Niu Cuihua then smiled and placed the pearls of various sizes she had selected in front of Manager Baili, saying, "We want to sell these one hundred and twenty pearls!"

Shopkeeper Baili picked up a large pearl, examined it closely for a while, and said, "These large ones are more than twice the size of a thumb. They are pink and of decent quality, but the price is a bit higher. One tael of pearl weighs thirty taels of silver!"

As he spoke, he sorted all the pearls by size and color, adding, "These river pearls are of lower quality."

"Shopkeeper, these aren't river pearls, they're lake pearls." The little guy was an honest child.

"Lake pearls?" Manager Baili was somewhat surprised. He picked up the largest pearls and examined them. They were not only bright and lustrous, but also perfectly round and large. He smiled and said:

"Even lake pearls, as long as they're as good as river pearls, can fetch a price! These oval white ones, each weighing one tael, are worth fifteen taels."

"These..."

"That's a bit inferior; half a pound is worth four taels of silver."

Manager Baili counted on his abacus, "Twenty fine pink pearls and twenty fine white pearls, weighing a total of eight taels, worth two hundred and forty taels."

"These fifty lesser-quality pink and white pearls, weighing exactly eight ounces, total one hundred and twenty ounces."

"The remaining thirty pieces weigh less than eight ounces, only three ounces. I'll give you two ounces of silver." Although they were round, they were extremely small, smaller than a little finger. Manager Baili did not deceive the customer because he was a child.

"The total is three hundred and sixty-two taels of silver!" said Manager Baili.

"Three hundred and sixty-two taels?" But her mother said it was twelve taels a string...

Her mother probably hadn't bought much jewelry before. When she saw Huang, the granddaughter-in-law of the clan chief, wearing a pearl necklace that cost twelve taels of silver, she assumed that all pearls were only twelve taels.

A pearl necklace weighing twelve taels is extremely expensive even for ordinary people.

Manager Baili exchanged 362 taels of silver for 300 taels of silver notes and 30 taels of silver, and gave 32 strings of cash to the two sisters.

"Thank you, Manager Baili! May your business prosper and your wealth increase!" Little Fu Bao's mouth was full of compliments.

Shopkeeper Baili chuckled, "This child has such a sweet tongue!"

As Xiao Fubao and Niu Cuihua came out of the jewelry store, they were spotted by Huang Jingui and her eldest son, Zhao Guangzong.

Huang Jingui and Zhao Guangzong are Zhao Lizhang's wife and eldest son. Although Huang Jingui also has the surname Huang, she has no relation to Huang Shi, the wife of Niu Jingwen, the eldest grandson of the old clan leader.

"Mom, where are Xiao Fubao and the others doing? Are they so rich that they can buy jewelry for the kids?" Zhao Guangzong asked.

"How would I know? Why don't we go in and take a look?" Huang Jingui said.

The mother and son entered the jewelry store.

Shopkeeper Baili noticed they were unfamiliar faces, but judging from their clothes—a slightly worn jacquard fabric outfit—they didn't seem to be from a poor family. He then asked:

"Buying jewelry?"

Huang Jingui and Zhao Guangzong were completely mesmerized and lost in thought as they looked at the room full of jewelry.

"If you're going to buy something, you can pick a few items," Manager Baili loudly reminded them, bringing Huang Jingui and Zhao Guangzong back to their senses.

“We’re buying a pearl necklace,” Huang Jingui said.

Shopkeeper Baili brought out two kinds of necklaces for them to choose from. Huang Jingui looked at them and asked, "Were those two young girls here to buy necklaces too?"

"They're here to sell pearls," said Manager Baili.

“What pearls could a few children possibly sell?” Huang Jingui asked.

Upon hearing this, Manager Baili knew that this person was not genuinely interested in buying the pearl necklace. He quickly closed the jewelry box and said, "To tell you the truth, they sold it for three hundred and sixty-two taels of silver! If you're not buying pearls, go somewhere else!"

"What? Three hundred and sixty-two taels? Silver?" Silver was a rare commodity; many ordinary people had never even seen it.

Huang Jingui heard what she wanted to hear and left with Zhao Guangzong, but she felt a pang of jealousy in her heart, as it should have been hers.

"What? Three hundred and sixty-two taels?" When Shen Yu heard that those few lake pearls were more profitable than her selling pickled vegetables and running a restaurant, her jaw almost dropped in astonishment.

Little Fu Bao nodded emphatically: "Yes, Mom!"

"From now on, the older sisters can learn whatever they want and eat whatever they want. Little Fu Bao is a little money god!" Little Fu Bao turned her head and asked:

"Big sister, what do you want to learn?"

"Me? I just want to learn how to do business! I want to be the world's richest woman!"

"Where is Sister Plum Blossom?"

"I love reading! I want to be the world's greatest female poet. Even if I can't pass the imperial examinations, I still want my writings to be passed down through the ages."

"What's so fun about studying? I want to be a great general who protects our country, and I also want to be ennobled and appointed as prime minister!" Niu Baozhu said in her childish voice.

Everyone burst into laughter. "Baozhu, what kind of girl becomes a general? And even dreams of being ennobled and appointed prime minister?"

Chen Yu said, "This child keeps talking nonsense!"

