Chapter Twenty-Five [V] The Control Group Sister
Li Zong is Li Yan's half-brother, while Han Sanlang, Han Xiucai, is the newlywed husband of Li Yan's beautiful stepsister.
At this moment, Li Yan was unaware of all this. On her way back from Chengxiang Hutong to Tongye Hutong, she was completely immersed in joy.
Li Yan tried her best to persuade Xu Qingshu to stay for lunch at her home. Although Xu Qingshu wanted to go, he thought about the business at the restaurants in Qingshan Town and shook his head, saying, "There's plenty of time in the future, let's skip it today."
Li Yan hesitated several times before finally unable to hold back and asked, "Brother Xu, you've already passed the preliminary examination, why not go further and take the county-level examination? You're still young, you have a long life ahead of you, are you going to waste your whole life in Qingshan Town?"
If he were an illiterate farmer, it would be excellent if he could become the manager and accountant of Yuanbaolou in Qingshan Town.
But he was originally from Huating County, and had studied under the tutelage of the scholar Weng, and had also obtained some official rank. So the job of managing the restaurant in Qingshan Town was not a good one for him.
Li Yan knew that something must have happened to him, but no matter what happened, he could be depressed for a while, but he couldn't be depressed for the rest of his life, right?
Even if something terrible happens, since life goes on, you can't gamble with your future.
Li Yan felt that after choosing a famous teacher for Xu Ge'er, her friendship with Manager Xu had become even closer.
As friends, sometimes we can't just keep taking from him; we should also give him something in return and offer him some advice.
What if he needs her help?
Xu Qingshu did have something on his mind, but perhaps he didn't want to say it yet, or perhaps he was hesitant to speak because of Xu Ge'er's presence.
Therefore, Xu Qingshu remained silent for a moment before smiling and saying, "After you said those things to me that day, I sent He back to work at the restaurant."
His answer seemed somewhat irrelevant, but only Li Yan could understand that he was telling her that he was gradually opening up his heart.
Li Yan gave him a knowing smile and stopped pressing him. She simply said, "When Brother Xu comes to the city, be sure to let me know in advance. I will definitely host a banquet to thank you properly."
"Don't worry, when I go to the city, I will definitely come to Li Xiaomei's place for a free meal." Xu Qingshu also changed his way of addressing Li Yan from "Li Niangzi" to "Li Xiaomei".
After saying their goodbyes, the two went their separate ways.
Li Yan took Xu Ge'er back to Tongye Hutong, while Xu Qingshu headed straight for the city gate.
After parting ways with Xu Qingshu, Li Yan quickened her pace as if she had the wind at her feet.
These days, Li Yan had roughly learned from Xu Qingshu's words about the prestige of that scholar, Weng, in the literary circles of Huating County. He was old, senior, had many students, and was accomplished; he was a leading figure.
Moreover, not just anyone can go to his Xiaochun Academy. It's not like you can get in smoothly by spending some money or giving some gifts. He doesn't accept students blindly; he looks at their aptitude.
Getting into his Xiaochun Academy is already half the battle won.
With Xu Ge'er's talent, as long as he is willing to study hard, he will surely achieve great things in the future.
Even if he fails to pass the imperial examinations and become an official in the future, studying is never a bad thing.
With knowledge, even the worst job can be found to make a living, at least enough to support your family and not starve.
Look at that old man who passed the imperial examination. Although he failed to become an official, he still holds a very prestigious position in Huating County because of his status as a successful candidate in the examination.
No matter the era, reading more books is always a good thing.
Back home, Aunt Xue was also anxiously awaiting news. Busy with her own work, she couldn't easily come out to check on things, so she had Yue'er occasionally peek out from the doorway towards the alley entrance.
When Yue'er saw two familiar figures appear at the entrance of the alley, she immediately called out to the courtyard, "Grandma, Aunt and Brother are back!" She couldn't wait any longer and ran straight towards the two people at the entrance of the alley.
When Xu Ge'er saw his sister running towards him, he quickly ran to meet her.
Upon reaching her, Xu Ge'er scooped his little sister up in his arms. He even spun her around in the air while holding her.
Yue'er was so dizzy from being spun around that she nervously gripped her brother's clothes, her little face turning pale with fright.
In his excitement, Xu Ge'er couldn't resist lifting his little sister up. But he knew how to restrain himself, and after lifting her for a while, he put her down again.
At this moment, Li Yan had already walked up to the brother and sister, and Aunt Xue had also rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing that her grandson couldn't stop smiling and noticed his unusual behavior, Aunt Xue knew that the apprenticeship was about to be finalized.
