Chapter 054: Crossing the Line

Wen Yan went to the cashier's office to settle the bill and prepared to leave.

It was the concierge who brought them in and showed them the way.

The doorman reminded him, "School will be over in a quarter of an hour. Madam Wen, would you like to wait for Mr. Ying to finish school and go home together?"

"Are they going to finish school so soon?" Wen Yan looked at Meng Chifei, "What do you think, sister?"

Meng Chifei shrugged nonchalantly: "I'm fine with anything. I don't have anything else to do this afternoon anyway."

Wen Yan thought that since it was already this late, it would be unreasonable not to wait for him.

They went to Huimo Gallery and waited.

The two of them had nothing to do, so they read the articles one by one.

Meng Chifei started his education at the age of three, and by the age of ten he had memorized the Four Books and Five Classics and military books.

But her heart was not in studying literature.

Asking her to quote from classics is harder than asking her to win the title of martial arts champion.

But if you ask her to explain the art of war, she can talk very clearly and without stopping for a long time.

so,

The collection of articles on current affairs in the corridor made her dizzy and almost cross-eyed.

She was bored and pointed at the article and said, "This character is beautiful, like a golden pheasant shaking its feathers."

After a while, he pointed to the article and said, "This character is powerful, just like my father's sword chopping off the enemy's neck."

When the doorman heard the first half of the sentence, he covered his mouth and laughed; when he heard the second half, his face changed, and he felt a chill on his neck, and the blood in his body was squeezed out.

Afraid of hearing something even more terrifying, he quickly found an excuse and left.

It didn't take long before the academy rang the bell to signal the end of class.

After a while, students came out in groups of three or five.

When they passed Huimo Gallery, they saw two women standing inside, and they all took the initiative to take a detour and leave.

There were also kind-hearted people who asked them if they needed help from a distance of three to five meters.

When they heard that they were waiting for Ying Zhilin, someone took the initiative to help find him.

Wen Yan thanked them.

Soon, Ying Zhilin was pulled over by two students.

"Why are you in the academy?" Ying Zhilin strode towards Wen Yan.

"I was delivering paint to the academy. After I finished, the doorman said it was almost time to leave, so I decided to wait for you before going back. I hope I didn't disturb you!"

Ying Zhilin shook his head.

Not only did it not disturb him, but it gave him the feeling that it was a normal thing, like a wife coming specially to pick up her husband from school.

At this time, two more students came up and said, "Brother Ying, won't you introduce yourself to us?"

Ying Zhilin introduced them to each other.

These two students, one surnamed Yang and the other surnamed Sun, were both good classmates of Ying Zhilin.

When they got married, these two ran around to help arrange it, otherwise the wedding would not have been so decent and smooth.

Wen Yan thought about preparing a gift another day and asking Ying Zhilin to deliver it as a thank you for their help.

Ying Zhilin listened carefully: "I'm not good at dealing with people, I'll follow your instructions on everything."

On the way down the mountain, Wen Yan talked about buying a mountain, building a house and setting up a workshop.

Ying Zhilin had already expected that Wen Yan would open a workshop, otherwise it would take years and years to turn the pile of ore at home into pigments with only a few people in the family.

But when Wen Yan said he wanted to make ink, Ying Zhilin was still shocked.

"Can you make ink?"

"I can't, but Hui Niang can. Her family has an ancestral craft of making ink, and she has been exposed to it since she was a child, so she naturally learns it."

Ying Zhilin was a little surprised at Hui Niang's ability, but he didn't ask too much.

It is better to do it now than to wait for a better day, so they decided to go back to the village and talk to the patriarch about buying land.

Unexpectedly, Patriarch Ying was not at home.

The old wife of the Ying clan leader said, "Someone from the county government came today and hurriedly took the man away. I'm afraid he won't be back until dark."

Wen Yan and his team returned empty-handed and planned to deal with the matter after returning from the capital.

After arriving home, Wen Yan began to distribute the money from selling the paint.

She first deducted one-third of the cost and then gave Ying Zhilin ten taels of silver as an introduction fee.

The rest was pure profit, which she and Meng Chifei split equally: "You found most of the ore, so we'll each have half."

"Humph, since I found most of the ore, shouldn't I get a bigger share of the profits?"

Wen Yan pinched her cheeks and shook her left and right: "Can I give myself to you too?"

"Okay, okay! Give yourself to me, and then what's yours will be mine, and what's mine will still be mine."

"Tsk tsk tsk, black-hearted businessman."

The two of them were bickering back and forth, and the issue of dividing the money did not affect their relationship at all.

Meng Chifei returned the money he had earned to Wen Yan: "Put it all in the account. I'm going to open a calligraphy and painting shop soon, and I need money everywhere. This is my initial investment."

Wen Yan was about to say that there was no need for so much, but Meng Chifei ran away: "I'll go ask Hui Niang what to eat tonight."

Only Wen Yan and Ying Zhilin were left in the study.

Wen Yan took out the account book and started to keep accounts.

Ying Zhilin sat opposite her and showed no intention of leaving.

Wen Yan put the silver into the box and asked without looking up, "Do you have anything else to talk to me about?"

Ying Zhilin said, "Just now after class, the headmaster came to see me."

"He told you about the ink stick." Wen Yan looked up at him.

Ying Zhilin hummed softly, "I've seen that ink stick. It's quite rare and precious, isn't it?"

Wen Yan said: "It's not cheap, but it's not outrageously expensive either."

"That's too much of a waste for you. Principal Ji is actually..."

Wen Yan didn't let Ying Zhilin finish his words.

She said, "We are partners, and these personal interactions are what I should do."

The word "partner" made Ying Zhilin swallow the word "master".

"If you do something like this again, please let me know in advance."

Wen Yan paused as she locked the box and looked at Ying Zhilin: "Did my behavior today cause you any trouble?"

Facing Wen Yan's anxious eyes, Ying Zhilin's tone softened again: "That's not the case. Although Shanzhang Ji is strict, he is kind-hearted and won't be angry about it. You are generous and wealthy, but how can I let you bear the pressure of my affairs alone?"

Does Ying Zhilin feel that he has crossed the line?

Thinking about my recent behavior, paying back the family division silver and sending ink ingots to the headmaster, it was indeed a bit too much to take on.

Although her selfish intention was to apologize for her past life self, she was indeed a little too hasty and abrupt, which made Ying Zhilin feel uncomfortable.

Partners must maintain a proper distance to ensure a pleasant cooperation!

Wen Yan quickly corrected her attitude in her heart and solemnly promised him: "I understand, I will pay attention to it in the future."

Wen Yan smiled again: "I like that you speak directly without beating around the bush. It saves a lot of trouble in communication."

Do you want to speak frankly?

Ying Zhilin really wanted to ask her, who was the husband she called when she was drunk?

Where did she go with him?

Why did you become a medicine boy?

...and why did she separate from him and marry me.

She married me and formed a partnership with me, also for him?

These questions turned over and over in his mind, and finally none of them