Chapter 97
Yingxiang now goes to a nearby money exchange and deposit shop every three to five days. Over time, she has become familiar with the shop assistant there.
Simply depositing money in a money exchange yields no interest; to earn money, one must lend it out. Of course, Yingxiang would never do that, as it would be an act that skirts the edge of the law, and there's no need to risk it for a little bit of interest.
As long as her principal is preserved, that's fine; she'll still do other businesses in the future.
Before she knew it, the business had been running for more than half a year, and the profits were decent. Yingxiang took out all the deposit slips and counted them. The money in her hand was the amount after deducting rent and daily shop expenses.
At first, the shop didn't make much money, and even lost money. After the play was performed, the teahouse's business improved, and after more than half a year, they had a surplus of more than three hundred taels of silver.
Most of the money was earned in the months since after the Lunar New Year, which is pretty good. In the last ten days or so, my daily income has increased to six to eight taels of silver. Although it's not fixed yet, it's steadily increasing and will definitely be more in the future.
"Just change it to a larger deposit slip."
"good."
The waiter glanced at Yingxiang and moved quickly. Their money exchange was a legitimate one, regulated by law.
The thick stack of deposit slips used to be worth five or six taels, or even several taels, but now Yingxiang has exchanged them for a thin, large-denomination deposit slip.
After signing and verifying the document, she carefully put it away.
Seeing that it was still early, she went home first, found an empty box, and tidied up her system backpack.
Most of these were the money she earned from signing in when she was taking care of her child at home alone. There was a lot of jewelry and clothing. She kept the ones she liked and took the ones she didn't like out to buy new ones and exchange them for money, then deposited them in a new money exchange.
Yingxiang packed a box and pulled it out. Instead of going to the pawnshop near her home, she went to a pawnshop that was farther away.
She dragged the heavy box to the pawnshop, and the shopkeeper was stunned when he opened it.
You don't want any of these?
Gold and silver jewelry are weighed, and the price of fabrics is lower than that of cloth shops. Of course, regular jewelry stores and clothing stores sell new items and would not accept items like Yingxiang, even if she has never worn them.
This is why she dragged her suitcase directly to the pawnshop.
"Exchange everything for cash."
"Okay, bring the scale."
The shopkeeper weighed the item while simultaneously working on his abacus with remarkable speed. Before long, he gave Yingxiang a number.
"These total one hundred and sixty-eight taels."
In the capital, Yingxiang's jewelry and clothing were not uncommon, and she nodded upon hearing this.
"Here are 150 taels of silver notes and 18 taels of silver ingots. Please keep them safe, sir."
After counting, Yingxiang carried the box and looked for a money exchange nearby. Including what she had saved before, she now had five hundred taels of silver in savings. Of course, it wasn't a lot. She put the loose silver in her money bag to keep for later use.
After depositing the money, it was almost evening. The sun was setting, and Yingxiang was in a good mood as she watched the magnificent sunset over the east side of the city.
Before we knew it, half the year had passed. Now we'll see how the second half goes, and hopefully her savings will multiply several times over.
After returning home, she put half of the money into the money box, and kept the rest on her person. As for her savings tickets, she would put them in the system's inventory for better security.
The system inventory was cleared out quite a bit, and now there's not much else left besides the little round cakes from a few days ago.
On the dressing table box, all her favorite jewelry was still there, and there were quite a few clothes in the wardrobe as well. Yingxiang didn't plan to buy any more of these things recently, nor was it necessary.
If she doesn't earn any money by signing in, she'll keep the items and buy them later.
After Yingxiang finished tidying up, she saw the pile of dirty clothes in the room. They weren't actually that dirty, and she didn't need to get out of bed right now, but the family members changed them frequently because they were all quite clean.
Without hesitation, she took out her own wash basin, filled it with water, and put the clothes in. This way, they could be washed clean without the need for wood ash or soap pods.
While doing laundry, Yingxiang went to the kitchen to chop vegetables and prepare dinner. The two of them always did this together, sharing the housework, with whoever came home first doing the chores.
Today, she was clearly earlier.
Hearing that it was much later than usual today, he was still very happy. His teacher asked him to stay and told him some good news.
Having known him for so long, the gentleman naturally knew what kind of person he was and found him to be reliable.
On his way home, he held his pouting child's hand and couldn't wait to go home, wanting to tell his wife the good news and make her happy too.
Perhaps the two of them will soon see their hardships come to an end.
Thinking of this, he picked up the child and complained that he was walking too slowly. The child was a little surprised, but in a good mood, at least he didn't have to walk anymore.
When he got home, Wen Shi pushed open the door very quietly. He stopped in his tracks when he saw something in the distance. The clothes inside the wooden basin in the middle of the yard seemed to be moving. Not only him, but even the child in his arms could tell that something was wrong. He immediately opened his eyes wide and stared at it curiously.
