Jia Zhenbo was not willing to take the coin. He was a young person and young people always have a kind of pride. He then tried to refuse. “Uncle, maybe it’s better for you to take it.”
Lord Liu did not need to be asked a second time. He took it right away and put it in his pocket.
Ye Xiaoxian saw this and panted with laughter. “Hahaha, that is…so…Qianqian, your silver is back with your own family. Hahaha…”
Liu Qianqian shouted, “Ah, how embarrassing!”
Ye Xiaoxian then asked her, “Do you want to continue to test him?”
“Do I need to spend more money?” asked Liu Qianqian.
Although she was from a rich family, rich people were particularly tight with money. Liu Qianqian did not want to spend a copper coin on something unnecessary.
Ye Xiaoxian said, “This time we don’t need that much. Just 200 copper coins.”
Liu Qianqian then fished out 200 coins for Ye Xiaoxian.
Ye Xiaoxian took the money and went around to look for a helping hand. She suddenly spotted the waiter in the teahouse, so she said, “Waiter, come here for a moment.”
The waiter came and asked Ye Xiaoxian what he could do for her.
Ye Xiaoxian passed one hundred coins to the waiter and gave him some detailed instructions. She then said, “Hurry up. It must be done quickly. When you bring it off, there’s another one hundred coins for you!”
The waiter did not dare to delay and ran downstairs immediately.
…
Jia Zhenbo and the two fathers also happened to be coming downstairs. When they got downstairs Mr. Jia and his son bid goodbye to Lord Liu again. They chatted in courtesy to one another for a while and then moved off in opposite directions.
Mr. Jia and his son were walking towards the west and, after they had taken a few steps, the waiter appeared as if he was in a hurry. When he passed Jia Zhenbo he bumped right into him.
The waiter was still holding a basin of dirty water. After knocking into Jia Zhenbo, half of the dirty water splashed on him
Jia Zhenbo was hurt and smelled bad from the dirty water. His father could not stand it and started scolding the waiter.
The waiter kept asking for their mercy saying that he was in a hurry and if he was late he would be punished. He also said that he would compensate Jia Zhenbo for his clothes and would pay him twenty coins.
Jia Zhenbo’s pa was still scolding him. “Did you say compensate? His clothes are worth at least a hundred coins. What do we need twenty coins for?”
However, Jia Zhenbo stopped his pa and said, “Pa, it’s alright.”
“Zhenbo, look at you. In order to come to meet Lord Liu you have had this outfit made specially and now it is dirty. I don’t know if it can be cleaned when we get back.”
Jia Zhenbo said, “Of course it can be cleaned. Pa, you don’t have to be so annoyed. Don’t get annoyed over others’ carelessness or it’ll do harm to your health.”
Then he said to the waiter, “You may pay me the twenty coins as compensation.”
The waiter fished out the twenty coins and gave them to Jia Zhenbo. After that, the father and son left while the waiter went back to the teahouse.
Ye Xiaoxian gave the waiter the other hundred coins and said to Liu Qianqian, “I think this Jia Zhenbo is alright. First of all, he was sympathetic towards the ordinary working-class people. He didn’t deliberately make things difficult for them, neither was he being condescending. Secondly, he received the twenty coins from the waiter which shows that he is quite sensible. By no means would he suffer that kind of a loss. He accepted the money which is also a reminder to the waiter that he should be responsible for his behavior, so that the waiter would remember not to do things so boldly next time.
Liu Qianqian felt rather pleased in her heart. At this instant she felt a bit shy. “Little Ye, you mean that it’s okay to marry Jia Zhenbo?”
“Of course.” Ye Xiaoxian smiled. “Just wait to be his bride.”
