The horse team left Qinghe Village and set off on the main road.

Lady Pingguo lifted the carriage curtain and looked out: "From this angle, the scenery here is quite nice. Especially this village, it looks particularly beautiful."

Granny Yu looked at the plaque that read "Li Family Village" and was somewhat speechless. It was just an ordinary village. What was so special about it?

After walking for a while, the Duchess of Pingguo suddenly spoke again: "Eh..."

When Granny Yu looked around, she saw a girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old walking on the road. When she saw their caravan, she quickly moved aside.

"Look at your little girl, she's so clever and lovable."

Granny Yu was even more speechless: "He does have a somewhat decent face. Madam, please lean on him!"

Granny Yu placed the silk quilt on the side of the carriage.

Lady Pingguo looked at the little girl standing by the roadside, but after a while, she disappeared from sight.

Well, there's really nothing special about it.

She looked away and leaned against the silk quilt.

The convoy slowly drove away and soon disappeared down the country road.

Li Jiaojiao stood by the roadside, watching the magnificent caravan drive away, her heart filled with longing. When would she be able to ride in such a carriage?

"Sigh!" She sighed, straightened the basket on her back, and felt that her life shouldn't be like this.

It has to be said that she was completely dejected after the incident of eating noodles during the Flower Festival.

It's just like a vibrant person full of hope for life who was suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water by reality, extinguishing all her hopes.

The convoy passed through the town.

Suddenly, Granny Yu exclaimed softly, "Madam, isn't that Second Master Shen?"

When Lady Pingguo looked, she indeed saw Shen Zhiyan standing in front of a small shop, talking to the waiter.

"parking!"

The caravan stopped, and the carriage stopped not far from Shen Zhiyan.

"Isn't this Second Master Shen? What a coincidence, to meet him in such a remote and impoverished place." The Duchess of Pingguo lifted the curtain and spoke with noble elegance.

Shen Zhiyan turned around and saw the woman, feeling that she looked somewhat familiar: "Who is Madam?"

Lady Pingguo choked for a moment, and Granny Yu broke the awkward silence with a smile: "This is Lady Pingguo. I suppose Second Master Shen doesn't deal with women much, so he wouldn't recognize her."

Shen Zhiyan nodded: "Greetings, Madam. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Then he turned to the waiter and asked, "Are the new fishing rods in there?"

Yes, yes.

Shen Zhiyan followed the waiter into the shop.

Lady Pingguo stood there stunned, then hurriedly slammed the curtains shut: "How could this Shen Er be so rude?"

"Madam, let it go. We shouldn't bother with the Shen family."

Granny Yu thought to herself, "The Shen family is not to be trifled with; they wield real power."

Although their Duke's mansion was prestigious, it had become somewhat hollow inside since the old Duke passed away, and was no longer as rich and glamorous as it appeared on the surface.

"Enough, enough, I won't stoop to his level." The Duchess of Pingguo leaned back as the carriage slowly started moving.

...

Ye Caiping and Ye Daquan followed for a while, and only after seeing the convoy pass by Li Jiaojiao in the distance did they turn back home.

Grandma Ye and Madam Du were picking out the yellow leaves from the chives in the corridor when they saw the two of them return. Grandma Ye raised her eyes and asked, "Have they left yet?"

"Um."

Mrs. Du snorted: "They only gave me money for meals and errands, not even for consultation or medicine."

Grandma Ye said, "Alright. They haven't spent much money on food these past few days, so consider the 50 taels as money for her to see a doctor and get medicine."

The doctor was brought back from the prefectural city, and he used the best medicine, which cost about thirty taels of silver. There are still more than ten taels left!

Mrs. Du was still muttering, "I'm just a little angry. I tried to help someone, but I ended up feeling really upset."

Ye Caiping stretched and said, "Now that the person has been seen off, don't be angry."

Before they knew it, it was noon, and Ye Xuan and the others returned.

After lunch, Ye Caiping gave the old man and his wife their monthly allowance and food, and then gave Xiao Yan her wages, which amounted to one tael.

“You did a great job. The 800 coins are your wages, and the remaining 200 coins are a bonus,” Ye Caiping said with a smile.

Xiao Yan felt a warm glow in her heart. It was so nice working here; not only did she eat well, but her aunt also bought her fabric and clothes—anything that could be bought with gold or silver, she had.

Ye Caiping gave Huan'er and Jin'er two taels each.

"Is this our wages from last month?" Ye Jin'er asked. "A lot."

"No, this is your monthly allowance, it's also your pocket money, you'll have it every month from now on. Buy whatever you want."

The two girls didn't stand on ceremony and happily accepted, "Thank you, Mother."

Mrs. Du said, "Why give so much money to a child?"

Ye Caiping said, "The family doesn't lack this money. Besides, they need to have some money on them when they're taking classes outside, so they can speak and act with confidence. Also, having their own savings makes them happy, and they can buy whatever they want."

After thinking about it, Madam Du nodded: "You're right. Then I'll give Yong'er and Jinhua 500 coins each later."

Although she didn't have as much as Jin'er and Huan'er, Jin Hua was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

"Is it every month?" Jin Hua asked.

"Hmm. That's all for now, we're still building a house!" Madam Du said, glancing at Ye Xuan again, "Xuan'er, no more. We already give you one tael a month for writing materials, so we won't give you any more."

Ye Xuan said, "I know. It's just... it seems we don't need this money for ink anymore... My master Shen has a lot of ink and brushes, and he gives them all to me."

Madam Du glared at her: "Why are you so naive? The teacher gives it to you, and you just use it? Don't you know how to refuse?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!