Without saying anything else, Aunt Xue grabbed Li Yan's hand, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Let's go home and talk."
At that moment, Li Yan heard a long-lost mechanical voice.
[Congratulations, host! Your target's favorability has increased by 10. Keep up the good work! You're not far from completing the beginner's quest.]
Li Yan certainly hadn't forgotten that she was still working on the beginner quests for her target, and she also hadn't forgotten that a big gift pack was waiting for her after completing the beginner quests.
However, since things are going smoothly for the time being, she is not in a hurry to catch up on the schedule and complete the task.
I thought, let nature take its course. As long as I treat this family with sincerity, given their kindness, they will surely reciprocate.
After returning home, Li Yan recounted the entire incident to her mother-in-law.
"It wasn't difficult for Xu Ge'er to get into school. Giving gifts was secondary. The most important thing was that the scholar Weng took a liking to Xu Ge'er. Our Xu Ge'er got into Xiaochun School entirely on his own merit."
Li Yan genuinely believed this, but Xu Ge'er didn't think it was his own ability; he attributed everything to his aunt.
Now, he knelt down in front of Li Yan again and prostrated himself on the ground.
“Auntie is my benefactor, and I will never forget her kindness for the rest of my life. Auntie, please accept my kowtow.” Xu Ge’er kowtowed.
Li Yan felt that this formality was too much and unnecessary, and reached out to help Xu Ge'er, but was stopped by Aunt Xue.
“Although you are not his biological mother, your sincerity towards him is something his biological mother could never match in her entire life. It is only right and proper for him to kneel before you and to be filial to you in the future.” Aunt Xue was unwilling to say anything bad about her eldest daughter-in-law. After all, her eldest son had died in battle, and she was still young. It was normal for her to have thoughts of remarrying.
However, she left without taking the few taels of silver that the family had at the time.
He took the money and ran away overnight.
Whether she, an old woman, had enough to eat or wear was of no concern to her, since she was practically half-buried anyway. But Xu Ge'er and Yue Jie'er were still young, especially Yue Jie'er, who was only two years old at the time.
They are her own flesh and blood, how could she bear to part with them?
Isn't she afraid that her two children will go hungry and eventually starve to death?
Even though more than three years have passed, Aunt Xue's resentment towards her has not diminished in the slightest.
However, she was, after all, the mother of two children, and Aunt Xue was unwilling to say a bad word about her in front of the children.
Xu Ge'er knew what was going on. He was five years old when his mother left, and he could remember things. Overnight, his mother was gone, and he cried until his eyes were swollen.
He cried for days, a month, even months, but his mother didn't come back. Then, little by little, he began to accept reality.
After that, he stopped smiling and stopped saying a word.
He was even less willing to play with the village children, as he didn't want to hear them laugh at him for being a pitiful wretch without parents.
She only wants to stay at home, play with her younger sister, and help her grandmother with chores.
As the days went by, he became more and more composed.
At the age of eight, he has the mind of a teenager.
Since both the old man and the young boy insisted on this, Li Yan had no choice but to accept Xu Ge'er's kneeling and worship.
After he finished kneeling before her, Li Yan bent down and helped Xu Ge'er up.
"Alright, you've knelt and thanked him. From now on, just focus on your studies and don't think about anything else." After thinking for a moment, Li Yan said, "I've already talked to the old carpenter about making a bed. I'll go tell him after dinner and ask him to also make a desk and a chair for Xu Ge'er. Now that he's seriously studying, he needs his own desk and chair."
The room was already a bit cramped with just one more bed, and now with the addition of a table and chairs, there's practically no room to move.
Li Yan couldn't help but feel that the room was still a bit small.
She could have earned about thirteen taels of silver this month from braised pork and milk tea. But this month she had to pay ten taels for Xu Ge'er's tuition for the next year, plus gifts, bedding, daily expenses, and other miscellaneous costs, so there wasn't much left.
You should always keep a few coins on hand for emergencies, in case something urgent comes up that requires money.
Aunt Xue took out the eight taels of silver she had hidden away, plus another two taels. These were the few coins or ten coins that Li Yan usually gave her, which she had saved up without spending. She also added some money she had earned from taking on embroidery work.
She said she had some money on hand, and she would pay for Xu Ge'er's tuition this year.
If she runs out of money in the future, Li Yan will help her again.
Li Yan didn't take her money, but only told her to put it away quickly.
