A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 255: Inexplicable Jealousy

Early in the morning of that day, the servant of Li family walked out of the mansion yawning, and was startled to see the dishevelled, slovenly and haggard Old Zhou outside the door. He did not recognize him for a long time and thought it was a beggar begging for food so early in the morning. It was not until the other party opened his mouth that he realized that it was Mr. Zhou brought back by Master Mu Liang.

It turned out that after Lao Zhou had been waiting in Majia Village for more than half a month without any results, he could no longer bear it and returned to Li's house on his own.

"You mean that after Village Chief Ma came back, he stayed in the village without seeing any outsiders?"

After breakfast, before Lao Zhou had time to rest, Mu Liang called him to the study for questioning.

"Yes, ever since the village chief Ma came back from prison, I have been keeping an eye on him, but this guy just carries a hoe to do farm work in the fields every day, and I haven't noticed anything unusual." Old Zhou couldn't help yawning, sat under the window with his eyes slightly squinted, and nodded to Mu Liang.

"Could it be that you have already been discovered in Majia Village? The mantis is staring at the cicada, but it doesn't know that there is a yellow bird behind it?" Li Yunye, who was sitting next to Mu Liang, also asked the question. However, as soon as he said this, he received a resentful look from Lao Zhou. He was so scared that he quickly shrank his neck and hid behind Mu Liang.

"Everyone can see how strong Lao Zhou is. Brother Yunye, please stop making fun of him." Mu Liang also hurriedly smiled and came to the rescue of his brother.

"It's really rare that Manager Mu would compliment me, Old Zhou." Old Zhou looked at the two people standing close together with a meaningful look on his face and said with a sigh.

"When have I ever been stingy with compliments to you?" Seeing the deep meaning on Lao Zhou's face, Mu Liang thought he was just teasing him, so he shook his head helplessly.

"I heard that the family of Village Chief Ma spent fifty taels of silver to redeem him from prison. It would be impossible to collect fifty taels in such a short time even with the help of all the villagers in Majia Village, right?" Old Zhou shrugged speechlessly, then got back to the topic and continued to lead the conversation back to Majia Village.

"Yes, Majia Village is so poor, and the dyeing workshop was closed down just when it started to make money. Where did they get the fifty taels of silver?" Li Yunye asked puzzledly.

"Someone must have helped them to pay the ransom, but in order to cover up their tracks, they asked Village Chief Ma's family to raise the money in a high-profile manner." Mu Liang took a sip of tea and then sneered.

"I heard from Ma Ming that before the dyeing workshop was established in Majia Village, the village chief Ma disappeared for half a year. When everyone thought he was dead, he suddenly appeared again and threatened to lead the villagers to have enough food to eat and live a good life. When the villagers of Majia Village heard this, they all thought that he made a fortune outside, so no one doubted that he was able to build a dyeing workshop and hire a tie-dye master." An Ge, who was standing behind Li Yunye, suddenly spoke.

"This explains why the fifty taels of silver could be collected in a short time without arousing suspicion. It seems that Village Chief Ma also used the same excuse in front of the government." Mu Liang nodded and muttered to himself.

"Old Zhou has been keeping an eye on Majia Village for more than half a month without any results. I guess the people behind the scenes are very alert. I think we should not investigate further. After all, we are not detectives from the government office. If they find out and take desperate measures to retaliate, the famous Li family from Jiangnan will be in trouble again." Thinking that there was an invisible hand behind Majia Village, Li Yunye was naturally afraid. Although he had his brother Mu Liang with him, he still felt that less trouble was better.

"What my brother said makes sense. Now I am in the light and the enemy is in the dark. We might as well wait and see and respond accordingly." Mu Liang naturally understood his brother's concerns. Besides, the other party was indeed too vigilant. If Lao Zhou stayed in Majia Village for a long time, he would eventually be exposed. He could only focus on defending and wait for them to make another move.

"Oh, that's great. If nothing else, I'll go back to sleep. I haven't had a good night's sleep in the past half month. I'm so tired." After hearing Mu Liang's words, Lao Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. As he spoke, he stood up and walked out of the door.

"You've worked really hard. Go back and have a good rest." Mu Liang said with a smile as he looked at Old Zhou who was walking towards the door.

"Hehe, Mr. Li, I've worked hard for more than half a month, I can't just get a thank you from Manager Mu, right?" After staying in the Li family for so long, Lao Zhou naturally saw that although Mu Liang was stingy, he would always respond to Li Yunye's requests. So he was smart and turned to Li Yunye to ask for compensation.

Lao Zhou’s boss is Brother Mu Liang, but he suddenly asked himself at this time, which made Li Yunye look at his sworn brother beside him a little at a loss.

Mu Liang was also surprised by Lao Zhou's action. He stared at Lao Zhou with his deep eyes and naturally did not notice the gaze his brother was casting on him.

