After eating, Sun Shi1helped Zhou Shi clear the table while Yang Shi went to wash the dishes.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Sun Shi told the two that she would be returning to her room, and then she pulled Xue Qinghuai back to their living quarters.
The family of three showered and then laid down on the kang2Sun Shi hastily pulled her husband and asked: "Huai Ge,3you say, does Zhao'er's business really make that much money?"
When he came back, Xue Qinghuai told this matter to Sun Shi, but Sun Shi didn't take it to heart. This changed when she saw that Zhao'er bought so many things today and brought a bowl of meat to the main house.
Sun Shi knew how much those things were worth. That bowl of meat is at least a catty,4and a catty of meat is more than a dozen wen5. And it was really served to them. Anyway, Sun Shi would have been reluctant to do this, so when Father Xue6beat her son and daughter-in-law, she didn't dare to speak.
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But this also shows that Zhao'er is really making money.
Likewise, Xue Qinghuai also does business, but he carries his goods every day to walk around the streets and alleys to sell. It would seem that they had the most profitable business of the Xue family, but in fact it was the most exhausting. They sell small items, things that are cheap, and they make little money. On a good day, they can earn a few dozen wen, but on a bad day, they earn more or less ten wen.
Since Zhao'er can bring Jiang Wu to do business, why can't she bring their family as well. And the two families are so close that Gou'er7and Zhao'er still call them fourth uncle and fourth aunt.
Sun Shi talked about the matter with Xue Qinghuai, and Xue Qinghuai said: "We have been doing alright in our business, so why did you get this idea?"
"Is there any silver that is untouchable? Zhao'er will bring anyone to do business. Is it not better to work with us?"
"There is Jiang Wu. Besides, Jiang Wu has a carriage, but our family does not have one. They are doing a good job in business now, and you want to meddle in. What is that called? Let me tell you right now, you cannot speak of this matter to Zhao'er. It will make people think we just want to coercively snatch a share of the pie using our identities."
Sun Shi did not expect this to happen. Seeing the man's resolute attitude, she didn't say anything more. She just laid there and couldn't help thinking about this matter. In the middle of the night, she finally fell asleep.
After Zhao'er washed the dishes, she went back to her room. The kang was already cleaned up.
The kang table was wiped clean and the feet of the kang were removed. The bedding was already laid out, and a large mattress was placed underneath. As usual, there were two quilts on the top that were neatly laid out, one on the left and one on the right.
Zhao'er felt a little comforted. It could be seen that the little man had changed a lot since his illness. He knows to help her with work and also knows to be considerate of her.
She thought of the hairpin and earrings he bought for her. It has only been ten days since he entered school, and he still had to study. He must have used his leisure time to copy books, and the silver earned from copying books was used to buy jewelry for her. Immediately, her heart softened.
She can't give him attitude just because she has a knot in her heart. Thinking about this, she put a smile on her face, and her voice became tender and clear: "Later when you stop reading, you'll go to sleep?"
"I'll stop reading."
"Yes, you should be tired from reading everyday. When you come home, don't read anymore. Let your eyes rest. I will boil water, and later after we wash, we can rest."
"I'll go boil water."
In the past, it was always Zhao'er who brought him boiled water to wash his feet. This time, he wanted to boil water for her.
"You can start the fire?" she teased without being contemptuous, a smile bending the corners of her lips.
"Of course I can!" As he said this, he moodily headed out the door. Zhao'er couldn't even hold him back.
The two went to the kitchen, and Zhao'er was still saying: "Look at you, why are you so obstinate? Isn't it just boiling water? And you still want to fight over this."
The fire stove was still hot, and there were still sparks in it. Xue TingRang crouched in front of the stove and filled it with firewood.
He stuffed his head in and filled the stove with firewood. It was too late when Zhao'er tried to stop him. A black smoke came out from the stove.
The fire had not started, but there was quite a lot of smoke.
He himself choked from the smoke and coughed twice. Zhao'er pinched her nose and fanned the air.
"It's not possible to start the fire your way. I'm telling you, in this case, use a fire tong to stir up a fire. Put in less fine wood to keep the fire burning and then put in coarse wood."
Zhao'er said this as she picked up the fireplace tongs and took out all the firewood in the stove. Then she threw some fine firewood in and pounded it with the tongs a few times. A small flame sprang up inside and soon turned into a big fire. She then put in the coarse wood that she had just picked out of the stove.
Xue TingRang was a little embarrassed. It turned out that when Zhao'er said he couldn't burn a fire, it was true. He really doesn't know how to burn a fire. Just starting a fire, he can choke people like this.
He cleared his throat and said, "I will know how to do it next time."
Zhao'er's eyes curved as she nodded: "You're smart. You can learn everything very quickly."
He couldn't help turning his head to look at her. The fire in the stove turned her face red and flushed, like she had applied rouge on her face. She looked dainty and delicious.
But Zhao'er is actually one who dislikes applying cream the most. In that dream, even when he had money, she never used cosmetics. After she died, there seemed to be no woman he had ever seen who didn't put on powder. The white powder was mixed with red and gorgeous rouge, making the wearer seem to be wearing a mask, her face a blur.
He couldn't help but inch forward, and then shift forward some more. He didn't want to do anything, just subconsciously moved there.
She turned her head abruptly and almost hit his nose. First, she was taken aback, and then she broke into laughter.
shi: maiden name (ex. Sun shi means Sun is her maiden name. Shi is there just as a reminder)
kang: a large heated brick platform that is used for entertaining, sleeping, and general living.
Ge: older brother; also an affectionate/intimate way of calling an older husband/love interest
catty: traditional chinese unit of mass
wen: traditional chinese "penny", also known as a copper coin. This "penny" should not be taken in context of the current US penny's monetary value
just in case you might be confused, "Father Xue" refers to her husband
Gou'er: male protagonist's childhood nickname. His nickname means dog.
Look at your nose. You look like Da Hei1."
On Xue TingRang's white face, the tip of his nose was black. At this time, a warm object squeezed over, stretched out his dog head, and looked left and right, as if he was curious about why he was mentioned. The dog's eyes were wet, and the tip of his nose was a little black. This made Zhao'er laugh even louder.
Xue TingRang subconsciously stretched out his hand to touch, but was caught by Zhao'er.
"Don't touch. I will wipe it for you. Otherwise, if you touch your face, you will really become a puppy."
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Her hands were soft and warm, and her eyes were curved in a smile. In the small moment in which he was in a daze, her hand stretched out and then retracted, and he subconsciously touched his nose again.
"Is it wiped clean?"
Zhao'er nodded: "It's clean. I really should let you look in the mirror, hahaha."
Xue TingRang was a little embarrassed and whispered, "What's so funny."
"ok, ok, I won't laugh anymore."
During this time, the water in the pot became hot.
Xue TingRang took the initiative to fetch the foot basin, and Zhao'er scooped water into it. At this time, Zhou Shi came in with her things and asked, "You are resting this early?"
"Been busy all day, so resting early."
During Zhao'er and Zhou Shi's conversation, Xue TingRang left with the foot basin filled with water.
Zhou Shi smiled and said: "Gou'er is more and more decent now, and he knows to help you work."
Zhaoer laughed and said, "He has to grow up. By the way, we don't need the remaining water in the pot. Third Aunt, please use it."
"Ok."
Xue TingRang returned the basin to the room.
Although the distance was short, the basin was big and sturdy, and it was really heavy.
He touched his aching arm and planned to put physical exercise on the agenda from tomorrow on. It is no wonder that Zhao'er always treats him as a younger brother. He really is useless.
While thinking this, Zhao'er followed him in.
"You must be tired; this basin is heavy."
He stood up hurriedly, pretending to be okay: "It's okay, it was not too heavy."
"Hurry up and wash. Don't let the water get cold."
Xue TingRang sat on the kang, took off his shoes and socks, and put his feet in the basin.
The water temperature was just right. Although it was slightly hot, it was comfortable.
At this moment, there was suddenly another person in front of him. Zhao'er moved a small stool to sit across him, took off her shoes and socks, and soaked her feet in the basin.
In order to not waste time and effort, the two of them have always washed their feet in one basin, the only exception being when they take a bath.
Zhao'er's feet were the same as her hands, marked with thin calluses and tough skin. Compared to Xue TingRang, her hands were by far less soft and smooth.
His feet were below and her feet were above.
"I'll rub your feet for you."
She said with a smile, and then rubbed her feet on his feet. After rubbing them twice, it didn't feel right, so she bent down to scrub her feet with her hands. First she washed her own, and then she washed his.
Xue TingRang curled up as if he was scalded: "Stop rubbing. It's already clean."
"It's clean?"
He hurriedly nodded, took the towel next to him, wiped his feet, and then put his feet on the kang.
Zhao'er thought he was a little weird. She did not know when it started, but the little man no longer let her wash his feet. Obviously, she washed his feet ever since he was young.
After Xue TingRang finished wiping, Zhao'er wiped her feet.
Then, Zhao'er put on her shoes and went to pour out the water in the basin. When she came back, she saw that there was still water in Da Hei's water bowl, so she bolted the door, blew out the lamp, and crawled onto the kang.
It was a bit dark in the room, and there was no moon today.
Xue TingRang was already lying down, being very quiet.
In the dark, Zhao'er took off her clothes, opened the quilt and went under the covers, but then accidentally hit a person.
It turns out that she got the wrong bed.
She immediately went to find the other bed but was pulled by someone.
In the darkness, Xue TingRang's throat tightened: "It's cold under these covers. Help me warm up."
