A Time-Traveling Mishap: I Became an Ancient Nobleman

Chapter 102 No need for special hospitality

Zhou Hanzhang also stood up and looked at the shop owner, "I wonder if you are the owner of this shop? May I have a brief chat with you?"

The bookstore was decorated so modernly that she couldn't help but suspect that the owner and she were from the same place.

Seeing that he had nothing else to do, the shop owner nodded, led Zhou Hanzhang to a corner to rest, and poured her a cup of flower tea.

A delicate fragrance rose up, creating a unique atmosphere in the dimly lit bookstore.

Zhou Hanzhang first apologized to the people who came to the bookstore with him, saying that he was very interested in the bookstore and thought it was a good way to make money, and that he wanted to stay and exchange ideas with the owner.

Jiang Yichen nodded in understanding and then dragged Jiang Mingyun away.

Jiang Mingyun had originally planned to go with Zhou Hanzhang, but her elder brother was too domineering, so she had to go back with him first.

"Brother Hanzhang, I will come to see you again tomorrow."

Jiang Yichen's face darkened. "Aren't you planning to go back to the academy tomorrow?"

“I want to stay by Hanzhang’s side. If he replies, I will reply; if he doesn’t reply, I won’t reply either. Anyway, we’ve already spoken to the dean.”

Jiang Yichen's brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they were about to trap a fly. "You haven't been back to the academy for days. It was understandable that you came out with me before because of Miss Jiang's matter, but what about now?"

"My mother told me to follow my older sister Xinyi and learn how to be a qualified matriarch."

She brought up Madam Jiang.

Jiang Yichen frowned even more, strongly disapproving of his stepmother's actions. "Then why are you staying by Miss Jiang's side? What's the point of following Junior Brother Zhou around every day?"

"Uh... this..."

Jiang Mingyun's mind lit up. "Naturally, it's because Brother Hanzhang has been looking for Sister Xinyi a lot lately. It's the same whether I'm with him or with Sister Xinyi. Besides, Mother also told me to spend more time with Brother Hanzhang."

Jiang Yichen decided not to argue with him anymore, and forcibly pulled Jiang Mingyun along before leaving.

Jiang Mingyun wanted to say something more, but Zhou Hanzhang smiled at her and said, "I'm going back to the academy tomorrow too. See you there then."

Jiang Mingyun nodded like a chick and obediently followed Jiang Yichen home.

As Shen Moli watched the sun about to set, he thought about the medicinal herbs he had been drying. "I should head back now, otherwise the setting sun might affect their medicinal properties."

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Li Xianda and Chen Moran were also clearly interested. Li Xianda blinked his large, bright eyes at Zhou Hanzhang.

“Cousin, I’d like to hear your ideas on how to make money. Although this bookstore is a bit novel, it doesn’t compare to our family’s other businesses. Do you have any fresh ideas?”

Zhou Hanzhang: ...

"I have no idea, I just want to discuss it with the shop owner."

Li Xianda was clearly puzzled. "If you have no other plans, why are you staying here? Perhaps you want to do some good deeds and help impoverished students? Well then, if you'd like, I have some money here..."

He was about to reach into his pocket for money again when Zhou Hanzhang quickly stopped him. "No, I just thought the layout here was novel and that the owner must be very knowledgeable. I thought I'd have a chat with him first and see if we could apply these models to our own business."

"Then I'll definitely talk to you about it."

In Li Xianda's memory, his younger cousin had never been very interested in business, and whenever he did take it seriously, the things he did were... well, it's hard to explain.

Zhou Hanzhang clearly knew what Li Xianda was thinking. "Cousin! I'm just chatting first. If we really want to do it, I'll come and discuss it with you, okay?"

"Really?" Li Xianda was still very skeptical, after all, Zhou Hanzhang had too much of a dark past.

“Really!” Zhou Hanzhang nodded solemnly.

"Are you lying to me, calling me a pig?"

"I'd be a pig if I lied!"

"Alright then, I actually had an appointment with Huangshi to discuss the supply of materials for our shoes. In that case, I'll be going now."

Li Xianda was still somewhat uneasy, looking at Zhou Hanzhang.

"Go ahead, go ahead, I'll just chat for a bit, I'll definitely be home before dark."

Li Xianda nodded, and before leaving, he specifically instructed He Shi, "Keep an eye on your master and make sure he gets home before dark."

He nodded. "Don't worry, Young Master."

Only then did Li Xianda leave with peace of mind.

Chen Moran remained standing there, watching Zhou Hanzhang.

"Aren't you... going to leave?"

The subtext is, "You're getting in the way here, what are you doing here?"

"Didn't I say I was going to visit your home? You keep chatting, I'll wait for you here."

Zhou Hanzhang: !!

She forced a smile and politely declined, saying, "I'm so sorry, my father left home a few days ago, and now the house is mostly occupied by women, so it's not convenient for me to host him."

"Aren't you a man?"

Zhou Hanzhang was shocked. Oh no, he had forgotten about this.

She took a deep breath. "But my mother is very busy and I'm afraid I won't be able to entertain her properly."

Chen Moran seemed not to understand human speech, "It's alright, I don't need your hospitality. Just arrange for someone to lead me to your study. I'll take a look. If I can find those books you mentioned, they would be priceless treasures to me."

He then sighed, looking quite distressed, "You actually forgot where you put these books... I'll just take a look, don't worry, I won't take them."

He could tell, of course, that Zhou Hanzhang had been subtly refusing his visit, because, in his opinion, Zhou Hanzhang didn't want others to come into contact with such precious books.

“…That’s not what I meant. Fine, go if you want. But I really don’t remember. I watched it many years ago, and I can’t quite remember where I put it.” Zhou Hanzhang reluctantly conceded.

If all else fails, just like Mrs. Zhou suggested, we can push the blame onto Mr. Zhou.

perfect.

"Then what about you?" Zhou Hanzhang clearly wanted to have a detailed chat with the shop owner, but it was really inconvenient for Chen Moran to be there.

Chen Moran suddenly understood the ways of the world at this moment, "It's okay, you can talk, I'll wait for you outside. I'll go back with you when you're done talking."

He thought for a moment, "I can go back first..."

Zhou Hanzhang felt a wave of dizziness. How could there be such a person?

However, she really didn't want Chen Moran to know what she was going to talk to the shop owner about, so she could only instruct He Shi, "He Shi, take Senior Brother Chen home first and tell Mother that I have arranged to invite Senior Brother Chen to come over to read books."

Upon arrival, he simply asked his mother to arrange for someone to escort him to his study; there was no need for any special hospitality.

He hesitated for a moment, "But just now, Young Master instructed me to stay with you."

“I’m a grown man, what’s there to worry about? It’s just that my family always treats me like a child. You take Senior Brother Chen there first, and I promise I’ll be back before dinner. Tell your mother I’ll be back to have dinner with her.”