The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

113. Be Paid

Translator: Iris Guo

“Okay. It’s up to you.” answered Zhong Mingwei. After a while, he nodded with determination: “I’ll bone the fish for you.”

“Deal.” A’Chou winked at Zhong Mingwei with a smile. “A man has to keep his word. I’m the kind of person to bear a grudge. If you didn’t bone the fish for me, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life.”

“Of course. I promise.” Zhong Mingwei smiled too, but his eyes became a little watery.

Day: The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the 32nd year of Jiasheng Reign

Location: NingGuTa.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhong Mingwei and A’Chou finally had the stewed wild fish they constantly thought of.

A’Chou bought a fish from the market. She went downhill early in the morning. It was the first major festival she spent with Zhong Mingwei, so she attached great importance to it and had planned the menu for days.

However, when she got to the foot of the mountain, she was stopped by Mrs. Chen.

“Girl! Girl!” Mrs. Chen stood in the courtyard and waved at A’Chou, “Come here!”

“Okay!” A’Chou hastened to run towards Mrs. Chen with her bamboo basket. She looked at the hoe in Mrs. Chen’s hand and the thriving cabbage in the courtyard, then laughed: “Ma’am, your cabbage seems great! The last time I went downhill, there were only young sprouts. Look how big the leaves are!”

“It’s no big deal. It will be much larger next month.” answered Mrs. Chen with a smile. Then, she put down the hoe, opened the door, let A’Chou in, and couldn’t help complaining: “Alas! I asked you to get your pay, but you dawdled and never went downhill. I’ve been waiting for you for so long and planned to give you the money myself. I have to pay you before the Mid-Autumn Festival!”

“Ma’am, it’s all my fault. See, I’ve had so much to do at home, so I forgot.” A’Chou helped Mrs. Chen inside while trying to please her.

A’Chou had been very busy these days. The autumn in NingGuTa approached earlier. Although it was just mid-August, the weather was already chilly. Therefore, she had been engaged in unpicking and washing the bedding. They had five sets of bedding, which was theoretically enough along with some blankets. However, Zhong Mingwei had been paralyzed for too long and she had torn up a lot of sheets to make diapers. Therefore, she had to buy some new sheets, which were expensive and she wasn’t willing to pay. In this way, she cut some of his worn-out clothes to make new sheets. Although the colorful patches looked weird, fortunately most of his clothes were in light colors such as pale blue, graphite, and light green, so everything seemed reasonable.
“Oh, I see. It’s all right.” said Mrs. Chen hurriedly.

Uncle Chen had roughly described A’Chou’s family circumstances for her. It wasn’t easy for a 16-year-old girl to support a family and take care of an elder and paralytic relative.

Those are the exact words from Uncle Chen.

In Uncle Chen’s view, A’Chou was too young, and she looked like a kid. There was no way he could imagine her as a married woman. Besides, Zhong Mingwei seemed much older than her but not old enough to be her father. Therefore, considering how they get along, Uncle Chen supposed Zhong Mingwei must be A’Chou’s uncle.

“Isn’t Mr. Chen here?” asked A’Chou randomly while she didn’t saw Chen Qingxuan in the hall.

“Oh, Magistrate of Prefecture sent someone to pick him up for a Mid-Autumn poetry meeting. Tsk tsk! I think they probably just used it as an excuse to dine and flatter each other.” answered Mrs. Chen with apparent dissatisfaction. “There were similar meetings every year. Qingxuan really hated it, but he had to go.”

“Mr. Chen is very knowledgeable, so Magistrate of Prefecture values him.” A’Chou didn’t really understand such things, but she tried to respond in appropriate terms.