This was something that Zhao'er used to do frequently. Xue TingRang had a weak body constitution when he was a child, and he couldn't get warm when sleeping alone. Ever since Zhao'er came to the Second family2, he has slept with Zhao'er. Later, when they were a little older, the two separated their quilts. When it was a little cold but there was no need to burn the stove under the kang, Zhao'er warmed the quilts for him before letting him sleep.
"You are already so old, but you still want your sister3to warm your covers."
He didn't speak, but the hand that grasped hers let go.
Xue TingRang was also embarrassed that he said such a thing. Just when he was feeling annoyed, suddenly a pair of hands stretched into his covers and rubbed his hands and legs: "I will have to take you to a doctor. At your age, you should have a hot body constitution. How come you always have cold hands and feet."
As she said this, she moved closer to his blanket.
The two were very close to each other, but were separated by two quilts. Her hands were still in his quilt, rubbing his hands a few times, and she held them in her arms.
Not only that, her legs also moved to his covers.
Under the blanket , she touched his foot with her foot, shivering from the icy touch. However, she did not retreat, rubbing his feet twice, and then covering his feet with hers to warm them.
She covered his feet for a while, but the feet did not become warm. She used her feet to pull his feet up, sandwiching his feet between her calves.
"Zhao'er, let's wait until the two of us get married to get your ears pierced and wear those earrings, okay?" Xue TingRang said suddenly in the silence.
But no voice answered him, only her slight snoring.
He smiled a little, dug his feet between her legs again, and fell asleep.
Da Hei: name of their family dog (his name literally means Big Black)
second family: this just means Xue TingRang's family. Since his father was the second eldest in his generation of siblings, their family is named Second Family.
your sister: here Zhao'er is referring to herself. She doesn't see herself as Gou'er's child bride but rather sees herself as an older sister/ half-parent. But that isn't what Gou'er thinks of her as...
Xue TingRang woke up as soon as the sun came out.
He opened his eyes, and the room was still dark.
The kang was a mess. Some time in the middle of the night, the two quilts were twisted together, and they no longer looked as neat and tidy as they normally did in the morning. Xue TingRang thought for a while. It seemed that while asleep in the deep night, he felt too hot, so he shoved the blankets away.
It seems that both of them were the same.
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She was very close to him, her sleeping face was ugly, and her right leg straddled his lap. She was lying slanted, her head resting on half of the pillow, the other half of the pillow hanging on the edge of the kang. She was still deeply in sleep.
Xue TingRang rarely saw Zhao'er look like this. Right now, while he looked at her, he found that the currently asleep Zhao'er was a little cute.
He couldn't help but shift a little towards her, leaning in close enough to feel the light breath from her nose. He could also see more clearly that her clothes were very thin and a bright red string hung from her thin white neck.
He continued to lean towards her, and just as he was about to reach her, he brought his head down and pressed his forehead against her cheek. After a long while, he slowly raised his head, and his lips drew a winding line on her face.
"Zhao'er."
A rumble rolled in his throat a few times, but then he swallowed the sound down. He laid down next to her face, trying to restrain his breathing, not wanting to wake her.
When Xue TingRang woke up again, the sky was already bright.
There was no one next to him, and Zhao'er was not in the house. He sat up suddenly and got dressed, his heart panicking inexplicably.
Just as he got off the kang, the door was suddenly pushed open. Zhao'er walked in and said with a normal expression: "Already up? You slept so deeply, but I left breakfast for you."
He followed her out the door. The sunlight was very good today, a little dazzling. Da Hei was lying under the eaves, wagging his tail. Seeing Xue TingRang coming out, Da Hei leaned on his owner's leg.
Xue TingRang slowly brushed his teeth with a willow branch dipped in salt, and then washed his face.
Zhao'er had already brought out the breakfast.
It was white steamed buns and porridge.
Xue TingRang took a sip of the porridge and took a bite of the steamed bun. He did not enter the room, just sat on a small stool under the eaves and ate.
"Then you eat, I'll go to the vegetable garden and take a look."
He didn't speak, still wondering what she was thinking when she woke up and saw that scene. How could he have fallen asleep?
Sun Shi stood in the room and looked out. Only when she saw Zhao'er leave did she step out of the room.
"Gou'er, you just got up?"
"Fourth aunt."
"Is studying in the academy tiring? Why do I think you've become thinner?" Sun said, looking for a topic to converse on.
"Did I?" Xue TingRang subconsciously stuffed the bun in his mouth and touched his face with his hands.
She sighed and said, " don't be too harsh on yourself. Just learn slowly."
Sun Shi seldom used this tone to talk to him, which made Xue TingRang uncomfortable. Just as he was wondering what she wanted, Sun Shi went straight to the subject.
"Gou'er, Fourth aunt wants to discuss something with you. Look at your uncle who walks the streets and alleys every day and wears out a few pairs of shoes every month, but he only makes a few wen. I heard from your Fourth Uncle that Zhao'er is doing well in business now, so I want Zhao'er to bring along your fourth uncle when doing business. Think about it. It is better to use our own family than use outsiders. After all, we are relatives..."
Sun Shi nervously licked her lips: "Of course, this will not only benefit my family, but will also be good for you and Zhao'er. After all, Zhao'er is a big girl now, and Jiang Wu is an unmarried young man. Always going in and out together is a bit bad for her reputation, but it's not the same with your uncle."1
Xue TingRang's eyes flickered and asked, "Why didn't Sun Shi go and ask Zhao'er? I don't do business, so I can't be the decision maker."
"Why can't you be the decision maker?! You are the pillar of the Second family, the man in the family. Zhao'er will listen to your words. Fourth aunt admits that there are selfish reasons to this request, but it is also for you and Zhao'er. You two children do not understand how terrible gossip can be."
As Sun Shi was talking, Zhao'er suddenly walked out from the back of the house and asked, "What is terrible?"
Sun Shi did not expect that Zhao'er would overhear her conversation, and she laughed awkwardly. She was about to pass off the subject when Xue TingRang said: "Zhao'er, Fourth aunt wants you to take Fourth uncle to do business."
"Do business?" Zhao'er looked at Sun Shi, her mouth pursed.
Sun was very embarrassed and became a little flustered from Zhao'er stare.
Okay, she admitted that she was wrong to persuade her nephew behind Zhao'er's back. But since she already put out this request, Sun Shi did not intend to give up halfway. She thought about it all night yesterday, but still didn't want to give up this opportunity. No one finds silver disagreeable, and farming cannot make much money. She still wants to send Maodan2to study. Xue Juncai3is the best example of how much money it costs to study.
She repeated what she had said before, and then stared at Zhao'er closely after she finished.
Zhao'er's expression was very serious. Sun Shi thought to herself that her request would probably be denied. But Zhao'er nodded and said: "Okay, when Uncle comes back from farming at noon, let him find me."
Obviously Zhao'er was a junior, and she was still an elder, but Sun Shi nodded rapidly. She didn't find anything wrong with Xue Qinghuai coming to Zhao'er.
Early in the morning, Zhao'er got up to chop the pig trotters that she bought yesterday.
The pork hock was to be braised. First blanch in water and rinse to remove the blood foam on it. Then, put the sugar in the oil pan and fry the sugar into syrup over a low fire. Stir fry the hock, add wine and soy sauce to color, and then add green onion, ginger and garlic. Stir fry a few times, then add water over the hock and stew it under low fire.
She also stewed the pork leg bones. Before stewing, break the bones apart, throw a few slices of ginger and green onions, and put two star anise and cinnamon.
Stew in a clay pot. Fragrant!
Both of these dishes are time-consuming, so Zhao'er turned the fire in the stove into a small fire and left the stewing pots unattended.
When it was almost noon, Zhao'er went to the kitchen to stir fry two vegetarian dishes.
She still gave some to the main room4as she did yesterday.
Not much, just enough for the old couple to eat. Zhao'er is not a person who repays grievances with virtue, but now she is still eating at the same place and hasn't lived separately. When the younger generation uses the stove, it is impolite to not give some to the elders.
The food was set on the kang table5. Zhao'er had seen Xue Qinghuai come back long ago and didn't know what he said when he was locked in the house with Sun Shi. She greeted Sun Shi through the window, and before long, Xue Qinghuai cleaned up and came over.
As soon as he entered the house, he told Zhao'er to pretend Sun Shi never brought up the request. Just now, Xue Qinghuai had a few quarrels with Sun Shi in the room. If Zhao'er wasn't still waiting here, their arguments probably wouldn't have ended.
in ancient china, it was unacceptable for an unmarried girl to hang out with men when unaccompanied by a maid or elder.
Sun Shi's child. In other words, Xue Ting Rang's cousin from the Fourth House.
another one of Xue Ting Rang's cousins
where the elders of an extended family or head of the household lives
a small table that can be put on the brick kang. The Kang is a brick "bed" without a modern mattress, so a table can be set on it.
Come sit down, Fourth Uncle. Let's eat first and talk while eating."
"Fourth uncle is too embarrassed to eat your family's food. Don't listen to your fourth aunt. Once she has her eyes on money, she cannot see anything else."
"Sit down and eat first. Unless Gou'er and I cannot make uncle stay to eat a meal?"
Seeing this, Xue Qinghuai could only sit down on the kang.
In the whole Xue family, in terms of cooking skills, Zhao'er is the best. Everyone in the Xue family recognized that she cooks well, but Zhao'er rarely goes to the kitchen.
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Zhao'er also prepared wine. Xue Qinghuai clamped a piece of the soft stewed pork hock with his chopsticks and sipped the wine, before saying: "Zhao'er's hock are authentic, crisp and not fatty."
Zhao'er smiled and then added food to Xue TingRang's bowl, trying to make him eat more. These were originally made to nourish his body.
