Chapter 59 [V] Refusal
"What? Liu's second son has lost his memory?" Aunt Xue was very surprised when she heard the news. "How could he have lost his memory? Was he injured?"
Li Yan shook her head: "I don't know about that." Then she continued, "That day he came to the inn specifically to find me, and told me personally that he had completely forgotten everything from before. From what he said, he was injured on the battlefield and lost his memory at that time. He came to find me... probably because he knew I was from Xishui Village, so we were from the same hometown, and he wanted to find out what was going on and see if he could remember anything. Unfortunately, I had just married into the village and didn't know him, let alone have any interaction with him... I saw that he seemed quite disappointed at the time."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Xue sighed and said, "Every family has its own troubles. Although the Liu family looks good on the outside, they have their own hardships inside. Although their son has returned home and become an official, if he loses his memory, wouldn't he treat Aunt Liu like a stranger? No wonder Aunt Liu was initially unwilling to let you in; she was probably afraid you would find out about this."
Li Yan said, "It's nothing shameful, there's nothing to hide. Besides, someone like Liu Erlang should actually spend more time with old acquaintances. Or, he could recreate some past scenes and relive them in familiar settings, which might help him remember something. I think Liu Erlang himself really wants to remember his past."
"Aunt Liu thinks this is shameful? Then her thinking is really narrow-minded."
Thinking about it this way, Aunt Xue couldn't help but nod in agreement, agreeing with her daughter-in-law's words: "You're right, what's the point of hiding it? If you're sick, you should get proper treatment. Your aunt is too concerned about saving face, which is actually bad for the child."
However, this is their business, and no matter how happily the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are talking, it's not appropriate for them to interfere in each other's private affairs.
They could only express their opinions and then immediately put them aside, busying themselves with their own affairs.
Li Yan found some opportunities in Jiangning Prefecture, but opening a restaurant also requires capital investment. Although she has saved some money, she is still far from being able to invest in and open a restaurant on her own.
Besides, she only wanted to contribute her "technology as equity," specifically the hot pot base recipe, even if it meant taking a small share of the profits. She didn't want to worry about anything else.
Now that she also has a contract with Ye Gaozheng of Sifang Restaurant, she went to see Ye Gaozheng early the next morning and told him about it.
Li Yan had informed Ye Gaozheng beforehand about her trip to Jiangning Prefecture to seek opportunities. Therefore, Ye Gaozheng was eagerly anticipating Li Yan's return.
“Brother Ye, if you have the capital to invest, you can become a major shareholder. As for me, I can only contribute the formula as a share. I won’t invest any capital in the early stages. Of course, when it comes to dividends, I can also receive a smaller share.”
Ye Gaozheng's previous business, Sifang Inn, was an ancestral property. After it fell into his hands, he ran it properly for more than ten years. He could not say how much money he made, but at least he was able to live a comfortable life.
At the end of last year, after he partnered with Li Yan to run another restaurant called Sifang Restaurant, he gradually accumulated more money.
Having tasted success at the Four Directions Restaurant, he was eager to expand his business and earn even more money.
He currently has five or six hundred taels of silver and is wondering whether he should take it all out.
But those several hundred taels of silver were his life savings. If he took them all out and then lost them all... his future days would definitely be very difficult.
Li Yan saw his ambition and hesitation, but did not continue to persuade him. She only said, "Brother Ye, have you thought it through? Risk and opportunity go hand in hand, and there is no turning back once the arrow is released. I will give Brother Ye a few days to think about it, but the important people in Jiangning Prefecture are also waiting for my answer. Brother Ye, please don't keep me waiting too long."
Ye Gaozheng immediately said, "Thank you, Sister Li. I will think about it carefully and give you an answer as soon as possible."
.
Before leaving Huating County for Jiangning Prefecture, Li Yan had tried to contact Xu Qingshu. However, she was stopped by Xu's eldest sister-in-law, and her plan to pay Xu Qingshu six taels of silver annually was temporarily put on hold.
