Chapter 72

After being apart for two days, the brother and sister had endless things to talk about when they met again.

Although most of the time it was Fu An who was talking non-stop, Fu Ning also giggled while listening to them, with a happy smile on his little face.

Fu An told his sister about things in the county town and that he had become friends with a boy next door.

He said that he would go to the alley entrance every day to wait for his uncle to get off work.

She said she would also think of her aunt and sister, as well as her father and mother, and the He family's Niu Niu...

When Yu Ying came back from sending Fu Wei out, she saw the brother and sister lying on Luo's bed, talking and laughing, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

After watching for a while, Yu Ying yawned sleepily.

Maybe it was because I was not used to having so many fewer people at home these two nights, so I didn’t sleep well at night.

Yu Ying couldn't bear to interrupt the brother and sister, so she turned around and went to Fu Wei's room to rest.

Before entering the house, she asked Mrs. Luo to wake her up in half an hour.

When she opened the door of Fu Wei's house, she saw that it was still as clean and tidy as when she left, with a faint herbal fragrance.

The only difference is that the leaves on the bamboo branches are slightly curled, and are obviously a little wilted.

Yu Ying wondered if Fu Wei was so busy that he didn't even have time to change the bamboo branches.

After thinking about it, she decided to go and pick two fresh bamboo branches after waking up.

She lay down on the bed, pulled the quilt over her and took a nap.

After waking up, it was already noon, so she went out to look for a pottery jar to store facial cream.

If it is packed in bamboo tubes, it may not be able to sell at a high price. From ancient times to the present, the price has to be determined by the packaging.

The sky was gray and the weather was cold. Yu Ying pulled her clothes and went out with the bamboo basket on her back.

After walking around half of Yu County, Yu Ying discovered that many pottery jars were unglazed, and even those that were glazed were very rough.

Finally I found some decent little clay pots, but they cost five cents each, and there were only about twenty of them.

That's not even a hundred.

Moreover, this small pottery jar was not as exquisite as Yu Ying had expected.

After thinking it over, Yu Ying decided to buy twenty first.

After buying the small pottery jar, Yu Ying went back.

When I returned to the rental house, Fu Wei had already finished his shift and returned home.

Yu Ying put down the pottery jar, washed her hands, and went to make dinner with Luo.

A simple dish of fried eggs with leeks, a leek soup, and some green vegetables.

After dinner, before washing up, Yu Ying put her bag into Luo's room and said to Luo, who was wiping Fu Ning's hair, "Mother, Ning Ning and I will sleep with you tonight."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Luo was slightly stunned and involuntarily looked through the open door to the house opposite.

My son was sitting at the table behind the window, writing something.

Luo was in a daze for a moment, then came back to her senses and smiled, "Okay, I'll get the bedding out."

She didn't dare ask Liu Niang and her son what was going on, for fear that if she asked, Liu Niang would feel uncomfortable, and she was also worried that she would not dare to stay in the Fu family anymore.

Although she knew that Erlang and Liuniang were not a real couple, she still felt that maintaining the status quo was fine.

Luo Shi didn't ask, but that didn't mean Fu An didn't ask.

When Fu An came back from bathing, he saw his aunt in his grandmother's room. He walked to the door and asked in surprise, "Aunt, why don't you go to his uncle's room?"

As soon as these words came out, Luo looked at Liu Niang nervously, fearing that she would feel uncomfortable.

Yu Ying smiled and lied to him, "Your uncle has to go on duty tomorrow. He can't make mistakes when doing his job at the government office. And my aunt has a bad sleeping posture in a new place, and I'm afraid it will affect your uncle's rest."

Fu Wei, who was about to stand up, said: "..."

He knew best how soundly she slept, having slept with her for half a year.

Also, she hardly moved during the night she slept in the inn.

She.

It would deceive children.

Fu Wei shook his head helplessly, with a faint smile on his lips.

After hearing this, Fu An muttered, "But no matter how bad my aunt's sleeping posture is, it can't be as bad as mine."

Luo nodded with deep feeling.

Even Fu Ning said, "Brother, it's not good to sleep."

Yu Ying recalled the few nights she had slept with Fu An.

I have to say, I have the impression that he is quite noisy and likes to use his hands and feet to rest his head on people.