"I still stand my case. Fourth uncle doesn't want to mess with your business. Watching nephew and niece do some business and make money, and then wanting to use family affection to gain benefits...what's that supposed to be? Don't listen to your fourth aunt. Her hair is long and her vision short-sighted, and she likes to be nosy and interrupt randomly."
Zhao'er pursed her smiling lips and listened to Xue Qinghuai's words. When he stopped talking, she said: "Actually, fourth uncle, I promise that my decision is not based on family affection but is because I have some other ideas. However, with only me and Jiang Wu, the manpower is really inadequate. You also know the origin of my business. The money is very good, but it can't last long. When I was running around outside these few days, I was wondering, since this business makes good money, can we buy the fabric ourselves and make ready-made clothes to sell around?"
"Do it ourselves?"
Zhao'er nodded: "After all, these clothes in the pawnshop are limited in quantity, but that will be different if we do it ourselves. I did a calculation. A normal dyed cotton cloth is converted to about 300 wen at the market price, and one cloth can make about five clothes. This means that a piece of clothing costs about 50 or 60 cents. But this is the market price. In fact, if we buy more fabrics, the price will be about 30% lower than the market price. The more you buy, the cheaper the price. The more the price difference, the more money we can make from it."
Xue Qinghuai could also calculate this kind of simple account. He estimated it in his mind and asked: "But if you buy the cloth and then process the garment, you have to calculate the wages. Who should we employ? What size? These are all things we must consider."
Upon hearing this, Zhao'er smiled and said, "I didn't go out for nothing these days. The clothes we wear are originally loose-fitting, and we can wear larger or smaller clothes as long as the size is not too different. Women's physique will not exceed a range. We can choose two suitable sizes in this range. As for men, we have to choose a few more sizes. Generally, if you buy clothes, even if it's bigger, it's not troublesome to alter it yourself."
"But your clothes are selling well because the fabrics are not ordinary goods. If they are replaced by ordinary goods, most people will not consider buying ready-made clothes, but buy fabrics and make clothes at home." This was the reason why poor people rarely bought clothes.
"So what we have to do is to find cheap sources of fabric and win with quantity, so that our ready-made garments are cheaper than those the customers make themselves. That way someone will buy from us. I think there are many places to use this idea. Profits are also great, that is, all aspects are calculated. As for labor, it is easier. Which woman in our village does not know how to make clothes? Some meager wages are paid, and most of them are willing to do it for us." These things Zhao'er already figured out when she sent fabric to an embroidery shop to make a purse.
Xue Qinghuai did not speak any more, taking small sips from his wine bowl, sinking into thought.
After a long time, he said, "Okay, how are you going to do this? I don't have too much capital, but I still have a few liang1. In addition, your uncle has a lot of strength and can help."
This is exactly what Zhao'er wanted, but regarding Xue Qinghuai, she had other ideas.
Whenever she went to various villages to sell clothes, she would always trade for food and eggs. Then she said: "Fourth Uncle, you should know that I used to collect vegetables and sell them to the town. Actually, I had an idea at that time. There are many wealthy families in this town, let alone some restaurants, wine shops and all kinds of food shops. These places need all kinds of food, and where the food comes from is nothing more than the nearby villages. Of course, the rarer food must be transported from outside, but ordinary foods account for the majority.
"We are all countryside villagers. We know that it is not easy for rural people to enter the town. Usually there is so much farm work, and it is not worthwhile to go to the town for this little thing. I thought about it before. If someday I have the capital and manpower, I would specialize in this kind of work of collecting things from the villages and selling them in town. Then, I will definitely make a lot of money."
Xue Qinghuai was still a layman when it comes to making clothes. He sounded a bit hesitant to agree because he didn't understand and was uncertain. However, when speaking of this topic, Xue Qinghuai was very knowledgeable.
His eyes lit up immediately and said, "Zhao'er, you say, what are you thinking in your head? You can always think of anything in a different way. When it's making clothes, Fourth Uncle is still hesitant. But if you want to do this, then Fourth Uncle thinks this can be done!"
Zhao'er laughed: "Fourth uncle also thinks it can be done? We have too little capital in our hands now. The cost of making clothes is large, so I want to do this first. As for the ready-made clothes, I can take it slowly. First accumulate some capital, and then we can make a big deal."
Afterwards, the two of them talked about some details while eating. Because the most important part was still missing, they could only say that they would call Jiang Wu2over at night to elaborate on their plan.
Xue TingRang didn't expect that although he just wanted to put a person between Zhao'er and Jiang Wu, things would develop this way.
Sure enough, some things can't escape their due track, just like him going to school and just like Zhao'er recruiting people to do business in that dream3.
His past self in the dream was stubborn, domineering, and sensitive, and he did not know how to give up and tolerate. He just blindly didn't want Zhao'er to do business and didn't want Zhao'er to contact Jiang Wu. He felt that her business damaged his name and made him a laughingstock. However, presently, he has learned to detour and restrain, and because of his different mood, he sees more clearly than his past self in the dream.
Zhaoer may love money, but what she loves more is the joy of doing business.
He could see the light in her eyes when she talked about all this. That was the light that appeared the most in his dreams. It was like the stars, gorgeous and dazzling, stealing people's hearts and souls.
He remembered the most intense quarrel between the two in that dream.
In order to prevent Hong'er4from having a businessman as a mother, she chose to retire, but she was depressed and unhappy5. He had put in his best effort but was still unable to make her happy, and he wondered if she was still thinking about Jiang Wu. At that time, he had to enter Beijing for the imperial exam, and subsequently the two separated.
Since then, heaven and man have been separated forever, and that appearance became the last image of her in his memory, and even a nightmare he can't get rid of every night.
Maybe, he shouldn't have killed her happiness for the sake of worldly vision, for his ridiculous self-esteem6.
liang: tael (a monetary unit for measuring silver or gold).
Forgot to mention this previously, but just in case you do not know, Jiang Wu is an older boy from their village who is doing business with Zhao'er. He is a nice guy and comes from a decent family. He has feelings for Zhao'er but hasn't confessed.
In case you don't know what dream he is referring to, reread the first 2 chapters for details. Basically, he dreams a "past life" where he is a traitor of the country, "abandoned" his wife and son, and ended up dying alone after being mocked by his long lost son who hates his guts.
Hong'er is his child in the dream
In some dynasties in ancient China, merchants were seen as lower than farmers. Women were supposed to be virtuous and stay home to care for the family and children. Women were not supposed to be ambitious and have occupations like men. This idea/belief is very similar to the norms in European/American history. In his past life, Xue TingRang was a scholar who became a very important government official. In some ways, he was a noble. It was a bruise to his reputation and ego to have a merchant as his wife
translator's comment: just my own thoughts but I really like how Xue TingRang reflects on his dream and begins to question his actions. I can actually sympathize with his past self. He was a little boy who suddenly had a child bride, and the child bride was older than him. When he was a teen, he did not have his parents to guide him in terms of his feelings. He took Zhao'er for granted. He did not like how she treated him like a kid, but did not know how to change her view of him, so he bullied her. Then when he went into society, he had low self esteem since he came from a small village. He did not appreciate Zhao'er's talent in business because he was confined in the norms that upperclass society had set. He was definitely not a good husband (and kinda a scumbag), but in this lifetime, he has figured out who is most important, and there is a lot of love and respect for Zhao'er that will be coming up.
In the evening, Zhao'er cooked a table of delicious dishes to entertain Jiang Wu and Xue Qinghuai.
Because they were discussing business matters, Sun Shi and Mao Dan did not come, and they ate in the main room.
At the dinner table, the Zhao Shi took a look at the Sun Shi and asked, "why has Fourth Brother been cooped up in the second house since noon, not even coming out to eat dinner?"
Sun smiled and half-truthfully said: "Isn't it because Zhao'er said that she would like to thank Jiang Wu and wanted to invite him to dinner. But the Second Family had no one to accompany him to drink, so they asked their Fourth uncle to come and accompany them."
"An elder drinking with the younger generation?" Yang Shi interjected. Sun Shi can fool others but can't fool her. There must be some secret.
"Oh, look at what my eldest sister-in-law said. Our family is not a family with lots of rules. It is just a meal to deal with the formality of gratitude. Why should it matter that the elders are drinking with the younger ones? How much help did Jiang Wu provide the Second family when Gou'er has gone back and forth from the town to the village, not to mention the other times. It is only right to invite him to a meal."
Yang Shi was not reconciled and said: "Even if they invited him, they should have invited him to the main room. They did not even acknowledge our father, our mother, and our family?!"
Sun Shi was very annoyed by Yang Shi's constant questioning. If she said that she was a little afraid of Yang Shi before, now that the family has divided, she is not so afraid.
She curled her lips and sneered: "It's not like our family has never invited Jiang Wu over for dinner before. He promised several times. As to why the Jiang family did not stay with our family for dinner, does Eldest brother and sister-in-law really have no idea? Besides, is Eldest sister-in-law willing to pay for the meat and wine? If you are willing, I will call Jiang Wu and Huai Ge back!"
Since Jiang Hai and Xue Qingshan had a big quarrel once, the two families have been on bad terms. The Jiang family used to come only because of the friendship with the previous Second family head, Xue Qingsong. Since then, the Jiang family has scarcely come to the Xue family; at most Jiang Wu comes occasionally. Every time Father Xue invites him to a meal, he never accepts.
Everyone knows what's going on, but never directly says anything. Not to mention that Sun Shi used Yang Shi's words to ask her to pay for meat and wine. If Yang Shi dared to agree, it would have been very strange.
Transcension Academy Chapter 1 Complete Novel
Previously when eating at noon, Xue Juncai told his family that the gentleman1of the academy was about to have his birthday, and that students should go there to celebrate the birthday according to the rules. He asked his classmates and heard that the gentleman does not accept gifts but only accepts money. One liang2is the minimum and how much more depends on the family's intention.