She was so busy that she forgot about it, but Sister-in-law Xu always remembered.
A few days ago, I even came to inquire about the situation. However, after learning that Li Yan had gone on a long trip and wasn't home, I let it go.
But now that Li Yan has returned from her trip, Sister-in-law Xu, upon hearing the news, couldn't help but urge her brother-in-law again.
"Erlang, Madam Li has already returned to Huating County. Go and take a look."
These past few days, his sister-in-law has been urging him to give her money, which has made Xu Qingshu quite impatient.
But after all, she was his sister-in-law, and an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Even though Xu Qingshu was somewhat unhappy, he always remained respectful on the surface.
If Li Yan came to him herself and insisted on giving him the money, he would accept it after declining. But if she didn't come to him herself and he had to ask for the money, Xu Qingshu would never do that.
He said the same thing to his sister-in-law: "I only helped her with one favor at the beginning. She is kind-hearted and remembers the favor, which is why she insisted on giving me the money. But actually, she has already given me a lot over the past year, and it would be awkward to take more. I know that my sister-in-law is doing this for my and Mao'er's good, but I really can't bring myself to do it."
Sister-in-law Xu said, "What do you mean by 'a lot'? It's only six taels of silver a year. Do you know how much that Madam Li earns in a month these days? If you ask me, you've done her and her nephew a great favor. Giving only six taels a year is too little." After saying that, she whispered in her brother-in-law's ear, "I heard that just her tea shop alone makes twenty or thirty taels a month. Not to mention, she has other businesses too."
Scholars are generally aloof and regard money as dirt, and Xu Qingshu was no exception.
“It’s their money, they earned it through their own abilities and hard work. Sister-in-law, we shouldn’t be envious.”
Sister-in-law Xu thought her brother-in-law had gone stupid from studying too much and had become a blockhead.
"If you won't ask for the money, I will. I'm not ashamed to ask for it." After saying that, without waiting for Xu Qingshu's reply, Xu's sister-in-law walked away angrily.
"Sister-in-law!" Xu Qingshu called out to her, but she rushed out of the courtyard in the blink of an eye.
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Li Yan was teaching Qingniang how to make milk tea in the courtyard when Xu Dasao's voice rang out from outside the door: "Sister Li, are you home?"
After quickly giving Qingniang a few more instructions, Li Yan hurriedly opened the door.
Li Yan is now quite well-known in the alley, and she's popular. Many people come to see her every day, either to bring her food or to ask her for other business.
Li Yan thought it was a neighbor, but when she opened the door, she saw Xu's sister-in-law standing outside.
"Sister-in-law Xu?" Li Yan was extremely surprised. "What brings you here?"
After thinking for a while, Li Yan suddenly remembered that she had gone to the Xu family before and told Xu Qingshu about giving him money.
Thinking of this, Li Yan smiled.
Since everyone who comes to the door is a guest, Li Yan simply opened the door wider and invited the person in: "Sister-in-law, please come in quickly."
Sister-in-law Xu was also very warm and polite, with a smile on her face the whole time, and she was carrying a box of pastries in her hand.
"I bought these from Daoxiangzhai for the children," said Sister Xu.
Li Yan said, "Sister-in-law, you're here, why be so polite? Take it home for Mao-ge'er to eat."
“Maoge has one, and I bought one for him too.”
Li Yan welcomed the people in, and Aunt Xue also made an appearance in the main room.
"Sister-in-law Xu, this is a chilled drink that my daughter Yanniang just developed. Please try it." Aunt Xue brought out the chilled drink to entertain the guest.
Seeing that the old lady had personally brought the drink, Sister-in-law Xu quickly stood up. Only after she left did she sit back down.
Aunt Xue wasn't idle either; after going out, she and Qingniang in the courtyard got busy together.
Seeing that they were all busy, Sister-in-law Xu felt a little embarrassed. But thinking about the six taels a year, she felt she could put aside her pride.
