Eat My Childless Life: The Little Fisher Girl is Poor and Fierce

Chapter 266 Encountering an Acquaintance

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming waved his hand and said, "What's the big deal? Just tell me the category, and I'll have my men find a shop I know to supply you with the items."

"If you're worried about attracting attention on the road, I have a brother who can travel by boat. He can transport it back for you by water."

Lin Chang'er was overjoyed; this dragon even handled transportation!

She hurriedly took out the shopping list from her purse and handed it to him, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Chen."

Chen Ming happily accepted it, but was dumbfounded when he opened it. "This, so much?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao leaned over to take a look, and hissed as well, her eyes widening. "How many years' worth of grain is Sister planning to stockpile?"

Lin Chang'er chuckled, "Well, things have developed beyond expectations. Several of my close friends and I had stockpiled grain early on to stabilize prices after the autumn harvest, but we asked Lord Wu to use it for disaster relief."

"To be honest, I was too one-sided at the time. I only thought about the future and not the present."

"Now that Lord Wu is working day and night, the current difficulties will eventually pass. However, if we don't prepare early, the price of grain will surely skyrocket after the autumn harvest. I thought that since Young Master Chen has connections, I'll fill the gap and go back first."

Then, realizing that they had indeed been buying in small quantities multiple times before, and that today's order was indeed a bit too much, he said, "If it's inconvenient, half is fine too."

Chen Ming paused, holding the category list, and said, "Sister Chang'er, this quantity is indeed quite large, but since you've contributed money and effort to benefit the people of the prefecture and county, your foolish brother will naturally do his best to help."

"But this quantity will probably drain the provincial capital. I asked a grain merchant I know to help me buy it from other provinces and transport it directly to Ninghai County Wharf by waterway."

After saying that, she sighed again, "Everyone says that the rich are heartless. If every prefecture and county had a few more merchants like Sister Chang'er, my father could stay up fewer all-nighters and lose less hair!"

Since everyone was praising him so much, Lin Chang'er felt embarrassed and could only return the compliments with him.

Then he took out the deposit for the grain and handed it to Chen Ming, saying, "I'll leave the rest to you, Young Master Chen."

Since Chen Ming made money from the brown sugar and seafood business, Prefect Chen's attitude towards him has changed.

Gradually, she began to rely on him, and the way she looked at him was no longer the disdainful look she used to have for a good-for-nothing.

He felt he benefited from it and became even more motivated. Now, he is not as loud and boisterous as before.

He thoughtfully wrote a receipt for Lin Chang'er, saying, "Friendship is friendship, and business is business. Here is the receipt. Once the grain is delivered, Sister Chang'er, you can settle the remaining payment. This way, we can both be at ease."

Seeing how thorough he was, Lin Chang'er gave him a few words of praise, and the matter was considered settled.

It was midday, and Chen Ming couldn't keep Lin Chang'er from sightseeing in the provincial capital. He insisted on having her have lunch before letting her go.

"I know I'm worried about home, but I have to eat this meal no matter what."

"It's nothing rare or precious, just a simple meal at the restaurant I usually frequent."

"It won't take much time."

Chen Zhao also held his stomach. He always ate whenever he wanted, and his servants always had food ready for him.

I was suddenly dragged out of the academy by Lin Chang'er today, without any preparation, and I'm starving now.

"Sister Chang'er, I'm not going to see my uncle. Please let me have a meal with my cousin before I leave!"

"If I keep going hungry, I'll start to feel resentful about being hungry."

"I'm starving, and the consequences will be severe."

Lin Chang'er looked at his pitiful yet cowardly threat and couldn't help but laugh and cry.

She simply dislikes socializing; after all, in this era, it's not so convenient for women to do many things.

Therefore, keep it as simple as possible.

She accepted Chen Ming's invitation to dinner today, so shouldn't she reciprocate by inviting him in return tomorrow?

But they were already far apart, and the fact that a widow like her took the initiative to invite the son of the prefect was bound to generate a huge amount of information.

But if she acts as if nothing happened, wouldn't people think she's impolite?

Therefore, the best approach is to send gifts as usual and avoid meals if possible.

But Chen Zhao had already said all that, if she insisted any further, the boy would probably cry in front of her again.

I had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

The restaurant Chen Ming mentioned and the teahouse where they were discussing matters were on the same street.

However, provincial capitals are different from county towns; they are more bustling and prosperous, and their streets are longer.

Therefore, Lin Chang'er and the other two still took a carriage there, driven by Chen Ming's servant.

After the carriage had traveled a short distance, the servant suddenly let out a long "whoosh," and the carriage stopped.

Lin Chang'er closed her eyes slightly and looked at Chen Ming.

Chen Ming hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

The servant poked his head in and said, "Young master, there's a dispute ahead, and the onlookers are blocking the way. We can't get through."

Chen Ming frowned. "Go and see what's going on. If it's serious, have passersby go to the government office and call the officials to come and arrest the person."

"Yes, young master." The servant replied and got out of the carriage.

Disputes among ordinary people are commonplace.

But Chen Ming didn't think so. His father was the prefect, and Lin Chang'er was his honored guest. If they were to run into each other, wouldn't that be a disgrace to his father?

Given his past scoundrel behavior, he might have already gotten out of the car and given them a good punch each, teaching them a lesson.

Chen Ming turned to Lin Chang'er and explained, "Our prefecture has always had good public security, so today's situation is extremely unexpected."

Lin Chang'er nodded with a smile, "The provincial capital has a large population. Neighbors, merchants, customers, and even passersby are bound to have occasional disputes."

Chen Ming was pleased to hear this. "That's right, Sister Chang'er is insightful. No wonder those old friends are willing to associate with you and prioritize you when they have business with you."

Lin Chang'er laughed heartily, "You flatter me. Those uncles and elders only took extra care of me because they saw that I was young and had a large family to support."

Chen Zhao rubbed his rumbling stomach and impatiently peered out the window. After a while, he suddenly called out, "I'm back! I'm back!"

Chen Ming said unhappily, "What's all the fuss about?"

Chen Zhao does get angry when he's hungry, but since his cousin and Sister Chang'er are in front of him, he can only endure it and simply leans weakly against the car window without saying a word.

Just then, the servant returned with the news: "Young master, everything has been clarified, and the troops will be able to disperse soon."

Chen Ming nodded and casually asked, "What was the argument about?"

The servant chuckled, "Speaking of which, the aggrieved party up ahead is someone you know, young master."

"Oh?" Lin Chang'er asked curiously, "Since he's an acquaintance of Young Master Chen, shall we get out of the carriage and see if there's anything we can help him with?"

Chen Ming frowned and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

He lifted his robe to get out of the carriage.

The servant quickly stopped him, "Young master, please listen to what I have to say first. Although you know this person, it was a while ago."

"Now, the young master has long since severed ties with him."

"Besides, their family affairs are extremely sordid and despicable. I'm afraid you won't like it, so perhaps it's best not to go!"