Chapter 217 - 217 Eat Deliciously, Drink Spicily, and Live Comfortably
217 Eat Deliciously, Drink Spicily, and Live Comfortably
Lu Jiao blinked. Last time, Xie Yunjin was warm towards Lu Gui because he thought of Lu Gui as his brother-in-law. Now that they’ve basically separated, the Lu family was no longer related to him. Of course he had to be polite and distant.
Of course Lu Jiao didn’t want Lady Tian to find out about their pending divorce. She smiled, “Lu Gui was wrong. He’s always been cold. It’s not like you didn’t know.”
Just then, Lu Gui walked in and blurted out, “Sister, I feel like my brother-in-law is acting differently from last time. Last time, he was so warm and nice and treated me like family. Today, he’s reverted back to his courteous self. What happened?”
Both the brother and the mother now stared at Lu Jiao. Lu Jiao grinned, “You were overthinking last time. He’s always been like this. You should know.”
Lady Tian glanced at Lu Gui, who scratched his head. Was he wrong last time?
Lu Jiao changed the subject quickly and asked Lu Gui, “Last time, I asked you to ask the family if anyone wanted to learn leech keeping. How come I never heard back?”
Lu Gui forgot about Xie Yunjin and answered Lu Jiao, “Sister, the second brother and I planned on visiting you in the next few days to discuss this.”
“Oh, well let’s chat now.”
Lu Jiao was intrigued. Lu Gui was about to speak when more footsteps arrived and two more people came in. It was Lu Jiao’s other two brothers, Lu Ping and Lu An.
Lu Ping and Lu An greeted happily, “Sister, you’re here.”
Lu Jiao nodded, “Where have you been?”
“We were delivering the tofu crumbs we sold.”
Lu Ping and Lu An pulled up two chairs and sat by Lu Jiao and Lady Tian.
Lu Jiao studied the three Lu brothers and said, “Though the family now started to make tofu, I figured that since there are three of you, you have the capacity to do leech keeping as well. How come none of you reached out?”
This time, Lu An, the second brother spoke up, “Sister, we had a meeting about this. Lu Gui and I have some thoughts that we wanted to talk to you about. We haven’t gotten a chance to visit. Since you are here, we can talk about it now.”
Lu An paused there and looked towards Lu Jiao, “Sister, I know you’re a capable person. I’m wondering if you’re able to find me a job somewhere else? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in the countryside.”
Right after he spoke, Lady Tian grabbed Lu Jiao’s hands, “Jiaojiao, if that troubles you, ignore him. He’s been obsessed with the city and is determined to get out of here.”
Lady Tian didn’t like the idea of Lu An leaving this place. The outside world was not a kind place. However, Lu An has always been slick and always had lots of ideas he wanted to try out. No matter what she said, he wouldn’t listen to her.
Lu Jiao didn’t think Lu An’s desire to get out was bad. There were so many different kinds of people out there and everyone had their own ideas. It was normal to not want to stay in the countryside.
“Then, what do you want to do?”
Lu Jiao thought of the three businesses she was going to open with Zhao Lingfeng. Other than the oil mill, the cosmeceutical store and the pharmacy both needed spiritual stream water from her. She’ll need someone to get the water from her when the time comes.
That person must be a reliable one and that person will need to interact with her a lot.
She was a woman. Therefore, if she interacted a lot with any man, there were bound to be rumors. If that someone were Lu An, however, then there would be no gossip about her.
Was Lu An reliable though? Lu Jiao didn’t really know him. Later, she’ll have to interrogate Lady Tian to make sure. As a mother, Lady Tian’s been honest with everything to Lu Jiao. She would never say anything that hurts her.
Now that Lu Jiao’s got an idea, she started to check out Lu An almost calculatingly.
Lu An’s brain spun fast and he knew by the look on Lu Jiao’s face that she’s got an idea.
She stared at Lu Jiao and straightened his back, “Sister, don’t worry. No matter what it is that you want me to do, I’ll do it. I would never let you lose face.”
Lu Jiao waved her hand, “What you’re promising me is the bare minimum. More importantly, are you honest? Are you reliable? Do you have good morals?”
The customers the three businesses will have will mostly be other businessmen and entrepreneurs. If Lu An had no morals, lots of bad things would happen.
Lu An knew then that Lu Jiao actually made plans for him. He excitedly vowed, “Jiaojiao, don’t worry. I would never cause you any trouble.”
Lu Jiao thought about it and said, “Okay, then I have some ideas. I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
Lu An stopped talking now. He knew that his sister had temporarily agreed to help him but it will depend on how he behaved. If he was able to prove himself, she would get him something to do.
Lu An was ecstatic. He’s always been weak physically and enjoyed thinking up new business ideas to make money. Sadly, his family was poor and had no capital for him to build anything from the ground up. The news today was great news.
Lu Jiao ignored Lu An and went to look at Lu Gui. After all the time she’s spent with Lu Gui, she’s aware now that he was honest, sincere, and hard-working.
Lu Jiao wasn’t worried about Lu Gui.
“What about you? What are your thoughts?”
Lu Gui’s lips stretched into a smile, “I want to follow you.”
Lu Jiao thought she heard him wrong, “What?”
Lu Gui said it again, “I know you’re a woman of fortune. I’m a little dumb and I don’t want to stay in the countryside. So, I want to follow you wherever you go. Right, sister, once brother-in-law becomes an official, you will need a steward or something. I will go and be your steward.”
Lu Jiao rolled her eyes at him. What was he talking about?
“What are you saying?!”
Lu Gui grabbed Lu Jiao’s arm and swayed it around, “Sister, let me follow you. I’m not very capable but I know that being loyal to the capable ones means there’s meat to eat.”
Lu Jiao was dizzy from the swaying and slapped him away, “Be serious.”
Before Lu Gui could fight for himself more, Lady Tian spoke up, “Jiaojiao, since Lu Gui is willing to help you, you should let him. You’re seeing patients and soon Yunjin will go back to school. It’s going to be hard to make sure the four little ones are taken care of. Since Lu Gui is willing to go with you, you can let him and have him look after the kids.”
Only then, did Lu Jiao seriously consider Lu Gui’s suggestion, “You really want to follow me?”
Lu Gui’s expression was serious as he nodded to indicate his sincerity.
If he followed his sister, he would be able to eat deliciously, drink spicily, and live comfortably. Why would he try and pave a path for himself? He had no ability or money.
Lu Jiao thought about it and realized that it was a good suggestion. She still had to take care of the four little ones for a year and she would be worried about giving that job to a stranger.
Soon, she would be busy with the three businesses on top of seeing patients. She also wanted to buy farmland and plant herbs. Basically, she had a lot of work and she’ll be busy. At least with Lu Gui, she wouldn’t be worried about leaving the four little ones with him.
Once the four little ones move to the Capital City with their father, she’ll still have lots going on. Then, she’ll just give Lu Gui something else to do. He could manage the farmland or manage one of the businesses. She may even have the ability to start other new shops for him to look after.
In summary, she was going to be a busy woman and she wasn’t worried that Lu Gui would end up bored.
“Are you sure you want to follow me?”
Lu Gui’s eyes brightened and he nodded, “Yes.”