Chapter 108
With the year-end approaching, business at teahouses has been booming lately.
At the end of the year, Yingxiang was preparing to put on a big show. She had specially chosen a good script. The teahouse had already gained a good reputation, and as long as the publicity was in place, she was not worried about not making money at the end of the year.
This time, she plans to start the play on the afternoon of Lunar New Year's Eve and finish it in the evening so she can go home and spend the New Year with her family.
Last year, she spent Lunar New Year's Eve at the shop. This year, she will spend time with her children and husband; family is also very important.
"Shopkeeper, this white tea tastes quite good."
The white tea was newly arrived. Yingxiang immediately took out two packets from the drawer, intending to take them home that evening. She planned to have Wenshi deliver them to Master Xu when he took the children to school the next morning. It was the end of the year, and it was time to show some appreciation.
Granny Yang drank half a bowl in one gulp, then, as if remembering something, she looked at Yingxiang.
"Shopkeeper, the New Year is just around the corner."
Yingxiang glanced at her, then said, "I'll give it to you as soon as I get back and sort out the money in my hand."
The monthly allowance is paid monthly. Yingxiang hasn't forgotten the money she's given. It will be 750 taels at the end of this year and 800 taels at the end of next year. After that, all the slaves who came in the first batch will become her people.
These people will definitely still be needed later.
Over the course of two years, Granny Yang made a considerable profit. Back then, she had no choice but to cooperate with them because she didn't have enough capital to buy so many people at once. If the money offered was too little, she wouldn't agree, and that's how her business was able to start so easily.
The good thing is that business is getting better and better. In the first half of the year, the daily income averaged three to five taels, and the reputation spread. In the last two months, the daily income has been eight to ten taels. This is without acting. If we can get acting roles and promote the business in advance, the monthly income can be even higher.
Last month, the shop's monthly income was nearly three hundred taels. Including the two shows at the beginning and end of the month, the total income has exceeded five hundred taels.
Grandma Yang had a rough estimate of the shop's income. She was sure Yingxiang wouldn't be unable to pay. Besides, the contract would end next year, and she still wanted to continue doing business with Yingxiang then. It was a bit early to discuss it now, and there was no rush.
"Shopkeeper, our cooperation has been going very well, and we can continue in the future."
After thinking for a while, Granny Yang's lips moved slightly, and it wouldn't hurt to mention it first.
Yingxiang glanced at Granny Wen and nodded. She understood what she meant, but the cooperation method would definitely need to be discussed again, and the previous approach would not work.
The teahouse business has taken off, and she has no intention of closing it down in the future. The business was hard-won and has generated a considerable income, but she is not so wealthy as to be arrogant.
Seeing that Yingxiang did not object, Granny Yang was quite happy. Everyone lives for a few coins, and if she could continue to cooperate with Yingxiang, it would be a good thing. It might be tiring, but at least she could make money.
As the weather grew colder, Yingxiang returned home an hour early that day. When she arrived, she found that the children had not yet returned.
After entering the room, she signed in first.
This ever-changing system excels at adding the finishing touches. Yingxiang didn't think much and directly chose silver coins, putting them into the system's inventory to save up.
After that, she began to sort out the money in her hands. In the second half of the year, she rarely went to the money exchange to deposit money, and mostly exchanged it for banknotes and put them in the system backpack.
Sometimes, she would symbolically put some money into the money box at home. Although Wen Shi didn't manage the accounts, he was a very meticulous person.
Currently, she keeps 80% of the store's monthly income for herself, and puts the remaining 20% in a money box at home.
On several occasions, she would deliberately place the document in front of Wen Shi, wanting him to know that she had done everything properly and was earning income, otherwise he might think she wasn't making any money.
Wen Shi would mostly just look at him and never inquire about him. His character was fine; otherwise, Ying Xiang would have dumped him long ago, taken her son, and left. She would never have stayed with him for so many years.
Yingxiang took out all the money from her backpack. Apart from five deposit slips, the rest were mostly banknotes. She then took out the box she usually kept under the bed, poured it all out onto the bed, and began counting the money.
All this money is now hers. As Yingxiang counted it, her smile grew even brighter. All that busyness was for this.
She had a good idea of what was going on, but it would be safer to do a second check.
The money from the several deposit slips totaled over six hundred taels. She added some more, making it seven hundred and fifty taels, which she put into the money bag she carried with her. She would go to withdraw the deposit slips the next morning and give the money to Granny Yang. This was all the money the shop had earned.
The remaining amount adds up to more than nine hundred taels, of which more than six hundred taels are in the box, three hundred taels are Wen Shi's, one hundred taels are his remaining salary for this year, and the remaining two hundred taels are the leftovers from previous rewards.
She originally had 500 taels, but 300 taels were spent on building the house, and the remaining 300 taels were gradually released by her in the second half of the year.
In ancient times, there were no water and electricity properties. Households had wells, and daily necessities like food and drink didn't cost much. Yingxiang basically bought her own vegetables and meat.
She can't go to the early market now, but fortunately Wen Shi sometimes has time off, and he will go out to buy food, since there isn't much to eat or drink anyway.
Yingxiang counted the money, thought for a moment, and then put in another fifty taels.
Wen Shi also dislikes extravagance and waste. He has a deep-seated memory of days when he was broke, and even though he has some extra money now, he will not spend it recklessly.
The money box was at home, and he never touched it on ordinary days.
Yingxiang put the box back in its original place, counted the remaining three hundred in her hand, and put this money into her system backpack. The shop's daily monthly expenses, rent, tea, and the monthly wages of the waiter and Granny Yang, as well as the cost of hiring a storyteller and the daily meals for those people, would amount to sixty or seventy taels of silver a month.
