Chapter 89

89

Before Shen Yuntang went to pick up his cousin the next day, his cousin came over with his bags on his back.

Seeing that their faces were still not looking good, Shen Yuntang thought that it was probably because they were not fully recovered and were in a hurry to travel. He worriedly asked them to go into the house and sit down. "Why don't you wait for me to pick you up?"

"If I can't even walk this short distance, how can I go to the county town to work with you in the future?" Liu Ya no longer had the dying feeling she had yesterday, and she felt much better.

My cousin’s name is Lu Wei, and she still looks a little half dead, but the fact that she came here shows that she still has a heart that wants to change. It’s hard enough for her to take the first step, and the rest can come later.

The Shen family has enough rooms. The second and fourth brothers are not at home, so their rooms have been preserved. My parents said that when the eldest sister-in-law gives birth to a child, the children can live in one room. After the third brother gets married, they will connect the third and fourth brothers' rooms to make a big room for the third brother and his family to live in.

Now Liuya and Luwei live in the rooms of the second and fourth brothers.

Seeing that Lu Wei was weak, Shen Yuntang planned to go back and nourish her. In the evening, Shen's mother killed a chicken and stewed it for them.

There's nothing good about this. Killing a chicken is already the highest treatment they can offer to their guests.

The night before leaving, Shen Yuntang gave his parents five taels of silver.

If the family did not sell tofu and dried tofu, they would only have an income of five taels of silver a year. Now Shen Yuntang has only been away for five months, and he has come back with five taels of silver. This is already a huge sum of money.

When his parents saw him taking the silver, they quickly closed the door and said to him in a low voice, "Take it back, we don't want it. Be careful or Cheng Yeran will find out and quarrel with you. He is a good kid. He took the initiative to give his tofu and dried bean curd business to our family. You can't use his money to support the family anymore."

My parents have lived for so many years and have seen many cases where couples have conflicts, quarrels, and even fights because of supporting the wife's family. They don't want to see Shen Yuntang and Cheng Yeran become enemies.

"Life is not easy for the two of you. Although he loves you now, you can't suck blood from him. Mom and dad don't want your money. We will be satisfied as long as you treat him well." Mother wrapped up the silver and stuffed it into Shen Yuntang's hand, asking him to put the money back quickly while Cheng Yeran didn't know yet.

"Dad and Mom, don't worry. This is something we discussed between the two of us. He was even the one who brought it up first. He knew I was embarrassed to mention giving you money, so he took the money on his own initiative." Shen Yuntang explained to his parents.

"You can't take it even if he offers it. What if he is testing you? Even if he agrees now, what if he gets angrier and angrier in the future? When you two quarrel in the future, this matter will become a topic for him to hold against you. Mom and Dad are not short of money, you should take it back quickly." Not only have Mom and Dad seen too many quarrels in other people's families, but sometimes when they quarrel, they will talk about what they have done for each other. They are obviously talking about this matter, but when they mention the past contributions to each other, people can't get angry, otherwise they would be considered heartless.

"Our business is doing well, and I earned this money with my own hands. What's wrong with me being filial to my parents?" Shen Yuntang didn't dare to think so at first, because the feudal ideas were deeply rooted in his mind. This was what Cheng Yeran said to him. After saying it several times, he also believed that his parents were the ones who gave birth to him and raised him, and the people he should be most filial to should not be his in-laws, but his own parents.

And now that he doesn't have parents-in-law, he should be even more filial to his parents.

"If other people ask me how much I earn, I definitely cannot tell them. But I won't hide it from my parents. My noodle shop can earn more than ten taels of silver a month. I only took half a month's income. You don't have to worry." In order to reassure his parents, Shen Yuntang told them how much money the noodle shop earned.

However, he still concealed the money from the sausages and soy milk soap. He could now earn about one or two taels of silver from the sausages every day. They were not only sold as a cooked dish in the noodle shop, but had become wholesalers. He had contracted the sausage supply for 70 percent of the restaurants in the entire county.

