Chapter 116
On the 26th day of the Lunar New Year, Wen Shi finally got a holiday. His holiday was until the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, but he would also take a day off on the Lantern Festival.
Yingxiang is as busy as ever, but with someone looking after the children, there's no need to worry.
On New Year's Eve, I woke up early and saw snowflakes falling from the sky.
Before leaving, Yingxiang kissed her husband and hugged her child. She was wearing the black wool cloak that Wenshi had worn that day. The cloak was large, but also very warm.
When we arrived at the shop, there weren't many customers, just a few waiting to watch the show. The interior had already been set up, with most of the tables cleared, tea prepared, and pastries and fried meats placed in front.
Yingxiang sat in front of the counter, rubbed her hands together, and applied some moisturizer, waiting for customers to come and make a purchase after noon.
There were a few more days after that, but she scheduled them for the afternoon so she could sleep in a little longer in the morning and go home in the evening.
"Shopkeeper, look at this outfit of mine, what do you think? My daughter-in-law made it for me."
Granny Yang came to the shop wearing a bright red cotton robe, which was quite unusual. The pattern on the robe was also very beautiful. She also specially paired it with a red hair flower, which she wore in the center of her hair bun. She looked very cheerful.
"nice."
Her family was much better off than Wen Shiyingxiang's. They had a traditional courtyard house left by their ancestors, and the whole family lived in a spacious house. They also had hundreds of acres of fertile land in the suburbs of Beijing, so they had no worries about food and drink. She was also constantly making money.
"I think it looks good too."
Grandma Yang was delighted. As more and more customers arrived, the two of them became busy.
Having rehearsed countless times, Yingxiang had already watched the entire performance. When the play began, she was almost intently counting the silver coins in her hand.
Sometimes I think she's quite lucky. At least she was born into a peaceful and prosperous country, instead of a chaotic era. Otherwise, life would have been even more difficult.
Meanwhile, in a small inn 800 miles from the capital, the Wen family sat together, silently warming themselves by the fire.
"It's really cold today, but why did the convoy stop so suddenly? I'm afraid there won't be anything good to eat tonight."
Wen Xiaowu glanced at his mother.
Liu was somewhat dissatisfied. They had been delayed in the prefectural city for nearly three months, and it wasn't easy to find a caravan that went directly from the prefectural city to the capital.
If you take a winding, circuitous route, it will be even more troublesome and exhausting.
Wen Xiaowu thought that if things didn't work out, he could just wait, but it would be best to do it all at once. There were many people in the family, including the elderly and the young, which was different from before.
Of course, most people understand him, except for his mother, who sometimes complains, but he doesn't mind; there's no need for her to.
They finally found a convoy, but it was too slow and kept stopping, so they had to follow it and walk on their own, since they didn't know the way.
With the Chinese New Year approaching, the convoy stopped again as expected, but it would reach the capital sooner or later, so Wen Xiaowu wasn't worried.
"You won't starve if you skip a meal, why are you making such a fuss?"
After finding the convoy, Old Man Wen was very excited. He was eager to get to the destination as soon as possible because he was getting old and the journey was really tiring.
"I just asked my father and mother, and they said we'll set off after the Lantern Festival. We'll definitely arrive by mid-March at the latest."
"It's good that you arrived safely. Let's not rush things."
Wen Chuanzong sat silently, not saying a word. Wen Laosi said something, and everyone nodded in agreement, except for Liu Shi.
Within the capital city
Wen Shi dressed the child and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner while the child played in the yard.
Scattered snowflakes drifted down from the sky. The little guy took a thin stick and started drawing grids in the yard with great seriousness. The grids he drew were crooked and uneven, but he was quite good at jumping, opening and closing his legs.
Back and forth, even when she fell, she didn't cry; she just got up and kept jumping.
When Wenshi was preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, she would occasionally come out to take a look at him.
This is a game that the children in the school usually play together in a line when they have nothing to do. He remembered it, drew the grid himself when he got home, and had a lot of fun playing it.
The New Year's Eve dinner is not to be taken lightly. The ingredients were bought well in advance. It was cold, so the meat was left outside to freeze. There were no stray cats or dogs nearby, so it was impossible for anyone to steal it.
He planned to stew a pot of chicken soup, steam a fish, and stir-fry a few hot dishes, just six dishes in total, all meat dishes, because the New Year's meal shouldn't be too simple.
His culinary skills are becoming more and more refined. He has no reservations about the kitchen. He lives his own life behind closed doors and doesn't need to care about what others think.
As darkness fell, Wen Shi kept glancing outside, waiting for Ying Xiang to return.
After closing the shop and seeing off the last customer, Yingxiang didn't hesitate to give everyone in the shop a red envelope before closing the shop and going home.
Everyone happily accepted it and said many auspicious words to her.
She would come on the third, fifth, and eighth days of the Lunar New Year, as well as on the afternoon of the Lantern Festival. After that, the show would be over.
There was no other way; she still had to make money. However, she could also take a good rest for the next few days. Thinking of this, Yingxiang quickened her pace to go home.
As soon as she entered, Yingxiang smelled the aroma of food. She turned around, closed the door, and took the key off her neck. This was the key to her cashier's place at the counter, which she always carried with her when she went out, as the money was locked inside.
Of course, there were quite a few people living in the shop, all crammed together. There was no other way; the slaves had nowhere else to go either. She wasn't worried about anyone coming to steal or rob her—that was impossible.