After pushing and shoving each other for a while, seeing Li Yan's resolute attitude, Aunt Xue finally said with tears in her eyes, "The ten taels of silver are right there. If you need it anytime, just let me know."
To put her mind at ease, Li Yan agreed.
But that was Xue Erlang's funeral expenses. Leaving it to her was just a memento. Li Yan wouldn't try to take her money.
She was only thinking that since the milk tea business was stable, perhaps she should come up with some new ideas to stimulate consumption.
You can add other things to your milk tea, such as tapioca pearls, taro balls, purple sweet potatoes, red beans, etc.
If you add extra items, you can raise the price a bit more.
Although the milk tea business is doing well now, with even four kilograms of milk a day not being enough to meet demand, if things continue like this and remain unchanged, people will eventually get tired of the same flavors, and sales will eventually decline.
But Li Yan didn't plan to add anything to every serving. She intended to mainly sell the original flavor milk tea and only add something to a few servings.
Let's test the waters first. If it sells well, we can increase the quantity. If it doesn't sell well, we'll have to think of another way.
But starting in September, she plans to buy an extra two kilograms of milk every day. Cow's milk and goat's milk are selling just as well, so she plans to buy an extra kilogram of each.
In this way, we can make about 80 or 90 servings a day.
Furthermore, the practice of selling milk tea at stalls has gradually become quite large-scale. Previously, Li Yan would bring bowls from home to serve the milk tea. Although the bowls were all the same size and practical enough, Li Yan still wanted to make a few special bowls specifically for serving milk tea.
The words "Yan Yan Milk Tea Shop" are also printed on the surface of the bowl.
Considering that wood has better heat retention than ceramic tiles and is relatively cheaper, Li Yan plans to go to the carpenter's shop again to ask the old carpenter about the market price for making wooden bowls.
Without hesitation, after lunch, Li Yan took advantage of a spare moment and hurried to the carpentry shop.
The cart I used for my stall was made at this carpentry shop, and later I came back to order a bed.
This carpentry shop was run by an old carpenter with one apprentice. Although the shopfront wasn't as impressive as others, the prices were relatively cheaper for the same items, and the old carpenter's craftsmanship was superior.
Practice makes perfect. The first time, the two argued fiercely over the price, but this time, the old carpenter greeted Li Yan with a smile.
"Madam Li, the bed has only just started being made; it will take a few more days."
Li Yan: "Uncle Yang, I'm not here to urge you. I'm here today because I want to get a few more things."
So, she can be considered a regular customer. Carpenter Yang asked with a smile, "What does Madam Li want to make this time?"
Li Yan first mentioned that she wanted to make a desk and a matching chair for her nephew. Then she said she wanted to make several identical wooden bowls, and that she wanted to carve some words on the surface of the bowls.
"Can you make a bowl like this?" Making a set of tables and chairs should be easy for him, so Li Yan didn't ask any more questions, only about the wooden bowl.
"I can do it." Carpenter Yang agreed without hesitation. "Don't worry, Madam Li, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
Upon hearing that he could perform the procedure, Li Yan immediately beamed with joy. She then explained her requirements in detail and paid the deposit.
"Uncle Yang, I won't take up any more of your time. I'll go now and come back when it's time."
As soon as Li Yan stepped out the door, she heard the old man behind her humming a little tune.
.
As requested by his master, the scholar Weng's page carried many bags and packages to the home of scholar Han Yue.
At first, when Han Yue saw the pageboy from beside the teacher come looking for him, he thought that his brother-in-law's enrollment at Xiaochun Academy had been arranged. But when he saw what the pageboy was carrying, Han Yue had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the bad feeling was quickly confirmed.
The pageboy chuckled and said, "My master sent me to return all these things." He continued, "My master ate the pastries from Daoxiangzhai, so he specifically ordered me to buy a new batch. Scholar Han, is that correct? If not, I'll go and buy another one."
Han Yue's heart sank to the bottom, and he hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Although he hadn't made a verbal promise before, it was tantamount to him tacitly agreeing to let Zong-ge enroll.
The fact that everything has been suddenly returned means that something must have happened in the meantime.
When Han Yue was bribing the servant boy, he had given him plenty of benefits. Since the matter had fallen through and the host had returned all the gifts, the servant boy naturally took out the one or two taels of silver he had previously received.
"Scholar Han, I'm so sorry, here you go."
Han Yue refused to accept it, and said sternly, "This is your money, why are you giving it to me?" Then he asked, "I know there must be something going on, I hope you can tell me something."
