"The Wang family of Beining wants to buy the recipe for plum blossom ointment. What price will you all offer?"

Not for sale

Before Wang Buyou could finish his sentence, He Qingzhu immediately refused. "Why would you buy it if you can't even assemble something this useful?"

Besides, He Qingzhu wants to use plum blossom ointment to establish her reputation in the Great Yan, so this stuff must not be sold.

"Name your price, as long as it's reasonable, Mr. Wang will accept any amount."

Not for sale

The two consecutive rejections made Young Master Wang lose face. His business career had been smooth sailing since he was a child, though he had encountered some troubles along the way.

But when trouble arose, all he had to do was use the Beining Wang family as leverage, then offer them some money and a sweet treat, and the matter would be over. This was the first time he had ever seen such a straightforward refusal.

"Hua Xue Tang needs plum blossom ointment to build its reputation, Young Master Wang. Forgive Qingzhu for being rude, but I not only want Hua Xue Tang to open branches all over Beining, I want it to bloom all over Dayan."

“I understand Miss He’s ambitions, but you will get married someday. If your hard work ends up in the hands of a man who doesn’t understand you, it’s better to sell yourself to me now. I will keep the Hua Xue Tang signboard and the Plum Blossom Ointment name. I will grant your wish…”

"No need for you to trouble yourself, I won't get married."

Although men in the Great Yan Dynasty could not rightfully seize their wives' dowries, it was customary for married women to stay in the inner quarters and not to go out in public. Therefore, the management of the businesses under the wife's name was in the hands of her husband. If the husband was attentive, he would take them back; if he was indifferent, he would just send a steward or old woman to manage them, and in the end, things would become a mess, with only the property deeds remaining as valuable assets.

Wang Buyou felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this. Looking at Miss He, who was about the same age as him, he whispered something.

"You're already this age, don't your parents pressure you?"

He gets nagged every day at home, pressured by his parents to get married. Whenever he returns home, his mother will talk about which family has had another grandson, thus putting him in a bad light.

How could we not pressure her? She spent the entire Chinese New Year at her sister's house this year, and her parents came knocking on the door the very next day.

"You little brat, you think you're all grown up now? You're not even coming home for Chinese New Year?"

The elderly couple thought she wouldn't be coming back on New Year's Eve, but little did they know that He Qingzhu had no such intention at all, and didn't even write a letter home.

"Dad, I'm busy, I don't have time."

"You're busy? Just because your mother and I are arranging marriages for you, you're unhappy? And now you're not even coming home, is that it?"

The young woman stood behind her older sister, head bowed and silent. It was hard to explain, but to put it simply, she just didn't want to get married. Why did she have to marry a complete stranger?

"father"

Madam Zhang would naturally protect her younger sister; her parents had indeed pushed Qingzhu to the brink this time. The family wasn't short of money, so why did they insist on marrying her sister off?

"She doesn't understand our good intentions, boss, don't you understand? Huh?"

Seeing that the elderly couple's eyes were already red, Madam Zhang led her sister to kneel directly in front of them.

How could I not understand? Her parents are just worried that their younger sister will be destitute in her old age. If Qingzhu waits any longer, she'll really be an old maid, and it'll be hard to find a good family for her. They can't possibly push their own parents into a fire pit, can they?

"Father, I don't want to get married. I want to inherit the family business. I can make money for the family. I want the He family to be more than just a wealthy household in the countryside. I want the He family's business to spread throughout the entire Yan region."

He Qingzhu said these words through sobs, and Old Man He looked at his daughter with a sigh in his heart.

If only it were a boy, he could inherit the family business and carry it forward. Even in death, he would be worthy of his ancestors, and his father in the afterlife would praise him for being born well!

"My son..."

Mrs. He bent down, took her second daughter's hand, and tears finally fell.

Once upon a time, Madam He also had this dream, but reality is like a mountain that bends a woman's spine, and then she drifts with the tide, becoming the one who holds up the mountain.

The mountain was filled with men; some were merchants, some were scholars, and some were soldiers who distinguished themselves. The women at the foot of the mountain also longed to climb up, but they couldn't.

"If you were a son, Qingzhu, your father would never force you..."

"Dad! This is what I've earned these past few months. Look, look! It's all here."

The young woman's hands trembled as she cried, and she shakily took a stack of silver notes from her bosom. "Father, look! I've earned half of our family's fortune in just a few months! I can do it! I definitely can!"

"Dad, I'm no worse than any man, really. Even if you have a son, I'll definitely be better than him, Dad..."

Madam He took the silver notes from her daughter; each note was worth one hundred taels, and there were dozens of them. The old woman looked at her husband, then looked down at her two kneeling daughters.

She gritted her teeth and pulled her two daughters up from the ground.

"We're not getting married. We're not getting married. We're not even going to meet again. We'll talk about marriage whenever Qingzhu wants. Your mother will support you. You can do whatever you want."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the mother and her two daughters embraced and cried together. Old Madam He felt heartbroken. What she couldn't do when she was a girl, her daughters could do too.

Go out and see the world, my son. Go for it, your mother will always be there for you.

Old Man He, leaning on his cane, slowly walked to the chair and then sat down.

He was shocked when he saw the stack of silver notes; even he and his wife didn't have that much cash. This was all Qingzhu had earned in the past few months. How could his daughter be so capable? Old Man He was still a little regretful, but it didn't matter; as long as she was his child, that was enough.

"Alright, go do it."

His daughter's business is so successful; he and his wife should live a few more years. First, they should earn more money so that if their daughter loses it, he can cover for her. Second, if their daughter succeeds, he and his wife can enjoy the life of the wealthy.

Neither of them is a loss.

"What kind of behavior is this, crying and sobbing during the New Year, especially at someone else's house?" Old Man He said, looking at the mother and her two daughters.

"What do you mean 'other people'? I married into this family, so this is my home. Who dares to say anything when their own mother cries in front of her daughter? I'll tear their mouths apart!"

Mrs. Zhang has always been a strong-willed person; it's unclear what her son-in-law saw in her.

But Old Man He forgot that even before Master Zhang became an official, he didn't think much of this son-in-law.

That's how people are; most of the time, they only remember the glamorous side of certain people, but forget the hardships they endure behind the scenes.

Even He Qingzhu was the same; she only remembered the happiness that her parents didn't force her to get married today, but forgot that she was entitled to make her own choices.

She thought she had no choice.

But being born as a human being

Who doesn't live for themselves?