"mother."
"My dear, Mommy's back."
Hearing the noise, Wen Shi also came out of the kitchen. Seeing his wife, he smiled gently and gestured for her to change her clothes.
It's already evening; time to tidy up and have dinner.
Normally, we only have two dishes at home, one meat and one vegetable, but today it was all meat dishes. When they were cooking the dishes, they put in all the chopped pork, and the small dining table was full of it.
Yingxiang felt a strange sense of familiarity with the latticework in the courtyard, but it seemed different from the ones she played with as a child. She didn't ask, as long as the child was happy. Many customs were passed down in the future. Thinking of this, she felt a little emotional.
On a more optimistic note, just because it's not recorded in history books doesn't mean it didn't exist. Or perhaps she traveled through time and ended up in another dimension.
When the food was served, the family of three sat around it. Wen Shi served his wife a bowl of chicken soup, then gave his son a bowl, and only drank it himself.
"It's delicious, my husband. Your cooking skills are getting better and better."
"Drink more. We'll take him to the temple on the second day of the Lunar New Year. You can rest tomorrow."
"good."
Logically, she should have gone back to her parents' home on this day, but Yingxiang hadn't done so for several years and wasn't home. Her family members from her time didn't really need to worry.
Everyone knows that Wen Shi got into high school and even stayed in the capital. Her biological father and stepmother lived in the village and benefited from her family's success, so their lives must have been just average. She didn't have a very deep relationship with her family.
As long as things continue to improve, they won't be any worse off.
While staying up late to welcome the New Year, Yingxiang was drowsy and couldn't stay awake any longer, so she went to sleep. The child was in a similar situation, but managed to stay up until dawn while smelling the incense.
If there's leftover food, we can reheat it in the afternoon and eat it again; we can't let it go to waste.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the family of three went to the temple. Fortunately, there weren't many people. Yingxiang offered incense to the Bodhisattva with great piety. In addition to praying for the health of her whole family, she also had another request this year: that her new shop would open smoothly and have a prosperous business after the New Year.
In this life, we only have two requests: good health and money to spend.
The couple, who hadn't brought their child out together in a long time, strolled around the temple after their prayers. There were also many vendors nearby.
The children were jumping and skipping around, they were so happy.
“Husband, I think sending him to school was the right thing to do.”
Wen Shi is very strict in raising children, but in the long run, this will suppress the child's nature. Who knows, he might become like Wen Shi back then when he was young, not liking to talk, taciturn, and often with a cold face.
This is actually not good. When children go to school, they all have different personalities. Some are quiet and some are lively. It's good for him to play with them.
Wen Shi nodded, glanced at his wife, and did not deny it.
Actually, upon closer reflection, the child is still young, and there's no need to be too strict. There's no need to make such a young child perfectly square and upright.
You asked Wen Shi to recall things from when he was a teenager, but he doesn't remember much of it now.
On the afternoon of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yingxiang got busy again.
Once the Lantern Festival is over, these two large money boxes will be full again, and then we can exchange them for banknotes. In addition, we also need to prepare for a new shop.
I didn't have time to watch it before the New Year, but I will after the New Year.
The new shop doesn't need to be too big. She plans to make mellow rice wine and, depending on the season, add some white wine and fruit wine to sell together.
Fermentation won't work if it's too cold, and it won't work if it's too hot either; the right temperature is best.
Yingxiang plans to look for a shop near the teahouse this time, so she can visit both places and keep an eye on things.
Granny Yang was willing to contribute 30% of the investment, and she would contribute the remaining 70%, with the profits split 30/70. Of course, just in case, she wanted to have a written agreement drawn up beforehand, better safe than sorry.
Verbal agreements aren't always reliable. People in ancient times weren't stupid; they always made written agreements, which in modern terms are called contracts.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, there were lanterns in the capital.
After finishing her work, Yingxiang followed Wenshi and took the children out. He was also off work today, so the children didn't have to go to school.
"Mom, I want a little tiger."
"I want that one too."
"I want to release a lantern."
"I want that one too."
Yingxiang bought two for them, and Wen Shi also won one for free by guessing riddles. On the way home, the two of them were busy with their hands, and the child was very happy.
Late at night, the couple lay in bed, and their lips moved slightly when they smelled it.
"Time flies, another year has come to a complete end, and a new year is just around the corner."
Yingxiang hummed in agreement and snuggled closer to him.
The next morning, Yingxiang went to the shop and began writing the contract. According to the 3:7 ratio, she initially paid 140 taels of silver, and Granny Yang paid 60 taels, to rent the shop and purchase some materials, such as glutinous rice.
"Shopkeeper, is sixty taels enough?"
"That's enough. Let's give it a try. Business isn't easy in the capital. This amount of money should be enough to get the shop up and running in the next two months."
As the weather gradually warms up, the frozen lake water is slowly thawing, and spring is approaching.
Yingxiang roughly calculated that this amount of money could cover three months' rent. She didn't need a large shop right now, and she couldn't do too much at the beginning. She wanted to test the waters first. If it went well, she could buy a few more large vats. If not, she would have to wait and see and not rush things.
The amount of money was much less than Granny Yang had expected. She quickly pressed her fingerprint and signed the document.
Two copies were made, one for each person.
"Shopkeeper, I will bring you the money tomorrow. We will definitely make a lot of money in the future."
These words are simple and honest, and Yingxiang likes them very much.
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