Saying it all depends on the heart and that one liang is the minimum really means that each family should send at least one or two liang silver.
The Da Fang3couple hadn't heard of this kind of saying. Even Xue Qingshan used to give gifts at best. Now the gentlemen in this academy has learned to use birthdays to make money. But they didn't dare to say that they wouldn't give it. If they did not satisfy the gentleman, what if he treated Xue Juncai poorly? So much money has already been paid, so this small amount of money should not be saved. Since it's a birthday, then they will send money this time; it's not like he can celebrate multiple birthdays, right?
The Da Fang couple has no money in their hands, so they can only find the old couple4. After Zhao Shi heard about it, she cursed the gentleman for wanting money. Originally, the Dafang couple wanted to keep this matter from the rest of the family, but now the whole family knows.
Not to mention that Yang Shi has no money, and even if she has money, she would not dare to take it out to buy meat and wine. She just wants to use the old couple for money. She saves her money and does not spend it.
Yang Shi's face was blushing from the cynical statements and couldn't speak. She didn't dare to leave but didn't want to stay either. Fortunately, Zhao Shi helped her out.
"Why are you guys so noisy? I can't eat anymore!"
Immediately, everyone stopped talking, just immersed themselves in eating.
At the same time, the food and wine in the second house were intoxicating.
Yuqing Village is cold, and it is inevitable to rely on wine to heat the body during the winter. So men, women, and children drink some, the amount depending on how much they can drink.
Jiang Wu persuaded her with a few words, and then Zhao'er poured herself some wine in a bowl, but only filled the bowl half way.
The three talked while eating food and drinking. In fact, only Xue Qinghuai and Jiang Wu drank a lot. Zhao'er at most took a sip or two. When Xue TingRang finished eating, he left the table and said that he was going to read a book on the kang, but in fact his focus was on the three people.
After a meal, they were almost finished with their discussion.
The preliminary discussion was that the three people would each contribute some money to form a partnership, and the business would be done together. The money from the partnership would be used to buy a mule cart.
Buying a mule cart was suggested by Xue TingRang. Originally, he had needed to buy one anyways. For businesses like theirs, a mule cart is a must-have item. With a mule cart running around, there would be no need to find another partner.
The most expensive thing in a mule cart is the livestock. An adult mule costs almost 20 liang, and the carriage also costs money. So the initial estimate made by the three people was 30 liang.
Zhao'er could take out 15 liang, Jiang Wu gave 10 liang, and Xue Qinghuai took out the remaining 5 liang. After all, this business is led by Zhao'er, so it only made sense for her to contribute more.
As for the profit distribution, they have also negotiated. Selling ready-made clothes from the pawnshop was Zhao'ers idea. The way to do business is also her idea. Therefore, she will take 50% of profits and the remaining 50% will be split with Jiang Wu taking 30% and Xue Qinghuai taking 20%.
Originally, Xue Qinghuai didn't plan to ask for 20%. After all, the way of buying and selling was all other people's ideas. They were already doing business when he joined them, and he paid the least amount of money. Later, Zhao'er said that he ran around ten miles and eight townships and knew a wide range of people and was familiar with the situation in each village. Jiang Wu inevitably had other things to do, and she had to take care of Xue TingRang. It was him who would work the most in the future, so it was only right for him to earn some more profit. Xue Qinghuai only agreed after hearing this.
Xue Qinghuai returned to the house and Zhao'er sent Jiang Wu out the door.
Jiang Wu blushed from drinking some wine and his eyes were bright. It wasn't clear whether it was because of the drinking or because the moon was too bright.
"Zhao'er..."
"Brother Jiang Wu, you walk slowly on the road. If you think it's not safe, I can let Heizi send you back?" Jiang Wu has a good drinker, and hunters drink well, because if you enter the mountain in the twelfth lunar month in the winter, while waiting for the prey to fall into the trap, the hunter must drink wine so as not to freeze in the cold.
Jiang Wu didn't drink much tonight, and Zhao'er knew his drink volume, so she didn't plan to accompany him home.
"No, I can go back by myself." He paused, then turned his head to look at her: Zhao'er, I see you have a new hairpin on your head. When did you buy it? Why haven't I seen it before?"
Zhao'er didn't expect that Jiang Wu would ask this. After a while, she smiled and said, "Ting'er bought it. He recently made some money by copying books, and he, being immature, wasted his money buying a hairpin."5
Jiang Wu originally thought that Zhao'er bought it herself. Although she is usually carefree and tomboyish, she is still a girl. Who would have thought that Xue TingRang bought it.
He is still so young, yet he already knows to spend money to buy hairpins for women?
The smile on Jiang Wu's face froze immediately, and he couldn't help reaching into his bosom, touching the hairpin that he had hidden for a long time without plucking up the courage to give it to her.
The hairpin is made of silver, and it cost Jiang Wu a lot of money. He knew every pattern on the hairpin, and he rubbed it many times in the palm of his hand, but he was always hesitant to send it out, afraid that she would understand his intentions and resist, afraid...
But he didn't expect someone else to do this first.
"Ting Rang already knows to buy you hairpins to wear."
"Yes, he is a lot more sensible now."
Jiang Wu looked at the smile on her face, feeling a little uncomfortable, and said: "He only earns a few dollars. It's really a child's ignorance. Isn't it better to save that money and use it to buy books?"
Zhao'er's lips flattened, and the smile on her face faded. She couldn't help but defensively say: "The family doesn't expect him to make money. He just needs to study hard. It's only a sign of his goodwill."
Then why did you just say that he was ignorant and wasted money?
In fact, the mentality of Zhao'er is easy to understand. It is like you can criticize your own family, but outsiders are not allowed to.
Jiang Wu knew that Zhao'er was protecting Xue TingRang, so he didn't dare to say any more and shut up.
"Then I will be going home and coming back tomorrow morning"
"ok, thank you Jiang Wu Ge6."
Because of the slight dispute, Zhaoer didn't mention sending him home again. She stood in front of the door for a while, then turned back to the yard. Xue TingRang, who was standing in the shadow of the courtyard, had already returned to the house when she was not paying attention.
There were no sounds or words for a night.
Early the next morning, Jiang Wu drove the cart over.
After breakfast, he, Zhao'er and Xue Qinghuai sent Xue TingRang to the academy together.
Afterwards, they turned around to buy a mule cart.
direct translation of xiansheng (先生) is gentleman, but in this context, it means the academy teacher.
I am still using liang instead of tael and "liang" is mentioned throughout the story (since Zhao'er is a businesswoman), but if you prefer I change liang to tael in my future translations, please leave a comment below.
Da Fang refers to Xue TingRang's eldest uncle's family.
the old couple is referring to Xue TingRang's grandfather and grandmother from his father's side.
this is the best way I could have translated this sentence while keeping the author's original intent.
I know it sounds snobbish/annoying but it is actually supposed to reflect Zhao'er's affection for Xue TingRang and how she still sees him as a child
Ge: brother (can be blood related or a way to call a close male friend) or a more affectionate, intimate way of calling an older man. Similar to the Korean "Oppa"
Mao Badou held back all morning.
In the meantime, Meng Xian Sheng1was teaching scripture in the front, and he, who was sitting next to Xue TingRang, stared straight at him. Only after the bell rang and Meng Xian Sheng left did he hurry over.
"Hurry and tell me..."
Li Datian tugged at him from the side, looked around and said, "If you have anything to say, say it after we go back to our dorm."
Mao Badou grabbed Xue TingRang and left. Li Datian sighed helplessly. He helped clean up the case and his own things, and asked Chen Jian to go back to the dorm together.
When the two entered the door, they heard Mao Badou's impatient voice: "Quickly, tell me, the girl who came that day is your little fiancée?"
Xue TingRang knew that they would eventually discuss this, and looked at him helplessly: "So you pulled me out in a hurry, just to ask this!"
"You don't know I went back and thought about it for a whole day. Why did your fiancée wear men's clothes? Who was the man who came with her to pick you up? The day I saw your expression looked weird? Could it be—"
Mao Badou's expression turned horrified. It seemed that in his head, he, who had read countless scripts, had created a story based on what he had seen.
How would Xue TingRang know that he has this kind of ability, so he was still wondering how to explain when Mao Badou said: "Could it be that she is not your fiancée, but your sister-in-law and that person is your brother. You actually..."
Xue TingRang's face turned black on the spot, but Mao Badou didn't notice it at all. It was unclear what he was thinking of, but he actually patted Ting Rang on the shoulder with a sorrowful expression: "This is against the norm. You must hold it back, brother."
"Stop, stop, stop...what are you thinking about indiscriminately! That person is from our village. His father is good friends with my father. Zhao'er needs help for her business, so we asked him to help..."
In desperation, Xue TingRang briefly talked about the matter.
He didn't want to say too much, but the whole thing was too complicated. In the end he could only explain his own life experience and some things about Zhao'er.
In fact, he didn't want to hide from Mao Badou and the rest; he would have let them know over the years.
And Mao Badou followed his complaint, cursing Xue Qingshan and his wife.
"In that case, this Jiang Wu likes Zhao'er Jie2, but Zhao'er Jie doesn't know. You also like Zhao'er Jie, but Zhao'er Jie treats you as a younger brother?"
This was probably the most embarrassing moment in Xue TingRang's life. His face was stiff and he did not speak.
Mao Badou kept mouthing off. It was the first time Xue TingRang wanted to beat up a person, wanting to throw him out.
