Chapter 14: A Good Father

Before Zheng Fa could respond, a middle-aged man walked out of the courtyard.

"Huang Guanshi, why have you come?"

The speaker was also a tall, thin man, resembling Wang Gui by seven-tenths; he was Wang Gui's father, the Wang Guanshi of the Tianzhuang estate.

At this moment, he was looking with intense eagerness at the portly middle-aged man beside Huang Yu.

The portly middle-aged man got out of the carriage with Huang Yu, but merely nodded to him somewhat coldly, offering no further pleasantries.

Huang Yu pulled him to Zheng Fa's side and introduced him: "This is my father. I told him about your situation and said I wanted to come see you."

The portly middle-aged man, who was Huang Yu's father, smiled much more broadly at the corners of his mouth when looking at Zheng Fa than he had a moment ago; he gazed at Zheng Fa with gentle eyes: "Young friend Zheng, since Huang Yu and you have an old connection, may I presumptuously call you 'worthy nephew'?"

Zheng Fa nodded, looking at this father and son, not knowing what they had come to do.

"This child Huang Yu is useless; in the past I always worried about how he would uphold the family. But with a friend like you, I am at ease." Huang Yu's father pointed to the carriage behind him: "He wanted to come see a friend, and I thought that since this is a first visit, I should bring some meager gifts."

Seeing Huang Guanshi treat himself with great coldness while being excessively enthusiastic toward Zheng Fa.

Wang Guanshi's face naturally did not look good.

But he could only endure it.

Although both were Guanshi of the Zhao family's Tianzhuang estate, he had only just taken office five years ago, whereas Huang Guanshi—rumor had it—had held the position of Tianzhuang Guanshi for over three generations.

Moreover, even though both were Tianzhuang estates, the Tianzhuang estate managed by Huang Guanshi, whether in output or area, was larger than his own.

There was a clear gap in their status within the Zhao family.

When others gave him the cold shoulder, he could only endure it.

Wang Gui, standing nearby, also sensed his father's displeasure; his heart felt even more resentful of this person's intimacy with Zheng Fa.

Watching Huang Guanshi lead the two of them, Zheng Fa and Huang Yu, toward the carriage, he could not help but crane his neck, peering curiously into the carriage.

Lifting the carriage curtain, two large boxes appeared before everyone.

Zheng Fa's mother, hearing the commotion at this moment, walked to Zheng Fa's side, holding Zheng Shan's small hand to look.

Huang Yu's father, smiling, opened one of the boxes; inside were several bolts of cloth. The material was not good, but it was at least new cloth.

"These are a few bolts of cloth my humble wife had measured out earlier; originally, she dreamed that if this boy became the Seventh Young Master's page, she would make him a few decent new clothes." He glanced sideways at Huang Yu, with a meaning of being disappointed in him for not living up to expectations.

Huang Yu shrank his neck back.

"Now that my worthy nephew can serve the Seventh Young Master, let these few bolts of cloth count as my congratulatory gift; worthy nephew, do not disdain their simplicity."

Zheng Fa turned to look at his mother; she shook her head slightly at him.

"Uncle Huang, it is not that your nephew disdains them, but that one should not accept rewards without merit..."

"Pah, what are a few bolts of cloth?" Huang Guanshi smiled and interrupted Zheng Fa's refusal: "I just said, I have only one son; for him to make such a good friend as you is his good fortune."

Zheng Fa glanced at Huang Yu beside him; the other's face flushed red, and he lowered his head, refusing to look at him.

"Brother Huang and I took to each other at first sight; these things are unnecessary..."

"If you speak thus, then consider yourself my junior; is it not even more proper for me to give a junior a meeting gift?"

Seeing that Zheng Fa was about to speak again, he waved his hand and opened the other box.

Inside was a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

"Since you are going to accompany the Seventh Young Master to study, this set of the four treasures of the study should be matched for you; fortunately, my family has extras, they are not worth much, so I brought them for you... still the same saying: do not disdain them."

"Uncle Huang, you..." Zheng Fa could not help but smile bitterly.

