Chapter 200 Uncle
For Jiuyue's sake, Cuihua would give Wei what he wanted, but what would the Wu family think of Jiuyue?
It did not matter if this happened to the Su family. Why did Wei come here to seek financial help?
Seeing Jiuwei stand still, Wei thought that she did not hear his voice and could not wait to walk over.
"Jiuyue? You don't recognize me after a long separation? Actually, I almost failed to recognize you, too You were pretty when you were little, and you're now even more beautiful! I'd say the Wu family is too fortunate!"
He grinned from ear to ear. In Jiuyue's view, he had not changed much over the years and was as glib as ever.
With that mouth, he managed to coax many good things from her family.
He was wearing a black robe and a silver headdress, which suggested that his life had changed drastically.
However, his weathered face did not match his dressing.
When Jiuyue looked down at his shoes, she frowned deeply.
They were not ordinary shoes, but official boots.
The last time she went to the town, she saw similar shoes on Ada's feet. Even yamen runners were not qualified to wear them. How did Wei get them?
Jiuyue was confused, but no one could answer her question at the moment.
She raised her head and put all the thoughts aside. Then, she asked, "What brought you here? How is my mother doing?"
Wei was stunned. Apparently, he did not expect her to mention her mother.
But immediately, he replied with a big smile, "Your mother is fine! She eats well and sleeps well. Don't worry about her. I'll take good care of her."
Jiuyue was skeptical about his words.
She heard from those young village women that after her mother went back, Wei and his wife did not treat her well.
As a daughter, she felt sympathy for her mother. However, she gradually gave up this delicate kinship after thirteen years.
Her mother needed to suffer to know who was truly nice to her.
Pitifully, several months had passed, and her mother remained wrongheaded.
 What else was there to say?
"Good. I know you're a considerate man and will take good care of her."
Wei revealed an embarrassed smile. Jiuyue poured a bowl of water from the jar placed at the edge of the field and gulped it down. Holding the empty bowl, she looked at him. "Uncle, would you like some water?"
Wei came this time for something serious and was in no mood for drinking water.
He waved his hand. "No, thanks."
Jiuyue had the bowl overturned on the jar, stood up, and said, "Uncle, I think you came all the way here not just to talk nonsense. I'll go back to work if you don't get straight to the point."
Wei clearly felt that Jiuyue did not like him much. Seeing that she was about to leave, he stopped her hastily. "Ah! Wait!"
Jiuyue turned around. "Let's be clear. I don't have any money. Mrs. Wu was in charge of family finances. My husband's medical treatment just costed a lot of money some days ago, and the expenses are even greater since he started to studied in the academy."
It was always wise to complain about being hard up before a potential borrower.
Hearing what Jiuyue said, Wei smiled an embarrassed smile.
"What are you talking about? How could I ask for your money?"
"Really?" Disbelief was written on Jiuyue's face.
Wei patted his chest and assured her at once, "Of course! I have money now!"
He pointed at the silver headdress on his head. "Look at this. It's pure silver! Such a big silver headdress is worth at least twenty taels."
Jiuyue said immediately, "Wow! Uncle, you're so awesome! Now that you've become rich, could you lend me some money?"
Wei was stunned. It was the first time someone had asked him for money.
Then, Jiuyue continued, "Oh! What am I talking about? You're my uncle, so I don't need to stand on ceremony. Why don't you give your niece some pocket money?"
Some days ago, Jiuyue read a book and learned the art of beating someone at their own game.
To deal with a thick-skinned person, one must be thicker-skinned.
Since Wei was notorious for his stinginess, Jiuyue did not expect to get money from him.
She simply intended to scare him so that he would not come to her again.
But this time, it turned out that she had underestimated her uncle.
Reluctant as he was, he bit his lower lip and took out about ten coppers from his purse after thinking for a while. Then, he handed them to Jiuyue.
"Here you are! You can buy whatever you want with the money!"
He said it as if he had given her ten tales of gold. What could she buy with only ten coppers? This was ridiculous.
Amused by his words, Jiuyue took the coppers and weighed them in her hand. The coppers clinked pleasantly against each other.
"Uncle, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm afraid these coppers are not enough for me. To tell you the truth, just a piece of ink will cost one hundred coppers."
There was no intellectual in the Zhang family, so Wei did not know much about this.
He used to think it was an exaggeration when people talked about how costly it was to cultivate an intellectual.
Hearing Jiuyue's words, he was so shocked that his jaw dropped.
"I-it's so expensive?"
Jiuyue nodded with a serious face. "Sure. We can't afford good ink and buy cheap ink for temporary use."
After hesitating for a long time, Wei finally took out two pieces of silver from his purse and handed them to Jiuyue.
"They should be enough. They're my private money, and I don't have more!"
Jiuyue looked at the money in her hand and estimated that there were about three tales. It was amusing. She never thought that she could get money from her uncle.
Happily, she put the money into her purse and bowed to Wei. "Although they're still not enough, I'm grateful for your help. What did you come here for? I'll try my best to help you."