Hearing Zhang Man's words, Erniu smiled and praised him, "Second Brother Zhang, you're such a good person."

Zhang Man paused slightly, looking at Erniu warily, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm praising you! What's with that expression? Do you like being insulted?"

"No, no, I get nervous when you praise me."

Zhang Man secretly grumbled to himself:

You're so cunning, I'm afraid you'll flatter me to the point of fainting, and I'll end up selling me out while I'm still counting the money for you.

Erniu ignored Zhang Man's uncomfortable expression and continued walking forward on her own.

Without turning her head, she said, "As the saying goes, 'When father and son go to war, brothers are of one mind and their strength can break metal.' When a family is harmonious and happy, life will become more and more prosperous. Don't you agree, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Man never expected that a little girl who couldn't read could speak such profound truths.

He was genuinely impressed by the clever and cunning Erniu.

"Erniu, your words are more pleasing to the ear than those of scholars."

When Erniu turned around, she saw Zhang Man grinning sheepishly.

"Zhang Erge can write and calculate, Erniu is really envious."

After being praised by Erniu again, Zhang Man stopped judging Erniu by his own petty standards.

He told the truth, "The reason why my brothers and I are able to read and write is all thanks to our father's foresight. With the guidance of our former employer, we brothers have read almost all the books left by our previous employer."

“Erniu, if you want to learn to read, I can teach you.”

Seeing Erniu's envious eyes, Zhang Man didn't know what got into him, but he blurted out a sentence.

Erniu's eyes widened in disbelief, "Really!"

“A man’s word is his bond, so of course it’s true.” Seeing Erniu’s doubts, Zhang Man nodded firmly.

Erniu was overjoyed.

"Erniu can learn to read and write from Brother Zhang? That would be wonderful."

Erniu looked at Zhang Manxiao happily, not watching her step, and almost tripped over a stone on the ground.

...

Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Shuyue had been busy for several days and felt a little tired.

Zhang Cai was in charge of the rabbit meat business, and the restaurant resumed normal operations, so she gave herself a day off.

She nestled lazily on the soft couch, holding a travelogue in her hands.

Lan'er handed over a plate of melon seeds and said, "I made these spiced melon seeds according to your instructions. Miss, please try them and see if they taste like what you described."

Jiang Shuyue stretched out her slender fingers, picked up a grain, and sniffed it. "Hmm! Not bad, it smells just like that."

"Miss, please try it. I've already tried it and I think it tastes better than what you buy outside," Lan'er said, placing the plate on the coffee table.

"Click".

Jiang Shuyue picked up a melon seed and took a bite, the familiar taste lingering on her tongue.

"Good, have the kitchen make more using this method."

Lan'er immediately understood her mistress's meaning. "This servant understands. This servant will go and give the order right away. Once it's ready, send it to Lord Su."

As soon as Lan'er went out, Qiuju came in carrying a bowl of bird's nest porridge.

"Miss, drink it while it's hot."

"I just wanted to take a day off. I'm not sick, so why do you all keep bringing me tonics?" Jiang Shuyue said, putting down her book and taking the bird's nest porridge.

"Who else has brought tonics?" Qiuju asked with a grin.

“Mei’er knew I wasn’t going out today, so she specially bought some venison, saying she wanted to give me a good nourishing meal.”

"Venom is a good thing. Mei must have met a hunter at the market. You don't usually see it."

Jiang Shuyue picked up a spoon and stirred the bird's nest porridge, nodding, "That's right. There are only deer in the royal hunting grounds. In winter, the hunting grounds will send venison to the palace on time. It's hard to find hunters selling mountain products in the market."

When Qiuju thinks of mountain products, she recalls the mink furs that Nangong Zeyue gave her.

Qiuju added a piece of charcoal to the brazier and asked, "Miss, Young Master Nangong has given us too many mink furs. If we were to make cloaks just for the young master, how many would we need to make?"

“I almost forgot about that. Tell the embroiderer to make one for Ajin and one for Nannan. If that’s not enough, have Gao Mu go and buy some more.”

Qiuju nodded hurriedly, "That's enough, that's enough. There's just too much. Even the embroiderers don't know where to begin."

After finishing her bird's nest porridge, Jiang Shuyue picked up her travelogue again.

She said to Qiuju, "It's a rare day off, don't bother, sit down and eat some melon seeds."

Just as Qiuju sat down, a maid announced from outside the door, "Miss, Miss Du has arrived."

"Please come in quickly."

Jiang Shuyue closed the book in her hand again.

"Sister Yue'er, I'm going to the clinic to find you. Yinqiao said you'll definitely be home today."

The beaded curtain rustled, and Du Yutong walked in like a gust of wind.

Jiang Shuyue waved to her, "Come over and try some freshly roasted melon seeds."

"Miss Du looks even more beautiful these past few days," Qiu Ju joked as she got up to make tea.

Du Yutong laughed and said, "Look at what Miss Qiuju is saying, I'm not as pretty as the bride-to-be."

Du Yutong took off her cloak and took two gift boxes from the maid behind her.

"When did Yutong start being so polite with me? You even brought a gift when you came to visit," Jiang Shuyue asked with a smile.

Du Yutong walked over and sat down next to Jiang Shuyue. She picked up a gift box, opened it, and a faint sandalwood scent wafted out.

"When did I ever need to be polite to Sister Yue'er? Here are two boxes of newly made incense. My aunt asked me to bring them over for Sister Yue'er to appreciate."

"Sister Yue'er, what do you think of the quality of this incense? Isn't it better than rose incense?" Du Yutong handed over the box.

Jiang Shuyue took the box and looked at it. "Not bad, this fragrance looks more delicate."

“My aunt has already tried it, and the fragrance lasts about 15 minutes longer than before.”

Qiuju brought over the tea, and Jiang Shuyue handed the box to Qiuju, saying, "Replace the incense in the incense burner with this."

A moment later, the scent of sandalwood filled the warm room.

"How is it? It tastes good, right?" Du Yutong picked up a melon seed and put it in her mouth.

Jiang Shuyue nodded, "That's right. In two days it will be Qiuju's big day, so this incense will be for Qiuju."

"I'm glad you like it. It's too meager to only give you incense as a dowry. I'll give Miss Qiuju another dowry on your big day."

Du Yutong originally intended to ask Jiang Shuyue to deliver another box of incense to the Su residence.

She thought for a long time but didn't know how to start the conversation.

Just as she was trying to find an excuse to send incense to Su Jin, she heard Qiu Ju say, "No need, Gao Mu said he doesn't put an incense burner in the house."

Du Yutong asked, puzzled, "Why? Doesn't Guard Gao like incense?"

Qiuju quickly explained, "No, he said there's incense in the room, and if a thug enters the mansion, he'll have a hard time noticing if they blow sleeping smoke into the room."

Jiang Shuyue pointed to another box, "Once Lan'er has prepared the melon seeds, she can send them to A-Jin together. Sui-Sui's clothes are still scented with roses; the little guy has gotten used to that smell."

"Remember to make it clear that the incense was a gift from Miss Du," Jiang Shuyue said, smiling at Du Yutong.

Du Yugang breathed a sigh of relief, but then inexplicably became nervous again. "Sister Yue'er, why are you looking at me? I've given you the gift, so you can give it to whomever you want."