"Ai ya, and I thought it was some big problem. Leave it to me. I'm sure that from now on, Zhao'er Jie will only see you in her eyes and won't see any good in Jiang Wu.
Xue TingRang looked at him with suspicion.
Mao Badou became excited: "Don't look down on me, I'm the one who reads all the stories on the market. I'm not good at learning, but when it comes to the relationship between men and women..." He chuckled wryly, patting his chest: "I am definitely better than you."
"Alright, alright. Ting Rang, don't listen to his nonsense." At this moment, Li Datian came over: "He is the kind of person who says that he is invincible in the world and has good intentions but no power to do anything. I don't know who it was who hid in the bed in the middle of the night crying when Xiaocao MeiMei3from next door moved away." Honest man Li Datian said the truth again.
Mao Badou was so excited that he jumped three feet high, his face and ears were red, and he looked like he was going to cut off his friendly relations with Li Datian.
"Good! You, Li Datian. You actually look down on me. You guys wait for me. I will come back soon." After speaking, he ran away like a tornado.
This wait extended from when the three of them had their lunch, returned to the hall to rest for a quarter of an hour, and then got up to read a book for two quarters of an hour before Mao Badou returned from outside.
It wasn't clear where he went, but he looked like a thief, and his chubby body was even fatter now. If it weren't because the three of them lived together, they wouldn't be aware of it.
Panting for breath, he picked up the teapot on the square table and took two sips, and then began to undress.
The loyal and honest Li Datian scolded: "It's in vain that you are a scholar. In broad daylight, you can take off your clothes in the bright sky."
"Pei! You, Li Datian, are always going against me today. I'm still gonna take it off, I'm gonna take it off..."
This guy proceeded to strip his 3 outermost layers, and then took off another layer before revealing a few books that were tied to his chest and waist with a mess of cloth inside.
No wonder this kid suddenly looked fatter. It turned out that there was something else there.
Mao Badou began to pull the books from his body, and the few people sitting cross-legged behind the table saw one book, two books, three, four books being taken out. In the end, Mao Badou had untied a dozen books from his body.
He patted the stack of books with his hands, and then pulled off the cloth strips on his body and threw it on the ground. While wearing clothes, he said: "This is my collector's edition. I never let anyone borrow it. Ting Rang, I'm letting you take a look since we are brothers4."
Xue TingRang was confused by his action, and Li Datian gave him the answer: "Badou, you wanna to die? You actually dared to bring these scripts in. You forgot what the curator told you!"
Mao Ba Douhun didn't care and waved his hand: "It's nothing. There are only four of us in this house. If you guys don't tell, I won't tell, then who will know?"
At this moment, a bell rang outside.
Mao Badou picked up the notebook, climbed up the bunk and stuffed it into the cabinet. But his cabinet was too messy. The socks and clothes he had worn were piled up, and in the end the books could only be stuffed into the cabinet of the other three people.
Meng Xian Sheng finished the "University" in ten days, and today he started to speak "Xue Er", the first chapter of "The Analects". He is very particular about the principle of gradual and orderly teaching, and he also follows the Zhuzi reading method that most scholars nowadays use.
Zhu Zi has said: The method of reading should be sequential and constant, unremittingly, calmly read between the text and meaning, and experience the actual practice, and then with calm and reason, you will gradually see the true meaning.
Zhu Ziyou said: "The Daxue" is the gateway to morality. Scholars are the first to give lectures. Knowledge is the scale of the degree of study. You should read "The Analects", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean". First see the general use of the source in the principle of justice, and then test the scriptures and you will see some results in your understanding. The scriptures are different, and the skill is vast. If you don't read "The Daxue", "On", "Meng", and "The Doctrine of the Mean" first, then it will not be easy to gain enlightenment.5
Generally, no lectures are given in the afternoon, and time is left for the students to self study, that is, to integrate the chapters learned in the morning. Of course, if it is not the first time to learn the Analects, you can also learn other things, but you must study in the lecture hall.
Meng Xian Sheng is sometimes there, sometimes not, but don't think that because he is not there, you can do whatever you want because you never know when he will appear suddenly. The rules in Qingyuan Academy are extremely strict. If the homework assigned by the Xian Sheng is not completed, or it is noisy in the lecture hall, they will be reprimanded and punished, or sometimes with heavier consequences, they could even be expelled.
So all afternoon, the lecture hall was very quiet. Every half an hour, there is a rest time lasting for one burning incense stick. The students either go to the concierge room or drink to quench their thirst, and then return to the lecture hall when it is over. They are usually very self regulated.
After the bell rang, everyone was relieved. The students dispersed, some went back to their dorms to organize their things while others went straight to the dining hall.
After the meal was over, the students went to the shower room to wash up. Candles were lit in each room, and they all planned to read a while before the lights were turned off.
Only then did Mao Badou find out the previous scripts and pile them up in front of Xue TingRang.
"You will know what to do after reading these."
Xue TingRang looked at him helplessly, and said, "Badou, I don't need it anymore. Towards these..." He paused before saying, "I'm not too interested."
Whether it was a dream that lasted for more than 70 years, or the ten or more years of Xue TingRang's life, he had never read this so-called script, and he knew that these things could be classified as pornographic material. It's just for the less educated people to read and pass the time.
The whole story is narrated in vernacular, telling some short stories of strange phenomena, gods and monsters, koans, legends, etc. He also knows that these are some unscrupulous scholars who wrote in order to support their families, and these stories are not true.
So when Mao Badou told him that after reading these books he would understand what he needed to understand, Xue TingRang listened but didn't take it to heart.
"Just take a look."
"But I'm really not interested in these."
When the two were pushing and pulling, Li Datian leaned over, picked up a copy and said: "alright stop, Ting Rang doesn't want to read it, so just show me one."
"Datian, how come you want to look at this."
Li Datian honestly smiled at Xue TingRang: "Just to pass the time. I feel dizzy from studying and reading these will help me clear my head." He said to Mao Badu again: "Hey, this is all new? Why haven't I seen it before? How much did you spend to buy it."
"This is not a new release. I specially picked out these books from my collections to help open Ting Rang's eyes. Look at his inattentiveness. It really angers me."
Things already became like this, so Xue TingRang could only pick up a copy: "I will try one first."
Only then did Mao Badou smile satisfied, and went to ask Chen Jian if he wanted one. Chen Jian looked cold, but he was actually honest. Finally, he had made a few friends, and everyone treated him well, so because he didn't want to disappoint, he also picked a copy at random.
Since then, four teenagers in a room seemed to be sitting cross-legged and reading at night, but they were actually doing private things.
During the night, the school official who was in charge of the night patrol, took a look through the open door, and then nodded before moving on to the next room.
Until the sound of the bell rang out at the second quarter of the hour, as if they were awakened from a dream, the few people blew out the oil lamp, undressed, and laid down.
Xue TingRang laid on the bunk, still thinking about what he'd read in the script.
Mao Badou didn't make any false statements. This script was really about the relationship between men and women. It's like the book "Return to Thinking of Dreams" he had read before. It was about a scholar who lived in a temple and studied hard. He met the nun Wangchen in the nearby nun's nunnery by chance and was shocked at first sight. He, regardless of the norms, pursued her and embraced the beauty.
This Wangchen had beauty that could overwhelm the city. She was originally a girl from an important family, but because of the chaos in her home, she had no choice but to escape under the protection of the ancient Buddha. But even after surviving, some people still wanted to take her.
In order to win Wangchen's favor, the scholar climbed over the courtyard wall, chanted poems and talked about qin6. He showed his talents vividly and tried his best to please her. The little nun was teased so much that she couldn't sleep well at night, and finally in a favorable situation, the two received each other's love.
Xue TingRang only read until the part where Wangchen injured foot when she was going down the mountain and carrying the water. When the scholar saw her, he wanted to carry her back to the nunnery. Unfortunately, there was a heavy rain at this time. There was a cave halfway, and the two went to the cave to shelter from the rain. The little nun's clothes were soaked, and the scholar lit a fire to keep her warm, but he himself was shivering with cold. He, being a gentleman, turned his back, not daring to look around.
Unexpectedly, the little nun screamed behind him. The scholar thought that something happened to her, but he happened to see the little nun half undressed. It turned out that it was Wangchen who mistakenly regarded the straw rope as a snake.
What will happen next?
Xue Tingtang was itchy, but was forced to turn off the lights.
He turned over, still thinking.
Suddenly, he saw the fire light next to him and was shocked, only to realize that the fire light was shining from under the blanket on Mao BaDou's side.
"Badou, what are you doing?"
Mao Badou bent into a shrimp shape and wrapped himself in a quilt, but an oil lamp was lit inside his quilt.
"Are you not afraid of burning the bedding?"
There was a low muffled laugh from the side, but it was Li Datian from Mao Badou's side who spoke.
"Ting Rang, don't worry about him, he is super skilled. He used to hide in the quilt and read a book every time after the lights were turned off. He has never burnt the quilt and was never caught by the night patrol school official."
Xue TingRang looked over there, and saw that there was another faint light in the darkness over there, and it came from the usually well-behaved Li Datian who was now doing bad deeds.
"You guys really are!"
"I'm having an itch, and I can't sleep without finishing the story."
Xue TingRang laid down again, but the scene of the scholar pursuing and seducing the nun appeared in his mind.
Pursue?
All scholars have read the phrase "a beautiful lady matches a proper gentleman", but it is the first time that Xue TingRang learned that there is such a method of pursuit.
In the darkness, there was a whirring sound.
Xue TingRang knew where he put his own things. He touched the oil lamp and took it into the bed. He did not learn from Mao Badou or Li Datian. He happened to be next to the wall, so he turned his back like this, put the quilt on his shoulders, lit the fuel lamp, and carefully held it in one hand, illuminating the small print on the book.
