Chapter 273 Kindness
Xue Shao accepted the money and nodded, saying, "We'll talk about it tomorrow. I'll leave the day after tomorrow morning and stay at the hotel until the day after tomorrow morning."

The restaurant owner said he understood and bowed and left.

The waiter was waiting outside. As soon as the shopkeeper came out, he approached and said, "Shopkeeper, Mr. Chen is here. He has been listening for two days and went out to inquire. This is true. There was indeed a Taoist priest named Sanzhu in the bandit suppression team. It is said that she and her two junior nephews Sishui and Wuhuo were accidentally recruited by the bandit leader Song Bei to be guards. As a result, she discovered that Song Bei was a Japanese with her sharp eyes, so she became suspicious and realized that she had entered a bandit's lair, so..."

"Okay, okay, what you are saying now is what Master Xue said. Is there anything that Master Xue didn't mention?"

The waiter paused for a moment and said, "Yes, Mr. Chen said that this time it was the Jianghu Alliance and the Tianshi Mansion who joined forces with the navy to do it. There is a chivalrous man in the Jianghu Alliance named Qu Le, who is the nephew of the leader of the Jianghu Alliance, Lin. He made a great contribution this time. He killed dozens of Japanese pirates by himself and could even fly over the sea."

He added: "There is also a Taoist priest named Zhang Weiliang in the Tianshi Mansion who is also very powerful. His story is also very exciting. You can continue their story after Master Xue leaves."

The shopkeeper nodded and whispered, "Let Mr. Chen listen to what Master Xue said. When the time comes, be more open and make sure to make this battle dramatic and eye-catching."

He sighed and said, "It's rare that the court has a good story for us to tell. At least we don't have to pay the yamen runners. Let Mr. Chen tell it for a while longer."

He paused and continued, "Let Mr. Chen be smart. Master Xue is an eyewitness, so you can go drink with him and ask him more about what happened on the battlefield. If that doesn't work, you can also bring over the story of Taoist Sanzhu and her two nephews. I think everyone is not tired of it yet, so we can at least continue talking about it for another half a month."

The clerk agreed, "Boss, why are you so nice to Mr. Xue that you even ask Mr. Chen to ask him for the story."

Generally speaking, things like this belong to you once you hear them, don't you?
Anyone who has the ability can share it.

The shopkeeper glanced at him and said, "Do you really think this is an ordinary storyteller? He is a scholar!"

The waiter's eyes widened, "Why does the scholar want to tell stories?"

Shopkeeper: "How should I know? Maybe he is really short of money."

"Is there anyone who is short of money?"

The shopkeeper didn't know whether other candidates were really short of money, but Xue Shao must be really short of money because his clothes were patched and his shoes were torn.

The patch on Xue Shao's body was patched up after he was cut by a Japanese pirate while he was hacking people on the boat.

He has no money.

He really has no money.

Otherwise, Pan Yun would not have helped him with two steamed buns.

But after suppressing the bandits, he got some spoils. Although he was not rich, at least he was not very poor anymore.

But from those pirates who were recruited, all their belongings except for one set of clothes were confiscated.

Xue Shao kept some for his own travel expenses, and exchanged the rest with the knights and Taoists for cash.

It always costs money to settle down. There are babies in the house. They can't live on just a piece of cloth, right?
Obviously, the army would not consider this for the prisoners.

After leaving Quanzhou City, Xue Shao walked northwest, earning money for his journey home.

He sold calligraphy and paintings, wrote letters for others, and even went to the county school to write articles for the students.

He was familiar with this. It was already winter and the college would be on vacation in two months.

Generally, before the holidays, teachers will assign a big topic and let students work on it slowly.

There are poems and essays.

Xue Shao received several jobs after just hanging around the county school. After taking on the job of writing poems and articles for others, he found the best restaurant to stay in, where he told stories while writing articles.

Xi Jin was making tea for Xue Shao while grinding ink for him. "Master, you said that writing books takes a long time, but you can't earn as much as writing articles. At worst, you can make more money by painting or writing. Why bother?"

Xue Shao said: "I don't tell stories for money."

"Just to make Taoist Sanzhu famous?"

"I saw her on the beach that day. She was full of blood and her forehead was black. She looked like she would be killed in the next moment." Xue Shao tilted his head while holding a pen, and said with a puzzled look on his face, "Her fate is very strange. When things are good, they are very good, and when things are bad, they are very bad. It's as if something is affecting her, making the evil and bad in her doubled, but there is also something that counteracts it, making it very easy for her to gain merits and use the merits to resist the evil."

"So when I saw her on the beach, she was jet black. When I saw her an hour later, she was dark black. When we got to the restaurant, she was dark red..."

"Merit is simply incense, and incense is people's faith," Xue Shao said, "It's good for her, and I can earn some money for the trip. It's just a small effort, so why not?"

Xue Shao quickly wrote a seven-character quatrain and put it aside, "Just think of it as repaying her favor. I felt guilty for not being able to find her in time."

Xi Jin blew on the poem, dried it, and put it aside, "I will listen to you, Master. Master, who is this poem for?"

Xue Shao: "Give me two taels."

