Episode 15 recap: Ji Ming Zhao Worries About Borrowing Money
During Ji Ming Zhao's school days, she was once bullied by Miss Liang from the Liang family. Miss Liang made a mess of her desk, spreading ink everywhere. The reason Miss Liang dared to do this was that the Ji family didn't have as much money as their family, and it was also affecting their business. Ji Ming Zhao was not one to suffer in silence. She immediately smeared ink on Miss Liang's face and slapped her when she tried to hit her. The two quickly got into a fight, and Ji Ming Zhao suffered some minor injuries. Dai Meng Hui and Liu Yun Gui learned that Ji Ming Zhao was being bullied, so they decided to stand up for her.
Miss Liang, relying on her family's wealth and power, didn't care about the Ji, Liu, and Dai families and arrogantly claimed that she had struck first. Soon, a brawl broke out between the two sides, and this time Ji Ming Zhao was injured more severely. Ji Ming Xin knew that Ji Ming Zhao was being bullied, but instead of sympathizing or comforting her, she sarcastically mocked Ji Ming Zhao, saying that she was useless in both academics and martial arts and would continue to be useless as she grew up.
Ji Ming Zhao always remembered Ji Ming Xin's mockery. This time, in a public vote, Wu Ming Department Store was elected as the fifteenth-ranked store. Ji Ming Zhao wanted to replace Ji Ming Xin and become fifth-ranked to redeem herself. Ji Ming Xin's goal this time was to surpass the Liang family and become the number one ranked store, so she didn't see Ji Ming Zhao as having any ambitions. The Liang family members found out that Ji Ming Zhao's Wu Ming Department Store was not affiliated with the Ji family's related industries, so they wanted to invest in it. At this time, Ji Ming Zhao had just received the final payment from Liu Yun Zong. She didn't want the Liang family to invest, so she claimed that she didn't need money. However, the Liang family members directly asked Ji Ming Zhao if she wouldn't need money even for the next month. Ji Ming Zhao distributed silver notes to Meng San Xi and Yan Si Fang, each receiving forty taels, and gave Ye Wu Zhi one hundred and ten taels. She also granted them a day off. When Meng San Xi saw the Liang family members flaunting their wealth by pulling out silver notes from their pockets, he immediately taunted them, saying that only ghost money had a denomination of one hundred thousand taels. This angered the Liang family members, but they couldn't do anything to Meng San Xi.
Ji Ming Zhao wanted to improve her ranking in the competition, and Yu Ting Xuan's Gu Nian Jiu had the same ambition. However, Yu Ting Xuan, despite being the most profitable business under Lord Liang's name, was not favored by the common people due to its high prices, so its ranking in the competition was not high. Gu Nian Jiu, an ambitious person, wanted to make a breakthrough. She and Ji Ming Zhao went to the money exchange almost at the same time, hoping to borrow money. However, the cash at the money exchange had already been borrowed by other merchants. Ji Ming Zhao felt that Gu Nian Jiu's chances of success were slim, especially since Lord Liang had already abandoned her. Ji Ming Zhao tried to persuade Gu Nian Jiu to lend her the cash in her store, but Gu Nian Jiu refused and wanted to take another chance.
Ye Wu Zhi went to Wang's Noodle House with a hundred taels of silver notes to gather information. He learned that Qi Yi Fan, the eyewitness in the Liu Yun Xiao case, had moved away nine months ago, and the last person to see him was Li Jun from the Liu family. Meng San Xi also went to Wang's Noodle House with a hundred taels to buy information. Using his intelligence, he deduced two additional pieces of information, making the trip somewhat satisfactory.
Ji Ming Zhao was desperate for money, so she went to her friend Liu Yun Gui, who was considered wealthy. However, the 1,500 taels that Liu Yun Gui had prepared for her had already been borrowed by Liu Yun Zong, who happened to be the same 1,500 taels that Ji Ming Zhao had in her hands. While eating a meager bowl of noodles, Dai Meng Hui took out a copper coin from his pocket in the hopeful gaze of Ji Ming Zhao. The copper coin had been handed to him by a child earlier that morning. Ji Ming Zhao couldn't help but sigh, no wonder the Liang family said that the Ji, Dai, and Liu families had fallen from grace. Looking at their impoverished appearance, it was no wonder people made sarcastic remarks about them. Liu Yun Gui weakly claimed that he wasn't that poor, prompting Ji Ming Zhao and Dai Meng Hui to throw a handful of nourishing herbs into the pot and cook porridge together, united against the relatively affluent Liu Yun Gui.
Ji Ming Zhao thought of Lao Fan, who had money, and quickly went to his house. However, she was a step too late, as Gu Nian Jiu had already borrowed the six thousand taels from Lao Fan. Disappointed, Ji Ming Zhao turned her attention to Lao Ding, but to her surprise, Lao Ding actually had thirty thousand taels. Listening to Lao Ding skillfully describe the hiding place of the silver, Ji Ming Zhao's eyes lit up. Unfortunately, Lao Ding forgot which mountain he had hidden the silver in. Ji Ming Zhao's spirit instantly wilted, and she walked weakly in the courtyard. At that moment, Ye Wu Zhi, who had just returned from prison, hugged Ji Ming Zhao, seeking strength from her. Ji Ming Zhao learned that Ye Wu Zhi had avoided imprisonment because he was too busy to keep the appointment and convinced him not to ask for leave in the future.
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