Xian Sheng: gentleman; also the phrase for teacher in ancient china (since academy teachers were usually scholars or gentlemen)
Jie: older sister, also a polite way of addressing an older female who you are close to
Meimei: younger sister; polite way to address a younger female
not biological, but as in really good friends
This was so hard to translate. I apologize if it was hard to understand my translation. Honestly, I only understood about 70% of it since it was written in poetic language used in ancient china.
After reading this paragraph for the first time all that was going through my head was ????????? (haha!)
this translates to piano, but it isn't the western piano. It is Gu qin, a stringed instrument that is one of the 4 ancient arts that scholars and nobles should know.
The other arts are chinese chess (Go), painting, and calligraphy
The next morning, the speed of dressing for all four of them was much slower than usual.
It was because they all slept too late last night. The morning clock rang outside in the morning. The four people sat on the bunk and couldn't wake up for a long time. But the last one to wake up was Xue TingRang. By the time he fell asleep last night, the other three were already asleep.
They went listlessly all the way to the dining hall for breakfast, and then went to the lecture hall. Meng Xian Sheng was preaching in front, and the four roommates had to work hard to avoid falling asleep in class.
English Questions and Answers For Daily Conversation - Part 01
After spending the whole morning like this, Mao Badou still didn't take it seriously, but Chen Jian said seriously: "No matter how good the scripts are, we can't do that again. Don't forget the quarterly exam is in two months."
When they remembered this, the few people were all agitated, and Mao Badou sullenly said: "I don't care, I can't learn at all, who knows if I can survive til then."
Li Datian also looked hesitant. The two of them had forgotten their previous excitement.
"If you want that Gu Ming to trample you under his feet forever and even if in the future you stop studying and go home, there will be someone by your ear saying that you are inferior to Gu Ming, you just continue to do that." Xue TingRang suddenly interjected .
"I guess many people are waiting to see our embarrassment, but I don't care. It's up to you." Chen Jian said.
It is not a future speculation but has already begun.
After the canteen turmoil, the four offended a group of Class A students led by Yu Ziyou and Hu Lianshen. Nowadays, few students in Class B are willing to talk to the four. In the past, Mao Badou was very popular in the academy, but now when people see him, if they can hide, they hide, and if they can't hide, then they walk around him.
This is also the reason why Mao Badou was willing to work hard with the three before. Because no one wanted to play with him anymore, he could only stay in the dorm. Who ever thought about making a notebook again now, and seeing that breath was vented.
"Anyway, I am not particularly interested in these scripts, so I will go with you." Li Datian said.
Since then, the two-on-two had become the three-on-one, and Mao Badou can only droop his head and say: "Then let's not look at them anymore."
At this time, Xue TingRang cleared his throat: "Leave the book for me."
"Even I'm not gonna look at them anymore, yet you are still gonna read them? It's over! I've led TingRang down the wrong path."
Xue TingRang glanced at him: "Of these people, your concentration is the weakest. You won't be able to resist if the book is left with you. After I go back later, lock all the books in my locker. It's not impossible, I will supervise you."
With a few words of effort, Xue TingRang changed from a conspirator to a custodian, and he could even say that he would have possession of these scripts.
Mao Badou was shocked by his solemn expression, thinking that TingRang was really loyal, completely forgetting who was the last to sleep with the lamp last night. Only Chen Jian seemed to be aware and glanced at Xue TingRang.
Not to mention here, on the other side, Zhao'er and the two others went to buy a mule.
It was also a coincidence that someone happened to be selling one.
It is a black-brown horse mule, just over two years old,and looking at the teeth and eyes, it was very healthy.
There are also distinctions between mules. The mules are divided into horse mules and donkey mules. Like Daqing is a donkey mule. It is born from the mating of a male horse and a female donkey. The shape and color of the mule follow the donkey. It is larger than the ordinary donkey, and has strong endurance and is good at running.
Other the other hand, a horse mule is born from the mating of a mare and a male donkey, and its shape and color follow the horse. The horse mule is big and has a good load. Although it is not as good as a cow, it is still very good. At the same time, it has a speed that a cow does not.
The only thing is that mules are born hybrids, so they have no ability to reproduce from birth. Therefore, the general sellers of mules, except for resale, are only dealers who sell such animals.
And this mule seller needs money since he has encountered difficulties in his family, so he came out to sell the most valuable animal that the family possessed.
Jiang Wu's family often deals with livestock.When he saw the mule and he said it was ok, then they decided upon the mule. After asking the price, the seller's family really needed the money, so the price was not high. In fact, the price was pretty low. Generally, horse mules are more expensive than donkey mules, but the price of this horse mule is about the same as that of donkey mules, only 25 liang.
The reseller didn't look like a liar, so Zhao'er decided to buy it without a counter-offer.
This man was also honest, and since the mule was gone, he also gave them the mule cart as well. However, this cart was somewhat different from what Zhao'er had wanted, but since it was given for free, they took it. It wasn't a big deal to use this cart first and create a new cart in the future.
After that, the three drove two mule carts to Yuqing Village.
As soon as they entered the village, countless people gathered around, looking at them.
The Jiang family has a mule cart, and the villagers have known for a long time that it is common for people to borrow the Jiang family's mule cart for urgent matters. Now they saw that there was another one, and the person who drove the cart was the Fourth of the Xue family. The village suddenly exploded, and one after another gathered around to inquire about the details.
The country folks are like this. Once someone buys something expensive, the whole village will know in a while. They are very enthusiastic and can't wait to get to the bottom of how they can be so rich.
Generally, there is nothing bad, just curiosity, and of course some are jealous. However, in Yuqing Village, the surnames of Xue and Zheng are the most common surnames. Even if the people of Xue surname are jealous, they seem extremely happy on the surface. They can't wait to advertise that they have talents, but others don't.
So before Xue Qinghuai and others came back, the Xue family knew that they had bought a mule cart, and it was the fourth son Xue Qinghuai who brought it back.
The Yang Shi kept walking to the private school in the village. This private school was built on the edge of the Xue family's ancestral hall, not far from the home of the elder Xue. Back then, Xue Qingshan wanted to open a private school. Father Xue planned to let him open it at home. Later, Patriarch Xue personally went to Zheng Lizheng, and asked the village to build a house for the homestead in the name of the great benefit to the village. He spoke again in person, and the clan pooled money to build two tiled houses.
Although it is a little crude, the Xue clan can be considered to have a patriarchy. The other children in the village who want to go to school have a place to go now, so there is no need to get up early and go to other villages.
When Yang SHi came to the private school, Xue Qingshan was dozing off in another room.
The action of her pushing the door awakened him immediately.
"You are still sleeping, how can you sleep! Fourth brother bought a cart. No wonder he was so anxious to separate from the family. It turned out that he hid private savings. And dad still says that Fourth brother works the hardest for the family, but is the least greedy for money!"
Xue Qingshan was taken aback for a moment, and then said disapprovingly: "It's just a cart; it won't cost that much."
"Not a cow cart, but a mule cart!"
This sentence immediately made him stand up from his chair.
Xue Qinghuai and Zhao'er both laughed til their faces became stiff, and finally was able to drive the cart back.
It's really all folks from the village. Buying a car is different from other things. It's also a big happy event. When people greet you, it is part of etiquette to greet them back. If you do not, then the villagers will say you have no manners and look down on the villagers just because you have money. But having to deal with them one by one is really exhausting.
"Zhao'er, you go back to the house and rest. Your fourth uncle will take care of the mule. I will build a shed for this big guy later and make him live comfortably."
Xue Qinghuai's voice is intimate, and it seems that men have a deep affection for things like carts. Just like when the Jiang family bought a cart, Jiang Wu loved it so much he could not let it go, just like Xue Qinghuai now.
In fact, Xue Qinghuai behaves like this for a reason. Not to mention that the mule cart is a rare and large object in the countryside. He carries his picks and walks the streets and alleys to sell goods. A few pairs of shoes can be worn out a month, and the soles of the feet are thickly callused. Every time Sun Shi washed his feet and she cried distressingly.
He had thought that his biggest dream was to have a cart. It doesn't matter whether it is a donkey cart or a mule cart. Now this wish has been fulfilled.
Zhao'er said that this cart will be mostly driven by him in the future, so he has to take good care of the mule.
Zhao'er laughed. She could understand the mentality of Fourth uncle. Once she had also wanted to have a mule cart, so she could go wherever she wanted.
She opened the door and went in to drink water.
Just as the water slipped down her throat, she heard a dispute outside.
The Dafang couple had come back. Not only that, but they also called both Elder Xue1and Xue Qingbai from the field.
"Well, Fourth brother, you don't even discuss with your family when you buy such an expensive object. And Father keeps saying that Fourth brother is working for the family, and he dare not keep any of the money he earned, so he gives it to the family. It hasn't been a few days since the family has been separated, and yet Fourth brother who dares not be greedy bought such a cart!"
Elder Xue still had mud on his feet. Judging from his complexion, there was nothing unusual, but it was just because there seemed to be nothing unusual that it seemed a little unusual.
After all this, the old man was actually suspecting him.
"Brother, don't be so jealous of Fourth brother. Fourth brother is not such a person." Xue Qingbai persuaded him from the side.
Xue Qingshan waved him away: "You leave me alone. You are an elm-headed person, and still say Fourth brother is not such a person. You work in the field, and he goes to buy a cart and shows off. The food gathered from the harvest by your family still needs to be shared with him."
Speaking of this, we have to talk about how the land was planted and how the grain was divided when the family decided to separate.