Since his store added sausages, other stores have followed suit. Sausages can not only be used as a side dish with wine, but can also be used as a presentable cold dish at banquets. It is also very convenient and can be served on the table simply by slicing. Both adults and children love to eat them.

Outside the county, there are occasionally merchants from other places coming to buy sausages, but the shelf life of the sausages is not long enough, especially when the weather is hot, they will go bad after a few days, so they can only be sold to a few surrounding counties.

However, soy milk soap is not easy to spoil and its price is relatively high. How much they can earn each month depends on how many bars of soap Yuanbao can make. After deducting Yuanbao's commission and Ye Gou's and Fourth Brother's wages, they can still make a lot of money from each bar of soap.

Their family's savings have reached over a thousand taels.

Cheng Yeran also plans to open a soy milk soap shop before the new soap is produced.

But he didn't tell his parents about this because he was afraid they might let it slip and let other people in the village know.

But a dozen taels of silver a month is already a lot for my parents. "To earn so much money, you have to be so busy every day. No wonder you are so thin when you come back this time. Your two brothers and sisters are not strong either. You should take your cousin with you. At least he is a man with strength and can help you more."

Shen Yuntang quickly shook his head, "He is restless and has a bad temper. It doesn't matter what he does to me. If he offends a customer, that would be bad."

My parents didn't know how to open a store in the county town, so they couldn't give any advice. They told Shen Yuntang to be careful and not to show off his wealth. Their business was booming, which could easily attract jealousy, so he had to be careful in everything.

Shen Yuntang was very touched. His parents used to be quiet people, and this was the first time he heard them express such caring words to him.

Maybe his parents are old and their personalities have changed a little, or maybe their parents used to think they were children and were embarrassed to express their emotions in front of a weak child. Now that they see he is making money in business and is considered promising, their parents have put him in a higher position and are willing to express themselves.

In the end, his parents finally accepted the money he gave them, but they wanted to save it for Shen Yuntang. They heard that business could be profitable or loss-making, and many people had lost their entire fortunes and could only beg on the streets. If their business lost money one day, they could return the saved money to Shen Yuntang.

Shen Yuntang didn't know what his parents were thinking, he was just happy that his parents were finally willing to accept his money.

He had discussed with Cheng Yeran that he would give his parents a sum of money every time he went home. For now, he would give a smaller amount as he was afraid his parents would not accept too much. He would increase the amount after his parents gradually became familiar with the amount.

In fact, Cheng Yeran also told Shen Yuntang that if he went to the capital to be an official in the future, or was transferred to be an official in the local area, he would bring his parents over after they had established themselves. If they were unwilling to go, he could build a large and luxurious house for them in the countryside, buy more land, and hire others to help his parents farm.

From this point of view, Cheng Yeran really loves him. He not only shares everything he has with him, but also thinks about his family.

Shen Yuntang came out of his parents' room and on his way back to his own room, he became more and more moved the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

He wanted to calm down at the door before going in. He was too fond of crying. He would cry when he was bullied and when he saw other people's miserable experiences. He couldn't help crying when he dared to move.

He felt that he was too weak, but if Cheng Yeran knew about this, he would definitely tell him that shedding tears was a way of detoxifying. Others laughed at you for being weak, but you laughed at him for being full of toxins and short-lived.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuntang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at at the door? Did something interesting happen?" Cheng Yeran heard laughter at the door, walked over and opened the door, then saw Shen Yuntang with red eyes.

"What's wrong? Were you scolded by your parents?" Cheng Yeran asked anxiously. Before he understood the situation, Shen Yuntang threw himself into his arms and hugged him.

It is very rare for Shen Yuntang to be as proactive as he was today. Something must have happened to him.

Nanfeng

Cheng Yeran quickly carried the person in, closed the door, and asked him worriedly, "What happened? Don't worry about me."

Shen Yuntang was unable to speak. He grabbed Cheng Yeran's clothes bag and played with it. "Nothing, just some insignificant things."

