Chapter 49 Asking about Tang Mu

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When it came to speaking of his family, Little Lin spoke fluently and made no attempt to hide anything. “I’m the eldest in my family. I have younger brothers and sisters, and I need to go home once a day to check on them. There’s no cooking or laundry for me to do at home, so it won’t take much of my time.”

It turned out that his surname was not Lin, but Xiao. Since the Third Master of the brokerage also happened to be surnamed Xiao, the boy had been renamed Xiao Linzi. After people called him that often enough, it was shortened to Little Lin.

Xiao Lin was fourteen years old. He had two younger brothers and a younger sister, which was why he needed to return home every day to see how they were faring.

As for why he had been dismissed by the brokerage, the reason was simple enough, just as An Chunfeng had witnessed several times.

Little Lin was too straightforward. He did not know how to scheme and squeeze extra money out of clients. Clients liked him, but the brokerage certainly did not.

Especially after An Chunfeng had failed to hire any servants, Luo Cheng had found fault with everyone. He had then complained bitterly about Little Lin to the Third Master, saying that the boy had no sense at all—he had watched the client leave without even knowing to step forward and persuade her to stay.

The Third Master also felt that Little Lin was beyond saving. Now that Luo Cheng could speak persuasively and handle matters smoothly, there was little use left for Little Lin.

Before the Third Master had decided what to do with him, the brokerage’s head steward came looking for him. He said the staff arrangements had been adjusted and that Little Lin was to be reassigned to cleaning the latrines, for a monthly wage of only one hundred coins.

The brokerage’s odd-job workers had to repair furniture and clean the latrines that others had used for years. That work was paid separately, at ten coins for each latrine cleaned.

To offer him one hundred coins a month was blatant bullying, an intentional attempt to drive him away.

With no other choice, Little Lin quit and went to Pear Blossom Lane. An Madam’s household was his only option.

Looking at the hopeful expression in Little Lin’s eyes, Madam An nodded. “You may stay, but you’ll have to work on a trial basis for one month first. If you prove suitable, we’ll sign a proper employment contract. For now, I’ll pay you two hundred coins a month, and provide you with three meals a day and lodging.”

She felt sympathy for Little Lin, but whether she could employ him long-term would depend on how he performed during the trial period.

Little Lin was overjoyed and hurriedly agreed.

There were many people in the capital, and finding a suitable job was not easy. Madam An’s household had few people and little work, while still allowing him to return home to look after his younger siblings.

Once he knew he had been hired, Little Lin was willing to accept the steamed cake An Chunfeng offered him. Even so, he refused absolutely to sit down and eat with her. He merely took the cake and went to eat beside the bamboo grove.

He was a diligent boy. After filling his stomach in just a few bites, he used the time while An Chunfeng was eating to neatly stack the scattered firewood in the kitchen. He even scrubbed the water jar by the wall until it was clean.

An Chunfeng was very pleased.

However, after Little Lin had washed the lunchbox, bowls, and chopsticks, he was about to slip into the bamboo grove to pick up a few fallen leaves when she called out to him. “Little Lin, you don’t need to pick up those leaves. I have another task for you.”

Little Lin hurried over again and stood with his hands at his sides, waiting for instructions.

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“Little Lin, go to West City this afternoon… Here are twenty coins. That should be enough to hire a cart!”

As he listened to An Chunfeng’s instructions, Little Lin’s eyes grew wider and wider. At the end, he nodded repeatedly. “Rest assured, Madam An. I’ll certainly arrive on time tomorrow.”

With that, he took the money pouch and hurried away from Pear Blossom Lane.

An Chunfeng shut the gate and paced around the courtyard. Then she sat beneath the eaves and stared blankly for a long while at the patch of blue sky above the wall. Finally, she let out a long breath and returned to her bed to catch up on her sleep.

More than a month had passed since she last saw him, so she had sent Little Lin to the Tang residence in Shun’an Ward, West City, to look for Tang Mu.

She had taken over the former owner’s body, and she was connected to that child by blood. Now that she had settled down, it was time to inquire after him.

If the child was doing well but still did not wish to see her, then she could simply keep her distance in the future.