It was impossible for the Second family to farm the land, so Zhao'er was very decisive at the beginning. According to the rules of tenancy outside, she only needed 60% of the grain, and the remaining 40% was taken out and divided among the few farms.
Dafang doesn't want to be so generous, but Dafang doesn't have anyone who farms the land, so it can only be done. These two houses had it convenient, but the Third family, Fourth family and Elder Xue had a hard time splitting the work and harvest. Later, Elder Xue made the decision. Except for 60% of each family, the remaining 40% of all land is divided by three. After this, things became a lot more clear.
It stands to reason that there is not much work in the field right now. Just after spring ploughing, there is no need to even fertilize, water and weed. It's just that Elder Xue and Xue Qingbai don't like being idle, so they stay in the sun watching the sprouts and fixing minor things in the field.
But they never expected that Xue Qingshan would make a fuss about this kind of thing.
But what Xue Qingshan said was not wrong. Xue Qingbai was in the field, but Xue Qinghuai was always outside, so it seemed that Xue Qingbai had suffered a loss.
In particular, there is another cart placed here. As Xue Qingshan said, Fourth brother is greedy for the money from selling goods, and the Third brother is losing out on this deal. The whole family ate the food that he worked exhaustingly to grow, and yet Fourth brother secretly saved money in his house to buy a cart.
Third Brother, Xue Qingbai, was did not seem bothered, but Zhou Shi's eyes flashed on the side.
"From this point of view, this car should belong to the family, and every family can use it." Yang Shi said.
"Believe it or not, I didn't buy this car alone."
"Why don't I know when my cart has become a family possession?" Zhao'er walked out of the house.
She also ignored Xue Qingshan and looked at Elder Xue: "Grandpa, I bought this car, not my uncle. I haven't learned how to ride it yet, so I will let my uncle ride it back for me."
These words caused a thousand waves of waves, and Yang Shi immediately said: "Just you? Where did you get the money to buy a car? Zhao'er, it's not that Eldest aunt wants to scold you, but you shouldn't take the blame for Fourth Brother."
Zhao'er nodded: "It is true who owns it. To be honest, I bought this cart with Jiang Wu and my Fourth uncle. I plan to do business in partnership using this cart. I took out the most money to buy this cart, so shouldn't it be considered mine?"
Yang Shi's heart suddenly stopped, but then she said in an uncanny voice: "such a proper looking person can tell such lies. Just because you said that it is yours so it is yours? I can also say that Fourth brother bought it himself."
Xue Qinghuai was overwhelmed for a long time, because the Dafang couple are brothers and sisters, he has not refuted much. At this time, he couldn't help it anymore and said: "Since you don't believe anything, then don't believe it!"
"Heh, Dad, look, Fourth brother admitted it!"
This skill in inverting truth and lies was really eye-opening.
Zhao'er was suddenly grateful for the foresight of her little man2that day. When they said they wanted to partner up, they only said it verbally, and the next day, the various families brought the money they had to pay, and they all mixed their money together and put them in Zhao'er's hands.
But before leaving the house, Xue TingRang asked the three of them to write a contract. What kind of business is going to be made, the money each family pays, and how the dividends will be distributed in the future all had to be written down in detail.
At that time, Jiang Wu and Xue Qinghuai were still reluctant to do something so troublesome, saying that they wouldn't have teamed up if they didn't trust each other Later, at Xue TingRang's repeated requests, he personally wrote the 3 copies of the contract, and each of them had stamped their fingerprints on them.
Xue Qinghuai was stunned by the shamelessness of his elder brother, and his hands clamped into fists. Seeing that the situation was not right, Xue Qingshan went to hide behind Father Xue, muttering that Xue Qinghuai wanted to hit someone without reason.
There was a lot of trouble coming around, but Zhao'er did not pay attention to any of them. She turned around and went back to the house. A short time later, she got a deed from the house.
"Since you don't believe it, come and have a look. Uncle, you forgot your contract?" She said with a sneer: "If you think our two families are colluding together, Jiang's family still has another copy. I will let Jiang Wu prove it."
At this moment Xue Qinghuai also thought of the contract, and hurried back to the house to find the contract, but the contract was kept by Sun Shi. Today, the Sun Shi brought Mao Dan back to her family. He almost turned the house over before he found the contract.
Two identical deeds were placed in front of Elder Xue. Even if he was illiterate, he could compare them to see that they had the same words. Not to mention that Xue Qingshan's face turned pale after seeing the deed.
As if wanting to prove that he was right, Xue Qingshan suddenly said: "There are five liang silver from Fourth brother. Where did you get the money? And he still says that he didn't take from the family money!"
Xue Qinghuai had been expressionless since he got the contract.
At this moment, his face suddenly showed his grief, and his expression of grief was mixed with ridicule. He looked deeply at Xue Qingshan and Elder Xue, and said, emphasizing every word: "Whether you believe it or not, this silver is the dowry of Maodan and his mother. She and her family have subsidized him over the past few years. And, Father, you really make your son feel cold! My eldest brother has framed me, yet you just sit and watch!"
After saying that, Xue Qinghuai left without looking back.
Elder Xue: here it refers to Xue TingRang's paternal grandfather
honestly, I find it really cute how she calls Xue TingRang her little man
Fourth son!"
Elder Xue subconsciously stretched out his hand, and the ashes from the smoking pot rolled out and fell down his leg.
He stretched out his hand to pat, but his expression was stunned.
Yeah, why did he sit and watch? The fourth child has a straightforward personality. He has repeated to his family members over and over again every time that the Fourth child works hard for the family yet is not greedy for the family's money.
Maybe he had some suspicion in his heart, or maybe he was afraid that other sons would have conflicts because of suspicion, so he repeated that phrase over and over again. So when the eldest son went to the field to look for him and said that the fourth child had bought a mule cart with the money from the family, he actually believed it.
No, no, he actually still wanted to hear the fourth child's explanation, so he kept silent. Isn't it best to figure out the matter so that there is no barrier between family members?
Father Xue felt pain in his heart, and his mind was stiff and stupid.
He heard the eldest son say: "The Sun family is not without sons, yet they are willing to send money to their daughter? Who are you trying to fool?!"
He stood up suddenly, and by the time he knew what he was doing, he had already struck the eldest son across the face.
"Shut your mouth!"
Zhao Shi screamed: "Old man!"
"Shut up, all of you!"
The world was quiet all at once.
It may have been a moment, or it may have been two moments, when Sun Shi's joyous voice suddenly sounded in the yard: "Hey, this cart is really bought. Oh, hey, take a look at this steady mule. The cart is really good. Hey, where's the head of the house? Huai Ge! Where are the other members of the family?"
There was also Maodan's voice: "Mule, what a big mule!"
Until she came to the main house did Sun Shi see the crowd of people standing in the house.
"What are you all doing?"
Zhao'er moved a bit, went to the square table and picked up the two deeds, and came to the door.
"Fourth Aunt, this one belongs to your house, take it quickly."
"Zhao'er, what's the matter? Why did you guys look for it? The place where I put it was secret. Your uncle must have been looking for it for a long time."
Zhao'er didn't speak, and sighed as passed her on the way back to the house.
Sun also realized the abnormality, looked at the people in the room, and went to see Zhao'er's back. Finally she realized something and rushed back to her house.
"Oh my God, this is a thief!"
The people in the main room dispersed silently. Xue Qingshan was beaten for the first time since he grew up, but he did not dare to say a word. Including Zhao Shi, they all knew that Elder Xue was really annoyed this time.
Yang Shi lowered her head and slumped to help Xue Qingshan walk away. The Third family couple didn't stay much longer. They went back to their own house. The door of the Fourth family's house was knocked open, and Sun Shi rammed out like she had gone crazy.
Maodan who was still playing with the mule was startled and immediately started to cry.
Zhao'er couldn't sit still in the room, so she came out and shouted Fourth aunt. Sun Shi's eyes were straight and she ignored her as she rushed towards the East Chamber.
She didn't go in. She sat down in front of the main room and started to cry.
"It's so shameless, it's so shameless! Bullying people, bullying has no way to survive, and the family is so shameless that they have grown rice worms. They feel great riding on people's heads, pooping and urinating, and framing people. These utterly abominable people have lived so many years with just their mouths. They don't know how to work, so they expect their brothers to raise them. After raising a big one, raise a small one, raising a family, and struggling to death. For half of my life, we have gotten nothing good from them, yet they became a thief!
"I said at the beginning that the head was stupid. Who do you work persistently for? For your brother? Brothers treat you as a fart. At least when you raise a dog, it knows how to wag its tail when it sees the owner. Raise a brother and he eats your flesh, blood, and bones leaving nothing and still thinks your meat smells!"
The words of Sun Shi's scolding were too painful, Xue Qingshan's face became the same color as pig liver, and Yang Shi's whole body was trembling with anger. But the couple shrank in the room and didn't dare to move. Seeing that the old couple was almost going crazy, wouldn't it be stupid to use jade to knock against the rubble? !
Don't move, bear with it.
The Dafang couple could bear it, but Zhao shi couldn't bear it anymore. She stood up and walked outside the door.
"Where are you going?! Sit down!"
"Old man!"
"If you want this home to disperse, then go, you go!"
Zhao Shi tore the corners of her clothes a few times, then turned around and sat on the kang, her tears falling down.
Sun Shi outside the door was still scolding, but now the object of her scolding had become Xue Qinghuai.
"...Why was I blind in the first place and married here. I saw that you were hardworking, but I forgot the rationale that you should look at the pigsty before buying pigs... After all these years of marriage, Mao Dan has become so big and yet you can count the clothes made for me. I searched all the places in my house, and if I can sweep out ten coppers, I would consider myself wealthy. To make clothes for my children, I need to use my dowry. Every time I go back to my parents' house, my mother asks me, girl, how many years have you been wearing this dress?
