Chapter 77 Thirty cents a year!

"Of course it's a character. I saw it in some miscellaneous book and I wrote it down because it seemed convenient." Xiao Jiuyue answered calmly. She said, "Don't you think it's easier to write large numbers?"

"Yes." Xiao Jiayuan studied seriously and soon memorized the number of words.

Even though it is not New Year's Eve yet, the occasional sound of firecrackers outside gives people a feeling of bustle and prosperity.

New Year’s Eve.

"Yu'er, you'll be the one writing the Spring Festival couplets this year." Old Madam Xiao had red paper and brush and ink prepared. "In previous years, your grandfather and your father wrote them. Now that you're the head of the family, it's your turn to write them."

"Grandma, would my handwriting be more elegant?" Xiao Jiuyue subconsciously wanted to refuse. It was already difficult for her to copy the same hairpin-flowered small calligraphy as the original owner, so why would she be asked to write couplets?

"Why not let Jiayuan write it?" Xiao Jiuyue pushed her brother out. "Although Jiayuan's handwriting is a little immature, but..."

"Yu'er, you write it." Old Madam Xiao took her hand and said, "Without you, the Xiao family might have fallen apart. You write this couplet!"

Old Madam Xiao looked at Xiao Jiuyue with encouragement and appreciation in her eyes.

Xiao Jiuyue did not refuse any more. After a brief thought, he picked up his pen and wrote: Peace is the blessing of the whole family, harmony can bring wealth in all seasons, and the horizontal banner reads: Auspicious light fills the eyes!

Old Madam Xiao stared at the Spring Festival couplets she wrote, her eyes were red. Safety is the family's happiness. For the Xiao family, now they don't seek wealth and promotion, but only safety!

"Grandma, do you think it's okay?" Xiao Jiuyue glanced sideways.

Madam Xiao wiped her eyes and said, "Okay, Mother Jiang, take this spring couplet and stick it on the gate."

"Yes." Mother Jiang immediately took people to take the Spring Festival couplets to post. The Xiao family had many courtyards and many doors. Xiao Jiuyue was also familiar with these festive Spring Festival couplets. She could write couplets such as "Joy fills the house", "Fortune shines brightly", "Everything goes well" and so on!

The kitchen is bustling and busy, and the New Year’s Eve dinner in the evening is the highlight.

In order to prevent everyone from feeling lonely, Xiao Jiuyue specially invited all the Xiao family members to the main courtyard of the Xiao family. After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Xiao Jiuyue took the silver bills and started to distribute the money!

"The money earned from the workshop has been settled." Xiao Jiuyue asked Lianxin to take out the prepared account books and banknotes.

Whether it was Second House Aunt Lan and Xiao Yurong, or Third House Aunt Xiao, one kept accounts and the other managed the money. They all knew very well that a small workshop had earned several hundred taels of silver in just two or three months.

"You all get fifty taels, and I get one hundred taels, so the money will be divided into four parts. I will take two parts, and each part is one hundred and eighteen taels. You can count them." Xiao Jiuyue's voice was crisp. The children were playing with firecrackers in the yard, but in the house, everyone was dividing the money!

"Miss, there's no need to count." It's not like Aunt Lan had never seen 118 taels of silver before, but this was the first income she had received since the house was confiscated!

This means that they can support themselves in the future.

"Brothers should settle accounts clearly. Lianxin, count." Xiao Jiuyue asked Lianxin to count in front of everyone. She said, "Everyone is busy working in the fields during the spring. The workshop needs to can food, which will have to wait until the pears are ripe. So, I will divide this money among you first, so that everyone can have a happy New Year."

"Jiuyue, come to us when you need to raise money." Aunt Xiao was very happy after taking the money. She never thought that one day she would be happy because of more than one hundred taels of silver.

"Yuer took you with her because she saw that your second and third wives couldn't make any money." Old Man Xiao took a sip of tea.

Aunt Xiao paused. Xiao Jiuyue's five thousand taels of silver for breaking off the engagement really didn't need their money. Aunt Xiao immediately said, "Don't worry, mother. If Jiuyue needs us to do anything in the future, we will do our best to help!"

"Yes." Aunt Lan also agreed.

"A family that is united will not be afraid of any storms in the future." Xiao Jiuyue stood up and handed over the first dish of crispy pork. "Grandma, this is Aunt He's crispy pork, and it tastes especially good after being steamed. Come and try it, Grandma."

Xiao Jiuyue started to serve the food to Old Madam Xiao.

Madam Xiao tasted it and found it soft but not greasy. Even she could chew it. She praised, "Not bad."

At the New Year's Eve dinner table, one for the adults and one for the children, she said, "We also have this braised rabbit! It was sent by Aunt Shi, the village head. Wild rabbits hunted in the mountains are indeed more delicious than domestic rabbits."

"The villagers are simple and honest." Old Madam Xiao looked at the dishes and mushrooms, all of which were sent by the villagers. Yue'er was very good at networking and could do business with businessmen. She could also get along well with the villagers.

"Yes, most of them are kind people." Xiao Jiuyue said with a smile, "Grandma, the radishes and cabbages on the table today are grown in our own fields. The radishes are a little small, but they taste good."

"Oh?" Old Madam Xiao had heard Mother Jiang talk about this before, but she didn't expect that the dish had already been served on the table.

"It tastes fresh and sweet." Old Madam Xiao wiped her mouth and asked, "Before spring planting, can the radishes and cabbages be harvested?"

"Yes, if it weren't for the lack of time, we would have planted dozens of acres of land. However, we have already planted two or three acres, and we expect to harvest nearly ten thousand kilograms of radish and cabbage." Xiao Jiuyue looked at it and found that the planting time was a little late, otherwise there would be more vegetables.

The Xiao family was large, and during that period, all the servants, guards, and idle maids of the Xiao family were taken to farm by Yu Mama and Geng Mama. With more people, there was more power, and they cultivated two or three acres of land.

"So many?" Old Madam Xiao heard the amount and said, "The Xiao family can't finish it. Are you going to sell it?"

"Grandma, of course we have to sell these nearly ten thousand pounds of radish and cabbage. Our Xiao family can't even finish them in half a year." Xiao Jiuyue chuckled, "Both radish and cabbage can be made into pickled radish and pickled cabbage. Not only do they keep for a long time, but they're also sour and spicy and appetizing. In the summer, the sour and sweet pickled radish is especially appetizing."

Xiao Jiuyue spoke with great joy. She wasn't afraid of a high yield from the land, but she was afraid of nothing growing at all. She said, "After the New Year and the autumn harvest, I'll immediately plant radishes and cabbages on all the fields. Next year, it'll be another good business."

In the Nanyue Kingdom, merchants had a low status, but when Xiao Jiuyue talked about doing business, he did not feel inferior at all. Instead, there was a gleam of confidence in his eyes, so bright that people could not take their eyes off him.

Aunt Lan's eyes fell on Xiao Jiuyue and never left her.

In the past, Mrs. Fan always said that she was a lowly merchant's daughter. No matter what new clothes she bought or what kind of flowers she liked, she would be severely ridiculed by Mrs. Fan. Aunt Lan never thought that as the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, there was no contempt for merchants in her words.

"The eldest lady of the Xiao family will definitely not stay in this small village of Fu'an forever." Lan Jie's mother suddenly remembered what her eldest brother Shang Ting said before he left.