At the second watch of the night, the color pink is requested.
**...****
Lian Manman heard Lady Zhang talking outside, saying that Mr. Loo had arrived. She imdiately put down her account book, got off the heated bed-stove, put on her shoes, and ca out to greet him.
In the shop stood a middle-aged man of average height, with a fair and thin face and a short beard under his chin. He was wearing a brown satin robe. He had draped a dark cyan robe over one arm and was bowing with clasped fists to Lady Zhang.
"Mr. Loo is here, please co inside and have a seat," Lian Manman hurriedly invited as she took the robe from his hand and set it aside. She then took so tea leaves from a Chinese basket nearby, while Lady Zhang brought in boiling water from a small stove, busying herself with preparing tea for Mr. Loo.
"Sir, this is the best flower tea in our town, my brother just bought it yesterday. Please try so and see if it’s to your liking," Lian Manman said as she placed a cup of tea on the small table in front of Mr. Loo.
At that ti, tea leaves were very precious. Tenant farrs generally did not have the habit of drinking tea. Even when they did drink tea, they often chose the cheaper tea bricks, which they would break into small pieces, and a tiny pinch could brew a large pot of tea water. Of course, that tea was not particularly tasty.
Lian Manman’s family did not drink tea either; the flower tea was specifically purchased for Mr. Loo.
"It’s quite good," Mr. Loo said after tasting the tea, nodding his head, "To be able to drink such tea here is very nice indeed. Manman, you mustn’t keep spending for my sake. I’ve made up my mind to follow local customs."
When Mr. Loo spoke, his accent was the standard Mandarin of the officials.
Lian Manman paid close attention to Mr. Loo’s expression, and seeing that he was sowhat satisfied with the tea leaves, she smiled.
"I’m glad you like it, Sir. We can afford such tea leaves," she said.
"Haven’t Wu Lang and Xiao Qi finished school yet?" Mr. Loo slowly sipped his tea and asked.
"They should be back soon," Lian Manman answered, "Sir, please sit on the kang and enjoy your tea, I’ll get you so fruit."
While speaking, Lian Manman took out an assorted fruit box containing dates, white pears, walnut kernels, peanut kernels, and other snacks and pastries, placing it on the table in front of Mr. Loo. She also put two rolls of books on the table, allowing him to read and have tea while they waited for Wu Lang and Xiao Qi to co back from school.
After settling Mr. Loo, Lian Manman returned to her own desk to continue calculating the day’s inco and expenses.
Already familiar with the numbers, Lian Manman was able to multitask, tallying the accounts while sneaking glances at Mr. Loo, who seed comfortably engrossed in his book and tea. She then felt relieved.
Lian Manman was very attentive to Mr. Loo, and there was a reason for this.
She t Mr. Loo after Lian Manman had started to attract laundry business. The items coming from the mountains to be laundered were mostly made of rough cloth, and at most, fine cloth, with silk garnts being rare. So when the middled-aged gentleman with the small moustache brought in a satin robe to be laundered, it garnered Lian Manman’s attention.
Of course, what drew Lian Manman’s attention to Mr. Loo was not only the robe he had brought but also the man himself.
Without saying a word, simply standing there in his rough cloth garnts, Mr. Loo still stood out as the most noticeable among them. This wasn’t because he was remarkably handso, but rather it was his deanor that made him stand out in a crowd.
Lian Manman astutely guessed that this man was no ordinary laborer or craftsman, nor was he a bookkeeper or steward from the mountains. A man with such a deanor shouldn’t be appearing in a place like this.
She did not dare to let anyone else wash the satin robe as the hands of farmstead won were often coarse from years of toil and could easily snag the precious fabric. Lian Manman had Lian Zhizhi wash the robe, instructing her to do so with great care.
Later, when Lian Manman returned the clean, ironed robe to Mr. Loo, she charged him four wen money.
Mr. Loo paid gladly and then brought all his silk garnts to Lian Manman, requesting that they be laundered and ironed in the sa manner as the robe, and on the spot, he gave her a small piece of silver as a deposit.
From this, Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi made a small profit, and Mr. Loo’s way of speaking and acting deepened Lian Manman’s curiosity about him.
So, when Old Huang ca to eat again, Lian Manman took the opportunity to inquire about who Mr. Loo really was. Old Huang didn’t hide anything and told Lian Manman everything he knew, including his speculations. Lian Manman hadn’t listened before, but now that she had, it genuinely shocked her.
It turned out that Mr. Loo, whose real na was Loo Xiaoda and whose courtesy na was Yuanzhi, used to be a fifth-rank local official in the current dynasty. Known for his integrity and refusal to engage in corrupt practices, he offended people in the bureaucracy and was subsequently frad, taken to the Capital City, and put on trial at the Ministry of Justice, eventually being demoted and exiled. At that ti, soone from the Shen Family who was in the capital received an imperial edict to build a temple for Empress Shen on the mountain next to Xiao Shen Tun.
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