After Lu Chuan finished speaking, he left in a disheveled state, and the crowd began to discuss the matter.

"Young Master Liu, thank you for speaking up for my sister."

As Li Haoran was about to perform a grand salute, Liu Zhiyuan grabbed him.

"Brother Li, you flatter me. This is what I should do." Liu Zhiyuan paused, then continued, "If the Lu family causes trouble or retaliates, please be sure to tell me."

The Li family treated Li Youran very well, but even knowing that Li Youran was being wronged, they still chose to endure it. Liu Zhiyuan didn't need to know the reason why.

"It's all because I, as the older brother, am incompetent, causing my younger sister to suffer."

Li Haoran nodded upon hearing Liu Zhiyuan's words, feeling deeply ashamed.

As the eldest brother, he couldn't even protect his younger sister. Fortunately, Young Master Liu stepped in; otherwise, his younger sister would have suffered indefinitely.

"Brother, don't blame yourself. We can't explain ourselves in this kind of situation," Li Youran comforted him.

Besides feeling grateful to Liu Zhiyuan, Li Youran also deeply felt the difference in social class.

What she couldn't solve despite her best efforts was easily resolved by Liu Zhiyuan—that's the power of social class.

This further strengthened Li Youran's determination to change her social class, but changing social class is not an easy thing, especially since she is a woman.

They could not take the imperial examinations, could not fight on the battlefield, and could not serve as officials in the imperial court.

The road ahead is long and arduous...

"Mother, I want to marry Wang Xiangyu as soon as possible."

Along the way, Lu Chuan thought about many things. The most important thing right now was to get married before the news spread.

Firstly, he was worried that he wouldn't be able to find a wife in the future. Secondly, if Wang Xiangyu became pregnant in the future, he could turn around and accuse Li Youran of slandering him.

"Alright, Mother will make the arrangements right away!" Old Mrs. Lu was overjoyed to see her son finally change his mind, and she couldn't wait to bring her daughter-in-law into the house the next day.

"Ah Lang, how was your day?" Aunt Tian asked with a smile as she washed the dishes when her grandson returned. "The wonton shop was doing very well today. I already had double pay, plus double commission, which is more than I would have earned working five days in a row."

Aunt Tian was in a great mood today. Although she was tired and needed to rest, she had earned a lot of money after all.

"Everything went smoothly, except for some unexpected events." Tian Alang smiled and said, "Today, Miss Li's ex-husband came to cause trouble, which led to some embarrassing situations."

“Young man, even if Miss Li were your savior, you shouldn’t laugh at someone else if something like this happened to them,” Aunt Tian said, frowning.

"Grandma, you've misunderstood. I was laughing because Miss Li's ex-husband made a fool of himself."

Tian Alang's smile deepened. He sat down, took a sip of tea, and told Aunt Tian everything that had happened that day.

“Li Yatou is a pitiful girl, but…” After a long while, Aunt Tian sighed and slowly said.

She looked up at her grandson and saw that his eyes, brows, and mouth were full of undisguised smiles.

Tian Niangzi felt more and more that her guess was correct. She wanted to say the words, but she didn't know how to express them. There was a layer between her and the words.

Upon closer reflection, they realized that Miss Li was a benefactor to their family. She not only saved their grandson but also solved their livelihood problem and gave their grandson the opportunity to showcase his talents. The plaque for the bookstore was inscribed by their grandson, which was truly an honor!

Li Youran was unaware of what the Tian family was thinking; she only knew that Wang Xiangyu was getting married.

It wasn't that Li Youran cared so much about this matter; it was just that it was hard not to know.

Bright red "double happiness" characters were pasted from one end of the alley to the other, and people kept coming to the Wang family to offer their congratulations.

"No one can really explain what good fortune is. Some people, even if they get married, just can't hold onto that good fortune!"

"Who says otherwise? Our Xiangyu is truly blessed."

Several women who went to the Wang family to flatter her said the nicest things, making Mrs. Wang smile with wrinkles all over her face.

"The Lu family really cares about this marriage. Look at all this stuff; they could easily afford to marry three wives!"

Wang's eldest sister-in-law never expected that her sister-in-law would actually get such a good marriage. Luckily, she hadn't agreed to marry Master Zhou as a concubine.

The bustling atmosphere at the Wang family's residence contrasted sharply with the quietness at the Li family's.

"Let them laugh, how long can they laugh!" Zhao Lanzhi said angrily, "A bunch of opportunists!"

The women who went to the Li family yesterday to offer their congratulations and wish the bookstore a prosperous opening are now going to the Wang family to flatter them.

Even though Mingming was driving his carriage past the gate, the women pretended not to recognize him and didn't even greet him.

"Old man, I think Young Master Liu is a good person." Madam Li looked at Li Dazhu, who was smoking his pipe, and continued, "What do you think?"

"It's no use how we think about this matter; it mainly depends on You Ran." Li Dazhu puffed on his pipe and said slowly, "Young Master Liu's family background is too high; I'm afraid our Li family is not good enough for him."

"That's true, but our girl is beautiful and very capable..."

As Li Niangzi spoke, she lost her confidence. Compared to the Liu family, the Li family was just a small merchant family, and the girl had been married before.

Li Youran was busy calculating the bookstore's income for the day, and she didn't pay any attention to what everyone was saying.

“Mother, please stop thinking about Young Master Liu. I’ve said it before, we’re just friends.” Li Youran said, turning to her second sister-in-law, and continued, “All common people are like this, second sister-in-law, you don’t need to take it to heart.”

As Li Youran spoke, she closed the membership records and ledger, shook the abacus in her hand, and sighed deeply.

"Little sister, how was your earnings today?" Li Haoran looked at Li Youran with anticipation.

Li Haoran was practically a manager at the bookstore. During the day, the bookstore was packed with people, all vying to register as members and pay money.

Li Haoran had never seen such a scene before, and he was very curious about how much money could be earned in a day.

"Today, a total of two hundred customers registered as members, and one hundred and fifty people pre-deposited silver." Li Youran paused, then added, "The pre-deposited silver is five hundred taels!"

"Of the five hundred taels of silver I deposited, one hundred taels have already been spent today." Li Youran did the math in his mind. In less than half a month, all five hundred taels of silver he had deposited would be spent.

This means that the bookstore can generate 500 taels of revenue in half a month. With half of that profit coming from books, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, it can earn 250 taels of silver in just half a month!

However, Li Youran was also prepared; it was normal for business to be booming when a new store opens. But this situation wouldn't last; as time went on, business would gradually calm down.

She thought that even if she could make five hundred taels of silver a month, it would be excellent. After all, two hundred and fifty taels of silver was a monthly income she wouldn't have dared to dream of when she ran a food stall.