Chapter 21: Moving In

Cheng Feng was cautious the entire way; the nearly one hundred taels of silver in his bundle made him feel anxious as he looked at the road, which had no village in front and no shop behind.

Fortunately, he arrived safely.

As soon as he entered the city today, the pedestrians on the street were all discussing the same thing: the Great Zhou army that had attacked the rebel organization a few months ago.

They had been defeated by the rebels.

A large number of commoners began fleeing from the east toward the north and south.

Cheng Feng could only grumble to himself, "Rebellion? A sign that the nation is about to fall!"

He could not let those around him hear this.

It was just Cheng Feng amusing himself.

What did it have to do with him, Cheng Feng, if the Great Zhou were to fall?

Once inside the city, Cheng Feng was no longer anxious.

He walked slowly and leisurely toward the Tooth Agency.

He took out the receipt and paid the silver as agreed.

This could not be finished in a moment; the shopkeeper still needed to take the terms and the receipt to the government office to have them stamped.

Once the official seal was applied, the matter would be settled.

Cheng Feng sat in the main hall talking with Zhang Caier, waiting for the shop's runner to go get the seal.

Currently, Zhang Caier could not yet be considered Cheng Feng's person.

Therefore, they could only sit face-to-face, drinking tea and chatting.

"What can Cai'er do?" Cheng Feng asked the usual question.

"This servant can wash clothes and cook, but what I do best is Needlework," Zhang Caier replied; she knew this was her master, and her life or death from now on would depend entirely on Cheng Feng's word, so she answered every question he asked.

Cheng Feng asked, "Have you ever studied?"

"No, my family was poor, and I never had the opportunity to learn to read," the busty Zhang Caier whispered with her head lowered.

Cheng Feng had hoped that if Zhang Caier were literate, she could teach him a thing or two; as expected, it was just wishful thinking.

He had thought too much.

Cheng Feng was not discouraged; he had simply asked out of curiosity.

It would be better if she could, but there was no loss if she couldn't.

"My family was also poor, and I had no chance to learn to read, but recently things have improved at home, and I used the surplus wealth to settle a farmstead in the city," Cheng Feng said in a gentle tone.

Thinking that he might take her virginity tonight, Cheng Feng was incredibly excited and hoped the shop's runner would return quickly.

Zhang Caier had an Ordinary appearance, nothing outstanding, but her busty figure was exactly what Cheng Feng liked most.

They were just ordinary people with basic desires, and Cheng Feng did not deny this aspect of himself.

After chatting a while longer about Zhang Caier's family situation, the runner returned.

It is said that those who run such businesses have the backing of local wealthy families and are very well-connected with the government.

After confirming everything was correct in person, Cheng Feng put away the receipt.

Zhang Caier's shackles were also unlocked by the runner.

From this moment on, Zhang Caier belonged entirely to Cheng Feng.

Zhang Caier watched the shackles being taken away, then looked at Cheng Feng's face not far away.

She felt both happy and somewhat terrified.

If the other party had some peculiar hobbies, she might have just escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's mouth.

But there was finally some hope; she could only hope that Cheng Feng would treat her well!

Seeing that it was still early, Cheng Feng let Zhang Caier follow behind him and asked, "Are you familiar with the South City District?"

Zhang Caier shook her head: "My home is in the North City District, which is quite far away, and I don't usually come to the South City District."

Cheng Feng understood; after all, they were in the same county, and a radius of several dozen miles is neither large nor small.

Sometimes, once you put down roots, it's for a lifetime.

Without the opportunity, one would never step outside their own sphere of life.

That was fine, too; it saved trouble.

Cheng Feng would not treat his woman poorly in daily life.

Cheng Feng arrived at the fabric shop and turned to ask the woman following him.

"What color do you like?"

Zhang Caier was a bit confused by Cheng Feng's question, but after he asked again, she hurriedly replied: "There is no need to go to such expense."

Cheng Feng was speechless; it wasn't as if he couldn't afford the money for clothes.

His tone couldn't help but become a bit stern: "Answer what you are asked."

Zhang Caier was frightened by Cheng Feng's stern tone, "Green is fine."

Cheng Feng was speechless; how could she like green?

