and Second Aunt got upset, saying something like, 'Mother and sister-in-law, are you out of your minds? Yongxiu Cloth Shop is such an important business, how can we let a girl who hasn't even reached marriageable age manage it? If we're going to choose someone capable, it should be our Xing-ge'er.'"

The Xing-ge'er mentioned by the second aunt is her and her scholar son-in-law's only son. He has studied hard for more than ten years and is now barely a student.

"Second Aunt's words will hurt the old lady's feelings."

"Indeed, our second young lady couldn't help but retort, and it was incredibly satisfying."

Meng Shu then became interested and hurriedly lowered her head to ask more questions.

"The second young lady said, 'Cousin always says that all other pursuits are inferior except for studying, I'm afraid he's letting down Second Aunt's plans.' The fifth young lady also said, 'Cousin, are you going to learn business? You lost to me at the abacus last time, I hope you don't ruin Second Aunt's business.'"

"puff."

The two chuckled. Although the Fifth Miss was only eight years old, she had inherited Tang Xian's talent and was extremely good at using the abacus. Madam Yun believed in education for all, so she specially asked a craftsman to make a small sandalwood abacus for the Fifth Miss.

After the Tang family became wealthy, the old lady compensated her two daughters by giving them a lot of estates and fields. As for shops, she didn't actually give them any. The eldest son-in-law worked in the government office, and the second son-in-law was studying. One was a proper official, and the other considered himself to be of noble birth. Neither of the two daughters-in-law were good at managing things, so the old lady only gave them some real gold, silver and estates.

The farmland in the village produces enough produce for their entire family to eat, wear, and use.

Two little maids with double sideburns, each holding a pomelo, whispered to each other all the way back to Yunyi Courtyard. When they returned, Meng Shu learned that the eldest aunt had successfully taken away a ginseng, but it was a hundred-year-old one. The second aunt was still indignant and made a few sarcastic remarks at the banquet. Madam Yun remained calm and composed throughout, and the young ladies ate without speaking in front of their elders, behaving very well.

The second young lady did not order Meng Shu around that night, and nothing more was said.

Meng Shu finished washing up early in the morning and helped her mistress get up and do her makeup. After paying her respects at Yun Gui Courtyard, she finally met the head steward of the Tang family.

The head steward was named Tang Shi. He was in his forties and thin. He had been a servant born into the family and had served the old lady since the capital. Over the years, he had developed a certain air about him. Meng Shu bowed to him according to the rules.

Tang Shi knew that his master valued this young girl, so he didn't put on airs as a steward and slowly asked:

"Zhou Bai, seventeen years old four years ago, from Zhoujiazhuang, Jinnan County, tall and slender, with a handsome appearance and a mole the size of a sesame seed on his neck. Does this description match your uncle?"

Meng Shu nodded happily upon hearing this, as the household registration and appearance matched perfectly.

Tang Shi frowned and continued, "So that's it. According to the information we've gathered from our business, he was eventually deceived and his whereabouts are currently unknown. All we know is that he definitely hasn't been to Lin'an in the past few years."

As for his three friends who went to Lin'an to sell tea with him, all three were from Jinnan County. Two of them are dead, and the last one returned to his hometown. I have already sent people to Jinnan County to inquire about him.

Meng Shu felt a chill run down her spine, fearing that something might have happened to her uncle as well.

It turns out that Zhou Bai and his group of four were traveling south by boat, intending to buy tea in Lin'an to sell back in the north. At the dock, they met a local tea merchant in Lin'an. Perhaps due to inexperience or other reasons, they did not visit any tea shops or tea gardens, but instead bought a batch of new tea from this tea merchant. Only after the money and goods were exchanged did they realize that they had been cheated.

The tea was indeed new and of good quality, but it had been exposed to moisture and was already a defective product. Only after brewing a cup did they discover spot disease on the leaf veins. This incident was a huge blow to the group, resulting in a significant financial loss. When they went to find the tea merchant again, he had already disappeared.

"It's quite a coincidence. Two years ago, the tea trees in our Yongchun Tea Company's tea garden were infected with the same leaf spot disease on a large scale. Manager Lu has been investigating, and recently discovered that the people in the tea garden colluded with outsiders to replace a few tea trees on the periphery with diseased tea trees. After that, we followed the clues and found out about the local tea merchant in Lin'an."

He's called a tea merchant, but his family only owns a few acres of tea plantations. You don't need to know the specifics of his affairs. This old story about Zhou Bai was also learned through him.

"From him, I learned that after Zhou Bai and the other three were swindled out of their money, two of them jumped into the river and committed suicide, while one sought help from relatives in Lin'an to return to his hometown. As for your uncle..."

After listening for a while, Meng Shu felt a sense of unreality.

According to the head steward, even in his impoverished state, his uncle did not lose his original spirit and fighting will. Instead, he rallied and used his meager savings to become a peddler, finding a farmhouse in the suburbs to temporarily store his damp tea. While working as a peddler, he sold his goods near a pleasure boat, and over time, he fell in love with a courtesan at the Chunfeng Tower.

To Meng Shu's shock, she recognized the person; it was Huan Yun from Chunfeng Tower!

Back then, Huanyun had just fallen into prostitution and her value wasn't as high as it is now. Zhou Bai often saved up money to go to Chunfeng Tower to listen to Huanyun play the zither and compose music.

The head steward sent someone to Chunfeng Tower to find Huanyun to find out what was going on. He learned that six months after they met, Zhou Bai excitedly said one day that his tea business was saved and that he would redeem Huanyun once he earned enough money. Huanyun then gave Zhou Bai all the jewelry and silver she had saved. After that, Zhou Bai took the tea and sailed north, and has not returned to Chunfeng Tower since.

“If your uncle returns to Lin’an, he will definitely go to Chunfeng Tower, so he shouldn’t have come to Lin’an in the past three years.” The head steward wasn’t very interested in such youthful romances. He finished speaking in a serious tone and then added, “We will continue to search for Zhou Bai.”

After all, the fact that Zhou Bai said the tea could be saved puzzled Manager Lu, who wondered what use this tea could possibly have.

Meng Shu hadn't slept all night, hoping to hear definite news about her uncle today. Now, after hearing the news, she felt both uneasy and surprised. She had a very good impression of Huan Yun, who had treated her very well back in Chunfeng Tower.

Thinking of this, she suddenly realized that the various tassels and purses she had asked the peddler to sell at the corner gate had been bought by Huanyun. The purse her uncle always wore was embroidered by her mother, whose embroidery skills were unique and easily recognizable. She herself had been taught by her mother stitch by stitch. Could this be the reason why Huanyun had bought them all?

So, nearly four years have passed, is Huanyun still waiting for her uncle to redeem her?