Although Huang Yu's father kept saying "do not disdain them" every time.

Yet both the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and the new cloth, were things Zheng Fa truly needed.

They even anticipated what Zheng Fa had thought of.

Sincerity and good intentions were both fully present; Zheng Fa wanted to refuse, but for a moment did not know how to open his mouth.

Seeming to sense Zheng Fa's hesitation, Huang Yu's father laughed heartily, had Huang Yu carry the two boxes down from the carriage, and actually said directly: "Worthy nephew, I still have matters on this estate; I shall take my leave first."

Having finished speaking, without waiting for the two to react, he urged the horse and whipped the reins, turning and fleeing.

Highlighting a refusal to give Zheng Fa any chance to speak.

Huang Yu, carrying the boxes, stared blankly at his father's departing figure, his mouth wide open: "Father! What about me? I didn't get on the carriage!"

"Huang Yu, you just stay here; I will come to pick you up tomorrow!"

Zheng Fa: "..."

Looking at Huang Yu, then at the two boxes, he suddenly felt a bit of a headache.

But at this time, it was not good to leave him here; the two simply each took a box and walked toward the Zheng family home.

The younger sister, holding a food box in her hands, followed behind the group.

As for Wang Gui and the others...

They said nothing, nor did they want to speak.

Fortunately, thanks to the food box given by the old carriage driver, there was something at home to entertain Huang Yu.

But for sleeping, Huang Yu and Zheng Fa would have to share one room.

After dinner, Huang Yu sat in Zheng Fa's room, pressed his lips together and fell silent for a long while, then suddenly said: "Actually, my father sent me here."

"I know."

"My father always says I am not sensible." Huang Yu did not look at Zheng Fa, but continued: "He fears that after he dies, no one will protect me."

Zheng Fa nodded.

This person Huang Yu was clearly not the type who was smooth and adaptable in all directions.

It could be seen in the Water Pavilion; he wanted to curry favor with that Gao Yuan, but after one sentence from someone, he angrily gave up.

"First he let me compete for the position of the Seventh Young Master's page, and only later told me he just wanted me to make friends with people like you. He said, if I became the Seventh Young Master's page, he feared I would bring disaster upon the whole family, old and young."

Speaking to this point, Huang Yu lay back, hands resting behind his head, looking at the ceiling, somewhat depressed: "Adults are truly annoying; they think too much."

Zheng Fa sat beside him and suddenly said: "You have a good father."

"Ah?"

"Your father must hold some status in the Zhao family." Zheng Fa could see this from the way Wang Guanshi treated Huang Yu's father: "I'm just a book boy. Whether I can help you in the future, I'm not even sure of that myself. On what grounds did he send all these things to me from so far away?"

"... For me."

Zheng Fa shrugged.

"So, don't you think he..." Huang Yu's face flushed red: "is snobbish?"

"Who in the world isn't snobbish?" Zheng Fa smiled: "Should we argue that a book boy isn't snobbish? Who is born willing to serve others? Are their bones cheap?"

"Your words..." Huang Yu heard this and looked at Zheng Fa with extreme shock: "are disrespectful! Our family has served the Zhao family for generations; isn't serving them our duty?"

Zheng Fa said nothing.

Huang Yu, however, was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said: "I feel that befriending you might actually be what endangers my entire family."

In the manor, the Wang family.

Wang Gui was still indignant: "When I was a book boy, why did no one come to flatter me?"

"There were. Plenty of people sent silver." Wang Guanshi brought a bundle out of the bedroom: "But at that time, to get you appointed as the Seventh Young Master's book boy, I borrowed money to grease the palms of connections."

"So all the silver others sent went to repay debts?" Wang Gui felt he understood.

"Not exactly. There's still this." Wang Guanshi patted the bundle in his hand.

"That's quite a lot." Glancing at the size of the bundle, Wang Gui felt somewhat satisfied, then suddenly realized something was wrong: "Father, where are you taking this bundle?"

"Of course, to deliver it to Zheng Fa's family."

"Ah?"