Yu Ying looked at Fu Wei who was walking out of the room opposite and asked, "Did Fu An disturb you when he slept with you?"

Fu Wei looked at her with a half-smile and said, "Compared to you, he is as good as heaven and earth."

Yu Ying met his smile, glared at him lightly, and said, "Then you should get used to it."

Upon hearing this, Fu An was pleasantly surprised and said, "Then my aunt can..."

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Yu Ying: "Tomorrow I will take you, Ningning, and grandma to the morning market. Do you want to go?"

Suddenly, when he heard that they were going to the morning market in Yu County, Fu An's eyes lit up: "I want to go, I want to go. I have copper coins and can buy things!"

Yu Ying smiled and asked him, "By the way, what have you learned from your uncle these past two days?"

Fu An hurriedly said: "Wait a minute!"

As he said this, he excitedly ran back and took out his small wooden sword, saying, "My uncle taught me how to practice sword and also taught me how to write!"

In the past, Yu Ying was very busy and would only teach Fu An and Fu Ning calligraphy when she had time.

Yu Ying said, "Then perform one for Auntie to see."

Fu An instantly put aside the question he was about to ask and started practicing with the wooden sword in the house.

He had only been learning for two days, so he only knew a few moves, but Yu Ying and Luo Shi applauded him enthusiastically, and Ning Ning was the most supportive.

The little supporter Wang Ningning clapped her hands and said, "Brother, you are awesome."

Fu Wei leaned against the door and looked at the happy scene with a faint smile on his face.

The sky had completely darkened, and Yu Ying lay down on the bed in advance, pretending to be asleep.

When Fu An realized what he was about to ask, he pursed his lips unhappily after seeing his aunt sleeping soundly.

Fu Ning didn't understand why her aunt fell asleep in an instant. When she was about to call her aunt, Fu An made a hushing gesture to her and said in a low voice, "Don't disturb my aunt."

As he spoke, he slowly and quietly left the room and closed the door.

When the door closed, Yu Ying opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fu Wei couldn't even withstand Fu An, let alone her.

Fu Ning looked at his aunt who suddenly woke up again, and opened his round eyes wide in surprise.

Yu Ying also hushed her softly and whispered, "Let's sleep with grandma these nights, not with my brother or uncle."

Little gap-toothed Ningning grinned and nodded heavily: "Sleeping with grandma."

Yu Ying lifted the quilt and let her in.

Fu Ning felt warm. As soon as she got into bed, she was hugged by Yu Ying, which made the little girl giggle with joy.

Yu Ying was afraid that her laughter would attract Fu An, so she quickly whispered to her.

The two men looked like thieves, with smiles on their faces.

Fu An returned to the house in a sullen mood. Seeing his uncle still writing at the table with the oil lamp lit, he curled his lips and lay directly on the bed, calling out in a sullen voice, "Uncle."

Fu Wei continued writing and replied nonchalantly, "Hmm?"

Fu An turned over, looked at the roof, and asked, "Can you carry my aunt back to the house?"

Fu Wei's hand trembled, and he almost destroyed the half-written bamboo slip.

He glanced at the intact bamboo slips, breathed a sigh of relief, and then listened to his nephew behind him.

"Uncle, why don't you tell Auntie to go back to her room and sleep?"

Fu Wei: ...

I breathed a sigh of relief and was just thinking about how to deal with him when he spoke again.

"I always feel that my uncle and aunt are different from other couples, but I don't know how."

Fu Wei lowered his eyes slightly and said slowly: "It's different now, but maybe it will be the same in the future."

I said this to Fu An, and also to myself.

Fu An frowned and said, "Then why can't we do the same as other couples now? If we were like other couples, wouldn't Ningning and I be able to have a little sister?"

Fu Wei: ...

Forget it, I won’t talk nonsense with him anymore.

"I still have things to do, you go to sleep first."

Fu An's brows were furrowed tighter and tighter. He felt insecure, but he didn't know why.

After thinking about it carefully, he was still afraid that his aunt would leave and that he would never see her again.

In this worry, I gradually fell asleep.

After Fu Wei finished his work, he turned around and saw that his nephew was not even covered with a quilt, and was hunched over and shivering from the cold.