"Your eyes are red, how can it be an insignificant matter?" The more Cheng Yeran didn't say anything, the more serious the matter became.

"It's okay," he raised his head and looked at Cheng Yeran with his beautiful eyes, "I want to do it."

"!!!" Cheng Yeran's eyes suddenly widened, he raised his hand and slapped himself, "I'm not dreaming, how could you say such a thing? Where did you come from, little devil, you disguised yourself as my wife and come to seduce me? I won't be fooled!"

"What nonsense are you talking about again?" Shen Yuntang was so angry that he bit his lip and said, "Just forget it."

"Of course I will." Cheng Yeran hugged him excitedly, "But didn't you say the soundproofing is not good? Aren't you afraid of being heard by others?"

"Keep your voice down..." Shen Yuntang said weakly with a red face.

…

They set off the next day, and their uncle came over specially, saying that the two children left in a hurry and forgot to bring some things with them, so he would bring them over.

The fact that he was giving gifts was fake, but the real reason was that he couldn't bear to leave his two children behind.

He originally thought that if the two children married into the same village, he could still see them on weekdays, but the county town was far away and he didn't know how many times he could see them in a year.

He secretly gave each of the two children a few coins. His uncle's family was not well off at the time, and this was money he squeezed out of his own teeth.

When I gave it to them, I specifically told them not to tell their older brother, otherwise their older brother would make a scene and throw things at home again.

The uncle also told the two children that they must listen to Shen Yuntang when they arrived in the county town, and not to run around and get lost, as there were many bad guys and human traffickers in the county town, so they should not go out unless necessary, and should not cause trouble, and remember to eat.

My uncle used to be a quiet person at home, and when he spoke he often cursed people while caring in his heart. But now that his two children are leaving, he can't help but say a lot.

My uncle's conversation took some time, and as there were so many people, the donkey cart moved slowly. It was around three o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived at their home in the county town.

Yuanbao and his friends make soap at home. Now Yuanbao dresses like a boy whether he is at home or outside.

Cheng Yeran once said to him and he always remembered it: only by deceiving yourself can you deceive others. He must always remember that he is a good man, so as not to be exposed.

Before Shen Yuntang and his friends left, they told Yuanbao that they wanted to invite his cousin and his wife over, but what they brought back was a boy and a girl, which made Yuanbao a little confused.

Liuya and Luwei's experiences made them hate men. Now they saw Yuanbao dressed like a boy. They knew each other from the same village before, so they thought Yuanbao was a boy and had no wariness towards him.

Fourth brother is also their cousin, so they would not be wary of him. It’s just that Tugen and Ye Gou made them feel a little resistant. As for Cheng Yeran, except for greeting each other when they met, they didn’t say a word to Cheng Yeran along the way.

Cheng Yeran also knew his position. It didn’t matter if they were not close to him, as long as they listened to Shen Yuntang.

"You two live in these two rooms," Shen Yuntang assigned rooms to them. There were exactly five rooms. But before, all the people living here were men, and now with the addition of boys and girls it was a little inconvenient. But everyone was a relative, and their character was guaranteed, so there was no need to worry about them doing anything bad to their cousins. As for their daily lives, they kept the doors closed and no one could see each other, so it didn't matter.

When Liu Ya heard that she would live in a room of her own, she was quite excited and ran over to look at her room. "Such a big room, but I am the only one living there? Isn't that a waste?"

"Maybe we'll hire more people in the future, either husbands or wives, so it will be more convenient for you to live in." Shen Yuntang felt that it was a little inconvenient for everyone to live in the same yard. Fortunately, the yard was big. Should he build a separate small yard?

Shen Yuntang said to Lu Wei, "Tugen's sister will come over in a few days. You two can stay in one room. I will ask the carpenter to make bunk beds for you. This way you can avoid the embarrassment of sleeping on the same bed."

"What's embarrassing about this? I can do anything as long as others don't look down on me." Lu Wei's every word revealed inferiority, but she seemed to be in a much better mood than before. Although her appetite today was still small, it was normal.