"How many years has it been? I don't even know it myself! My mother secretly gave me some money, yet I didn't dare to spend it, for fear that those bad-hearted people would do something. Well, finally our families separated. Yet, when we planned to do some small business for Maodan, we were framed. Xue Qinghuai, you say, how blind I was to get married to you! What kind of people are in this family!"
Zhao'er had led the Maodan into the house long ago, and seeing him crying sadly, she took out the pastries she had bought for her little man and gave them to Maodan to coax him.
While Maodan was eating it, tears fell pattering down. Zhao'er stroked his little head again and again, but her heart was full of sorrow.
Sun cried with tears and snot running down her face, sitting on the ground like a crazy woman. Fortunately, the Xue family's yard is large, and the house next to it is far away, otherwise the villagers would have come to see it. But if the trouble goes on like this, who knows when someone will pass by the door.
Xue Qinghuai appeared in front of the Fourth Family's house and walked over to pull her.
"Get up, go back to the house!"
"I won't go back, I'm not comfortable in my heart. Am I not allowed to cry a few times?"
"Don't you know shame?"
"You still know shame. You know shame, but some people don't know it!"
Sun shi cried as she was pulled up from the ground, and she slapped him angrily twice. The couple pulled and pushed each other on their way back to their house.
The yard finally calmed down, but there was a dead silence.
No one cooked at noon, and it seems that everyone had forgotten about eating.
Zhou Shi cooked dinner at night, but no one from the Fourth family came out to eat. Zhao'er didn't go to the main room to eat because there were a lot of leftovers from yesterday. She warmed up the leftovers and brought some to the Fourth room. The rest was eaten in her room.
After eating, Xue Qinghuai went to the Third house. No one knows what he said to Xue Qingbai, but after he left, Xue Qingbai went to the main house.
"Father, Fourth brother said that from the extra food from a few stores, he only wants 20%."
Father Xue was taken aback and nodded slowly.
Xue Qingbai sighed, turned his head and went out.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Xue Qinghuai went out with Zhao'er.
The two drove a mule cart around a few nearby villages and entered Huyang Town when the sun rose. The two of them didn't go to Nanshi either. They took a cart of food and went to a restaurant first.
Huyang Town is not a big place nor a small place. Because it is the largest town in the vicinity of ten miles and eight townships, it is also extremely prosperous and lively. There are three big restaurants, 'Xiankelai', 'Liuxianju', and 'Drunk Xianlou'. As for the small restaurants and teahouses, there are countless.
Zhao'er and Xue Qinghuai went to 'Xiankelai' first.
At the time when the sun is rising, the restaurant is usually busy. Although the door is opened for business only when this time arrives, people who make food always have to make preparations in advance.
For example, 'xiankelai' dishes are always the freshest, and any dishes left overnight are discarded, so every morning people in the restaurant have to go to the market to buy them.
It's not that no one has thought about letting the vegetable sellers have a partnership with them, but the farmers who come to sell the vegetables are not specializing in business. The vegetables are those that the family has too much of and therefore are being sold to earn a bit of money. Secondly, the farmers still need to farm the land, so it is not very cost-effective to come to town just to sell vegetables for a few cents.
Therefore, it is a big task to buy vegetables for a restaurant every day. Fortunately, the market is full of varieties. Although it is cumbersome, you can buy a full range.
The door of Xiankelai has not been opened yet, but the back door has been opened. There will be an endless stream of people delivering salt, rice, all kinds of spices, firewood, and all kinds of meat. There are two guys guarding the back door, one is responsible for counting the points and the other is busy weighing. Everyone was so busy.
The mule cart stopped at the back door. Zhao'er jumped off the mule cart, stepped forward and smiled: "Little brother, I want to find the shopkeeper who specializes in purchasing."
The guy was arguing with a butcher-like person over the weight of the meat. At this moment, a person interrupted, and he originally said it was 22.7 jin, but he remembered it as 21.2 jin. The butcher asked him to weigh it again but he just didn't want to since the weight of the meat was too heavy. He couldn't complete the weighing by himself, and his companion had already gone in with the vinegar.
"This is obviously a wrong weight, so please weigh it again."
"That was not what you said when you looked at it and weighed it."
He was originally talking to someone when he was interrupted, and this person actually wanted to find the shopkeeper. Naturally, the guy didn't have a good tone: "What are you doing, looking for our shopkeeper."
Zhao'er was not at all annoyed, and she smiled and said: "I brought some vegetables to sell. They are all very fresh. I just picked them in the morning."
"No need, our vegetables don't need to be delivered. We buy the freshest ones at the market every day."
"Brother, let's take a look and talk about it. My family's vegetables are very complete."
"Complete? How complete could it be? I already told you I don't want it, so why are you still here." In fact, the guy had other reasons to refuse. It is not enough to buy the same two things. In the end, they would still have to go to the market to buy other vegetables. This would create more trouble.
Because the restaurant is different from other locations, the front hall is the front hall, the back kitchen is the back kitchen, and buying is buying. And the things that are purchased have to be counted and billed. Like these fixed delivery of various things, the method is familiar: the things are delivered, the number is counted, and the bill is settled at the end of the month.
But the vegetables are different. It's already cheap. It may cost dozens of yuan to buy the same vegetable. How can there be debts? Since there are no debts, workers have to pay. The money will not pass through the hands of the people below, and the shopkeeper who is in charge of purchasing will not go through the effort of paying each and every person. Instead of being so troublesome, it's better to go to the market and finish all the purchases.
Of course, the various details were not told to Zhao'er, but Zhao'er used to sell vegetables in the market, and had also been close to these restaurants, so she knew a little bit.
"I know your shopkeeper. He told me to bring the food."
Upon hearing this, the man glanced at her with a puzzled look and asked: "Then wait, we are not in charge of this task. The shopkeeper Yao will be here in a while."
Zhao'er nodded with a smile on her face, moved aside, and stood aside.
Xue Qinghuai got out of the cart, walked to Zhao'er, and asked in a low voice: "Zhao'er, you..."
Zhao'er winked at him hurriedly, and then the two of them stood there waiting.
After who knows how long, a person suddenly walked out from the back door.
He wore a royal blue straight, seemed forty years old, and wore a large opal ring on his hand. As soon as the workers saw this person, the two men respectfully said: "Shopkeeper."
Two buddies followed him, nodded, and planned to leave, but suddenly someone rushed over in front of him.
"Shopkeeper Yao, hello."
"you are--"
"Shopkeeper Yao, have you forgotten me? You bought my vegetables. Didn't you tell me that you think my vegetables are fresh, so if I have them I can bring it to you?"
The treasurer Yao looked suspicious. He said this before?
"That day, you said that the vegetables I sold were fresh and tender. You told me to keep them for you next time. You also said that you are a 'Xiankelai'. Did you forget?"
Seeing that the young man in front of him looked aggrieved, the Shopkeeper Yao thought to himself that he might have really said such things.
Maybe this young man had misunderstood it. He didn't know how many times he had said this kind of words, but few people took it seriously. The business in the market is like the prostitute in the kiln, right? They don't talk about old feelings but rather are all on a first-come, first-served basis. Whoever keeps it and just waits to sell it to a specific person.
He has never taken it seriously himself. At this time, seeing someone really took it seriously, he couldn't help but hesitate, and said, "Where are your vegetables? Let me see, if it works, I'll just keep it." What he thought was these fellows had already come here. Anyway, he was going to the market, so buying something was suitable.
"I brought the vegetables, come and see." Zhao'er pointed to the mule cart not far away.
The vegetable sellers are also on the mule cart! As soon as this thought slipped past, Shopkeeper Yao was stunned by the baskets of vegetables that Xue Qinghuai unloaded from the car.
Then the young man, who was a little honest in his eyes, smiled very brightly and said to him: "Look at it, I dare not say that the market is not as fresh as ours, but it is definitely not as abundant as ours. You said at the beginning. After that, I just put it in my heart. I picked all the new vegetables from the garden and brought them to you. Look at the green peppers, shepherd's purse, celery, rapeseed, and Xiaobai Song, how tender they are. The toon buds were just picked from the tree."
Not to mention, it's really tender.
Especially after a winter, and half a cold spring, there is no green in the eyes for a long time. Now to see this basket of green and tender vegetables, not to mention it. Every winter and spring, when the new vegetables in spring have not come down, that is when shopkeeper Yao is the most troubled. The restaurant is selling food, but meat alone is not good, it must be accompanied by a refreshing green.
But no, even if there are, there are very few.
Sometimes shopkeeper Yao wants to tell the villagers in the countryside, don't just eat new vegetables by yourself. Go sell them. But few country folks can realize this, so they will only sell what they can't finish. And he didn't realize this either. Most of all, he had come over this way all these years, and he was used to it. Occasionally he would say a few words, but no one would listen to it, so he would stop saying it after a while.
During this period of time, the fresh vegetables are sold by restaurants in portions. Shopkeeper Yao was still thinking, I don't know if there are any vegetables that suit my wishes at the market today. He didn't expect so many to appear in front of his eyes.
He was so surprised that he was stunned for a long time, but the voice of Zhao'er called him back: "Shopkeeper Yao, how much do you want for your restaurant?"
"All!" He waved his hand boldly.
Immediately he paused in the air, hesitating, and listened to the boy again: "Your family probably doesn't use that much, right? This fresh dish is different from the others. It can't be stored. It's barely stored for a day.
I heard people say that Xiankelai is the most particular place in our town and never sells overnight dishes. If you just want to have enough for today, I'll give it to you tomorrow? "
"There will be tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course! There are as many as you want!"