"Sister-in-law, you've come for those six taels of silver, haven't you?" Li Yan didn't want to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Sister-in-law Xu said hesitantly, "You're busy, you probably forgot about that. I know I came here specifically for this, and you look down on me, but six taels of silver can buy two new outfits for each of the two children in the family. I have to ask for this money for Erlang." She then apologized, "Sister, I was a bit too direct the other day. I apologize to you, and I hope you won't take it to heart."
Li Yan's principle in life and in her actions is to avoid making enemies easily.
It wasn't a big deal to begin with, and besides, she didn't hold back at the time and immediately sent Yin Yang back.
This time, the other party apologized for that matter, so Li Yan felt that she didn't need to hold a grudge.
“Sister-in-law is doing this for Xu Erge’s own good, I understand that. How could I not understand your good intentions?” Li Yan said with a smile. “I’ve been too busy these past few days. I even went to Jiangning Prefecture and only came back the other day. I forgot about this matter after putting it aside for a while. Since you’re here today, I’ll give you the money to take back.”
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I won't pay month by month, it's too much trouble. I'll pay annually from now on, and I'll pay the whole year's amount today. Sister-in-law, please wait a moment, I'll go get the money."
Seeing how easy she was to talk to, she was about to give her the money without saying a word, and even gave her six taels directly... Sister-in-law Xu felt both uneasy and very excited.
Li Yan quickly took out the silver and handed it to Sister-in-law Xu: "Sister-in-law, please take this."
Faced with this, Sister-in-law Xu became embarrassed: "This, this... sigh, I'm really sorry."
Since the money had already been given, Li Yan naturally said, "Sister-in-law, what's there to be embarrassed about? Brother Xu has been kind to me, and I will always remember his kindness. This money is rightfully his. Sister-in-law, I'm afraid I'll forget about this later, so please remember and remind me."
"Okay, okay, I'll remember that, sister-in-law." Seeing how readily she gave her the money, without being stingy at all, Sister-in-law Xu regretted what she had said to her that day.
Then she thought, although she was very busy, seeing how big her business was, she was sure to make money.
If she really marries Erlang, even if she can't stay at home to be a wife and mother after marriage, she is capable of earning money, which is still excellent.
Besides, given how generous she is, she'll definitely be willing to continue taking care of Erlang's family's daily life and have Li Meizi pay her some money every month for her hard work.
She comes from the countryside, she's hardworking and resilient, she certainly has her merits.
The daughters of wealthy families in the city may be lovely, but they are often spoiled from a young age and can be difficult to get along with.
Don't let her use her wealth to get ahead of her sister-in-law, making her sister-in-law have to serve her like a maid every day.
In the end, you still have money left over.
We've lost a fortune.
Thinking this, Sister-in-law Xu changed her mind again.
“Sister Li, last time Erlang passed the imperial examination, you specially sent a gift to congratulate him, but we haven’t invited you to dinner yet. This time, you set a time, and I’ll prepare a meal at home. You absolutely have to come and eat.” Just then, Aunt Xue entered the main room, and Sister-in-law Xu invited her as well, “Auntie, come along too, and Brother Xu and Sister Yue, let’s have a lively gathering together.”
Aunt Xue didn't speak, but looked at her daughter-in-law.
When Li Yan heard what Sister-in-law Xu said, she roughly understood what was going on. She guessed that Sister-in-law Xu thought she was good again and wanted to continue to match her up with Xu Qingshu.
However, Xu Qingshu had been out of school for some time after that, but he never contacted her again, which shows that he had his own grudge against her.
Li Yan is a rather aloof person and doesn't like half-cooked food. Besides, she didn't have any emotional ties to Xu Qingshu to begin with.
Therefore, upon hearing this, Li Yan directly refused: "I appreciate your kindness, sister-in-law, but I won't have the meal. Firstly, I'm busy and really can't spare the time, and secondly, it's just that I'm sending a gift, so it's really unnecessary."
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