Chapter 144: The Flood Has Swept Away the Dragon King’s Temple

“This is truly a case of the flood washing into the Dragon King’s temple—we’re all family here. You are Big Brother Du’s sisters, so naturally you’re my sisters too. Come, come, I don’t want the dress anymore. I’ll buy it and give it to you as a gift!”

A miraculous reversal was taking place where Miss Shu was concerned. After learning Du Yun and the others’ identities, the proud young heiress completely changed her attitude and became warm and enthusiastic.

“That really won’t do, Miss Shu. You are our young master’s honored guest.” Seeing the way Miss Shu had changed her face, Du Song did not seem surprised in the least. He declined politely, yet with unmistakable reserve.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Xiaoqing has nothing else, but she has plenty of money. Let her buy it.” Standing to one side and clearly enjoying the spectacle, Zhan Congwen added his own comment. When he finished, he even winked at Du Yun.

Du Yun stood where she was, watching the three of them interact. A strange suspicion rose in her heart and refused to be suppressed.

Could it be that Shu Xiaoqing had taken a fancy to her elder brother?

But judging from her brother’s behavior, he showed no intimacy toward Shu Xiaoqing whatsoever. Instead, he was clearly keeping his distance. In that case, this girl probably would not become her sister-in-law after all.

Just then, Du Zhi returned after changing clothes. Seeing the noisy crowd, her face paled slightly, evidently startled by the scene. When she saw Du Yun facing three people alone, she hurriedly summoned her courage and went to stand beside her sister. She raised her head, preparing to argue, but then noticed that her elder brother was among the people opposite them and froze on the spot.

Du Yun watched Shu Xiaoqing persistently making conversation while Du Song rejected her coldly and expressionlessly, with Zhan Congwen stirring things up from the side. The spectacle of a spoiled young lady pursuing a man was entertaining enough, but she sincerely hoped such a drama would not unfold in her own family.

“Sister, forget about them. Let’s go look at the fabrics.” After watching for a while, Du Yun felt that their interactions seemed to be a routine occurrence. She simply stopped paying attention to them and pulled Du Zhi back to the fabrics.

“Miss Du, all these fabrics were shipped from the south. The patterns and quality are excellent, so please choose whatever you like.” The round-faced salesgirl and the long-faced salesgirl had followed them over by then. Their earlier contempt and pity had vanished completely. They introduced the clothing and fabrics with utmost respect, clearly having realized that the two sisters came from a family with considerable standing.

Du Yun found the salesgirl’s attitude rather strange. They had known all along that she was acquainted with Zhan Congwen and Du Song, yet they had never been so attentive before. She was puzzled, but since it did not seem particularly important, she decided to finish what she had come to do first.

Du Yun had already chosen several pieces of fabric. She pointed them out one by one, and the round-faced salesgirl immediately cut them for her without a word. She also neatly folded and wrapped the red dress Du Zhi had changed out of. The girl behaved as though whatever Du Yun said, she would carry it out without the slightest hesitation.

By the time Du Song and the others finished talking and turned around, Du Yun was listening to the round-faced salesgirl calculate the bill. A fairly large bag had appeared beside her, containing the red dress and five or six pieces of fabric. Each piece was enough to make two outfits.

“Oh, dear, how could this shop possibly take your money? Come, come, we’ll charge you the wholesale price!” Zhan Congwen hurried over and said this to the round-faced salesgirl.

“All right!” The salesgirl immediately nodded in agreement. She nevertheless drew up a bill showing the original price and set it aside. Then she took out another bill and calculated the discounted price. Comparing the two, Du Yun found that she had saved nearly twenty silver dollars.

“Thank you so much.” After paying the nearly forty silver dollars required for the dress and fabrics, Du Yun turned to Zhan Congwen and thanked him.

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it. Who knows what would have become of me without you?” Zhan Congwen waved his hand with a smile. Then he glanced back at Shu Xiaoqing, who was still chattering away in the distance, and at Du Song, whose face remained stern despite showing not the slightest trace of impatience. He winked at Du Yun.

“Shu Xiaoqing’s family is extremely wealthy, and she’s a good person too. How would you like her as your sister-in-law?”

“What? So there really is something between them?” Du Yun had assumed that Shu Xiaoqing was merely pursuing Du Song alone. But if her elder brother also had feelings for Shu Xiaoqing, her eyes immediately lit up.

Her brother was no longer young. If he could marry a woman who truly liked him, that would not be a bad thing at all.

Du Song’s marriage had always been a heavy concern in the family’s hearts—not only because he was getting older, but also because the family had previously been poor. More importantly, apart from being one of the most handsome young men of the Du family’s new generation, Du Song also worked in the county town, placing him a level above ordinary villagers.

Du Song was handsome and had a good job. Grandmother Du always felt that marrying an ordinary rural girl would be beneath him. Yet the girls from the county town all held their heads high. Even if one of them took a liking to Du Song, the Du family’s circumstances were simply too poor. Thus, his marriage had remained unsettled for years.

With that in mind, Du Yun’s gaze toward Shu Xiaoqing was no longer merely the gaze one gave a stranger. Looking at her through the eyes of a younger sister considering a potential sister-in-law, Du Yun had to admit that the girl had excellent qualities.

Earlier, Zhan Congwen had gone on at length about Shu Xiaoqing’s background. She was the niece of the county magistrate’s wife and the legitimate daughter of a wealthy merchant family from the provincial capital. Her family possessed vast riches, rivaling even those of the Zhan family.

“You see, even though I’m the young master of the Zhan family, I’m not the only one in my generation. There are four or five legitimate sons and grandsons around my age alone. Standing out from the rest is no easy task.”

“But the Shu family is different. In the branch Shu Xiaoqing belongs to, the only legitimate children are her and her brother. By that reckoning, even if she doesn’t compete for the position of family head, the inheritance she can receive will still be considerably greater than mine.” Zhan Congwen looked at Shu Xiaoqing, an inscrutable light flickering in his eyes.

“If she’s so wonderful, why don’t you marry her yourself?” Du Yun said with a smile.

From the things Zhan Congwen had let slip, intentionally or otherwise, Du Yun had learned that the younger members of the Zhan family were all taking part in the selection of the next family head. Although Zhan Congwen was a legitimate descendant, his father held little power, and as a result, he was not particularly favored.

Zhan Congwen was unwilling to accept that fate. That was why he had come to this remote and impoverished place to work hard, hoping to rise dramatically through the Zhan Family General Store.

Unlike Zhan Congwen, who wanted to rely on his own efforts, his parents were more interested in borrowing strength from others. That was why Shu Xiaoqing, a legitimate daughter of a wealthy family, had appeared in such a remote county town.

Unfortunately, the thoughts of young people were never quite the same as those of their elders. Zhan Congwen and Shu Xiaoqing had failed to take a liking to each other. Instead, Shu Xiaoqing had begun chasing that country boy, Du Song, everywhere.