Chapter 242 How

"Hey, don't go! I won't talk about men anymore, okay?"

Sister-in-law Tian followed her out. "You really don't like men. Well, I won't say anything more then. Remember to give me some bitter beans."

Song Chunxue came out of their house and said, "I'll get it for you right away."

“Alright,” Sister Tian said with a smile, standing at the door. “Then I’ll wait here.”

In fact, Song Chunxue could tell that she just wanted to find someone to talk to, but because of her sharp tongue and unwillingness to suffer losses, not many people around her were willing to associate with her.

Otherwise, given her personality, she certainly wouldn't be the type to back down and try to get close to her again after a past grudge.

She scooped a bowl of bitter beans from a large porcelain jar in the kitchen and took it out to the yard.

"You're such a kind person, giving me so much, enough to eat for a year." Aunt Tian took the bowl, turned around, and ran into the yard. "Wait a minute."

When it came out again, there was half a bowl of brown sugar in it.

Brown sugar is worth far more than bitter beans. "I don't need these; I'm not trying to trade with you for anything..."

Aunt Tian pushed her around, saying, "Oh, just take it. Don't be so polite with me. Come often in the future."

She turned around and found that she had already closed the courtyard gate and gone back inside.

Song Chunxue sighed helplessly; she really was an unpredictable social butterfly.

After returning home, she scooped out two more bowls of sweet fermented rice and delivered them to Lord Xie's house.

Lord Xie is not home; the servant is sweeping the yard.

On her way back, she passed by a general store, went inside and picked out a few white-glazed porcelain basins decorated with goldfish. They were of different sizes, but all were very practical.

After that, she sewed clothes at home.

The fourth brother wasn't home, so she had lunch alone. It was a rare treat for her, so she cut up a bowl of cold noodles, ate some sweet fermented rice and steamed buns, and that was it.

When Sanwa returned from school that evening, his clothes had just been finished being sewn.

"Mother, didn't you go out for a walk today?"

Song Chunxue got out of bed, picked up her clothes, and said, "I went out and bought a few porcelain basins. There's nothing else to see. Try them on quickly, and we can fix them if anything doesn't look right."

Sanwa put on the clothes, bent down to smooth out the wrinkles, and smiled like a flower. "Mother, it fits perfectly. The fabric is very comfortable. It's expensive for a reason."

"Yes, that's right. At first glance, you look like a rich young master. Your hair should also have a nice hairpin. I'll go buy one tomorrow."

Sanwa took off his new clothes. "No need to buy more. The wooden hairpin is fine. I'll go hang up the clothes."

Seeing the three children jump off the platform, Song Chunxue smiled with relief.

Her third son no longer resembled a shepherd boy; he had become a true scholar.

After feeding the livestock, Song Chunxue cooked, and Sanwa tended the fire.

"By the way, Mother, my sister and second brother don't know we've moved yet. If they write to us in the future, they might not receive our letters. Should I write a letter to them to let them know that we've changed our address?"

Sanwa bent down and used a fire poker to pick firewood, saying, "In case my sister is bullied at her husband's house, she might want to come back and stay for a while."

"Okay, then write two letters and I'll mail them another day." Song Chunxue looked at him and said, "You're quite considerate of your sister."

Sanwa smiled shyly, "That's my sister. She's my only sister."

Song Chunxue told him that she would be helping Yao Man greet guests in three days. Sanwa just looked up at her and didn't say anything.

"Say something, should I go or not?"

Sanwa said thoughtfully, "I think it's good that Mother is gone, but this time, Mother must ask clearly whether she is borrowing your money or going into business with you."

"If it's a partnership, we must make sure to clarify how the profits will be calculated. If she's unwilling to discuss it, Mother can wait until she makes money and then return the lent money."

"If she's just taking advantage of my mother being from the countryside and not knowing anything, and she doesn't want to pay back the money, then it's best to be cautious about associating with this kind of person in the future."

Hearing his eloquent explanation, Song Chunxue nodded in agreement.

“Sanwa is right. I’ll test her tomorrow. If she doesn’t treat me like one of her own, but asks me to look after her guests, then I’ll see. After all, I’m just a woman, and most of the guests that day will be men. I’ve thought about it carefully, and her purpose is clearly to make me play an unsavory role among the men.”

She initially thought it was simple and even bought fabric to make clothes. But when she was sewing clothes in the afternoon, she realized what was going on.

Sanwa nodded, "That's right. I think that although Aunt Yao is grateful to Mother for helping us in our time of need, she still looks down on us. When she took the initiative to ask for Master Xie's calligraphy that day, I didn't have a good impression of her."

These words enlightened Song Chunxue.

"Yes, Third Brother sees things clearly; he's really grown up."

Sanwa touched his ear. "It's just that those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."

*

The next day, when she went to add hay to the donkey pen, she discovered that the donkey was about to give birth.

If you count the days, it'll be in the next few days.

Afterwards, she changed into a more presentable outfit and went out, wearing the earrings her fourth sister had given her.

When she arrived at Yao Man's tavern, she saw Yao Man chatting and laughing with a man with a chubby waist.

Judging from the man's melon-shaped hat and the beaded string in his hand, he must be a wealthy person.

He would touch Yao Man's hand from time to time, and even pat her lower back.

Song Chunxue quickly looked away, wondering if she should still go over.

Just as she was pondering whether to turn back, Yao Man called out, "Sister Song, Sister Song, come in and sit down."

Song Chunxue then looked up, pretending to have just seen her, and smiled at her.

The man with the waist of a water vat, seeing someone approaching, weighed the string of beads in his hand and left.

When he saw Song Chunxue, his squinty eyes looked her up and down several times.

Song Chunxue did not avoid his gaze, and followed suit, looking him up and down, before landing her disdainful gaze on his waist.

The man glared at her fiercely.

Seeing the man's round back, Song Chunxue smiled.

Indeed, when interacting with people, it's best to act as a mirror. It's a give-and-take situation, letting the other person see what kind of person you are, which will surely make them furious.

"What are you laughing at? You seem so happy today, is there some good news?"

Yao Man pulled her hand and walked inside, calling out to the kitchen, "Cook two dishes and call for Sister Song."

"You don't need to do that. I ate before I came, so why waste those two dishes?"

Yao Man laughed and said, "Alright, come out and get to know everyone. This is your second boss. Our tavern is all thanks to Sister Song."

At this point, she said to the shop assistant, "Xiao Liu, bring the ledger over."

Song Chunxue couldn't help but look at Yao Man. Had she guessed the purpose of her visit today?

"Brew some tea for Sister Song, make sure it's good tea." Yao Man smiled as she took the ledger, opened it, and spread it on the table. "Since Sister Song is here, I have something to tell her."

"What important matter is it? I'm not very literate, you don't mean you want me to write it, do you?"

Yao Man waved her hand and smiled, "Among us women, how many can read? I wanted to talk to you about revenue sharing. If it weren't for your ten taels of silver, I wouldn't have been able to open for business so quickly."

"This shop is mine, I put everything away, and I even borrowed five taels of silver from someone. From now on, we'll split the net profit 30% for Sister Song and 70% for me, how about that?"