I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

Judging by the sound, Chunlan must be standing outside the shop door, knocking and calling out.

Xie An hurriedly went into the shop from the back door of the pawnshop, and then went to open the door.

The street outside the door was still covered with snow. Chunlan, wearing a brand-new cotton-padded jacket, stood in the snow, her little face frozen red. She kept rubbing her hands and breathing on them to keep warm.

"Girl Chunlan, why have you come? Come in quickly."

Chunlan didn't go in, but said anxiously, "There's no time, I won't go in."

A bad feeling arose in Xie An's heart.

Could there be a change in the matter of redeeming himself?

Before Xie An could think further, he heard Chunlan come closer and say, "Master Xie, it's about your redemption money. Madam and Master have quarreled. They quarreled fiercely. Madam will come to see you in a while, so be careful what you say. Don't ruin things. I have to hurry back, it won't be good if Madam finds out."

Xie An understood.

Chunlan had braved the icy and snowy weather to come and inform him.

Watching Chunlan stomping her feet in the snow and breathing on her hands to warm them, and her red cheeks, Xie An felt very moved.

Even though he was a servant, someone still cared about him.

You must know that in this chaotic world, being a servant, it is really rare to be cared for.

Xie An deeply understood this.

"Thank you, Girl Chunlan. By the way, do you know what Madam and Master are arguing about specifically?"

Chunlan looked around while she spoke.

It turned out that Madam insisted on only accepting twenty taels of silver for Xie An's redemption, but Li Shaoyun privately told Li Ru to ask for two hundred taels. The reason was that Li Shaoyun's martial arts training was costing a lot now, and he had also given a heavy gift to Zhang Biao of the Tiger Wolf Gang during the New Year. Li Ru thought this was reasonable, so he wouldn't budge. Moreover, he also attributed the two hundred taels loss caused by Zhang Bing before to Xie An.

This was the origin of the two hundred taels.

Later, Madam refused, and the two sides had a quarrel. In the end, Li Ru was only willing to erase twenty taels, and stubbornly refused to budge on one hundred and eighty taels.

Li Shaoyun…

"Thank you for telling me, Girl Chunlan."

"Be careful what you say in a while, Madam is in a very bad mood." Chunlan repeatedly instructed, then turned and left.

Xie An stood at the door of the pawnshop, and after watching Chunlan walk away, the smile on his face slowly solidified.

According to the redemption price for a servant in the town, twenty or thirty taels was the market price.

Li Ru opened his mouth and asked for two hundred taels!

What a blatant grab for money.

He knew that Li Ru was mean and stingy, but he didn't expect him to be so excessive.

However, what surprised Xie An was Madam.

She would actually quarrel with Li Ru for his redemption money.

In Xie An's impression, Madam was a maid from a wealthy family in the county town. She had been reading and writing since she was a child, and she was kind and benevolent. But she couldn't be said to have any special friendship with Xie An.

It was just that when Li Ru got married, Xie An was still a young man at the time. He had gone to welcome the bride, carried the sedan chair for Madam, and burned the fire pot.

But it shouldn't be enough to make Madam do this, right?

Just as Xie An was stunned, footsteps came from outside the door.

"Old Xie."

Xie An looked up and saw Madam standing in the snow wearing a brown sable robe. She was over forty years old, with white hair at her temples, but she had a very elegant temperament, quite like a dignified and elegant mistress of a family.

Xie An hurriedly bowed and welcomed Madam into the door.

"In this freezing weather, how could I let Madam make a trip here."

"I felt bored after staying in the mansion for a long time, so I thought about going out for a walk." Madam walked into the pawnshop, sat on the chair used to entertain guests, and also put a delicate packaging box on the table.

"I was thinking about the New Year, and there's nothing to give. So I bought some Wu Fang Zhai pastries, Old Xie, you can taste the flavor."

Wu Fang Zhai's pastries are the best in the entire Black Bridge Town, and they are very precious.

The atmosphere of valuing men over women was still relatively strong in the Great Qian Dynasty. Ordinary daughters of wealthy families were deeply raised in their boudoirs, and they didn't go out of the gate. Even the mistress of the house rarely showed her face.

It was already rare for Madam to personally come to the pawnshop to visit.

Madam asked Chunlan to open the exquisite packaging, and then open the mulberry paper inside, revealing the sweet osmanthus cake.

When Xie An saw this osmanthus cake, he seemed to think of something.

Madam said, "When I first married into the Li family, I especially liked to eat osmanthus cake. But the Wu Fang Zhai in town hadn't opened yet. I remember it was Old Xie who went to the county town and bought it for me. That day, it was also such a snowy day. Time flies, but more than twenty years have passed."

Xie An's thoughts flew, and he felt emotional.

"Yes, more than twenty years have passed in a flash."

Madam picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, put it in her mouth and slowly chewed it, "But the taste is still the same."

Xie An didn't refuse any more, picked up an osmanthus cake and ate it, "Thank you, Madam."

It could be said that Madam was still the same.

But Xie An couldn't say that.

Because he was only responsible for running errands to buy it, but he didn't have the good fortune to eat it.

Unexpectedly, he tasted it now.

Perhaps because the two of them had eaten osmanthus cake, the estrangement between them was not so distant.

Madam seemed to recall the past, and sighed slightly, "I used to be a maid too, but I was very lucky. I met a good Madam. She taught me to read and write, and also let me redeem myself. In the end, I had the opportunity to become Madam of the Li family. On the day I got married, Madam told me that in the future, when I became the mistress, I should treat others kindly and accumulate virtue and blessings.

When I got married, Old Xie carried the sedan chair for me and burned the fire pot for me. He also walked dozens of miles of mountain roads to buy osmanthus cake. I remember all of that. For the past thirty years, Old Xie has been managing the shop for my Li family diligently, without any omissions. I have been watching all of that.

Master was born into a wealthy family and grew up with a golden spoon in his mouth. Naturally, he cannot understand the suffering of servants. But in this chaotic world, the lives of servants are cheap. But servants are also human, who doesn't want to live a good life?

Old Xie has worked hard for my Li family all his life. If I, as the Madam, cannot let Old Xie die well, I will really feel uneasy."

After speaking, Madam took out a cloth bag and slowly handed it to Xie An.

"Master insists on charging you one hundred and eighty taels of redemption money. I can't argue with him, and I also know Master's temper. This is my private money, Old Xie, you take it. Come to my Li family later and pay the redemption money."