The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen. Even though the two were a little hungry, they were still drawn to the wooden plate. This was too strange.
At first, Wen Shi thought he was seeing things. He walked over step by step, his expression becoming more and more serious. Before he got close enough to see if there was anything else inside besides clothes, suddenly there was a loud bang, and the wooden basin shattered into pieces. The washing water flowed directly onto the ground, which instantly became wet.
The clothes fell to the ground, and Yingxiang was also stunned by the loud noise. She hurriedly came out of the kitchen and saw the clothes scattered in the middle of the yard.
Wen Shi, who was standing not far away, had his brows furrowed even more.
"It stopped moving."
The child in her arms suddenly said this, and Yingxiang realized that she had been careless. She wondered if this was a case of turning joy into sorrow.
"What's not moving?"
She tried to act as if nothing was wrong and walked up to the two of them.
"I saw it just now at the door; the clothes in that wooden basin were moving."
The little guy's speech was fairly clear, and he looked at his wife while he was listening.
Yingxiang didn't think much of it, gave a dry laugh, and forced a smile as she explained, "How could that be? How could the clothes in the wooden basin move for no reason? Are you too tired today and your eyes are playing tricks on you?"
"Father saw it too."
The little guy looked at Wen Shi.
"Really? My husband, the clothes in that wooden tub are moving?"
Yingxiang realized what was happening, and quickly hid behind Wen Shi, glancing warily at the clothes on the ground not far away.
"Since you haven't come back, I was planning to do the laundry after the food was ready, and soak the clothes first. How can I move the clothes? My husband."
Wen Shi glanced at his wife. Could it be that he was also seeing things? Was he too tired and confused? That shouldn't be the case; he couldn't possibly be mistaken.
He put the child down, took Yingxiang's hand, and comforted her, telling her not to overthink it. The wooden basin was already broken into pieces, and the clothes had fallen to the ground, so naturally they had to be washed again.
"There's rice in the pot, don't let it burn. Go back to your room and play first, Dad will tidy up."
The laundry tub is gone just like that. Yingxiang is naturally a little heartbroken. She will have to wash by hand from now on, and she doesn't know if she will still be able to sign in.
But it was truly terrifying; most likely, the father and son saw it, and the basin exploded.
Yingxiang returned to the kitchen, her thoughts a jumble of emotions. She was also somewhat relieved by her previous caution, knowing she couldn't be careless in the future—it was too terrifying.
Wen Shi put the clothes away and placed them in a wooden bucket. Then he used a broom to sweep the shattered wooden basin into a corner, treating it like trash.
The courtyard returned to normal in an instant, as if nothing had ever happened. It was very quiet during the meal.
Hearing this, he changed his mood and said, "After court tomorrow, I will go and lecture His Majesty."
Wen Shi didn't hide it from his wife; the news was too sudden, but he was naturally very excited that it was his turn this time.
This was a chance for him to prove himself, and he wanted to seize it. The emperor had already summoned him once before the new year, and the officials wouldn't let the same people go this time.
He felt that his opportunity had arrived.
"Husband, you have participated in the imperial examination and are knowledgeable, so don't be too nervous."
Yingxiang seized the opportunity to speak.
This was his second visit to the palace, a rare opportunity. He was always very hardworking, having diligently worked to narrow the gap between himself and his classmates. Even now, at the Shuchang Hall, he hadn't relaxed and remained very diligent.
The child, holding chopsticks, ate his meal, then, as if remembering something, began muttering, "It's late, it's late," while glancing at the time.
Wen Shi picked him up much later than usual today. He waited in the classroom for a long time, but fortunately, Teacher Xu was there to keep him company and even taught him two more words.
"My lady, that gentleman is quite good. Do you have any good tea at the teahouse? Bring some back and I'll send it over later."
"Right now, we must give a gift to the master as a sign of filial piety," Yingxiang nodded.
"There are similar ones."
She obviously can't get the really good stuff, but she has the basic stuff. She can just pack a couple more packs to get more.
"Prepare more."
The couple clearly thought of the same thing, then smiled at each other. Yingxiang patted her son's head; she wasn't petty.
The scene in the courtyard just now seemed to have passed by, and it was hard to explain. Yingxiang was only relieved that no one was hurt. She really needed to be more careful in the future and dare not be careless.
It was a pity that a laundry tub was lost, but there was nothing that could be done. Wen Shi seemed to think she was seeing things, and she didn't mention it again. Naturally, she wouldn't bring it up either.
She secretly wondered, what kind of mess is this? Even if she was discovered, she could have stopped. She could have said that she was soaking clothes and her eyes were playing tricks on her. But the laundry tub just exploded in the yard.
Yingxiang felt terrible just thinking about it and knew she had to be more careful in the future.
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