If the child missed his mother, she could try to take on the role of an elder and offer him a little care from time to time.

Growing up without a mother was always a kind of deficiency for a child.

At that thought, An Chunfeng rubbed her forehead again. In her modern life, she had dreamed of experiencing an ordinary childhood—of being able to act spoiled with her parents and share a meal with them.

Now, everything was different.

She had grown up without a mother, yet had become a mother herself and gained a child. The regret of her former life had reappeared in another form—and this time, there was still a chance to make amends.

She had sent Little Lin to inquire after Tang Mu, but she was not asking him to reveal himself immediately. First, she needed to confirm whether Tang Mu missed her as his mother.

That was why An Chunfeng had instructed Little Lin merely to observe and then return. If Tang Mu was living well in the Tang household, without suffering or being mistreated, then An Chunfeng would consider herself to have fulfilled her duty to the former owner of the body.

She told Little Lin to find the Tang residence in Shun’an Ward that afternoon. He did not need to return to Pear Blossom Lane to report back; he could go home and look after his younger siblings. He only needed to hire a donkey cart early the next morning and come pick up An Chunfeng.

The next day, before dawn had fully broken, someone knocked on the courtyard gate. It was the conscientious Little Lin.

Dressed and ready, An Chunfeng opened the gate, only to find Little Lin blocking the entrance and glaring warily at Qiu Rong.

“Who are you?”

“You—you’re the one who should be telling me that! Who are you, and what are you doing at Madam An’s house?”

Qiu Rong had come carrying water again, only to be stopped by a youth. He was afraid of An Chunfeng, but not of Little Lin, and now he tilted his head and shouted.

“I’m Madam An’s hired worker. Her firewood and water are supplied by people she has hired specifically. What are you doing here carrying water?” Little Lin knew the source of every stick of firewood and every drop of water used by An Chunfeng. The brokerage had long since arranged the deliveries, so there was no need for anything from outside.

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Qiu Rong bared his teeth. “Y-you’re only a hired worker, yet you dare speak to me like that…”

The courtyard gate suddenly swung open. An Chunfeng shot Qiu Rong a cold glance. “You really are a mangy dog that refuses to be driven away.”

Previously, An Chunfeng had merely disliked him. She had considered him a weak and harmless man, and thought it enough simply to ignore him.

But now he had shown such contempt toward Little Lin. He was nothing more than a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong, and she despised him even more.

Qiu Rong had been baring his teeth at Little Lin, but in front of An Chunfeng he instantly deflated like a punctured ball.

“Madam An, this water…”

“Get out!”

An Chunfeng did not bother to say another word. She merely spat out a single command and kicked the water bucket.

More than half the water splashed across the lane, while the wooden bucket rolled away with a rumble.

She felt that she had been far too lenient with Qiu Rong. From now on, if he dared come pestering her again, she would beat him every time she saw him.

Qiu Rong ran over, picked up the wooden bucket, and left without raising his head.

This was the first time Little Lin had seen the beautiful Madam An lose her temper. He secretly swallowed, thinking that from now on he had better obey orders and avoid angering his employer.

At the mouth of the lane stood the donkey cart Little Lin had hired. Once the two of them climbed aboard, the driver followed their instructions and headed toward the medical clinic.

Inside the cart, Little Lin began to report what had happened at the Tang residence in Shun’an Ward the previous afternoon.

“Madam An, I found the household you mentioned. The gate was shut, and I didn’t see any young master of six or seven years old come out.

“But I heard from the neighbors that something happened at the Tang residence a few days ago. They invited physicians several times, and it seems the lady of the house had fallen ill.”

He had found the Tang residence in Shun’an Ward with ease after going to West City the previous day. He had then crouched in the lane outside for several hours, but had not seen Tang Mu. He waited until nightfall before returning home.

He could not allow the first task assigned by his new employer to end in failure. He had already instructed his two younger brothers, who worked odd jobs in the streets, to keep watch outside the lane where the Tang residence stood. If anything happened, they were to remember it and report to him once he returned home.

He simply had not mentioned this to An Chunfeng. There was no harm in waiting until they had something definite to report.

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