Everything was going in a good direction, and Shen Yuntang was quite happy.

"You guys take a rest first. I'll help you make sausages tomorrow." Shen Yuntang went to the kitchen to finish cooking. Lu Wei and Liu Ya hurried over. "I'll help you make it."

Yuanbao also wanted to go over to help, but Cheng Yeran called him over.

"Cousin, what do you want me to do?" Yuanbao thought he was going to ask about the soap. "I haven't been lazy these past two days. I signed a big order and sold 300 pieces of soymilk soap in one go. It was ordered by a merchant from the south. Uncle Zhou will print the packaging in two days. He will take it away after he packs it for him."

Yuan Bao put the deposit that the man gave on the table, "He gave one-third of the deposit."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I want to open a shop for you." Cheng Yeran asked him, "If I let you be the shopkeeper, do you have the confidence to do it well?"

Yuan Bao was stunned by the news. "Open a shop for me. I can definitely run it well. You are my cousin. You have already given me a lot of commissions. Now you want to open a shop for me. I even suspect that you are my real brother. No, my real father!"

Cheng Yeran clicked his tongue, "Don't be so smooth-talking. I've seen your abilities over this period of time. Setting up a stall still doesn't look formal. You still need to open a shop. Buyers will think the soap is more upscale and more worth the price. And I don't just want to open this one. I want to open our shops all over the country so that everyone can use our soap, and only our soap. When they think of other soaps, they will think they are cheap brands, not good to use, and not trustworthy."

He read the laws of this world, and since there were no regulations regarding monopolies, he could do whatever he wanted.

Yuan Bao didn't expect his cousin to be so ambitious. "But can we achieve such a big success with just a small workshop of three people?"

"I'll hire a few people to help you." Cheng Yeran originally wanted to buy a soap factory and directly use their workers and tools for mass production.

But in that era, everything was made by hand without machines, so if we bought the soap factory, we could only get a group of skilled workers. Moreover, most of the soap factories in the county were family-owned businesses, so it was impossible to sell to them.

These skilled workers can also be trained by themselves, and those trained by themselves have strong stickiness.

Shen Yuntang invited the two of them to dinner. After hearing their conversation, he thought about the past few days and asked, "Why not recruit some boys and girls to help?"

"Indeed, I remember that many brands use this as a gimmick. For example, a certain brand of wine is said to be made from grapes stepped on by girls' feet. And tea is also picked by girls themselves. Our soap also uses this gimmick, made by guys and girls themselves." Cheng Yeran said jokingly.

"I don't just want a gimmick, I just think it's too difficult for boys and girls to live in this world. If they can make some money, they can live easier." Shen Yuntang said.

"Your idea is great, but there's a problem. I originally thought that we could hire a store manager or open stores all over the country through franchising. However, all products have to be shipped from here. If we hire boys and girls, we can teach them the skills, but when they leave, we can't take them with us. That would be a waste of our efforts in training them."

Women and boys of this era cannot go wherever they want like in the future. They cannot travel far away by themselves. Men can go anywhere, but only a few are willing to go out and explore. Most people prefer a stable life.

If they were left here, it would be difficult for them to keep their skills under the current feudal system. If they got married, their jobs might be taken away by their husbands. At first, Shen Yuntang wanted to give the girls and boys a skill to make money and make a living, but in the end, it would still be taken away by men. It was difficult to keep this original intention.

After they leave, they are far away and cannot be managed in real time, which will cause many problems.

All three of them were silent for a moment.

"Let's eat first and think about it later." Shen Yuntang didn't want to make things difficult for Cheng Yeran. The most important thing for Cheng Yeran right now was to study, and he shouldn't be bothered with business matters.

The next day in class, Yang Shiming gave Cheng Yeran four scrolls of paintings, two large ones and two small ones.

He brought Cheng Yeran to the dormitory to see the paintings during the break. Yang Shiming and Zhao Yanlin lived in the same room, so there were no outsiders around, so he was not afraid of being seen by others.

