The maid who had just been standing behind Shen Juhua and speaking, suddenly interrupted Shen Juhua’s words as if trying to stop her from saying something. Seeing Cai Wei’s surprised look at her, she toned down her voice and apologized with a smile to Shen Juhua, "Madam is still waiting for this lady, if Miss has something more to say to her, why not wait until Madam has met her before chatting, lest Madam get anxious from waiting!"
Hearing her words interrupted by the maid, Shen Juhua was inevitably a little displeased, but she didn’t blame her. She just stepped forward and took Cai Wei’s arm, saying, "Anyway, I have nothing to do now, so I’ll go with Cai Wei!"
Having said that, she led Cai Wei straight away.
All the maids and old women who served Shen Juhua hurried to follow her. They followed behind Cai Wei and Shen Juhua, accompanying the two of them to the small flower hall where Madam Cui normally rested.
Upon their arrival, Madam Cui was wearing her usual old clothes, sitting on her babu bed looking at account books. On the small table beside the couch, there were objects like an abacus, tea cup, and others.
As Shen Juhua entered the room, she let go of Cai Wei’s arm and rushed to Madam Cui’s side with a cheerful smile, clinging to her and sitting down.
Madam Cui lovingly smoothed her hair and laughed in a teasing way, "Look at you, you’re all grown up and still acting spoiled with your mother. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at."
Shen Juhua stuck her tongue out, saying, "Cai Wei wouldn’t laugh at me, besides, she may act even more spoiled than me at home!"
Cai Wei chuckled and didn’t refute her words. She took a step forward, respectfully bowed to Madam Cui, and greeted her.
Madam Cui laughed and said, "I had just parted with you in the morning, and you hurriedly sought me out. Do you have any requests?"
Cai Wei replied with a smile, "I’m ashamed to say, Madam, there is indeed something I’d like to trouble you with." She then told Madam Cui about her intention to buy a manor.
Upon hearing this, Madam Cui slapped her thigh, "There’s a coincidence. One of my elder brothers from my parents’ house has a manor he wants to sell. It’s about fifty li east of the county town. Although it’s a bit remote, the soil is good quality. It’s a proper lowland and the harvest every year is much better than that of other manors. Plus, the price is very cheap, just two thousand five hundred taels. To be honest, if they weren’t afraid of war breaking out, even at three thousand taels, they wouldn’t want to sell it!"
If it’s fifty li east of Qing County, won’t it be closer to Lingbei!
Cai Wei was secretly delighted. She felt that the manor was perfectly prepared for her. She immediately agreed, "In that case, I’d trouble Madam to send someone to take me there to have a look. If it’s suitable, I’ll buy it today."
Madam Cui was also very happy. Her parents and brother lived in the manor. The manor was very close to Lingbei, and the Great Jin and Meng Slaves were about to start a war. If the war spreads here, her family will suffer first.
Her parents and brother’s family were all very scared and wanted to escape and hide somewhere. But the spring ploughing was about to begin, and they were unwilling to let the crops go to waste. So, they were in a hurry to sell the manor, legitimately get away from here, and avoid the disaster of war somewhere else.
Immediately, Madam Cui called the housekeeper and asked him to take two trustworthy boys with Cai Wei to see the manor.
Shen Juhua insisted on going too, and Madam Cui couldn’t resist her pestering, so she agreed. She even sent several reliable housekeepers behind them. She instructed them to take her car. She gave many instructions to the housekeeper before letting them go with peace of mind.
As soon as they left Madam Cui’s small flower hall, Shen Juhua was as cheerful as a bird let out of its cage. She was so excited and chirpy, "Cai Wei, thanks to you today, I got a chance to get out and get some fresh air. Otherwise, being cooped up at home every day, I’d surely start to mildew!"