"okay."

Xue Shao paused for a moment, then wrote another poem and handed it to him.

Xi Jin carefully dried it and asked, "What about this one? Which gentleman is it for?"

"Three taels."

Happy gold note.

The prices were agreed upon at the beginning and a deposit was given, and he put the items in different categories.

Xue Shao then pondered and took out another piece of paper and weighed it down with a paperweight. He thought for a long time before he started writing.

Xi Jin tilted his head to take a look, with a look of disdain on his face, "Master, isn't it too plain?"

"What do you know? This young master of ten taels paid ten taels for his homework, not for the academy, but for his father to see. How good is he? How could his father not know?"

"Since you have taken so much money from him, you should make him happy for a while. He could have written this article with a little effort, and it would not arouse suspicion." Xue Shao smiled with his lips raised. "It's just right. I can give him some books to read in the next six months. This way, the ten taels of silver will not be wasted."

Xue Shao stayed up until midnight to finish writing all his articles and poems.

He checked to make sure there were no omissions, then marked which article belonged to which young master. Then he put down his pen and lay down on the bed.

Xijin had already fallen asleep on the couch beside him with his legs crossed, and was snoring softly.

Xue Shao lay there for a long time before getting up. He picked up the quilt and covered Xi Jin with it. Then he took off his shoes and socks and went to bed.

The next day, Xijin got up early, quietly put away all the poems and essays, picked up his bag and went to the county school to find someone to hand over the balance.

Xue Shao woke up when he got up, but waited until he left before getting up.

He packed himself up, took the money and went to the street to find food.

It was a cold winter morning and there were not many people on the street. Looking up, you could see many people squatting or lying in the corners.

Among them are many young and old.

Xue Shao paused, then took out the string of money he had received yesterday from his sleeve, counted out twenty copper coins and said, "Give me ten more steamed buns."

The stall owner happily agreed, took a large lotus leaf, folded it, and threw the steamed buns into it.

The steamed buns in his family are all very big. Children like to eat them because they are fluffy, but adults prefer to eat steamed buns made with old dough because they are more solid.

Xue Shao first took his bun and took a bite. He thought it was good, so he took out another twenty copper coins and said, "Ten more buns."

The stall owner happily agreed, took a lotus leaf, folded it, and put it on for him.

He also said enthusiastically: "Sir, would you like to try the eggs in our store? We have boiled eggs and we also have eggs with chopped green onions. Boiled eggs are two cents each and boiled eggs are three cents a bowl. In this weather, drinking a bowl can make you sweat and feel very comfortable."

Xue Shao hesitated for a moment and then said, "Let's talk about it later."

He had a bun in his mouth and after eating it quickly, he walked towards the person lying in the corner.

He handed the bun to someone.

He took it and the beggars who were lying in the corner immediately stood up with a grunt and came over.

Xue Shao accepted everyone who came and gave one to everyone.

Adults give steamed buns and children give dumplings.

After a while, all twenty steamed buns were distributed. Xue Shao also took his own steamed bun and squatted down to eat with them.

He asked the young man sitting next to him, who was wolfing down his food, "Does your family still farm?"

The young man swallowed hard and mumbled, "What we planted is just not enough to eat."

Xue Shao nodded slightly, "Going out in the winter can save some food for the family, but what if there is no food to be had one day?"

He said, "I still have to find a job."

Young man: "I'm also looking for one. I occasionally carry bags for the local shopkeepers to make a living. But there are too many people looking for work. I may only get a job once every three to five days."

Xue Shao sighed, patted his shoulder, turned his head and asked the child sitting on his left, "What about you, who did you come out with?"

The child glanced at Xue Shao, then got up, grabbed half the bun and ran away.

The young man said, "He is different from us. He is an orphan in this area. He usually lives in a salesian home. The salesian home has had a hard time in recent years, especially in winter. They don't have enough to eat, so they can only beg on the streets."

Xue Shao felt hurt when he heard this and said nothing more.

Xi Jin ran back happily and said to Xue Shao happily: "Master, we have enough money for the trip, look."

Xue Shao looked at the money revealed when he opened the bundle and fell into deep thought.

Xi Jin quickly closed the bundle and said, "Master, you are not going to donate the money again, are you? This, this, this is our travel expenses."

Xue Shao came back to his senses and smiled: "It's not difficult for us to make money with our abilities. At most, we can walk a longer distance. If we have money, we can take a bus. If we don't have money, we can just walk. But they are in a difficult situation."

Xi Jin: "But how many people can this little money help?"

Xue Shao: "I'll help as many people as I can, as long as that person is happy at this moment."

Xijin opened his mouth and muttered softly, "Can we still return home before the New Year?"

Xue Shao: "Celebrating the New Year outside is also a different experience. I have never celebrated the New Year outside in my life."

"You are always right anyway." Xi Jin asked, "Where are you going to donate the money to?"

"The Salesian House."

Pan Yun was also meeting people from the Salesian Home at this time.

"There are so many orphans. According to the court law, they should be raised by the Salesian Home."

　Good night, I will try to get up earlier tomorrow.

　　(End of this chapter)