Looking at the buxom young woman in front of him, "Change to another color, anything else?"

Zhang Caier secretly noted this down: this man does not like green.

"Then red and yellow," seeing that the man beside her was about to get angry again, Zhang Caier said hurriedly.

Seeing her as timid as a rabbit in front of him, Cheng Feng felt a sense of bullying the weak, which was slightly satisfying.

But she was already nineteen years old.

He would only come of age after the New Year!

Oh, he bought her, so that didn't matter.

He would have to bully her well in the future, hehe.

Cheng Feng took charge directly, pointing at the young girl behind him: "Shopkeeper, based on this figure, one set of red cloth, one set of yellow cloth, and get another set of purple cloth and white cloth; for my build, two sets of black cloth."

In Cheng Feng's impression, a girl should have a few more clothes; this might be an influence from his past life.

But now that Cheng Feng held a large sum of money, he didn't care about a few pennies; daily necessities had to be bought in full, and wearing them at night was for his own enjoyment, so he wouldn't be at a loss.

He had to practice martial arts regularly, so his clothes were washed and changed quite quickly; he had brought two sets from home, so adding two more should be about right.

She would have to learn to read later, and if she had nothing to do at home, she could make clothes, so she wouldn't be idle.

Washing clothes and cooking would also be left to Zhang Caier.

She was both a housekeeper and a bed-warming maid.

And he didn't even have to pay wages.

What was wrong with buying a few sets of clothes? The one benefiting at night was still himself.

Cheng Feng laughed inwardly; he was truly himself!

Seeing Cheng Feng buy so much fabric for her, the nervousness in Zhang Caier's heart vanished; it seemed this person wasn't bad.

Looking at the dusty clothes on Zhang Caier's body, they were unlucky, so he would throw them away later.

He had the shopkeeper get a ready-made gray outfit for Zhang Caier before he stopped.

In the morning he had ninety-five taels of silver, supplemented by forty-seven taels, leaving forty-eight taels.

He spent two taels on clothes and fabric, leaving forty-six taels.

Cheng Feng felt confident, with fifty taels still kept as a reserve outside the city.

After buying the coarse cloth and clothes and putting them in the house, Cheng Feng and Zhang Caier discussed what was needed and what was still missing.

Such inquiries and the things to be done gave Zhang Caier a different feeling; this might be her new home.

Everything required her participation in planning and concerned future applications.

Zhang Caier also gradually opened up, no longer shrinking away, and gave Cheng Feng some very sensible suggestions.

Seeing that his relationship with Zhang Caier was gradually becoming less like that of strangers, Cheng Feng was also happy.

The night must also be happy, oh.

Cheng Feng took Zhang Caier out to shop and shop and shop again.

Aside from large items like tables and chairs, the room had nothing at all, not even bedding.

Not to mention the kitchen, which only had one large iron pot, and nothing else.

Taking Zhang Caier, they walked through streets and alleys; both were familiarizing themselves with the surrounding environment and building a comfortable little nest for themselves.

Finally, Cheng Feng bought a large bathing tub.

This was for use at night.

The subsequent trips cost another tael or so; Cheng Feng calculated that he only had forty-five taels left, which made him feel even more secure.

Moving house was indeed the most tiring thing.

Both of them were covered in sweat.

Looking at these things, Zhang Caier also understood Cheng Feng's intentions; this was a person who intended to live a proper life.

Her heart felt even more relaxed as the sun set in the west.

Seeing that Zhang Caier was preparing to clean everything inside and out, Cheng Feng immediately stopped her.

"Clean the main room first, we'll talk about the rest tomorrow; after cleaning, we'll go out for a meal," Cheng Feng arranged.

Zhang Caier did not refuse, nor could she refuse the words of the man who was to be hers.

Still thinking about cooking at home, Cheng Feng saw that both of them were very tired, so he refused even more firmly.

The two washed their faces and went out.

They found a small stall, ordered two small dishes—one meat and one vegetable—and two bowls of plain noodles.

This saved the time of cleaning the kitchen and bathroom.

They returned home to boil water and bathe.

The newly bought firewood burned, casting light onto Zhang Caier's face.

Zhang Caier was also aware of the man's impatience.

She silently followed the man's arrangements.