Little Fu Bao also felt that Niu Bao Zhu's words were somewhat unrealistic, but she couldn't bear to discourage her third sister, so she spoke as sweetly as if coated with honey:

"Who says girls can't be generals or become high-ranking officials? There was even Hua Mulan who took her father's place in the army. Third Sister's wish will definitely come true!"

Shen Yu laughed and said, "Mulan joining the army in place of her father is just a story from a play."

Niu Baozhu, with a touch of childlike innocence, said:

"If I can't become a great general, or be ennobled and appointed prime minister, then I'll marry a great general first. After he dies in battle, I'll take over his army, fight, and then I'll be ennobled and appointed prime minister."

His words made everyone burst into laughter.

At such a young age, she wouldn't know anything about marriage. Even if she did get married, she might not be able to say so easily that she would wait until her husband died.

Little Fu Bao said, "Third Sister, you can't make wishes so casually. What if they come true? What if you really, really like that general? Would you still want him to die?"

Niu Baozhu was somewhat discouraged.

"Little Fu Bao, what do you want to do?" Niu Baolan asked.

Little Fu Bao's face showed some confusion. What did she want to do? She seemed very interested in doing business, but her older sister wanted to be the richest woman in the world, so she could only be the second richest.

However, she didn't want to be second best.

She didn't want to be a great general...

She couldn't very well say she wanted to be a freeloader, could she? Her family would laugh at her to death. She shook her head, her little head twitching with frustration.

"Well, my wish is that everyone's wishes can come true, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I'll tell you when I do! Fourth sister, what do you want to do?"

Niu Baolan whispered, "I want to learn to dance."

Their family actually had enough money to hire these masters long ago, but Niu Da hadn't listened to his daughters' ideas before.

Apart from Niu Cuihua, the other young girls didn't know how much money their family had earned, or how much it would cost to build a large restaurant next year.

"Then Daddy will invite two teachers for you, one to teach you dancing and the other to teach you martial arts. You can all learn together, how about that?" Niu Da patted Niu Baolan and Niu Baozhu's little heads and said.

The other things can be taught by the teachers in the school; there's no need to hire others.

Shen Yu retorted, "It's one thing for girls to learn to dance, but why are they learning martial arts too? Where are we going to find martial arts instructors? Will they even be able to get married in the future?"

Niu laughed loudly, "Although girls who study literature and martial arts may not become high-ranking officials or ministers, they can broaden their horizons and strengthen their bodies. If they encounter bad people, at least they can fight back. If my future son-in-law is unwilling to marry them because they know martial arts, then I'll have to consider whether it's worth entrusting my daughter to him! Haha!"

Chen Yu laughed, "Just keep spoiling him!" "The Prefect's two children are arriving tomorrow; I have to go pick them up."

“Yes, guests are guests, and besides, he paid us so much money, so we should treat him well!” Niu Dadao said.

The next day, Chen Yu waited for someone at the village entrance with three little children. Niu Da said that Ji Ninghai's letter said that the two children would arrive today.

Since you've accepted their money, you naturally have to fulfill your responsibilities.

The plain blue carriage slowly came to a stop. The little girl who had been sitting inside jumped down and helped the little boy down as well, saying, "Aunt Chen, were you waiting for us here?"

He turned and called to the driver, "You can go back now!"

Shen Yu had assumed they would bring at least two maids, but after looking around for a while, she didn't see any. She said, "Just the two of you?"

Shen Yu glanced at the younger Ji Duo. Although young, Ji Duo possessed the air of a refined young master and was quite handsome. "Good morning, Aunt Shen."

"Come inside quickly!" Chen Yu said.

"How did your father come up with the idea of ​​sending you all here to study?" Chen Yu asked eleven-year-old Ji Ying.

“Ever since my younger brother was almost abducted by human traffickers, he has become much more withdrawn. There are also many spoiled brats in the clan school. My father was afraid that he would not be able to integrate into the group, and he was also afraid that he would be led astray and develop a bad character, so he sent him here!” Ji Ying said.

Actually, her old father didn't think that much about it, and Ji Duo's personality was always bad; he didn't become withdrawn and wicked after being abducted by human traffickers.

He was afraid that his daughter-in-law, whom he had finally won over, would leave.

Previously, when Ji Ying heard about the countryside, he assumed it was a place of extreme poverty.

The Niu family's home was not as harsh as Ji Ying had imagined; on the contrary, it was a place of unique scenery, especially with dozens of trees in the backyard that were particularly fragrant when they blossomed and bore fruit.

Although this courtyard is less than a third the size of the Ji residence, it is spacious and lively with many people.

Upon entering the courtyard, behind the gate is a large shed used for pickling vegetables, where ten female workers are busy.

Behind the shed was the main building, with about ten rooms. Although the materials were not as luxurious as the vermilion towers of wealthy families, the doors were still vermilion and the windows were covered with oiled paper.

Ji Ying sat on the edge of the bed, touched it, and laughed, "Aunt Chen, isn't this lined with straw?"

She slept in a Thousand-Craft Canopy Bed, which was her mother's dowry bed. It was 2.6 meters wide and high, and 3.6 meters deep. It was lined with a silk quilt and silk fabric, and she was also covered with a silk quilt.

However, when she went to her wet nurse's house, the wet nurse said that ordinary people would put straw in their quilts as a mattress, and then put a coarse cotton mattress on top of the straw to make the quilt more comfortable.