He sighed helplessly, walked over, and pulled the quilt over him.

How could he not want to be a real couple? But he knew that she missed the past so much that if she had the chance, she would definitely want to go back to the old days.

She didn't want to leave behind any worries when she had the last chance to go back, or make those who stayed behind feel the torment of missing her.

But even if they are not husband and wife now, if she leaves, he will miss her deeply...

*

At dawn, the weather was even damper and colder, and the clothes on my body were completely unable to keep me warm.

After Yu Ying washed with warm water, she saw the two children and the old man shivering with their necks hunched over. She thought to herself that she had to remember how to knit a sweater.

She had knitted sweaters when she was in college, but it had been so many years that she barely remembered. When she went to Cangwu County, the journey would take several days, giving her a good opportunity to reminisce.

After returning to the house, the brother and sister lined up, tilting their little faces upwards, waiting for Yu Ying to put on facial cream for them.

Children's skin is different from adults', so it is best not to use the same facial cream. Therefore, when Yu Ying made a new facial cream last time, she also made two bottles of sheep oil facial cream that did not contain any medicinal ingredients.

I scooped some onto my fingertips and applied a little facial cream on each of their faces in turn, then let them spread it evenly on themselves.

Fu An rubbed his face vigorously as if it were clothes. Fu Ning was a gentle girl, and she was also gentle and soft to him. She imitated Yu Ying's usual method of applying facial cream, applying it slowly and carefully.

After applying the facial cream, Fu Wei had already finished his breakfast and was ready to go to work.

Fu An ran forward and pushed his uncle out, and after leaving the alley, he ran back.

Nowadays, Fu Wei has become more and more accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair. If Yu Ying hadn't seen him walking around in the morning, she would have almost suspected that his legs were lame again.

After they finished their breakfast, they went out together.

Some people hadn't seen Madam Yu of the Fu family for two days. When they saw her today, they all asked curiously, "Madam Yu, where have you been these past two days?"

Yu Ying kept a faint smile on her face as she replied, "There's still work to do in the village. I'll come to the county town when I'm done."

Hearing this, some people's expressions became strange and they secretly glanced at Luo.

I thought that it was reasonable for the elderly to stay in their hometown to look after the fields, while young couples should live outside.

But what's wrong with the Fu family? They leave such a young daughter-in-law in their hometown, aren't they afraid that she can't stand the loneliness...

The thought came to an abrupt end when he remembered that Fujia Jilang was a cripple.

If she wanted to steal, she would have done so a long time ago. She wouldn't stop stealing just because her husband is not around.

Thinking of this, he looked at the few people who had already walked to the alley entrance, and secretly felt sorry that Madam Yu married a cripple.

Yu Ying took Luo and the two children to the bustling East Market.

The lively scene dazzled the two children. Their big eyes were full of curiosity as they looked around.

Yu Ying bought a steamed bun for each of them and asked them to eat it while walking.

She went to the mutton stall and bought about five pounds of sheep tail oil, spending eighty-five cents.

This kind of weather is suitable for eating mutton, but Yu Ying decided to wait until she returned from Cangwu County to buy some so that she could eat her fill, so she only bought a pound of lean meat.

Ordinary pork costs twelve cents per pound, and if you only buy lean meat, it costs nine cents per pound.

After buying the lean meat, Yu Ying also bought five pounds of rice flour at ten cents a pound, intending to put it in Yu County for Fu Wei to eat in the morning.

The days have been short and the nights long lately, and Fuwei has to get up before dawn to prepare for duty, so Mrs. Luo also has to get up early to prepare breakfast for him.

Fu An said that after his uncle got up and made breakfast, his grandmother got up even earlier just to let his uncle sleep a little longer.

When Yu Ying heard this, she thought it would be better to prepare some rice cakes the night before and eat them the next morning when the fever was hot.

When Yu Ying finished weighing the rice and flour, she turned around and saw Fu An and Fu Ning, who were being watched by Luo Shi, squatting in front of a stall selling silk flowers.

The woman selling silk flowers was a young woman with only a backpack in front of her.

There was a winnowing basket on the mouth of the backpack, and ten cloth flowers were placed in the winnowing basket.

These cloth flowers were all made of coarse cloth, about the size of Xiao Fu Ning's fist, and cost one penny each.