Although a large sum of money was spent at once, Yingxiang was still quite satisfied with the earnings over the course of the year.
Once this play is performed, she expects to earn another two or three hundred, and that money will all go to her.
Yingxiang remains optimistic about the future.
After tidying up, she went to the kitchen to cook. When Wen Shi returned, it was already dark. He had been busy lately and couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't leave until he finished his work, and since everyone else was staying, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to leave as well.
"When your grandparents, uncles, and aunts arrive, someone will be there to pick you up and drop you off."
During the meal, Wen Shi suddenly said this.
Xiao Leqian held a large steamed bun in his hand and looked at his father with some confusion.
Will they pick me up?
He can now communicate with his wife without any problems. He knows his parents are busy, and he is often the last one to get home.
Having family members come serves two purposes: firstly, it demonstrates filial piety and won't affect his future career; secondly, it can provide some assistance.
Wen Shi had thought about it; he never made hasty decisions.
"Yes, you have a few older brothers who will also be studying when they come. I'll have your second uncle or fourth uncle pick them up in the evening and bring you back. You can just wait for your mother and me at home."
"This year they'll learn to recognize characters, and next year they'll start memorizing poems. I'll come back to check on them then."
"I'm sure I can memorize it."
Yingxiang was initially worried that Wen Shi would leave the child there, but after hearing this, she felt relieved. She said that after picking the child up, taking the child home would be no problem.
"My lord, that place is quite a distance from the capital."
Practical issues must also be considered.
"Once they all arrive, I'll go to the market to buy a black mule. If there's a mule cart, that'll be fine."
The round trip takes less than two hours each day, and the journey by car is not strenuous; this time has been calculated.
The schools in the city are definitely better than those outside. Wen Shi knew this in his heart. If he didn't want his brothers to rely on his family in the future, he had to make them independent.
Working is one thing, but the upbringing of the next generation is even more important.
Even if they can't understand it in the end, reading can still enlighten them, which is not bad for children.
"Alright, the house is almost finished. Let me know when it's done, and we'll prepare everything in advance."
Things like bedding, pots and pans definitely need to be bought new. We'll also need to go to the blacksmith to make a few iron pots, both big and small, and we'll need to buy some firewood as well.
Let them come and stay. As for their future life, they don't need to worry about it. It's no big deal to help them out at the beginning. After all, we're all family.
Relatives? Every family has them, not just in ancient times, but even in modern times. Of course, thanks to social development and the progress of thought, modern people mostly help their relatives within limits and don't go to extremes.
In a society based on personal relationships, this has always been the case, and interactions are inevitable, especially since these are not ordinary relatives. Yingxiang picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and sighed inwardly.
"Mom, I ate lunch at the school. It was either tofu and cabbage, or radish and tofu, or potato and tofu. They were all stews, and I also had a bowl of rice."
The little guy's lips moved, and he seemed a bit unhappy as he spoke.
“Son, you should be grateful that you have something to eat. You should know that your mother used to not even have tofu to eat, and she had to be careful with her cabbage.”
Yingxiang wasn't lying. When she first transmigrated, there really wasn't much food at home in Xiaoliu Village for those few years. The house she lived in was also old and dilapidated. Except for the occasional good food she could get from signing in, she managed to get through those years.
Things only got better after she got married.
"Why isn't there any tofu to eat?"
When Wen Leqian said this, he didn't even look at his father. He had talked about this with Wen Shi in private, but every time he brought it up, Wen Shi would ignore him.
If you say too much, they'll say he's eaten too much, which is why he's complaining about this and that.
“We didn’t have the money to buy it. Back when my parents lived in the village, they mostly ate wild vegetables dug up from the mountains in the spring. Of course, it wasn’t all wild vegetables; they would also grow some vegetables in the fields. But most of them were for selling. Even the eggs laid by the chickens they raised couldn’t be eaten; they had to be saved up to sell for money.”
"Although grain is grown in the fields, taxes are paid, and not much is left. For a large family to make a living, it is common to go hungry."
“You are already living a good life now that you can eat your fill and stay warm. There is no meat at school at noon, but the bun in your hand is meat. Before, your father and I might not even get to eat a bite of meat during festivals.”
As the child grew older, Yingxiang felt that she had to tell him what needed to be said. She didn't advocate for education through hardship, but she also couldn't spoil him too much, otherwise it wouldn't be good for him in the future.
Wen Leqian glanced at his father, Wen Shi, but didn't say anything. He lowered his head and remained silent. After hearing what his mother said, it seemed that his life was not bad now.
"If you want to eat well every day, study hard, and strive to become an official like your father in the future, then you will truly never have to worry about food and drink."
"Now that I'm grown up, does that mean I can do whatever I want?"
"That's right. As long as you can stand up, we won't say anything. That's your own ability."
"What if you grow up and can't afford it, or you don't have any money?"
The child was still innocent, but as he interacted with more people, his curiosity grew. Yingxiang looked at her son's little face and suddenly smiled: "If you don't have money, you can only find a way to make it. Do you want to lie at home and starve to death?"
"No, I don't want to go hungry."
The little guy shook his head repeatedly after he finished speaking.
"I will study hard and, like my father, become an official in the future."
The little boy spoke in a serious tone, and Yingxiang looked at her son and found him adorable.
Hearing this, Wen Shi smiled and was even happier.
He didn't touch his head as he used to. The child's hair was already quite long and couldn't be cut short. In the past, they would tie it into a small bun with a red string. After he got older and started school, Wen Shi and Ying Xiang took turns tying his hair up.
At night, the couple lay in bed. Wen Shi held his wife in his arms, but his expression gradually became strange, and his hands began to wander.
Yingxiang kicked him, and he immediately became much more obedient. He let go of her and turned over to go to sleep.
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