"Just tell me what you want. I think Brother Mu Liang will satisfy your request considering your hard work away from home these days." Seeing that Brother Mu Liang ignored his request for help, Li Yunye was angry and deliberately spoke for Lao Zhou.

Mu Liang's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked at his brother in disbelief, thinking to himself that he hadn't made him unhappy in the past two days, so why was he turning his elbow outward and helping others to deal with him.

Li Yunye did not avoid the gaze of his sworn brother. Instead, he deliberately put on a harmless look as if to provoke him. Yes, he only dared to be fearless in front of him.

"Hehe, I, Old Zhou, don't ask for anything else but this unrestrained freedom..." Upon hearing what Li Yunye said, Old Zhou was overjoyed. As expected, only Master Li could catch Shopkeeper Mu.

"Okay, isn't it just shortening the deadline for you? Then let's reduce it by another three months." With his sworn brother supporting Lao Zhou, Mu Liang couldn't say anything else. But instead of waiting for Lao Zhou to open his mouth, it would be better for him to take the initiative.

Upon hearing that it had only been three months, even An Yun, who had been silently guarding the door, couldn't help but hold back his laughter. Li Yunye even cast a sympathetic look at Lao Zhou, and couldn't help feeling fortunate in his heart: Fortunately, this fox is my sworn brother, and I don't have to do business with him, otherwise I would have lost everything.

"Old Zhou, thank you very much for Manager Mu's generosity!" Old Zhou was stunned at first, but his face darkened after he reacted. He bowed to Mu Liang with a fake smile, and left angrily.

"You are really good at spending money. Look how angry you make Old Zhou." Seeing Old Zhou leave angrily, Li Yunye couldn't help but glance at Mu Liang. He usually taught him to be friendly and make money, and to be generous to others, but why did Mu Liang treat Old Zhou like a stingy person?

"No one would be willing to give up a master like Lao Zhou." Mu Liang smiled helplessly. He certainly didn't mean to make things difficult for them. It was just that the Li family still needed Lao Zhou's help, and Lao Zhou was used to being free. Without this contract, it would be difficult to keep him.

"Ange, go to Chaoji Wine Shop and tell them that when Lao Zhou comes to drink in the future, just serve him the best wine in the shop, and put the bill in my name." Mu Liang then instructed Ange.

"Yes, Master Mu Liang." Ange smiled and went out as well.

"No wonder Old Zhou complains about your stinginess while following you wholeheartedly." Li Yunye couldn't help but admire his brother as he looked at him. How could such a method not make people love and hate him?

"Are you praising me or mocking me?" Mu Liang curved his eyes and smiled gently.

Li Yunye ignored Mu Liang's question, and just gave him a glare before standing up and saying, "The repairs in your yard will be completed today. Let's go and take a look."

"it is good."

Mu Liang then followed Li Yunye out of the study, and An Yun, who had been silent all the time, also followed them silently.

After some renovation, Mu Liang's yard was indeed brand new. Even Mu Liang, who had never paid much attention to it, could not help but be amazed after entering. Since he came back from Liangdu, he knew that the yard was being renovated, but he never thought of going to see it. Li Yunye also did not mention the renovation of the yard to him. After all, he had said that everything would be done according to his own ideas.

"I originally wanted to imitate the courtyard you have in Liangdu, but that would mean we would have to demolish everything, which is too troublesome." Li Yunye saw the light in Brother Mu Liang's eyes and knew that he was satisfied, so he felt relieved.

"That's great too. Thank you, brother Yunye." Mu Liang was very moved and smiled gently at his brother.

"Here you go again. Didn't we agree that we are family and shouldn't have different opinions?" Li Yunye glared at him with pretended anger.

Mu Liang lowered his head to hide the tears that were about to well up in his eyes. After a moment, he looked at his brother and said, "There is one more thing I forgot to tell you. I have given the courtyard in Liangdu to Hong Qing. She only accepted it when she heard that I was leaving Liangdu."

"She is willing to see you again?" When Li Yunye heard this, the smile on his face disappeared instantly.

"The news of the Li family's experience reached Liangdu. After hearing about it, she was concerned about us and came to see me."

Mu Liang's words made Li Yunye roll his eyes secretly: What do you mean by caring about us? She is obviously caring about you, Brother Mu Liang.

"That courtyard is your private property. You can give it to whoever you want. You don't need to tell me." Li Yunye said with a sullen face, turned around and left.

I knew that Brother Mu Liang’s private property in Liangdu was prepared for Hong Qing, and I also knew that he only treated Hong Qing as a neighbor’s sister, but for some reason, I still felt this inexplicable jealousy today.

Seeing the young master suddenly get angry and leave, An Yun looked at Mu Liang in a daze. Seeing that the other party also looked confused, he hurriedly saluted and turned around to chase after the young master.