Although the materials are rough, the style is still acceptable.

Fu Ning pointed to one of the flowers, and Fu An then pointed to three more.

He carefully counted out four copper coins and handed them to the woman selling silk flowers reluctantly.

After receiving the silk flowers, he gave the red one to his sister, and then gave an indigo one to his grandmother, which moved Luo so much that tears welled up in her eyes.

Fu An finally ran to Yu Ying and handed her the light blue silk flower.

"Aunt, this is a gift from me to you!"

Yu Ying looked at Fu An's radiant face and was moved. She took the silk flower and said softly, "Thank you."

Fu An smiled and put away another apricot-yellow silk flower, planning to give it to A Niang the next time he saw her.

*

In the study of the county government office, Fu Wei placed the proposed strategies he had written over the past two days on the desk of County Magistrate Zhou.

Three volumes of bamboo slips, placed in order.

County Magistrate Zhou looked at him meaningfully before picking it up to look at it.

There were also two aides, Qian and Sun, in the study.

They frowned slightly and looked at Fu Wei, who had been messing around in the yamen just a few days after entering it.

No one knew what he had said to the master, but the master would call him into the study these past two days, and he would stay there for half an hour each time.

They felt a sense of crisis.

County Magistrate Zhou finished reading one scroll of bamboo slips and then picked up the second one.

It only took half an hour to read the three scrolls of bamboo slips.

After putting down the third scroll, County Magistrate Zhou looked at his two staff members and said, "Take a look too."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Qian stepped forward and took the first roll of bamboo slips, and Secretary Sun also came over to take a look.

The first sentence is - Yu County has limited arable land, but vast sloping land. Planting medicinal herbs and beans is the best strategy to adapt to local conditions.

Seeing this, Sun Muliao scoffed and jokingly said, "Although there's plenty of sloping land, it still needs to be cultivated and taxed. An acre of land can only produce three or four dou of soybeans, and a dou of beans is only seventy or eighty wen. The sloping land costs two hundred wen a year in rent. What will they eat after paying that?"

Qian Muliao frowned and said unhappily, "Can you finish reading it first?"

County Magistrate Zhou also glanced at his staff member Sun calmly: "Mr. Sun, take a look first."

Upon hearing this, Sun Muliao's face flushed slightly, and he nodded and looked down.

Fu Wei also clearly wrote below that after the herbs were planted, an escort team composed of government officials and common people would purchase them and send them to the north. On the way back, they would purchase local herbs and sell them in the south.

In this way, the car will not be empty during a round trip, and you can earn double the profit.

The next scroll of bamboo slips also stated that the tax in the first three years of reclamation was less than 100 coins, and planting soybeans was a temporary solution to food and clothing. Soybeans are easy to care for, and it allows people to have more time to grow herbs.

Three years later, the people had some extra money, so they could rent better farmland or reclaim new land. Naturally, they no longer had to use sloping land to grow soybeans.

The third volume suggests that the people could first owe rent and then pay it after the harvest next year, while also charging a percentage of interest.

These three volumes clearly describe all the strategies.

After reading it, Sun Muliao frowned, but said nothing more.

Qian Muliao put down the bamboo slips and looked at Fu Wei: "Is the demand for medicinal materials really that large?"

Fu Wei smiled faintly, "Where there are people, there will be people who get sick. The use of medicine peaks in spring and winter. Even though Yu County is a small county, it still has six or seven thousand people. Even if the average annual use of medicine per thousand people is half a pound, that's still five hundred pounds. Let alone a large county with multiple prefectures."

County Magistrate Zhou glanced at Fu Wei and thought to himself that he had not been completely clueless these past few days.

Sun Muliao scoffed, "Not everyone gets sick. Even the poor can't afford medicine. If they get sick, they just bear it and get over it. How could they possibly need so much medicine?"

Fu Wei looked at him calmly and replied slowly, "So, I just said a thousand people."

Sun's staff was speechless for a moment.

County Magistrate Zhou looked at his assistant Sun and sighed secretly.

After all, I was born and raised in Yu County and have never been out to see the world, so my horizons are limited.

The reason we hired him was because we had just arrived in Yu County and were unfamiliar with the area, so we needed a local to take care of things. That's why we recruited the most knowledgeable local gentleman.

