He regained his senses somewhat during the latter half of the morning court session, but felt that the witty exchanges during the session were a waste of time.
With a dismissal notice, Su Yan turned and left.
Seeing him like this, Ning Xuan lowered her raised hand.
There are few things that make Prime Minister Su anxious, so I'll just wait for him to come to me.
I never expected that this wait would last so long.
After Ning Xuan failed to keep Su Yan at the morning court session, he followed Su Yan to the Prime Minister's residence.
Because Su Yan was often summoned to the Imperial Study for discussions, he specially reserved a space outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation for Su Yan as the Prime Minister's residence.
Su Yan bent over his desk, holding a stack of letters and writing rapidly on them.
Ning Xuan stopped Li Gao from being summoned and picked up a piece of loose paper from the desk to read.
Inside the room, besides the regular ticking sound, there was only the scratching sound of a calligraphy brush.
Ning Xuan exhaled heavily, his eyes sparkling.
Ye Panjiu didn't care about the outcome of her departure ceremony. Daliang was her country, and she should do her part to repay it, as well as to help Su Yan relieve some of the burden on his shoulders.
When she returned to the house, it was already completely dark, and the lanterns along the street were lit.
The economy of the Great Liang Dynasty was quite prosperous, comparable to the peak period of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The street night market doesn't quiet down until midnight.
The others were all sitting in the dining hall. As soon as Madam Sun saw her, her eyes lit up. "Little sister, you're finally back! Here, this is the deed to the shop. Go take a look tomorrow, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
She handed over two land deeds.
Ye Panjiu took it and looked at it. The location was correct. One shop was 57 taels and the other was 73 taels.
She carefully put away the land deed and glanced at Ye Guihua.
Ye Guihua quickly lowered her head.
She hasn't decided yet.
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "It's pretty fast. It's alright, no rush. There's still one day left. Tomorrow I'll go check out these two shops first, and my second brother and sister-in-law will come with me."
Mrs. Sun nodded repeatedly, "No problem!"
She understood that Ye Panjiu was teaching her and Ye Erniu, gradually enabling them to do things on their own.
The food delivered by Jinxiu Pavilion in the evening was noticeably more lavish than that at noon.
Ye Panjiu watched, and seeing that the six of them wouldn't waste their time, she didn't say anything.
"My parents should be here by now. I wonder how the crops will turn out this year," Ye Erniu said casually.
Thinking back to the busy farming season in previous years, people would be working in the fields before dawn, eat lunch in the fields, and continue working until it was completely dark at night before going home.
I secretly stuffed a pancake filled with vegetables into my bed in the dark, and then I fell asleep.
During the busiest time of the year, it can last at least a month.
Within a month, everyone in the Ye family, regardless of age, had lost weight.
She couldn't help but shudder. Once you've climbed out of those hard times, looking back, the thought of going back to them terrifies her.
Ye Panjiu said, "The snowfall this year wasn't very deep, and I haven't heard of any snow disasters in places further north."
Ye Erniu swallowed the meat in his mouth. "That's right. If the spring breeze comes early, there will be more wind this year."
Farmers know the seasons, and Ye Erniu, who has been farming for half his life, is quite familiar with the weather.
Uncharacteristically, Sun remained quiet.
After dinner, the six men placed their luggage on horseback and went to the nearby Wang residence.
Entering through the small gate, perhaps because the wages were higher, the casual laborers kept the place very clean.
In this yard, all the overgrown flowers and plants have been neatly trimmed.
The feeling of defeat vanished instantly.
The six of them still followed the custom of the Ye family: Ye Erniu and Sun Shi lived in the main house, Ye Panjiu lived in the east wing, Heng Tong lived in the east side room, and Ye Taohua and Ye Guihua, arm in arm, affectionately wanted to live together in the west wing.
The rooms were all quite large, even the side rooms had blue brick floors, and bright red curtains with gold embroidery hung above the daybeds.
The wealth of the Wang family is evident.
After tidying up the house, Ye Panjiu came to find Madam Sun and knocked on the door of the main room. "Second sister-in-law, come with me to thank Lord Duan?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun happily ran out of the house, exclaiming, "Looking for Lord Duan? Great!"
Duan Jingcheng was not yet thirty, but he was handsome, dignified, and elegant.
She looked at Ye Panjiu and said, "Little sister, we should prepare some gifts for them. It's too much trouble for them."
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "Alright, come with me now."
Sun happily took her arm, saying, "Look at me, I'm even worried about my little sister's social interactions."
The two walked towards the door.
Ye Panjiu asked, "Why weren't you talking at dinner?"
Sun patted her hand and sighed, "Little sister, when I heard Erniu talk about farming, I was so scared that I trembled. It's too tiring. Life is so good now, it's like a dream. I'm afraid that when I wake up, I'll still have to go to the fields to harvest wheat with blisters and calluses all over my hands."
"Harvesting wheat requires bending over all day, and the wheat ears scrape my skin. Just thinking about it makes my face hurt."
Ye Panjiu patted her shoulder reassuringly, "Second sister-in-law, don't be afraid. How could this be a dream? The clothes you're wearing, the dinner you ate tonight, and the moon in the sky right now are all real. If you don't want to go back to farming, I will definitely make sure you can earn money through other means."
If it was all a dream, then it was more like she was dreaming.
But she didn't think it was fake; what she felt in the moment was the most real.
Sun held Ye Panjiu even tighter, saying, "That's right, what kind of dream is this? Bah, bah, bah, it's bad luck!"
Ye Panjiu smiled and said, "I plan to let you manage these two shops that you and your second brother bought. We'll split the profits, you get four and I get six."
Sun's brows furrowed immediately, she was agitated, "That won't do! You paid for the shop, and the most crucial braising broth recipe is yours, how can you only take six? If you ask me, you should get eight, and I'll take two! That's much better!"
She knew that Jiujiu Lu in Qingshui County earned five taels of silver a day. If she took 20%, that would be one tael of silver a day! That would be two taels!
Madam Sun knew very well that without Ye Panjiu, the Ye family would never have been able to open a shop in Shuzhou. She was grateful for this and didn't want to take any more money.
Ye Panjiu raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You're only taking 20%? Ming'er is still studying. After passing the imperial examinations, he'll be marrying a true young lady. How are you going to pay the bride price?"
Madam Sun bit her lip hard. "Just 20%! I'll save it for him, as much as he can get. It's settled then, so don't try to change my mind!"
Seeing the pained expression on her face, Ye Panjiu smiled brightly and said, "Alright then."
It's fine for her to keep the money; she can add more to the wedding gifts tomorrow.
They arrived at the government office in no time. Duan Jingcheng had just returned from having dinner at Zuixianlou.
In order to promote the new policy, he hosted a dinner party today, inviting all the guild leaders of Shuzhou. The meal was very tiring.
"Miss Ye, Second Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"
Madam Sun's eyes brightened. "Young Master Duan, it's been a few days. How have you been lately?"
Duan Jingcheng nodded, "Alright, all is well. Thank you for your concern, Second Sister-in-law."
Ye Panjiu simply couldn't bear to look at Sun's bright, sparkling eyes.
She simply admires handsome men; what a lovesick girl!
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