So the page took the silver back and said, "This morning, that Master Xu brought a boy to see you, sir. After you tested the boy, you immediately said you would admit him. But the number of places available each year is fixed and can't be changed, so you had to cross out Young Master Li's name as well."
After saying that, the page reminded Han Yue, "Scholar Han, you must not try to interfere anymore. Master Yuan already had some reservations about you spending money and effort to send Young Master Li to school. Now that things have come to this, it's a done deal. If you continue to stir things up, I'm afraid Master will really be unhappy."
Han Yue knew Old Man Weng's temperament well. He had done what he did before out of consideration for his wife and to help with her younger brother's education.
He had just passed the imperial examination at the county level and was the top scholar in Huating County, a time when he was at the height of his fame.
Taking advantage of the teacher's good mood, he hatched these schemes.
Ultimately, however, things did not go as planned.
Even without the page's reminder, Han Yue had no intention of getting involved in the matter any further.
He did his best for his brother-in-law, but in the end it didn't work out; he simply wasn't destined for it.
"Master Xu...which Master Xu?" Several classmates with the surname Xu flashed through Han Yue's mind, but he didn't know which one he was referring to.
The pageboy knew almost all of the students taught by the scholar Weng, who had already achieved some academic success. Therefore, he directly addressed Xu Qingshu by name.
"It's him?" Han Yue frowned upon hearing this.
But then he thought about how his own child was still young, only about three years old, not old enough to start school. And his brother's nephew was much older, almost ready to get married, so that was impossible too.
At the beginning of the year, he had that same incident again, and he didn't even get to take the provincial examination this year. I heard that he went somewhere to work as an accountant. In short, he's not doing very well these days.
Why would they suddenly be so enthusiastic about recommending students to Xiaochun Academy?
Han Yue will no longer interfere in this matter, but he needs to find out why.
So, after making some inquiries and learning where Xu Qingshu was, Han Yue went there himself.
Xu Qingshu was also surprised that he came to find him, but he was only stunned for a moment before he greeted him with a smile.
"Brother Han, what brings you here?" Fortunately, he wasn't too busy at the moment, so Xu Qingshu invited Han Yue to a private room in the restaurant to talk.
After entering the room, Han Yue looked around at his surroundings.
He never imagined that instead of studying properly, he would end up here as a shopkeeper.
"Have some tea." Xu Qingshu poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him.
Han Yue then stopped looking around and focused his gaze on Xu Qingshu in front of him.
"I came here specifically to see you," Han Yue said.
Xu Qingshu laughed, but his smile contained a hint of irony and bitterness.
"What do you want?" he asked casually, then congratulated him, "I heard that Brother Han has passed the imperial examination and become a scholar. Congratulations, Brother Han."
"Brother Xu, you're too kind." Han Yue nodded.
The two were about the same age, with Xu Qingshu even being a year or two older. But calling Han Yue "brother" was a sign of humility.
The two men were not from the same circle and did not have a deep relationship. After exchanging pleasantries, Han Yue got to the point, saying, "I heard... a couple of days ago, Brother Xu recommended a student to Elder Weng to attend Xiaochun Academy?"
Seeing that he had come for this matter, Xu Qingshu raised an eyebrow: "Yes, that's right. Why?"
Han Yue laughed: "I had previously recommended a student to Elder Weng, who is my wife's younger brother. The matter was almost settled, but yesterday, the people around Elder Weng suddenly returned everything I had sent."
Xu Qingshu understood.
But then he suddenly remembered something and burst out laughing.
When he inquired about Li Yan before, he naturally also found out about the situation of the carpenter Li's family. Therefore, he knew that the Han brother in front of him was the carpenter Li's wealthy son-in-law.
Now, he has helped Li and secured a place for her at Xiaochun School. In other words, Li Xiaomei's husband's nephew has taken the place meant for her own brother.
Based on Xu Qingshu's understanding of Elder Weng, he knew that Xue Xu's enrollment in Xiaochun Academy was a foregone conclusion. Therefore, somewhat enjoying the spectacle, he mentioned who he had recommended.
Upon hearing this, Han Yue's brows furrowed even deeper. He felt both that the matter was rather absurd and that it was truly a pity.
At the same time, he was thinking that since they were acquaintances, perhaps he could ask his wife to talk to the Li family about this matter when he got back.
Even though that second aunt had married, she was still a person with the surname Li, and she had the same blood as Zong Ge'er.
This matter is actually easy to resolve. As long as Second Madam cuts off the tuition fees for that young Master Xue, he won't be able to study. Naturally, the spot will then fall back into the hands of Brother Zong.