But three years later, this staff member Sun was too obsessed with the power of this small piece of land in Yu County.

The vision and mind are too narrow.

Qian Muliu glanced at Fu Wei, then looked at the Lord: "I think this strategy is worth further refinement."

It is quite interesting that Qian's staff all think it is feasible.

*

Yu Ying finished preparing twenty bottles of facial cream, and it was already 2:45 PM.

Fu Wei's shift ended at noon, so even if he was delayed on the way, he should have been back by a quarter past noon. The fact that he hadn't returned by then was truly worrying, so Yu Ying took Fu Ning with her and went to the government office to look for him.

As soon as I walked out of the alley, I saw Fu Wei coming back.

Yu Ying went to push the wheelchair and asked him, "Why are you back so late?"

Fu Wei said, "It's too late to discuss matters today. My Lord asked me to go to the yamen at 3:00 PM."

It’s Wei time, and there’s still more than half an hour to go.

"Then can't the break be longer?"

The two of them went back home while talking.

After washing his hands, Fu Wei walked back to the main hall and saw twenty jars of facial cream placed there. He asked, "Didn't you say you would prepare a hundred jars?"

Yu Ying said, "The pottery jars made in Yu County are crude in style. I thought facial cream can be made anywhere, so I'll make it when I go to Cangwu County. I can pick out some nice-looking pottery jars while I'm there."

Fu Wei thought briefly and asked, "Wouldn't that mean I'd be gone for ten days?"

Yu Ying thought about it and nodded: "It's about the same time. It will take six days to go back and forth. If there are any villages along the way, I can spend some money to stay overnight."

Fu Wei frowned slightly.

Yu Ying knew why he frowned, so she smiled and said, "Don't worry, we will be vigilant. I will bring the powder and the crossbow, and my eldest brother will come with us. Don't forget that after your training, my eldest brother can fight seven people at once."

Fu Wei didn't want her to go, but he also knew that she made her decision after careful consideration and she had her own ideas.

He exhaled and said solemnly, "As I said before, be careful in everything you do."

Yu Ying nodded: "I will."

*

Yu Ying found an oxcart to go to Cangwu County. Because the journey was long, the round trip price was eighty cents, and food and accommodation were also included.

Yu Ying only agreed to provide accommodation, allowing him to share space with his eldest brother Song Sanlang. As for food, he only gave him two cents a day, and if that didn't work out, he would find someone else.

Needless to say, the man finally agreed.

Today, my eldest brother and his friends arrived in the county town. After having lunch at home, they all changed into old clothes.

After all, they still know the principle of not showing off one's wealth.

Although their new clothes were not good ones, they had no patches and looked new. It was obvious that they had some money at home.

It's hard not to worry that some people may become afraid of poverty and have bad intentions, so it's better to be cautious.

But the eldest brother's old clothes were unbearable to look at, so in the end they had to wear Song Sanlang's old clothes, while Yu Ying and the eldest sister-in-law wore Luo's old clothes.

Although the figure is different, it fits me well.

Before leaving, Fu Wei called Yu Ying into the house.

Fu Wei felt a little uncomfortable seeing Yu Ying wearing clothes full of patches, and he looked away after just one glance.

He said to her, "Even if the cream doesn't sell, don't be discouraged. We'll find another way when you come back."

Yu Ying joked, "Good wine needs no bush."

After the two exchanged a smile, Yu Ying said seriously, "I've also thought about losing money on this trip, but even if I do, I can afford it."

She will not hesitate to take action because of the fear of losing money. She would rather take a risk than stand still.

"They're all waiting. I'm leaving now."

Yu Ying smiled, turned around and started to leave, but suddenly a low voice came from behind her: "A Ying."

Yu Ying paused and turned to look at him.

Fu Wei's dark eyes were filled with tenderness: "I'll be waiting here for you to come back."

Meeting those eyes, Yu Ying's heart trembled slightly, and then she nodded slightly: "Yeah."

She responded and turned around, a faint smile playing on the corner of her lips.

Yu Ying left. Even though there were people talking in the yard and the noise of children and adults next door, Fu Wei still felt it was very quiet, just like the night she left the yard.