When Cheng Yeran opened the painting, he was stunned.

Nanxi

I didn't come back to my senses for a long time.

If the last painter's painting looked like a fairy, then Yang Shiming's painting was a real goddess.

Both paintings are beautiful, and their personal characteristics are very obvious. You can tell at a glance that they were painted by two different people.

Although the previous painter’s paintings were fairy-like, they still had some humanity.

Yang Shiming's portrait is glowing, and just one look at the person in the painting will purify your soul.

Yang Shiming's paintings are lively and vivid, and the embellished branches next to them seem to be blown by the wind, and the petals are falling down.

The other painting appears gentler and more kind, as if it could save people from suffering.

The previous painter's paintings have another characteristic. Many people feel seduced when they see them, and they are stimulated by the primitive desires in their hearts.

However, no matter how good-looking the person in this painting is, he will not arouse people's primitive desires. He is a pure and sacred existence, and it is more of a pious admiration.

"How is it? It's beautiful, right? I was watching him while he was painting and couldn't take my eyes off him. Ten taels of silver for a painting is really a bargain for you." Zhao Yanlin patted Cheng Yeran, who was already stunned.

"Indeed, ten taels of silver is cheap, and it would be worth a thousand taels. It's just that I can't afford that much money at the moment." Cheng Yeran had previously wanted to organize a free painting event, giving away a painting for every purchase of one thousand yuan.

But now he regretted it. How could he just give away such a good painting?

"Don't listen to his nonsense. We agreed on the price before, and it's still the same. I can't raise the price at the last minute," said Yang Shiming.

"I am planning to open a shop, and I will hang this painting in the middle of the shop so that everyone can admire how great Brother Yang's painting skills are." Cheng Yeran said.

"I hope not to sign my name." Yang Shiming had some concerns. After all, he had to take the imperial examination. If people knew that he drew packaging for vendors, he would easily be criticized.

"That's right. I also registered my business under my cousin's name. But it would be a pity if I didn't publicize Brother Yang's painting skills." Cheng Yeran thought of another thing. "Brother Yang will take the exam next year and will definitely pass. I will have to package new products in the future. I wonder if Brother Yang can still help me paint?"

"Now that you're an official, who has the time to do this for you?" Zhao Yanlin felt that doing business was not respectable and that one should immediately draw a clear line between the two after becoming an official.

But Yang Shiming said, "It's okay. I remember what he looked like. If you need me to paint him in the future, just write me a letter and I will paint according to your description."

Cheng Yeran didn't expect that he was so confident and had such a good memory that he actually memorized Yuanbao's appearance. He met Yuanbao every day, and if he was asked to draw a portrait of him now, he couldn't do it.

His memory was more useful for words, not for drawings. He thought Yang Shiming was gifted in drawing, so he could draw the ingot without looking at it.

Cheng Yeran opened the two smaller paintings again and even changed his movements carefully. The colors were not as bright as those two paintings, and the lines were not as gorgeous, but they presented a different kind of beauty.

When he returned home in the evening, he couldn't wait to show Yang Shiming's paintings to his family.

"Is this a painting of me? The clothes look like me." Although Yuanbao didn't recognize himself at first glance when he looked at the painter's painting last time, he felt familiar with it. But he couldn't recognize the painting this time at all. He thought that these words should appear on the murals in the temple, not on the soap packaging.

"The beauty of the person in the painting is almost catching up with your sister-in-law." Cheng Yeran praised his wife every day.

Shen Yuntang was also looking at the painting seriously. He didn't expect to be called out by him. He frowned and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm serious. I'm not kidding. My first reaction when I saw the painting was that the artist was really good. The person in the painting is beautiful, but not as beautiful as my wife." Cheng Yeran held his face and said, "I'm so happy. Fortunately, the painting on the package is a gold ingot. If it was my wife, I'm really afraid that others would be jealous and assassinate me if they knew that my wife is so beautiful."

Shen Yuntang: “…”