We'll plant fruit trees and flowers in the yard, and build a grape trellis. In the summer, we can lie under the trellis to cool off, and a ripe grape will fall into our mouths...

"Shuiqing, I'm back."

A clear, gentle voice, tinged with obvious joy, interrupted Shui Qing's pleasant thoughts.

She looked up and saw Fan Jin, dressed in a long robe, standing tall and elegant in front of her. His fair face was flushed with a thin layer of red, and he exuded a simple and honest aura.

Uh, she's twenty-eight years old, how can she still have such a naive and foolish air about her?

Fortunately, he later took charge of education and dealt with students, which made things much simpler.

"How much are the calligraphy brushes?" Shuiqing asked with concern.

Seeing that she didn't share his joy, Fan Jin felt a pang of inexplicable disappointment. However, he quickly composed himself and clearly reported his findings: "The bookstore owner said the calligraphy brushes are of excellent quality. He wants a large quantity as long as we have them, and they are of the same quality and appearance."

The prices offered were 130 cash for a small bottle, 150 cash for a medium bottle, and 180 cash for a large bottle. I thought these prices were quite good, so I agreed.

After saying that, he asked again, somewhat anxiously, "What do you think?"

He wasn't very good at negotiating prices, and he didn't know if the price met Shuiqing's expectations.

Shui Qing was thinking that the bookstore owners were essentially buying goods from them, and they would make a profit by reselling them; that was the purchase price.

This purchase price is quite good.

He nodded in agreement.

Fan Jin had been observing Shui Qing's expression. Seeing her nod in approval, he smiled with relief and pointed to the oxcart grazing not far behind him as he continued his report: "One hundred and fifty writing brushes were sold for a total of twenty-three taels of silver."

This ox is in its prime, capable of pulling five or six hundred catties without a problem, and cost thirteen taels of silver;

There happened to be some finished products on the cart. They cost one tael of silver, and I have nine taels left. Here, take them.

Fan Jin's decision to hand over the silver was perfectly reasonable, and Shui Qing's acceptance of the silver was equally justified.

Although their savings only increased by nine taels, they acquired a very valuable possession today—an oxcart!

Shui Qing was very satisfied.

The price of the calligraphy brushes was better than she expected, meaning that in seven days, three hundred brushes would fetch forty-six taels of silver, and if nothing unexpected happened, the house might be completed before winter arrived.

Pshaw, pshaw, pshaw! You can't say things like "nothing will happen" because things often turn out to be unexpected!

Sure enough, the next moment, Fan Jin said worriedly, "Shuiqing, I saw my elder brother and cousin in the prefectural city."

Shui Qing: .....That's Fan Qian and Fan Damu, the most shrewd man in Shanshui Village.

“The two of them weren’t close before, and I suspect they went to the prefectural city because of us.” After saying this, Fan Jin realized he was being petty and making unfounded assumptions about others.

After all, anyone can go to the prefectural city, so it's perfectly normal for my eldest brother and cousin to go.

Clear water won't be considered normal.

Entering the prefectural city required a two-coin entry fee, which was something that rural families were reluctant to spend easily.

Unless it's something very important, the people of Shanshui Village only spend two coins a year when they need to go to the city to buy New Year's goods before the Lunar New Year.

It's neither a New Year nor a festival, yet Fan Qian and Fan Damu are heading to the prefectural city together; Fan Jin isn't overthinking it.

She looked at Fan Jin, telling him to be prepared: "They can't take the water chestnuts away, but once they find out about your 'classmate acquisition,' it will likely be exposed."

"I've thought it over. When the time comes, I'll just say that I randomly picked a fake story to say, just in case someone with ulterior motives tries to steal our acquisition business." Fan Jin pursed his lips, a hint of sadness in his heart.

Unexpectedly, the ones who dragged him down and couldn't stand to see him succeed were his own older brother and cousin.