Thinking this, Han Yue stood up and said goodbye, "I'm sorry to have bothered you today, Brother Xu. Thank you for telling me. I will definitely host a banquet to express my gratitude another day."
Xu Qingshu wasn't worried about that. Li Xiaomei had a strong personality and wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Therefore, Xu Qingshu said nothing more and personally escorted Han Yue to the door.
"Brother Han, please forgive me for not seeing you off any further."
Han Yue nodded: "Farewell."
After returning home, Han Yue hurriedly went to his room.
Li Jiaojiao was doing embroidery by the window when she saw her husband hurrying towards her in the courtyard through the half-open window. She immediately put down her work and got up to greet him at the door.
"Have you found out anything?" Li Jiaojiao was also anxious because her younger brother's enrollment spot had suddenly been taken by someone else.
Her husband said he would go and find out what was going on, so she waited at home for news.
"Come in and talk." Han Yue took his wife's hand and pulled her to sit down on the couch by the window. Then he looked at her seriously and said, "You know the person who took Zong Ge'er's place. You'll have to go back and discuss this with your parents-in-law."
"I know them?" Li Jiaojiao asked, puzzled. "Who?"
Han Yue then said, "It's my second aunt's nephew, Xue Xu."
"What?" Li Jiaojiao was so shocked that she immediately stood up, as if she couldn't believe it. "How is this possible?" She knew about the Xue family's situation. The Xue family lived in Xinghua Village, which was not in the city at all. So how could the Xue family's young master come to the city to study?
Moreover, the Xue family was destitute, dirt poor. Xiaochun School's tuition alone cost ten taels of silver a year. Adding other expenses, it would easily cost twenty taels of silver a year. How could the Xue family afford it?
Han Yue said, "You don't know yet? Second Aunt has brought her whole family to live in the city. I heard... I heard Second Aunt is good at scheming, and she's doing quite well now."
Li Jiaojiao found this utterly unbelievable; how could her second aunt possibly be like this?
Although the two sisters did not grow up together, Li Jiaojiao still understood her stepsister's personality.
She was withdrawn and taciturn, often going for long periods without uttering a single word. Before, when she lived with her grandmother in the countryside, she knew nothing but manual labor like chopping wood, carrying water, and farming.
Such a person can manage to survive in the countryside where she has land to farm, but in the city, she would find it impossible to move an inch.
But her husband couldn't lie to her; if he said it, it must be true.
Li Jiaojiao couldn't wait any longer, so she hurriedly went back to her parents' home.
Li Shangping and Yue Shi were unaware that their son could no longer attend Xiaochun School. They were thinking that September was just around the corner and school would start soon, and Yue Shi had been tidying up her son's study room at home these past few days.
After selling their large house in Qingshan Town, and with the money they had left over, plus a little more borrowed from their son-in-law, they finally managed to scrape together the money to buy a house.
But after buying this house in the city, all his savings were gone.
During this period, in order to make a living, Li Shangping spent every day working at the carpenter's shop.
However, this shop is not his own, unlike when he was in Qingshan Town, where he had his own carpentry shop, where he could keep all the profits after deducting costs.
Nowadays, when you work in someone else's carpentry shop, you have to give half of the profits to the employer.
Prices in the city are high; the same piece of furniture costs significantly more than in town. But after splitting the profits with the employer, what you actually get is less than before.
Adding to the burden of debt from buying the house, and with his son still young... Li Shangping felt that life was simply too hard these days.
But then he thought that as long as Zong'er was successful in the future and could become a scholar in his early twenties like his brother-in-law, then all his suffering would be worthwhile.
The thought that his son would also become a student of the scholar Weng made Li Shangping feel that everything was worthwhile and that he had a bright future.
But to everyone's surprise, just before enrollment, his son's spot was taken by someone else.
It seemed like only a moment, but Li Shangping felt that all hope was lost.
When Li Shangping learned that the person who had taken his son's place was actually that Xue family boy, he flew into a rage.
Madam Yue was both anxious and angry, and she crumpled a handkerchief in her hand as if she wanted to crush it.
"How could this be... How could this be! How could it be him?" She was so anxious that she looked like she was about to cry, and then complained to Li Shangping beside her, "Master, look at what that second mistress has done."
Li Jiaojiao was also anxious, but seeing her parents like this, she could only try her best to remain calm and say, "Father, Mother, don't worry, I'll go talk to Second Aunt. There's still a chance for this to turn around."
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